The following entry was originally written in response to someone who is learning about the Baha’i Faith. The information was appreciated, so I decided to post it here. Maybe someone else will find it helpful.

I've been a Baha'i (in Kansas) for over 39 years now. I would have joined at my first meeting if anyone had even breathed that joining was possible. As I walked up to the home where the meeting was, I knew whoever those people were, they had something special and I wanted it. It took me six months to finally tell them: I want to be a Baha'i (whether you want me or not). It wasn't that they didn't want me to join, or wouldn't let me, in those days there weren't that many people who wanted the Faith and they were rather surprised.

I have never found real contradictions in the Faith. I have found that if I study a little more and dig a little deeper, I will learn more and put the "contradiction" into perspective: and there is no contradiction.

I trust 'Abdu'l-Baha when He says that there is a reason for men only on the House of Justice now and that reason will, in time, be as clear as the noon-day sun. That means to me that the reason will be evident and obvious when that time comes. It seems obvious to me that we can't understand now (so that is ok), we understand so little of any of it. The Faith and community are still so new and so vast, we can't hope to understand it all completely.

Just one little example: Do we yet, in this time, feel revulsion at the mere idea of doing something wrong (like break a minor traffic law)? Or, do we say, “the speed limit is 45, I can go at least 48 without getting a ticket,” then drive 50?

Or: gossip and backbiting which are forbidden. Have we eliminated even the desire to talk about someone else? Is that gossip, or is that simply sharing news? I don't know that we even have a clear understanding of the difference.

My point is, we do the best we can. All that Baha'u'llah asks is that we make the effort. We are not responsible for the results - that's God's business. The Bab said that if we make our best effort, God will compensate for our inadequacies.

I KNOW that I am inadequate (and my children are sure of it), but I have seen many, many times that my effort, however inadequate it may be, has resulted in unimaginable results.

One example: A major goal of the Baha'is is to let other people know the Faith exists and give them the opportunity to learn about it. And we are to "consort with the followers of all religions." So, I pray with the local Quakers, and at the local Mosque (and sometimes the synagogue ), sometimes I have gone to a Catholic retreat center which has individual hermitages (cabins) in the woods, and I have been very involved with local inter-faith endeavors. At a dinner at the mosque to break the fast of Ramadan one year, a young lady (who grew up a Muslim here) came to speak with me. Her father had apparently mentioned that I was a Baha'i who often came to the mosque. We briefly visited and I thought nothing more about it.

A few days later my supervisor at work came to me and said that I was in the Christian Science Monitor. I doubted it, but my work has been published in surprising places, so I was not sure.

Then my supervisor said, "not you, but it was you. I know it. You're the only Baha'i I know who goes to the mosque." That, I had to admit, was mostly true.

The young Muslim had returned to her college on the east coast. The Monitor had interviewed several young Muslims about their experience of growing up in the US. One of the experiences of Muslims in America is that they've had to learn new ways to be Muslim (I've seen a lot of this at the mosque). The jumah (congregation) consists of many immigrants from different countries, as well as native born Americans. The immigrants have found they cannot practice Islam in the same way as in their native home, because that differs from country to country, so they have to find new ways to be Muslim together. One of the new kind of Muslim events are inter-faith fast-breaking community dinners during Ramadan. The article mentioned that in Topeka these dinners are also held and are attended by Christians, Jews and Baha'is.

So by fulfilling the injection to "consort" with others, the existence of the Faith was mentioned nation-wide in a way that it never would otherwise have been.

I could not have gone to Boston and asked the editors of the Monitor to mention the Baha’i Faith. That would be stupid and get no result. But by simply living my life, it happened.

That's the kind of thing that happens all the time.

I am continually amazed.

"O Lord, increase my astonishment in Thee," is a recurring praying of mine.

The key is to make the effort (and be forgiving of other’s efforts); that is all that God asks.

I haven't posted anything for a long time, there is too much else to do.
I find it strange that some people criticize Baha'is for things they don't understand, or know little about. Why the rush to judgment or condemnation? Are they so unhappy with their life that they have to attack someone else, anyone else? There are some who attack the decision to build the House of Worship in Santiago, Chile that is in process now.
Are they ignorant of the hundreds and hundreds of educational, medical and agricultural projects that Baha'is are engaged in all over the world to help people improve their daily lives? There are hundreds of thousands of churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship around the world. Do they attack those also?
Why can they not appreciate the fact that every Baha'i House of Worship, no matter where it may be, is open to all people? They are a gift to every other human on the planet. How many other places can the same be said of?
Frankly I'm excited about the possibility of seeing another House of Worship. We have so few. I long for the day when every city has one, if there are Baha'is there and they want one.
A Baha'i House of Worship is unique in that all people can enter as equals. No one is distinguished by the rituals or ornamentation, because there are none. Everyone can find peace when they are inside one.
Just, physically, the Baha'i Houses of Worship provide a new kind of structure to look at. What else looks like them? If nothing else, they can be seen as decorations for the planet.
Their very existence expands people's consciousness to accept something new. Such an expansion of consciousness is essential if we, the human race, are to think in new ways to solve the problems we face. Old solutions certainly aren't working.
Maybe those people simply enjoy complaining. I don't know. I don't see that their complaining adds much to the world.Sincerely,dlh...

Bahai in Russia

I found a blog with mention of new religions in Russia and the opposition of the Orthodox Church. I can understand why the Baha’i Faith would be included, but it is not quite so new as it would seem. The Baha’i Faith itself is new (it is a young religion - every religion was young at one time), but its connection to Russia goes back to the earliest days of the faith. When the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Faith was exiled from Tehran in 1852, the Russian Minister to Persia offered Him sanctuary in Russia. Two decades later Baha’is were living in territory that was absorbed into Russia, and have continued to live there since then.

In Ashgobat, in present-day Turkmenistan, Baha’is elected a council in 1895. Baha’is have councils to fulfill the administrative function of priests in other religions. In 1904 a representative of the Czar attended the ceremony to mark the building of the first Baha’i House of Worship in Russia. Over the next decades councils were elected by Baha’is in other Russian cities, including Moscow and Leningrad.

At first the revolution had no impact on the Baha’i community until it was noticed that Baha’i activities were more popular than Young Pioneers, then repression began. Many Baha’is were exiled (the men to Siberia, women and children to Persia) and the House of Worship was confiscated. But isolated Baha’is continued to live in various cities.

During Perestroika the Baha’is felt free to contact each other and receive Baha’i visitors from other countries. In 1989 the Baha’i council of Ashgobat was elected again and gradually others across the Soviet Union. At the end of 1990 a national Baha’i convention was held in Moscow to elect a national Baha’i council for the USSR. Two years later different republics began to elect theirs.

For over a century and a half many Russians have found the Baha’i Faith helpful in their lives. The Baha’i Faith teaches that each person has an eternal soul and the purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for death and eternal life. Without developing our spiritual qualities our life after death will be very limited. The Baha’i Faith teaches that we are created in the spiritual image of God and we are the highest form of creation. The family is the basis of society and we should treat others with more honor that we expect for ourselves. We are to be servants of humanity.

Leaders of other religions object to the Baha’i Faith because so many people find its teachings to be deeply satisfying and meaningful. There is no ritual because it is the condition of a persons heart that is more important. Millions of people around the world from at least 2112 different nations, tribes, religions and ethnic groups are now Baha’is working peacefully together to transform their lives, their families and the world.

What Bahá’ís are doing

Bahá’ís are doing a curious thing, something that has never been done before in human history – or even before humans began recording history. They are trying to build a new, equitable social network around the whole planet to include everyone on the planet. No one will be forced to be part of this, but it will be open and available to everyone.
Sometimes this is hard to see and many people don’t see it. It can be hard to see if you don’t have a long-view perspective – over centuries. It’s not something that can be accomplished over night or in a few decades, it will take centuries.
Here is where the element of faith comes in. One has to have faith that it is possible, then make an effort to bring it about. We cannot be responsible for the resutls or the actions of other people. We are each only responsible for our individual effort. The effort is achievement.
The important part is that Bahá’ís are making an effort when few other people are even trying. Many have given up or refuse to try – the world is going to end, so why bother? The world is ending, but it is not going to end.
The world, the world view, that Western civilization is based on (including such ideas as: the white man is better than anyone else) is ending, because it does not work any more. A new world view is emerging (that all parts of the planet are interconnected). Thus we are in a transition and transitions can be frightening – so we have violence in reaction out of fear.
If a long-term view can be maintained, see that all the people of the globe are getting lessons in learning to live and function together, then the chaos is understandable and fear is diminished.
This comning together of different peoples is a signal event of our times. Not so long ago people of different colors and religions lived in separate parts of the globe – brown skinned Hindus lived in India, black Africans lived Africa (though the descendents of some former slaves are in America), white skinned Christians lived in Europe, red skinned people lived in the Americas. The european invasion of the Americas began to change all that. Now 500 years later, people from all kinds of places live in all kinds of other places. This process will continue. We cannot kill, or even hate, our neighbors and co-workers simply because they look different from us or have different beliefs, so we have to learn to live and work together.
It can be easy to become sidetracked by daily annoyances or even conflicts between people, even misunderstandings between Bahá’ís (one Bahá’í described these as a clash of visions more than conflicting people since Bahá’ís are united in love for Bahá’u’lláh). It is love for Bahá’u’lláh that binds Bahá’ís together.
Bahá’u’lláh said there would be Houses of Justice to coordinate the affairs of society and we were to turn to ‘Abdu’l- Bahá. ‘Abdu’l- Bahá instituted and encouraged the first local Houses of Justice (though He did not insist on that name for them) and He created the Guardianship and appointed Shoghi Effendi to fill that position. Shoghi Effendi standardized the embryonic Houses of Justice as local and national Spiritual Assemblies. Shoghi Effendi’s “chief stewards” arranged for the election of the first international House of Justice. The purpose of all of this activity, stated by Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, is to be a framework to assist humanity to achieve its unity. The structure is perfect, the humans putting it together are not. None of us is perfect and mistakes will be made. If we keep that it mind, it is easier to work together. It is simplier when we remember to, “Breathe not the sins of others, so long as thou art thyself a sinner.” We have worked jointly together for over a century and made great progress, we can continue to do it together for more centuries and make even more progress.

What Bahá’ís are doing

Bahá’ís are doing a curious thing, something that has never been done before in human history – or even before humans began recording history. They are trying to build a new, equitable social network around the whole planet to include everyone on the planet. No one will be forced to be part of this, but it will be open and available to everyone.
Sometimes this is hard to see and many people don’t. It can be hard to see if you don’t have a long-view perspective – over centuries. It’s not something that can be accomplished over night or in a few decades, it will take centuries.
Here is where the element of faith comes in. One has to have faith that it is possible, then make an effort to bring it about. We cannot be responsible for the resutls or the actions of other people. We are each only responsible for our individual effort. The effort is achievement.
The important part is that Bahá’ís are making an effort when few other people are even trying. Many have given up or refuse to try – the world is going to end, so why bother? The world is ending, but it is not going to end.
The world, the world view, that Western civilization is based on (including such ideas as: the white man is better than anyone else) is ending, because it does not work any more. A new world view is emerging (that all parts of the planet are interconnected). Thus we are in a transition and transitions can be frightening – so we have violence in reaction out of fear.
If a long-term view can be maintained, that all the people of the globe are getting lessons in learning to live and function together, then the chaos is understandable and fear is diminished.
This comning together of different peoples is a signal event of our times. Not so long ago people of different colors and religions lived in separate parts of the globe – brown skinned Hindus lived in India, black Africans lived Africa (tho the descendents of some former slaves are in America), white skinned Christians lived in Europe, red skinned people lived in the Americas. The european invasion of the Americas began to change all that. Now people from all kinds of places live in lots of other kinds of places. This process will continue. We cannot kill, or even hate, our neighbors and co-workers simply because they look different from us or have different beliefs, so we have to learn to live and work together.
It can be easy to become sidetracked by daily annoyances or even conflicts between people, even Bahá’ís (one Bahá’í described these as a clash of visions more than conflicting people since Bahá’ís are united in love for Bahá’u’lláh). It is love for Bahá’u’lláh that binds us together.
Bahá’u’lláh said there would be Houses of Justice and we were to turn to ‘Abdu’l- Bahá. ‘Abdu’l- Bahá instituted and encouraged the first Houses of Justice (though He did not insist on that name for them) and He created the Guardianship and appointed Shoghi Effendi to fill that position. Shoghi Effendi standardized the embryonic Houses of Justice as local and national Spiritual Assemblies. Shoghi Effendi’s “chief stewards” arranged for the election of the first international House of Justice. The purpose of all of this activity, stated by Bahá’u’lláh, et al, is to be a framework to assist humanity to achieve its unity. The structure is perfect, the humans putting it together are not. None of us is perfect. If we keep that it mind, it is easier to work together. It is simplier when we remember, “Breathe not the sins of others, so long as thou art thyself a sinner.” We have done it together for over a century and made great progress, we can continue to do it together for more centuries and make even more progress.

A Headless Body?

Some people claim that the Universal House of Justice, the Head of the world-wide Baha’i community is an organization without a head. This claim is made because the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith was specified as a permanent member and head of the House of Justice. There is no current Guardian because the conditions for a Guardian, clearly set forth by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, were not fulfilled. There is no Guardian, there cannot be a guardian in the future. But there is no indication in Bahá’í scripture that the House of Justice cannot exist without a Guardian. The Guardian functioned without the House of Justice, similarly the House of Justice can exist without a living Guardian.

Some people are so attached to the idea of a religious community having such a leader that they have appointed themselves, or others to be a guardian, despite ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s instructions. Some of those people also claim to be Baha’is.

Baha’u’llah clearly states who can claim to be a Baha’i – and that is one who is obedient to ‘Abdu’l-Baha, just as they are obedient to Baha’u’llah. By not following ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s instructions – they are not Baha’is.

It is very simple.

By claiming to accept Baha’u’llah and yet rejecting ‘Abdu’l-Baha, they have broken the Covenant of Baha’u’llah. Theirs is a very curious position.

Concern about the Covenant

The Covenant of Baha’u’llah is such a new thing in the history of mankind, and so early in its existence, that confusion and misunderstanding is to be expected.

Other religions seem to have flourished without such a covenant, so why would it be so important? Many people are unaware of the brutal massacres that have happened within every other religion: Christians murdering Christians, Muslims murdering Muslims, etc. Did any Messenger or Prophet want his followers to murder each other? It would be rather pointless.

The Covenant of Baha’u’llah was created by Baha’u’llah to prevent such schism and division between His followers.

For the first time in the history of the human race, the Messenger of God, Baha’u’llah, has written down the details of authoritative succession. By accepting Baha’u’llah as the current Messenger, one also accepts His covenant. A person who accepts this covenant, then repudiates and fights against it, is a breaker of that covenant. It is the responsibility of the Head of the Faith, as specified in the covenant, to protect the rest of the Baha’i community from that violater. It is simple and logical.

Baha’u’llah wrote that His son, ‘Abdu’l-Baha was to be the authority after Him and the Center of His Covenant. He also wrote the outline of the organizational structure to administer the community of His followers: councils of nine members. Never has an administrative system been provided by a Messenger of God.

‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote that His successor would be His grandson, Shoghi Effendi and began the establishment of the first administrative councils (in Tehran, Chicago, and other places). Shoghi Effendi did not appoint a successor in the same way. He built up the councils on the local and secondary levels and appointed “Chief Stewards,” of Hands of the Cause of God, to assist the Baha’i community. Shoghi Effendi also appointed a preliminary international council as a step toward the eventual international council that would be elected. When he died the Stewards continued his plans and arranged for the election of the international council which was designated the Universal House of Justice, the more formal name.

All the Stewards signed a statement that there was no successor to Shoghi Effendi as specified by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, therefore there could not be a successor. Shortly after than one of the Stewards proclaimed himself to be a successor of Shoghi Effendi as an imaginary “adopted son” of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. He then called on all Baha’is to turn to himself and away from the Universal House of Justice and the other Stewards, thus he broke the covenant Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha had established. He was no longer a member of the Baha’i community (by the definition set by Baha’u’llah), nor are his followers.

This attempt to divide the Baha’i community was not successful and itself became divided and subdivided – clearly evidence that the unity of the covenant of Baha’u’llah did not extend to these efforts. Just as the branch of a tree can stay green for a while after being cut from the tree, there appears to be some life in these groups, but they do not flourish. The Baha’i community, on the other hand, continues to grow and develop and increase its effectiveness in transforming the lives of its members and the communities they live in.