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907. Ringstone Emblem is Form of the Greatest Name—Use of on Jewelry
"In reply to your letter of November 2nd about the use of the Greatest Name on brooches and other decorations, we quote below the text of a letter which we wrote on this subject in 1964 to another National Spiritual Assembly:
'The ring-stone emblem is one form of the Greatest Name. While the beloved Guardian has called attention to the sacredness of the Greatest Name, and has asked that it should always be placed in a dignified position, we do not find any instruction absolutely prohibiting the use of symbols of the Greatest Name on any particular item such as jewelry, books or pamphlets.
'We feel that the friends should exercise the greatest discrimination and good taste in its use'."
- (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, November 15, 1967)
**(See also: Nos. 901 and 903)
908. Bahá’ís not Required to Wear Ringstone
"It was kind of you to think of making pins for the Bahá’ís; but he feels that this is too much like clubs and other organizations. Indeed the Bahá’ís do not even have to wear a Bahá’í ring-stone unless they care to do so. He thinks it is better not to add any other means of identification."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 22, 1956)
909. Ringstone Inscription Explained
"The inscription upon the Bahá’í ringstone is the symbol of the Greatest Name, Bahá, who is the Manifestation of the essence of God. It is also symbolic of the three planes representing the World of God, the World of Revelation and the World of Creation."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 28, 1938)
910. The Significance of the Stars
"Upon the horizon of Eternal Glory two luminous stars have arisen in brilliance: one to the right and one to the left … this is the mystery of the appearance of the Beauty of Abhá and of the Supreme Highness (the Báb). And though these two diagrams at the right and the left have the form of stars, they also represent the body of man, with the head, the two arms and the two legs, since this diagram has five points."
- (‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Bahá’í Scriptures, p. 479, 1923 ed.)
911. Greatest Name—An Invocation
"He also wishes me to inform you that the symbol of the Greatest Name represents an invocation which can be translated either as 'O Glory of Glories' or 'O Glory of the All-Glorious'. The word glory used in this connection is a translation of the Arabic term 'Bahá', the name of Bahá’u’lláh."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, April 28, 1935: Bahá’í News, No. 93, p. 1, July 1935)
