Daily Frameworks for 28 December 2025

Jamál, 18 Masá’il (Questions), 182 B.E.

Quotes for Reflection

We send Our greetings to the faithful followers of the one true God, who have tasted of the sweet waters of loving-kindness and directed their gaze toward the Realm of Glory. We enjoin upon them all to conduct themselves with trustworthiness and rectitude and to lead chaste and virtuous lives.

O beloved friends! Whoever adorneth his character with such virtues will be reckoned among the true servants of God, and his name will be commemorated by the Concourse on High; but he who depriveth himself thereof shall not be accounted of their number. Strive diligently to acquire such goodly qualities and traits of character as will be the cause of everlasting salvation. Make not the fruits of the tree of trustworthiness targets for the stones of treachery, nor rend its boughs asunder with the instruments of tyranny and oppression. Truthfulness and sincerity have always been the ornament of a man’s character, and so they shall ever be.

O friends! Let not the deceptive glamour of this fleeting world—to whose impermanence all things attest—cut you off from God’s enduring bestowals, nor deprive you from partaking of the spiritual sustenance that He hath sent down from the heaven of His bounty. Keep your gaze centred on Him Who is the Sovereign Word of Truth: place your whole reliance upon Him, and beg of Him to destine for you what is meet and fitting. Resign your affairs into the hands of God, the Lord of creation. Call ye to mind the people of former ages: whither are they sped, the prideful and vainglorious, the workers of iniquity and unrighteousness? Where are their hoards of treasure, their palaces, citadels and thrones? Reflect upon those bygone days, and the vicissitudes of which they tell, and be ye admonished thereby. The prayer of this Wronged One is that God may assist all to do what shall meet with His favour and acceptance. — Bahá’u’lláh ^{1 2}

Question for Consideration

How do you counter the “the deceptive glamour of this fleeting world—to whose impermanence all things attest” and thwart its tendency to “cut you off from God’s enduring bestowals” or “deprive you from partaking of the spiritual sustenance that He hath sent down from the heaven of His bounty”?

Perplexity Pro Response ³

Turning away from “the deceptive glamour of this fleeting world” is less about withdrawing from life and more about learning to move through it with detachment, purpose, and remembrance of God. [1] [2]​

See the world clearly

The writings suggest first recognizing the world’s nature: beautiful, useful, but passing. [2] [3]​

• Regularly meditate on impermanence: recall “the people of former ages” whose palaces and hoards are gone, as Bahá’u’lláh counsels in the passage you quoted. [1]
• Reflect daily that possessions, status, and experiences are means, not ends; they are tools for service and growth, not sources of ultimate security. [2] [4]​

Such reflection breaks the spell of glamour without breeding cynicism, because it is paired with trust in God’s “enduring bestowals.” [1]

Guard the heart through detachment

Detachment is described as not letting possessions, pleasures, or fears “possess” the heart. [4] [5]​

• Enjoy lawful comforts (family, beauty, work) but practice inner freedom: be ready to lose them or use them differently if God’s good pleasure or service to others requires it. [5] [6]​
• Periodically fast—from a comfort, a screen, an indulgence—as a deliberate act of saying: “You are not my master; God is.” [4] [6]​

The aim is a heart that uses the world but is not chained to it, “a prosperous merchant who is not absorbed in his business“. [4]​

Anchor yourself in remembrance

What cuts one off from spiritual sustenance is forgetfulness; the counter-force is consistent remembrance. [7] [8]​

• Establish daily prayers and reading of the Word as non‑negotiable appointments with God, morning and evening, however short. [1] [9]
• Convert ordinary acts into remembrance by quietly turning the heart to God before meetings, meals, or decisions, asking to “destine for you what is meet and fitting” and to accept His decree.​ [1] [7]

This steady remembrance keeps the “Sovereign Word of Truth” at the center of your consciousness, so the world’s distractions do not occupy the throne. [1] [2]

Live virtues in concrete ways

Spiritual glamour is thwarted when one actively practices virtues like trustworthiness, truthfulness, chastity, and service. [1] [10]

• In work and finances, resolve to be scrupulously honest, even at material cost, since trustworthiness is called “the world’s comeliest garment” and “the greatest portal” of tranquillity. [1]
• In relationships, guard chastity, purity of motive, and sincerity, rejecting any use of others as objects for ego or desire. [1] [10]​

When the will is habitually bent toward noble action, the lower attractions gradually lose their power to seduce. [3] [6]​

Serve, consult, and walk with others

One powerful safeguard is to live for something higher than personal gratification: the betterment of the world and the unity of hearts. [1] [3]

• Commit yourself to some ongoing service—teaching, community building, assisting the vulnerable—so that spare energy is drawn toward God’s purposes rather than consumption and entertainment. [3] [6]​
• Consult regularly with trusted souls about your spiritual state and habits; sincere community helps expose worldly attachments that hide behind pious language. [4] [10]​

A life oriented to service, consultation, and community becomes a channel for “the spiritual sustenance that He hath sent down,” leaving less room for the world’s “deceptive glamour” to dominate. [1] [6]

Follow-Up Practices Proposed by Perplexity

• Adopt practical daily habits to resist worldly glamour
• Memorize short Bahá’í prayers for spiritual sustenance
• Develop approaches to cultivate trustworthiness and rectitude daily
• Draw upon the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh about detachment from materialism
• Engage in meditation or reflection exercises based on Bahá’í Writings

​Citations

1. Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue. Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, Revised August 1990 – Bahá’í Reference Library
2. Twinkling Eye – Bahá’í Quotes
3. Movement, Change and the Purpose of Life – Baha’i Blog
4. Compilation on Detachment – Bahá’í Library Online
5. Material World – Bahá’í Quotes
6. Battling Our Attachment to the Things of this World – BahaiTeachings.org
7. The Life Beyond: Words of Abdu’l-Baha (Video) – Baha’i Blog
8. The Real World, and How to Attain It – BahaiTeachings.org
9. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh – Bahá’í Reference Library
10. The Pattern of Bahá’í Life – Bahá’í Library Online

Footnotes

1. Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. “Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue.” Bahá’í Reference Library, Revised August 1990. https://www.bahai.org/r/619720804. ↩︎
2. Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. “Bahá’í Sacred Writings.” Bahá’í Reference Library, July 2025. https://www.bahai.org/r/536032626. ↩︎
3. Perplexity Pro. “Let Not the Deceptive Glamour of This Fleeting World...” Edited by Steve Bosserman. December 27, 2025. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/we-send-our-greetings-to-the-f-_8M66AiWRhm4O5QHbhP8_A#0 ↩︎