Human world is sick

The body of the human world is sick. Its remedy and healing will be the oneness of the kingdom of humanity.
Its life is the Most Great Peace.
Its illumination and quickening is love.
Its happiness is the attainment of spiritual perfections.

`Abdu'l-Bahá: The Promulgation of Universal Peace

Nations are devoted to conquest and bloodshed

Nations are devoted to conquest and bloodshed, filled with the animus of
religious hatred, seeking the good pleasure of God by killing and destroying those whom in their blindness they consider enemies. How ignorant they are! That which is forbidden by God they consider acceptable to Him.
God is love; God seeketh fellowship, purity, sanctity ; these are the attributes of Divinity. Therefore, these warring, raging nations have arisen against Divinity, imagining they are serving God. What gross ignorance this is! What injustice, blindness and lack of realization!
Briefly, we must strive with heart and soul in order that this darkness of the contingent world may be dispelled, that the lights of the Kingdom shall shine upon all the horizons, the world of humanity become illumined, the image of God become apparent in human mirrors, the law of God be well established and that all regions of the world shall enjoy peace, comfort and composure beneath the equitable protection of God.

`Abdu'l-Bahá:The Promulgation of Universal Peace P. 290

MORTAL RICHES

O YE THAT PRIDE YOURSELVES ON MORTAL RICHES!

Know ye in truth that wealth is a mighty barrier between the seeker and his desire, the lover and his beloved.
The rich, but for a few, shall in no wise attain the court of His presence nor enter the city of content and resignation.
Well is it then with him, who, being rich, is not hindered by his riches from the eternal kingdom, nor deprived by them of imperishable dominion.
By the Most Great Name! The splendor of such a wealthy man shall illuminate the dwellers of heaven even as the sun enlightens the people of the earth!

The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh

So it is with humanity.

 "So it is with humanity.
It is made up of many races, and its peoples are of different colour, white, black, yellow, brown and red—but they all come from the same God, and all are servants to Him.
This diversity among the children of men has unhappily not the same effect as it has among the vegetable creation, where the spirit shown is more harmonious.
Among men exists the diversity of animosity, and it is this that causes war and hatred among the different nations of the world."
Differences which are only those of blood also cause them to destroy and kill one another.
Alas! that this should still be so. Let us look rather at the beauty in diversity, the beauty of harmony, and learn a lesson from the vegetable creation.

`Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks

BEAUTY AND HARMONY IN DIVERSITY

Likewise, when you meet those whose opinions differ from your own, do not turn away your face from them.
All are seeking truth, and there are many roads leading thereto.
Truth has many aspects, but it remains always and forever one.
Do not allow difference of opinion, or diversity of thought to separate you from your fellow-men, or to be the cause of dispute, hatred and strife in your hearts. Rather, search diligently for the truth and make all men your friends.
 Every edifice is made of many different stones, yet each depends on the other to such an extent that if one were displaced the whole building would suffer; if one is faulty the structure is imperfect.
Bahá’u’lláh has drawn the circle of unity, He has made a design for the uniting of all the peoples, and for the gathering of them all under the shelter of the tent of universal unity.
Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks

True liberty consisteth in ...

Say: True liberty consisteth in man’s submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it.Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty.
Happy is the man that hath apprehended the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will that pervadeth all created things.
Say: The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven.

Bahá'u'lláh

Selections From the Writings of the Báb

He is God, the Supreme Ruler, the Sovereign Truth, He Whose help is implored by all. 

GLORIFIED is He to Whom pertaineth the dominion of the heavens and of the earth, in Whose hand lieth the kingdom of all created things and unto Whom shall all return. It is He Who setteth the measure assigned to each and every thing and revealeth His goodly gifts and blessings in His sacred Book for the benefit of those who offer gratitude for His Cause.
Say, this earthly life shall come to an end, and everyone shall expire and return unto my Lord God Who will reward with the choicest gifts the deeds of those who endure with patience. Verily thy God assigneth the measure of all created things as He willeth, by virtue of His behest; and those who conform to the good-pleasure of your Lord, they are indeed among the blissful.
Thy Lord hath never raised up a prophet in the past who failed to summon the people to His Lord, and today is truly similar to the times of old, were ye to ponder over the verses revealed by God...

Selections From the Writings of the Báb

THE NONEXISTENCE OF EVIL

Briefly, the intellectual realities, such as all the qualities and admirable perfections of man, are purely good, and exist. Evil is simply their nonexistence. So ignorance is the want of knowledge; error is the want of guidance; forgetfulness is the want of memory; stupidity is the want of good sense.
All these things have no real existence.
In the same way, the sensible realities are absolutely good, and evil is due to their nonexistence—that is to say, blindness is the want of sight, deafness is the want of hearing, poverty is the want of wealth, illness is the want of health, death is the want of life, and weakness is the want of strength.
The epitome of this discourse is that it is possible that one thing in relation to another may be evil, and at the same time within the limits of its proper being it may not be evil. Then it is proved that there is no evil in existence; all that God created He created good. This evil is nothingness; so death is the absence of life... Darkness is the absence of light...

`Abdu'l-BaháSome Answered Questions

HEALING BY MATERIAL MEANS

... the principal causes of disease are physical, for the human body is composed of numerous elements, but in the measure of an especial equilibrium. As long as this equilibrium is maintained, man is preserved from disease; but if this essential balance, which is the pivot of the constitution, is disturbed, the constitution is disordered, and disease will supervene.
For instance, there is a decrease in one of the constituent ingredients of the body of man, and in another there is an increase; so the proportion of the equilibrium is disturbed, and disease occurs....
When by remedies and treatments the equilibrium is reestablished, the disease is banished...

`Abdu'l-BaháSome: Answered Questions

FREE WILL

Question.—Is man a free agent in all his actions, or is he compelled and constrained?
Answer.—This question is one of the most important and abstruse of divine problems. ... now we will explain it briefly, in a few words, as follows.
Some things are subject to the free will of man, such as justice, equity, tyranny and injustice, in other words, good and evil actions; it is evident and clear that these actions are, for the most part, left to the will of man. But there are certain things to which man is forced and compelled, such as sleep, death, sickness, decline of power, injuries and misfortunes; these are not subject to the will of man, and he is not responsible for them, for he is compelled to endure them.
But in the choice of good and bad actions he is free, and he commits them according to his own will...
For example, if he wishes, he can pass his time in praising God, or he can be occupied with other thoughts. He can be an enkindled light through the fire of the love of God, and a philanthropist loving the world, or he can be a hater of mankind, and engrossed with material things. He can be just or cruel. These actions and these deeds are subject to the control of the will of man himself; consequently, he is responsible for them.

`Abdu'l-Bahá: Some Answered Questions

Fate is of two kinds:

Is the predestination which is mentioned in the Holy Books a decreed thing? If so, is not the effort to avoid it useless?
Answer.—Fate is of two kinds: one is decreed, and the other is conditional or impending. The decreed fate is that which cannot change or be altered, and conditional fate is that which may occur.
So, for this lamp, the decreed fate is that the oil burns and will be consumed; therefore, its eventual extinction is a decree which it is impossible to alter or to change because it is a decreed fate.
 In the same way, in the body of man a power of life has been created, and as soon as it is destroyed and ended, the body will certainly be decomposed, so when the oil in this lamp is burnt and finished, the lamp will undoubtedly become extinguished. But conditional fate may be likened to this: while there is still oil, a violent wind blows on the lamp, which extinguishes it.
This is a conditional fate. It is wise to avoid it, to protect oneself from it, to be cautious and circumspect. But the decreed fate, which is like the finishing of the oil in the lamp, cannot be altered, changed nor delayed. It must happen; it is inevitable that the lamp will become extinguished.

`Abdu'l-Bahá: Some Answered Questions

you must even treat your enemies as ...

You must, therefore, be kind to all men; you must even treat your enemies as your friends.
You must consider your evil-wishers as your well-wishers.
Those who are not agreeable toward you must be regarded as those who are congenial and pleasant so that, perchance, this darkness of disagreement and conflict may disappear from amongst men and the light of the divine may shine forth, so that the Orient may be illumined and the Occident filled with fragrance, nay, so that the East and West may embrace each other in love and deal with one another in sympathy and affection.
Until man reaches this high station, the world of humanity shall not find rest, and eternal felicity shall not be attained.
But if man lives up to these divine commandments, this world of earth shall be transformed into the world of heaven, and this material sphere shall be converted into a paradise of glory.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace P.471

Why do these holy Manifestations of God appear?

Why do these holy Manifestations of God appear? What is the wisdom and purpose of Their coming?
What is the outcome of Their mission?

The holy Manifestations of God come into the world to dispel the darkness of the animal, or physical, nature of man, to purify him from his imperfections in order that his heavenly and spiritual nature may become quickened, his divine qualities awakened, his perfections visible, his potential powers revealed and all the virtues of the world of humanity latent within him may come to life.
These holy Manifestations of God are the Educators and Trainers of the world of existence, the Teachers of the world of humanity.
They liberate man from the darkness of the world of nature, deliver him from despair, error, ignorance, imperfections and all evil qualities.
They clothe him in the garment of perfections and exalted virtues...

`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace P.466

Man is the supreme Talisman!

Man is the supreme Talisman. Lack of a proper education hath, however, deprived him of that which he doth inherently possess.
Through a word proceeding out of the  mouth of God he was called into being; by one word more he was guided to recognize the Source of his education; by yet another word his station and destiny were safeguarded.
The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.

Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of Maqṣúd

O Lord! Unto Thee have I turned my face ...

 "O Lord! Unto Thee have I turned my face, detached from all save Thee and Strengthen me then in Thy Cause in such wise that I may not be hindered by the ascendancy of the oppressors among Thy creatures nor withheld by the onslaught of the disbelievers amidst those who dwell in Thy realm.
Make me as a lamp shining throughout Thy lands that those in whose hearts the light of Thy knowledge gloweth and the yearning for Thy love lingereth may be guided by its radiance.
Unloose my tongue therefore to proclaim that which will captivate the minds of men and will rejoice their souls and spirits.
Verily, potent art Thou to do whatsoever Thou willest, and in Thy grasp Thou holdest the kingdom of creation. There is none other God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Wise."

Bahá’u’lláh, (Tablet of Wisdom) P.152

The essence of charity is

The essence of charity is for the servant to recount the blessings of his Lord, and to render thanks unto Him at all times and under all conditions.

Bahá’u’lláh.

The essence of ...

The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.


Bahá’u’lláh, 

Glory not in love for your country,

Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord!
Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour.
Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures.
Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind.
Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened.
Abase not the station of the learned in Bahá and belittle not the rank of such rulers as administer justice amidst you. Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God.

Bahá'u'lláh, LAWḤ-I-HIKMAT (Tablet of Wisdom) P. 139

Man’s merit lieth in service and ...

Man’s merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches.
Take heed that your words be purged from idle fancies and worldly desires and your deeds be cleansed from craftiness and suspicion.
Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting your personal interest. Be generous in your days of plenty, and be patient in the hour of loss.
Adversity is followed by success and rejoicings follow woe.
Guard against idleness and sloth, and cling unto that which profiteth mankind, whether young or old, whether high or low.
Beware lest ye sow tares of dissension among men or plant thorns of doubt in pure and radiant hearts.

Bahá'u'lláh, LAWḤ-I-HIKMAT (Tablet of Wisdom) P. 139

Forsake all evil ...

O peoples of the world! Forsake all evil, hold fast that which is good. Strive to be shining examples unto all mankind, and true reminders of the virtues of God amidst men.
He that riseth to serve My Cause should manifest My wisdom, and bend every effort to banish ignorance from the earth.
Be united in counsel, be one in thought.
Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday.

Bahá’u’lláh.