A kindly tongue is

Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil its purpose, your object is attained. If any one should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him.
A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding….

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

Essential characteristic of this world is

We should not, however, forget that an essential characteristic of this world is hardship and tribulation and that it is by overcoming them that we achieve our moral and spiritual development. As the Master says, sorrow is like furrows, the deeper they go the more plentiful are the fruits we obtain.

 (From a letter dated 5 November 1931 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, in Living the Life, p. 7)

O SON OF BEING!

O SON OF BEING!

Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.

The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh

The Divine Polity

Let them beware lest, in their eagerness to further the aims of their beloved

Cause, they should be led unwittingly to bargain with their Faith, to compromise with their essential principles, or to sacrifice, in return for any material advantage which their institutions may derive, the integrity of their spiritual ideals. Let them proclaim that in whatever country they reside, and however advanced their institutions, or profound  their desire to enforce the laws, and apply the principles, enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, they will, unhesitatingly, subordinate the operation of such laws and the application of such principles to the requirements and legal enactments of their respective governments. Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country’s constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government of their respective countries.

Shoghi Effendi: The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh P.66

Political affairs

I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the

importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this principle is no other than that which involves the non-participation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, whether in their individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government. Whether it be in the publications which they initiate and supervise; or in their official and public deliberations; or in the posts they occupy and the services they render; or in the communications they address to their fellow-disciples; or in their dealings with men of eminence and authority; or in their affiliations with kindred societies and organizations, it is, I am firmly convinced, their first and sacred obligation to abstain from any word or deed that might be construed as a violation of this vital principle. Theirs is the duty to demonstrate, on one hand, the nonpolitical character of their Faith, and to assert, on the other, their unqualified loyalty and obedience to whatever is the considered judgment of their respective governments.

Shoghi Effendi: The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh P.65

Nobility.

Anybody can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, health, success, pleasure
and joy; but if one will be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship and prevailing disease, it is the proof of nobility.


Tablets of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá

Make haste to love!

O my Lord, the lamps of guidance have gone out. The flames of passion are mounting high, and malevolence is ever gaining on the world. Malice and hate have overspread the face of the whole earth, and I find no souls except Thine own oppressed small band who are raising up this cry: Make haste to love! Make haste to trust! Make haste to give! To guidance come! Come ye for harmony! To behold the Star of Day!
 Come here for kindliness, for ease! Come here for amity and peace!
 Come and cast down your weapons of wrath, till unity is won!
 Come and in the Lord's true path each one help each one.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

ای صاحبان هوش و گوش اوّل سروش دوست اينست

ای صاحبان هوش و گوش اوّل سروش دوست اينست
 ای بلبل معنوی جز در گلبن معانی جای مگزين و ای هدهد سليمان عشق جز در سبای جانان وطن مگير و ای عنقای بقا جز در قاف وفا محلّ مپذير *
اينست مکان تو اگر بلامکان بپر جان برپری و آهنگ مقام خود رايگان نمائی

حضرت بهاءالله

کلمات مکنونه فارسی

“O SON OF DUST!

“O SON OF DUST!
 All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame.”

Bahá’u’lláh:  The Hidden Words

What profit is there

What profit is there in agreeing that universal friendship is good, and talking of the solidarity of the human race as a grand ideal?
Unless these thoughts are translated into the world of action, they are useless. The wrong in the world continues to exist just because people talk only of their ideals, and do not strive to put them into practice.
If actions took the place of words, the world’s misery would very soon be changed into comfort.
A man who does great good, and talks not of it, is on the way to perfection. The man who has accomplished a small good and magnifies it in his speech is worth very little.

`Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks P.17

You must manifest

You must manifest complete love and affection toward all mankind. Do not exalt yourselves above others, but consider all as your equals, recognizing them as the servants of one God.
Know that God is compassionate toward all; therefore, love all from the depths of your hearts, prefer all religionists before yourselves, be filled with love for every race, and be kind toward the people of all nationalities.
Never speak disparagingly of others, but praise without distinction.
Pollute not your tongues by speaking evil of another.
Recognize your enemies as friends, and consider those who wish you evil as the wishers of good.
You must not see evil as evil and then compromise with your opinion, for to treat in a smooth, kindly way one whom you consider evil or an enemy is hypocrisy, and this is not worthy or allowable.
You must consider your enemies as your friends, look upon your evil-wishers as your well-wishers and treat them accordingly.
Act in such a way that your heart may be free from hatred. Let not your heart be offended with anyone.

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

In quest of God,

Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh

They that valiantly labor in quest of God, will, when once they have renounced all else but Him, be so attached and wedded unto that City, that a moment’s separation from it would to them be unthinkable. They will hearken unto infallible proofs from the Hyacinth of that assembly, and will receive the surest testimonies from the beauty of its Rose, and the melody of its Nightingale. Once in about a thousand years shall this City be renewed and readorned….
That City is none other than the Word of God revealed in every age and dispensation.
In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus, the Gospel; in the days of Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, the Qur’án; in this day, the Bayán; and in the Dispensation of Him Whom God will make manifest, His own Book—the Book unto which all the Books of former Dispensations must needs be referred, the Book that standeth amongst them all transcendent and supreme.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh P.270

A prayer by Bahá’u’lláh

Say: Magnified be Thy Name, O Lord my God!

I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which the splendour of the light of wisdom shone resplendent when the heavens of divine utterance were set in motion amidst mankind, to graciously aid me by Thy heavenly confirmations and enable me to extol Thy Name amongst Thy servants.
O Lord! Unto Thee have I turned my face, detached from all save Thee and holding fast to the hem of the robe of Thy manifold blessings. Unloose my tongue therefore to proclaim that which will captivate the minds of men and will rejoice their souls and spirits.
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.
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

Human utterance

Say: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its influence, this is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are detached and pure. As to its moderation, this hath to be combined with tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets. Meditate upon that which hath streamed forth from the heaven of the Will of thy Lord, He Who is the Source of all grace, that thou mayest grasp the intended meaning which is enshrined in the sacred depths of the Holy Writings.

Bahá’u’lláh 
LAWḤ-I-HIKMAT (Tablet of Wisdom) P.144

Ye were created to show love one to another

O ye beloved of the Lord!

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

For the tongue is

Seeker must, at all times, put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, must 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 vain-glory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk.
For the tongue is a smoldering 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 endureth a century.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh P.265

When a true seeker determineth

When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse 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.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh P.265

Let each morn be better than its eve

Be united in counsel, be one in thought.
Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday. 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’lláhLAWḤ-I-HIKMAT (Tablet of Wisdom) P.139

Ye were created to show love one to another

O ye beloved of the Lord! 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.138

Seek the truth, the truth shall make you free.

It means, also, that we must be willing to clear away all that we have previously learned, all that would clog our steps on the way to truth; we must not shrink if necessary from beginning our education all over again. We must not allow our love for any one religion or any one personality to so blind our eyes that we become fettered by superstition! When we are freed from all these bonds, seeking with liberated minds, then shall we be able to arrive at our goal.
 ‘Seek the truth, the truth shall make you free.’
So shall we see the truth in all religions, for truth is in all and truth is one!

`Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks

‘Search after Truth’

It is imperative that we should renounce our own particular prejudices and superstitions if we earnestly desire to seek the truth. Unless we make a distinction in our minds between dogma, superstition and prejudice on the one hand, and truth on the other, we cannot succeed. When we are in earnest in our  search for anything we look for it everywhere. This principle we must carry out in our search for truth.
Science must be accepted. No one truth can contradict another truth. Light is good in whatsoever lamp it is burning! A rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden it may bloom! A star has the same radiance if it shines from the East or from the West. Be free from prejudice, so will you love the Sun of Truth from whatsoever point in the horizon it may arise! You will realize that if the Divine light of truth shone in Jesus Christ it also shone in Moses and in Buddha. The earnest seeker will arrive at this truth.
This is what is meant by the ‘Search after Truth’.

`Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks

The Search after Truth

Shrine of Baha'ullah

The first principle of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is: The Search after Truth.
If a man would succeed in his search after truth, he must, in the first place, shut his eyes to all the traditional superstitions of the past. The Jews have traditional superstitions, the Buddhists and the Zoroastrians are not free from them, neither are the Christians! All religions have gradually become bound by tradition and dogma.
All consider themselves, respectively, the only guardians of the truth, and that every other religion is composed of errors. They themselves are right, all others are wrong! The Jews believe that they are the only possessors of the truth and condemn all other religions. The Christians affirm that their religion is the only true one, that all others are false. Likewise the Buddhists and Muḥammadans; all limit themselves. If all condemn one another, where shall we search for truth?
All contradicting one another, all cannot be true. If each believe his particular religion to be the only true one, he blinds his eyes to the truth in the others.

Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks

Education and training of children

For the inner reality of man is a demarcation line between the shadow and the light, a place where the two seas meet; 1 it is the lowest point on the arc of descent,  and therefore is it capable of gaining all the grades above. With education it can achieve all excellence; devoid of education it will stay on, at the lowest point of imperfection.
Every child is potentially the light of the world—and at the same time its darkness; wherefore must the question of education be accounted as of primary importance. From his infancy, the child must be nursed at the breast of God’s love,  and nurtured in the embrace of His knowledge, that he may radiate light, grow in spirituality, be filled with wisdom and learning, and take on the characteristics of the angelic host.

Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Service to humanity, an element of Bahá’í life.

Baha’i Houses of Worship

As service to humanity is an element of Bahá’í life in communities everywhere, no matter what their size or means, in communities where a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár emerges, the purpose of its dependencies is to systematize the facilitation of service to the common good by providing centres of education and scientific learning as well as cultural and humanitarian endeavour and by promoting the application of knowledge to serve social and spiritual progress.
Crucially, these two aspects of worship and service cannot be isolated from each other. Until translated and transfused into dynamic and disinterested service to the cause of humanity, the results of worship are limited; the dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár both promote this change and provide channels for it.

The Emergence of Bahá’í Houses of Worship. 
By Ann Boyles.

Set right, O Lord,

Set right, O Lord, such disorders as people stir up, and cause Thy Word to shine resplendent throughout the earth, so that no trace of the ungodly may remain.
I beg forgiveness of Thee, O My Lord, for that which I have uttered in Thy Epistle, and I repent unto Thee. I am but one of Thy servants who give praise to Thee. Glorified art Thou; no God is there but Thee. In Thee have I placed My whole trust and of Thee do I beg pardon for being a suppliant at Thy door. Sanctified is God thy Lord, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, from that which the people wrongfully and without the guidance of His lucid Book, affirm of Him. Peace be upon them that beseech forgiveness from God thy Lord, saying: ‘Verily, praise be unto God, the Lord of the worlds.’

Selections From the Writings of the Báb

Worship, in Bahá’í practice

Bahá’í Houses of worship

Worship, in Bahá’í practice, is simple in form and open to all. In devotional gatherings, which the Universal House of Justice has called seeds of future Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs, any soul may enter, inhale the heavenly fragrances, experience the sweetness of prayer, meditate upon the Creative Word, be transported on the wings of the spirit, and commune with the one Beloved.
In a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, worship is likewise without ritual or set patterns, and the object is the same.
As Shoghi Effendi wrote, the more universal and informal the character of Bahá’í worship in the Temple the better. Sacred scriptures from the Bahá’í Faith and other religions are read or chanted; there is no sermon or lecture, no collection of funds, no instrumental music, and no segregation for any reason such as sex, religion, or caste.

The Emergence of Bahá’í Houses of Worship.
By Ann Boyles.

Cleave unto righteousness

O people of God! Do not busy yourselves in your own concerns; let your thoughts be fixed upon that which will rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts and souls of men.
This can best be achieved through pure and holy deeds, through a virtuous life and a goodly behaviour. Valiant acts will ensure the triumph of this Cause, and a saintly character will reinforce its power.
Cleave unto righteousness, O people of Bahá! This, verily, is the commandment which this Wronged One hath given unto you, and the first choice of His unrestrained Will for every one of you.

Bahá’u’lláh