The institution of marriage – physical aspects, moral and spiritual purposes and functions

The institution of marriage, as established by Bahá'u'lláh, while giving due importance to the physical aspect of marital union, considers it as subordinate to the moral and spiritual purposes and functions with which it has been invested by an all-wise and loving Providence. Only when these different values are given each their due importance, and only on the basis of the subordination of the physical to the moral, and the carnal to the spiritual can such excesses and laxity in marital relations as our decadent age is so sadly witnessing be avoided, and family life be restored to its original purity, and fulfil the true function for which it has been instituted by God. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated 8 May 1939 to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, Divorce)

To “be born again”

Jesus Christ said ‘Ye must be born again’ so that divine Life may spring anew within you. Be kind to all around and serve one another; love to be just and true in all your dealings; pray always and so live your life that sorrow cannot touch you. Look upon the people of your own race and those of other races as members of one organism; sons of the same Father; let it be known by your behaviour that you are indeed the people of God. Then wars and disputes shall cease and over the world will spread the Most Great Peace. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk, September 24th, Clifton, Bristol; ‘London Talks’)

The “two great processes...at work in the world”

We are told by Shoghi Effendi that two great processes are at work in the world: the great Plan of God, tumultuous in its progress, working through mankind as a whole, tearing down barriers to world unity and forging humankind into a unified body in the fires of suffering and experience. This process will produce, in God's due time, the Lesser Peace, the political unification of the world. Mankind at that time can be likened to a body that is unified but without life. The second process, the task of breathing life into this unified body of creating true unity and spirituality culminating in the Most Great Peace is that of the Bahá'ís, who are labouring consciously, with detailed instructions and continuing divine guidance, to erect the fabric of the Kingdom of God on earth, into which they call their fellow-men, thus conferring upon them eternal life.

The working out of God's Major Plan proceeds mysteriously in ways directed by Him alone, but the Minor Plan that He has given us to execute, as our part in His grand design for the redemption of mankind, is clearly delineated. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 8 December 1967 to an individual believer; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986')

One needs to develop divine susceptibilities

... let your faces be more radiant with hope and heavenly determination to serve the Cause of God, to spread the pure fragrances of the divine rose garden of unity, to awaken spiritual susceptibilities in the hearts of mankind, to kindle anew the spirit of humanity with divine fires and to reflect the glory of heaven to this gloomy world of materialism. When you possess these divine susceptibilities, you will be able to awaken and develop them in others. We cannot give of our wealth to the poor unless we possess it. How can the poor give to the poor? How can the soul that is deprived of the heavenly bounties develop in other souls capacity to receive those bounties? Array yourselves in the perfection of divine virtues. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha (From a talk; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

Purpose of religion

Religion should be the means of good fellowship and love. It must upraise the standard of harmony and solidarity. If religion is conducive to hatred and enmity, its existence is harmful to the welfare of the community. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  ('Divine Philosophy')

One's faith embodies three degrees

In reality, faith embodies three degrees: to confess with the tongue; to believe in the heart; to give evidence in our actions. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Quoted in The Baha'i World vol.6, 1934-1936)

How the “grace of God” becomes “revealed” in “the human heart”

…love of God and spiritual attraction do cleanse and purify the human heart and dress and adorn it with the spotless garment of holiness; and once the heart is entirely attached to the Lord, and bound over to the Blessed Perfection, then will the grace of God be revealed. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

“what we have made of our souls”

The troubles of this world pass, and what we have left is what we have made of our souls; so it is to this we must look--to becoming more spiritual, drawing nearer to God, no matter what our human minds and bodies go through. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 5 August 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Living the Life)

“the Teachings of God are as healing balm, a medicine for the conscience of man"

O ye friends of God! True friends are even as skilled physicians, and the Teachings of God are as healing balm, a medicine for the conscience of man. They clear the head, so that a man can breathe them in and delight in their sweet fragrance. They waken those who sleep. They bring awareness to the unheeding, and a portion to the outcast, and to the hopeless, hope. 

- ’Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

“in the sight of God, trustworthiness is the bedrock of His Faith and the foundation of all virtues and perfections”

If a man were to perform every good work, yet fail in the least scruple to be entirely trustworthy and honest, his good works would become as dry tinder and his failure as a soul-consuming fire. If, on the other hand, he should fall short in all his affairs, yet act with trustworthiness and honesty, all his defects would ultimately be righted, all injuries remedied, and all infirmities healed. Our meaning is that, in the sight of God, trustworthiness is the bedrock of His Faith and the foundation of all virtues and perfections. A man deprived of this quality is destitute of everything. What shall faith and piety avail if trustworthiness be lacking? Of what consequence can they be? What benefit or advantage can they confer? Wherefore 'Abdu'l-Bahá counselleth the friends -- nay, rather, fervently imploreth them -- so vigilantly to guard the sanctity of the Cause of God and preserve their own dignity as individuals that all nations shall come to know and honour them for their trustworthiness and integrity. They can render no greater service than this today. To act otherwise would be to take an axe to the root of the Cause of God -- we take refuge with God from this heinous transgression and pray that He will protect His loved ones from committing so flagrant a wrong. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Our physical world is a “shadow” of the world of the Kingdom

Know thou that the Kingdom is the real world, and this nether place is only its shadow stretching out. A shadow hath no life of its own; its existence is only a fantasy, and nothing more; it is but images reflected in water, and seeming as pictures to the eye. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha’)

Will “human souls continue to be conscious one of another after their separation from the body?” – Baha’u’llah explains

And now concerning thy question whether human souls continue to be conscious one of another after their separation from the body. Know thou that the souls of the people of Bahá, who have entered and been established within the Crimson Ark, shall associate and commune intimately one with another, and shall be so closely associated in their lives, their aspirations, their aims and strivings as to be even as one soul. They are indeed the ones who are well-informed, who are keen-sighted, and who are endued with understanding. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

The people of Bahá, who are the inmates of the Ark of God, are, one and all, well aware of one another’s state and condition, and are united in the bonds of intimacy and fellowship. Such a state, however, must depend upon their faith and their conduct. They that are of the same grade and station are fully aware of one another’s capacity, character, accomplishments and merits. They that are of a lower grade, however, are incapable of comprehending adequately the station, or of estimating the merits, of those that rank above them. Each shall receive his share from thy Lord. Blessed is the man that hath turned his face towards God, and walked steadfastly in His love, until his soul hath winged its flight unto God, the Sovereign Lord of all, the Most Powerful, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

The souls of the infidels, however, shall—and to this I bear witness—when breathing their last be made aware of the good things that have escaped them, and shall bemoan their plight, and shall humble themselves before God. They shall continue doing so after the separation of their souls from their bodies. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

“Prayer… transcends all ritualistic forms and formulae”

The important thing that should always be borne in mind is that with the exception of certain specific obligatory prayers, Baha’u’llah has given us no strict or special rulings in matters of worship, whether in the Temple or elsewhere. Prayer is essentially a communion between man and God, and as such transcends all ritualistic forms and formulae.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated June 15, 1935, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Baha’i News, no. 93, July 1935)

The “sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world”

That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error. Each time that Most Mighty Instrument hath come, and that Light shone forth from the Ancient Dayspring, He was withheld by ignorant physicians who, even as clouds, interposed themselves between Him and the world. It failed, therefore, to recover, and its sickness hath persisted until this day. They indeed were powerless to protect it, or to effect a cure, whilst He Who hath been the Manifestation of Power amongst men was withheld from achieving His purpose, by reason of what the hands of the ignorant physicians have wrought. 

- Baha'u'llah  (Tablet to Queen Victoria, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)

Baha’i fasting period: “essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation”

The fasting period, which lasts nineteen days starting as a rule from the second of March every year and ending on the twentieth of the same month, involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset. It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, January 10, 1936; Lights of Guidance)

Baha’i “Fasting is a symbol”

Fasting is a symbol. Fasting signifies abstinence from lust. Physical fasting is a symbol of that abstinence, and is a reminder; that is, just as a person abstains from physical appetites, he is to abstain from self-appetites and self-desires. But mere abstention from food has no effect on the spirit. It is only a symbol, a reminder. Otherwise it is of no importance. Fasting for this purpose does not mean entire abstinence from food. The golden rule as to food is, do not take too much or too little. Moderation is necessary. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, quoted by Miss E. S. Stevens in Fortnightly Review, June 1911; included in ‘Baha'u'llah and the New Era', by Dr. J.E. Esslemont; Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 6, June 24, 1917)

“True joy comes from the tranquility of heart, and this state comes from faith!”

Then He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] spoke at length of the "composure of heart," or "tranquility of the soul." "This", He said, "is a state of true faith which gives man such assurance and conviction of God's bounty, that all the trials and sufferings of this earth cannot affect him." Speaking of true joy and happiness. He said in part: "… True joy comes from the tranquility of heart, and this state comes from faith! Praise be to God who gave us tranquility of heart! This is why we are always happy. I pray and supplicate to the Beauty of Abha to bless all the servants and maid-servants with true happiness resulting from the tranquility of heart." 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, recorded by Ali-Kuli Khan during his pilgrimage in 1906)

How to overcome the tendency of seeing the faults of others

As to backbiting, the House of Justice points out that learning not to concern oneself with the faults of others seems to be one of the most difficult lessons for people to master, and that failing in this is a fertile cause of disputes among Baha'is as it is among men and women in general. In Star of the West. Volume 8, No. 10, on page 138, there is a record of a reply given by 'Abdu'l-Baha in a private interview in Paris in 1913. He was asked “How shall I overcome seeing the faults of others - recognizing the wrong in others?” and He replied: “I will tell you. Whenever you recognize the fault of another, think of yourself: What are my imperfections? - and try to remove them. Thus you will grow, become more perfect. You will overcome self, you will not even have time to think of the faults of others…"

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, 13 August 1980; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

“The Word of God…is the master key for the whole world”

The Word of God is the king of words and its pervasive influence is incalculable. It hath ever dominated and will continue to dominate the realm of being. The Great Being saith: The Word is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked. No sooner had but a glimmer of its effulgent splendour shone forth upon the mirror of love than the blessed word ‘I am the Best-Beloved’ was reflected therein. It is an ocean inexhaustible in riches, comprehending all things. Every thing which can be perceived is but an emanation therefrom. High, immeasurably high is this sublime station, in whose shadow moveth the essence of loftiness and splendour, wrapt in praise and adoration. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

Secret to happiness

Human happiness is founded upon spiritual behaviour … 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

“The Bahá'í Teachings… raise marriage to the status of a divine institution”

The Bahá'í Teachings do not only encourage marital life, considering it the natural and normal way of existence for every sane, healthy and socially-conscious and responsible person, but raise marriage to the status of a divine institution, its chief and sacred purpose being the perpetuation of the human race -- which is the very flower of the entire creation -- and its elevation to the true station destined for it by God. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, dated 15 April 1939; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Preserving Baha’i Marriages)

“there always have been Manifestations of God” [or Prophets]

Regarding your questions: the only reason there is not more mention of the Asiatic Prophets is because Their names seem to be lost in the mists of ancient history. Buddha is mentioned, and Zoroaster, in our Scriptures -- both non-Jewish Prophets or non-Semitic Prophets. We are taught there always have been Manifestations of God, but we do not have any record of Their names. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 October 1950 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Extracts from the Baha’i Writings on Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, and related subjects)

“the nearer you are to Cod, the further you are from the world”

Pray that your hearts may be cut from yourselves and from the world, that you may be confirmed by the Holy Spirit and filled with the fire of the love of Cod. The nearer you are to light, the further you are from the darkness; the nearer you are to heaven, the further you are from the earth; the nearer you are to Cod, the further you are from the world. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha quoted by May Maxwell in ‘An Early Pilgrimage’, 1898)

Harmony of science & religion: -> The creation of a “global civilization which embodies both the spiritual and material dimensions of existence”

With regard to the harmony of science and religion, the Writings of the Central Figures and the commentaries of the Guardian make abundantly clear that the task of humanity, including the Bahá'í community that serves as the "leaven" within it, is to create a global civilization which embodies both the spiritual and material dimensions of existence. The nature and scope of such a civilization are still beyond anything the present generation can conceive. The prosecution of this vast enterprise will depend on a progressive interaction between the truths and principles of religion and the discoveries and insights of scientific inquiry. This entails living with ambiguities as a natural and inescapable feature of the process of exploring reality. It also requires us not to limit science to any particular school of thought or methodological approach postulated in the course of its development. The challenge facing Bahá'í thinkers is to provide responsible leadership in this endeavour, since it is they who have both the priceless insights of the Revelation and the advantages conferred by scientific investigation. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 19 May 1995, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated 13 August 1997)

The “purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next”

In considering the effect of obedience to the laws 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  (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, excerpts from letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies, February 6, 1973; compilations: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

The “world of existence is a single world, although its stations are various and distinct” – including the next world

Your questions, however, can be answered only briefly, since there is no time for a detailed reply. The answer to the first question: the souls of the children of the Kingdom, after their separation from the body, ascend unto the realm of everlasting life. But if ye ask as to the place, know ye that the world of existence is a single world, although its stations are various and distinct. For example, the mineral life occupieth its own plane, but a mineral entity is without any awareness at all of the vegetable kingdom, and indeed, with its inner tongue denieth that there is any such kingdom. In the same way, a vegetable entity knoweth nothing of the animal world, remaining completely heedless and ignorant thereof, for the stage of the animal is higher than that of the vegetable, and the vegetable is veiled from the animal world and inwardly denieth the existence of that world—all this while animal, vegetable and mineral dwell together in the one world. In the same way the animal remaineth totally unaware of that power of the human mind which graspeth universal ideas and layeth bare the secrets of creation—so that a man who liveth in the east can make plans and arrangements for the west; can unravel mysteries; although located on the continent of Europe can discover America; although sited on the earth can lay hold of the inner realities of the stars of heaven. Of this power of discovery which belongeth to the human mind, this power which can grasp abstract and universal ideas, the animal remaineth totally ignorant, and indeed denieth its existence.

In the same way, the denizens of this earth are completely unaware of the world of the Kingdom and deny the existence thereof. They ask, for example: ‘Where is the Kingdom? Where is the Lord of the Kingdom?’ These people are even as the mineral and the vegetable, who know nothing whatever of the animal and the human realm; they see it not; they find it not. Yet the mineral and vegetable, the animal and man, are all living here together in this world of existence. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

Soul and body

The soul of man is the sun by which his body is illumined, and from which it draweth its sustenance, and should be so regarded. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

The world of dreams…

Consider thy state when asleep. Verily, I say, this phenomenon is the most mysterious of the signs of God amongst men, were they to ponder it in their hearts. Behold how the thing which thou hast seen in thy dream is, after a considerable lapse of time, fully realized. Had the world in which thou didst find thyself in thy dream been identical with the world in which thou livest, it would have been necessary for the event occurring in that dream to have transpired in this world at the very moment of its occurrence. Were it so, you yourself would have borne witness unto it. This being not the case, however, it must necessarily follow that the world in which thou livest is different and apart from that which thou hast experienced in thy dream. This latter world hath neither beginning nor end. It would be true if thou wert to contend that this same world is, as decreed by the All-Glorious and Almighty God, within thy proper self and is wrapped up within thee. It would equally be true to maintain that thy spirit, having transcended the limitations of sleep and having stripped itself of all earthly attachment, hath, by the act of God, been made to traverse a realm which lieth hidden in the innermost reality of this world. Verily I say, the creation of God embraceth worlds besides this world, and creatures apart from these creatures. In each of these worlds He hath ordained things which none can search except Himself, the All-Searching, the All-Wise. Do thou meditate on that which We have revealed unto thee, that thou mayest discover the purpose of God, thy Lord, and the Lord of all worlds. 

(Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

The “worst human quality”

Thou hast written regarding thy aims. How blessed are these aims, especially the prevention of back-biting! I hope that you may become confirmed therein, because the worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting; more especially when it emanates from the believers of God. If some means were devised so that the doors of back-biting could be shut eternally and each one of the believers of God unsealed his tongue in the praise of the other, then the teachings of His Holiness Baha’u’llah would be spread, the hearts illumined, the spirits glorified and the human world would attain to everlasting felicity.

I hope that the believers of God will shun completely back-biting, each one praising the other cordially and believe that back-biting is the cause of the Divine wrath, to such an extent that if a person back-bites to the extent of one word, he may become dishonored among all the people, because the most hateful characteristic of man is faultfinding. One must expose the praiseworthy qualities of the souls and not their evil attributes. The friends must overlook their shortcomings and faults and speak only of their virtues and not their defects. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; Baha’i News, no. 46, November 1930)

Worlds of God

As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise… Verily I say, the creation of God embraceth worlds besides this world, and creatures apart from these creatures. In each of these worlds He hath ordained things which none can search except Himself, the All-Searching, the All-Wise. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)