Why do you believe in the religious teaching you do?

[Spirit of Light]

This morning i was thinking. Why do I believe in the Sufi teaching as i do? (why do i believe the way i do)
To ask my self this question give me time to reflect why i chose the path i did when i did. What is it with sufism that attract me so much? what if i has read about Baha`i first? would i have become a baha`i

So this question is: Why did you end up believing what you do? Did you get born in to the religion you are a apart of? or did you convert in to it?
If you are born in to the faith, did you at any time concider to look in to other teachings?

This is NOT a debate, it is only a answer and maybe follow up question, So if someone answer and you "disagree" with them, be polite and ask a follow up questions and not agrue "you are wrong"

 

[Trailblazer]

So this question is: Why did you end up believing what you do? Did you get born in to the religion you are a apart of? or did you convert in to it?
If you are born in to the faith, did you at any time consider to look in to other teachings?

I was not born into my religion. I had no religion as a child because both my parents had dropped out of Christianity long before I was born. I cannot even recall believing in God as a child. My father died when I was 12 years old and later my mother told me my father was an atheist. My mother by contrast had retained her belief in God and she became a Baha'i at about age 60, about five years after my sister and I became Baha'is. My brother had become a Baha'i two years before me and my sister, so after my mother became a Baha'i the whole family was Baha'is.

Last June when asked by a Muslim I told the story about how I became a Baha'i in this post: Proof of Islam?

On Adrian's thread How important are facts within your religious beliefs? I explained why I chose the Baha'i Faith.

adrian009 said:
Does historical fact matter or should religious myth be accorded the same status as fact? We’re discussing religion after all. How important are facts to you within your religious belief or worldview? Does it really matter? Why or why not?

Facts are more important to me than anything else, and that is why I became a Baha'i in the first place. The first thing I did when I heard of Baha'u'llah back in 1970 was look in the Encyclopedia Britannica to find out of Baha'u'llah was a real person. After that I read whaever books had been published about the Bahai faitrh at that time and I read the Writings of Bahaulah and abdul-Baha, but what really convinced me that the Baha'i Faith was true was Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era because there were a lot of facts in there.

Emotions can be very misleading so I rely upon facts. As I always tell people, I never had any mushy-gushy feelings towards God or Baha'u'llah; I just know that the Baha'i Faith is the truth from God for this age because of the facts surrounding the life and mission of Baha'u'llah and because the theology is logical.

It was only 43 years after I had become a Baha'i that I connected with the Writings of Baha'u'llah on both an intellectual and an emotional level when I read Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh for the first time with serious intent, and that is when I realized without a doubt that Baha'u'llah was speaking for God. My life has never been the same since. Before that I had believed in God and I knew Baha'u'llah was a Messenger of God; after that I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that God existed and Baha'u'llah was His Representative for this age. Such was the effect that little book had upon my heart and mind. In the Preface to the paperback it says:

“Gleanings is a book for meditative study. It is not a book of history and facts, but of love and spiritual power. No one can understand the faith of the thousands of martyred followers of the Bab, unless he catches the spirit of this book. No one can appreciate why thousands of Baha’is give up the comfort of settled homes and move into strange countries to tell the people about Baha’u’llah, unless he clearly glimpses the spirit of this book.” Gleanings

And now that I have clearly glimpsed the spirit of this book I guess I am a lifer.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Good question.

I see faith is a gift. I think our hearts are our guide.

In this age I think our heart has to be open to the Oneness of Humanity, our heart has to grasp the Oneness of God that is reflected in all scriptures.

Regards Tony

 

[Spirit of Light]

Good question.

I see faith is a gift. I think our hearts are our guide.

In this age I think our heart has to be open to the Oneness of Humanity, our heart has to grasp the Oneness of God that is reflected in all scriptures.

Regards Tony

That i agree with you on @Tony Bristow-Stagg

 

[Marcion]

As a child I had a great curiosity about science and a distrust of the irrational.
This made me curious about the origins of religion.
Around the age of 16-17 years I figured out for myself that science would perhaps one day discover that a Cosmic Consciousness could be at the centre of everything beyond space and time.
And I developed a strong longing to also know what that Cosmic Consciousness should know.

At the age of 20 by chance a friend of mine went to a lecture about tantra-yoga at the start of the weekend and she invited me to also go.
I listened to that lecture with the greatest scepticism but to my surprise the approach was totally rational and not at all religious.
That same evening I decided to learn their meditation process and after a few group meditations I felt that I had found my path.

 

[rational experiences]

I was taught Catholic ideas as a child due to my aunties not my parents convictions. My parents allowed me to choose to have a choice. Non belief of any religion due to the scary concepts taught.

Reiterated in friends religious beliefs multi varied.

I saw spirit myself. Wondered why.

I sought spiritual information as self experiences rather than indoctrinated practice. As spirit answers were conflicting.

I believed I was intelligent enough to discern if humans were a spiritual presence with a higher purpose. Spirit presence proved to me their higher purpose. Which I understood was not mine to own.

I was just a human who sought a reason. What I have learnt as a self owning a life having an experience.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I was raised Catholic, but left the religion in my teens, because it did not align with my worldview. Subsequently I sampled a few religions.

My views are based on my experiences. Hinduism, specifically Advaita Vedanta, aligns with them, which is why I identify as such.

For me, it wasn't a matter of shopping for a religion and altering my beliefs to conform to that religion. Belief has practically no role in my "faith." I simply found a religion that aligns with my worldview.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Like what Salix said, As another Advaitist Hindu (believer in non-duality) I believe only in what is proved by science or the best guess based upon that. I believe in existence of one entity, certainly not with the properties usually associated with deities, not in a deity which helps you when you are in trouble or the one which gives you a second-life. This entity is does not interfere in worldly happenings.

 

[Twilight Hue]

This morning i was thinking. Why do I believe in the Sufi teaching as i do? (why do i believe the way i do)
To ask my self this question give me time to reflect why i chose the path i did when i did. What is it with sufism that attract me so much? what if i has read about Baha`i first? would i have become a baha`i

So this question is: Why did you end up believing what you do? Did you get born in to the religion you are a apart of? or did you convert in to it?
If you are born in to the faith, did you at any time concider to look in to other teachings?

This is NOT a debate, it is only a answer and maybe follow up question, So if someone answer and you "disagree" with them, be polite and ask a follow up questions and not agrue "you are wrong"

It's just a simple case of something sounding good and resonating well enough to trying it out.

A lot of it has to do I think, is with your environment and the way one has been brought up.

I have little doubt if I was raised in the middle east, I'd likely be a Muslim right now.

 

[Regiomontanus]

This morning i was thinking. Why do I believe in the Sufi teaching as i do? (why do i believe the way i do)
To ask my self this question give me time to reflect why i chose the path i did when i did. What is it with sufism that attract me so much? what if i has read about Baha`i first? would i have become a baha`i

So this question is: Why did you end up believing what you do? Did you get born in to the religion you are a apart of? or did you convert in to it?
If you are born in to the faith, did you at any time concider to look in to other teachings?

This is NOT a debate, it is only a answer and maybe follow up question, So if someone answer and you "disagree" with them, be polite and ask a follow up questions and not agrue "you are wrong"

Cultural influences are of course significant, at least when a person is young. My parents raised me as a Methodist but were very lax about it. But from my teens onward through most of my adult life I was an atheist. Anyway, following my heart and mind - guided by the Holy Spirit - I came back to Christianity though not Protestantism. My path, though, was not a straight one. It wove through Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism then finally to Jesus. All of those traditions were rewarding to me in some way, especially Buddhism (meditation, learning detachment, taking time to simply pause and take a deep breath).

 

[oldbadger]

This morning i was thinking. Why do I believe in the Sufi teaching as i do? (why do i believe the way i do)
To ask my self this question give me time to reflect why i chose the path i did when i did. What is it with sufism that attract me so much? what if i has read about Baha`i first? would i have become a baha`i

Hello CT. I didn't choose the path I'm on, any more than I chose the planet 'm on.

So this question is: Why did you end up believing what you do? Did you get born in to the religion you are a apart of? or did you convert in to it?
If you are born in to the faith, did you at any time concider to look in to other teachings?

I didn't end up believing in it. I didn't convert. I wasn't born thinking about it.

I'm as much a Deist as I am an Earthling.

 

[Revoltingest]

My religious teaching is about avoiding
being wrong, & of being not even wrong.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

No, I wasn't born into my religion. I mean, I was raised a nominal Christian because my mom was a Christian. I'm currently studying Eastern Orthodox Christianity and adopting the practices as I go, as I largely find Western Christianity to be dissatisfying. I find Orthodoxy to have the stronger theological arguments and its theology to be sublime and humane.

 

[Vinayaka]

This morning i was thinking. Why do I believe in the Sufi teaching as i do? (why do i believe the way i do)
To ask my self this question give me time to reflect why i chose the path i did when i did. What is it with sufism that attract me so much? what if i has read about Baha`i first? would i have become a baha`i

So this question is: Why did you end up believing what you do? Did you get born in to the religion you are a apart of? or did you convert in to it?
If you are born in to the faith, did you at any time concider to look in to other teachings?

This is NOT a debate, it is only a answer and maybe follow up question, So if someone answer and you "disagree" with them, be polite and ask a follow up questions and not agrue "you are wrong"

It's been so long this lifetime (45 years unofficially, 40 years officially) I no longer reflect on the 'why' part. I just do. It's who I am. I don't reflect on why I'm male either. I just am. For me, the religion is no different than gender, sexual orientation, physical shape, eye colour, etc.

I believe I've been in this faith for a very long time, perhaps 20 lifetimes or longer. Last lifetime I was in Calcutta, but most likely a South Indian stationed there. I befriended a Canadian soldier who passed away, and then I followed him in the astral back to Canada. It was a mistake, a whim, but that got corrected after 20 years in the new body, when Nataraja found me and called me home. So it's not a thinking decision, but a correction of a minor mistake. There are many reasons other Hindu souls are getting born in the west. Now, with globalisation, and the decreasing of village or tribal mentality, souls are born wherever. It's part of the evolution of how we live on this planet. Race will disappear as well, when we all blend from interracial marriages.

 

[Trailblazer]

So this question is: Why did you end up believing what you do? Did you get born in to the religion you are a apart of? or did you convert in to it?

This was a good idea for a thread. In reading the replies, it seems as if some people were born into the religion or belief system and some of those stayed with the same religion but chose to try out another sect.

Some people acquired what they believe later in life. It also seems as if those who acquired it did so because they already had a leaning towards that belief system. In other words, something about that belief system resonated with their thoughts about life and what is real and believable. Not only that, but what religion one chooses is related to religious practices one is attracted to, like you and Sufi practices.

Years ago, I had a young friend I met on Planet Baha'i who had a degree in Islamic studies. He was an American with no Muslim background and he converted to Islam. Then after that he became a Baha'i, and then he returned to Islam, and then he decided to return to being a Baha'i. These belief systems are so close in many ways it was not difficult for him to go back and forth! The Baha'i Faith has most of what Islam has although there are some additional teachings only the Baha'i Faith has, but since it grew out of Islam, naturally it has a lot of similarities.

 

[Spirit of Light]

This was a good idea for a thread. In reading the replies, it seems as if some people were born into the religion or belief system and some of those stayed with the same religion but chose to try out another sect.

Some people acquired what they believe later in life. It also seems as if those who acquired it did so because they already had a leaning towards that belief system. In other words, something about that belief system resonated with their thoughts about life and what is real and believable. Not only that, but what religion one chooses is related to religious practices one is attracted to, like you and Sufi practices.

Years ago, I had a young friend I met on Planet Baha'i who had a degree in Islamic studies. He was an American with no Muslim background and he converted to Islam. Then after that he became a Baha'i, and then he returned to Islam, and then he decided to return to being a Baha'i. These belief systems are so close in many ways it was not difficult for him to go back and forth! The Baha'i Faith has most of what Islam has although there are some additional teachings only the Baha'i Faith has, but since it grew out of Islam, naturally it has a lot of similarities.

Yes it seems like this thread has been a good thing to share a bit about our own belief and why we ended up in it
What i notice as i mention before is that Baha`i and Sufism have many similarities, but so has Islam in it self with noth sufism and Baha`i faith
I do not personally think i will become a baha`i But i certainly would like more contact with followers of Baha`i faith

 

[sun rise]

Why did you end up believing what you do?

When I became interested and started my search, I looked for something that satisfied my heart and mind.

Western theology could not explain the problem of suffering and the manifest unfairness of life.

So intellectually I found reincarnation and the action/reaction of karma could. I also had to move beyond the simple notions and realize that even with karma, how things worked out could be complex.

If I mistreated animals, I might become a vet in a future life for example. If I murdered someone and really repented the deed, maybe I would save that person's life later and not be murdered by him in return. And so forth.

That helped me avoid the "bad things are happening to you because you were bad in an earlier life" trap.

Reincarnation helped me understand people who were geniuses in history. They might be born with the genes and tendency to be a great composer because they had been working on that for many lives.

This is an intellectual idea so I could be wrong in details, but going down this pathway satisfied my mind.

Then there was the question of the heart. I talked with Bahais, visited Buddhist centers, read various books and found myself drawn to Meher Baba.

Deciding that Meher Baba is who he said he is the one named in various religions: Mahdi, Second Coming, Maitreya , Kalki Avatar took deep deep study and reflection. After all, there can be no greater assertion than this one.

Part of the assertion relates to the Hindu cosmic cycle, Age of Universe according to Vedas and his statement that we are at the end of a Cycle of Cycles, the end of the darkest Kali (iron) age and the birth of a great Sat Yuga (golden age). So his claim to be the one who rides the "white horse" in various traditions was linked to the cycle of time we're in and what the future holds.

And that's just for starters.

It was only at the end of reading everything I could and traveling to India to meet his closest disciples that I could wholeheartedly accept him.

 

[Trailblazer]

Yes it seems like this thread has been a good thing to share a bit about our own belief and why we ended up in it
What i notice as i mention before is that Baha`i and Sufism have many similarities, but so has Islam in it self with noth sufism and Baha`i faith
I do not personally think i will become a baha`i But i certainly would like more contact with followers of Baha`i faith

It is probably true that Baha'i has more in common with Sufiism than with Islam because we do not follow Islamic Laws and also because at its core the Baha'i Faith is a very mystical religion, and all you have to do is read some Baha'i prayers to know that Baha'u'llah was very much centered on getting close to God. Although most Baha'is are more practically-minded and think more about the unity of mankind and the social and economic issues the world is now facing, that is not true for all Baha'is. I have known some mystical Baha'is who were very much into meditation.

We are all different in how we approach the Faith and certainly that reflects our different personalities and how we think regarding what is most important. As Baha'is we have to consider our individual spiritual growth and nearness to God as well as societal needs and we have to balance those.