OCTOBER 29, 2019, will mark 200 years since the birth of The Bab, the Herald of the Baha’i Faith who announced the coming of Baha’u’llah. His teachings focus on the unity of the whole human race, the equality of women and men, the harmony of science and religion and universal education. Ideas now often taken as a given and with the power to transform society. However, it is one thing to acknowledge something in principle, another to embrace it wholeheartedly and harder still to refashion society in ways that practice it. Yet this is the aim of Baha’i communities everywhere, inviting like-minded people to join them. There are many good causes in the world. Is the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh merely one among them? Or is it universal, offering a way to justice and peace for all people; does it possess a heavenly vitality that allows it to transcend all limitations and encompass every dimension of human life? Can it transform hearts? If the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are what will enable humanity to advance to the highest levels of unity, then one must search their soul for the right response. The multitudes who recognised the Báb were called to heroism - their magnificent response is recorded by history. Let anyone who is awake to the condition of the world, and to the persistent troubles that warp the lives of its inhabitants, heed Bahá’u’lláh’s call to selfless service. What else will rescue the world but that efforts of countless people make the welfare of humanity their principal concern?

Karen O’Donoghue, Kendal Baha’i Group