The Cause Has the Spiritual Power to Re-Create Us

The believers, as we all know, should endeavour to set such an example in their personal lives and conduct that others will feel impelled to embrace a Faith which reforms human character. However, unfortunately, not everyone achieves easily and rapidly the victory over self. What every believer, new or old, should realize is that the Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us if we make the effort to let that power influence us, and greatest help in this respect is prayer. We must supplicate Baha’u’llah to assist us to overcome the failings in our own characters, and also exert our own will-power in mastering ourselves. (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer dated 27 January, 1945 in Compilation: Excellence in All Things, p. 16)

Purpose of this life

In considering the effect of obedience to the laws (of Bahá'u'lláh) on individual lives, one must remember that the purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next. Here one must learn to control and direct, one's animal impulses, not to be a slave to them. Life in this world is a succession of tests and achievements, of falling short and of making new spiritual advances. Sometimes the course may seem very hard, but one can witness, again and again, that the soul who steadfastly obeys the law of Bahá'u'lláh, however hard it may seem, grows spiritually, while the one who compromises with the law for the sake of his own apparent happiness is seen to have been following a chimera: he does not attain the happiness he sought, he retards his spiritual advance and often brings new problems upon himself. (The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 232)

The meaning of the Word of God can never be exhausted

“Know assuredly that just as thou firmly believest that the Word of God, exalted be His glory, endureth for ever, thou must, likewise, believe with undoubting faith that its meaning can never be exhausted. They who are its appointed interpreters, they whose hearts are the repositories of its secrets, are, however, the only ones who can comprehend its manifold wisdom.”  (Baha'u’llah, Gleanings LXXXIX)

Howard Colby Ives' explanation of the secret of power

"I think it is something like this … The Will of God and the will of individual man . . . may, nay must, become identified, become identical. . . . ‘Abdu'l-Baha speaks of losing the self in the Self of God. We must accustom ourselves to the actual doing of this. . . . We cannot think of God's Will as a passive thing any more than we can think of our own will as passive, inert. God's Will is evidenced in nature, in power, in action. To identify our will with His Will is partake of His activity, His Power, His effectiveness. To submit my will to His Will then, carries an implication of marching – wearing -- overcoming. But not marching alone; we march in step with Him. We throw our feeble wills in with His and so become all-conquering as He says we shall. How can the result be other than victory?" (Howard Colby Ives, The Baha’i World 1940-1944)

God, His Manifestations and the “Primal Will of God” – as explained by the Bab

If thou art sailing upon the sea of God's Names, which are reflected in all things, know thou that He is exalted and sanctified from being known through His creatures, or being described by His servants. Everything thou beholdest hath been called into being through the operation of His Will. How can such a created thing, therefore, be indicative of His essential oneness? God's existence in itself testifieth to His Own oneness, while every created thing, by its very nature, beareth evidence that it hath been fashioned by God. Such is the proof of consummate wisdom in the estimation of those who sail the ocean of divine Truth.

If, however, thou art sailing upon the sea of creation, know thou that the First Remembrance, which is the Primal Will of God, may be likened unto the sun. God hath created Him through the potency of His might, and He hath, from the beginning that hath no beginning, caused Him to be manifested in every Dispensation through the compelling power of His behest, and God will, to the end that knoweth no end, continue to manifest Him according to the good-pleasure of His invincible Purpose.

How to view the understanding of other Baha’is with respect to the Faith

A clear distinction is made in our Faith between authoritative interpretation and the interpretation or understanding that each individual arrives at for himself from his study of, its teachings. While the former is confined to the Guardian, the latter, according to the guidance given to us by the Guardian himself, should by no means be suppressed. In fact such individual interpretation is considered the fruit of man's rational power and conducive to a better understanding of the teachings, provided that no disputes or arguments arise among the friends and - the individual himself understands and makes it clear that his views are merely his own. Individual interpretations continually change as one grows in comprehension of the teachings. (The Universal House of Justice, Wellsprings of Guidance, pp .88-89)

Number of Prophets Raised by God

"God hath raised up Prophets and revealed Books as numerous as the creatures of the world, and will continue to do so to everlasting."
(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 125)

Body is like a horse which carries the spirit

“ .. 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." (From a letter dated November 23, 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; printed in Spiritual Foundations compilation pp. 18-1 9)

“You should always bear in mind Baha'u'llah’s counsel that we should take the utmost care of our health, surely not because it is an end in itself, but as a necessary means of serving His Cause.” (From a letter dated July 17, 1937 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; printed in "Selections from Baha'i Writings on Some Aspects of Health and Healing compilation prepared by the Universal House of Justice)

To be infinitely patient with others AND with our poor selves

"We must be patient with others, infinitely patient!, but also with our poor selves, remembering that even the Prophets of God sometimes got tired and cried out in despair! .. He urges you to persevere and add up your accomplishments, rather than to dwell on the dark side of things. Everyone's life has both a dark and bright side. The Master said: ‘turn your back to the darkness and your face to me.’”
(From a letter dated September 22, 1929, written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer; The Unfolding Destiny of the British Baha'i Community, p. 456)

We need to become distinguished from “worldly-minded” people

"The great thing is to 'live the life' - to have our lives so saturated with the Divine teachings and the Baha'i Spirit that people cannot fail to see a joy, a power, a love, a purity, a radiance, an efficiency in our character and work that will distinguish us from worldly-minded people and make people wonder what is the secret of this new life in us.”
(From a letter dated February 14, 1925 written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer; printed in The Baha'i Life p.2)

Our Limited Understanding of the Baha’i Faith

“The Baha’i Faith is the Revelation of Baha’u’llah: His Own Words as interpreted by 'Abdu’l-Baha and the Guardian. It is a revelation of such staggering magnitude that no Baha'i at this early stage in Baha'i history can rightly claim to have more than a partial and imperfect understanding of it.
(The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 389)

Baha’u’llah’s Last Outstanding Tablet

We are told by the beloved Guardian that the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf is "the last outstanding Tablet revealed by the Pen of Bahá'u'lláh."- (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By p.219)
Shoghi Effendi gave the western believers his fifth and last book of translations of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, undertaken during the winter of 1939-40 … The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf was Bahá'u'lláh's last major work and contains a selection from His own Writings made by Himself (surely a unique occurrence in religious history!) during the last two years of His life and has therefore a special position of its own in the literature of our Faith. In a cable shortly prior to its publication Shoghi Effendi said "Devoutly hope its study may contribute further enlightenment deeper understanding verities on which effective prosecution teaching administrative undertakings ultimately depend..." (Ruhiyyih Khanum, The Priceless Pearl, p. 222)

The Best Way for Mothers to Worship God

"O ye loving mothers, know ye that in God's sight, the best of all ways to worship Him is to educate the children and train them in all the perfections of mankind; and no nobler deed than this can be imagined."
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha p.139)

The Baha’i Greeting of Allah-u-Abha

• Allah-u-Abha is an Arabic word that means “God is the Most Glorious or God is All-Glorious.” (Wendy Momen, Baha’i Dictionary, p. 15)

• It is “a form of Bahá'í greeting ..” (Shoghi Effendi, Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand, p. 16) It was during the period in Adrianople after Baha’u’llah’s public proclamation “that the greeting of ‘Allah-u-Abha’ superseded the old salutation of ‘Allah-u-Akbar’ [which the Babis used], and was simultaneously adopted in Persia and Adrianople (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 176)

• “The Bahá'ís are free to greet each other with Allah-u-Abha when they meet, if they want to, but they should avoid anything which to outsiders, in a western country, might seem like some strange Oriental password. We must be very firm on principles and laws, but very normal and natural in our ways, so as to attract strangers.” (Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 3)

Obstacles to Overcome

Now as never before should you strive mightily to free yourselves from the obstacles of apathy, attachment to worldly pursuits, and lethargy ....
(The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 153, 1996 - North America)

'Abdu'l-Baha's initial impression of New York upon His arrival in 1912

I am greatly pleased with the city of New York. Its harbor entrance, its piers, buildings and broad avenues are magnificent and beautiful. Truly, it is a wonderful city. As New York has made such progress in material civilization, I hope that it may also advance spiritually in the Kingdom and Covenant of God so that the friends here may become the cause of the illumination of America, that this city may become the city of love and that the fragrances of God may be spread from this place to all parts of the world.
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 3)

Distinction between the statements issued by the Guardian and those written on his behalf by his secretaries

I wish to call your attention to certain things in "Principles of Bahá'í Administration" which has just reached the Guardian; although the material is good, he feels that the complete lack of quotation marks is very misleading. His own words, the words of his various secretaries, even the Words of Bahá'u'lláh Himself, are all lumped together as one text. This is not only not reverent in the case of Bahá'u'lláh's Words, but misleading. Although the secretaries of the Guardian convey his thoughts and instructions and these messages are authoritative, their words are in no sense the same as his, their style certainly not the same, and their authority less, for they use their own terms and not his exact words in conveying his messages. He feels that in any future edition this fault should be remedied, any quotations from Bahá'u'lláh or the Master plainly attributed to them, and the words of the Guardian clearly differentiated from those of his secretaries.
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, published in The Unfolding Destiny of the British Baha'i Community, p. 259)

A Message from an Enlightened Queen - Queen Marie of Rumania

A woman [Martha Root] brought me the other day a Book. I spell it with a capital letter because it is a glorious Book of love and goodness, strength and beauty. She gave it to me because she had learned I was in grief and sadness and wanted to help. . . . She put it into my hands saying: "You seem to live up to His teachings." And when I opened the Book I saw it was the word of ‘Abdu'l-Baha, prophet of love and kindness, and of his father the great teacher of international good-will and understanding -- of a religion which links all creeds.

Their writings are a great cry toward peace, reaching beyond all limits of frontiers, above all dissension about rites and dogmas. It is a religion based upon the inner spirit of God, upon the great, not-to-be-overcome verity that God is love, meaning just that. It teaches that all hatreds, intrigues, suspicions, evil words, all aggressive patriotism even, are outside the one essential law of God, and that special beliefs are but surface things whereas the heart that beats with divine love knows no tribe nor race.

Which One Is More Important: Teaching Work or Family Responsibilities?

"Therefore it is not so much a matter of which is more important, the teaching work or family and personal responsibilities, but how we can seek a balance in our lives to accomplish both of these sacred tasks. But in addition to the progress and development of the spiritual life of each believer, individually and as a member of a family unit, the foundations of the administrative institutions of the Faith must likewise be continually strenghtened. ..these two goals go hand in hand. .." (Excerpt of a letter from the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, dated April 19, 1979; printed in Duties of an Assembly Member prepared by the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly)