"Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind ..."

Girls emancipated from slavery New Orleans

"...Say: Beware, O people of Bahá, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments. Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct. It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others. Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon the whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My counsel, and keepeth the precepts prescribed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."

~Bahá’u’lláh

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, sec. 139, p. 305

"I bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and that there is none other God beside Thee."

"I bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and that there is none other God beside Thee. Thou hast, verily, revealed Thy Cause, fulfilled Thy Covenant, and opened wide the door of Thy grace to all that dwell in heaven and on earth. Blessing and peace, salutation and glory, rest upon Thy loved ones, whom the changes and chances of the world have not deterred from turning unto Thee, and who have given their all, in the hope of obtaining that which is with Thee. Thou art, in truth, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful." 

~ Bahá’u’lláh

  Excerpt from Medium Obligatory Prayer (Bahá’í Prayers)

"It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness."

"This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favours have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests...."

~Bahá’u’lláh

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,  p. 6

"It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others."

"Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct. It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others. Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon the whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My counsel, and keepeth the precepts prescribed by Him Who is the All- Knowing, the All-Wise."

~Bahá’u’lláh

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, sec. CXXXIX, p. 305

"One righteous act is endowed with a potency that can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven of heavens."

"One righteous act is endowed with a potency that can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven of heavens. It can tear every bond asunder, and hath the power to restore the force that hath spent itself and vanished....

Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous...."

~ Bahá’u’lláh

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, sec. CXXXI, p. 287

"Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds"

"O SON OF MY HANDMAID!

Guidance hath ever been given by words, and now it is given by deeds. Every one must show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones. Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds. In this wise We counsel you in this holy and resplendent tablet."

~Bahá’u’lláh 

The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Persian no. 76, pp. 48–49

"Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws."

Hiroshige

"Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witness that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed. Meditate upon this, O men of insight!"

~Bahá’u’lláh

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, sec. CLV, p. 331; pp. 332–33

"On page 251 of “The Advent of Divine Justice” the beloved Guardian is describing the requirements not only of chastity, but of “a chaste and holy life”—both the adjectives are important. One of the signs of a decadent society, a sign which is very evident in the world today, is an almost frenetic devotion to pleasure and diversion, an insatiable thirst for amusement, a fanatical devotion to games and sport, a reluctance to treat any matter seriously, and a scornful, derisory attitude towards virtue and solid worth. Abandonment of “a frivolous conduct” does not imply that a Bahá’í must be sour-faced or perpetually solemn. Humour, happiness, joy are characteristics of a true Bahá’í life. Frivolity palls and eventually leads to boredom and emptiness, but true happiness and joy and humour that are parts of a balanced life that includes serious thought, compassion and humble servitude to God, are characteristics that enrich life and add to its radiance.

Shoghi Effendi’s choice of words was always significant, and each one is important in understanding his guidance. In this particular passage, he does not forbid “trivial” pleasures, but he does warn against “excessive attachment” to them and indicates that they can often be “misdirected”. One is reminded of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s caution that we should not let a pastime become a waste of time.

(From a letter dated 8 May 1979 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

1 On page 25 in the 1956 U.S. edition; on page 30 in the 1984 U.S. edition.