Baha'i Faith

The Baha'i Faith

The Baha'i faith is one of the leading religions in the world today. These papers examine in details different aspect concerning the Baha'i faith.

Oneness of God

One of the basic beliefs of Baha'i faith is the oneness of God. Under the oneness of God, the Baha'i faith looks at God as monotheistic who is the source of all existence, and imperishable. According to the Baha'i faith, God is depicted as the source of all revelation, almighty, omnipresent, omniscient, personal God, inaccessible, and the provider of the revelation. In my own opinion, the oneness of God is a correct belief whereby God is one and universal. My reasoning is based on the assumption that all other religions believe in the existence of one universal God.

Unity of Humanity

The second belief of the Baha'i faith is unity of humanity. The Baha'i faith aims at the generation of the lasting world peace, and the unity of that can be achieved when the different barriers of prejudice are broken. My view is that achievement of universal unity is not purpose based on the assumption that other different factors attribute to unity apart from religion.

Oneness of Religion

The third teaching of the Baha'i faith is the oneness of religion. The faith teaches that all the religions come from one source which is the divine, and the differences that are witnessed are attributed to the difficulties and requirements of the age in which they were revealed. I view this belief as true based on the reasoning that all religions depend on the holy books for their teachings.

Independent Investigation of Truth

The fourth belief is the independent investigation of truth, whereby humans have the reasoning to investigate and discover the truth concerning different aspects. My view is that this belief is not an achievement because to carry out an investigation requires a lot of resources and human resources.

Harmony between Religion and Science

The last belief is the harmony between religion and science. Baha'i faith acknowledges the importance of science and religion, and they should work together for the progress of humanity. My opinion is that religion and science must work together based on the assumption that science exists for the betterment of human life. The achievement of world unity is not a realistic goal for the Baha'i faith. This is because the Baha'i faith is only practiced in a small section of the world and the belief has not spread to different corners of the world (Lawson, 2012).

Founders of the Baha'i Faith

There are different founders of the Baha'i faith in history. One of the most fundamental personalities was Bahaullah. The name Bahaullah refers to the "Glory of God". The Baha'i believers attribute Bahaullah as one of the greatest revelators in their history just like Muhammad, Jesus Christ, and Krishna. The birth of Bahaullah was pronounced by the tragic figure of the Bab. Bahaullah was referred to as Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest. Bahaullah claimed to be the one sent by God by which the world could revolutionize under him. He was a native of Mazindaran and was imprisoned in Tehran in the year 1852, sent to Baghdad, later to Constantinople, Adrianople, and finally to the prison city of Akka. Bahaullah remained in prison for twenty-four years. He passed away in the year 1892. Some of the critical contributions of Bahaullah to Baha'i faith are the consistency formulation of the ordinances and laws of his expounded dispensation in over a hundred volumes, the principles of his faith. One of the critical legacies of Bahaullah is his message to the rulers and the kings of both the west and east, both Muslim and Christian, the address to the pope, the caliph on the achievement of universal peace (Baha'i Teachings. Org, 2017).

Elements of the Baha'i Faith

There are different elements of the Baha'i faith that make it in tune with the modern world.

Prayer

One of the elements is prayer. Every member of the Baha'i faith is required to make a daily private prayer, which is an obligation from the age of fifteen and above. The Baha'i faithful are required to recite one of the three daily obligatory prayers about the specific direction. Many different prayers are offered depending on different occasions such as meeting, gratitude, praise, healing, spiritual qualities, test and difficulties, and children marriage.

Meditation

Another element of Baha'i faith is meditation. Every member of the faith is required as an individual to choose his or her meditational form.

Fasting

The next element of the Baha'i faith is fasting. Every member of the Baha'i faith who is in good health is required to fast every year from March 2nd to March 20th, abstaining from drinks and foods from sunrise to sunset. The elderly, the young, nursing mothers and the sick, as well as those fasting, are exempted from the fasting process.

Reference

Lawson, T. (2012). Baha’i Religious History. Journal of Religious History,4, 463-470.

Baha’i Teachings. Org. (2017). Religion. http://bahaiteachings.org/who-was-bahaullah

https://www.tees.ac.uk/docs/DocRepo/Equality%20and%20diversity/Essentials%20of%20the%20Bahai%20Faith.pdf

http://www.flinders.edu.au/staff-development-files/CDIP%20documents/CDIP%20Toolkit%202015/Baha'i%20Identities.pdf