I was delighted and happy to spend a few days in Battambang recently with my wife Debbie. I attended a Baha’i Regional Conference, where some 2,100 members of the Baha’i Religion from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam gathered in this Cambodia's second-largest city for a historic conference that had citizens of all four nations sitting side by side to discuss service activities in their communities. It was very spiritual.
An Official Representative of the Government of Cambodia is seen delivering the opening remarks
I was also amazed by the efficiency of the Cambodian friends, especially the the youths to organize such a large gathering in Cambodia.
This gathering was one of a series of 41 Baha'i conferences being held in major cities around the world. The events began on 1 November in Lusaka, Zambia, and will conclude on 1 March in Kiev, Ukraine.
Some 75,000 people have participated to date in the conferences (as of Feb 23) which began on 1 November and will conclude on 1 March, 2009 - last of the series of 41, which will be in Kiev, Ukraine.
Youths from Vietnam is seen performing a traditional Vietnamese dance for the participants
In Battambang, a representative of the provincial government, Aem Thoeurn, addressed the conference and emphasized the diverse nature of the gathering.
Nearly 2,100 Baha'is from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam participated in the Conference
"The unity of religion and the harmony of its followers is essential for peace," he said. "Your gathering here is proof that this is possible." He expressed the wish that "each one of us will bring this (spirit) back to our own people."
As in many of the cities hosting the conferences, Baha'i organizers in Battambang were challenged to find a venue large enough for all participants. The Battambang city hall fit the bill, with 1,500 people filling the main auditorium and others watching proceedings by video link from tents set up outdoors.
All the conferences are being held at the call of the Universal House of Justice, the head of the Baha'i Faith. The purpose is to celebrate achievements in community-building and make plans for future work. This includes devotional gatherings; children's classes; and programs for the moral education of young people.
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 stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.
The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.
One of the purposes of the Bahá'í Faith is to help make this possible. A worldwide community of some five million Bahá'ís, representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, is working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.
To learn more about the Bahá'í Faith, please visit www.bahai.org
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