Being able to achieve the impossible

We can truly say that this Cause is a cause that enables people to achieve the impossible! For the Bahá'ís, everywhere, for the most part, are people with no great distinguishments of either wealth or fame, and yet once they make the effort and go forth in the name of Bahá'u'lláh to spread His Faith, they become, each one, as efficacious as a host! 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated May 11, 1948, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Australia and New Zealand, in ‘Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand’) 

To “be a source of happiness to every heart”

I hope that you will be under the protection of God, will succeed in rendering service to humanity and will always be a source of happiness to every heart. The best person is he who wins all hearts and is not the cause of grief to anyone. The worst of souls is he who causes hearts to be agitated and who becomes the cause of sadness. Always endeavor to make people happy and their hearts joyful so that you may become the cause of guidance to mankind. Proclaim the Word of God and diffuse the divine fragrances. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Denver, Colorado, September 26, 1912; Mahmud’s Diary)

Obligatory Prayer: “a ladder for the souls, a lamp unto the hearts of the righteous, and the water of life from the garden of paradise”

Thou hast written concerning obligatory prayer. Such prayer is binding and mandatory for everyone. Most certainly guide all to its observance, because it is like unto a ladder for the souls, a lamp unto the hearts of the righteous, and the water of life from the garden of paradise. It is a clear duty prescribed by the All-Merciful, in the observance of which it is in no wise permissible to be dilatory or neglectful. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The American Baha’i September 2000)

“Recite ye the verses of God every morning and evening”

Recite ye the verses of God every morning and evening. Whoso reciteth them not hath truly failed to fulfil his pledge to the Covenant of God and His Testament, and whoso in this day turneth away therefrom hath indeed turned away from God since time immemorial. Fear ye God, O concourse of My servants! 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening our Knowledge of the Faith)

The Universal House of Justice

Such laws as are not mentioned in the Book must all be referred to the House of Justice and not to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, inasmuch as he is the interpreter of the laws that are mentioned in the Book and not the author of those that are not. However, the divinely ordained Universal House of Justice—which will, after the proclamation of the Cause of God, be universally elected by all Bahá’ís—that universal Body is empowered to enact laws that are not expressly recorded in the Book. It is binding, obligatory, and incumbent upon everyone to render obedience unto it. And whenever the House of Justice, whether unanimously or by majority vote, layeth down laws that are not expressly recorded in the Book, whoso saith why or wherefore hath indeed opposed God in the exercise of His sovereignty, disputed His proof, gainsaid His signs, and repudiated His commandments.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation: ‘The Universal House of Justice’, by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, February 2021; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Cleanliness

‘Abdu’l-Bahá refers to the effect of “purity and holiness, cleanliness and refinement” on the exaltation of “the human condition” and “the development of man’s inner reality”. He states: “The fact of having a pure and spotless body exercises an influence upon the spirit of man.” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (The ‘Notes’ section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

Father of the Poor

Baha'u'llah's ancestral
home in Takur

To the needy thronging His [Baha’u’llah] doors and filling the courtyard of His house every Friday morning, in spite of the perils that environed Him, He would distribute alms with His own hands, with a regularity and generosity that won Him the title of "Father of the Poor."

- Shoghi Effendi  (God Passes By)

Days of Há

My God, my Fire and my Light! The days which Thou hast named the Ayyám-i-Há (the Days of Há, Intercalary days) in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching. I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance.

- Baha’u’llah  (’Prayers and Meditations')

1848: Mullá Husayn walked about 1800 kilometers to see the Báb in Máh-Kú

Among them [the “eager and devout pilgrims”] was the dauntless and indefatigable Mullá Husayn, who had walked on foot the entire way from Mashad in the east of Persia to Máh-Kú, the westernmost outpost of the realm, and was able, after so arduous a journey, to celebrate the festival of Naw-Rúz (1848) in the company of his Beloved. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)

The “twin”, “inseparable” “duties” “prescribed by God for His servants”

The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Day Spring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good... It behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other.... 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, The Covenant)

“the Baha'is of the future will… be a hundred times more mature, better balanced, more exemplary in their conduct’

The primary reason for anyone becoming a Baha'i must of course be because he has come to believe the doctrines, the teachings and the Order of Baha'u'llah are the correct thing for this stage in the world's evolution. The Baha'is themselves as a body have one great advantage: they are sincerely convinced Baha'u'llah is right; they have a plan, and they are trying to follow it. But to pretend they are perfect, that the Baha'is of the future will not be a hundred times more mature, better balanced, more exemplary in their conduct, would be foolish. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 5, 1947; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

Some “qualities and actions which distinguish a Baha'i”

The words, the deeds, the attitudes, the lack of prejudice, the nobility of character, the high sense of service to others -- in a word, those qualities and actions which distinguish a Baha'i must unfailingly characterize their inner life and outer behaviour, and their interactions with friend or foe. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 8 May 1985 addressed to the Baha'i youth of the world; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

A glimpse of the future

All nations and kindreds ...will become a single nation. Religious and sectarian antagonism, the hostility of races and peoples, and differences among nations, will be eliminated. All men will adhere to one religion, will have one common faith, will be blended into one race, and become a single people. All will dwell in one common fatherland, which is the planet itself. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Promised Day is Come’)

“Souls are like unto mirrors…”

Souls are like unto mirrors, and the bounty of God is like unto the sun. When the mirrors pass beyond all coloring and attain purity and polish, and are confronted with the sun, they will reflect in full perfection its light and glory. In this condition one should not consider the mirror, but the power of the light of the sun, which hath penetrated the mirror, making it a reflector of the heavenly glory. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1')

19-Day Feasts: “God hath purposed to bind hearts together”

Verily, it is enjoined upon you to offer a feast, once in every month, though only water be served; for God hath purposed to bind hearts together, albeit through both earthly and heavenly means. 

- Baha'u'llah  ('The Kitab-i-Aqdas')

“'Abdu’l Bahá should be regarded as God’s ‘exalted Handiwork’”

"O 'Abdu'l-Baha"
 calligraphy by Mishkin-Qalam

There is nothing in the Writings that would lead us to the conclusion that what Shoghi Effendi says about himself concerning statements on subjects not directly related to the Faith also applies to ‘Abdu’l Bahá. Instead we have assertions which indicate that ‘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 Center 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 Báb, “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 individual believers; ‘Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World center)

To be “guided both by the Love of God and by the Fear of God”

The Day of God is a Day of Joy, but also a Day of Judgment. Every man is guided both by the Love of God and by the Fear of God. In their relationships with one another individual believers should be loving and forgiving, overlooking one another’s faults for the sake of God, but the Spiritual Assemblies are the upholders of the law of God. They are embryonic Houses of Justice. The education of a child requires both love and discipline; so also does the education of believers and the education of a community. One of the failings of Bahá’ís, however, is to confuse these two roles, individuals behaving like little Spiritual Assemblies, and Spiritual Assemblies forgetting that they must exercise justice. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 22 July 1981, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

“know ye the value of this precious Faith”

The Faith of the Blessed Beauty is summoning mankind to safety and love, to amity and peace; it hath raised up its tabernacle on the heights of the earth, and directeth its call to all nations. Wherefore, O ye who are God’s lovers, know ye the value of this precious Faith, obey its teachings, walk in this road that is drawn straight, and show ye this way to the people. Lift up your voices and sing out the song of the Kingdom. Spread far and wide the precepts and counsels of the loving Lord, so that this world will change into another world, and this darksome earth will be flooded with light, and the dead body of mankind will arise and live; so that every soul will ask for immortality, through the holy breaths of God. 

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

How to know God and direct our prayers

If we wish to pray, we must have some object on which to concentrate. If we turn to God, we must direct our hearts to a certain center. If man worships God otherwise than through His Manifestation, he must first form a conception of God, and that conception is created by his own mind. As the finite cannot comprehend the Infinite, so God is not to be comprehended in this fashion. That which man conceives with his own mind he comprehends. That which he can comprehend is not God. That conception of God which a man forms for himself is but a phantasm, an image, an imagination, an illusion. There is no connection between such a conception and the Supreme Being.

If a man wishes to know God, he must find Him in the perfect mirror, Christ or Bahá'u'lláh. In either of these mirrors he will see reflected the Sun of Divinity. As we know the physical sun by its splendor, by its light and heat, so we know God, the Spiritual Sun, when He shines forth from the temple of Manifestation, by His attributes of perfection, by the beauty of His qualities and by the splendor of His light. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Words of 'Abdu'l-Baha to Percy Woodcock, at 'Akká, 1909, cited in ‘Baha’u’llah and the New Era’)

The Universal House of Justice

O people of God! That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the sources of life to the world. Inasmuch as for each day there is a new problem and for every problem an expedient solution, such affairs should be referred to the Ministers of the House of Justice that they may act according to the needs and requirements of the time. They that, for the sake of God, arise to serve His Cause, are the recipients of divine inspiration from the unseen Kingdom. It is incumbent upon all to be obedient unto them. All matters of State should be referred to the House of Justice, but acts of worship must be observed according to that which God hath revealed in His Book. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, The Establishment of the Universal House of Justice)

To remember one’s “parents when communing with God”

It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate God to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his parents. Thereupon God's call will be raised: 'Thousand upon thousand of what thou hast asked for thy parents shall be thy recompense!' Blessed is he who remembereth his parents when communing with God. There is, verily, no God but Him, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved. 

- The Báb  (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude)

To live with others in “radiance and joy”

Live ye one with another, O people, in radiance and joy. By My life! All that are on earth shall pass away, while good deeds alone shall endure; to the truth of My words God doth Himself bear witness. 

- Baha’u’llah  ('The Kitab-i-Aqdas')

“a more abundant life”

…He was very sad to hear of your sadness and difficulties. Should that be only due to the passing of your son, it is not full justified, at least in the light of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. He explicitly states that, had we the vision to see the other world, and the mind to conceive its glory, we would not desire to remain here even for a moment. Man is destined by God to undergo a spiritual development that extends throughout eternity. His life upon this earth is only the first stage of that development. When we outgrow our physical form, and are considered by God ready to reap the fruit of our spiritual development, we proceed to the other world. We term it death only because of our short sightedness. A more proper term would be 'a more abundant life.' it is a forward step we have taken. In the light of the teachings, therefore, the proper attitude for you is to pray that God may encompass your son with His infinite blessings, that he may enhance his development and give him that felicity which awaits...every soul.

...the world is full of suffering. Bahá'u'lláh tells us that the deeper are the furrows it digs into our very being, the greater will be the fruit of our life and the more enhanced our spiritual development. All the Saints that shine in the history of society had to pass through tribulations. Their form was various but their effect has always been the same, namely, the purification of our heart and soul for receiving the light of God. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, December 9, 1931; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

Baha’u’llah “likened this world of being to a single tree, and all its peoples to the leaves thereof, and the blossoms and fruits”

The Blessed Beauty saith: ‘Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch.’ Thus hath He likened this world of being to a single tree, and all its peoples to the leaves thereof, and the blossoms and fruits. It is needful for the bough to blossom, and leaf and fruit to flourish, and upon the interconnection of all parts of the world-tree, dependeth the flourishing of leaf and blossom, and the sweetness of the fruit.

For this reason must all human beings powerfully sustain one another and seek for everlasting life; and for this reason must the lovers of God in this contingent world become the mercies and the blessings sent forth by that clement King of the seen and unseen realms. Let them purify their sight and behold all humankind as leaves and blossoms and fruits of the tree of being. Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help. Let them see no one as their enemy, or as wishing them ill, but think of all humankind as their friends; regarding the alien as an intimate, the stranger as a companion, staying free of prejudice, drawing no lines. 

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

To “become heavenly farmers”

It is stated in the blessed Gospel: Travel ye toward the East and toward the West and enlighten the people with the light of the Most Great Guidance, so that they may take a portion and share of eternal life. [Mark 16:15] Praise be to God, that the Northeastern States are in the utmost capacity. Because the ground is rich, the rain of the divine outpouring is descending. Now you must become heavenly farmers and scatter pure seeds in the prepared soil. The harvest of every other seed is limited, but the bounty and the blessing of the seed of the divine teachings is unlimited. Throughout the coming centuries and cycles many harvests will be gathered. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Tablet addressed to the Bahá’ís of nine Northeastern States of the United States: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York; ‘Tablets of the Divine Plan’)