Ben Bet Beh

Please give me the who, what , when, where, why, and how from a Bahai' perspective.

Thanks!

- Ben

cire perdue

Baha'is are taught that man's purpose in life is to know and love God. We are in the image of God in that we contain all the attributes of God, but we are not the infinite being that He is, we were created. Man is noble, he is basically good, that is if trained from childhood, otherwise one can be a little animal that responds to basic wants and needs without appreciating its high potential.

Each world religion had a Manifestation of God who came to man in order to advance man spiritually. That They differ is because of the different intensity of the revelation, because man was not ready to observe the golden rule in King David's time. The overall revelation that contained the golden rule resulted in for example men being willing to die caring for people during plagues in Rome, whereas the pagans ran and abandonned sick family members. This is an example of the spiritual change which is a result of belief.

Man can accomplish things with religious/faithful/spiritual belief that he cannot accomplish by moral or volitional efforts. The Writings of the world religions are a manifestation of the Word or Holy Spirit and because they contain the Holy Spirit adhering to them results in spiritual growth.

Today we live among materialism and decadence that has rejected thousands of years of religious values that has accrued over time. The Baha'i Faith is here because at this time it was needed. We are at the beginning of a spiritual incline that will result in a world renaissance once these values are established. Baha'is do not seek to directly achieve this things, some of them are coming into place without us, but we believe the spirit released in the world is doing it.

Believing in this Faith is the responsibility of individuals who must investigate it with fairness. The test that individuals may apply is to determine if those new Words reach their heart and their soul.

The social teaching of the Baha'i Faith were established in Baha'u'llah's lifetime and He died in 1892. They are phenomenally amazing for that time and have only made increasing sense as time has gone by. Things that seemed mere ideals then are truly possible in today's world. However though these are social teachings, they will succeed only if they are accepted and accomplished by spiritual means, because they are beyond political solutions.

The Jewish people who rejected Christ for not conquering Rome and proclaiming kosher to the world, would now know how wrong they were about that were they to see how completely Rome became Christian and did become absorbed. It simply took time and it was accomplished, but those who had the ears to hear and the eyes to see Him accepted Jesus without conditions, because it was a spiritual task, not a mental exercise.

We are faced today with the same tasks as the pagans and the Jewish people. Is Baha'u'llah the prophet for today? Is He the Lord of Hosts, The Prince of peace, and the Promised One Who would bring the Kingdom to earth? It is every person's sacred task to consider this! A mere impoverished sifter of wheat recognized the Bab where the learned and wealthy did not.

Yeshua

That is a truly stunning reply Cire to the OP's question. I mean - WOW!

BruceDLimber

I agree with what CP said.

And the short version is this.

We have a dual purpose in this life, namely:

• as individuals, to develop the spiritual virtues we'll need both here and in the Next Life
• in aggregate, to carry forward an ever-advancing, spiritually-based civilization

And the purpose of religion is to show us HOW to go about these!

Peace, :-)

Bruce

Yeshua

Also a great reply - in briefer, more concsise form

MaxS1

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cire perdue

Myself and a couple who have been Baha'is for less than a year are reading together outloud with minimal discussion THE COMPREHENSIVE DEEPENING PROGRAM. It's on my mind. That book was a forerunner of the Ruhi Courses. The CDP lost momentum when its author was murdered in 1981 (?) tragically. It still has wonderful information. It is more informational than the Ruhi Courses. Ruhi was designed to train us to serve others, they are not informational per se. I think Ruhi is literally priceless, but it has been misunderstood especially by intelligencia. I know a scholar whose wife has boycotted Ruhi. That is a tragic misunderstanding. I think Ruhi is experiential and cannot simply be read by an individual to its greatest benefit. I believe in a group setting that we spiritually affect each other. Therefore if we come together prayerfully with humility there is a beauty that blooms in one's mind as one participates.

Now this is not going to happen so much for someone who has had to repeat courses over and over for the benefit of others. I have only gotten to do 1 & 2 and part of 4, due to isolation. I know people who service has extended to giving or being in a book dozens of times. That has got to be tough.

There followed the CDP if I am not mistaken by the Personal Transformation Program. I took it. I just glimpsed at it in my array of papers et al, and it also seemed to be rather on an intellectual plane. It is my belief that the Ruhi Courses are unique in that they have left the realm of just intellectual factualizing
and CAN elevate us with a spiritual experience.

Words are useless to religions if they do not lift our hearts and souls. Arguments starting and ending with words can increase defenses make for offensive stances and don't seem to make progress as evidenced by many discussions on BF. The Ruhi Courses evidenced to me that the Baha'i Faith really is different, is current, and can offer something no one else can do. I am so proud of those courses!!! Can you tell?

It is an obstacle sometime when there is so much to learn about this Faith, but I am glad, because I know there will be more to find and treasure, that I can't get tire of it. We still must remember the most important teaching that we can do is to love others. However it must start with me. To truly love others I have to know myself, then I can know others, for we would all do similar things under the same circumstances. How can we not then understand, what another wants and needs? We can even understand denial and when we cannot reach someone.

cire perdue

I think you should go take a Ruhi course and you will safely remain a Catholic as long as you don't drink the tea. Just don't drink the tea. I am warning you.

Yeshua

Are they online and can non-Baha'is go on Ruhi courses?

cire perdue

You would have to find Baha'is. It's done in a group. It's not information, it's experiential...... You might not like it, it does not encourage discussion. I think it encourages an inner process, but I've only done 2 1/2.

LordOfGoblins

There is a limited amount of time in which to cover a reasonable amount of material and people like to ramble and even sometimes debate. Otherwise people do "discuss" things but if it drags on the facilitator will normally bring u back to the text.

Rani

There certainly was a lot of discussion in the ones I have participated in -have to say.

Actually, the facilitator of my Book 1 group asked almost everyone in the group what they thought about each verse that was discussed. It was good, and he did a great job!

InvestigateTruth

I think Even the facilitator of a Ruhi Book can be a non-Baha'i I heard.

arthra

The Ruhi program is world wide in many countries and Baha'i communities offer them... They are for non-Baha'is and offer a summary of what the Baha'i Faith is about.. historically, spiritually, socially..

The Ruhi Institute - Programs and Materials

Yeshua

Thank you Arhtra! Wise and precise as ever

Ben Bet Beh

Well thought out response. Thank you much.