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American Baha'is Celebrate Birth of Religion's Founders

This fall, Baha'is worldwide will celebrate the birth of their religion's two Founders Who established an inclusive monotheistic Faith that's grown to five million believers in nearly every country and territory. These are Baha'i holy days when work is suspended and Baha'i communities in hundreds of U.S. localities will hold public commemorative events.

The Birth of the Bab on Oct. 20 commemorates the 1819 birth in Shiraz, Persia, of Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, Who later took the title "the Bab," meaning "the Gate." The Bab was the Herald Who prepared the way for Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith. The Bab called on people to purify themselves for the coming Day of God.

The Birth of Baha'u'llah on Nov. 12 commemorates the 1817 birth of Baha'u'llah (born Mirza Husayn-‘Ali) in Nur, Persia. Baha'u'llah, Whose name means the "Glory of God," announced in 1863 that He is God's Messenger for this Age. His teachings and sacred Writings are the basis of the Baha'i Faith.

Baha'u'llah proclaimed that God, our loving Creator, sends divine Messengers or Manifestations of God with teachings that enable humanity to know and to worship God. These great Manifestations have appeared throughout history every 500 to 1,000 years, bringing human civilization to ever higher levels of spiritual and material advancement. Baha'u'llah is the latest in this long line of divine messengers, which has included Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster and the Bab.

The Bahai Faith is represented in every state and thousands of communities throughout the United States. To learn more about the Baha'i Faith in America, check www.bahai.us.

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Note: Reporters can interview Baha'is at their local Baha'i Centers or in local homes. For information, contact rbrill@bahai.us or eprice@bahai.us.

Note: To better understand the Baha'i Faith in America, check the Religion Newswriters Association's "Source Guide on the Baha'i Faith" at www.religionlink.org/tip_090211.php.

Note: Bab is pronounced "BOB." Baha'u'llah is pronounced "Bah-Hah-Ol-Lah."


It is incumbent upon every man, in this Day, to hold fast unto whatsoever will promote the interests, and exalt the station, of all nations and just governments. Through each and every one of the verses which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed, the doors of love and unity have been unlocked and flung open to the face of men. We have erewhile declared -- and Our Word is the truth -- : "Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship." Whatsoever hath led the children of men to shun one another, and hath caused dissensions and divisions amongst them, hath, through the revelation of these words, been nullified and abolished.

Baha'u'llah
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 94

Event emphasizes unity<o:p></o:p>

Interfaith Peace Festival features speakers, music<o:p></o:p>

August 23, 2009<o:p></o:p>

One word was central to the Interfaith Peace Festival: One.<o:p></o:p>

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With multi-faith participation and a focus on oneness, the festival celebrated its second year Saturday on the nine-acre grounds of its sponsor, Unity of Salem.<o:p></o:p>

Organizers scheduled performances on two stages, including the Bahadur Singh from the <st1:placename w:st="on">Dasmesh</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Darbar</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Sikh</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Salem</st1:place></st1:city> and Jan Michael Looking Wolf, a nationally recognized flutist from the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.<o:p></o:p>

Drumming, live music and inspirational deliveries were all part of the event, and children's activities included face painting, artwork, parachute play, and craft booths.<o:p></o:p>

"We wanted to develop more activities for the kids this year," co-chairman Paul Wilson said.<o:p></o:p>

The Bahadur Singh warmed up the event late Saturday morning as a boy with a toothy smile circulated around the early attendees, making sure everyone had a copy of the lyrics that the Sikh singers performed.<o:p></o:p>

Moments later he was seated in the crafts area, crayons in hand, working on his own artistic creation.<o:p></o:p>

Co-chairwoman Caroline Collins, a Unity of Salem member, said the event embraces multiple perspectives and promotes an avenue of heightened awareness of humanity's unique cohesiveness. She said Interfaith aims to expand on the work of similar local endeavors, such as twice yearly events held by the Oneness Coalition.<o:p></o:p>

The Rev. Curt McCormack of the Oneness Coalition is in tune with that. The Oneness booth featured a quilted hanging reading "You Are the Fruits of One Tree." Multiple fruits on the tree bore various symbols for peace.<o:p></o:p>

"This mainlines the whole idea of oneness," McCormack said of the festival. "Really, we can't escape it; it's all around us. We are one.<o:p></o:p>

"We (most faiths) recognize one God," McCormack added. "And we need to have something that honors that We are celebrating the chords of peace. We have many different notes, but we all make up the chord."<o:p></o:p>

Representatives of the Baha'i faith, which emphasizes this type of unification, also attended Saturday and reflected the same message.<o:p></o:p>

"Our core belief is that this is the time for the unification of the human race," said a local Baha'i spokesperson Dorothy Pedersen. "There is one God for the human race, and this is a time to recognize that oneness and establish peace."<o:p></o:p>

Madge Hart-Peinkofer, the leader of the One Spirit drumming circle, said she routinely incorporates that perspective.<o:p></o:p>

"We're a multicultural drum circle," Hart-Peinkofer said, noting that her acts incorporate Native American drumming, Buddhist singing, Sufi songs and general earth songs and rhythms. It also incorporates the audience.<o:p></o:p>

"Anybody is invited to play: there are no barriers in this drum circle," she said. "There's no right or wrong way; it's the way the rhythm comes out.<o:p></o:p>

"It's an opportunity for self-discovery."<o:p></o:p>

jmuch@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6736<o:p></o:p>

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O ye that dwell on earth! The distinguishing feature that marketh the preeminent character of this Supreme Revelation consisteth in that We have, on the one hand, blotted out from the pages of God's holy Book whatsoever hath been the cause of strife, of malice and mischief amongst the children of men, and have, on the other, laid down the essential prerequisites of concord, of understanding, of complete and enduring unity. Well is it with them that keep My statutes.<o:p></o:p>

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 97)<o:p></o:p>

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Ethics at heart of economic crisis, says EBBF

GENEVA, 6 July (BWNS) Any response to the world economic crisis must address ethics, given that the crisis is "fundamentally one of trust and integrity," the European Baha'i Business Forum said in a statement published last week.

Furthermore, the situation requires an ethical response "at all levels" ֖ from individuals, from corporations, and from governments and regulatory entities, said the statement, released as some 400 representatives from dozens of countries and organizations gathered in Geneva for a two-day Global Ethics Forum.

As people reshape their thinking, certain principles must be considered, said the EBBF.

"We need to replace the concept of self-centered materialism with that of service to humanity," the EBBF said. Cooperation must replace competition, the statement continued; ethical behavior must replace corruption, gender balance must replace sexism, world unity must replace protectionism, justice must replace injustice.

"EBBF promotes and welcomes engagement with the widest possible community to develop together the new framework," the statement said.

"We call on peoples from all businesses, countries, and walks of life to work together to build a new economic system based upon equity and justice," it concluded.

More than 20 members of the European Baha'i Business Forum participated in the Global Ethics Forum, held 2-3 July at United Nations headquarters in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:City>.

EBBF issued the statement in an effort to contribute to new ways of thinking that will help companies and countries develop new models as they navigate the current crisis.

"There is a growing need for alternatives," said Daniel Truran, secretary general of the EBBF. "People are thirsty for a different way of working and of conducting their organizations.

"In times of crisis, the search for the 'right' way forward a direction that was not the one that got us into this crisis ֖ is stronger than ever," he said.

The European Baha'i Business Forum was founded in 1990 and now has nearly 400 members in some 60 countries.



To read the full article and access a link to the EBBF statement, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/722

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org


Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality. Therefore it must be living, vitalized, moving and progressive. If it be without motion and non-progressive it is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine institutes are continuously active and evolutionary; therefore the revelation of them must be progressive and continuous. All things are subject to re-formation. This is a century of life and renewal. Sciences and arts, industry and invention have been reformed. Law and ethics have been reconstituted, reorganized. The world of thought has been regenerated. Sciences of former ages and philosophies of the past are useless today. Present exigencies demand new methods of solution; world problems are without precedent. Old ideas and modes of thought are fast becoming obsolete. Ancient laws and archaic ethical systems will not meet the requirements of modern conditions, for this is clearly the century of a new life, the century of the revelation of the reality and therefore the greatest of all centuries.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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The divine prophets have revealed and founded religion. They have laid down certain laws and heavenly principles for the guidance of mankind. They have taught and promulgated the knowledge of God, established praiseworthy ethical ideals and inculcated the highest standards of virtues in the human world.<o:p></o:p>

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 224)<o:p></o:p>