Quote of the Day

[arthra]

Whoso recognizeth them hath recognized God. Whoso hearkeneth to their call, hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso testifieth to the truth of their Revelation, hath testified to the truth of God Himself. Whoso turneth away from them, hath turned away from God, and whoso disbelieveth in them, hath disbelieved in God. Every one of them is the Way of God that connecteth this world with the realms above, and the Standard of His Truth unto every one in the kingdoms of earth and heaven.

~ Baha'u'llah Gleanings xxi

 

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The appearance of these divine educators -- Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad and, in our own age, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh -- has signified the founding of a new religion, and yet none of these religions is really new; they are stages in the unfoldment of the same religious truth proceeding from the same God. They teach the same, unchanging spiritual principles, and they differ only in their social teachings, which vary according to the needs of the age in which they were revealed.

(Baha'i International Community, 1993 Feb 18, Eliminating Religious Intolerance)

 

[arthra]

I ask God to make ye lamps ignited by the great Light, so that ye may stand with all power, meekness, humbleness, sacrifice and self-resignation and thus become examples for the people and pure types for the world, be salt of the earth, stars of guidance, great trees with broad foliage and excellent fruits of fragrant scent, growing by the bounty of the cloud of the Kingdom of El-ABHA.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 7

 

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And as we reflect, we observe that man is like unto a tiny organism contained within a fruit; this fruit hath developed out of the blossom, the blossom hath grown out of the tree, the tree is sustained by the sap, and the sap formed out of earth and water. How then can this tiny organism comprehend the nature of the garden, conceive of the gardener and comprehend his being? That is manifestly impossible.

Should that organism understand and reflect, it would observe that this garden, this tree, this blossom, this fruit would in no wise have come to exist by themselves in such order and perfection. Similarly the wise and reflecting soul will know of a certainty that this infinite universe with all its grandeur and perfect order could not have come to exist by itself.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, "Tablet to August Forel", p. 19

 

[arthra]

All that thou hast written was perused. It was read from beginning to end, and it caused joy and fragrance. But we write a brief but useful answer, on account of the lack of leisure. Engage thou in commemorating God at every morn and turn unto the Horizon of Mercifulness.

Take some honey, recite "Ya Baha-ul-ABHA," and eat a little thereof for several days. For these thy prevailing diseases are not on account of sins, but they are to make thee detest this world and know that there is no rest and composure in this temporal life.

I beg of God that thou mayest find a cheerful life, cause the increase of the longing of all present in the meetings of the maid-servants of the Merciful One and bring joy and happiness to the handmaidens of God; so that thou mayest diffuse the fragrances and chant the manifest verses. Supplication to God at morn and eve is conducive to the joy of hearts, and prayer causes spirituality and fragrance. Thou shouldst necessarily continue therein.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 185

 

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O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour.

Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures.

Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind.

Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened. Abase not the station of the learned in Baha and belittle not the rank of such rulers as administer justice amidst you.

Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God.

~ Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 138

 

[arthra]

This is the time for growing; the season for joyous gathering! Take the cup of the Testament in thy hand; leap and dance with ecstasy in the triumphal procession of the Covenant! Lay your confidence in the everlasting bounty, turn to the presence of the generous God; ask assistance from the Kingdom of Abha; seek confirmation from the Supreme World; turn thy vision to the horizon of eternal wealth; and pray for help from the Source of Mercy!

Soon shall ye see the friends attaining their longed-for destination and pitching their tents, while we are but in the first day of our journey.

This period of time is the Promised Age, the assembling of the human race to the "Resurrection Day" and now is the great "Day of Judgment." Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its garb. The turning and falling of the autumn leaves is past; the bleakness of the winter time is over. The new year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand. The black earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards before the cypress and jessamine trees; while the birds are singing among the rose branches like the angels in the highest heavens, announcing the glad-tidings of the approach of that spiritual spring, and the sweet music of their voices is causing the real essence of all things to move and quiver.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith , p. 351

 

[arthra]

O my dear sister!

Praise be to God, within the sheltering grace of
the Blessed Beauty, here in the lands of the West a
breeze hath blown from over the rose-gardens of
His bestowals, and the hearts of many people have
been drawn as by a magnet to the Abha Realm.

Whatever hath come to pass is from the confirmations
of the Beloved; for otherwise, what merit had
we, or what capacity? We are as a helpless babe, but
fed at the breast of heavenly grace. We are no more
than weak plants, but we flourish in the spring rain
of His bestowals.

Wherefore, as a thank-offering for these bounties, on a certain day don thy garb to visit the Shrine, the ka'bih of our heart's desire, turn thyself toward Him on my behalf, lay down thy head on that sacred Threshold, and say:

"O divine Providence! O Thou forgiving Lord! Sinner though I be, I have no refuge save Thyself. All praise be Thine, that in my wanderings over mountains and plains, my toils and troubles on the seas, Thou hast answered still my cries for help, and confirmed me, and favoured me, and honoured me with service at Thy Threshold.

To a feeble ant, Thou hast given Solomon's might. Thou hast made of a gnat a lion in the thicket of Thy Mercy. Thou hast bestowed on a drop the swelling waves of the sea, Thou hast carried up a mote to the pinnacles of grace. Whatever was achieved, was made possible through Thee. Otherwise, what strength did the fragile dust possess, what power did this feeble being have?

O divine Providence! Do not seize us in our sins, but give us refuge. Do not look upon our evil ways, but grant forgiveness. Consider not our just deserts, but open wide Thy door of grace. Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful! Thou art the Seer, the Knower!"

~ Compilations, Bahiyyih Khanum, p. 11

Bahiyyih Khanum sister of Abdul-Baha was the defacto head of the Faith for a while after the ascension of Abdul-Baha and until Shoghi Effendi could asssume his duties as Guardian.

 

[arthra]

In this day, the following words were heard from the rustling of the Sadratu'l-Muntaha, which is planted by the hand of power of the King of Names, in the exalted paradise:

THE FIRST TARAZ and the First Tajalli, which has risen from the horizon of the Mother-Book, is that man should know his own self, and know those things which lead to loftiness or to baseness, to shame or to honor, to affluence or to poverty.

After man has realized his own being and become mature, then for him wealth is needed. If this wealth is acquired through a craft and profession, it is approvable and worthy of praise to men of wisdom, especially to those servants who arise to train the world and beautify the souls of nations.

These are the cup-bearers of the kawther of knowledge and the guides to the ideal path. They direct the people of the whole world unto the right path, and instruct them in that which is conducive to the elevation and progress of being The right path is a path which leads man to the day spring of perception and dawning-place of knowledge and directs him to that which is the cause of honor and glory and greatness.

~ Baha'u'llah, Baha'i World Faith, pp. 167-168)

 

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I desire for you all that you will have this great assistance and partake of this great bounty, and that in spirit and heart you will strive and endeavor until the world of war become the world of peace; the world of darkness the world of light; satanic conduct be turned into heavenly behavior; the ruined places become built up; the sword be turned into the olive branch; the flash of hatred become the flame of the love of God and the noise of the gun the voice of the Kingdom; the soldiers of death the soldiers of life; all the nations of the world one nation; all races as one race; and all national anthems harmonized into one melody.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 39

 

[arthra]

The days of your life are far spent, O people, and your end is fast approaching. Put away, therefore, the things ye have devised and to which ye cleave, and take firm hold on the precepts of God, that haply ye may attain that which He hath purposed for you, and be of them that pursue a right course. Delight not yourselves in the things of the world and its vain ornaments, neither set your hopes on them. Let your reliance be on the remembrance of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. He will, erelong, bring to naught all the things ye possess. Let Him be your fear, and forget not His covenant with you, and be not of them that are shut out as by a veil from Him.

~ Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 197

 

[arthra]

O that I could travel, even though on foot and in the utmost poverty, to these regions, and, raising the call of "Ya Baha'u'l-Abha" in cities, villages, mountains, deserts and oceans, promote the divine teachings! This, alas, I cannot do. How intensely I deplore it! Please God, ye may achieve it.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 41

 

[arthra]

I beg God to cause thy kinsmen (those who are near and dear to thee) to attain that which thou hast attained, to drink from that Cup where from thou art exhilarated, to brighten their eyes through that Light whereby thine eyes were brightened and to cause them to hearken to that Call whereby thine ears were delighted; and that He may make you assemble under the shadow of the Tree of the Testament, and cause you to be of the hosts of His Kingdom, that ye may conquer the East of that region as well as its West, through the sword of peace and the weapons of love, union and agreement, and that He may make thee to be a server in His blessed Olive Garden, and in his El-ABHA (i. e., Most Glorious) Paradise, and in His Holy Garden of the Supreme Kingdom.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 516

 

[arthra]

Be thou rejoiced at the glad-tidings of God! Be as a globe of fire from which the heat of the love of God will be diffused. Sanctify thyself from the grades of this world, be purified from the superstitions of people and be characterized with spiritual qualities. Be thou a mountain of quiescence, a sign of meekness, a sea of patience, a light of love, a standard of utter separation (from all else save God), so that thou mayest become everlasting in the Kingdom of God.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v2, p. 290

 

[arthra]

The prophets of God have founded the laws of divine civilization.

They have been the root and fundamental source of all knowledge. They have established the principles of human brotherhood or fraternity which is of various kinds, such as the fraternity of family, of race, of nation and of ethical motives.

These forms of fraternity, these bonds of brotherhood are merely temporal and transient in association.

They do not insure harmony and are usually productive of disagreement.

They do not prevent warfare and strife; on the contrary they are selfish, restricted and fruitful causes of enmity and hatred among mankind.

The spiritual brotherhood which is enkindled and established through the breaths of the Holy Spirit unites nations and removes the cause of warfare and strife.

It transforms mankind into one great family and establishes the foundations of the oneness of humanity.

It promulgates the spirit of international agreement and insures Universal Peace.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, p. 227

 

[arthra]

YE ARE THE ANGELS


Verily, I, from this brilliant and Blessed Spot, speak to you face to face, while ye are in that far distant country, saying:


"O people of loyalty, O people of faithfulness, O people who are awakened by the Breath of God, O people who are inhaling the scent of life from the Spirit of God! The path hath become smooth, the way straightened, the carpet of the Kingdom is spread, the Tabernacle hath been elevated upon the Hill of Might, the powers of heaven have been shaken, the corners of the earth have quaked, the sun has been darkened, the moon ceased to give light, the stars have fallen, the nations of the earth have lamented, and the Son of Man hath come upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and He hath sent His angels with the sound of the great trumpet, and no one knows the meaning of these emblems save the wise and informed.


"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!

Verily, I say unto you that the Word of God has assuredly been explained and has become an evident sign and a strong and solid proof, and its traces shall be spread in the East and West, and to these all heads shall bow and all souls shall submit and kneel down with their faces to the ground."


~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, p. 360

 

[arthra]

Unlock, then, to their hearts, O my God, the portals of Thy knowledge, that they may recognize Thee as One Who is far above the reach and ken of the understanding of Thy creatures, and immeasurably exalted above the strivings of Thy people to hint at Thy nature, and may not follow every clamorous impostor that presumeth to speak in Thy name.

Enable them, moreover, O my Lord, to cleave so tenaciously to Thy Cause that they may remain unmoved by the perplexing suggestions of them who, prompted by their desires, utter what hath been forbidden unto them in Thy Tablets and Thy Scriptures.

Thou art well aware, O my Lord, that I hear the howling of the wolves which appear in Thy servants' clothing. Keep safe, therefore, Thy loved ones from their mischief, and enable them to cling steadfastly to whatsoever hath been manifested by Thee in this Revelation, which no other Revelation within Thy knowledge hath excelled.

~ Baha'u'llah, Baha'i World Faith, p. 147

 

[arthra]

O people of the world!

The dawn of the Sun of Reality is assuredly for the illumination of the world and for the manifestation of mercy.

In the assemblage of the family of Adam results and fruits are praiseworthy, and the holy bestowals of every bounty are abundant.

It is an absolute mercy and a complete bounty, the illumination of the world, fellowship and harmony, love and union; nay, rather, mercifulness and oneness, the elimination of discord and the unity of whosoever are on the earth in the utmost of freedom and dignity.

The Blessed Beauty said:

"All are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch."

He likened the world of existence to one tree and all the souls to leaves, blossoms and fruits.

Therefore all the branches, leaves, blossoms and fruits must be in the utmost of freshness, and the bringing about of this delicacy and sweetness depends upon union and fellowship.

Therefore they must assist each other with all their power and seek everlasting life.


Thus the friends of God must manifest the mercy of the Compassionate Lord in the world of existence and must show forth the bounty of the visible and invisible King.

They must purify their sight, and look upon mankind as the leaves, blossoms and fruits of the tree of creation, and must always be thinking of doing good to someone, of love, consideration, affection and assistance to somebody.

They must see no enemy and count no one as an ill wisher.

They must consider every one on the earth as a friend;

regard the stranger as an intimate, and the alien as a companion.

They must not be bound by any tie, nay, rather, they should be free from every bond.

In this day the one who is favored in the threshold of grandeur is the one who offers the cup of faithfulness and bestows the pearl of gift to the enemies, even to the fallen oppressor, lends a helping hand, and considers every bitter foe as an affectionate friend.


~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, pp. 215 - 216

 

[arthra]

Now concerning mental faculties, they are in truth of the inherent properties of the soul, even as the radiation of light is the essential property of the sun. The rays of the sun are renewed but the sun itself is ever the same and unchanged. Consider how the human intellect develops and weakens, and may at times come to naught, whereas the soul changeth not. For the mind to manifest itself, the human body must be whole; and a sound mind cannot be but in a sound body, whereas the soul dependeth not upon the body. It is through the power of the soul that the mind comprehendeth, imagineth and exerteth its influence, whilst the soul is a power that is free. The mind comprehendeth the abstract by the aid of the concrete, but the soul hath limitless manifestations of its own. The mind is circumscribed, the soul limitless.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablet to August Forel, p. 8

 

[arthra]

GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS!
The doors of the Kingdom of God are open!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! Armies of Angels are descending from Heaven!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! The Sun of Truth is rising!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! Heavenly food is being sent from above!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! The Trumpet is sounding!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! The Banner of the Great Peace is floating far and wide!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! The Light of the Lamp of the Oneness of Humanity is shining bright!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! The fire of the Love of God is blazing!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! The Holy Spirit is being outpoured!
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS! For Everlasting Life is here!
O Ye that sleep, Awake!
O ye heedless ones, Learn wisdom!
O Blind, receive your sight! 127
O Deaf, Hear!
O Dumb, Speak!
O Dead, Arise!
Be Happy!
Be Happy!
Be full of Joy!
This is the day of the Proclamation of the Bab! It is the Festival of the Forerunner of the Blessed Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh). It is the day of the dawning of the Morning of Guidance.


~~~ Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 126