Why Are Baha'is Persecuted in Egypt & Iran? Part-2

Prison cell of Baha'u'llah while in exile (closed door on left)

This is a continuation of the previous post regarding the message of the Baha'i religion and its intended purpose.

Those who oppose the Baha'is in Egypt and Iran claim that the Baha'i religion is not a "heavenly" or a "divine" one, and that it is a man-made philosophy and such other unfounded claims by those who are ill-intentioned or misinformed.

Even with such ongoing opposition and the repeated attempts at the extermination of the founders and followers of the religion at its birthplace, the Faith has proven its worth by surviving such desperate maneuvers for over a century and a half. It is now considered as one of the fastest growing religions and it has been recognized, after Christianity, as the second-most widespread religion in global geographic distribution.

The following paragraphs and quote give a glimpse of some of the basic teachings of the Baha'i Faith that illustrate the clear message on how man should regard his Creator and the power of His revelation through His Manifestations on earth:

The first of Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings I will describe for you is about God and our relationship with Him. Bahá’u’lláh teaches us that God is unknowable in His Essence. This means that we should not make images of God in our mind, thinking of Him, for example, as a man. In general, that which has been created cannot understand its creator. For instance, a table cannot understand the nature of the carpenter who made it. The carpenter’s existence is totally incomprehensible to the objects he makes.

God is the Creator of all things. He has made the heavens and earth, with its mountains and valleys, its deserts and seas, its rivers, its meadows and trees. God has created the animals and God has created the human being. The reason behind our creation, we are told by Bahá’u’lláh, is love. He says:

“O Son of Man! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.”

So although God’s existence is far beyond our understanding, His love touches our lives and our beings ceaselessly. The way this love flows to us is through His Eternal Covenant. According to this Eternal Covenant, God never leaves us alone and without guidance. Whenever humanity moves away from Him and forgets His Teachings, a Manifestation of God appears and makes His Will and Purpose known to us.

The word “manifest” means to reveal, to bring forth something that was not known before. The Manifestations of God are those special Beings Who reveal to humanity the Word and the Will of God; thus when we listen to Them, we are responding to the Call of God.

There is an example from the physical world that helps us to understand the concept of “Manifestation” as taught by Bahá’u’lláh. In this world, the sun is the source of all warmth and light, without which life would not exist on the planet. Yet the sun itself does not descend to earth, and if we tried to approach it, we would be totally consumed.

But suppose we take a well-polished mirror and point it towards the sun. In it we will see the image of the sun, and the more perfectly polished the mirror, the more perfect the image will be. The Manifestations of God are like perfect Mirrors that reflect the Light of God in all its Splendor. And all these Mirrors reflect the same Light. While God is beyond our reach, these perfect Beings come to us from time to time, live among us, give us guidance, and fill us with the energy we need to progress, materially and spiritually.

To be continued....