The Relationship of the Baha'i Faith to the Previous
Religious Dispensations
Selections from the writings of Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l-Baha,
and Shoghi Effendi (Guardian of the Baha'i Faith)
“The
Purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, in revealing Himself unto
men is to lay bare those gems that lie hidden within the mine of their true and
inmost selves. That the divers communions of the earth, and the manifold
systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the feelings of
animosity among men, is, in this Day, of the essence of the Faith of God and
His Religion. These principles and laws, these firmly-established and mighty
systems, have proceeded from one Source, and are the rays of one Light. That
they differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of
the ages in which they were promulgated.” (Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 287)
“The
mission of the prophets, the revelation of the holy books, the manifestation of
the heavenly teachers and the purpose of divine philosophy all center in the
training of the human realities so that they may become clear and pure as
mirrors and reflect the light and love of the Sun of Reality. Therefore I hope
that whether you be in the east or the west you will
strive with heart and soul in order that day by day the world of humanity may
become glorified, more spiritual, more sanctified; and that the splendor of the
Sun of Reality may be revealed fully in human hearts as in a mirror. This is
worthy of the world of mankind. This is the true evolution and progress of
humanity. This is the supreme bestowal. Otherwise, by simple development along
material lines man is not perfected. At most, the physical aspect of man, his
natural or material conditions may become stabilized and improved but he will
remain deprived of the spiritual or divine bestowal. He is then like a body
without a spirit, a lamp without the light, an eye without the power of vision,
an ear that hears no sound, a mind incapable of perceiving, an intellect minus
the power of reason.” (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 59,
also BWF - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 262)
“…The
purpose underlying Their revelation hath been to
educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost
purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most
High. The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of
the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating
force through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest.
Through them the clouds rain their bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits. All things must
needs have a cause, a motive power, an animating principle. These souls
and symbols of detachment have provided, and will continue to provide, the
supreme moving impulse in the world of being.” (Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)
“It
is evident and clear to the wise men of nations—those wise men who are the
wooers of absolute reality—that the purpose of the divine messengers and
the revelation of the heavenly books and the establishment of the religion of
God has been none other than to create amity and justice between the children
of the races. True religion is the foundation of spiritual union, the union of
thought, the union of susceptibilities, the unity of customs and the ideal
chain binding together all the children of men. Through its practical
realization, the minds and souls will receive development by divine
instruction; they will become assisted to investigate reality, attain to a
lofty station of wisdom and establish the basis of a divine civilization.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Written
from Port Said, Egypt, to the Honorable Secretary of the Sixth International
Congress of Free and Progressive Christians and other Religious Liberals, held
in Paris, France, July 16-22, 1913.
Found in Divine Philosophy, p. 159)
“The
purpose underlying the revelation of every heavenly Book, nay, of every
divinely-revealed verse, is to endue all men with righteousness and
understanding, so that peace and tranquillity may be
firmly established amongst them. Whatsoever instilleth
assurance into the hearts of men, whatsoever exalteth
their station or promoteth their contentment, is
acceptable in the sight of God. How lofty is the station which man, if he but choose to fulfill his high destiny, can attain! To what
depths of degradation he can sink, depths which the
meanest of creatures have never reached! Seize, O friends, the chance which
this Day offereth you, and deprive not yourselves of
the liberal effusions of His grace. I beseech God that He may graciously enable
every one of you to adorn himself, in this blessed Day, with the ornament of
pure and holy deeds. He, verily, doeth whatsoever He willeth.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 205)
“…is
not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole
character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both
outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external
conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed,
the futility of God's universal Manifestations would be apparent.”
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 240)
The Mission of the Baha'i
Faith
The primary purpose of the Baha'i Faith is to enable every
adherent of an earlier World-Faith to obtain a fuller understanding of the
religion with which he stands identified and to acquire a clear apprehension of
its purpose. (This is a paraphrase. See exact quote below.)
The supreme
mission of the Faith is the achievement of the organic and spiritual
unity of the whole body of nations, which will involve the emergence of a
world-community, the consciousness of world-citizenship and the founding of a
world civilization and culture. (Paraphrased
from "The Compilation of Compilations," vol
II, p. 182)
“O ye children of men”, He
writes, “the fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His
Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human
race...” And He warns, “The well-being of mankind, its peace and
security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”
(The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah,
p. ix)
Different Stages in the History One Religion
Nor does the Baha'i
Revelation, claiming as it does to be the culmination of a prophetic cycle and
the fulfillment of the promise of all ages, attempt, under any circumstances,
to invalidate those first and everlasting principles that animate and underlie
the religions that have preceded it.
The God-given authority, vested in each one of them, it admits and establishes
as its firmest and ultimate basis. It regards them
in no other light except as different stages in the eternal history and
constant evolution of one religion, Divine and indivisible, of which it itself
forms but an integral part. It neither seeks to obscure their
Divine origin, nor to dwarf the admitted magnitude of their colossal
achievements. It can countenance no attempt that seeks to distort their
features or to stultify the truths which they instill. Its teachings do
not deviate a hairbreadth from the verities they
enshrine, nor does the weight of its message detract one jot or one tittle from the influence they exert or the loyalty they
inspire. (Shoghi Effendi: World
Order of Baha'u'llah, Page: 114)
“Any variations in the splendor which
each of these Manifestations of the Light of God has shed upon the world should
be ascribed not to any inherent superiority involved in the essential character
of any one of them, but rather to the progressive capacity, the ever-increasing
spiritual receptiveness, which mankind, in its progress towards maturity, has
invariably manifested.” (Shoghi Effendi,
WOB 166)
To Reconcile Conflicting Creeds
"Far from aiming at the overthrow of the
spiritual foundation of the world's religious systems, its avowed, its
unalterable purpose is to widen their basis, to
restate their fundamentals, to reconcile their aims, to reinvigorate their
life, to demonstrate their oneness, to restore the pristine purity of their
teachings, to coordinate their functions and to assist in the realization of
their highest aspirations. These divinely-revealed religions, as a
close observer has graphically expressed it, 'are doomed not to die, but to be
reborn... `Does not the child succumb in the youth and the youth in the
man; yet neither child nor youth perishes?'" (SE, WOB 114)
Not to
Destroy but to Fulfill
"The aim of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet of
this new and great age which humanity has entered upon -- He Whose advent
fulfills the prophesies of the Old and New Testament as well as those of the
Qur'an regarding the coming of the Promised One in the end of time, on the Day
of Judgement -- is not to
destroy but to fulfill the Revelations of the past, to reconcile rather than to
accentuate the divergences of the conflicting creeds which disrupt
present-day society." (Shoghi Effendi's "Summary Statement" - 1947,
Special UN Committee on Palestine)
Applicable to Age in Which we Live
"His purpose, far
from belittling the station of the Prophets gone before Him or of whittling
down their teachings, is to restate the basic
truths which these teachings enshire in a manner that
would conform to the needs, and be in consonance with the capacity, and be
applicable to the problems, the ills, and perplexities, of the age in which we
live. His mission is to proclaim that the ages of the infancy and
of the childhood of the human race are past, that the convulsions associated
with the present stage of its adolescence are slowly and painfully preparing it
to attain the stage of manhood, and are heralding
the approach of that Age of Ages when swords will be beaten into plowshares,
when the Kingdom promised by Jesus Christ will have been established, and the
peace of the planet definitely and permanently ensured. Nor does
Baha'u'llah claim finality for His own Revelation, but rather stipulates that a
fuller measure of the truth He has been commissioned by the Almighty to
vouchsafe to humanity, at so critical a juncture in its fortunes, must needs be
disclosed at future stages in the constant and limitless evolution of mankind."
(Shoghi Effendi: "The Promised Day
is Come," originally from Shoghi Effendi's
"Summary Statement" - 1947, Special UN Committee on Palestine)
******************
Primary Purpose: To Obtain a Fuller Understanding
"He
shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show [it] unto you. ..."
(John 16:12-15)
"The
Revelation, of which Baha'u'llah is the source and center, abrogates none of
the religions that have preceded it, nor does it attempt, in the slightest
degree, to distort their features or to belittle their value. It
disclaims any intention of dwarfing any of the Prophets of the past, or of
whittling down the eternal verity of their teachings. It can, in no wise,
conflict with the spirit that animates their claims, nor does it seek to
undermine the basis of any man's allegiance to their cause. Its declared, its primary purpose is to enable every
adherent of these Faiths to obtain a fuller understanding of the religion with
which he stands identified, and to acquire a clearer apprehension of its
purpose. It is neither eclectic in the presentation of its truths,
nor arrogant in the affirmation of its claims. Its teachings revolve
around the fundamental principle that religious truth is not absolute but
relative, that Divine Revelation is progressive, not final. Unequivocally
and without the least reservation it proclaims all established religions to be
divine in origin, identical in their aims, complementary in their functions,
continuous in their purpose, indispensable in their value to
mankind." (Shoghi
Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 58)
The
Position of Christianity and Islam in Relation to the Baha'i Faith
As to the position of Christianity, let it be
stated without any hesitation or equivocation that its divine origin is
unconditionally acknowledged, that the Sonship and
Divinity of Jesus Christ are fearlessly asserted, that the divine inspiration
of the Gospel is fully recognized, that the reality of the mystery of the
Immaculacy of the Virgin Mary is confessed, and the primacy of Peter, the
Prince of the Apostles, is upheld and defended. The Founder of the
Christian Faith is designated by Baha'u'llah as the "Spirit of God,"
is proclaimed as the One Who "appeared out of the breath of the Holy
Ghost," and is even extolled as the "Essence of the
Spirit." His mother is described as "that veiled and immortal,
that most beauteous, countenance," and the station of her Son eulogized as
a "station which hath been exalted above the imaginings of all that dwell
on earth," whilst Peter is recognized as one whom God has caused "the
mysteries of wisdom and of utterance to flow out of his mouth."
"Know thou," Baha'u'llah has moreover testified, "that when the
Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great
weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused
into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples
of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The
deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any
mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the
influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the
quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive and
resplendent Spirit. We testify that when He came into the world, He shed
the splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper
recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him the
unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty
God, the eyes of the blind were opened and the soul of the sinner
sanctified.... He it is Who purified the
world. Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath
turned towards Him."
Indeed, the essential
prerequisites of admittance into the Baha'i fold of Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus,
Buddhists, and the followers of other ancient faiths, as well as of agnostics
and even atheists, is the wholehearted and unqualified acceptance by them all
of the divine origin of both Islam and Christianity, of the Prophetic functions
of both Muhammad and Jesus Christ, of the legitimacy of the institution of the
Imamate, and of the primacy of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles. Such are
the central, the solid, the incontrovertible principles that constitute the
bedrock of Baha'i belief, which the Faith of Baha'u'llah is proud to
acknowledge, which its teachers proclaim, which its apologists defend, which
its literature disseminates, which its summer schools expound, and which the
rank and file of its followers attest by both word and deed.
Nor should it be
thought for a moment that the followers of Baha'u'llah either seek to degrade
or even belittle the rank of the world's religious leaders, whether Christian,
Muslim, or of any other denomination, should their conduct conform to their
professions, and be worthy of the position they occupy. "Those divines,"
Baha'u'llah has affirmed, "...who are truly adorned with the ornament of
knowledge and of a goodly character are, verily, as a head to the body of the
world, and as eyes to the nations. The guidance of men hath, at all
times, been and is dependent upon these blessed souls." And
again: "The divine whose conduct is upright,
and the sage who is just, are as the spirit unto the body of the world.
Well is it with that divine whose head is attired with the crown of justice,
and whose temple is adorned with the ornament of equity." And yet
again: "The divine who hath seized and quaffed the most holy Wine,
in the name of the sovereign Ordainer, is as an eye
unto the world. Well is it with them who obey him, and call him to
remembrance." "Great is the blessedness of that divine," He, in
another connection, has written, "that hath not allowed knowledge to
become a veil between him and the One Who is the
Object of all knowledge, and who, when the Self-Subsisting appeared, hath
turned with a beaming face towards Him. He, in truth, is numbered with
the learned. The inmates of Paradise
seek the blessing of his breath, and his lamp sheddeth
its radiance over all who are in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is
numbered with the inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth
him hath, verily, beheld the True One, and he that turneth
towards him hath, verily, turned towards God, the Almighty, the
All-Wise." "Respect ye the divines amongst you," is His
exhortation, "They whose acts conform to the knowledge they possess, who
observe the statutes of God, and decree the things God hath decreed in the
Book. Know ye that they are the lamps of
guidance betwixt earth and heaven. They that have no consideration for
the position and merit of the divines amongst them have, verily, altered the
bounty of God vouchsafed unto them."
(Shoghi
Effendi: The Promised Day is Come, Pages: 109-111)
Diverse
Religious Systems have Proceeded from One Source
"The Purpose of the one true God,
exalted be His glory, in revealing Himself unto men is to lay bare those gems
that lie hidden within the mine of their true and inmost selves. That the
divers communions of the earth, and the manifold systems of religious belief,
should never be allowed to foster the feelings of animosity among men, is, in
this Day, of the essence of the Faith of God and His Religion. These principles
and laws, these firmly-established and mighty systems, have proceeded from one
Source, and are the rays of one Light. That they differ one from another
is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the ages in which they were
promulgated." (Gleanings from
the Writings of Baha'u'llah, Pages: 287-288)
All
the Prophets of God Proclaim the Same Faith
"All the
Prophets of God," asserts Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Iqan,
"abide in the same tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are seated upon
the same throne, utter the same speech, and proclaim the same
Faith." From the "beginning that hath no beginning," these
Exponents of the Unity of God and Channels of His incessant utterance have shed
the light of the invisible Beauty upon mankind, and will continue, to the
"end that hath no end," to vouchsafe fresh revelations of His might
and additional experiences of His inconceivable glory. To contend that
any particular religion is final, that "all Revelation is ended, that the
portals of Divine mercy are closed, that from the daysprings of eternal
holiness no sun shall rise again, that the ocean of everlasting bounty is
forever stilled, and that out of the Tabernacle of ancient glory the Messengers
of God have ceased to be made manifest" would indeed be nothing less than
sheer blasphemy.
"They
differ," explains Baha'u'llah in that same epistle, "only in the
intensity of their revelation and the comparative potency of their
light." And this, not by reason of any inherent incapacity of any
one of them to reveal in a fuller measure the glory of the Message with which
He has been entrusted, but rather because of the immaturity and unpreparedness of
the age He lived in to apprehend and absorb the full potentialities latent in
that Faith.
Revelation in Direct Proportion to Spiritual Capacity
"Know of a
certainty," explains Baha'u'llah, "that in every Dispensation the
light of Divine Revelation has been vouchsafed to men in direct proportion to
their spiritual capacity. Consider the sun. How feeble its rays the
moment it appears above the horizon. How gradually its warmth and potency
increase as it approaches its zenith, enabling meanwhile all created things to
adapt themselves to the growing intensity of its light. How steadily it
declines until it reaches its setting point. Were it, all of a sudden, to
manifest the energies latent within it, it would, no doubt, cause injury to all
created things.... In like manner, if the Sun of Truth were suddenly to
reveal, at the earliest stages of its manifestation, the full measure of the
potencies which the providence of the Almighty has bestowed upon it, the earth
of human understanding would waste away and be consumed; for men's hearts would
neither sustain the intensity of its revelation, nor be able to mirror forth
the radiance of its light. Dismayed and overpowered, they would cease to
exist."
It is for this reason,
and this reason only, that those who have recognized the Light of God in this
age, claim no finality for the Revelation with which they stand identified, nor
arrogate to the Faith they have embraced powers and attributes intrinsically
superior to, or essentially different from, those which have characterized any
of the religious systems that preceded it.
(Shoghi
Effendi: World Order of Baha'u'llah, Pages: 57-59)
The
Hour has Struck
Dearly beloved friends: Who,
contemplating the helplessness, the fears and miseries of humanity in this day,
can any longer question the necessity for a fresh revelation of the quickening
power of God's redemptive love and guidance? Who, witnessing on one hand
the stupendous advance achieved in the realm of human knowledge, of power, of
skill and inventiveness, and viewing on the other the unprecedented character
of the sufferings that afflict, and the dangers that beset, present-day
society, can be so blind as to doubt that the hour has at last struck for the
advent of a new Revelation, for a re-statement of the Divine Purpose, and for
the consequent revival of those spiritual forces that have, at fixed intervals,
rehabilitated the fortunes of human society? Does not the very operation
of the world-unifying forces that are at work in this age necessitate that He
Who is the Bearer of the Message of God in this day should not only reaffirm
that self-same exalted standard of individual conduct inculcated by the
Prophets gone before Him, but embody in His appeal, to all governments and
peoples, the essentials of that social code, that Divine Economy, which must
guide humanity's concerted efforts in establishing that all-embracing
federation which is to signalize the advent of the Kingdom of God on this
earth?
(Shoghi Effendi: World Order of Baha'u'llah,
Pages: 60-61)
It is incumbent
upon every man, in this Day, to hold fast unto whatsoever will promote the
interests, and exalt the station, of all nations and just governments. Through
each and every one of the verses which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed,
the doors of love and unity have been unlocked and flung open to the face of men.
We have erewhile declared—and Our Word is the truth—
: "Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of
friendliness and fellowship." Whatsoever hath led the children of men to
shun one another, and hath caused dissensions and divisions amongst them, hath,
through the revelation of these words, been nullified and abolished. From the
heaven of God's Will, and for the purpose of ennobling the world of being and
of elevating the minds and souls of men, hath been sent down that which is the
most effective instrument for the education of the whole human race. The
highest essence and most perfect expression of whatsoever the peoples of old
have either said or written hath, through this most potent Revelation, been
sent down from the heaven of the Will of the All-Possessing, the Ever-Abiding
God. Of old it hath been revealed: "Love of one's country is an element of
the Faith of God." The Tongue of Grandeur hath, however, in the day of His
manifestation proclaimed: "It is not his to boast who loveth
his country, but it is his who loveth the
world." Through the power released by these exalted words He hath lent a
fresh impulse, and set a new direction, to the birds of men's hearts, and hath
obliterated every trace of restriction and limitation from God's holy Book. (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 94)
“He Who is the
Eternal Truth hath, from the Day Spring of Glory, directed His eyes towards the
people of Baha, and is addressing them in these
words: ‘Address yourselves to the promotion of the well-being and tranquillity of the children of men. Bend your minds and
wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of
the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of
the Most Great Name, be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the
upholders of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City. Illumine and hallow
your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the thistles of
malice. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of
one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in
a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.’" (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 333)
Also see: "The
Common Goal of Universal Peace in Buddhism and the Bahá'í Faith"
A paper delivered
to the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace, Ulan Bator, Mongolia September 1990
http://www.bic-un.bahai.org/90-0916.htm
or http://bahaifaith.homestead.com/BuddhismBahai.pdf