On the Baha'i Faith: A Blog Appreciation
Photo: The War Memorial in Canberra, AustrailiaSeventeen-year-old Julian of Canberra, Austrailia, is blog author of The Three Kings of Serendip. His "about me" reads: "I'm a mystic of no specific religious affiliation. Politically speaking, I am a left leaning moderate with Platonic Aristocratic views and a libertarian. I value Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, and individuality." In a previous post he describes his mysticism. Here is his appreciation of the Baha'i Faith:
After meeting with some local Baha'is, I have discovered some things about the faith I was previously ignorant of.
Concerning diversity of religion, on one hand Baha’i is ecumenical, on the other it is not. ...They consider that the variation of religious faith around the world is more a result of culture than any spiritually inspired individuality. They put forward the case that all religions are, at their core, essentially the same. As a mystic I could not but concur with this statement.
...Baha’is believe that the older religions were appropriate to the times and cultures they sprung from, but now that communication has allowed a ‘global community’, it is time for a new religion, one that caters for the needs of this new step in mankind’s development. This religion, say the Baha’is, is Baha’i. They consider older religious faiths largely obsolete in the modern world.
One of my prime reasons for classing Baha’i as a ‘postmodernist’ religion is that it has no clergy. It is administered by elected boards and councils (campaigning for election is strictly forbidden). The reasoning behind this is one that I, as a mystic and intellectual, find very refreshing in a religious faith. ...Indeed, the term ‘followers’ cannot accurately be applied to this religion, I feel, as it is a religion of thinkers, of self-motivated – dare I say it – mystics. Perhaps the word is too strong, but certainly there is no such thing as blind faith in this religion. There is an emphasis on individual pursuit of spirituality.
...After an hour or so discussing what Baha’u’llah had said about race and religion, and the implications and interpretations of that, we moved on to the definition of the undefinable; the definition of God.
I asked how Baha’is viewed God: an entity, as the Abrahamic religions; or a force, as the Eastern religions tend to, and I asked about the nature of that force. (I noted that Hinduism and pantheistic religious thinking could be seen as knowing many faces of the one God.) The answer given was that God was all of these things. ...God is considered an entity, the creator of mankind in His (sic - I’m not sure whether this is a result of the powerful influences of the Semitic line religions, or whether my hosts were using the term they considered me familiar with, but I suspect the former) image – it is highly important to note that this is considered in the Baha’i faith to mean spiritual image, not physical image. God is also a force, ubiquitous, omniscient, and omnipotent. There is life after death, but not physical life. There is only one physical life – this is it and it is considered preparation for the future life of the spirit. ...I found it an admirable attempt to incorporate every understanding – if that is the right word – of what constitutes God and our spiritual journey.
After meeting with some local Baha'is, I have discovered some things about the faith I was previously ignorant of.
Concerning diversity of religion, on one hand Baha’i is ecumenical, on the other it is not. ...They consider that the variation of religious faith around the world is more a result of culture than any spiritually inspired individuality. They put forward the case that all religions are, at their core, essentially the same. As a mystic I could not but concur with this statement.
...Baha’is believe that the older religions were appropriate to the times and cultures they sprung from, but now that communication has allowed a ‘global community’, it is time for a new religion, one that caters for the needs of this new step in mankind’s development. This religion, say the Baha’is, is Baha’i. They consider older religious faiths largely obsolete in the modern world.
One of my prime reasons for classing Baha’i as a ‘postmodernist’ religion is that it has no clergy. It is administered by elected boards and councils (campaigning for election is strictly forbidden). The reasoning behind this is one that I, as a mystic and intellectual, find very refreshing in a religious faith. ...Indeed, the term ‘followers’ cannot accurately be applied to this religion, I feel, as it is a religion of thinkers, of self-motivated – dare I say it – mystics. Perhaps the word is too strong, but certainly there is no such thing as blind faith in this religion. There is an emphasis on individual pursuit of spirituality.
...After an hour or so discussing what Baha’u’llah had said about race and religion, and the implications and interpretations of that, we moved on to the definition of the undefinable; the definition of God.
I asked how Baha’is viewed God: an entity, as the Abrahamic religions; or a force, as the Eastern religions tend to, and I asked about the nature of that force. (I noted that Hinduism and pantheistic religious thinking could be seen as knowing many faces of the one God.) The answer given was that God was all of these things. ...God is considered an entity, the creator of mankind in His (sic - I’m not sure whether this is a result of the powerful influences of the Semitic line religions, or whether my hosts were using the term they considered me familiar with, but I suspect the former) image – it is highly important to note that this is considered in the Baha’i faith to mean spiritual image, not physical image. God is also a force, ubiquitous, omniscient, and omnipotent. There is life after death, but not physical life. There is only one physical life – this is it and it is considered preparation for the future life of the spirit. ...I found it an admirable attempt to incorporate every understanding – if that is the right word – of what constitutes God and our spiritual journey.
1 comment:
Moojan Momen's papers are all such gems. The Irfan Colloquia provide such valuable materal. Thanks Sanisha.
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