Meetings

‘Abdu’l-Bahá attaches the greatest important to regular meetings of the believers for united worship, for the exposition and study of the teachings and for consultation regarding the progress of the Movement. In one of His Tablets He says:—

It hath been decided by the Desire of God that union and harmony may day by day increase among the friends of God and the handmaids of the Merciful. Not until this is realized will the affairs advance by any means whatever! And the greatest means for the union and harmony of all are Spiritual Meetings. This matter is very important and is as a magnet to attract divine confirmation. In the spiritual meetings of Bahá’ís contentious argument and the discussion of political or worldly affairs must be avoided; the sole aim of the believers should be to teach and learn Divine Truth, to have their hearts filled with Divine Love, to attain more perfect obedience to the Divine Will, and to promote the coming of the Kingdom of God. In an address given at New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:—

The Bahá’í meeting must be the meeting of the Celestial Concourse. It must be illumined by the lights of the Celestial Concourse. The hearts must be as mirrors wherein the lights of the Sun of Truth shall be revealed. Every bosom must be as a telegraph station: one terminal of the wire shall be in the bosom of the soul, the other in the Celestial Concourse, so that messages may be exchanged between them. In this way from the Abhá Kingdom inspiration shall flow and in all discussions harmony shall prevail.... The more agreement, unity and love prevail among you, the more shall the confirmations of God assist you, and the help and aid of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh, support you. In one of His Tablets He said:—

In these meetings outside conversation must be entirely avoided, and the gathering must be confined to chanting the verses and reading the words, and to matters which concern the Cause of God, such as explaining proofs, adducing clear and manifest evidences, and tracing the signs of the Beloved One of the creatures. Those who attend the meeting must, before entering, be arrayed with the utmost cleanliness and turn to the Abhá Kingdom, and then enter the meeting with all meekness and humbleness; and while the tablets are being read, must be quiet and silent; and if one wishes to speak he must do so with all courtesy, with the satisfaction and permission of those present, and do it with eloquence and fluency.

Source: J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (1923). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19241.

Esslemont, J. E.. (1923). *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19241/pg19241-images.html