Remorse

Alas, most of the people are fast asleep. They are even as the man who, in his drunkenness, became attracted to a dog, took it in his embrace, and made it his plaything, and who, when the morn of discernment dawned and the light of the sun enveloped the horizon, realized that the object of his affection was but a dog. Then, filled with shame and remorse, he repaired to his abode.

In this Book He . . . prohibits . . . penance.

Thy days shall pass away, thy ministry shall come to an end, and thy possessions shall vanish and be no more. Then, in the presence of the almighty King, thou shalt be called to answer for that which thy hands have wrought. How many the ministers who came before thee into this world, men who exceeded thee in power, excelled thee in station, and surpassed thee in wealth, and yet returned to dust, leaving upon the face of the earth neither name nor trace, and are now plunged in grievous remorse. Amongst them were those who failed in their duty towards God, followed their own desires, and trod the path of lust and wickedness.

This mortal life is sure to perish; its pleasures are bound to fade away and ere long ye shall return unto God, distressed with pangs of remorse, for presently ye shall be roused from your slumber, and ye shall soon find yourselves in the presence of God and will be asked of your doings.

Do not associate with the wicked, because the company of the wicked changeth the light of life into the fire of remorse.

Thou seest me rolling my face in the dust of humility and contrition, supplicating toward the Kingdom of Thy Might, yearning for the contemplation of Thy Greatness, entreating Thy Grandeur, invoking at the Threshold of Thy Mercifulness, beseeching the realm of Thy Singleness, acknowledging my shortcomings, longing for Thy bounty, desiring Thy concealing veil and expecting the outpouring of the rain of Thy favor upon all the meadows and mountains!

Shoghi Effendi, writing about the loss of the Greatest Holy Leaf said: “How can my lonely pen, so utterly inadequate to glorify so exalted a station, so impotent to portray the experiences of so sublime a life, so disqualified to recount the blessings she showered upon me since my earliest childhood -- how can such a pen repay the great debt of gratitude and love that I owe her whom I regarded as my chief sustainer, my most affectionate comforter, the joy and inspiration of my life? My grief is too immense, my remorse too profound, to be able to give full vent at this moment to the feelings that surge within me.”

No doubt, tests are not confined to the friends in Iran; the ordeals that confront the believers in the free world, although different in nature, will be as severe and insidious. If the Bahá’ís throughout the world do not face such tests with the aid of a prayerful attitude and constant engagement in service, they are likely to be submerged in the ocean of bewilderment, confusion, and remorse, wasting away the short days of their lives and leaving this world with empty hands.

Such an attitude does not preclude your being prudent in deciding upon the appropriate amount of contact with your parents. In reaching your decision you should be guided by such factors as their degree of remorse over what they inflicted on you in the past, the extent of their present involvement in practices which are so contrary to Bahá’í Teachings, and the level of vulnerability you perceive within yourself to being influenced adversely by them.