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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."
71 stories on this theme.
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…
Today, at table, let us speak for a little of proofs. If you had come to this blessed place in the days of the manifestation of the evident Light,29 if you had attained to the court of His presence, and had witnessed His luminous…
In the beginning of the eleventh chapter of the Revelation of St. John it is…
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. It is compared sometimes to a bride, and sometimes to Jerusalem, and again to…
In this material world time has cycles; places change through alternating seasons, and for souls there are progress, retrogression and…
The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and…
A subject that is essential77 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…
Question.—How was Christ born of the Holy…
A great man is a great man, whether born of a human father or not. If being without a father is a virtue, Adam is greater and more excellent than all the Prophets and Messengers, for He had neither father nor mother. That which causes…
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…
Question.—Is the ablution of baptism useful and necessary, or is it useless and unnecessary? In the first case, if it is useful, why was it abrogated? And in the second case, if it is useless, why did John practice…
Question.—The Christ said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.”86 What is the meaning of this…
Question.—It is recorded that miracles were performed by Christ. Are the reports of these miracles really to be accepted literally, or have they another meaning? It has been proved by exact science that the essence of things does not…
Question.—What is the meaning of Christ’s resurrection after three…
Question.—What is the manner, and what is the meaning, of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as described in the…
Question.—What is the Holy…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addresses Laura Clifford Barney's question on the creation of the human being — distinguishing the *species* from the *individual* and explaining the eternal pre-existence of humanity in the divine knowledge.
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. For example, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon shall not give…
Question.—What is the meaning of the Trinity, of the Three Persons in…
“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world…
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.” What is the meaning of these…
When we consider existence, we see that the mineral, vegetable, animal and human worlds are all in need of an…
Question.—What is the truth of the story of Adam, and His eating of the fruit of the…
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,”110 and in the Qur’án it is written: “He will confer particular mercy on whom He pleaseth.” What is the wisdom of…
Question.—Will you explain the subject of…
Question.—In the Gospel of St. Matthew it is said: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.”117 What is the meaning of this…
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…
Know that, speaking generally, there are five divisions of the spirit. First the vegetable spirit: this is a power which results from the combination of elements and the mingling of substances by the decree of the Supreme God, and from…
Question.—What connection has the Reality of Divinity with the Lordly Rising-places and the Divine…
Know that the Holy Manifestations, though They have the degrees of endless perfections, yet, speaking generally, have only three stations. The first station is the physical; the second station is the human, which is that of the rational…
We said that the Manifestations have three planes. First, the physical reality, which depends upon the body; second, the individual reality, that is to say, the rational soul; third, the divine appearance, which is the divine…
One of those Who possessed this power and was assisted by it was Abraham. And the proof of it was that He was born in Mesopotamia, and of a family who were ignorant of the Oneness of God. He opposed His own nation and people, and even…
Question.—One of the powers possessed by the Divine Manifestations is knowledge. To what extent is it…
Question.—What is the real explanation of the cycles which occur in the world of…
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…
Question.—How many kinds of Prophets are…
Question.—In the Holy Books there are some addresses of reproach and rebuke directed to the Prophets. Who is addressed, and for whom is the…
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 addresses Laura Clifford Barney's question on the prophecies of Isaiah — identifying specific passages of the Hebrew prophet that, in His reading, speak of the Bahá'í Revelation and the age it inaugurates.
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. By the government and the…
Question.—In the Bible it is said that God breathed the spirit into the body of man. What is the meaning of this…
Question.—Of what degree is the perception of the human world, and what are its…
Afterward Christ came, saying, “I am born of the Holy Spirit.” Though it is now easy for the Christians to believe this assertion, at that time it was very difficult. According to the text of the Gospel the Pharisees said, “Is not this…
Having shown that the spirit of man exists,152 we must prove its…
Yesterday we were occupied in discussing the immortality of the spirit. Know that the power and the comprehension of the human spirit are of two kinds—that is to say, they perceive and act in two different modes. One way is through…
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.” What is the meaning of this…
Question.—After the body is put aside and the spirit has obtained freedom, in what way will the rational soul exist? Let us suppose that the souls who are assisted by the bounty of the Holy Spirit attain to true existence and eternal…
You question about eternal life and the entrance into the Kingdom. The outer expression used for the Kingdom is heaven; but this is a comparison and similitude, not a reality or fact, for the Kingdom is not a material place; it is…
Question.—Is the predestination which is mentioned in the Holy Books a decreed thing? If so, is not the effort to avoid it…
Question.—Have the stars of the heavens any influence upon the human soul, or have they…
Now we come to Muḥammad. Americans and Europeans have heard a number of stories about the Prophet which they have thought to be true, although the narrators were either ignorant or antagonistic: most of them were clergy; others were…
Question.—Is man a free agent in all his actions, or is he compelled and…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addresses Laura Clifford Barney's question on the immortality of the human soul — explaining the soul's continuance after the death of the body and the nature of its progress in the further worlds of God.
Question.—Some people believe that they achieve spiritual discoveries—that is to say, that they converse with spirits. What kind of communion is…
Question.—Some people heal the sick by spiritual means—that is to say, without medicine. How is…
Yesterday at table we spoke of curative treatment and spiritual healing, which consists in treating maladies through the spiritual…
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…
Know that there are two kinds of torment: subtile and gross. For example, ignorance itself is a torment, but it is a subtile torment; indifference to God is itself a torment; so also are falsehood, cruelty and treachery. All the…
Know that to do justice is to give to everyone according to his deserts. For example, when a workman labors from morning until evening, justice requires that he shall be paid his wages; but when he has done no work and taken no trouble,…
Question.—Should a criminal be punished, or forgiven and his crime…
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…
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.15 It was universally admitted by the Shí’is that He…
Question.—How many kinds of preexistence and of phenomena are…
Question.—What is the truth of the question of reincarnation, which is believed by some…
Question.—How do the Theosophists and the Súfís understand the question of pantheism?171 What does it mean, and how nearly does it approximate to the…
There are only four accepted methods of comprehension—that is to say, the realities of things are understood by these four…
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, and who strive to establish universal…
Question.—What is the condition of children who die before attaining the age of discretion or before the appointed time of…