To avoid “specifically aggressive or directly military activities”

From study of the beloved Guardian's letters it is apparent that what he wanted   the friends to avoid is 'specifically aggressive or directly military' activities. As regards indirect activities it would be extremely difficult in modem society for anyone to disassociate himself from activities which, in the long run and by devolution, are inimical to the human race."   

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 29 November 1967 to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’) 

Lua Getsinger (seated) with Mariam Haney and two Eastern Baha'is

Story for Children: ‘Abdu’l-Baha and the Poor Man

During ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to America, one of the Baha'i friends who was staying in the same hotel as ‘Abdu'l-Baha, narrated this story:

I had a room in the same guest-house where Abdu'l-Baha was staying. Once, when I was looking out of my window, I saw Him pacing and dictating to His secretary. At that moment a poor man in shabby clothes passed the guest-house. No sooner had ‘Abdu'l-Baha seen him, than he sent his secretary to bring the man to Him.

‘Abdu'l-Baha stretched His arms out and welcomed him most warmly. The man was very poor and his clothes were very dirty. Nevertheless ‘Abdu'l-Baha turning His shining face to the man, talked to him for a long time, trying to make him happy. In the end the poor man smiled and his face beamed with pleasure.

Then ‘Abdu'l-Baha gave the man a searching look and said something I did not quite hear. It must have been something like "This man's clothes are old and shabby - we must do something!"

It was early in the morning and the street was still empty of people. ‘Abdu'l-Baha took off His cloak and gave the garment to the poor man saying, "God be with you." Then He returned to His secretary and continued dictating, as if nothing had happened.

I don't know what the man was thinking as he just continued on his way. But I think after seeing so much loving kindness, in ‘Abdu'l-Baha, and His generosity in giving him His own clothes, he must have been surprised and moved. He must have caught a glimpse of a world full of love and kindness, which was new to him.

Book: 'Abdu'l-Baha - by Hand of the Cause, H.M. Balyuzi

The first chapter of this book was written as long ago as 1939. The book owes its inception to a gracious remark by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. When my booklet on the life of Baha’u’llah was issued by the Publishing Trust of the Baha’is of the British Isles in June 1938, and copies were sent to him, he expressed his hope in a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly that companion volumes would be written on the life of the Bab and the life of 'Abdu'l-Baha. I set about organizing an outline for a book on the life of 'Abdu'l-Baha, which, because of the abundance of available material, would necessarily be of vaster proportions than the slim booklet on the life of Baha’u’llah. That booklet was reprinted in The Baha’i World, Vol. VIII (1938-40). In future years with added material it grew into a small book and came from the press in the Centenary year of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah.

The onset of the Second World War halted my work on the life of 'Abdu'l-Baha. And it was not resumed until more than a score of years had passed. Then I had to recast my outline of the book, because more material had come into my possession and to my knowledge. I had also come to feel strongly, for a variety of reasons, that Professor Edward Granville Browne’s connections with the Faith of the Bab and Baha'u'llah had to be explored and explained. It took a considerable time to put the material on Edward Browne into a coherent shape. But when I had done so it became apparent that a diversion of that magnitude was inappropriate in a book on the life of 'Abdu’l-Baha. It was suggested to me (with which suggestion I readily concurred) that the chapter on Edward Browne should be extracted and made into a monograph, to be published separately. Having decided on that course I realized that more research was required before an adequate monograph could be produced. That research, although time-consuming, was highly rewarding. Edward Granville Browne and the Baha'i Faith was published in 1970, having been thrice rewritten and recast.

Varqa and his son Ruhu'llah, in prison before their martyrdom

To “become a source of social good”

And the honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world’s multitudes should become a source of social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Secret of Divine Civilization')

The first century of the Bahá’í Era contains: “…four distinct periods, of unequal duration, each of specific import and of tremendous and indeed unappraisable significance.”

The century under our review may therefore be considered as falling into four distinct periods, of unequal duration, each of specific import and of tremendous and indeed unappraisable significance. These four periods are closely interrelated, and constitute successive acts of one, indivisible, stupendous and sublime drama, whose mystery no intellect can fathom, whose climax no eye can even dimly perceive, whose conclusion no mind can adequately foreshadow. Each of these acts revolves around its own theme, boasts of its own heroes, registers its own tragedies, records its own triumphs, and contributes its own share to the execution of one common, immutable Purpose. To isolate any one of them from the others, to dissociate the later manifestations of one universal, all-embracing Revelation from the pristine purpose that animated it in its earliest days, would be tantamount to a mutilation of the structure on which it rests, and to a lamentable perversion of its truth and of its history.

- Shoghi Effendi  (Preface to ‘God Passes By’)

Being in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – a pilgrim’s perspective

Dr. Youness Afroukhteh, who was honored by the Master as the “Jinab-i-Khan”, served as ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s secretary, translator, envoy and physician between 1900 -1909. He has left the following account concerning the first time he entered the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Baha as a pilgrim:

About two hours after sunset, the pilgrims from Iran and Baghdad were taken individually into the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. I was the second to be summoned. With a burst of excitement and speed I entered the room, and found myself before the blessed person of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. As I fell to my knees and placed my brow at His feet, my pent-up tears of joy and longing were finally released, and as I wept, His gentle hand helped me to my feet and into His arms. I was transported into another world, the highest paradise. And as my spirit soared in that spiritual atmosphere, He helped me to sit on bent knees just opposite Him as He began to speak to me. I did not comprehend a word…

One moment I was overwhelmed by the heavenly beauty of that wondrous Countenance, the next I felt shame and fear for any past deeds and conduct unworthy of such surroundings. Who am I? Where is this? How did I ever become worthy to be present in this heavenly place? How did I ever become worthy of receiving, first hand, the blessings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha? Suddenly another thought invaded these musings: What if this is but a dream? What will I do if I awake to discover that this, in fact, has been a dream? As these thoughts filled my mind I could not hold back my tears, and began to weep loudly. But again, ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s love enveloped and consoled me. Gradually I recovered my senses and began to listen and commit to heart the words of the Master.

Meditation - Praise & gratitude to God and His “Supreme Mediator”

Praise be to God, the Eternal that perisheth not, the Everlasting that declineth not, the Self-Subsisting that altereth not. He it is Who is transcendent in His sovereignty, Who is manifest through His signs, and is hidden through His mysteries. He it is at Whose bidding the standard of the Most Exalted Word hath been lifted up in the world of creation, and the banner of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth" raised amidst all peoples. He it is Who hath revealed His Cause for the guidance of His creatures, and sent down His verses to demonstrate His Proof and His Testimony, and embellished the preface of the Book of Man with the ornament of utterance through His saying: "The God of Mercy hath taught the Qur'án, hath created man, and taught him articulate speech." No God is there but Him, the One, the Peerless, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Beneficent.

The light that is shed from the heaven of bounty, and the benediction that shineth from the dawning-place of the will of God, the Lord of the Kingdom of Names, rest upon Him Who is the Supreme Mediator, the Most Exalted Pen, Him Whom God hath made the Dawning-Place of His most excellent names and the Dayspring of His most exalted attributes. Through Him the light of unity hath shone forth above the horizon of the world, and the law of oneness hath been revealed amidst the nations, who, with radiant faces, have turned towards the Supreme Horizon, and acknowledged that which the Tongue of Utterance hath spoken in the kingdom of His knowledge: "Earth and heaven, glory and dominion, are God's, the Omnipotent, the Almighty, the Lord of grace abounding!"

- Baha'u'llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)

An illumined Tablet in the handwriting of Baha'u'llah

 

An account of the Bab’s childhood days at school

There are some accounts left for posterity concerning the time that the Báb attended school in Shiraz, Persia. Such accounts are priceless because they help us understand how each Manifestation of God exhibits very special God given qualities even in their childhood.

A fellow student who was then twelve years old related the following account many years later concerning the Báb’s first day at school.

“The Báb had taken a seat, with great courtesy, in between this boy and another pupil who was also much older than Himself. His head was bowed over the primer put in front of Him, the first lines of which He had been taught to repeat. But He would not utter a word. When asked why He did not read aloud as other boys were doing He made no reply. Just then two boys, sitting near them, were heard to recite a couplet from Hafiz (a well-known Persian poet), which runs thus:

From the pinnacles of Heaven they call out unto thee;

I know not what hath thee here entrapped.

'That is your answer,' said the Báb, turning to …” the older boy who recalled this incident. 

- Hand of the Cause Balyuzi  (The Báb, 'The Herald of the Day of Days')

The thing remarkable about this account is that not only the Báb who was then only about five years old understood fully the meaning of this couplet, but that he equated himself with the phrase “thee”. To posses such keen understanding of such issues at such a young age is another proof of His innate and God given knowledge.

The Mansion of Bahji as of 1900s

The Mansion of Baha'u'llah at Bahji as it appeared during the time of the first pilgrimage of the Western believers in the early 1900s.  (Baha'i News March 1976)

Akka 1905: Tenderness and attention shown by ‘Abdu’l-Baha towards little children

It is beautiful to see the Master with the little children and observe his consideration for their childish troubles. One morning his tiny grand-daughter, about two years old, was talking to the Master in the most serious way, telling him with expressive gesticulations her difficulty. Something had gone crosswise with her. The Master without a smile listened most attentively. This was a great lesson. When we consider what the Master has to bear — a man of ordinary strength could not endure it one hour — yet when a little child comes and confides in him her trouble, how tender, how loving he is! How forgetful of self!

Shall I ever forget the heavenly smile and love expressed in that beautiful face when this tiny maiden was chanting for him a Tablet! Every now and then she would forget a word, and he would gently chant it for her, while he drank his tea, seated in the corner of the divan. How the little children love him! 

- Mary L. Lucas  (‘A Brief Account of My Visit to Acca’, published by Chicago Baha'i Publishing Society in 1905)

Offering of Huqúqu'lláh should be made “willingly, with joy and awareness”

After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas had been revealed in response to the pleas of the friends, Bahá'u'lláh withheld it from publication for some time and even then, when a number of devoted Bahá'ís, having learned of the law, endeavoured to offer Huqúqu'lláh, the payment was not accepted. The Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh show His acute consciousness of the way in which material wealth has been permitted to degrade religion in the past, and He preferred the Faith to sacrifice all material benefits rather than soil to the slightest degree its dignity and purity. Herein is a lesson for all Bahá'í institutions for all time.

However, as the beloved Guardian explained, funds are the life-blood of the Cause. God Himself, as Bahá'u'lláh stated, has made achievement dependent on material means. Therefore, as the awareness of the friends grew, He permitted Huqúqu'lláh to be accepted, provided the donor made the offering willingly, with joy and awareness. 

(From a document titled "The Development of the Institution of Huqúqu'lláh ", prepared by the Research Department at the Bahá'í World Centre and sent by the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies on 25 March 1987. A revised version was subsequently prepared and sent to all NSAs on 31 July 2002)

The relation between one’s thought and action

You must not only think thoughts, but do actions. The reality of man is their thoughts and their spirits, not their material bodies. Man and animal with regard to matter are partners. The difference is that man has the power of thought.

Thoughts may be divided into two classes:

1. The world of thought alone.

2. The world of thought which expresses itself in action.

For instance, philosophers belong to the first class, for they only think heavenly thoughts and do not do heavenly deeds. Whereas spiritual teachers belong to the second class, for they express their high and noble thoughts in actions as soon they think them. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (From a talk in Paris, France, October 18, 1911; Star of the West, vol. II, no. 6)

Edward and Lua Getsinger during earlier years of their marriage

Lottery on Persian carpet to raise funds; Purchase of lottery tickets

In reviewing your Minutes for 15 March 1967, we note Item 25-8 in which the Treasurer suggests a lottery as means of disposing of a Persian carpet which has been given to you by one of the believers. We do not feel this is an appropriate way in which to raise funds....

As far as individuals are concerned, we have carefully studied the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi on this point and it is apparent that such subsidiary matters are not recorded in the Holy Texts. The Universal House of Justice is not prepared to decide at this time whether the purchase of lottery tickets should be permitted or prohibited. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter to a National Spiritual Assembly, July 4, 1967: Extracts Concerning Gambling, Lotteries and Raffles, a compilation of the Universal House of Justice; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

Not to defile “the limpid stream of love”

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. 

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

A “titanic upheaval”: - “the most great convulsion”; “tormenting trials”; “blasts of His [God’s] chastisement”; “limbs of mankind to quake”; “its [civilization’s] flame will devour the cities”

“The time for the destruction of the world and its people,” Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic pen has proclaimed, “hath arrived.” “The hour is approaching,” He specifically affirms, “when the most great convulsion will have appeared.” “The promised day is come, the day when tormenting trials will have surged above your heads, and beneath your feet, saying: ‘Taste ye what your hands have wrought!’” “Soon shall the blasts of His chastisement beat upon you, and the dust of hell enshroud you.” And again: “And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake.” “The day is approaching when its [civilization’s] flame will devour the cities, when the Tongue of Grandeur will proclaim: ‘The Kingdom is God’s, the Almighty, the All-Praised!’” “The day will soon come,” He, referring to the foolish ones of the earth, has written, “whereon they will cry out for help and receive no answer.” “The day is approaching,” He moreover has prophesied, “when the wrathful anger of the Almighty will have taken hold of them. He, verily, is the Omnipotent, the All-Subduing, the Most Powerful. He shall cleanse the earth from the defilement of their corruption, and shall give it for an heritage unto such of His servants as are nigh unto Him.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

As a youth Bahá'u'lláh became well known for His unparalleled powers of exposition, yet He was courteous and non-argumentative

By the time Bahá'u'lláh was fourteen, His rare understanding, His complete mastery of argument, and His unparalleled powers or exposition were remarked in all circles. Yet He was never assertive nor argumentative; rather, always courteous and patient. Only one thing aroused His ire, and that was any disrespectful reference to the Messengers or God and His Chosen Ones. Even then He would admonish the offender with kindliness and calm. 

- Balyuzi  (‘Bahá'u'lláh, The King of Glory’)

“Man” has always existed – even when there was no Earth

…the divinity of God, which is the totality of all perfections, reveals itself in the reality of man -- that is, the divine Essence is the sum total of all perfections, and from this station it casts a ray of its splendour upon the human reality. In other words, the Sun of Truth is reflected in this mirror. Thus man is a perfect mirror facing the Sun of Truth and is the seat of its reflection. The splendour of all the divine perfections is manifest in the reality of man, and it is for this reason that he is the vicegerent and apostle of God. If man did not exist, the universe would be without result, for the purpose of existence is the revelation of the divine perfections. We cannot say, then, that there was a time when man was not. At most we can say that there was a time when this earth did not exist, and that at the beginning man was not present upon it.

But from the beginning that has no beginning to the end that has no end, a perfect Manifestation has always existed. This Man of Whom we speak here is not just any man: That which we intend is the Perfect Man. For the noblest part of the tree, and the fundamental purpose of its existence, is the fruit. A tree without fruit is of no use. Therefore, it cannot be imagined that the world of existence, whether in the realms above or below, was once populated by cows and donkeys, cats, and mice, and yet was deprived of the presence of man. What a false and vacuous notion!

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Table talks in Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre)

1912: 'Abdu'l-Baha with children in Chicago

 

Book: The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice - by the Universal House of Justice

The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice is referred to by the beloved Guardian as the “Most Great Law of the Faith of Baha’u’llah” (The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 130, 1973). It contains 16 pages and is divided into two sections:

1. Declaration of Trust; and

2. By-Laws

For an inspiring and informative review of its contents, please see the transcript of a talk given by Mr. Ali Nakhjavani, a member of the House of Justice. A copy is posted at Baha’i Talks, Messages and Articles.

Mirza Abu'l-Fadl and Ali Kuli Khan

The amazing station of Mulla Husayn – the first to believe in the Báb

God hath in truth testified in His Book and so also have testified the company of His angels, His Messengers and those endued with divine knowledge, that thou hast believed in God and in His signs and that everyone is guided aright by virtue of thy guidance. This is indeed a boundless grace which God, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, hath graciously conferred upon thee aforetime and will confer hereafter. And since thou didst believe in God before the creation, He hath in truth, at His own behest, raised thee up in every Revelation. There is no God but Him, the Sovereign Protector, the All-Glorious.

It behooveth you to proclaim the Cause of God unto all created things as a token of grace from His presence; no God is there but Him, the Most Generous, the All-Compelling.

Say: All matters must be referred to the Book of God; I am indeed the First to believe in God and in His signs; I am the One Who divulgeth and proclaimeth the Truth and I have been invested with every excellent title of God, the Mighty, the Incomparable. Verily I have attained the Day of the First Manifestation and by the bidding of the Lord and as a token of His grace, I shall attain the Day of the Latter Manifestation. There is no God but Him and at the appointed hour everyone shall bow down unto Him in adoration. 

- The Báb  (From Tablet to the First Letter of the Living; ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

God is “sanctified from the mention of… [His] servants” and is “exalted above the description of…[His] creatures”

O God, my God, and my Desire, and my Adored One, and my Master, and my Mainstay, and my utmost Hope, and my supreme Aspiration! Thou seest me turning towards Thee, holding fast unto the cord of Thy bounty, clinging to the hem of Thy generosity, acknowledging the sanctity of Thy Self and the purity of Thine Essence, and testifying to Thy unity and Thy oneness. I bear witness that Thou art the One, the Single, the Incomparable, the Ever-Abiding. Thou didst not take unto Thyself a partner in Thy dominion, nor didst Thou choose a peer for Thyself upon earth. All created things have borne witness unto that which the Tongue of Thy grandeur hath testified ere their creation. Verily Thou art God; there is none other God but Thee! From everlasting Thou wast sanctified from the mention of Thy servants, and exalted above the description of Thy creatures. Thou beholdest, O Lord, the ignorant seeking the ocean of Thy knowledge, the sore athirst the living waters of Thine utterance, the abased the tabernacle of Thy glory, the poor the treasury of Thy riches, the suppliant the dawning-place of Thy wisdom, the weak the source of Thy strength, the wretched the heaven of Thy bounty, the dumb the kingdom of Thy mention. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)

A suggested quote for meditation: - Praise & gratitude to God and His “Supreme Mediator”

Praise be to God, the Eternal that perisheth not, the Everlasting that declineth not, the Self-Subsisting that altereth not. He it is Who is transcendent in His sovereignty, Who is manifest through His signs, and is hidden through His mysteries. He it is at Whose bidding the standard of the Most Exalted Word hath been lifted up in the world of creation, and the banner of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth" raised amidst all peoples. He it is Who hath revealed His Cause for the guidance of His creatures, and sent down His verses to demonstrate His Proof and His Testimony, and embellished the preface of the Book of Man with the ornament of utterance through His saying: "The God of Mercy hath taught the Qur'án, hath created man, and taught him articulate speech." No God is there but Him, the One, the Peerless, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Beneficent.

The light that is shed from the heaven of bounty, and the benediction that shineth from the dawning-place of the will of God, the Lord of the Kingdom of Names, rest upon Him Who is the Supreme Mediator, the Most Exalted Pen, Him Whom God hath made the Dawning-Place of His most excellent names and the Dayspring of His most exalted attributes. Through Him the light of unity hath shone forth above the horizon of the world, and the law of oneness hath been revealed amidst the nations, who, with radiant faces, have turned towards the Supreme Horizon, and acknowledged that which the Tongue of Utterance hath spoken in the kingdom of His knowledge: "Earth and heaven, glory and dominion, are God's, the Omnipotent, the Almighty, the Lord of grace abounding!" 

- Baha'u'llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)

“the greatest magnet for attracting people to the Faith and confirming them”

All the Bahá'ís, new and old alike, should devote themselves as much as possible to teaching the Faith; they should also realize that the atmosphere of true love and unity which they manifest within the Bahá'í Community will directly affect the public, and be the greatest magnet for attracting people to the Faith and confirming them. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 April 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Stuttgart, Germany; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)

“ye will be assisted by the help of the Kingdom of Abhá”

… know ye of a certainty that ye will be assisted by the help of the Kingdom of Abhá and confirmed in the service in the Realm of Truth, for through the power of the Word of God and the breaths of the Holy Spirit the universal forces of the angels of heaven are drawn in battle array on the plain of the Supreme Apex and are expecting to assist and make victorious that soul who is hastening toward the field of the Kingdom. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 6 June 24, 1910)