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  March 08, 2009 6:39 PM

Manifestation of God

The Bahá'í Faith refers to what are commonly called prophets as Manifestations of God who are directly linked with the concept of Progressive revelation. Bahá'ís believe that God expresses this will at all times and in many ways, including through a series of divine messengers referred to as Manifestations of God or sometimes divine educators.[14] In expressing God's intent, these Manifestations are seen to establish religion in the world. Thus they are seen as an intermediary between God and humanity.[15]

The Manifestations of God are not seen as an incarnation of God, but they are also not seen as an ordinary mortals. Instead, the Bahá'í concept of the Manifestation of God emphasizes simultaneously the humanity of that intermediary and the divinity in the way they show forth the will, knowledge and attributes of God; thus they have both human and divine stations.[15]

In addition to the Manifestations of God, in the Bahá'í view, there are also minor prophets. While the Manifestations of Gods, or major Prophets, are compared to the sun, which produces its own heat and light, minor prophets are compared to the moon which receives its light from the sun. Moses, for example, is taught as having been a Manifestation of God and his brother Aaron a minor prophet. Moses spoke on behalf of God, and Aaron spoke on behalf of Moses (Exodus 4:14-17). Other Jewish prophets are considered minor prophets, in the Bahá'í view, as they are considered to have come in the shadow of the dispensation of Moses to develop and consolidate the process he set in motion.

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 April 21, 2008 5:52 PM

How do Bahá’ís relate to politics?

Bahá’ís take their civic responsibilities seriously and uphold the authority of established governments through loyalty and obedience to the laws of their country.  Bahá’ís, in whatever country they reside, are prohibited from holding membership in any political party or faction.  While participating in elections for their government, they abstain from partisanship. Bahá’ís may serve their government in administrative posts but do not accept political appointments or run for elected office. Such service reflects the practice within the Bahá’í community, which holds elections for its administrative councils that are entirely without nominations or campaigning.

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 March 19, 2008 5:54 PM

Shoghi Effendi about the Future of Human Societies

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The Search after Truth November 28, 2007 9:22 AM

If a man would succeed in his search after truth, he must, in the first place, shut his eyes to all the traditional superstitions of the past.

The Jews have traditional superstitions, the Buddhists and the Zoroastrians are not free from them, neither are the Christians! All religions have gradually become bound by tradition and dogma.

All consider themselves, respectively, the only guardians of the truth, and that every other religion is composed of errors. They themselves are right, all others are wrong! The Jews believe that they are the only possessors of the truth and condemn all other religions. The Christians affirm that their religion is the only true one, that all others are false. Likewise the Buddhists and Muhammadans; all limit themselves. If all condemn one another, where shall we search for truth? All contradicting one another, all cannot be true. If each believe his particular religion to be the only true one, he blinds his eyes to the truth in the others. If, for instance, a Jew is bound by the external practice of the religion of Israel, he does not permit himself to perceive that truth can exist in any other religion; it must be all contained in his own!

We should, therefore, detach ourselves from the external forms and practices of religion. We must realize that these forms and practices, however beautiful, are but garments clothing the warm heart and the living limbs of Divine truth. We must abandon the prejudices of tradition if we would succeed in finding the truth at the core of all religions. If a Zoroastrian believes that the Sun is God, how can he be united to other religions? While idolaters believe in their various idols, how can they understand the oneness of God?

It is, therefore, clear that in order to make any progress in the search after truth we must relinquish superstition. If all seekers would follow this principle they would obtain a clear vision of the truth.

If five people meet together to seek for truth, they must begin by cutting themselves free from all their own special conditions and renouncing all preconceived ideas. In order to find truth we must give up our prejudices, our own small trivial notions; an open receptive mind is essential. If our chalice is full of self, there is no room in it for the water of life. The fact that we imagine ourselves to be right and everybody else wrong is the greatest of all obstacles in the path towards unity, and unity is necessary if we would reach truth, for truth is one.

Therefore it is imperative that we should renounce our own particular prejudices and superstitions if we earnestly desire to seek the truth. Unless we make a distinction in our minds between dogma, superstition and prejudice on the one hand, and truth on the other, we cannot succeed. When we are in earnest in our search for anything we look for it everywhere. This principle we must carry out in our search for truth.

Science must be accepted. No one truth can contradict another truth. Light is good in whatsoever lamp it is burning! A rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden it may bloom! A star has the same radiance if it shines from the East or from the West. Be free from prejudice, so will you love the Sun of Truth from whatsoever point in the horizon it may arise! You will realize that if the Divine light of truth shone in Jesus Christ it also shone in Moses and in Buddha. The earnest seeker will arrive at this truth. This is what is meant by the `Search after Truth'.

It means, also, that we must be willing to clear away all that we have previously learned, all that would clog our steps on the way to truth; we must not shrink if necessary from beginning our education all over again. We must not allow our love for any one religion or any one personality to so blind our eyes that we become fettered by superstition! When we are freed from all these bonds, seeking with liberated minds, then shall we be able to arrive at our goal.

`Seek the truth, the truth shall make you free.' So shall we see the truth in all religions, for truth is in all and truth is one!

  -`Abdu'l-Bahá

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THE MESSENGERS OF GOD November 28, 2007 6:37 AM

From the beginning that has no beginning God

has manifested Himself through His Messengers.

Through them He causes man to know Him and to

love Him; through them He breathes fresh life into

creation. They are the Educators of humanity, the

Source of progress, the Founders of religion. Alone

and unaided, opposed by the powers of the world,

each one has triumphed over adversity, unfurled

the banner of His Faith and established His

sovereignty over the hearts of men. Such

achievements are not possible for created beings;

only Manifestations of God can do these things.

   In former ages the Manifestations did not

explain clearly Their station. Sometimes they spoke

as though They were God Himself; at others They

would admit themselves human. Their immediate

companions perhaps understood the hidden

references to Their true station, but later followers

were confused. These either worshipped them as

God or regarded them only as inspired men.

Doctrines such as the Trinity were evolved to try to

explain the seeming contradiction of their station.

God in His Essence,  is beyond

the understanding of man:

  Therefore He sends His Messengers to mediate

between His Essence and mankind:

These Day-Stars of divine guidance owe their

great station to the Holy Spirit with which God has

endowed Them. Because of it they have direct

intercourse with God and act as channels for the

outpouring of His grace

These Mirrors are perfect Beings, who live

perfect lives and give perfect teaching. There have

been many of Them; Muhammad, Buddha, Moses,

Jesus, Krishna, Noah, Zoroaster, Abraham, are

examples. Of most we have now no record, even

Their names are lost to us; but the glory which

surrounds the names of those we know is itself a

proof of Their divine station.

 

   Divine, but not to be identified with the Essence

of God, for that is exalted above place and time;

the sun does not come down into the mirror, nor is

the light of the sun the same as the sun itself. The

manifestations are exalted above men, but they

partake of humanity. Although possessed of the

Holy Spirit, They have also a human body and a

human soul. This is Their dual station, which

mankind has in past ages found so confusing.

   The human station of these Day-Stars of divine

guidance has always been a severe test for

mankind. It causes them to need food and sleep

like other men, to be subject to the ills and chances

of this world and to appear outwardly like ordinary

human beings.

 [ send green star]
 
THE MESSENGERS OF GOD November 28, 2007 6:32 AM

Sometimes the Manifestations speak in Their

divine station as through with the voice of God. At

others Their words stem from Their human station.

Jesus spoke thus when He said: “Why callest thou

 me good? There is none good but one, that is,

God.”  The parable of Satan tempting Jesus has

been explained to refer to the

tempting of the Holy Spirit in Jesus by His human

impulses.

   The distinctions and differences between the

Messengers of God originate in Their human

station. In Their divine station these Great Beings

are one -- one in Their perfection and one in Their

Message. Bahá’u’lláh describes this unity in words

of great beauty:

   “lf thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes,

thou wilt behold them all abiding in the same

tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated

upon the same throne, uttering the same speech,

and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the

unity of those Essences of Being, those

Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable

splendour!” 

   In another place He puts more strongly the need

to recognise Their unity:

   “Beware, O believers in the Unity  [ send green star]

 
THE RELIGIOUS CYCLE November 28, 2007 6:29 AM

Manifestations of God are always at first rejected

by those They come to save. They are imprisoned,

exiled, crucified, in a thousand ways persecuted, by

men who profess to believe in God, but are far from

the Court of His Holiness. In the Day of the

Manifestation only a few pure souls recognize His

glory; these also suffer at the hands of the proud

and worldly. Gradually the power of the Holy Spirit

asserts itself; other souls are attracted to the sweet

melodies of the Divine Nightingale; the hard clay of

men’s hearts is softened and their blind eyes

opened to His shining splendor.

Through this

channel of Divine grace, the spiritually dead

receive life and the leprosy of unbelief is healed. A

miracle occurs which embraces the whole creation

-- a miracle far greater than vitalising a dead body

or healing a physical ill. Spiritual life is given to

erring humanity to raise it from the mud in which it

is always sunk when a Messenger of God is due.

   As time passes, more and more people recognize

the Bearer of the Holy Spirit. The forces of denial

wax tierce in their efforts to resist the Cause of

God; but God cannot be resisted. Opposition

crumbles until eventually the Manifestation of God

emerges supreme, recognized and revered by all

save those God chooses to except. For a time His

Faith experiences a Golden Age during which its

youthful vigor has not yet been irretrievably

perverted by its own followers. Then degeneration

sets in. Men still profess to honor the teaching of

the Founder of their religion, but they cease to obey

it. They invent creeds and rituals not sanctioned by

their Leader, to which they pay more attention than

to the revealed word itself. They quarrel over the

meaning of their acknowledged scripture, form

themselves into sects and parties, preach things in

the name of religion from which religion recoils.

Materialism and greed gain possession of the

world; the priesthood becomes a vested interest;

selfishness and pride capture the hearts of men;

despair sweeps the surface of the earth, wrapping

men’s souls in clouds of darkening gloom.

Then,

when men least expect a saviour, the clouds are

parted by the rising Sun of Glory. The light of the

Holy Spirit shines again upon the earth, bringing

promise of new life.

http://www.bahai.com/Bahaullah/revelation3.htm

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thank you very much February 18, 2006 12:20 PM

I deeply appreciate your heart filled explanation of Bahai.  I enjoy learing more about religions of the world  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 October 21, 2005 6:01 AM


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 December 22, 2004 8:00 PM

A Two-Fold Station The Manifestations of God have a two-fold station. On the one hand, they are Divine beings, reflecting perfectly God's will. On the other hand, they are humans, subject to birth, disease, suffering and death. They have different physical identities and they address humanity at different stages in history. These differences give rise to cultural distinctions between religions that sometimes conceal their inherent unity. "Every Prophet Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath purposed to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted with a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would best meet the requirements of the age in which He appeared," Baha'u'allah said. Fundamentally, however, the spiritual message of God's Messengers has been universally the same. Each has stressed the importance of love for God, obedience to His will, and love for humanity. Although the words have varied, each has taught the "Golden Rule"--that individuals should treat others as they would like to be treated themselves. "Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same." Baha'u'allah wrote. "Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith: There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message..." The Manifestations of God communicate God's will to humanity through the process of divine revelation. This process of revelation has been recorded in the world's great holy books--books that range from the Torah to the Qur'an, and which include Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Zoroastrian scriptures. These writings represent humanity's record of God's revealed Word. Baha'u'allah says that the Word of God is the "master key" for the whole world. Only it can unlock the spiritual potential latent within every individual; only it can help us develop to our fullest potential. Without the Word of God, humans would remain captives of instinct and cultural conditioning, dwelling only on qualities that are associated with physical survival. Greed, selfishness, dishonesty, corruption and the like inevitably flourish if there is no divine guidance. For Baha'is, the books, tablets and letters penned by Baha'u'allah represent today the Word of God renewed. Although they are consistent with past religious revelations, and represent "the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future," the writings of Bah?'u'll?h also contain fresh truths about God's will for humanity today -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Excerpted from The Baha'is, a publication of the Baha'i International Community  [ send green star]
 
 December 22, 2004 7:58 PM

. The Unknowable Essence In elaborating how Bahi'is view the relationship between God, religion and humanity, the best place to start is with the Bahi'is concept of God. And that concept begins with the realization that God is unknowable. Baha'u'allah taught that God is the Creator of the universe and its absolute ruler. His nature is limitless, infinite and all-powerful. It is therefore impossible for mortal men and women, with limited intellect and finite capacities, to directly comprehend or understand the Divine reality, Its motives or the way It operates. While unknowable in His essence, God has chosen to make Himself known to humanity through a series of divine Messengers. These Messengers have been the only way to knowledge of God, and their number includes the Founders of the world's great religions: Moses, Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad--to name those Messengers who are best known. Baha'is also include other prophets in this group, such as Noah and Abraham. "A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth..." -- Baha'u'allah The Messengers, in Baha'u'allah's words, are "Manifestations of God." The Manifestations are perfect mirrors of God's attributes and perfection, providing a pure channel for the communication of God's will for humanity. This idea--that God has sent a succession of Messengers to educate humanity--is called "progressive revelation." An analogy is the process of schooling. Just as children start with simple ideas in the primary grades, and are given increasingly complex knowledge as they move on through secondary school and college, so humanity has been "educated" by a series of Manifestations. In each age, the teachings of the Messensgers of God have conformed not to Their knowledge but to the level of our collective maturity.  [ send green star]
 
 December 21, 2004 6:22 PM

The soul animates the body and distinguishes human beings from the animals. It grows and develops only through the individual's relationship with God, as mediated by His Messengers. The relationship is fostered through prayer, knowledge of the scriptures revealed by these Teachers, love for God, moral self-discipline, and service to humanity. This process is what gives meaning to life. Cultivation of life's spiritual side has several benefits. First, the individual increasingly develops those innate qualities that lie at the foundation of human happiness and social progress. Such qualities include faith, courage, love, compassion, trustworthiness and humility. As these qualities are increasingly manifest, society as a whole advances. Another effect of spiritual development is alignment with God's will. This growing closer prepares the individual for the afterlife. The soul lives on after the body's death, embarking on a spiritual journey towards God through many "worlds" or planes of existence. Progress on this journey, in traditional terms, is likened to "heaven." If the soul fails to develop, one remains distant from God. This, in traditional Christian or Muslim terms,is "hell." The coming of new Messengers from God represent pivotal points in history. Each releases a fresh spiritual impulse, stimulating personal renewal and social advancement. Bahб'u'llбh's revelation, and the spiritual impulse accompanying it, is especially significant because it coincides with the maturation of humanity. Bahб'u'llбh teaches that humanity, as a whole, has today entered a new stage in its collective existence. Like an adolescent entering adulthood, new levels of accomplishment are now possible. Global undertakings, once considered impossible, can now be achieved. Such undertakings include the realization of world peace, the attainment of universal social justice, and the furtherance of a harmonious balance between technology, development, human values and protection of the natural environment.  [ send green star]
 
 December 21, 2004 6:15 PM

There is only one God, the Creator of the Universe. Throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity through a series of divine Messengers--each of whom has founded a great religion. The Messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad. This succession of divine Teachers reflects a single historic "plan of God" for educating humanity about the Creator and for cultivating the spiritual, intellectual and moral capacities of the race. The goal has been to prepare the way for a single, global and ever-advancing civilization. Knowledge of God's will for humanity in the modern age was revealed just over 100 years ago by Bahб'u'llбh, who is the latest of these divine Messengers. That is the essence of Bahб'u'llбh's teachings about God, religion and humanity. Bahб'нs often express these beliefs simply by speaking of the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of humankind. Unity is at all times the overarching theme of Bahб'н belief; in theological terms, it manifests itself in the understanding that the sole Creator has a single plan for the one humanity. Coupled with these ideas is an understanding that human nature is fundamentally spiritual. Although human beings exist on earth in physical bodies, the essential identity of each person is defined by an invisible, rational, and everlasting soul  [ send green star]
 
 December 16, 2004 3:14 PM

The Faith's most distinctive accomplishment by far, however, is its unity. Unlike every other religion-not to mention most social and political movements-the Bahai Faith has successfully resisted the perennial impulse to break into sects and sub-groups. It has maintained its unity despite a history as turbulant as that of any religion of antiquity. In the hundred years since Baha'u'llah lived, the process of global unification for which He called has become well advanced. Through historical processes, the traditional barriers of race, creed and nation have steadily broken down. The forces at work, Baha'u'llah predicted. will eventually give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their onenes and to assist in the creation of this new world. For a global society to flourish, Baha'u;llah said, it must be based on certain fundamental principals. They include the elimination of all forms of prejudice, full equality betwen the sexes, recognition of the essential oneness of the world's great religions;the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth; universal education; the harmony of science and religion; a sustainable balance between nature and technology; and the establishment of a world federal system , based on collective security and the oneness of humanity. Baha'is around the world express their commitment to these principles chiefly through individual and community transformation. Among other ways, commitment is reflected in the large number of small-scale,grassroots based social and economic development projects that Baha'i communities have launched in recent years.  [ send green star]
 
 December 16, 2004 1:37 PM

The essential message of Baha'u'llah is that of unity. He taught that there is only one God, that there is only one human race, and that all the world's religions have been stages in the revelation of God's will and purpose for humanity. In this day, Baha'u' llah said, humanity has collectively come of age. As foretold in all the world's scriptures, the time has arrived for the uniting of all peoples into a peaceful and integrated global society. "The earth is but one country, and mankind it's citizens," He wrote. The youngest of the world's independent religions, the Faith founded by Baha'u'llah stands out from other religions in a number of ways. It has a unique system of global administration, with freely elected governing councils in approximately 20,000 localities. It takes a distinctive (and sometimes radical) approach to contemporary social problems. The Faith's scriptures and the multifarious activities of it's membership address virtually every important trend in the world today, from the new thinking about cultural diversity and environmental conservation to the decentrlization of decision-making from a renewed commitment to family life and morality to the call for a "New World Order."  [ send green star]
 
Introduction to The Baha'i Faith December 11, 2004 5:16 PM

following information is Excerpted from "The Baha'is" a publication of the Baha'i international community,,Permission has been given to publish it to this group.. The Baha'is an introduction to a World Community.. Founded a century and a half ago, the Baha'i Faith is today among the fastest growing of world religions..With more than five million followers in at least 233 countries and dependent territories. It has already become the second-most widespread faith, surpassing every religion but Christianity in its geographic reach. Baha'is reside in more than 120,000 localities around the world, an expansion that reflects their dedication to the ideal world citizenship. The Baha'i Faith's global scope is mirrored in the composition of its membership. Representing a cross section of humanity, Baha'is come from virtually every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession, and social or economic class. More than 2,100 different ethnic and tribal groups are represented. Since it also forms a single community, free of schism or factions, the Baha'i Faith comprises what is very likely the most diverse and widespread organized body of people on earth... The Faith's founder was Baha'u'llah a Persian noblemn from Teheran who, in the mid-nineteenth century, gave up a princely existence curity for a life of persecution and deprivation. Baha'u'llah claimed to be nothing less than a new and independent Messenger from God. His life work and influence parallel that of Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad..Baha'is view Baha'u'llah as the most recent in the succession of Divine Messengers.  [ send green star]
 
 December 11, 2004 2:07 PM

In just over 100 years, the Baha'i Faith has grown from an obscure movement in the Middle East to the second-most widespread of the independent world religions..Embracing people from more than 2,100 ethnic, racial and tribal groups..It is quite likely the most diverse organized body of people on earth..The Baha'i doctrine of unity challenges prevailing theories about human nature and the prospects for our common future...  [ send green star]
 
 December 03, 2004 5:55 PM

Thanks for your posts James.Being new to the Baha'i faith and its teachings,i have found your posts most enlightning and educational.  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
THE TEACHINGS OF BAHAI December 03, 2004 4:36 PM

Although Bahai originated within the Shiite sect of Islam, it soon came to differ radically from it. Bahai does not revere the Quran to the same degree that Islam does. Much of the Quran is explained allegorically, or treated symbolically. Belief in angels and evil spirits has been discarded by Bahai, whereas heaven and hell are treated symbolically. The quran takes it's place, along with the Christian and Hebrew bibles and the sacred writings of other religions, as a source for Bahai worship. This attitude toward the Quran has made Bahai most unpopular among Muslims, and it has been outlawed in Iran, the land of it's birth. Persecution against Baha'is in Iran became especially harsh after the so called Islamic revolution of 1979. The basic belief of Bahai is that all religions came from the same source. In nearly ever era God has revealed his truth through great prophets. Moses, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddah and Bahaullah were the prophets of God, and all presented a portion of the truth of God in their times, but Bahaullah, as the last and the greatest of these prophets, revealed the final truth from God. Bahaullah's greatest message was the oneness of the human race. All of mankind, all races, both sexes, and all religious truths, are the work of the one God..In the words of Bahaullah, "There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of what ever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly source and are the subjects of one God".  [ send green star]
 
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