When you encounter the Bahá í teachings for the first time, you are bound to be interested in the writings related to the spirit of man that were written by Bahá u lláh, the Prophet-Founder, and His son, His appointed Interpreter, Abdu l-Bahá.. Embedded in their writings are statements on a wide variety of topics that emphasize mankind's relationship with God and His creation and which provide us with what we need to prosper spiritually. If your primary goal is to explore the spiritual teachings of the Bahá í Faith, the internet now provides a wealth of sites where you can locate the spiritual sustenance you seek. A few links to such sites are provided on our home page. Given below is a sampling of the insights offered to us by Bahá u lláh and Abdu l-Bahá.

"Investigate and study the Holy Scriptures word by word so that you may attain knowledge of the mysteries hidden therein. Be not satisfied with words, but seek to understand the spiritual meanings hidden in the heart of the words....These are the mysteries of God. It is not the reading of the words that profits you; it is the understanding of their meanings. Therefore, pray God that you may be enabled to comprehend the mysteries of the divine Testaments..." Abdu l-Bahá

"Through the faculty of meditation man attains to eternal life; through it he receives the breath of the Holy Spirit--the bestowal of the Spirit is given in reflection and meditation." Abdu l-Bahá

"The state of prayer is the best of conditions, for man is then associating with God." 'Abdu l-Bahá

"The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence. To this most excellent aim, this supreme objective, all the heavenly Books and the divinely revealed and weighty Scriptures unequivocally bear witness." Bahá u lláh

"Having created the world and all that liveth and moveth therein, He, through the direct operation of His unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him--a capacity that must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation..." Bahá u lláh

"Turn to God, supplicate humbly at His threshold, seeking assistance and confirmation, that God may rend asunder the veils that obscure your vision. Then will your eyes be filled with illumination, face to face you will behold the reality of God and your heart become completely purified from the dross of ignorance, reflecting the glories and bounties of the kingdom." Abdu l-Bahá

"The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds." Bahá u lláh

"By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge and second, the practice of good deeds." Bahá u lláh

"This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer." Abdu l-Bahá

"A good character is, verily, the best mantle for men from God. With it He adorneth the temples of His loved ones. By My life! The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun and the radiance thereof. Whoso attaineth unto it is accounted as a jewel among men. The glory and the upliftment of the world must needs depend upon it. A goodly character is a means whereby men are guided to the Straight Path..." Bahá u lláh

"The source of courage and power is the promotion of the Word of God, and steadfastness in His Love." Bahá u lláh

"Look ye not upon the fewness of thy numbers; rather, seek ye out hearts that are pure. One consecrated soul is preferable to a thousand other souls. If a small number of people gather lovingly together, with absolute purity and sanctity, with their hearts free of the world, experiencing the emotions of the kingdom and the powerful magnetic forces of the divine, and being at one in their happy fellowship, that gathering will exert its influence over all the earth. The nature of that band of people, the words they speak, the deeds they do, will unleash the bestowals of Heaven, and provide a foretaste of eternal bliss." Abdu l-Bahá

"The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing, even as the cupbearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth a seeker, and the lover who crieth not out from the depths of his heart until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved." Bahá u lláh

"O ye beloved of God! Know ye, verily, that the happiness of mankind lieth in the unity and the harmony of the human race, and that spiritual and material developments are conditioned upon love and amity among all men." Abdu l-Bahá

"Training in morals and good conduct is far more important than book learning. A child that is cleanly, agreeable, of good character, well behaved--even though he be ignorant--is preferable to a child that is rude, unwashed, ill natured, and yet becoming deeply versed in all the sciences and arts. The reason for this is that the child who conducts himself well, even though he be ignorant, is of benefit to others, while an ill-natured, ill-behaved child is corrupted and harmful to others, even though he be learned. If, however, the child be trained to be both learned and good, the result is light upon light." Abdu l-Bahá

"Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God is the education and training of children..." Abdu l-Bahá

"Verily, the most necessary thing is contentment under all circumstances; by this one is preserved from morbid conditions and from lassitude. Yield not to grief and sorrow; they cause the greatest misery. Jealousy consumeth the body and anger doth burn the liver; avoid these two as you would a lion." Bahá u lláh

"Now, if thou wishest to know the true remedy which will heal man from all sickness and will give him the health of the divine kingdom, know that it is the precepts and teachings of God. Focus thine attention upon them." Abdu l-Bahá

"Thou has asked Me concerning the nature of the soul. Know, verily, that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel. It is the first among all created things to declare the excellence of its Creator, the first to recognize His glory, to cleave to His truth, and to bow down in adoration before Him. If it be faithful to God, it will reflect His light, and will, eventually, return unto Him. If it fail, however, in its allegiance to its Creator, it will become a victim to self and passion, and will, in the end, sink in their depths." Bahá u lláh

"Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life." Bahá u lláh

"The worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting, more especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of God." Abdu l-Bahá

"Pray to God that He may strengthen you in divine virtue, so that you may be as angels in the world, and beacons of light to disclose the mysteries of the kingdom to those with understanding hearts." Abdu l-Bahá

"Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified." Bahá u lláh

"Until a being setteth his foot in the plane of sacrifice, he is bereft of every favor and grace; and this plane of sacrifice is the realm of dying to the self, that the radiance of the living God may then shine forth." Abdu l-Bahá

"The thin eyelid prevents the eye from seeing the world and what is contained therein. Then think of the result when the curtain of greed covers the sight of the heart!" Bahá u lláh

"Trustworthiness is the greatest portal leading unto the tranquillity and security of the people. In truth, the stability of every affair hath depended and doth depend upon it. All the domains of power, of grandeur and of wealth are illumined by its light." Bahá u lláh

"Truthfulness is the foundation of all the virtues of mankind. Without truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds are impossible for a soul." 'Abdu'l-Bahá

"Observe equity in your judgment, ye men of understanding heart! He that is unjust in his judgment is destitute of the characteristics that distinguish man's station." Bahá u lláh

"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity." Bahá u lláh

"O ye people of the world! The religion of God is for the sake of love and union; make it not the cause of enmity and conflict." Bahá u lláh

"Religion must be the cause of fellowship and love. If it become the cause of estrangement, then it is not needed, for religion is like a remedy; if it aggravate the disease, then it becometh unnecessary." Abdu l-Bahá

"The fact that we imagine ourselves to be right and everybody else wrong is the greatest of all obstacles in the path towards unity, and unity is essential if we would reach truth, for truth is one." 'Abdu l-Bahá

"Become as true brethren in the one and indivisible religion of God, free from distinction, for, verily, God desireth that your hearts should become mirrors unto your brethren in the Faith, so that ye find yourselves reflected in them, and they in you. This is the true Path of God, the Almighty, and He is, indeed, watchful over your actions." Bahá u lláh