Area Bahai’s prepare to celebrate founder’s birthday
November 1, 2010
By Christopher Huber
Updated: Nov. 2, 11:22 p.m.
A small but growing group of Sammamish residents will celebrate its most important holiday of the year Nov. 12.
The 60 or so Baha’is in Sammamish will commemorate the birth of Baha’u’llah, the faith’s founder, born in 1817 in Persia, now Iran.
To observe the holy day, followers stay home from work and school, read scriptures and gather in fellowship, said Saeed Zamani and Cale Berkey, residents and members of the faith. Sammamish Baha’is also recently celebrated the Oct. 20, 1819 birth of the Bab, considered to be the one who heralded the coming of Baha’u’llah.
“Nov. 12 is like Christmas,” Zamani said.
Baha’u’llah, whose name means “glory of God,” founded the Baha’i faith in Persia in 1844. Baha’i is an independent, monotheistic religion and is based on Baha’u’llah’s writings and teachings. It has more than five million adherents in 236 countries, according to the Baha’i U.S. office of communications.
He proclaimed that God sends divine messengers, or manifestations — Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster and the Bab — that enable humanity to know and worship God, Zamani said in a press release. The Persian-born Baha’u’llah is the most recent manifestation of what Baha’is believe are progressive stages of revelation of God’s will.
Baha’is believe the Bab was the herald who prepared the way for Baha’u’llah and called on people to purify themselves for the coming day of God.
“Everything is revolving around the unity of humanity,” Berkey said. “We recognize that all humanity are children of God.”
Berkey and Zamani said the Baha’i faith’s core tenets direct one to a belief in a loving God and to a desire to abstain from certain unhealthy lifestyles, like drinking alcohol.
“There is a conception of right and wrong, for sure,” Berkey said. “Through action … there is sort of a way … and we live and are free to do what we want. The writings are offered as a source of love.”
The faith’s holy writings teach rules and guidelines to live by, but it’s not necessarily a checklist they must follow to be “good” followers, they said.
“God is a loving entity,” Berkey said. “(The laws are) for our own good and the good of others around us.”
The faith does not have clergy, but a central group of officials, who are elected each year, Zamani said.
The Sammamish Baha’i faith has been active since 2000, said Zamani. The current members meet in various homes once a month and sometimes gather for special occasions and holy days at the Eastside Baha’i Center in Bellevue.
They hold numerous community and devotional gatherings and classes throughout the year, including holy book studies and children’s faith-building classes.
“The point is really to study the writings,” Zamani said.
For more information on the Sammamish Baha’i community, visit www.sammamishbahais.org.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
Comments
2 Responses to “Area Bahai’s prepare to celebrate founder’s birthday”
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
I like to clarify a point about a Baha’i law regarding abstaining from alcoholic drinks. To help with proper interpretation of the above article, it should be noted that Baha’i law does not allow any consumption of alcoholic beverages unless specifically prescribed by a medical doctor. This law helps humanity to not lose control of ones ability to reason and make good conscious decisions, and it helps protect us and those around us that could be affected by our actions when under the influence of alcohol.
Nicely done, Christopher! Thank you for such a well-rounded account.
In these days of violently partisan politics I think it’s worth adding that while Baha’is are encouraged to vote and engage in social activism and public discourse, we do not register with political parties. Party politics are a source of division which is counter to the teachings and spirit of the Faith. Baha’is strive to put into practice in their daily lives—whether in business, personal behavior, or social action—principles of unity in diversity.
A shout out to the Baha’is of Sammamish and the greater Bellevue area!