TEACHERS AND TEACHING

If by this method every one of the friends of God were to try to lead one soul to the right path, the number of the believers would be doubled every year. But this should be carried out with perfect wisdom and such a manner that no harm would ever result therefrom.-'(Abdu'l-Bahá)
With hearts set aglow by the fire of the love of God and spirits refreshed by the food of the heavenly spirit you must go forth as the disciples nineteen hundred years ago, quickening the hearts of men by the call of glad tidings, the light of God in your faces, severed from everything save God.
Therefore, order your lives in accordance with the first principle of divine teaching, which is love. Service to humanity is service to God. Let the love and light of the Kingdom radiate through you until all who look upon you shall be illuminated by its reflection. Be as stars, brilliant and sparkling in the loftiness of their heavenly station. Do you appreciate the Day in which you live?
This is the century of the Blessed Perfection!
This is the cycle of the light of His beauty!
This is the consummate Day of all the Prophets!
These are the days of seed sowing. These are the days of tree planting. The bountiful bestowals of God are successive. He who sows a seed in this day will behold his reward in the fruits and harvest of the heavenly Kingdom. The timely seed, when planted in the hearts of the beloved of God, will be watered by showers of divine mercy and warmed by the sunshine of divine love. Its fruitage and flower shall be the solidarity of mankind, the perfection of justice and the praiseworthy attributes of heaven manifest in humanity. All who sow such a seed and plant such a tree according to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh shall surely witness this divine outcome in the degrees of its perfection and will obtain unto the good pleasure of the Merciful One....But the friends of the Blessed Perfection have no thoughts save the thoughts of heaven and the love of God.
Therefore, you must without delay employ your powers in spreading the effulgent glow of the love of God and so order your lives that you may be known and seen as examples of its radiance. You must deal with all in loving-kindness in order that this precious seed entrusted to your planting may continue to grow and bring forth its perfect fruit. The love and mercy of God will accomplish this through you if you have love in your own heart. The doors of the Kingdom are opened. The lights of the Sun of Truth are shining. The clouds of divine mercy are raining down their priceless jewels. The zephyrs of a new and divine springtime are wafting their fragrant breaths from the invisible world. Know ye then the value of these days. Awake ye to the realization of this heavenly opportunity. Strive with all the power of your souls, your deeds, your actions and words to assist the spread of these glad tidings and the descent of this merciful bounty. You are the reality and expression of your deeds and actions.
If you abide by the precepts and teachings of the Blessed Perfection, the heavenly world and ancient Kingdom will be yours-eternal happiness, love and everlasting life. The divine bounties are flowing. Each one of you has been given the opportunity of becoming a tree yielding abundant fruits. This is the springtime of Bahá'u'lláh. The verdure and foliage of spiritual growth are appearing in great abundance in the gardens of human heads. Know ye the value of these passing days and vanishing nights. Strive to attain a station of absolute love for one another.
By the absence of love, enmity increases. By the exercise of love, love strengthens and enmities dwindle away...It is my hope that the endless treasures of the bestowals of God may be yours here and hereafter. It is my prayer that the Supreme Concourse may be illumined by your brilliant lights shining forever in the heavens of eternal Glory. (The Promulgation of Universal Peace: pp. 8-9)
It is my hope...that you may become more attracted, more spiritual, more illumined, acquire knowledge of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh from each other and spread the message of truth. May your heads become so attracted that the instant a question is asked, you will be able to give the right answer and that the truth of the Holy Spirit may speak through your tongues. Be ye helpful through the providence and favor of the Blessed Perfection, for His favors change a drop into an ocean, cause a seed to become a tree and make an atom as glorious as thesun. His graces are boundless. The treasure houses of God are filled with bounties. God, who hath shown favors unto others, will certainly bestow favors upon you....that your tongues may become fluent, your heads like clear mirrors flooded with the rays of the Sun of Truth, your thoughts expanded, your comprehension more vivid and that you may progress in the plane of human perfections.
Until a man acquires perfections himself, he will not be able to teach perfections to others. Unless a man attains life himself, he can not convey life to others. Unless he finds light, he cannot reflect light. We must, therefore, endeavor ourselves to attain the perfections of the world of humanity, lay hold of everlasting life and seek the divine e friends. Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: #213, p. 268)
Follow the way of the Lord, and say not that which the ears cannot bear to hear, for such speech is like luscious food given to small children. However palatable, rare and rich the food may be, it cannot be assimilated...Therefore unto everyone who hath a right, let his settled measure be given.
'Not everything that a man knoweth can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be regarded as suited to the capacity of those who hear it.' Such is the consummate wisdom to be observed in thy pursuits. Be not oblivious thereof, if thou wishest to be a man of action under all conditions. First diagnose the disease and identify the malady, then prescribe the remedy, for such is the method of the skillful physician.-'Abdu'l-Bahá (Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: #214, pp. 268-269)
Rest assured that the breathings of the Holy Spirit will loosen thy tongue. Speak, therefore; speak out with great courage at every meeting. When thou art about to begin thine address, turn first to Bahá'u'lláh, and ask for the confirmations of the Holy Spirit, then open thy lips and say whatever is suggested to thy heart; this, however, with the utmost courage, dignity and conviction. It is my hope that from day to day your gatherings will grow and flourish, and that those who are seeking alter truth will hearken therein to reasoned arguments and conclusive proofs. (Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: #216, pp. 269-270)
The teacher, when teaching, must be himself fully enkindled, so that his utterance, like unto a flame of fire, may exert influence and consume the veil of self and passion. He must be utterly humble and lowly so that others may be edified, and be totally self-effaced and evanescent so that he may teach with the melody of the Concourse on high-otherwise his teaching will have no effect. -'Abdu'l-Bahá(Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: #217, p. 270)
If in times past those who have risen up and gone forth in the Cause of God have been helped and confirmed by His spirit, even to suffering death for Him, how much greater is the flood of life with which ye shall be flooded now! For this is the end and the full revelation, and if I say unto you that anyone who will rise up in the Cause of God at this time shall be filled with the spirit of God, and that He will send His hosts from heaven to help you, and that nothing shall be impossible to you if you have faith. And now I give to you a commandment which shall be as a covenant between you and me-that ye have faith; that your faith be steadfast as a rock that no storms can move, that nothing can disturb, and that it endure through all things even to the end; even should you hear that your Lord has been crucified, be not shaken in your faith; for I am with you always, whether living or dead, I am with you to the end. As ye have fait, so shall your powers and blessings be-this is the balance-this is the balance-this is the balance.
Now the time has come when we must part, but the separation is only of our bodies, in spirit we are united. Ye are the lights which shall be diffused; ye are the waves of the sea that shall spread and overflow the world. Each wave is precious to me and my nostrils shall be gladdened by your fragrance.
Another commandment that I give unto you, that ye love one another even as I love you. Great mercy and blessings are promised to the people of your land, but on one condition that your hearts are filled with the fire of love, that they live in perfect kindness and harmony like one soul in different bodies.
If they fail in this condition the great blessings will be deferred. Never forget this; look at one another with the eye of perfection; look at me, follow me, be as I am; take not thoughts for yourselves or your lives, whether ye eat or whether ye sleep, whether you are comfortable, whether ye are well or ill, whether you are with friends or foes, whether ye receive praise or blame; for all these things you must care not at all. Look at me and be as I am; ye must die to yourselves and to the world and so be born again and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Behold a candle, how it gives its light. It weeps its life away drop by drop in order to give forth its flame of light."-'Abdu'l-Bahá