To emperors, kings, princes and potentates, to rulers, governments, clergy and peoples, whether of the East or of the West, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Zoroastrian, He addressed, for well-nigh fifty years, and in the most tragic circumstances, these priceless pearls of knowledge and wisdom that lay hid within the ocean of His matchless utterance.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)
Say: Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise.
- Bahá'u'lláh (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, Conservation of the Earth’s Resources)
“Be fair, ye peoples of the world;” He thus appeals to mankind, “is it meet and seemly for you to question the authority of one Whose presence ‘He Who conversed with God’ (Moses) hath longed to attain, the beauty of Whose countenance ‘God’s Well-beloved’ (Muhammad) had yearned to behold, through the potency of Whose love the ‘Spirit of God’ (Jesus) ascended to heaven, for Whose sake the ‘Primal Point’ (the Báb) offered up His life?”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting Bahá’u’lláh in ‘The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh; included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)
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| Bahá’u’lláh's father |
- Bahá’u’lláh (Quoted
by Nabil in ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)
It may help the friends to understand this relationship if they are aware of some of the processes that the Universal House of Justice follows when legislating. First, of course, it observes the greatest care in studying the Sacred Texts and the interpretations of the Guardian as well as considering the views of all the members. After long consultation the process of drafting a pronouncement is put into effect. During this process the whole matter may well be reconsidered. As a result of such reconsideration the final judgement may be significantly different from the conclusion earlier favoured, or possibly it may be decided not to legislate at all on that subject at that time...."
- The Universal House of Justice (From letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, December 7, 1969: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973; Compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)
To my dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu'l-Baha: care of the American National Spiritual Assembly.
Dearest Friends:
The day is drawing near when, for the third time, we shall commemorate the world over the passing of our well-beloved ‘Abdu’l-Baha. May we not pause for a moment, and gather our thoughts? How has it fared with His little band of followers, since that day? Whither are we marching? What has been our achievement?
We have but to turn our eyes to the world without to realize the fierceness and the magnitude of the forces of darkness that are struggling with the dawning light of the Abha Revelation. Nations, though exhausted and disillusioned, have seemingly begun to cherish anew the spirit of revenge, of domination, and strife. Peoples, convulsed by economic upheavals, are slowly drifting into two great opposite camps with all their menace of social chaos, class hatreds, and world- wide ruin. Races, alienated more than ever before, are filled with mistrust, humiliation and fear, and seem to prepare themselves for a fresh and fateful encounter. Creeds and religions, caught in this whirlpool of conflict and passion, appear to gaze with impotence and despair at this spectacle of unceasing turmoil.
Such is the plight of mankind three years after the passing of Him from whose lips fell unceasingly the sure message of a fast-approaching Divine salvation. Are we by our, thoughts, our words, our deeds, whether individually or collectively, preparing the way? Are we hastening the advent the Day He so often foretold?
None can deny that the flame of faith and love which His mighty hand kindled in many hearts has, despite our bereavement, continued to burn as brightly and steadily as ever before. Who can question that His loved ones, both in the East and the West, notwithstanding the insidious strivings of the enemies of the Cause, have .displayed a spirit of unshakable loyalty worthy of the highest praise? What greater perseverance and fortitude than that which His tried and trusted friends have shown in the face of untold calamities, intolerable oppression, and incredible restrictions? But such staunchness of faith, such an unsullied love, such magnificent loyalty, such heroic constancy, such noble courage, however unprecedented and laudable in themselves, cannot alone lead us to the final and complete triumph of such a great Cause. Not until the dynamic love we cherish for Him is sufficiently reflected in its power and purity in all our dealings with our fellow-men, however remotely connected and humble in origin, can we hope to exalt in the eyes of a self-seeking world the genuineness of the all-conquering love of God. Not until we live ourselves the life of a true Baha'i can we hope to demonstrate the creative and transforming potency of the Faith we profess. Nothing but the abundance of our actions, nothing but the purity of our lives and the integrity of our characters, can in the last resort establish our claim that the Baha'i spirit is in this day the sole agency that can translate a long-cherished ideal into an enduring achievement.
The Second World Congress, called for by the Universal House of Justice, took place in November 1992, during the Holy Year, commemorating the centenary of the Ascension of Baha'u'llah. It was held in the Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York City -- the "City of the Covenant' -- and commemorated the centenary of the Covenant of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Nearly 30,000 Baha'is made it the largest ever Baha'i gathering, and the total number of Baha'is participating was increased enormously by satellite conferences, held simultaneously in Apia, Western Samoa; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sydney, Australia; New Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Panama City, Panama; Bucharest, Romania; Moscow, Russia; and Singapore.
The First World Congress was called to commemorate the centenary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah (Ridvan 1963), the conclusion of the Ten Year Crusade, and the election of the Universal House of Justice. Shoghi Effendi had hoped that it would be possible to have it in Baghdad, but the situation in 'Iraq was such that the Hands of the Cause of God changed the venue to London and were able to hire the Albert Hall, which was filled to capacity by more than 7,000 Baha'is.
World Congress is a large gathering of Baha’is from all parts of the world called to commemorate special events.
(Adapted from ‘Historical Dictionary of the Baha’i Faith’ by Hugh Adamson, and ‘A Basic Baha’i Dictionary’, by Wendi Momen)
"As Christ said to a rich man: 'Go, and give all you have, and take up your cross and come and be My follower.' (Mark 10:24) This saying of Christ's indicates that unless one is free from everything, one cannot be a real follower of Christ."
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of 'Abdu'l-Baha, recorded by Juliet Thompson during her visit in Akka, 'The Diary of Juliet Thompson')
Consider the days of Jesus, when there was only a small body of people, and then observe the great tree which grew from that seed and what an abundant fruit it produced. This is greater than that, forasmuch as it is the calling of the Lord of Hosts and the Voice of the Trumpet of the Living God; it is the summons unto the harmony and unison of the world, and it is the banner of faithfulness, trustworthiness and friendship among the difference nations and sects of the universe; it is the light of the Sun of Truth and the spirituality of the Majestic One. Verily this great cycle (dispensation) will encompass all the horizons and ultimately all the nations will gather together under this standard.
Therefore, know the importance of this seed which was planted in the divine field by the heavenly Gardener, watered with the rain of grace and nurtured by the heat and light of the Sun of Truth. Thus, O ye friends of God, give thanks unto His Majesty, the One, that ye became (or were made) the manifestation of such a gift and the recipient of such favor.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha ('Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1')
There exists in English, however, a literature about Persia in the nineteenth century which will give the Western reader ample information on the subject. From Persian writings which have already been translated, or from books of European travellers like Lord Curzon, Sir J. Malcolm, and others not a few, he will find a lifelike and vivid if unlovely picture of the Augean conditions which the Báb had to confront when He inaugurated the Movement in the middle of the nineteenth century.
- Shoghi Effendi
(‘Introduction to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)
December 7, 1969
Dear Bahá'í friend,
Your recent letter, in which you share with us the questions that have occurred to some of the youth in studying "The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh," has been carefully considered, and we feel that we should comment both on the particular passage you mention and on a related passage in the same work, because both bear on the relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice.
The first passage concerns the Guardian's duty to insist upon a reconsideration by his fellow members in the Universal House of Justice of any enactment which he believes conflicts with the meaning and departs from the spirit of the Sacred Writings. The second passage concerns the infallibility of the Universal House of Justice without the Guardian, namely Shoghi Effendi's statement that "Without such an institution [the Guardianship] ... the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn."
Some of the youth, you indicate, were puzzled as to how to reconcile the former of these two passages with such statements as that in the Will of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which affirms that the Universal House of Justice is "freed from all error." Seeking the Writings' unity of meaning
Just as the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá does not in any way contradict the Kitáb-i-Aqdas but, in the Guardian's words, "confirms, supplements, and correlates the provisions of the Aqdas," so the writings of the Guardian contradict neither the revealed Word nor the interpretations of the Master. In attempting to understand the Writings, therefore, one must first realize that there is and can be no real contradiction in them, and in the light of this we can confidently seek the unity of meaning which they contain.
The World Center of the Faith located in Israel “geographically, spiritually and administratively, constitutes the heart of the entire planet..”
- Shoghi Effendi
(‘Messages to America’; ‘The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I’)
The connection between God and the creatures is that of the creator to the creation; it is like the connection between the sun and the dark bodies of contingent beings, and is the connection between the maker and the things that he has made. The sun in its own essence is independent of the bodies which it lights; for its light is in itself, and is free and independent of the terrestrial globe; so the earth is under the influence of the sun and receives its light, whereas the sun and its rays are entirely independent of the earth. But if there were no sun, the earth and all earthly beings could not exist.
The dependence through the creatures upon God is a dependence of emanation: that is to say, creatures emanate from God, they do not manifest Him. The relation is that of emanation and not that of manifestation. The light of the sun emanates from the sun, it does not manifest it. The appearance through emanation is like the appearance of the rays from the luminary of the horizons of the world: that is to say, the holy essence of the Sun of Truth is not divided, and does not descend to the condition of the creatures. In the same way, the globe of the sun does not become divided and does not descend to the earth: no, the rays of the sun, which are its bounty, emanate from it, and illumine the dark bodies.
But the appearance through manifestation is the manifestation of the branches, leaves, blossoms and fruit from the seed; for the seed in its own essence becomes branches and fruits, and its reality enters into the branches, the leaves, and fruits. This appearance through manifestation would be for God the Most High, simple imperfection, and this is quite impossible; for the implication would be that the Absolute Pre-existent is qualified with phenomenal attributes; but if this were so, pure independence would become mere poverty, and true existence would become non-existence, and this is impossible.
We witness a corresponding increase in the diversity of the elements within its fellowship, which from being confined, in the first period of its history, to an obscure body of followers chiefly recruited from the ranks of the masses in Shi‘ah Persia, has expanded into a fraternity representative of the leading religious systems of the world, of almost every caste and color, from the humblest worker and peasant to royalty itself.
- Shoghi Effendi
(‘Preface to God Passes By’)
These are Thy servants whom the ascendancy of the oppressor
hath failed to deter from fixing their eyes on the Tabernacle of Thy majesty,
and whom the hosts of tyranny have been powerless to affright and divert their
gaze from the Day-Spring of Thy signs and the Dawning-Place of Thy testimonies.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
Shoghi Effendi completely dedicated his whole life to the Cause of God. He had no other thought. He ate, he slept, he was awake, he worked, every minute, day and night, was for the Cause of God. He thought of nothing else. Nothing else was of any interest to him. He didn’t talk about anything else. He talked about the conditions of the Plan. He talked about the services of the friends. And he was like a barometer. When any word came from any part of the world about successes of the believers in the teaching work they did, he was joyous and he was happy. But when word came of difficulties within the Faith, of persecutions of the some of the Baha’is, of difficulties that the pioneers were meeting with, the suffering of the believers, he became very sad. His heart was like a mirror, and it seemed reflect all parts of the world. And wherever he turned his heart, he saw what was there. He saw pictured before him the exact conditions of the believers themselves. So that if any of you, especially the pioneers, especially those of you who came into new areas to teach, and those of you who have been carrying on the teaching work in the new areas, have any idea that you are alone, that God is not with you, that the power of the Holy Spirit is not with you, dispel that from your mind, because the Power of God and the power of the Holy Spirit is with you all the time, every minute day and night. And the Guardian himself, even in his physical form, pledged to those things in the Holy Land, and he talked to us about them day after day and night after night.
- Hand of the Cause of God Leroy Ioas, one of the Guardian’s secretaries (From a talk in Johannesburg, South Africa, 1958, ‘In the Days of the Guardian’)
(The Baha'i World 1944-1946)
How often the beloved Master was heard to say. Should each one of the friends take upon himself to carry out, in all its integrity and implications, only one of the teachings of the Faith, with devotion, detachment, constancy and perseverance and exemplify it in all his deeds and pursuits of life, the world would become another world and the face of the earth would mirror forth the splendours of the Abha Paradise. Consider what marvellous changes would be effected if the beloved of the Merciful conducted themselves, both in their individual and collective capacities, in accordance with the counsels and exhortations which have streamed from the Pen of Glory.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 12 January 1923 to the Bahá'ís of Persia - translated from the Persian; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Living the Life)
O My Well-Beloved! Thou hast breathed Thy Breath into Me, and divorced Me from Mine own Self. Thou didst, subsequently, decree that no more than a faint reflection, a mere emblem of Thy Reality within Me be left among the perverse and envious. Behold, how, deluded by this emblem, they have risen against Me, and heaped upon Me their denials! Uncover Thy Self, therefore, O My Best-Beloved, and deliver Me from My plight.
Thereupon a Voice replied: “I love, I dearly cherish this emblem. How can I consent that Mine eyes, alone, gaze upon this emblem, and that no heart except Mine heart recognize it? By My Beauty, which is the same as Thy Beauty! My wish is to hide Thee from Mine own eyes: how much more from the eyes of men!”
I was preparing to make reply, when lo, the Tablet was suddenly ended, leaving My theme unfinished, and the pearl of Mine utterance unstrung.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
"Tell me just one more story," she begged her grandmother. "Then I'll go to sleep. I promise."
"Get under your covers, then," her grandmother replied.
Sanam got under the covers while her grandmother sat on the edge of the bed and closed the mosquito net tightly behind her.
"When I was a young girl like you," her grandmother recounted, "I loved being with my grandmother, Naneh-joon, just as much as you love being with me.
"Naneh-joon was a very devout Muslim. She got up to pray before the sun rose and went to bed after her midnight prayer. Even in her old age and poor health, she went to the mosque every day. She gave money to the poor and was kind to all.
"One hot day in August, Naneh-joon gave me permission to accompany her on her daily journey to the mosque.
"'On the occasion of your turning nine,' she said, 'you may come with me to the mosque. But you must cover yourself well and be silent as a mouse in God's house.'
"I held my chador tightly in place under my chin with one hand, and with the other I held Naneh-joon's. We went through the alleys of southern Tihrán. I was going to the mosque!
- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)
Banishing from her mind and heart every earthly attachment, renouncing the very idea of matrimony, she, standing resolutely by the side of a Brother whom she was to aid and serve so well, arose to dedicate her life to the service of her Father’s glorious Cause. Whether in the management of the affairs of His Household in which she excelled, or in the social relationships which she so assiduously cultivated in order to shield both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whether in the unfailing attention she paid to the every day needs of her Father, or in the traits of generosity, of affability and kindness, which she manifested, the Greatest Holy Leaf had by that time abundantly demonstrated her worthiness to rank as one of the noblest figures intimately associated with the life-long work of Bahá’u’lláh.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 17 July 1932; ‘Baha’i Administration’)
- Baha’u’llah (From a Tablet; The Compilation of the Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation, and the Devotional Attitude)
Among the institutes of the Holy Books is that of the foundation of places of worship. That is to say, an edifice or temple is to be built in order that humanity might find a place of meeting, and this is to be conducive to unity and fellowship among them. The real temple is the very Word of God; for to it all humanity must turn, and it is the center of unity for all mankind. It is the collective center, the cause of accord and communion of hearts, the sign of the solidarity of the human race, the source of eternal life. Temples are the symbols of the divine uniting force so that when the people gather there in the House of God they may recall the fact that the law has been revealed for them and that the law is to unite them. They will realize that just as this temple was founded for the unification of mankind, the law preceding and creating it came forth in the manifest Word. Jesus Christ, addressing Peter, said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." This utterance was indicative of the faith of Peter, signifying: This faith of thine, O Peter, is the very cause and message of unity to the nations; it shall be the bond of union between the hearts of men and the foundation of the oneness of the world of humanity.
Addressing Siyyid Yahyáy-i-Darábí surnamed Vahíd, the most learned, the most eloquent and influential among His followers, the Báb utters this warning: “By the righteousness of Him Whose power causeth the seed to germinate and Who breatheth the spirit of life into all things, were I to be assured that in the day of His manifestation thou wilt deny Him, I would unhesitatingly disown thee and repudiate thy faith.… If, on the other hand, I be told that a Christian, who beareth no allegiance to My Faith, will believe in Him, the same will I regard as the apple of Mine Eye.”
- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’ included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)
- Shoghi Effendi (‘Preface to God Passes By’)
May 1st was a remarkable day, a day of very high distinction: 'Abdu'l-Baha laid the foundation-stone of the Mother Temple of the West. At Wilmette on the shores of Lake Michigan ample land had been purchased. On the site chosen for the construction of the Temple, a large tent had been raised and here, after inspecting the grounds, 'Abdu'l-Baha took His place to speak. He said:
A souvenir of some soil from the
excavation at the Temple site
“The power which has gathered you here today notwithstanding the cold and windy weather is indeed mighty and wonderful. It is the power of God, the divine favour of Baha'u'llah which has drawn you together. We praise God that through His constraining love human souls are assembled and associated in this way.
Thousands of Mashriqu’l-Aadhkars, dawning-points of praise and mentionings of God for all religionists will be built in the Orient and Occident, but this being the first one erected in the Occident has great importance. In the future there will be many here and elsewhere; in Asia, Europe, even in Africa, New Zealand and Australia;* but this edifice in Chicago is of especial significance ..."
Next, Irene Holmes handed 'Abdu'l-Baha a small, gold trowel which she had ordered for this very purpose, and He dug the earth to lay the corner-stone, having chosen for this a fragment of rock brought by Mrs Nettie Tobin as her offering. Having done so, He invited the delegates of various American communities to do likewise. Following them, 'Abdu'l-Baha asked a number of oriental Baha'is present to step forth and take part: Mihtar Ardishir Bahrarn Surush represented Baha'is of Zoroastrian background, Siyyid Asadu’llah stood in for Baha’is of Muslim origin, Dr. Zia Baghdadi represented Arab Baha’is, and Ghodsieh Khanum-i-Ashraf the Baha’i women of the orient. Then the corner-stone was laid in place.
- Balyuzi (‘Abdu’l-Baha: The Centre of the Covenant of Baha'u'llah’)
