A look through scripture at several of the world's revealed religions and their teachings about God, the Founders of faith, and humankind ... and the nature of the relationship between the three.

1. The Essential Unity of Religion
Pearls Upon a String

2. “That ... the manifold systems of religious belief should
never be allowed to foster the feelings of animosity
among men, is, in this Day, of the essence of the Faith of
God and His Religion. These principles and laws, these
firmly-established and mighty systems, have proceeded
from one Source, and are the rays of one Light.”
— Bahá’u’lláh

3. Essential Principles
All of Bahá’u’lláh’s
teachings are focused
on achieving the unity
of mankind.
✴One God.
✴One progressively
revealed faith.
✴One human family.

4. The Golden Rule:
Divine Coincidence?
•
This is the sum of duty: do naught to others which if done to thee
would cause thee pain. — Hinduism
•
What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men. That is the entire
Law; all the rest is commentary. — Judaism
•
Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others. —
Zoroastrianism
•
•
Do as ye would be done by. — Buddhism
•
No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which
he desires for himself. — Islam
•
And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy
neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself. — Bahá’í Faith
All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even
so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. — Christianity

5. Five Essential Questions
• Who is God?
• How can we know God?
• What is the foundation of our relationship
with God and His Messenger?
• What are the fruits of this relationship?
• What is "living the life" (of a Yogi, a bhikku,
disciple, Bahá'í)?

6. Who IS God?

7. The God of Krishna
•
•
•
God is pure and ever one. — Bhagavad Gita 5:19a
But beyond My visible nature is My invisible Spirit. This is the fountain
of life whereby this universe has its being. All things have their life in
this Life, and I am their beginning and end. In this whole vast universe
there is nothing higher than I. I am the taste of living waters and the
light of the sun and the moon. I am OM; the sacred Word of the
Vedas... And I am from everlasting the seed of eternal life. — Bhagavad
Gita 7:5-10
But beyond this creation, visible and invisible, there is an invisible,
higher, Eternal; and when all things pass away this remains for ever and
ever. This invisible is called the Everlasting and is the highest End
supreme. Those who reach Him never return. This is My supreme
abode. This Spirit Supreme, Arjuna, is attained by an ever-living love. In
Him all things have their life, and from Him all things have come. —
Bhagavad Gita 8:20-22

8. The God of Christ
•
'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one.’— Mark 12:29,30
•
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son
asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, who are evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask
Him! — Matthew7:7-11

9. The God of Bahá’u’lláh
•
God testifieth to the unity of His Godhood and to the singleness of
His own Being. On the throne of eternity, from the inaccessible
heights of His station, His tongue proclaimeth that there is none other
God but Him. — Prayers and Meditations of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 86-87.
•
All-praise to the unity of God, and all-honor to Him, the sovereign
Lord, the incomparable and all-glorious Ruler of the universe, Who,
out of utter nothingness hath created the reality of all things... Nothing
short of His all-encompassing grace, His all-pervading mercy, could
have possibly achieved it... Having created the world and all that liveth
and moveth therein, He through the direct operation of His
unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the
unique distinction to know Him and to love Him—a capacity that
must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary
purpose underlying the whole of creation." — Gleanings, p. 65.

10. How can we know God?

11. Knowing God: Krishna
•
I am the Way, and the Master who watches in
silence; thy friend and thy shelter, and thy abode
of peace. I am the beginning and the middle and
the end of all things; their seed of Eternity, their
Treasure supreme. — Bhagavad Gita 9:16-18
•
For I am the Abode of Brahman, the never-failing
fountain of everlasting life. The law of
righteousness is My law; and My joy is infinite joy.
— Bhagavad Gita 14:27

12. Knowing God: Christ
•
I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No man comes to
the Father but by Me. If you really knew Me, you would
know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him
and have seen Him. — John 14:6,7
•
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To
him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the
spring of the water of life. — Revelation 21:6
•
It is written in the Prophets: 'They will be taught by God.'
Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him
comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except the One
who is from God; only He has seen the Father. I tell you the
truth, he who believes has everlasting life.— John 6:45-51

13. Knowing God: Bahá’u’lláh
•
Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple of God, and in My beauty but
His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in My self but His Self ... and
in My Pen but His Pen, the Almighty, the All-Praised. There hath not been in
My soul but the Truth, and in Myself, naught could be seen but God.... The
Holy Spirit Itself hath been generated by this Most Great Spirit, if ye be of
them that comprehend." — World Order of Bahá’u’lláh p. 109
•
...He hath manifested unto men the Day Stars of His divine guidance, the
Symbols of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these
sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self.
Whoso recognizeth Them hath recognized God. Whoso hearkeneth unto
Their call, hath hearkened unto the voice of God, and whoso testifieth to
the truth of Their revelation, hath testified to the truth of God Himself....
Every one of them is the Way of God that connecteth this world with the
realms above.... They are the Manifestations of God amidst men, the
evidences of His Truth, and the signs of His glory. — Gleanings p. 49,50

14. Knowing God: Bahá’u’lláh
...He hath ordained that in every age and dispensation a pure and stainless
Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and heaven. Unto this
subtle, this mysterious and ethereal Being He hath assigned a twofold nature;
the physical, pertaining to the world of matter, and the spiritual, which is
born of the substance of God Himself. He hath, moreover, conferred upon
Him a double station. The first station, which is related to His innermost
reality, representeth Him as One Whose voice is the voice of God Himself...
The second station is the human station... These Essences of Detachment ...
are the channels of God's all-pervasive grace. Led by the light of unfailing
guidance, They are commissioned to use the inspiration of Their words, the
effusions of Their infallible grace, and the sanctifying breeze of Their
Revelation for the cleansing of every longing heart and receptive spirit...
Only then will the Trust of God, latent within the reality of man, emerge ...
from behind the veil of concealment... — Gleanings XXVII

15. What is the foundation of our
relationship with God?

16. Foundation of faith: Krishna
•
Not by the Vedas (Scriptures), or an austere life, or
gifts to the poor, or ritual offerings can I be seen as
thou hast seen Me. Only by love can men see Me, and
know Me, and come unto Me. He who works for Me,
who loves Me, whose end Supreme I am, free from
attachment to all things, and with love for all creation,
he in truth comes unto Me. — Bhagavad Gita 11:53,
54
•
This Spirit Supreme ... is attained by an ever-living love.
In Him all things have their life, and from Him all
things have come. — Bhagavad Gita 8:22

17. Foundation of Faith: Christ
•
The most important (commandment) is this: 'Hear, O Israel
the Lord our God is one. Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and
with all your strength. — Mark 12:29,30
•
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have
eternal life. — John 3:16
•
If ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, as
I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. ...
This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have
loved you. No one has greater love than this, that one should
lay down his life for his friends.Ye are my friends if ye practice
whatever I command you." — John 15:4-14

18. Foundation of Faith: Bahá’u’lláh
•
For every one of you his paramount duty is to choose for himself
that on which no other may infringe and none usurp from him.
Such a thing ... is the love of God, could ye but perceive it. —
Gleanings CXXIII
•
O SON OF MAN! Veiled in My immemorial Being and in the
ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore
I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to
thee My beauty.
•
O SON OF BEING! Love Me that I may love thee. If thou lovest
Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant!
•
O SON OF BEING! Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home,
reunion with Me. Enter therein and tarry not. — Hidden Words
(Arabic) vs.3-6

19. What are the fruits of our
relationship with God?

20. By Our Fruits: Krishna
•
When the mind is resting in the stillness of the prayer of Yoga, and by the grace
of the Spirit sees the Spirit ... then the seeker knows the joy of Eternity: a vision
seen by reason far beyond what senses can see. He abides therein and moves
not from Truth. He has found joy and Truth, a vision for him supreme. He is
therein steady: the greatest pain moves him not. — Bhagavad Gita 6:20-22
•
Give thy mind to Me, and give Me thy heart, and thy sacrifice, and thy adoration.
This is My Word of promise: thou shalt in truth come to Me, for thou art dear
to Me. Leave all things behind, and come to Me for thy salvation. I will make
thee free from the bondage of sins. Fear no more. — Bhagavad Gita 18:64-66
•
The man who sees Brahman abides in Brahman; his reason is steady, gone is his
delusion. When pleasure comes he is not shaken, and when pain comes he
trembles not. He is not bound by things without, and within he finds inner
gladness. His soul is one in Brahman and he attains everlasting joy... This Yogi
attains the Nirvana of Brahman; he is one with God and goes unto God. —
Bhagavad Gita 5:20,21,24

21. By Our Fruits: Christ
•
I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God
unless he is born again... No one can enter the kingdom
of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh
gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. —
John 3:3-6
•
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The
words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life.
— John 6:63
•
I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and
believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life and will not
be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
— John 5:24

22. By Our Fruits: Bahá’u’lláh
Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire,
of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is
kindled within the seeker's heart, and the breeze of His lovingkindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be
dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the
lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour
will the Mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine
forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through
the trumpet blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and
the spirit from the slumber of heedlessness. Then will the manifold
favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer
such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with
a new eye, new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. — Gleanings
p.267,268

23. What is living the life?

24. Living the life: Krishna
The man whose love is the same for his enemies or his
friends, whose soul is the same in honor or disgrace, who
is beyond heat or cold or pleasure or pain, who is free
from the chains of attachments; who is balanced in blame
and in praise, whose soul is silent, who is happy with
whatever he has, whose home is not in this world, and
who has love—this man is dear to Me. But even dearer
to Me are those who have faith and love, and who have
Me as their End Supreme; those who hear My words of
Truth and who come to the waters of Everlasting Life. —
Bhagavad Gita 12:19-20

25. Living the life: Christ
•
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. ... Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit
the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the
merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. —
Matthew 5:3-12
•
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all
these things will given to you as well. — Matthew 6:31

26. Living the life: Bahá’u’lláh
•
O SON OF SPIRIT! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly
and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient,
imperishable and everlasting. — Hidden Words
•
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy
of the trust of thy neighbor and look upon him with a bright and
friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the
rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the
sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgement and guarded in
thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all
men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the
sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an
upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity
and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.... — Gleanings CXXX

27. Do these religions agree?
•
•
•
Who is God?
•
What are the fruits of
that relationship?
•
What is “living the life?”
How can we know God?
What is the foundation of
our relationship with
God?

28. Unity in Action
The Purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, in revealing Himself
unto men is to lay bare those gems that lie hidden within the mine of their true
and inmost selves. That the divers communions of the earth, and the manifold
systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the feelings of
animosity among men, is, in this Day, of the essence of the Faith of God and His
Religion. These principles and laws, these firmly-established and mighty systems,
have proceeded from one Source, 288 and are the rays of one Light. That they
differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the
ages in which they were promulgated.
Gird up the loins of your endeavor, O people of Bahá, that haply the tumult of
religious dissension and strife that agitateth the peoples of the earth may be
stilled, that every trace of it may be completely obliterated. — Bahá’u’lláh,
Gleanings

29. Unity in Action
It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to
strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and
action....
That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the
service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed
and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of
the peoples and kindreds of the earth. In another passage He
hath proclaimed: It is not for him to pride himself who loveth
his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole
world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens. —
Gleanings, CXVII

30. Unity in Action
God has created us all human and all countries of the world are parts of the same
globe. We are all his servants. He is kind and just to all. Why should we be unkind and
unjust to each other? He provides for all. Why should we deprive one another? He
protects and preserves all. Why should we kill our fellow-creatures? If this warfare and
strife be for the sake of religion, it is evident that it violates the spirit and basis of all
religion. All the divine Manifestations have proclaimed the oneness of God and the unity
of mankind. They have taught that men should love and mutually help each other in
order that they might progress. Now if this conception of religion be true, its essential
principle is the oneness of humanity. The fundamental truth of the Manifestations is
peace. This underlies all religion, all justice. The divine purpose is that men should live in
unity, concord and agreement and should love one another. Consider the virtues of the
human world and realize that the oneness of humanity is the primary foundation of
them all. Read the gospel and the other holy books. You will find their fundamentals are
one and the same. — Abdu’l-Bahá, Foundation of World Unity.

31. Conclusions