Kissing/embracing
Kissing (among unmarried) is detrimental to morals and arouses appetites; Baha'i standard produces happier people and stabler marriages[edit]
"What Bahá'u'lláh means by chastity certainly does not include the kissing that goes on in modern society. It is detrimental to the morals of young people, and often leads them to go too far, or arouses appetites which they cannot perhaps at the time satisfy legitimately through marriage, and the suppression of which is a strain on them.
"The Bahá'í standard is very high, more particularly when compared with the thoroughly rotten morals of the present world. But this standard of ours will produce healthier, happier, nobler people, and induce stabler marriages."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, October 19, 1947, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1210)
Men and women not to embrace unless married (or about to be married?)[edit]
"The pilgrim's note reports the Master as saying: 'Women and men must not embrace each other when not married, or not about to be married. They must not kiss each other... If they wish to greet each other, or comfort each other, they may take each other by the hand.' In a letter to an individual written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi it is said: 'The Master's words to ..., which you quoted, can certainly be taken as the true spirit of the teachings on the subject of sex. We must strive to achieve this exalted standard.' (October 19, 1947)"
- (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, February 10, 1974, Lights of Guidance, no. 1438; the full pilgrim's note is at https://bahai-library.org/guardian_easy_familiarity )
Note[edit]
- This does not seem to refer to kissing on the cheek ('Abdu'l-Bahá did so per https://bahai.media/Category:%E2%80%98Abdu%E2%80%99l-Bah%C3%A1,_Glimpses_of_Perfection (around 4:50))
