“…this age is the age of the revelation of reality…”

April 21, 1912

The Universalist Church
Washington D.C. USA

Whatever the minister has said (in his introductory remarks) is an evidence of high morals and service to the world of humanity, truly commendable and worthy of praise, for it is opposed to natural prejudices which for six thousand years have made unstable the world of humanity. How many wars were fought, how much discord has occurred, how much hatred has appeared amongst mankind. But inasmuch as this age is the age of the revelation of reality, praise be to God! the thoughts are being directed toward reality and the souls are ready for the oneness of the world of humanity. The ocean of truth is surging and the mirage of imitations is day by day passing away. The foundation of the existing religions is one foundation, and that foundation is reality and the cause of unity and love of humanity and the means of the progress of mankind. But after every one of the Divine Manifestations, that light of reality became obscured. The darkness of superstitions and imitations crept in. Darkness befell the world of humanity. Day by day bitterness increased to such a degree that nations became antagonistic, and to such an extent that were it not for political hindrances they would have crushed and annihilated each other.

The “banner of Baha’u’llah will be unfurled, waving toward all regions”

October 5, 1912

San Francisco, California

I have the utmost joy to find in the distant West such an established Baha’i center, where the friends of God have assembled associating with each other in the utmost love. This affords me great joy and I ask God that this revered assemblage may be made the cause of illumining the East and the West. This is my wish, and with the utmost of happiness I am grateful on account of the susceptibilities of your conscience.

Today the people in general are self-occupied. They are engaged either in warfare, or in commercial, political, industrial, or agricultural pursuits. Their interests are of a personal nature; they are thinking of self-aggrandizement, having no desire, no purpose save the acquisition of worldly possessions.

The assemblage in the world which today is thoughtful of God, the assemblage which is occupied with the thought of illumining the world of humanity, the assemblage which is occupied with the mentioning of the Kingdom of God, the assemblage which has as its chief motive the good pleasure of the Lord of Hosts, is verily the assemblage of Baha’is, for they have no intention, aim, or purpose save the attainment of the good pleasure of God, and entrance into the Kingdom of God, and of being the promulgators of the religion of God. They are the spreaders of the fragrances of God. These are the desires of the assemblage of the Baha’is.

Socialism

The principles of socialism are outstripped in the religions of God. For instance, God commands, ‘But [they] prefer them [the poor] before themselves, although there be indigence among them' [Qur'án 59:9]. That is, the believers spend of their substance and share their possessions and prefer others to themselves willingly and with utmost spirituality. Socialists, however, desire to enforce equality and association by compulsion. Although the preference for others which is the exhortation of God is more difficult because the rich are enjoined to prefer others to themselves, this will become common and will be the cause of tranquillity and an aid to the order of the world, because it depends upon the inclination and willingness of the giver. But socialism and egalitarianism, although easier, as those who have are made equal with others, yet such a system will not become widespread and is the cause of disturbance and tumult because it rests on compulsion and coercion.

Meaning of miracles in Scriptures

The Holy Manifestations of God are the source of miracles and wonderful signs. To them even the impossible things are possible, and from them most wonderful things appear, but they have an especial mode of expression.

To them miracles are of no importance. They do not mention them. If miracles were proofs, it would be for those present, not for those who are absent. For example: you might tell a Zoroastrian that wonderful miracles have been performed by Moses and Christ, but he would not believe you; even idolaters say that wonderful things were accomplished by their idols. In India many books are written in which endless miracles are ascribed to the masters. So the Zoroastrian would say: How can I decide which is true? If I accept one, I must accept all, if they rest on this proof.

If miracles are a proof for these who are present, they are no proof for those who are absent; but if the true inner sight is opened at the time of each Manifestation, everything which appears from them is a proof, and no other proof is so important as the Manifestations themselves. For what is the importance of causing the blind to see, if finally through death they must lose their sight? What is the importance of bringing a dead body to life? Being material, it must finally be decomposed. But that which is of importance is to give the sight which is everlasting; is to give the life which is immortal.

This material life even at the time of its existence, is nothingness. For instance: at the time of Christ, people had this life, but He said: ‘Let the dead bury their dead.’ Those who merely lived the physical life were to Christ as though they were dead, for the real life is the life of the spirit, the life eternal.

God’s command: ‘Love One Another’

October 24, 2011

Paris 

An Indian said to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

‘My aim in life is to transmit as far as in me lies the message of Krishna to the world.’

‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: 

The Message of Krishna is the message of love. All God’s prophets have brought the message of love. None has ever thought that war and hate are good. Every one agrees in saying that love and kindness are best.

Love manifests its reality in deeds, not only in words—these alone are without effect. In order that love may manifest its power there must be an object, an instrument, a motive.

There are many ways of expressing the love principle; there is love for the family, for the country, for the race, there is political enthusiasm, there is also the love of community of interest in service. These are all ways and means of showing the power of love. Without any such means, love would be unseen, unheard, unfelt—altogether unexpressed, unmanifested! Water shows its power in various ways, in quenching thirst, causing seed to grow, etc. Coal expresses one of its principles in gas-light, while one of the powers of electricity is shown in the electric light. If there were neither gas nor electricity, the nights of the world would be darkness! So, it is necessary to have an instrument, a motive for love’s manifestation, an object, a mode of expression.

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s first public talk in Canada

September 1, 1912

Montreal

God the Almighty has created all humanity from dust, from the same elements. All are descended from one race and all are created to live on the same earth, under the canopy of the same heaven. As members of humanity He created them sharing the same susceptibilities. As created by Him all are one, without discrimination. He provides for all; He trains all; He protects all; He is kind to all. He has left no difference in His bounties and favors to men. He raised prophets and sent divine teachings. These teachings unite all and generate love in human hearts. He has proclaimed the unity of the world of man. He deprecates all obstacles to unity and commends everything that is conducive to harmony and unity. He admonishes all to establish unity at all levels. All the Prophets of God were raised up to deliver the message of love and unity to the sons of men. All the Books of God were revealed to establish fellowship and union. All the Prophets of God were the servants of truth. All their teachings were the essence of truth. Truth is one; it does not accept multiplicity. Therefore, the foundation of truth of all the religions of God is one.

Yet, alas, blind imitations, which have nothing to do with this truth, have crept in. As these vain practices vary, contention, warfare and bloodshed became rampant and strife prevailed. These are the destroyers of the divine foundation. Men kill one another like beasts and bring desolation to one another's families. God has created man for love. He made love the illumination of the world of man. Love is the cause of the unity of creation. All the prophets were promulgators of love. Man, however, arose against the decree of God and acted contrary to the divine will. For this reason, since the beginning of present history, man has never experienced harmony. Bloodshed and massacre have been rampant among them. The hearts have been suspicious of one another. Man has acted against God's good pleasure. All the wars and massacres of the past have been induced either by religious or racial prejudices or by political and patriotic bias which have made this world a place of constant agony for the sons of man.These prejudices were intense in the Orient, for there was no freedom.

Proofs that human soul is independent of the body and death has no effect on the soul

August 7, 1912, Parsons’ residence

Dublin, New Hampshire, USA

He is God!

We must first prove that there is no annihilation in creation. Annihilation is only the decomposition of elements. For example, all these things we see in existence are made up of elements; that is, single atoms have combined and have formed infinite patterns. Every combination produces an entity. For example, through the combination of certain elements this flower has come into existence. Its annihilation means only the decomposition of this combination, it does not mean the destruction of the individual atoms or principal elements because these remain and will not be destroyed. When we say that this flower is destroyed we mean that its combination is decomposed but the principal elements remain; only their combination is destroyed.

In the same way, man has come into existence as the result of the combination of certain elements. Although his death is the disintegration of these elements, the elements are not annihilated. Therefore, life consists of the combination of elements and death of their dissolution or transference from one state to another. The transference of the vegetable to the animal world is the death of the former. Draw your own conclusions from this. Similarly, the transference of man from this world of matter and the dissolution of his elements constitute human death. Thus, it should be known that for existence there is no death. At most there is a transfer from one state to another. As the soul of man is not the result of composition and does not come into being through the affinity of molecular elements, it is not subject to disintegration. If it were, then we would say the soul has died. But because it is not composed, therefore it cannot be decomposed. And it is clear that even the basic elements are not subject to decomposition as they are not a compound composition. No doubt remains regarding this matter.