Humanity
- All
humankind are like children in a school, and the Prophets and
Manifestations of God as Teachers
- We
should view each other, metaphorically, as leaves and fruits of one tree
- We
should view the diversity in the human family as being similar to
different notes of music that blend together to make a perfect chord
- “…the
precepts laid down by God constitute the highest means for the maintenance
of order in the world and the security of its peoples…”
- Prejudices -- whether religious, racial, patriotic or political -- are destructive to the foundations of human development
Community & Society
- God’s
Teachings are the highest means for order and security of all peoples
- Need
for an “equal standard of human rights”
- Need
for economic readjustment
- A
House of Justice should be established in every city
- Consultation
is “the bestower of understanding”; “it is and will always be a cause of
awareness and of awakening and a source of good and well-being”; one
should consult “in all things”
- God
has made music like a “ladder” for our “souls”, “a means whereby they may
be lifted up unto the realm on high”
- To
celebrate our collective love and obedience to God once a month
- To
come together and read the verses of God
- “The craft of every craftsman is regarded as worship”
Family
- Men
and women are equal in the sight of God
- Mothers
are the first educators, the first mentors …
- “The
family, being a human unit, must be educated according to the rules of
sanctity”
- Marriage
should be viewed as a “fortress for well-being and salvation”
- Husband
and wife should view the Word of God as the “tie” between them
- One
should have “due regard for the rights of one's parents”
- To
remember our parents during our prayers
- Children
should be “made eager to gain all the summits of human accomplishment”
- Mothers
are the first educators, the first mentors…
- Academic
schools should also train children in ethical conduct and virtuous
character
- Children
should “exert themselves to the utmost in acquiring the art of reading and
writing”
Personal Growth & development
- Each
human being is like a mine rich in gems of inestimable value
- Each
human being needs material, human and spiritual education
- One
should “turn” to God with “firm determination”, with “the whole affection”
of one’s “heart”, and “with the full force" of one’s
"words"
- “Man's
merit lieth in service and virtue…”
- One
should observe “moderation” in “all matters”
- The
first twin duties prescribed by God for each human being
- "acts"
which “according to the estimate of God” are among the “highest and most
laudable of all acts”
- Each
human being should abandon blind imitations and investigate the reality
- God
wants us to do our best “to acquire both inner and outer perfections”
- In
order for God's love to reach us we need to love Him
- One
should avoid jealousy and anger
- One
should become so forgiving that if a person “falls into error for a
hundred-thousand times” we would still forgive him
- One
should worship God only for His sake – “without fear of fire or hope of
paradise”
- To
say a special prayer, known as Obligatory Prayer, everyday
- To
take no important step in our personal affairs without consultation
- We
“must travel in the way of God”; day by day, we “must endeavor to become
better”
- A
“distinctive power” that God has conferred upon human beings is the
“faculty of intellectual investigation”, and the “acquisition of higher
knowledge”
- "Religion
and Science are inter-twined with each other and cannot be separated.
These are the two wings with which humanity must fly. One wing is not
enough."
- In
everything one should see with one’s own eyes and know through one’s own
knowledge
- No
one should exalt himself over the other
- Prejudices
-- whether religious, racial, patriotic or political -- are destructive to
the foundations of human development
- Consultation
is “the bestower of understanding”; “it is and will always be a cause of
awareness and of awakening and a source of good and well-being”; one
should consult “in all things”
- One
should become so forgiving that if a person “falls into error for a
hundred-thousand times” we would still forgive him
World of Existence
- Nature
is “God’s Will” in “the contingent world”, and reflects “the names and
attributes of God”.
- There
is no evil in God’s creation
- God
sends His Prophets to “guide” us to the “light of true understanding” and
to “ensure” our “peace and tranquility”
- “Religious
truth is not absolute but relative: and that “Divine Revelation is a
continuous and progressive process”
- Each
human being should “investigate the reality underlying the … Word of God”
revealed by Founders of various world religions, to see their fundamental
unity
- Religion
should be viewed as the source of nearness of God to man & the cause
of love, fellowship and unity among peoples
- “…the precepts laid down by God constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples..”
