How do you practice your Spirituality? A Bahá’í Perspective
Introduction by Cole Goodwin
Welcome to The Spiritual Roundtable, an interfaith roundtable featuring a diverse range of spiritual belief systems in the Gorge Community.
Each week, spiritual leaders and learners will share their take on some of humanity's biggest questions, starting with: What does your spirituality mean to you? And ramping up into discussions about the nature of existence, the soul, the divine, and of course…a question as old as time itself: why are we here?
Roundtable writings will be published each Saturday and Sunday of the month. So look forward to new installments every Saturday and Sunday morning!
Take a deep breath… Meditate for a moment…And when you’re ready…keep reading to explore the diverse faiths, belief systems, and philosophies that exist in our communities.
This Month's Question: What is your belief systems basic belief structure? What are some of the major celebrations or rites of passage? What are some of the core beliefs and major practices?
Why this question was chosen: This question asks us to examine the basic principles and values that guide our Spirituality and expand our understanding of the many paths one can walk to live a Spiritual life.
Rene Weiler lives in Lyle, Washington where she raised her family with her husband Bill. She is a recently retired physical therapist, and loves building community in any way she can!
Learn more at: gorgebahais.org. We also have one public and one private Facebook group for Bahá’ís in the Gorge.
The official website sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í Faith in the United States is Bahai.us, and the official Website of the Worldwide Bahá’í Community is Bahai.org.
A Bahá’í Perspective
By Irene Weiler
I vividly recall the very first time I ever encountered the word Baha'i or the name Baha'u'llah. I was a young college student suddenly encountering a world of new ideas. On my way to class that day I passed a display which featured a large diagramatic planet earth, with the text from Baha'u'llah: "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens."
Despite the loving nature of this quotation, embracing all humanity as one family, I recall that in my youthful immaturity I scoffed with disdain at this idea, especially because it proffered the words of someone other than Jesus. But although my initial reaction was negative, I now remember that moment as THE watershed moment in my life; exposure to the sacred words of Baha'u'llah. I imagine many of you readers, just like my 18 year old self, may not have heard of the Baha'i Faith, as it had its origins only a little more than 150 years ago in a part of the world (Persia) obscure to many of us. But perhaps you have heard of Baha'i, as it is the second most geographically widespread religion (second only to Christianity) and chances are that in whatever village or city you reside on whatever continent, it is likely you have some Baha'i friends or neighbors. Yes even in little Lyle, where I live! In fact, all of us here in the Gorge have a surprising and historic connection with the Baha'i Faith, as the first royalty to fully align herself with this Revelation was Queen Marie of Romania to whom the Maryhill museum was dedicated by Sam Hill.
I look back on the decades since I first saw that world embracing display at Boston University, and I see with eyes of gratitude how the practices and core teachings of this Faith have completely shaped my life. I thank God that I grew past the hard shell of rigid thinking to embrace a faith that is for me living, real, growing. My little acorn self began to break open into a tender seedling and then into a tree that hopefully bears fruit not only for the transformation of my own inner being but also for the betterment of the world around me.
"Let your vision be world-embracing rather than confined to your own self." -Baha'u'llah
Baha'u'llah taught that all of the great world religions spring from one Divine Source. You can think of religion as a Sacred Book with many chapters, each with the purpose to advance humankind spiritually and materially. Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad, Christ, Baha'u'llah and others from time immemorial into the the unknown future are bringers of great Educatting religions expressing the eternal love the Creator has for us in sending continual guidance for our well-being. Each chapter of this one Holy Book is suited to the time in which it appeared, each prophesied by the previous, each building and adding to the spiritual and social teachings of theTeacher who came before.
"This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future."
Just as I, and each of us, grew and developed from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, so do all living things, and religion too is a growing living thing. Baha'u'llah's central message for the time in which we live is that of unity. There is but one God, humanity is one family, and all the religions are one. It is now time to step into this inherent oneness, to recognize the eternal fact that we are one human family.
"Baha'u'llah has drawn the circle of unity. He has made a design for the uniting of all the peoples. and for the gathering of them all under the under the tent of universal unity. This is the work of the Divine Bounty and we must all strive with heart and soul until we have the reality of unity in our midst." Baha'i Writings.
Baha'u'llah wrote over 100 volumes of sacred text. Because His Revelation is so vast, I cannot even "scratch the surface" in what I am able to share here, but please permit me to offer just a simple list to give you a brief sampling of some of the core teachings and practices.
What do Baha'is strive to do in their daily lives?
1.Pray
2. Offer their work in a spirit of service.
3. Forgive
4. Be humble
5. Be generous.
6. See the good in each and all.
7. Root out all prejudice.
8. Be honest and trustworthy.
9. Live a life of service to others.
We have a calendar of 19 months of 19 days each and on the first day of each Baha'i month we gather as a community. There is no clergy, but there are elected bodies of nine that guide the affairs of the community at the local, national and international levels.
The life of a Baha'i and the Baha'i community is vibrant and service oriented, outward looking instead of congregational, embracing all neighbors, friends and protagonists who share the desire to work together for the betterment of the world through spiritual means. There is so much to learn and do and each person has something unique and powerful to bring to the table. Life on this earth is a special time to learn, grow closer to our Creator, and serve our fellowman. Lovely to be with you all today here on these pages. Thanks for reading these humble thoughts. If you would like to explore further, I encourage you to talk to a Baha'i neighbor, check out a book in the library, or go to www.bahai.org or bahai.us.
"Do not be satisfied until each one with whom you are concerned is to you as a member of your family. Regard each one either as a father, or as a brother, or as a sister, or as a mother, or as a child. If you can attain to this, your difficulties will vanish, you will know what to do." - Baha'i Writings
Want to contribute to the Spiritual Roundtable? Read this first.
The Roundtable Mission and Vision
The goal of these roundtable writings is to:
Bring the spiritual community together.
Share ideas that elevate the human spirit.
Elevate the conversation around the spirit.
Embrace what is universal to all, while honoring what is special about each spirituality.
Center inclusivity and equity.
Promote our collective enlightenment.
Nurture civility and friendship between those with diverse belief systems in the Gorge.
Engage readers and spiritual seekers.
The Spiritual Roundtable IS NOT…
This is not a place for arguing about dogma.
This is not a place for ‘hating on’ or putting other belief systems down.
This is not a place for excluding, discriminating, or promoting fear or violence towards other people based on their race, color, ethnicity, beliefs, faith, gender, sexuality, ability.
This is not a place for hatred.
This is not a place for fear.
The Spiritual Roundtable IS..
This IS a place for hope.
This IS a place for joy.
This IS a place for comfort.
This IS a place for big questions.
This IS a place for learning.
This IS a place for sharing.
This IS a place for caring.
This IS a place for sharing what is special about your beliefs.
CCC News reserves the right to not publish any content that breaks with our mission, vision and values.
If you are interested in being included in the roundtable please email cole@columbiacommunityconnection.com
