A centre for religious unity

Except a few recent incidents, people of all religions, irrespective of caste and creed, lived in Mangalore harmoniously for more than 2000 years without any problem. Hence, one can find a number of temples, mosques, churches and prayer houses belonging to different communities and faiths. There is a Gurudwara too in Mangalore.

But not many Mangaloreans may be aware that there is a prayer house for Bahais in Mangalore, that too in the heart of the City near Jyothi (Ambedkar) circle.

Founded a century and a half ago, the Baha’i Faith is today among the fastest-growing of the world’s religions. With more than five million followers, who reside in virtually every nation on earth, it is the second-most widespread faith, surpassing every religion but Christianity in its geographic reach. Baha’is reside in more than 100,000 localities around the world, an expansion that reflects their dedication to the ideal of world citizenship.

The youngest of the world’s independent religions, the Faith founded by Baha’u’llah stands out from other religions in a number of ways. Interestingly, Baha’u’llah claimed to be nothing less than a new and independent Messenger from God. His life, work, and influence parallel that of Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad. Baha’is view Baha’u’llah as the most recent in this succession of divine Messengers.

In Mangalore

Throwing light on the Baha’i Centre in Mangalore, Centre Head Babu Pulikodan said that though the people belonging to Baha’i faith were there in Mangalore for quite some time now, the Baha’i centre was established in Mangalore in 1972. Since then, the Baha’is have been regularly meeting to offer prayer in the centre.

Sharing his views on why he joined Baha’i faith, Pulikodan said that though his parents were Hindus and he too was born in a Hindu family at Malappuram district in Kerala, a few experiences such as untouchability and caste system made him embrace Baha’i faith way back in 1975. “Though there were nearly 1,000 persons who practised Bahaism, a number of people have migrated to different regions and at present, the number of people who practise Bahai faith in Mangalore is only around 150,” he informed.

The Bahai new year begins on March 21 (also known as Navrose) and unlike other religions, who have fixed day for festivals or celebrations, the Baha’is come together once in 19 days which they call it as “Nineteenth Day Feast (NDF).” Unlike the Gregorian calender which has 30 or 31 days in a month, there are only 19 days in a month in Bahai calender. Hence, they have 19 months in a year (365 days). Their next month would begin on December 30, 2011.

Another interesting aspect is that Bahais do not have a single head. There are 9 persons looking after the administration in every unit including Mangalore.

At a time when the world is mired in controversies and misbeliefs, the challenge of maturity is to accept that we are one people, to free ourselves from the limited identities and creeds of the past, and to build together the foundations of global civilization. How soon will the founder’s vision be materialised is not an easy question to be answered, I suppose.

Youngest religion

Founded in around 1863, Bahaism developed in Iran from the break away sect of shia called Babism. Its founder Mirza Hussian Ali Nuri (Baha’u’llah (1817-1892)), declared himself a Prophet as a fulfilment of a prophecy of the founder of Babism. Today Bahaism has around five million followers, its texts have been translated into 350 odd languages. It has 150 national assemblies and 20,000 local spiritual assemblies.

It is a self-consciously universal religion as it perceives humanity as one and the different religions as manifestations of the same divinity. The Lotus temple in New Delhi is one of their major places of worship, although the chief three are located in present-day Israel.

Babism

Interestingly, Bahaism traces its roots back to a Shia sect called Babism which was founded by Mirza Ali Mohammed. He was born in a house of a trader in Shiraz in Iran. During a journey to Karbala, he met Syed Kazim Rashti and was greatly influenced by him. After Syed Kazim Rashti’s death in 1844, Ali Mohammed and Haji Mohammed Karim Khan appointed themselves as his successors. On May 23 of the same year, Mirza Ali Muhammed declared himself as the ‘Bab,’ which means ‘gate’ in Arabic.

He was able to quickly gather 18 followers and sent them to different places in Iran for the work of propagation of his sect. He himself went to Makkah Al Mukkaramah to perform Haj.  According to reports, this is where he proclaimed himself as Imam Mahdi. Due to this, the Islamic scholars severely criticized him and this led to clashes between the two.

He was arrested, but he escaped only to be caught soon after. He was put to death on July 9, 1850. His followers hid his body somewhere in the outskirts of Teheran and was later sent to Acca in Palestine.