Transcript:Ali Nakhjavani/Address to the youth
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[0:00]You know, you see my hand. Well, I'll tell you how this happened. I was riding a bicycle. So when I fell and went to the hospital, the doctor looked at me and he said, "How old are you?" I said, "I'm 67." He said, "How did this happen?" I said, "I was riding a bicycle." He said, "Good for you." He said, "You have a youthful spirit." I said, "With some doses of stupidity." But this is the result.
[0:48]Speaking about youthful spirit, there was a Baháʼí in the Holy Land. You may have heard of him. He was from Japan. He was Japanese: Mr. Fujita, Saichirō Fujita. He has passed away. He was about 95 years old when he passed away. But he really had a youthful spirit and I told him one day, I said, "Fujita, how do you manage to keep this wonderful spirit?" He said, "I look for the youth and I like to be with the youth. And that's how I keep this youthful spirit." And he was always like that. So tonight I really feel young, despite this (referring to the hand). I feel young. I feel happy. I feel grateful to be here with you and have the joy of discussing a few things with you.
[2:08]Now, this little book that I have I took from your library upstairs. It says "Bahá’í Youth, a compilation". This compilation was made in Haifa and published by one of the National Spiritual Assemblies, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. And it has many wonderful passages about the youth. I'm sure you must have seen this. I have selected a few passages from this booklet. I would like to begin my presentation by reading these to you. They are extracts from the writings of Shoghi Effendi and from some of the letters of the Universal House of Justice. There aren't too many so I hope you won't be tired.
"Even though the Bahá’í youth should feel with the condition in which they see their non-Bahá’í friends and not indict them for it, they should not let themselves be carried by the wave of world events as they are being carried. Whereas they see before them only a world that is crumbling down we are also seeing a new world being built up. Whereas they experience the destruction of old institutions that commanded their respect, we are beholding the dawn of a new era with its strict commands and new social bonds."
Notice, strict commands.
"Their materialistic outlook shows them the futility of all things while our faith in a regenerated and spiritualized man makes us look to the future and build for it. To make them follow our ways we should sympathize with their plight but should not follow their ways."
I'll read that again.
"To make them follow our ways we should sympathize with their plight but should not follow their ways. We should take our stand on a higher plane of moral and spiritual life and, setting for them the true example, urge them up to our level."
"Young men and women in the Faith must be deep and thoughtful scholars of its teachings, so .that they can teach in a way that will convince people that all the problems facing them have a remedy. They must grasp the Administration, so that they can wisely and efficiently administer the ever-growing affairs of the Cause; and they must exemplify the Bahá’í way of living. All this is not easy..."
[5:49]So you see, Shoghi Effendi knew very well that it's a difficult task. What he's expecting of the youth is not easy.
"...All this is not easy...but the Guardian is always greatly encouraged to see the spirit animating such young believers as yourself. He has high hopes of what your generation will accomplish."
Another one.
"The youth should become severed." - You know that word severed, detached.
"The Youth should become severed from all things of the world and filled with the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit, arise to spread the Message and quicken the hearts."
[6:57]Yet another one.
"He urges you to make up your minds to do great, great deeds" - repeated: great, great deeds - "for the Faith; the condition of the world is steadily growing worse, and your generation must provide the saints, heroes, martyrs and administrators of future years."
There is a line of prophecy here. Shoghi Effendi wrote this in 1951 and he expected the youth to provide martyrs. And in Iran, this indeed did happen.
"With dedication and willpower, you can rise to great heights!"
Yet another.
"Rest assured, and persevere, however great the obstacles which you may have to face in the future or the disappointments which you must necessarily experience." Note the word necessarily and see how realistic Shoghi Effendi was. He knew there would be difficulties. He knew there would be disappointments. He knew there would be obstacles. "Your work will assuredly triumph."
And now this one:
"The highest standards of purity, of integrity, of detachment and sacrifice" - he is expecting sacrifice from us. These are not my words. They are words written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi and at his instruction. The sign of God on Earth expects the youth to sacrifice, to be detached. He says "...purity, of integrity, of detachment and sacrifice, must be maintained by the members of your group in order to enable you to play a decisive part in the spread and consolidation of the Faith." He feels, again - he says that the youth, in particular, must constantly and determinedly strive to exemplify a Baháʼí life. In the world around us, we see moral decay, promiscuity, indecency, vulgarity, bad manners. The Baháʼí young people must be the opposite of these things and by their chastity, their uprightness, their decency, their consideration, and good manners attract others old and young to the Faith. The world is tired of words" - you could write that in gold. "The world is tired of words; it wants example, and it is up to the Bahá'í youth to furnish it."
[11:42]Cheer up, I just have two more, rather short ones.
"What can control youth and save it from the pitfalls of the crass materialism of the age is the power of a genuine, constructive, and living Faith such as the one revealed to the world by Bahá’u’lláh... Divorced from true religion, morals lose their effectiveness and cease to guide and control man’s individual and social life. But when true religion is combined with true ethics, then moral progress becomes a possibility and not a mere ideal."
[12:57]"Once young people" - and that applies to all young people. "Once young people become convinced of the existence of the soul they should not need much convincing that material training and material progress are not sufficient." So, you see how important it is for us as Baháʼí youth to study the writings on the immortality of the soul and its existence, the proofs of the existence of the soul, and that you can find in some answered questions. There are certain chapters which deal with this subject. Then finally, Shoghi Effendi undertook the translation of "The Dawn-Breakers" only after being convinced that its publication will arouse the friends to greater self-sacrifice and a more determined way of teaching. Otherwise, you would not have devoted so much time on it.
[14:36]Reading about the life and activities of those heroic souls is bound to influence our mode of living and of the importance we attach to our services in the Cause. Shoghi Effendi, therefore, hopes that the friends will read - nay, rather study that book and encourage their young people to do that as well. So you see, this is the way Shoghi Effendi wrote about you. I picked up maybe one-thirtieth or one-fortieth of what is in this booklet. Just a few highlights so that you get an idea of how Shoghi Effendi thought about you and how he wrote about you. You have this great possibility of serving the Cause.
[15:43]Now, tonight, I'm gonna tell you a few things. After my presentation, you should feel free to ask me questions. And if you want to have your mind wander about and think about questions while I'm talking, it's all right. Ask me questions. You will stimulate me by asking me questions. And then we can all share in whatever is the substance of the question on maybe the answer. The House of Justice has written - and I don't need to quote the exact words, but this is the essence of what they have said in their letters to the youth and to the Baháʼís of the world - they have said that we're now facing some critical years in the life of, the collective life of humanity. As you know, we have the prophecy, the assurance that the political unification of the world will happen by the end of this century, described in our writings as the Lesser Peace.
[17:11]Do you realize what great changes will come about in the world between now and the end of the century, which is only 14 years away? Now, if I am 67 - who is good in mathematics - in 14 years, how old will I be? 81. I don't know what an 81-year-old can do, if I'm alive. And there are older members of the House of Justice too. So you see, those of us who are in our sixties can't do much. Those who are in our fifties, maybe. But those of us who are in our twenties, in 14 years from now, will be in the prime of our lives. We would be the leaders. We would be the administrators. We will be the representatives of the Faith. We will have, if I may say so, the destiny of the future of our faith in our hands. From among you may rise some outstanding leaders of the Faith, the writers of the Faith, defenders of the Faith.
[18:52]We're approaching an era when we know there will be opposition to the Faith. This is written very clearly in our writings. An opposition which Shoghi Effendi says will be fiercer and "more insidious" than anything that the enemies of the Faith have so far produced. We are entering that age, that stage. And we need scholars. We need intellectuals. We need writers. We need thinkers. We need Baháʼís who understand the Faith, who know what it is all about, who have read the writings, who are steeped in the writings so that they can defend the Faith so that they can stand in front of big assemblages and talk about the Faith, introduce Bahá’u’lláh with pride, with courage, with confidence. You are the people, not those Baháʼís of my generation.
[20:33]The world is approaching its stage of maturity. Receptivity of the world far from decreasing with the passage of time will increase. Please accept this statement. It's true. As the world sinks its misery in its problems, its destruction, its disintegration, there will be souls who will be looking for the truth and the number of these seeking souls will increase, not decrease. They need an army of youth to face them and answer them. You have to prepare yourself for that day and so when the lesser peace will come about, the people will be knocking at our doors. Already, as you very well know, the Prime Minister has come all the way from the Pacific, knocked at the door of the House of Justice, and sought consultation with the House of Justice on the subject of world peace. There will be many such leaders, beloved friends who will be turning to the Baháʼí - not necessarily to the World Center - but to the Baháʼís on the national level, on the local level, especially that in its peace message, the House of Justice has invited the peoples and leaders of the world to come and examine us, however unworthy we are.
[22:53]Not that we are a model, the true model, a perfect model of the plan of Bahá’u’lláh, but that we are, however undeservedly so, his handiwork. We have his teachings. They are on the shelves. Scholars, the professors, the youth, the seekers could read those but any intelligent person, dear friends, will never be satisfied with the printed word. He would want to know to what extent these words have influenced the lives of the followers and believers of these words. That's what any intelligent inquirer will first want to know. It is precisely because of this reason that the House of Justice felt that, now, through the shedding of the blood of the martyrs, the Faith of God had reached a stage when it has emerged from obscurity. We could never anymore conceal ourselves behind the veils of obscurity. We had to unveil ours to the whole world and say, "Here we are, examine us." We had no other choice. And the people of the world are taking our word seriously. If we are Baháʼís, they want to know what kind of Baháʼís we are. They will undoubtedly be going to India to see how the Baháʼís organized their affairs in that continents. They are the majority. They constitute the majority of the Baháʼí community in the world. They now have such a beautiful temple to be dedicated in a few months. They will undoubtedly go there.
[25:57]Now when Mr. Smith says he hopes that you will go to the third world, there is a need for you to go to the third world because the Indian Baháʼís, for the most part, are illiterate. They need helpers, they need teachers and they should be young. They should be brave. They should be able to face hardships and overcome them. These are realities, friends. You have to accept them. They will go to Africa. They will go to the jungles of Africa to see what the African Baháʼís are doing. They will go to the Pacific Islands. They will go to the Latin American countries. They will go to Panama to look at that beautiful temple, but at the same time examine the community. That's what they will do. They will probably come and knock at this door of the National Haziratu'l-Quds of the Baháʼí of Canada. And they would want to know how the affairs of the Baháʼís are in Canada. They would may want to know what difference has it made that Indians have become Baháʼís. That Eskimos have become Baháʼís? You can't blame them. They are seekers. They are inquirers. They are intelligent inquirers.
[28:15]We're standing today in front of the whole world, in the name of Bahá’u’lláh and whether we like it or not, on our forefront is written, Baháʼí. People want to know how we behave individually and collectively. Shoghi Effendi, in one of his extracts here, referred to sacrifice. I would like to say a few words about this sacrifice. I'm telling you, friends, any service without sacrifice is not worth a penny. If you want to serve the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh with comfort, in order to acquire some name or fame or for pleasure, it's better for you not to serve the Faith. But if you are ready to come forward with detachment, with consecration, with dedication, and with the spirit of sacrifice. Sacrifice is not something which you do wholesale only. You can do it in little bits. It's not wholesale alone. Some of you may think that now you want to do a big thing. You'll say, "I would like to write to the House of Justice and say I'm ready to go to Iran now and face Khomeini and tell him what the faith of God is all about. I would love that he would arrest me and throw me in prison and execute me." Now, this spirit is fine, but it's unwise, it's untimely. It should be translated, transmuted into something far more fine and noble.
[30:57]You know, I want to tell you about the King of Martyrs. Somewhere in this building, in this room, you have the picture behind that door of the King of Martyrs. This title was given to him by Bahá’u’lláh and some asked him, "We had many martyrs. Why was it that this particular martyr had been described by him as the King of Martyrs and his brother did not have that rank? He was the beloved of martyrs, but not their king." He answered. He said it is because this sanctified soul had already attained that supreme sacrifice before he was martyred, physically. Before he shed his blood, physically, he had already been a martyr, and he makes the difference between two types of martyrdom in that tablet. Outward martyrdom - and those of you who speak Persian, it is ??show how that is all hurry??.
[32:43]And the other, which he labels the most great martyrdom ??showed it to Cobra??. He said that the King of Martyrs had already attained that surrender, the total surrender of his will to the will of God; that was most great martyrdom. And he also attained the station of physical or outward martyrdom. Now what Shoghi Effendi is asking of us is not to shed our blood, necessarily. Blessed are those who did in Iran and they surely have a high rank. But what he's asking us of you, of me, is this surrender, is this subordination of our personal liking, personal wishes, personal preferences, personal comforts for a higher nobler purpose. He wants us to be, as he rightly says, living martyrs. This is the station he's inviting us to achieve and attain. And as I told you earlier, being a living martyr calls for daily vigilance. And it is in little things, not in big things. It is in the way we live our daily life. In the few minutes we spend here for the Cause, we put the Cause first in our lives, not fifth or sixth, but first. Then we see how confirmations will surround us.
[35:45]You see, there is a difference between doing the minimum for the Cause and doing the maximum. And God only knows that. The rest of us, we look, we think that this person is probably a saint, probably a hero. But in the eyes of God, he may be nothing, absolutely nothing, because he's just doing his minimum. He still has a great deal to do that he's not doing. We don't know the circumstances of his life. These things are left to God. The only person I can judge is myself. I cannot judge you. I know my faults and he tells me, "Busy yourself with thine own fault, and forget the faults of others." That's what I must do, as far as I'm concerned. And I must try, strive every day of my life to attain my maximum.
[37:07]Now I'll give you an example of what I mean. There is a tablet revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This is just the sense of the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; the tablet has not been translated yet. He says that the relationship of Baháʼís to the Cause is of two kinds: one is the relationship of the plants to the garden, the other is the relationship of the ray to the sun. Then he goes on to say, "It is my hope that your relationship will be of the second kind." Let's examine this. This is the question of "maximum, minimum".
[38:22]One is the relationship of a plant - a flower, if you like - in a garden. The flower says, "I am a Baháʼí. I am in this garden. This is a Baháʼí garden. I like this garden. I love this garden. I'm proud of this garden. I have my name after this garden. I'm growing in this garden." Fine. There are many Baháʼís who are like that. This is one type of relationship. The second one - which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, "It is my hope that your relationship will be of the second type - is the ray and the sun. The ray emanates from the sun. It can say all the things that the flower said about the garden, saying, "I come from the sun. I belong to the sun. My name is after the name of the sun." But in addition to all these, there are certain unique features in that ray. What is it? The ray is pure, has no name. The flower has its own name, its own place, its own height, its own color, and so on. It's own features. When you get two flowers next to each other, one of them wants to say, "Well, look at me. My colors are even better. I'm higher. I have a better sense." What about rays? Do they say anything like that? Rays are pure. They emanate from the sun. You got ten rays; they are united. Nine rays, they are one ray. A hundred rays are one ray. They become so mixed, you cannot separate them. They become a new entity. Such is the degree of their selflessness. They are so pure that they carry the qualities of the sun, unlike the flower, which only carries its own specifications. But these rays, they are so selfless, so detached, so pure, so united that they carry the warmth and the light of the sun.
[41:48]They are so submerged in that sun, so like the sun that you take a chair and you say I would like to sit outside in the sun - but you're not in the sun. You are under the rays of the sun. The sun is way up. But they are so pure that you give yourself the courage to say I am in the sun because they have carried for you that light, that life you see. And then what do they do? They do another thing. They are the cause of the growth of those flowers, and plants, and that beautiful garden. They become active agents instead of passive agents. This is the station that Bahá’u’lláh is calling us, is beckoning us to attain. And I believe that the youth - because they have that youthful force, because they have that determination - they are able to achieve these stations and these perfections, whereas people of my age will limp along. We'll fall, we'll break wrists and we're almost hopeless. But the virility, the strength is anew. All you have to do is not to be satisfied with the minimum, that's all. It's a very simple thing. Be only satisfied when you know you are trying. I don't say that you have attained because there is no 100% Baháʼí. We're all imperfect. Shoghi Effendi says, "The Faith is perfect; the Baháʼís are imperfect." We will always be imperfect. It's a relative thing, but as long as you catch yourself trying, that's the beautiful thing to do. That's what gives you strength, further strength, further confidence.
[45:08]Of all these various teachings that we have, there is one which is of particular significance, which is like an overall umbrella under which everything comes under, and that is teaching the course. It's something that you have heard about every time you've come to any meeting. If you open any Baháʼí book, maybe on every page there is some reference directly or indirectly to teaching. Why? Why is it that in our Faith there is such an emphasis on teaching? Are you tired? Shall we stop it? Really? I'll just talk about teaching, and maybe that's the end. All right. Okay, but whenever you're tired, you should let me know.
[46:40]Now, where were we? We're talking about teaching, right? Why is it that there is such an emphasis on teaching in our writings? First of all, Bahá’u’lláh has abolished the clergy. And he has generalized this instruction. It's no more the function of a specific class of people. He has taken this function from them and given it to all of us so that each one of us will have the joy, privilege of teaching the Cause. That's one thing. The other thing is that it gives us strength. Without teaching, friends, we will wither away. You can study the writings all your life, and you can try to be brave and everything else, and you can try to do the maximum with everything you do except teaching and you don't teach over a period of time, you'll see that you have withered away. You see that you have lost real interest in the activities of the community. You become a self-centered, self-contained something which is gradually fading out. That's what you'll be.
[48:23]But if you use all these things in order to teach the faith in order to deliver the message, then you grow. Then you grow spiritually. You'll grow into the giants of the future. And this, I'm telling you not in order to encourage you. I'm telling you this because this is true. This is a fact. This is supported by history. This is something that's happening every day in every country of the world. We look at ourselves, we say, "We're weak. How can I teach?" You know, we're like a piece of land, a small parcel of land, next to a tap. We look at ourselves, we see that we are dry. We look at the tap, it is dry. We look inside the tap, it is still dry. We look beyond our little parcel of land. Everything is parched. Bahá’u’lláh is saying that behind that tap, there is a reservoir of pure, refreshing water imprisoned, ready to be released, ready to gush forth. All you have to do is prayerfully, to approach that top and give it a gentle push. And then you'll see what happens. Totally, those of you who know physics, this will go against all the laws of physics because the energy you apply has nothing to do with the energy which is going to gush forth with such rapidity and strength. Because the water is there! It is celestial water. It is the water of God. The living waters are there imprisoned, waiting for this act.
[51:32]This is what's going on. Don't say, "I am weak and I don't know how to do it." Put your reliance on Bahá’u’lláh. Study the Cause by all means. Without studying the Cause, you can't do anything. Study the Cause, but then open your mouth and open your hearts. That is when you are opening that top. The water will come. It will water your little plot and it will water the land beyond. You'll feel a newly refreshed soul yourself. You're dry. You'll feel you are a new being because the water is passing through you. You are benefiting from the water yourself as it is being delivered to the rest of the area. That is what we should do. Teaching is a wonderful thing if we only realize what a great blessing Bahá’u’lláh has given us - I don't say instructing us - but by giving us the opportunity to serve his cause through teaching.
[53:00]I was talking to the Persian friends last night and I see some of the faces are here. I told them one thing. Or I may not have told you this? I don't know. I've been telling different audiences, all kinds of things. I don't know. I may have told you this, but I know I said it when I was in Quebec. That much I know. I told them, "You know, I want to tell you something. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says" - by the way, in Quebec, they are teaching the Faith. The Faith is growing by leaps and bounds. They may have about 15 people in Quebec City waiting to become Baháʼís. Okay, let's come back to Toronto.
[54:21]I told them, "Listen, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that you should teach one soul every year." That's what he said. And I said that if, as I'm talking to you, I fall dead. I was born in a Baháʼí home. And let us say when I was 15 I was responsible for my deeds. And if I go to the next world in some corner somewhere, I have the privilege of seeing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. I think the first thing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will tell me, 'Ali, come here. 67 less 15 is 52. Is that right? Okay. I think he's going to say, 'What are your 52 Baháʼís?' I think this is what he will ask me and he will have every right to ask me. What will be my answer? Will I be able to produce 52 names? This is what's gonna happen to all of us. Shoghi Effendi says that we must pray that God will send us receptive souls. He says it's not enough for us to pray for success in the teaching work. He says, "You must pray that God will send you receptive souls." They are there.
[56:27]In 1944, around that time, they asked Shoghi Effendi, "What is the degree of the receptivity of the world for the Faith at this time?" That's the Pilgrim's note. He said about 2%. I think that during the last 40 years or so, the receptivity has increased. But I want my mathematician now, here. What is the population of Toronto? About 2,000,000. Two million, do you all agree? All right, two million. Okay, what is 1% of 2,000,000? Two hundred thousand? Two zeros, it's 20,000. Twenty thousand is 1%. Two percent is 40,000. If we take the 2% number, it means that tonight - and I think really, we should believe this, it's no exaggeration - that tonight in the homes of the different people of Toronto, there should be at least 40,000 people who are talking about God and man and wondering about churches, and this group and that group, and wondering again, "Where is the truth?"
[58:10]This is what I think Shoghi Effendi is telling us, "Pray that he will send you receptive souls and pray, that you will have the opportunity to mention the Faith at least once every day." He wants us to mention the Faith at least once every day. Of course, you can't go out in the street and hold somebody and say, "Now look, I want to tell you about the Baháʼí faith. This is my act for the day." But you can pray to Bahá’u’lláh to give you that opportunity and be aware, be awake, be vigilant because he's going to send you that opportunity. You see, it's like having a shop - and I'm definitely sure now that I said this to the Persian friends. It is like having a shop. Now, if you close your shop always and you don't display the goods and you're not ready to receive people to come into the shop, your clientele, do you think that God, who is up there and watching over us, do you think he will send his receptive, thirsty, seeking souls to such a shop? Impossible. He will say, "This shop is useless. My goods are there yes, but it's useless. It's locked up." He will send His seeking souls to shops which are wide open, to hearts which are wide open, to homes which are wide open. He will send His seeking souls there. They are his souls. They are seeking after Him.
[1:00:54]And then we say, "I tried." But you see, I don't know how it is in Toronto, people are not so receptive here. You know this is the commercial business of the country and people are so busy all day. But despite all that, there are others who are seeking, seeking you, and seeking me to find out about the truth of today. And we have that and we don't share it. We should go on our knees and beg Bahá’u’lláh to send the swords to us and henceforth, to be ready for them and to be vigilant and awake. If there is an opportunity to mention the Faith with dignity, we will surely do so. And we'll leave the rest to Bahá’u’lláh. That is the way to teach, at least the first steps in the teaching work. This is my understanding. You may not agree with me and that door is open. You can throw everything out. But if you agree with me, think about it. Pray about it, meditate about it, and I can assure you you will be transformed. You won't be the same souls again, ever. He will come into your lives. He will take hold of your lives and He will interfere in your lives. That's what he will do. You will have the blessing of having this partnership with your Lord.
[1:03:10]Now, on the question of leaving Canada on going to third world countries. This subject is very dear to my heart. It is something that the House of Justice has written about over and over again. We are here in Canada. The needs are so great in these third-world countries. The Universal House of Justice is appealing to the youth of the world to devote, not their entire lives - if they could, it would be wonderful - but what they are asking is about one year, maybe six months, even. All you have to do is to try and you'll find for yourselves that what Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi have promised is true. No exaggeration whatsoever.
[1:04:39]I want to tell you about an atom which became a sun, the drop which became a sea. I want to tell you just a few words at the end of my talk about a very humble person that I knew. His name was Músá Banání. He was the father of Abdul-Ḥusayn Banání, who is a member of your National Spiritual Assembly. This man was illiterate. He was humble. Shoghi Effendi - He was in Haifa. Shoghi Effendi told him that he wants to make him a Hand of the Cause. He said, "Shoghi Effendi, don't. I'm not worthy. I'm not able to discharge this responsibility. Shoghi Effendi said, "You deserve it. You are a Hand of the Cause of God." He looked at himself, he saw he was a little drop. How could he accept this responsibility? But over the years, he was a Hand of the Cause for about 20 years. He passed away. The only reason why I remember him tonight is because of his qualities. And the second reason is that he passed away on the fourth of September and I was thinking of it as I was coming to you tonight. This man grew to be a giant of the Cause. He had never given a talk in his life before an audience. Over the years, he became a good speaker. That's how the confirmations come.
[1:07:20]I would like to end my evening with a little prayer.
[Prayer]
[1:09:18]Explain that the House of Justice has not said that it must be one year. They have given this as an example. It could be less. It could be more. Secondly, when it comes to interruption of one's studies, they have not said when this should be. You have to decide what is the most suitable time for you to interrupt your studies and go. Some do it at the end of their secondary school. I think we call it here "high school", right? Others prefer to do it when they have their Bachelor's Degree and before they go on to Master's and et cetera. Still, others choose a moment in their studies when they find that they can easily get a B away without damaging their credits. So these things are left to you. And I can tell you this much that as a result of service in the third world, you will be surprised how much you will develop as individuals. You will stand on your own feet, but please don't have any misconceptions. There will be hardships, and you have to face them. You have to go with that spirit. But you have to put your reliance on God, as well as you should consult with the institutions on the spot. And you should certainly be wise and prudent in everything you do. And I can tell you also finally, that many youths who have done this in the past have found that when they give in their curriculum vitae, in their CV report, that they have spent one year or so in the field, particularly if during that period they have rendered a service which is to a certain degree related to their main major to the university, they find that this is an additional credit for them, far from being a handicap.
[1:12:10]The question is if Mr. Nakhjavání could give examples of detachment when he's referring to the fact of being detached from all ???.
I'm gonna have some drink first because that shows the degree of my detachment. You know, the word detachment is an excellent translation of the word ??? in Persian, in Arabic, which is the term used by Bahá’u’lláh. Severance has the same meaning. It is a cutting-off. ??? comes from the word ???, and it means a cutting off, a severance. What do we sever ourselves from? That is the question. In fact, the English is a beautiful translation too. The word attachment comes from the word tack. Tack is a nail. That means you're nailed down to earth. And you unnail, untack yourself when you're released. You see, this is what it means. Now, how do you do that? I wish I knew. But if you think that you can do it all by yourself, you're wrong. You simply cannot do it. You have to do it with the aid of God. You have to do it through prayer. You have to do it through daily vigilance. Look at the things that we're told in the writings to do every day. First, you said you're not tired, huh? Okay. Whenever you're tired, you tell me. I really mean it. I don't want to tire you. Look, listen. See how Bahá’u’lláh, the Divine Physician, what he prescribes to us, for us. He's the doctor, the Divine Physician, he has, he says, his pulse, his hand on the pulse of humanity. And he has given his prescriptions.
[14:51]First of all, we can't do it now. But in anticipation of a future society, he visualizes those who believe in him to rise at dawn and go to the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, to the Dawning. Place of the Praise of God, to the House of Worship. He explains in his writings - it's gonna take a little bit of time, is that all right? He explains in his writings that there should be a House of Worship in every country. There should be a House of Worship in every locality. There should be, if necessary, more than one House of Worship in every locality. So the one we have in Wilmette is not even a national one. It is the Mother Temple of the West, and it's also serving as a National Temple. But in the future, there will be a national temple in Canada. You will have to think of a temple site and you have to build your national temple, national House of Worship. Then, as the Faith grows, each local Spiritual Assembly will have its own local House of Worship as, of course, the Faith expands.
[1:16:51]So what does he expect of us? He expects us to get up at dawn and go to the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár for dawn prayers. They have asked him, "What shall we do in Iran?" They asked Shoghi Effendi. We can't have a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. He said, "Do it in your Haziratu'l-Quds's. You have Haziratu'l-Quds's." Do it there for the time being, until the time comes when we can have the national one as well as the local ones. But in the meantime, we have a center of worship, a center for our prayers, a prayer house, if not a House of Worship. We must have such a thing. Okay, he expects us to go at dawn. And, you know, he even tells us how to go to the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. He says, "While you are proceeding towards the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár" - you're not there yet. You're just walking. He wants you - he wants us to be in a prayerful mode already. As you direct your steps to the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, he says, "Remember God, seek His assistance, and seek His forgiveness for your shortcomings." And I'm not yet at the temple. I enter the temple, he tells me, "Sit down silently and listen to the words of God being recited in the House of Worship and immerse yourself in that atmosphere. That's the first thing he is asking me to do. That will eventually help me in my detachment. This all adds up to this. Second, he says every day at morn, at eventide, study the writings twice a day. This does not need a building. It does not need a prayer house. It does not need a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. It does not need walking to the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár at all. It is in my home, to read the verses of God twice a day in the morning and in the evening. This is the Divine Physician. This will help to stabilize my health, my spiritual health.
[1:20:01]How often do I do it? That's another story. Why I'm not doing it, I don't know. I say I'm very busy. Then he has his obligatory prayers. This is all daily. Every day. He says, "Choose one of the obligatory prayers. If you want to be a Baháʼí, if you believe in me, this is my prescription. You must have your obligatory prayer. This has nothing to do with going to the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. It has nothing to do with the reading in the morning and in the evening. It's another thing. Choose one of your three prayers and perform that prayer, and this is an obligation, a spiritual obligation. Then he says what I told you before, "Seek for an opportunity to mention the name of the Faith, the name of Bahá’u’lláh once every day." That's another obligation, daily. And finally, I read in the hidden words, "Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning." He's telling me, "Ali, listen, you may be brought to a reckoning tomorrow morning. Before that is done, bring yourself to account and do it every day.' How often do I do that? How often do I sit down and look at my day. It doesn't say when it should be. It could be in the morning. It could be a night. It could be at midday. It could be while I'm having my lunch and chewing my lunch. It could be any time. This self-examination, a self-examination which should not lead us to paralysis. If it is leading us to paralysis, you can be sure it is not the type of self-examination he's telling us to do. We have not understood him. That self-examination, which will result in a resolution to make tomorrow a better day, that is good. Make your morrow to be better than your yesterday. So this self-examination is necessary.
[1:23:28]These are the things we should do. If we do these things daily, I can assure you we will not find it difficult to untack ourselves from the world around us and float. How many of you have dreamed of flying in dreams? It's beautiful. If you have dreamt of flying, it's a good sign. I think I'm not an interpreter of dreams, but I think it gives you that feeling of floating, of being aloof above the world of being. That is the condition. If you think of a mirror, this mirror should be, as you know, face towards the sun to reflect the sun. But what do we do? We have that mirror turned away from the sun. I don't say you are doing it. Some Baháʼís do this, turned away from the sun, towards the earth. And all it can reflect is the mud. Some of us, unfortunately, have our mirror stuck to the mud. And we look at ourselves, we say, "Really, I don't know. I don't see. I don't feel anything as a Baháʼí." It's because the face of our mirror is facing downwards and it is stuck in the mud. We have to turn ourselves upwards, polish, and varnish the surface of the mirror and let it shine. And then you see the splendors of the kingdom. You feel the splendors of the kingdom. You see the connection that there is between you and your beloved. And that is the very purpose of life. The purpose of life is to keep that mirror turned towards Him and keep it polished. That's the very purpose of our existence. That's why the manifestations of God come here, to educate us to become noble human beings.
