Most followers fled to India, where they are concentrated today, and are usually called Parsis. All rituals and rites are performed before the sacred fire. Baha'is use both the term Baha'i New Year and Naw-Ruz to designate the celebration, explains Gerald Filson, director of external affairs for the Baha'i Community of Canada, headquartered in Thornhill. While their messages were different, they sprang from the same source. Baha'u'llah taught that all the great prophets were servants of the same God Baha'u'llah was an early advocate of religious unity and women's rights, and he preached the abolition of all forms of inequality and prejudice.
Scientific inquiry is seen as essential to expand human knowledge and deepen members' faith.
As with all Baha'i holy days, there are few fixed rules for observing the new year. It's one of nine days on the Baha'i calendar when work should be suspended, Filson says. It's also welcome as the close of the annual 19-day fasting period that began March 2, when Baha'is neither eat nor drink from dawn to dusk. The Baha'i faith has no clergy, sacraments or rituals. Ill. But on Tuesday evening and Wednesday, the faithful will gather in homes, schools and the Toronto Baha'i Centre at Bloor and Huron Sts.