What is the vital component of Bahá’í life, so fundamental to our spiritual progress that Bahá’u’lláh has commanded us to practice it twice daily? What is this activity, so important that He said those who fail to do it have "not been faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament", and so powerful that if we do it, He has promised that this will draw us closer to God? Here is what Bahá’u’lláh says about reading the Writings daily, and it is a point He emphasises more than almost any other law -

"Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide. Whoso faileth to recite them hath not been faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament, and whoso turneth away from these holy verses in this Day is of those who throughout eternity have turned away from God. Fear ye God, O My servants, one and all. Pride not yourselves on much reading of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and day; for were a man to read a single verse with joy and radiance it would be better for him than to read with lassitude all the Holy Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting." (2)

"Teach your children to recite the verses of God in such wise as to captivate the hearts..."

He also commands us to teach our children passages from the Holy Writings; and this is one practical way that we can bring up our children as Bahá’ís -

"Teach your children the verses revealed from the heaven of majesty and power, so that, in most melodious tones, they may recite the Tablets of the All-Merciful in the alcoves within the Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs. Whoever hath been transported by the rapture born of adoration for My Name, the Most Compassionate, will recite the verses of God in such wise as to captivate the hearts of those yet wrapped in slumber. Well is it with him who hath quaffed the Mystic Wine of everlasting life from the utterance of his merciful Lord in My Name - a Name through which every lofty and majestic mountain hath been reduced to dust." (3)

Why is so much emphasis given to reading the Writings?

Is it not enough that we consider ourselves Bahá’ís, go to Feasts every so often, and follow those of the laws that we consider most essential? Clearly, if everyone in the world did this, then we would all be one big Bahá’í family, there would be no more war, and people would be considerably happier. But Bahá’u’lláh has higher aims than that, and His power is greater than that. One only has to read Bahá’í history to realise that its heroes must have been animated by such a higher force, and a stronger love, than we who have not risen to those great heights can comprehend. Bahá’u’lláh, talking about the sacrifices of the martyrs of the Faith, writes -

"With what love, what devotion, what exultation and holy rapture, they sacrificed their lives in the path of the All-Glorious! To the truth of this all witness. And yet, how can they belittle this Revelation? Hath any age witnessed such momentous happenings?" (4)

The Divine Elixir

Addressing one of His followers, Bahá’u’lláh asks - "Is it within human power, O Hakim, to effect in the constituent elements of any of the minute and indivisible particles of matter so complete a transformation as to transmute it into purest gold?" (5)

Answering the question, He says that although the task of turning copper into gold may appear perplexing and difficult, the still greater task of purifying human hearts, and drawing them away from the things of the world and towards God, is one that He has been enabled to accomplish. Only the Word of God, Bahá’u’lláh continues, has the capacity to produce this change in the hearts of men.

Do we need the words of Bahá’u’lláh, or are we able to get by without them? If we think that we have no need of them, there are two possibilities. One is that we have already attained the state of "purest gold", the state where all the afflictions and pains of the world can never alarm us, and its delights can never distract our attention. We are the true follower of Bahá’u’lláh, he "who, if he come to a valley of pure gold, will pass straight through it aloof as a cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause." (6)

One might argue that the person who has attained the stage of purest gold is in need of no further transformation, and therefore can do without the help of the Manifestation of God. But the Bahá’í teachings state that man can never become independent of the Manifestation of God, and in any case none of us is likely to claim to be perfect.

The other possibility is that we feel the words will not have any effect upon us, as we don’t notice any benefits from reading the Writings. Bahá’u’lláh has given us the answer to this - He said that in time reading the Holy Word will have its influence -

"Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul." (7)

The transience of the world

The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh are constantly calling on us to rise above this world, advising us that the things of this world are transient and that what will be of lasting value to us is the love of God. But how much of the time do we realise this and act on it? Bahá’u’lláh says -

"By the righteousness of God! The world and its vanities, and its glory, and whatever delights it can offer, are all, in the sight of God, as worthless as, nay, even more contemptible than, dust and ashes. Would that the hearts of men could comprehend it!" (8)

Lamenting that only a few had profited from this revelation, Bahá’u’lláh writes -

"So blind hath become the human heart that neither the disruption of the city, nor the reduction of the mountain in dust, nor even the cleaving of the earth, can shake off its torpor." (9)

He goes on to describe the dangers that result from man’s failure to heed His message -

"Erelong, they will perceive the consequences of what their hands have wrought in the Day of God. Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Informed, as bidden by One Who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty." (10)

Kindle the lamp of the spirit

Although to some extent we ourselves are affected by the general malaise affecting man’s spiritual faculties, we must strive, with the help of the Words of God, to remedy this condition within our souls.

"In the soil of whose heart will these holy seeds germinate? From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth? Verily, I say, so fierce is the blaze of the Bush of love, burning in the Sinai of the heart, that the streaming waters of holy utterance can never quench its flame. Oceans can never allay this Leviathan’s burning thirst, and this Phoenix of the undying fire can abide nowhere save in the glow of the countenance of the Well-Beloved. Therefore, O brother! Kindle with the oil of wisdom the lamp of the spirit within the innermost chamber of thy heart, and guard it with the globe of understanding..." (11)

Daniel Povey

1. Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, 149
2. Ibid
3. Ibid, 150
4. Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCI
5. Ibid, XCIX
6. Ibid, LX
7. Ibid, CXXXVI
8. Ibid, CXXXIX
9. Ibid, XVI
10. Ibid, XVI

11. Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Iqan, p 61

Discovering Our Faith - Significant dates in the history of the Bahá’í Faith in the United Kingdom ...

Liverpool is a special city, not only because of its exceptionally cosmopolitan nature in historic, religious, cultural and international terms, but also because it has been one of the few cities in Britain to be blessed by the footsteps of the Master. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived in Liverpool from New York on December 13th 1912, aboard the White Star liner Celtic, during the second of His visits to Britain, and on His return to the Holy Land.

The great ship docked at the Pier Head landing stage on the River Mersey. Recorded accounts from that time say it had been raining heavily during the afternoon and evening, but as the great ship loomed up in the dusk, the rain stopped, and the Oriental Figure of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, distinguished by His white turban, flowing robe, and white beard, appeared on the centre deck of the ship creating a lasting impression on many of those that saw Him. He stayed two days in Liverpool, stopping at the Adelphi Hotel, which has since been rebuilt, near to Lime Street Station in the City Centre.

During this time he gave two talks, one to the Theosophical Society on Saturday night, 14th December, at Hope Street, and the other at Pembroke Chapel, a Baptist Church which is sadly no longer standing, on Sunday evening, 15th December. He departed for London the following morning.

The following is an extract from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s first address in Liverpool, to the Theosophical Society, entitled "The Search for Truth", spoken by Him in Persian, but translated by an interpreter to English, and recorded down onto paper by a Bahá’í present on that memorable night, 87 years ago:

"Always hope that one day the Sun of Truth will rise and bring a Dawn Whose light will destroy all the darkness of the human world, will unite hearts and make souls happy, do away with contention and establish Universal Peace. Then there will be no divisions. All will be united and live as one family under the flag of unity and love." (Excerpts from Star of the West Vol III No17 Chicago, 19th January 1913)

Mark Talbot