Man must show forth fruits. A fruitless man, in the words of His Holiness
the Spirit (i.e. Christ), is like a fruitless tree, and a fruitless tree
is fit for fire.--BAHA'U'LLAH, Words of Paradise.
Herbert Spencer once remarked that by no political alchemy is it possible
to get golden conduct out of leaden instincts, and it is equally true that
by no political alchemy is it possible to make a golden society out of
leaden individuals. Baha'u'llah, like all previous Prophets, proclaimed
this truth and taught that in order to establish the Kingdom of God in the
world, it must first be established in the hearts of men. In examining the
Baha'i teachings, therefore, we shall commence with the instructions of
Baha'u'llah for individual conduct, and try to form a clear picture of
what it means to be a Baha'i.
Living the Life
When asked on one occasion: "What is a Baha'i?" 'Abdu'l-Baha replied: "To
be a Baha'i simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try
to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood." On
another occasion He defined a Baha'i as "one endowed with all the
perfections of man in activity." In one of His London talks He said that a
man may be a Baha'i even if He has never heard the name of Baha'u'llah. He
added:--
The man who lives the life according to the teachings of
Baha'u'llah is already a Baha'i. On the other hand, a man may call
himself a Baha'i for fifty years, and if he does not live the life
he is not a Baha'i. An ugly man may call himself handsome, but he
deceives no one, and a black man may call himself white, yet he
deceives no one, not even himself.
One who does not know God's Messengers, however, is like a plant growing
in the shade. Although it knows not the sun, it is, nevertheless,
absolutely dependent on it. The great Prophets are spirits suns, and
Baha'u'llah is the sun of this "day" in which we live. The suns of former
days have warmed and vivified the world, and had those suns not shone, the
earth would not be cold and dead, but it is the sunshine of today that
alone can ripen the fruits which the suns of former days have kissed into
life.
Devotion to God
In order to attain to the Baha'i life in all its fullness, conscious and
direct relations with Baha'u'llah are as necessary as is sunshine for the
unfolding of the lily or the rose. The Baha'i worships not the human
personality of Baha'u'llah, but the Glory of God manifest through that
personality. He reverences Christ and Muhammad and all God's former
Messengers to mankind, but he recognizes Baha'u'llah as the bearer of
God's Message for the new age in which we live, as the Great World teacher
Who has come to carry on and consummate the work of His predecessors.
Intellectual assent to a creed does not make a man a Baha'i, nor does
outward rectitude of conduct. Baha'u'llah requires of His followers
wholehearted and complete devotion. God alone has the right to make such a
demand, but Baha'u'llah speaks as the Manifestation of God, and the
Revealer of His Will. Previous Manifestations have been equally clear on
this point. Christ said: "If any man come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same
shall save it." In different words, all the Divine Manifestations have
made this same demand from Their followers, and the history of religion
shows clearly that as long as the demand has been frankly recognized and
accepted, religion has flourished, despite all earthly opposition, despite
affliction, persecution and martyrdom of the believers. On the other hand,
whenever compromise has crept in, and "respectability" has taken the place
of complete consecration, then religion has decayed. It has become
fashionable, but it has lost its power to save and transform, its power to
work miracles. True religion has never yet been fashionable. God grant
that one day it may become so; but it is still true, as in the days of
Christ, that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it." The gateway of spiritual birth,
like the gateway of natural birth, admits men only one by one, and without
encumbrances. If, in the future, more people succeed in entering that way
than in the past, it will not be because of any widening of the gate, but
because of a greater disposition on the part of men to make the "great
surrender" which God demands; because long and bitter experience has at
last brought them to see the folly of choosing their own way instead of
God's way.
Search After Truth
Baha'u'llah enjoins justice on all His followers and defines it as:--"The
freedom of man from superstition and imitation, so that he may discern the
Manifestations of God with the eyes of Oneness, and consider all affairs
with keen sight."--Words of Wisdom.
It is necessary that each individual should see and realize for himself
the Glory of God manifest in the human temple of Baha'u'llah, otherwise
the Baha'i faith would be for him but a name without meaning. The call of
the Prophets to mankind has always been that men should open their eyes,
not shut them, use their reason, not suppress it. It is clear seeing and
free thinking, not servile credulity, that will enable them to penetrate
the clouds of prejudice, to shake off the fetters of blind imitation, and
attain to the realization of the truth of a new Revelation.
He who would be a Baha'i needs to be a fearless seeker after truth, but he
should not confine his search to the material plane. His spiritual
perceptive powers should be awake as well as his physical. He should use
all the faculties God has given him for the acquisition of truth,
believing nothing without valid and sufficient reason. If his heart is
pure, and his mind free from prejudice, the earnest seeker will not fail
to recognize the Divine Glory in whatsoever temple it may become manifest.
Baha'u'llah further declares:--
Man should know his own self, and know those things that lead to
loftiness or to baseness, to shame or to honor, to wealth or to
poverty.--Tablet of Tarazat.
The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His
Glory! and this cannot be attained save through the knowledge of
His divine Manifestation.--Words of Wisdom.
The Manifestation is the Perfect Man, the great Exemplar for Mankind, the
First Fruit of the tree of humanity. Until we know Him we do not know the
latent possibilities within ourselves. Christ tells us to consider the
lilies how they grow, and declares that Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. The lily grows from a very unattractive-looking
bulb. If we had never seen a lily in bloom, never gazed on its matchless
grace of foliage and flower, how could we know the reality contained in
that bulb? We might dissect it most carefully and examine it most
minutely, but we should never discover the dormant beauty which the
gardener knows how to awaken. So until we have seen the Glory of God
revealed in the Manifestation, we can have no idea of the spiritual beauty
latent in our own nature and in that of our fellows. By knowing and loving
the Manifestation of God and following His teachings we are enabled,
little by little, to realize the potential perfections within ourselves;
then, and not till then, does the meaning and purpose of life and of the
universe become apparent to us.
Love of God
To know the Manifestation of God means also to love Him. One is impossible
without the other. According to Baha'u'llah, the purpose of man's creation
is that he may know God and adore Him. He says in one of His Tablets:--
The cause of the creation of all contingent beings has been love,
as it is said in the well-known tradition, "I was a hidden
treasure and I loved to be known. Therefore I created the creation
in order to be known."
And in the Hidden Words He says:--
O Son of Being!
Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can
in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.
O Son of the Wondrous Vision!
I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit, that thou
mayest be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken Me and sought a beloved
other than Me?
To be God's lover! That is the sole object of life for the Baha'i. To have
God as his closest companion and most intimate friend, his Peerless
Beloved, in Whose Presence is fullness of joy! And to love God means to
love everything and everybody, for all are of God. The real Baha'i will be
the perfect lover. He will love everyone with a pure heart, fervently. He
will hate no one. He will despise no one, for he will have learned to see
the Face of the Beloved in every face, and to find His traces everywhere.
His love will know no limit of sect, nation, class or race. Baha'u'llah
says:--"Of old it hath been revealed: 'Love of one's country is an element
of the Faith of God.' The Tongue of Grandeur hath ... in the day of His
manifestation proclaimed: 'It is not his to boast who loveth his country,
but it is his who loveth the world.'"--Tablet of the World. And
again:--"Blessed is he who prefers his brother before himself; such an one
is of the people of Baha."--Words of Paradise.
'Abdu'l-Baha tells us we must be "as one soul in many bodies, for the more
we love each other, the nearer we shall be to God." To an American
audience He said:--
Likewise the divine religions of the holy Manifestations of God
are in reality one though in name and nomenclature they differ.
Man must be a lover of the light no matter from what day-spring it
may appear. He must be a lover of the rose no matter what soil it
may be growing. He must be a seeker of the truth no matter from
what source it come. Attachment to the lantern is not loving the
light. Attachment to the earth is not befitting but enjoyment of
the rose which develops from the soil is worthy. Devotion to the
tree is profitless but partaking of the fruit is beneficial.
Luscious fruits no matter upon what tree they grow or where they
may be found must be enjoyed. The word of truth no matter which
tongue utters it must be sanctioned. Absolute verities no matter
in what book they be recorded must be accepted. If we harbor
prejudice it will be the cause of deprivation and ignorance. The
strife between religions, nations and races arises from
misunderstanding. If we investigate the religions to discover the
principles underlying their foundations we will find they agree,
for the fundamental reality of them is one and not multiple. By
this means the religionists of the world will reach their point of
unity and reconciliation.
Again He says:--
Every soul of the beloved ones must love the others and withhold
not his possessions and life from them, and by all means he must
endeavor to make the other joyous and happy. But these others must
also be disinterested and self-sacrificing. Thus may this Sunrise
flood the horizons, this Melody gladden and make happy all the
people, this divine Remedy become the panacea for every disease,
this Spirit of Truth become the cause of life for every soul.
Severance
Devotion to God implies also severance from everything that is not of God,
severance, that is, from all selfish and worldly, and ever other-worldly
desires. The path of God may lie through riches or poverty, health or
sickness, through palace or dungeon, rose garden or torture chamber.
Whichever it be, the Baha'i will learn to accept his lot with "radiant
acquiescence." Severance does not mean stolid indifference to one's
surroundings or passive resignation to evil conditions; nor does it mean
despising the good things which God has created. The true Baha'i will not
be callous, nor apathetic nor ascetic. He will find abundant interest,
abundant work and abundant joy in the Path of God, but he will not deviate
one hair's breadth from that path in pursuit of pleasure nor hanker after
anything that God has denied him. When a man becomes a Baha'i, God's Will
becomes his will, for to be at variance with God is the one thing he
cannot endure. In the path of God no errors can appall, no troubles dismay
him. The light of love irradiates his darkest days, transmutes suffering
into joy, and martyrdom itself into an ecstasy of bliss. Life is lifted to
the heroic plane and death becomes a glad adventure. Baha'u'llah says:--
He that hath in his heart even less than a mustard seed of love
for anything beside Me, verily he cannot enter My
Kingdom.--Suratu'l-Haykal
O Son of Man!
If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou seekest My
pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I
may eternally live in thee.
O My Servant!
Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul
from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to
thee no more.--The Hidden Words.
Obedience
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 Baha'i 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 never so wise, if none
of the crew obey him how shall the ship reach its port or the sailors
learn the art of navigation? Christ clearly pointed out that obedience is
the path of knowledge. He said:--"My doctrine is not mine, but his that
sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."--St. John vii, 16-17.
So Baha'u'llah says: "Faith in God, and the knowledge of Him, cannot be
fully attained except ... by practicing all that He hath commanded and all
that is revealed in the Book from the Pen of Glory."--Tablet of Tajalliyat.
Implicit obedience is not a popular virtue in these democratic days, and
indeed entire submission to the will of any mere man would be disastrous.
But the Unity of Humanity can be attained only by complete harmony of each
and all with the Divine will. Unless that Will be clearly revealed, and
men abandon all other leaders and obey the Divine Messenger, then conflict
and strife will go on, and men will continue to oppose each other, to
devote a large part of their energy to frustrating the efforts of their
brother men, instead of working harmoniously together for the Glory of God
and the common good.
Service
Devotion to God implies a life of service to our fellow- creatures. We can
be of service to God in no other way. If we turn our backs on our
fellowmen, we are turning our backs upon God. Christ said, "Inasmuch as ye
did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me." So
Baha'u'llah says:--"O son of man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy,
forsake the things that profit thee, and cleave unto that which will
profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou
for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself."--Words of Paradise.
'Abdu'l-Baha says:--
In the Baha'i Cause arts, sciences and all crafts are counted as
worship. The man who makes a piece of note- paper to the best of
his ability, conscientiously, concentrating all his forces on
perfecting it, is giving praise to God. Briefly, all effort and
exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is
worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to
do service to humanity. This is worship: to serve mankind and to
minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer. A
physician ministering to the sick, gently, tenderly, free from
prejudice and believing in the solidarity of the human race, is
giving praise.
Teaching
The real Baha'i will not only believe in the teachings of Baha'u'llah, but
find in them the guide and inspiration of his whole life and joyfully
impart to others the knowledge that is the wellspring of his own being.
Only thus will he receive in full measure "the power and confirmation of
the Spirit." All cannot be eloquent speakers or ready writers, but all can
teach by "living the life." Baha'u'llah says:--
The people of Baha must serve the Lord with wisdom, teach others
by their lives, and manifest the light of God in their deeds. The
effect of deed is in truth more powerful than that of words.--Words
of Paradise
The Baha'i will, however, on no account force his ideas on those who do
not wish to hear them. He will attract people to the Kingdom of God, not
try to drive them into it. He will be like the good shepherd who leads his
flock, and charms the sheep by his music, rather than like the one who,
from behind, urges them on with dog and stick.
Baha'u'llah says in the Hidden Words:--
O Son of Dust!
The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing,
even as the cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth
a seeker, and the lover who crieth not out from the depths of his
heart until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved. Wherefore
sow the seeds of wisdom and knowledge in the pure soil of the
heart, and keep them hidden, till the hyacinths of divine wisdom
spring from the heart and not from mire and clay.
Again He says, in the Tablet of I_sh_raqat:--
O people of Baha! Ye are the dawning-places of the Love and
daysprings of the Favor of God. Defile not your tongues with
cursing or execrating anyone, and guard your eyes from that which
is not worthy. Show forth that which ye possess (i.e. Truth). If
it be accepted, the aim is attained. If not, to rebuke or
interfere with him who rejects is vain. Leave him to himself, and
advance towards God, the Protector, the Self-Subsistent. Be not
the cause of sorrow, how much less of sedition and strife! It is
hoped that ye may be nurtured in the shade of the tree of Divine
Bounty and act as God has willed for you. Ye are all leaves of one
tree and drops of one sea.
Courtesy and Reverence
Baha'u'llah says:--
O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy is indeed ...
the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is adorned with the
mantle of Uprightness and illumined with the light of Courtesy. He
who is endowed with Courtesy (or Reverence) is endowed with a
great station. It is hoped that this Wronged One, and all, will
attain to it, hold unto it and observe it. This is the Irrefutable
Command which hath flowed from the pen of the Greatest
Name.--Tablet of the World.
Again and again He repeats:--"Let all the nations of the world consort with
each other with joy and fragrance. Consort ye, O people, with the people
of all religions with joy and fragrance."
'Abdu'l-Baha says in a letter to the Baha'is of America:--
Beware! Beware! Lest ye offend any heart!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye hurt any soul!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye deal unkindly toward any person!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye be the cause of hopelessness to any
creature!
Should one become the cause of grief to any one heart, or of
despondency to any one soul, it were better to hide oneself in the
lowest depths of the earth than to walk upon the earth.
He teaches that as the flower is hidden in the bud, so a spirit from God
dwells in the heart of every man, no matter how hard and unlovely his
exterior. The true Baha'i will treat every man, therefore, as the gardener
tends a rare and beautiful plant. He knows that no impatient interference
on his part can open the bud into a blossom; only God's sunshine can do
that, therefore his aim is to bring that life-giving sunshine into all
darkened hearts and homes.
Again, 'Abdu'l-Baha says:--
Among the teachings of Baha'u'llah is one requiring man, under all
conditions and circumstances, to be forgiving, to love his enemy
and to consider an ill-wisher as a well-wisher. Not that one
should consider another as an enemy and then put up with him ...
and be forbearing toward him. This is hypocrisy and not real love.
Nay, rather, you must see your enemies as friends, your
ill-wishers as well-wishers and treat them accordingly. Your love
and kindness must be real ... not merely forbearance, for
forbearance, if not of the heart, is hypocrisy.
Such counsel appears unintelligible and self-contradictory until we
realize that while the outer carnal man may be a hater and ill-wisher,
there is in everyone an inner, spiritual nature which is the real man,
from whom only love and goodwill can proceed. It is to this real, inner
man in each of our neighbors that we must direct our thought and love.
When he awakens into activity, the outer man will be transformed and
renewed.
The Sin-covering Eye
On no subject are the Baha'i teaching more imperative and uncompromising
than on the requirement to abstain from faultfinding. Christ spoke very
strongly on the same subject, but it has now become usual to regard the
Sermon on the Mount as embodying "Counsels of Perfection" which the
ordinary Christian cannot be expected to live up to. Both Baha'u'llah and
'Abdu'l-Baha are at great pains to make it clear that on this subject They
mean all They say. We read in the Hidden Words:--
O Son of Man!
Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a
sinner. Shouldst thou transgress this command, accursed wouldst
thou be, and to this I bear witness.
O Son of Being!
Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed
to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is My command
unto thee, do thou observe it.
'Abdu'l-Baha tells us:--
To be silent concerning the faults of others, to pray for them,
and to help them, through kindness, to correct their faults.
To look always at the good and not at the bad. If a man has ten
good qualities and one bad one, to look at the ten and forget the
one; and if a man has ten bad qualities and one good one, to look
at the one and forget the ten.
Never to allow ourselves to speak one unkind word about another,
even though that other be our enemy.
To an American friend He writes:--
The worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting, more
especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of
God. If some means were devised so that the doors of backbiting
could be shut eternally, and each one of the believers of God
unsealed his lips in praise of others, then the teachings of His
Holiness Baha'u'llah would be spread, the hearts illumined, the
spirits glorified, and the human world would attain to everlasting
felicity.
Humility
While we are commanded to overlook the faults of others, and see their
virtues, we are commanded, on the other hand, to find out our own faults
and take no account of our virtues. Baha'u'llah says in the Hidden Words:--
O Son of Being!
How couldst thou forge thine own faults and busy thyself with the
faults of others? Whoso doeth this is accursed of Me.
O Emigrants!
The tongue I have designed for the mention of Me, defile it not
with detraction. If the fire of self overcome you, remember your
own faults and not the faults of My creatures, inasmuch as every
one of you knoweth his own self better than he knoweth others.
'Abdu'l-Baha says:--
Let your life be an emanation of the Kingdom of Christ. He came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister.... In the religion of
Baha'u'llah all are servants and maidservants, brothers and
sisters. As soon as one feels a little better than, a little
superior to, the rest, he is in a dangerous position, and unless
he casts away the seed of such an evil thought, he is not a fit
instrument for the service of the Kingdom.
Dissatisfaction with oneself is a sign of progress. The soul who
is satisfied with himself is the manifestation of Satan, and the
one who is not contented with himself is the manifestation of the
Merciful. If a person has a thousand good qualities he must not
look at them; nay, rather he must strive to find out his own
defects and imperfections....However much a man may progress, yet
he is imperfect, because there is always a point ahead of him. No
sooner does he look up towards that point than he become
dissatisfied with his own condition, and aspires to attain to
that. Praising one's own self is the sign of selfishness.--Diary of
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, 1914.
Although we are commanded to recognize and sincerely repent of our sins,
the practice of confession to priests and others is definitely forbidden.
Baha'u'llah says in the Glad Tidings:--
The sinner, when his heart is free from all save God, must seek
forgiveness from God alone. Confession before the servants (i.e.
before men) is not permissible, for it is not the means or the
cause of Divine Forgiveness. Such confession before the creatures
leads to one's humiliation and abasement, and God--exalted by His
Glory--does not wish for the humiliation of His servants. Verily He
is Compassionate and Beneficent. The sinner must, between himself
and God, beg for mercy from the Sea of Mercy and implore pardon
from the Heaven of Forgiveness.
Truthfulness and Honesty
Baha'u'llah says in the Tablet of Tarazat:--
Verily, Honesty is the door of tranquillity to all in the world,
and the sign of glory from the presence of the Merciful One.
Whosoever attains thereto has attained to treasures of wealth and
affluence. Honesty is the greatest door to the security and
tranquillity of mankind. The stability of every affair always
depends on it, and the worlds of honor, glory and affluence are
illumined by its light....
O people of Baha! Honesty is the best garment for your temples and
the most splendid crown for your heads. Adhere thereto by the
Command of the Omnipotent Commander.
Again He says:--"The principle of faith is to lessen words and to increase
deeds. He who words exceed his acts, know verily, that his nonbeing is
better than his being, his death better than his life."
'Abdu'l-Baha says:--
Truthfulness is the foundation of all the virtues of mankind.
Without truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds
are impossible for a soul. When this holy attribute is established
in man, all the other divine qualities will also become realized.
Let the light of truth and honesty shine from your faces so that
all may know that your word, in business or pleasure, is a word to
trust and be sure of. Forget self and work for the whole. (Message
to the London Baha'is, October 1911).
Self-Realization
Baha'u'llah constantly urges men to realize and give full expression to
the perfections latent within them--the true inner self as distinguished
from the limited outer self, which at best is but the temple, and too
often is the prison of the real man. In the Hidden Words He says:--
O Son of Being!
With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of
strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence
of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My
work is perfect and My command is binding. Question it not, nor
have a doubt thereof.
O Son of Spirit!
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty?
Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the
essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou
enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I
molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy
sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee,
mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.
O My Servant!
Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness
of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer's knowledge.
Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy
worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world.
O My Friend!
Thou art the day-star of the heavens of My holiness, let not the
defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend asunder the
veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest
emerge resplendent and array all things with the apparel of life.
The life to which Baha'u'llah calls His followers is surely one of such
nobility that in all the vast range of human possibility there is nothing
more lofty or beautiful to which man could aspire. Realization of the
spiritual self in ourselves means realization of the sublime truth that we
are from God and to Him shall we return. This return to God is the
glorious goal of the Baha'i; but to attain this goal the only path is that
of obedience to His chosen Messengers, and especially to His Messenger for
the time in which we live, Baha'u'llah, the prophet of the New Era.