A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
|
Meetings |
|
It hath been decided by the Desire of God that union
and harmony may day by day increase among the friends
of God and the handmaids of the Merciful. Not until this
is realized will the affairs advance by any means whatever!
And the greatest means for the union and harmony
of all are Spiritual Meetings. This matter is very important
185
and is as a magnet to attract divine confirmation.
|
|
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 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
186
with all courtesy, with the satisfaction and permission of
those present, and do it with eloquence and fluency.
|
Print Selection