"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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