Journey Motif in the Bahá’í Faith

Abstract

This article explores the concept of “journey” in the Bahá’í Faith from spiritual, social, and historical perspectives. Because the process of individual spiritual growth lies at the heart of human purpose according to the Bahá’í teachings, the individual spiritual journey is a central theme in scripture and authoritative texts. Furthermore, Bahá’u’lláh speaks about the collective spiritualization of humanity—a process which carries with it the necessary creation of new patterns of community and social relations—as the “journey” of the human body politic. In this paper, the relationship between the individual and the collective journey is examined through the lens of the history of the spread of the Bahá’í Faith and compared with the literal journeys undertaken by the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi.