Abdu'l-Baha's words on the right attitude...

...regarding teaching the Baha'i Faith:


"The Master (Abdu'l-Baha's given name) states there are 3 thoughts that come to a person when one teaches the Cause of God to another. Of these 3 thoughts, 2 are erroneous and will not bear abundant fruit. These are His words:

1." Do not teach the Cause because you think that one's acceptance of Baha'u'llah will be good for that person's soul."
2." Do not teach the Cause because you think that one's acceptance of Baha'u'llah will be good for your soul."
3. " Teach ye the Cause of God only because God exalted in His Glory wishes His creatures to know His Manifestation."

In other words, those who wish to live in the world of the Spiritual Sun, just as those who wish to live in the world of the physical sun, should know the potential and greatness of the sun. Only then can they themselves truly benefit from the sun."

~ Inspiration from a Dear Uncle of mine


"Surely it will require great wisdom to bring this Truth before the world; but we are assured constantly that to him who endeavours to teach for the sake of God only - wisdom will be given in sufficient measure by the Holy Spirit.

"The teacher should teach as though offering a gift to a King, humbly and submissively, not with force of insistence, imperiously - that is strenuously - but with gentleness and sweetness; submitting the argument and truth to the heart and intellect of the hearer as the servant of God, and therefore His servant - taking care at all times to adapt the offered food to the condition and station of the listener, giving milk for babes and meat for those grown stronger."

"This food is to be offered FOR THE SAKE OF GOD ONLY, not for the hearer's sake, not for the benefit of yourself; but simply because God wishes His Manifestations to become known and to become loved by those who come to know Him."

"We are urgently instructed that the only real way to attain growth in the knowledge of the Truth of God, is not hearing but DOING, by being alive with the fire of the love of God and imparting as best as we can to the others the Tidings of the coming of the Kingdom. This is the day of Teaching. We are all commanded to teach, but only in the way and for the purpose above named."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Star of the West, Vol. III, No 19, (March 2, 1913)


"Wholly for the sake of God he should proclaim His Message, and with that same spirit accept whatever response his words may evoke in his hearer."

~ Baha'u'llah (Phâ.t A Di Dà / Buddha Maitreya-Amitabha)

Obedience in the Bahai Faith (contd)

"Devotion to God involves implicit obedience to His revealed Commands even when the reason for these Commands is not understood. The sailor implicitly obeys his captain's orders, even when he does not know the reason for them, but his acceptance of authority is not blind. He knows full well that the captain has served a thorough probation, and given ample proofs of competence as a navigator. Were it not so, he would be foolish indeed to serve under him. So the Bahá'í must implicitly obey the Captain of his Salvation, but he will be foolish indeed if he has not first ascertained that this Captain has given ample proofs of trustworthiness. Having received such proofs, however, to refuse obedience would be even greater folly, for only by intelligent and open-eyed obedience to the wise master can we reap the benefits of his wisdom, and acquire this wisdom for ourselves. Be the captain ever so wise, if none of the crew obey him how shall the ship reach its port or the sailors learn the art of navigation?"

~ Dr. J.E. Esslemont, Baha'u'llah and the New Era, p. 78

The role of judgement in carrying out commands

"Then there is the matter of obeying laws and principles of the Faith when to do so causes one difficulty or even suffering. As I have said, it is often obedience through faith, and accepting unpleasant choices, which make us grow spiritually and morally, and in our understanding. Such obedience also has an effect on the community as a whole. It produces a society which is united, loving, firmly righteous and courageous, but entirely free from "ignorant fanaticism and bigotry". This is the difficult balance: to be firm, to be principled, but not to be fanatical, and not to be bigoted."

~ Mr. Ian Semple on 26 July 1991 in the Reception Concourse of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice in connection with the Spiritual Enrichment Programme at the Baha'i World Centre

The meaning of good deeds

"The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Day Spring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof, hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. Thus hath been decreed by Him Who is the Source of Divine inspiration."
Certainly, it is not the same person author of deeds who can affirm that his deeds are "good". Good deeds are those done in line with the Will of God and inspired by Him."

"After man's recognition of God, and becoming steadfast in His Cause the station of affection, of harmony, of concord and of unity is superior to that of most other goodly deeds."

~ Baha'u'llah (Phâ.t A Di Dà / Buddha Maitreya-Amitabha)

Bliss, Nirvana, Yoga

http://www.dlshq.org/download/blisswithin.htm

"Service, therefore, is a means to attain God-realisation which is the goal of life. Service is a spiritual process of trying to attain God in and through man who is His living temple. Mahatma Gandhi said: 'I am a seeker of Truth; my service to all beings is only my Sadhana in order to attain that Great Reality, God Immanent in man.' Selfless service, therefore, is ultimately Yoga Sadhana. It is new awareness that all Rotarians elevate their service into this higher dimension of the Spirit and thus reap rich benefits while they benefit human society upon the social level, let them benefit upon the inner and higher dimensions upon the spiritual level. Thus society gains through your service. You gain also through your service in an inner and higher spiritual way."

"Our service to man is, therefore, one of the most effective means, most effective unfailing Sadhana for ridding ourselves from this great disease of selfishness which stands between us and God-vision, our great divine destiny, the goal of life."

"Selfless service, therefore, is no less than adorations of the Cosmic Being, immanent in every creature He has created. Through selfless service done with this vision and this feeling, may we elevate ourselves spiritually and come to attain the spiritual consciousness and fulfil our life by attaining Self-realisation or God-realisation."

~ Sri Swami Chidananda

Buddhist quotes

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell."

"If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves."

"Life is dear to all beings. They have the right to live the same as we do."

"In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then Blaise them to be true."

"Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others."

"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it. "

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

"However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?"

"Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity."

"On life's journey Faith is nourishment,
Virtuous deeds are a shelter,
Wisdom is the light by day and Right mindfulness is the protection by night.
If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him;
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom."

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world."

"What we think, we become."

"Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, confidence is the best relationship, Nirvana is the supreme bliss."

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

"There is no way to Happiness, Happiness is The Way."

~ Buddha Gautama

Reflexion on obedience in the Bahai Faith

http://bahai-library.com/talks/semple.obedience.html

Recognizing one's own insufficiency

As soon as a soul begins to wonder, not what he can do to please himself, but what he ought to do; when he allows himself to consider the difference between right and wrong; when he begins to ponder the purpose of his life; when, in other words, he becomes a person of discernment, he has taken the first step away from true godlessness. Truth and Right and Justice and Mercy are Names of God, and whoever seeks those is on the path to seeking God. Many a self-styled atheist is not really an atheist at all; he is merely a person who has seen beyond the superficialities of traditional religion in his search for truth. I think this is what we're seeing happen now in the East. People who are theoretical atheists, many of them, have been at heart truly spiritual people and merely haven't known what they were looking for, and now they're finding it.

When he starts to think in that way, any person, atheist or not, will begin to look around for examples, for patterns of behaviour that are apparently successful and which he can follow to achieve similar success. He will start out with a whole range of behaviour patterns that he has learned from childhood. These he may maintain, or he may discard them for other patterns. But even then, unless he finds a central point of reference outside himself, he will find it very difficult to rise above his current level. It's like pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps-- you just can't do it.

So long as he remains the centre of his own universe, he remains limited by his own nature. Alas, we have all met members of the Baha'i community who have suffered from this limitation. Take, for example, someone who is afire for social justice and who, from his own experience in life and from ideas that he has drawn from others, has evolved a philosophy of social reform that is very close to the teachings of Baha'u'llah. When he meets the Faith, he finds a whole community of people with similar ideas. He declares himself a Baha'i and is registered as a member of the community. If his attraction does not develop into true understanding of the teachings and into obedience to Baha'u'llah, he sooner or later meets with Baha'i teachings which do not fit into his own philosophy, so he challenges them and tries to change the Faith to be closer to his own ideals. He does not succeed, so, in disillusionment, he leaves the Faith and drifts off to link up with others of like mind with whom, in due course, he comes again to disagree. Because he is self-centred he remains alone, in a sense, throughout his life. He may connect with some people but then break up again.

Thus, for the full development of the individual soul, and to enable it to work in harmony with other souls for the evolution of human society, it is essential for each human being to recognize the insufficiency of his own self and to seek a collective centre outside himself (God?).


Validating an external source of authority

To admit that God is God, to accept that one is but a small part of His creation, and to understand that the fruition of the exercise of one's own independent authority is to surrender it to the authority of God, can be a very humbling and painful experience. Once done, however, it brings an accession of joy and strength that can scarcely be imagined, because one ceases to be alone, one becomes a willing integral part of the whole motion of the universe. It is a revelation of the mystery of sacrifice and of the astonishing fact that God is Love.

~ Mr. Ian Semple on 26 July 1991 in the Reception Concourse of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice in connection with the Spiritual Enrichment Programme at the Baha'i World Centre