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"The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens"
- Baha'u'llah.
Till date all the communal disharmony between the disparate religious
groups could be very easily attributed to each one's belief in a
different divinity. But the Baha'i faith is an independent world
religion which inculcates the principle of oneness and the wholeness
of the entire human race.
The central figures of the Baha'i system of faith are Bab (meaning
the Gate) [1817-1892], Baha'u'llah (meaning the Glory of God) and
Abdul Baha (meaning The Servant of God) [1844-1921]. A faith that
has been subjected to senseless and bitter persecution at the hands
of orthodox Muslim leaders, the Baha'i faith was deemed to be blasphemously
heretic. But this order of religion has emerged unscathed despite
the restrictions imposed upon them by the conservative Muslim sects
which considered it a threat to their own beliefs.
The individual trait of the Baha'i faith is that it recognises
the religious doctrine of other religious messengers and holds them
in high esteem, be it Krishna or Christ or the Prophet. Central
to the Baha'i 's writings is an exposition of great themes which
have preoccupied the religious thinkers throughout the earlier centuries.
Religious history has never before offered the inquirer the opportunity
for so candid an encounter with the phenomenon of Divine Revelation
which can almost be passed off as a science. Some of the basic principles
are equality of men and women, universal compulsory education, the
essential harmony of science and religion and many more that reveal
this faith's unorthodoxy and openness.
A faith which began as a 'Kestrel in Oblivion' , the Baha'i community
today number some four million in 166 independent countries and
48 territories. The Baha'i faith also boasts of The Universal House
of Justice located in the Haifa which directs the spiritual and
administrative affairs of the Baha'i International Community. The
Baha'i faith has worship houses all over the world and is open to
everyone. The faith also has tie-ups with the United Nations to
promote global peace and the well being of mankind.
For more information please contact the Baha'is in your area or
write to:
Address:
Baha'i Bhavan,
Spencer House, 82,
Coles Road,
Bangalore-560 005
Phone: 5367707
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