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On September
30th, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met the Theosophical society at their new Headquarters
at the express request of their president Mrs. Annie Besant. After
a general history of the movement and sympathetic words of welcome
by Mr. A. P. Sinnett, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá rose and delivered to the crowded
assembly an address upon the distinctive notes of the Bahá’í teaching,
warmly commending the eagerness of the Society in its search for Truth.
O RESPECTED Assembly! O friends of Truth! The inherent nature of fire
is to burn, the inherent nature of electricity is to give light, the
inherent nature of the sun is to shine, and the inherent nature of the
organic earth is the power of growth.
Bahá'í House of Worship (a.k.a. "the Lotus Temple"), New Delhi, India.
There is no separation between a thing and its inherent qualities.
It is the inherent nature of things on this earth to change, thus we see
around us the change of the seasons. Every spring is followed by
a summer and every autumn brings a winter—every day a
night and every evening a morning. There is a sequence in all things.
Thus when hatred and animosity, fighting, slaughtering, and great coldness of heart
were governing this world, and darkness had overcome the nations,
Bahá’u’lláh, like a bright star, rose from the horizon
of Persia and shone with the great Light of Guidance, giving heavenly radiance and
establishing the new Teaching.
He declared the most human virtues; He manifested the
Spiritual powers, and put them into practice in the
world around Him.
Firstly: He lays stress
on the search for Truth. This is most important, because the people
are too easily led by tradition. It is because of this that they are often antagonistic to each
other, and dispute with one another.
But the manifesting of Truth discovers the darkness and becomes the cause of Oneness
of faith and belief: because Truth cannot be two! That is not possible.
('Abdu'l-Bahá in
London,
Pages: 27 - 30)
   
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QUITO, Ecuador — The series of 41 conferences being held in cities around the world continues to be historic for the Baha’i Faith, not only for the number of participants (over 12,000 and counting) but also for people’s determination to overcome obstacles to get to the gatherings.
The first conferences, which were in Africa, brought stories of people traveling a hundred kilometers or more on foot – a reflection of their eagerness to accept an invitation from the Universal House of Justice and meet with representatives of the supreme elected body of their religion. Meeting Baha’is from outside their locality, in some cases for the first time, was also a big motivation.
Conferences this past weekend brought more tales of sacrifice, determination and attempts to resolve travel problems – sometimes unsuccessfully.
Among the most moving stories was that of the indigenous people of the Colombian Guajira, the arid peninsula at the northernmost tip of South America.
The minute the Baha’is there received the letter from the Universal House of Justice calling them to a conference in Quito, Ecuador, they organized themselves into committees to see how many people they could help make the trip. Finances were only part of the problem. One of the most important committees was the document committee, charged with the daunting task of helping people get national ID cards, passports, and vaccinations in the space of three short weeks.
Read the entire story.
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