tag name Freedom and liberty type: Miscellaneous; Philosophy; Principles, teachings web link bahai-library.com/tags/Freedom_and_liberty variations or mis-spellings Emancipation; liberation; manumission; deliverance related tags – Concepts, Philosophical; – Concepts, Religious; Criticism and apologetics; Law; Laws referring tags Authority; Freedom of expression; Freedom of religion; Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Selected topics; Moderation Inventory subject Freedom of thought and action; True liberty; freedom notes See also:
– Bahai org: Individual Rights and Freedoms (1988 letter of the Universal House of Justice to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the United States)
– Covenant Library Unified Index
selected quotations
(authoritative sources)These quotations reflect common presentations of Bahá’í views; the materials below may show a wider range of interpretations and contexts:
"Liberty must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench... Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station..."
– Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, ¶123
"... He spread wide the banquet table of bounty and issued a universal invitation. He prepared for us all manner of heavenly food and bestowed upon us divine favours and heavenly gifts. He delivered us from every heavy load and relieved us from every grievous burden. He enjoined upon us only laws, ordinances, and teachings that bestow life to the soul and cause it to draw nigh unto the Best-Beloved.
His laws all grant liberation rather than restriction; they confer freedom rather than limitation; they impart joy and radiance rather than constraint. The laws and ordinances of all former religions included the waging of holy war, resorting to bows and arrows, swords and spears, chains and shackles, and the threatening and beheading of every hostile oppressor. But in this wondrous Dispensation, the Blessed Beauty hath delivered the friends from this heavy burden. He abrogated contention and conflict, and even rejected undue insistence. He exhorted us instead to “consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship”. He ordained that we be loving friends and well-wishers of all peoples and religions, and enjoined upon us to demonstrate the highest virtues in our dealings with the kindreds of the earth. He even regarded enemies as friends, and considered strangers as comrades and intimate companions. What a heavy burden was all that enmity and rancour, all that recourse to sword and spear! Conversely, what joy, what gladness is imparted by loving-kindness..."
– `Abdu'l-Bahá, Light of the World, no. 32 (AB01083)"There are three types of freedom. The first is divine freedom, which is one of the inherent attributes of the Creator for He is unconstrained in His will, and no one can force Him to change His decree in any matter whatsoever….
The second is the political freedom of Europeans, which leaves the individual free to do whatsoever he desires as long as his action does not harm his neighbour. This is natural freedom, and its greatest expression is seen in the animal world. Observe these birds and notice with what freedom they live. However much man may try, he can never be as free as an animal, because the existence of order acts as an impediment to freedom.
The third freedom is that which is born of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Almighty. This is the freedom of the human world, where man severs his affections from all things. When he does so, he becomes immune to all hardship and sorrow. Wealth or material power will not deflect him from moderation and fairness, neither will poverty or need inhibit him from showing forth happiness and tranquillity. The more the conscience of man develops, the more will his heart be free and his soul attain unto happiness. In the religion of God, there is freedom of thought because God, alone, controls the human conscience, but this freedom should not go beyond courtesy. In the religion of God, there is no freedom of action outside the law of God. Man may not transgress this law, even though no harm is inflicted on one’s neighbour. This is because the purpose of Divine law is the education of all—others as well as oneself—and, in the sight of God, the harm done to one individual or to his neighbour is the same and is reprehensible in both cases. Hearts must possess the fear of God. Man should endeavour to avoid that which is abhorrent unto God.
– 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Sacred Writings, chapter 15, section "The Law of God", no. 23 (also in Issues Related to the Study of the Bahá'í Faith, Universal House of Justice, 1998) (ABU0914)
references en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom; bahai9.com/wiki/Freedom; bahaiquotes.com/subject/freedom; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q=Freedom; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q=Liberty
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