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The Bahá'í Faith, like all other Divine
religions... is fundamentally mystic in
character.
The core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which
unites man with God. This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and
maintained by means of meditation and prayer.
These statements from the Bahá'í writings indicate that the
Bahá'í Faith is much more than simply a social movement with noble goals such
as overcoming prejudice, promoting the equality of women and men, advocating
world peace, and so forth. The social goals of the Faith and the dedication
that it inspires in its followers have a deep religious foundation.
Religion's significance for individuals and society has been
commented on by the international governing council of the Faith:
Religion, as we are all aware, reaches to the
roots of motivation. When it has been faithful to the spirit and example of the
transcendent Figures who gave the world its great belief systems, it has
awakened in whole populations capacities to love, to forgive, to create, to
dare greatly, to overcome prejudice, to sacrifice for the common good and to
discipline the impulses of animal instinct. Unquestionably, the seminal force
in the civilizing of human nature has been the influence of the succession of
these Manifestations of the Divine that extends back to the dawn of recorded
history.
The Bahá'í
writings state:
Religion... is not a series of beliefs, a set
of customs; religion is the teachings of the Lord God, teachings which
constitute the very life of humankind, which urge high thoughts upon the mind,
refine the character, and lay the groundwork for man's everlasting honour.
As viewed by the Bahá'í teachings, spirituality and religion
are intimately connected with all aspects of life. The ideal way of life
advocated by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Faith, includes daily prayer and
meditation. These devotional practices provide inspiration and insight — but
spiritual inspiration is not meaningful unless it is put into practice through
work and service to others. The Bahá'í Writings go so far as to say: "Work done in the spirit of service
is the highest form of worship…"
The Bahá'í
writings emphasise that true religion is above all a matter of inward attitude
rather than outward forms:
The most acceptable prayer is the
one offered with the utmost spirituality and radiance; its prolongation hath
not been and is not beloved by God. The more detached and the purer the prayer,
the more acceptable is it in the presence of God.
There are some specific devotional practices in the Bahá'í
Faith, but there are no elaborate rituals or ceremonies. Bahá'í communities
meet regularly for collective worship, which consists of readings from sacred
writings and sometimes music and singing. There are no sermons at these
meetings.
Carrying out the personal devotional practices of the Faith
is a matter of personal conscience. Bahá'ís do not check up on one another's
actions in this regard.
Each year there is a 19-day period of fasting, when adult
Bahá'ís do not eat or drink during daylight hours. Bahá'u'lláh, in his
writings, asked his followers to recite an obligatory prayer at least once each
day. There are three of these obligatory prayers to choose from. He also asked
that each Bahá'í read at least a little from the holy writings of the Faith
each morning and evening, and to reflect on the meaning of the words. The other
personal devotional practice performed by Bahá'ís is the repetition of the
Arabic word "Allah'u'Abha" (God is all-glorious), 95 times each day,
which is a form of meditation on the grandeur of God.
The Bahá'í wedding vow consists of the words, "We will
all, verily, abide by the will of God", spoken by each partner in turn.
For Bahá'í funerals there is a special prayer for the departed.
Religion, however, is not just concerned with the happiness
of individuals. It also has a responsibility to promote the wellbeing of
society as a whole. The central goal of the Bahá'í Faith is to promote the
unity of the entire human family. This theme is explored in the section of this
website headed Vision of peace.
There is more about the Bahá'í teachings on personal
spirituality under Spirituality.
For information about Bahá'í devotional gatherings and Holy
Days that you can attend, see Collective worship.
Quotations in context
Click on the links below to search for quotations from
this page, in Bahá'í reference websites.
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