O Friends! You must all be so ablaze in this day with the
fire of the love of God that the heat thereof may be manifest in all your
veins, your limbs and members of your body, and the peoples of the world may be
ignited by this heat and turn to the horizon of the Beloved. 
…man must become evanescent in God. Must forget his own
selfish conditions that he may thus arise to the station of sacrifice. It
should be to such a degree that if he sleeps, it should not be for pleasure,
but to rest the body in order to do better, to speak better, to explain more
beautifully, to serve the servants of God and to prove the truths. When he
remains awake, he should seek to be attentive, serve the Cause of God and
sacrifice his own stations for those of God. When he attains to this station,
the confirmations of the Holy Spirit will surely reach him, and man with this
power can withstand all who inhabit the earth.
The Administrative Order, which ever since 'Abdu'l-Bahá's
ascension has evolved and is taking shape under our very eyes in no fewer than
forty countries of the world, may be considered as the framework of the Will
itself, the inviolable stronghold wherein this new-born child is being nurtured
and developed. This Administrative Order, as it expands and consolidates
itself, will no doubt manifest the potentialities and reveal the full
implications of this momentous Document -- this most remarkable expression of
the Will of One of the most remarkable Figures of the Dispensation of
Bahá'u'lláh. It will, as its component parts, its organic institutions, begin
to function with efficiency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its
capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New
World Order destined to embrace in the fullness of time the whole of mankind.
'Abdu'l-Bahá… incarnates an institution for which we can
find no parallel whatsoever in any of the world's recognized religious
systems…
The “cleansing of the Sanctuary,” prophesied by Daniel and
confirmed by Jesus Christ in His reference to “the abomination of desolation,”
had been accomplished. The “day whose length shall be a thousand years,”
foretold by the Apostle of God in His Book, had terminated. The “forty and two
months,” during which the “Holy City,” as predicted by St. John the Divine,
would be trodden under foot, had elapsed. The “time of the end” had been
ushered in, and the first of the “two Witnesses” into Whom, “after three days
and a half the Spirit of Life from God” would enter, had arisen and had “ascended
up to heaven in a cloud.” The “remaining twenty and five letters to be made
manifest,” according to Islamic tradition, out of the “twenty and seven
letters” of which Knowledge has been declared to consist, had been revealed.
The “Man Child,” mentioned in the Book of Revelation, destined to “rule all
nations with a rod of iron,” had released, through His coming, the creative
energies which, reinforced by the effusions of a swiftly succeeding and
infinitely mightier Revelation, were to instill into the entire human race the
capacity to achieve its organic unification, attain maturity and thereby reach
the final stage in its age-long evolution.
He the “Qá’im” (He Who ariseth) promised to the Shí’ahs, the
“Mihdí” (One Who is guided) awaited by the Sunnís, the “Return of John the
Baptist” expected by the Christians, the “Ushídar-Máh” referred to in the
Zoroastrian scriptures, the “Return of Elijah” anticipated by the Jews, Whose
Revelation was to show forth “the signs and tokens of all the Prophets”, Who
was to “manifest the perfection of Moses, the radiance of Jesus and the
patience of Job” had appeared, proclaimed His Cause, been mercilessly persecuted
and died gloriously. The “Second Woe,” spoken of in the Apocalypse of St. John
the Divine, had, at long last, appeared, and the first of the two “Messengers,”
Whose appearance had been prophesied in the Qur’án, had been sent down. The
first “Trumpet-Blast”, destined to smite the earth with extermination,
announced in the latter Book, had finally been sounded. “The Inevitable,” “The
Catastrophe,” “The Resurrection,” “The Earthquake of the Last Hour,” foretold
by that same Book, had all come to pass. The “clear tokens” had been “sent
down,” and the “Spirit” had “breathed,” and the “souls” had “waked up,” and the
“heaven” had been “cleft,” and the “angels” had “ranged in order,” and the
“stars” had been “blotted out,” and the “earth” had “cast forth her burden,”
and “Paradise” had been “brought near,” and “hell” had been “made to blaze,”
and the “Book” had been “set,” and the “Bridge” had been “laid out,” and the
“Balance” had been “set up,” and the “mountains scattered in dust.”
He, [the Báb] as affirmed by Himself, “the Primal Point from
which have been generated all created things,” “one of the sustaining pillars
of the Primal Word of God,” the “Mystic Fane,” the “Great Announcement,” the
“Flame of that supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai,” the “Remembrance of God”
concerning Whom “a separate Covenant hath been established with each and every
Prophet” had, through His advent, at once fulfilled the promise of all ages and
ushered in the consummation of all Revelations.
Mullá Ḥusayn, the first Letter of the Living, surnamed the
Bábu’l-Báb (the Gate of the Gate); designated as the “Primal Mirror;” on whom
eulogies, prayers and visiting Tablets of a number equivalent to thrice the
volume of the Qur’án had been lavished by the pen of the Báb; referred to in
these eulogies as “beloved of My Heart;” the dust of whose grave, that same Pen
had declared, was so potent as to cheer the sorrowful and heal the sick; whom
“the creatures, raised in the beginning and in the end” of the Bábí
Dispensation, envy, and will continue to envy till the “Day of Judgment;” whom
the Kitáb-i-Íqán acclaimed as the one but for whom “God would not have been
established upon the seat of His mercy, nor ascended the throne of eternal
glory;” to whom Siyyid Kázim had paid such tribute that his disciples suspected
that the recipient of such praise might well be the promised One Himself—such a
one had likewise, in the prime of his manhood, died a martyr’s death at
Tabarsí.
O army of God! Through the protection and help vouchsafed by
the Blessed Beauty -- may my life be a sacrifice to His loved ones -- ye must
conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and
brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he
should become a centre of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his
faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and
loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of
that city may cry out and say: 'This man is unquestionably a Bahá'í, for his
manners, his behaviour, his conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition
reflect the attributes of the Bahá'ís.' Not until ye attain this station can ye
be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and Testament of God. For He
hath, through irrefutable Texts, entered into a binding Covenant with us all,
requiring us to act in accordance with His sacred instructions and counsels.
…the spirit that animateth this age is the power of the
Covenant and Testament of God. It is like a throbbing artery in the body of the
world. Ye should always mention this important theme at every one of your
meetings and conferences, and ye should exhort everyone to remain firm and
steadfast in the Covenant. Know ye that if a person should evince the least
sign of hesitation in the Covenant, his downfall would be imminent, even if he
were reckoned among the most distinguished individuals, for in the end the
harmful consequences of Covenant-breaking will become apparent. Therefore ye
must exercise the utmost care concerning this matter...I shall fervently pray
to the Abhá Kingdom at all times, entreating divine assistance and blessings
for the beloved friends in Stuttgart.
As to the fact that man must entirely forget himself, by
this is meant that he should arise in the mystery of sacrifice and that is the
disappearance of mortal sentiments and extinction of blamable morals which
constitute the temporal gloom, and not that the physical health should be
changed into weakness and debility.
Praise be unto God Who hath manifested the Point, hath
unfolded therefrom the knowledge of all things, whether of the past or of the
future—a Point He hath chosen to be the Herald of His Name and the Harbinger of
His Great Revelation which hath caused the limbs of all mankind to quake and
the splendour of His light to shine forth above the horizon of the world.
Verily, this is the Point which God hath ordained to be an ocean of light for
the sincere among His servants and a flame of fire to the froward amidst His
creatures and the impious among His people—they who bartered away the gift of
God for unbelief, and the celestial food for hypocrisy, and led their
associates to a wretched abode. These are the people who have manifested
sedition throughout the world and have violated His Covenant on the Day when
the immortal Being mounted His throne and the Crier raised His Voice from the
haven of security and peace in the holy Vale.
…the Guardian wishes the believers to disregard such
subjects as psychic practices and phenomena, for these besides not being
authenticated by the Writings of the Founders of the Faith, pertain mostly to
the domain of conjectures.
We cannot prove man was always man for this is a fundamental
doctrine, but it is based on the assertion that nothing can exceed its own
potentialities, that everything, a stone, a tree, an animal and a human being
existed in plan, potentially, from the very “beginning” of creation. We don’t
believe man has always had the form of man, but rather that from the outset he
was going to evolve into the human form and species and not be a haphazard
branch of the ape family.
Chaos and confusion are daily increasing in the world. They
will attain such intensity as to render the frame of mankind unable to bear
them. Then will men be awakened and become aware that religion is the
impregnable stronghold and the manifest light of the world, and its laws,
exhortations and teachings the source of life on earth.
...The real teaching of Buddha is the same as the teaching
of Jesus Christ. The teachings of all the Prophets are the same in character.
Now men have changed the teaching. If you look at the present practice of the
Buddhist religion, you will see that there is little of the Reality left. Many
worship idols although their teaching forbids it.
…among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is that religion must be
the cause of fellowship and love. If it becomes the cause of estrangement then
it is not needed, for religion is like a remedy; if it aggravates the disease
then it becomes unnecessary.
Thou hast asked about places of worship and the underlying
reason therefor. The wisdom in raising up such buildings is that at a given
hour, the people should know it is time to meet, and all should gather
together, and, harmoniously attuned one to another, engage in prayer; with the
result that out of this coming together, unity and affection shall grow and
flourish in the human heart.
'Abdu'l-Bahá is constantly engaged in ideal communication
with any Spiritual Assembly which is instituted through the divine bounty, and
the members of which, in the utmost devotion, turn to the divine Kingdom and are
firm in the Covenant. To them he is whole-heartedly attached and with them he
is linked by everlasting ties....
In all cases submitted for its consideration the Assembly
must uphold the standard of justice in delivering its verdict, and in all its
dealings with the community and the outside world it must strive to evince the
qualities of leadership. The following quotation from a letter of the Guardian
summarizes in simple terms the immediate goal every Assembly should set for
itself in its efforts to pursue the exalted standard of perfection inculcated
in our writings:
The institution of the Summer School constitutes a vital and
inseparable part of any teaching campaign, and as such ought to be given the
full importance it deserves in the teaching plans and activities of the
believers. It should be organized in such a way as to attract the attention of
the non-believers to the Cause and thus become an effective medium for
teaching. Also it should afford the believers themselves an opportunity to
deepen their knowledge of the Teachings, through lectures and discussions and
by means of close and intense community life.
The teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are the light of this age and
the spirit of this century. Expound each of them at every gathering.
No brotherhood appears in the world as lasting save that of
the spiritual type. Only that brotherhood is permanent and eternal, for it is a
spiritual brotherhood through the breath of the Holy Spirit. It is absolutely
indissoluble; permanently will it remain intact, and in all the worlds of God
will it be everlasting. It is a brotherhood not based upon thoughts, but one
that has emanated from the love of God. It is not founded for the attainment of
physical or material interests. This spiritual brotherhood has no other purpose
than nearness to the Threshold of God. It is not for defensive purposes but for
the illumination of the human heart.
This Major Plan of God, carried out for the most part
through the agency of people who are ignorant of its course and even
antagonistic to its purpose, proceeds tumultuously, turbulently, as the
Almighty makes use of the works of His disobedient children to tear down the
barriers to human unity and weld mankind into a unified whole. It was in
relation to the operation of this Plan that, in the opening paragraphs of
"The Promised Day is Come", the beloved Guardian characterized the
devastating effects of the Second World War as "this great and mighty wind
of God".
In its own meetings it [LSAs] must endeavour to develop
skill in the difficult but highly rewarding art of Baha'i consultation, a
process which will require great self-discipline on the part of all members and
complete reliance on the power of Baha'u'llah.