The rising of the sun at the equinox is the symbol of life and the human reality is revivified; our thoughts are transformed and our intelligence is quickened. The sun of truth bestows eternal life, just as the solar sun is the cause of terrestrial life. - - 'Abdu'l-Baha (From a talk; ‘Divine Philosophy’)
- The Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
For example, should a government see that most of the people of the country have rent asunder the veils and are turning towards the horizon of Divine revelation, it should remain silent and should listen to what is said. Each person who is attentive attains to the knowledge of God, except those who are utterly distant from the Mercy of God. They indeed are fully deserving of anger and vehement opposition. Such persons are, in any case, forbidden and barred.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Tablet of Unity’, a provisional translation)
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; Star of the West, Vol. 1,
no. 3, April 28, 1910)
It would be preferable and more fitting if these two accounts, namely contributions to the Funds and payments of the Huququ’llah were to be kept separate. This means that in the first instance you should pay your Huququ’llah, and then you may offer your devoted contributions at your own discretion to the International Fund which is now being used for achieving the goals of the Nine-Year Plan.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated August 18, 1965 to an
individual believer, translated from the Persian, The Compilation of
Compilations, vol. I, Huququ’llah)
O Herald of the King of Kings
From Whom creation's power springs
The mission thine to blaze the way
Which leads to realms of endless day;
To be thyself the mystic sign
Of perfect love and power divine;
To resurrect the souls of men
And wealth devise beyond our ken.
Thy shining form was sometimes sad
Yet still thou mad'st creation glad;
Through martyrdom did'st plant the seeds
Which fructified in wondrous deeds.
Grant all, through deeds without desire
To witness thy celestial fire.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated March 16, 1949; ‘Citadel of Faith’)
- Ruhiyyih Khanum (‘The Priceless Pearl’)
The world is undoubtedly facing a great crisis and the social, economic and political conditions are becoming daily more complex. Should the friends desire to take the lead in reforming the world, they should start by educating themselves and understand what the troubles and problems really are which baffle the mind of man. It is in these Summer Schools that this training should be provided for the friends.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 27 January 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, published in ‘Bahá'í News’ 63, June 1932; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1, Centers of Baha’i Learning)
- Baha’u’llah
(‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
- Bahá’u’lláh (The Compilation of Compilations, vol.2, The Individual and Teaching: Raising the Divine Call)
And I think if you talk to the casual observer of the world scene he or she will say “there are two things happening at the same time, decline and growth.”
Obviously we have our Bahá’í teachings on this subject but that’s not the point at the moment. The conventional reaction to this process of decline becoming increasingly apparent in the world today takes a number of forms. Most people anticipate and hope that it will only be temporary: “Things are not so good at the moment, financially with the crisis, political volatility, in Africa or Asia, or Central or South America, or in other countries, but with a bit of luck it’ll get better and we’ll go back to the way it was before, with a calm settled society.”
So there is a general anticipation of the temporary nature of
that decline. Almost universally its extent is underestimated and its ultimate
severity is not accepted. There is a universal ignorance about its fundamental
cause; rather people are inclined to ascribe its cause to what we would
describe as symptoms: political changes, the rise of education, the
intemperance of certain minorities, the emancipation of women and so on. And
most people expect, and indeed hope, that some panacea will arise which will
solve it, which will remove all the clouds, and humanity will proceed in a
peaceful and harmonious manner toward its future.
It is necessary for us to look at these perceptions in the light of the authoritative
statements in the Bahá’í Writings. I do this because I think the challenge we
face as Bahá’ís is a challenge to avoid unconsciously absorbing the attitudes
of the larger society, but rather to form our attitudes from the authoritative
texts of the Faith. These authoritative writings are in many ways dramatically
different from the prevailing view in our society. ...read
the entire talk
- Abdu'l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha’)
‘Abdu’l-Baha
(‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, recorded by Julia Grundy during her pilgrimage; ‘Ten Days in the Light of Acca’)
- Baha’u’llah (From ‘Tablet
of the Bell’; a provisional translation)
...When permission was granted and the curtain was withdrawn, I entered the room where the King of kings and the Ruler of this world and the next, nay rather the Ruler of all the worlds of God, was with great authority seated on His couch. The verses of God were being revealed and the words streamed forth as in a copious rain. Methought the door, the wall, the carpet, the ceiling, the floor and the air were all perfumed and illumined. They all had been transformed, each and every one, into ears and were filled with a spirit of joy and ecstasy. Each object had become refreshed and was pulsating with life... To which worlds I was transported and in what state I was, no one who has not experienced such as this can ever know.
- Adib Taherzadeh (‘The Revelation of Baha'u'llah vol. 1)
