Bahá'í - A United Faith

photo of Abdu'l-Baha

The great and fundamental teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are the oneness of God and unity of mankind. This is the bond of union among Bahá'ís all over the world. They become united among themselves, then unite others. It is impossible to unite unless united. Christ said, "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?" This proves there were dissensions and lack of unity among His followers. Hence His admonition to unity of action.

(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 155)

November 28 is the anniversary of the death of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of the Founder of the Faith, Bahá’u’lláh. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whose name means Servant of the Glory (of God), ensured that the unity of the Faith continued after the death of the Founder.  Because of the explicit teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, this unity continues to this day.

As stated on BahaiTeachings.org: "The prophets of God all taught love, kindness and unity; but it can seem inevitable that after their deaths their teachings soon fail to retain any semblance of that original purity. . . . ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's appointment as the head of the Faith represents the unbroken, unified line of spiritual guidance that has safeguarded the Baha’i Faith from division and disunity. It also recognizes the wider covenant that exists between God and humanity, which expresses itself in the prophetic connections that link every Faith. This eternal covenant between God and humanity calls on every human being to recognize and accept all of the founders of the world’s great Faiths, forming the system of divine education Bahá'ís call progressive revelation."

As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said of the world and its people: Through our ignorance and lack of viewpoint we divide this common home, we divide the members of this family into various races, we divide religion into different sects and then with those suppositional divisions we wage war against one another; we shed one another’s blood and we pillage one another’s possessions. Is not this unpardonable ignorance? Is this not the height of injustice? Were we just and could we observe without prejudice we would realize that there are no fundamental differences. 

(Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, pp. 178-179)

Read more on BahaiTeachings.org.