The statement in the “Gleanings”, p. 64–65, “who out of
utter nothingness…” etc., should be taken in a symbolic and not literal sense.
It is only to demonstrate the power and greatness of God. 
Revelations 3.12, refers to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Greatest Name is the Name of Bahá’u’lláh. “Yá
Bahá’u’l-Abhá” is an invocation meaning: “O Thou Glory of Glories”!
“Alláh-u-Abhá” is a greeting which means: “God the All-Glorious”. Both refer to
Bahá’u’lláh. By Greatest Name is meant that Bahá’u’lláh has appeared in God’s
Greatest Name, in other words, that He is the Supreme Manifestation of God.
There are no Prophets, so far, in the same category as
Bahá’u’lláh, as He culminates a great cycle begun with Adam.
Zoroaster was not Abraham; the Muslims, some of them,
contend that they were the same, but we believe they were two distinct
Prophets. There is a misunderstanding in the reference in “Bahá’í Proofs” to
this matter.
The Buddha was a Manifestation of God, like Christ, but his
followers do not possess his authentic writings.
Confucius was not a Prophet. It is quite correct to say he
is the founder of a moral system and a great reformer.
Concerning your question whether a Bahá’í Burial Service can
be conducted for non-Bahá’ís if requested by them: if non-Bahá’ís desire that
the believers should conduct such a service there is no objection at all.
The sad and sudden crisis that has arisen in connexion with
the ownership of Bahá’u’lláh’s sacred house in Baghdád has sent a thrill of
indignation and dismay throughout the whole of the Bahá’í world. Houses that
have been occupied by Bahá’u’lláh for well nigh the whole period of His exile
in ‘Iráq, ordained by Him as the chosen and sanctified object of Bahá’í
pilgrimage in future, magnified and extolled in countless Tablets and Epistles
as the sacred centre “round which shall circle all peoples and kindreds of the
earth”—lie now, due to fierce intrigue and ceaseless fanatical opposition, at
the mercy of the declared enemies of the Cause.
Entire and selfless devotion is what is most needful. The
brighter our torch burns, the more light will it give and the more readily will
it impart its blaze to others....
Your touching letter has been read by me with deep sympathy
and interest and my prayer will henceforth be offered for you that strength may
be given you to withstand and overcome the trials that are sent you by the All-Wise
for your ultimate deliverance, regeneration and victory. Do not despair,
remember the sufferings of our Beloved and rest assured in my sympathy,
affection and prayers for you. Persevere in your labours for our beloved Cause.
He rejoices to hear that through the influence of your
devout and Christian parents and family your life has been guided by the Hand
of God, until you have now received and accepted the message of God in this Day
and the inspired teachings of the Bahá’í revelation.
Secluded on the heights of a remote and dangerously situated
mountain on the frontiers of the Ottoman and Russian empires; imprisoned within
the solid walls of a four-towered fortress; cut off from His family, His
kindred and His disciples; living in the vicinity of a bigoted and turbulent
community who, by race, tradition, language and creed, differed from the vast
majority of the inhabitants of Persia; guarded by the people of a district
which, as the birthplace of the Grand Vizir, [Hájí Mírzá Aqásí] had been made
the recipient of the special favors of his administration, the Prisoner of
Máh-Kú [the Báb] seemed in the eyes of His adversary to be doomed to languish
away the flower of His youth, and witness, at no distant date, the complete annihilation
of His hopes. That adversary was soon to realize, however, how gravely he had
misjudged both his Prisoner and those on whom he had lavished his favors.
Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter dated June 19th 1926. The sentiment it expressed, the feeling it
revealed, the words used all seemed to go down into one’s heart. Here stands
the Bahá’í Cause with absolute need of true and ardent servants who are ready
to raise its call and invite the heedless people to the acceptance of its
teachings. Few are those who have already taken their allegiance to the Master.
But even smaller in number is that group of those who have also the freedom to
go out and teach it to others.
…he [the governor of Isfahan] succeeded in insuring for Him
[the Báb] a brief respite of four months in the privacy of the Imárat-i-Khurshíd,
the governor’s private residence in Isfáhán. It was in those days that the host
expressed the desire to consecrate all his possessions, evaluated by his
contemporaries at no less than forty million francs, to the furtherance of the
interests of the new Faith, declared his intention of converting Muhammad Sháh,
of inducing him to rid himself of a shameful and profligate minister, [Hájí
Mírzá Aqásí] and of obtaining his royal assent to the marriage of one of his
sisters with the Báb. The sudden death of the Mu’tamíd, [the governor] however,
foretold by the Báb Himself, accelerated the course of the approaching crisis.
Whenever Shoghi Effendi visits the Blessed Shrines, and
kneels at those Sacred Thresholds, he earnestly prays and asks God to help the
friends in this great work and pave the way for their service. Had it not been
for his tremendous work, Shoghi Effendi would have written to the friends
individually and nerved them to action. Yet his correspondence with the
Assemblies does not permit him as yet to attend to the letters of the
individual friends, so he tells us who are around him to take up that part of
his work and put on paper what he communicates to us orally.
Every drop of blood shed by the valiant martyrs, every sigh
heaved by the silent victims of oppression, every supplication for divine
assistance offered by the faithful, has released, and will continue
mysteriously to release, forces over which no antagonist of the Faith has any
control, and which, as marshalled by an All-Watchful Providence, have served to
noise abroad the name and fame of the Faith to the masses of humanity in all
continents, millions of whom had previously been totally ignorant of the
existence of the Faith or had but a superficial, and oft-times erroneous,
understanding of its teachings and history.
A basic and vital requirement of these days is the matter of
educating the boys and girls. One of the duties devolving upon the members of
Spiritual Assemblies is that, with the support of the friends, they should
exert all their powers to establish schools for the instruction of boys and
girls in the things of the spirit, the fundamentals of teaching the Faith,
reading the Sacred Writings, learning the history of the Faith, the secular
branches of knowledge, the various arts and skills, and the different languages
-- so that Bahá'í methods of instruction will become so widely known that
children from every level of society will seek to acquire divine teachings as
well as secular knowledge in Bahá'í schools, and thereby means for the
promotion of the Cause of God will be provided.
If the younger Bahá'í generation, in whom Shoghi Effendi has
great hopes, take the pain of studying the Cause deeply and thoroughly, read
its history, find its underlying principles and become both well informed and energetic,
they surely can achieve a great deal. It is upon their shoulders that the
Master has laid the tremendous work of teaching. They are the ones to raise the
call of the Kingdom and arouse the people from slumber. If they fail the Cause
is doomed to stagnation....
The Sacred Books are full of allusions to this new
dispensation. In the book of Iqán, Bahá'u'lláh gives the key-note and explains
some of the outstanding passages hoping that the frie
…Bahá’ís must draw on a deep understanding of the process by
which humanity’s spiritual life evolves. Bahá’u’lláh’s writings provide
insights that can help to elevate discussion of religious issues above
sectarian and transient considerations. The responsibility to avail oneself of
this spiritual resource is inseparable from the gift of faith itself.
“Religious fanaticism and hatred”, Bahá’u’lláh warns, “are a world-devouring
fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone,
deliver mankind from this desolating affliction.…” Far from feeling unsupported
in their efforts to respond, Bahá’ís will come increasingly to appreciate that
the Cause they serve represents the arrowhead of an awakening taking place
among people everywhere, regardless of religious background and indeed among
many with no religious leaning.
From the point of view of wealth and influence, “the world”
of 1900 was Europe and, by grudging concession, the United States. Throughout
the planet, Western imperialism was pursuing among the populations of other
lands what it regarded as its “civilizing mission”. In the words of one
historian, the century’s opening decade appeared to be essentially a
continuation of the “long nineteenth century”, an era whose boundless
self-satisfaction was perhaps best epitomized by the celebration in 1897 of
Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, a parade that rolled for hours through the
streets of London, with an imperial panoply and display of military power far
surpassing anything attempted in past civilizations.
When it is proposed to put a matter to the vote, a member of
the Assembly may feel that there are additional facts or views which must be
sought before he can make up his mind and intelligently vote on the
proposition. He should express this feeling to the Assembly, and it is for the
Assembly to decide whether or not further consultation is needed before voting.
Whichever obligatory prayer is chosen to be used should be
followed in full. If one cannot perform the postures necessary in connection
with the long obligatory prayer, he may choose another if ill, or just the very
short one.
Shoghi Effendi in "The Promised Day is Come", p.
65, states:
As regards the questions about the proper use of the Long
Obligatory Prayer: All the writings of the Faith may be read and should be read
for the instruction and inspiration of the friends. This includes the specific
prayers. If a believer is physically incapable of performing the genuflexions
accompanying one of the prayers, and yet he longs to say it as an obligatory
prayer, then he may do so. By physically incapable is meant a real physical
incapacity which a physician would attest as genuine.
Bahá'ís should obviously be encouraged to preserve their
inherited cultural identities, as long as the activities involved do not
contravene the principles of the Faith. The perpetuation of such cultural
characteristics is an expression of unity in diversity.
As regards the questions of tribal practice, the Guardian
wishes you to be extremely forbearing and patient in weaning the Bahá'ís away
from their old customs. This can only be done by taking each case individually
as it comes up, using the greatest wisdom and kindness, and not trying
rigorously to impose all Bahá'í laws in every detail at this time.
As the Baha'i Administrative Order rapidly expands
throughout the world it behoves everyone associated with it to familiarize
himself with its principles, to understand its import and to put its precepts
into practice. Only as individual members of Local Spiritual Assemblies deepen
themselves in the fundamental verities of the Faith and in the proper
application of the principles governing the operation of the Assembly will this
institution grow and develop toward its full potential.
In the words of the beloved Guardian: "... when they
are called upon to arrive at a certain decision, they should, after
dispassionate, anxious, and cordial consultation, turn to God in prayer, and
with earnestness and conviction and courage record their vote and abide by the
voice of the majority, which we are told by our Master to be the voice of
truth, never to be challenged, and always to be wholeheartedly enforced."