November 28, 2017

“The personality and activity of the body are due to the individuality of the soul.”

The personality and activity of the body are due to the individuality of the soul. Thus the soul is the cause of the life of the body, and the body, with all its organs, is but the vehicle of its expression. 
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk, quoted by Lua Getsinger in her talk in San Francisco on December 17, 1911)
(To see the transcript of the entire talk please visit Baha’i Talks, Messages and Articles)

November 26, 2017

‘Abdu’l-Baha – “…in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized.”

He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] is, and should for all time be regarded, first and foremost, as
  • the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant,
  • His most exalted handiwork,
  • the stainless Mirror of His light,
  • the perfect Exemplar of His teachings,
  • the unerring Interpreter of His Word,
  • the embodiment of every Bahá'í ideal,
  • the incarnation of every Bahá'í virtue,
  • the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root,
  • the Limb of the Law of God,
  • the Being "round Whom all names revolve,"
  • the Mainspring of the Oneness of Humanity,
  • the Ensign of the Most Great Peace,
  • the Moon of the Central Orb of this most holy Dispensation –
  • styles and titles that are implicit and find their truest, their highest and fairest expression in the magic name 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • He is, above and beyond these appellations, the "Mystery of God" -- an expression by which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has chosen to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized.
- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter of 8 February 1934, published in "The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh - Selected Letters")

November 24, 2017

A “faint reflection” of God’s “Reality” within Baha’u’llah was revealed to humanity during Baha’u’llah’s Ministry

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’)

November 23, 2017

Knowledge – some traditions about, quoted and confirmed by Baha’u’llah

  • Knowledge is a light which God sheddeth into the heart of whomsoever He willeth. (A tradition quoted and confirmed  by Baha’u’llah in ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
  • Knowledge is one point, which the foolish have multiplied. (A saying quoted and confirmed by Baha’u’llah in ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
  • Knowledge is all that is knowable; and might and power, all creation. (A tradition quoted and confirmed  by Baha’u’llah in ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
  • All human attainment moveth upon a lame ass, whilst Truth, riding upon the wind, darteth across space. (A statement by Muhammad quoted and confirmed by Baha’u’llah in the Kitab-i-Iqan’)

November 21, 2017

The book of "Gleanings" – gives us a “true and adequate knowledge of the Cause”

A true and adequate knowledge of the Cause is, indeed, indispensable to every one who wishes to successfully teach the Message. The book of "Gleanings" gives the friends a splendid opportunity to acquire this necessary knowledge and understanding. It gives them, in addition, that inspiration and spiritual fervour which the reading of the Holy Words can alone impart. 
- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 2 December 1935 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)

November 16, 2017

The “body is like a horse which carries the personality and spirit”

He is delighted to hear you are now fully recovered and again active in your important work for the Cause. However, you should not neglect your health, but consider it the means which enables you to serve. It -- the body -- is like a horse which carries the personality and spirit, and as such should be well cared for so it can do its work! You should certainly safeguard your nerves, and force yourself to take time, and not only for prayer and meditation, but for real rest and relaxation. We don't have to pray and meditate for hours in order to be spiritual. 
- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 23 November 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude)

November 14, 2017

The “curtain of greed”

O ye Sons of Intelligence! The thin eyelid prevents the eye from seeing the world and what is contained therein. Then think of the result when the curtain of greed covers the sight of the heart. Say, O People! The darkness of greed and envy obscures the light of the soul as the cloud prevents the penetration of the sun's rays. Should one listen with the ear of intelligence to this Utterance, he shall spread the wings of freedom and soar with great joy toward the heaven of understanding. 
- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 1, March 21, 1910)

November 11, 2017

An obelisk marking the site of the future House of Worship on Mount Carmel

A Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is to be raised on a site Shoghi Effendi described as “the head of the Mountain of God, in close proximity to the Spot hallowed by the footsteps of Bahá'u'lláh, near the time-honoured Cave of Elijah, and associated with the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel” (Footnote to a message from the Universal House of Justice dated 5 June, 1975; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1863-1986’). The Universal House of Justice had earlier announced the erection of an obelisk marking the site of the future House of Worship in its cable of 13 December 1971.

November 8, 2017

The Institution of the Mashriqu’l- Adhkár: “the Dawning-place of the Praise of God” -- some insights from ‘Abdu’l-Baha

The Baha'i House of Worship in Battambang, 
Cambodia dedicated in September 2017
‘Abdu’l-Bahá elaborates on the importance of this institution, referring to the Mashriqu’l- Adhkár as “the lodestone of divine confirmations” and “the mighty foundation of the Lord, the firm pillar of the Faith of God”. In the same Tablet, He states that the establishment of the House of Worship “is a means for the exaltation of the Word of God” and that the “praise and glorification emanating from it cheereth the heart of every righteous soul”. He thus exhorts the friends to “be occupied therein with prayer and the worship of God, the recitation of the verses and words of God, and the chanting of heavenly odes in glorification of the All-Merciful”.

Elsewhere, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes the House of Worship as “a centre wherein the spirits are gladdened and the hearts attracted to the Abhá Kingdom” and avers that it has “a powerful influence on every phase of life”, awakening the friends and promoting the oneness of humankind. By gathering together in this edifice to make mention of the Lord, “bonds of unity” are forged while affection grows and flourishes “in the human heart”. Indeed, through the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, which “causeth hearts to be illumined, souls to become spiritual, and the fragrances of the Kingdom of Glory to be inhaled”, the world of humanity is “transformed into another world, and the susceptibilities of the heart are heightened to such a degree that they encompass the entire creation”. 
(The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár: A Statement Prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, September 2017)

November 3, 2017

“We should speak in the language of heaven -- in the language of the spirit”

We should speak in the language of heaven -- in the language of the spirit -- for there is a language of the spirit and heart. It is as different from our language as our own language is different from that of the animals, who express themselves only by cries and sounds. It is the language of the spirit which speaks to God. When, in prayer, we are freed from all outward things and turn to God, then it is as if in our hearts we hear the voice of God. Without words we speak, we communicate, we converse with God and hear the answer. ... All of us, when we attain to a truly spiritual condition, can hear the Voice of God. 
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk reported by Ethel J. Rosenberg; ‘Baha'u'llah and the New Era’, by Dr. J.E. Esslemont)   

November 1, 2017

How does Prophet “know” about immortality? – ‘Abdu’l-Baha was asked

Question: "Science denies immortality. How does the prophet know the contrary?"

The Master said: "Science does not know; but the Manifestation makes discoveries with the power of the Spirit. For instance: a philosopher with induction finds out a way. But the prophet discerns with sight. A blind man has to find his way with a stick from point to point; so a philosopher through arguments from premises goes to conclusions, and not by sight. But the Manifestations see with their inner eye (own eye); they do not go from premises to conclusions. The prophets see many things with their inner eye. They do not need to go by discoveries. The scientist with induction is like a blind man who cannot see two steps ahead of him. The prophet sees a long distance.''
- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, recorded by Ann Kunz, Haifa, 1921; Star of the West, vol. 13, no. 6, September 1922)