Written by Mary K. Radpour

Though it is the youngest of the world’s great religions, the Bahá’i Faith is the 2^nd most widespread faith in the world, second only to Christianity in the diversity of the populations which have embraced it. Originating in mid-19^th century Persia with the announcement of Bahá’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Faith, that He was the Promised One mentioned in all the great world scriptures, the Faith’s emphasis on the oneness of God, the oneness of humanity, and the oneness of all the world’s faiths has attracted to it more than 6 million adherents.

Forcibly sent by the Shah and the Sultán out of His native land, Bahá’u’llah spent more than 40 years as a prisoner and an exile. He taught that God is an Unknowable Essence and that the great world’s religions – Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – result from God’s promise never to leave humanity without the guidance of His Prophets. Bahá’is refer to the Founders of these great Faiths as Manifestations of God, believing that each was chosen by God to be a perfect mirror of His reality. Through the teachings of these Manifestations, humanity comes to recognize “the face of God” in each human being. Bahá’u’llah taught that we are all “the leaves of one branch and the fruits of one tree,” and that we should see every human being as a “mine, rich in gems of inestimable value.” Each human’s potential for such virtues as generosity, kindness, truthfulness, honesty, and trustworthiness can only be released through freedom from injustice and the kind of moral and spiritual education which empowers development.

Bahá’u’llah taught that the 20^th century marked the emergence of humanity from its long evolution through childhood and adolescence into maturity. He predicted the arrival of world peace and universal brotherhood, but He warned that it would follow years of warfare and destruction, during which old and narrow allegiances would be dissolved and a new recognition of the oneness of humanity would emerge. He likened the convulsions of the current age to the pain of a woman in childbirth, saying that they would be marked by the dissolution of old outmoded social institutions and the emergence of new ones suited to a global community.

The Bahá’i community has no clergy, and all its members are encouraged to develop the capacity to explain its teachings to others. Each local community is governed by an annually elected body of nine adult members. Bahá’is celebrate 9 Holy Days each year. They are:

• March 21^st, Naw-Rúz, or the Bahá’i New Year, occurring during the vernal equinox;
• April 21, 30 and May 2) The First, Ninth and Twelfth Days of Ridván, a festival commemorating the Declaration by Bahá’u’llah of His own mission;
• May 23^rd, celebrating the Announcement (in 1844) of the Báb, the Herald-Prophet and Forerunner of the Faith, of the advent of the Bahá’i Revelation;
• May 29^th, The Ascension of Bahá’u’llah, marking His passing in 1892;
• July 9^th, the Martyrdom of the Báb, honoring His death by execution in 1850;
• October 19^th, celebrating the Birth of the Báb in 1819;
• And November 12^th, celebrating the Birth of Bahá’u’llah in 1817.
• Bahá’is also participate in the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há, a 4 or 5 day event, from February 26-March 1^st, in which philanthropic activities are promoted. This festival occurs before the community enters a period of daily fasting from sunrise to sunset, from March 2-20^th.

Bahá’i communities around the world are actively engaged in promoting the oneness of religion, the principle of unity in diversity, the equality of women and men, the preservation of the earth’s natural resources, and the movement toward world peace and brotherhood.

Further information about the Bahá’i Faith can be found at www.bahai.org or www.usbahai.org.