Planet Bahá'í

It is something of a tradition in the west that with the start of a new year people reflect upon their lives and make resolutions for the coming year. Although the making (and breaking) of new year's resolutions is often relegated to the level of a joke, we might take a moment to reflect on where we are and where we'd like to go. I don't mean in terms of the myriad material and social aspects of our lives, but rather on the spiritual level. The spiritual underlies all else, after all; success and happiness can only be rooted there.

A passage from Bahá'u'lláh's Writings comes to mind in this regard. This was counsel He gave to one of His sons, Badi'u'lláh. Scholar Adib Taherzadeh, in The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, writes of this passage that it "may be said to epitomize [Bahá'u'lláh's] teachings on the question of individual conduct in this life." So perhaps it may form a good starting point for anyone wishing to chart a course for themselves in the coming year:

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.

(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, CXXX, p. 285)

We might take some time to measure ourselves according to this standard and to use our results to guide the making of resolutions, goals, or plans for ourselves. Some of these counsels are plain and easy to apply: Am I truly generous in times of prosperity? Am I a trustworthy person? Others may take more reflection to find their meanings and applications: How can I be "a dew to the soil of the human heart" and "a breath of life to the body of mankind?" Yet probably anyone can find something in this passage to suggest a path for personal spiritual development.

By the way, this list (and others of its ilk, which can be found in the Scriptures of most religions) can seem overwhelming if taken at face value. It sounds very much like a call to perfection, and reminds us of the apparently impossible challenge issued by Jesus: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) But the call is not to instantaneously become perfect. It is, rather, to strive for perfection, day by day, little by little, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá once said. The Master did not speak of becoming perfect. Rather, He spoke of acquiring perfections. We are tested and challenged each step of the way, each difficulty we face a stepping stone to greater levels of perfection.

So ponder the above passage, not just today but time and again as you go through the coming year. And may you become, day by day and little by little, an ever more radiant spirit.