Baha'i groups discuss the Covenant of Baha'u'llah

[Truthseeker]

You can perhaps, @trident765, poison a few people here about the Baha'i Faith, but that is all, and is that a worthy accomplishment? You call yourself a Unitarian Baha'i, but all you are doing is trying to divide.

 

[Trailblazer]

That is not correct. Abdu'l-Baha is not seen as a Messenger of God.

Regards Tony

Then why do some Baha'is refer to him as He and Him?

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Then why do some Baha'is refer to him as He and Him?

Abdu'l-Baha has a unique station, one we are yet to grasp. Early Baha'i were seeing Abdul'baha as a Messenger of God, so Abdul'baha gave us an understanding as to what all the praise Baha'u'llah gave to him meant.

"My name is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My qualification is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My reality is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My praise is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Thraldom to the Blessed Perfection is my glorious and refulgent diadem, and servitude to all the human race my perpetual religion . .. No name, no title, no mention, no commendation have I, nor will ever have, except 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This is my longing. This is my greatest yearning. This is my eternal life. This is my everlasting glory."

Shoghi Effendi has given us a great overview of the Station of Abdul'baha. I quote from "The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh", scroll down to the Abdul'baha section, this is the greatest explanation we will find about Abdul-Baha.

The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh | Bahá’í Reference Library

Seven letters written by Shoghi Effendi and addressed to the Bahá’ís of the United States and the West, first collected in 1938, comprising “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh”, “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh: Further Considerations”, “The Goal of a New World Order”, “The Golden Age of the Cause of...

www.bahai.org

"...‘Abdu’l‑Bahá’s own statements, in confirmation of this warning, are no less emphatic and binding: “This is,” He declares, “my firm, my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit belief—a conviction and belief which the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty is the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth. The Báb is likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth… My station is the station of servitude—a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever… I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is my interpretation.”

This statement totally confirms the error of the Covernant Breakers who say Abdul'baha made himself a Messenger, to which I quote Shoghi Effendi.

".. Does not ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá in His own Will—in a tone and language that might well confound the most inveterate among the breakers of His Father’s Covenant—rob of their chief weapon those who so long and so persistently had striven to impute to Him the charge of having tacitly claimed a station equal, if not superior, to that of Bahá’u’lláh?.."

I recommend that if people do want to know who Abdul'baha was and still is in this Faith, that they use the link provided above, scroll down to the Abdul'baha section and read what Shoghi Effendi has guided is with.

Regards Tony

 

[TransmutingSoul]

For those Christians who see Jesus as infallible it would be the same as the way Baha'i based in Haifa see Abdul-Baha.

I would offer it is not the same. It is a big topic though.

The Covernant is what defines the authority given to Abdul'baha. Abdul'baha's servitude to the Covernant, is what defines Abdul'baha.

To me, our acceptance of that Covernant defines the name Baha'i "an adherent of the Baha'i faith" and the rejection of the Covernant is a rejection of the name Baha'i and a rejection of the right to use it.

A Prophecy of Baha’u’llah is that any attempt to break the Covernant will come to naught.

So maybe that is your chance, how wide spread are these "Groups" who have broken the Covernant, what progress have they made in building a New World Order based on the oneness of humanity? A limb cut from the tree will only survive for a short time, while it slowly uses up the last nutrients it had while connected to the tree, destined to loose any leaves it had and to deacy back into the earth whence it came, no longer nourished by the Tree of Life.

Regards Tony

 

[TransmutingSoul]

This Wiki link describes Covenant Breakers.

Covenant-breaker - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Good to note, that one is only a Covernant Breaker if they have been given that sanction.

In a letter to an individual dated 23 March 1975, the Universal House of Justice wrote:

"When a person declares his acceptance of Baháʼu'lláh as a Manifestation of God he becomes a party to the Covenant and accepts the totality of His Revelation. If he then turns round and attacks Baháʼu'lláh or the Central Institution of the Faith he violates the Covenant. If this happens every effort is made to help that person to see the illogicality and error of his actions, but if he persists he must, in accordance with the instructions of Baháʼu'lláh Himself, be shunned as a Covenant-breaker."

Regards Tony

 

[Trailblazer]

Haifan Bahais say they believe Abdul Baha has a lesser status than Baha'u'llah, but in practice Abdul Baha's status is greater. First he is the one whose picture Bahais hang up in their houses, not Baha'u'llah.

It seems to me that Baha'is give equal status to Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha although they will deny this and say Abdu'l-Baha is only the Exemplar.

Frankly, none of this matters to me because I have bigger fish to fry. This is only dogma.

 

[danieldemol]

That is not correct. Abdu'l-Baha is not seen as a Messenger of God.

Regards Tony

I was not implying that he was seen as a messenger of God, only that he was seen as infallible.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

It seems to me that Baha'is give equal status to Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha although they will deny this and say Abdu'l-Baha is only the Exemplar.

Frankly, none of this matters to me because I have bigger fish to fry. This is only dogma.

I see Abdulbaha as a Perfect Baha'i.
If a Person was absolutely a Baha'i, then that is Abdu'l-Baha... and because of this perfection, His soul became so clean and pure, that He could also reflect knowledge and attributes of God.
After all, if a person, perfectly follows the teachings of a Manifestation of God, but his soul sees not a significant change, then what is the benefit of the teachings of the Manifestation of God?
My understanding is that, if a person fully follows Baha'u'llah's teachings, he or she will be given intrinsic knowledge, meaning, he or she, knows all things without having to learn them from anywhere.

 

[Trailblazer]

We follow Baha'u'llah, and Abdu'l-Baha was the servant of Baha'u'llah. We know more about Abdu'l-Baha's actions than Baha'u'llah's generally speaking, so the Baha'is look to Abdu'l-Baha often on how they should act.

I am not going to look at Abdu'l-Baha for how I should act. I am going to try to act according to what Baha'u'llah wrote and that is all I need to do.
Actually, if I went by the teachings of Jesus I would know how to live. There is nothing really new in what Baha'u'llah wrote, it has only been rephrased and reiterated.

Baha'u'llah said of Abdu'l-Baha that all the names of God revolved around Abdu'l-Baha. Logically what does that tell you? Do you logically have dissonance on this, that is see a logical conflict between the implication of what Baha'u'llah said about Him, and how you see some of Abdu'l-Baha's actions? Or do you have a different opinion on what all the names of God revolving around Abdu'l-Baha means? Shoghi Effendi also said this:

Frankly, I don't really care as these are just 'beliefs' about the Central figures and they have no bearing upon how I will live my life.
Why does it matter what I believe about Abdu'l-Baha? What practical difference does it make in my life? None.

I cannot believe something I do not believe just because it is in the Writings. Now I understand how atheists feel about scriptures.

I do not care what "all the names of God revolve around Abdu'l-Baha" means. I don't know if they do or if they don't and nobody can prove it either way. It is only a belief that God even has these attributes.

 

[Trailblazer]

I see Abdulbaha as a Perfect Baha'i.
If a Person was absolutely a Baha'i, then that is Abdu'l-Baha... and because of this perfection, His soul became so clean and pure, that He could also reflect knowledge and attributes of God.

Sure, that is what Baha'is are told, but how do we really know that? As such it is a faith-based belief. This is what I have a problem with.

After all, if a person, perfectly follows the teachings of a Manifestation of God, but his soul sees not a significant change, then what is the benefit of the teachings of the Manifestation of God?

I do not believe that anyone can 'perfectly' follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah since no man can be perfect. It is only a belief that Abdu'l-Baha was the perfect man. It is religious dogma.

I fully agree that we should try to follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah, but I don't need to look at Abdu'l-Baha in order to follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah.

My understanding is that, if a person fully follows Baha'u'llah's teachings, he or she will be given intrinsic knowledge, meaning, he or she, knows all things without having to learn them from anywhere.

Is that understanding based upon anything you have read?

 

[Truthseeker]

Then why do some Baha'is refer to him as He and Him?

It's a term of respect. His station was higher than Shoghi Effendi. Here's what Shoghi Effendi said, and notice that Shoghi Effendi used He when referring to Abdu'l-Baha:

That 'Abdu'l-Bahá is not a Manifestation of God, that, though the successor of His Father, He does not occupy a cognate station, that no one else except the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh can ever lay claim to such a station before the expiration of a full thousand years -- are verities which lie embedded in the specific utterances of both the Founder of our Faith and the Interpreter of His teachings....

'Abdu'l-Bahá's own statements, in confirmation of this warning, are no less emphatic and binding: "This is," He declares, "my firm, my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit belief -- a conviction and belief which the denizens of the Abha Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty is the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth. The Báb is likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth... My station is the station of servitude -- a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever... I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is my interpretation."

Does not 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His own Will -- in a tone and language that might well confound the most inveterate among the breakers of His Father's Covenant -- rob of their chief weapon those who so long and so persistently had striven to impute to Him the charge of having tacitly claimed a station equal, if not superior, to that of Bahá'u'lláh? "The foundation of the belief of the people of Baha is this," thus proclaims one of the weightiest passages of that last document left to voice in perpetuity the directions and wishes of a departed Master, "His Holiness the Exalted One (the Bab) is the Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the Abha Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation of God and the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding."...

He is, and should for all time be regarded, first and foremost, as the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant, His most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, the embodiment of every Bahá'í ideal, the incarnation of every Bahá'í virtue, the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root, the Limb of the Law of God, the Being "round Whom all names revolve," the Mainspring of the Oneness of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of the Central Orb of this most holy Dispensation -- styles and titles that are implicit and find their truest, their highest and fairest expression in the magic name 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He is, above and beyond these appellations, the "Mystery of God" -- an expression by which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has chosen to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized.
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 133)

No Guardian of the Faith, I feel it my solemn duty to place on record, can ever claim to be the perfect exemplar of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh or the stainless mirror that reflects His light. Though overshadowed by the unfailing, the unerring protection of Bahá'u'lláh and of the Báb, and however much he may share with 'Abdu'l-Bahá the right and obligation to interpret the Bahá'í teachings, he remains essentially human and cannot, if he wishes to remain faithful to his trust, arrogate to himself, under any pretense whatsoever, the rights, the privileges and prerogatives which Bahá'u'lláh has chosen to confer upon His Son.
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 151)

 

[bahamut19]

The Tablet of the Branch will be rejected by Covernant Breakers, as it destroys all the foundation of their position.

In a post a few days ago, you admitted to never have read the Tablet of the Branch. You cannot say what is in it, except for what you were told is in it. Since that time, have you read the entire 14 paragraph Tablet of the Branch?

A Compilation of Baha’u’llah’s Writings - Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch)

 

[Trailblazer]

It's a term of respect. His station was higher than Shoghi Effendi. Here's what Shoghi Effendi said, and notice that Shoghi Effendi used He when referring to Abdu'l-Baha:

That 'Abdu'l-Bahá is not a Manifestation of God, that, though the successor of His Father, He does not occupy a cognate station, that no one else except the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh can ever lay claim to such a station before the expiration of a full thousand years -- are verities which lie embedded in the specific utterances of both the Founder of our Faith and the Interpreter of His teachings....

'Abdu'l-Bahá's own statements, in confirmation of this warning, are no less emphatic and binding: "This is," He declares, "my firm, my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit belief -- a conviction and belief which the denizens of the Abha Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty is the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth. The Báb is likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth... My station is the station of servitude -- a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever... I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is my interpretation."

Does not 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His own Will -- in a tone and language that might well confound the most inveterate among the breakers of His Father's Covenant -- rob of their chief weapon those who so long and so persistently had striven to impute to Him the charge of having tacitly claimed a station equal, if not superior, to that of Bahá'u'lláh? "The foundation of the belief of the people of Baha is this," thus proclaims one of the weightiest passages of that last document left to voice in perpetuity the directions and wishes of a departed Master, "His Holiness the Exalted One (the Bab) is the Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the Abha Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation of God and the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding."...

He is, and should for all time be regarded, first and foremost, as the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant, His most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, the embodiment of every Bahá'í ideal, the incarnation of every Bahá'í virtue, the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root, the Limb of the Law of God, the Being "round Whom all names revolve," the Mainspring of the Oneness of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of the Central Orb of this most holy Dispensation -- styles and titles that are implicit and find their truest, their highest and fairest expression in the magic name 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He is, above and beyond these appellations, the "Mystery of God" -- an expression by which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has chosen to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized.
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 133)

No Guardian of the Faith, I feel it my solemn duty to place on record, can ever claim to be the perfect exemplar of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh or the stainless mirror that reflects His light. Though overshadowed by the unfailing, the unerring protection of Bahá'u'lláh and of the Báb, and however much he may share with 'Abdu'l-Bahá the right and obligation to interpret the Bahá'í teachings, he remains essentially human and cannot, if he wishes to remain faithful to his trust, arrogate to himself, under any pretense whatsoever, the rights, the privileges and prerogatives which Bahá'u'lláh has chosen to confer upon His Son.
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 151)

I guess all these passages are supposed to be convincing but it does not really matter to me what passages say. That has nothing to do with this thread or the fact that some Baha'is have broken away, and it also has nothing to do with what is going on in my personal life, which never seems to change for the better. It is just a realization I have come to. Call it a light-bulb moment if you will.

The more people try to convince me of Abdu'l-Baha's station the less I believe it. That is because I feel like it is being crammed down my throat and nobody like to have things crammed down their throat.

As I told you a few months ago, I don't want to talk about religion anymore. I do not like religion and I never did. The Baha'i Faith is no exception, as the reasons I don't like religion are the same for all religions.

 

[Truthseeker]

It seems to me that Baha'is give equal status to Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha although they will deny this and say Abdu'l-Baha is only the Exemplar.

I don't find that among the Baha'is I know.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Is that understanding based upon anything you have read?

This:

O My Brother! A pure heart is as a mirror; cleanse it with the burnish of love and severance from all save God, that the true sun may shine within it and the eternal morning dawn. Then wilt thou clearly see the meaning of “Neither doth My earth nor My heaven contain Me, 22 but the heart of My faithful servant containeth Me.” 8 And thou wilt take up thy life in thine hand, and with infinite longing cast it before the new Beloved One.

Whensoever the light of Manifestation of the King of Oneness settleth upon the throne of the heart and soul, His shining becometh visible in every limb and member. At that time the mystery of the famed tradition gleameth out of the darkness: “A servant is drawn unto Me in prayer until I answer him; and when I have answered him, I become the ear wherewith he heareth….” For thus the Master of the house hath appeared within His home, and all the pillars of the dwelling are ashine with His light. And the action and effect of the light are from the Light-Giver; so it is that all move through Him and arise by His will. And this is that spring whereof the near ones drink, as it is said: “A fount whereof the near unto God shall drink….” 9

Bahá'í Reference Library - The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, Pages 17-29

“Knowledge is a light which God casteth into the heart of whomsoever He willeth.” It is this kind of knowledge which is and hath ever been praiseworthy, and not the limited knowledge that hath sprung forth from veiled and obscured minds. This limited knowledge they even stealthily borrow one from the other, and vainly pride themselves therein!"

Book of Certitude

 

[Truthseeker]

The more people try to convince me of Abdu'l-Baha's station the less I believe it. That is because I feel like it is being crammed down my throat and nobody like to have things crammed down their throat.

Here Shoghi Effendi is speaking. Also he quotes Abdu'l-Baha Himself. You respect Shoghi Effendi. I thought that would be different if Abdu'l-Baha showed His humility, and on the other hand Shoghi Effendi extolled His station. I guess you want to persist in your belief, no matter whether anybody says anything or they don't. I call that stubborn, and not being detached from your opinion. If I show you any Writings at all to prove this, you prefer to ignore them and be stubborn.

Knowing Abdu'l-Baha's station does impact your life. If you don't think He's the perfect exemplar, you will not learn from His example in His actions. Its your loss.

 

[bahamut19]

See this by a couple of scholars translating Baha'u'llah:

In another tablet revealed in response to that controversy, Bahá’u’lláh rejects Muḥammad-‘Alí's claim to revelation, states that he "is but one of My servants... Should he for a moment pass out from under the shadow of the Cause, he surely shall be brought to naught," and mentions the extraordinary station of one of His sons.[^59] Later, in His Book of the Covenant, He would state that this high station belongs to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that Muḥammad-‘Alí is subordinate to him, and that all must turn toward ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.[^60] [59]: Bahá’u’lláh's tablet can be found in Ishraq Khavari, Ma'idiy-i-Asmani 1:56-68. See also Ma'idiy-i-Asmani 4:361, and Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 251. [60]: See Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets, 221.
Nader Saiedi, "Logos and Civilization"

Revealing more about the circumstances:

In this Tablet He declares His own station and states that as long as His sons observe the commandments of God, persevere in edifying their souls, testify to what has been revealed by God, believe in 'Him Whom God shall make manifest', do not create divisions in His Cause and do not deviate from His revealed laws, they can be considered as the leaves and branches of His tree of holiness and members of His family. Through them will the light of God be diffused and the signs of His bounty be made manifest.

Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí did not live up to these standards. Apart from his shameful claim of equality with Bahá’u’lláh, he became a source of sedition in the community, inflicted severe injuries upon the Cause of God and, after Bahá’u’lláh's ascension, broke His Covenant and rose up to extinguish the light of His Faith.

In the Tablet of Khalil Bahá’u’lláh alludes to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in terms which immensely exalt Him above His other sons. He refers to Him as One 'from Whose tongue God will cause the signs of His power to stream forth' and as the One Whom 'God hath specially chosen for His Cause'.[^176] [176]: Bahá’u’lláh, quoted in Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 242.

In another Tablet[^177] revealed at this time when a few believers had been influenced by Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí's claim, Bahá’u’lláh asserts that when Muḥammad-‘Alí was a child of tender years He conferred upon him the power of utterance, so that people might witness His might and glory. He grieves in this Tablet at the state of some of His foolish followers who have thought to recognize a partner with Him in revelation and who have made great mischief in the land. He expresses astonishment at the behaviour of some who have attained His presence and witnessed the outpouring of His Revelation and yet have spread such shameful rumours among the believers. Referring to Muḥammad-‘Alí in this Tablet, He further states: [177]: Ma'idiy-i-Asmani vol. 8, p. 40.

He verily, is but one of My servants... Should he for a moment pass out from under the shadow of the Cause, he surely shall be brought to naught.[^178] [178]: Bahá’u’lláh, quoted in Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 251.

In this Tablet Bahá’u’lláh further confirms that all beings are created through a word from Him and that no one can claim equality, likeness or partnership with Him. He and He alone is the possessor of the [pg 171] Most Great Infallibility which is the prerogative of every Manifestation of God.

Concerning the three believers in Qazvín who were misled by Muḥammad-‘Alí's claim, Bahá’u’lláh invited Ḥájí Ḥasan and his brother to come to Adrianople. Here they attained His presence and fully recognized their folly.
Adib Taherzadeh, "The Child of the Covenant"

This is from the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha:

Consider, how foolish are the people! They that have been in His (Bahá'u'lláh's) Presence and beheld His Countenance, have nevertheless noised abroad such idle talk, until, exalted be His explicit words, He said: -- "Should he for a moment pass out from under the shadow of the Cause, he surely shall be brought to naught." Reflect! What stress He layeth upon one moment's deviation: that is, were he to incline a hair's breadth to the right or to the left, his deviation would be clearly established and his utter nothingness made manifest. And now ye are witnessing how the wrath of God hath from all sides afflicted him and how day by day he is speeding towards destruction. Ere long will ye behold him and his associates, outwardly and inwardly, condemned to utter ruin.

What deviation can be greater than breaking the Covenant of God! What deviation can be greater than interpolating and falsifying the words and verses of the Sacred Text, even as testified and declared by Mirza Badi'u'llah! What deviation can be greater than calumniating the Center of the Covenant himself! What deviation can be more glaring than spreading broadcast false and foolish reports touching the Temple of God's Testament! What deviation can be more grievous than decreeing the death of the Center of the Covenant, supported by the holy verse: -- "He that layeth a claim ere the passing of a thousand years...," whilst he (Muhammad Ali) without shame in the days of the Blessed Beauty had advanced such a claim as this and been confuted by Him in the aforementioned manner, the text of his claim being still extant in his own handwriting and bearing his own seal.
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Will and Testament, p. 6)

Here is the tablet... The Tablet to Khalil... A Compilation of Baha’u’llah’s Writings - Lawh-i-Khalil I (Tablet to Khalil)

Notice how powerfully Baha'u'llah describes His sons. Not one was singled out for a warning, and not one was singled out for praise. Mirza Muhammad Ali is also part of God's household, and do you see how God's household was treated?

"5 As for what you asked about my son, know that if my sons follow God’s laws and do not exceed what has been specified in God’s book, the prevailing, the Ever-Existing, and they command themselves and the servants to do good, and they forbid evil, and they testify to what God has testified in His decisive verses, the conclusive, the definitive, and they believe in whoever God reveals on the day in which the times of the former and the latter are counted, and on it, everyone presents themselves to their Lord, and they will not disagree on God’s command and will not stray from His ordained, written law. Then know that they are leaves of the tree of monotheism and its fruits, and with them, the clouds rain and the clouds lift with grace if you truly believe. They are God’s household among you and His family in your midst, and His mercy upon the worlds if you know. From them, the breeze of God blows on you, and the winds of dignity and love pass over those close. They are God’s pen, His command, and His word among His creatures, and with them, He takes and gives if you understand. Through them, the earth has shone with the light of your Lord, and the signs of His grace have appeared to those who do not deny God’s signs. However, those who hurt them have hurt me, and those who hurt me have deviated from God’s path, the prevailing, the Ever-Existing. So, you will find the deviation of the deviators and their arrogance towards us and their transgression against ourselves without clear evidence or a preserved book.

Say, O people, they are God’s signs among you, beware of arguing with them, or killing them, or be among those who oppress and do not realize. They are God’s secret on earth and returned under the hands of the oppressors on this earth that fell behind the elevated mountains. All of that was returned to them at the time when they were young in the kingdom, and they had no sin but in the path of God, the Capable, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Beloved, and those from them who appear naturally and God runs from their tongues signs of His power, and he is among those God has chosen for His command. There is no god but He, to Him belongs creation and command, and we are all commanded by His command. We ask God to make them successful in obeying Him and to provide them with what pleases their hearts and the hearts of those who inherit Paradise from God, the Mighty, the Prevailing, the Ever-Existing."

 

[bahamut19]

Is that the bible for B'hai ?

The Ruhi books are study books designed to ensure the Baha'i Faith operates more like a cult, than a functional religion.

However, if you want to learn more about what Baha'u'llah taught, I recommend this resource.

A Compilation of Baha’u’llah’s Writings

It is a chronological collection of Baha'u'llah's revelation, and more is being added. The Kitab-i-Aqdas is considered the most important book, but everything is valuable.

 

[bahamut19]

You can perhaps, @trident765, poison a few people here about the Baha'i Faith, but that is all, and is that a worthy accomplishment? You call yourself a Unitarian Baha'i, but all you are doing is trying to divide.

This is basically the default Baha'i Faith response to people who believe in Baha'u'llah but do not believe in the infallible authority of the Universal House of Justice. Sadly, this is also all they are capable of discussing.

 

[bahamut19]

They are doing more than community building. They are involving people other than Baha'is in their activities. They are also teaching as they are able as these people are involved in Baha'i activities. It is hard going though in America. I quote this from the 2021 Ridvan letter from the UHJ:

Viewed from the perspective of the last two and a half decades, the capacity for undertaking social action has risen markedly, leading to an extraordinary efflorescence of activity. Compared with 1996, when some 250 social and economic development projects were being sustained from year to year, there are now 1,500, and the number of Bahá’í-inspired organizations has quadrupled to surpass 160. More than 70,000 grassroots social action initiatives of short duration are being undertaken each year, a fifty-fold increase.

So the Baha'is are more active, doing more good actions in the world. I don't have any numbers on growth of Baha'is in the world at this time. That is not the UHJ's way. They don't report the number of Baha'is in the world.

1,500 social and economic development projects?

Would you care to describe them, or link us to a description of them? I ask because organizations such as the World Bank do actually list all the projects they work on, their cost, and measures of success. In order for this 1,500 number to be true, there must be evidence of them. Where is the evidence this is true?