Quote of the Day

[arthra]

In the Hidden Words Bahá'u'lláh says, "Justice is to be loved above all." Praise be to God, in this country the standard of justice has been raised; a great effort is being made to give all souls an equal and a true place. This is the desire of all noble natures; this is today the teaching for the East and for the West; therefore the East and the West will understand each other and reverence each other, and embrace like long-parted lovers who have found each other.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 20

 

[arthra]

"The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of real attainment. When the two wings . . . become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary."

- Abdul-Baha

 

[arthra]

The Prophets of God are the Mediators of God. All the Prophets and Messengers have come from One Holy Spirit and bear the Message of God, fitted to the age in which they appear. The One Light is in them and they are One with each other. But the Eternal does not become phenomenal; neither can the phenomenal become Eternal.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 24

 

[arthra]

All praise be to God Who, from every drop of blood shed by His chosen ones, hath brought forth a vast creation whose number none but Himself can reckon.

He hath raised them to be the embodiments of His love and the manifestations of His tender affection.

It is they who are the hands of His Cause amongst men.

It is they who have rendered aid unto God in every age and have arisen to promote that which He hath purposed in such wise that the majesty of the kings and their dreadful might have failed to affright them, nor have they been hindered from following the path of truth by the clash of arms and the furious clamour of battalions.

They have raised their triumphal cry amidst all that dwell in the heavens and on the earth, summoning everyone unto the Lord of all mankind, He Who is the Ruler of this world and of the next, the God of the throne on high and of the earth below.

(Compilations, Fire and Light, p. 9)

 

[arthra]

A friend interested in healing quoted the words of Bahá'u'lláh:

"If one is sick, let him go to the greatest physician."

'Abdu'l-Bahá said:

"There is but one power which heals -- that is God. The state or condition through which the healing takes place is the confidence of the heart. By some this state is reached through pills, powders, and physicians. By others through hygiene, fasting, and prayer. By others through direct perception."

On another occasion 'Abdu'l-Bahá said with regard to the same subject,

"All that we see around us is the work of mind. It is mind in the herb and in the mineral that acts on the human body, and changes its condition."

The talk developed into a learned dissertation on the Philosophy of Aristotle.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 95)

 

[arthra]

"If a soul is seeking to quarrel, ask ye for reconciliation; if he blame ye, praise [him]; if he give you a deadly poison, bestow ye an all-healing antidote; if he createth death, administer ye eternal life; if he becometh a thorn, change ye into roses and hyacinths. Perchance, through such deeds and words, this darkened world will become illuminated, this terrestrial universe will become transformed into a heavenly realm, and this satanic prison become a divine court; warfare and bloodshed be annihilated, and love and faithfulness hoist the tent of unity upon the apex of the world."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 503

 

[arthra]

Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality.
Therefore it must be living, vitalized, moving and progressive.
If it be without motion and non-progressive it
is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine institutes
are continuously active and evolutionary; therefore the
revelation of them must be progressive and continuous.
All things are subject to reformation. This is a century of
life and renewal.

(H.M. Balyuzi, Abdu'l-Baha - The Centre of the Covenant, p. 200)

 

[arthra]

"Until man is born again from the world of nature, that is to say, becomes detached from the world of nature, he is essentially an animal, and it is the teachings of God which converts this animal into a human soul."

~ Abdul-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, p. 290

 

[arthra]

Praise be to God! the springtime of God is at hand. This century is verily the spring season. The world of mind and the kingdom of soul have become fresh and verdant by its bestowals. It has resuscitated the whole realm of existence. On one hand the lights of reality are shining; on the other the clouds of divine mercy are pouring down the fullness of heavenly bounty. Wonderful material progress is evident and great spiritual discoveries are being made. Truly this can be called the miracle of centuries for it is replete with manifestations of the miraculous.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 16

 

[arthra]

There are four kinds of love.

The first is the love that flows from God to man; it consists of the inexhaustible graces, the Divine effulgence and heavenly illumination. Through this love the world of being receives life. Through this love man is endowed with physical existence, until, through the breath of the Holy Spirit - this same love - he receives eternal life and becomes the image of the Living God. This love is the origin of all the love in the world of creation.

The second is the love that flows from man to God. This is faith, attraction to the Divine, enkindlement, progress, entrance into the Kingdom of God, receiving the Bounties of God, illumination with the lights of the Kingdom. This love is the origin of all philanthropy; this love causes the hearts of men to reflect the rays of the Sun of Reality.

The third is the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God. This is the transfiguration of His Beauty, the reflection of Himself in the mirror of His Creation. This is the reality of love, the Ancient Love, the Eternal Love. Through one ray of this Love all other love exists.

The fourth is the love of man for man. The love which exists between the hearts of believers is prompted by the ideal of the unity of spirits. This love is attained through the knowledge of God, so that men see the Divine Love reflected in the heart. Each sees in the other the Beauty of God reflected in the soul, and finding this point of similarity, they are attracted to one another in love. This love will make all men the waves of one sea, this love will make them all the stars of one heaven and the fruits of one tree. This love will bring the realization of true accord, the foundation of real unity.
But the love which sometimes exists between friends is not (true) love, because it is subject to transmutation; this is merely fascination. As the breeze blows, the slender trees yield. If the wind is in the East the tree leans to the West, and if the wind turns to the West the tree leans to the East. This kind of love is originated by the accidental conditions of life. This is not love, it is merely acquaintanceship; it is subject to change.

~ Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks, Pages: 180-181)

 

[arthra]

O thou who hast approached toward God!

Verily I have received thy letter and my heart was dilated by the content of thy expression, for it indicated the illumination of thy heart, the spirituality of thy soul, thy detachment from all the grades of this nether world and thy yearning after the effulgences of the Realm of Light.

By the glory of my Lord, I declare:

Verily the splendors of divinity are continually descending upon the pure, enlightened souls and the outpouring of the Kingdom falls tumultuously, like unto torrents, upon the favored realities from the rains of the providence of thy Lord, the Merciful, the Clement!

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v2, p. 447

 

[arthra]

Prayer and Meditation-Personal Exercises
7
It is striking how private and personal the most fundamental spiritual exercises of prayer and meditation are in the Faith. Bahá'ís do, of course, have meetings for devotions, as in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar or at Nineteen Day Feasts, but the daily obligatory prayers are ordained to be said in the privacy of one's chamber, and meditation on the Teachings is, likewise, a private individual activity, not a form of group therapy.
8
In His talks 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes prayer as "conversation with God", and concerning meditation He says that "while you meditate you are speaking with your own spirit. In that state of mind you put certain questions to your spirit and the spirit answers: the light breaks forth and the reality is revealed."
9
There are, of course, other things that one can do to increase one's spirituality. For example, Bahá'u'lláh has specified no procedures to be followed in meditation, and individual believers are free to do as they wish in this area, provided that they remain in harmony with the Teachings, but such activities are purely personal and should under no circumstances be confused with those actions which Bahá'u'lláh Himself considered to be of fundamental importance for our spiritual growth.

~ The Universal House of Justice, 1983 Sept 01, On Steps to Spiritual Growth

 

[arthra]

In a letter dated 26 November 1939 written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer we find the following:

Evil forces do take control of our life, but it is within our power to free ourselves from falling under their subjection.

There are, therefore, specific actions that Bahá'ís can take when confronted with the kind of situation of which you write, but the principal way in which they can overcome them is to deepen themselves in the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh so that they will come to recognize the lack of any true reality to such negative forces.

One of the Bahá'í pilgrims from the West who asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá about the power exercised by evil souls who had passed to the next world, recorded His answer as

"There is no power exercised over the people by those evil souls that have passed away. Good is stronger than evil and even when alive they had very little power. How much less have they after they are dead...."

~ The Universal House of Justice, 1998 Dec 16, Traditional practices in Africa)

 

[arthra]

Then our life will be revivified, we shall enjoy eternal existence, be refreshed with the breath of the Holy Spirit and become informed of the mysteries of creation.

Then we shall be inspired to upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity;

we shall take a portion of the divine grace and become resplendent with the rays of the heavenly luminary;

then the human race will mirror forth the attributes of the eternal kingdom and will move like a peaceful sea and each individual will appear as a wave.

As we look upon the sea, we will comprehend it as the sea of God;

as we look upon the waves, we will realize that they are the souls of humanity.

The sun is one; all light is one; the rays are one; it shines on all.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 171

 

[arthra]

Tahirih had caught fire. She set out for Karbila, hoping to meet Siyyid Kazim, but she arrived too late: ten days before she reached that city, he passed away.

Not long before his death the Siyyid had shared with his disciples the good news that the promised Advent was at hand. "Go forth," he repeatedly told them, "and seek out your Lord." Thus the most distinguished of his followers gathered for retirement and prayer, for fasts and vigils, in the Masjid-i-Kufih, while some awaited the Advent in Karbila.

Among these was Tahirih, fasting by day, practicing religious disciplines, and spending the night in vigils, and chanting prayers. One night when it was getting along toward dawn she laid her head on her pillow, lost all awareness of this earthly life, and dreamed a dream; in her vision a youth, a Siyyid, wearing a black cloak and a green turban, appeared to her in the heavens; he was standing in the air, reciting verses and praying with his hands upraised. At once, she memorized one of those verses, and wrote it down in her notebook when she awoke.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Memorials of the Faithful, p. 193

 

[arthra]

After the Báb had declared His mission, and His first book, "The Best of Stories,"[1] was circulated, Tahirih was reading a section of the text one day, and she came upon that same verse, which she had noted down from the dream. Instantly offering thanks, she fell to her knees and bowed her forehead to the ground, convinced that the Báb's message was truth.

[1The "Ahsanu'l-Qisas," the Báb's commentary on the Surih of Joseph, was called the Qur'án of the Bábís, and was translated from Arabic into Persian by Tahirih. Cf. God Passes By, p. 23.]

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Memorials of the Faithful, p. 193

 

[arthra]

"I have fasted for love of Thee and in pursuance of Thine injunction, and have broken my fast with Thy praise on my tongue and in conformity with Thy pleasure. Suffer me not, O my Lord, to be reckoned among them who have fasted in the daytime, who in the night-season have prostrated themselves before Thy face, and who have repudiated Thy truth, disbelieved in Thy signs, gainsaid Thy testimony, and perverted Thine utterances."

~ From a prayer revealed for the Fast by Baha'u'llah


(Compilations, Baha'i Prayers, p. 251)

 

[arthra]

The questioner remarked that many differing opinions were held as to the conditions of the future life. Some thought that all would have exactly the same perfections and virtues; that all would be equal and alike.

'Abdu'l-Bahá said there would be variety, and differing degrees of attainment, as in this world.

The question was then asked as to how it would be possible with no material bodies or environment to recognize different entities and characters, when all would be in the same conditions and on the same plane of existence.

'Abdu'l-Bahá said if several people look into a mirror at the same moment, they behold all the different personalities, their characteristics and movements; the glass of the mirror into which they look is one. In your mind you have a variety of thoughts, but all these thoughts are separate and distinct. Also you may perhaps have hundreds of friends; but when you call them before your memory you do not confuse them one with another: each one is separate and distinct, having their own individualities and characteristics.

Replying to another questioner, he said that when two people, husband and wife for instance, have been completely united in this life their souls being as one soul, then after one of them has passed away, this union of heart and soul would remain unbroken.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 74

 

[arthra]

O MOVING FORM OF DUST!

I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me.

The sword of thy rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope.

At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art ever far from Me.

Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee,

yet boundless shame thou hast chosen for thyself.

While there is yet time, return, and lose not thy chance.

~ Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words

 

[arthra]

Ya-Baha'u'l-Abha!

I have forsaken the world and its people, am heartbroken because of the unfaithful, and am weary.

In the cage of this world I flutter like a frightened bird and long for the flight to Thy Kingdom.

Ya-Baha'u'l-Abha!

Make me to drink the cup of sacrifice, and free Me!

Relieve Me from these difficulties, hardships, afflictions and troubles!

Thou art the assister, the helper, the protector and the supporter!

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, p. 433