Paris Talks
\' >> \'Abdu\'l Baha >> Paris Talksby 'Abdu'l-Baha
Edition 1, (September 2006)
BAHA'I TERMS OF USE
You have permission to freely make and use copies of the text and any
other information ("Content") available on this Site including printing,
emailing, posting, distributing, copying, downloading, uploading,
transmitting, displaying the Content in whole or in part subject to the
following:
1. Our copyright notice and the source reference must be attached to the
Content;
2. The Content may not be modified or altered in any way except to change
the font or appearance;
3. The Content must be used solely for a non-commercial purpose.
Although this blanket permission to reproduce the Content is given freely
such that no special permission is required, the Baha'i International
Community retains full copyright protection for all Content included at
this Site under all applicable national and international laws.
For permission to publish, transmit, display or otherwise use the Content
for any commercial purpose, please contact us
(http://reference.bahai.org/en/contact.html).
CONTENTS
Baha'i Terms of Use
PART I
THE DUTY OF KINDNESS AND SYMPATHY TOWARDS STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS
THE POWER AND VALUE OF TRUE THOUGHT DEPEND UPON ITS MANIFESTATION IN
ACTION
GOD IS THE GREAT COMPASSIONATE PHYSICIAN WHO ALONE GIVES TRUE HEALING
THE NEED FOR UNION BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF THE EAST AND WEST
GOD COMPREHENDS ALL: HE CANNOT BE COMPREHENDED
THE PITIFUL CAUSES OF WAR, AND THE DUTY OF EVERYONE TO STRIVE FOR PEACE
THE SUN OF TRUTH
THE LIGHT OF TRUTH IS NOW SHINING UPON THE EAST AND WEST
THE UNIVERSAL LOVE
THE IMPRISONMENT OF 'ABDU'L-BAHA
GOD'S GREATEST GIFT TO MAN
THE CLOUDS THAT OBSCURE THE SUN OF TRUTH
RELIGIOUS PREJUDICES
THE BENEFITS OF GOD TO MAN
BEAUTY AND HARMONY IN DIVERSITY
THE TRUE MEANING OF THE PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE COMING OF CHRIST
THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE INTERMEDIARY POWER BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
THE TWO NATURES IN MAN
MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL PROGRESS
THE EVOLUTION OF MATTER AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUL
THE SPIRITUAL MEETINGS IN PARIS
THE TWO KINDS OF LIGHT
SPIRITUAL ASPIRATION IN THE WEST
LECTURE GIVEN AT A STUDIO IN PARIS
BAHA'U'LLAH
GOOD IDEAS MUST BE CARRIED INTO ACTION
THE TRUE MEANING OF BAPTISM BY WATER AND FIRE
DISCOURSE AT 'L'ALLIANCE SPIRITUALISTE'
THE EVOLUTION OF THE SPIRIT
THE DESIRES AND PRAYERS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHA
CONCERNING BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT
THE BAHA'IS MUST WORK WITH HEART AND SOUL TO BRING ABOUT A BETTER
CONDITION IN THE WORLD
ON CALUMNY
THERE CAN BE NO TRUE HAPPINESS AND PROGRESS WITHOUT SPIRITUALITY
PAIN AND SORROW
THE PERFECT HUMAN SENTIMENTS AND VIRTUES
THE CRUEL INDIFFERENCE OF PEOPLE TOWARDS THE SUFFERING OF FOREIGN RACES
WE MUST NOT BE DISCOURAGED BY THE SMALLNESS OF OUR NUMBERS
WORDS SPOKEN BY 'ABDU'L-BAHA IN PASTOR WAGNER'S CHURCH (FOYER DE L'AME)
IN PARIS
PART II
The Eleven Principles out of the Teaching of Baha'u'llah, Explained by
'Abdu'l-Baha in Paris.
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, PARIS
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE--SEARCH AFTER TRUTH
THE SECOND PRINCIPLE--THE UNITY OF MANKIND
THIRD PRINCIPLE
FOURTH PRINCIPLE--THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RELATION BETWEEN RELIGION AND
SCIENCE
THE FIFTH PRINCIPLE--THE ABOLITION OF PREJUDICES
THE SIXTH PRINCIPLE--MEANS OF EXISTENCE
SEVENTH PRINCIPLE--EQUALITY OF MEN
THE EIGHTH PRINCIPLE--UNIVERSAL PEACE
NINTH PRINCIPLE--THE NON-INTERFERENCE OF RELIGION WITH POLITICS
THE TENTH PRINCIPLE--EQUALITY OF SEX
THE ELEVENTH PRINCIPLE--THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
4 Avenue de Camoeens, Paris, November 28th
THE LAST MEETING
ADDRESS BY 'ABDU'L-BAHA AT THE FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE, ST MARTIN'S
LANE, LONDON, W.C.
PRAYER
EVIL
THE PROGRESS OF THE SOUL
THE FOUR KINDS OF LOVE
TABLET REVEALED BY 'ABDU'L-BAHA
PART I
THE DUTY OF KINDNESS AND SYMPATHY TOWARDS STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS
October 16th and 17th, 1911
When a man turns his face to God he finds sunshine everywhere. All men are
his brothers. Let not conventionality cause you to seem cold and
unsympathetic when you meet strange people from other countries. Do not
look at them as though you suspected them of being evil-doers, thieves and
boors. You think it necessary to be very careful, not to expose yourselves
to the risk of making acquaintance with such, possibly, undesirable
people.
I ask you not to think only of yourselves. Be kind to the strangers,
whether come they from Turkey, Japan, Persia, Russia, China or any other
country in the world.
Help to make them feel at home; find out where they are staying, ask if
you may render them any service; try to make their lives a little happier.
In this way, even if, sometimes, what you at first suspected should be
true, still go out of your way to be kind to them--this kindness will help
them to become better.
After all, why should any foreign people be treated as strangers?
Let those who meet you know, without your proclaiming the fact, that you
are indeed a Baha'i.
Put into practice the Teaching of Baha'u'llah, that of kindness to all
nations. Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let
your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.
Oh, you of the Western nations, be kind to those who come from the Eastern
world to sojourn among you. Forget your conventionality when you speak
with them; they are not accustomed to it. To Eastern peoples this
demeanour seems cold, unfriendly. Rather let your manner be sympathetic.
Let it be seen that you are filled with universal love. When you meet a
Persian or any other stranger, speak to him as to a friend; if he seems to
be lonely try to help him, give him of your willing service; if he be sad
console him, if poor succour him, if oppressed rescue him, if in misery
comfort him. In so doing you will manifest that not in words only, but in
deed and in truth, you think of all men as your brothers.
What profit is there in agreeing that universal friendship is good, and
talking of the solidarity of the human race as a grand ideal? Unless these
thoughts are translated into the world of action, they are useless.
The wrong in the world continues to exist just because people talk only of
their ideals, and do not strive to put them into practice. If actions took
the place of words, the world's misery would very soon be changed into
comfort.
A man who does great good, and talks not of it, is on the way to
perfection.
The man who has accomplished a small good and magnifies it in his speech
is worth very little.
If I love you, I need not continually speak of my love--you will know
without any words. On the other hand if I love you not, that also will you
know--and you would not believe me, were I to tell you in a thousand words,
that I loved you.
People make much profession of goodness, multiplying fine words because
they wish to be thought greater and better than their fellows, seeking
fame in the eyes of the world. Those who do most good use fewest words
concerning their actions.
The children of God do the works without boasting, obeying His laws.
My hope for you is that you will ever avoid tyranny and oppression; that
you will work without ceasing till justice reigns in every land, that you
will keep your hearts pure and your hands free from unrighteousness.
This is what the near approach to God requires from you, and this is what
I expect of you.
THE POWER AND VALUE OF TRUE THOUGHT DEPEND UPON ITS MANIFESTATION IN
ACTION
October 18th
The reality of man is his thought, not his material body. The thought
force and the animal force are partners. Although man is part of the
animal creation, he possesses a power of thought superior to all other
created beings.
If a man's thought is constantly aspiring towards heavenly subjects then
does he become saintly; if on the other hand his thought does not soar,
but is directed downwards to centre itself upon the things of this world,
he grows more and more material until he arrives at a state little better
than that of a mere animal.
Thoughts may be divided into two classes:
(1st) Thought that belongs to the world of thought alone.
(2nd) Thought that expresses itself in action.
Some men and women glory in their exalted thoughts, but if these thoughts
never reach the plane of action they remain useless: the power of thought
is dependent on its manifestation in deeds. A philosopher's thought may,
however, in the world of progress and evolution, translate itself into the
actions of other people, even when they themselves are unable or unwilling
to show forth their grand ideals in their own lives. To this class the
majority of philosophers belong, their teachings being high above their
actions. This is the difference between philosophers who are Spiritual
Teachers, and those who are mere philosophers: the Spiritual Teacher is
the first to follow His own teaching; He brings down into the world of
action His spiritual conceptions and ideals. His Divine thoughts are made
manifest to the world. His thought is Himself, from which He is
inseparable. When we find a philosopher emphasizing the importance and
grandeur of justice, and then encouraging a rapacious monarch in his
oppression and tyranny, we quickly realize that he belongs to the first
class: for he thinks heavenly thoughts and does not practise the
corresponding heavenly virtues.
This state is impossible with Spiritual Philosophers, for they ever
express their high and noble thoughts in actions.
GOD IS THE GREAT COMPASSIONATE PHYSICIAN WHO ALONE GIVES TRUE HEALING
October 19th
All true healing comes from God! There are two causes for sickness, one is
material, the other spiritual. If the sickness is of the body, a material
remedy is needed, if of the soul, a spiritual remedy.
If the heavenly benediction be upon us while we are being healed then only
can we be made whole, for medicine is but the outward and visible means
through which we obtain the heavenly healing. Unless the spirit be healed,
the cure of the body is worth nothing. All is in the hands of God, and
without Him there can be no health in us!
There have been many men who have died at last of the very disease of
which they have made a special study. Aristotle, for instance, who made a
special study of the digestion, died of a gastronomic malady. Aviseu was a
specialist of the heart, but he died of heart disease. God is the great
compassionate Physician who alone has the power to give true healing.
All creatures are dependent upon God, however great may seem their
knowledge, power and independence.
Behold the mighty kings upon earth, for they have all the power in the
world that man can give them, and yet when death calls they must obey,
even as the peasants at their gates.
Look also at the animals, how helpless they are in their apparent
strength! For the elephant, the largest of all animals, is troubled by the
fly, and the lion cannot escape the irritation of the worm. Even man, the
highest form of created beings, needs many things for his very life; first
of all he needs air, and if he is deprived of it for a few minutes, he
dies. He is also dependent on water, food, clothing, warmth, and many
other things. On all sides he is surrounded by dangers and difficulties,
against which his physical body alone cannot cope. If a man looks at the
world around him, he will see how all created things are dependent and are
captive to the laws of Nature.
Man alone, by his spiritual power, has been able to free himself, to soar
above the world of matter and to make it his servant.
Without the help of God man is even as the beasts that perish, but God has
bestowed such wonderful power upon him that he might ever look upward, and
receive, among other gifts, healing from His divine Bounty.
But alas! man is not grateful for this supreme good, but sleeps the sleep
of negligence, being careless of the great mercy which God has shown
towards him, turning his face away from the light and going on his way in
darkness.
It is my earnest prayer, that ye be not like unto this, but rather that ye
keep your faces steadfastly turned to the light, so that ye may be as
lighted torches in the dark places of life.
THE NEED FOR UNION BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF THE EAST AND WEST
Friday, October 20th
'Abdu'l-Baha said:
In the past, as in the present, the Spiritual Sun of Truth has always
shone from the horizon of the East.
Abraham appeared in the East. In the East Moses arose to lead and teach
the people. On the Eastern horizon arose the Lord Christ. Muhammad was
sent to an Eastern nation. The Bab arose in the Eastern land of Persia.
Baha'u'llah lived and taught in the East. All the great Spiritual Teachers
arose in the Eastern world. But although the Sun of Christ dawned in the
East the radiance thereof was apparent in the West, where the effulgence
of its glory was more clearly seen. The divine light of His Teaching shone
with a greater force in the Western world, where it has made a more rapid
headway than in the land of its birth.
In these days the East is in need of material progress and the West is in
want of a spiritual idea. It would be well for the West to turn to the
East for illumination, and to give in exchange its scientific knowledge.
There must be this interchange of gifts.
The East and the West must unite to give to each other what is lacking.
This union will bring about a true civilization, where the spiritual is
expressed and carried out in the material.
Receiving thus the one from the other the greatest harmony will prevail,
all people will be united, a state of great perfection will be attained,
there will be a firm cementing, and this world will become a shining
mirror for the reflection of the attributes of God.
We all, the Eastern with the Western nations, must strive day and night
with heart and soul to achieve this high ideal, to cement the unity
between all the nations of the earth. Every heart will then be refreshed,
all eyes will be opened, the most wonderful power will be given, the
happiness of humanity will be assured.
We must pray that by the Bounty of God, Persia will be enabled to receive
the material and mental civilization of the West, and by Divine Grace to
give in return her spiritual light. The devoted energetic work of the
united peoples, occidentals and orientals, will succeed in establishing
this result, for the force of the Holy Spirit will aid them.
The principles of the Teachings of Baha'u'llah should be carefully
studied, one by one, until they are realized and understood by mind and
heart--so will you become strong followers of the light, truly spiritual,
heavenly soldiers of God, acquiring and spreading the true civilization in
Persia, in Europe, and in the whole world.
This will be the paradise which is to come on earth, when all mankind will
be gathered together under the tent of unity in the Kingdom of Glory.
GOD COMPREHENDS ALL: HE CANNOT BE COMPREHENDED
Friday evening, October 20th
'Abdu'l-Baha said:
Numerous meetings are held in Paris every day for different purposes, to
discuss politics, commerce, education, art, science and many other
subjects.
All these meetings are good: but this assembly has met together to turn
their faces towards God, to learn how best to work for the good of
humanity, to seek how prejudices may be abolished, and the seed of love
and universal brotherhood sown in the heart of man.
God approves of the motive of our gathering together and gives us His
blessing.
In the Old Testament we read that God said, 'Let us make man in Our own
image'. In the Gospel, Christ said, 'I am in the Father, and the Father in
Me'.(1) In the Qur'an, God says, 'Man is my Mystery and I am his'.
Baha'u'llah writes that God says, 'Thy heart is My home; purify it for My
descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My
manifestation'.
All these sacred words show us that man is made in God's image: yet the
Essence of God is incomprehensible to the human mind, for the finite
understanding cannot be applied to this infinite Mystery. God contains
all: He cannot be contained. That which contains is superior to that which
is contained. The whole is greater than its parts.
Things which are understood by men cannot be outside their capacity for
understanding, so that it is impossible for the heart of man to comprehend
the nature of the Majesty of God. Our imagination can only picture that
which it is able to create.
The power of the understanding differs in degree in the various kingdoms
of creation. The mineral, vegetable, and animal realms are each incapable
of understanding any creation beyond their own. The mineral cannot imagine
the growing power of the plant. The tree cannot understand the power of
movement in the animal, neither can it comprehend what it would mean to
possess sight, hearing or the sense of smell. These all belong to the
physical creation.
Man also shares in this creation; but it is not possible for either of the
lower kingdoms to understand that which takes place in the mind of man.
The animal cannot realize the intelligence of a human being, he only knows
that which is perceived by his animal senses, he cannot imagine anything
in the abstract. An animal could not learn that the world is round, that
the earth revolves round the sun, or the construction of the electric
telegraph. These things are only possible to man. Man is the highest work
of creation, the nearest to God of all creatures.
All superior kingdoms are incomprehensible to the inferior; how therefore
could it be possible that the creature, man, should understand the
almighty Creator of all?
That which we imagine, is not the Reality of God; He, the Unknowable, the
Unthinkable, is far beyond the highest conception of man.
All creatures that exist are dependent upon the Divine Bounty. Divine
Mercy gives life itself. As the light of the sun shines on the whole
world, so the Mercy of the infinite God is shed on all creatures. As the
sun ripens the fruits of the earth, and gives life and warmth to all
living beings, so shines the Sun of Truth on all souls, filling them with
the fire of Divine love and understanding.
The superiority of man over the rest of the created world is seen again in
this, that man has a soul in which dwells the divine spirit; the souls of
the lower creatures are inferior in their essence.
There is no doubt then, that of all created beings man is the nearest to
the nature of God, and therefore receives a greater gift of the Divine
Bounty.
The mineral kingdom possesses the power of existing. The plant has the
power of existing and growing. The animal, in addition to existence and
growth, has the capacity of moving about, and the use of the faculties of
the senses. In the human kingdom we find all the attributes of the lower
worlds, with much more added thereto. Man is the sum of every previous
creation, for he contains them all.
To man is given the special gift of the intellect by which he is able to
receive a larger share of the light Divine. The Perfect Man is as a
polished mirror reflecting the Sun of Truth, manifesting the attributes of
God.
The Lord Christ said, 'He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father'--God
manifested in man.
The sun does not leave his place in the heavens and descend into the
mirror, for the actions of ascent and descent, coming and going, do not
belong to the Infinite, they are the methods of finite beings. In the
Manifestation of God, the perfectly polished mirror, appear the qualities
of the Divine in a form that man is capable of comprehending.
This is so simple that all can understand it, and that which we are able
to understand we must perforce accept.
Our Father will not hold us responsible for the rejection of dogmas which
we are unable either to believe or comprehend, for He is ever infinitely
just to His children.
This example is, however, so logical that it can easily be grasped by all
minds willing to give it their consideration.
May each one of you become a shining lamp, of which the flame is the Love
of God. May your hearts burn with the radiance of unity. May your eyes be
illumined with the effulgence of the Sun of Truth!
The city of Paris is very beautiful, a more civilized and well-appointed
town in all material development it would be impossible to find in the
present world. But the spiritual light has not shone upon her for a long
time: her spiritual progress is far behind that of her material
civilization. A supreme power is needed to awaken her to the reality of
spiritual truth, to breathe the breath of life into her dormant soul. You
must all unite in this work of arousing her, in reanimating her people by
the help of that Superior Force.
When an illness is slight a small remedy will suffice to heal it, but when
the slight illness becomes a terrible disease, then a very strong remedy
must be used by the Divine Healer. There are some trees that blossom and
bear fruit in a cool climate, others there are which need the hottest rays
of the sun to bring them to perfect maturity. Paris is one of those trees
for whose spiritual unfoldment a great flaming Sun of the Divine Power of
God is needed.
I ask you all, each one of you, to follow well the light of truth, in the
Holy Teachings, and God will strengthen you by His Holy Spirit so that you
will be enabled to overcome the difficulties, and to destroy the
prejudices which cause separation and hatred amongst the people. Let your
hearts be filled with the great love of God, let it be felt by all; for
every man is a servant of God, and all are entitled to a share of the
Divine Bounty.
Especially to those whose thoughts are material and retrograde show the
utmost love and patience, thereby winning them into the unity of
fellowship by the radiance of your kindness.
If you are faithful to your great work, following the Holy Sun of Truth
without swerving, then will the blessed day of universal brotherhood dawn
on this beautiful city.
THE PITIFUL CAUSES OF WAR, AND THE DUTY OF EVERYONE TO STRIVE FOR PEACE
October 21st
'Abdu'l-Baha said:
I hope you are all happy and well. I am not happy, but very sad. The news
of the Battle of Benghazi grieves my heart. I wonder at the human savagery
that still exists in the world! How is it possible for men to fight from
morning until evening, killing each other, shedding the blood of their
fellow-men: And for what object? To gain possession of a part of the
earth! Even the animals, when they fight, have an immediate and more
reasonable cause for their attacks! How terrible it is that men, who are
of the higher kingdom, can descend to slaying and bringing misery to their
fellow-beings, for the possession of a tract of land!
The highest of created beings fighting to obtain the lowest form of
matter, earth! Land belongs not to one people, but to all people. This
earth is not man's home, but his tomb. It is for their tombs these men are
fighting. There is nothing so horrible in this world as the tomb, the
abode of the decaying bodies of men.
However great the conqueror, however many countries he may reduce to
slavery, he is unable to retain any part of these devastated lands but one
tiny portion--his tomb! If more land is required for the improvement of the
condition of the people, for the spread of civilization (for the
substitution of just laws for brutal customs)--surely it would be possible
to acquire peaceably the necessary extension of territory.
But war is made for the satisfaction of men's ambition; for the sake of
worldly gain to the few, terrible misery is brought to numberless homes,
breaking the hearts of hundreds of men and women!
How many widows mourn their husbands, how many stories of savage cruelty
do we hear! How many little orphaned children are crying for their dead
fathers, how many women are weeping for their slain sons!
There is nothing so heart-breaking and terrible as an outburst of human
savagery!
I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your
heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a
stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more
powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all
harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.
Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and
happiness.
When soldiers of the world draw their swords to kill, soldiers of God
clasp each other's hands! So may all the savagery of man disappear by the
Mercy of God, working through the pure in heart and the sincere of soul.
Do not think the peace of the world an ideal impossible to attain!
Nothing is impossible to the Divine Benevolence of God.
If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth,
your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the
desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the
minds of all men.