Now is the time for reflection and awakening. Observe how they cling to the branch while remaining heedless of the root. Thus it has ever been and ever shall be.
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290?, to Prisoners of Khartum -- BH02631)
Religious forms and their living purpose
religious rituals minimized or eliminated
Editorial introduction
Any practice repeated long enough can harden into a shell. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warns of people who cling to the branch while forgetting the root, who idolize the empty shell and lose the kernel, and who hug the rusty chains of immemorial custom more tightly the more those chains corrode. The religion of God, He says, does not consist in prayers, fasts and genuflections, and no formula, however often repeated, can wipe away a lifetime of wrongdoing. In the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh the spiritual exercises of earlier ages are set aside, the kissing of hands and feet is forbidden, and the symbol of baptism yields to its reality, immersion in the spirit and love of God. Jesus, too, tested a tradition by whether it left parents cared for [1]. Even a single prayer, offered with true entreaty, outweighs many hurried ones. The question reaches every heart: does a form still bear fruit in understanding and love? Pursued honestly, it leads on to the dangers of empty learning, false spirituality, priestcraft and superstition.
Selected passages
As soon as the adherents of a religion give more importance to the form than the spirit - they fall into futile wrangling and disputes. They forget the kernel but idolize the empty shell.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Ahmad Sohrab, spoken on 1915-Mar-19 -- ABU1315)
The religion of God does not consist of prayers, fasting and genuflections and going to Mosque.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to an Indian scholar, spoken on 1914-Mar-19 -- ABU1176)
Is the government of God so child-like as to forgive all my past sins with the repetition of a mere formula? Is his system of dispensing justice so loose?
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-Aug-22 in Ramleh -- ABU1292)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 19, True Baptism, 1904 ca. -- AB00674)
One time I was invited in this very house to witness the baptism of a baby who was very young. They had put olive oil in the water and when they put the child into it, it shrieked and struggled, swallowing some of the oil and water, after which it, together with the shock to the nervous system, caused the child to be very ill, and it died.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1904-Apr-18 -- ABU1107)
The rules and principles of spiritual exercises that existed before have been entirely abrogated. This is the truth, and after truth there is nothing but manifest error.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Aqa Shaykh Muhammad Hashim Aqa -- AB02817)
Banish these worthless rituals and envelop yourselves with the warm rays of Universal Ideals.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to a Mohammedan Sheikh, spoken on 1913-Dec-16 -- ABU2352)
The weight of their immemorial customs has fallen on their necks like the rusty chains of ages, and while the corroding marks are imprinted on their emaciated bodies, they hug the chains more closely.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to an Indian Muslim prince, spoken on 1914-Jan-18 -- ABU2359)
We are a new creation and must set aside old customs. In this Cause, kissing hands, kissing feet, and prostration are forbidden.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. Jan. 1909 -- ABU2223)
But this religion has no set form of public worship.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to E.J. Rosenberg et al, spoken around Feb. 1901 -- ABU2604)
One day I said to him, "I want to tell you something." He said, "Please do." I said, "Is it better if one reads one of David's prayers with complete supplication and entreaty, or to keep reading many prayers quickly?" He said, "Of course reading more is better." I said, "Now I will give you an example." He said, "Please do." I said, "If a poor person goes before a king and most respectfully and briefly presents his petition, is this better, or if he keeps saying 'give, give, give, give'? Surely the king would say 'Strike this impudent so-and-so and throw him out!'"
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. Jan. 1909 -- ABU0910)
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- How can a repeated form remain a living aid to attention, gratitude, and transformation?
- What do the root and shell images suggest about judging a practice by its purpose and its fruits?
- How might these critiques be read alongside the prescribed practices of prayer and fasting?
- What would a fair conversation with someone who finds deep meaning in a criticized rite need to include?