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When we aspire to live up to the teachings of Baha’u’llah and strive to emulate the immense array of virtues, we can become a little overwhelmed. It can be helpful to limit the range of qualities we focus on. Luckily, there are four qualities that Baha’u’llah especially liked.
Baha’u’llah is said to have often remarked:
There are four qualities which I love to see manifested in people: first, enthusiasm and courage; second, a face wreathed in smiles and a radiant countenance; third, that they see with their own eyes and not through the eyes of others; fourth, the ability to carry a task once begun, through to its end.1
There are so many virtues that we are called to develop, so why did Baha’u’llah single out these four qualities? Here are my thoughts:
It is not enough to believe in God: we must act on our belief in God. It is not enough to simply act, but we must act enthusiastically. If we recognise the miracle of being alive at the dawn of the promised time of all ages, then we will be extremely enthusiastic about our role in the establishment of the Most Great Peace. And in this endeavour we must have total courage. We must do whatever it takes to live up to the teachings of Baha’u’llah. We can see this enthusiasm in Baha’is such as Rahmatu’llah Muhajir, who devoted his life to spreading the message of Baha’u’llah with passion. We can see this courage in the martyrs of the Faith like Mona Mahmudnizhad, who died for her religion instead of recanting it. This same courage is needed when sharing the message at times and in places where the Baha’is are discriminated against. I can remember when I became a Baha’i. I was so excited to have received the news that a new Messenger of God had come and brought the teachings needed to transform the world. I was filled with an electric eagerness to share this message with others. And I was a lot more audacious than I am now.
The fact that Baha’u’llah liked to see people radiant shows that being happy is very important. Living a spiritual life is not a sombre thing. Even when Baha’u’llah calls on us to recognise the transient nature of life, we should not be saddened. Devoting ourselves to a spiritual path requires a type of seriousness. But this doesn’t mean that we should become puritans who become obsessed with living a perfect life, and judge people who don’t. We also do not live as ascetics who inflict pain on themselves. Not only should we be joyous, but we should also share our joy with others – just as the sun shares its heat and light. Humour is another attribute that is linked to radiance because it makes people feel joyous. Both Baha’u’llah and Abdul-Baha had a great sense of humour.
Seeing things with our own eyes means that we investigate reality for ourselves instead of just blindly following other people. When we investigate the truth we need to use justice. Baha’u’llah says,
By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour.2
Abdul-Baha explains what this means:
[…] no man should blindly follow his ancestors and forefathers. Nay, each must see with his own eyes, hear with his own ears and investigate the truth himself in order that he may follow the truth instead of blind acquiescence and imitation of ancestral beliefs.3
This helps prevent negative practices from taking root in culture and becoming fixed traditions. Because we can think for ourselves, we won’t yield to peer pressure or repeat the mistakes of our forefathers.
Carrying a task to its end is important in so many areas of life, both at work and at home. It requires determination, resilience and commitment. The ability to finish what we start is required in order to achieve goals and live a life devoted to a higher purpose. If we do not finish things, we get nowhere – our lives plateau because we end up doing the things that take the least effort, or the things we normally do. It is especially important to complete things that we have promised other people we will do because this develops trust between people and in turn, builds unity.
What strikes me about these four qualities is that they are all very active. This shows that the Bahai Faith is very much about action. Yes, we need other virtues like acceptance, acquiescence and humility. But these must be combined with the virtues that enable us to engage with the world with the intention of improving it. When I think of these qualities, I see the image of a vibrant person who is full of energy. This person has a positive outlook and is not afraid to have a go at things. They step out of their comfort zone and make things happen. And when they start a project they put themself fully into it, until the project is completed. This is not work for them: this is passion.
In contrast to these positive qualities, Abu’l-Qasim Faizi tells us Baha’u’llah also felt sad about the following five negative qualities:
We can see here that the key word in all the five sentences is pride. The person described above, who is living a joyous, devoted and active life, in no way distinguishes themselves from other people. They are humble and unaware of their accomplishments. So for us who are striving to live this type of life we have to aim to be enthusiastic, courageous, radiant, independent and dedicated. When we recognise that we are making progress we cannot fall into the trap of feeling overly proud of ourselves. Because our attention is becoming more and more focused on helping others, we will have no time for ego-tripping.
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Thanks Peter. This was like a light out of nowhere. Im grateful. Mike
Mike Ryan (May 5, 2016 at 11:14 PM)
Hello, i’m hanz from Indonesia 🙂
I really love this guidance, and still striving in daily just like we are all keep striving 🙂
Thank you for sharing beautiful thought. So, let’s strive together in this beautiful life full of selfless service.. 🙂
lukmanhanz (May 5, 2016 at 11:49 PM)
Thank you so much for this amazing piece that you wrote. I am seeing it as an confirmation because earlier I watched an beautiful video about the Faith on FB that I would love to share on FB. My intention was to share with friends our powerful, loving and so alive Faith, but than I felt a bit uncertain because I don’t know how I would deal with it in case somebody would respond negative because I know it would hurt me. I prayed about it and asked Baha’u’llah what I should do. I felt an opening in my body but ignored and told myself I will wait awhile. After reading your beautiful piece a know that I need to have the courage to share our Faith.
I am grateful for this information!
Cherida
Cherida Creebsburg (May 5, 2016 at 12:53 AM)
I LOVED this! Thank you!
Ladan Naraqi (May 5, 2016 at 4:31 AM)
Peter, Thank you brother for this wonderful piece on the activation of spirit through these four outstanding markers of our life to live by. I also found the 5 mentioned saddening qualities by Hand of the Cause Faizi as equally enlightening to reflect on. Thank you so much again.
Pharan Akhtarkhavari (May 5, 2016 at 7:13 AM)
Well written and insightful article.
Joe Walshe (May 5, 2016 at 7:42 AM)
Thank you for sharing this absolutely insightful wave of thoughts. I learn so much from these posts. Thank you!
Fatima Hindi (May 5, 2016 at 9:15 AM)
Reminders like this are very helpful. Thank you
Leslie (May 5, 2016 at 3:27 PM)
Thanks for this. I’d always assumed the importance of a good sense of humor; but do you or anyone know of specific writings/anecdotes pointing this out about Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’u’llah and the Guardian?
Drew Remignanti (May 5, 2016 at 4:05 PM)
Hello Drew, I have read one compilation of Bahai stories titled ‘Sweet and Enchanting Stories’ – compiled by Aziz Rohani. There are some very humorous stories there if I remember correctly. It is actually online at: http://bahai-library.com/rohani_sweet_enchanting_stories
Peter Gyulay (August 8, 2016 at 11:02 AM)
Thank you. May I translate your post in Romanian and share it with my Romanian friends ?
oana (May 5, 2016 at 7:45 PM)
Yes of course, so long as you reference the original article on Baha’i Blog and link to it.
Naysan Naraqi (May 5, 2016 at 12:33 AM)
Timing in life multiplies the effect.i read but not feel sometimes.right time,right words,moves me to right direction.thank you Peter.
Susie lim (May 5, 2016 at 12:37 AM)
Thanks so very much for such uplifting information. I am so inspired and believe me reading such quotes and knowing such information make a huge difference in our daily lives.
Bless you!
Nasrin (May 5, 2016 at 2:40 PM)
Great. Valuable, refreshing, practical guidance. Thanks. Geeta
Geeta Kingdon (May 5, 2016 at 6:31 PM)
I noticed that two English words were use instead of one for the four categories of trades Bahá’u’llah loved. Is that because two words were needed to convey the meaning of the original Persian (or Arabic) that he used?
David Crenshaw (May 5, 2016 at 11:45 PM)
Dear David Crenshaw, English language is a vast and powerful language. We can see this in a Thesaurus which contains one hundred thousand or more synonyms. For example, Mr. Gyulay used the word ‘qualities’ but you wrote ‘traits’ (misspelled trades). We are fortunate to be able to use so many synonyms in this beautiful language. I believe the Guardians writings and translations reflect this beauty and power.
All the best to you.
Hooshang S. Afshar (May 5, 2016 at 1:04 AM)
Well written, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
No matter where we are in life, we all need a reminder where we should be.
Thanks again
Farideh Vafai (May 5, 2016 at 6:43 PM)
Wonderful reminder and new learning .
Thank you so much Peter.
This is beautifully written and explained .
Mahin (May 5, 2016 at 5:03 AM)
Dear Peter,
These 4 steps were so timely for me to reflect on what would please the Blessed Beauty in my everyday life. In my work also these four steps are perfectly laid out, to move forward with action, and joy..The timing was perfect!
With Baha’i Love, Renee from Canada
Renee Daras (May 5, 2016 at 12:17 AM)
Claudia McDermott. Thank you so much Peter! this information is very timely for me. Especially the words courage, smiles and radiant faces for teaching in my neighborhood, which I’m trying to figure out how and what to do. This will help!
Claudia McDermott (October 10, 2016 at 5:15 AM)
Thanks!
Rooplall Dudhnath (June 6, 2019 at 5:37 PM)
This is good. I learn new thing.
Prabir Debnath (January 1, 2020 at 2:30 PM)
As interesting as your article is, I think that we have to be careful at seeing memoirs written by followers of Baha’u’llah as being His actual Utterance and as actual Sacred Text. I have searched for a primary resource for this quote or something similar coming from the actual Writings of Baha’u’llah and haven’t been able to find anything. Could you please guide me to where I could find this quote in the Writings of Baha’ullah Himself?
Daniel Stee (August 8, 2020 at 5:01 PM)
Hi Daniel,
Thank you so much for raising this very important point. It is true that the first quotation in this article is from a memoir and can neither be found in the translated Writings of Baha’u’llah nor be considered the same as a quotation from His Writings. From what I understand, this passage could be given the same weight as other pilgrim’s notes or talks that have yet to be authenticated. A vast majority of Baha’u’llah’s Writings have yet to be translated into English and perhaps at some point in the near future, this quotation or some derivative thereof will be authenticated. Thank you so much for your comment.
Sonjel Vreeland (August 8, 2020 at 10:10 PM)
Dear Peter,
I am a Malaysian Baha’i reside in Borneo. Thank you very much for your sharing on the 4 qualities mentioned by Baha’u’llah, and it’s something significant as reminders and advice for our daily lives. It also reminds me of the 5 negative qualities that should be avoided at all as they lead to egoism and will bring us nowhere.
Jelian Sudum (May 5, 2021 at 1:40 PM)
Hi Jelian, what are the 5 negative qualities that lead to egoism?
Peter (May 5, 2021 at 8:44 AM)