Vision

At the outset of every endeavour, look to the end of it

"At the outset of every endeavour, it is incumbent to look to the end of it."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 168)

From Lights of Guidance (to categorize)

Should Strive to Have Pure Thoughts and Dreams

"… That truth is often imparted through dreams no one who is familiar with history, especially religious history, can doubt. At the same time dreams and vision are always coloured and influenced more or less by the mind of the dreamer and we must beware of attaching too much importance to them. The purer and more free from prejudice and desire our hearts and minds become, the more likely is it that our dreams will convey reliable truth, but if we have strong prejudices, personal likings and aversions, bad feelings or evil motives, these will warp and distort any inspirational impression that comes to us…. In many cases dreams have been the means of bringing people to the truth or of confirming them in the Faith. We must strive to become pure in heart and 'free from all save God'. Then our dreams as well as our waking thoughts will become pure and true. We should test impressions we get through dreams, visions or inspirations, by comparing them with the revealed Word and seeing whether they are in full harmony therewith."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, May 16, 1925: Ibid., in Lights of Guidance, no. 1739)

Difficult to Distinguish Truth from Imagination

"First concerning visions: It is very difficult to distinguish between true visions which are true spiritual experiences of the soul and imaginations which have no reality in spiritual truths. True visions, however, can be granted to those who are spiritually pure and receptive, and are not therefore confined to the Prophets alone."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated November 26, 1939, to an individual believer: Bahá’í News, No. 152, p. 2, April 1942, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1740)

Difference Between Divine Revelation and Personal Experience

"As regards …'s claim to have direct revelations from God: Such visions and communications as he may receive cannot, from the standpoint of the Cause, be well considered in the nature of a direct and authoritative revelation from God such as experiences by Divine Prophets and Messengers. There is a fundamental difference between Divine Revelation as vouchsafed by God to His Prophets, and the spiritual experiences and visions which individuals may have. The latter should, under no circumstances, be construed as constituting an infallible source of guidance, even for the person experiencing them.

"The Guardian wishes you to fully explain and clarify this point to … that he may have no illusion regarding the true Bahá’í attitude on this and similar matters."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated November 1, 1940, to an individual believer, Mrs. Kathryn Frankland: Ibid., in Lights of Guidance, no. 1741)

True Mystical Experiences Rare

"Regarding your question: In His chapter on 'Visions and Communications with Spirits' in 'Some Answered Questions', the Master evidently desires to point out that there can be, under certain rare circumstances, such as those experienced by the Prophets, communion with some soul gone before into the invisible world, but that most of this type of experience which people often claim to have with departed souls is nothing but the product of their own imaginations—however real it may seem to them to be.

"We have no way of knowing historically, at present, whether the experience Saul had of Samuel was an actual spiritual intercourse. It is not the product of imagination, however, as the Bible unmistakably affirms it.

"Truly mystical experiences based on reality are very rare, and we can readily see how dangerous it is for people to go groping about in the darkness of their imagination after the true thing. That is why, as you point out, we are warned against all psychical practices by the Master.

"If we are going to have some deeply spiritual experience we can rest assured God will vouchsafe it to us without our having to look for it."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated October 25, 1942, to an individual believer: Ibid., in Lights of Guidance, no. 1742)

No Need for Individual Revelations

"The Guardian thinks that it is best to assume that generally speaking when people claim they are receiving messages or communications from the Master or Bahá’u’lláh, etc., it is a psychic experience or their imagination, and that they are not in real contact with them. These Holy Beings have the channels of the Cause through which to guide us. They do not need to go outside these and send individual revelations."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated December 22, 1947, to an individual believer: Ibid., p. 3, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1743)

Visions occasionally do come to individuals but not through exercise of human faculties (and person should not try to develop)

"… The Guardian would suggest that you study very carefully the statement of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in connection with the question of visions, dreams, etc., as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has very fully explained this delicate subject. You will find references to this in 'Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era,' 'Some Answered Questions' and the Books of Tablets. The Guardian likewise has commented on this matter.

"Briefly, there is no question that visions occasionally do come to individuals, which are true and have significance. On the other hand, this comes to an individual through the grace of God, and not through the exercise of any of the human faculties. It is not a thing which a person should try to develop. When a person endeavors to develop faculties so that they might enjoy visions, dreams etc., actually what they are doing is weakening certain of their spiritual capacities; and thus under such circumstances, dreams and visions have no reality, and ultimately lead to the destruction of the character of the person."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated May 6, 1952, to an individual believer: Spiritualism, Reincarnation and Related Subjects., in Lights of Guidance, no. 1745)

See also

• Vision and realism
• Reflection
• For optical vision, see sight
• Dreams
• Psychic
• Inspiration

To-dos for this page

• See psychic page for any other items to move here, e.g., on visions not being source of authority even for person having them, etc., but that true ones are still possible
• Incorporate from https://bahai-library.com/compilation_spiritualism_reincarnation