Describing Shoghi Effendi as he appeared to the outer eye of a pilgrim

I will try to describe him [Shoghi Effendi] for you as he appears to the outer eye. Now I know why there have been no adequate descriptions of him by the Pilgrims. It is completely unimportant. It is describing a mirror when you can't behold the sun that shines in it. It is describing a symphony by saying it has four movements, when you can't express the exhilaration and joy that its music stirs in you. This is more true of the Guardian. His is a music unique to the planet. It is a spiritual language which transcends even a musical language. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá said there was a spiritual language as different from our language as ours is from the cries of animals. This is the language of the presence of the guardian. It cannot be expressed, it must be experienced; what is written here is but the shadow of the reality. Only a pilgrimage of your own will clothe it in flesh. If you have seen him, you will understand this.

The Guardian, as I remember him, is short in stature. His hair is dark, greying on the sides. He is of medium to dark complexion. He has dark eyes that seem to become a shade of the reality. He is of medium to dark complexion. He has dark eyes that seem to become a shade lighter when they are most animated, as though they burned with some inner fire. His features are regular. He is smooth shaven except for a dark moustache. There is an energetic quality about his person, even when at rest. He is very sturdy. I judge this by the firmness I felt when he embraced me. He has very small, slender hands which are shapely and expressive. All of his gestures are extremely graceful. He wore a rust colored topcoat over his inner clothes all during the time I was there. His tie was always brown. He wears a slender gold Bahá'í ring on the second finger of his right hand. He wears a black fez with a black button in the center of the top. Almost every evening he brought some new cable, drawing, or document with him to the table. Frequently he discusses the work of the Faith with the Hands and the members of the International Council. The dinner table is long and narrow. It seats ten comfortably. The latest pilgrim used to sit at the head of the table. Now Mason Remey sits there. The Guardian sits on his right, and the latest pilgrim on Mason's left, opposite Shoghi Effendi. Ruhiyyih Khanum sits on the Guardian's immediate right. The pilgrim is only three feet away, yet a world away from him. 

- Bill Sears  (‘Pilgrimage to Haifa’, 1954)

'Abdu'l-Baha at Green Acre August 16-23, 1912

Baha’u’llah’s sufferings and “the voice of the lamentation” of His followers

Lauded be Thy name, O my God! Thou beholdest me in the clutches of my oppressors. Every time I turn to my right, I hear the voice of the lamentation of them that are dear to Thee, whom the infidels have made captives for having believed in Thee and in Thy signs, and for having set their faces towards the horizon of Thy grace and of Thy loving-kindness. And when I turn to my left, I hear the clamor of the wicked doers who have disbelieved in Thee and in Thy signs, and persistently striven to put out the light of Thy lamp which sheddeth the radiance of Thine own Self over all that are in Thy heaven and all that are on Thy earth.  

- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

How to express one's opinion when consulting

… consultation must have for its object the investigation of truth. He who expresses an opinion should not voice it as correct and right but set it forth as a contribution to the consensus of opinion, for the light of reality becomes apparent when two opinions coincide. A spark is produced when flint and steel come together. Man should weigh his opinions with the utmost serenity, calmness and composure. Before expressing his own views he should carefully consider the views already advanced by others. If he finds that a previously expressed opinion is more true and worthy, he should accept it immediately and not willfully hold to an opinion of his own. By this excellent method he endeavors to arrive at unity and truth. Opposition and division are deplorable. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha (From a talk; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

1925: Mrs. Foujdar, (nee Shirin Irani): - First Eastern woman to be able to speak in public in the East

Dr. and Mrs. K. M. Foujdar of Bombay, India, 1925. 

Bahá’u’lláh embodies God’s attributes of “Maker of the heavens and Lord of all names”

The hearts of Thy chosen ones, O my Lord, have melted because of their separation from Thee, and the souls of Thy loved ones are burnt up by the fire of their yearning after Thee in Thy days. I implore Thee, O Thou Maker of the heavens and Lord of all names, by Thy most effulgent Self and Thy most exalted and all-glorious Remembrance, to send down upon Thy loved ones that which will draw them nearer unto Thee, and enable them to hearken unto Thine utterances. 

- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

“whether after a few children it would be permissible to have a surgical operation on the wife to prevent further conception”

As to your desire and that of your husband to avoid any action which would permanently prevent you from bearing children, the only text we have so far found on the subject is in a letter to an individual believer from the beloved Guardian. The question asked was whether after a few children it would be permissible to have a surgical operation on the wife to prevent further conception. His reply was that such an act was inacceptable and unworthy, and those who commit the act were responsible before God.

When the Guardian was asked whether the exercise of birth control constitutes a sin in a case where the number of children would prevent the father from fulfilling his obligation to educate his children, he stated that it is the duty of Baha'is to uphold moderation in all things, and avoid illegal methods.  

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter to an individual believer, July 31, 1970; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’) 

November 1964: The Universal House of Justice arrives at two decisions concerning the Hands of the Cause

“after study of the sacred texts and hearing the views of the Hands of the Cause themselves, has arrived at the following decisions:

There is no way to appoint, or to legislate to make it possible to appoint, Hands of the Cause of God.

Responsibility for decisions on matters of general policy affecting the Institution of the Hands of the Cause, which was formerly exercised by the beloved Guardian, now devolves upon the Universal House of Justice as the supreme and central institution of the Faith to which all must turn. 

- The Universal House of Justice (‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963 to 1986’)

The belief in the possibilities of miracles

The belief in the possibilities of miracles, on the contrary, implies that God's power is beyond any limitation whatsoever. For it is only logical to believe that the Creator, Who is the sole Author of all the laws operating in the universe, is above them and can, therefore, if He deems it necessary, alter them at His Own Will. We, as humans, cannot possibly attempt to read His Mind, and to fully grasp His Wisdom. Mystery is therefore an inseparable part of true religion, and as such, should be recognized by the believers. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 1, 1935; Canadian Bahá'í News, February 1968; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

1956: First Regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of North West Africa

(Baha'i News August 1956)

A prayer for individual: - assistance with "means of livelihood"

O God! O God! Cause me to drink from the cup of Thy bestowal. Illumine my face with the light of guidance. Make me firm in faithfulness and steadfastness in Thine Ancient Covenant. Suffer me to become one of Thy sincere servants. Open before my face the doors of prosperity. Prepare for me the means of livelihood. Give me my bread through channels over which I have no control, Thy heavenly treasures. Grant me the power to turn my face toward Thy merciful Countenance, to be faithful to Thy Cause.

O Thou Clement and Compassionate One! Verily, Thou art gracious to those who are firm and steadfast in Thy strong and impregnable Covenant. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Star of the West, vol. 14, no. 6, Sept. 1923)

The second Tablet of the Divine Plan

Abdu'l-Baha in the garden
surrounding the Shrine of
Baha'u'llah May1 1921

It was revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Baha on Monday morning, March 27th 1916, in the garden adjacent to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, addressed to the Bahá'ís of sixteen Southern States of the United States: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas Oklahoma, and Texas. 

- Hand of the Cause Balyuzi (‘Abdu'l-Baha - The Centre of the Covenant’)

1925: Some Baha'is of Port Said, Egypt

New Site: Compilations by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice

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“Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft”

Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others. 

- 'Abdu'l-Bahá (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, The Arts and Crafts)

Penalties and prisons in 19th Century Persia

“Before I quit the subject of the Persian law and its administration, let me add a few words upon the subject of penalties and prisons. Nothing is more shocking to the European reader, in pursuing his way through the crime-stained and bloody pages of Persian history during the last and, in a happily less degree, during the present century, than the record of savage punishments and abominable tortures, testifying alternately to the callousness of the brute and the ingenuity of the fiend. The Persian character has ever been fertile in device and indifferent to suffering; and in the field of judicial executions it has found ample scope for the exercise of both attainments. Up till quite a recent period, well within the borders of the present reign, condemned criminals have been crucified, blown from guns, buried alive, impaled, shod like horses, torn asunder by being bound to the heads of two trees bent together and then allowed to spring back to their natural position, converted into human torches, flayed while living.”

- Lord Curzon  (‘Persia and the Persian Question’, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in the ‘Introduction’ to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)

Spiritual fasting assists the soul “to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent” in it

Shoghi Effendi indicates that the fasting period, which involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset, is ‘...essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires.’ 

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

1934: First National Convention of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand

An agricultural convention versus a convention organized by Bahá'u'lláh

When I entered this city, I saw there was quite a stir. I asked the reason and was told that an agricultural convention was being held. I remarked that Bahá'u'lláh, too, organized a convention in Persia. The difference is that your congress is of this world but Bahá'u'lláh's is divine. Great persons have come to the congress but their motive is earthly as they have assembled to consider questions concerning agriculture. But in that other congress holy ones have gathered who irrigate the field of hearts with the water of eternal life, as their motive is heavenly. This congress is decorated with earthly lamps while that is embellished with heavenly lights. The music of this is terrestrial while the strains of that are celestial. This convention meets in a private hall while that gathering is held under the tent of the unity of mankind and international peace. The queen of this congress is a lady bedecked with ornaments and embellishments of this mortal world but the king of that congress is the King of the Throne of Eternity, Whose sovereignty is divine. When I compared these two congresses I became extremely glad and prayed that God may bless your farming and bestow upon you spiritual strength and capacity for life everlasting. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, September 29, 1912, Salt Lake City, USA, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani, His secretary and chronicler during His travels in the West; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)

Naw-Ruz: - its historical beginning

According to the ancient customs everyone of the nations have general holidays when all the people become happy and enjoy themselves. That is, they choose the day of the year wherein a great event or a glorious matter occurred. On that day, they manifest great joy and happiness. They visit one another. If there are any feelings of bitterness among them they become reconciled on that day, hard hearted feelings pass away and they unite and love each other. As great events occurred on the day of Naw-Ruz for the Persians, therefore, that nation made it a national feast and considered it as a holiday.

This is indeed a blessed day because it is the beginning of the temperate season and the commencement of springtime in the northern hemisphere. All earthly things whether trees, animals or human become refreshed; they receive power from the life-giving breeze and obtain a new life; a resurrection takes place, and because it is the season of springtime there is a general marvellous activity in all contingent beings.

There was a time when the Persian dynasty became extinct and no trace remained thereof. On such a day(Naw-Ruz) it became renewed. Jamsheed ascended the throne [about 3000 B.C.]. Persia became happily settled. Its power, which had been dissipated, once more returned. The hearts and souls became possessed with wonderful susceptibilities, to such a degree that Persia became more advanced than it was in former days, under the sovereignty of Kayomrth and Hoshang. The glory and greatness of the government and nation of Persia took a higher station. Likewise, a great many events occurred upon the day of Naw-Ruz that brought honour and glory to Persia and to the Persians. Therefore, the Persian nation, for the last five or six thousand years, has always considered the Feast ofNaw-Ruz as a day of national happiness and until now it is sanctified and recognized as a blessed day. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk; ‘Star of the West, Vol. IX, No.1, March 21, 1918’)