The origin of religions is very interesting and it needs re-articulation. In fact from the beginning of civilization man has been worshipping many unknown powers out of ignorance and fears. During the past two million years man evolved some object of worship from wild animal stage and worshipped such object that could protect him from many dangers and threats in his day to day life.

In term of biblical chemistry, the history of mankind began with the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve ate the fruits of knowledge from the tree of knowledge against God's order, they were expelled from the garden as a punishment. Since then man wandered in this wide world with a feeling that he missed something.

At times he recalled the glory of that garden. This is not just a fictitious story. It contains a great truth. Thus, every one feels that something is missing, that he is not where he should be.

He may not be very clear about what is missing - that is a fallen nature. In this way men began to invent various kinds of worships which suit their mental satisfaction and way of life. A particular spiritual power was first called a 'sect' and later on a 'religion'. Thus all religions are meant for protection from any unseen danger.

Religions of the world today are mainly Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. And three categories of monotheistic religions which share same roots and backgrounds are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Likewise Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism too share identical roots and backgrounds. The former categories of religions with their long and rich history were rooted in the land of Israel.

Unlike all other established religions, Baha'i is of recent origin and its spiritual principles covers or accepts every basic features of those religion. It spreads all over the world but resides in over 11,000 localities. The spiritual and organizational centre of the Baha'i World Faith is the Universal House of Justice which was erected in 1963 in Haifa, Israel.

Surprisingly, Bahaism was favourably inclined to Zionism, believing that the return of the Jews to their land was foretold in the writing of Baha Allah and Abad al-Baha. On June 30, 1948, Shoghi Effendi wrote to Prime Minister Ben-Gurion expressing, "loyalty and best wishes for the prosperity of the newly proclaimed state of Israel and recognizing the significance of the ingathering of the Jews in the cradle of their faith."

The Baha'i faith becomes world-wide with its centre in Erez, (Israel) named after its founder, Baha Allah which mean, 'The Splendor of God'. Mysteriously, Bahaism originated out of sufi-Muslim mystical and spiritual movement of the Babi which was founded in 1844 in Persia.

It cares for and upholds the unity of God, commands its followers to search after truth, and advocates promotion of unity and concord among different races or people. It maintains equality of rights for men and women. It prohibits monasticism, and abolishes priesthood. The Bahai faith indoctrinates the principle of oneness and wholeness of the entire race.

The founder of the Bahai'i, Sayyid Ali Muhammad was born in Shiraz, Persia. In between 1818 and 1821 he was brought up as a member of a Shi-Sufi sect. Some Shiites and Sufis believe that in each age there is a man called the Bab which literally means 'Gate or way", who initiates in the secrets of the faith. Thus to the Babis, S. Ali Muhammad is the "Way" to the knowledge of divine truth.

By carefully examining the spiritual principles and teachings of the Baha'I, it may be correlated with the monotheistic religions namely, the Jews, Christians and Islam. The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions.

Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that enlarge back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. Above all, Sayyid Ali Muhammad's life mission is more or less similar with the life of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity.

Jesus Christ proclaimed himself he was the "the only way, the truth and the life." He was accused of abusing the spiritual authority of the orthodox Jews by th rabbis. Of course Jesus himself was a Jew by nationality, but he rebelled against the Jewish legalistic laws. As a result, he was arrested by the Roman soldiers on the initiatives of the Jewish priest and was brought to the place called Golgotha which means 'the place of skull'.

Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh. It was an effective painkiller which numbed the senses. Those condemned for crucifixion were offered this mixture so that they could forget their pain and misery and then they were crucified. In the same manner, in 1844 Ali Muhammad proclaimed himself that he was 'the gate of the divine truth' and was accused of heresy. He was arrested and shot dead in Tabriz in 1850. His body was interred by his followers in a secret tomb in Teheran, Iran.

Mirza Husayn Ali became the successor to the Bab under the name Baha Allah in Cyprus. The government exiled him to Adrianople in 1864 and later to Acre, which he reached in 1868, accompanied by about of his family and followers. It was he who turned the Faith into a UNIVERSALISM ethical religion, of which he became the leader.

In 1899 he had the body of Ali Muhammad, the bab, transferred from its tomb in Teheran to Acre. The Baha Allah died in 1892, and his tomb in the village of Mazra near Acre in a building at Bahji, Persian, and the "garden" there became a shrine. In this way, the Bahai'i is regarded as the holiest place in the world. Baha Allah's eldest son, Abbas Effendi, became the leader of the faith under the name of 'Abd al-Baha'( the servant of Baha).

He arranged for the burial of the Bab's body in a shrine in Haifa on the mount Carmel. Abbas Effendi died in 1992 and was buried in the same shrine. The great mausoleum Maqam-i Ala, which is a landmark in Haifa, was only completed in 1953. Abd al- Baha was succeeded by his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (1897-1957), who as guardian of the Baha'i Faith resided in Haifa, Isarel.

After transferring his resident to Haifa, Israel, he set out on travels to North Africa, Europe, and the U.S. In 1978 the Bahá'í House of Worship was listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States of America. The Bahá'í House of Worship is open to people of all religions, races and creeds.

When you visit New Delhi, you can find easily a very splendor building of Baha'i Temple which is located at Kalkaji in the south of Delhi. It is lotus shape and has rightly been given the name -Lotus Temple and it attracts many tourists now and then. The lotus represents the manifestation of God, and is also a symbol of purity and tenderness.

The Bahá'í Faith has been an active part of religious and social life in around the world since the late 1800's. It advocates spiritual solutions based on the Teachings of Baha 'u' llah on issues such as the elimination of all forms of prejudice with an emphasis on race unity, the equality of women and men, the spiritual education of children, the importance of family cohesion, and the establishment of world peace.

Bahá'u'lláh is God's Messenger for this day, a day in which all humanity is spiritually mature and can visualize the real unity to build the Kingdom of God on Earth.

I had visited Baha'i temple in New Delhi way back 1998 and rushed into the large hall within the lotus. As the hall is for meditation people were expected to maintain silence.

Ventilation seemed to be based on techniques traditional to the Indian subcontinent You would rather feel free when you enter inside the Temple since there is no distinction or restriction on ground of different religions, sex, castes or creeds. You can pray and worship any gods you adore it, hence Baha' i Faith is Universal ethical religion.

Some may say "This guy is proselytizing for Baha'i religion" I am neither propagating Baha'i faith nor subscribing to it, but the longer I live, the more deeply I am convinced that religion is meant for nonviolent co-existence among different ethnic races.

Jesus declared that there were only two important things about religion; "loving God with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves". What is religion meant to you now? My heart is broken when I often heard about Lamding, Thoubal incidents like the Christian Church demolished by a mob.

All religions are for peaceful co-existence among different ethnic groups or race. As for me, I knew that this is what religion is all about: Respect for brethren and love for humanity. All religion should advocate a rational scheme of spiritual developments and rather laid down the democratic principal of social equality.