Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
It is a pleasure to introduce our second speaker, Mr. Kenneth Bowers,
Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States.
Okay, we’re good. Good morning everyone. It is a pleasure to join you here this morning.
You saw in the intro this morning the video a few of the general teachings and history of the Baha’i Faith and I was asked also to give a brief overview of the Faith.
So what I would like to do this morning is to dwell on a few other aspects of its history and teachings for you this morning.
But first, just an observation, which is that
as we survey the challenges that face us in the modern world, it is becoming ever more
clear that humanity as a whole is need of new methods of collaboration and priority-setting.
We are being challenged to re-think age-old assumptions about the nature of progress,
the administration of justice, and the basis for international peace. At the most foundational
level is the need for a global ethic, a unifying vision of the nature of man and of society—a
vision that will enable every human being to participate in advancing human civilization
and partaking of its benefits.
Remarkably, among the first to address this need and this vision was not a contemporary thinker or statesman but rather,
a 19th century Iranian nobleman known to history as Baha’u’llah, an Arabic title which
in English means “The Glory of God.” As you saw in the video, Baha’u’llah claimed to be the latest in a series of God’s
Messengers. Baha’u’llah’s spiritual and ethical teachings embrace all aspects
of the human condition, offering a prospect for achieving the age-old dream of peace on earth
Baha’u’llah taught that there is one God and stated that all of the world religions come
from that one God, He upheld the validity and divine inspiration of the great prophets and Messengers
of the past, all of Whom were sent by God for the purpose of educating and uplifting
humanity according to the needs of the times when They appeared.
Baha’u’llah stated that the time in which we live is the age of humanity’s social and spiritual maturation,
an age destined to witness the unification of the world, universal justice and the permanent
establishment of peace. He offered principles that address the needs of the present era.
Among them is the principle of the oneness of humanity, a principle that, in and of itself,
has vast moral and social implications. This principle encompasses the equality of women
and men as well as the equality of all the races.
The harmony of science and religion is another essential principle, as is the principle of
independent investigation of truth on the part of every individual. Among others
are the need for elimination of all forms of prejudice, the equitable and sustainable
use of the world’s resources, the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty, the need
for universal access to education, and the need to put an end to all forms of injustice
and oppression.
To accomplish these goals, Baha’u’llah said that the time has come to establish a
system of world order to ensure a permanent peace among the nations of the world, an order free
of excessive nationalism. Our next presenter will offer more details about that so I will not go into it at this point.
Like all of the great religious teachers before Him, Baha’u’llah bore great sufferings
for the sake of His mission. For well over four decades He endured virtually every conceivable
misfortune, forsaking a life of wealth and privilege for one of imprisonment, brutal
tortures and successive banishments. He was exiled ultimately, as you saw in the video, to the prison city of Akka,
which was then part of the Ottoman Empire, but of course is now in the state of Israel. There Baha’u’llah spent the
final years of His life, until His death at the age of 75 in 1892. As most of you are
well aware, His followers in Iran also severely persecuted – a situation that remains
true up unto this day.
In spite of the hardships He endured, Baha’u’llah succeeded in establishing a world religion
that has grown to between 5 and 6 million adherents in some 100,000 localities, in virtually every
nation and territory on earth.
The Baha’i Faith, then, is the most recent of the world’s religions, and it is an independent
religion. Often the Baha’is are mistaken as a sect of Islam because it originated in an Islamic
context. But this would be no more true than saying that Christianity, because of its Jewish roots, is merely a sect
of Judaism. The Baha’is have our own Scripture, which includes prayers written by Baha’u’llah
and various laws guiding personal conduct and morality. Baha’is also have our own
calendar which sets specific times for community worship, for fasting and the observance of Baha’i
Holy Days. As a matter of fact, today happens to be a Baha’i Holy Day – the birthday of the
Báb, Whom you heard mentioned in the film at the opening of this meeting.
The Baha’is also have a unique system of community organization, designed by Baha’u’llah.
First, there is no clergy in the Baha’i Faith. Instead, all of the members are responsible
for developing their spiritual lives according to their own understanding and application
of Baha’u’llah’s teachings. And all share in enhancing the spiritual life and
vitality of the community. Administrative bodies do exist and they are elected at the local, national
and international levels in a process free of electioneering and partisanship. These
bodies are expected to operate in a mode of consultation and service as they address the
needs of believers but also of the larger society. Overall, the pattern of life the
Baha’is are trying to build is one that acknowledges and preserves the roles of the
individual, the institutions of society, and the community as a whole in achieving the goal of human
well-being.
The Baha’is comprise the full racial, cultural and religious heritage of humanity, and in
a meaningful sense they also portend humanity’s capacity to destroy the barriers that have
prevented us from living together in harmony. Baha’is have faith that humanity will ultimately
achieve a lasting world peace. But we also recognize that it will not come of its own
accord. Humanity’s age-old sufferings can and will be alleviated to the extent that
the peoples of the world work in common cause together, embracing a truly global vision and, in a sincere
desire for the welfare of all, strive together to advance both the spiritual and material
dimensions of civilization. The process must be one that embraces every level of society
from the local to the global, wherein all human beings become agents empowered to advance
themselves and society as a whole. For this reason the Baha’is work with like-minded
people, learning how to apply these principles for the betterment of the world.
I will close with two statements from Baha’u’llah. The first:
“The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until
its unity is firmly established.”
And:
“Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this,
that he loves his kind.”
In the following presentations my colleagues will describe how the Baha’is
have sought to promote these principles in the international arena
and at the level of grassroots community building.