Poison
Poison is harmful to man. It is the nature of man to find enjoyment in that which is gratifying to his senses; if he pursue this path he subverts his individuality to such a degree that the poison of darkness which was the means of death becomes the means of his existence and his nature becomes so degraded and his individuality so deflected that his one purpose in life will be to obtain the death-dealing drug.
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Divine Philosophy, p. 132
He must . . . observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endureth a century.
- Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 264
To nurse a grievance or hatred against another soul is spiritually poisonous to the soul which nurses it.
- Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, 5 January 1992
Quote of the Day
Jamal 4 Jalal 183 B.E.
And this is clear: a power above and beyond the powers of nature must needs be brought to bear, to change this black darkness into light, and these hatreds and resentments, grudges and spites, these endless wrangles and wars, into fellowship and love amongst all the peoples of the earth. This power is none other than the breathings of the Holy Spirit and the mighty inflow of the Word of God.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá – Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 52