1339. The Best Remedy for Hate is Love, as Hate is the Absence of Love
"The best remedy for hate is love, as hate is the absence of love! In this respect you must show forth the love of God to others, Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike, and thus do your part to dispel the darkness in this world. This is what the beloved Master expects of His servants."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 12, 1949)
1340. The Standard which Must Govern the Conduct of Believers Toward each other is Love
"… If between the friends true love—based on the love of God—could become manifest, the Cause would spread very rapidly. Love is the standard which must govern the conduct of one believer towards another. The administrative order does not change this, but unfortunately sometimes the friends confuse the two, and try to be a whole spiritual assembly,—with the discipline and justice and impartiality that body must show,—to each other, instead of being forgiving, loving and patient to each other as individuals."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 18, 1950)
1341. We Must Love God and Thus Love for All Men Becomes Possible
"We must never take one sentence in the Teachings and isolate it from the rest: it does not mean we must not love, but we must reach a spiritual plane where God comes first and great human passions are unable to turn us away from Him. All the time we see people who either through the force of hate or the passionate attachment they have to another person, sacrifice principle or bar themselves from the Path of God.
"We know absence of light is darkness, but no one would assert darkness was not a fact. It exists even though it is only the absence of something else. So evil exists too, and we cannot close our eyes to it, even though it is a negative existence. We must seek to supplant it by good, and if we see an evil person is not influenceable by us, then we should shun his company for it is unhealthy.
"We must love God, and in this state, a general love for all men becomes possible. We cannot love each human being for himself but our feeling towards humanity should be motivated by our love for the Father who created all men.
"The Bahá’í Faith teaches man was always potentially man, even when passing through lower stages of evolution. Because he has more powers, and subtler powers than the animal, when he turns towards evil he becomes more vicious than an animal because of these very powers."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 4, 1950)
1342. The Kind of Love Every Believer Should Cultivate
"You mention the fact that at times you feel strongly attracted to people whom you have never known before; this is surely the kind of love which every Bahá’í should cultivate. For we Bahá’ís should come to love all human beings, whether believers or not, alien or friendly. The love which Bahá’u’lláh wishes us to acquire is a love that embraces the whole mankind. The reason why one feels attracted is due to such gifts and qualities with which the soul is endowed and which exert a powerful and latent influence."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, November 20, 1937)
1343. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Explained the Meaning of Bahá’u’lláh's Words Regarding Love of Humanity
"As regards the meaning of Bahá’u’lláh's words regarding love of humanity, the Master often explained it to mean that man should love his family, then his native town, then his province, then his nation, but should not stop there and acquire a narrow nationalism, but grow to love the whole-wide world and mankind at large. Bahá’ís love their country but should also love the world, that is, other peoples."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 5, 1950)
1344. Spiritual Relationships are Far More Important than Rules and Regulations
"He urges you to do all you can to promote unity and love amongst the members of the Community there, as this seems to be their greatest need.
"So often young communities, in their desire to administer the Cause, lose sight of the fact that these spiritual relationships are far more important and fundamental than the rules and regulations which must govern the conduct of Community affairs."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 4, 1950)
1345. The People of the World Need to See the Love Engendered by the Faith in the Hearts of the Believers
"The people of the world not only need the laws and principles of the Bahá’í Faith—they desperately need to see the love that is engendered by it in the hearts of its followers, and to partake of that atmosphere of tolerance, understanding, forbearance and active kindness which should be the hall-mark of a Bahá’í Community."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, December 5, 1942)
1346. The Morbid and Turbulent Influence of the Dark Forces of the World is Felt by All
"The believers, to better understand their own internal condition, should realize that the forces of darkness in the world are so prevalent and strong that their morbid and turbulent influence is felt by all. They should therefore consciously strive to be more loving, more united, more dedicated and prayerful than ever before, in order to fight against the atmosphere of present day society which is unloving, disunited, careless of right and wrong, and heedless of God."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, March 20, 1946)
1347. We Must Pray to be Protected from the Contamination of Society
"The friends must, at all times, bear in mind that they are, in a way, like soldiers under attack. The world is at present in an exceedingly dark condition spiritually; hatred and prejudice, of every sort, are literally tearing it to pieces. We, on the other hand, are the custodians of the opposite forces, the forces of love, of unity, of peace and integration, and we must constantly be on our guard, whether as individuals or as an Assembly or Community, lest through us these destructive, negative forces enter into our midst. In other words, we must beware lest the darkness of society become reflected in our acts and attitudes, perhaps all unconsciously. Love for each other, the deep sense that we are a new organism, the dawn-breakers of a New World Order, must constantly animate our Bahá’í lives, and we must pray to be protected from the contamination of society which is so diseased with prejudice."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Spiritual Assembly of Atlanta, February 5, 1947)
1348. Heroism is Needed by the Believers
"These, indeed, are the days when heroism is needed on the part of the believers. Self-sacrifice, courage, indomitable hope and confidence are the characteristics they should show forth, because these very attributes cannot but fix the attention of the public and leads them to enquire what, in a world so hopelessly chaotic and bewildered, leads these people to be so assured, so confident, so full of devotion? Increasingly, as time goes by, the characteristics of the Bahá’ís will be that which captures the attention of their fellow-citizens. They must show their aloofness from the hatreds and recriminations which are tearing at the heart of humanity, and demonstrate by deed and word their profound belief in the future peaceful unification of the entire human race."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 26, 1941)
1349. God's Ways do not Necessarily Coincide with Human Devices and Policies
"…God's ways and methods do not coincide necessarily with human devices and man-made policies. We should certainly exert our utmost in order that God's Faith may be widely proclaimed and firmly established. But we should under no circumstances be led to think that such a triumph depends solely or even mainly on our own efforts, however effective, united and fruitful they may be. We are but instruments in the hands of the Almighty and it would be certainly a sign of shortsightedness on our part to believe that we are the controlling agents of the divine machinery of the Cause."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 10, 1934)
1350. If Divided, Both Sides to a Difference are Wrong; If United, They are Both Right
"During the days of Bahá’u’lláh some of the prominent teachers of the Cause in Persia were divided as to the station of Bahá’u’lláh and at last wrote to Him for arbitration. In answer Bahá’u’lláh said that if they were united both sides were right and if they were divided both were wrong. The Master often denied Himself any station just to maintain the unity of the friends for that was His primary object."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Spiritual Assembly of Yonkers, April 20, 1931)
