(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Bethel Literary Society on 1912-Apr-23 -- ABU0157)
True liberty: freedom with a purpose
true liberty; freedom
Editorial introduction
After forty years as a prisoner, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá could say he knew the value of liberty, and also that no fortress had ever confined him. Both statements are true, and the subject lives in their tension. Physical freedom is a good thing, constitutions and the rights of all subjects deserve support, and peace itself is called the freedom of the world; yet the person driven by appetite is captive to nature, and unchecked licence is the freedom of the animal. Bahá’u’lláh therefore speaks of a liberty found in submission to divine law, a claim that asks careful thought about what freedom is for. Epictetus, locating freedom in the right use of what lies within our control, offers a Stoic comparison to a spirit that soars while the body lies in a dungeon [1]. True liberty is finally bound to fellowship, moral education and the release of the downtrodden from their chains. From here the road leads into freedom of thought and action, the independent investigation of truth, and the relationship between a government and its people.
Selected passages
I am free, although I should remain in prison. All fortresses and castles shall not confine me, and the dungeon cannot bring me under the narrow bondage of the world. The spirit is ever soaring, even if the body be in the depths. What can these ignorant creatures do? They might imprison the body but the spirit they cannot; the spirit will every soar in the atmosphere of the eternal bliss and glory. Therefore, neither the prison is a cause of sorrow, nor freedom from it a source of joy.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1904-Oct-18, to Roy C Wilhelm -- AB05095)
Physical freedom is a good thing, but spiritual freedom is of greater importance. Really the first thing is to have the soul free. And you must be very happy to have attained spiritual freedom on the same day when you attained physical freedom. I hope that as on this day you attained the physical freedom, in the same way you will be free from all passionate desires and human inclinations."
… "Now Baha'u'llah has come and given freedom to these captive souls and released them from their bondage."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Kinney, Beede, Thompson party, spoken on 1909-Jul-04 -- ABU1570)
I am very much pleased with you all. I am pleased with the English king and government and with the people. You may thank God that you are free. You do not know what lack of freedom there is in the East; but when anyone comes to this country he is very content.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Thornburgh-Cropper home, 1911-Sep-12 -- ABU1118)
Thirty years ago I wrote to Sultan Abdul Hamid that if thou desirest to protect thy Empire thou must give complete freedom of rights to all thy subjects no matter to what religion they may belong and establish a constitution but he did not listen and you see today the results.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Consul Schwartz and Dr Faber, spoken at Hotel Marquardt on 1913-Apr-29 -- ABU2929)
True Democrats are souls who seek the freedom of humanity, who hold to legitimate liberty, who establish constitutional government, and who desire good for all on earth. I hope they will take the path of moderation, abandon savagery, seek tranquility and pursue legitimate freedom. Do not quarrel and dispute with such persons now present in Iran. If possible, invite them to reality, saying: "O seeker of freedom! This supposed freedom of yours is bondage to chains and fetters. It is constraint, not freedom; it is shackles, not aspiration and nobility; it is the darkness of prison, not the light of the palace."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jun-05, to Munir Nabilzadih -- AB00566)
He [Abdu'l-Baha] replied that, "In principle, we prefer freedom as it is one of the divine blessings and pleases God. However, this is not because freedom helps with the diffusion and propagation of our Cause, as it is the opposite -- namely, our Cause grows better in a repressive environment."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Aqay-i-Taqizadeh spoken around Dec. 1911 -- ABU3271)
Today the true duty of a powerful king is to establish a universal peace: for verily it signifies the freedom of all the people of the world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- ABU3109)
Peace guarantees freedom. Freedom brings joy, joy benefits work.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken to Miss St. in Aug 1910 -- ABU3353)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Maqsud, 1299-02-29 [1882-Jan-20], to Mirza Maqsud -- BH00140)
Say: O people of God and diverse parties of the world, arise to render assistance and purify the realm of love and fellowship from the defilement of discord and hatred, that perchance souls might find some respite and attain unto true freedom.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH10229)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Lawh-i-Lahih (Tablet to the Hague), 1919-Dec-17, to Central Organization for a Durable Peace (the Hague) -- AB00016)
There are three types of freedom.
There is a divine freedom, and this is peculiar unto the Essence of the Creator; for He is absolutely free.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-Apr-17 in Budapest -- ABU0914)
But it would have been better to first educate the people of Iran, and then give them liberty. It is like many well-fed and trained horses that have been raised on a ranch and then of a sudden released and set free. The result is chaos and disorder.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends spoken in Dec. 1907 -- ABU0887)
And necessarily for every matter there is a center - the center of this overwhelming power is the Manifestation of God's commanding Word and His prevailing Cause, who without imprisonment and politics liberates souls from the bonds of oppression and treachery.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-May-17 in Paris -- ABU1305)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Mihraban, 1304 ? [1886-1887], to Mihraban -- BH02950)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Dunya (Tablet of the World), 1308 ? [1890-1891], to Mirza Siyyid Muhammad Afnan (known as Aqa Mirza Aqa Nurud-Din) -- BH00238)
Concerning My freedom: I was, am, and always will be, free. No one can take away My freedom. My freedom comes from the Beauty of ABHA and no one is able to encroach upon it. Should all the forces of the world unite, they could not overwhelm Me, for I am free, and above all the restrictions, chains and ties of attachment to this world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Dec-17, to Isabella D Brittingham -- AB03460)
If all the kings of the horizons were to gather together, they could not prevent his freedom, for he is free in the Kingdom even though a prisoner in this world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Oct-23, to Annie E Ward -- AB05230)
The captive of the Holy Spirit is exempt from every captivity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- ABU3086)
Thus it is clear and evident that human happiness lies not in riches and means of livelihood, wealth and affluence, but rather in freedom of spirit, nobility, and the perfections of human reality.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Feb-04, to Mirza Mahmud Khan -- AB05772)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), 1290-05-15 [1873-Jul-11] -- BH00001)
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Haji Muhammad Rida -- BH02484)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
Expounding the theme of liberty, Baha'u'llah asserted that "the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal"; that "liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station"; that "true liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments". "We approve of liberty in certain circumstances," He declared, "and refuse to sanction it in others." But He gave the assurance that, "Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty."
M86-01 60.14 (29 Dec. 1988 from the Universal House of Justice)
It is our primary task to keep the most vigilant eye on the manner and character of its growth, to combat effectively the forces of separation and of sectarian tendencies, lest the Spirit of the Cause be obscured, its unity be threatened, its Teachings suffer corruption; lest extreme orthodoxy on one hand, and irresponsible freedom on the other, cause it to deviate from that Straight Path which alone can lead it to success.
BA.042 (12 Mar. 1923)
The world has proclaimed freedom, especially of late, but what do we see in this freedom of theirs: only slavery and suicide! For the world says: "You have needs, therefore satisfy them, for you have the same rights as the noblest and richest men. Do not be afraid to satisfy them, but even increase them" -- this is the current teaching of the world. And in this they see freedom. But what comes of this right to increase one's needs? For the rich, isolation and spiritual suicide; for the poor, envy and murder...
(Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamozov, p.313)
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- How do the readings distinguish outward liberty from inward freedom, and why does each matter?
- When might satisfying a desire enlarge a person’s freedom, and when might it deepen dependence?
- How does Epictetus’s distinction between what we control and what we do not illuminate the accounts of freedom in prison?
- What makes the claim that obedience can liberate intelligible, and what questions about conscience and responsibility does it raise?
- How can the counsels on fellowship, rights, and care for the downtrodden prevent inward freedom from becoming indifference to other people’s circumstances?