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Marriage

Marriage. A Bahá'í (c.t.c.) perspective. (…. or at least, Paolo & Velda Morisco’s understanding of the whole thing….). Why marriage.

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Marriage

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  1. Marriage A Bahá'í (c.t.c.) perspective (…. or at least, Paolo & Velda Morisco’s understanding of the whole thing….)

  2. Why marriage • Know thou that the command of marriage is eternal. It will never be changed nor altered. This is divine creation and there is not the slightest possibility that change or alteration affect this divine creation • (Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v2, p. 474)

  3. God’s law • They whom God hath endued with insight will readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples. He that turneth away from them is accounted among the abject and foolish…. • …. Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures…. • …. Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws…. • (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 19-20)

  4. What’s marriage • …. in this Day, they (monks and priests) must abandon solitude for open places, and engage in that which may profit both themselves and other men. We have conferred permission on them all to engage in matrimony, so that there may be issue from them to celebrate the praise of God, the Lord of the seen and unseen and the Lord of the lofty throne. • (Baha’u’llah, Compilations p. 142)

  5. Love vs infatuation • When you love a member of your family or a compatriot, let it be with a ray of the Infinite Love! Let it be in God, and for God! • (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 37)

  6. Love!!! • The bond that unites hearts most perfectly is loyalty. True lovers once united must show forth the utmost faithfulness one to another. • You must dedicate your knowledge, your talents, your fortunes, your titles, your bodies and your spirits to God, to Baha'u'llah and to each other. Let your hearts be spacious, as spacious as the universe of God! • Attributed to ‘Abdul-Baha’

  7. Marriage and love • No mortal can conceive the union and harmony which God has destined for man and wife. Nourish continually the tree of your union with love and affection, so that it will remain ever green and verdant throughout all seasons and bring forth luscious fruits for the healing of nations. • Attributed to Abdul-Baha’

  8. Sex and marriage • O people of the earth! A solitary life and severe discipline do not meet God's approval. The possessors of perception and knowledge should look unto the means which are conducive to joy and fragrance. • …. Deprive not yourselves of that which is created for you. • (Compilations, Baha'i World Faith, p. 184)

  9. Sex and marriage II • We are not ascetics in any sense of the word. On the contrary, Bahá'u'lláh says God has created all the good things in the world for us to enjoy and partake. But we must not become attached to them and put them before the spiritual things. Chastity in the strict sense means not to have sexual intercourse, or sexual intimacies, before marriage. In the general sense it means not to be licentious. • This does not mean we Bahá'ís believe sexual relations to be impure or wrong. On the contrary they are natural and should be considered one of God's many blessings • (Shoghi Effendi, The Light of Divine Guidance v II, p. 69)

  10. Marriage and consultation • Allow no trace of jealousy to creep between you, for jealousy, like unto poison, vitiates the very essence of love. Let not the ephemeral incidents and accidents of this changeful life cause a rift between you. When differences present themselves, take counsel together in secret, lest others magnify a speck into a mountain. Harbour not in your hearts any grievance; but rather explain its nature to each other with such frankness and understanding that it will disappear, leaving no remembrance. Choose fellowship and amity and turn away from jealousy and hypocrisy. • Attributed to ‘Abdul-Baha’

  11. Marriage and equality • The Lord, peerless is He, hath made woman and man to abide with each other in the closest companionship, and to be even as a single soul. They are two helpmates, two intimate friends, who should be concerned about the welfare of each other. • ‘Abdul-Baha’

  12. Domestic violence • The friends of God must be adorned with the ornament of justice, equity, kindness and love. As they do not allow themselves to be the object of cruelty and transgression, in like manner they should not allow such tyranny to visit the handmaidens of God. • Bahá'u'lláh

  13. Marriage and family • It hath been laid down in the Bayán that marriage is dependent upon the consent of both parties. Desiring to establish love, unity and harmony amidst Our servants, We have conditioned it, once the couple's wish is known, upon the permission of their parents, lest enmity and rancour should arise amongst them. • Bahá'u'lláh, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 42 • As to the question of marriage, according to the law of God: First you must select one, and then it depends on the consent of the father and mother. Before your selection they have no right of interference. • 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Japan Will Turn Ablaze, p. 23

  14. Marriage and friends • O beloved of God, may your home be a vision of the paradise of Abha so that whosoever enters there may feel the essence of purity and harmony, and cry out from the heart: "Here is the home of love! Here is the palace of love! Here is the nest of love! Here is the garden of love!“ • Attributed to ‘Abdul-Baha’

  15. Marriage and children • And when God gives you sweet and lovely children, consecrate yourselves to their instruction and guidance, so that they may become imperishable flowers of the divine rose-garden, nightingales of the ideal paradise, servants of the world of humanity, and the fruit of the tree of your life. • Attributed to ‘Abdul-Baha’

  16. Marrying whom? • All are equal. If you have any influence to get the races to intermarry, it will be very valuable. Such unions will beget very strong and beautiful children. • ‘Abdul-Baha’

  17. Marrying when? • There is nothing more beautiful than to have young Bahá'ís marry and found truly Bahá'í homes, the type Bahá'u'lláh wishes them to be ...." • (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 220)

  18. Marrying how? • As you know there is no ritual, according to the Aqdas, and the Guardian is very anxious that none should be introduced at present and no general forms accepted. He believes this ceremony should be as simple as possible, the parties using the words ordained by Bahá'u'lláh, and excerpts from the Writings and Prayers being read if desired. There should be no commingling of the old forms with the new and simple one of Bahá'u'lláh • (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 389)

  19. Marriage, service and work • Every Bahá'í has the duty to acquire a trade or profession through which he will earn that wherewith he can support himself and his family; in the choice of such work he can seek those activities which are of benefit to his fellow-men and not merely those which promote his personal interests, still less those whose effects are actually harmful. • (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 122)

  20. Marriage and the 4 core activities • Compare the nations of the world to the members of a family. A family is a nation in miniature. Simply enlarge the circle of the household and you have the nation. Enlarge the circle of nations and you have all humanity. • (Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 100) • Dear Friends: That the forces of disintegration are gaining in range and power cannot be ignored…. “There is no time to lose”… “to try, to persevere, is to insure ultimate and complete victory….” • The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan Message 2006

  21. The end!! • Q & A session…

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