Purpose of Creation

"Having created the world and all that liveth

and moveth therein,
 Purpose of Creation

He, through the direct operation of His

unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to
confer upon man the unique distinction and
capacity to know Him and to love Him --
 Purpose of Creation

a capacity that must needs be regarded as

the generating impulse and the primary
purpose underlying the whole of creation....
 Purpose of Creation
Upon the inmost reality of each and every
created thing He hath shed the light of
one of His names, and made it a recipient
of the glory of one of His attributes."
 Purpose of Creation
"Nearness to God is possible through
devotion to Him,

entrance into the Kingdom,

and service to humanity;
 Purpose of Creation
it is attained by unity with mankind
and through loving-kindness to all;
 Purpose of Creation
it is dependent upon
acquisition
and personalofsanctification.
praiseworthy virtues,

service in theinvestigation
cause of universal peace
of truth,
 Purpose of Creation
In a word, nearness to God necessitates
sacrifice of self,
and the giving up of all to Him.
severance

Nearness is likeness.”
 Purpose of Creation

"The purpose of man's creation is, therefore, unity

and harmony, not discord and separateness."
 The Manifestation of God

God sends Prophets for the

education of the people and
the progress of mankind.

Each such Manifestation

of God has raised
humanity.

They serve the whole world

by the bounty of God.
 The Manifestation of God
The sure proof that they are the Manifestations of God
is in the education and progress of the people.
Influence of Manifestations of God
Judaism

The Jews were in the lowest

condition of ignorance, and
captives under Pharaoh when
Moses appeared and raised them
to a high state of civilization. Thus
was the reign of Solomon brought
about and science and art were
made known to mankind. Even
Greek philosophers became
students of Solomon's teaching.
Thus was Moses proved to be a
Prophet.
 Influence of Manifestations of God
Christianity

After the lapse of time the

Israelites deteriorated, and
became subject to the Romans
and the Greeks. Then the brilliant
Star of Jesus rose from the
horizon upon the Israelites,
brightening the world, until all
sects and creeds and nations were
taught the beauty of unity. There
cannot be any better proof than
this that Jesus was the Word of
God.
 Influence of Manifestations of God
Islam

So it was with the Arabian nations

who, being uncivilized, were
oppressed by the Persian and
Greek governments. When the
Light of Muhammad shone forth
all Arabia was brightened. These
oppressed and degraded peoples
became enlightened and cultured;
so much so, indeed, that other
nations imbibed Arabian
civilization from Arabia. This was
the proof of Muhammad's divine
mission.
 Two Types of Teachings

...man needs an educator...he must be at the same time their

material and human as well as their spiritual educator -- that is
to say, he must teach men to organize and carry out physical
matters, and to form a social order in order to establish
cooperation and mutual aid in living so that material affairs
may be organized and regulated for any circumstances that may
occur...
Two Types of Teachings

He must also impart

spiritual education...He
must so educate the
human reality that it
may become the center
of the divine
appearance, to such a
degree that the
attributes and the
names of God shall be
resplendent in the
mirror of the reality of
man
 Two Types of Teachings
The Manifestations of God are as the heavenly
bodies. All have their appointed place and time
of ascension, but the Light they give is the same.
 Oneness of Religion
Christianity and the Baha'i Faith

Atonement He, in truth, has offered up His life as a ransom for

the redemption of the world

Repentance Wherefore, hearken ye unto My speech, and return

ye to God and repent, that He, through His grace,
may have mercy upon you, may wash away your
sins, and forgive your trespasses.

Everlasting Life All the favors of God have been sent down as a
token of His grace. The waters of everlasting life,
have, in their fulness, been proffered unto men

Reborn in Faith ...man must be born again. As the babe is born into
the light of this physical world, so must the physical
and intellectual man be born into the light of the
world of Divinity.

Forgiveness of Sins ...return ye to God and repent, that He through His

grace, may have mercy upon you, may wash away
your sins and forgive your trespasses
 Oneness of Religion
Islam and the Baha'i Faith

Justice

O ye who believe! Stand out firmly
for justice as witness to Allah, even
as against yourselves, or your parents,
or your kin, and whether it be (against)
rich or poor: for Allah can best protect
both
The best beloved of all things in
My sight is Justice; turn not away
therefrom if thou desirest Me, and
neglect it not that I may confide in
thee

Kindness to Parents

Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship
none but Him, and that ye be kind to
parents. Whether one or both of them
attain old age in thy life, say not to them
a word of contempt, nor repel them, but
address them in terms of honor. And, out
of kindness, lower to them the wing of
humility...
Say, O My people! Show honour to
your parents and pay homage to
them. This will cause blessings to
descend upon you from the clouds
of the bounty of your Lord, the
Exalted, the Great.
 The Path to Truth
Abandoning all duties, This is the path. There is Whoso seeks guidence
come to Me alone for no other that leads to elsewhere, God will lead him
shelter. vision. astray.

Bhagavad Gita 18:66 Dhammapada 20:274 Imam'Ali, Hadith

Hinduism Buddhism Islam

2000 BCE 628 563 1 CE 570 1844

Zoroastrianism Christianity Baha'i

There is only one religious way.
This one way is that of good
thoughts, good words, and good
deeds, the way of heaven, of light
and of purity, of the infinite
Creator.
The Teachings of the Magi, p.22
I am the way, the
truth and the life. No
one comes to the
Father except through
Me.
John 14:6
He that hath Me not is
bereft of all things. Turn
ye away from all that is
on earth and seek none
else but Me.
Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p.169
 The Promised One

Hinduism "Whenever there is a decay of righteousness, then I Myself

come forth... for the sake of firmly establishing
2000 BCE righteousness, I am born from age to age."

"When a thousand two hundred and some years have

Zoroastrianism passed from the inception of the religion of the Arabian and
the overthrow of the kingdom of Iran and the degradation of
628 BCE the followers of My religion, a descendant of the Iranian
kings will be raised up as a Prophet."
 The Promised One
'Who shall teach us when Thou art gone?'

And the Blessed One replied:

...'I am not the first Buddha Who came upon this earth, nor shall I
Buddhism be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world, a Holy
One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct,
563 BCE auspicious knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a
Master of angels and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal
truths which I have taught you. He will preach to you His religion,
glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax and glorious at the goal, in
spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect
and pure, such as I now proclaim.' His disciples will number many
thousands, while Mine number many hundreds.'

Ananda said,

'How shall we know Him?'

The Blessed One replied:

'He will be known as Maitreya, which means He Whose name is

"kindness.'"
 The Promised One

Christianity "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you unto
1 CE all truth..."

He will return you (on the Day of Judgment)

Islam
One day the earth will be changed to a different earth, and so
570 CE will be the heavens, and (men) will be marshalled forth, before
Allah, the One, the Irresistible;
 Baha'u'llah
"This is the Day in which God's most excellent
favours have been poured out upon men, the
day in which His mighty grace hath been
infused into all created things. It is incumbent
upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile
their differences, and with perfect amity and
peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree
of His care and loving-kindness."

Baha'u'llah...

was the founder of the Baha'i Faith

lived from 1817 to 1892

was a Persian nobleman

suffered 40 years of exile and

imprisonment
revealed more than 100 volumes of sacred
writings
Baha'u'llah
 The Baha'i Faith
Baha'i principles include
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The equality of women and men obliterated.”
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Full racial integration treasures.”
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Economic justice develop.”
Universal education
The harmony of science and religion
The adoption of a universal auxiliary
language
The creation of a world commonwealth
of nations that will keep the peace
through collective security
The Worldwide Baha'i Community
The Baha'i Faith...
is established in more than 190
countries

is the second-most widespread

independent world religion

is among the fastest growing religions

in the world

Baha'is...
are working towards the creation of
an ever-advancing, sustainable
world civilization.

The Baha'i community...

conducts its affairs through a distinctive
system of freely elected lay governing
councils, which comprise a global network
 The Local Baha'i Community
Baha'is...
strive to uphold high moral standards
in all their actions

pray and meditate daily

have launched more than 3,000

educational environmental, social, and
economic development projects

The Baha'i community...

is not governed by clergy

participates in holy day

commemorations, monthly
Feasts, and core activities: study
circles, devotionals, children's
classes and junior youth groups
 References

Photos from cambridgebahais.org, wikipedia, and media.bahai.org

Photos by Marco Abrar –bahaipictures.com

Writings of the Baha'i Faith available at reference.bahai.org

Animation of religious history available at

http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html

Text about the Baha'i Faith and the Baha'i community from the magazine “The Baha'is”