Praise be unto Thee, Oh my God, that Thou hast awakened me after my sleep, caused me to appear after my absence, and raised me from my insensibility. I arose facing the Lights of the Dawn of Thine Appearance, by which the horizons of the Heavens of Thy Power and Thy Majesty were enlightened, confessing Thy Signs, assured in Thy Book, and holding to Thy Rope.
I beg of Thee, by the Power of Thy Will, and by the Penetration of Thy Purpose, to ordain that which Thou hast showed me in my vision, as the most solid foundation for the dwelling place of Thy love in the hearts of Thy Friends, and the best cause for the appearance of Thy Favour and Thy Grace.
Oh my Lord, ordain to me, by Thy Supreme Pen, the blessings of the world to come, and the present one. I bear witness, that verily the reins of affairs are in Thy Grasp, and that Thou changest them as Thou desirest. There is no God but Thee, the Powerful and the Faithful.
Thou art the One whose Command changeth lowliness into might; weakness into strength; humility to authority; confusion to tranquility, and doubt to conviction. There is no God but Thee, The Glorious, The Generous. Disappoint not whosoever entreateth Thee, and forbid not whosoever desireth Thee. Ordain that which befitteth the Heaven of Thy Bounty, and the Ocean of Thy Generosity. Verily Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty.
Frederick Glaysher, Introduction to the Reform Bahai Faith. A Talk Presented to the Troy Interfaith Group, Troy, Michigan. March 5, 2012. 26 minutes.
NOTE: Mr. Glaysher misspoke in terms of the date in which Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell judged the purported will and testament of Abdul-Baha fraudulent. The correct date was in 1929. Dr. C. (Charles) Ainsworth Mitchell’s “Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of Abdul-Baha,” may be found at the following link: http://www.reformbahai.org/CAMitchell_Report.html
More than thirty-four people of all religious persuasions in attendance.
“To be a Bahai simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.” –Abdul-Baha
“O people of the world, ye are all the fruit of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.” –Baha’u'llah
“Consort ye, O people, with the followers of all religions with joy and fragrance.” –Baha’u'llah
“‘Glory is not his who loves his native land; but glory is his who loves his kind.’ By these exalted Words He taught the birds of souls a new flight and effaced restriction and blind imitation from the Book.” –Abdul-Baha quoting Baha’u'llah
“The Bahai Movement is not an organization. You cannot organize the Bahai Movement. The Bahai Movement is the spirit of the age. It is the essence of all the highest ideals of this century. The Bahai Cause is an inclusive movement. The teachings of all religions and societies are found here.” –Abdul-Baha
“This movement is not an organization—it is the realization of a new spirit. The foundation of that spirit is the love of God; and its method, the love and service of mankind. Many who have never heard of this revelation teach its laws and spiritual truths.” –Abdul-Baha
“It is the wish of Abdul-Baha that the friends may establish general unity and not a particular meeting of unity. You must have great consideration for this fact, for during the past cycles though such events (founding of particular, i. e., exclusive unity meetings) were, in the beginning, a means for harmony, they became in the end the cause of trouble.” –Abdul-Baha
“There are no officers in this Cause. I do not and have not ‘Appointed’ anyone to perform any special service, but I encourage everyone to engage in the service of the Kingdom. The foundation of this Cause is pure spiritual democracy and not a theocracy.” –Abdul-Baha
“People think religion is confined in an edifice, to be worshiped at an altar. In reality it is an attitude toward divinity which is reflected through life.” –Abdul-Baha
“You can be a Bahai-Christian, a Bahai-Freemason, a Bahai-Jew, a Bahai-Muhammadan.” –Abdul-Baha
“These are effectual and sufficient proofs that the conscience of man is sacred and to be respected; and that liberty thereof produces widening of ideas, amendment of morals, improvement of conduct, disclosure of the secrets of creation, and manifestation of the hidden verities of the contingent world.” –Abdul-Baha
1893, “Treatise on Leadership,” Abdul-Baha. Separation of church and state.
1912, “Address Upon the Covenant,” Abdul-Baha. Facsimile at http://reformbahai.org/Covenant.html
Early Reform Bahais:
Ruth White, author of several books.
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Abdul-Baha’s secretary for eight years, author of several books.
Julia Chandler, Bahai from a prominent American family.
Jenabe Fazel Mazandarani, Bahai scholar on universal religion.
Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell, in 1929, a British Museum document expert, judges the will and testament of 1921 fraudulent.
The Teachings of Baha’u’llah, like unto Spirit, shall penetrate the dead body of the World, and like unto an artery shall beat through the heart of the five continents. –Abdul Baha
All these renovations originate in the renewal of the splendid graces of the Lord of the Kingdom through which the universe was inspired. Therefore the essential matter is to release people entirely from traditional thoughts, so that their minds may be entirely concentrated in the new teachings. The teachings of Baha’u’llah constitute the spirit of the age and the light of this century. –Abdul Baha
The ninth of these special Teachings is that all mankind—men and women everywhere—should acquire secular and spiritual knowledge, and that this education is one of the necessities of Religion. –Abdul Baha
O Lord, Thou hast said in Thy manifest Book: “God does not change that which a people have, until they change that which is within themselves. When men forgot God, He made them to forget their own reality.” – Abdul Baha
Be a lamp in darkness, a comforter in troubles, a sea to the thirsty, a refuge to the afflicted, a helper, an assistant and a succor to the oppressed. In actions and deeds be virtuous and pious. To the stranger be a home; to the sick a remedy; to him who asks for help a stronghold; to the blind be sight; to him who goes astray a pathway; to the face of truth, beauty; to the temple of faithfulness an embroidered garment; to the house of characters and manners a throne; to the body of the world a spirit; to the hosts of justice a banner; to the horizon of good a light; to the fertile and rich ground, dew; to the sea of science an ark; to the heaven of generosity a star; to the head of wisdom a diadem; to the forehead of time a white light; and to the tree of humility, fruitfulness. -Baha’u’llah
I testify that verily there is no God save He! and He who hath come is verily the Hidden Mystery, the Concealed Secret, the Most Great Book for the nations, and the Heaven of Beneficence to the world. He is the Mighty Sign among mankind, and the Dawning Place of the Highest Attributes in the world of emanation. Through Him hath appeared that which was concealed from all eternity and was hidden from men of discernment, Verily, He is the One whose Manifestation was announced by the Books of God in former and latter times. Whosoever acknowledges Him, His signs and His evidences hath verily acknowledged that which the Tongue of Grandeur hath uttered before the creation of heaven and earth, and before the appearance of the Kingdom of Names. Through Him the sea of knowledge hath moved among mankind, and the running water of Wisdom hath flowed from God, the King of Days. Joy unto him who, in this Day, casts away that which is possessed by the people, and holds fast to that which is commanded on the part of God, the King of Names and the Creator. -Baha’u’llah
Consider how great is the value and how paramount the importance of the Revelations in which God hath completed His perfect argument, consummate proof, dominant power and penetrating will. To the people they are everlasting proof, fixed argument and shining light from the presence of that Ideal King. No excellence equals them and nothing precedes them. They are the firm thread, the strong rope, the most secure handle and the inextinguishable light. Through them flows the river of the Divine Knowledge, and bursts the fire of the consummate Wisdom of the Eternal. This is a fire from which two effects proceed at the same time: it creates the heat of love within the people of faith, and produces the cold of heedlessness within the people of hatred. The proof of the sun is its light which shines forth and encompasses the world; and the argument of the shower is its bounty which renews the world with a fresh mantle. Yea! The blind realize no effect in the sun but heat, and a barren soil knoweth no bounty from the vernal mercy. Dost thou think thy body a small thing when within it is enclosed the universe? -Baha’u’llah
“The oneness of language, namely that a universal language shall be adopted which shall be taught by all the schools and academies of the world. A committee appointed by national bodies shall select a suitable language to be used as a means of communication, and that language shall be taught in all the schools of the world in order that everyone shall need but two languages, his national tongue and the universal language. All will acquire the international language.”
