Needs
Even man, the highest form of created beings, needs many things for his very life; first of all he needs air, and if he is deprived of it for a few minutes, he dies. He is also dependent on water, food, clothing, warmth, and many other things. On all sides he is surrounded by dangers and difficulties, against which his physical body alone cannot cope. If a man looks at the world around him, he will see how all created things are dependent and are captive to the laws of Nature. Man alone, by his spiritual power, has been able to free himself, to soar above the world of matter and to make it his servant.
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 20
It is not merely material well- being that people need. What they desperately need is to know how to live their lives -- they need to know who they are, to what purpose they exist, and how they should act towards one another; and, once they know the answers to these questions they need to be helped to gradually apply these answers to everyday behaviour. It is to the solution of this basic problem of mankind that the greater part of all our energy and resources should be directed.
- The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 283
Quote of the Day
Idal 13 Nur 183 B.E.
I wish to reaffirm my deep sense of gratitude and admiration for the splendid manner in which the English believers are discharging their duties and responsibilities in these days of increasing peril, anxiety and stress. Their tenacity, courage, faith and noble exertions will as a magnet attract the undoubted and promised blessing of Bahá’u’lláh.
Shoghi Effendi – The Unfolding Destiny of the British Bahá’í Community, p. 137