Writing of religion as a social force, Bahá’u’lláh said : “Religion is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein.” Referring to the eclipse or corruption of religion, he wrote : “Should the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness, of justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine.” In an enumeration of such consequences the Bahá’í writings point out that the “perversion of human nature, the degradation of human conduct, the corruption and dissolution of human institutions, reveal themselves, under such circumstances, in their worst and most revolting aspects. Human character is debased, confidence is shaken, the nerves of discipline are relaxed, the voice of human conscience is stilled, the sense of decency and shame is obscured, conceptions of duty, of solidarity, or reciprocity and loyalty are distorted, and the very feeling of peacefulness, of joy and hope is gradually extinguished.”

(Universal House of Justice, Promise of World Peace, October 1985)

The problem with which you are faced is one which concerns and seriously puzzles many of our present day youth. How to attain spirituality is, indeed, a question to which every young man and woman must sooner or later try to find a satisfactory answer. It is precisely because no such satisfactory reply has been given or found, that modern youth finds itself bewildered, and is being consequently carried away by the materialistic forces that are so powerfully undermining the foundation of man’s moral and spiritual life.

Indeed, the chief reason for the evils now rampant in society is a lack of spirituality. The materialistic civilisation of our age has so much absorbed the energy and interest of mankind, that the people in general no longer feel the necessity of raising themselves above the forces and conditions of their daily material existence. There is not sufficient demand for things that we should call spiritual to differentiate them from the needs and requirements of our physical existence. The universal crisis affecting mankind is, therefore, essentially spiritual in its causes. The spirit of the age, taken on the whole, is irreligious. Man’s outlook upon life is too crude and materialistic to enable him to elevate himself into the higher realms of the spirit.

It is this condition, so sadly morbid, into which society has fallen, that religion seeks to improve and transform. For the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling that unites man with God. This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer. And this is the reason why Bahá’u’lláh has so much stressed the importance of worship. It is not sufficient for a believer merely to accept and observe the teachings. He should, in addition, cultivate the sense of spirituality, which he can acquire chiefly by means of prayer. The Bahá’í Faith, like all other Divine religions, is thus fundamentally mystic in character. Its chief goal is the development of the individual and society, through the acquisition of spiritual virtues and powers. It is the soul of man that has first to be fed. And this spiritual nourishment prayer can best provide. Laws and institutions, as viewed by Bahá’u’lláh can become really effective only when our inner spiritual life has been perfected and transformed. Otherwise religion will degenerate into a mere organisation, and become a dead thing.

The believers, particularly the young ones, should therefore fully realise the necessity of praying. For prayer is absolutely indispensable to their inner spiritual development, and this, as already stated, is the very foundation and purpose of the Religion of God.

(Shoghi Effendi, 8 December 1935 to an individual believer, published in Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional attitude)

In the beginning of his human life man was embryonic in the world of the matrix. There he received capacity and endowment for the reality of human existence. The forces and powers necessary for this world were bestowed upon him in that limited condition. In this world he needed eyes ; he received them potentially in the other. He needed ears ; he obtained them there in readiness and preparation for his new existence. The powers requisite in this world were conferred upon him in the world of the matrix so that when he entered this realm of real existence he not only possessed all necessary functions and powers but found provision for his material sustenance awaiting him. Therefore, in this world he must prepare himself for the life beyond. That which he needs in the world of the Kingdom must be obtained here. Just as he prepared himself in the world of the matrix by acquiring forces necessary in this sphere of existence, so, likewise, the indispensable forces of the divine existence must be potentially attained in this world.

(`Abdu’l-Bahá : Promulgation of Universal Peace, pages 225-226)

That divine world is manifestly a world of lights ; therefore, man has need of illumination here. That is a world of love ; the love of God is essential. It is a world of perfections ; virtues, or perfections, must be acquired. That world is vivified by the breaths of the Holy Spirit ; in this world we must seek them. That is the Kingdom of everlasting life ; it must be attained during this vanishing existence. By what means can man acquire these things ? How shall he obtain these merciful gifts and powers ? First, through the knowledge of God. Second, through the love of God. Third, through faith. Fourth, through philanthropic deeds. Fifth, through self-sacrifice. Sixth, through severance from this world. Seventh, through sanctity and holiness. Unless he acquires these forces and attains to these requirements, he will surely be deprived of the life that is eternal. But if he possesses the knowledge of God, becomes ignited through the fire of the love of God, witnesses the great and mighty signs of the Kingdom, becomes the cause of love among mankind and lives in the utmost state of sanctity and holiness, he shall surely attain to second birth, be baptized by the Holy Spirit and enjoy everlasting existence.

(`Abdu’l-Bahá : Promulgation of Universal Peace, page 226)

1. Meditate on the verse of Bahá’u’lláh and commit it to memory. Explain the nature of the next world in the light of this metaphor.
2. What is the role of religion? Give a metaphor used by Bahá’u’lláh.
3. What happens if religion is corrupted or forgotten?
4. Why do young people in the world have so many problems?
5. What is the nature of the universal crisis affecting mankind? Explain with examples.
6. What is materialism?
7. What constitutes the core of religious faith?
8. What is prayer and what role does it play in cultivating spirituality?
9. What is the relationship between individual spiritual life and social laws and institutions?
10. What does “indispensable” mean? What does it mean in the context of spiritual development, using the metaphor of the embryo?
11. What is the purpose of our physical reality?
12. What are the spiritual faculties that people must attain in this world? By what means can they be acquired?
13. What are the consequences of failure to develop these faculties?