The Baha'i Faith.

[mayu]

http://www.bahai.org/

I thought i would post a link to the bahai faith, i am still only learning and in the early stages of studying this religion.

This faith sits nicely with me, there are few things i am still chewing over so to say, one of them is that bahai's dont beleive in reincarnation and i do.

Anyway enjoy and if there are anymore Baha'i about it would be nice to discuss things.:hahugh:

[Agaliha]

There are tons more links, I can find and post in a bit!

I looked into this faith about, oh 6 years ago. I heard of it by chance and was intrigued. I like a lot of aspects of the faith, but many others didn't really sit right to me, so I never seriously progressed with it.

[mayu]

oo thanks that would be great.:hahugh:

yes, i like a lot about this faith, thier veiw on teachings and the importance of women within the community, they are very big on communities the bahai.

like i said a few things dont sit with me, like the reincarnation, i have been going to a few study groups and working through the workbooks, so hopefully i will find some answers that way too.

may i ask what it was that you did and did not like about the faith.:smile:

[Solya]

Wow, most of this sounds very nice. :) I'll be looking up some more information about it to see what parts of it correspond to my own beliefs and stuff. Interesting!

[mayu]

Wow, most of this sounds very nice. :) I'll be looking up some more information about it to see what parts of it correspond to my own beliefs and stuff. Interesting!


:hahugh:

[Agaliha]

K, since this thread is leading to discussion, I'm making a link thread to sticky as we speak.

As for reincarnation, I don't remember that being an official doctrine:


Literal interpretations of resurrection, heaven, and hell are regarded as figments of imagination. Resurrection is the spiritual awakening that occurs upon the appearance of a new Manifestation. Heaven is the indescribable bliss of closeness to God, harmony with God's will as revealed by the Manifestations--eternal spiritual life. The closer one is to knowing and loving God, the greater the joy of paradise. Hell is the self-made torture of isolation from God--spiritual death. Unlimited spiritual growth toward perfection continues after death.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8051_1.htmlIt sort of keeps in line with the other Abrahamic paths-- Heaven, Hell, etc only with a different POV.

As for me, one thing that I found harder to swallow was having to accept the new prophets and their words being the Word of God. ETA: I can come to terms with the others, but I don't think I can add more on top of those, you know? I don't know. _inabox_ And if I'm remembering correctly, the discouragement from voting, as the goal is unity, etc.

[Sage Rainsong]

I have a cousin whose family are Baha'i. It's a very nice religion and it works very well for them, but it's too Abrahamic for my tastes.

[Agaliha]

like i said a few things dont sit with me, like the reincarnation, i have been going to a few study groups and working through the workbooks, so hopefully i will find some answers that way too.


More on this:


Bahá'ís believe in an afterlife in which the soul is separated from the body. At death, according to the Bahá'í faith, the soul begins a spiritual journey towards God through many planes of existence.
Progress on this journey towards God is likened to the idea of "heaven." If the soul fails to develop, one remains distant from God. This condition of remoteness from God can in some sense be understood as "hell."
Thus Bahá'ís do not regard heaven and hell as literal places but as different states of being during one's spiritual journey toward or away from God.
Bahá'ís understand the spiritual world to be a timeless and placeless extension of our own universe--and not some physically remote or removed place.
But beyond this, the exact nature of the afterlife remains a mystery. Bahá'u'lláh wrote, "The nature of the soul after death can never be described."
http://www.religionfacts.com/bahai/beliefs/afterlife.htm
And: Heaven and hell: a Bahá'í view of life after death (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkwcu1mtIyKMA9ddXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWgwN285BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkAw--/SIG=11u3dtegp/EXP=1215113134/**http%3a//info.bahai.org/article-1-4-5-2.html)

And here is the link/resource thread I made: Baha'i Faith Links/Resources (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=196000) :smile:

[Theres]

Wow, most of this sounds very nice. :) I'll be looking up some more information about it to see what parts of it correspond to my own beliefs and stuff. Interesting!
so, does that make you Baha'i curious? ;)


(sorry, couldn't resisit)

[Agaliha]

:giggle:

[LostSheep]

This is something that's usually figured quite highly whenever I've done one of those religion selector quizzes (which, i know, aren't exactly scientific), but quite a lot of what it says seems to chime with me.

[Solya]

so, does that make you Baha'i curious? ;)


(sorry, couldn't resisit)

Hahahaha, my guess is that it absolutely does. ;) Nice one. :lol:

[David19]

More on this:
And: Heaven and hell: a Bahá'í view of life after death (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkwcu1mtIyKMA9ddXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWgwN285BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkAw--/SIG=11u3dtegp/EXP=1215113134/**http%3a//info.bahai.org/article-1-4-5-2.html)

And here is the link/resource thread I made: Baha'i Faith Links/Resources (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=196000) :smile:

Thanks for that great info, Agaliha, and, to everyone else, for the cool info, I'm quite interested in learning more about the Baha'i religion, it seems quite cool, IMO.

Also, thanks for starting this thread :).

[mayu]

More on this:
And: Heaven and hell: a Bahá'í view of life after death (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkwcu1mtIyKMA9ddXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWgwN285BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkAw--/SIG=11u3dtegp/EXP=1215113134/**http%3a//info.bahai.org/article-1-4-5-2.html)

And here is the link/resource thread I made: Baha'i Faith Links/Resources (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=196000) :smile:

wow, thanks for that, thats not exatly how i had it in my study circle so i am going to look into that,

i think the point of unity is reached by a democratic stand point in my experience, maybe there are different veiws or interpretations on that one depending on the group you get?

[Agaliha]

wow, thanks for that, thats not exatly how i had it in my study circle so i am going to look into that,

I think that'd be a good idea-- to look into the official Baha'i stance on the afterlife ;)

There might be Baha'is that do accept reincarnation, but from what I gather, it's not the official standpoint (like it is with Hinduism and Sikhism). The Baha'i Faith puts a different spin on the previous (Abrahamic views) of the afterlife, but doesn't completely disregard it. Rather it just seems more symbolic and less literal.


...In the final analysis, heaven can be seen partly as a state of nearness to God; hell is a state of remoteness from God. Each state follows as a natural consequence of individual efforts, or the lack thereof, to develop spiritually. The key to spiritual progress is to follow the path outlined by the Manifestations of God.

Beyond this, the exact nature of the afterlife remains a mystery. "The nature of the soul after death can never be described," Bahá'u'lláh writes.Bahá'u'lláh didn't write that souls reincarnated, etc

Perhaps ask your study group about the reincarnation thing-- where in the texts it was written, etc. It might have been that person's personal spin on things.

If that aspect is bothering you, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

PS: I found these sites that discuss it--

Reincarnation and the Baha'i Faith
Baha’u’llah did not specifically address this topic in his writings, and because Baha’is believe that he is the promised one of all the ages, one might interpret that to mean that he is the reincarnation of Christ or one of the other previous Manifestations of God. This is not the case. Abdul Baha specifically addresses this issue in the compilation of talks called, “Some Answered Questions.” Abdul Baha explained that what is meant by the “return is not return of the essence, but that of the qualities; it is not the return of the Manifestation, but that of the perfections.”
For the rest, go here. (http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54541.asp)


Reincarnation

Argument
Most Hindus accept reincarnation and karma as basic components of the Hindu religion. Bahá'ís reject these concepts.

Response
Bahá'ís say that these are misunderstandings of divine truth. References interpreted as meaning reincarnation (tanasukh in Persian) really speak of "return" (rijat), a process whereby the archetype of some saint or prophet manifests itself aeon after aeon. Bahá'u'lláh, for example, was the "return" of Imam Husayn.

See this article (http://bahai-library.com/?file=warwick_hinduism_bahai) for more about Hindu/Baha'i beliefs.

[mayu]

thanks again for the links,

i will be checking out the specific writings on these points, i know for definate that these will be as they were written, as great care is taken to preserve the word as it was written.

:thumbsup:

[Agaliha]

thanks again for the links,

i will be checking out the specific writings on these points, i know for definate that these will be as they were written, as great care is taken to preserve the word as it was written.

:thumbsup:

You're welcome :smile:

[David19]

I think that'd be a good idea-- to look into the official Baha'i stance on the afterlife ;)

There might be Baha'is that do accept reincarnation, but from what I gather, it's not the official standpoint (like it is with Hinduism and Sikhism). The Baha'i Faith puts a different spin on the previous (Abrahamic views) of the afterlife, but doesn't completely disregard it. Rather it just seems more symbolic and less literal.

Bahá'u'lláh didn't write that souls reincarnated, etc

Perhaps ask your study group about the reincarnation thing-- where in the texts it was written, etc. It might have been that person's personal spin on things.

If that aspect is bothering you, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

PS: I found these sites that discuss it--

Reincarnation and the Baha'i Faith
Baha’u’llah did not specifically address this topic in his writings, and because Baha’is believe that he is the promised one of all the ages, one might interpret that to mean that he is the reincarnation of Christ or one of the other previous Manifestations of God. This is not the case. Abdul Baha specifically addresses this issue in the compilation of talks called, “Some Answered Questions.” Abdul Baha explained that what is meant by the “return is not return of the essence, but that of the qualities; it is not the return of the Manifestation, but that of the perfections.”
For the rest, go here. (http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54541.asp)


thanks again for the links,

i will be checking out the specific writings on these points, i know for definate that these will be as they were written, as great care is taken to preserve the word as it was written.

:thumbsup:

Like kardell said, thanks again for the links, they're really interesting :).