It is striking how private and personal the most fundamental
spiritual exercises of prayer and meditation are in the Faith. Bahá'ís do, of
course, have meetings for devotions, as in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar or at Nineteen
Day Feasts, but the daily Obligatory Prayers are ordained to be said in the
privacy of one's chamber, and meditation on the Teachings is, likewise, a
private individual activity, not a form of group therapy. In His talks
'Abdu'l-Bahá describes prayer as "conversation with God", and
concerning meditation He says that "while you meditate you are speaking
with your own spirit. In that state of mind you put certain questions to your
spirit and the spirit answers: the light breaks forth and reality is
revealed."
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 1 September 1983 written on behalf of the
Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly)
