Prayer to be recited by Spiritual Assembly members when they “enter the council-chamber”

Addressing the members of the Spiritual Assembly in Chicago, the Master reveals the following: -- "Whenever ye enter the council-chamber, recite this prayer with a heart throbbing with the love of God and a tongue purified from all but His remembrance, that the All-powerful may graciously aid you to achieve supreme victory: -- 'O God, my God! We are servants of Thine that have turned with devotion to Thy Holy Face, that have detached ourselves from all beside Thee in this glorious Day. We have gathered in this spiritual assembly, united in our views and thoughts, with our purposes harmonized to exalt Thy Word amidst mankind. O Lord, our God! Make us the signs of Thy Divine Guidance, the Standards of Thy exalted Faith amongst men, servants to Thy mighty Covenant. O Thou our Lord Most High! Manifestations of Thy Divine Unity in Thine Abha Kingdom, and resplendent stars shining upon all regions. Lord! Aid us to become seas surging with the billows of Thy wondrous Grace, streams flowing from Thy all-glorious Heights, goodly fruits upon the Tree of Thy heavenly Cause, trees waving through the breezes of Thy Bounty in Thy celestial Vineyard. O God! Make our souls dependent upon the Verses of Thy Divine Unity, our hearts cheered with the outpourings of Thy Grace, that we may unite even as the waves of one sea and become merged together as the rays of Thine Effulgent Light; that our thoughts, our views, our feelings may become as one reality, manifesting the spirit of union throughout the world. Thou art the Gracious, the Bountiful, the Bestower, the Almighty, the Merciful, the Compassionate.'" 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter by Shoghi Effendi, dated March 5, 1922; ‘Baha'i Administration’)

Story for children: Kindness to animals

One day, when the weather was cold and wet, a seven-year-old boy was coming home from school. He was alone. None of his classmates were with him since he had to stay behind at school to finish his work. He had his school bag on his shoulder and, because of the cold weather, he had his hands deep in his pockets. It was very cold and very wet.

The boy was walking quickly with his head down. He wanted to reach home soon and get warm. As he was walking, he was thinking to himself that when he gets home, his mother would have a warm room and delicious food ready for him. He imagined that, as he arrived home, he would take off his heavy wet clothes, and would sit next to the fire drinking hot tea, after which his mother would bring him a bowl of hot soup.

As he was quickly walking along, deep in thought, he heard the groaning of an animal, which sounded like the loud cry of a little baby who had lost its mother. At first, the boy wanted to ignore it and pass by. But when he heard the cry again, he stopped. When he listened carefully, he realized that the noise sounded like a little kitten, although it could not be seen. As he looked around carefully, he saw a beautiful little white kitten lying in the cold mud meowing (crying).

As the boy went closer, he saw that the animal was shivering, because of the cold. He felt sorry for the kitten and immediately picked it up. He realized that the animal was cold and wet. It had a runny nose and eyes. He took the kitten gently in his arms to take it home.

The spiritual world is the counterpart of the material world

The spiritual world is like unto the phenomenal world. They are the exact counterpart of each other. Whatever objects appear in this world of existence are the outer pictures of the world of heaven.

- ‘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’)

"the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you"

Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened

- Baha'u'llah  (Tablet of the Branch)

Prayer -- a poem by L. Khai

O Beloved!

The Superlative of every good,

The Love that needs

No knowledge of face, or form, or speech,

The Love so great we can never touch Thy Reality

But whose touch has realized all things

And Whose knowledge molds life's essence --

Thou only art the Eternally Perfect

And the totality of beauty.

Out of eternity

Thou hast plucked the smallest grain

And called it time --

A speck of dust on Thy robe's hem

Is the material universe --

Thy thought in the space of an eyewink

Comprehendeth the spiritual universe.

O Thou! Who asketh for all we know

Yet givest all we know --

Infinity is not enough for all our praise of Thee,

O Most Adored One!

Origin of man's spirit --

Singular, yet All-Containing --

Though beyond any and all approach.

Thou art the life of every living soul.

(World Order magazine, February 1947)

The tremendous pain and suffering Shoghi Effendi endured due to severe machinations by the Covenant-breakers

During one of my longer stays in Haifa, from the end of March to July 1952, the 'old' and 'new' Covenant-breakers, emboldened by the end of British administration in Palestine, devised a plan to wrest from the hands of the Guardian all the possessions of the Faith in the Holy Land, by challenging the authority conferred upon him in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Their machinations were intended mainly to harass Shoghi Effendi in the hope of bringing him to Court, where they could inflict on him publicly all kinds of humiliations through the use of legal cavils and the like. The affair lasted about three months, and of course ended with full victory for him, but what he suffered it is impossible to describe. The sacredness of the Institution of the Guardianship was not only challenged but was attacked for the purpose of creating confusion and turmoil in the rank and file of the believers. His great suffering was for the sacrilege being committed against this Institution of the Faith. It was so abhorrent to him that he felt physically ill, as if 'a thousand scorpions had bitten him'.

During the most crucial days of this sorrowful experience, one night after dinner he spoke to me alone for several hours. His indignation was immense. He reviewed the tragic history of all that had happened since the days of the Bábí Dispensation, the sufferings inflicted on Bahá'u'lláh by Subh-i-Azal (Mirza Yahya), the perfidy of Muhammad-Ali against the Master, the situation that arose in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's immediate family in the years which followed His passing, and all the acts of treachery and disobedience perpetrated by infamous followers in whom both the Master and himself had aforetime placed their trust. Often visibly grieved and filled with anxiety, he would say to me: 'You must know these things'; 'I want you to know these things'.

London: an incident when ‘Abdu’l-Baha used “the power of Baha’u’llah" for Himself - witnessed by Lady Blomfield

One day after a meeting when, as usual, many people had crowded round Him, 'Abdu'l-Bahá arrived home very tired. We were sad at heart that He should be so fatigued, and bewailed the many steps to be ascended to the flat. Suddenly, to our amazement, the Master ran up the stairs to the top very quickly without stopping.

He looked down at us as we walked up after Him, saying with a bright smile, from which all traces of fatigue had vanished:

"You are all very old! I am very young!"

Seeing me full of wonder, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said: "Through the power of Bahá'u'lláh all things can be done. I have just used that power."

That was the only time we had ever seen Him use that power for Himself, and I feel that He did so then to cheer and comfort us, as we were really sad concerning His fatigue.

Might it not also have been to show us an example of the great Reserve of Divine Force always available for those of us who are working in various ways in the "Path of the Love of God and of Mankind." A celestial strength which reinforces us when our human strength fails.

- Lady Blomfield  (‘The Chosen Highway’)

“Glory… in love for all mankind”

O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

The timing of the election of the Universal House of Justice

… You query the timing of the election of the Universal House of Justice in view of the Guardian’s statement: “… given favorable circumstances, under which the Bahá’ís of Persia and of the adjoining countries under Soviet rule, may be enabled to elect their national representatives … the only remaining obstacle in the way of the definite formation of the International House of Justice will have been removed.” On 19th April 1947 the Guardian, in a letter written on his behalf by his secretary, replied to the inquiry of an individual believer about this passage: “At the time he referred to Russia there were Bahá’ís there, now the Community has practically ceased to exist; therefore the formation of the International House of Justice cannot depend on a Russian National Spiritual Assembly. But other strong National Spiritual Assemblies will have to be built up before it can be established.” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 27 May 1966 to an individual believer; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Reason why “existence is afflicted with innumerable diseases”

You have asked regarding the heavenly Books: The pulse of the universe is in the hand of the skillful Physician. He diagnoses the illness and wisely prescribes the remedy. Every day has its own secret and every tongue a melody. The illness of today has one cure and that of tomorrow another. Look ye upon this day; consider and discuss its needs. One sees that existence is afflicted with innumerable diseases compelling it to lie upon the bed of suffering. Men who are intoxicated with the wine of self-contemplation prevent the wise Physician from reaching it. Thus have they made themselves and the world to suffer. They know not the ailment nor recognize the cure. They take the wrong for the right, the crooked for the straight, the enemy for the friend. 

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 1, March 21, 1910)

Abdu'l-Baha gave a Unity Feast in West Englewood, New Jersey on Saturday June 29, 1912

 

Meditation – God is “immensely high and sanctified”; “immeasurably exalted above such praise as the dwellers of the dominions of creation and invention may render unto” Him

He is God, the Sovereign Ruler, the Ever-Living, He Whose help all men implore.

Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord! Both the world of existence and the souls of men bear witness that Thou art transcendent above the revelations of Thy handiwork, and the bearers of Thy names and attributes proclaim that Thou art immeasurably exalted above such praise as the dwellers of the dominions of creation and invention may render unto Thee. All appearances and realities indicate the oneness of Thine Essence, and all evidences and signs reflect the truth that Thou art God and there is no peer or partner for Thee throughout the kingdoms of heaven and earth.

Immensely high and sanctified art Thou, O Lord! Thy divine Being testifieth that Thou art inscrutable to all that dwell in Thy realm of existence, and Thine inmost Essence proclaimeth that Thou art far above the description of those who reveal Thy glory.

The signs which the sanctified essences reveal and the words which the exalted realities express and the allusions manifested by the ethereal entities all proclaim that Thou art immeasurably exalted above the reach of the embodiments of the realm of being, and all solemnly affirm that Thou art immensely high above the description of such as are wrapt in the veils of fancy.

The "archetype" of the people of Bahá

The Guardian refers to the Greatest Holy Leaf, Bahiyyih Khanum, the daughter of Baha’u’llah, as “that archetype of the people of Baha”. (Shoghi Effendi, 'Bayiyyih Khanum', p. 30). Archetype is defined in the dictionary as: (1) The original pattern, or model, from which all other things of the same kind are made; a prototype; and (2) a perfect example of a type or group. Notice that the reference from the Guardian doesn’t have a gender distinction.

Here are some of her qualities that the Guardian highlighted:

• “A purity of life that reflected itself in even the minutest details of her daily occupations and activities;
• a tenderness of heart that obliterated every distinction of creed, class and colour;
• a resignation and serenity that evoked to the mind the calm and heroic fortitude of the Báb;
• a natural fondness of flowers and children that was so characteristic of Bahá'u'lláh;
• an unaffected simplicity of manners;
• an extreme sociability which made her accessible to all;
• a generosity, a love, at once disinterested and undiscriminating, that reflected so clearly the attributes of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's character;
• a sweetness of temper;
• a cheerfulness that no amount of sorrow could becloud;
• a quiet and unassuming disposition that served to enhance a thousandfold the prestige of her exalted rank;
• a forgiving nature that instantly disarmed the most unyielding enemy

-- these rank among the outstanding attributes of a saintly life which history will acknowledge as having been endowed with a celestial potency that few of the heroes of the past possessed." 

- Shoghi Effendi  ('Bahiyyih Khanum, The Greatest Holy Leaf', a compilation prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

'Akka 1967: Most Great Prison is shown in center

“two ways of healing sickness” – “material means and spiritual means”

There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the treatment of physicians; the second consisteth in prayers offered by the spiritual ones to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and practised.

Illnesses which occur by reason of physical causes should be treated by doctors with medical remedies; those which are due to spiritual causes disappear through spiritual means. Thus an illness caused by affliction, fear, nervous impressions, will be healed more effectively by spiritual rather than by physical treatment. Hence, both kinds of treatment should be followed; they are not contradictory. Therefore thou shouldst also accept physical remedies inasmuch as these too have come from the mercy and favour of God, Who hath revealed and made manifest medical science so that His servants may profit from this kind of treatment also. Thou shouldst give equal attention to spiritual treatments, for they produce marvellous effects.

Now, if thou wishest to know the true remedy which will heal man from all sickness and will give him the health of the divine kingdom, know that it is the precepts and teachings of God. Focus thine attention upon them. 

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

1900: The Board of Counsel of The Baha'i Assembly of New York City

Seated, left to right: Clement Woolson, Howard Mac Nutt, Arthur P. Dodge, Charles E. Sprague Standing, left to right: Anton F. Haddad (honorary), Frank E. Osborne, Hooper Harris, William H. Hoar, Andrew Hutchinson, Edwin A. Putnam

Need to free our souls from the “bondage of self”

Deliver your souls, O people, from the bondage of self, and purify them from all attachment to anything besides Me. Remembrance of Me cleanseth all things from defilement, could ye but perceive it. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation, and the Devotional Attitude)

January 1987: First Huqúqu'lláh Conference in Holy Land

A Baha’i Teaching: We should remember our parents during our prayers

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')

Like Jesus Christ, ‘Abdu’l-Baha had the Great Power of Ether

The next morning, Thursday, though I [Juliet Thompson] went unusually early to the Master, He had already left the house. But Lua, Valíyu’lláh Khán [son of the great poet Varqa], and I had a wonderful morning. Valíyu’lláh told us so many things:

“My father,” he [Valíyu’lláh Khán] said, “spent much time with the Blessed Beauty. The Blessed Beauty Himself taught him.

“One time when my father was in His room, Bahá’u’lláh rose and strode back and forth till the very walls seemed to shake. And He told my father that once in an age the Mighty God sent a Soul to earth endowed with the power of the Great Ether, and that such a Soul had all power and was able to do anything.  ‘Even this walk of Mine’ said Bahá’u’lláh, ‘has an effect in the world.’

“Then He said that His Holiness Jesus Christ had also come with the power of the Great Ether, but the haughty priesthood of His day thought of Him as a poor, unlettered youth and believed that if they should crucify Him, His Teachings would soon be forgotten. Therefore they did crucify Him. But because His Holiness Jesus possessed the power of the Great Ether, He could not remain underground.  This ethereal power rose and conquered the whole earth. ‘And now,’ the Blessed Beauty said, ‘look to the Master, for this same Power is His.’

“Bahá’u’lláh,” added Valíyu’lláh Khán, “taught my father much about Áqá.  Áqá (the Master, you know) is one of the titles of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Greatest Branch is another, and the Greatest Mystery of God another. By all these we call Him in Persian. The Blessed Perfection, Bahá’u’lláh, revealed the Station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to my father. And my father wrote many poems to the Master, though the Master would scold him and say: ‘You must not write such things to Me.’ But the heart of my father could not keep quiet.  This is one poem he wrote:

O Dawning-Point of the Beauty of God,

I know Thee!

Though Thou shroudest Thyself in a thousand veils,

I know Thee!

Though Thou shouldst assume the tatters of a beggar, still would

I know Thee!’

- Juliet Thompson  (‘Diary of Juliet Thompson’)

Bahá'u'lláh's intelligence and perception as a child surpassed mature men

When Bahá'u'lláh was seven years old, one day His mother was watching the elegance of His bearing as He paced to and fro, and remarked 'He is somewhat short of stature.' but His father answered: 'It is of no importance. Are you not aware of His capacity and His abilities? Such intelligence! And such perception! He is as a flame of fire. Even at this young age He surpasses mature men.'

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Quoted by Ishraq-Khavari in Risaliy-i-Ayyam-i-Tis’ih; in ‘Stories of Baha’u’llah’, compiled by Ali-Akbar Furutan)

Facsimile of the Báb's Tablet to the First Letter of the Living – Mulla Husayn

Two classes of pilgrims – an explanation by ‘Abdu’l-Baha

House of Abbud, 1920s (Baha'i Media Bank)

The people who come here are divided into two classes. One comes here as dead and returns alive; ignorant and returns wise; withered and returns fresh and fragrant.

This class is likened to the man whose body is healthy and who comes out into the fresh country or the green and verdant prairie where he shall sense the life-giving breeze and healthful sunshine, and from whence he shall depart with great joy and vigor. Or, like a man who is hungry and goes to a well spread table and attains fullness therefrom.

The other class resembles the man who is sick and incapable of enjoying the blessings and surroundings of the country, or of eating the wholesome foods. Now the food is rich and edible, but the man is sick and hence incapable of obtaining nourishment therefrom. Thus he goes back in the same condition as before.

Again, one is like the dry wood or oil which is ready for combustion or ignition; as soon as it contacts with fire, it is set aglow. Whereas, another class resembles a stone which may be placed for a thousand years in the fire and yet will not become ignited and shed a radiance.

Again, the sea has innumerable pearls in its depths. A good and trained diver will obtain therefrom abundant pearls, whereas one unacquainted with and incapable of this attainment can only obtain the shells. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Baha to American Pilgrims Charles and Mariam Haney, Akka, February 1909; ‘A Heavenly Feast’)

Voting for members of Baha’i Spiritual Assemblies

If we but turn our gaze to the high qualifications of the members of Bahá'í Assemblies, ... we are filled with feelings of unworthiness and dismay, and would feel truly disheartened but for the comforting thought that if we rise to play nobly our part every deficiency in our lives will be more than compensated by the all-conquering spirit of His grace and power. Hence it is incumbent upon the chosen delegates to consider without the least trace of passion and prejudice, and irrespective of any material consideration, the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience....  

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 3 June 1925 to Bahá'í Convention, ‘Bahá'í Administration’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Elections)

Nettie Tobin & the "corner stone" for Chicago Temple

Nettie Tobin kneeling by the stone which she carried as her contribution to the Chicago Temple in the very early days.  'Abdu'l-Baha chose it as the "corner stone" when He visited the site in 1912. The stone is now incorporated into the building, and serves as a special place for prayer and meditation. 

(The Baha'i World 1932-1934)

The Word of God is “the Primal Emanation of God”

…the First Bestowal of the Almighty is the Word. The receiver and acceptor of it is the understanding. It is the First Instructor in the University of Existence and it is the Primal Emanation of God. Whatever has appeared is through the reflection of Its Light and whatever is manifested is the appearance of Its Wisdom. All the names originate in His Name and the beginnings and endings of all affairs are in His Hand. 

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 1, March 21, 1910)

The Father of the Báb describes the extraordinary qualities of his Son when He was just a young child

The principal of the school that the Báb attended when He was almost five years old has left an account concerning the meeting that took place between the father of the Báb, Aqa Mirza Muhammad Rida and His teacher, Shaykh Anam, before the Báb started His first day at school.

“‘After forty years, the Exalted Lord has graced me with a Child who has caused me to wonder over His behavior.’ The Shaykh asked him to explain further, but he only replied. ‘It is hard to say.’ [The Shaykh] insisted, to which [the father] offered:

“O venerable Shaykh! Which of His amazing conditions should I recount? Such peculiar characteristics are manifest in Him that the people are astonished. Now, when He is five years old, He sometimes raises His hands to the threshold of the One God, and recites prayers. He wakes in the middle of the night and stands to offer His obligatory prayers, in the midst of which He weeps. Sometimes He is sad, on other occasions He is happy, or immersed in rapture, or preoccupied with the imaginary world. My astonishment and bewilderment prevents me from describing further. Were I to recount all that I have observed from the time of His birth until the present, it would make a thick book.

“At such a [young] age, He tells whether an unborn child is a boy or a girl, for the whole clan. After the birth, it is as He foretold.

1911: Washington Public Library - First Annual Conference of Persian-American Educational Society

Delegates and friends in attendance. Mirza Ahmad and Ghodsia Khanum in foreground

Baha’u’llah’s Parents

The noble families of the Nur district, including Baha’u’llah’s family, had for generations provided the kings of Iran with well-educated government officials: civil servants who would collect taxes, keep accounts, pay the army and generally administer the government. Bahalu’llah’s father, Mirza Buzurg Nuri, rose in the ranks of these civil servants to become the minister to a royal prince who was the commander of the royal guards. He was later a vizier (minister), an official responsible for the collection of taxes, in a province. He was given the village of Takur in the Nur region in lieu of salary and he built a fine mansion there by the side of the Nur river as a family home. … Baha’u’llah’s father was also renowned as a calligrapher. Indeed, his real name was ‘Abbas and he had been given the designation Buzurg (meaning “great”) by the king because of his calligraphic prowess.

As was customary among Iran’s nobility, Mirza Buzurg had an extensive family. He took three wives and also had three concubines. The mother of Baha’u’llah was his second wife, Khadijih Khanum. She was from the Namadsab family of the village of Fiyul, a short distance south of Takur. This family had preexisting ties to the family of Mirza Buzurg since an older sister of Mirza Buzurg was already married into the family. Khadijih Khanum had been married before to certain Aqa Sultan and had three children from her previous marriage. With Aqa Buzurg she had five further children (two daughters and three sons; one son died while young). It was the custom of the family to spend the winter months in Tehran, where Mirza Buzurg would attend to his government duties, and the summer in the family home in Takur. Baha’u’llah, the fourth child, was born on 12 November 1817 in the family home in the Udlajan quarter of Tehran. His given name was Husayn ‘Ali but he is generally now known by the title he took in later life, Baha’u’llah (the glory of God).

- Moojan Momen  ('Baha’u’llah: A Short Biography')

God’s creation has no beginning … and no end

God’s “creation… hath had no beginning, and will have no end. All that is created, however, is preceded by a cause.

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