در هيچ مذهب و ملّتی اطفال مقصّر نبوده اند؛ «برج بلند استقامت»

حضرت بهاءالله حدود یک قرن و نیم پیش، در اثری عظیم و مُهیمِن، معروف به «لوح رئیس» خطاب به عالی پاشا، صدر اعظم عثمانی، که حضرتشان را با جمعی اطفال و خانواده و اصحابشان به زندان عکا تبعید کرد، چنین می فرمایند:
 «به زَعم تو اين مُحيیِ عالم و مُصلح آن، مُفسد و مُقصّر بوده، جمعی از نِسوان و اطفال صغير و مُرضِعات[زنان شیرده] چه تقصير نموده اند که مَحلِّ سِياطِ قهر و غضب شده اند؟ در هيچ مذهب و ملّتی اطفال مقصّر نبوده اند. قلمِ حُکمِ الهی از ايشان مرتفع شده، ولکن شرارۀ ظلم و اعتساف تو جميع را احاطه نموده. اگر از اهل مذهب و ملّتی، در جميع کتب الهيّه و زبر قيّمه و صُحُفِ مُتقنه بر اطفال تکليفی نبوده و نيست. و از اين مقام گذشته، نفوسی هم که به حق قائل نيستند ارتکاب چنين امور ننموده اند، چه که در هر شیء اثری مشهود و احدی انکارِ آثارِ اشياء ننموده مگر جاهلی که بالمرّه از عقل و درايت محروم باشد. لذا البتّه ناله اين اطفال و حنين اين مظلومان را اثری خواهد بود.»

http://www.noghtenazar15.info/node/1115

Thou beholdest this lifeless one before Thy face;...

O Lord! Thou beholdest this lifeless one before Thy face; suffer him, through Thy generosity and bountiful favour, not to be deprived of the chalice of immortal life. And Thou seest this afflicted one standing before Thy throne; turn him not away from the ocean of Thy healing. I entreat Thee to enable me at all times and under all conditions to remember Thee, to magnify Thy Name and to serve Thy Cause, though I am well aware that whatever proceedeth from a servant cannot transcend the limitations of his soul, nor beseem Thy Lordship, nor be worthy of the court of Thy glory and Thy majesty.
Thy might beareth me witness! Were it not to celebrate Thy praise, my tongue would be of no use to me, and were it not for the sake of rendering service to Thee, my existence would avail me not. But for the pleasure of beholding the splendours of Thy realm of glory, why should I cherish sight? And but for the joy of giving ear to Thy most sweet voice, of what use is hearing?

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh p.113

Deliver me, have mercy upon me,

Deliver me, have mercy upon me, O Thou Whose aid is invoked by all men, O Thou within Whose grasp lie the reins of power over all men and women. Whenever I ponder my grievous shortcomings and my great trespasses, despair assaileth me from every direction, and whenever I pause to meditate upon the ocean of Thy bounteousness and the heaven of Thy grace and the day-star of Thy tender compassion, I inhale the fragrance of hope diffused from right and left, from north and south, as if every created thing imparteth unto me the joyous tidings that the clouds of the heaven of Thy mercy will pour down their rain upon me.
By Thy might, O Thou Who art the Mainstay of the sincere ones and the Desire of them that enjoy near access unto Thee! Thy manifold favours and blessings and the revelations of Thy grace and loving-kindness have truly emboldened me. How, otherwise, can utter nothingness magnify the Name of Him Who hath, by a word, brought creation into being, and how can an evanescent creature extol Him Who hath demonstrated that no description can ever express Him and no word of praise magnify His glory? He hath from everlasting been immeasurably exalted above the understanding of His creatures and sanctified from the conceptions of His servants. O Lord!

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p113

... speech and utterance ...

Blessed is the spot wherein the anthem of His praise is raised, and blessed the ear that hearkeneth unto that which hath been sent down from the heaven of the loving-kindness of thy Lord, the All-Merciful.
Exhort thou the servants of God unto that whereunto We have exhorted thee that they may abstain from whatsoever is forbidden them in the Mother Book. Those who perpetrate deeds that would create turmoil among the people have indeed strayed far from helping God and His Cause and are numbered with the mischief-makers in the Tablet which God hath designated to be the dawning-place of all Tablets.
Say: If it be Our pleasure We shall render the Cause victorious through the power of a single word from Our presence. He is in truth the Omnipotent, the All-Compelling. Should it be God’s intention, there would appear out of the forests of celestial might the lion of indomitable strength whose roaring is like unto the peals of thunder reverberating in the mountains. However, since Our loving providence surpasseth all things, We have ordained that complete victory should be achieved through speech and utterance, that Our servants throughout the earth may thereby become the recipients of divine good. This is but a token of God’s bounty vouchsafed unto them. Verily thy Lord is the All-Sufficing, the Most Exalted.


Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh
(Tablet to Siyyid Mihdíy-i-Dahájí)

THE POWER AND VALUE OF TRUE THOUGHT DEPEND UPON ITS MANIFESTATION IN ACTION

Thoughts may be divided into two classes:
(1st) Thought that belongs to the world of thought alone.
(2nd) Thought that expresses itself in action.
Some men and women glory in their exalted thoughts, but if these thoughts never reach the plane of action they remain useless: the power of thought is dependent on its manifestation in deeds. A philosopher’s thought may, however, in the world of progress and evolution, translate itself into the actions of other people, even when they themselves are unable or unwilling to show forth their grand ideals in their own lives. To this class the majority of philosophers belong, their teachings being high above their actions. This is the difference between philosophers who are Spiritual Teachers, and those who are mere philosophers: the Spiritual Teacher is the first to follow His own teaching; He brings down into the world of action His spiritual conceptions and ideals. His Divine thoughts are made manifest to the world. His thought is Himself, from which He is inseparable. When we find a philosopher emphasizing the importance and grandeur of justice, and then encouraging a rapacious monarch in his oppression and tyranny, we quickly realize that he belongs to the first class: for he thinks heavenly thoughts and does not practise the corresponding heavenly virtues.
This state is impossible with Spiritual Philosophers, for they ever express their high and noble thoughts in actions.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks

... suffering...

‘The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most.’

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks

Pilgrimage: A Sacred Experience

Published on Dec 22, 2012.
 This 1/2 hour film produced at the Baha'i World Centre is an inspirational glimpse into Pilgrimage to the World Centre of the Baha'i Faith in Northern Israel. Includes video of the Baha'i Holy Places and interviews with pilgrims. A great film to prepare for your own pilgrimage or relive the time when you experienced this in person.

Universal peace cannot be accomplished until ?

Question: Is it not a fact that universal peace cannot be accomplished until there is political democracy in all the countries of the world?
Answer: It is very evident that in the future there shall be no centralization in the countries of the world, be they constitutional in government, republican or democratic in form. The United States may be held up as the example of future government—that is to say, each province will be independent in itself, but there will be federal union protecting the interests of the various independent states. It may not be a republican or a democratic form. To cast aside centralization which promotes despotism is the exigency of the time. This will be productive of international peace. Another fact of equal importance in bringing about international peace is woman’s suffrage. That is to say, when perfect equality shall be established between men and women, peace may be realized for the simple reason that womankind in general will never favor warfare. Women will not be willing to allow those whom they have so tenderly cared for to go to the battlefield. When they shall have a vote, they will oppose any cause of warfare. Another factor which will bring about universal peace is the linking together of the Orient and the Occident.

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

No Industrial Slavery

‘Abdu’l-Bahá said at Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1912:
Now I want to tell you about the law of God. According to the divine law, employees should not be paid merely by wages. Nay, rather they should be partners in every work. The question of socialization is very difficult. It will not be solved by strikes for wages. All the governments of the world must be united, and organize an assembly, the members of which shall be elected from the parliaments and the noble ones of the nations. These must plan with wisdom and power, so that neither the capitalists suffer enormous losses, nor the laborers become needy. In the utmost moderation they should make the law, then announce to the public that the rights of the working people are to be effectively preserved; also the rights of the capitalists are to be protected. When such a general law is adopted, by the will of both sides, should a strike occur, all the governments of the world should collectively resist it. Otherwise the work will lead to much destruction, especially in Europe. Terrible things will take place. One of the several causes of a universal European war will be this question.
 The owners of properties, mines and factories, should share their incomes with their employees, and give a fairly certain percentage of their profits to their workingmen, in order that the employees should receive, besides their wages, some of the general income of the factory, so that the employee may strive with his soul in the work.

Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era

The Promulgation of Universal Peace

God has created us all human, and all countries of the world are parts of the same globe. We are all His servants. He is kind and just to all. Why should we be unkind and unjust to each other? He provides for all. Why should we deprive one another? He protects and preserves all. Why should we kill our fellow creatures? If this warfare and strife be for the sake of religion, it is evident that it violates the spirit and basis of all religion. All the divine Manifestations have proclaimed the oneness of God and the unity of mankind. They have taught that men should love and mutually help each other in order that they might progress. Now if this conception of religion be true, its essential principle is the oneness of humanity. The fundamental truth of the Manifestations is peace. This underlies all religion, all justice. The divine purpose is that men should live in unity, concord and agreement and should love one another. Consider the virtues of the human world and realize that the oneness of humanity is the primary foundation of them all. Read the Gospel and the other Holy Books. You will find their fundamentals are one and the same. Therefore, unity is the essential truth of religion and, when so understood, embraces all the virtues of the human world.

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

بی عدالتی در جهان و راه اصلاح آن از منظر آئین مقدّس بهائی

بی عدالتی در جهان و راه اصلاح آن از منظر آئین مقدّس بهائی
حضرت عبدالبهاء می فرمایند:
«...اگرنَفسی انسانی را بکُشد، او را قاتل گویند. امّا اگر خون صد هزار نَفس را بریزد، او را سَروَر دلیران گویند. اگر نَفسی دَه دِرَم از کسی بدزدد، او را سارق گویند. امّا اگر یک مملکت را غارت کند، او را فاتح نامند.اگر یک خانه را آتش زند، او را مُجرِم شمرند. لکن اگر مملکتی را به آتش توپ و تفنگ بسوزاند، جهانگیر گویند. اینها جمیعاً... از عدم ایمان است. زیرا اگر انسان معتقد به عدالت الهی باشد، راضی نمی شود خاطری بیازارد. و به ریختن قطره ای از خون راضی نگردد. بلکه شب و روز می کوشد تا خاطری را مَسرور کند..امید ما(بهائیان) چنانست که وحدت عالَم انسانی انتشار یابد. بُغض و عداوت بین بشر براُفتد. صلح اکبر آشکار گردد. و جمیع ملل با یکدیگر الفت کنند و محفل صلح تشکیل نمایند و...این مشروط وموکول بر این است که صلح پَروَر در دنیا بسیار گردند. مُحِبِ عالم انسانی تزاید یابد. افکار عمومی منعطف به صلح شود. تا از کَثرت مُحبّینِ صلح و صَلاح، ملل و دُوَل مجبور به اتّحاد شوند. محبّت نورانیّت است، بُغض و عداوت ظلمت است.محبّت سبب حیات است، عداوت سبب ممات.البتّه عقلاء حیات را بر ممات ترجیح دهند. اتّحاد را بر اختلاف مُرجّح شمرند. و به جان و دل بکوشند که این ابرهای ظلمانی زائل شود.شمس حقیقت اشراق کند. عالَم عالَم دیگر شود. کُرۀ ارض جنّتی در نهایت طراوت و لطافت گردد. شرق و غرب دست در آغوش یکدیگر کنند.جَنوب و شمال دست به دست یکدیگر دهند تا محبّت حقیقیِ الهی در عالم انسانی جلوه نماید. زیرا محبّت به خَلق خدمت به خدا...»