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Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and
a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers
of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged.
Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of
the human race. Pay ye no heed to aversion and rejection, to disdain,
hostility, injustice: act ye in the opposite way. Be ye sincerely
kind, not in appearance only. Let each one of God's loved ones centre
his attention on this: to be the Lord's mercy to man; to be the
Lord's grace. Let him do some good to every person whose path he
crosseth, and be of some benefit to him. Let him improve the
character of each and all, and reorient the minds of men.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 3)
...show forth fellowship and love, consideration and generosity and
loving-kindness to every community on earth. Now must the lovers of
God arise to carry out these instructions of His: let them be kindly
fathers to the children of the human race, and compassionate brothers
to the youth, and self-denying offspring to those bent with years.
The meaning of this is that ye must show forth tenderness and love to
every human being, even to your enemies, and welcome them all with
unalloyed friendship, good cheer, and loving-kindness. When ye meet
with cruelty and persecution at another's hands, keep faith with him;
when malevolence is directed your way, respond with a friendly heart.
To the spears and arrows rained upon you, expose your breasts for a
target mirror-bright; and in return for curses, taunts and wounding
words, show forth abounding love. Thus will all peoples witness the
power of the Most Great Name,...
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 20)
Wherefore must the loved ones of God associate in affectionate
fellowship with stranger and friend alike, showing forth to all the
utmost loving-kindness, disregarding the degree of their capacity,
never asking whether they deserve to be loved. In every instance let
the friends be considerate and infinitely kind. Let them never be
defeated by the malice of the people, by their aggression and their
hate, no matter how intense. If others hurl their darts against you,
offer them milk and honey in return; if they poison your lives,
sweeten their souls; if they injure you, teach them how to be
comforted; if they inflict a wound upon you, be a balm to their
sores; if they sting you, hold to their lips a refreshing cup.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 24)
And among the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh is the oneness of the world of
humanity; that all human beings are the sheep of God and He is the
kind Shepherd. This Shepherd is kind to all the sheep, because He
created them all, trained them, provided for them and protected them.
There is no doubt that the Shepherd is kind to all the sheep and
should there be among these sheep ignorant ones, they must be 299
educated; if there be children, they must be trained until they reach
maturity; if there be sick ones, they must be cured. There must be no
hatred and enmity, for as by a kind physician these ignorant, sick
ones should be treated.
And among the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh is that religion must be the
cause of fellowship and love. If it becomes the cause of estrangement
then it is not needed, for religion is like a remedy; if it
aggravates the disease then it becomes unnecessary.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 298)
The Blessed Beauty saith: 'Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the
leaves of one branch.' Thus hath He likened this world of being to a
single tree, and all its peoples to the leaves thereof, and the
blossoms and fruits. It is needful for the bough to blossom, and leaf
and fruit to flourish, and upon the interconnection of all parts of
the world-tree, dependeth the flourishing of leaf and blossom, and
the sweetness of the fruit.
For this reason must all human beings powerfully sustain one another
and seek for everlasting life; and for this reason must the lovers of
God in this contingent world become the mercies and the blessings
sent forth by that clement King of the seen and unseen realms. Let
them purify their sight and behold all humankind as leaves and
blossoms and fruits of the tree of being. Let them at all times
concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their
fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help.
Let them 2 see no one as their enemy, or as wishing them ill, but
think of all humankind as their friends; regarding the alien as an
intimate, the stranger as a companion, staying free of prejudice,
drawing no lines.
In this day, the one favoured at the Threshold of the Lord is he who
handeth round the cup of faithfulness; who bestoweth, even upon his
enemies, the jewel of bounty, and lendeth, even to his fallen
oppressor, a helping hand; it is he who will, even to the fiercest of
his foes, be a loving friend. These are the Teachings of the Blessed
Beauty, these the counsels of the Most Great Name.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 1)
[email protected]
senmcglinn.wordpress.com
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Sen McGlinn ***
All is to be yielded up, save only the *remembrance* of God;
all is to be dispraised, except His praise.
Today, to this melody of the Company on high,
the world will leap and dance:
`Glory be to my Lord, the All-Glorious!'
(Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Baha, p. 93)
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