Communication with the dead

The question was asked if it were possible to establish communication with the dead, and whether it was wise or advisable to attend séances or to engage in table-turning, spirit-rapping, etc.

The Master said these rappings, etc., were all material things, and of the body. What is needed is to rise above the material to the realms of the purely Spiritual. Table-turning and such like were material, a natural result, and not spiritual.

But it was possible to communicate with the dead through the condition of the character and the heart. 

(‘Notes of conversations; ‘Abdu’l-Baha in London’)

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s response to one of the organizers of the Races Congress in London who asked “whether Bahá’u’lláh had made a special study of Western writings, and founded his teachings in accordance with them.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá laughed heartily, and said that the books of Bahá’u’lláh, written and printed sixty years ago, contained the ideals now so familiar to the West, but, at that time, they had not been printed or thought of in the West. Besides, he continued, supposing that a very advanced thinker from the West had gone to visit Bahá’u’lláh and to teach Him, would the name of such a great man and the fact of his visit have been unknown and unrecorded? No! In former days, in the time of the Buddha and Zoroaster, civilization in Asia and in the East was very much higher than in the West and ideas and thoughts of the Eastern peoples were much in advance of, and nearer to the thoughts of God than those of the West. But since that time superstitions had crept into the religion and ideals of the East, and from many differing causes the ideals and characters of the Eastern peoples had gone down and down, lower and lower, while the Western peoples had been constantly advancing and struggling towards the Light. Consequently, in these days, the civilization of the West was much higher than that of the East, and the ideas and thoughts of the people of the West were much nearer to the thought of God than those of the East. Therefore, the ideals of Bahá’u’lláh had been more quickly realized in the West.

To observe moderation in all things

He [Shoghi Effendi] then explained the need to observe moderation in all things, and reminded us of the utterance of Baha'u'llah, "In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to excess, it will prove a source of evil." [Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas] 

- Ali-Akbar Furutan  (Notes of his pilgrimage in 1941; published in ‘Hand of the Cause of God Furutan’, by Iran Furutan Muhajir)

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s household

The Master's household numbers more than a hundred persons, not counting the children of the believers and His own grandchildren. How wonderfully significant, as an example to the world, is this living service so cheerfully given by each member of the family! There is such harmony and unity in this household, where all the machinery of every-day life is carried on without a break. Every emergency is provided for; unexpected visitors are always entertained with a composure and sincerity unbelievable unless witnessed day after day as I saw it. Where in this wide world could a parallel be found, even approximate to this? No complaint, no friction amidst a variety of temperaments and of different stations in life. It is a garden of variegated flowers growing in the utmost 8 loveliness! The contrast to family life in the outside world is so great that the observer marvels, and the conviction deepens that here is a miracle of miracles that only love, spiritual love, could make possible. 

- Marie A. Watson  (‘My Pilgrimage to the Holy Land’)

Teaching aboriginals of North America

He [Shoghi Effendi] was displeased with the progress apparently being made among the Canadian and American Indians. During one conversation he said that Indians take preference even over Negros. He requested that Canada not only continue its work on Indian languages included in the Crusade but commence to work on supplementary Indian languages. During another conversation he said that he was sorry Canada, in particular, had not more success in teaching the Indians. I attempted to explain the position as I saw it. I told him that we had, to the greatest extent possible, been kind and loving to them, had invited them to our homes, had visited them on their reservations; but all to no apparent avail. He said that there was a lot more to it than inviting them to our homes but didn’t say to what he was referring. He did, however, say that at the root of the Indian situation is the Indian’s jealousy of material progress of the whites. 

- Allan Raynor  (Notes of his pilgrimage in 1956)