Baha'i Shrine, Baha'i Faith

Shrine of the Bab, Haifa 

I was thinking about my visit to this Baha'i shrine in Haifa and the following words from a twentieth century English poet came to mind:

                "We shall not cease from exploring

                and the end of all our exploring

                will be to arrive where we started

                and know the place for the first time."

Sure, T.S.Eliot would have had much deeper thoughts in mind than my application of his words but they did represent for me my experience with the Baha'i faith. My trip to this shrine on the other side of the world ended up half a kilometre from home.

A Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land and we are visiting the Shrine of the Bab. What on earth is going on? Don't remember reading about the Bab in the Bible. On second thought, I don't remember ever hearing about the Bab either. Who is the Bab, that there should be a shrine erected to him. And after seeing the shrine in all its surrounding beauty, I realised that "the Bab", if indeed he was a person, was more important than being the captain of the local football team.

The glittering shrine, set in the terraced slopes of Mt Carmel overlooking Haifa, demanded a closer look but we were not able to approach too closely. This was a pity for the overall setting was very surprising. And many terraces up the hill, at the upper extreme of the site, another surprise awaited - the smiling face of a Samoan security guard.

"You're a long way from home."

"Yes, Sir. Just happy to be doing service to my faith and mankind."

What an uplifting attitude!

But think about it. Mt Carmel, the site which once, according to the Old Testament writer, was the place where prophets of the false god Baal were defeated and slaughtered, now draws thousands to meditate on the Baha'i Shrine. The many other thousands come merely to enjoy the view.

The Baha'i Shrine in Haifa

I enjoyed the view and then asked myself, "What is this Baha'i Faith?"

Along the highway leading to where I live, near a popular service station, is a sign advertising the Baha'i faith. I have driven past it many times, sometimes noticing it, other times not. I remember thinking at times, "What is a sign like that doing here?" But I never bothered finding out anything further. After my visit to Haifa and the Shrine there, I was prompted into action. I walked down the street to visit an old acquaintance of mine who I knew follows the Baha'i Faith.

Now I realise that it is a bit much fronting up to an old acquaintance and then asking him to explain his religion. Put yourself in his shoes. Assuming you are a Christian and a friend out of the blue asks you, "What is Christianity all about?" how would you answer? I am fairly sure that there would be different answers from different people. That's not a bad thing for when you think about it, each of us has our own  understandings and beliefs. But I am getting off the point. Back to my friend.

"So, Steve, what can you tell me about the Baha'i Faith?"

His reply was a question to me - a good tactic. "Have you ever noticed that Baha'i sign beside the Hatton Vale Servo?"

"I've driven past it many times. I know it's a Baha'i sign, but I don't really know what it says."

"Fat lot of good it seems to be doing! It says" One God, Many messengers". There is a number of religious symbols around this message. Symbols like a cross for Christianity, "om" symbol for Hinduism, the Jewish star, and the Islam symbol. Probably others as well."

"OK, but what does that all mean?"

"As I understand it," Steve continued," there is one God who is the source of creation. All the great religions of the world pay respect to him in their own way. Let's face it, we cannot understand, or know God, and so each group has come up with its own interpretation."

I caught on to what Steve was getting at and put in my bit. "And those symbols of the various religious groups are telling us that each of these religions in its own way is a messenger bringing us an understanding of the one God."

"Yes, we like to think that there is a basic unity within the various religions, each directing their thoughts towards the same God. And each one adding a bit more to our understanding of the Divine"

"To the outside observer that doesn't seem to be the case."

"No, unfortunately; but we live in an imperfect world. There is also another of our beliefs which can be hard to see. We see a unity in humanity where all people are created equal and should be respected and treated with love and dignity."

"I would hope that's something that one should find in all religions, but it's often hard to see. All that you mention is theory, or should I say doctrine? How do you live out your faith if it's not too personal a question?"

"I pray to that God of creation - prayers of thanks for what we are given and for strength and desire to use wisely what we have been given. I spend a lot of time meditating. I think of what I have done and what I should be doing. How I can be of help to those who are in a less fortunate position than I am."

" Do you attend a worship service?"

"No, I don't. Other Baha'is gather for meetings but I'm not into that."

And so our discussion continued. Steve happy to express his understanding of his faith and I interested in what he had to say. A lot of what he said made good sense to me. My questions about the Baha'i faith began while overlooking the Israeli port of Haifa. The answers lay just down the road from home.