1912: Breaking the ground at Chicago Temple site

Each race and nation taking a turn

A souvenir of some soil from the excavation at the Temple site

A suggested quote to memorize: “to perceive with the eye of God”

Verily I say! No one hath apprehended the root of this Cause. It is incumbent upon everyone, in this day, to perceive with the eye of God, and to hearken with His ear. Whoso beholdeth Me with an eye besides Mine own will never be able to know Me. 

- Baha’u’llah  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

After the death of Bahá'u'lláh’s father the Prime Minister of Persia schemed ways to possess a village that belonged to the family of Baha’u’llah

After the death of the Vazir [Mirza Buzurg, Bahá'u'lláh’s father], Haji Mirza Aqasi [the Persian Prime Minister] continued to show the utmost consideration to Bahá'u'lláh. He would visit Him in His home, and would address Him as though He were his own son. The sincerity of his devotion, however, was very soon put to the test. One day, as he was passing through the village of Quch-Hisar, which belonged to Bahá'u'lláh, he was so impressed by the charm and beauty of that place and the abundance of its water that he conceived the idea of becoming its owner. Bahá'u'lláh, Whom he had summoned to effect the immediate purchase of that village, observed: 'Had this property been exclusively my own, I would willingly have complied with your desire. This transitory life, with all its sordid possessions, is worthy of no attachment in my eyes, how much less this small and insignificant estate. As a number of other people, both rich and poor, some of full age and some still minors, share with me the ownership of this property, I would request you to refer this matter to them, and to seek their consent.'

“We should continually be establishing new bases for human happiness…”

God has given us eyes, that we may look about us at the world, and lay hold of whatsoever will further civilization and the arts of living. He has given us ears, that we may hear and profit by the wisdom of scholars and philosophers and arise to promote and practice it. Senses and faculties have been bestowed upon us, to be devoted to the service of the general good; so that we, distinguished above all other forms of life for perceptiveness and reason, should labor at all times and along all lines, whether the occasion be great or small, ordinary or extraordinary, until all mankind are safely gathered into the impregnable stronghold of knowledge. We should continually be establishing new bases for human happiness and creating and promoting new instrumentalities toward this end. How excellent, how honorable is man if he arises to fulfil his responsibilities … 

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

November 1907: Representatives from various parts of America meet in Chicago to initiate the “stupendous undertaking” of erecting a House of Worship

… inspired by the example set by their fellow-disciples in Ishqabad, who had already commenced the construction of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Bahá'í world, and afire with the desire to demonstrate, in a tangible and befitting manner, the quality of their faith and devotion, the Bahá'ís of Chicago, having petitioned 'Abdu'l-Bahá for permission to erect a House of Worship,  and secured, in a Tablet revealed in June 1903, His ready and enthusiastic approval, arose, despite the smallness of their numbers and their limited resources, to initiate an enterprise which must rank as the greatest single contribution which the Bahá'ís of America, and indeed of the West, have as yet made to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. The subsequent encouragement given them by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and the contributions raised by various Assemblies decided the members of this Assembly to invite representatives of their fellow-believers in various parts of the country to meet in Chicago for the initiation of the stupendous undertaking they had conceived. On November 26, 1907, the assembled representatives, convened for that purpose, appointed a committee of nine to locate a suitable site for the proposed Temple. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Baha’u’llah was “singled… out and chosen… above all Thy [God’s] servants to reveal” God

Praised be Thou, O my God! How can I thank Thee for having singled me out and chosen me above all Thy servants to reveal Thee, at a time when all had turned away from Thy beauty! I testify, O my God, that if I were given a thousand lives by Thee, and offered them up all in Thy path, I would still have failed to repay the least of the gifts which, by Thy grace, Thou hast bestowed upon me.

I lay asleep on the bed of self when lo, Thou didst waken me with the divine accents of Thy voice, and didst unveil to me Thy beauty, and didst enable me to listen to Thine utterances, and to recognize Thy Self, and to speak forth Thy praise, and to extol Thy virtues, and to be steadfast in Thy love. Finally I fell a captive into the hands of the wayward among Thy servants.

Thou beholdest, therefore, the exile which I suffer in Thy days, and art aware of my vehement longing to look upon Thy face, and of mine irrepressible yearnings to enter the court of Thy glory, and of the stirrings of my heart under the influences of the winds of Thy mercy.

I entreat Thee, O Thou Who art the Ruler of the kingdoms of creation and the Author of all names, to write down my name with the names of them who, from eternity, have circled round the Tabernacle of Thy majesty, and clung to the hem of Thy loving-kindness, and held fast the cord of Thy tender mercy.

Thou art, in truth, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. 

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

1999: Baha'i Religion on Singapore's stamps

In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of Singapore's Inter-Religious Organization, a body formed to promote peace, understanding and good will among people of different faiths, three specially-designed stamps were issued in January 1999, depicting nine of the major religions in Singapore. The Baha'i Faith was honored through its inclusion. (The Baha'i World, 1998-99)

1916: Esperanto Class in Tihran supported by some Baha'is

The person marked "4" is a Jew and the teacher of the Esperanto class. He was in Paris at the same time as 'Abdu'l-Baha. The person marked "1" is a prince, Mirza Bahman. In the center sits two American Baha’is, Dr. Susan Moody to the left, and Miss Elizabeth Stewart to the right.

The resulting effects of being able to drink waters from God’s “river” in Paradise

…that mine eyes may be opened, and my face be illumined, and my heart be assured, and my soul be enlightened, and my steps be made firm. 

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

A Baha’i Teaching: God sends His Prophets to “guide” us to the “light of true understanding” and to “ensure” our “peace and tranquility”

God's purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established. 

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

The Báb testified to the “incomparable greatness” and the “preëminence of that superior Revelation that was soon to supersede His own”

In a communication addressed to the American believers I have in the course of my explanation of the station of the Báb made a passing reference to the incomparable greatness of the Revelation of which He considered Himself to be the humble Precursor. He Whom Bahá’u’lláh has acclaimed in the Kitáb-i-Íqán as that promised Qá’im Who has manifested no less than twenty-five out of the twenty-seven letters which all the Prophets were destined to reveal—so great a Revealer has Himself testified to the preëminence of that superior Revelation that was soon to supersede His own.

• “The germ,” the Báb asserts in the Persian Bayán, “that holds within itself the potentialities of the Revelation that is to come is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces of all those who follow me.”
• “Of all the tributes,” He again affirms, “I have paid to Him Who is to come after Me, the greatest is this, My written confession, that no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor can any reference to Him in My Book, the Bayán, do justice to His Cause.”
• “The Bayán,” He in that same Book categorically declares, “and whosoever is therein revolve round the saying of ‘Him Whom God shall make manifest,’ even as the Alif (the Gospel) and whosoever was therein revolved round the saying of Muhammad, the Apostle of God.”
• “A thousand perusals of the Bayán,” He further remarks, “cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by ‘Him Whom God shall make manifest.’…
• Today the Bayán is in the stage of seed; at the beginning of the manifestation of ‘Him Whom God shall make manifest’ its ultimate perfection will become apparent.…
• The Bayán and such as are believers therein yearn more ardently after Him than the yearning of any lover after his beloved.…
• The Bayán deriveth all its glory from ‘Him Whom God shall make manifest.’ All blessing be upon him who believeth in Him and woe betide him that rejecteth His truth.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’ included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

“Everyone should be kind. Everyone should strive for unity and endeavor to serve mankind.”

Praise be to God, that I have seen the luminous faces and the heavenly hearts of the friends in London. People are turning their faces toward God. They are seeking the Divine Bounty. Therefore they will receive a heavenly blessing which I pray may be bestowed upon all. May you love all and serve all, because serving mankind is serving God. Everyone should be kind. Everyone should strive for unity and endeavor to serve mankind. All nations should become as one nation and each should serve all.

Do not make personal distinctions. All are God's servants. All are under His protection. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha at Lady Blomfield's drawing room, September 8, 1911; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 12, 16 October, 1911)

Some of the Prophets who either lived on Mount Carmel or spent some time there…

Many Israeli prophets either lived here or passed a portion of their lives or sojourned for a while or spent the last days of their existence on this mountain... Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, David, Solomon, Moses, Isaiah, Zechariah and, last of all, Christ. Elijah lived on Mount Carmel. ... His Holiness Christ came to this holy mountain many times. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha to some pilgrims in 1914; quoted by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, in “Mount Carmel, the Vineyard of God,’ Star of the West, vol. 14, no. 5, August 1923; quoted by Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem in ‘Carmel: The Mountain of God and the Tablet of Carmel’ published in ‘Zikrullah Khadem, The Itinerant Hand of the Cause of God’, by Javidukht Khadem)

Prayer for Individual - Protection for the bearer of this Tablet -- originally written as "Du’á-yi Hifz"[1]

In His Name, the Exalted, the All-Highest, the Most Sublime!

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! O Thou Who art my God, and my Master, and my Lord, and my Support, and my Hope, and my Refuge, and my Light. I ask of Thee, by Thine Hidden and Treasured Name, that none knoweth save Thine own Self, to protect the bearer of this Tablet from every calamity and pestilence, and from every wicked man and woman; from the evil of the evil-doers, and from the scheming of the unbelievers. Preserve him, moreover, O my God, from every pain and vexation, O Thou Who holdest in Thy hand the empire of all things. Thou, truly, art powerful over all things. Thou doest as Thou willest, and ordainest as Thou pleasest.

O Thou King of Kings! O Thou kind Lord! O Thou Source of ancient bounty, of grace, of generosity and bestowal! O Thou Healer of sicknesses! O Thou Sufficer of needs! O Thou Light of Light! O Thou Light above all Lights! O Thou Revealer of every Manifestation! O Thou the Compassionate! O Thou the Merciful! Do Thou have mercy upon the bearer of this Tablet, through Thy most great mercy and Thine abundant grace, O Thou the Gracious, Thou the Bounteous. Guard him, moreover, through Thy protection, from whatsoever his heart and mind may find repugnant. Of those endued with power, Thou, verily, art the most powerful. 

The Glory of God rest upon thee, O thou rising sun! Do thou testify unto that which God hath testified of His own Self, that there is none other God besides Him, the Almighty, the Best-Beloved. 

- Bahá'u'lláh (Included in a letter dated 12 August 1996 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

[1] This prayer was translated into English from Arabic at the Bahá'í World Centre during July-August 1996. See background information contained in the 12 August 1996 letter from the House of Justice

1988: Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum visits Maxwell International Baha'i School, Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island, Canada

 

Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts

Jim Seals (born James Seals, 17 October 1941, Sidney, Texas) and Dash Crofts (born Darrell Crofts, 14 August 1940, Cisco, Texas), a popular soft rock duo in the early 1970s, best-known for their hits "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl." They were also the most famous Bahá’ís of the 1970s in the United States. (bahaipedia)

“Ponder over the contingent realities, their mysteries, wisdom, connection and relations.”

Ponder over the contingent realities, their mysteries, wisdom, connection and relations. The world is harmonious in all things and the connection therein is mighty and nothing is missing. All things are eaters and eaten in the physical creation. The plant sucks from the mineral, the animal eats and swallows the plant, and the human eats the animal. Then the mineral (in turn) eats the human body. Physical bodies are transferred from death to death and life to life. Therefore, all things are subject to transfer and change except the Cause of existence, which cannot be changed or transferred, because it is the foundation for life in all kinds and species and in all possible realities in the world of creation.

If thou observest closely through a microscope the water which man drinks and the air which he breathes, thou wilt see that in every breath which man breathes, that breath contains numerous animals, and in every draught of water great number of animals exist. This could not be prevented because the existent beings are eaters and eaten and, by this, existence is caused; otherwise, the relations between existent things would cease. When a thing decomposes and decays, being bereft of life, it becomes promoted to a world of life greater than the former. For instance, it ceased in a mineral life and was promoted to the vegetable life; then leaves the vegetable life and is elevated to that of the animal; then leaving the animal life it advances to the human, and this is on account of the favor of thy Lord, the Merciful, the Clement. 

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

November 1849: The Báb sends His representative to make a pilgrimage on His behalf to the graves of Quddus and Mulla Husayn

"The Báb was heart-broken," His amanuensis, Siyyid Husayn-i-'Aziz, subsequently related, "at the receipt of this unexpected intelligence. [the news of the tragic fate which had befallen the heroes of Tabarsi] He was crushed with grief, a grief that stilled His voice and silenced His pen. For nine days He refused to meet any of His friends. I myself, though His close and constant attendant, was refused admittance. Whatever meat or drink we offered Him, He was disinclined to touch. Tears rained continually from His eyes, and expressions of anguish dropped unceasingly from His lips. I could hear Him, from behind the curtain, give vent to His feelings of sadness as He communed, in the privacy of His cell, with His Beloved. I attempted to jot down the effusions of His sorrow as they poured forth from His wounded heart. Suspecting that I was attempting to preserve the lamentations He uttered, He bade me destroy whatever I had recorded. Nothing remains of the moans and cries with which that heavy-laden heart sought to relieve itself of the pangs that had seized it. For a period of five months He languished, immersed in an ocean of despondency and sorrow." 

With the advent of Muharram in the year 1266 A.H., [November 17-December 17, 1849 A.D.] the Báb again resumed the work He had been compelled to interrupt. The first page He wrote was dedicated to the memory of Mulla Husayn. In the visiting Tablet revealed in his honour, He extolled, in moving terms, the unswerving fidelity with which he served Quddus throughout the siege of the fort of Tabarsi. He lavished His eulogies on his magnanimous conduct, recounted his exploits, and asserted his undoubted reunion in the world beyond with the leader whom he had so nobly served. He too, He wrote, would soon join those twin immortals, each of whom had, by his life and death, shed imperishable lustre on the Faith of God. For one whole week the Báb continued to write His praises of Quddus, of Mulla Husayn, and of His other companions who had gained the crown of martyrdom at Tabarsi.

“The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments of devotion”

The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments of devotion is this, that thou mayest give thy best attention to the remembrance of God, that thy heart may at all times be animated with His Spirit, and not be shut out as by a veil from thy Best Beloved. Let not thy tongue pay lip service in praise of God while thy heart be not attuned to the exalted Summit of Glory, and the Focal Point of communion. 

- The Báb  (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

“We have no priests” in the Baha’i Faith

The believers must be encouraged to teach individually in their own homes. Baha’u’llah has enjoined upon the Baha'is the sacred obligation of teaching. We have no priests, therefore the service once rendered by priests to their religion is the service every single Baha'i is expected to render individually to his religion. He must be the one who enlightens new souls, confirms them, heals the wounded and the weary upon the road of life, and gives them to quaff from the chalice of everlasting life -- the knowledge of the Manifestation of God in His Day. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Benelux Countries, July 5, 1957; compilation: The Individual and Teaching)

'Abdu'l-Baha with pilgrims in front of His House in Haifa

To become “like the fountain or spring that is continually emptying itself of all that it has and is continually being refilled from an invisible source”

We must be like the fountain or spring that is continually emptying itself of all that it has and is continually being refilled from an invisible source. To be continually giving out for the good of our fellows undeterred by fear of poverty and reliant on the unfailing bounty of the Source of all wealth and all good — this is the secret of right living. 

- Shoghi Effendi (Cited in "Bahá'í News" 13, September 1926; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, Baha’i Funds and Contributions)

“man must become the cause of the illumination of the world of humanity and propagate the holy teachings revealed in the sacred books”

God says in the glorious Qur’án: “The soil was black and dried. Then we caused the rain to descend upon it and immediately it became green, verdant, and every kind of plant sprouted up luxuriantly.” [Qur’an 22:5] In other words, He says the earth is black, but when the spring showers descend upon it that black soil is quickened, and variegated flowers are pushed forth. This means the souls of humanity belonging to the world of nature are black like unto the soil. But when the heavenly outpourings descend and the radiant effulgences appear, the hearts are resuscitated, are liberated from the darkness of nature and the flowers of divine mysteries grow and become luxuriant. Consequently man must become the cause of the illumination of the world of humanity and propagate the holy teachings revealed in the sacred books through the divine inspiration. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Tablets of the Divine Plan')

“The real and great love”

The real and great love is the love of God. That is holy above the imaginations and thoughts of men. 

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

Tehran 1910: American believer Dr. Moody and some Persian Baha'i doctors at a newly established hospital in Tehran

Baha'is love and revere Jesus

Our belief in Christ, as Bahá'ís, is so firm, so unshakable and so exalted in nature that very few Christians are to be found now-a-days who love Him and reverence Him and have the faith in Him that we have. It is only from the dogmas and creeds of the churches that we dissociate ourselves; not from the spirit of Christianity. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'ís of Vienna, June 24, 1947; compilation: Lights of Guidance)

“next to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, … [the Greatest Holy Leaf is] … the brightest embodiment of that love which is born of God and of that human sympathy which few mortals are capable of evincing”

Not until, however, she had been confined in the company of Bahá’u’lláh within the walls of the prison-city of Akká did she display, in the plenitude of her power and in the full abundance of her love for Him, more gifts that single her out, next to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, among the members of the Holy Family, as the brightest embodiment of that love which is born of God and of that human sympathy which few mortals are capable of evincing. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 17 July 1932; ‘Baha’i Administration’)

The first Baha’i center in Europe was formed in 1898

'Abdu'l-Baha visited Paris in 1911 & 1913

The first Baha'i center in Europe was established by May Maxwell (nee Bolles). Born in 1870 in the United States, Mrs. Maxwell spent many years resident in Paris with her mother and brother. In February 1899, she was among the first group of western pilgrims to go to Acre (in what was then Palestine) to visit 'Abdu'l-Baha, the son of Baha'u'llah and leader of the Baha’i Faith, who was still being held as a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire On her return to the French capital, she began to tell others of the new religious movement she had discovered. A significant group of Baha'is emerged around her, among them a number of artists and artisans, and believers of various nationalities, including the early English Baha'i Thomas Breakwell. To mark the centenary of these momentous events, the Baha'i community of France held an ambitious conference in Paris from 27 to 29 November 1998. The celebrations began when more than one thousand Baha'is gathered beneath the Eiffel Tower for a photograph, on the same spot where 'Abdu'l-Baha had been photographed during His historic visit to Paris in 1913. Later, the conference opened with the participation of two thousand people, including more than two hundred guests of the Baha'is and six hundred Baha'is from outside France. The structure of the program, which was modeled on the Second Baha'i World Congress held in New York in 1992, included talks, film and video presentations and theatrical and musical segments. A high point of the conference was the colorful public concert "La Nuit de l'espoir" ("The Night of Hope"), held at the Salle de la MutualitC, one of the largest halls in Paris. Before the event, more than two hundred and fifty special guests, including ambassadors, politicians, religious and civil dignitaries, journalists, and representatives of major non-governmental organizations attended a reception and expressed great interest in and admiration for the work of the Baha’i community. Another highlight of the event was a dedication and reception held immediately after the conference at the Paris apartment where ‘Abdu’l-Baha had stayed.

1998 commemoration Paris

(The Baha’i World, 1998-1999')

Wisdom of attending Baha’i events

Attendance at the gatherings of the friends is specifically to keep them alert, vigilant, loving and attracted to the divine Kingdom. 

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

The Prophets come to this world to help us educate our own souls

The Prophets have appeared in this world with the mission that human souls may become the expressions of the Merciful, that they may be educated and developed, attain to love and amity and establish peace and agreement. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk given on 21 April 1912 in Washington D.C.; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

The main features of Nabil’s narrative

The main features of the narrative—the saintly heroic figure of the Báb, a leader so mild and so serene, yet eager, resolute, and dominant; the devotion of his followers facing oppression with unbroken courage and often with ecstasy; the rage of a jealous priesthood inflaming for its own purpose the passions of a bloodthirsty populace—these speak a language which all may understand. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘Introduction to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)

1915: The first Caucasian Baha'i woman to visit Burmese Baha'is

Martha Root (standing, center). Siyyid Mustafa Rumi, the Baha'i teacher in Burma, is standing to the left of Martha Root.

“The Divine wisdom in fasting”

The Divine wisdom in fasting is manifold. Among them is this: As during those days (i.e. the period of fasting which the followers afterward observe) the Manifestation of the Sun of Reality, through Divine inspiration, is engaged in the Descent of Verses, the instituting of Divine Law and the arrangement of Teachings, through excessive occupation and intense attraction there remains no condition or time for eating and drinking. For example, when His Holiness Moses went to Mount Tur (Sinai) and there engaged in instituting the Law of God, he fasted forty days. For the purpose of awakening and admonishing the people of Israel, fasting was enjoined upon them.

Likewise His Holiness Christ in the beginning of instituting the Spiritual Law, the systematizing of the Teachings and the arrangement of counsels, for forty days abstained from eating and drinking. In the beginning the disciples and Christians fasted. Later the assemblages of the chief Christians changed fasting into Lenten observances.

Likewise the Koran having descended in the month Ramazan, fasting during that month became a duty. In like manner His Holiness the Supreme (the Bab), in the beginning of the Manifestation, through the excessive effect of descending Verses, passed days in which his nourishment was reduced to tea only.

“the wisdom of obligatory prayer”

O thou spiritual friend! Thou hast asked about the wisdom of obligatory prayer. Know thou that such prayer is mandatory and binding. Man under no pretext whatsoever is excused from observing the prayer unless he is incapable of performing it or some great obstacle interveneth. The wisdom of obligatory prayer is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because at that time man with all his heart and soul turneth his face towards the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and companionship. For a lover, there is no greater pleasure than to converse with his beloved, and for a seeker, there is no greater bounty than intimacy with the object of his desire. It is the greatest longing of every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God to find time to turn with entire devotion to his Beloved, so as to seek His bounty and blessing and immerse himself in the ocean of communion, entreaty and supplication. Moreover, obligatory prayer and fasting produce awareness and awakening in man, and are conducive to his protection and preservation from tests. 

- ‘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)

Families of Bahá'u'lláh and His wife Ásiyih Khanum possessed great wealth – their daughter recalls

I remember dimly very happy days with my beloved father and mother, and my brother 'Abbas, who was two years my senior.

My father was Mirza Husayn-'Ali of Nur, [Bahá'u'lláh] who married my beautiful mother, Ásiyih Khanum, when she was very young. She was the only daughter of a Persian Vizier, of high degree, Mirza Isma'il. He, as well as Mirza 'Abbas Buzurg, my paternal grandfather, possessed great wealth.

When the brother of my mother married my father's sister, the double alliance of the two noble families roused much interest throughout the land. "It is adding wealth to wealth," the people said. Ásiyih Khanum's wedding treasures were extensive, in accordance with the usual custom in families of their standing; forty mules were loaded with her possessions when she came to her husband's home.

For six months before the marriage a jeweller worked at her home, preparing jewellry -- even the buttons of her garments were of gold, set with precious stones. (These buttons were destined to be exchanged for bread, on the terrible exile journey from Tihran to Baghdad.) 

- Bahiyyih Khanum  ([Bahá'u'lláh’s daughter] quoted by Lady Blomfield in ‘The Chosen Highway’)

“The true fruit of man is… love”

The true fruit of man is, therefore, love. The purpose of a tree is to produce fruit. Man is like a tree; his fruit should be love." 

- ‘Abdul-Baha  (From a conversation; Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 10, Sept. 1917)

Circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus – “meditate upon this most great convulsion, this grievous test”

…reflect upon the state and condition of Mary. So deep was the perplexity of that most beauteous countenance, so grievous her case, that she bitterly regretted she had ever been born. To this beareth witness the text of the sacred verse wherein it is mentioned that after Mary had given birth to Jesus, she bemoaned her plight and cried out: “O would that I had died ere this, and been a thing forgotten, forgotten quite!” [Qur’án 19:22] I swear by God! Such lamenting consumeth the heart and shaketh the being. Such consternation of soul, such despondency, could have been caused by no other than the censure of the enemy and the cavilings of the infidel and perverse. Reflect, what answer could Mary have given to the people around her? How could she claim that a Babe Whose father was unknown had been conceived of the Holy Ghost? Therefore did Mary, that veiled and immortal Countenance, take up her Child and return unto her home. No sooner had the eyes of the people fallen upon her than they raised their voice saying: “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor unchaste thy mother.” [Qur’án 19:28]

And now, meditate upon this most great convulsion, this grievous test. Notwithstanding all these things, God conferred upon that essence of the Spirit, Who was known amongst the people as fatherless, the glory of Prophethood, and made Him His testimony unto all that are in heaven and on earth. 

- Baha’u’llah  ('The Kitab-i-Iqan')

Sarah Farmer, a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Named by Shoghi Effendi as a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Baha, she will also be known to posterity as the originator of the concept of the first universal platform in America, which, during its first 33 years, developed into the Green Acre school and conference center (comprising some 200 acres along the banks of the Piscataqua River in Eliot, Maine, four miles up from the sea and opposite the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire). One writer said of her in 1928, "She stands as the actual fulfiller of Emerson in terms of applied influence" and "The roll of speakers who have taken part in the Green Acre Conferences represent well-nigh the flower of modem liberal thought." It was typical of her vision that when opening the center on 4 July 1894 she raised, at the end of the ceremony, a flag of world peace. Two years after the opening, she found and embraced the Faith. She went immediately to see 'Abdu'l-Baha in 'Akka to offer her services to Him. The letters He addressed to her during subsequent years continued to guide her in her work. When He came to America in 1912, He spent a week in August at Green Acre (although Sarah herself was by this time confined to a sanitarium in Portsmouth, which she left for a few hours to welcome Him). Green Acre continues to flourish and develop as a Baha'i school, thereby fulfilling the vision of this remarkable woman and in accordance with the guidance given by 'Abdu'l-Baha in its earliest days.

Sarah Farmer had made the remark many times that she longed to have the Green Acre property electrified. Harry Randall did this for her with the approval of the Trustees of the Fellowship. The buildings, and even the lane from the main road down to the Inn, were wired. Sarah was carried to see it all, with an expression of obvious pleasure at seeing her father's invention in use.

Story for Children: The Black Rose

Do you know who ‘Abdu'l-Baha was? He was a very important person. ‘Abdu'l-Baha was the Son of Baha'u'llah. He was always very kind and good to others. He was a perfect example of what a Baha'i should be. This is a true story about ‘Abdu'l-Baha.

A long time ago, long before you were born, ‘Abdu'l-Baha came to America. While He was on His trip to America, He spoke to many different people ... men and women and children.

He went to many cities - to churches and temples and parks and meetings and houses to tell people about the Baha'i Faith. He spoke to young people and old people and black people and white people and tall people and short people and rich people and poor people...

He told them all about Baha'u'llah.

Wherever 'Abdu'l-Baha went, many Baha'is went with Him. They were Baha'is of all kinds - Persians in Persian clothes, and Americans in American clothes, tall Baha'is and short Baha'is and rich Baha'is and poor Baha'is and old Baha'is and young Baha'is. And all colors - white and yellow and tan and brown and black.

circa 1949: Baha'i Center, Hobart, 63 Elizabeth Street, Tasmania

(The Baha'i World 1946-1950)

The station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

Thou hast asked concerning the station of this servant. 

• The station of this servant is servitude to the Holy Threshold (Baha’u’llah) and I glory and honor in this. 
• Abdu’l-Baha is the standard of the divine love, 
• the sign of the gift of God, 
• the servant of the assemblage of the merciful ones, 
• the light of the meeting of the spiritual ones. 
• He is the orb of peace and reconciliation and 
• the light of love in the world of humanity. 
• He is the herald of the Kingdom of the Merciful One and 
• the promulgator of the religion of rectitude and security. 

This is the station of this servant! This is the Truth!

I hope through the divine grace that the brilliancy of the love of God will pervade all regions, and that he will remove warfare and strife from the world of existence. Then the human world will become expressive of the unity of the merciful world, the inferior world will become a clear and purified mirror reflecting the Supreme Concourse, the East and West will embrace each other like unto two longing ones and the North and South will shake hands and clasp each other in the arms like unto two beloved ones. This is the station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. 

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

“Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words”

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that hath refused to seek it -verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His creatures. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol.II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and Devotional Attitude)

1902 -- Construction begins of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in the Baha'i world

November 1902 -- Laying the foundation stone of the Baha'i Temple in Ishqabad, Russia. Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi, a cousin of the Báb, is standing next to General Krupatkin in the first row.

Self-defense and individual conduct in the face of civil disorder: - guidance for the Universal House of Justice

We have reviewed your letter of April 11th, asking about the teachings of the Faith on self-defense and any guidance on individual conduct in the face of increasing civil disorder in North American cities.

From the texts you already have available it is clear that Bahá’u’lláh has stated that it is preferable to be killed in the path of God’s good pleasure than to kill, and that organized religious attack against Bahá’ís should never turn into any kind of warfare, as this is strictly prohibited in our Writings.

A hitherto untranslated Tablet from ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, however, points out that in the case of attack by robbers and highwaymen, a Bahá’í should not surrender himself, but should try, as far as circumstances permit, to defend himself, and later on lodge a complaint with the government authorities. In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, he also indicates that in an emergency when there is no legal force at hand to appeal to, a Bahá’í is justified in defending his life. In another letter the Guardian has further pointed out that the assault of an irresponsible assailant upon a Bahá’í should be resisted by the Bahá’í, who would be justified, under such circumstances, in protecting his life.

The House of Justice does not wish at the present time to go beyond the guidelines given in the above-mentioned statements. The question is basically a matter of conscience, and in each case the Bahá’í involved must use his judgment in determining when to stop in self-defense lest his action deteriorate into retaliation.

Of course the above principles apply also in cases when a Bahá’í finds himself involved in situations of civil disorder. We have, however, advised the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States that under the present circumstances in that country it is preferable that Bahá’ís do not buy nor own arms for their protection or the protection of their families. 

- The Universal House of Guidance  (From a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, May 26, 1969; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968 – 1973’)

Ásiyih Khanum: Bahá'u'lláh’s wife – their daughter recalls many years later

I wish you could have seen her as I first remember her, tall, slender, graceful, eyes of dark blue -- a pearl, a flower amongst women.

I have been told that even when very young, her wisdom and intelligence were remarkable. I always think of her in those earliest days of my memory as queenly in her dignity and loveliness, full of consideration for everybody, gentle, of a marvelous unselfishness, no action of hers ever failed to show the loving-kindness of her pure heart; her very presence seemed to make an atmosphere of love and happiness wherever she came, enfolding all comers in the fragrance of gentle courtesy. 

- Bahiyyih Khanum  (Quoted by Lady Blomfield in ‘The Chosen Highway’)

“The Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us”

The believers, as we all know, should endeavour to set such an example in their personal lives and conduct that others will feel impelled to embrace a Faith which reforms human character. However, unfortunately, not everyone achieves easily and rapidly the victory over self. What every believer, new or old, should realize is that the Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us if we make the effort to let that power influence us, and greatest help in this respect is prayer. We must supplicate Baha’u’llah to assist us to overcome the failings in our own characters, and also exert our own will-power in mastering ourselves. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer dated 27 January, 1945; compilation: ‘Excellence in All Things’)

'Abdu'l-Baha in the garden surrounding the Shrine of Baha'u'llah at Bahji

The instrument ‘Abdu’l-Baha devised for the proclamation of the Faith to the remotest corners of the Earth was the Divine Plan laid out in the fourteen great 'Tablets of the Divine Plan'

As war's inferno was engulfing the world, 'Abdu'l-Bahá turned His attention to the one great task remaining in His ministry, that of ensuring the proclamation to the remotest corners of the Earth of the message which had been neglected -- or opposed -- in Islamic and Western society alike. The instrument He devised for this purpose was the Divine Plan laid out in fourteen great Tablets, four of them addressed to the Bahá'í community of North America and ten subsidiary ones addressed to five specific segments of that community. Together with Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of Carmel and the Master's Will and Testament, the Tablets of the Divine Plan were described by Shoghi Effendi as three of the "Charters" of the Cause. Revealed during the darkest days of the war, in 1916 and 1917, the Divine Plan summoned the small body of American and Canadian believers to assume the role of leadership in establishing the Cause of God throughout the planet. The implications of the trust were awe-inspiring. 

(‘Century of Light’, a document, prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice and published in 2001)

A Baha'i Teaching: Each human being should “investigate the reality underlying the … Word of God”, revealed by the Founders of various world religions, to see their fundamental unity

Inasmuch as human interpretations and blind imitations differ widely, religious strife and disagreement have arisen among mankind, the light of true religion has been extinguished and the unity of the world of humanity destroyed. The prophets of God voiced the spirit of unity and agreement. They have been the founders of divine reality. Therefore if the nations of the world forsake imitations and investigate the reality underlying the revealed Word of God they will agree and become reconciled. For reality is one and not multiple. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (‘Baha'i World Faith’)

“You must look on no one as a stranger. You should try to show the greatest love to all men and to every creature.”

You are all one family; you have grown out of one root. Each of you is like a branch, a flower, a fruit. You must look on no one as a stranger. You should try to show the greatest love to all men and to every creature. I have come to you as to my own people—brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. My bond is with all mankind; so should yours be. Try to follow the teachings of Baha’u’llah then each one will shine like a star. Since the time of Adam there has been no other teaching; until the end of time there will be no other. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha at Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper’s residence, England, 1911; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 12, 16 October, 1911)

Relics of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Prayer beads, turban, caps worn under turban, comb, shoes, and other articles belonging to 'Abdu'l-Baha

The “unleashing forces that are so gravely deranging the social, the religious, the political, and the economic equilibrium of organized society”

These recurrent crises which, with ominous frequency and resistless force, are afflicting an ever-increasing portion of the human race must of necessity continue, however impermanently, to exercise, in a certain measure, their baleful influence upon a world community which has spread its ramifications to the uttermost ends of the earth. How can the beginnings of a world upheaval, unleashing forces that are so gravely deranging the social, the religious, the political, and the economic equilibrium of organized society, throwing into chaos and confusion political systems, racial doctrines, social conceptions, cultural standards, religious associations, and trade relationships—how can such agitations, on a scale so vast, so unprecedented, fail to produce any repercussions on the institutions of a Faith of such tender age whose teachings have a direct and vital bearing on each of these spheres of human life and conduct?

Little wonder, therefore, if they who are holding aloft the banner of so pervasive a Faith, so challenging a Cause, find themselves affected by the impact of these world-shaking forces. Little wonder if they find that in the midst of this whirlpool of contending passions their freedom has been curtailed, their tenets contemned, their institutions assaulted, their motives maligned, their authority jeopardized, their claim rejected.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Greatest Holy Leaf: - “How staunch was her faith, how calm her demeanor, how forgiving her attitude, how severe her trials”

How staunch was her faith, how calm her demeanor, how forgiving her attitude, how severe her trials, at a time when the forces of schism had rent asunder the ties that united the little band of exiles which had settled in Adrianople and whose fortunes seemed then to have sunk to their lowest ebb! It was in this period of extreme anxiety, when the rigors of a winter of exceptional severity, coupled with the privations entailed by unhealthy housing accommodations and dire financial distress, undermined once for all her health and sapped the vitality which she had hitherto so thoroughly enjoyed. The stress and storm of that period made an abiding impression upon her mind, and she retained till the time of her death on her beauteous and angelic face evidences of its intense hardships. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 17 July 1932; ‘Baha’i Administration’)

“O ye illumined youth, strive by night and by day to unravel the mysteries of the mind and spirit, and to grasp the secrets of the Day of God.”

Wherefore, O ye illumined youth, strive by night and by day to unravel the mysteries of the mind and spirit, and to grasp the secrets of the Day of God. Inform yourselves of the evidences that the Most Great Name hath dawned. Open your lips in praise. Adduce convincing arguments and proofs. Lead those who thirst to the fountain of life; grant ye true health to the ailing. Be ye apprentices of God; be ye physicians directed by God, and heal ye the sick among humankind. Bring those who have been excluded into the circle of intimate friends. Make the despairing to be filled with hope. Waken them that slumber; make the heedless mindful.

Such are the fruits of this earthly life. Such is the station of resplendent glory. Upon you be Baha'u'l-Abha. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Youth)

Chicago 1917: Commemorating Baha'u'llah's 100th Birthday

Some prominent Western non-Baha’is who hosted receptions for ‘Abdu’l-Baha

From 1911 to 1913 'Abdu'l-Baha journeyed through Europe and North America, visiting the local Baha'i communities, addressing public audiences in peace societies, universities, churches, Negro conferences and synagogues, meeting distinguished personages in government, clerical and educational life and promulgating by example and eloquent speech the principles of universal peace. The roster of these distinguished persons is too extensive to include here, but the character of 'Abdu'l-Baha's reception in the West may be indicated by naming, among many others, Archdeacon Wilberforce, Reverend R. J. Campbell, Lord Lamington, Sir Michael Sadler, the Maharajahs of Jalawar and Rajputana, Professor E. G. Browne, and Professor Patrick Geddes, in London; the Persian Minister, the Turkish Ambassador, "Church dignitaries of various branches of the Christian Tree," in Paris; Professor Arminius Vambery, several members of Parliament, Count Albert Apponyi, Prelate Alexander Giesswein and Professor Ignatius Goldziher, in Vienna; and in America, Dr. David Starr Jordan, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Alexander Graham Bell, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Mrs. William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, Hon. Franklin MacVeagh, Admiral Peary, Rabindranath Tagore. 

- Horace Holley  (Introduction to The Secret of Divine Civilization)

Lua Getsinger -- “The immortal Lua, mother-teacher of the American Bahá'í Community, herald of the dawn of the Day of the Covenant …” , a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Baha

 

circa 1897-9

“the Order now stirring in the womb of a travailing age”

“…they, and those who will labor after them, must press forward until the processes now set in motion will have each spent its force and contributed its share towards the birth of the Order now stirring in the womb of a travailing age.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

'Abdu'l-Baha at dedication of Temple site in Wilmette, Illinois, 1912

“'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan… have summoned the followers of the Abha Beauty to the spiritual conquest of the planet”

…the present Four Year Plan… outlines the duties of the people of Baha until the end of the twentieth century and mobilizes them to forge ahead and accelerate the process of the fulfillment of the divine prophecies. These teaching plans, which have successively set the worldwide Bahá'í community on the move and broadened the boundaries of the Faith, are the results of the creative power of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan, which, for more than eighty years, have summoned the followers of the Abha Beauty to the spiritual conquest of the planet. These teaching plans will continue until the Golden Age.

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated March 1997 addressed to the Iranian believers - translated from Persian)

1891: Some Baha'i in Tabriz

Third row, sitting third from right is Mirza 'Ali-Muhammad Varqa, distinguished Baha'i Martyr. First row, second from left is his son Ruhu'llah, who was also martyred.

God would not “forgive any man’s injustice”

O Oppressors on Earth! Withdraw your hands from tyranny, for I have pledged Myself not to forgive any man’s injustice. This is My covenant which I have irrevocably decreed in the preserved tablet and sealed with My seal. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)

“The human spirit is a center of all virtues”

The human spirit is a center of all virtues. The human spirit is a reflector of the bounties of God. The human spirit is destined to advance and to be enveloped with the effulgence of God, because the human spirit is immortal. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk at Theosophical Society, San Francisco, October 11, 1912; Unpublished Manuscript by Ella Cooper)

“the greatest obstacle in the path of Unity”

If five people meet together to search for Truth, they must begin by putting aside their own special convictions and renounce their own prejudices. In order to find Truth we must give up our own small ideas. The fact that we imagine ourselves to be right and every one else to be wrong, is the greatest obstacle in the path of Unity, and Unity is necessary if we desire to find Truth. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From discourses given by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in London and Paris’; Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 1, March 21, 1912)

Mountfort Mills (d. 1949) – “that highly-talented, much loved servant of Baha'u'llah”; “that distinguished and international champion of the Faith of Baha'u'llah”; “our dearly-beloved Mountfort Mills”; first chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada when formed in 1922; prepared the final draft of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly in 1927; was brutally assaulted in Baghdad while representing the Guardian to League of Nations regarding ownership of the House of Baha’u’llah

The passing of Mountfort Mills on April 24, 1949, deprived the American Baha'i community of the influence and experience of a very distinguished believer. He had been a follower of Baha'u'llah since 1906.

Before the end of 1909, Mountfort Mills had made two pilgrimages to 'Akka. His third pilgrimage to visit the Master was made early in 1921. In 1922, with Mr. Roy C. Wilhelm, he was invited by Shoghi Effendi to go to Haifa for conference with the Guardian on matters related to the new conditions created for the Faith by the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha.

During the Master's visits in New York during 1912, Mr. Mills served on the Baha'i reception committee which arranged public addresses for 'Abdu'lBaha in that city. First chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada when formed in 1922 in accordance with the provisions of the Will and Testament left by the Master, Mountfort Mills was elected a member of that body for seven terms between 1922 and 1937. As trustee of Baha'i Temple Unity he had served annually from its inception in 1909.

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“not permissible to publish simplifications and paraphrases of Bahá'í Writings as Bahá'í Scripture.”

It is, of course, permissible to translate Bahá'í Writings into other languages and dialects of languages. It is also possible to simplify or paraphrase the Bahá'í Writings in order to facilitate their translation into languages and dialects having small vocabularies. However, it is not permissible to publish simplifications and paraphrases of Bahá'í Writings as Bahá'í Scripture. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 13 March 1969 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

Prayer for Individual (woman): - Assistance to recognize the latest Manifestation of God

O my Sovereign Lord! I am but a vassal of Thine, and Thou art, in truth, the King of Kings. I have lifted my suppliant hands unto the heaven of Thy grace and Thy bounties. Send down, then, upon me from the clouds of Thy generosity that which will rid me of all save Thee, and draw me nigh unto Thyself. I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Thy name, which Thou hast made the king of names, and the manifestation of Thyself to all who are in heaven and on earth, to rend asunder the veils that have intervened between me and my recognition of the Dawning-Place of Thy signs and the Day Spring of Thy Revelation. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Bounteous. Deprive me not, O my Lord, of the fragrances of the Robe of Thy mercy in Thy days, and write down for me that which Thou hast written down for thy handmaidens who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs, and have recognized Thee, and set their hearts towards the horizon of Thy Cause. Thou art truly the Lord of the worlds and of those who show mercy the Most Merciful. Assist me, then, O my God, to remember Thee amongst Thy handmaidens, and to aid Thy Cause in Thy lands. Accept, then, that which hath escaped me when the light of Thy countenance shone forth. Thou, indeed, hast power over all things. Glory be to Thee, O Thou in Whose hand is the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth. 

- Baha'u'llah  (From the Tablet to Queen Victoria of Great Britain; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)

Akka 1905: 'Abdu'l-Baha's absolute naturalness -- an utter absence of any desire or effort to impress one with His greatness

Every morning it is the custom of the household to meet in the large sitting room, where tea is served, and the little children of the family come and chant for the Master while he drinks his tea. At this first meeting, at seven o'clock in the morning, how inexpressibly I was impressed by the absolute poise of the Master; his absolute naturalness; absolute freedom. There was an utter absence of any desire or effort to impress one with his greatness, which is majestic in its simplicity.

- Mary Lucas  (‘A Brief Account of my visit to Akka’, 1905)

circa 1948: - Baha'i National Center in India

(The Baha'i World 1946-1950)

Baha’u’llah sought neither government position nor prominence and gave abundantly to the poor

He was most generous, giving abundantly to the poor. None who came to Him were turned away. The doors of His house were open to all. He always had many guests. This unbounded generosity was conducive to greater astonishment from the fact that He sought neither position nor prominence. In commenting upon this His friends said He would become impoverished, for His expenses were many and His wealth becoming more and more limited. "Why is he not thinking of his own affairs?" they inquired of each other; but some who were wise declared, "This personage is connected with another world; he has something sublime within him that is not evident now; the day is coming when it will be manifested." In truth, the Blessed Perfection was a refuge for every weak one, a shelter for every fearing one, kind to every indigent one, lenient and loving to all creatures. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk, 18 April 1912; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

The “first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor of each” Baha’i: - “To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous Revelation”

To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous Revelation must, it is my unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and it is our bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance as we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of the truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based.  

- Shoghi  (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’ included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

Jesus first proclaimed the validity of Moses and the Torah

At the time when the Israelites had been dispersed by the power of the Roman empire and the national life of the Hebrew people had been effaced by their conquerors, -- when the law of God had seemingly passed from them and the foundation of the religion of God was apparently destroyed, -- Jesus Christ appeared. When His Holiness arose among the Jews, the first thing He did was to proclaim the validity of the Manifestation of Moses. He declared that the Torah, the Old Testament, was the Book of God and that all the prophets of Israel were valid and true. He extolled the mission of Moses and through His proclamation the name of Moses was spread throughout the world. Through Christianity the greatness of Moses became known among all nations. It is a fact that before the appearance of Christ, the name of Moses had not been heard in Iran. In India they had no knowledge of Judaism and it was only through the Christianizing of Europe that the teachings of the Old Testament became spread in that region. Throughout Europe there was not a copy of the Old Testament; but consider this carefully and judge it aright; -- through the instrumentality of Christ, through the translation of the New Testament, the little volume of the Gospel, the Old Testament, the Torah, has been translated into six hundred languages and spread everywhere in the world. The names of the Hebrew prophets became household words among the nations, who believed that the children of Israel were verily the chosen people of God, a holy nation under the especial blessing and protection of God, and that therefore the prophets who had arisen in Israel were the day springs of revelation and brilliant stars in the heaven of the will of God.

May and Sutherland Maxwell

1941: “For a whole century God has respited mankind, that it might acknowledge” Baha’u’llah’s Revelation

Beloved friends! Well nigh a hundred years have elapsed since the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh dawned upon the world—a Revelation, the nature of which, as affirmed by Himself, “none among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath ever completely apprehended.” For a whole century God has respited mankind, that it might acknowledge the Founder of such a Revelation, espouse His Cause, proclaim His greatness, and establish His Order. 

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

'The Dawn-Breakers': - Nabil’s style of composition

He writes with ease, and when his emotions are strongly stirred his style becomes vigorous and trenchant. He does not present with any system the claims and teaching of Bahá’u’lláh and His Forerunner. His purpose is the simple one of rehearsing the beginnings of the Bahá’í Revelation and of preserving the remembrance of the deeds of its early champions. He relates a series of incidents, punctiliously quoting his authority for almost every item of information. His work in consequence, if less artistic and philosophic, gains in value as a literal account of what he knew or could from credible witnesses discover about the early history of the Cause.

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘Introduction to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)

Purpose of this life

In considering the effect of obedience to the laws (of Bahá'u'lláh) on individual lives, one must remember that the purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next. Here one must learn to control and direct, one's animal impulses, not to be a slave to them. Life in this world is a succession of tests and achievements, of falling short and of making new spiritual advances. Sometimes the course may seem very hard, but one can witness, again and again, that the soul who steadfastly obeys the law of Bahá'u'lláh, however hard it may seem, grows spiritually, while the one who compromises with the law for the sake of his own apparent happiness is seen to have been following a chimera: he does not attain the happiness he sought, he retards his spiritual advance and often brings new problems upon himself. 

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