Selections from the writings of ‘Abdu'l-BaháʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Religion
Selections from the writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Bahai Faith
Divine civilization, however, so traineth every member of society that no
one, with the exception of a negligible few, will undertake to commit a
crime. There is thus a great difference between the prevention of crime
through measures that are violent and retaliatory, and so training the
people, and enlightening them, and spiritualizing them, that without any
fear of punishment or vengeance to come, they will shun all criminal acts.
They will, indeed, look upon the very commission of a crime as a great
disgrace and in itself the harshest of punishments. They will become
enamoured of human perfections, and will consecrate their lives to
whatever will bring light to the world and will further those qualities
which are acceptable at the Holy Threshold of God.
See then how wide is the difference between material civilization and
divine. With force and punishments, material civilization seeketh to
restrain the people from mischief, from inflicting harm on society and
committing crimes. But in a divine civilization, the individual is so
conditioned that with no fear of punishment, he shunneth the perpetration
of crimes, seeth the crime itself as the severest of torments, and with
alacrity and joy, setteth himself to acquiring the virtues of humankind,
to furthering human progress, and to spreading light across the world.
106: AMONG THE GREATEST OF ALL SERVICES THAT CAN POSSIBLY ...
Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to
Almighty God is the education and training of children, young plants of
the Abhá Paradise, so that these children, fostered by grace in the way of
salvation, growing like pearls of divine bounty in the shell of education,
will one day bejewel the crown of abiding glory.
It is, however, very difficult to undertake this service, even harder to
succeed in it. I hope that thou wilt acquit thyself well in this most
important of tasks, and successfully carry the day, and become an ensign
of God’s abounding grace; that these children, reared one and all in the
holy Teachings, will develop natures like unto the sweet airs that blow
across the gardens of the All-Glorious, and will waft their fragrance
around the world.
107: IT IS THE HOPE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ THAT THOSE YOUTHFUL ...
It is the hope of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that those youthful souls in the schoolroom
of the deeper knowledge will be tended by one who traineth them to love.
May they all, throughout the reaches of the spirit, learn well of the
hidden mysteries; so well that in the Kingdom of the All-Glorious, each
one of them, even as a nightingale endowed with speech, will cry out the
secrets of the Heavenly Realm, and like unto a longing lover pour forth
his sore need and utter want of the Beloved.
108: YE SHOULD CONSIDER THE QUESTION OF GOODLY ...
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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