Have nothing but good thoughts.

 

104. Have nothing but good thoughts: We need to purify all our thoughts the different religions, that God has sent to mankind, tell us. It is not good enough that we just abstain from bad behavior, we need to purify our thoughts so they do not lead to bad behavior and corruption of our developing spirits:  Christianity: Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Titus 1:15 “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts (your conscience), ye double minded.” 2 Peter 2:12 “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;” 2:13 “And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;” 2:14 “Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices…..” 2:15 “Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray.” Romans 13:9 “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”  Judaism: Deuteronomy 5:21 “Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” Wisdom 1. “Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth: think of the Lord with a good (heart) and in simplicity of heart seek him.” Proverbs 15:26 “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.” Proverbs 16:3 “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” 1 Chronicles 28:9 “The LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”

 BABI RELIGION: “KNOW thou that in the Bayan purification is regarded as the most acceptable means for attaining nearness unto God and as the most meritorious of all deeds. Thus purge thou thine ear that thou mayest hear no mention besides God, and purge thine eye that it behold naught except God, and thy conscience that it perceive naught other than God, and thy tongue that it proclaim nothing but God, and thy hand to write naught but the words of God, and thy knowledge that it comprehend naught except God, and thy heart that it entertain no wish save God, and in like manner purge all thine acts and thy pursuits that thou mayest be nurtured in the paradise of pure love, and perchance mayest attain the presence of Him Whom God shall make manifest, adorned with a purity which He highly cherisheth, and be sanctified from whosoever hath turned away from Him and doth not support Him. Thus shalt thou manifest a purity that shall profit thee.”

(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 98)

 ISLAM: “You must know that a good and virtuous man is known and recognized by the good that is said about him and the praise which Allah (God) has destined him to receive from others. Therefore, make your mind the source and fountain-head of good thoughts, good intentions and good deeds. This can only be attained by keeping a strict control on your desires and yearnings, however much they may try to incite and coerce you. Remember that the best way to do justice to your inner self and to keep it out of harm is to restrain it from vice and from things which the ‘self’ inordinately and irrationally desires.”

(Islam, Ali b. Abi Taalib, Letters from Nahjul Balaagh  Letter 53)

 ZOROASTRIANISM: 6. “Come thou with Good Thought,” 11. “I would thereby preserve Right and Good Thought for evermore.” 16. “Then let him have Obedience coming with Good Thought unto every man whom thou desirest, O Mazda (God).”

(Zoroaster, The Zend-Avesta, Avesta – Yasnas 28 and 44)

 Zoroastrianism: “Evil thoughts tarnish the holiness. Thus they kill the moral life.” “Self control is the foundation of moral life.” “Maha Ratu Zarathushtra prays here for the highest purity. It is not enough that one’s passions are controlled. There is no immunity until the heart has become so pure, that any evil impulse does not at all arise in it.” (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan pp. 329 and 330, 818 and 820)

 HINDUISM: 160. “He, forsooth, whose speech and thoughts are pure and ever perfectly guarded, gains the whole reward which is conferred by the Vedanta.”

(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapter 2)

 Hinduism: 232. “Having thus considered in his mind what results will arise from his deeds after death, let him always be good in thoughts, speech, and actions.”

(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapter 11)

 Hinduism: “Fourfold are our human duties: first to study holy lore, Then to live as good householders, feed the hungry at our door, Then to pass our clays in penance, last to fix our thoughts above, But the final goal of virtue, it is Truth and deathless Love!”

(Hindu, Mababharata (R. Dutt,  abridged tr))

 BUDDHISM: “It is the Noble Eightfold Path, the way that leads to the extinction of suffering, namely: 1. Right Understanding, 2. Right Mindedness, which together are Wisdom. 3. Right Speech, 4. Right Action, 5. Right Living, which together are Morality. 6. Right Effort, 7. Right Attentiveness, 8. Right Concentration, which together are Concentration.”

((The Eightfold Path), Buddha, the Word (The Eightfold Path))

 Buddhism: “Now, Right Mindedness, let me tell you, is of two kinds: 1. Thoughts free from lust, from ill-will, and from cruelty:-this is called the “Mundane Right Mindedness,” which yields worldly fruits and brings good results.”

((The Eightfold Path), Buddha, the Word (The Eightfold Path))

 Buddhism: “Let us purify our minds always!” (Buddha, Sixth Patriarch)

 SABEANISM: “I shall be pure in all my words (thoughts); and life.” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 1)

 BABI RELIGION: “He told us,’ they said, ‘that the Object of our quest was now   revealed. The veils that intervened between you and Him are such as only you can remove by your devoted search. Nothing short of prayerful endeavour, of purity of motive, of singleness of mind, will enable you to tear them asunder. Has not God revealed in His Book: Whoso maketh efforts for Us, in Our ways will We guide them?” “The time is come when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him.”

The Bab: (Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 47 and 93)

 Babi Religion: “Prepare the way for Him, and purify yourselves so that you may recognize His beauty.”

The Bab: (Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 166)

BAHA’I FAITH: “The light of the sun becomes apparent in each object according to the capacity of that object. The difference is simply one of degree and receptivity. The stone would be a recipient only to a limited extent; another created thing might be as a mirror wherein the sun is fully reflected; but the same light shines upon both.” “The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light. One heart may possess the capacity of the polished mirror; another be covered and obscured by the dust and dross of this world. Although the same Sun is shining upon both, in the mirror which is polished, pure and sanctified you may behold the Sun in all its fullness, glory and power revealing its majesty and effulgence, but in the mirror which is rusted and obscured there is no capacity for reflection although so far as the Sun itself is concerned it is shining thereon and is neither lessened nor deprived. Therefore our duty lies in seeking to polish the mirrors of our hearts in order that we shall become reflectors of that light and recipients of the divine bounties which may be fully revealed through them.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith – Abdu’l-Baha Section, p. 217)

Baha’i Faith: “Ye are the angels, if your feet be firm, your spirits rejoiced, your secret thoughts pure, your eyes consoled, your ears opened, your breasts dilated with joy, and your souls gladdened, and if you arise to assist the Covenant, to resist dissension and to be attracted to the Effulgence!”

(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith – Abdu’l-Baha Section, p. 360)

Baha’i Faith: 44. “O COMPANION OF MY THRONE! ‘Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so that, free and content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom for evermore.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Persian Hidden Words)