Honoring the Birth of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith
An Interview with Board Member Dr. Gity Etemad, M.D.
As the days get shorter and winter arrives, one lesser known holidays brings light to this season. In the Baha’i community, the celebrating begins on November 12th, with the birthday of Baha’u’llah (1817-1892), whose name means “Glory of God,” the founder of the Baha’i faith.
Baha’u’llah promoted global unity. He viewed humanity as one unified race, divided only by societal boundaries like race, class, or religion. He envisioned a world of oneness - where humans could recognize their unity as a race, and assist the world to move towards a state of complete unity. Dr. Gity Etemad, Interfaith Center board member and Baha’i community leader, says “Baha’u’llah’s birthday is one of the most significant Baha’i Holydays,” allowing “Baha’is all over the world to celebrate and reflect on the life of Baha’u’llah, and honor His message of unity through prayer, song, and readings.”
Dr. Etemad recounts her experience of the festival this year, celebrating at her son’s house in Pennsylvania, “It was a very joyous and spiritual event filled with chanting, praying, reading of Baha’i scripture, beautiful music, poetry, and certainly good food and company.” There were one hundred people in attendance. Among the traditional prayers and readings, a 12-year-old girl recited a poem she wrote about Baha’u’llah. After the readings, everyone enjoyed a meal and socialized during “fellowship time” from six-thirty until eleven pm.
Etemad also recounts memories from her childhood, as she celebrated the birthday of Baha’u’llah in Iran, “I have wonderful and unforgettable memories from my childhood in Shiraz, Iran, where we observed this day with a very large Baha’i community, in a beautiful and spacious Baha’i Center. Starting in September we would think about this special day, what prayer we should share, what kind of music would be played what kind of friends we would make and certainly with excitement to have a day off from school.” While Etemad currently celebrates Baha’u’llah’s birthday in the United States, she says that the rituals of the holiday do not alter from the way in which she celebrated in Iran. She explains that “The music is different, but the content is the same.”
While Baha’is celebrate this holiday in different parts of the world—there are about five million Baha’is in the world, living in one hundred eighty nine countries, and forty six territories—the traditions do not change, regardless of location.
Baha’u’llah is seen by Baha’is as a Messenger of God, part of the line of Messengers of God that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ, and Muhammed. Though Baha’u’llah’s birthday has passed, you can read further about His life, and the Baha’i faith, in general: Life of Baha'i Or click on these links: (Baha’u’llah’s life) http://info.bahai.org/bahaullah-manifestation-of-god.html; The Baha’i faith: www.bahai.org, www.radnorbahais.org
Furthermore, you still have the opportunity to wish someone from the Baha’i community a Happy Holiday on January 18, 2009, when Baha’is around the world will celebrate “World Religion Day.” This day promotes the unity of all religions, and encourages leaders and followers of all religions to search for the similarities between each faith, in order to move towards a unified world.
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