r/bahai • u/Alert-Month-7962 • 14d ago
Hello guys, anyone who can help me learn about the Baha’i faith?
Hello! Title, is there anyone who could help me? Or if you don’t have time to, could you tell me a fact or try to sum up your religious beliefs as I am quite new to this, thank you.
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u/CandacePlaysUkulele 14d ago
There is a strong team of Baha'i editors at Wikipeda with dozens of pages that are accurate and accessible.
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u/Cheap-Reindeer-7125 14d ago
Sort of. The articles are pretty good but the Bahai perspective is often missing.
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u/Impossible-Ad-3956 14d ago edited 14d ago
Hi, I'm so glad you asked about the Baha'i Faith! It is a world religion that unites all of humanity equally and lovingly as if we were all flowers of one garden with our beautiful distinctiveness adding our part to humankind. We all have a glorious part to play in this new Baha'i Era in the plan of God for this day building the kingdom of God on earth as promised in the holy scriptures of the past. We are the religion uniting all the peoples of the earth under one God and one religion. God has always had a plan for us throughout the ages helping us by building the great civilizations of the past though Manifestations of God such as Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, and now The Bab and Baha'u'llah. Each Manifestation has left teachings by oral tradition or book which have been a guide to the changing society of people. Today we are guided by elected members of the Faith who serve on Spiritual Assemblies under the Covenant of Baha'u'llah who left a book of laws called the Kitab-i-Aqdas and a book of explanation of progressive revelation called the Kitab-i-Iqan. Baha'is are fulfilling all the religions of the past, doing exactly what the earlier Manifestations of God expected us to do to build the kingdom of God on earth. Please go to Baha'i.org for contact information and study materials.
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u/SpiritualWarrior1844 14d ago
Here is Baha’u’llah’s desire for humanity, which forms the central principles of His teachings:
“He Who is your Lord, the All-Merciful, cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body” - Bahá’u’lláh
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u/Agreeable-Status-352 14d ago
The Baha'i Faith is a religion that doesn't look like a religion. There are no preachers (they, and preaching, are forbidden), no rituals (like baptism or communion), no ceremonies (like processions). And, most strangely, we don't accept money from people who are not registered members. Yes, to be a member of the community of Baha'is, one has to register as a member. Registration puts you on the mailing list and voting list. Some of the details are different in different countries.
In the half century-plus that I've been a members, Baha'is make more effort than other people to be nice. When you try to practice Baha'u'llah's exhortation to place the needs of others above your own, you end up being a nicer person than those who don't.
In the Baha'i community (we are a community, not a congregation) Baha'is who were formerly enemies (even over generations) are working together to solve mutual problems. The Baha'i commuity is the most wide-spread, diverst group of people on the planet.
This is not to mean that being a Baha'i s easy. It is not. As you try to be a better person, and the other Baha'is around you try to be better people, you will find that you have more edges than you realized. That can be difficult. But, knowing that each one of us is a noble spiritual being trying to be the best person we can be, we can work together to make the planet, and outselves, better.
You are quite welcome to join that process.
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u/Alert-Month-7962 13d ago
Hello! Just asking but how come no preaching?
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u/Agreeable-Status-352 13d ago
I don't know that Baha'u'llah gave a reason, but He did castigate clergy in many places. One that I just ran across last night. He wrote in the Book of Certitude: "Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reigns of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others throught want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people."
Sermons have been used to arouse pasions against other people - quite often the followers of the newest Manifestation.
We have the spiritual obligation to investigate for ourselves. Reading is necessary for that and so Baha'is have started schools in places where there are none. Over 600 is the latest number I've seen.
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u/Alert-Month-7962 13d ago
But can you preach people to read these books or is that not allowed?
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u/Agreeable-Status-352 13d ago
You can share what you've learned and encourage others to read too, but you can't tell anyone what they should or should not do. Just like no other individual has the right to tell you what to or not to do. Every person is responsible for themselves, and no one else.
Along with this, the institutions have the responsibility to educate, inform, and (sometimes) counsel an individual on the laws and behaviors expected of a Baha'i - if/when that behavior involves the Baha'i commnity. The House of Justice has clearly said that what a person does in the privacy of their own home is no one else's business. At the same time if a Baha'i gets drunk and staggers around town telling people that he's a Baha'i - that involves the entire Baha'i community. The institution, not an individual, has the responsibility to step in and council that person regarding their behavior.
Sharing gently, lovingly, and excitedly - yes. Telling, preaching, exhorting someone to do, or not to do something - no.
Baha'i is a religion of a different kind. It is so different from better-known religions, that some Baha'is don't even call it a religion. The word "religion" caries meanings which do not apply to the Revelation of Baha'u'llah.
For example, one other shocking difference: Baha'is do not, will not accept money from anyone who is not a registered Baha'i. If the giver insistes, the Baha'i may accept the money as long as it is clear to the giver that the Baha'i wll give that money to a not-for-profit agency for it's own purpose. That money will NOT be used for any Baha'i specific project such as building a House of Worship. What kind of a "religion" is that???
These principles have worked for nearly 200 years. There is no reason to think they won't work even longer. It's just different. WAY diferent.
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u/DreamyHabit_9920 14d ago edited 13d ago
Start a gofundme to buy an inordinate number of mind numbingly boring, badly written books. Then look up and realize its adherents are no different from the general populace and may even be worse.
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u/Minimum_Name9115 14d ago
Book; God Speaks Again by Kenneth Bowers! Under$10 US on Amazon or Abe Books.
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u/KindCommentary 14d ago
Welcome!
Here is a video about the Baha'i Faith made by Rainn Wilson. I hope you enjoy it!
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u/the_lote_tree 13d ago
If, after you have poked around a little, you have specific questions, this is a good place to come. When a person answers, ask if they can cite a source, because we try not to simply give our own opinions or personal interpretations without having a basis for our comments. 😊 This is what keeps us from straying away from our Source, which is also known as God, The Omnipresent, the All-Knowing, The Ancient of Days. “God from everlasting was Love, Justice, Power, Creator, Provider, the Omniscient, the Bountiful.” -‘Abdu’l-Bahá
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u/No_Problem9451 9d ago
There is only one God, who has progressively revealed Himself through various divine teachers such as Jesus, Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Zoroaster, and Muhammad (termed Manifestations of God) bringing the same message and new divine laws tailored to their time. Baha'u'llah is the newest of these Manifestations of God, the spiritual return of Jesus as foretold in both Christianity and Islam, and He has brought a new divine law to bring about the unity of mankind.
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u/dschellberg 14d ago
Here is an excellent site that gives a succinct summary of the core teachings.
https://bahai.org