The Messenger of God for this Age
Over one hundred years ago the founder of a new world
religion urgently warned the world that its moral and social
order were decaying quickly.
As a cure for growing chaos, He offered the vision of a
united human race and told us what we must do to make the
vision a reality.
Since then His warnings have been fulfilled, and His
vision is bringing hope to at least five million followers
around the world.
His Name is Bahá'u'lláh
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Bahá'u'lláh
(meaning "The Glory of God") claimed to be God's Messenger to
the age of human maturity, the Divine Teacher who fulfills
the promises of other religions. He claimed to be the
bearer of a revelation from God that addresses humanity's
present-day needs, a revelation that will unite the peoples
of the world.
Anyone who is concerned about the future of our planet or
believes that the solution to the world's problems is
basically spiritual should investigate the powerful effects
that Bahá'u'lláh's life and Writings have already
had on the world. For the first time in history, humanity has
a historic record of the birth of an independent religion and
of the life of its Founder. The new religion's growth is
also recorded and can be seen in the rise of an unusually
diverse, worldwide community of followers.
His Mission
Bahá'u'lláh explained that the Founders of the major religions are all part of a single process by which God reveals His Will for humanity. Every Founder has restated many eternal spiritual truths such as treating others as we wish to be treated. But each Founder has also brought specific social teachings that are suited to the needs of the time in which He appears.
The Teachings of the Messengers of God have always been
the cause of human progress and the advancement of
civilization. The spirit of their word and the example of
their lives have a transforming and unifying effect on the
minds and souls of humanity. As the Messengers of God
redefine what is right and wrong, new codes of civil law and
behavior are born, new institutions that express new morals
come into existence, and a new culture evolves into a new
world order. This process has occurred throughout history.
It can be seen in the series of stages that has taken
humanity from unity of the family, the tribe, the
city-state, and the nation to the threshold of world unity.
Bahá'u'lláh's mission is to bring about the
oneness of humanity. He has built on the work of other Messengers
of God to bring the teachings and initiate the movement that
will unite the entire human race.
His Life
Bahá'u'lláh was born in Persia (now Iran) in 1817
to a family descended from royalty. As a young man, He chose to
give up the life of luxury, and the government career that
could have been His, to care for the poor.
Bahá'u'lláh lived in a time of Messianic expectation
in many lands. Christians awaited the return of Christ.
Muslims expected the fulfillment of Islamic prophecies.
Other religions had similar expectations. In 1863
Bahá'u'lláh declared that He was the One promised
by all religions and that God had entrusted Him with a revelation
addressing humanity's present-day needs.
The response to Bahá'u'lláh's announcement during
His lifetime was dramatic. Thousands arose to support His Cause.
Others, particularly the Muslim clergy and the Persian
government, arose to suppress it. His followers were
persecuted, and many were killed. Bahá'u'lláh Himself
was banished from Persia to Iraq. This was the beginning of
forty years of exile, imprisonment, suffering, and bitter
persecution that climaxed with His banishment to the Turkish
prison city of Akka in the Holy Land. During His years in
exile Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed His Mission to the leaders
and peoples of the world in writings containing His Teachings
for humanity.
His Teachings
In His many Writings Bahá'u'lláh addresses the
great questions that religious thinkers have struggled to answer
throughout the ages: What is the nature of God? What is
His relationship to humanity? What is the role of divine
revelation in history? What is the relationship between the
world's many religions? What is Faith? What is the purpose
of life? Bahá'u'lláh also addresses specific problems
that we face today, such as the equality of women and men; the
security and progress of the family; the elimination of
poverty, prejudice, war, and nationalism; and the
establishment of social justice. In over one hundred
volumes Bahá'u'lláh speaks to the spiritual and
material needs of the individual and society.
"The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on
the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth,
in His unerring wisdom, the remedy... The remedy the world
needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same
as that which a subsequent age may require."
"Do not busy yourselves in your own concerns;
let your thoughts be fixed upon that which will rehabilitate the
fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts and souls of
men. This can best be achieved through pure and holy deeds,
through a virtuous life and goodly behavior."
"The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is
these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of
one branch... So powerful is the light of unity that it can
illuminate the whole earth... Exert yourselves that ye may
attain this transcendent and most sublime station, the
station that can ensure the protection and security of all
mankind."
"Immerse yourselves in the Ocean of My words, that
ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom
that lie hid in its depths... This is the changeless Faith of
God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him
that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that hath refused to
seek it - verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of
His creatures."
His Covenant With Humanity
The coming of Bahá'u'lláh has ushered the world
into a new age and created a new relationship between God and
humanity. Bahá'u'lláh calls this relationship a
"new covenant". God has promised never to leave us without His
loving guidance. Bahá'u'lláh is the fulfillment of
that promise. In return for this gift, we are asked to recognize
and accept His Teachings. As the peoples of the world
recognize and embrace Bahá'u'lláh and His Teachings,
they are receiving divine blessings and assistance that can only
come from God. We are promised that, as we struggle to
fulfill our obligations to the new covenant, we will find
relief from the confusion, chaos, and ruin of society, and
the hatred and violence of our time will be replaced by
world brotherhood and peace.
The Bahá'í community demonstrates the power of
Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant to heal the ills that divide
the human race. This community is still in its infancy and
gives only a glimpse of the far-reaching effect
Bahá'u'lláh's Teachings eventually will have on
humanity. Yet it has already unified many diverse elements of the
human family. In a little over one hundred years the
Bahá'í Faith has spread to every nation and includes
people of every race, religious background, culture, and class.
The life of Bahá'u'lláh, the many volumes of His
Writings, and the example of the growing worldwide Bahá'í
community support His claim to be the Messenger of God for the coming
of age of the human race. You are invited to investigate
the implications of the new Covenant between God and
humanity.
"Every man of insight will, in this day, readily
admit that the counsels which the Pen of this wronged One hath
revealed constitute the supreme animating power for the
advancement of the world and the exaltation of its peoples."
-- Bahá'u'lláh
Copyright © 1994 by
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
United States
Return to Bahá'u'lláh -- The Glory of God
This page is hosted by 