Quote of the Day

[arthra]

Today, upon the earth, one sees the sad spectacle of cruel war! Man slays his brother man for selfish gain, and to enlarge his territories! For this ignoble ambition hate has taken possession of his heart, and more and more blood is shed!

Fresh battles are fought, the armies are increased, more cannon, more guns, more explosives of all kinds are sent out--so does bitterness and hate augment from day to day!

But this assembly, thank God, longs only for peace and unity, and must work with heart and soul to bring about a better condition in the world.

You who are the servants of God fight against oppression, hate and discord, so that wars may cease and God's laws of peace and love may be established among men.

Work! Work with all your strength, spread the Cause of the Kingdom among men; teach the self-sufficient to turn humbly towards God, the sinful to sin no more, and await with glad expectation the coming of the Kingdom.

Love and obey your Heavenly Father, and rest assured that Divine help is yours. Verily I say unto you that you shall indeed conquer the world!

Only have faith, patience and courage--this is but the beginning, but surely you will succeed, for God is with you!

~ Abdul-Baha

 

[arthra]

The divine Manifestations since the day of Adam have striven to unite humanity so that all may be accounted as one soul. The function and purpose of a shepherd is to gather and not disperse his flock. The prophets of God have been divine shepherds of humanity. They have established a bond of love and unity among mankind, made scattered peoples one nation and wandering tribes a mighty kingdom. They have laid the foundation of the oneness of God and summoned all to universal peace. All these holy, divine Manifestations are one. They have served one God, promulgated the same truth, founded the same institutions and reflected the same light. Their appearances have been successive and correlated; each one has announced and extolled the one who was to follow and all laid the foundation of reality. They summoned and invited the people to love and made the human world a mirror of the Word of God. Therefore the divine religions they established have one foundation; their teachings, proofs and evidences are one; in name and form they differ but in reality they agree and are the same. These holy Manifestations have been as the coming of springtime in the world. ...

(Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 14)

 

[arthra]

Lesser Peace and the Most Great Peace -- The Little Job and the Big Job: Who works on Each?

Getting from "here to there," from "now to then" is the great challenge facing the human race. How are we to meet this challenge? In 1863, after announcing His mission to His followers, Baha'u'llah addressed the kings and rulers. He offered them the Most Great Peace "on a platter." All they had to do was accept. All ignored or refused His offer. He then told them to cling to the Lesser Peace -- a term never heard before Baha'u'llah spoke of it.

The Lesser Peace involves the elimination of the excessive burden of taxation that governments place on their peoples to finance weapons of war. The Lesser Peace involves the elimination of war. These matters are the responsibility of governments. The Most Great Peace is "an inner thing." It has to do with the heart and soul -- an inner spiritual transformation of individuals. This is directly related to the efforts of the Baha'i community. This is the big job.

Baha'u'llah left the lesser job to governmental leaders. Regarding the Lesser and Most Great Peace, the passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha marks the beginning of the formative age (the age of transition from the old to the new world order) -- a time devoted to the publication and gradual enforcement of the Aqdas, the establishment of the Lesser Peace, and the release of the Faith of Baha'u'llah from the grip of religious orthodoxy (in places like Iran and Egypt) -- on the road to the Most Great Peace. The U.S. and the U.S. Baha'i community have a special role to play.

~ Glenford Mitchell

 

[arthra]

Reflect how Jesus, the Spirit of God, was, notwithstanding His extreme meekness and perfect tender-heartedness, treated by His enemies. So fierce was the opposition which He, the Essence of Being and Lord of the visible and invisible, had to face, that He had nowhere to lay His head. He wandered continually from place to place, deprived of a permanent abode. ~ Baha'u'lah

 

[arthra]

HEARKEN ye, O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of Eternity:

There is none other God but Me, the Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.

Adorn ye the temple of dominion with the ornament of justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Thus counselleth you He Who is the Dayspring of Names, as bidden by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

The Promised One hath appeared in this glorified Station, whereat all beings, both seen and unseen, have rejoiced. Take ye advantage of the Day of God.

Verily, to meet Him is better for you than all that whereon the sun shineth, could ye but know it. O concourse of rulers!

Give ear unto that which hath been raised from the Dayspring of Grandeur: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Lord of Utterance, the All-Knowing.

Bind ye the broken with the hands of justice, and crush the oppressor who flourisheth with the rod of the commandments of your Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise.

- Baha'u'llah

 

[arthra]

Today let everyone endowed with vision win his way from deeds and signs to the object of the people of Baha and from their speech and conduct gain knowledge of their intent. The waves of the 45 ocean of divine mercy appear at the utmost height, and the showers of the clouds of His grace and favor descend every moment. During the days of sojourn in 'Iraq this Oppressed One sat down and consorted with all classes without veil or disguise. How many of the denizens of the horizons entered in enmity and went forth in sympathy! The door of grace was open before the faces of all. With rebellious and obedient did We outwardly converse after one fashion, that perchance the evildoers might win their way to the ocean of boundless forgiveness. The splendors of the Name of the Concealer were in such wise manifested that the evildoer imagined that he was accounted of the good. No messenger was disappointed and no inquirer was turned back. The causes of the aversion and avoidance of men were certain of the doctors of Persia and the unseemly deeds of the ignorant. By [the term] 'doctors' in these passages are signified those persons who have withheld mankind from the shore of the Ocean of Unity; but as for the learned who practice [their knowledge] and the wise who act justly, they are as the spirit unto the body of the world. Well is it with that learned man whose head is adorned with the crown of justice, and whose body glorieth in the ornament of honesty.

(Abdu'l-Baha, A Traveller's Narrative, p. 44)

 

[arthra]

Question.--What is the Holy Spirit?

Answer.--The Holy Spirit is the Bounty of God and the luminous rays which emanate from the Manifestations; for the focus of the rays of the Sun of Reality was Christ, and from this glorious focus, which is the Reality of Christ, the Bounty of God reflected upon the other mirrors which were the reality of the Apostles. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles signifies that the glorious divine bounties reflected and appeared in their reality. Moreover, entrance and exit, descent and ascent, are characteristics of bodies and not of spirits--that is to say, sensible realities enter and come forth, but intellectual subtleties and mental realities, such as intelligence, love, knowledge, imagination and thought, do not enter, nor come forth, nor descend, but rather they have direct connection.

For example, knowledge, which is a state attained to by the intelligence, is an intellectual condition; and entering and coming out of the mind are imaginary conditions; but the mind is connected with the acquisition of knowledge, like images reflected in a mirror.

Therefore, as it is evident and clear that the intellectual realities do not enter and descend, and it is absolutely impossible that the Holy Spirit should ascend and descend, enter, come out or penetrate, it can only be that the Holy Spirit appears in splendor, as the sun appears in the mirror.

In some passages in the Holy Books the Spirit is spoken of, signifying a certain person, as it is currently said in speech and conversation that such a person is an embodied spirit, or he is a personification of mercy and generosity. In this case, it is the light we look at, and not the glass.

In the Gospel of John, in speaking of the Promised One Who was to come after Christ, it is said in chapter 16, verses 12, 13: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak."

Now consider carefully that from these words, "for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak," it is clear that the Spirit of truth is embodied in a Man Who has individuality, Who has ears to hear and a tongue to speak. In the same way the name "Spirit of God" is used in relation to Christ, as you speak of a light, meaning both the light and the lamp.
Abdul-Baha in "Some Answered Questions"
Part Two -- Some Christian Subjects
pages 108-110

 

[arthra]

The Pen of Revelation exclaimeth: “On this Day the Kingdom is God’s!” The Tongue of Power is calling: “On this Day all sovereignty is, in very deed, with God!” The Phoenix of the realms above crieth out from the immortal Branch: “The glory of all greatness belongeth to God, the Incomparable, the 36 All-Compelling!” The Mystic Dove proclaimeth from its blissful bower, in the everlasting Paradise: “The source of all bounty is derived, in this Day, from God, the One, the Forgiving!” The Bird of the Throne warbleth its melody in its retreats of holiness: “Supreme ascendancy is to be attributed, this Day, to none except God, Him Who hath no peer nor equal, Who is the Most Powerful, the All-Subduing!”

~ Baha'u'llah

 

[arthra]

How great the difference between the glory of Christ and the glory of an earthly conqueror! It is related by historians that Napoleon* Bonaparte I embarked secretly by night from Egypt. His destination was France. During his campaign in Palestine revolution had broken out and grave difficulties had arisen in the home government. Christian worship had been forbidden by the revolutionists. The priests of Christianity had fled in terror. France had become atheistic; anarchy prevailed. The ship sailed out into a night brilliant with the light of the moon. Napoleon was pacing up and down the deck. His officers were sitting together, talking. One of them spoke of the similarity between Bonaparte and Christ. Napoleon stopped and said grimly, "Do you think I am going back to France to establish religion?"

Jesus Christ established the religion of God through love. His sovereignty is everlasting. Napoleon overthrew governments in war and bloodshed. His dominion passed away; he himself was dethroned. Bonaparte destroyed human life; Christ was a Savior. Bonaparte controlled the physical bodies of men; Christ was a conqueror of human hearts. None of the Prophets of God were famous men, but They were unique in spiritual power. Love is the eternal sovereignty. Love is the divine power. By it all the kings of earth are overthrown and conquered

(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 210)

 

[arthra]

[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]In the Name of God, the Lord of overpowering majesty, the All-Compelling. [/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]Hallowed be the Lord in Whose hand is the source of dominion. He createth whatsoever He willeth by His Word of command “Be,” and it is. His hath been the power of authority heretofore, and it shall remain His hereafter. He maketh victorious whomsoever He pleaseth, through the potency of His behest. He is in truth the Powerful, the Almighty. Unto Him pertaineth all glory and majesty in the kingdoms of Revelation and Creation and whatever lieth between them. Verily, He[/FONT][FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif] is the Potent, the All-Glorious. From everlasting He hath been the Source of indomitable strength and shall remain so unto everlasting. He is indeed the Lord of might and power. All the kingdoms of heaven and earth and whatever is between them are God’s, and His power is supreme over all things. All the treasures of earth and heaven and everything between them are His, and His protection extendeth over all things. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and whatever lieth between them, and He truly is a witness over all things. He is the Lord of Reckoning for all that dwell in the heavens and on earth and whatever lieth between them, and truly God is swift to reckon. He setteth the measure assigned to all who are in the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. Verily, He is the Supreme Protector. He holdeth in His grasp the keys of heaven and earth and of everything between them. At His Own pleasure doth He bestow gifts, through the power of His command. Indeed His grace encompasseth all, and He is the All-Knowing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]Say: God sufficeth unto me; He is the One Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of all things. [/FONT][FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif] Through the power of His hosts of heaven and earth and whatever lieth between them, He protecteth whomsoever among His servants He willeth. God, in truth, keepeth watch over all things. [/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]Immeasurably exalted art Thou, O Lord! [/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]Protect us from what lieth in front of us and behind us, above our heads, on our right, on our left, below our feet and every other side to which we are exposed. [/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]Verily, Thy protection over all things is unfailing.[/FONT]

~ The Bab

 

[arthra]

O ye loved ones of God!

In this, the Bahá'í dispensation, God's Cause is spirit unalloyed.

His Cause belongeth not to the material world.

It cometh neither for strife nor war, nor for acts of mischief or of shame;

it is neither for quarrelling with other Faiths, nor for conflicts with the nations.

Its only army is the love of God,

its only joy the clear wine of His knowledge,

its only battle the expounding of the Truth;

its one crusade is against the insistent self, the evil promptings of the human heart.

Its victory is to submit and yield, and to be selfless is its everlasting glory. In brief, it is spirit upon spirit:

Unless ye must,

Bruise not the serpent in the dust,

How much less wound a man.

And if ye can,

No ant should ye alarm,

Much less a brother harm.

Let all your striving be for this, to become the source of life and immortality, and peace and comfort and joy, to every human soul, whether one known to you or a stranger, one opposed to you or on your side.

Look ye not upon the purity or impurity of his nature:

look ye upon the all-embracing mercy of the Lord, the light of Whose grace hath embosomed the whole earth and all who dwell thereon, and in the plenitude of Whose bounty are immersed both the wise and the ignorant.

Stranger and friend alike are seated at the table of His favour.

Even as the believer, the denier who turneth away from God doth at the same time cup his hands and drink from the sea of His bestowals.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 256)
__________________

 

[arthra]

That which thou hast heard concerning Abraham, the Friend of the All-Merciful, is the truth, and no doubt is there about it.

The Voice of God commanded Him to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in the Faith of God and His detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth.

This same honor, Jesus, the Son of Mary, besought the one true God, exalted be His name and glory, to confer upon Him.

For the same reason was Husayn offered up as a sacrifice by Muhammad, the Apostle of God.

No man can ever claim to have comprehended the nature of the hidden and manifold grace of God;

none can fathom His all-embracing mercy.

Such hath been the perversity of men and their transgressions, so grievous have been the trials that have afflicted the Prophets of God and their chosen ones, that all mankind deserveth to be tormented and to perish.

God’s hidden and most loving providence, however, hath, through both visible and invisible agencies, protected and will continue to protect it from the penalty of its wickedness.

Ponder this in thine heart, that the truth may be revealed unto thee, and be thou steadfast in His path.

~ Baha'u'llah

 

[arthra]

SOULS ARE LIKE MIRRORS

Souls are like unto mirrors, and the bounty of God is like unto the sun. When the mirrors pass beyond all coloring and attain purity and polish, and are confronted with the sun, they will reflect in full perfection its light and glory. In this condition one should not consider the mirror, but the power of the light of the sun, which hath penetrated the mirror, making it a reflector of the heavenly glory.

~ Abdul-Baha

 

[arthra]

Arts, crafts and sciences uplift the world of being, and are conducive to its exaltation. Knowledge is as wings to man's life, and a ladder for his ascent. Its acquisition is incumbent upon everyone. The knowledge of such sciences, however, should be acquired as can profit the peoples of the earth, and not those which begin with words and end with words...

In truth, knowledge is a veritable treasure for man, and a source of glory, of bounty, of joy, of exaltation, of cheer and gladness unto him. Happy the man that cleaveth unto it, and woe betide the heedless.

~ Baha'u'llah

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1988), pp. 26-27

 

[RuhiWarrior19]

IT is better to guide one soul than to possess all that is on earth, for as long as that guided soul is under the shadow of the Tree of Divine Unity, he and the one who hath guided him will both be recipients of God’s tender mercy, whereas possession of earthly things will cease at the time of death. The path to guidance is one of love and compassion, not of force and coercion. This hath been God’s method in the past, and shall continue to be in the future! He causeth him whom He pleaseth to enter the shadow of His Mercy. Verily, He is the Supreme Protector, the All-Generous.

There is no paradise more wondrous for any soul than to be exposed to God’s Manifestation in His Day, to hear His verses and believe in them, to attain His presence, which is naught but the presence of God, to sail upon the sea of the heavenly kingdom of His good-pleasure, and to partake of the choice fruits of the paradise of His divine Oneness.
Persian Bayan II, 16. 1

- The Báb

Selections from the Writings of the Báb (Bahá’í World Centre, 1982 lightweight edition) 3:1

 

[arthra]

Welcome to the Forum Ruhi Warrior!

Years ago I was visiting my wife's grandmother who used to drive her car around in San Luis Obispo... I think she had in mind something to protect her while she was driving so she requested that we send her a prayer for protection so we sent her the following powerful prayer above which was revealed by the Bab. You'll note it concludes with these words:

O Lord! Protect us from what lieth in front of us and behind us, above our heads, on our right, on our left, below our feet and every other side to which we are exposed. Verily, Thy protection over all things is unfailing.
_________________________


In the Name of God, the Lord of overpowering majesty, the All-Compelling.

Hallowed be the Lord in Whose hand is the source of dominion. He createth whatsoever He willeth by His Word of command “Be,” and it is. His hath been the power of authority heretofore, and it shall remain His hereafter. He maketh victorious whomsoever He pleaseth, through the potency of His behest. He is in truth the Powerful, the Almighty. Unto Him pertaineth all glory and majesty in the kingdoms of Revelation and Creation and whatever lieth between them. Verily, He is the Potent, the All-Glorious. From everlasting He hath been the Source of indomitable strength and shall remain so unto everlasting. He is indeed the Lord of might and power.

All the kingdoms of heaven and earth and whatever is between them are God’s, and His power is supreme over all things. All the treasures of earth and heaven and everything between them are His, and His protection extendeth over all things.

He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and whatever lieth between them, and He truly is a witness over all things. He is the Lord of Reckoning for all that dwell in the heavens and on earth and whatever lieth between them, and truly God is swift to reckon. He setteth the measure assigned to all who are in the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. Verily, He is the Supreme Protector.

He holdeth in His grasp the keys of heaven and earth and of everything between them. At His Own pleasure doth He bestow gifts, through the power of His command. Indeed His grace encompasseth all, and He is the All-Knowing.

Say: God sufficeth unto me; He is the One Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of all things. Through the power of His hosts of heaven and earth and whatever lieth between them, He protecteth whomsoever among His servants He willeth. God, in truth, keepeth watch over all things.

Immeasurably exalted art Thou, O Lord! Protect us from what lieth in front of us and behind us, above our heads, on our right, on our left, below our feet and every other side to which we are exposed. Verily, Thy protection over all things is unfailing. 1


1. The original of this prayer for protection is written in the Báb’s own hand, in the form of a pentacle.

......................

 

[arthra]

O SON OF SPIRIT!

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee.

By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor.

Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be.

Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.

~ Baha'u'llah in Hidden Words

 

[arthra]

In the time of the First Manifestation the Primal Will appeared in Adam; in the day of Noah It became known in Noah; in the day of Abraham in Him; and so in the day of Moses; the day of Jesus; the day of Muhammad, the Apostle of God; the day of the ‘Point of the Bayán’; the day of Him Whom God shall make manifest; and the day of the One Who will appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest. Hence the inner meaning of the words uttered by the Apostle of God, ‘I am all the Prophets’, inasmuch as what shineth resplendent in each one of Them hath been and will ever remain the one and the same sun.

~ The Bab

 

[arthra]

Teaching. It draweth unto us the Grace of God and is our first obligation. Of such a gift how can we deprive ourselves? Nay, our lives, our goods, our comforts, our rest, we offer them all as a sacrifice for the Abhá Beauty and teach the Cause of God.” Caution and prudence, however, must be observed even as recorded in the Book. The veil must in no wise be suddenly rent asunder. The Glory of Glories rest upon you.

- Abdul-Baha

 

[arthra]

…for each name, each attribute, each perfection which we affirm of God, there
exists a sign in man;

if it were otherwise, man could not imagine these
perfections, and could not understand them…

Consequently the Divinity of God,
which is the sum of all perfections, reflects itself in the reality of man; that is to
say, the Essence of Oneness is the gathering of all perfections, and from this unity
He casts a reflection upon the human reality.
​

(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith, p. 310.)