Hi Scott,
none of these are the passage I was thinking of.... I
will try to find it and post it here.
for me there is a lot in Selections of the Writings of
Abdu;l-Baha that indicate how important unity is among
the believers, not only when they are assembly
members.
To support a decision of an assembly loyally, after it
has been taken, will apparently have more effect than
if one does not do this.
However, I feel that if I cannot uphold a decision, I
can explain this to my assembly.
For instance, if my assembly tells me that we are now
all going out to do street teaching, I have to tell
them that I cannot do that. I can however pray for the
success and I can also make coffee and tea and serve
it to those who street teach, even when I think that
street teachign is a total waste of time. I can at
least give them my energy, and by doing so I will be
loyal to the decision. I can ask for an evaluation
later, after the event, in feast. If it is a bit of a
pollyanna assembly who is a bit away with the fairies
and likes to enhance only the positive, I probably
will get a thing like: two people out of 40 listened,
and one came to the fireside in the hotel that night,
or devotional, so we will do it again, spending a lot
of money to hire a room for 40 people when one shows
up.
Eventually they got the message here in Ireland ;o)
and I think also in the Netherlands and other
countries in western Europe: we do not rent big halls
now so often nor is street teaching done as much as in
previous years.
much love,
janine van rooij
dublin, ireland.
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> In a message dated 1/17/2005 1:41:24 PM Central
> Standard Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> If I recall correctly the passage you are alluding
> to, I think it is one
> which has been misused a lot. Wasn't Abdu'l-Baha
> talking more about Assembly
> members all getting behind a decision that the
> majority agreed upon rather
> than so much the community at large? In other words
> we are talking about a
> situation where each Assembly member got their say
> before the decision in
> question was made.
> You are quite correct, though the language appears
> in many places:
> Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l Baha (here he
> links it with one of the
> customary prayers for convening an assembly meeting)
> "
> O ye League of the Covenant! Verily the Abh� Beauty
> made a promise to the
> beloved who are steadfast in the Covenant, that He
> would reinforce their
> strivings with the strongest of supports, and
> succour them with His triumphant might.
> Erelong shall ye see that your illumined assemblage
> hath left conspicuous
> signs and tokens in the hearts and souls of men.
> Hold ye fast to the hem of God's
> garment, and direct all your efforts toward
> furthering His Covenant, and
> burning ever more brightly with the fire of His
> love, that your hearts may leap for
> joy in the breathings of servitude which well out
> from the breast of
> `Abdu'l-Bah�. Rally your hearts, make firm your
> steps, trust in the everlasting
> bounties that will be shed upon you, one following
> another from the Kingdom of Abh�.
> Whensoever ye gather in that radiant assemblage,
> know ye that the splendours
> of Bah� are shining over you. It behoveth you to
> seek agreement and to be
> united; it behoveth you to be in close communion one
> with the other, at one both
> in body and soul, till ye match the Pleiades or a
> string of lustrous pearls.
> Thus will ye be solidly established; thus will your
> words prevail, your star
> shine out, and your hearts be comforted.... "
> Same source next page:
> " 45: The first condition is absolute love and
> harmony ...
> 1The first condition is absolute love and harmony
> amongst the members of the
> assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement
> and must manifest in
> themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves
> of one sea, the drops of one
> river, the stars of one heaven, the rays of one sun,
> the trees of one orchard,
> the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought
> and absolute unity be
> nonexistent, that gathering shall be dispersed and
> that assembly be brought to
> naught. The second condition is that the members of
> the assembly should unitedly
> elect a chairman and lay down guide-lines and
> by-laws for their meetings and
> discussions. The chairman should have charge of such
> rules and regulations and
> protect and enforce them; the other members should
> be submissive, and refrain
> from conversing on superfluous and extraneous
> matters. They must, when coming
> together, turn their faces to the Kingdom on high
> and ask aid from the Realm
> of Glory. They must then proceed with the utmost
> devotion, courtesy, dignity,
> care and moderation to express their views. They
> must in every matter search
> out the truth and not insist upon their own opinion,
> for stubbornness and
> persistence in one's views will lead ultimately to
> discord and wrangling and the
> truth will remain hidden. The honoured members must
> with all freedom express
> their own thoughts, and it is in no wise permissible
> for one to belittle the
> thought of another, nay, he must with moderation set
> forth the truth, and should
> differences of opinion arise a majority of voices
> must prevail, and all must
> obey and submit to the majority. It is again not
> permitted that any one of the
> honoured members object to or censure, whether in or
> out of the meeting, any
> decision arrived at previously, though that decision
> be not right, for such
> criticism would prevent any decision from being
> enforced. In short, whatsoever
> thing is arranged in harmony and with love and
> purity of motive, its result is
> light, and should the least trace of estrangement
> prevail the result shall be
> darkness upon darkness.... If this be so regarded,
> that assembly shall be of
> God, but otherwise it shall lead to coolness and
> alienation that proceed from the
> Evil One.... Should they endeavour to fulfil these
> conditions the Grace of
> the Holy Spirit shall be vouchsafed unto them, and
> that assembly shall become
> the centre of the Divine blessings, the hosts of
> Divine confirmation shall come
> to their aid, and they shall day by day receive a
> new effusion of Spirit. "
> Pages 404-406 of Baha`i World Faith
> " 1O thou party who art assisted by the hosts of the
> Kingdom of El-Abha!
> 2Blessed are ye who are assembled in the shadow of
> the Word of God, who are
> abiding in the cave of the Covenant of God, who are
> comforted by dwelling in
> the Paradise of El-Abha, who are cheerfully moved
> with the breezes which blow
> from the point of the providence of God, and who
> have arisen to render service
> to the Cause of God, to promulgate the Religion of
> God, to promote the Word of
> God and to hoist the standards of sanctity in those
> regions and climes.
> 3By the life of El-Baha! Verily, the perfect and
> divine power will breathe in
> you with bounties from the Holy Spirit and enable
> you to accomplish a thing
> the like of which hath never been seen by the eye of
> existence.
> 4O party of the Covenant! Verily, the Beauty of
> El-Baha hath promised the
> most great assistance to the beloved who are firm in
> the Covenant and to confirm
> them through the mightiest power. Ye will surely
> find in your luminous
> assembly such signs as will shine within hearts and
> souls. Adhere to the hem of the
> robe of the Lofty One and do your best to spread the
> Covenant of God and to be
> kindled with the fire of the love of God, so that
> your hearts may move with
> joy through the fragrances of humbleness which are
> being diffused from the heart
> of `Abdu'l-Bah�. Make feet firm, strengthen hearts
> and rely upon the
> everlasting bounties which will successively pour on
> you from the Kingdom of El-Abha.
> Know, verily, the lights of Bah� will shine forth
> unto you during your
> gathering together in the brilliant Paradise.
> 5It is incumbent on you to have union and harmony.
> It is incumbent upon you
> to have affinity and accord, so that ye may become
> united in body and soul as
> the Pleiades, and as strings of brilliant pearls.
> Thereby your foundation will
> be laid, your argument will become manifest, your
> stars will beam forth and
> your souls will be comforted.
> 6Whenever ye enter the council-chamber, recite this
> prayer with a heart
> throbbing with the love of God and a tongue purified
> from all but His remembrance,
> that the All-Powerful may graciously aid you to
> achieve supreme victory:--
> 7"O God, my God! We are servants of Thine that have
> turned with devotion to
> Thy Holy Face, that have detached ourselves from all
> beside Thee in this
> glorious Day. We have gathered in this spiritual
> assembly, united in our views and
> thoughts, with our purposes harmonized to exalt Thy
> Word amidst mankind. O
> Lord, our God! Make us the signs of Thy Divine
> Guidance, the Standards of Thy
> exalted Faith amongst men, servants to Thy mighty
> Covenant. O Thou our Lord Most
> High! Manifestations of Thy Divine Unity in Thine
> Abh� Kingdom, and resplendent
> stars shining upon all regions. Lord! Aid us to
> become seas surging with the
> billows of Thy wondrous Grace, streams flowing from
> Thy all-glorious Heights,
> goodly fruits upon the Tree of Thy heavenly Cause,
> trees waving through the
> breezes of Thy Bounty in Thy celestial Vineyard. O
> God! Make our souls dependent
> upon the Verses of Thy Divine Unity, our hearts
> cheered with the outpourings
> of Thy Grace, that we may unite even as the waves of
> one sea and become merged
>
=== message truncated ===
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