Raising our standards - character

The root cause of wrongdoing is ignorance, and we must therefore hold fast to the tools of perception and knowledge. Good character must be taught. Light must be spread afar, so that, in the school of humanity, all may acquire the heavenly characteristics of the spirit, and see for themselves beyond any doubt that there is no fiercer hell, no more fiery abyss, than to possess a character that is evil and unsound; no more darksome pit nor loathsome torment than to show forth qualities which deserve to be condemned.

'Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 136


Each of us must improve himself, that he may attain nothing short of the best. When one stops, he descends. A bird, when it is flying, soars; but as soon as it stops, it falls. While man is directed upward, he develops. As soon as he stops, he descends. Therefore I wish the beloved
of God always to ascend and develop.

Words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, as recorded in the diary of Juliet Thompson an early American Bahá'í


It is possible so to adjust oneself to the practise of nobility that its atmosphere surrounds and colours every act. When actions are habitually and conscientiously adjusted to noble standards, with no thought of the words that might herald them, then nobility becomes the accent of life. At such a degree of evolution one scarcely needs try any longer to be good - all acts are become the distinctive expression of nobility.

'Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Scriptures, p. 450