The man and wife must dedicate their knowledge, their
talents, their fortunes, their titles, their bodies and their spirits, first to
Baha’u’llah and then to each other. Their thoughts must be lofty, their ideals
luminous, their hearts spiritual, and their souls the dawning-places of the
rays of the Sun of Reality. They must not become ill-disposed toward each other
on account of the ephemeral incidents and accidents of this changeful life.
Their hearts must be spacious, as spacious as the universe of God. In case any
difference of opinion should arise between them, they must do their utmost to
settle it by themselves, and not let its knowledge go out of the family; for
people are apt to change a speck into a mountain. Again, in case a circumstance
causes a real offense between the two, they must not keep it in their hearts,
but rather explain its nature to each other and try to remove it as soon as
possible. They must prefer fellowship and amity to jealousy and hypocrisy, and
be like two pure mirrors reflecting the light of the stars of love and beauty
to each other.
You must tell to each other all your noble and heavenly
conceptions. Have no secrets between you. Make your home a haven of rest and
peace. Be ye hospitable and let the doors of your home be open to the faces of
friends and strangers. Welcome everyone with a smiling face and let them all
feel that they are in my home. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, excerpt from a talk, December 22,
1918, Haifa; Star of the West, vol. 11, no. 1, March 21, 1920) (To read the
entire talk please visit Talks of ‘Abdu’l-Baha)
