Bahá’í community celebrate birth of Bahá’u’lláh |15 November 2014

The Bahá’ís of Seychelles gathered at the National Bahá’í Centre at Bel Air on Tuesday evening to celebrate the birth of the prophet founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah.

The following day, Wednesday November 12, Bahá’ís around the world gathered to celebrate this occasion.

In Seychelles, it was a gathering comprised of prayers in various languages, chants and musical interludes.

After the programme, all guests were invited to partake of a dinner offered by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Seychelles.

The Bahá’ís believe that throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity through a series of divine Messengers, each of whom has founded a great religion. The Messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. The latest of these Messengers is Bahá’u’lláh, who brings new spiritual and social teachings for our modern age. He taught that there is only one God, that all of the world’s religions are from God, and that now is the time for humanity to recognise its oneness and unite.

Bahá’u’lláh, a title that means “the Glory of God” in Arabic, was born on November 12, 1817 in Tehrán, Iran. His given name was Husayn Ali, and He was the son of a wealthy government minister, Mirza Buzurg-i-Nuri. The family could trace its ancestry back to the great dynasties of Iran's imperial past.

Bahá’u’lláh led a princely life as a young man, receiving an education that focused largely on calligraphy, horsemanship, classic poetry, and swordsmanship.

His son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, concerning His childhood said: “… Bahá’u’lláh, belonged to the nobility of Persia. From earliest childhood He was distinguished among His relatives and friends.… In wisdom, intelligence and as a source of new knowledge, He was advanced beyond His age and superior to His surroundings. All who knew Him were astonished at His precocity. It was usual for them to say, 'Such a child will not live,' for it is commonly believed that precocious children do not reach maturity.”  

According to the custom of that time, as the son of an influential government official, Bahá’u’lláh did not receive a formal education. Yet by the time He was fourteen, he became known for His learning. He would converse on any subject and solve any problem presented to him. In large gatherings he would explain intricate religious questions to the ulamas (the leading religious figures in Islam), and they listened with great interest.

After the death of His father, Bahá’u’lláh declined the ministerial career in the government that was available to Him. Instead of pursuing a life of power and leisure, Bahá’u’lláh chose to devote His energies to a range of philanthropies which had, by the early 1840s, earned Him renown as “father of the poor”.

Bahá’u’lláh revealed several Holy Writings and authored thousands of books, tablets, and letters that today comprise the sacred scripture of the Baha’i Faith. A unique feature of the revelation of Baha’u’llah is the authenticity of its scripture. Bahá'u'lláh's writings cover an enormous range of subjects from social issues such as racial integration, the equality of the sexes, and disarmament, to those questions that affect the innermost life of the human soul.