A requirement for seeker after Truth: To “cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein”

O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must … so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this Day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the Divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error.

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

“It is God's will that the differences between nations should disappear.”

It is God's will that the differences between nations should disappear. Those who help the Cause of Unity on, are doing God's work. Unity is the Divine Bounty of this brilliant century. Praise be to God, there are many societies and many meetings held for Unity. Hatred is not so much the cause of separation now as it used to be; the cause of disunion now is mostly prejudice. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha from discourses given in London and Paris; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 19, March 2, 1912)

An example of Baha’u’llah guiding the Guardian

One evening during their [Mr. and Mrs. Featherstone’s] pilgrimage, the Guardian had sent a message to the pilgrims to begin dinner and he would join them a little later. They did so and during the meal, the Guardian came in, sat down and, before commencing to eat, as though he could not hold back the news any longer, burst out with an announcement of a series of changes he was planning to make to the administration of the Faith, including an extension of the institution of the Hands of the Cause who would have ‘deputies' (the Auxiliary Board members) and other developments. Suddenly the Guardian paused, and Rúhíyyih Khánum said, "But, Shoghi Effendi, you didn't say anything about this before." Perhaps realising the impact these sudden and far-reaching announcements were having on the pilgrims and the others at the dinner table, the Guardian bowed his head and replied, very softly: "I did not know before this evening – I am under the guidance of Bahá'u'lláh." All these new developments had come into his mind as a ready-made plan, through the guidance he was promised by the Master. This seems to be the way the Guardian operated. 

(Related by Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone about his pilgrimage in 1953, quoted by Bill Washington concerning his own pilgrimage in 1957: ‘Recollections of Pilgrimage: Nine Days with the Guardian in 1957’)

One of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s secretaries describes the Master’s recollection of time in the prison of Akka

'Abdul Baha spoke on happiness, saying that the soul of man must be happy, no matter where he is. He must attain to that condition of inward beatitude and peace, where outward circumstances can not alter his spiritual calm and joyousness. No one can imagine a worse place than the barracks of Acca. The climate was bad, the water no better, the surroundings filthy and dirty, and the deportment of the officials unbearable, while he and his family were looked upon as enemies of religion and destroyers of morals. The Government had given orders that no one should address them during their stay in Acca and that they should not be allowed to converse with each other.

Upon their arrival, the officials found that there were not enough rooms in the barracks to imprison them separately, so all were put into two bare rooms. The court had a most gloomy aspect. It contained three or four fig trees, in the branches of which several ominous owls screeched all night. Everyone became ill and there were neither provisions nor medicines.

At the entrance to the barrack there was an undertaker's room. It was a horrible looking place, yet Abdu’l-Baha lived there for two years with the utmost happiness. Up to that period he had had no opportunity to read the Koran from cover to cover, but here he found ample time and used to study this Holy Book with fervor and enthusiasm, going over the incidents and events of the lives of former prophets and finding how parallel they were with the events of these latter days. Thus he was consoled and encouraged. He would read, for instance, the following verse:

"How thoughtless are the people ! Whenever a prophet is sent unto them they either ridicule him or persecute him."

And then he read this verse:

"Verily our host is victorious over them."

He was very happy, because he was a free man. Shut off in that room his spirit traveled throughout the immensity of space. At night he went up on the roof and communed with the countless brilliant stars. What a divine feast! What a heavenly procession! What spiritual freedom! What beatific bliss! What celestial Sovereignty! 

- Mirza Ahmad Sohrab (“‘Abdu’l-Baha in Egypt”)

November 1902: The cornerstone of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar (House of Worship) of Ishqabad was laid

“O people of the world! Build ye houses of worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who is the Lord of all religions. Make them as perfect as is possible in the world of being, and adorn them with that which befitteth them, not with images and effigies. Then, with radiance and joy, celebrate therein the praise of your Lord, the Most Compassionate. Verily, by His remembrance the eye is cheered and the heart is filled with light.” (Baha’u’llah, the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

During the lifetime of Baha'u'llah, obeying this command was impossible because the Middle Eastern Baha'is were persecuted. In order to escape oppression, many Persian Baha'is fled north, to the lands that formed part of the Russian Empire. Situated twenty-five miles from the border of Iran was the town of 'Ishqabad, in the modern Turkmenistan. By the turn of the century a large and prosperous Baha'i community had developed there, protected by the tsarist government from persecution. In the autumn of 1902 the 'Ishqabad Baha'is set out to build the first House of Worship in the Baha'i world.

On 28 November 1902 they laid the cornerstone of the building.  The 'Ishqabad Baha'is were in regular contact with the Chicago House of spirituality and on 29 November wrote a letter to them, mentioning the event. A second letter with more details followed on 10 December:

There is a “spiritual connection” between “the spirit of man and the world of existence”

It is obvious that a very deep relationship exists between the spirit of man and the world of existence. It often happens that what we see in a dream comes to pass in wakefulness; indeed, even in wakefulness when the soul is unfettered, matters come to mind which later appear in visible form. This shows that between the reasoning power of man and that visible appearance there is a spiritual connection. Furthermore, the spirit of man has the power of discovering facts. When this power is realized, problems become easily resolved. Amusingly, while materialists are engaged in making discoveries concerning the strata of the earth, they are immersed in the very spiritual power whose potency and influence they deny. They also claim to forecast coming events. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, June 10, 1912, New York, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani, a secretary for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His travels in the West; published in ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)

Jesus founded sacred law on the basis of moral character and complete spirituality

In the fifth chapter of Matthew beginning with the thirty-seventh verse He counsels: “Resist not evil and injury with its like; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” And further, from the forty-third verse: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and thou shalt not vex thine enemy with enmity.’ But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth down the rain of His mercy on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?”

Many were the counsels of this kind that were uttered by that Dayspring of Divine wisdom, and souls who have become characterized with such attributes of holiness are the distilled essence of creation and the sources of true civilization.

Jesus, then, founded the sacred Law on a basis of moral character and complete spirituality, and for those who believed in Him He delineated a special way of life which constitutes the highest type of action on earth. And while those emblems of redemption were to outward seeming abandoned to the malevolence and persecution of their tormentors, in reality they had been delivered out of the hopeless darkness which encompassed the Jews and they shone forth in everlasting glory at the dawn of that new day.

Wisdom of Fasting - from a table talk by 'Abdu'l-Baha

Question: What Divine wisdom is there in fasting?

Answer: 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 [revealing] 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 thee 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 Qur'an having descended in the month Ramazan, fasting during that month became a duty.

In like manner his holiness the Supreme [the Báb], in the beginning of the Manifestation, through the excessive effect of descending Verses, passed days in which his nourishment was reduced to tea only.

Likewise, the Blessed Beauty [Bahá’u’lláh], when busy with instituting the Divine Teachings and during the days when the Verses [the Word of God] descended continuously, through the great effect of the Verses and the throbbing of the heart, took no food except the least amount.

First Baha'i of the Totonaco tribe in Veracruz, Mexica

Antonio Cruz wearing traditional dress

(The Baha'i World 1979-1983)

A Church-State Country – “The right to take life was vested” in the Shah “alone”; “and so were all the functions of government, legislative, executive, and judicial”

At the time when the Báb declared His Mission, the government of the country was, in Lord Curzon’s phrase, “a Church-State.” Venal, cruel, and immoral as it was, it was formally religious. Muslim orthodoxy was its basis and permeated to the core both it and the social lives of the people. But otherwise there were no laws, statutes, or charters to guide the direction of public affairs. There was no House of Lords nor Privy Council, no synod, no Parliament. The Sháh was despot, and his arbitrary rule was reflected all down the official scale through every minister and governor to the lowliest clerk or remotest headman. No civil tribunal existed to check or modify the power of the monarch or the authority which he might choose to delegate to his subordinates. If there was a law, it was his word. He could do as he pleased. It was his to appoint or to dismiss all ministers, officials, officers, and judges. He had power of life and death without appeal over all members of his household and of his court, whether civil or military. The right to take life was vested in him alone; and so were all the functions of government, legislative, executive, and judicial. His royal prerogative was limited by no written restraint whatever.

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

Designated as a "Baha'i Shrine", Montreal, Canada

'Abdu’l-Bahá stayed at the home of the Maxwells shown here during His six-day visit to Montréal. It is known as a “Baha’i Shrine” in Canada.

Story for Children: The Horse Show

Carrie Willis stood at the wooden fence surrounding the pasture, and brushed the flowing blonde mane of her palomino mare, Lady. Her large eyes filled with tears as she said good bye to the horse she had raised from a colt. "Oh, Lady, I'm going to miss you so much. Any minute someone will come and take you away and I may never see you again." 

Carrie still remembered the pain she felt when her father first told her they had to sell Lady. "Winter will be coming soon," he had said, "and we cannot afford to buy hay and grain this year. I wish there was some other way, Carrie. But I am afraid we must sell her."

She tried talking her father out of it. She even offered to get a job after school to help buy Lady's feed. But her father would not hear of it. So the next week, Lady was sold to the Lion's Club. They were going to give her away as a prize at the annual Labor Day horse show.

So, engrossed in her thoughts, Carrie did not hear the truck and trailer pull into the driveway. Only when the doors of the truck slammed shut did she awaken to see two men walking toward her. 

"Hello there, miss," said the tallest man. "Is this the horse that is going to the fair grounds?" 

Carried nodded. 

"She sure is a beauty," said the other man, busily tying a rope into a lasso. "I would like to win her myself." 

When the lasso was finished, it was stretched around Lady's neck and used to lead her through the pasture. Carrie watched as the golden mare tossed her white-blazed face and reared on her front legs to escape the trailer's imprisonment. But the two men were experts with horses. And in only minutes, they had Lady inside. While Carrie watched the truck and trailer drive away, she was left feeling an emptiness she had never known before.

Teaching children “communes and prayers” each morning

Every day at first light, ye gather the Bahá'í children together and teach them the communes and prayers. This is a most praiseworthy act, and bringeth joy to the children's hearts: that they should, at every morn, turn their faces toward the Kingdom and make mention of the Lord and praise His Name, and in the sweetest of voices, chant and recite.

These children are even as young plants, and teaching them the prayers is as letting the rain pour down upon them, that they may wax tender and fresh, and the soft breezes of the love of God may blow over them, making them to tremble with joy. 

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

1920: A famous Persian travel teacher meets the Baha'is in Washington DC

Jinab-i-Fazel Mazandarani meets Baha'i friends in Washington, DC. Also seen in the picture is Manucher Khan sitting next to Jenab-i-Fazel.

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

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

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

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

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

Praise be unto Thee, O Lord! Thy divine Being is a sure testimony of the oneness of Thine inmost Essence and Thy supreme divinity beareth witness to the unity of Thy Self, and the realities of all created things testify that no tie of intercourse bindeth Thee to anything in the kingdom of creation which Thou hast fashioned.

“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’)

"payment of the Huqúq will enable the donors to become firm and steadfast and will exert a great influence on their hearts and souls”

O my heavenly friends! It is certain and evident that the Incomparable One is always praised for His absolute wealth, distinguished for His all-embracing mercy, characterized by His eternal grace, and known for His gifts to the world of existence. Nonetheless, in accordance with His inscrutable wisdom and in order to apply a unique test to distinguish the friend from the stranger, He hath enjoined the Huqúq upon His servants and made it obligatory.

Those who have observed this weighty ordinance have received heavenly blessings and in both worlds their faces have shone radiantly and their nostrils perfumed by the sweet savours of God's tender mercy. One of the tokens of His consummate wisdom is that the payment of the Huqúq will enable the donors to become firm and steadfast and will exert a great influence on their hearts and souls. Furthermore the Huqúq will be used to charitable purposes.

- 'Abdu'l-Bahá  (From a Tablet, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Huququ’llah)

The Guardian admires the spiritual qualities and activities of German believers

The news of your most spiritual gatherings, since the Great Plan of the Master as revealed in His Testament has been unfolded to our eyes; the formation and functioning of the National Body with efficiency and harmony; the extension of your activities; the widening of your correspondence; the generous and spontaneous help you have extended us in connection with our difficulties in the Holy Land and above all the spirit of ready devotion and ever-increasing zeal which is back of it all - these are sweet thoughts that cheer the bereaved Ladies of the Holy Household and encourage here and abroad the many friends who look forward to the hour when all the Master has promised His friends in Germany will come to be fulfilled. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 17 December 1922 to the Baha’is of Germany;’ The Light of Divine Guidance vol. 1’)

A suggested quote to memorize: A characteristic of the “people of God”

They who are the people of God have no ambition except to revive the world, to ennoble its life, and regenerate its peoples.

- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah'; Ruhi Book 5)

Bahá'u'lláh acknowledges that the Báb “hath been sent down by the Will of the one true God”

We, verily, believe in Him Who, in the person of the Báb, hath been sent down by the Will of the one true God, the King of Kings, the All-Praised. We, moreover, swear fealty to the One Who, in the time of Mustaghath, [1] is destined to be made manifest, as well as to those Who shall come after Him till the end that hath no end. We recognize in the manifestation of each one of them, whether outwardly or inwardly, the manifestation of none but God Himself, if ye be of those that comprehend. Every one of them is a mirror of God, reflecting naught else but His Self, His Beauty, His Might and Glory, if ye will understand. All else besides them are to be regarded as mirrors capable of reflecting the glory of these Manifestations Who are themselves the Primary Mirrors of the Divine Being, if ye be not devoid of understanding. No one hath ever escaped them, neither are they to be hindered from achieving their purpose. These Mirrors will everlastingly succeed each other, and will continue to reflect the light of the Ancient of Days. They that reflect their glory will, in like manner, continue to exist for evermore, for the Grace of God can never cease from flowing. This is a truth that none can disprove.

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

[1] Literally, He Who is Invoked for Help. A term the Báb used to refer to the advent of the Promised One (Baha’u’llah) (Footnote in ‘Call to Remembrance’)