Joy and Radiance
The Bahá'í life should be characterized by joy, not somber religiosity; radiance and happiness are spiritual virtues.
Abdu'l-Bahá was known for his boundless joy and humor even through decades of imprisonment. He taught that joy and happiness are spiritual virtues — a person who genuinely lives according to divine teachings should radiate happiness. Somber, life-denying religiosity misunderstands the divine gift of existence.
In the Bahá'í Cause, arts, sciences and all crafts are counted as worship. The man who makes a piece of noteworthy handiwork has performed an act of worship.
The emphasis on joy as a spiritual quality distinguishes the Bahá'í approach from ascetic traditions that associate spirituality with denial of pleasure.
Bahá'í World Faith
Written about in
- What the Bahá'í Faith says about suffering
Abdu'l-Bahá is described as joyful through decades of imprisonment, and joy is treated here as a spiritual quality rather than a mood. Reading this beside the Fire Tablet is more interesting than reading either alone.
- What the Bahá'í Faith says about habit and discipline
Bahá'u'lláh's line that fasting and prayer are acceptable when the heart is joyous doubles as a diagnostic. Abdu'l-Bahá was known for humour through decades of imprisonment; by this standard a regime that leaves you grim has gone wrong, whatever it is achieving.