One thing I have noticed from reading this blog is that commentators are either totally within the faith, usually too close to the trees to critically observe the forest (our Baquia and some others are luminous exceptions), or hostile to the faith based on their own unique experiences. I am neither, which is why I think my input may be valuable.

I am attracted to so many things about the Baha’i faith… but I am not a seeker, and being ‘labeled’ as such is among the things that I’ve discovered to be personally repellent. In fact, the zealous mission for converts (I know that’s the ‘wrong’ word, since semantics are _everything_) has thoroughly repulsed me from the faith because I have come to view this Truly Beautiful ideology as impatient with religious pluralism and even aspiring to spiritual totalitarianism. I can now hear those of you in the forest sighing and murmuring - I must have a bone to pick or an Agenda… if I do have an Agenda here, it is to enlighten members of this enlightened faith… All the faiths have suffered at times from ‘infallible leadership.’ All Humanity has suffered from chauvinism. These are terrible elements of the Faith today.

When I hear a Baha’i say another believer is not really a Baha’i if not card carrying, or occasionally having a beer, or doesn’t recognize the infallibility of the mortals to who so many millions have abdicated their own critical thinking… I feel sick to my stomach. When I hear that the conflict in the Middle East requires a spiritual solution, and understand that to mean everyone there needs to be Baha’i, I feel so sad…

Baha’is, more than any group of people, should recognize the need for pluralism and focus only on being a light unto humanity. You are failing, and it is not because of your prophet or writings.

RA,

Very insightful post. You are proof that everyone’s innate spiritual consciousness and general life acumen is increasing just from the street as the New World Age progresses. All one has to do is just keep breathing in and breathing out.

When I read the Kitab-I-Iqan in Paris in 1971 I was absolutely electrified. Because I had been studying Sufism, Baha’u'llah’s central teaching about the Eternal Return of Spiritiual Archetypes really clicked with me. It explained everything I had experienced in life up until then (and still everything until now too!). It was like smoking all of one’s books by C.G. Jung at one sitting while litening to Iron Butterfly on the best stereo system available at the time. Just an amazingly Cosmic “one stop shopping” insight as a teaching.

I, therefore, sought out the Baha’is in my travels, walked in the door when I found some and said “Wow! How can I help this?” I joined and up until 4 years ago spent 32 straight years doing everything I could to help it.

But now one has to sadly come to the terrible realization that it just cannot be helped anymore. This religion has now gone into the hands of one of the most impaired communities of human beings on the planet in the history of the world for the reasons that you have mentioned in your post.

It is truly a wonder and a prodigy that this has happened. But it has. I, myself, feel the Faith will eventually straighten out entirely of itself over the next 300-500 years if several generations of people will come into it that have great personal courage and seize the right of the vote that Baha’u'llah gave to the rank and file. The planetary Internet will be a factor as this all unfolds.

But for now it is truly perplexing. It is now a zero sum game of witch hunts and Grand Inquisitors in the top down enforcement of ruthless hyper litmus test doctrinal purity implemented by the ABM and AABM thought police.

It never had to go this way. The Baha’is really had an honest chance to try something new in human history. But it turned into the same old, same old right brain, left brain organizational war. The Faith has now killed all innovation, bottom up energy, individual spiritual initiative, and individual spiritual discovery in the very processes of life. It is now, therefore, being passed by many other more vital and energized spiritual movements. It all came to this terrible, terrible tragedy because it never instituted basic term limits in it’s “Institutions” and the rest is history.

The people running the Baha’i Faith for the last 20 years to a man and to a woman will be cursed by all the people of the future. There is not much more anyone can say now, but try to move on spiritually. There is nothing anyone can do now but accept the decision by the infallible “Institutions” that the Faith is to be destroyed in every land by the current methods of organizational coercion. We must all accept it. I know I feel better now since I realized from the recent quotes someone posted here that I must accept destruction in obediance to the Covenant.

So it goes.

Again, thank you for you insightful post.

Everyone have a nice weekend!

I am attracted to so many things about the Baha’i faith… but I am not a seeker, and being ‘labeled’ as such is among the things that I’ve discovered to be personally repellent. In fact, the zealous mission for converts (I know that’s the ‘wrong’ word, since semantics are _everything_) has thoroughly repulsed me from the faith because I have come to view this Truly Beautiful ideology as impatient with religious pluralism and even aspiring to spiritual totalitarianism. I can now hear those of you in the forest sighing and murmuring - I must have a bone to pick or an Agenda… if I do have an Agenda here, it is to enlighten members of this enlightened faith… All the faiths have suffered at times from ‘infallible leadership.’ All Humanity has suffered from chauvinism. These are terrible elements of the Faith today.

When I hear a Baha’i say another believer is not really a Baha’i if not card carrying, or occasionally having a beer, or doesn’t recognize the infallibility of the mortals to who so many millions have abdicated their own critical thinking… I feel sick to my stomach. When I hear that the conflict in the Middle East requires a spiritual solution, and understand that to mean everyone there needs to be Baha’i, I feel so sad…

Baha’is, more than any group of people, should recognize the need for pluralism and focus only on being a light unto humanity. You are failing, and it is not because of your prophet or writings.

Is not all humans disadvantaged with a mind that desires to understand the unknowable creator with so many paths that all lead to the same place of who and where that is is by invite only, no peepers, to the ultimate truth one locates at that last breath…(death) It’s the journey right…

I beg that all organized religions are self banished from the earth and that the hearts of the ardent lovers of God unite under a core and real message of the same parents. When asked what faith are you, use a U meaning Under One Creator, not the word but the reality. DNA says we call came from one female, one male…I herald the myth of Lilith, the first wife of Adam, made the same day with the same clay…Funny how they make her a screeching owl… Look what happens when you take out of the best bits of a book…

There is no right and wrong in love for your brother or sister, no matter what color, creed, advantage or disadvantage they have. They are therefore they are.

Baquia I would be interested in seeing you dig up attempts of global unity. In fact as a result of the composition this blog I picked the name of my new venture, a global, multi language non-profit, it was unbelievable to me the .com address was untaken and I am RTG!. Ready to go with the seed $$$… so there will be more to come from me for sure. Gosh Baquia, who’d of thought the idea, the actual business plan would come from this blog. I, soon to be we, when I form the 1st board, am going to need an excellent webmaster.

I agree, Baquia.

Now that you know this, you can help others understand it.

I started my medical studies wanting to become a good doctor, and I realized that many of those around me studied medicine to get their diploma as soon as possible. It took me a little longer than them to get my diploma, I never became as rich as they did, but I now see that I got much more fun out of my professional experience than they will ever get.

This is all about the artist working for the love of his art, never becoming famous during his life-time, and the artist working to become a famous artist.

You feel like you have been cheated, sold out, lied to, manipulated. You begin then only to see the faults, mistakes, errors of everything that you are no against. Then begins the justification, the explanation, the reasons. You revert back to what you know, you begin to pull up those sub-conscious humanistic conceptions formed by a life time of exposure to godlessness in the West. Screw the World.

This is all normal for someone who is going through a break up. I wonder, are you divorced too? Forgive me if I venture to guess.

The fact is this. It really is too bad you have cut and run. The Faith needs strong souls and leaders. A smart, experienced and knowledgeable soul like you has no time to loose pouting on the sidelines. Get back in the game, buck up and know this: There are no grudges in the Baha’i Faith. Don’t pay any attention to anyone who brings you down, trust in God and obey His laws. Never in the history of humanity have they been so clear. Never in the history of humanity has there been such a Faith as this. Never, never, has their been such a task thrust upon the believers of so Mighty and Awe Inspiring Vision. There is no time for bitterness, pointless questions, and endless debate. My whole being is always on edge and constantly anxious to serve, to teach, to practice virtue (kinda hard online). You all know as well as I do, and God too, that this is something we must aspire to if it is to be done right. Not one prayer, not one act counts for more than a mustard seed if done in the wrong spirit or mind set.

To say that we have done our share, done our part, know our role, know how it should be, is complete forfeiture of any action or word done in the name of God. All “debate” “dialog” or “discussion” about why things are wrong, or how messed up things are is complete reliance on the notion that we actually know how things are going to end up in the long run. What arrogance!

When we each conscientiously accepted Baha’u'llah as the messenger of God for this day we are given a map and our journey then, and only then actually begins. We are all really still looking, seeking, searching and most of the time half heartedly trying our best…But, how often does it happen where we think we have it all figured out. Then we make the cardinal mistake of going about telling people how it is and what to do.

Baha’u'llah says…

That seeker must, at all times, put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, must detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vain-glory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison.

So, jarhead why don’t we cut this non-sense out and put something together. My blog that I talked about is up, under my real name, waiting for collaborators to plan a school in Brazil.

anonymouz wrote:

You are quoting me where I never said those things you quote. Please dont do that.

“let them all die or be maimed, they are volunteers anyway” I never said that. I said it is a volunteer force, and if it was that bad they could go AWOL. The fact of the matter is, the men and women in uniform are being used to pursue a goal which only history will judge as successful or not, Baha’i view or not…

In any case…to dwell on the military is to dwell on the un-controllable. Move on.

I was merely attempting to portray your seeming mentality. But I guess our differences in seeing the various consequences and responsibility of war is generational. As you say “move on”. Yep. “Nothing to see here. Move along now.”

Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s tons of people became Baha’is in the military and among veterans. I totally agree with you that the military and among veterans is the absolute best place to teach the Faith to get a hearing. Dealing with death concentrates the mind. In those days people stayed in the Faith for 7-10 years giving it everything they had before they started to drift away from the Admin-o-Centric herb tea “do nothing” Faith before the vital problems of the world.

Once again, like the carnage of the entire 20th Century before it, people will be dealing with the present situation and it’s consequences for a very long time to come while the Baha’is have their endless closed meetings and effete inward spiritual coloring book culture. The Baha’i Faith is more insular than ever with the current lock step Ruhiized and “Core Activities” orientation despite what anyone says as PR.

I’m glad you had fun in the military and it seems to have been a good self identity bonding experience for you. I didn’t find it that way. But I am glad for you. The Faith seems to be working for you too. You’re on a roll. But let’s see how it looks 40 years from now amid another war when the Baha’is have still accomplished nothing but lifetime incumbency for a very tiny group of people amid lost opportunity after lost opportiunity in the real world just like in the past century with it’s ocean of blood.

Yep. It is depressing. I agree. But it is the “ground truth”.

Semper fi.

You are quoting me where I never said those things you quote. Please dont do that.

“let them all die or be maimed, they are volunteers anyway” I never said that. I said it is a volunteer force, and if it was that bad they could go AWOL. The fact of the matter is, the men and women in uniform are being used to pursue a goal which only history will judge as successful or not, Baha’i view or not. Last time I checked, the Baha’i places in Iraq are still controlled by Shia. My experience in the military was a positive one and I value the discipline and hard work that I learned. I enjoyed the comradery and friends I made. I also had more opportunities teaching the Faith while enlisted then any other presented to far. Did you know that the Air force presents a very respectable slide show about the Baha’i Faith to 300 recruits a week at Basic training in Lackland? In any case…to dwell on the military is to dwell on the un-controllable. Move on.

I live in an A cluster so do the math. I have been a Baha’i all my life and have lived and traveled to and in all sized Baha’i communities, all as varied as the people that make them up. I can assure there are a broad range of souls varying in degrees and understandings, yet with one underlying common factor, a devotion and love of Baha’u'llah.

Conversing with you is depressing. Meeting with my fellow Bahais and taking part in the process is not.

Good day sir.

It doesnt suprize me anymore that Craig parrots himself with groupthink oldthink newthink…Come on dude…

…Craig please wake up.

anonymouz,

(1) How many Baha’is are in your community?

(2) How many human beings are in the surrounding community?

(3) How many years have you been a Baha’i?

You said in a recent post that I did not have time to address, that you have served in the military. I fully believe you. But I find it hard to believe you have the “let them all die or be maimed, they are volunteers anyway” attitude toward brother soldiers. But I guess that is NEWTHINK in the MVA these days. Since I was once going to meet up with Ron Kovic (See the film “Born on the 4th of July” - Oliver Stone 1986) I guess I am still in OLDTHINK.

Abdu’l-Baha said to oppose every thought of war with a thought of peace. But that is OLDTHINK. Glenford Mitchell says “Be quiet and let God do His work”. You say “They are volunteers, who cares? They can go AWOL if it gets too tough on their 6th tour in Iraq”. All NEWTHINK in the button down Brooks Brothers suit yuppie Baha’i Faith.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=a-P8TF8J-4w

The Baha’is have failed all mankind for 164 years and counting.

Your Assembly can take their endless meetings and their endless “break down in groups goal consultations” and jam them where the sun don’t shine.

The entore hapless AO can do so all the way up the line to Haifa.

I did it for 32 straight years and I have sat in the road for 4 years now in silence weeping.

I am done.

I can personally say that my LSA is involved in soup kitchens, charity drives, homeless shelter volunteering to name a few. It is really getting old how you harp on something you have clearly so much animosity towards, not to mention the amount of miss-information this blog pushes.

How many times do I have to say it? It depends on the location, capacity, resources and community members themselves on how involved a particular LSA or community is involved. LSAs are given guidance on national and international initiatives and then pretty much given free reign. Let me include excerpts from a recent letter sent out by my LSA about our upcoming reflection and direction meeting…

Your Assembly has been working to establish goals for the upcoming year. To that end, we have studied the most recent letter from the Universal House of Justice…each of us (members of the community) will select which of the goals we find the most interesting and divide into 5 groups for about 30 to 40 minutes of consultation on implementation. We’ll get back together to report on what each group recommends, have a short time for questions and answers, have a closing prayer…

Does this look like a top down authoritative charade? This is embodiment of team work and consultation, the model of community involvement and goal reaching…

Craig please wake up.