“The teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are the light of this age and the spirit of this century.”

The teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are the light of this age and the spirit of this century. Expound each of them at every gathering.

• The first is investigation of truth,
• The second, the oneness of mankind,
• The third, universal peace,
• The fourth, conformity between science and divine revelation,
• The fifth, abandonment of racial, religious, worldly and political prejudices, prejudices which destroy the foundation of mankind.
• The sixth is righteousness and justice,
• The seventh, the betterment of morals and heavenly education,
• The eighth, the equality of the two sexes,
• The ninth, the diffusion of knowledge and education,
• The tenth, economic questions, and so on and so forth.

Strive that souls may attain unto the light of guidance and hold fast unto the hem of Bahá'u'lláh. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha ('Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha')

The religious and historical significance of Bahá'u'lláh’s Declaration in the Garden of Ridván

The arrival of Bahá'u'lláh in the Najibiyyih Garden, subsequently designated by His followers the Garden of Ridvan, signalizes the commencement of what has come to be recognized as the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals, the festival commemorating the Declaration of His Mission to His companions. So momentous a Declaration may well be regarded both as the logical consummation of that revolutionizing process which was initiated by Himself upon His return from Sulaymaniyyih, and as a prelude to the final proclamation of that same Mission to the world and its rulers from Adrianople.

Through that solemn act the "delay," of no less than a decade, divinely interposed between the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation in the Siyah-Chal and its announcement to the Báb's disciples, was at long last terminated. The "set time of concealment," during which as He Himself has borne witness, the "signs and tokens of a divinely-appointed Revelation" were being showered upon Him, was fulfilled. The "myriad veils of light," within which His glory had been wrapped, were, at that historic hour, partially lifted, vouchsafing to mankind "an infinitesimal glimmer" of the effulgence of His "peerless, His most sacred and exalted Countenance." The "thousand two hundred and ninety days," fixed by Daniel in the last chapter of His Book, as the duration of the "abomination that maketh desolate" had now elapsed. The "hundred lunar years," destined to immediately precede that blissful consummation (1335 days), announced by Daniel in that same chapter, had commenced. The nineteen years, constituting the first "Vahid," preordained in the Persian Bayan by the pen of the Báb, had been completed. The Lord of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ returned in the glory of the Father, was about to ascend His throne, and assume the sceptre of a world-embracing, indestructible sovereignty. The community of the Most Great Name, the "companions of the Crimson Colored Ark," lauded in glowing terms in the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá', had visibly emerged. The Báb's own prophecy regarding the "Ridvan," the scene of the unveiling of Bahá'u'lláh's transcendent glory, had been literally fulfilled. 

- Shoghi Effendi ('God Passes By')

When Baha’u’llah passed away He “had half a million” followers

At the time His Holiness Jesus Christ was crucified, there were eleven disciples and even they were doubting -- Peter heading them -- until Mary the Magdalene, that lioness of God, strengthened them and was the cause of confirming them. Then consider how great were the results! And now, His Holiness Baha’u’llah, when He ascended, had half a million souls who were self-sacrificing and all were perfectly firm and staunch! Consider what a marvelous potency this will exercise. Rest assured in the favor of God, and know that God is your Assister. So with great power, with great confidence, strive that the lights of God may be spread and in this country from East to West the light may be shining. Be confident! Have no doubt about it! This banner of Baha’u’llah will be unfurled, waving toward all regions! The lights of the Kingdom of God will illumine all these climes, and the call of God will reach the hearing of all the American Republic! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, San Francisco, October 5, 1912; Star of the West, vol. 10, no. 13, November 4, 1919)

“Be filled with the Spirit of Baha’u’llah. Your thoughts must be of Baha’u’llah. Your mention must be of Baha’u’llah. Your life must he devoted to Baha’u’llah.”

…render thanks to God, for your spirits are gladdened with the glad tidings of God. Be forgetful of all other thoughts. Be filled with the Spirit of Baha’u’llah. Your thoughts must be of Baha’u’llah. Your mention must be of Baha’u’llah. Your life must he devoted to Baha’u’llah. Your firmness must be evident in Baha’u’llah, for Baha’u’llah has endured for your sake infinite vicissitudes. All His life He was subject to persecutions. During the nights, He was not at rest. He did not sleep in peace for one night, not one. Never did He find peace and composure. All His life He was subject to persecution. All His life He was exiled. All His life He was imprisoned. Therefore we must be loyal to Him; turn our faces to Him; praise His mention in this world; expound His teachings; quicken people with His Spirit, so that His Heavenly Image may descend and His Heavenly Power affect the hearts. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, June 10, 1912, Philadelphia, USA, ‘Star of the West, vol. V, no. 6, 13 June 24, 1914)

Bahá'u'lláh’s remarkable knowledge and sagacity during His youthful years was acknowledged in all gatherings of doctors and scholars

…There was in Tihrán… a Youth of the family of one of the ministers and of noble lineage, gifted in every way, and adorned with purity and nobility. Although He combined lofty lineage with high connection, and although His ancestors were men of note in Persia and universally sought after, yet He was not of a race of doctors or a family of scholars. Now this Youth was from His earliest adolescence celebrated amongst those of the ministerial class, both relatives and strangers, for single-mindedness, and was from childhood pointed out as remarkable for sagacity, and held in regard in the eyes of the wise. He did not, however, after the fashion of His ancestors, desire elevation to lofty ranks nor seek advancement to splendid but transient positions. His extreme aptitude was nevertheless admitted by all, and His excessive acuteness and intelligence were universally avowed. In the eyes of the common folk He enjoyed a wonderful esteem, and in all gatherings and assemblies He had a marvelous speech and delivery. Notwithstanding lack of instruction and education such was the keenness of His penetration and the readiness of His apprehension that when during His youthful prime He appeared in assemblies where questions of divinity and points of metaphysic were being discussed, and, in presence of a great concourse of doctors and scholars loosed his tongue, all those present were amazed, accounting this as a sort of prodigy beyond the discernment natural to the human race. From His early years He was the hope of His kindred and the unique one of His family and race, nay, their refuge and shelter. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘A Traveler’s Narrative’)

Baha’u’llah reveals the station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Surih of the Branch)

It was in Adrianople that Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet the significance of which cannot be over-estimated. That Tablet was the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Surih of the Branch) addressed to Mirza 'Ali-Riday-i-Mustawfi, a Bahá'í of Khurasan --that province in eastern Persia famed in the Bábí Dispensation and to which some momentous prophecies of Bahá'u'lláh specifically apply. Mirza 'Ali-Rida was a high-ranking official in the service of the government, and his brother, Mirza Muhammad-Rida …also a follower of Bahá'u'lláh, was the Vizier of Khurasan. In the Suriy-i-Ghusn, Bahá'u'lláh thus extols His eldest Son:

“There hath branched from the Sadratu'l-Muntaha this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork I . . . A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the Most Great Tablet -- a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a sign of His greatness and power among its people . . . Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favoured servants . . . We have sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch, are lost in the wilderness of error are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly perish.” (Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah, pp. 45-46) 

- Balyuzi (‘Abdu'l-Baha - The Centre of the Covenant’)