The
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh:
A World Religion
by
Shoghi
Effendi
1947-07
Palestine,
Palestine
July,
1947
The
Faith established by Bahá'u'lláh was born in Persia
about the middle of the nineteenth century and has, as a result of
the successive banishments of its Founder, culminating in His
exile to the Turkish penal colony of 'Akká, and His
subsequent death and burial in its vicinity, fixed its permanent
spiritual center in the Holy Land, and is now in the process of
laying the foundations of its world administrative center in the
city of Haifa.
Alike
in the claims unequivocally asserted by its Author and the general
character of the growth of the Bahá'í community in
every continent of the globe, it can be regarded in no other light
than a world religion, destined to evolve in the course of time
into a world-embracing commonwealth, whose advent must signalize
the Golden Age of mankind, the age in which the unity of the human
race will have been unassailably established, its maturity
attained, and its glorious destiny unfolded through the birth and
efflorescence of a world-encompassing civilization.
Restatement
of Eternal Verities
Though
sprung from Shi'íh Islám, and regarded, in the early
stages of its development, by the followers of both the Muslim and
Christian Faiths, as an obscure sect, an Asiatic cult or an
offshoot of the Muhammadan religion, this Faith is now
increasingly demonstrating its right to be recognized, not as one
more religious system superimposed on the conflicting creeds which
for so many generations have divided mankind and darkened its
fortunes, but rather as a restatement of the eternal verities
underlying all the religions of the past, as a unifying force
instilling into the adherents of these religions a new spiritual
vigor, infusing them with a new hope and love for mankind, firing
them with a new vision of the fundamental unity of their religious
doctrines, and unfolding to their eyes the glorious destiny that
awaits the human race.
The
fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh, the
followers of His Faith firmly believe, is that religious truth is
not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous
and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world
are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete
harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that
their teachings are but facets of one truth, that their functions
are complementary, that they differ only in the non-essential
aspects of their doctrines, and that their missions represent
successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society.
To
Reconcile Conflicting Creeds
The
aim of Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet of this new and
great age which humanity has entered upon - He whose advent
fulfils the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments as well as
those of the Qur'án regarding the coming of the Promised
One in the end of time, on the Day of Judgment - is not to destroy
but to fulfill the Revelations of the past, to reconcile rather
than accentuate the divergencies of the conflicting creeds which
disrupt present-day society.
His
purpose, far from belittling the station of the Prophets gone
before Him or of whittling down their teachings, is to restate the
basic truths which these teachings enshrine in a manner that would
conform to the needs, and be in consonance with the capacity, and
be applicable to the problems, the ills and perplexities, of the
age in which we live. His mission is to proclaim that the ages of
the infancy and of the childhood of the human race are past, that
the convulsions associated with the present stage of its
adolescence are slowly and painfully preparing it to attain the
stage of manhood, and are heralding the approach of that Age of
Ages when swords will be beaten into plowshares, when the Kingdom
promised by Jesus Christ will have been established, and the peace
of the planet definitely and permanently ensured. Nor does
Bahá'u'lláh claim finality for His own Revelation,
but rather stipulates that a fuller measure of the truth He has
been commissioned by the Almighty to vouchsafe to humanity, at so
critical a juncture in its fortunes, must needs be disclosed at
future stages in the constant and limitless evolution of mankind.
Oneness
of the Human Race
The
Bahá'í Faith upholds the unity of God, recognizes
the unity of His Prophets, and inculcates the principle of the
oneness and wholeness of the entire human race. It proclaims the
necessity and the inevitability of the unification of mankind,
asserts that it is gradually approaching, and claims that nothing
short of the transmuting spirit of God, working through His chosen
Mouthpiece in this day, can ultimately succeed in bringing it
about. It, moreover, enjoins upon its followers the primary duty
of an unfettered search alter truth, condemns all manner of
prejudice and superstition, declares the purpose of religion to be
the promotion of amity and concord, proclaims its essential
harmony with science, and recognizes it as the foremost agency for
the pacification and the orderly progress of human society. It
unequivocally maintains the principle of equal rights,
opportunities and privileges for men and women, insists on
compulsory education, eliminates extremes of poverty and wealth,
abolishes the institution of priesthood, prohibits slavery,
asceticism, mendicancy and monasticism, prescribes monogamy,
discourages divorce, emphasizes the necessity of strict obedience
to one's government, exalts any work performed in the spirit of
service to the level of worship, urges either the creation or the
selection of an auxiliary international language, and delineates
the outlines of those institutions that must establish and
perpetuate the general peace of mankind.
The
Herald
The
Bahá'í Faith revolves around three central Figures,
the first of whom was a youth, a native of Shíráz,
named Mírzá 'Ali-Muhammad, known as the Báb
(Gate), who in May, 1844, at the age of twenty-five, advanced the
claim of being the Herald Who, according to the sacred Scriptures
of previous Dispensations, must needs announce and prepare the way
for the advent of One greater than Himself, Whose mission would be
according to those same Scriptures, to inaugurate an era of
righteousness and peace, an era that would be hailed as the
consummation of all previous Dispensations, and initiate a new
cycle in the religious history of mankind. Swift and severe
persecution, launched by the organized forces of Church and State
in His native land, precipitated successively His arrest, His
exile to the mountains of Adhírbáyján, His
imprisonment in the fortresses of Máh-Kú and
Chihríq, and His execution, in July, 1850, by a firing
squad in the public square of Tabríz. No less than twenty
thousand of his followers were put to death with such barbarous
cruelty as to evoke the warm sympathy and the unqualified
admiration of a number of Western writers, diplomats, travelers
and scholars, some of whom were witnesses of these abominable
outrages, and were moved to record them in their books and
diaries.
Bahá'u'lláh
Mírzá
Husayn-'Alí, surnamed Bahá'u'lláh (the Glory
of God), a native of Mázindarán, Whose advent the
Báb had foretold, was assailed by those same forces of
ignorance and fanaticism, was imprisoned in Tihrán, was
banished, in 1852, from His native land to Baghdád, and
thence to Constantinople and Adrianople, and finally to the prison
city of 'Akká, where He remained incarcerated for no less
than twenty-four years, and in whose neighborhood He passed away
in 1892. In the course of His banishment, and particularly in
Adrianople and 'Akká, He formulated the laws and ordinances
of His Dispensation, expounded, in over a hundred volumes, the
principles of His Faith, proclaimed His Message to the kings and
rulers of both the East and the West, both Christian and Muslim,
addressed the Pope, the Caliph of Islám, the Chief
Magistrates of the Republics of the American continent, the entire
Christian sacerdotal order, the leaders of Shí'ih and Sunní
Islám, and the high priests of the Zoroastrian religion. In
these writings He proclaimed His Revelation, summoned those whom
He addressed to heed His call and espouse His Faith, warned them
of the consequences of their refusal, and denounced, in some
cases, their arrogance and tyranny.
`Abdu'l-Bahá
His
eldest son, 'Abbás Effendi, known as `Abdu'l-Bahá
(the Servant of Bahá), appointed by Him as His lawful
successor and the authorized interpreter of His teachings, Who
since early childhood had been closely associated with His Father,
and shared His exile and tribulations, remained a prisoner until
1908, when, as a result of the Young Turk Revolution, He was
released from His confinement. Establishing His residence in
Haifa, He embarked soon after on His three-year journey to Egypt,
Europe and North America, in the course of which He expounded
before vast audiences, the teachings of His Father and predicted
the approach of that catastrophe that was soon to befall mankind.
He returned to His home on the eve of the first World War, in the
course of which He was exposed to constant danger, until the
liberation of Palestine by the forces under the command of General
Allenby, who extended the utmost consideration to Him and to the
small band of His fellow-exiles in 'Akká and Haifa. In 1921
He passed away, and was buried in a vault in the mausoleum erected
on Mount Carmel, at the express instruction of Bahá'u'lláh,
for the remains of the Báb, which had previously been
transferred from Tabríz to the Holy Land after having been
preserved and concealed for no less than sixty years.
Administrative
Order
The
passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá marked the termination of the first
and Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Faith and signalized
the opening of the Formative Age destined to witness the gradual
emergence of its Administrative Order, whose establishment had
been foretold by the Báb, whose laws were revealed by
Bahá'u'lláh, whose outlines were delineated by
`Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and whose
foundations are now being laid by the national and local councils
which are elected by the professed adherents of the Faith, and
which are paving the way for the constitution of the World
Council, to be designated as the Universal House of Justice,
which, in conjunction with me, as its appointed Head and the
authorized interpreter of the Bahá'í teachings, must
coordinate and direct the affairs of the Bahá'í
community, and whose seat will be permanently established in the
Holy Land, in close proximity to its world spiritual center, the
resting-places of its Founders.
The
Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh,
which is destined to evolve into the Bahá'í World
Commonwealth, and has already survived the assaults launched
against its institutions by such formidable foes as the kings of
the Qájár dynasty, the Caliphs of Islám, the
ecclesiastical leaders of Egypt, and the Nazi regime in Germany,
has already extended its ramifications to every continent of the
globe, stretching from Iceland to the extremity of Chile, has been
established in no less than eighty-eight countries of the world,
has gathered within its pale representatives of no less than
thirty-one races, numbers among its supporters Christians of
various denominations, Muslims of both Sunní and Shí'ih
sects, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians and Buddhists. It has
published and disseminated, through its appointed agencies, Bahá'í
literature in forty-eight languages; has already consolidated its
structure through the incorporation of five National Assemblies
and seventy-seven local Assemblies, in lands as far apart as South
America, India and the Antipodes-incorporations that legally
empower its elected representatives to hold property as trustees
of the Bahá'í community. It disposes of
international, national and local endowments, estimated at several
million pounds, and spread over every continent of the globe,
enjoys in several countries the privilege of official recognition
by the civil authorities, enabling it to secure exemption from
taxation for its endowments and to solemnize Bahá'í
marriage, and numbers among its stately edifices, two temples, the
one erected in Russian Turkistan and the other on the shore of
Lake Michigan at Wilmette, on the outskirts of Chicago.
This
Administrative Order, unlike the systems evolved after the death
of the Founders of the various religions, is divine in origin,
rests securely on the laws, the precepts, the ordinances and
institutions which the Founder of the Faith has Himself
specifically laid down and unequivocally established, and
functions in strict accordance with the interpretations of the
authorized Interpreters of its holy scriptures. Though fiercely
assailed, ever since its inception, it has, by virtue of its
character, unique in the annals of the world's religious history,
succeeded in maintaining the unity of the diversified and
far-flung body of its supporters, and enabled them to launch,
unitedly and systematically, enterprises in both Hemispheres,
designed to extend its limits and consolidate its administrative
institutions. The Faith which this order serves, safeguards and
promotes, is, it should be noted in this connection, essentially
supernatural, supranational, entirely non-political, non-partisan,
and diametrically opposed to any policy or school of thought that
seeks to exalt any particular race, class or nation. It is free
from any form of ecclesiasticism, has neither priesthood nor
rituals, and is supported exclusively by voluntary contributions
made by its avowed adherents. Though loyal to their respective
governments, though imbued with the love of their own country, and
anxious to promote, at all times, its best interests, the
followers of the Bahá'í Faith, nevertheless, viewing
mankind as one entity, and profoundly attached to its vital
interests, will not hesitate to subordinate every particular
interest, be it personal, regional or national, to the over-riding
interests of the generality of mankind, knowing full well that in
a world of interdependent peoples and nations the advantage of the
part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and that
no lasting result can be achieved by any of the component parts if
the general interests of the entity itself are neglected.
Nor
should the fact be overlooked that the Faith has already asserted
and demonstrated its independent religious character, has been
emancipated from the fetters of orthodoxy in certain Islámic
countries, has obtained in one of them an unsolicited testimony to
its independent religious status, and succeeded in winning the
allegiance of royalty to its cause.
Tributes
by Leaders
"It
is like a wide embrace," is Queen Marie of Rumania's own
tribute, "gathering together all those who have searched for
words of hope. It accepts all great Prophets gone before, ' it
destroys no other creeds and leaves all doors open.... The Bahá'í
teaching brings peace to the soul and hope to the heart. To those
in search of assurance, the words of the Father are as a fountain
in the desert after long wandering.... It is a wondrous message
that Bahá'u'lláh and His son `Abdu'l-Bahá
have given us. They have not set it up aggressively, knowing that
the germ of eternal truth which lies at its core cannot but take
root and spread.... It is Christ's Message taken up anew, in the
same words almost, but adapted to the thousand years and more
difference that lies between the year one and today. . . If ever
the name of Bahá'u'lláh or `Abdu'l-Bahá comes
to your attention, do not put their writings from you. Search out
their books, and let their glorious, peace -bringing, love -
creating words and lessons sink into your hearts as they have into
mine."
"The
teachings of the Bábis," wrote Leo Tolstoy, ". .
. have a great future before them . . . I therefore sympathize
with Bábism with all my heart, inasmuch as it teaches
people brotherhood and equality and sacrifice of material life for
service to God . . . The teachings of the Bábis which come
to us out of Islám have through Bahá'u'lláh's
teachings been gradually developed, and now present us with the
highest and purest form of religious teaching."
"Take
these principles to the diplomats," is the late President
Masaryk's advice, "to the universities and colleges and other
schools, and also write about them. It is the people who will
bring the universal peace." "The Bahá'í
teaching," is President Eduard Benes' testimony, "is one
of the great instruments for the final victory of the spirit and
of humanity . . . The Bahá'í Cause is one of the
great moral and social forces in all the world today. I am more
convinced than ever, with the increasing moral and political
crises in the world, we must have greater international
coordination. Such a movement as the Bahá'í Cause
which paves the way for universal organization of peace is
necessary."
"If
there has been any Prophet in recent times," asserts the Rev.
T. K. Cheyne in his 'The Reconciliation of Races and Religions',
"it is to Bahá'u'lláh that we must go.
Character is the final judge. Bahá'u'lláh was a man
of the highest class-that of Prophets." "It is possible
indeed," declares Viscount Samuel of Carmel, "to pick
out points of fundamental agreement among all creeds. That is the
essential purpose of the Bahá'í religion, the
foundation and growth of which is one of the most striking
movements that have proceeded from the East in recent
generations."
"Palestine,"
is Professor Norman Bentwich's written testimony, "may indeed
be now regarded as the land not of three but of four faiths,
because the Bahá'í creed, which has its center of
faith and pilgrimage in 'Akká and Haifa, is attaining to
the character of a world religion. So far as its influence goes in
the land, it is a factor making for international and
inter-religious understanding."
And,
finally, is the judgment passed by no less outstanding a figure
than the late Master of Balliol, Professor Benjamin Jowett: "The
Bábi movement may not impossibly turn out to have the
promise of the future." Professor Lewis Campbell, an eminent
pupil of Dr. Jowett, has confirmed this statement by quoting him
as saying: "This Bahá'í Movement is the
greatest light that has come into the world since the time of
Jesus Christ. You must watch it and never let it out of your
sight. It is too great and too near for this generation to
comprehend. The future alone can reveal its import."
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