World religions: what is bahá'í?

The Baha’i Faith is a relatively new world religion. It was founded by Baha’u’llah who claimed to be a Messenger of God along the lines of Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Mohammed and Christ. The main belief of the Baha’i is that humanity is one race and it is time to unify as a global society. Traditional barriers of race, class, creed and nation have been broken down and it is time for a universal civilization. The Baha’i believe that the main challenge is people accepting their oneness and embracing unification.

Baha’u’llah was born in the nineteenth century in Persia to a wealthy family. He showed little interest in wealth or social standing, preferring instead to help the poor. He was later exiled due to his acknowledgement of the Bab religion in Persia. The Bab foretold of the coming of a Promised One which Baha’u’llah claimed to be. During his exile he wrote over one hundred volumes pertaining to social and ethical teachings, laws and even proclamations to the world rulers of that time. At the time of his death, Baha’u’llah still lived in exile in Palestine.

The Baha’i Faith has eight main principles, as laid out by Baha’u’llah, that are aimed at achieving the goal of a peaceful, global society. They are: doing away with all forms of prejudice; full equality between women and men; recognizing the link between unity and relativity of religious truth; eliminating extremes of poverty and wealth; realizing universal education; each person being responsible for independently searching for truth; establishing a global commonwealth of nations; recognizing that true religion goes hand in hand with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

Followers do not consider Baha’u’llah a religious founder but rather a Prophet for civilization and its collective transformation. They consider him a creator of the new universal cycle. This transformation is of the inner life and character of every human and of the societal organization. This includes cooperation, compassion, conduct and justice.

A covenant exists between the founder Baha’u’llah and his followers. He pledges teachings that will transform both the inner and outer person, to provide an authoritative interpreter to understand God’s will and to give guidance to fulfill the goals of unity. The covenant affects all levels from social organization to individual life. As humanity ages, the Baha’i faith believes that people will awaken to the oneness and view the earth as one homeland. The covenant gives a framework for healing past differences and works to establish a new relationship between them and their Creator. The Baha’i believe they have been divinely bestowed to create a unified global society.

The Baha’i Faith has established a Universal House of Justice. Decisions are made through consultation which is seen as essential to maintain administrative order. Consultation is the main way affairs are maintained throughout the world. There are plans for secondary Houses of Justices in all countries. The Universal House of Justice goes hand in hand with the covenant, both working to bring about the eight goals of the Baha’i.

When Baha’u’llah died his son Abdu’l-Baha, was chosen by his father as his successor to lead the Baha’i. He was once described as the living example of self-sacrifice and a pillar of peace. Baha’i writings describe him as having incompatible characteristics of human nature and otherworldly knowledge. It was believed that if it wasn’t for Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’u’llah’s revelations would not have been transmitted fully to humanity nor completely understood.

After Abdu’l-Baha died, leadership of the Baha’i religion came under the single administrative order of the Universal House of Justice and the Guardianship. The Guardianship is a hereditary institution directed by Abdu’l-Baha’s last will and testament. The next in line was a man named Shoghi Effendi who died without any heirs. When none of his other family members met the stipulations, leaders were forced to rely on extensive writings left by the previous leaders. The Baha’i still rely on those teachings for leadership and guidance today.