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 Messenger of God January 01, 2005 4:20 PM

Bahб'u'llбh's writings offer answers to the timeless theological and philosophical questions that have plagued humanity since antiquity--such as Who is God? What is goodness? and Why are we here? He also addresses the modern questions that have preoccupied today's society, discussing the basic motivations of human nature, answering whether peace is indeed possible, and explaining how God provides for humanity's security and welfare. In the middle of the last century, one of the most notorious dungeons in the Near East was Teheran's "Black Pit." Once the underground reservoir for a public bath, its only outlet was a single passage down three steep flights of stone steps. Prisoners huddled in their own bodily wastes, languishing in the pit's inky gloom, subterranean cold and stench-ridden atmosphere. In this grim setting, the rarest and most cherished of religious events was once again played out: mortal man, out-wardly human in other respects, was summoned by God to bring to humanity a new religious revelation. The year was 1852, and the man was a Persian nobleman, known today as Bahб'u'llбh. During His imprisonment, as He sat with his feet in stocks and a 100-pound iron chain around his neck, Bahб'u'llбh received a vision of God's will for humanity. The event is comparable to those great moments of the ancient past when God revealed Himself to His earlier Messengers: when Moses stood before the Burning Bush; when the Buddha received enlightenment under the Bodhi tree; when the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove descended upon Jesus; or when the archangel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad.  [ send green star]
 
Messenger Of God Part 2 January 01, 2005 4:22 PM

Bahб'u'llбh's experience in the Black Pit set in motion a process of religious revelation which, over the next 40 years, led to the production of thousands of books, tablets and letters--which today form the core of the sacred scripture of Bahб'н Faith. In those writings, He outlined a framework for the reconstruction of human society at all levels: spiritual, moral, economic, political, and philosophical. In the past, God's Messengers have for the most part presented their messages to humanity by speaking or preaching; these outpourings have been recorded by others, sometimes during the Prophet's life, sometimes later, from the memory of His followers. The Founder of Bahб'н Faith, however, Himself took up pen and paper and wrote down for humanity the revelation He received or dictated His message to believers who served as secretaries. Bahб'u'llбh addressed not only those timeless theological and philosophical questions that have plagued humanity since antiquity--such as Who is God? What is goodness? and Why are we here?--but also the questions that have preoccupied 20th century thinkers: What motivates human nature? Is real peace indeed possible? Does God still care for humanity? From His words, the worldwide community of Bahб'u'llбh draws its inspiration, discovers its moral bearing and derives creative energy. Bahб'u'llбh, whose name means "The Glory of God" in Arabic, was born on 12 November 1817 in Teheran. The son of a wealthy government minister, Mirza Buzurg-i-Nuri, His given name was Husayn-'Ali and His family could trace its ancestry back to the great dynasties of Iran's imperial past. Bahб'u'llбh led a princely life as a young man, receiving an education that focused largely on horsemanship, swordsmanship, calligraphy and classic poetry.  [ send green star]
 
Messenger of God Part 3 January 01, 2005 4:23 PM

In October 1835, Bahб'u'llбh married Asiyih Khanum, the daughter of another nobleman. They had three children: a son, `Abdu'l-Bahб, born in 1844; a daughter, Bahiyyih, born in 1846; and a son, Mihdi, born in 1848. Bahб'u'llбh declined the ministerial career open to Him in government, and chose instead to devote His energies to a range of philanthropies which had, by the early 1840s, earned Him widespread renown as "Father of the Poor." This privileged existence swiftly eroded after 1844, when Bahб'u'llбh became one of the leading advocates of the Bбbн movement. Precursor to the Bahб'н Faith, the Bбbн movement swept Iran like a whirlwind--and stirred intense persecution from the religious establishment. After the execution of its Founder, the Bбb, Bahб'u'llбh was arrested and brought, in chains and on foot, to Teheran. Influential members of the court and the clergy demanded a death sentence. Bahб'u'llбh, however, was protected by His personal reputation and the social position of His family, as well as by protests from Western embassies. Bahб'u'llбh spent four months in the Black Pit, during which time he contemplated the full extent of His mission. "I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been," He later wrote. "This thing is not from Me, but the One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven.  [ send green star]
 
Messenger of God Part 4 January 01, 2005 4:25 PM

Upon His release [from the "Black Pit"], Bahб'u'llбh was banished from His native land, the beginning of forty years of exile, imprisonment, and persecution. He was sent first to neighboring Baghdad. After about a year, He left for the mountainous wilderness of Kurdistan, where He lived entirely alone for two years. The time was spent reflecting on the implications of the task to which He had been called. The period is reminiscent of the periods of seclusion undertaken by the Founders of the world's other great Faiths, calling to mind the wanderings of Buddha, the forty days and nights spent by Christ in the desert, and Muhammad's retreat in the cave on Mt. Hira. In 1856, at the urging of the exiled Bбbнs, Bahб'u'llбh returned to Baghdad. Under His renewed leadership, the stature of the Bбbн community grew and Bahб'u'llбh's reputation as a spiritual leader spread throughout the city. Fearing that Bahб'u'llбh's acclaim would re-ignite popular enthusiasm for the movement in Persia, the Shah's government successfully pressed the Ottoman authorities to send him farther into exile. In April 1863, before leaving Baghdad, Bahб'u'llбh and His companions camped in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River. From 21 April to 2 May, Bahб'u'llбh shared with those Bбbнs in His company that He was the Promised One foretold by the Bбb--foretold, indeed, in all the world's scriptures. The garden became known as the Garden of Ridvan, which indicates "paradise" in Arabic. The anniversary of the twelve days spent there are celebrated in the Bahб'н world as the most joyous of holidays, known as the Ridvan Festival. On 3 May 1863, Bahб'u'llбh rode out of Baghdad, on His way to Constantinople, the imperial capital, accompanied by His family and selected companions. He had become an immensely popular and cherished figure. Eyewitnesses described the departure in moving terms, noting the tears of many scholars, government officials and onlookers and the honor paid to Him by the authorities.  [ send green star]
 
Messenger of God Part 5 January 01, 2005 4:26 PM

After four months in Constantinople, Bahб'u'llбh was sent as a virtual state prisoner to Adrianople (modern Edirne), arriving there on 2 December 1863. During the five years He spent there, Bahб'u'llбh's reputation continued to grow, attracting the intense interest of scholars, government officials and diplomats. Beginning in September 1867, Bahб'u'llбh wrote a series of letters to the world leadersof His time, addressing, among others, Emperor Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Emperor Franz Joseph, Pope Pius IX, Sultan Abdul-Aziz, and the Persian ruler, Nasirid-Din Shah. In these letters, Bahб'u'llбh openly proclaimed His station. He spoke of the dawn of a new age. But first, He warned, there would be catastrophic upheavals in the world's political and social order. To smooth humanity's transition, He urged the world's leaders to pursue justice. He called for general efforts at disarmament and urged the world's rulers to band together into some form of commonwealth of nations. Only by acting collectively against war, He said, could a lasting peace be established. Continued agitation from opponents caused the Turkish Government to send the exiles to Acre, a penal city in Ottoman Palestine. Acre was the end of the world, the final destination for the worst of murderers, highway robbers and political dissidents. A walled city of filthy streets and damp, desolate houses, Acre had no source of fresh water, and the air was popularly described as being so foul that overflying birds would fall dead out of the sky.  [ send green star]
 
Messenger of God Part 6 January 01, 2005 4:29 PM

Into this environment, Bahб'u'llбh and His family arrived on 31 August 1868, the final stage in His long exile. He was to spend the rest of His life, 24 more years, in Acre and its environs. At first confined to a prison in the barracks, Bahб'u'llбh and His companions were later moved to a cramped house within the city's walls. The exiles, widely depicted as dangerous heretics, faced animosity from the city's other residents. Even the children, when they ventured outside, were pursued and pelted with stones. As time passed, however, the spirit of Bahб'u'llбh's teachings penetrated the bigotry and indifference. Even several of the town's governors and clergy, after examining the teachings of the Faith, became devoted admirers. As in Baghdad and Adrianople, Bahб'u'llбh's moral stature gradually won the respect, admiration and, even, leadership of the community at large. It was in Acre that Bahб'u'llбh's most important work was written. Known more commonly among Bahб'нs by its Persian name, the Kitab-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book), it outlines the essential laws and principles that are to be observed by His followers, and lays the groundwork for Bahб'н administration. In the late 1870s, Bahб'u'llбh was given the freedom to move outside the city's walls and His followers were able to meet with Him in relative peace and freedom. He took up residence in an abandoned mansion and was able to further devote Himself to writing. On 29 May 1892, Bahб'u'llбh passed away. His remains were laid to rest in a garden room adjoining the restored mansion, which is known as Bahji.. . For Bahб'нs, this spot is the most holy place on earth. Excerpted from The Bahб'нs, a publication of the Bahб'н International Community.  [ send green star]
 
 February 10, 2005 2:54 PM

The Bahб'н Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Its founder, Bahб'u'llбh (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahб'нs as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. The central theme of Bahб'u'llбh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahб'u'llбh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification. One of the purposes of the Bahб'н Faith is to help make this possible. A worldwide community of some five million Bahб'нs, representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, is working to give Bahб'u'llбh's teachings practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.  [ send green star]
 
 February 10, 2005 2:56 PM

History of the Bahб'н Faith The Bбb The forerunner of Bahб'u'llбh was the Bбb (the Gate), who was born Mirza 'Ali-Muhammad in Shiraz, Iran (Persia). He declared His station in May 1844 in a private meeting with a young student named Mulla Husayn. The Bбb founded the Bab'i Faith and revealed His Holy Book, The Bayan. In the Bayan the Bбb proclaimed that He was the Herald of One who would be made Manifest. The Bбb was immediately beset by severe persecutions by religious and government forces who saw Him as a threat to their authority. He was exiled to the mountains of Adhirbayjan, imprisoned in the fortresses of Mah-Ku, and Chiriq, and eventually executed on July 9, 1850 in the city of Tabriz in northern Iran. Bahб'u'llбh Bahб'u'llбh is the Messenger of God for all of humanity in this Day. The corner-stone of His Teachings is the establishment of the spiritual unity of humanity. He has revealed a system of Laws and Ordinances to guide humanity to its spiritual maturity. He teaches that Abraham, Zoroaster, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad are all Divine Messengers progressively revealing God's Divine Plan to bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth. Bahб’u’llбh was born in Persia, (modern day Iran), in 1817. His father was a government minister. In His youth, Bahб’u’llбh was known as the “father of the poor” for his deeds of kindness. From early age he displayed marvelous faculties of intellect. Although passionately interested in social justice, he was not attracted to political life. He chose not to follow in his father’s footsteps, and turned down offers to serve in the government. Abdu'l-Bahб Bahб'u'llбh's eldest and only surviving son, Abbas Effendi, later designated by His Father as 'Abdu'l-Bahб (Servant of Glory) was appointed by Him as His lawful successor and the authorized Interpreter of His teachings. 'Abdu'l-Bahб served His father for forty years from the age of nine, and bore all the hardship and deprivation this entailed until His (Bahб'u'llбh's) death in May, 1892. 'Abdu'l-Bahб has a special station in the Baha'i Faith. While not a Manifestation of God, He was appointed by His Father in His Covenant and Testament, as His successor, the Centre of His Covenant, to safeguard the infant Baha'i Faith from schism as the institutions prescribed by Bahб'u'llбh were not ready for their formation. 'Abdu'l-Bahб, also known as the Master, was and is the Exemplar, the one human who lived a perfect life as an example of what we can all be.  [ send green star]
 
 February 10, 2005 2:58 PM

Main Teachings Some of the basic principles of the Bahб'н Faith are: The Oneness of Mankind The Oneness of Religion Universal Peace Independent Investigation of Truth Equality of Men and Women The Evolutionary Nature of Religion Harmony between Religion, Science, and Reason Peaceful Consultation as a Means for Resolving Differences  [ send green star]
 
 February 10, 2005 2:59 PM

The Bab - The Forerunner In May of 1844, a young man, Mirza Ali Muhammad, in the city of Shiraz, Iran, proclaimed that he was both a Prophet of God and the Forerunner of One even greater who would lead mankind into the Promised Day. He called himself the Bab, which means the Gate or Door, and explained that his task was to close the door on an old cycle of religion, the cycle of prophecy, and open the door on a new cycle, the cycle of fulfillment. His announcement attracted many followers and created immediate controversy in the Moslem world. During the next two decades over twenty thousand of his followers, known as Bab'is, were tortured and executed for heresy by the religious and governmental rulers of Iran. After years of imprisonment by the government and examination by ecclesiastic leaders, the Bab was executed in 1850. But even after His death, authorities could not suppress His Teachings or destroy the Bab'i Faith.  [ send green star]
 
 February 10, 2005 3:00 PM

Baha'u'llah - The Manifestation of God One of the outstanding proponents of the Bab'i Faith was Mirza Husayn Ali, a member of an extremely wealthy and powerful noble family in Iran. Because of His beliefs He was cast into prison in 1852. While still in prison, He received a revelation a few months later that He was the Manifestation foretold by the Bab, but He told no one. Then He and his entire family were stripped of all their wealth and possessions and exiled from Iran to Baghdad, Iraq. He did not publicly proclaim His station as a Manifestation of God until 1863. He and His family were eventually exiled further to the Turkish penal colony of Akka in Palestine (now Israel). There they remained under various levels of arrest and imprisonment until the death of Baha'u'llah in 1892. Through all these years of imprisonment and exile, Baha'u'llah promulgated His teachings of love, unity, justice, and universal peace which spread throughout the Middle East. His task was to close the door on an old cycle of religion, the cycle of prophecy, and open the door on a new era, the cycle of fulfillment. He also united His followers into a strong Baha'i community. Baha'u'llah revealed a vast treasury of scripture in the form of books, letters, and verbal discourses, transcribed by secretaries and personally authenticated by Him. As a result, Baha'is have the most extensive and authentic collection of sacred scripture in the history of religion. Baha'u'llah's teachings and the example of His life touched all who met him. His passing was mourned throughout Israel and the Middle East by religious leaders, government leaders, and people from all walks of life. In His will and testament, Baha'u'llah established a means of continuing spiritual leadership for His Faith when he appointed his eldest son, Abdu'l-Baha, to a unique station as His successor and The Center of His Covenant.  [ send green star]
 
 June 06, 2005 8:50 AM

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 October 21, 2005 5:28 AM


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