Quotes of Baha'i leaders about Hinduism and Buddhism

"How many a man hath secluded himself in the climes of India, denied himself the things that God hath decreed as lawful, imposed upon himself austerities and mortifications, and hath not been remembered by God, the Revealer of Verses"; "again, if we look at the Hindoos we see that they have made images and worship them as deities, and they have eight million such deities in their temples. It is evident that these are superstitions and imaginations. They worship the cow, the stone, the water and the forces of nature--all these are imitations of the past and they have no foundation whatever"; "there are certain sects in India who worship plants. There are certain people who worship monkey. Consider how degraded is the man whose object of worship is monkey"; ancient astrological deductions "stemmed from the idle conjectures of the Hindus and the superstitions of the Greeks, the Romans and the other star-worshipers"; "the doctrine of metempsychosis upheld by the Hindus is fallacious"; "in India they are full of these ideas, and these are the cause of their downfall-because of their imaginations"; and "the Hindu and Buddhist expect to regain the progress of the times of Gautama [Buddha] and Brahma", yet "each one of the religions of the world has at one time been the cause of progress but each has become like an old tree, devoid of truth".

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Israel, scattered all over the world, will be reassembled in the Holy Land

At that moment, a group of Jewish Bahais, from Hamadan, Persia, came and Abdul-Baha answered all of their questions. The following is one of the answers: "The utterance of the Blessed Beauty that the descendants of Israel shall become dear, was made at a time when the people of Israel were still in the utmost degradation and before they had returned. He uttered these things in order that the glance of providence would surround them, so that they might progress, deliver themselves from humiliation and return to this holy land. That is why, day by day, they became dear and returned to the holy land. These things are all through the power of the blessed Word. They had been degraded for 1,600 years, but, after this blessed word was uttered, they became dear and progressed, although they had no soldiers, army nor government and although the other governments remained the same as before. But this blessed utterance is in behalf of the believers among the Israelites, that is, those who became believers. When the believers of the Israelites progressed and became dear, the non-believers progressed with them, like those, who go and eat at a feast, to which they are not invited. However, this progression is only as long as they are agreeable and friendly. Should they exercise enmity, they will not progress. Nay rather, they will destroy their own homes."

(Star of the West, Volume 9 - Issue 3)

https://bahai.works/Star_of_the_West/Volume_9/Issue_3/Text

One of the great events which is to occur in the day of the manifestation of that incomparable Branch, is the hoisting of the standard of God among all nations; meaning that all the nations and tribes will come under the shadow of this divine Banner, which is no other than the lordly Branch itself, and will become a single nation. The antagonism of faiths and religions, the hostility of races and peoples, and the patriotic differences, will be eradicated from among them. All will become one religion, one faith, one race, and one single people, and will dwell in one native land, which is the terrestial globe. Universal peace and concord will be realized between all the nations. The incomparable Branch will gather together all Israel—signifying also that in this cycle the Jewish people who are scattered to the east and west, south and north, will be assembled together in the Holy Land.

Now see: these events did not take place in the Christian cycle, for the nations did not come under the one standard which is the divine Branch. But in this cycle of the Lord of Hosts all the nations and peoples will enter under the shadow of this flag. In the same way, Israel, scattered all over the world, was not reassembled in the Holy Land in the Christian cycle; but in the beginning of the cycle of Baha'o'llah this divine promise, as is clearly stated in all the books of the prophets, has begun to be manifest. You can see that from all parts of the world tribes of Jews are coming to the Holy Land; they live in villages and lands which they make their own, and day by day they are increasing to such an extent that all Palestine will become their home.

(Star of the West, Volume 8 - Issue 17)

https://bahai.works/Star_of_the_West/Volume_8/Issue_17/Text

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When the first storm of tests blew in Acca and the fire of violation appeared, the eyes of most of the believers were closed to the truth

In the evening, Abdul-Baha called one of the pilgrims, known as Mirza Mahmood Forooghy, to him. (The translator knows this man personally. He is indeed one of God's heroes. One of his great works was this: When the first storm of tests blew in Acca and the fire of violation appeared, the eyes of most of the believers were closed to the truth; but his honor Mirza Mahmoud Forooghy sounded the trumpet of firmness and their eyes became opened.)

(Star of the West, Volume 9 - Issue 3)

https://bahai.works/Star_of_the_West/Volume_9/Issue_3/Text

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Mirza Yahya disguised as a Baghdad Jew, and become a shoe merchant.

Mirza Yahya had, ever since the return of Baha'u'llah from Sulaymaniyyih, either chosen to maintain himself in an inglorious seclusion in his own house, or had withdrawn, whenever danger threatened, to such places of safety as Hillih and Basra. To the latter town he had fled, disguised as a Baghdad Jew, and become a shoe merchant. So great was his terror that he is reported to have said on one occasion: "Whoever claims to have seen me, or to have heard my voice, I pronounce an infidel." On being informed of Baha'u'llah's impending departure for Constantinople, he at first hid himself in the garden of Huvaydar, in the vicinity of Baghdad, meditating meanwhile on the advisability of fleeing either to Abyssinia, India or some other country. Refusing to heed Baha'u'llah's advice to proceed to Persia, and there disseminate the writings of the Bab, he sent a certain Haji Muhammad Kazim, who resembled him, to the government-house to procure for him a passport in the name of Mirza Aliy-i-Kirmanshahi, and left Baghdad, abandoning the writings there, and proceeded in disguise, accompanied by an Arab Babi, named Zahir, to Mosul, where he joined the exiles who were on their way to Constantinople.

-God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi

https://www.holy-writings.com/?a=SHOWTEXT&d=%2Fen%2FBahá%27í+Faith%2F1+-+Primary+Sources%2FShoghi+Effendi%2FGod+Passes+By.txt&i=en

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Any Baha'i determined retain membership (in) Freemasonry loses voting rights.

• Abdu'l-Baha records that Mirza Malkum Khan advised Shah Nasir'd-Din Shah that European order and national progress were attributable to Freemasonry lodges. Consequently, the Shah ordered the establishment of a Masonic lodge (Faramush-khanah) in Tehran and compelled his ministers to join.

• Abdu'l-Baha states that the noble ideals advocated by fraternal orders are fully encompassed within the Baha'i Revelation: "The real principles of the Masonic Order are found in the Baha'i reality. The principles of Christ are found in the Baha'i Cause, and so are the principles of all other faiths. It comprehends all contrarieties".
• In early teaching guidance, Abdu'l-Baha noted that Masons often exhibit an openness to truth: "As the members of the Masonic Order have not the fanaticism of the ignorant ones they have the capacity to advance towards the Kingdom of God. Unquestionably exert yourself in teaching them the Truth".
• In early, informal conversations during His travels in the West, Abdu'l-Baha emphasized that investigating reality begins without rigid barriers: "The number nine contains eight, and seven, and all the other numbers, and does not deny any of them. Do not distress or deny anyone by saying 'He is not a Baha'i!' He will be known by his deeds. There are no secrets among Baha'is... You can be a Baha'i-Christian, a Baha'i-Freemason, a Baha'i-Jew, a Baha'i-Muhammadan".

• Abdu'l-Baha pointed out that human or theoretical bonds of brotherhood inevitably disintegrate when subjected to nationalistic conflicts, citing the Franco-Prussian War: "The Freemasons believe in brotherhood. When the Germans besieged Paris, there were Freemasons on both sides whose theoretic principle was peace and brotherhood. Bismarck and the Emperor of Germany were Freemasons but how did they come up in action? The French people one morning raised the Freemason flag on the Fort. The Germans fired at them with their cannons". Spiritual transformation through the Holy Spirit is required for an indissoluble bond.

• Abdu'l-Baha cited the historical discretion of Freemasons as an example of wisdom when teaching sensitive topics: "Consider how the Freemasons have for two hundred years carried on their work, and unto this day they have not openly declared it to any soul. Not until they find a hearing ear will they speak. The loved ones too must proceed with the greatest prudence, lest serious difficulties be created".

• As the Baha'i Administrative Order developed, clear rulings were issued by Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice prohibiting believers from holding dual membership in Masonic lodges or secret societies.
• Any Baha'i who refuses to relinquish membership in Freemasonry loses their Baha'i voting rights: "Disapprove membership (in) Freemasonry. Any Baha'i determined retain membership (in) Freemasonry loses voting rights".
• Reasons for the Prohibition:
  1. Building Blocks of a New Order: "The point is not that there is something intrinsically wrong with Masonry, which no doubt has many very high ideals and principles... The reasons why the Guardian feels that it is imperative for the Baha'is to be dissociated from masonry at this time... is that we are the building blocks of Baha'u'llah's New World Order... the Baha'is should be absolutely independent, and stand identified only with their own teachings".
  2. Risk of Political Entanglement: "Whereas organisations such as Freemasonry may have been in the past entirely free from any political taint, in the state of flux the world is in at present... there is no guarantee that such an association might not gradually or suddenly become a political instrument". Baha'is must remain strictly non-partisan and free from political allegiances.

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Baha'u'llah and Prince Dmitriy Ivanovich Dolgorouki

Prince Dmitriy Ivanovich Dolgorouki played a pivotal historical role in safeguarding Bahá'u'lláh during the intense period of Bábí persecution in Persia following the August 1852 attempt on the life of Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh.

• Prince Dolgorouki served as the Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy of the Russian Empire to Persia, maintaining the Russian Legation's summer residence in the village of Zargandih.

• When fanatical violence erupted in Tehran following the attempt on the Shah's life, Bahá'u'lláh traveled to Zargandih and stayed at the home of His brother-in-law, Mírzá Majíd (who served as secretary to Prince Dolgorouki), adjacent to the Russian minister's residence.

• When Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh sent officers to the Russian Legation demanding that Bahá'u'lláh be delivered directly into the hands of royal guards, Prince Dolgorouki explicitly refused. Instead, he requested Bahá'u'lláh to proceed to the residence of the Grand Vizier, Mírzá Áqá Khán Núrí, while formally notifying the Grand Vizier that he would hold him personally responsible for Bahá'u'lláh's life, safety, and physical protection.

• While Bahá'u'lláh was chained in the subterranean dungeon of the Síyáh-Chál, Prince Dolgorouki monitored His condition through legation agents. He sent a stern message through his interpreter demanding an official interrogation of the arrested conspirator, Aẓím, to record formal testimony establishing Bahá'u'lláh's absolute innocence. Bahá'u'lláh Himself testifies: "In the days when this Wronged One was sore-afflicted in prison, the minister of the highly esteemed government of Russia... undertook with utmost dedication to secure My deliverance. Several times permission for release was granted, yet some of the divines of the city prevented it. Finally, through the minister's attention and efforts, deliverance was achieved...".

• Upon Bahá'u'lláh's release, Prince Dolgorouki offered Him asylum within the Russian Empire. When Bahá'u'lláh declined in favor of exile to Iraq, Dolgorouki appointed an official representative from the Russian Legation to escort Bahá'u'lláh and His family safely across Western Persia to the Ottoman border.

• In Lawḥ-i-Malik-i-Rús (Tablet to Czar Alexander II / Súriy-i-Haykal), Bahá'u'lláh explicitly commemorated Prince Dolgorouki's intervention:

  "O Czar of Russia! ...Whilst I lay, chained and fettered, in the prison of Tihran, one of thy ministers extended Me his aid. Wherefore hath God ordained for thee a station which the knowledge of none can comprehend except His knowledge. Beware lest thou barter away this sublime station."

---

Sources:

• Bahá'u'lláh, Lawḥ-i-Malik-i-Rús (Tablet to Czar Alexander II), BH01042, cited in Summons to Kings and Rulers (ca. 1868).
• Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet revealed in 'Akká (1307 A.H.), cited in Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká, year 1307 A.H., part IV.
• Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet detailing His release from the Síyáh-Chál, cited in Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká, year 1307 A.H., part IV.
• Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf (1891), quoting the Tablet to Czar Alexander II.
• Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of Bahá'u'llah (Date unknown), account of Zargandih and Russian Legation.
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Arrival at Zargandih and legation connection).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Prince Dolgorouki's refusal to surrender Bahá'u'lláh & warning to Grand Vizier).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Quoting Tablet to Czar Alexander II regarding Minister's aid).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Conditions inside the Síyáh-Chál).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Russian Legation intervention and interrogation of Aẓím).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Aẓím's testimony exonerating Bahá'u'lláh).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VII (Offer of Russian asylum and legation escort to Baghdad).
• Historical index, God Passes By (Record of British and Russian Envoys to Persia: Prince Dolgorouki, 1831, 1846).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Events at Niyávarán and Zargandih).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter IX (Proclamation to World Leaders — Czar Alexander II).
• Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VII (Legation escort during exile to Iraq).

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Baha'u'llah was finally allowed to have his own house, a palatial dwelling, about two miles from Acca, and to have his own large, beautiful gardens.

When the quarrel between the two brothers reached a critical stage, the Ottoman government sent Subh-i-Ezel to Cyprus, and Baha Ullah to Acca, then in Syria. According to the accounts of Bahais who first arrived in Acca, the exiles had a very hard lot in the prison, which was within the city walls in these early days, especially as sickness broke out among them. But after they had recovered and were well established in the second storey of the prison, where they had at least eight rooms and a large court, they were able 'to live in some degree of comfort. Although life was certainly difficult at first, yet the exaggerated descriptions of imprisonment ‘‘in dungeons of the fortress”’ by Bahai writers are impossible. After a time Baha Ullah was allowed to live out in the city proper, and finally to have his own house, a palatial dwelling, about two miles from Acca, and to have his own large, beautiful gardens, and favourite seat by a running stream.

(Studies in Bahaism BY S. NEALE ALTER, JANUARY, 1923)

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Dog, Swine, Wolf

Woe upon you, O swine, for what your hands have wrought, drawing your sword against the countenance of God and showing pride against God, the Protector, the Mighty, the Holy...

(Baha'u'llah, Middle Baghdad period (1856-1860))

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Thereafter, the Servant hath heard what befell you in the path of God, and how the fire of tyranny and hatred was kindled in those parts by the swine who have adorned themselves with turbans and robes. Woe unto them! And again, woe unto them! By God's life, their commerce hath yielded no profit, and they have lost both in this world and in the next.

(Writings of Baha'u'llah in 'Akka, year 1293 A.H. (1876))

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In Edirne III (BH02744):

"Know then that the mewing of cats hath been raised up, then the barking of dogs, and behind them the howling of wolves, then the grunting of swine—if thou be of them that hear. How then can the shrill voice of the Pen be heard in mention of the mysteries of pre-existence?"

In a Prayer from Edirne (BH03512):
"Glorified art Thou, O my God and my Beloved! Thou dost witness and see how the dogs of Thy creatures and the swine of Thy creation have gathered against us, though we commanded them only to approach the shore of the ocean of Thy oneness..."

In Edirne II:
"We have contented Ourselves with that which hath been written in truth at the hour when the swine of the earth encompassed Me on every side, and We remained without helper or support..." "And if thou wert to look with the eye of thy Lord, thou wouldst surely behold those who have denied God in these days in the form of dogs and swine."

In 'Akká Tablets (BH04661 & BH04946):
"This is a day wherein is heard the barking of dogs from all directions, and behind them the squealing of swine. Blessed is the soul whom the clamor of the people hath not prevented, who hath arisen and proclaimed: The Kingdom is God's..." "The wolf howleth on My right and on My left, the squealing of swine hath been raised. Calamities have encompassed Me from all directions."

In the Tablet of the Holy Mariner / 'Akká Period (BH08390):
"This is a Book which the All-Merciful hath sent down in days wherein the raven hath croaked, and the snouts of swine have been raised, and the barking of dogs hath been heard..."

In Letters to Believers (BH09076 & BH00257):

"We testify that he arose to serve My Cause in the earliest days with such steadfastness as was not hindered by the croaking of frogs, nor the mewing of cats, nor the grunting of swine." "It behooveth you in this day to manifest the most great steadfastness in such wise that neither the turning away of those who have disbelieved nor the grunting of swine may cause you to stumble."

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The Bab forbids Pork but Baha'u'llah allows it.

"God has forbidden you in His mighty Book the eating of carrion, spilled blood, swine flesh, beasts of prey, and that over which any name other than the Most Great Remembrance of God has been invoked."

"God hath forbidden the flesh of dogs and swine, and whatsoever among animals are predatory according to the decree of the Gate."

-The Bab

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The attitude of the Bahá'ís must be one of complete aloofness

"There is one fundamental point which Shoghi Effendi wishes me to emphasize. By the principle of non-interference in political matters we should not mean that only corrupt politics and partial and sectarian politics are to be avoided, but that any pronouncement on any current system of politics connected with any government must be shunned. We should not only take sides with no political party, group or system actually in use, but we should also refuse to commit ourselves to any statement which may be interpreted as being sympathetic or antagonistic to any existing political organization or philosophy. The attitude of the Bahá'ís must be one of complete aloofness...."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 2, 1934, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1468)

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Shoghi Effendi on Gandhi

Just as our selection of causes to support must be made with open eyes, so we must avoid blindly riding on hero-worship bandwagons. From even before the time many North American Bahá'ís naively adopted President Wilson as the knight on a white horse who was God’s tool to inaugurate the Bahá'í millennium, Bahá'ís have tended to look outside the Faith for leaders to follow in social causes (not, of course, that this is surprising if the institutions of the Faith do not provide such leadership). This is reflected in a recent issue of Brilliant Star in which the Bahá'ís children were offered as models Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Of Gandhi himself, Shoghi Effendi said that Bahá'ís should be careful as to how they identified themselves with him as, however we might feel about some of his goals, we could not approve all his means, and such a comment obviously applies also to those who follow Gandhi’s methods. While the stature of Gandhi gave a certain legitimacy to the hunger strike, this is really the political equivalent of the child in the grocery store threatening to hold his breath until he turns blue in the face unless he gets what he wants, and it has achieved singularly little success, and often even less dignity, when essayed by others. The current popularity of “fasts” for peace and the like may have some symbolic validity, but whether it does or not and what they symbolize needs to be carefully considered. Obviously, some of the methods of mass action advocated by Gandhi and his followers, such as civil disobedience, are simply unavailable to Bahá'ís as they constitute illegal acts. Other aspects of his movement, such as the homespun crusade, may indeed have useful lessons for Bahá'ís. Thus, although Gandhi may be superficially seen as a good model of social action for Bahá'ís and their children, at even a cursory glance beyond the twinkling spectacles we find that he is no more completely acceptable than someone like Karl Marx—to pull out of the hat a name that seems a likely theoretical opposite in respect of Bahá'í regard. The philosophies of both of these social thinkers have positive and negative aspects from a Bahá'í point of view, and Bahá'ís should avoid easily swallowing the larger society’s views on such figures.

(Politics, Text, and Context: In Search of the Bahá'í Revolution by R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram, published in dialogue 1:3, pp. 20-23, Los Angeles: 1986)

https://bahai-library.com/armstrong-ingram_politics_bahai_revolution

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Did Rothschild died for want of a piece of bread? Super Human speaks.

Rothschild possessed much wealth. At last he died for want of a piece of bread.

(Vol. 152: Writings and Utterances of Abdu’l-Baha, 1912, part II (Apr-May) ABU0344)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/p/phelps_inventory_vol_152_Writings-and-Utterances-of-Abdul-Baha-1912-part-II-(Apr-May).pdf

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"it wasn't my cup of tea"

"I was a member of the Baha'i faith when I was young, but for various reasons it wasn't my cup of tea in the end, that's all I would say about it."

-Juan Cole (Nov. 2026)

Timestamp : 02:12:13

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Kawthar of My mouth

I have caused the living waters to issue from the Kawthar of My mouth, even as I have concealed the living sun behind My hair.

(Baha'u'llah - Tablet of the Hair 2)

https://oceanoflights.org/catalog/BH11210_tablet-of-the-hair/

https://afnanlibrary.org/d/inba_v051/?page=590

My hair is My Veil whereby I conceal My beauty, that haply the eyes of the non-believers among My servants may not fall upon it. Thus do We conceal from the sight of the ungodly the glorious and sublime beauty of Our Countenance.

(Baha'u'llah - Tablets of the Hair, published in Bahá'í News 121, p. 11 - 1938-12)

Physical locks of Bahá’u’lláh's hair were preserved following His ascension, notably arranged and cared for by His daughter, the Greatest Holy Leaf, Bahíyyih Khánum. Portions of these sacred locks were sent by Shoghi Effendi to various national Bahá’í communities—including Australia in 1938 and the intercontinental conferences in Kampala, Sydney, and Frankfurt in 1953—to be enshrined in archives or placed within the foundational structures of continental Houses of Worship.

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He who hesitates in this Cause hath not attained unto maturity and is recorded in the Mother Book as a suckling babe

Baha'u'llah declares: "Say: Verily, he who hath not believed in God is but a suckling, even though seventy years may have passed over him." (BH07611)

In another tablet, He writes: "Verily he who hesitates in this Cause hath not attained unto maturity and is recorded in the Mother Book as a suckling babe, feeding on the milk of heedlessness from the breast of vain imaginings." (BH10666)

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