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“The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God's holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissension and strife.” — Bahá’u’lláh The Indian sub-continent has been intimately connected with Bahá’í history right from the Faith’s inception. Sa’id-i-Hindi from the subcontinent was one of the first persons to become a follower of The Báb (the Forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh). There were many others like him from India who recognized the divine station of the Báb during His short lifetime. During the ministry of the Báb, the light of His teachings reached villages and towns of India such as Bombay (now Mumbai), Hyderabad, Jaunapur, Rampur and Palampur. The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh were first brought to India in 1872 by Jamal Effendi, a Persian nobleman, who travelled throughout the subcontinent. His visits took him from Rampur and Lucknow in the North, to Calcutta and Rangoon in the East to Baroda and Mumbai in the West and finally to Chennai and Colombo in the South. He introduced Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings of unity and fellowship to all he met, from Nawabs, Princes and Colonial Administrators to the common folk. Contrary to prevailing social norms, he mingled with people of all communities and backgrounds – cutting across social strata, caste and religious belief. By the turn of the century, there were small Bahá’í communities in Bombay, Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad. The Bahá’ís of the subcontinent had their first elected national body for administering the affairs of the steadily growing Bahá’í communities in 1923. In the early decades of the twentieth century as the Bahá’í community of India grew in size and strength, the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh gradually started to come to the attention of the leaders and thinkers of the time. Mahatma Gandhi after his interactions with a number of Bahá’ís, proclaimed: “The Bahá’í Faith is a solace to humankind”. Similarly, Rabindranath Tagore who met many eminent Bahá’ís referred to Bahá’u’lláh as “the latest Prophet to come out of Asia”, whose “message is of great importance for the progress of civilization”. In the 1960’s and 70’s, the message of Bahá’u’lláh began to be shared with the masses in India, especially the rural peoples. The recognition of the value of the teachings of the Faith was often spontaneous in the hearts of people who encountered it, and hundreds of thousands of Indians saw in the teachings a fulfillment of their own long-held aspirations of vasudaiva kutumbakam. They found new inspiration for applying these ideals in a way that harmonizes with the exigencies of modern-day society. Thousands began to strive to apply these to address the challenges that their societies faced. Hundreds of democratically-elected local Bahá’í administrative bodies were elected by communities across India and they began to serve the needs of their localities. The moral education of children took on a new urgency and a number of educational endeavors emerged in villages across India. By the 1980s, hundreds of rural tutorial schools, as well as many larger academic schools inspired by the Bahá’í teachings, had come into existence, as well as projects in the areas of agriculture, vocational and teacher training, literacy, environmental stewardship, women’s empowerment, and health. The construction of the Bahá’í House of Worship in New Delhi provided what was probably the most widely recognized symbol of the kind of transformation Bahá’u’lláh has envisioned for the human heart and society. The lotus-shaped design reflects the conviction that a new and better world can flower out of even the most dire conditions. It also serves as a symbol of unity. Since its inauguration in 1985, an average of ten thousand people a day from all religious, racial or national backgrounds come together under its dome in silent worship to a common Creator. As the Bahá’í community in India grew in size and capacity, it started to play an increasingly prominent role in the life of society. In increasing number of national spaces, the Bahá’í contributions to shape and advance thinking on areas such as communal harmony, gender equality, education, equality of women and men, governance and development became highly valued. Today, the Bahá’ís of India are spread throughout the country from all cultural, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds. They are dedicated to serve their nation by joining with their compatriots in building communities that embody unity and justice, that are free of all forms of prejudices, where women and men serve society together shoulder to shoulder as equals, where children and youth receive the best of both spiritual and scientific education, and where the community’s devotional life protects it from harmful social forces.
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“स्वर्गबाट ईश्वरको पवित्र इच्छा अनुसार धर्मको उद्देश्य विश्वका जनमानसबीच विवाद र मतभेदको कारण नभएर, एकता अनि सौहार्दता स्थापित गर्नु हो।” — बहाउल्लाह शुरुवातदेखि नै भारतीय उप-महाद्वीप बहाई इतिहाससँग नजिकबाट सम्बन्धित छ। यस उप-महाद्वीपका शैद-ए-हिन्दी बाबका (बहाउल्लाहका अग्रदूत) अनुयायी बन्ने प्रथम व्यक्ति थिए। बाबको छोटो जीवनकालको दिव्य केन्द्रलाई मान्यता प्रदान गर्ने भारतबाट उनी जस्ता अन्य पनि धेरै थिए। बाबको सेवाकालमा, उनको शिक्षाका प्रकाश भारतको गाउँ अनि शहर जस्तै बम्बई (हाल मुम्बई), हैदराबाद, जौनपुर, रामपुर अनि पालमपुरसम्म प्रसारित भएका थिए। बहाउल्लाहको शिक्षालाई प्रथमपटक भारतमा जमाल एफेन्दी नामक कुलीन फारसी व्यक्तिले सन् 1872 मा यस उप-महाद्वीपको यात्राको क्रममा ल्याएका थिए। उनले यसलाई उत्तरको रामपुर अनि लखनऊ, पूर्वको कलकत्ता अनि रङ्गून, पश्चिमको मुम्बई अनि बरोदा र अन्त्यमा दक्षिणको चेन्नई अनि कोलोम्बोसम्म पुऱ्याएका थिए। उनले भेटवार्ता गरेका सबै नवाब, राजकुमार अनि उपनिवेशी शासकदेखि लिएर आम जनमानससम्मलाई बहाउल्लाहको एकता अनि सौहार्दताको शिक्षासँग परिचय गराए। त्यसताका विद्यमान सामाजिक नियमका विपरीत सबै समुदाय अनि पृष्ठभूमिका तमाम तप्का, जाति अनि धर्मका मानिसहरूसँग कुनै भेदभावबिना उनले भेटघाट गरे। शताब्दीको अन्त्यतिर, बम्बई, दिल्ली, पूणे अनि हैदराबादमा केही बहाई सम्प्रदायहरू थिए। अविराम रूपमा बढिरहेको बहाई समुदायको मामिला शासित गर्न यस उप-महाद्वीपका बहाई समुदायले सन् 1923 मा प्रथम राष्ट्रिय निकाय निर्वाचित गरे। बीसौं शताब्दीको शुरुवाती दसकतिर, भारतमा बहाई समुदायको आकार अनि शक्ति बढ्दै जाँदा, बहाउल्लाहको शिक्षा-दीक्षा त्यस ताकका नेतृत्त्व अनि चिन्तकहरूको नजरमा पनि पर्न थाल्यो। महात्मा गान्धीले कैयौं बहाई अनुयायीसँग संवाद गरेपछि, “बहाई धर्म मानवताका लागि ढाढस हो” भनी घोषणा गरे। यसै गरी धेरै लब्धप्रतिष्ठ बहाईसँग भेटवार्ता गरेका रविन्द्रनाथ ठाकुरले बहाउल्लाहलाई “एशियामा जन्मिएका नयाँ देवदूत/पैगम्बर हुन् जसको सन्देश सभ्यताको प्रगतिका लागि धेरै महत्त्वपूर्ण छ” भनी उल्लेख गरे। सन् 1960 अनि 1970 तिर, बहाउल्लाहका सन्देशहरू, भारतका जनमानसबीच, विशेष गरी ग्रामीण जनताबीच साझा गर्न थालियो। यस धर्मको शिक्षा-दीक्षाको मूल्यलाई बुझ्ने जो कोही जनमानसले स्वतः प्रेरित बन्दै स्वीकार गर्न थाले भने यस शिक्षामा लाखौं भारतीयले दीर्घकालदेखिको “वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्” को आकाङ्क्षा साकार भइरहेको देखे। आधुनिक समाजका अनिवार्यताहरूसँग तालमेल राख्ने गरी उनीहरूले यी आदर्शहरूलाई व्यवहारमा उतार्न नयाँ प्रेरणा पाए। समाजले सामना गरिरहेका चुनौतीहरूलाई सम्बोधित गर्न हजारौंले यसलाई व्यवहारमा उतार्न थाले। भारतभरी सयकडौंको सङ्ख्यामा स्थानीय बहाई प्रशासनिक निकायहरू समुदायले लोकतान्त्रिक रूपमा निर्वाचित गरे, जसले ती इलाकाका आवश्यकताहरू पूरा गर्न थाले। बाल-बच्चाको नैतिक शिक्षाको टड्कारो आवश्यकतालाई सम्बोधित गर्न भारतभरी गाउँहरूमा अनेकौं शैक्षिक पहल शुरु गरिए। सन् 1980 तिर, सयकडौं ग्रामीण शिक्षण स्कूलहरूका साथै बहाई शिक्षाबाट प्रेरित धेरै बृहत् शैक्षणिक स्कूलहरू स्थापना गरिए भने कृषि, पेशागत शिक्षा अनि शिक्षकहरूको प्रशिक्षण, साक्षरता, पर्यावरण प्रबन्धन, महिला सशक्तिकरण तथा स्वास्थ्यका परियोजनाहरू परिचालन गर्न शुरु गरिए। नयाँ दिल्लीमा बहाई उपासना मन्दिरको निर्माणले, मानव मन अनि समाजको निम्ति बहाउल्लाहद्वारा परिकल्पना गरिएअनुरूप रूपान्तरणको प्रतीकको स्वरूपमा व्यापक मान्यता पाएको छ। कमलको फूलको आकारमा निर्मित यस मन्दिरले कठिन परिस्थितिबीच पनि नयाँ अनि समुन्नत विश्व फुल्न सक्ने प्रतिबद्धता प्रतिबिम्बित गर्दछ। यसले एकताको प्रतीक पनि बोध गराउँदछ। सन् 1986 मा यसको उद्घाटनपछि, विभिन्न धर्म, जाति वा राष्ट्रियताका औसतमा दस हजारभन्दा धेरै मानिसले गुम्बजमुनि आएर साझा रचनाकारको शान्तिपूर्वक आराधना गर्दछन्। भारतमा आकार अनि क्षमतामा बहाई समुदाय बढ्दै गएसँगै, यसले समाजमा महत्त्वपूर्ण भूमिका बढ्दो रूपमा निर्वाह गर्दै आएको छ। राष्ट्रिय परिप्रेक्ष्यमा बढ्दो सङ्ख्यासँगै, साम्प्रदायिक सद्भावना, लैङ्गिक समानता, शिक्षा, महिला अनि पुरुषबीच समानता, शासन अनि विकास जस्ता क्षेत्रको चिन्तनधारालाई आकार दिन योगदानलाई धेरै मान्यता दिन थालिएका छन्। आज भारतमा बीस लाखभन्दा धेरै बहाई अनुयायीहरू छन्। उनीहरू एकता अनि न्याय, सबै प्रकारका पूर्वाग्रहबाट मुक्त, महिला अनि पुरुष दुवै काँधमा काँध मिलाएर समान रूपमा समाजको सेवामा संलग्न हुने, बाल-बच्चा अनि युवाहरूले श्रेष्ठतम आध्यात्मिक एवं वैज्ञानिक शिक्षा पाउने तथा समुदायको भक्तिपूर्ण जीवनको कारण घातक सामाजिक शक्तिहरूबाट सुरक्षा पाउने समुदायको विकास गर्न देशवासीहरूसँग मिलेर राष्ट्र सेवामा समर्पित छन्।