Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 31, 1994                   TAG: 9403310160
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BAHA'IS HOPE THEY'RE 1 YEAR CLOSER TO GOAL

The passing of the New Year - called Naw-Ruz - "draws us closer to the time in this century when we will have political peace among all nations" of the Earth, said Roanoke Valley Baha'i James Williams.

The promise of universal peace is made in the writings of the founders of the Baha'i faith.

Baha'is believe that "everything else that was prophesied has been fulfilled," Williams said, since the founding of the religion.

That includes political events such as World War II and the establishment of the United Nations.

Baha'is believe in the unity of all religions and humankind.

They follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah, an Arabic title meaning "The Glory of God." He was born in Tehran, Persia, (now Iran) in 1817 as Mirza Husayn Ali. In 1863, he declared that he was the "manifestation of God" prophesied by Siyyad Ali-Muhammad, who was known as the Bab, or Gate.

Baha'is believe all the world's great religious leaders - including Krishna, Moses, Christ, Mohammed and Buddha - to have been deliverers of revelation in accordance with the plan of an essentially unknowable God.

Sacred writings of the Bab and Baha'u'llah, along with the interpretations of those writings by two of Baha'u'llah's descendants, are used as the definitive guides to Baha'i living.

The New Year's celebration marked the beginning of year 151 in the Baha'i calendar - dating from the time the Bab made his first declaration of a new revelation from God.

Though it is one of nine holy days in the Baha'i calendar - which consists of 19 months of 19 days plus an inter-month period to accommodate the solar year - it is not the most holy, Williams said.

That honor would fall on days commemorating the births of the Bab and Baha'u'llah, the martyrdom of the Bab, and the ascension of Baha'u'llah.

Still, it is a significant day marking the end of a 19-day daylight fast period.

"This is a time of year when we focus on self-preparation" and personal reflection, Williams said.

The approximately 50 Baha'is who live in the Roanoke Valley gathered for a New Year's celebration earlier this month and welcomed a new member to the faith, Williams said.

Baha'is are forbidden by their faith from proselytizing or seeking converts from other faiths, but the religion continues to be one of the most geographically widespread in the world.

"The faith is spread one heart at a time," Williams said.