Other Known Faiths
In addition to the major world religions, there are many other faiths that have developed over the centuries, and faiths that have taken birth in more recent times. There is no end to the variety of approaches to the Absolute One.
Each faith is a brilliant color in the rainbow of religions. In embracing the spirit of interfaith understanding, one acknowledges that the same Truth found in one’s chosen faith is reflected in the other paths as well.
In LOTUS All Faiths Hall, the following traditions have been selected to represent Other Known Faiths: Pacific Region, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Baha’i, and Confucianism.
Faith in a higher good is one of the most powerful forces on earth, whether in the name of God and religion, or expressed through a secular approach. Ultimately, all paths point to the omnipresence of the Divine, for the same Light of Truth that illumines all the religions is the wellspring of all other paths as well.
The quest for the Truth takes myriad forms. People seek it through faith in the grandeur of nature; through faith in humanity and the nobility of service; through faith in art, education, and social and political ideologies; through faith in science, philosophy and psychology; and through faith in any uplifting path followed with a pure heart.
As with the world’s religions, these secular paths are diverse; at their core, however, they are one in humanity’s universal desire for true and lasting peace and happiness. Whenever we seek the higher good in ourselves and in others, the result is the same: greater peace, unity, and harmony.
Open the Window
Pacific Region
O lo – the – hidden – face—e!
Rest within the heart,
Within the roots of origin;
O lo – the – learned!
O lo – the – determined!
O lo – the- self-created!
— Maori, New Zealand
May the earth continue to live.
May the heavens above continue to live.
May the rains continue to dampen the land,
Then the flowers shall bloom,
And we people shall live again.
—Ancient Hawaiian
Jain
“O God, help me to victory over myself,
for difficult to conquer is oneself,
though when that is conquered,
all is conquered.”
—Jain Scripture
Fivefold Invocation
Reverence to the Arhats,
Reverence to the Perfect Ones,
Reverence to the Heads of the Sangha,
Reverence to the Preceptors,
Reverence to all Holy Monks in the world.
Zoroastrianism
The first step that the soul of man made,
placed him in the good thought paradise;
the second step . . . in the good word paradise;
the third step . . . in the good deed paradise;
the fourth step . . . in the endless lights.”
—The Abodes Of The Soul, Zend-Avesta
“In Thy image, let me pattern my life, O Ahura Mazda,
Let me awake with Thy name on my lips, in my eyes let me ever carry Thy image to enable me to perceive Thee, and Thee alone, in every one else.”
—In Thy Image, Zend-Avesta
Baha’i
“To be a Baha’i simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.”
—‘Abdu’l-Baha
“Let all the nations of the world consort with each other with joy and fragrance. Consort ye, O people, with people of all religions with joy and fragrance.”—‘Abdu’l-Baha
Confucianism
“The superior man, in the world, does not set his mind either for anything or against anything; what is right he will follow.”
—Confucian Analects-Book IV
“It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.”
—Confucius