Personal Growth and Development, Acquisition of Divine Virtues

Bahiyyih Khanum, The Greatest Holy Leaf, 

the "archetype of the people of Baha"

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• Attitude to maintain while going through life
• The object of every Revelation from God is “a transformation in the whole character of mankind”
• Power of God operating through His Manifestation
• Transformative effect of the Word of God
• Need for “regular reading and study of the Holy Word”
• “converting satanic strength into heavenly power”
• “As the light of spirituality penetrates deep into the hearts…”
• To be born again
• “…turn your back to the darkness and your face to Me.”
• “…virtues and attainments… [that] are the adornments of the human reality”

Unity of Human Race

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• Points/Images to keep in mind
• “…fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch”
• “The world is but one country and mankind its citizens”
• “drops of one ocean”
• All have been created “from one same substance”
• “pearls from one shell”
• Power of the “light of unity”
• The most glorious fruit of the tree of knowledge
• The world of humanity maybe likened to the Earth and God’s bounty to the Sun – all receive the same light but reflect it differently
• “God has created all and has nurtured all and provideth for all and preserveth all”
• We are all “in need of education and civilization” - to become more “polished”
• Imitations to overcome

• Some of the factors that need to be addressed and implemented
• Independent investigation of reality
• Religion should be the cause of unity “among all the creeds”
• Elimination of prejudice
• Harmony of science and religion
• Equality between man & woman
• Economic adjustments
• Need for the breadth of Holy Spirit
• Spiritual Unity – a “unity” that is “greater than the unity of mankind”

Progressive Revelation & Unity of Religions

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• What is Religion?
• Purpose of religion
• Religions of God have one foundation
• Apparent differences among religions – is due to our misconceptions about Absolute Truth
• Imitations and superstitions have obscured the Reality of Divine Religion
• Each Manifestation of God was “commissioned to unravel the mysteries of a mighty Tablet”
• Founders of all religions are “the Manifestations of Truth”
• Teachings of the religion of God can be grouped into two parts - spiritual and material
• Examples of changes in social laws associated with various past religions
• Various religions “are in reality one” – “the one reality appearing in its successive manifestations”

Human Soul, its Growth and Development, Life after Death

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This life and the Next

• The spiritual world is the “exact counterpart” of the physical world
• Preparation in this world for the life beyond
• What is needed in the next world
• How can one acquire in this life what is needed in the life beyond?

 Human Soul

• The “nature of the soul”
• The “human soul is, in its essence, one of the signs of God, a mystery among His mysteries”
• The rational soul, also known as the human spirit “is the substance upon which the body depends”
• Human spirit needs to “receives the breath of the Holy Spirit”
• The soul has “its own individuality”

Life after Death

• “…after its separation from the body, the human soul begins to lead a new life…”
• “The nature of the soul after death can never be described…”
• The hour of death: “…the utmost purity and sanctity and…absolute detachment”
• Soul continues to progress after death
• Upon entering “the world of God, then veils will fall away…”
• A “Blessed” soul “at the hour of its separation from the body”
• The “state of the soul after its separation from the body”

Baha’u’llah’s Supporting Role after the Historic Conference of Badasht

Shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi circa 1935

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• Receiving severe injuries at the village of Niyálá - consequences of misconduct behavior of a few
• Babís who had attended the conference of Badasht
•  Baha’u’llah recalls the incident at the village of Niyala
• Baha’u’llah arranged for the safe transfer of Tahirih to Núr in Mazindaran
• Baha’u’llah travelled from Badash to Núr “village by village, town by town”
• 1848: Muhammad Shah orders Baha’u’llah’s arrest and execution
• 1848: Baha’u’llah and Quddus faced “bitter denunciations” in the town of Sari
• Whereabouts of Baha’u’llah, Quddus, Tahirih, and Mulla Husayn following the conference of Badasht
• Fall 1848: Baha’u’llah visits Mulla Husayn and his companions at Fort Tabarsi
• December 1848: Faithful to His promise to Mulla Husayn, Baha’u’llah sets out for Fort Tabarsi
• Baha’u’llah recalls His intention to join the believers at Fort Tabarsi
• 1848: Baha’u’llah is interrogated by a group of hostile divines in Amul
• 1848: Baha’u’llah suffered the humiliating bastinado punishment