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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
102 stories on this theme.
Question.—What is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teaching concerning the different Divine manifestations?
How can one increase in faith? You must strive. A child does not know, in learning he obtains knowledge. search for Truth.
Asked in New York about the long lives recorded of people in ancient times, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that a family was once called by the name of one person, so later ages mistook the family’s span for one founder’s life.
In man five outer powers exist, which are the agents of perception, that is to say, through these five powers man perceives material beings.
...By materialists, whose belief with regard to Divinity hath been explained, is not meant philosophers in general, but rather that group of materialists of narrow vision that worship that which is sensed, that depend upon the five…
As to what thou hast written concerning “Reincarnation”: Believing in reincarnation is one of the old tenets held by most nations and creeds, as well as by the Greek and Roman philosophers and wise men, the old Egyptians and the chief Assyrians.
The Supper of the Lord which His Highness the Spirit ate with the apostles was a heavenly supper and not one of material bread and water, for material objects have no connection with spiritual objects.
All the people have formed a god in the world of thought, and that form of their own imagination they worship; when the fact is that the imagined form is finite and the human mind is infinite.
As a young man visiting Yalrud, Bahá’u’lláh resolved a puzzle about a tradition concerning Fatimih that a famed mujtahid’s scholars could not answer, and the next day the mujtahid rebuked his disciples.
Years later Leroy Ioas described the visitors who came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from dawn onward, and the swift answers with which, in a single moment, He might decide someone’s destiny.
During her long visits to 'Akká between 1904 and 1906, Laura Clifford Barney put her questions to 'Abdu'l-Bahá at His table. His answers became Some Answered Questions, which includes His talk on the four ways people seek to understand the truth.
Howard Colby Ives, a minister who had long searched for God without finding Him, met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912. His doubts did not end that day; certainty came months later, after the Master had left America.
Between 1904 and 1906 Laura Clifford Barney made several long visits to 'Akká and put her questions to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, often at the lunch table. His replies, written down and corrected by Him, became Some Answered Questions.
Ali Kuli Khan, interpreter for Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl in America, three times asked him what happens to the soul after death. Years later a ship slipping over the horizon gave him the answer.
Nature is that condition, that reality, which in appearance consists in life and death, or, in other words, in the composition and decomposition of all things.
Today, at table, let us speak for a little of proofs.
In the beginning of the eleventh chapter of the Revelation of St.
In Isaiah, chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, it is said: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and…
We have before explained that what is most frequently meant by the Holy City, the Jerusalem of God, which is mentioned in the Holy Book, is the Law of God.
In this material world time has cycles; places change through alternating seasons, and for souls there are progress, retrogression and education.
The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and circumstances.
A subject that is essential for the comprehension of the questions that we have mentioned, and of others of which we are about to speak, so that the essence of the problems may be understood, is this: that human knowledge is of two kinds.
Question.—How was Christ born of the Holy Spirit? Answer.—In regard to this question, theologians and materialists disagree.
A great man is a great man, whether born of a human father or not.
Question.—It is said in the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 3, verses 13, 14, 15: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest…
One of the proofs and demonstrations of the existence of God is the fact that man did not create himself: nay, his creator and designer is another than himself.
Question.—Is the ablution of baptism useful and necessary, or is it useless and unnecessary?
Question.—The Christ said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.”
Question.—It is recorded that miracles were performed by Christ.
Question.—What is the meaning of Christ’s resurrection after three days?
Question.—What is the manner, and what is the meaning, of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as described in the Gospel?
Question.—What is the Holy Spirit?
In a group of chapters of *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá takes up the theory that man is descended from the animal, and teaches that although humanity's form developed gradually, like an embryo in the womb, man was from the beginning a distinct species, with mind and spirit present though hidden.
It is said in the Holy Books that Christ will come again, and that His coming depends upon the fulfillment of certain signs: when He comes, it will be with these signs.
Question.—What is the meaning of the Trinity, of the Three Persons in One?
“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
Question.—In verse 22 of chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians it is written: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
When we consider existence, we see that the mineral, vegetable, animal and human worlds are all in need of an educator.
Question.—What is the truth of the story of Adam, and His eating of the fruit of the tree?
Question.—“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be…
Question.—In the Gospel Christ said: “Many are called, but few are chosen,” and in the Qur’án it is written: “He will confer particular mercy on whom He pleaseth.”
Question.—Will you explain the subject of Return? Answer.—Bahá’u’lláh has explained this question fully and clearly in the Íqán.
Question.—In the Gospel of St. Matthew it is said: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.”
Question.—If God has knowledge of an action which will be performed by someone, and it has been written on the Tablet of Fate, is it possible to resist it?
Know that, speaking generally, there are five divisions of the spirit.
Question.—What connection has the Reality of Divinity with the Lordly Rising-places and the Divine Dawning-points?
Know that the Holy Manifestations, though They have the degrees of endless perfections, yet, speaking generally, have only three stations.
We said that the Manifestations have three planes.
One of those Who possessed this power and was assisted by it was Abraham.
Question.—One of the powers possessed by the Divine Manifestations is knowledge.
Question.—What is the real explanation of the cycles which occur in the world of existence?
Question.—What is the degree of the power and the perfections of the Thrones of Reality, the Manifestations of God, and what is the limit of Their influence?
Question.—How many kinds of Prophets are there? Answer.—Universally, the Prophets are of two kinds. One are the independent Prophets Who are followed; the other kind are not independent and are themselves followers.
Question.—In the Holy Books there are some addresses of reproach and rebuke directed to the Prophets.
It is said in the holy verse: “There is no partner for Him Who is the Dayspring of Revelation136 in His Most Great Infallibility. He is, in truth, the exponent of ‘God doeth whatsoever He willeth’ in the kingdom of creation. Indeed the…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá comments on the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, with its Branch out of the stem of Jesse and its peaceable kingdom of the wolf and the lamb, and applies its verses to Bahá'u'lláh and His cycle.
Moses was for a long time a shepherd in the wilderness. Regarded outwardly, He was a Man brought up in a tyrannical household, and was known among men as One Who had committed a murder and become a shepherd.
Question.—In the Bible it is said that God breathed the spirit into the body of man.
Question.—Of what degree is the perception of the human world, and what are its limitations?
Afterward Christ came, saying, “I am born of the Holy Spirit.”
Having shown that the spirit of man exists, we must prove its immortality.
Yesterday we were occupied in discussing the immortality of the spirit.
Question.—It is said in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas “...whoso is deprived thereof, hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed.”
Question.—After the body is put aside and the spirit has obtained freedom, in what way will the rational soul exist?
You question about eternal life and the entrance into the Kingdom.
Question.—Is the predestination which is mentioned in the Holy Books a decreed thing?
Question.—Have the stars of the heavens any influence upon the human soul, or have they not?
Now we come to Muḥammad.
Question.—Is man a free agent in all his actions, or is he compelled and constrained?
In a series of chapters of *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá offers rational proofs that the human spirit survives the death of the body, and teaches that, because the perfections of humanity are endless, the soul can continue to progress after leaving this world.
Question.—Some people believe that they achieve spiritual discoveries—that is to say, that they converse with spirits.
Question.—Some people heal the sick by spiritual means—that is to say, without medicine.
Yesterday at table we spoke of curative treatment and spiritual healing, which consists in treating maladies through the spiritual powers.
The true explanation of this subject is very difficult. Know that beings are of two kinds: material and spiritual, those perceptible to the senses and those intellectual.
Know that there are two kinds of torment: subtile and gross.
Know that to do justice is to give to everyone according to his deserts.
Question.—Should a criminal be punished, or forgiven and his crime overlooked?
Certain sophists think that existence is an illusion, that each being is an absolute illusion which has no existence—in other words, that the existence of beings is like a mirage, or like the reflection of an image in water or in a mirror …
As for the Báb—may my soul be His sacrifice!—at a youthful age, that is to say, when He had reached the twenty-fifth year of His blessed life, He stood forth to proclaim His Cause.
Question.—How many kinds of preexistence and of phenomena are there?
Question.—What is the truth of the question of reincarnation, which is believed by some people?
Question.—How do the Theosophists and the Súfís understand the question of pantheism?
There are only four accepted methods of comprehension—that is to say, the realities of things are understood by these four methods.
Question.—Those who are blessed with good actions and universal benevolence, who have praiseworthy characteristics, who act with love and kindness toward all creatures, who care for the poor …
Question.—What is the condition of children who die before attaining the age of discretion or before the appointed time of birth?
As to the question regarding the soul of a murderer, and what his punishment would be, the answer given was that the murderer must expiate his crime: that is, if they put the murderer to death, his death is his atonement for his crime …
O thou servant of the Holy Threshold! We have read what flowed out from thy pen in thy love for God, and found the contents of thy letter most pleasing.
As to thy question, doth every soul without exception achieve life everlasting?
O ye two seekers after truth! Your letter was received and its contents noted.
Thou hadst asked about fate, predestination and will. Fate and predestination consist in the necessary and indispensable relationships which exist in the realities of things.
O thou who seekest the Kingdom of Heaven! Thy letter hath been received and its contents noted. The Holy Manifestations of God possess two stations: one is the physical station, and one the spiritual.
O servant of God!
O thou dear wise man! They letter was considered. Its contents were in the utmost of beauty and great joy was realized therefrom.
O thou faithful maid-servant of God! What thou has written me hath been seen. Indeed thou belongest to the Kingdom and thou turnest towards the Horizon of Abha.
O thou favored maid-servant in the Threshold of the Almighty!
O thou honored friend! Verily the sight of Providence is far reaching and the divine glance is perfect. Thou hast always been a recipient of favors and the object of the bounty of the glorious Beauty of Abha.
O thou seeker after Truth! The question of the Trinity, since the time of His Holiness Christ until now, is the belief of the Christians, and to the present time all the learned among them are perplexed and confounded.
O thou who art advancing to the Kingdom of God! I have considered thy writing, which indicates brightness of heart and the love of God.
O thou who art advancing toward the Divine Kingdom! What thou hast written was understood and noted. Thou hast asked concerning the station of this servant.
O thou who art rejoiced at the explanation of the maid-servant of God .........!
O thou who art uttering the praise of God! Verily I read thy letter, which expressed thy surprise at some of the commandments of the law of God, such as that concerning the hunting of innocent animals.
O visitant of the Resort of spirits (who are) sincere in the Religion of God!