Bah’ai

1. Bah’ai one light, many lamps

2. God’s Messengers • Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad… • Baha’u’llah

3. Baha’u’llah (1817-1892) • the latest “manifestation of God” • ‘the glory of god’ • born in Tehran • a precocious child • a child of learning • the puppet show

4. the vanity of the world • "… Ever since that day, all the trappings of the world have seemed in the eyes of this Youth akin to that same spectacle. They have never been, nor will they ever be, of any weight and consequence, be it to the extent of a grain of mustard seed.… Erelong these outward trappings, these visible treasures, these earthly vanities, these arrayed armies, these adorned vestures, these proud and overweening souls, all shall pass into the confines of the grave, as though into that box. In the eyes of those possessed of insight, all this conflict, contention and vainglory hath ever been, and will ever be, like unto the play and pastimes of children."

5. “father of the poor”

6. adherent of a new religion • Siyyid'Alí-Muhammad—the Bab (gate) • "… Whoso believes in the Qur’án and recognizes its Divine origin, and yet hesitates, though it be for one moment, to admit that these soul-stirring words are endowed with the same regenerating power, has most assuredly erred in his judgment and has strayed from the path of justice."

7. persecution & arrest • in 1850 the Bab was executed, along with almost all of his followers • in 1852 Baha’u’llah was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a plot to kill the Shah • in prison in Tehran, in the Black Pit, he received the first intimations of a revelation • "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. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven."

8. A journey of exile

9. Baha’u’llah’s reputation grows

10. twelve days on the Tigris • Baha’u’llah tells his closest followers he is the Promised One • celebrated today as the Ridvan Festival

11. …Constantinople…Adrianople • after only 4 months, Baha’u’llah was exiled again in the middle of winter • "They expelled us … with an abasement with which no abasement on earth can compare." "Neither My family, nor those who accompanied me had the necessary raiment to protect them from the cold in that freezing weather." And again: "The eyes of Our enemies wept over Us, and beyond them those of every discerning person.” • in Adrianople wrote the Tablet of Ahmad

12. writings to the rulers of the world • In these letters, Bahá’u’lláh openly proclaimed His station as a Messenger of God. He urged the leaders to pursue justice and disarmament and exhorted them to band together into a commonwealth of nations, warning them of the dire consequences should they fail to establish peace.

13. Akka • a final destination for the most notorious murderers, highway robbers, and political enemies of the Ottoman regime. A walled city of filthy streets and damp, desolate houses, ‘Akká had no source of fresh water, and the air was popularly described as being so foul that birds flying overhead would fall dead out of the sky.

14. 24 years in “the desolate city”

15. Baha’u’llah’s cell • "None knoweth what befell Us, except God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.… From the foundation of the world until the present day a cruelty such as this hath neither been seen nor heard of."

16. The Most Holy Book • 1873 • lays out Baha’u’llah’s vision for the development of human civilization • "They whom God hath endued with insight will readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples."

17. growing acceptance • Bahais are accepted • given work • public freedoms • Eventually the governor frees Baha’u’llah from his restriction to the city of Akka

18. Mazra‘ih

19. a vision in the Ridvan Garden • 'O inmates of earth and heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My revelation, and My effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and the revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast unto My hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Baha, and the vesture of glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon of assurance unto all beings.' Thus have We sent down for thee that which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation."

20. Bahji | “the lofty mansion” • where Baha’u’llah spent his last 12 yrs

21. from the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf • Praise be to God, the Eternal that perisheth not, the Everlasting that declineth not, the Self-Subsisting that altereth not. He it is Who is transcendent in His sovereignty, Who is manifest through His signs, and is hidden through His mysteries. He it is at Whose bidding the standard of the Most Exalted Word hath been lifted up in the world of creation, and the banner of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth" raised amidst all peoples.”

22. the covenant of Baha’u’llah • passed away on May 29, 1892 • the only religious leader to specify a successor • ‘Abdu’l-Bahá • The Sum of Truth: "The Sun of Truth, that Most Great Light, hath set upon the horizon of the world to rise with deathless splendour over the Realm of the Limitless. In His Most Holy Book He calleth the firm and steadfast of His friends: 'Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day-star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men.'

23. foundational principles • God is one light with many lamps • the oneness of divinity and humanity • now is the age of maturity • global unity and justice for all people • beliefs • morals • sociological change

24. beliefs • one’s purpose is to know and worship God, acquire virtue, and promote oneness • humans are all created by God and therefore equal • “worship” is work performed in the spirit of service • the soul, created at conception, is destined for an afterlife in the presence of God

25. morals • daily prayer and communion with God • uphold characteristics like trustworthiness, chastity, honesty • independent investigation of truth • life should be dedicated to serving others • fellowship with practitioners of all religions • avoid materialism, partisan politics, alcohol, drugs and gambling

26. socio-logic • men = women • harmony of science and religion • elimination of prejudice • establishment of a world commonwealth of nations • recognize the common origin and goal of all religions (teleological unity) • advocate spiritual solutions to economic problems • bridge the gap between the poor and wealthy • adopt a world auxiliary, laws, a world script, and a universal system of currency…