by Nasser Rohani,
In 2017, the Bahá’ís observed the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet Founder of their Faith. 2019 coincided with the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Báb, Herald of the Bahá’í Faith. The Báb (1819-1850) is a special personage in the faith. In 1844 He announced that He was the bearer of a message destined to transform humanity’s spiritual life. His mission was to prepare the way for Bahá’u’lláh, who would usher in an age of unity, peace, and justice. The community has been in festive mode since 2017 and will continue these celebrations for some time into the future, with a variety of public meetings, community service projects, and artistic presentations, that include music, poetry, drama, painting, embroidery, dance and singing.
The Bahá'í Faith upholds the unity of God and the principle of the oneness and wholeness of the entire human race. It proclaims the necessity and the inevitability of the unification of mankind, asserts that it is gradually approaching, and claims that nothing short of the transmuting spirit of God, working through His chosen Mouthpiece in this day, can ultimately succeed in bringing it about. It, moreover, enjoins upon its followers the primary duty of an unfettered search for truth and condemns all manner of prejudice and superstition. It declares the purpose of religion to be the promotion of amity and concord, proclaims its essential harmony with science, and recognizes it as the foremost agency for the pacification and the orderly progress of human society. It unequivocally maintains the principle of equal rights for men and women; insists on compulsory education; rejects extremes of poverty and wealth; prohibits slavery, asceticism, and monasticism; prescribes monogamy; discourages divorce; emphasizes the necessity of strict obedience to one's civic laws; exalts any work performed in the spirit of service to the level of worship; urges either the creation or the selection of an auxiliary international language; and delineates the outlines of those institutions that must establish and perpetuate the general peace of mankind. The essence of Bahá'í teachings is summed up in these words of Bahá’u’lláh: “The Earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”
Nasser Rohani was born in Iran. At 18 he left Iran for India to pursue higher education. After the advent of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Nasser who intended to return to his homeland, was unable to go back, due to his religious affiliation—the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’ís are being persecuted by the fundamentalist regime. He continued his education and completed his Pre-PhD studies in village cooperative banking from Osmania University. After an 11 year stay in India, he and his wife and child emigrated to the United States in 1985. He soon joined the L.L. Bean company and for thirty two years he worked there as a systems programmer/analyst in the information services department. Nasser and his wife Parivash have four children and live in Portland, Maine.
