What is the Bahá’í Faith?
What is the Bahá’í Faith?
The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion whose purpose is to unite all the races and peoples in one universal Cause and one common Faith.
Bahá’ís are the followers of Bahá’u’lláh, Who is believed as the Promised One of all Ages. The traditions of almost every people include the promise of a future when peace and harmony will be established on earth and humankind will live in prosperity. We believe that the promised hour has come and that Bahá’u’lláh is the great Personage Whose Teachings will enable humanity to build a new world.
Goals of the Baha’i Faith
The aim of the Bahá’í Faith is to unify humanity. In the Bahá’í Teachings we are told that we are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch. Although we differ from one another physically and emotionally, although we have different talents and capacities, we all spring from the same root; we all belong to the same human family.
Humanity can be likened to a vast garden in which grow side by side flowers of every form, color and perfume. The charm and beauty of the garden lie in this diversity. We should not allow the differences that exist among us―in our physical characteristics, our temperaments, our backgrounds, our thoughts and opinions―to give rise to conflict and strife.
We should see the members of the human race as beautiful flowers growing in the garden of humanity and rejoice in belonging to this garden.
Although the oneness of humankind is an undeniable truth, the peoples of earth are so far from it that unifying them is no easy task. If you choose to join the Bahá’í community, you will participate with the rest of us in our efforts to build and maintain Unity.
We are all striving to bring our thoughts and actions in line with our belief in the oneness of humankind. We are told that, when a thought of war enters our minds, we should immediately replace it with a thought of peace. When a feeling of hate begins to take shape in our hearts, we should immediately replace it with a feeling of love. We should do everything possible to overcome our prejudices. Prejudices of race, color, nationality, culture, religion, and gender, these are among the greatest obstacles to building a better world. So many passages in the Bahá’í
writings teach us how to walk in the ways of unity and how to help others take the same path. A passage from one of the talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, describes purpose of Baha’u’llah’s teaching:
“Bahá’u’lláh has drawn the circle of unity, He has made a design for the uniting of all the peoples, and for the gathering of them all under the shelter of the tent of universal unity. This is the work of the Divine Bounty, and we must all strive with heart and soul until we have the reality of unity in our midst, and as we work, so will strength be given unto us.”
