MARRIAGE
The bond that unites hearts most perfectly is loyalty. True lovers once united must show forth the utmost faithfulness one to another. You must dedicate your knowledge, your talents, your fortunes, your titles, your bodies and your spirits to God, to Bahá'u'lláh and to each other. Let your hearts be spacious, as spacious as the universe of God! "The Great Being saith: The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion. Take ye counsel together in all matters, inasmuch as consultation is the lamp of guidance which leadeth the way, and is the bestower of understanding." ~Bahá’u’lláh Consultation is a powerful tool in overcoming difficulties. Growth and development are often accompanied by difficulties. Difficulties are associated with the immaturity of both individuals and institutions. There are easy steps to follow to achieve a unified consciousness. Look to inspirational teachings and champions for guidance and keep strictly to such a true attitude. Be patient and forbearing towards others, their shortcomings, frailties and peculiarities. Neither approve of the conduct of the fearful who seek to dissemble, nor sanction the behavior of the righteous that clamorously assert their views. Both should observe the dictates of wisdom and strive diligently to serve the best interests of all concerned. Participate. Endeavor to play your full share. Strive to resolve conflicts. Present your views with the utmost devotion, courtesy, dignity, care and moderation. Keep consultation frank and loving. Open expression of feelings, requiring both wisdom and moderation and the honest expression of ideas are fundamental to productive consultation. Balanced consultation, neither too emotional, nor lacking in feeling or too liberal, is instrumental in preserving unity. Strictly avoid criticisms and negative discussions. Accept humble the views of others in the spirit of sacrifice. Stubbornness and persistence will lead ultimately to discord and wrangling and the truth will remain hidden. Be willing to set aside every personal sense of grievance, justified or unjustified, for the sake of unity. When all matters are fully discussed the right way will be revealed. Whole heartedly accept and adhere to the collective advice or decision. "Consultation bestoweth greater awareness and transmuteth conjecture into certitude. It is a shining light which, in a dark world, leadeth the way and guideth. For everything there is and will continue to be a station of perfection and maturity. The maturity of the gift of understanding is made manifest through consultation." ~Bahá’u’lláh The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes is essential to human progress and the transformation of society. Inequality retards not only the advancement of women but the progress of civilization itself. The persistent denial of equality to one-half of the world's population is an affront to human dignity. It promotes destructive attitudes and habits in men and women that pass from the family to the workplace, to political life, and ultimately to international relations. The moral and psychological climate necessary to enable our nation to establish social justice and to contribute to global peace will be created only when women attain full partnership with men in all fields of endeavor.
~Excerpt, Two Wings of a Bird, a statement by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 1997, Read more… Racism is the most challenging issue confronting America. A nation whose ancestry includes every people on earth, whose motto is E Pluribus Unum, whose ideals of freedom under law have inspired millions throughout the world, cannot continue to harbor prejudice against any racial or ethnic group without betraying itself. Racism is an affront to human dignity, a cause of hatred and division, a disease that devastates society. ~ Excerpt, The Vision of Race Unity, America's Most Challenging Issue, a statement by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 1991, Read more…
Allow no trace of jealousy to creep between you, for jealousy, like unto poison, vitiates the very essence of love. Let not the ephemeral incidents and accidents of this changeful life cause a rift between you. When differences present themselves, take counsel together in secret, lest others magnify a speck into a mountain. Harbour not in your hearts any grievance, but rather explain its nature to each other with such frankness and understanding that it will disappear, leaving no remembrance. Choose fellowship and amity and turn away from jealousy and hypocrisy.
Your thoughts must be lofty, your ideals luminous, your minds spiritual, so that your souls may become a dawning-place for the Sun of Reality. Let your hearts be like unto two pure mirrors reflecting the stars of the heaven of love and beauty.
Together make mention of noble aspirations and heavenly concepts. Let there be no secrets one from another. Make your home a haven of rest and peace. Be hospitable, and let the doors of your house be open to the faces of friends and strangers. Welcome every guest with radiant grace and let each feel that it is his own home.
No mortal can conceive the union and harmony which God has designed for man and wife. Nourish continually the tree of your union with love and affection, so that it will remain ever green and verdant throughout all seasons and bring forth luscious fruits for the healing of the nations.
O beloved of God, may your home be a vision of the paradise of Abha, so that whosoever enters there may feel the essence of purity and harmony, and cry out from the heart: Here is the home of love! Here is the palace of love! Here is the nest of love! Here is the garden of love!
Be like two sweet-singing birds perched upon the highest branches of the tree of life, filling the air with songs of love and rapture.
Lay the foundation of your affection in the very center of your spiritual being, at the very heart of your consciousness, and let it not be shaken by adverse winds.
And, when God gives you sweet and lovely children, consecrate yourselves to their instruction and guidance, so that they may become imperishable flowers of the divine rose-garden, nightingales of the ideal paradise, servants of the world of humanity, and the fruit of the tree of your life.
Live in such harmony that others may take your lives for an example and may say one to another: Look how they live like two doves in one nest, in perfect love, affinity and union. It is as though God had kneaded the very essence of their beings for the love of one another.
Attain the ideal love that God has destined for you, so that you may become partakers of eternal life forthwith. Quaff deeply from the fountain of truth, and dwell all the days of your life in the paradise of glory, gathering immortal flowers from the garden of divine mysteries.
Be to each other as heavenly lovers and divine beloved ones dwelling in a paradise of love. Build your nest on the leafy branches of the tree of love. Sail upon the shoreless sea of love. Walk in the eternal rose-garden of love. Bathe in the shining rays of the sun of love. Be firm and steadfast in the path of love. Perfume your nostrils with the fragrances from the flowers of love. Attune your ears to the soul-entrancing melodies of love. Let your aims be as generous as the banquets of love, and your words as a string of white pearls from the ocean of love. Drink deeply of the elixir of love, so that you may live continually in the reality of Divine Love. ~'Abdu'l-Bahá
CONSULTATION
EQUALITY OF WOMEN AND MEN
RACISM
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