Marriage

Author(s): Natubhai Shah
Publisher: UK Jain Academy

Page 57

BAHA'I BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS
Origin
The Baha'i faith was founded by Baha'u'llah in Iran in 1863. The followers of Baha'u'llah were descended from the Bábis (believers in the Báb who foretold the mission of Baha'u'llah). There are 6 million Bahá'ís in the world, in 235 countries and around 6,000 live in Britain.
Beliefs
Bahá'ís believe there is one God and that all the universe and creation belong to him; God is transcendent, omnipotent, perfect and has complete knowledge of life. All human beings are different, but equal; there should be no inequality between races or sexes. The central idea of the faith is that of unity. Bahá'ís believe that people should work together for the common benefit of humanity. Each human being has an immortal soul. The soul is the spiritual reality of a person, which does not die when their body dies. It moves to another plane of existence, which we cannot understand while we are on earth. The soul does not live in the body but is connected with it in a way that is not explained. This connection begins at the moment of conception. There is clearly great continuity between the experiences of the soul during our bodily life and the after-life. Bahá'ís believe that a good marriage will continue as a bond between two souls after bodily death.
God reveals his divine purpose through his manifestations. Their writings give guidance for the spiritual progress of individuals and by doing so help to shape society. The Manifestations of God include: Adam, Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, The Báb, Baha'u'llah and many more not mentioned.
Daily life
"To be a Bahá'í simply means to love the whole world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood."
Bahá'ís concentrate on the betterment of the world, through pure and goodly deeds and through commendable and seemly conduct.
Bahá'u'lláh's taught that 'religion should be the cause of love and unity' are reflected in the worldwide Bahá'í community. Positive social change is, from a Bahá'í perspective, a challenge that requires the world's different peoples to regard each other as one human family, and to be genuinely concerned for the prosperity and wellbeing of every member of that family. This
57