Spiritual meeting

Spiritual meetings was a blanket term used by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for a variety of meetings that He called for.

Sometimes He used the term generally, but the term often referred to any of the following meetings or functions:

• Meeting for teaching
• Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
• Spiritual Assembly

More current translations (e.g., Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 86 vs. Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha Abbas, vol. 1, p. 2) appear to suggest that "spiritual meeting" may have sometimes been used as a poor translation for "Spiritual Assembly". With Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha Abbas still read for translations of Tablets not yet re-translated, it may be useful, however, to be aware of this potential mistranslation.

So, regardless of whether the third sense was actually an accurate translation of the original Tablets, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, did consider the first two senses of the word together when He suggested the recitation of the Writings component of "spiritual meetings" be only conducted in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár once present:

“ The founding of these spiritual meetings is purely for the purpose of teaching; but, as the Mashreq 'Ul Azkar is not yet founded, therefore in the spiritual meetings verses are chanted, supplications and communes offered and discourses delivered. However, when the Mashreq 'Ul Azkar is organized the spiritual meetings will be devoted especially to teaching, and the place of worship will become focalized in the Mashreq 'Ul Azkar. ” — Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, in Star of the West, vol. 13, issue 10, p. 276

(Note that as far as the delivering of "discourses", ‘Abdu’l-Bahá might have meant that the social institutions surrounding the House of Worship might take up the delivering of these discourses, as talks (even of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá) are forbidden in the central auditorium of Bahá’í Houses of Worship.)

While it might be suggested that the above passage is referring to a precursor to Spiritual Assemblies, "Assemblies of Teaching", the following quotation would seem to suggest that indeed, the core meaning for "spiritual meetings" was what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá elsewhere termed "meetings for teaching".

“ You have written concerning the spiritual meetings. The foundation of the spiritual meetings must be the teaching and delivering of the Cause of God. In these meetings the believers and maid-servants of the Merciful must proclaim the proofs and arguments and explain the signs of the appearance of the Beauty of Abhá - May my life be a sacrifice to the beloved ones! Meanwhile they may read some Tablets and Communes, and at the end of the meetings, if they desire to sing with the utmost supplication and meekness, it is acceptable. But the fundamental principle of the establishment of spiritual meetings is for the sake of teaching and delivering the Truth so that those souls who are present may become informed of the Divine Evidences and Proofs. ” — From a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 6 (24 June 1911), p. 5

So it appears that while "spiritual meetings" at one point were to include recitation of Tablets as in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, per the above, this meeting even originally appears to have been intended to focus more on teaching. It then later forked off exclusively into (and may now be more precisely termed as) "meetings for teaching".

Perhaps the more ambiguous term "spiritual meeting" had been used alongside "meetings for teaching" to emphasize the spiritual nature of the meeting, with a number of other Tablets of the time emphasizing the need for Bahá’í Meetings to avoid extraneous conversation or politics.

Notes

For relevant quotes see the Bahai9 compendium entry:

Spiritual meeting