Divine light unifies people of faith

By Beverlee Patton and Marcia Veach
FROM HEART TO HEART for The Register-Guard
November 8, 2003

We can be lovers of light no matter what lamp it appears from. We can be lovers of the rose in whatever garden it blooms. We can be seekers of truth no matter what its source.

Attachment to one lamp can prevent us from appreciating the light when it shines in another. Attachment to the outer forms and practices of religion can keep us from understanding the truth of all religions.

This is what members of the Bahá’í Faith believe and practice. When we abandon prejudice and outmoded traditions, it leads to success in finding truth.

To understand this enables us to see that the divine light of truth shines in all of God's holy messengers: Adam, Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, Bahá’u’lláh and others.

We Bahá’ís honor all these messengers of God, but as followers of Bahá’u’lláh - an Arabic title meaning `The Glory of God' - we take special pleasure in commemorating the anniversary of his birth on Nov. 12.

Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tehran in 1817 to a Persian noble family. During the 70 years of his life, Bahá’u’lláh was the embodiment of justice, honor and love; during the 40 years of his ministry, he preached a gospel of unity.

In his writings, he said, `There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly source, and are the subjects of one God. The fundamental purpose animating the faith of God and his religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race.

"The religion of God is for love and unity; make it not the cause of enmity or dissension.'

Bahá’u’lláh says that unity is necessary for existence. Diversity in the human family can bring about love and harmony, as it does in music, where different notes blend together to make a perfect chord. Love is the very cause of life.

In the material world, all things owe their existence to unity.

The law of attraction holds their elements together.

For example, the law of attraction brings together certain elements in the form of a beautiful flower. But when that attraction is taken away, the flower will decompose and cease to exist.

It is the same in the life of the spirit. Only attraction, harmony and love can bind together the hearts of all humankind.

When we gather to celebrate Bahá’u’lláh's birthday, those of the Bahá’í Faith recommit ourselves to acknowledge him as the promised one, and to follow the plan he devised to unite all the people of the world.

We strive to see beyond differences of race, nationality, religion and opinion and instead to see each other as different-colored roses growing in the beautiful garden of humanity, and to be happy to be in that garden.

We rejoice in Bahá’u’lláh's declaration:

`So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.'

Beverlee Patton and Marcia Veach attend Sunday devotional services at the Eugene Bahá’í Center. This column is coordinated by the Two Rivers Interfaith Ministries, a network of faith communities in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, call 344-5693.