Bahaikipedia:Today's featured article/November

From Bahaikipedia

Today's featured article archive
January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December

Today is Monday, May 12, 2008; it is now 21:41 UTC

purge the cache

Featured article tools:

"Today's featured article"
- This month's queue
- Main page requests

November 1

Entry by troops is a term used to describe a process of expansion when the Faith would emerge from relative obscurity, and masses of people would become Bahá'ís. It is not meant to suggest militancy - the word "troops" is used for its secondary meaning of "large groups of people". The term first appeared in Bahá'u'lláh's Suriy-i-Haykal. [1] The Bahá'í Faith currently claims at least 6 million members, in almost every country of the world. It is the second most widespread, behind Christianity, and ranks among the fastest growing in many parts of the world. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 2

The Regional Bahá'í Council is an element of Bahá'í administration between the local and national levels, established at the discretion of the Universal House of Justice in countries where the condition and size of the Bahá'í community warrant. A means of decentralizing the work of the National Spiritual Assembly, a Regional Council may be formed either by election or by appointment, depending on local requirements and the condition of the Bahá'í community. It provides for a level of autonomous decision making on both teaching and administrative matters. In some countries, State Bahá'í Councils perform these tasks within specified civic jurisdictions. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 3

Entry by troops is a term used to describe a process of expansion when the Faith would emerge from relative obscurity, and masses of people would become Bahá'ís. It is not meant to suggest militancy - the word "troops" is used for its secondary meaning of "large groups of people". The term first appeared in Bahá'u'lláh's Suriy-i-Haykal. [2] The Bahá'í Faith currently claims at least 6 million members, in almost every country of the world. It is the second most widespread, behind Christianity, and ranks among the fastest growing in many parts of the world. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 4

An Auxiliary language in the Bahá'í Faith focuses on a particular teaching; that the world should adopt an international auxiliary language. The aim of this teaching is that the adoption of an international auxiliary language will improve communication and foster unity among peoples and nations. The Bahá'í writings state that the lack of communication between peoples of different languages undermines efforts towards world peace due to misunderstandings of language, and that adopting an international auxiliary language would help reduce the number of misunderstandings, and would facilitate the transition to a global society. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 5

A fundamental principle of the Bahá'í Faith is the harmony of religion and science. The Bahá'í Faith teaches that properly appreciated, science and religion will never conflict, as each are complementary ways of explaining truth, which on any issue must necessarily be singular. The teachings state that whenever conflict arises between religion and science it is due to human error; either through misinterpretation of religious scriptures or the lack of a more complete understanding of science. 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained that religious teachings which are at variance with science should not be accepted; he explained that religion has to be reasonable since God endowed humankind with reason so that they can discover truth. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 6

Building Momentum was a video that was released during the 2003-2004 year to all Bahá'í communities. It offers an inspirational portrait of Bahá'í communities in Australia, Canada, Colombia, Italy, Malaysia, Nepal, and Zambia that are enacting transformation by applying the guidance of the Universal House of Justice in their development. The video allowed the Bahá'ís not only to reflect on the progress made so far during the Five Year Plan, but to see an image of themselves as an energetic, worldwide community on the move, with individuals and groups enthused about taking charge of their own spiritual and material development. (more..)
view - talk - history

November 7

Family in the Bahá'í Faith is a very important unit, and central to the establishment of peace and security in the world. Bahá'u'lláh states that such peace and security is "unattainable unless and until... unity is firmly established." Acceptance of the interrelatedness and interdependence of all people implies the renewal of every social institution on the planet, including the family. "If love and agreement are manifest in a single family, that family will advance, become illumined and spiritual." (more...)
view - talk - history

November 8

The Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith. Usually known in the West as a House of Worship, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is a term that means literally, "Dawning-place of the praise of God." Its essential purpose is to provide a community meeting place for all who are seeking to worship God, and achieves this purpose by interposing no man-made veils between the worshiper and the Supreme. Thus, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is freely open to the peoples of all Faiths on equal terms. The Bahá'í Faith has no professional clergy, so the worshiper entering the Temple hears no sermon and takes part in no rituals. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 9

The Ministry of the Custodians was described by the Universal House of Justice as a time when "the entire history of religion shows no comparable record of such strict self-discipline, such absolute loyalty, and such complete self-abnegation by the leaders of a religion, finding themselves suddenly deprived of their divinely inspired guide." On November 7, 1957, the Guardian and Head of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, died unexpectedly in London. The period following the death of Shoghi Effendi and the election of the Universal House of justice was known as the Ministry of the Custodians (more...)
view - talk - history

November 10

The Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963) was a plan launched by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to facilitate an organized expansion of the Faith. Among the goals of the plan were to begin the teaching and consolidation of the Faith, develop the institutions at the World Centre, consolidate open territories, and open the remaining "chief virgin territories" around the globe. The title 'Knight of Bahá'u'lláh' was given to those Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade and in 1963 the plan culminated with the first election of the Universal House of Justice. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 11

"Prayer," says 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "is conversation with God." In order that God may make known His mind and will to human beings, He must speak to us in a language which we can understand, and this He does through the guidance of the Manifestations of God. While the Manifestations are alive They speak face to face with man and convey to them the Message of God, and after Their death Their message continues to reach people's minds through their recorded sayings and writings. But this is not the only way in which God can commune with and inspire those whose hearts are seeking after truth, wherever they are, and whatever their native race or tongue. By this language the Manifestation continues to hold converse with the faithful after His departure from the material world. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 12

A fundamental principle of the Bahá'í Faith is the harmony of religion and science. The Faith teaches that properly appreciated, science and religion will never conflict, as each are complementary ways of explaining truth, which on any issue must necessarily be singular. The teachings state that whenever conflict arises between religion and science it is due to human error; either through misinterpretation of religious scriptures or the lack of a more complete understanding of science. 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained that religious teachings which are at variance with science should not be accepted; he explained that religion has to be reasonable since God endowed humankind with reason so that they can discover truth. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 13

November 14

November 15

A fundamental principle of the Bahá'í Faith is the harmony of religion and science. The Bahá'í Faith teaches that properly appreciated, science and religion will never conflict, as each are complementary ways of explaining truth, which on any issue must necessarily be singular. The teachings state that whenever conflict arises between religion and science it is due to human error; either through misinterpretation of religious scriptures or the lack of a more complete understanding of science. 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained that religious teachings which are at variance with science should not be accepted; he explained that religion has to be reasonable since God endowed humankind with reason so that they can discover truth. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 16

November 17

November 18

November 19

A cluster is a small geographic location in to which Bahá'ís are separated. There are close to 17,000 clusters worldwide and exist in all countries where the faith is permitted to operate. Clusters most closely resemble counties that exist in many countries in the world.

In 2001 the Universal House of Justice instructed the Continental Board of Counsellors to assist the National Spiritual Assemblies around the world in dividing the localities they govern in to smaller, manageable regions. The criteria laid out by the Universal House of Justice were based on "culture, language, patterns of transport, infrastructure, and the social and economic life of the inhabitants." (more...)
view - talk - history

November 20

Huqúqu'lláh (Arabic: ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ, "Right of God"), sometimes called the Law of Huqúq, is a socio-economic and spiritual law of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. In its most basic form, it states that Bahá'ís should pay a 19% voluntary tax on any wealth in excess of what is necessary to live comfortably, after the remittance of any outstanding debt, to the Universal House of Justice. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 21

The Nine Year Plan (1964-1973) was the first of many international plans to be given to the Bahá'í world by the newly-formed Universal House of Justice within the framework of the Divine Plan first elaborated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This plan, following on the successful conclusion of the Ten Year Crusade initiated by Shoghi Effendi, was first mentioned by the Universal House of Justice in a letter dated May 7, 1963 to the London National Convention. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 22

The term study circle has become common terminology in the Bahá'í Faith to describe a specific type of gathering for the study of the Bahá'í teachings, with an emphasis on "promoting the well-being of humanity." Study circles are a form of distance learning designed to systematically bring education about spiritual concepts to the grassroots level. Because they are intended to be sustainable and reproducible on a large scale, study circles shy away from formally taught classes, opting instead for participatory methods. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 23

The Nineteen Day Feasts are regular community gatherings, occurring on the first day of each month of the Bahá'í calendar (and so most often nineteen days apart from each other). Each gathering consists of a devotional, administrative, and social part. The devotional part of the Nineteen Day Feast can be compared to Sunday Services in Christianity or Friday Prayers in Islam, though the non-congregational nature of the Bahá'í Faith limits the usefulness of the comparison. (more...)
view - talk - history

November 24

Entry by troops is a term used to describe a process of expansion when the Faith would emerge from relative obscurity, and masses of people would become Bahá'ís. It is not meant to suggest militancy - the word "troops" is used for its secondary meaning of "large groups of people". The term first appeared in Bahá'u'lláh's Suriy-i-Haykal. [3] The Bahá'í Faith currently claims at least 6 million members, in almost every country of the world. It is the second most widespread, behind Christianity, and ranks among the fastest growing in many parts of the world. (more...)
view - talk - history