Abdu’l-Baha’s dim view of Buddhists and Buddhism

March 10, 2013 Leave a comment

Abdu’l Baha Said : 

Placing Buddha amongst theist prophets would probably not sit well with him seeing that he was agnostic at best and perhaps even an atheist. One of Buddhas three primary teachings is anatman, no permanent soul, jiva. The Baha’i Faiths co-opting of Buddhism is quite shallow considering Abdu’l-Baha’s dim view of Buddhists and Buddhism as lapsed theism: “‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: The real teaching of Buddha is the same as the teaching of Jesus Christ. The teachings of all the Prophets are the same in character. Now men have changed the teaching. If you look at the present practice of the Buddhist religion, you will see that there is little of the Reality left. Many worship idols although their teaching forbids it. … The teaching of Buddha was like a young and beautiful child, and now it has become as an old and decrepit man. Like the aged man it cannot see, it cannot hear, it cannot remember anything. Why go so far back? Consider the laws of the Old Testament: the Jews do not follow Moses as their example nor keep his commands. So it is with many other religions.” (Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha in London, p. 63)***

Anyone who has a true understanding of Buddhism knows just how untrue what Abdu’l-Baha’ said about Buddhism is. Abdu’l-Baha’s knowledge of Buddhism was obviously quite limited and based on the Shiah Islamic education he received. Buddhism was never a theistic religion, Buddhists have never worshiped statues any more than Baha’is worship the Greatest Name or pictures of Abdu’l-Baha’. My thought is that all of human spiritual experience, the entire human spiritual enterprise, is legitimate: pagan, polytheistic, theistic, non-theistic; and that this spiritual enterprise transcends belief in, or disbelief in, this god or that god. For me it is not a person’s professed beliefs, or disbelief’s, that defines them, it is their character and the manner they treat their fellow human beings. This is the true indicator of their spirituality.

Cheers

Larry Rowe

Filed under Bahai Activities

An open letter to Patrick O’Mara by a Concerned Baha’i (Part 2)

March 10, 2013 Leave a comment


To, 

Mr. Patrick O’Mara 
Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom 27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD
Tel: 020-7584-2566
Fax: 020-7584 9402

Subject : State of Bahá’í Faith – Serious Introspection (II) 

Dear Patrick,

This is second of my communication in a series in which I would like British Bahá’ís that matter to introspect. In the previous letter I had highlighted the growing influence of Persians and how the Bahá’í Faith in UK is left more as gossiping club than a progressing Faith. In this letter I wish to bring to attention the impersonal approach of Assemblies and Institutes in Britain and here again how the Persian shadow looms large.

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Dispute in the Baha’i Community of UK

March 10, 2013 Leave a comment

ukAccording to the latest census of the United Kingdom, there are no more than 5000 Baha’is in the UK. Like every other country, the disputes are arising in the little Baha’i community of UK also. The remote controlling of NSA by the Baha’is of Persian Background is unbearable to many but a very few dare to speak due to fear of ‘Administrative Rights Removal’. I found this letter addressed to Patrick O’Mara (Paddy) posted on TRB by a concerned Baha’i of UK.

To,

Mr. Patrick O’Mara
Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom
27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD
Tel: 020-7584-2566 Fax: 020-7584 9402

Subject : State of Bahá’í Faith – Serious Introspection

Dear Patrick,

Introspection is such a priceless activity that it is sufficient to wake one up from a slumber of complacency. And the Bahá’í Faith today is in that slumber. Through this letter I would like to unravel hard realities, so that we understand that much as we would like to think grand about ourselves, the facts are different. Also, it would emerge how we get indulged in worthless activities based on vested instigations, leaving aside priorities.

Lets visit History of Bahá’í Faith in the UK, to set the ground for introspection.

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Why the Baha’i Faith Can’t Keep its Converts?

March 6, 2013 24 Comments

The National Baha’i Center in Wilmette, IL claims that there are 140,000 Baha’is in the United States. However, it is almost axiomatic among Baha’is that half of the Faith’s enrolled members are inactive. In fact, the reality may be even worse than that. One independent poll on American religions estimated that there are only 28,000 people in this country who consider themselves Baha’is.

One reason for this huge discrepancy is that no one is ever removed from the membership rolls unless they write a letter to the National Center renouncing their belief. So a person who becomes disillusioned and simply drifts away can remain on the rolls indefinitely. While the 28,000 figure is probably low, the Baha’i assumption that there are thousands of people who consider themselves Baha’is but have no contact with the community is not realistic. (There is the possibility that some do maintain their belief in isolation, but there are not likely to be many who do so.)

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19 Things the Bahais HIDE…

January 26, 2013 Leave a comment

Over the years, over meetings with several Bahais, I realised that there are several things the Bahais dont like to talk about or discuss. In fact they detest these so much that if any Bahai also asks them about these topics, then it is likely that he is shunned or ex-communicated (something like a cult!). Here are some truths which the Bahais never speak about.

  1. Abdul Baha had prophecized that he would be succeeded by the eldest son of his male progeny for 24 generations. This male heir is known as the Guardian.
  2. Abdul Baha did not beget a son, and to fill the gap his daughter’s son Shoghi Effendi was appointed the first Bahai Guardian.
  3. Shoghi died childless and since then the House of Justice has no Guardian.
  4. The Guardian prophecy of the infallible Abdul Baha was disproven by God. Read more of this post

Filed under Bahai Faith

Bahais Exposed. Again!

January 24, 2013 Leave a comment

There are only 5021 Bahá’ís in UK against claimed to be more then 34,000. Adherents of the Baha’i Faith increased to 5,021 from 4,645 in the 2001 census. that is an annual 0.78% growth per year. Put more simply, between 37-38 new Baha’is have been added per year since 2001. I’m not sure that you can call that ‘growth’ it is slightly higher than the general population growth of 0.70% per year. Which means nobody has accepted the Bahai Faith in the last ten years except the children of Bahai parents.

One hundred years ago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, arrived in the United Kingdom for the first of his two visits. He was 66 years old. He wasted no time in taking His Father Bahá’u’lláh’s message of peace and religious renewal to western societies. His visits were crucial in the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith in the UK. In London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave public lectures at City Temple, St John the Divine in Smith Square, and elsewhere. At City Temple, he said that, “The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and of the fundamental oneness of religion.” At St John, the translation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s remarks was read by the Archdeacon of Westminster, Albert Wilberforce.

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Abdul Baha – Racist with Foot in Mouth Syndrome…

January 12, 2013 5 Comments

“The black man must be grateful to the white man”-Abdul Baha

Here is ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Exemplar and Interpreter of the Baha’i Faith) speaking about Blacks:

“The black man must ever be grateful to the white man, for he has manifested great courage and self-sacrifice for the black race.”

Promulgation of Universal Peace, p.111

“If man is left in his natural state, he will become lower than the animal and continue to grow more ignorant and imperfect. The savage African tribes of central Africa are evidences of this.”

Promulgation of Universal Peace, p.308

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Filed under Bahai Activities, Bahai Faith

Baha’i Electoral System Elect only ambitious and greedy (and paranoid) to top offices

January 12, 2013 Leave a comment

The problem with the current situation in Baha’i Faith  is not merely that the voting records of the NSA members are completely unknown. It is that the activities and policies of the NSA as a whole are almost completely unknown! What exactly do these people do? What policies have they made? What effect have the policies had? Have they been good for the growth of the community, numerically and spiritually? Without knowing the answer to this question, how can the delegates even begin to vote intelligently? Though, as we have seen, the very rules of the elections leave them with little potential impact.

We know that there were about 48,000 adult Baha’is with good addresses in the US in 1978. There are now about 60,000. In the meantime 12,000 Iranians immigrated. This means that there has been no growth in over twenty years. *None*. Of course, hundreds if not a few thousands of people have come in during the past two decades, but enormous numbers of them have gone right back out. Would any CEO who had not increased his earnings a single penny over twenty years be reappointed by the board?

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Filed under Bahai Elections

A Confession by an ex-Bahai (23 years!)…Must Read

January 12, 2013 11 Comments

I am Gamal Naseer an Egyptian, having 23 years of association with Baha’is, a Teacher for long time ,active as a core group member for few years. I attended many Baha’i programmes inside and outside Egypt. Having read Will and Testament many times, it was a question in my mind that why Shoghi Effendi has not left any Will appointing another Guardian, while Will and Testament says that “It is incumbent upon a Guardian to appoint another Guardian during his life time”. Shoghi did not nominate any successor after him because of which many divisions occurred in Baha’i faith.

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Filed under Why I Left Bahai Faith

Interesting Comment on the Bahai Faith…

January 12, 2013 6 Comments

I made friends with a number of Bahais awhile back. After some investigation of the faith, I concluded that is was logically inconsistent and falsely advertised. This is NOT a universal faith, and contradicts science and reason, despite the insistence that it is a faith for modern times. Also, Bahais are quick to be your friend upon learning of your interest in the faith, but will quickly withdraw that friendship should you decide it’s not for you. This is not love.

Also, very few people have ever heard of the faith. Seriously, it’ been around for a century at least….. There are more people on this planet who have heard of those who believe in the “flying spaghetti monster” than they have of the Bahais. With all the communication available to the masses, surely if this was part of God’s Divine Plan, there would be more converts, right?

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Filed under Bahai Faith, Why I Left Bahai Faith

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