December 30, 2017

Teaching the Cause is disseminating the power of the Holy Spirit

Teaching the Cause is disseminating the power of the Holy Spirit, and when you become a teacher of the Cause you become a channel through which the Holy Spirit descends into the world and goes out to those to whom you teach. So actually, the teacher secures greater benefit than the one whom he teaches, because he is then in contact with the power of the Holy Spirit.

December 28, 2017

Baha’i House of Worship in Chicago “marks the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth.”

“A most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of existence,” are ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s own words, predicting the release of spiritual forces that must accompany the completion of this most hallowed House of Worship [Baha’i House of Worship in Chicago]. “From that point of light,” He, further glorifying that edifice, has written, “the spirit of teaching ... will permeate to all parts of the world.” And again: “Out of this Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs will be born.” “It marks the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth.” 
- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated April 11, 1949; ‘Citadel of Faith’)

December 27, 2017

The “attributes of the exalted” - “the hall-mark of the spiritually-minded” – “the requirements of the wayfarers that tread the Path of Positive Knowledge” - identified by Baha’u’llah

…O my brother, when a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days,
  • he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. 
  • He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. 
  • 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. 
  • That seeker must at all times put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. 
  • He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vainglory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence, and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smouldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endure a century.

December 25, 2017

The “historic and heroic services of Ireland in spreading the divine religion throughout pagan Europe” and the challenge Baha’is face now

The holding of this Conference in Dublin calls to mind the historic and heroic services of Ireland in spreading the divine religion throughout pagan Europe.  Europe's response was to develop, through many vicissitudes, the most widespread and effective civilization known. That civilization, together with all other systems in the world, is now being rolled up, and Europe's plight in proportion to her former pre-eminence, is desperate indeed. By the same token her opportunity is correspondingly great. The challenges to her resilience, to her deep-seated spiritual vitality, nourished over the centuries by the Teachings of Christ -- now, alas, neglected and even contemned -- can and must call forth a more magnificent response than was ever made by the divided and contending peoples of olden times. Yours is the task to arouse that response. The power of Baha'u'llah is with you and this Day, as attested by the Bab, is "immensely exalted ... above the days of the Apostles of old." 
- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 2 June 1982 addressed to the friends gathered at the International Conference in Dublin; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

December 22, 2017

The European potentates whom Baha'u'llah addressed

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Napoleon III of France, Czar Alexander II of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, and Pope Pius IX.  
(Footnote to June 2, 1982 message from the Universal House of Justice published in ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

December 20, 2017

December 19, 2017

“…some of the processes that the Universal House of Justice follows when legislating.”

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’)

December 17, 2017

Broad list of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s accomplishments – summarized by the Guardian

Through Him the Covenant, that “excellent and priceless Heritage” bequeathed by the Author of the Bahá’í Revelation, had been proclaimed, championed and vindicated.
  • Through the power which that Divine Instrument had conferred upon Him the light of God’s infant Faith had penetrated the West, had diffused itself as far as the Islands of the Pacific, and illumined the fringes of the Australian continent.
  • Through His personal intervention the Message, Whose Bearer had tasted the bitterness of a life-long captivity, had been noised abroad, and its character and purpose disclosed, for the first time in its history, before enthusiastic and representative audiences in the chief cities of Europe and of the North American continent.
  • Through His unrelaxing vigilance the holy remains of the Báb, brought forth at long last from their fifty-year concealment, had been safely transported to the Holy Land and permanently and befittingly enshrined in the very spot which Bahá’u’lláh Himself had designated for them and had blessed with His presence.
  • Through His bold initiative the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Bahá’í world had been reared in Central Asia, in Russian Turkistán, whilst through His unfailing encouragement a similar enterprise, of still vaster proportions, had been undertaken, and its land dedicated by Himself in the heart of the North American continent.

December 14, 2017

“Just as there are laws governing our physical lives… there are laws governing our spiritual lives.”

Just as there are laws governing our physical lives, requiring that we must supply our bodies with certain foods, maintain them within a certain range of temperatures, and so forth, if we wish to avoid physical disabilities, so also there are laws governing our spiritual lives. These laws are revealed to mankind in each age by Manifestation of God, and obedience to them is of vital importance if each human being, and mankind in general, is to develop properly and harmoniously. Moreover, these various aspects are interdependent. If an individual violates the spiritual laws for his own development he will cause injury not only to himself but to the society in which he lives. Similarly, the condition of society has a direct effect on the individuals who must live within it. 
- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; excerpts to all National Spiritual Assemblies, February, 1973: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973’; Compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

December 12, 2017

Options open to a believer when facing a problem that requires action

Your letter of 14 February 1973 enquiring about the uses of Bahá'í consultation has been received. This is, of course, a matter in which rigidity should be avoided.

When a believer has a problem concerning which he must make a decision, he has several courses open to him. If it is a matter that affects the interests of the Faith he should consult with the appropriate Assembly or committee, but individuals have many problems which are purely personal and there is no obligation upon them to take such problems to the institutions of the Faith; indeed, when the needs of the teaching work are of such urgency it is better if the friends will not burden their assemblies with personal problems that they can solve by themselves.

A Bahá'í who has a problem may wish to make his own decision upon it after prayer and after weighing all the aspects of it in his own mind; he may prefer to seek the council of individual friends or of professional counsellors such as his doctor or lawyer so that he can consider such advice when making his decision; or in a case where several people are involved, such as a family situation, he may want to gather together those who are affected so that they may arrive at a collective decision. There is also no objection whatever to a Bahá'í asking a group of people to consult together on a problem facing him.

December 10, 2017

Prophecies of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – summarized by Shoghi Effendi

the prophecies which the unerring pen of the appointed Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant has recorded.
  • These foreshadow the fierceness of the onslaught that the resistless march of the Faith must provoke in the West, in India and in the Far East when it meets the time-honored sacerdotal orders of the Christian, the Buddhist and Hindu religions.
  • They foreshadow the turmoil which its emancipation from the fetters of religious orthodoxy will cast in the American, the European, the Asiatic and African continents.
  • They foreshadow the gathering of the children of Israel in their ancient homeland;
  • the erection of the banner of Bahá’u’lláh in the Egyptian citadel of Sunní Islám;
  • the extinction of the powerful influence wielded by the Shí’ah ecclesiastics in Persia;
  • the load of misery which must needs oppress the pitiful remnants of the breakers of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant at the world center of His Faith;
  • the splendor of the institutions which that triumphant Faith must erect on the slopes of a mountain, destined to be so linked with the city of Akká that a single grand metropolis will be formed to enshrine the spiritual as well as the administrative seats of the future Bahá’í Commonwealth;
  • the conspicuous honor which the inhabitants of Bahá’u’lláh’s native land in general, and its government in particular, must enjoy in a distant future;
  • the unique and enviable position which the community of the Most Great Name in the North American continent must occupy, as a direct consequence of the execution of the world mission which He entrusted to them;
  • finally they foreshadow, as the sum and summit of all, the “hoisting of the standard of God among all nations” and the unification of the entire human race, when “all men will adhere to one religion ... will be blended into one race, and become a single people.” 
- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

December 8, 2017

The plight of humanity & our response

Humanity is beaten almost to its knees, bewildered and shepherdless, hungry for the bread of life. This is our day of service; we have that heavenly food to offer. The peoples are disillusioned with deficient political theories, social systems and orders; they crave, knowingly or unknowingly, the love of God and reunion with Him. Our response to this growing challenge must be a mighty upsurge of effective teaching, imparting the divine fire which Baha'u'llah has kindled in our hearts until a conflagration arising from millions of souls on fire with His love shall at last testify that the Day for which the Chief Luminaries of our Faith so ardently prayed has at last dawned. 
- The Universal House of Justice  (Ridvan 1982)

December 7, 2017

"Essential virtues" that the American Baha’is are called upon to “increasingly exemplify”

…men and women who, as time goes by, will increasingly exemplify those essential virtues, of self-renunciation, of moral rectitude, of chastity, of undiscriminating fellowship, of holy discipline, and of spiritual insight that will fit them for the preponderating share they will have in calling into being that World Order and that World Civilization of which their country, no less than the entire human race, stands in desperate need." 
- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 25 December 1938, published as ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

December 6, 2017

How to gain “divine knowledge and recognition” – starting with “rational and authoritative arguments”

O thou seeker of the True One! If thou wishest the divine knowledge and recognition, purify thy heart from all beside God, be wholly attracted to the ideal, beloved One; search for and choose Him and apply thyself to rational and authoritative arguments. For arguments are a guide to the path and by this the heart will be turned unto the Sun of Truth. And when the heart is turned unto the Sun, then the eye will be opened and will recognize the Sun through the Sun itself. Then (man) will be in no need of arguments (or proofs), for the Sun is altogether independent, and absolute independence is in need of nothing, and proofs are one of the things (of which absolute independence has no need). Be not like Thomas; be thou like Peter. I hope you will be healed physically, mentally and spiritually. 
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1')

December 4, 2017

The “way of the saints, the emblem of those who believe in the unity of God, and the raiment of the people of Bahá”

Hold thou fast to the Covenant of thy Lord, and as the days go by, increase thy store of love for His beloved ones. Bend thou with tenderness over the servitors of the All-Merciful, that thou mayest hoist the sail of love upon the ark of peace that moveth across the seas of life. Let nothing grieve thee, and be thou angered at none. It behoveth thee to be content with the Will of God, and a true and loving and trusted friend to all the peoples of the earth, without any exceptions whatever. This is the quality of the sincere, the way of the saints, the emblem of those who believe in the unity of God, and the raiment of the people of Bahá. 
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

December 1, 2017

Purpose of Baha’i Administration

We urge you ever to bear in mind that the purpose of Bahá'í administration is primarily to lend strength and directive to the teaching work and to promote the establishment of the Faith. It should never be regarded as an end in itself but purely as a means to canalize and make effective a spiritual vitality generated by the Word of God in the hearts of the believers. 
- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, November 12, 1973; Compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)