![]() ![]() The variance of these imitations has produced enmity and strife, war and bloodshed. The counterfeit or imitation of true religion has adulterated human belief, and the foundations have been lost sight of. If we renounce these fetters, we shall agree, for all are seekers of reality. We long for rain it matters not which cloud pours it down. ![]() We are in need of fruit in whatsoever orchard it may be ripened. We are seekers for water, no matter from what rock it may gush forth. We are lovers of illumination and not of lamps and candles. We must recognize the sun, no matter from what dawning point it may shine forth, be it Mosaic, Abrahamic or any personal point of orientation whatever, for we are lovers of sunlight and not of orientation. …we must follow and adore the virtues revealed in the Messengers of God - whether in Abraham, Moses, Jesus or other Prophets - but we must not adhere to and adore the lamp. Third, the Baha’i teachings recommend, focus on the light and not the lamp: Then will the Sun of Truth shine most gloriously then all the inhabitants of the world will be united, the religions will be one, sects and denominations will reconcile, all nationalities will flow together in the recognition of one fatherhood and all degrees of humankind gather in the shelter of the same tabernacle, under the same banner. We must forsake these imitations, dispel these clouds and mists and free the Sun from the darkness of superstition. The clouds and mists of imitations have obscured the Sun of Truth. They have summoned mankind to reality itself and reality is one. Second, the Baha’i teachings say, look for beliefs that emphasize unity rather than separateness:Īll the holy Manifestations of God have proclaimed and promulgated the same reality. – Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. Bigotry and dogmatic adherence to ancient beliefs have become the central and fundamental source of animosity among men, the obstacle to human progress, the cause of warfare and strife, the destroyer of peace, composure and welfare in the world… These conditions are the outcome of hostility and hatred between nations and peoples of religion who imitate and adhere to the forms and violate the spirit and reality of the divine teachings. They have been the axis around which religion revolved but now are no longer fruitful on the contrary, in this day they have become the cause of human degradation and hindrance. Dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs are passing. This is the cycle of maturity and re-formation in religion as well. First, they advise us to avoid “dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs:” The Baha’i teachings have several suggestions for spiritual seekers who want to separate spiritual truth from fiction. When you’re searching, you need a set of criteria that will help you separate real, healthy, authentic belief systems from their opposites. The age-old question for seekers has always been: “How do I tell truth from falsehood?” Now, because of the proliferation of damaging, dangerous cults, that question has become even more important. ![]() ![]() …by religion is meant that which is ascertained by investigation and not that which is based on mere imitation, the foundation of divine religions and not human imitations. ![]()
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