Baha'u'llah's 'divine revelation' exposed !

by Qurrat361

It's amazing how Baha'u'llah manages to say so little in so many words. It reminds me of L. Ron Hubbard. People who proclaim themselves "prophets" generally love to hear themselves talk, and so they do it endlessly and get very good at it.

What these people often present in their religions are very common sense ideas, which can be found outside of their religion. They draw people in by surrounding these ideas in walls of mystical language and making them much more complicated than they already are.

L. Ron Hubbard was infamous for doing this, as any ex-Scientologist would tell you. At its core, Scientology is a lot of common sense ideas—that talking to another person about your problems can help you solve them and stuff like that—but of course Hubbard had to make things weird like religious leaders love to do, and so he somehow connected this all to ancient aliens who are the source of all of your problems.

In the same way, Baha'u'llah and the rest of the Baha'i Central Figures liked to pretend that their theological ideas and especially their social ideas were anything unique to them, and so they wrote pages upon pages explaining these very simple ideas.

World peace isn't something new or unique to the Baha'i Faith, neither is gender equality, etc. The Unity of God certainly isn't a new idea, neither is the concept of theophany, which had been conceived of in polytheistic religion long before the Bab or Baha'u'llah, and in an Islamic context they were spoken of by Ibn Arabi and Shaykh Ahmad, who the Bab and Baha'u'llah were no doubt familiar with.

The Bab had a deep interest in Shaykh Ahmad and his successor Sayyid Kazim and their ideas, and he attended Sayyid Kazim's lectures. Baha'u'llah is known to have associated with Sufi mystics when he was in Kurdistan, so it's easy to see where the two got a lot of their ideas from. For example, the metaphor of wine in the Aqdas and other Baha'i writings is taken straight from Sufi poetry.

The Bab draws from a wide variety of neo-Platonic, Gnostic, and Sufi sources which I can't even begin to list. Baha'u'llah's works, specifically his Seven Valleys and Four Valleys; Hidden Words; and Ode to the Dove are quite clearly inspired by and more or less summaries of 'Attar's Conference of the Bird's; Mulla Sadra's Four Journeys; Umar Ibn al-Farid's Ode of the Way; as well as the hadith and Qur'an of course, and they are all very poor imitations at that. The Iqan, for instance, tries very hard to be Ibn Arabi's Bezels of Wisdom, but it very much misses the mark.

In some places in the Bab's and Baha'u'llah's writing, it can be very obvious which verses of the Qur'an they are trying to imitate. Arabic speakers have attested to this and to very the awkward phrasing of the Aqdas.

Baha'u'llah jumps so quickly between so many different topics without even attempting to smoothly transition between them, introducing a subject at one point and then not elaborating on it until way later in the text, and he repeats himself so many times that the book reads like it's written by some high school student desperately trying to reach a minimum word count.

But of course, when first read, and especially if the person reading it is from the West and/or isn't familiar with the literature the Aqdas is trying to imitate, it seems like such a unique and wonderful book; however, when critically analyzed, the book loses its mystical air.

Bahá’u’lláh’s megalomania and narcissistic self-pity

Here’s a single sentence that captures Bahá’u’lláh’s megalomania and narcissistic self-pity to an extent that perhaps no other statement of his does:

Verily, no God is there but Me, the Wronged One, the Exile.
—Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh …

The term “Wronged One” is a title that he appears to have adopted early in his career, and taken a great liking to later in life.

Here’s a tally of instances of “this Wronged One” or “the Wronged One” in selected volumes of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings:

• Epistle to the Son of the Wolf: 102
• Tablets … after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: 55
• The Summons of the Lord of Hosts: 5
• Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh: 4
• The Book of Certitude: 2
• The Most Holy Book: 0

Bahá’u’lláh’s son`Abdu’l-Bahá also referred to himself as the Wronged One, it turns out. In his Will and Testament, he refers to himself as “this Wronged One” ten times.

Source : http://idolchatter.kaweah.com/2010/01/30/the-wronged-ones/

Flattering American Baha'is...

“O friends! ... your high destiny….
Ye are the stars of the heaven of understanding,
the breeze that stirreth at the break of day,
the soft-flowing waters upon which must depend the very life of all men,
the letters inscribed upon His sacred scroll.
Ye are the breezes of spring that are wafted over the world.
etc

All very flattering, for people who like being flattered. A great boost to the ego. Narcissists like to flatter people too... it is one of their tools to convince people to do their will. Like a spider spinning a web.

Beware lest anything withhold you from observing the things prescribed unto you ...

If flattery doesn't work, maybe threats will. He's appealing to their fear.

We have made you to be the hands of Our Cause. Render ye victorious this Wronged One ...

This is how he got people to work for him. Flatter, threaten, then demand.

He, verily, will aid everyone that aideth Him ...

Bribery!

Such is the station ordained for the true believer that if to an extent smaller than a needle’s eye the glory of that station were to be unveiled to mankind, every beholder would be consumed away in his longing to attain it.

More bribery.

The hope for eternal glory - that's very appealing to the ego.
If Baha'is really think Satan is the EGO they should look within to figure out what really attracts them to this religion and keeps them mired in it.

Video : Peter Khan following the footsteps of Shoghi Effendi

 

Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/7prqld/the_wronged_ones_i_appreciate_this_blog_post/

The Covenant of the Baha’i Faith is dead, may it be buried forever!

Shoghi Effendi is known to Baha’is around the world as the Guardian of their Faith. But with a Guardian like him, the Baha’i Faith never needed enemies to destroy it!

Consider that in 1957, he:

•  Died at age 60,
•  Died suddenly of Asiatic Flu,
•  Died in London, not the Baha’i World Center,
•  Died in the middle of the Ten Year World Crusade (1953-1963),
•  Left no will and testament,
•  Had appointed no successor, and
•  Had expelled from the Baha’i Community, often for trivial reasons, EVERY ONE OF HIS BROTHERS, SISTERS, AND MALE AND FEMALE COUSINS! None of them were spared his holy wrath.

And every single issue cited above was either a discrediting or disobedience of some Baha’i scripture or is something that was totally unnecessary and made the obedience to Baha’i scripture impossible.

Also, if Abdu’l-Baha really believed in the equality of men and women, he would not have appointed his 21 year old grandSON his immediate successor, but would have instead appointed his eldest DAUGHTER. But she, even as the mother of Shoghi Effendi, is merely a footnote in Baha’i history. So Abdu’l-Baha was himself a hypocrite! Did you know that in the early years of his Guardianship, Shoghi Effendi tended to take long vacations in the Swiss Alps to get away from his duties and his relatives had to beg him to return? As long as the Greatest Holy Leaf, Abdu’l-Baha’s sister, was still alive, she could keep him in check, but after she died, he became a tyrant to his relatives, treating them like mere servants and punishing them whenever they dared to question his orders and demands. This is what happens when you give a man so much power that he thinks he is like God! Shoghi Effendi was a megalomanic that official Baha’i propaganda has tried to whitewash with false narratives decades after the fact, but the truth speaks for itself and cannot be excused.

This is a direct quote from the Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha:

The sacred and youthful branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice, to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (may my life be offered up for them both).

Read again the above the circumstances of the Guardian’s death. I guess the issue of “care and protection” for him was indeed a lie!

The Covenant of the Baha’i Faith is dead, may it be buried forever!

Source : https://dalehusband.com/2017/06/28/facts-worth-repeating-about-shoghi-effendi/

The Baha'i Faith and Scientology: Aspects of Destructive Cults

By qurrat361


The subject of whether the Baha'i Faith is a cult has been hotly debated here on reddit, and it is often said that the Faith is in fact a cult. The Baha'i community has been forced on numerous occasions to defend themselves from these accusations.

In this post, I'm going to use the example of Scientology, a movement I'm sure we all can agree is a cult, and compare it with the Baha'i Faith to demonstrate that the "Faith" meets all criteria for being considered a destructive cult.

I will define a cult as being "a secretive, deceptive, and controlling, religious movement" and a destructive cult as being "such a group which has caused or is liable to cause physical/psychological harm or loss of life among its membership or the general public."

Secrecy

A cult draws members in through its secrecy. If a cult was fully open about their horrible practices and illogical beliefs, no one would join them. Scientology, for example, does not tell its new members about Xenu. Most Scientologists have no idea that this story is part of their religion, so when critics try to tell them about it, they are genuinely confused. It is not until a Scientologist has dedicated an immense amount of time and money to the religion that they hear about the Xenu story.

When trying to gain new members, cults present themselves as a friendly movement that only desires good and peace for the world. They engage in love-bombing (something which Scientology and the Baha'i Faith are especially known for), and they make you feel welcome before you've even joined. A Baha'i will smile at you, call you "friend," and tell you all about the supposed Baha'i belief in the unity of mankind, carefully leaving out the command to shun Covenant-Breakers in their scriptures.

When Baha'is "teach" (the Baha'i term for proselytization; I will go into this later), they are not open about everything. They do not tell prospective converts that women are not allowed to serve on the UHJ, of the violence committed by Baha'is and sanctioned by Baha'i leaders throughout history, or of the more problematic teachings within Baha'i scriptures.

It is usually only once a person has joined the Faith and studied the scriptures that they find out about these things. Most people on the outside, were they to find out about the sexism, for instance, in the Baha'i Faith, would completely drop all thoughts of converting; but once a person has joined, they will think differently. The new convert and his or her fellow Baha'is will have to justify this conversion, so they will come up with some ridiculous excuse for why the Baha'i Faith doesn't allow women in what is currently its highest governing body, such as "the reason will be made as clear as the sun at midday."

Deception

A lot of people think that they are too smart to join a cult like Scientology or the Baha'i Faith, but the fact is: there is no such thing as being too smart to fall for bullshit. A person who thinks that they can't be fooled is in fact a lot more likely to be fooled than a humbler person who realizes that they have been tricked in the past and that it could happen in the future.

Both Scientology and the Baha'i Faith engage in deception. Both of these cults have been caught lying about their membership numbers. The Church of Scientology have made the absurd claims that they are the fastest growing religion in the world, and that they gain 4.4 million new converts each year. Of course, this is demonstrably false. All you need to do to see this is to go into a Scientology org; they're all empty. Sometimes, you might see a few curious people in there, but it's generally just going to be a few staff. In fact, so few people come into Scientology churches, they don't even bother turning their air conditioning on.

However, due to these lies, as well as the grand buildings that both of these cults spend their money on, their followers are tricked into believing that they are a part of this massive, worldwide movement that actually has the power to change the world. Rather, both religions are experiencing serious decline currently, and rather than an entry by troops, the Baha'i Faith is experiencing an exit by troops

This is only one example of the many ways in which the Baha'i Administration deceives its members. Over the years, the Baha'i administration, when translating the works of the Central Figures have engaged in deceptive translation, and they have outright declined to translate anything more than selections from the writings of the Bab. Because of this, Baha'is are completely unaware of the fact that the Bab actually viewed Him Whom God shall make manifest as a figure who would not come until the distant future, or of the fact that the Bab forbade his followers from taking medicine, in addition to many ridiculous teachings.

Because, Baha'i translations are of course aimed at people who do not speak the original languages of the scriptures, they are able to take advantage of people's ignorance and make changes to the writings as they wish. Shoghi Effendi, despite how much he praised the Kitab-i-Iqan, was caught making changes to it in order to undermine Subh-i-Azal. Likewise, David Miscavige, the current leader of Scientology, has been caught making extensive changes to the writings of the religion's founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Control

Both the Baha'i Faith and Scientology are characterized by the excessive amount of administration. L. Ron Hubbard, like Shoghi Effendi, wrote hundreds and hundreds of pages on how the religion of Scientology should be run and organized. Once a person joins the Baha'i Faith, they are now going to be subject to this extensive control. For example, should a Baha'i wish to publish a book on his or her faith, they first need to get it reviewed by a committee; this is blatant censorship, and many scholars (Denis MacEoin, Juan Cole, etc.) have left the Baha'i Faith for this reason

Another method of control that destructive cults use is jargon. Cult leaders often create a complex system of jargon which can seem, to the outsider, to be like a completely new language. Scientology is especially known for this. The farther you move up in the cult, and the more you become controlled by it, the more jargon there is. It is impossible to understand some of the more advanced books and lectures by L. Ron Hubbard without a good grasp of Scientology terminology.

Here is a dictionary covering quite a bit of Baha'i terminology. The fact that this needs to exist proves my point. Much like Scientology, the Baha'i Faith has quite a lot of jargon: institute process, NSA, ATC, ITC, afnan, aghsan, auxiliary boards, B.E., teaching, etc. The layman would not be familiar with the Baha'i definition of any of these terms. The Baha'i Central Figures and Administration, just like L. Ron Hubbard, created many new words and re-defined many already existing terms. "Teaching" is an excellent example of this. "The Baha'is don't proselytize; they teach."

L. Ron Hubbard and the Baha'i leaders didn't invent all of this jargon for fun. It all serves a very particular purpose. It isolates the believer from the rest of the society. Try talking with a Scientologist who has allowed all the jargon to become a natural part of their lexicon; it's practically impossible, not just because the words are difficult to understand, but because they probably wouldn't even speak to you in the first place because they have become so entrenched in their cult! This has the potential to happen to a Baha'i as well. Of course, the Baha'i Faith doesn't have as much jargon as Scientology, but a very similar thing has happened among its members. Often in discussions, instead of forming any of their own arguments, a Baha'i will just quote from the writings ad nauseum, as if that is their only language.

Another method of isolation the Baha'i Administration uses is shunning. Baha'is have the concept of the "Covenant-Breaker," which is very similar to Scientology's concept of the "suppressive person," both of which are to be shunned by the followers of these cults. This Scientology apologist, on their blog, literally quotes Abdu'l-Baha to justify Scientology's practice of "disconnection" from "suppressive persons."

These kinds of practices have torn apart families and allow the Baha'i administration to exercise tight control over its members. Anyone who publicly criticizes these religions are at risk of being declared a "Covenant-Breaker" or a "suppressive person." This is exactly what happened to Avarih who was the subject of a recent post here, and his wife left him because of his apostasy and his criticisms of the Baha'i Faith.

Violence

Lastly, we'll deal with the subject of violence. Abdu'l-Baha physically attacked many differnet people despite condemning violence in his writings, but we have a plethora of more severe examples of violence than that. Baha'u'llah himself attempted to poison his rival (and his own half-brother) Subh-i-Azal. We have an account of this event from multiple sources:

"It was in fact the Mírzá [i.e. Baha’u’llah] who had sought to poison His Holiness [Azal]. [On the day in question] Sultán Khánúm (entitled the Greatest Holy Leaf), who at the time was still a believer in her most august uncle [i.e. Azal], with blinks and glances, [when the food was brought out by the servants] indicated that that he [Azal] should not partake of the meal placed before him. When the Mírzá [i.e. Bahá’u’llah] insisted that His Holiness should eat, His Holiness refused, thereupon the aforementioned saw that His Holiness had become appraised of their evil intentions [i.e. to kill him], and therefore, in order to deflect attention [from the deed], he proceeded to eat a few portions from that plate of food himself. Immediately his [i.e. Baha’u’llah’s] state was overturned [i.e. he became violently ill]. He then threw the plate of food in the courtyard outside. In that yard there was a dog who immediately began to eat [the discarded food] and thereupon fell dead shortly thereafter. When the Mírzá beheld this scene, he was immediately embarrassed, and so sought out a physician. After regaining his health, he proceeded to spread rumours that His Holiness [Azal] had attempted to poison him" (The True Acccount of Takur of Nur, p. 43-44).

"The first juggle and trick of sorcery which he [i.e. Baha] outlined was this, that he brought to Hazrat-i Azal [i.e. Subh-i Azal] a dish of plain food, with one side of which he had mixed with some poison, intending to poison His Holiness. For hitherto the apportioned breakfast and supper of His Holiness the Fruit [Hazrat-i Thamara, one of the titles conferred on Subh-i Azal by the Point] had been from the house of Mirza Husayn Ali [i.e. Baha]. When that poisoned dish was placed before His Holiness, Mirza Husayn Ali pressed him to partake of it. By a fortunate chance the smell of onions was perceptible in the food, and His Holiness, being averse to taste it. Mirza Husayn Ali continued to press him urgently to eat. He replied, “it smells of onions, I will not eat it; if it is so good, eat it yourself. From this answer Mirza Husayn Ali supposed that His Holiness had divined his evil design, and, simply put the view of disguising the truth and putting a better appearance on the matter, ate a little from the other side [i.e. the unpoisoned side] of the dish, in order that the suspicion of His Holiness might perhaps be dispelled and he might eat the poisoned side. But His Holiness, because of the smell of onion would not eat" (Hasht Bihisht, p. 304-305).

Baha'u'llah also had Dayyan (one of the claimants of the station of He Whom God shall make manifest) murdered:

"Mírzá Huseyn 'Alí [Bahá'u'lláh], after a protracted discussion with him [Dayyan], instructed his servant Mírzá Muhammad of Mázandarán to slay him, which was accordingly done" (Hasht Bihisht, p. 302-303).

Of course, Baha'is accuse Subh-i-Azal of doing all of these things with very little evidence. They point to Baha'u'llah's shaky hand, evident in his writings, as "proof" that he was poisoned. In reality, Baha'u'llah poisoned himself, his shaky hand being caused by ataxia/dystaxia.

It seems very unlikely that Subh-i-Azal would have done any of this since he was reluctant to even verbally denounce him (doing so is frowned upon in the Bayan). Azal states in an 1890 letter to Edgard Blochet, keeper of the Oriental Manuscripts section of the Bibliotheque National in Paris:

"I simply wanted him [Baha'u'llah] to keep his silence and not compel me to denounce him. In the end he could not contain himself, and by taking an overdose of opium, he threw down the gauntlet, lured thereunto by the temptations of the bald soap-seller [i.e. Mírzá Aqá Ján of Káshán], and by his brother [Mírzá Músá Kalím]."

Conclusion

As we can see here, the Baha'i Faith exhibits all aspects of a destructive cult. It is secretive, deceptive, and controlling, and it has a history of violence.

As a former Baha'i and a person who was nearly duped into joining Scientology, I encourage Baha'is to critically examine and evaluate the kind of group they are in before any harm similar to what the ex-Baha'is here have experienced befalls them.
Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/7q9b32/the_bahai_faith_and_scientology_aspects_of/