True Bahá'í

The spiritual path of a Bahá'í: to render service to humanity

I am often asked about the nature of the spiritual path of a true Bahá'í?  The answer is to worship by prayer and service. kindness and goodwill.  The spiritual path is always for one's heart to remain in the holy presence of the Glory of God, in prayer, and to ceaselessly render service to humanity.  The Exemplar of this spiritual path was the Master, the Center of the Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá, one of the Sons of Bahá'u'lláh, whose title means "Servant to the Glory of God"

The Master expressly stated His path:

Day by day each member will advance and become more and more spiritual. But ye must have a firm foundation and your aims and ambitions must be clearly understood by each member. They shall be as follows: 

1. To show compassion and goodwill to all mankind.

2. To render service to humanity.

3. To endeavour to guide and enlighten those in darkness.

4. To be kind to everyone, and show forth affection to every living soul.

5. To be humble in your attitude towards God, to be constant in prayer to Him, so as to grow daily nearer to God.

6. To be so faithful and sincere in all your actions that every member may be known as embodying the qualities of honesty, love, faith, kindness, generosity, and courage. To be detached from all that is not God, attracted by the Heavenly Breath -- a divine soul; so that the world may know that a Bahá'í is a perfect being.

Strive to attain this at these meetings. Then, indeed and in truth will ye, the friends of God, come together with great joy! Render help one to the other, become as one man, having reached perfect unity.

    (`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, pp. 73-74)

turning to God was my greatest joy...

There is so much despair in the world today, with everyone searching for happiness in the wrong places. People are lost in their rage, hatred, lust, and confusion yet still they are seeking but cannot seem to find lasting joy. The Baha'i Revelation has the answer.

You see all round you proofs of the inadequacy of material things -- how joy, comfort, peace and consolation are not to be found in the transitory things of the world. Is it not then foolishness to refuse to seek these treasures where they may be found? The doors of the spiritual Kingdom are open to all, and without is absolute darkness. `Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 111.

God is calling to humanity with the divine remedy. But one must recognize the Blessed Beauty if one is to experience this joy of the Kingdom.

I myself was in prison forty years -- one year alone would have been impossible to bear -- nobody survived that imprisonment more than a year! But, thank God, during all those forty years I was supremely happy!

Every day, on waking, it was like hearing good tidings, and every night infinite joy was mine. Spirituality was my comfort, and turning to God was my greatest joy. If this had not been so, do you think it possible that I could have lived through those forty years in prison?

Thus, spirituality is the greatest of God's gifts, and 'Life Everlasting' means 'Turning to God'. May you, one and all, increase daily in spirituality, may you be strengthened in all goodness, may you be helped more and more by the Divine consolation, be made free by the Holy Spirit of God, and may the power of the Heavenly Kingdom live and work among you.  `Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, pp. 111-112.

The conduct of a true Bahá'í

The conduct of a true Bahá'í is to be at all times kind and loving, trustworthy and honorable. This is how to behave towards all, even those who are unjust and one's enemies:

Likewise, they must treat with and behave toward all the governments, nations, communities, kings and subjects with the utmost sincerity, trustworthiness, straightforwardness, love and kindness. Even they must make hopeful a bloodthirsty enemy, show sympathy with the utmost faithfulness and honor to the perfidious unjust, know the ill-wisher as the well-wisher and torment not the sinner with reproaches. Should they become the targets of a thousand arrows of persecution, they must challenge it with love and friendship and treat every one with purity of purpose and kindness. Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá Volume 2, p 436

Even though we may fall short of achieving the level of spirituality espoused by the Master, it is clear that those who would call themselves "Bahá'í" must be prepared to demonstrate the utmost goodwill, kindness, mercy and friendship to everyone we meet.

O ye friends of God! Show ye an endeavor that all the nations and communities of the world, even the enemies, put their trust, assurance and hope in you; that if a person falls into errors for a hundred-thousand times he may yet turn his face to you, hopeful that you will forgive his sins; for he must not become hopeless, neither grieved nor despondent. This is the conduct and the manner of the people of Bahá'í This is the foundation of the most high pathway! Ye should conform your conduct and manners with the advices of Abdu'l-Bahá. Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá Volume 2, p 436

Let us demonstrate by our deeds, in lives of service, who are the true Bahá'ís.

The truth about death teaches us how to live

According to the teachings of the Baha'i Revelation, death is not to be feared. `Abdu'l-Bahá said that we should look forward to death with hope and expectation, as with any other journey.

"In the next world, man will find himself freed from many of the disabilities under which he now suffers. Those who have passed on through death, have a sphere of their own. It is not removed from ours; their work, the work of the Kingdom, is ours; but it is sanctified from what we call 'time and place.' Time with us is measured by the sun. When there is no more sunrise, and no more sunset, that kind of time does not exist for man. Those who have ascended have different attributes from those who are still on earth, yet there is no real separation..."  `Abdu'l-Bahá in London, p. 96.

The process known as death is merely the withdrawal of the soul from the physical mind and body.  During "life", the soul's powers shine upon the body (in the same way the physical sun gives its powers of light and heat to the earth).  The soul never was physically connected to the body or inside the body, and therefore it doesn't leave the body upon death.  Rather, at "death", the soul ceases to have contact with the body, its powers cease to shine upon the physical body and mind, and then the human mind and  body simply pass away.

Having dropped the veil of a physical body, the soul continues its growth in the spiritual worlds.

The primary function of the soul in the physical reality is to grow spiritually by exercising moral decision-making.  Basically, our job in life is to learn to choose and turn towards God.  Only by having a physical mind and body can the soul have a free will and learn to make choices.  The culmination of a life of proper choices is a soul that has fully developed its latent spiritual capacities.  The importance of understanding the teachings on life after death cannot be over-emphasized.  Only by knowing how one's souls will exist in the spiritual world can one recognize how to live in this physical reality.  The truth about death teaches us how to live.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, from Paris Talks, pp. 65-66:

"But if the body undergoes a change, the spirit need not be touched. When you break a glass on which the sun shines, the glass is broken, but the sun still shines! If a cage containing a bird is destroyed, the bird is unharmed! If a lamp is broken, the flame can still burn bright!

"The same thing applies to the spirit of man. Though death destroy his body, it has no power over his spirit -- this is eternal, everlasting, both birthless and deathless. As to the soul of man after death, it remains in the degree of purity to which it has evolved during life in the physical body, and after it is freed from the body it remains plunged in the ocean of God's Mercy.

"From the moment the soul leaves the body and arrives in the Heavenly World, its evolution is spiritual, and that evolution is: The approaching unto God."

Bahá'í healing combines spiritual healing with medical treatment

In Memorials of the Faithful, `Abdu'l-Bahá recounts the sickness of Shaykh Sadiq-i-Yazdi.  The Master said of this man: "His detachment from the things of this world and his attachment to the life of the spirit are indescribable. He was love embodied, tenderness personified. Day and night, he commemorated God. Utterly unconscious of this world and all that is therein, he dwelt continually on God, remaining submerged in supplications and prayers. Most of the time, tears poured from his eyes. The Blessed Beauty singled him out for special favor, and whenever He turned His attention toward Sadiq, His loving-kindness was clear to see." Memorials of the Faithful, p 43.

When Sadiq was ill, to the point of death, from ileus with abdominal pain and swelling, the Master describes what He was told when He described the condition to Bahá'u'lláh."Go," He said. "Place your hand on the distended area and speak the words: 'O Thou the Healer!'" [Ya Shafi].  Memorials of the Faithful, p. 45.  This invocation instantly healed Sadiq.

Bahá'ís believe that all healing comes from God, and that we can be healed by the power of God.  However, we also believe that one should consult with a physician and obtain medical treatment in addition to prayer for spiritual healing because both kinds of healing come by the power of God. "...both kinds of treatment should be followed; they are not contradictory. Therefore thou shouldst also accept physical remedies inasmuch as these too have come from the mercy and favour of God, Who hath revealed and made manifest medical science so that His servants may profit from this kind of treatment also. Thou shouldst give equal attention to spiritual treatments, for they produce marvellous effects." `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections, #133

A Bahá'í prayer for healing:

Thy name is my healing, O my God,
and remembrance of Thee is my remedy.
Nearness to Thee is my hope,
and love for Thee is my companion.
Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor
in both this world and the world to come.
Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

- Bahá'u'lláh

Baha'i teachings on evil: it comes from our selves!

The spiritual teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá reveal the glorious Truth that evil does not exist. In the present environment of terrorism and war, the proper understanding and realization of the Baha'i teachings about evil, Satan, and hell, has the potential to liberate us from fear and create a joyful experience of life as being wholly Good.

Thank thou God for that by reason of which the breath of God hath awakened thee and the spirit of God hath quickened thee and raised thee from among the dead with a joyful spirit of life. (`Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá v1, p. 120)

According to the divine philosophy set forth by `Abdu'l-Bahá, the universe is made of three worlds of God: the World of God, the Kingdom, and Creation. The World of God is the Unknowable Realm of Divinity. The Kingdom is the heavenly spiritual world. The world of Creation is the material word we live in. Our material world imperfectly expresses the names and attributes of God, but that imperfection is by appearance only. Humanity has the capacity to reflect the names and attributes of God by turning towards the Holy Spirit (in the Person of the Manifestation of God). However, because we have animal bodies, we are limited in our capacity to express the names and attributes of God. To the extent that we fail to embody godly attributes and instead display animal traits, then evil appears in us. But it exists by appearance only, and not of reality. God did not create evil, and therefore it does not exist. God created our souls and that creation is perfect. We are created in His image. However, when we identify with our animal bodies, we forget our true selves, and we succumb to evil.

In creation there is no evil; all is good. Certain qualities and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in reality. For example, from the beginning of his life you can see in a nursing child the signs of desire, of anger, and of temper. Then, it may be said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer to this is that desire, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is used suitably. So, if a man has the desire to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous, and just, it is most praiseworthy. If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy.

Then it is evident that in creation and nature evil does not exist at all; but when the natural qualities of man are used in an unlawful way, they are blameworthy. So, if a rich and generous person gives a sum of money to a poor man for his own necessities, and if the poor man spends that sum of money on unlawful things, that will be blameworthy. It is the same with all the natural qualities of man, which constitute the capital of life; if they be used and displayed in an unlawful way, they become blameworthy. Therefore it is clear that creation is purely good. (`Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'i World Faith, p. 320)

There exists only the appearance of evil in the material realm. This is necessarily so, because the material world is the shadow of the Kingdom; its existence is merely the reflection of the Kingdom in matter.

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-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 178)

Thus the Light shines in dark places. The Light exists in Itself, while darkness is merely the absence of Light. In human terms, Satan is the symbol for the lower animal nature of mankind. Satan represents the absence of God. Of course, God is Omnipresent, and therefore there cannot be absence of God. Thus, while satanic evil appears to exist, where God is not seen, satanic evil can not and does not really exist. No thing has true existence unless God created it. God is All-Good. He did not create evil.

The reality underlying this is that the evil spirit, Satan or whatever is interpreted as evil, refers to the lower nature of man. This basic nature is symbolized in various ways. In man there are two expressions; One is the expression of nature, the other the expression of the spiritual realm. The world of nature is defective. Look at it clearly, casting aside all superstition and imagination... God has never created an evil spirit; all such ideas and nomenclature are symbols expressing the mere human or earthly nature of man. It is an essential condition of the soil of earth thorns, weeds and fruitless trees may grow from it. Relatively speaking, this is evil: it is simply the lower state and basic product of nature. (`Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 294-295)

So if God did not create evil, why does it appear? The inescapable and horrible consequence of the teaching that God did not create evil, is that the seeming appearance of evil must have been created by humanity itself. We, ourselves, have created evil.

Every good thing is of God, and every evil thing is from yourselves. Will ye not comprehend? (Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 149)