- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 9 February 1932
written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation
of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and
Understanding of the Faith)
Oct 31, 2017
Baha’i Books to master
Oct 30, 2017
Educating ourselves about the condition of the world
The world is undoubtedly facing a great crisis and the
social, economic and political conditions are becoming daily more complex.
Should the friends desire to take the lead in reforming the world, they should
start by educating themselves and understand what the troubles and problems
really are which baffle the mind of man. It is in these Summer Schools that
this training should be provided for the friends.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 27
January 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, published
in ‘Bahá'í News’ 63, June 1932; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1,
Centers of Baha’i Learning)
Oct 29, 2017
Balance between home responsibilities and serving the Cause
Surely Shoghi Effendi would like to see you and the other
friends give their whole time and energy to the Cause, for we are in great need
for competent workers, but the home is an institution that Bahá'u'lláh has come
to strengthen and not to weaken. Many unfortunate things have happened in Bahá'í
homes just for neglecting this point. Serve the Cause but also remember your
duties towards your home. It is for you to find the balance and see that
neither makes you neglect the other. We would have many more husbands in the
Cause were the wives more thoughtful and moderate in their Bahá'í activities.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 14 May written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an
individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, Family Life)
Oct 28, 2017
“philanthropic enterprises and acts of charity”
In philanthropic enterprises and acts of charity, in
promotion of the general welfare and furtherance of the public good including
that of every group without any exceptions whatever, let the beloved of God
attract the favourable attention of all, and lead all the rest.
- Shoghi
Effendi (From a letter dated January 1929 to the believers of the East-
translated from the Persian; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i
Education)
Oct 27, 2017
The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha
The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá unveiled its [“the
Administration of Bahá'u'lláh's invincible Faith] character, reaffirmed its
basis, supplemented its principles, asserted its indispensability, and
enumerated its chief institutions. ...
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 21
April 1933, printed in ‘The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters’)
Oct 26, 2017
Prayer “to be freed from affliction”
If thou desirest to be freed from affliction, recite thou
this prayer which hath been revealed by the Pen of the All-Merciful:
“O God, my God! I testify to Thy unity and to Thy oneness. I
beseech Thee, O Thou Possessor of names and Fashioner of the heavens, by the
pervasive influence of Thine exalted Word and the potency of Thy supreme Pen,
to aid me with the ensigns of Thy power and might, and to protect me from the
mischief of Thine enemies who have violated Thy Covenant and Thy Testament.
Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.”
This invocation is an impregnable stronghold and an
indomitable army. It conferreth protection and ensureth deliverance.
- Baha’u’llah (Tablet of the Seven Questions [Lawḥ-i-Haft Pursish], published in
‘The Tabernacle of Unity’)
Oct 25, 2017
Selfless service
Nothing is more contrary to the spirit of the Cause than
discord and strife, which are the inevitable outcome of selfishness and greed.
Pure detachment and selfless service, these should be the sole motives of every
true believer. And unless each and every one of the friends succeeds in
translating such qualities into living action, no hope of further progress can
be entertained. It is now that unity of thought and action is most needed. It
is now, when the Cause s entering a new phase of development, when its
Administration is being gradually consolidated amid the welter and chaos of a
tottering civilization, that the friends should present a united front to those
forces of internal dissension, which, if not completely wiped out, will bring
our work to inevitable destruction.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 24 September 1933
written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation
of Compilations, vol. II, Living the Life)
Oct 24, 2017
The process of mankind’s coming of age and proceeding to maturity
The first sign of the coming of age of humanity referred to
in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh is the emergence of a science which is described
as that “divine philosophy” which will include the discovery of a radical
approach to the transmutation of elements. This is an indication of the
splendours of the future stupendous expansion of knowledge.
Concerning the “second” sign which Bahá’u’lláh indicates to
have been revealed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Shoghi Effendi states that
Bahá’u’lláh, “...in His Most Holy Book, has enjoined the selection of a single
language and the adoption of a common script for all on earth to use, an
injunction which, when carried out, would, as He Himself affirms in that Book,
be one of the signs of the ‘coming of age of the human race’”.
Further insight into this process of mankind’s coming of age
and proceeding to maturity is provided by the following statement of
Bahá’u’lláh:
One of the signs of the maturity of the world is that no one
will accept to bear the weight of kingship. Kingship will remain with none
willing to bear alone its weight. That day will be the day whereon wisdom will
be manifested among mankind.
The coming of age of the human race has been associated by
Shoghi Effendi with the unification of the whole of mankind, the establishment
of a world commonwealth, and an unprecedented stimulus to “the intellectual,
the moral and spiritual life of the entire human race”.
- The Universal House of
Justice (The “Notes” section of the ‘Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
Oct 23, 2017
The Báb & Bahá’u’lláh
The foundation of the belief of the people of Baha (may my
life be offered up for them) is this: His holiness the exalted One (the Bab) is
the Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God and the Forerunner of the
Ancient Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh). His holiness, the Abha Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) (may
my life be offered up as a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme
Manifestation of God and the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
Oct 22, 2017
The Báb & Bahá’u’lláh
The Báb, the Exalted One, is the Morn of Truth, the splendor
of Whose light shineth through all regions. He is also the Harbinger of the
Most Great Light, the Abha Luminary. The Blessed Beauty is the One promised by
the sacred books of the past, the revelation of the Source of light that shone
upon Mount Sinai, Whose fire glowed in the midst of the Burning Bush. We are,
one and all, servants of Their threshold, and stand each as a lowly keeper at Their
door.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The World Order of
Baha’u’llah’)
Oct 21, 2017
The Báb
I am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath
reared. I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche and
caused to shine with deathless splendour. I am the Flame of that supernal Light
that glowed upon Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay concealed in the midst of
the Burning Bush.
- The Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)
Oct 20, 2017
Baha’u’llah
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)
Oct 19, 2017
“twin Revelations”
Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá’í, that luminous star of Divine guidance
who had so clearly perceived, before the year sixty, the approaching glory of
Bahá’u’lláh, and laid stress upon “the twin Revelations which are to follow
each other in rapid succession,” had, on his part, made this significant
statement regarding the approaching hour of that supreme Revelation, in an
epistle addressed in his own hand to Siyyid Kázim: “The mystery of this Cause
must needs be made manifest, and the secret of this Message must needs be
divulged. I can say no more. I can appoint no time. His Cause will be made
known after Hin (68).”
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)
Oct 18, 2017
The “Child of the Covenant”
The creative energies released by the Law of Bahá'u'lláh,
permeating and evolving within the mind of 'Abdu'l-Bahá have, by their very
impact and close interaction, given birth to an Instrument which may be viewed
as the Charter of the New World Order which is at once the glory and the
promise of this most great Dispensation. The Will may thus be acclaimed as the
inevitable offspring resulting from that mystic intercourse between Him Who
communicated the generating influence of His divine Purpose and the One Who was
its vehicle and chosen recipient. Being the Child of the Covenant -- the Heir
of both the Originator and the Interpreter of the Law of God -- the Will and
Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá can no more be divorced from Him Who supplied the
original and motivating impulse than from the One Who ultimately conceived it.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 8 February 1934, printed as ‘The
Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh’ in ‘The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh’)
Oct 17, 2017
‘Abdu’l-Baha
Bahá'u'lláh's inscrutable purpose, we must ever bear in
mind, has been so thoroughly infused into the conduct of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and
their motives have been so closely wedded together, that the mere attempt to
dissociate the teachings of the former from any system which the ideal Exemplar
of those same teachings has established would amount to a repudiation of one of
the most sacred and basic truths of the Faith.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter
dated 8 February 1934, printed as ‘The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh’ in ‘The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh’)
Oct 16, 2017
Baha’i Administration
As the Baha'i Administrative Order rapidly expands
throughout the world it behoves everyone associated with it to familiarize
himself with its principles, to understand its import and to put its precepts
into practice.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 11 August
1970; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
Oct 15, 2017
Baha’u’llah “was a refuge for every weak one”
He [Baha’u’llah] was most generous, giving abundantly to the
poor. None who came to Him were turned away. The doors of His house were open
to all. He always had many guests. This unbounded generosity was conducive to
greater astonishment from the fact that He sought neither position nor prominence.
In commenting upon this His friends said He would become impoverished, for His
expenses were many and His wealth becoming more and more limited. “Why is he
not thinking of his own affairs?” they inquired of each other; but some who
were wise declared, “This personage is connected with another world; he has
something sublime within him that is not evident now; the day is coming when it
will be manifested.” In truth, the Blessed Perfection was a refuge for every
weak one, a shelter for every fearing one, kind to every indigent one, lenient
and loving to all creatures.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, ‘The Promulgation of
Universal Peace’)
Oct 14, 2017
“Love is, indeed, a most potent elixir”
The Guardian wishes me specially to urge you to remain
patient and confident, and above all to show your husband the utmost kindness
and love, in return for all the opposition and hatred you receive from him. A
conciliatory and friendly attitude in such cases is not only the duty of every
Bahá'í but is also the most effective way of winning for the Cause the sympathy
and admiration of its former foes and enemies. Love is, indeed, a most potent
elixir that can transform the vilest and meanest of people into heavenly souls.
May your example serve to further confirm the truth of this beautiful teaching
of our Faith.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 6 December 1935 written on behalf of Shoghi
Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I,
Family Life)
Oct 13, 2017
“thorough study and understanding of the spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith”
The second point which the Guardian wishes you to stress and
to keep always in mind is the necessity for every local and active member of
your committee to fully concentrate on the thorough study and understanding of
the spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith, as a necessary step
for active and fruitful teaching. You should first equip yourselves with the
necessary amount of knowledge about the Cause and then, and only then, try to
teach.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated August 1933 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to
the Bahá'í Youth Committee; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The
Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith)
Oct 12, 2017
Baha’u’llah “had an extraordinary power of attraction”
From childhood He [Baha’u’llah] was extremely kind and
generous. He was a great lover of outdoor life, most of His time being spent in
the garden or the fields. He had an extraordinary power of attraction, which
was felt by all. People always crowded around Him. Ministers and people of the
Court would surround Him, and the children also were devoted to Him. When He
was only thirteen of fourteen years old He became renowned for His learning. He
would converse on any subject and solve any problem presented to Him. In large
gatherings He would discuss matters with the Ulama (leading mullas) and would
explain intricate religious questions. All of them used to listen to Him with
the greatest interest.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha
(Quoted in ‘Baha'u'llah and the New Era’, by Dr. J.E. Esslemont)
Oct 11, 2017
Imitation
Imitation destroys the foundation of religion. Imitation
kills the spirituality of the human world. Imitation has changed into darkness
the heavenly illumination. Imitation has deprived man of the knowledge of God.
Imitation is the cause of victory of irreligion over religion. Imitation is the
cause of the denial of divinity. Imitation refuses the law of revelation.
Imitation sets aside the prophethood. Imitation denies the Kingdom of God.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, at Fanwood, New Jersey, published in Fanwood
Newspaper, June 1, 1912; Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 11, September 27, 1914)
Oct 10, 2017
“…the present generation is too near to it [“the Cause and its teachings”] to appreciate its import”
Shoghi Effendi is sure that the more you study the Cause and
its teachings the more you will realize what a mission it has to give to this
world at this time. Dr. Jowett of Balliol rightly said that this is the
greatest light that has appeared in the world since Christianity, that the
present generation is too near to it to appreciate its import, that only in the
future its significance will become manifest. I do not believe that even the
Bahá'ís can conceive the wonderful and fundamental change the tenets of this
movement and the spirit of the teachings and the life of its Founders are going
to make in the heart and mind of this generation and the future ones.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a
letter dated 17 December 1928 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an
individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of
Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith)
Oct 9, 2017
“…to let the spirit of Baha'u'llah flow into the entire community”
When we see the condition the world is in today, we must
surely forget these utterly insignificant internal disturbances, and rush,
unitedly, to the rescue of humanity. You should urge your fellow-Baha'is to
take this point of view, and to support you in a strong effort to suppress
every critical thought and every harsh word, in order to let the spirit of
Baha'u'llah flow into the entire community, and unite it in, His love and in
His service.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an
individual believer, February 16, 1951; compilation: Living the Life;
compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)
Oct 8, 2017
The “standards laid down by God”
…be not of those who, following their idle fancies and vain
imaginings, have clung to the standards fixed by their own selves, and cast
behind their backs the standards laid down by God.
- Baha'u'llah ('The
Kitab-i-Aqdas')
Oct 7, 2017
Travelling teachers
The National Spiritual Assembly or the Teaching Committees
responsible for the selection of these teachers should bear in mind that their
choice must depend, not only on the knowledge or grasp of the teachings on the
part of the teachers, but primarily upon their pure spirit and their true love
for the Cause, and their capacity to convey that spirit and love to others.
...What wonderful results will soon be witnessed in the areas under your
jurisdiction if you devise ways and means to ensure, as far as circumstances
permit, that the travelling teachers you are encouraging to circulate among the
friends will all be of the standard called for in these quotations -- pure and
sanctified souls, with nothing but true devotion and self-sacrifice motivating
them in their services to God's Holy Cause....
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 26 October
1967 written by the Universal House of Justice to National Spiritual Assemblies
engaged in mass teaching; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Teaching
the Masses)
Oct 6, 2017
Establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth
…establishing the Kingdom of God in this turbulent world is
no easy task. It requires unshakeable faith, complete reliance on God, high
endeavour, an indomitable spirit, constant striving, and infinite patience and
long-suffering. You are aware of God’s method and look upon your efforts as
seeds sown by the divine Husbandman in His field. Cultivating and gathering the
crop require hard work, time, patience, and sacrifice, but through the bounties
of God, an abundant harvest is assured. You remain confident that just as the
seed, which through the outpourings of the rain and the exertions of the
gardener gradually grows into a mighty and fruitful tree, so too your selfless
efforts and the labours of other Bahá’ís around the globe …will, at the
appointed time, through the blessings of the Abhá Beauty, yield wondrous
fruits; hearts will be enlightened, this darksome earth illumined, and the
oneness of humanity ultimately realized. - The Universal House of Justice (From a message to the Baha’is in Iran, May 10th, 2013)
Oct 5, 2017
Praiseworthy character
The most vital duty, in this day, is to purify your
characters, to correct your manners, and improve your conduct. The beloved of
the Merciful must show forth such character and conduct among His creatures,
that the fragrance of their holiness may be shed upon the whole world, and may
quicken the dead, inasmuch as the purpose of the Manifestation of God and the
dawning of the limitless lights of the Invisible is to educate the souls of
men, and refine the character of every living man — so that blessed
individuals, who have freed themselves from the murk of the animal world, shall
rise up with those qualities which are the adornings of the reality of man....
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá’, also quoted by
Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’; The Compilation of
Compilations, vol. I, Excellence in All Things)
Oct 4, 2017
To “study profoundly the revealed utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and the discourses of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá…”
The youthful and eager workers for the Cause in Montreal
occupy a warm place in my heart. I will remember their hopes, their plans,
their activities in my hours of prayer at the Holy Shrines. I urge them to
study profoundly the revealed utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and the discourses of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá and not to rely unduly on the representation and interpretation of
the Teachings given by the Bahá’í speakers and teachers.
- Shoghi Effendi (From
a letter dated 20 March 1929 to an individual believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)
Oct 3, 2017
A “World Civilization and a World Culture”
... the World Civilization which will follow upon the Most
Great Peace will unfold and evolve and gradually perfect itself during
following Dispensations; in other words, a World Civilization and a World
Culture, which will reach its ascendancy in the distant future and is something
that will require many thousands of years to mature.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 23 April 1954, written on
behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of
Compilations, vol. III, Cultural Diversity in the Age of Maturity)
Oct 2, 2017
The “best of all ways” that mothers can worship God
O ye loving mothers, know ye that in God's sight, the best
of all ways to worship Him is to educate the children and train them in all the
perfections of mankind; and no nobler deed than this can be imagined.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha ('Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha')
Oct 1, 2017
Hindu religion
As regards your study of the Hindu religion: The origins of
this and many other religions that abound in India are not quite known to us,
and even the Orientalists and the students of religion are not in complete
accord about the results of their investigations in that field. The Bahá'í
writings also do not refer specifically to any of these forms of religion
current in India. So, the Guardian feels it impossible to give you any definite
and detailed information on that subject. He would urge you, however, to carry
on your studies in that field, although its immensity is wellnigh bewildering,
with the view of bringing the Message to the Hindus. The task of converting
this section of the Indian population is a most vital obligation, although the
Guardian is fully aware of the many difficulties that it presents. Nevertheless
the friends should do their best to make as many converts among the Hindus as
they possibly can.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an
individual believer, dated, 17 April 1936; The Compilation of Compilations,
Vol. I, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster and Related Subjects)
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