Go home, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told departing pilgrims, and let everyone see the change in you: greater love, greater joy, greater kindness and forbearance. A second birth, in His teaching, is not a private feeling but a visible fact, the dark made luminous, the heedless made aware, the robber made trustworthy. To be born of the Spirit is to pass in the same way out of the matrix of nature into the Kingdom, and to find oneself with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart. Jesus’ night conversation with Nicodemus is the text these interpretations keep returning to. The image also consoles the bereaved, since the next world stands to this one as this one stood to the womb. From here the journey leads to the Holy Spirit as the agent of this change, to spiritual baptism by water and fire, and to the slow, daily work of spiritual transformation that follows an awakening.
Reality is the love of God, reality is the knowledge of God, reality is the second birth, reality is receiving the breaths of the Holy Spirit, reality is the oneness of humanity, reality is fellowship between people, reality is friendship, reality is justice, reality is equality between people.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Nov-30 in Paris -- ABU0614)
02
When you return to America everybody must see the greatest change in you. You must show that you have had a second birth. You must show the greatest love and the greatest joy. You must show the greatest kindness and forbearance; in fact, you must show complete severance and humility, so that when you enter a meeting all will see the change in you."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mr and Mrs Kinney et al, spoken on 1909-Aug-21 -- ABU0941)
03
Existential rewards consist in the virtues and perfections that adorn the human reality. For example, man was immersed in darkness and becomes luminous; he was ignorant and becomes informed; he was heedless and becomes aware; he was asleep and is awakened; he was dead and is quickened to life; he was blind and begins to see; he was deaf and begins to hear; he was earthly and becomes heavenly; he was material and becomes spiritual. Through these rewards he is reborn in spirit, is created anew, and becomes the manifestation of the verse in the Gospel that says that the Apostles "were born, not of blood, nor of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God"--that is, they were delivered from the animal characteristics and qualities that are inherent to human nature and acquired divine attributes, which are the outpouring grace of God. This is the true meaning of being born again.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 60, The Immortality of the Spirit (1), 1904-Oct ca. -- AB00268)
04
But as soon as the guidance of God and the faith of God dawn from the horizon of a heart that person is a changed man. All his evil characteristics are transformed into praiseworthy attributes.
There is a person who, upon becoming a believer, becomes entirely a new creation. For instance, the most oppressive person on earth becomes the most virtuous. The most ignorant becomes the most learned. A thief and highway robber becomes supremely trustworthy. A shepherd becomes Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. A fisherman becomes Peter the Great... This person's very essence is resurrected.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1915-Sep-29 in Haifa -- ABU0857)
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
06
By these things you know the faithful servant of God. How do we know the light? By its rays. So when you see these qualities, you will know that the servant of God has received the regeneration--you must be born once again. You must pray and supplicate, and the more you pray and supplicate, the nearer you will be to God.
Even as Jesus said: "Ye must be born again." Again He saith: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The purport of these words is that whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those that have attained unto "life" and "resurrection" and have entered into the "paradise" of the love of God.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude), 1278 ca. [1861-1862], to Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, great uncle of the Bab (Khal-i-Akbar) -- BH00002)
08
The sacred Books of all nations speak of the possibility of the new birth of man. What does this mean? A child in the womb of its mother is in utter darkness. When it is born into the world it comes into the Light. While in the womb it cannot understand the use of its faculties, but when it comes into the phenomenal world, then is understood the use of hearing, speech, sight, etc.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Thornton Chase spoken around 1900 -- ABU0407)
09
Before his first or physical birth man was in the world of the matrix. He had no knowledge of this world; his eyes could not see; his ears could not hear. When he was born from the world of the matrix, he beheld another world. … Similarly, as long as man is in the matrix of the human world, as long as he is the captive of nature, he is out of touch and without knowledge of the universe of the Kingdom. If he attains rebirth while in the world of nature, he will become informed of the divine world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Maxwell home on 1912-Sep-02 -- ABU0100)
10
A child in the matrix of its mother is in utter darkness. When it is born into the world it comes into the light. While in the matrix it cannot understand the uses of its faculties; but when it comes into the phenomenal world then the uses of hearing, speech, sight, etc., are understood. … The new birth is realized in this world when we become characterized with the characteristics of God, when His name and attributes become our name and attributes.
As the babe is born into the light of this physical world, so must the physical and intellectual man be born into the light of the world of Divinity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Metaphysical Club on 1912-Aug-27 -- ABU0024)
12
This is why His Holiness Christ says that we must be born again. When man is born from the womb of the mother he is freed from material darkness. In the same way he must be born from the world of nature so that he may become free from the darkness of the world of nature. This is the second birth.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1920-Sep-07 -- ABU1725)
13
This means that just as in the first birth the fetus comes forth from the matrix of the mother into the conditions of the human kingdom, even so the spirit of man must be born out of the matrix of naturalism, out of the baser nature, in order that he may comprehend the great things of the Kingdom of God. He must be born out of mother earth to find the everlasting life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Parsons home on 1912-Nov-09 -- ABU0138)
14
Therefore Christ said one must be born a second time. As a child, by coming to this world, understands the conditions here, so we should go to the spiritual world to understand its conditions. The Prophets were born in the spiritual condition to understand the immortal world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in late Aug./early Sept. 1911 in Vevey -- ABU0495)
15
The inability of the materialistic mind to grasp the idea of the Life Eternal is no proof of the nonexistence of that life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Dreyfus home in Paris, 1911-Nov-10 -- ABU0054)
16
This is the matrix world for the soul, even as the womb was the matrix world for the body or vehicle. - Birth into consciousness of another world begins here, a world for which this physical and material one is but the preparation and foundation."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mrs. Hoagg, spoken around Jan. 1914(?) -- ABU3236)
17
When a man is born into the world of phenomena he finds the universe; when he is born from this world to the world of the spirit, he finds the Kingdom.'
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Evil: Words spoken ca. 1912-Dec-26 in London -- ABU2403)
18
Just as man has been physically born into this world, he may be reborn from the realm and matrix of nature, for the realm of nature is a condition of animalism, darkness and defect. In this second birth he attains the world of the Kingdom. There he witnesses and realizes that the world of nature is a world of gloom, whereas the Kingdom is a world of radiance; the world of nature is a world of defects, the Kingdom is a realm of perfection; the world of nature is a world without enlightenment, the Kingdom of spiritual humanity is a heaven of illumination.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Woolson home on 1912-Sep-20 -- ABU0109)
19
Until man is born again from the world of nature, that is to say, becomes detached from the world of nature, he is essentially an animal, and it is the teachings of God which convert this animal into a human soul.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Lawh-i-Lahih (Tablet to the Hague), 1919-Dec-17, to Central Organization for a Durable Peace (the Hague) -- AB00016)
20
(5) If the angelic aspect becomes more powerful, and the divine power and brightness surround man, then the second birth takes place, and eternal life is found at this point. Man becomes then the noblest among creatures.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Laura Dreyfus-Barney, Feb. 1914 -- ABU0185)
21
If the angelic side becomes more powerful and the divine power and brightness surround man, then the second birth takes place and eternal life is found at this point. Man becomes then the noblest among creatures.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to George Winterburn et al, spoken on 1904-Feb-08 -- ABU0667)
22
When this aspect of spirituality, this force of the kingdom, overcomes the natural forces, it is the process of rebirth, or second birth. This signifies baptism through the Holy Spirit, because divine radiance has overcome the darkness of animalism. For this reason His Holiness Christ declared that man must be born again.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Oct-04 in San Francisco -- ABU0214)
23
Jesus Christ said that we should be born again through the spiritual fire and love of God and be baptized by the water of life and the Holy Spirit, that we may obtain everlasting life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Sep-27 in London -- ABU0977)
24
Thou shalt receive baptism with the spirit of life and the fire of the love of God, seek second birth from the realm of nature, and attain eternal life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jul-24, to George Townshend -- AB04710)
25
They are baptized by the providence of God, by the fire of the love of God, and by the Holy Spirit. They have received a second birth, they have found eternal life."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Will and Wendell Dodge, spoken on 1901-Dec-03 -- ABU1182)
26
The call of the Abha Kingdom penetrates swiftly like spirit through veins, arteries, hearts and souls, creating a new creation and baptizing with water, spirit and fire. A second birth takes place and a new creation is raised up.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Nov-12, to Ekstein, Atto et al -- AB00600)
27
As for spiritual creation, which is the station of the new creation, it is supreme guidance, eternal life, universal qualities, the acquirement of the all-inclusive divine perfections, and progress in all the stages of human endowments. This creation and existence is realized through the appearance of the Divine Manifestations in the contingent world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Jan-16, to Mahmud Zarqani -- AB00538)
28
However, the "beginning" mentioned in the Holy Books refers to the beginning of Manifestation, and "creation" refers to the second spiritual birth, as Christ said, "Ye must be born again." Without doubt, the beginning of this spiritual creation was the Manifestation itself in every age and cycle, for each Manifestation of Truth is Adam, and the first to believe in Him is Eve, and all souls who are born with the second spiritual birth are their children and descendants.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-Oct-24, to Isabella D Brittingham -- AB03015)
29
Nay, rather, Christ appeared in order to illumine the world of humanity, to render the earthly world celestial, to make the human kingdom a realm of angels, to unite the hearts, to enkindle the light of love in human souls, so that such souls might become independent, attaining complete unity and fellowship, turning to God, entering into the divine Kingdom, receiving the bounties and bestowals of God and partaking of the manna from heaven. Through Christ they were intended to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, attain a new spirit and realize the everlasting life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to some Baha'is, spoken at Moxey home on 1912-Nov-18 -- ABU0020)
30
In brief: the people of the world are in need of eternal life, and eternal life depends on the manifestation of the Kingdom, and the manifestation of the Kingdom depends on the penetration of the Word of God and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit - that is, it depends on the divine power that brings the dead to life, makes the blind see and the deaf hear, and fulfills the second birth mentioned in the Gospel text: "That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. You must be born again."
… The human spirit attains eternity through faith and second birth.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Mr. J.J. van Rijckevorsel -- AB00801)
31
Faith is mentioned in the Scriptures as the 'Second Birth' or 'Everlasting Life.' In this day it is the Spirit of God, the real true belief.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Julia Grundy spoken around Jan. 1905 -- ABU1000)
32
They must have a new birth as His Holiness Christ said. They must become Bahais.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Hannen, Latimer et al, spoken on 1912-Jul-31 -- ABU2657)
33
The Dove of holiness warbleth in the heaven of immortality and admonisheth thee to array thyself with a new vesture, wrought of steel to shield thee from the shafts of doubt concealed in the allusions of men, saying: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again."
(Bahá’u’lláh, Javahiru'l-Asrar (Gems of Divine Mysteries), to Haji Siyyid Muhammad Mujtahid Isfahani -- BH00012)
34
Arise, and lift up your voices, that haply they that are fast asleep may be awakened. Say: O ye who are as dead! The Hand of Divine bounty proffereth unto you the Water of Life. Hasten and drink your fill. Whoso hath been reborn in this Day, shall never die; whoso remaineth dead, shall never live.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Manikchi Sahib, 1296-08 [1879-Jul], to Manikchi-Sahib -- BH00698)
35
The trumpet of resurrection is blown and you are yet sleep? I say, out of your tombs, get out of your sepulchers! This is the hour of revivification. Avail yourselves of the opportunities presented to you.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to some friends, spoken on 1914-Dec-05 -- ABU1141)
36
It is a long time since the Sun of Righteousness has shed its Radiance upon the West, for the Face of God has been hidden by the sin and forgetfulness of man; but now, thanks be to God! the Sun shines forth in all its glory and the breath of the Holy Spirit is watchful over the nations. Let us pray to God that the light and refreshment may awaken the people and give them new life, that they shall find a second life and there shall be a new creation. Humanity shall put on a new garment and the Mercy of God will be showered upon the people.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Oct-23 in Paris -- ABU0845)
37
Your faith comes like rain; the first drops are far between, but soon it will pour in torrents.
… You must be reborn by the Spirit. A child in the matrix has eyes and ears but only learns their use when it is born. A man cannot comprehend the Spirit before he has put aside earthly things.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Miss Barney, spoken around 1900-Oct-19 -- ABU0767)
38
The first entrance into light and into belief is extremely difficult. The spiritual birth is troublesome and painful in the same degree as is the physical birth. In reality, the two births are alike.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to George Winterburn et al, spoken on 1904-Feb-07 -- ABU0809)
39
This is the new birth.
When a man is attracted to the fragrances of God and becomes a Bahai, showing forth certain signs, then he is born out of the matrix of night into the kingdom. Day by day he becomes more illumined, more attracted, more wise, and his love to God becomes more manifest.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Oct-19 in Los Angeles -- ABU1485)
40
His true second birth occurs when he is freed from all material things: for he only is free who is not a captive to his desires. He has then as Jesus has said, become captive to the Holy Spirit.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in Sep. 1911 in London -- ABU2102)
41
The use of the Greatest Name and dependence upon it, cause the soul to strip itself of the husks of mortality and to step forth freed, reborn, and new creature...
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
42
Today the pulsating power in the arteries of the body of the world is the spirit of the Covenant—the spirit which is the cause of life. Whosoever is vivified with this spirit the freshness and beauty of life become manifest in him, he is baptized with the Holy Spirit, he is born again, is freed from oppression and tyranny, from heedlessness and harshness which deaden the spirit, and attains to everlasting life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jun-03, to Mary M Rabb -- AB02880)
43
The blind will be made to see; that which was darkness will become light; the timid will become courageous; the dumb will speak; the heedless awake. In brief, they will be perfected into the Image of God and His Divine Qualities; born of the Spirit, they will be Manifestations of union and harmony.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mrs MacNutt in Jan. 1905 -- ABU1150)
44
O my friend! Thank thou God for He hath illumined thy sight with a radiance which is shining forth from the Sun of Truth; hath quickened thee, and baptized thee with the water of life and with the fire of the love of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901 ca., to Arthur James -- AB06454)
45
O thou who art yearning for the Glad-tidings of God!
Verily, I was informed of the contents of thy letter which showed that thine insight is opened, thy heart is purified, that thou art baptized by the divine water and by the lordly fire and spirit and that thou art born again from the womb of this mortal world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Louise Spear -- AB06424)
46
Christ in that connection says: "The one who is borne of flesh is flesh, and the one born from spirit is spirit, ye must be borne again."
Thou hast been borne of the Spirit and hast entered the Kingdom of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jan-28, to Grace B Holley -- AB06488)
47
O honored Family! The heartfelt greetings and love from you were conveyed to me. I implore for you heavenly life; pray for you eternal happiness, pray for you the spirit of the Kingdom and the second birth, so that you may enter from the natural world into the world of the Merciful Kingdom. Upon you be Baha El Abha!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Feb-06, to Heinz, Carl et al -- AB12634)
48
It is my hope that that thou mayest find ease and comfort, and that, with a heart assured and a spirit rejoiced with the outpourings of His grace, thou mayest deliver the glad-tidings of the Abha Kingdom, free the souls from the darkness of the world of nature, and lead them to the splendorous light of the Kingdom--that is, that thou mayest help them to be born again from the darksome womb of nature and baptize them with the Holy Spirit, with the fire of the love of God, and with the water of life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Jan-19, to Sara Louisa Blomfield -- AB03148)
49
Now he has stepped from the matrix of this world into the realm eternal. This is the second birth referred to by Jesus Christ.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mrs C. H. Wise in 1912 -- ABU0758)
50
To the first part of the question he answered: "No. They have no power to influence the world of men and only those who in life had been among the spiritually regenerated ones, those who had been re-born or baptized of the Holy Spirit, only such souls could consciously communicate or have knowledge of things in this world."
I render Thee thanks, therefore, and extol Thee, in the name of all them that are dear to Thee, for that Thou hast caused them to be born again, by reason of the living waters which have flowed down out of the mouth of Thy will.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Hasan Ali Afnan (Aqa Mirza Buzurg) -- BH04231)
52
Blessed is he who hath attained on this day to the lights of Our Name, the Self-Subsisting, and who hath been stirred by the breaths of revelation and risen from among the dead. And blessed is he who hath been born anew through the verses of his Lord, the Lord of all beings, and soared in this atmosphere wherefrom the wings of birds are barred.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1293-05 [1876-May], to Mirza Masih -- BH06245)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
53
Such a firm foundation cannot be impregnated into human consciousness save by one universal and all-pervasive power, for every other power is helpless except for the power of the Holy Spirit. The outpourings of the Holy Spirit are such that they can transform man, imbuing him with all the virtues, bestowing upon him the second birth, baptizing him with the fire of the love of God, which is love for all created things, and quickening him with the water of eternal life, and the Holy Spirit itself.
(provisional translation from a Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha, http://bahai-library.com/provisionals/tanazu.baqa.html)
Before the divine fire enters the soul and becomes one with its depths, the Holy Spirit wounds it, destroying and consuming the imperfections of its evil habits. The soul suffers greatly in this, for in this state of purification the flame does not burn brightly but in darkness, and if it gives any light at all it is only to show up and make the soul experience its own weaknesses and defects. It is not a refreshing, peaceful fire, but a consuming and searching one that makes the soul grieve at the sight of itself. The soul perceives its own smallness in comparison with the immensity of the flame.
(St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, St. 1)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified