Introducing a new site: Some Readings for Baha’i Holy Days

A start of a gradual process of posting sample references concerning such precious days from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as well as from the letters of Shoghi Effendi, and the House of Justice. The references will be brief, intended to be of assistance for possible inclusion in commemorating such anniversaries. Additional media from other sources  - history, poems, music, videos, excerpts from talks, etc. - may also be included as appropriate. New resources will be posted about 10 days before each anniversary.

“’the society building power’ of the Faith”

“the work of not only this generation, but of many generations to come”

Bahá’u’lláh States that “the purpose for which mortal men have, from utter nothingness, stepped into the realm of being, is that they may work for the betterment of the world and live together in concord and harmony.” He has revealed teachings that make this possible. Building a society that consciously pursues this collective purpose is the work of not only this generation, but of many generations to come, and Bahá’u’lláh’s followers welcome all who labour alongside them in this undertaking.

• It means learning how to raise up vibrant, outward-looking communities;
• it means those communities learning how to bring about spiritual and material progress;
• it means learning how to contribute to the discourses that influence the direction of that progress.
• These areas of endeavour are, naturally, familiar ones. Seen from one perspective, they are quite distinct, each having its own characteristics and imperatives.
• Yet they all represent ways of awakening the energies latent in the human soul and channelling them towards the betterment of society.
• Together, they are means of releasing what the Guardian described as “the society building power” of the Faith.
• This inherent power possessed by the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is visible even in the fledgling efforts of a Bahá’í community learning to serve humanity and promote the Word of God.

And though the world society foreshadowed in His Revelation is of course far distant, communities that are earnestly learning to apply His teachings to their social reality abound. How immensely blessed are those souls who, alive to the greatness of this Day and the significance of their actions, strive for the emergence of a society shaped by the divine teachings. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 31 December, 2021; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Happening as of 2021: “places within a cluster where the society-building power of the Faith is at its most visible”

One’s growth and development in the world of the womb is a metaphoric reminder of the acquisition of virtues to be gained in this life for the next: - ‘Abdu’l-Baha explains

Although a human being acquireth the faculties of sight, hearing, smell, and other human powers, feelings, and perfections in the world of the womb, in that world the means and capacity do not exist for these gifts to be manifested. Indeed, it is in no wise possible for sight or hearing to become evident in the womb. But when the child passeth from the narrow confines of the mother’s womb into this vast and bright world, its eyes will see, its ears will hear, its tongue will speak, and its perfections will become apparent and manifest. It will then know of a certainty—nay, clearly witness—that all these gifts were acquired and obtained in the dark world of the womb, but that world lacked the capacity to disclose these secrets. Indeed, the unborn child itself was utterly unaware of these gifts. Even if Gabriel had descended upon it and informed it that it had been favoured with such grace and bounty in that dark and confined place, the child would have rejected and denied it. Now, in like manner, with regard to the bounties, blessings, gifts, and favours that have been bestowed upon holy souls in this world and the perfections which they have acquired, this world doth not possess the capacity to disclose them. But when those souls pass to the other worlds of God, that supreme bounty will be unveiled and that great mercy will reveal its beauty. Likewise, if a fetus is deprived of these gifts, its deprivation becometh apparent and manifest after its birth. Similarly, the deprivation and deficiencies of wayward souls will also become clear and evident after they have passed away from this world. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

What humanity will witness during the Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh

 During this Formative Age of the Faith, and in the course of present and succeeding epochs,

• the last and crowning stage in the erection of the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh -- the election of the Universal House of Justice -- will have been completed,
• the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Mother-Book of His Revelation, will have been codified and its laws promulgated,
• the Lesser Peace will have been established,
• the unity of mankind will have been achieved and its maturity attained,
• the Plan conceived by 'Abdu'l-Bahá will have been executed,
• the emancipation of the Faith from the fetters of religious orthodoxy will have been effected, and its independent religious status will have been universally recognized,

whilst in the course of the Golden Age, destined to consummate the Dispensation itself,

• the banner of the Most Great Peace, promised by its Author, will have been unfurled,
• the World Bahá'í Commonwealth will have emerged in the plenitude of its power and splendor,
• and the birth and efflorescence of a world civilization, the child of that Peace, will have conferred its inestimable blessings upon all mankind. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 5 June 1947’, ‘Citadel of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Significance of the Formative Age of Our Faith)

1995: Release of The Prosperity of Humankind

23 January 1995

To the National spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá ís throughout the world

Dear Friends,

As the twentieth century rapidly approaches its end, there is a marked acceleration in the efforts of governments and peoples to reach common understandings on issues affecting the future of humankind. The 1992 Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the forthcoming March 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, to be followed in September by the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, are conspicuous indications of this acceleration. These events are as capstones to the myriad activities taking place in different parts of the world involving a wide range of nongovernmental organizations and networks in an urgent search for values, ideas and practical measures that can advance prospects for the peaceful development of all peoples. In this endeavor can be discerned the gathering momentum of an emerging unity of thought in world undertakings, the realization of which our sacred scriptures describe as one of the lights of unity that will illumine the path to peace. The Bahá’ís around the world are, of course, heartened by such hopeful trends and will continue increasingly to lend moral and practical support to them as opportunities allow.

In view of the intensive attention being given to the issues of social and economic development since the Earth Summit in Brazil, we requested the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information to prepare a statement on the concept of global prosperity in the context of the Bahá'í Teachings. This statement is now ready for distribution. We are therefore very pleased to send each of you herewith a copy of The Prosperity of Humankind and to commend it to your use as you pursue activities that enable you to interact with governments, organizations, and people everywhere.

Our confident hope is that the statement will assist you to foster understanding of this important topic among the members of your communities and thus vitalize their contribution to the constructive social processes at work throughout the planet.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

The Universal House of Justice

(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)

2002: Emergence of a New Culture

The culture now emerging is one in which groups of Bahá'u'lláh's followers explore together the truths in His Teachings, freely open their study circles, devotional gatherings and children's classes to their friends and neighbours, and invest their efforts confidently in plans of action designed at the level of the cluster, that makes growth a manageable goal. The enthusiasm with which Bahá'í communities in most parts of the world are responding to this challenge, and the results their efforts are beginning to garner have been a source of great joy to the House of Justice.

…Where Bahá'í communities are unable to free themselves from an orientation to Bahá'í life that has long outlived whatever value it once possessed, the teaching work will lack both the systematic character it requires, and the spirit that must animate all effective service to the Cause. To mistakenly identify Bahá'í community life with the mode of religious activity that characterizes the general society--in which the believer is a member of a congregation, leadership comes from an individual or individuals presumed to be qualified for the purpose, and personal participation is fitted into a schedule dominated by concerns of a very different nature--can only have the effect of marginalizing the Faith and robbing the community of the spiritual vitality available to it.

As you are certainly aware, the Four Year Plan, the Twelve Month Plan and the current Five Year Plan have been designed as progressive steps in achieving this change of Bahá'í culture. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 22 August 2002, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022)