multitude of sects currently in existence. Not surprisingly, such a
suggestion at once arouses protest in other quarters that by religion is
intended rather one or another of the great, independent belief systems of
history that have shaped and inspired whole civilizations. This point of
view, in turn, however, runs up against the inevitable query as to where
one will find these historic faiths in the contemporary world. Where,
precisely, are "Judaism", "Buddhism", "Christianity", "Islam" and the
others, since they obviously cannot be identified with the irreconcilably
opposed organizations that purport to speak authoritatively in their
names? Nor does the problem end there. Yet another response to the enquiry
will almost certainly be that by religion is intended simply an attitude
to life, a sense of relationship with a Reality that transcends material
existence. Religion, so conceived, is an attribute of the individual
person, an impulse not susceptible of organization, an experience
universally available. Again, however, such an orientation will be seen by
a majority of religiously minded persons as lacking the very authority of
self-discipline and the unifying effect that give religion meaning. Some
objectors would even argue that, on the contrary, religion signifies the
lifestyle of persons who, like themselves, have adopted severe regimens of
daily ritual and self-denial that set them entirely apart from the rest of
society. What all such differing conceptions have in common is the extent
to which a phenomenon that is acknowledged to completely transcend human
reach has nevertheless gradually been imprisoned within conceptual
limits--whether organizational, theological, experiential or ritualistic--of
human invention.

The teachings of Baha'u'llah cut through this tangle of inconsistent views
and, in doing so, reformulate many truths which, whether explicitly or
implicitly, have lain at the heart of all Divine revelation. Although in
no way a comprehensive reading of His intent, Baha'u'llah makes it clear
that attempts to capture or suggest the Reality of God in catechisms and
creeds are exercises in self-deception: "To every discerning and illumined
heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the divine Being, is
immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal
existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His
glory that human tongue should adequately recount His prais