Bahá'u'lláh and the New EraEsslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Religion
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
Esslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Bahai Faith; Bahá'u'lláh, 1817-1892
In the spiritual meetings of Bahá’ís contentious argument and the
discussion of political or worldly affairs must be avoided; the sole aim
of the believers should be to teach and learn Divine Truth, to have their
hearts filled with Divine Love, to attain more perfect obedience to the
Divine Will, and to promote the coming of the Kingdom of God. In an
address given at New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:—
The Bahá’í meeting must be the meeting of the Celestial Concourse.
It must be illumined by the lights of the Celestial Concourse. The
hearts must be as mirrors wherein the lights of the Sun of Truth
shall be revealed. Every bosom must be as a telegraph station: one
terminal of the wire shall be in the bosom of the soul, the other
in the Celestial Concourse, so that messages may be exchanged
between them. In this way from the Abhá Kingdom inspiration shall
flow and in all discussions harmony shall prevail.... The more
agreement, unity and love prevail among you, the more shall the
confirmations of God assist you, and the help and aid of the
Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh, support you.
In one of His Tablets He said:—
In these meetings outside conversation must be entirely avoided,
and the gathering must be confined to chanting the verses and
reading the words, and to matters which concern the Cause of God,
such as explaining proofs, adducing clear and manifest evidences,
and tracing the signs of the Beloved One of the creatures. Those
who attend the meeting must, before entering, be arrayed with the
utmost cleanliness and turn to the Abhá Kingdom, and then enter
the meeting with all meekness and humbleness; and while the
tablets are being read, must be quiet and silent; and if one
wishes to speak he must do so with all courtesy, with the
satisfaction and permission of those present, and do it with
eloquence and fluency.
The Nineteen Day Feast
With the development of the Bahá’í administrative order since the
ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Nineteen Day Feast, observed on the first
day of each Bahá’í month, has assumed a very special importance, providing
as it does not only for community prayer and reading from the Holy Books,
but also for general consultation on all current Bahá’í affairs and for
the association of the friends together. This Feast is the occasion when
the Spiritual Assembly makes its reports to the community and invites both
discussion of plans and suggestions for new and better methods of service.
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár(34)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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