From: Brian Aull <aull@ll.mit.edu>
Subject: Answers to questions for the panel discussion
To: mkgray@MIT.EDU
Cc: mitbahai@MIT.EDU, halflite@aol.com
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 98 08:15:40 -0400
Message-Id: <9804120815.AA14342@LL.MIT.EDU>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii"
Lines: 217
Xref: john-muir.media.mit.edu personal.mit:1349

Matthew,   Here is the info you requested for a background info pamphet
for Tuesday evening's

panel.    I thank you and the MITAAH for putting on this event.   It
was a great idea, and in fact ought to be done on a regular basis
(perhaps on somewhat different topics each time.)


____________________________________________________________________


The Baha'i Faith


References:


The Baha'i Faith:  The Emerging Global Religion by William Hatcher and
Douglas Martin, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1984.    A text suitable
for rigorous study at an introductory level.


The Baha'is:  A Profile of the Baha'i Faith and Its Worldwide
Community.    An in-depth magazine-size publication by the Office of
Public Information at the Baha'i International Community.  Also
available on the oneworld Web site listed below.


Web sites:

http://www.bahai.org/     

http://oneworld.wa.com/bahai/magazine/homepage.html

http://web.mit.edu/mitba/www/


For a profile of some of the Baha'i community's race relations efforts,
see

 "The Power of Race Unity", which will be aired on Channel 68 WABU 

on Sundays April 26, May 10, and May 24 at 11 am, 

and on Fridays May 1, 8, 15, 22 at 8:30 am.


o  What is/are the basic tenet(s) of your faith?


Baha'u'llah (1817-1892), the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith,

taught that there is one God Who progressively reveals His will

to humanity. Each of the great religions brought by the Messengers of
God

-- Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, Zoroaster -- represents a

successive stage in the spiritual development of civilization.
Baha'u'llah, the

most recent Messenger in this line, has brought teachings that address
the

moral and spiritual challenges of the modern world. At the heart of
Baha'i belief is the conviction that humanity is a single people with a
common destiny. In the words of Baha'u'llah,  "The earth is but one
country, and mankind its citizens."    Other core teachings include the
independent investigation of truth, the elimination of prejudice, the
equality of the sexes, the harmony of science and religion, the
elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth, and a world commonwealth
of nations.   The Baha'i writings uphold a very high moral standard,
stressing the importance of honesty, trustworthiness, chastity,
generosity, and service to others.


o  Briefly summarize the history of your faith


The Baha'i Faith arose in the mid-19th century in Iran.    A young
merchant in Shiraz, titled the Bab (the "gate") claimed to be the
return of the 12th Imam prophesied in Shi'ah Muslim traditions. The
Bab's mission was twofold: He first announced to the people of His
native land His own station as an independent Messenger and He also
prepared the way for the coming of another Manifestation (messenger) of
God, a Prophet who would announce His station soon after The Bab.


The next six years marked a dramatic increase in both the number of
persons who became followers of the Bab and in the energy spent by the
Shi'ah clergy of Iran to stamp out this new religion. Eventually 20,000
Babis would be put to death for their beliefs. The Bab Himself was
imprisoned and was executed in July of 1850.  Many Babis were also
imprisoned. Among them was Mirza Husayn-`Ali, entitled Baha'u'llah (The
Glory of God) by The Bab. Imprisoned for several months in 1853 in
Tehran and then exiled to Iraq, in the city of Baghdad in 1863
Baha'u'llah announced to the world His station as the One for Whom the
Bab had prepared the way. The majority of the Babis accepted
Baha'u'llah's claim and became known as Baha'is (the followers of
Baha).


The Baha'i Faith has spread all over the world and has significant
communities in more countries than any other major religion except
Christianity.


  o  What is the purpose of life?


For Baha'is, the purpose of life is to know and love God, and to
progress spiritually.   As in most other religions, prayer and
meditation are primary tools for spiritual development.   However, acts
of service to humanity are also essential to spiritual growth, and
another purpose of life is to carry forward an ever-advancing
civilization.   The Baha'i teachings elevate work performed in a spirit
of service to the rank of worship.    The complementary nature of
prayer and action are reflected in the very structure of the Baha'i
Houses of Worship, consisting of centers for prayer and mediation
surrounded by institutions that carry out charitable and humanitarian
functions.


 o  What happens to us after death?


As in the world's other religions, the Baha'i concept of life after
death is deeply

integrated into teachings about the nature of the soul and the purpose
of this earthly life.

Baha'u'llah confirmed the existence of a separate, rational soul for
every human. In

this life, He said, the soul is related to the physical body. It
provides the underlying animation for the body, and is our real self.


The soul does not die; it endures everlastingly. When the human body
dies, the soul is freed from ties with the physical body and the
surrounding physical world and begins its progress through the
spiritual world. Baha'is understand the spiritual world to be a
timeless and placeless extension of our own universe--and not some
physically remote or removed place.


Entry into the next life has the potential to bring great joy.
Baha'u'llah likened death to the process of birth. He explains: "The
world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different
from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother."


  o  What is the origin of man?  Of the universe?


Baha'u'llah teaches that the physical creation is without beginning in
time.   It is a perpetual emanation from the Creator.   Worlds and
systems undergo transformation, composition, and decomposition, but
their component elements remain.   The "creation" of our universe was
not "making something out of nothing", but rather was a bringing
together of elements that had previously been scattered.   Baha'u'llah
affirms that the particular universe that gave rise to our planet goes
back billions of years.  He even described, in terms that seem to hint
at a quantum theory of the Big Bang, how this universe came about
through the "heat generated from the interaction between the active
force and that which is its recipient."


Baha'is also see no contradiction between modification of species by
natural processes and the notion of creation having a Creator and a
purpose.   The human species is millions of years old, having evolved
from less complex biological forms.    However, the Baha'i Faith
teaches that man was a distinct species from the beginning,  and even
when our remote ancestors were simple organisms physically, they
possessed a distinct spiritual potentiality.


  o  Where does morality come from?  How do we know what is right?


Baha'u'llah teaches that God conferred upon human beings "the unique
distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him."   So people have
the ability to appreciate the beauty of God, as revealed in a pervasive
and general way in creation, and in a specific way through His
Messengers.


These Manifestations of God -- the spiritual luminaries that have
founded the great religions of humanity -- are the primary moral and
spiritual educators of the human race.    Through their lives and
example, we get our clearest glimpse of the attributes of the Creator. 
 Through their influence, the human soul is awakened.   Through the
Word of God, revealed by each one of these Beings, ethical standards
are established and renewed.


************************************************************

lllll      llllll     llllll      Brian F. Aull

l    l     l          l    l      577 Putnam Avenue #3, Cambridge MA
02139-4834

lllll      lllll      llllll      AULL@LL.MIT.EDU

l    l     l          l    l      (617)-981-4676 (office)    
(617)-981-5957 (FAX)

lllll      l          l    l      (617)-868-5672 (home)   

************************************************************