The rare qualities of the Greatest Holy Leaf

Bahíyyih Khánum

Sublime observations on the life of the most prominent woman of the Bahá'í Dispensation, Bahíyyih Khánum (also known as the Greatest Holy Leaf), daughter of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh.

"If she found you troubled she would not discuss your difficulties and try to solve your problems. You forgot them. Confusion and complexity were dissolved in her warm clarity."

"When we begged her to tell us of the scenes of tumult and outrage that crowded her childhood or of the long hardship in exile and imprisonment, she would not try to recreate in part that drama too great for any telling, or even to bring to the surface an episode out of the troubled past. She would simply allow to emerge from her still depths some living impression, some poignant detail, and so move you with this glimpse that you felt all the seasons of her grief and the full measure of her pain..."

          (From A Tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum by Marjorie Morten)

Source: http://is.gd/h4PFT
PDF-version: http://www.claricomm.com/Bahiyyih_Khanum_Tribute.pdf
Hat tip to Brent Poirier at http://bahai-storytelling.blogspot.com/2010/10/magnificent-character-greatest-holy.html

A Compilation of writings on the Greatest Holy Leaf is available here and here.

Photo accessed here.

The rare qualities of the Greatest Holy Leaf

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Community building

Welcoming people to a devotional meeting in Tuvalu

The vision: 

To bring together 

men and women eager to improve material and spiritual conditions in their surroundings... [Souls who long] to shed the lethargy imposed on them by society and work alongside one another in their neighbourhoods...to begin a process of collective transformation.

How to achieve it? 

By 

[persisting] in efforts to learn the ways and methods of community building in [such] small [neighborhood] settings", utilizing the "[specific] activities that drive this process...—

• meetings that strengthen the devotional character of the community; 
• classes that nurture the tender hearts and minds of children; 
• groups that channel the surging energies of junior youth; [and] 
• circles of study, open to all, that enable people of varied backgrounds to advance on equal footing and explore the application of the [Baha'i] teachings to their individual and collective lives.

(The Universal House of Justice, Ridván 2010 Message. View here.)

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Community building

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Remembrance--the application of knowledge

Seeking insights through study

Every experience we have can imbue us with new insights. But what are the purposes of the insights gained? Surely they are given us to be applied - notably, according to Bahá'u'lláh, for the betterment of the society in which we live and for the benefit of all may cross our path.

In order to apply this new knowledge, we need to translate it into modes/schemes of practical action (i.e., to 'operationalize' them). This, I imagine, should ideally become a habit we make ourselves - to ever be on the lookout for creative means by which we can put these insights to the test, so to speak, in real-world situations.

How long can we wait before applying them? Clearly, any delay puts us at risk of forgetting them, allowing these fleeting 'gifts of the spirit' to slip from our minds and become lost in oblivion. 

The best way to grasp an idea and strengthen our knowledge of a thing is, as is known, by teaching and demonstrating it to others. Interestingly enough, however, and well worth noting in this regard, is that our attitude in, and motive for sharing our knowledge influences directly the learning outcome both for ourselves and for our hearers. According to the Holy Books, unless our motive be to serve God, our every endeavor will be without result. The spirit that's required is thus described in the Qur'án: "We nourish your souls for the sake of God; We seek from you neither recompense nor thanks." (76:9)

In the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá:--

If one teaches one whom he loves because of his love for him, then he will not teach one whom he loves not; and that is not of God.  If one teaches in order to derive the promised benefit to himself, this too is not from God.   If he teaches because of God's Will that God may be known -- and for that reason only -- he will receive knowledge and wisdom, and his words will have effect -- being made powerful by the Holy Spirit -- and will take root in the souls of those who are in the right condition to receive them.  In such a case the benefit to the teacher in growth is as ninety percent compared to the ten percent of gain to the hearer, because he becomes like a tree bearing fruit through the power of God.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, cited in Star of the West - source is here)

As to the imperative to ourselves study, then apply the knowledge gained, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi states:--

He urges you to study deeply the teachings, teach others, study with those [believers] who are anxious to do so, the deeper teachings of our Faith, and through example, effort and prayer, bring about a change.

(Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi. #1323 in Living the Life)

'Abdu'l-Bahá's thus appeals to us to let words be followed by action:--

Put into practice the Teaching of Bahá'u'lláh, that of kindness to all nations. Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path. ...

[L]et your manner be sympathetic. Let it be seen that you are filled with universal love. When you meet a Persian or any other stranger, speak to him as to a friend; if he seems to be lonely try to help him, give him of your willing service; if he be sad console him, if poor succour him, if oppressed rescue him, if in misery comfort him. In so doing you will manifest that not in words only, but in deed and in truth, you think of all men as your brothers.

What profit is there in agreeing that universal friendship is good, and talking of the solidarity of the human race as a grand ideal? Unless these thoughts are translated into the world of action, they are useless.

The wrong in the world continues to exist just because people talk only of their ideals, and do not strive to put them into practice. If actions took the place of words, the world's misery would very soon be changed into comfort.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 16)

What, then, of remembrance? Couldn't one say, in a sense, that all we experience and do in life is but various means by which we may remember the One True God? Hence the need for action, that we may fulfill the purpose of our lives on this earth.

Now is the time, O ye beloved of the Lord, for ardent endeavor. Struggle ye, and strive. And since the Ancient Beauty was exposed by day and night on the field of martyrdom, let us in our turn labor hard, and hear and ponder the counsels of God; let us fling away our lives, and renounce our brief and numbered days. Let us turn our eyes away from empty fantasies of this world's divergent forms, and serve instead this pre-eminent purpose, this grand design. ...

Let us not consent that the splendors of the Sun of Truth should ever fade and disappear. These are the admonitions of God, as set forth in His Holy Books, His Scriptures, His Tablets that tell out His counsellings to the sincere. ...

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections, p. 276)

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Remembrance--the application of knowledge

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Recognizing potential, encouraging it

In 1992, more than 27,000 Bahá'ís from some
170 countries assembled in New York City for the Second
Bahá'í World Congress, which commemorated the
centennial of Bahá'u'lláh's passing.

'Abdu'l-Bahá's hope - for those endowed with capacity. This, to be realized through "the oneness of human world-power, the love of God."

A few days ago I arrived in New York, coming direct from Alexandria. On a former trip I traveled to Europe, visiting Paris and London. Paris is most beautiful in outward appearance. The evidences of material civilization there are very great, but the spiritual civilization is far behind. I found the people of that city submerged and drowning in a sea of materialism. Their conversations and discussions were limited to natural and physical phenomena, without mention of God. I was greatly astonished. Most of the scholars, professors and learned men proved to be materialists. I said to them, "I am surprised and astonished that men of such perceptive caliber and evident knowledge should still be captives of nature, not recognizing the self-evident Reality."

The phenomenal world is entirely subject to the rule and control of natural law. ... but man has proceeded to break this law, free himself from this rule and bring them forth into the realm of the visible. Therefore, he is the ruler and commander of nature. Man has intelligence; nature has not. Man has volition; nature has none. Man has memory; nature is without it. Man has the reasoning faculty; nature is deprived. Man has the perceptive faculty; nature cannot perceive. It is therefore proved and evident that man is nobler than nature.

If we accept the supposition that man is but a part of nature, we are confronted by an illogical statement, for this is equivalent to claiming that a part may be endowed with qualities which are absent in the whole. For man who is a part of nature has perception, intelligence, memory, conscious reflection and susceptibility, while nature itself is quite bereft of them. How is it possible for the part to be possessed of qualities or faculties which are absent in the whole? The truth is that God has given to man certain powers which are supernatural. How then can man be considered a captive of nature? Is he not dominating and controlling nature to his own uses more and more? Is he not the very divinity of nature? Shall we say nature is blind, nature is not perceptive, nature is without volition and not alive, and then relegate man to nature and its limitations? How can we answer this question? How will the materialists and scholastic atheists prove and support such a supposition? As a matter of fact, they themselves make natural laws subservient to their own wish and purpose. The proof is complete that in man there is a power beyond the limitations of nature, and that power is the bestowal of God.

In New York I find the people more endowed with spiritual susceptibilities. They are not mere captives of nature's control; they are rising out of the bonds and burden of captivity. For this reason I am very happy and hopeful that, God willing, in this populous country, in this vast continent of the West, the virtues of the world of humanity shall become resplendent; that the oneness of human world-power, the love of God, may enkindle the hearts, and that international peace may hoist its standards, influencing all other regions and countries from here. This is my hope.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 16-18. Talk delivered 15 April 1912 at Home of Mountfort Mills, New York)

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Recognizing potential, encouraging it

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Emerging voices: Target, respond passionately against "politics of division, fear"

This Observer editorial from Guardian.co.uk says it right about what's needed to counter the worldwide trend towards increased religious intolerance and xenophobia (what it calls "the politics of division and fear"):--

Burning the Qur'an: All faiths must fight against the forces of bigotry

We should not tolerate the antics of people such as Pastor Jones
________________________________________

Those who admire [the American] nation's historical commitment to the rights of man find it distressing to see the burning of holy books and the banning of houses of worship creeping into political discourse.

That distress should be a warning against complacency [in] Britain [, which] is not immune to virulent Islamophobia, as the English Defence League and the British National party prove. Elsewhere in Europe, mainstream politics is struggling to accommodate popular unease about a growing and visible Muslim minority. In France and Spain, this manifests itself as illiberal secularism, with bans on Islamic dress; in Switzerland, it shows up as a prohibition on minarets; and across the Continent opposition to Turkish membership of the EU is laced with anxiety about a mass mingling of Muslims and Christians that might ensue.

...What defines [these trends] is an angry, defensive reaction against an imagined threat to identity: national, secular or Christian.
This is the politics of division and fear and it demands a response, equivalent in passion, from the politics of solidarity and hope.

Read the full article here.


Dicta:

The recrudescence of religious intolerance, of racial animosity, and of patriotic arrogance; the increasing evidences of selfishness, of suspicion, of fear and of fraud; the spread of terrorism, of lawlessness, of drunkenness and of crime; the unquenchable thirst for, and the feverish pursuit after, earthly vanities, riches and pleasures; the weakening of family solidarity; the laxity in parental control; the lapse into luxurious indulgence; the irresponsible attitude towards marriage and the consequent rising tide of divorce; the degeneracy of art and music, the infection of literature, and the corruption of the press... —these appear as the outstanding characteristics of a decadent society, a society that must either be reborn or perish.

(Shoghi Effendi, World Order, 187-88)

Saddened by the continual strife amongst believers of many confessions and wearied of their intolerance towards each other, I discovered in the Bahá'í teaching the real spirit of Christ so often denied and misunderstood: Unity instead of strife, Hope instead of condemnation, Love instead of hate, and a great reassurance for all men.

(Queen Marie of Rumania, Quoted in Shoghi Effendi, World Order, 93)

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Emerging voices: Target, respond passionately against "politics of division, fear"

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Turn of the wheel

Imbibing the moment

Every day is a fresh day
beckoning a new fragrance
to nostrils conditioned to inhale it
from the sundry manifestations
of life's swiftly changing visage.


- A.B.
(On the occasion of a loved one's anniversary)

Dicta:

Verily the most necessary thing is contentment under all circumstances; by this one is preserved from morbid conditions and lassitude.    

(Bahá'u'lláh, quoted in Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era 108)

Anybody can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, health, success, pleasure and joy; but if one will be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship and prevailing disease, it is the proof of nobility. ...

[T]his earthly world is narrow, dark and frightful, rest cannot be imagined and happiness really is non-existent, everyone is captured in the net of sorrow, and is day and night enslaved by the chain of calamity; there is no one who is at all free or at rest from grief and affliction. Still, as the believers of God are turning to the limitless world, they do not become very depressed and sad by disastrous calamities—there is something to console them; but the others in no way have anything to comfort them at the time of calamity. Whenever a calamity and a hardship occurs, they become sad and disappointed, and hopeless of the bounty and the mercy of the Glorious Lord.    

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets 263-4)

Never lose thy trust in God. Be thou ever hopeful, for the bounties of God never cease to flow upon man. If viewed from one perspective they seem to decrease, but from another they are full and complete. Man is under all conditions immersed in a sea of God's blessings. Therefore, be thou not hopeless under any circumstances, but rather be firm in thy hope.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections #178)

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Turn of the wheel

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Life as rhythm

 
Here a video I enjoyed, followed by a commentary on it from the perspective of its being a work of art. It touches on a theme I have been reflecting over recently - that of seeing life as a rhythm that one needs to tune into - the rhythm of success, work and effectiveness in the path of God. On this path there can be no misstep; one will always be guided! All that matters is the effectiveness - essentially the rhythm - of one's actions in service to humanity. "Time does not stop, does not wait," writes the Universal House of Justice,

With every passing hour a fresh affliction strikes at a distracted humanity. Dare we linger? ...

[O]ne thing above all else is necessary: to act, to act now, and to continue to act.

Our heartfelt plea at the Holy Threshold on behalf of us all is that we may be... richly confirmed in whatever we do towards meeting the urgent aim of the... Plan at so fate-laden a moment in human history.

(Ridván message 155 B.E./1998, §§15-17)

Bahá'u'lláh, moreover, states, "[H]esitate not, though it be for less than a moment, in the service of His Cause." (Gleanings 43)


My challenge has been, in part, to view my actions not as disjointed service projects performed in separate chunks of time-periods, but as part of a larger continuum of service where all the different actions are integrated and connected, without the disjunctive pauses (as in excessive/frequent meditation breaks) in between.

It has much to do with having trust (that one is on the right course and is doing the right thing) and letting go (of any fears of inadequacy and of my feelings of unworthiness). Now, let's see where this can lead us! Here the video:--

On the video as Art - some thoughts

Life (and everything in it) is a creation, a work of art so to speak, and can, as art, necessarily only be judged by its own merits, on its own terms. This goes for the video as well. Each person will see something different in it.

Art consists of a constellation of elements, arranged in a particular/inviolable way. If dismembered, if one element of this complex entity is removed, is it any longer the original art?

Art is art. One element cannot be taken from it and analyzed out of context. It's a constellation. Every word in existence carries an infinitude of spiritual meaning. When combined in a certain way, the beauty/meaning of the individual words enhance the beauty/meaning of the others. 'Abdu'l-Bahá says, "All art is a gift from the Holy Spirit." He also says that evil doesn't actually have any independent existence (it is only the absence of goodness/beauty/art, if you will).

Since all creation, every life, every expression and every creative product is a unique piece of art - infrangible - our challenge lies in recognizing each as an independent such existence and finding the beauty/meaning in it, however strange/untrue/gnarled it may appear on the face of it (with certain exceptions, of course, such as hatred, oppression, discrimination, inequality, war, drug-abuse, murder, genocide, etc., or sheer carelessness, for that matter, which are all anathema to the Spirit).

Here are some passages from the Writings that may relate to this theme:

Gazing with the eye of God, [the true seeker] will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the … evidences of an everlasting Manifestation.

(Bahá'u'lláh, Iqan 196)

It is related that His Holiness Christ--May my life be a sacrifice to Him!--one day, accompanied by His apostles, passed by the corpse of a dead animal. One of them said: 'How putrid has this animal become!' The other exclaimed: 'How it is deformed!' A third cried out: 'What a stench! How cadaverous looking!' But His Holiness Christ said: 'Look at its teeth! How white they are!' Consider, that He did not look at all at the defects of that animal; nay, rather, He searched well until He found the beautiful white teeth. He observed only the whiteness of the teeth and overlooked entirely the deformity of the body, the dissolution of its organs and the bad odour.

"This is the attribute of the children of the Kingdom. This is the conduct and the manner of the real Bahais (Baha'is)..."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Skinner, in Lights of Guidance #312)

[I]n the world of existence two persons unanimous in all grades [of thought] and all beliefs cannot be found. ‘The ways unto God are as the number of the breaths of [His] creatures’ is a mysterious truth, and ‘To every [people] We have appointed a [separate] rite’ is one of the subtleties of the Qur’án."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Narrative 91-2)

Eagle sculpture in the gardens outside the Shrine of the Báb

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Life as rhythm

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Let's get real - there is still a LOT we can do to help the world

Children's classes for moral education - a path to building a new and better world

I came across this report that gives a graphic illustration of the sordid condition the world continues remain in, despite the anecdotal treatment that the millions of human tragedies are given in the mainstream press. The latter's influence can cause us to forget so easily the appalling suffering and privations of unnumbered fellow global citizens - our brothers and sisters, fathers, mothers and children (in spirit).

Extreme Weather Starving Chad and Niger

Alanna Shaikh - August 30, 2010

Ten million people are at risk for starvation in Chad and Niger. 400,000 children are at risk in Niger alone. Years of crop-destroying drought are being followed by flash floods. The drought has been causing hunger for years, destroying crops and livestock. Now, the floods have wiped out what's left.

Read the full report here.

Dictum:

[W]e must not allow ourselves to forget the continuing, appalling burden of suffering under which millions of human beings are always groaning—a burden which they have borne for century upon century... The principal cause of this suffering, which one can witness wherever one turns, is the corruption of human morals and the prevalence of prejudice, suspicion, hatred, untrustworthiness, selfishness and tyranny among men. It is not merely material well-being that people need. What they desperately need is to know how to live their lives—they need to know who they are, to what purpose they exist, and how they should act towards one another; and, once they know the answers to these questions they need to be helped to gradually apply these answers to every-day behaviour. It is to the solution of this basic problem of mankind that the greater part of all our energy and resources should be directed…."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy, November 19, 1974)
(Source: Lights of Guidance, # 414)

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Let's get real - there is still a LOT we can do to help the world

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Love - to what degree?

Detail of the Shrine of the Báb, Haifa, Israel.

From One who expressed these very qualities throughout His life:--

O ye friends! Fellowship, fellowship! Love, love! Unity, unity!


[S]how the utmost love, rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and sincere kindliness unto all the peoples and kindreds of the world, be they friends or strangers. So intense must be the spirit of love and loving-kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them. For universality is of God and all limitations earthly...

- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, BWF 426, 445

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Love - to what degree?

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Mutual helpfulness, service lie at heart of sciences

Seeking knowledge for upliftment: Youth participants at the
Education for Peace project in Bosnia and Herzegovina

May the principle of the oneness of mankind illumine our spirits as we apply it to every aspect of our lives and to our interactions with our fellow men. 'Abdu'l-Bahá says:--

As material knowledge is illuminating those within the walls of this great temple of learning [Columbia University], so also may the light of the spirit, the inner and divine light of the real philosophy glorify this institution. The most important principle of divine philosophy is the oneness of the world of humanity, the unity of mankind, the bond conjoining East and West, the tie of love which blends human hearts. All the divine Manifestations have proclaimed the oneness of God and the unity of mankind. They have taught that men should love and mutually help each other in order that they might progress.... Consider the virtues of the human world and realize that the oneness of humanity is the primary foundation of them all. Read the Gospel and the other Holy Books. You will find their fundamentals are one and the same. Therefore, unity is the essential truth of religion.... And the religion of God is absolute love and unity.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation 31-2)

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Mutual helpfulness, service lie at heart of sciences

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Positive Reinforcing Cycle Begins with Reflection over World Conditions

 

Circle of Success, courtesy of David Risley

In this positively reinforcing circle, "right actions", consciously undertaken and with the a thought to the outcome, are seen as the starting point for all accomplishment and--ultimately--satisfaction.

Read the full article here.

Dicta:

By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.

(Tablets 549)

 

Do not busy yourselves in your own concerns; let your thoughts be fixed upon that which will rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts and souls of men.

(Bahá’ú’lláh, Tablets 86)

The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.

(Bahá'u'lláh, ref. 3)

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Positive Reinforcing Cycle Begins with Reflection over World Conditions

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Brain Hard Wired to Read, Interpret Intentions

 

Intention - caring for the environment

The results of this study, as reported on the Stanford University website, would underscore the importance of learning to recognize the good (and NOT the bad) intentions in others' actions (i.e. their virtues).

Cooper said, "...our questions about someone’s intentions determine how we react to outcomes"...

The finding comes from the work of Jeff Cooper, who spent his time as a Stanford doctoral candidate studying a part of the brain called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Scientists already knew the region is stimulated by personal rewards, but Cooper wanted to see if it also reacts to the actions of others...

Cooper – who is now a researcher in Trinity College, Dublin's Institute for Neuroscience – had two groups of participants at Stanford watch people play a financial game. The players were given a bit of money and told to pitch in as much as they want to a common pot, which Cooper and his colleagues doubled. At the end of the game, the money was evenly split among the players.

The only difference between the groups of observers involved how the actions of the players were described. One set of subjects was told the players were engaged in a "stock market game," where their decisions could result in personal loss or gain. The other subjects were told they were watching a "public goods game," where the players could help everyone make more money.

While the activities and strategies of the players were consistent when both groups of observers watched them, the test subjects had quite different feelings about them.

Tracking their brain reactions using specialized MRI scans, Cooper and his fellow researchers could tell that watching people play the “stock market" game didn't incite much activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

But when it came to watching the players in the so-called "public goods" game, activity in that brain region fired up.

Those who gave generously to the common pot were met with brain signals showing positive emotions, suggesting the observers really liked those players. And players who withheld contributions were regarded with disdain.

"The test demonstrates that what people do doesn't really matter all the time," said Brian Knutson, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience who co-authored Cooper’s paper. "What we think others are intending is what really matters. Essentially, even though people saw the exact same game, framing the game changed the test subjects’ neural reactions to the players."

Read the full article here.

Dicta:

It is the spirit that moves us that counts, not the act through which that spirit expresses itself; and that spirit is to serve the Cause of God with our heart and soul.

(Shoghi Effendi through his secretary, in Living the Life, ##1276)

 

Throughout the world there are innumerable meetings and assemblages, more or less important according to their measure of contribution to human betterment, yet limited in their purpose and object to material questions and outcomes....

This meeting of yours tonight is very different in character. It is a universal gathering; it is heavenly and divine in purpose because it serves the oneness of the world of humanity and promotes international peace. It is devoted to the solidarity and brotherhood of the human race, the spiritual welfare of mankind, unity of religious belief through knowledge of God and the reconciliation of religious teaching with the principles of science and reason. It promotes love and fraternity among all humankind, seeks to abolish and destroy barriers which separate the human family, proclaims the equality of man and woman, instills divine precepts and morals, illumines and quickens minds with heavenly perception, attracts the infinite bestowals of God, removes racial, national and religious prejudices and establishes the foundation of the heavenly Kingdom in the hearts of all nations and peoples. The effect of such an assembly as this is conducive to divine fellowship and strengthening of the bond which cements and unifies hearts. This is the indestructible bond of spirit which conjoins the East and West. By it the very foundations of race prejudice are uprooted and destroyed, the banner of spiritual democracy is hoisted aloft, the world of religion is purified from superannuated beliefs and hereditary imitations of forms, and the oneness of the reality underlying all religions is revealed and disclosed. For such a meeting is established upon the very foundation of the laws of God. Therefore, in its constraining spiritual bond it unites all religions and reconciles all sects, denominations and factions in kindliness and love toward each other. In this way and by the instrumentality of such a gathering the causes of animosity, hatred and bigotry are removed, and enmity and discord pass away entirely. Every limiting and restricting movement or meeting of mere personal interest is human in nature. Every universal movement unlimited in scope and purpose is divine. The Cause of God is advanced whenever and wherever a universal meeting is established among mankind.

Therefore, endeavor that your attitudes and intentions here tonight be universal and altruistic in nature. Consecrate and devote yourselves to the betterment and service of all the human race. Let no barrier of ill feeling or personal prejudice exist between these souls, for when your motives are universal and your intentions heavenly in character, when your aspirations are centered in the Kingdom, there is no doubt whatever that you will become the recipients of the bounty and good pleasure of God.
This meeting is, verily, the noblest and most worthy of all meetings in the world because of these underlying spiritual and universal purposes.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation, 447-8)

 

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Brain Hard Wired to Read, Interpret Intentions

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Transcendence as an Element of Civilization Building

What are the characteristics of spiritual civilization?
One characteristic is transcendence. The goals of the three participants in the civilization building process--the individual, the community and the institutions--need to be based on and emerge from an unshakeable belief in the transcendent--the spiritual--nature of human reality.

The House of Justice writes:

Loss of faith in the certainties of materialism and the progressive globalizing of human experience reinforce one another in the longing they inspire for understanding about the purpose of existence. Basic values are challenged; parochial attachments are surrendered; once unthinkable demands are accepted.... Beneath all of the dislocation and suffering, the process is essentially a spiritual one: "The breeze of the All-Merciful hath wafted, and the souls have been quickened in the tombs of their bodies." 3

- One Common Faith, p. 13, Note 3. Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, s. 133

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Transcendence as an Element of Civilization Building

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Clues to Happiness in Relationships, Shared Experiences

An enlightening article on this perpetual, yet elusive, concern.
(Excerpts:)

But Will It Make You Happy? 

By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM 

Published: August 7, 2010

[J]ust where does happiness reside for consumers? Scholars and researchers haven't determined whether Armani will put a bigger smile on your face than Dolce & Gabbana. But they have found that our types of purchases, their size and frequency, and even the timing of the spending all affect long-term happiness.
One major finding is that spending money for an experience — concert tickets, French lessons, sushi-rolling classes, a hotel room in Monaco — produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff.

"'It's better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch' is basically the idea," says Professor Dunn, summing up research by two fellow psychologists, Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich. Her own take on the subject is in a paper she wrote with colleagues at Harvard and the University of Virginia: "If Money Doesn't Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right." (The Journal of Consumer Psychology plans to publish it in a coming issue.)

Thomas DeLeire, an associate professor of public affairs, population, health and economics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, recently published research examining nine major categories of consumption. He discovered that the only category to be positively related to happiness was leisure: vacations, entertainment, sports and equipment like golf clubs and fishing poles....

Current research suggests that, unlike consumption of material goods, spending on leisure and services typically strengthens social bonds, which in turn helps amplify happiness. (Academics are already in broad agreement that there is a strong correlation between the quality of people's relationships and their happiness; hence, anything that promotes stronger social bonds has a good chance of making us feel all warm and fuzzy.) ...

[S]cholars have found that anticipation increases happiness. Considering buying an iPad? You might want to think about it as long as possible before taking one home. Likewise about a Caribbean escape: you'll get more pleasure if you book a flight in advance than if you book it at the last minute....

FOR the last four years, Roko Belic, a Los Angeles filmmaker, has been traveling the world making a documentary called "Happy."...  

Mr. Belic says his documentary shows that "the one single trait that's common among every single person who is happy is strong relationships."

Collaborating, sharing in an experience - a study circle in Canada

Dicta:

[M]an's supreme honor and real happiness lie in self-respect, in high resolves and noble purposes, in integrity and moral quality, in immaculacy of mind. [Even so, some] have, rather, imagined that their greatness consists in the accumulation, by whatever means may offer, of worldly goods....

[T]he happiness and greatness, the rank and station, the pleasure and peace, of an individual have never consisted in his personal wealth, but rather in his excellent character, his high resolve, the breadth of his learning, and his ability to solve difficult problems....

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Civilization, p. 19 and 23-24)

Photo by Ryan Lash. Copyright Bahá'í International Community. View here.

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Clues to Happiness in Relationships, Shared Experiences

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Religion, and the rest of the world

Phillipe Copeland asks on his thoughtful blog Bahá'í Thought:

Are spirituality and religion different?

 

www.bahaithought.com

My comment:

True religion would, by definition, be created by God, established--as history has shown--by those unique Individuals, the Universal Educators, the likes of Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. On the subject of religion, 'Abdu'l-Bahá says:

The teachings of God are the source of illumination to the people of the world. Religion is ever constructive not destructive.

If religion, then, constitutes God's Teachings, what is "spirituality" but a human invention motivated by personal desire and interest? As to the Divine Teachers, He says,

All...have served the world of humanity. All have summoned souls to peace and accord. All have proclaimed the virtues of humanity. All have guided souls to the attainment of perfections.

What of spirituality? Does it necessarily call a person to serve humanity? Does it "summon" souls to peace and accord? "Proclaim" the virtues of humanity? "Guide" souls to perfection? Not as far as I know.

Religion is described as a "bond" whose purpose is to unify mankind and create love and agreement. This contrasts sharply with the characteristics given by Shoghi Effendi of what he describes as today's "decadent society", among whose traits are:

...the unquenchable thirst for, and the feverish pursuit, after earthly vanities, riches and pleasures;... the lapse into luxurious indulgence; the irresponsible attitude towards marriage and the consequent rising tide of divorce; the degeneracy of art and music, the infection of literature, and the corruption of the press...

Could "spirituality" function as an antidote to such (or similar) evils as these? Could religion?
The question will return us to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's words on the matter:

The real bond of integrity is religious in character, for religion indicates the oneness of the world of humanity. Religion serves the world of morality. Religion purifies the hearts. Religion impels men to achieve praiseworthy deeds. Religion becomes the cause of love in human hearts, for religion is a divine foundation, the foundation ever conducive to life... Religion is ever constructive not destructive.

References are here, here and here.

Religion, and the rest of the world

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Written text as arbiter, authority, in decision-making

When deciding upon a matter, in order to create and maintain UNITY, a point of reference--an agreed-upon authority--would likely be required:

[C]ertain people will endeavor to influence you in the direction of their own personal views and opinions. Therefore, be upon your guard...

[I]f anyone should set forth a statement...you must ask him to produce a written proof of the authority he follows. Inform him that you are not permitted to accept the words of everyone. Say to him, "...Where are your proofs and writings? Where is your authority...?"

('Abdu'l-Bahá, PUP 456)

Written text as arbiter, authority, in decision-making

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Types of Motivation for Action on Social Issues

Lockwood in this book review highlights central arguments on what motivates us to action for, in particular, the environment.

By Matthew Lockwood (excerpt).

Michael Sandel's recent book, Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?. Sandel...gave the prestigious Reith Lectures in 2009, and his argument for a 'politics of the common good' has hit a chord among politicians like Ed Miliband....

[W]anting to cut your emissions because it is the right thing to do (as opposed to feeling good about yourself, or even because it will benefit others) is a consistent moral position. So why don't more people do it? Why, for example, don't more people give up eating meat, which would cut emissions but requires no major action by governments? When Nick Stern suggested this last year he was ridiculed.

This is where Sandel's political argument comes in. He is saying that politics (especially Democratic politics in the US and by extension New Labour politics in the UK) has in the past relied too much on utilitarian or liberal arguments. The Left needs to learn from the Right, which since the 1970s has grounded politics in morality (it is interesting that there are even some on the Right who urge climate action on moral grounds, usually expressed in terms of religious morality).

Source: AlertNet

Dictum: The gift of understanding

Know thou that, according to what thy Lord, the Lord of all men, hath decreed in His Book, the favors vouchsafed by Him unto mankind have been, and will ever remain, limitless in their range. First and foremost among these favors, which the Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding. His purpose in conferring such a gift is none other except to enable His creature to know and recognize the one true God—exalted be His glory. This gift giveth man the power to discern the truth in all things, leadeth him to that which is right, and helpeth him to discover the secrets of creation.

(Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle #2.42)

Photo source is here.

Types of Motivation for Action on Social Issues

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Spiritual of heart, illumined of mind

Time, our most precious resource --

These few brief days shall pass away, this present life shall vanish from our sight... [I]n the tavern of this swiftly-passing world the man of God will not lie drunken, nor will he even for a moment take his ease, nor stain himself with any fondness for this earthly life...

Nay rather, the friends are stars in the high heavens of guidance, celestial bodies in the skies of divine grace, who with all their powers put the dark to flight... They have truthfulness and honest dealing and friendship for their goal,... and kindness even toward a vicious foe; until at last they change this prison of treachery, the world, into a mansion of utmost trust, and turn this gaol-house...into God's Paradise...

[T]he dearest wish of this wronged one is that the friends be spiritual of heart and illumined of mind.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, SWA 220-221)

Spiritual of heart, illumined of mind

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Never despair! -- Believe the promise of redemption

Let not the happenings of the world sadden you. I swear by God! The sea of joy yearneth to attain your presence, for every good thing hath been created for you, and will, according to the needs of the times, be revealed unto you.

(Baha'u'llah, in ADJ 82)

Never despair! -- Believe the promise of redemption

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Further Step Towards World Unity - Water and Sanitation Recognized as Human Right

Well worth noting: The process of uniting the human family is steadily progressing, as evidenced by this latest UN resolution (not to deny the fact, though, of the intensified sufferings that humanity is being subjected to at the other end of the scale - as in the increasing crime, terrorism, famine, neglect of basic human rights etc. the world is experiencing):

U.N. Declares Water and Sanitation a Basic Human Right  Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, July 28 - When the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) back in December 1948, 58 member states voted for a historic document covering political, economic, social and cultural rights.   On Wednesday, nearly 62 years later, a widely-expanded 192- member General Assembly adopted another memorable resolution: this time recognising water and sanitation as a basic human right. (Full story is here.)

From the UN News Center:

Safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights, the General Assembly declared today, voicing deep concern that almost 900 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water.

The 192-member Assembly also called on United Nations Member States and international organizations to offer funding, technology and other resources to help poorer countries scale up their efforts to provide clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for everyone.

The Assembly resolution received 122 votes in favour and zero votes against, while 41 countries abstained from voting. (From the UN Dispatch)

Dicta:

 

In such a world society [the] enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technical development, to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of physical health...

(Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, 203-4)

The second attribute of perfection is justice and impartiality... It means to consider the welfare of the community as one's own. It means, in brief, to regard humanity as a single individual, and one's own self as a member of that corporeal form, and to know of a certainty that if pain or injury afflicts any member of that body, it must inevitably result in suffering for all the rest.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Civilization 39)

[I]n a world of inter-dependent peoples and nations the advantage of the part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and...no abiding benefit can be conferred upon the component parts if the general interests of the entity itself are ignored or neglected.

(Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, 198)

 
 

True peace and tranquillity will only be realized when every soul will have become the well-wisher of all mankind. 

(Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle 7)

Further Step Towards World Unity - Water and Sanitation Recognized as Human Right

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