Be pure; be righteous, ...

Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous….
Say: O people of God! That which can ensure the victory of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, His hosts and helpers on earth, have been set down in the sacred Books and Scriptures, and are as clear and manifest as the sun.
These hosts are such righteous deeds, such conduct and character, as are acceptable in His sight. Whoso ariseth, in this Day, to aid Our Cause, and summoneth to his assistance the hosts of a praiseworthy character and upright conduct, the influence flowing from such an action will, most certainly, be diffused throughout the whole world.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

The East and the West must ...

The East and the West must unite to give to each other what is lacking. This union will bring about a true civilization, where the spiritual is expressed and carried out in the material.
Receiving thus the one from the other the greatest harmony will prevail, all people will be united, a state of great perfection will be attained, there will be a firm cementing, and this world will become a shining mirror for the reflection of the attributes of God.
We all, the Eastern with the Western nations, must strive day and night with heart and soul to achieve this high ideal, to cement the unity between all the nations of the earth. Every heart will then be refreshed, all eyes will be opened, the most wonderful power will be given, the happiness of humanity will be assured...

`Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks P.22

گر خیال جان همی هستت به دل اینجا میا

 "ساقی از غیب بقا برقع برافکن از عذار

تا بنوشم خمر باقی از جمال کردگار

آنچه در خمخانه داری نشکند صفرای عشق

زان شراب معنوی ساقی همی بحری بیار

تا که این مستور شیدایی در آید در خروش

تا که این مخمور ربانی بر آید زین خمار

نار عشقی برفروز و جمله هستی ها بسوز
پس قدم بردار و اندر کوی عشاقان گذار

تا نگردی فانی از وصف وجود ای مرد راه

کی چشی خمر بقا از لعل نوشین نگار

پای نه بر فرق ملک آنگه درآ در ظل فقر

تا ببینی ملک باقی را کنون از هر کنار

گر خیال جان همی هستت به دل اینجا میا

گر نثار جان و دل داری بیا و هم بیار

رسم ره اینست گر وصل «بها» داری طلب

گر نباشی مرد این ره دور شو زحمت میار

گر همی خواهی که گردی واقف از اسرار عشق

چشم عبرت برگشا بربند راه افتخار...

حضرت بهاءالله"

در بارۀ سایت | ولوله در شهر

The power of utterance.

Say: We have ordained that our Cause be taught through the power of utterance.
Beware lest ye dispute idly with anyone. Whoso ariseth wholly for the sake of his Lord to teach His Cause, the Holy Spirit shall strengthen him and inspire him with that which will illumine the heart of the world, how much more the hearts of those who seek Him.
O people of Bahá! Subdue the citadels of men’s hearts with the swords of wisdom and of utterance. They that dispute, as prompted by their desires, are indeed wrapped in a palpable veil. Say: The sword of wisdom is hotter than summer heat, and sharper than blades of steel, if ye do but understand. Draw it forth in My name and through the power of My might, and conquer then with it the cities of the hearts of them that have secluded themselves in the stronghold of their corrupt desires. Thus biddeth you the Pen of the All-Glorious, whilst seated beneath the swords of the wayward.

Bahá'u'lláh: The Summons of the Lord of Hosts P.79

The third Taráz concerneth ...

" طراز سوّم فی الخلق انّه احسن طراز للخلق من لدی الحقّ زیّن اللّه به هیاکل اولیائه لعمری نوره یفوق نور الشّمس و اشراقها هر نفسی به آن فائز شد او از جواهر خلق محسوبست عزّت و رفعت عالم به آن منوط و معلّق خُلق نیک سبب هدایت خلق است به صراط مستقیم و نبأ عظیم نیکوست حال نفسی که به صفات و اخلاق ملأ اعلی مزیّن است .

The third Taráz concerneth good character. A good character is, verily, the best mantle for men from God. With it He adorneth the temples of His loved ones. By My life! The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun and the radiance thereof. Whoso attaineth unto it is accounted as a jewel among men. The glory and the upliftment of the world must needs depend upon it. A goodly character is a means whereby men are guided to the Straight Path and are led to the Great Announcement. Well is it with him who is adorned with the saintly attributes and character of the Concourse on High.

TARAZÁT (Ornaments)

...ایران ویرانست و جمیع احزاب ...

: حضرت عبدالبهاء در بیانی مورخ ٩ شوّآل ١٣٣٩ می فرمایند

 هوالله
 ای تشنۀ حقیقت، ایران ویرانست و جمیع احزاب فی الحقیقه تیشه به دست گرفته به ریشه این بنیان قدیم می زنند و ابداً ملتفت نیستند که این کلنگ بنیان کن است و این تیشه ریشه کن. هر حزبی گمان می کند که به تعمیر مشغولست. ولی در قرآن می فرماید: یُخرّبون بُیُوتهُِم بِاَیْدیهِم. باری، این آوارگان به هیچ حزبی مشترک و متمایل نبوده. در آن می کوشیم که بنیۀ ایران قوّت گیرد و معلوم است قوّت بنیه ایران جز به تأسیس اخلاق الهی ممکن نه. چون تأسیس اخلاق گردد ترقی در جمیع مراتب محتوم است. هیچ ملتی بدون تعدیل اخلاق فلاح و نجاح نیابد؛ و به تحسین اخلاق علوم و فنون رواج یابد و افکار بینهایت روشن گردد، صداقت و امانت و حماست(=شجاعت) و غیرت و حمیّت بجوشد، سیاست به درجهء نهایت رسد، صنایع بدیعه رواج یابد، تجارت اتّساع جوید، شجاعت عَلَم افرازد، ملت از برزخی به برزخ دیگرانتقال نماید، خلق جدید شود، فتبارک الله احسَنُ الخالقین تحقّق یابد. حجاز در بیابان ریگ زار و بی آب و علف وادی غیر ذی زرع بود، لکن به طلوع نیّر حقیقت (حضرت محمّد) قبلۀ آفاق شد و مَطاف عالمیان گردید. حال که نیّر اعظم(حضرت بهاءالله) ازمَطلع ایران اشراق کرده ملاحظه نمائید که در آینده چه خواهد شد.
امیدم چنانست که در تأسیس این بُنیان عظیم شما نیز از کارکنان باشید. وَ عَلیکُمَا البَهآءُ الابهی. ع ع

بهائیت و سیاستِ عدم مداخله در سیاست - بخش سوم

Integrity and uprightness ...

Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.
Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men.
Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.
Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.
Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

One day of days ...

In one of His letters, Bahá’u’lláh refers to a vision that He had in the Ridván Garden:

Newly renovated  Ridván Garden

"One day of days We repaired unto Our Green Island. Upon Our arrival, We beheld its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight playing in their midst. Turning Our face to the right, We beheld what the pen is powerless to describe; nor can it set forth that which the eye of the Lord of Mankind witnessed in that most sanctified, that most sublime, that blest, and most exalted Spot. Turning, then, to the left We gazed on one of the Beauties of the Most Sublime Paradise, standing on a pillar of light, and calling aloud saying: 'O inmates of earth and heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My revelation, and My effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and the revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast unto My hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Baha, and the vesture of glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon of assurance unto all beings.' Thus have We sent down for thee that which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation."

Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh

Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue

We ask God graciously to grant that all may evince such fairness of character, such goodliness of deed and kindliness of word as will meet with His good pleasure. It hath been decreed that the citadels of men’s hearts should be subdued through the hosts of a noble character and praiseworthy deeds.
Contention, discord, strife and sedition have all been forbidden in the Book of God. Beseech the Lord that He deprive not His dominions of the effulgent light of the sun of trustworthiness, nor deny them the radiance of the Day-Star of truthfulness or the splendour of the orb of justice and equity.
Trustworthiness and piety are even as two luminaries shining resplendent above the horizon of the heaven of the Tablet in which are inscribed the ordinances of God. Well is it with them that have discerned them, and woe betide the heedless!

Bahá’u’lláh. (From a Tablet - translated from the Persian and Arabic)
Trustworthiness:A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue Sec. 2031

Be ye loving ...

Soon will your swiftly passing days be over, and the fame and riches, the comforts, the joys provided by this rubbish-heap, the world, will be gone without a trace. Summon ye, then, the people to God, and invite humanity to follow the example of the Company on high.
Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Pay ye no heed to aversion and rejection, to disdain, hostility, injustice: act ye in the opposite way. Be ye sincerely kind, not in appearance only.

Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, P.4

THE UNIVERSAL LOVE

Love manifests its reality in deeds, not only in words—these alone are without
effect. In order that love may manifest its power there must be an object, an instrument, a motive.
There are many ways of expressing the love principle; there is love for the family, for the country, for the race, there is political enthusiasm, there is also the love of community of interest in service. These are all ways and means of showing the power of love. Without any such means, love would be unseen, unheard, unfelt—altogether unexpressed, unmanifested!
We must find a way of spreading love among the sons of humanity.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks

The Secret of Divine Civilization رساله مدنيه

The Secret of Divine Civilization    رساله مدنيه  is a celebration of the creative role played by the rational faculty--God's greatest gift to humankind--in the advancement of civilization. Among the fruits of the mind that He particularly singled out, the Master laid strong emphasis on scientific and technological development. His readers were encouraged to reflect on the benefits that would accrue to Persian society through taking appropriate advantage of whatever had been accomplished in this respect by peoples of other lands, whether in the West or elsewhere. It had been the free-ranging powers of the human intellect, He insisted, that had discovered and tested each of the benefits enjoyed by any people, and no legitimate argument could be advanced for imposing cultural or national barriers to the operations of this universal process. Its achievements represent the common possessions of the entire human race, their adoption by a nation or people neither diminishing the users nor reflecting on their native capacities...


Day of the Covenant 26 November 2003:
To the Followers of Baha'u'llah in the Cradle of the Faith by
 Universal House of Justice

Indeed, the attacks and the obstructiveness ...

Indeed, the attacks and the obstructiveness of the ignorant but cause the Word of God to be exalted, and spread His signs and tokens far and wide. Were it not for this opposition by the disdainful, this obduracy of the slanderers, this shouting from the pulpits, this crying and wailing of great and small alike, these accusations of unbelief levelled by the ignorant, this uproar from the foolish—how could news of the advent of the Primal Point and the bright dawning of the Day-Star of Bahá ever have reached to east and west? ...
All these blessings and bestowals, the very means of proclaiming the Faith, have come about through the scorn of the ignorant, the opposition of the foolish, the stubbornness of the dull-witted, the violence of the aggressor...
Wherefore we should never grieve over the blindness of the unwitting, the attacks of the foolish, the hostility of the low and base, the heedlessness of the divines, the charges of infidelity brought against us by the empty of mind. Such too was their way in ages past, nor would it be thus if they were of those who know; but they are benighted, and they come not close to understanding what is told them.

Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá" sec. 195, pp. 234-36

Justice is not limited, ...

Justice is not limited, it is a universal quality. Its operation must be carried out in all classes, from the highest to the lowest. Justice must be sacred, and the rights of all the people must be considered.
Desire for others only that which you desire for yourselves. Then  shall we rejoice in the Sun of Justice, which shines from the Horizon of God.
Each man has been placed in a post of honour, which he must not desert. A humble workman who commits an injustice is as much to blame as a renowned tyrant. Thus we all have our choice between justice and injustice.
I hope that each one of you will become just, and direct your thoughts towards the unity of mankind; that you will never harm your neighbours nor speak ill of any one; that you will respect the rights of all men, and be more concerned for the interests of others than for your own.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks. P160

With political questions ...

With political questions the clergy, however, have nothing to do! Religious matters should not be confused with politics in the present state of the world (for their interests are not identical).
Religion concerns matters of the heart, of the spirit, and of morals.
Politics are occupied with the material things of life. Religious teachers should not invade the realm of politics; they should concern themselves with the spiritual education of the people; they should ever give good counsel to men, trying to serve God and human kind; they should endeavour to awaken spiritual aspiration, and strive to enlarge the understanding and knowledge of humanity, to improve morals, and to increase the love for justice.
This is in accordance with the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks. P158-9

O people of Persia!

 "O people of Persia! How long will you wander? How long must your confusion last? How long will it go on, this conflict of opinions, this useless antagonism, this ignorance, this refusal to think?
Others are alert, and we sleep our dreamless sleep. Other nations are making every effort to improve their condition; we are trapped in our desires and self-indulgences, and at every step we stumble into a new snare.
God is Our witness that We have no ulterior motive in developing this theme. We seek neither to curry favor with any one nor to attract any one to Ourselves nor to derive any material benefit therefrom. We speak only as one earnestly desiring the good pleasure of God, for We have turned Our gaze away from the world and its peoples and have sought refuge in the sheltering care of the Lord. “No pay do I ask of you for this… My reward is of God alone.”"

`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization P. 13