Slow crystallization of Baha’i institutions

The onrushing forces so miraculously released through the agency of two independent and swiftly successive Manifestations are now under our very eyes and through the care of the chosen stewards of a far-flung Faith being gradually mustered and disciplined. They are slowly crystallizing into institutions that will come to be regarded as the hall-mark and glory of the age we are called upon to establish and by our deeds immortalize. For upon our present-day efforts, and above all upon the extent to which we strive to remodel our lives after the pattern of sublime heroism associated with those gone before us, must depend the efficacy of the instruments we now fashion -- instruments that must erect the structure of that blissful Commonwealth which must signalize the Golden Age of our Faith. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh’ 8 February 1934, ‘The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Significance of the Formative Age of the Faith)

To “follow the example of the Company on high”

Soon will your swiftly-passing days be over, and the fame and riches, the comforts, the joys provided by this rubbish-heap, the world, will be gone without a trace. Summon ye, then, the people to God, and invite humanity to follow the example of the Company on high. Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Pay ye no heed to aversion and rejection, to disdain, hostility, injustice: act ye in the opposite way. Be ye sincerely kind, not in appearance only. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha’)

“the most urgent need of human beings”

…the most urgent need of human beings is to recognize the Manifestation of God and thereby to learn how to collaborate constructively. All over the world tremendous efforts are being made to improve the lot of mankind or of parts of mankind, but most of these efforts are frustrated by the conflicts of aims, by corruption of the morals of those involved, by mistrust, or by fear. There is no lack of material resources in the world if they are properly used. The problem is the education of human beings in the ultimate and most important purpose of life and in how to weld the differences of opinion and outlook into a united constructive effort. Bahá'ís believe that God has revealed the purpose of life, has shown us how to attain it, has provided the ways in which we can work together and, beyond that, has given mankind the assurance both of continuing divine guidance and of divine assistance. As people learn and follow these teachings their efforts will produce durable results. In the absence of these teachings, a lifetime of effort only too often ends in disillusionment and the collapse of all that has been built. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 3 January, 1982)

“The most acceptable prayer”

The most acceptable prayer is the one offered with the utmost spirituality and radiance; its prolongation hath not been and is not beloved by God. The more detached and the purer the prayer, the more acceptable is it in the presence of God. 

- The Báb  (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)

“Humour, happiness, joy are characteristics of a true Bahá'í life”

One of the signs of a decadent society, a sign which is very evident in the world today, is an almost frenetic devotion to pleasure and diversion, an insatiable thirst for amusement, a fanatical devotion to games and sport, a reluctance to treat any matter seriously, and a scornful, derisory attitude towards virtue and solid worth. Abandonment of "a frivolous conduct" does not imply that a Bahá'í must be sour-faced or perpetually solemn. Humour, happiness, joy are characteristics of a true Bahá'í life. Frivolity palls and eventually leads to boredom and emptiness, but true happiness and joy and humour that are parts of a balanced life that includes serious thought, compassion and humble servitude to God are characteristics that enrich life and add to its radiance. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 8 May 1979 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, cited in the compilation ‘A Chase and Holy Life’; compilation ‘Humor and Laughter’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

Virtues to embody

Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility. 

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet addressed to one of His sons, quoted by Baha’u’llah in the ‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)

To “memorize the logical points and proofs of the Holy Books”

It is very good to memorize the logical points and proofs of the Holy Books. Those proofs and evidences which establish the fact that Bahá'u'lláh is the fulfillment of the Promises of the Holy Books. These proofs ought to be collected and memorized. As soon as someone will ask you-What are your proofs?-you may cry out at the top of your voice and say: "Here they are!" 

- ‘Abdu'l-Bahá  (Star of the West, vol. 3, no.11, 27 Sept. 1912; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1, The Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith)

References to Baha’u’llah by Isaiah, “the greatest of the Jewish prophets”

To Him [Baha’u’llah] Isaiah, the greatest of the Jewish prophets, had alluded as the “Glory of the Lord,” the “Everlasting Father,” the “Prince of Peace,” the “Wonderful,” the “Counsellor,” the “Rod come forth out of the stem of Jesse” and the “Branch grown out of His roots,” Who “shall be established upon the throne of David,” Who “will come with strong hand,” Who “shall judge among the nations,” Who “shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips slay the wicked,” and Who “shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Baha’u’llah’s station

He Who…was made to sustain the overpowering weight of so glorious a Mission was none other than the One Whom posterity will acclaim, and Whom innumerable followers already recognize, as the Judge, the Lawgiver and Redeemer of all mankind, as the Organizer of the entire planet, as the Unifier of the children of men, as the Inaugurator of the long-awaited millennium, as the Originator of a new “Universal Cycle,” as the Establisher of the Most Great Peace, as the Fountain of the Most Great Justice, as the Proclaimer of the coming of age of the entire human race, as the Creator of a new World Order, and as the Inspirer and Founder of a world civilization. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Baha’u’llah’s Declaration in the Garden of Ridvan

The "myriad veils of light," within which His glory had been wrapped, were, at that historic hour [Ridvan], partially lifted, vouchsafing to mankind "an infinitesimal glimmer" of the effulgence of His "peerless, His most sacred and exalted Countenance." The "thousand two hundred and ninety days," fixed by Daniel in the last chapter of His Book, as the duration of the "abomination that maketh desolate" had now elapsed. The "hundred lunar years," destined to immediately precede that blissful consummation (1335 days), announced by Daniel in that same chapter, had commenced. The nineteen years, constituting the first "Vahid," preordained in the Persian Bayan by the pen of the Báb, had been completed. The Lord of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ returned in the glory of the Father, was about to ascend His throne, and assume the sceptre of a world-embracing, indestructible sovereignty. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

The Festival of Ridvan

This is a festival wherein the Beauty of the Lord of Grandeur hath been exalted above all things, and wherein He, unveiled and unconcealed, hath proclaimed His will and purpose unto all that are in heaven and on earth. And this is but a token of His grace that hath pervaded the entire creation. Therein was the Temple of Bahá seated upon the throne of eternity, and the splendours of His countenance dawned above the horizon of creation with the light of wondrous glory. All hail then to this, the Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared above a horizon of wondrous grace! 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

The “first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor” of every Baha’i

To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá'u'lláh's stupendous Revelation must, it is my unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and it is our bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance as we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of the truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated February 8, 1934, ‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’)

National character of American, British and Canadian Baha’is

The Guardian has high hopes for the achievements of the Canadian Bahá’ís. Their national character, which so fortuitously combines the progressiveness and initiative of the Americans, and the stability and tenacity of the British, fits them to make great contributions to the progress of the Faith, both in Canada and throughout the world. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 November 1948 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Canada; ‘Messages to Canada’)

Baha’u’llah’s stupendous Revelation

He Whom Bahá’u’lláh has acclaimed in the Kitáb-i-Íqán as that promised Qá’im Who has manifested no less than twenty-five out of the twenty-seven letters which all the Prophets were destined to reveal—so great a Revealer has Himself testified to the préeminence of that superior Revelation that was soon to supersede His own. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated February 8, 1934; ‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’)

‘Abdu’l-Baha has “‘no parallel’ in past Dispensations”

'Abdu'l-Bahá's position in the Faith is one for which we find "no parallel" in past Dispensations. For example, Bahá'u'lláh, in addition to His reference to the Centre of His Covenant as the "Mystery of God", states that 'Abdu'l-Bahá should be regarded as God's "exalted Handiwork" and "a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His Own Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that there is therein..." And from Shoghi Effendi we have the incontrovertible statement that the Guardian of the Faith while "overshadowed" by the "protection'' of Bahá'u'lláh and of the Bab, "remains essentially human", whereas in respect of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Shoghi Effendi categorically states that "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." 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 3 June 1982 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

Art: “the spirit breathed by Bahá'u'lláh will find expression in the work of the artists”

The day will come when the Cause will spread like wildfire when its spirit and teachings will be presented on the stage or in art and literature as a whole. Art can better awaken such noble sentiments than cold rationalizing, especially among the mass of the people.

We have to wait only a few years to see how the spirit breathed by Bahá'u'lláh will find expression in the work of the artists. What you and some other Bahá'ís are attempting are only faint rays that precede the effulgent light of a glorious morn. We cannot yet value the part the Cause is destined to play in the life of society. We have to give it time. The material this spirit has to mould is too crude and unworthy, but it will at last give way and the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh will reveal itself in its full splendour. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 10 October 1932, cited in "Bahá'í News", 73, May 1933; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Arts and Crafts)

“Blessed is the house…”

Blessed is the house that hath attained unto My tender mercy, wherein My remembrance is celebrated, and which is ennobled by the presence of My loved ones, who have proclaimed My praise, cleaved fast to the cord of My grace and been honoured by chanting My verses. Verily they are the exalted servants whom God hath extolled in the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá' and other scriptures. Verily He is the All-Hearing, the Answerer, He Who perceiveth all things. 

- Bahá'u'lláh  (From unpublished Tablet; compilation: ‘Baha’i Meetings’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

The three books every “Bahá'í should master…and be able to explain their contents to others”

... Shoghi Effendi hopes that you will exert all your effort to deepen your knowledge of the literature of the movement, until you become fully acquainted with its spirit and tenets. Unless you do obtain such a firm hold you will never be able to teach others and render real service to the promulgation of the Faith. Of special importance is the Book of the Íqán which explains the attitude of the Cause towards the prophets of God and their mission in the history of society. Besides this there is Some Answered Questions of the Master and the 'Dawn-Breakers' of Nabil. Every Bahá'í should master these books and be able to explain their contents to others. Besides their importance, they are interesting and most absorbing. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 9, 1932; compilations: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

To be patient with our poor selves and others

We must be patient with others, infinitely patient!, but also with our poor selves, remembering that even the Prophets of God sometimes got tired and cried out in despair! .. He urges you to persevere and add up your accomplishments, rather than to dwell on the dark side of things. Everyone's life has both a dark and bright side. The Master said: ‘turn your back to the darkness and your face to me.’ 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated September 22, 1929, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘The Unfolding Destiny of the British Baha'i Community’)

When “people will begin to enter the Faith in large numbers”

It is not sufficient to number the souls that embrace the Cause to know the progress that it is making. The more important consequences of your activities are the spirit that is diffused into the life of the community, and the extent to which the teachings we proclaim become part of the consciousness and belief of the people that hear them. For it is only when the spirit has thoroughly permeated the world that the people will begin to enter the Faith in large numbers. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 18 February 1932, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. III, Promoting Entry by Troops)

Baha’i elections: “choose those of any race, nationality or temperament who best combine the essential qualifications…”

... I do not feel it to be in keeping with the spirit of the Cause to impose any limitation upon the freedom of the believers to choose those of any race, nationality or temperament who best combine the essential qualifications for membership of administrative institutions. They should disregard personalities and concentrate their attention on the qualities and requirements of office, without prejudice, passion or partiality. The Assembly should be representative of the choicest and most varied and capable elements in every Bahá'í community ...  

- Shoghi Effendi  (In the handwriting of Shoghi Effendi, appended to a letter dated 11 August 1933 written on his behalf to an individual believer, published in 'Bahá'í Institutions'; The Compilation of Compilation, Vol. III, Sanctity and Nature of Baha’i Elections)

“A person's heart must be like a child's…”

The hearts of children are extremely pure and simple. A person's heart must be like a child's, pure and free from all contamination. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, From a talk at San Francisco’s Jewish Temple, October 15, 1912, Pleasanton, California, USA, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)

The “holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals”

The arrival of Bahá'u'lláh in the Najibiyyih Garden, subsequently designated by His followers the Garden of Ridvan, signalizes the commencement of what has come to be recognized as the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals, the festival commemorating the Declaration of His Mission to His companions. So momentous a Declaration may well be regarded both as the logical consummation of that revolutionizing process which was initiated by Himself upon His return from Sulaymaniyyih, and as a prelude to the final proclamation of that same Mission to the world and its rulers from Adrianople. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Reincarnation

We know from His Teachings that reincarnation does not exist. We come on to this planet once only. Our life here is like the baby in the womb of its mother, which develops in that state what is necessary for its entire life after it is born. The same is true of us. Spiritually we must develop here what we will require for the life after death. In that future life, God, through His mercy, can help us to evolve characteristics which we neglected to develop while we were on this earthly plane. It is not necessary for us to come back and be born into another body in order to advance spiritually and grow closer to God. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 22 April 1954, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Reincarnation and the Nature and Progress of the Soul’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

The “reason we commemorate the 1st, 9th and 12th days of Ridvan”

As regards various matters you raised in your letters, the reason we commemorate the 1st, 9th and 12th days of Ridvan as Holidays (Holy Days) is because one is the first day, one is the last day, and the third one is the ninth day, which of course is associated with the number 9. All 12 days could not be holidays, therefore these three were chosen. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated June 8, 1952, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation: 'Lights of Guidance')

A proof of one’s recognition of Baha’u’llah

Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso hath recognized Me, will arise and serve Me with such determination that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his purpose. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’)

Hidden Words

It behoveth us one and all to recite day and night both the Persian and Arabic Hidden Words, to pray fervently and supplicate tearfully that we may be enabled to conduct ourselves in accordance with these divine counsels. These holy Words have not been revealed to be heard but to be practised. 

- 'Abdu'l-Bahá  (From a Tablet to an individual; compilation: ‘Hidden Words: References of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

The “elasticity of the Administrative Order”

Now that your Assembly is formed, and is embarking on its independent existence as a National Body, he wishes to emphasize a point which he is constantly stressing to other National Bodies: you must avoid issuing rules and regulations. The fundamentals laid down in the Bahá’í Administration must, of course, be adhered to, but there is a tendency for Assemblies to constantly issue detailed procedures and rules to the friends, and he considers this hampers the work of the Cause, and is entirely premature. As far as is possible cases which come up should be dealt with and settled as they arise, and not a blanket ruling be laid down to cover all possible similar cases. This preserves the elasticity of the Administrative Order and prevents red tape from developing and hampering the work of the Cause.

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 November 1948 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Canada; ‘Messages to Canada’)

“Look ye not upon the present, fix your gaze upon the times to come.”

Look ye not upon the present, fix your gaze upon the times to come. In the beginning, how small is the seed, yet in the end it is a mighty tree. Look ye not upon the seed, look ye upon the tree, and its blossoms, and its leaves and its fruits. Consider the days of Christ, when none but a small band followed Him; then observe what a mighty tree that seed became, behold ye its fruitage. And now shall come to pass even greater things than these, for this is the summons of the Lord of Hosts, this is the trumpet-call of the living Lord, this is the anthem of world peace, this is the standard of righteousness and trust and understanding raised up among all the variegated peoples of the globe; this is the splendour of the Sun of Truth, this is the holiness of the spirit of God Himself. This most powerful of dispensations will encompass all the earth, and beneath its banner will all peoples gather and be sheltered together. Know then the vital import of this tiny seed that the true Husbandman hath, with the hands of His mercy, sown in the ploughed fields of the Lord, and watered with the rain of bestowals and bounties and is now nurturing in the heat and light of the Day-Star of Truth. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha  (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Baha)

Relationship between husband and wife

You have asked, however, for specific rules of conduct to govern the relationships of husbands and wives. This the House of Justice does not wish to do, and it feels that there is already adequate guidance included in the compilation on this subject. For example the principle that the rights of each and all in the family unit must be upheld, and the advice that loving consultation should be the keynote, that all matters should be settled in harmony and love, and that there are times when the husband and the wife should defer to the wishes of the other. Exactly under what circumstances such deference should take place, is a matter for each couple to determine.... 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 16 May 1982 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women)