Baha’i

Reading about the Baha’i faith has been nothing but eye-opening and interesting for me. There is much that is unknown about the faith, which was why it was a great topic of discussion on Monday. For those who would like to know more, here’s some information–

The central theme of Bahá’u'lláh’s message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá’u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the people’s of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

Among the principles which the Bahá’í Faith promotes as vital to the achievement of this goal are:

- the abandonment of all forms of prejudice

assurance to women of full equality of opportunity with men

recognition of the unity and relativity of religious truth

- the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth

- the realization of universal education

- the responsibility of each person to independently search for truth

- the establishment of a global commonwealth of nations

- recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge

Looking at these principles, we can relate them back to different faiths and practices that encourage service and giving what you can to the community. One thing that is interesting is that the self discovery of faith is up to the individual. Through these principles, you can grow as a person who is Baha’i, Bettering the world results in bettering yourself. Some of the questions that we were exploring were things like if it’s actually achievable to live your life by those principles fully and to consistently have the values in your mind. It’s one thing to believe in these and other practices and principles, but it’s put on a whole different level when you begin to do these things in your daily life and have them in your mind.

These principles, although not exactly identical, are very similar to those of other religions and beliefs. To some of us though, the difference was that the core of this belief system is serving people and trying to better society through the actions in your life. If all faiths, beliefs, and religious systems were as explicit in laying out the obligations or guidelines of the faith to serving and bettering the community, how would that shape the world in the future? Would there be more collective action to eliminate certain things that are so prominent in our society today like discrimination and poverty?

If you’d like more information on the Baha’i faith, visit the website– http://www.bahai.org/

 

It’s already November?

There is not much multifaith left in this semester, but what we’ve got is really good stuff.

Next Monday, we’ll be talking about Bahai faith. Rola’s leading that one- going to be wonderful.

On the 21st, we’re joining with Hamline’s GLBT group Spectrum to have a fantastic discussion on the intersections of GLBT and spirituality.

On the 27th, we’ll be looking at how religion is represented in Pop Culture.

And on December 5th, we’re going to have an amazing Winter celebration night with really delicious food.

Please stop by for any of these events. But really, we’ve been so happy with the turnout we’ve had this year. It’s really fantastic to see our regulars every week, but also seeing the new people who come to check it out. We are glad to know we are providing an open and safe space for discussion between religious and nonreligious people here on campus. Hope you stop by soon!

coat drive=success

On October 24, there was a coat drive on Hamline’s campus. As part of the President’s Challenge, we were collecting coats for Taking Root, who were asking for coat donations to give to the incoming refugee families to the Twin Cities. The coats were to be distributed on the 26th. Throughout the span of 2 hours, we were able to collect 53 coats, 16 scarves, 6 hats/gloves, 19 sweaters/vests, and 8 others. This brings the total things collected to 103 items!!!! Words cannot describe how happy we all were with these results. We were notified that the coat giveaway at Taking Root was a huge success and that the families who’d received the items were feeling happy and welcomed.

The coat drive is another example of how beneficial and powerful interfaith service work is to people. Regardless of religious or ethnic backgrounds, people are working together to create more of a pluralistic way of living.

social justice+service, along with many other things!

This week, Multifaith collaborated with STOVE (Students Together Organizing Volunteer Events) for Trick-or-Canning. Although we don’t have the exact numbers of food collected, I can tell you already that it was a huge success. The happiness that came to people’s faces when we had told them what we were doing created an amazing energy for the night. I was genuinely shocked when I realized how much food we had collected in such a short amount of time. In the small group I was in, we had already collected enough boxed goods and cans to nearly fill an entire shopping cart. I’m not sure why, but I was struck with the generosity of people. As we were leaving houses, we would thank them for their donations. Each time, they would reply with “No, thank you for doing this.” The food collected is being donated to the Handcock Food Shelf. Hancock has a very diverse population in many ways, including religion and issues regarding poverty and homelessness. With the help of donators and volunteers, we are able to make a positive impact in our community.