The honor of man is through ...

Observe how darkness has overspread the world. In every corner of the earth there is strife, discord and warfare of some kind. Mankind is submerged in the sea of materialism and occupied with the affairs of this world. They have no thought beyond earthly possessions and manifest no desire save the passions of this fleeting, mortal existence. Their utmost purpose is the attainment of material livelihood, physical comforts and worldly enjoyments such as constitute the happiness of the animal world rather than the world of man.
The honor of man is through the attainment of the knowledge of God; his happiness is from the love of God; his joy is in the glad tidings of God; his greatness is dependent upon his servitude to God. The highest development of man is his entrance into the divine Kingdom, and the outcome of this human existence is the nucleus and essence of eternal life. If man is bereft of the divine bestowals and if his enjoyment and happiness are restricted to his material inclinations, what distinction or difference is there between the animal and himself?

`Abdu'l-Bahá: The Promulgation of Universal Peace P.336

Every man of insight will ..

Every man of insight will, in this day, readily admit that the counsels which the Pen of this wronged One hath revealed constitute the supreme animating power for the advancement of the world and the exaltation of its peoples. Arise, O people, and, by the power of God’s might, resolve to gain the victory over your own selves, that haply the whole earth may be freed and sanctified from its servitude to the gods of its idle fancies—gods that have inflicted such loss upon, and are responsible for the misery of, their wretched worshipers. These idols form the obstacle that impedeth man in his efforts to advance in the path of perfection. We cherish the hope that the Hand of Divine power may lend its assistance to mankind, and deliver it from its state of grievous abasement.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

Justice is, in this day,...

Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new  life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration.
This is the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by the Pen of this wronged One to mankind. Wherefore fear ye, O My well-beloved ones? Who is it that can dismay you? A touch of moisture sufficeth to dissolve the hardened clay out of which this perverse generation is molded. The mere act of your gathering together is enough to scatter the forces of these vain and worthless people….

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

PAIN AND SORROW

All these examples are to show you that the trials which beset our every step, all our sorrow, pain, shame and grief, are born in the world of matter; whereas the spiritual Kingdom never causes sadness. A man living with his thoughts in this Kingdom knows perpetual joy. The ills all flesh is heir to do not pass him by, but they only touch the surface of his life, the depths are calm and serene.
Today, humanity is bowed down with trouble, sorrow and grief, no one escapes; the world is wet with tears; but, thank God, the remedy is at our doors. Let us turn our hearts away from the world of matter and live in the spiritual world! It alone can give us freedom! If we are hemmed in by difficulties we have only to call upon God, and by His great Mercy we shall be helped.

`Abdu'l-Bahá,  Paris Talks. P.111

The language of kindness is ..

“O friends, consort with all the people of the world with joy and fragrance. If there be to you a word or essence whereof others than you are devoid, communicate it and show it forth in the language of affection and kindness: if it be received and be effective the object is attained, and if not leave it to him, and with regard to him deal not harshly but pray. The language of kindness is the lodestone of hearts and the food of the soul; it stands in the relation of ideas to words, and is as an horizon for the shining of the Sun of Wisdom and Knowledge.”

`Abdu'l-Bahá, A Traveler’s Narrative. P.44

The Bahá’í Cause is distinguished ...

The Bahá’í Cause is distinguished above all else by its nature as an
uncompromised organic whole. Embodying the principle of unity that lies at the heart of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, this nature is the sign of the presence of the indwelling Spirit that animates the Faith. Alone among the religions of history—and despite repeated efforts to break this unity—the Cause has successfully resisted the perennial blight of schism and faction. The success of the community’s teaching work is assured by the fact that the instruments it uses were created by the Revelation itself, that it was the Faith’s Founders who conceived the methods for the prosecution of its Divine Plan, and that it was They who guided, in every significant detail, the launching of the enterprise.
During the twentieth century, through the efforts of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Guardian, Mount Carmel itself has become an expression of this oneness of the Faith’s being. In contrast to the circumstances of other world religions, the spiritual and administrative centres of the Cause are inseparably bound together in this same spot on earth, its guiding institutions centred on the Shrine of its martyred Prophet. For many visitors, even the harmony that has been achieved in the variegated flowers, trees and shrubs of the surrounding gardens seems to proclaim the ideal of unity in diversity that they find attractive in the Faith’s teachings....

 http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/bic/COL/col-14.html P.143

شهادت حضرت ربّ اعلی و جناب انيس

مقارن با وقوع رزيّهء کبری شهادت طلعت اعلی دو امر عجيب و اعجابآميز رخ گشود که حائز نهايت اهمّيّت است و اين دو واقعهء خطيره که يکی قبل از صدور حکم علماء تبريز و ديگری بلافاصله بعد از آن بوقوع پيوست مراتب عظمت و قدرت و نورانيّت آن مظهر احديّت را اثبات و کيفيّت معجزه آسای شهادت حضرتش را مدلّل و روشن مينمايد. امر اوّل ورود فرّاشباشی به جايگاه مبارک است هنگامی که هيكل انور در يکی از حجرات سرباز خانه که محلّ توقيف ايشان بود با آقا سيّد حسين راقم آيات آهسته و محرمانه به بيان آخرين وصايا و تعاليم خويش مشغول بودند . فرّاشباشی به مجرّد ورود آقا سيّد حسين را به کنار کشيده وی را شديداً ملامت و سرزنش مينمايد که حال موقع مذاکره و نجوی نيست در آن وقت حضرت اعلی به فرّاشباشی ميفرمايند "تا صحبتی را که با وی 
۱۳۴ص
 داشتم به اتمام نرسانم و تا آخرين كلمه بيان نکنم هيچ قدرت و سطوتی مرا از اين منظور باز نخواهد داشت و لو اهل ارض بتمامه باسيف و سنان بر منع من قيام نمايند". (ترجمه) مسألهء ثانی استدعای سامخان مسيحی سرتيپ فوج ارامنه است که اجرای حکم شهادت به وی محوّل گرديده بود. مشارٌ اليه چون بيم داشت که عمل او مغاير رضای الهی و جالب قهر و غضب منتقم حقيقی باشد از حضور مبارک درخواست نمود ترتيبی فراهم شود که بارادهء سبحانی از مبادرت به اين امر که خلاف رأی و منافی فکر و وجدان او است معاف گردد. حضرت در جواب فرمودند "تو به آنچه مأموری قيام نما اگر در نيّت خويش صادق باشی خداوند تعالی تو را مطمئنّاً از ورطهء تحيّر و اضطراب نجات خواهد داد". (ترجمه) بدين ترتيب سامخان به انجام مأموريّت خويش اقدام نمود و امر داد در پايه ای که بين دو حجرهء سربازخانه مشرف بر ميدان قرار داشت ميخ آهنی کوبيدند و دو ريسمان بدان آويختند به يک ريسمان حضرت باب و به ريسمان ديگر عاشق دلداده، ميرزا محمّد علی زنوزی ملقّب به انيس جوانی که خود را از قبل بر اقدام مبارک افکنده و استدعا نموده بود تا آخرين لحظهء حيات در ملازمت مولای خويش باقی ماند، معلّق ساختند. فوج مأمور شلّيک در سه صف، هر صف مرکّب از دويست و پنجاه سرباز قرار گرفتند. صف اوّل شلّيک کرد سپس صف ثانی آتش داد و بلا فاصله صف ثالث مبادرت کرد و از شلّيک هفتصد و پنجاه تير دخان عظيمی برخاست که فضا را بكلّی تيره و تار نمود و چون دود متلاشی گشت تماشاچيان که عددشان به ده هزارنفس بالغ ميگرديد و در بام سرباز خانه١٣۵    ص
و منازل مجاور مجتمع شده بودند با نهايت حيرت ملاحظه نمودند که حضرت باب از انظار پنهان و آن جوان بدون ادنی آسيب در پای همان ستون که به آن آويخته شده بود ايستاده و ريسمانها از اصابت گلوله قطع شده است. مردم از مشاهدهء اين منظره سخت به وحشت افتادند و فرياد برآوردند که سيّد باب غائب شد و چون تفحّص نمودند حضرت را که به ارادهء قاطعهء الهيّه مصون و محفوظ باقی مانده در همان حجره که شب قبل توقّف نموده بودند يافتند که بکمال سکون و آرامش به تکميل بيانات و ادامهء مکالمات قبلی خويش با کاتب وحی مألوفند. در اين حين فرّاشباشی وارد شد و طلعت اعلی رو بوی کرده فرمودند "حال گفتگوی من با آقا سيّد حسين تمام شد و ميتوانيد اکنون در اجرای مقصود خود اقدام نمائيد". (ترجمه) در اين هنگام فرّاشباشی بيان مبارک را که از قبل بکمال صراحت و صرامت راجع به عدم قطع كلامشان ادا فرموده بودند بخاطر آورد و چون مصداق آن را به چنين وضع تحيّر آميزی مشاهده نمود بر خود بلرزيد و بی درنگ محلّ را ترک و از شغل خويش کناره جوئی نمود. سامخان نيز از وقوع اين حادثه متذکّر گرديد و بيانات اطمينان بخش حضرت را که به او القاء فرموده بودند بخاطر آورد و با نهايت اعجاب و دهشت به سپاهيان خود دستور داد بلا تأمّل از سرباز خانه خارج شوند و در حين خروج از ميدان قسم ياد نمود که ديگر بهيچوجه دست به اين عمل شوم نيالايد و در اين جنايت عظيم و لو بقيمت جان وی تمام شود شرکت ننمايد. آنگاه آقاجان بيک خمسه ای سرتيپ فوج خاصّه قدم١٣۶ ص
 پيش نهاد و داوطلب انجام اين مأموريّت گرديد و دستور داد حضرت باب و جناب انيس را دو باره به ترتيب سابق بهمان پايه معلّق نمايند و بسربازان خود امر به شلّيک داد. در اين وهله سينهء مبارک و سينهء ميرزا محمّد علی هر دو بضرب رصاص مشبّک و اعضاء كلّ تشريح گرديد مگر صورت که اندکی آزرده شده بود. در حينی که فوج اخير مشغول تهيّهء مقدّمات امر بودند حضرت اعلی رو به جمعيّت نموده آخرين بيانات خود را بدين مضمون ادا فرمودند "ای مردم گمراه اگر بعرفان من نائل ميشديد هر آينه به اين جوان که مقامش اعظم و اجلّ از اکثر شما است تأسّی ميجستيد و بنهايت اشتياق خود را در سبيل الهی فدا ميکرديد بلی روزی خواهد رسيد که به حقيقت ظهور من
پی خواهيد برد لکن در آن هنگام ديگر من در بين شما نخواهم بود". (ترجمه)

حضرت ولی امرالله,  کتاب قرن بديع

“Essence of Essences,” the “Sea of Seas,”

It should be remembered, however, that apart from the miracle associated with
the Báb’s execution, He, unlike the Founder of the Christian religion, is not only to be regarded as the independent Author of a divinely revealed Dispensation, but must also be recognized as the Herald of a new Era and the Inaugurator of a great universal prophetic cycle...
The Báb, acclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh as the “Essence of Essences,” the “Sea of Seas,” the “Point round Whom the realities of the Prophets and Messengers revolve,” “from Whom God hath caused to proceed the knowledge of all that was and shall be,” Whose “rank excelleth that of all the Prophets,” and Whose “Revelation transcendeth the comprehension and understanding of all their chosen ones,” had delivered His Message and discharged His mission.
He Who was, in the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the “Morn of Truth” and “Harbinger of the Most Great Light,” Whose advent at once signalized the termination of the “Prophetic Cycle” and the inception of the “Cycle of Fulfillment,”...

Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By P.58

Entombment of the Báb’s Remains on Mt. Carmel

Midway up Mount Carmel, the original stone building in which the Báb’s remains were interred in 1909.

When all was finished, and the earthly remains of the Martyr-Prophet of Shíráz
were, at long last, safely deposited for their everlasting rest in the bosom of God’s holy mountain, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who had cast aside His turban, removed His shoes and thrown off His cloak, bent low over the still open sarcophagus, His silver hair waving about His head and His face transfigured and luminous, rested His forehead on the border of the wooden casket, and, sobbing aloud, wept with such a weeping that all those who were present wept with Him.
That night He could not sleep, so overwhelmed was He with emotion. “The most joyful tidings is this,” He wrote later in a Tablet announcing to His followers the news of this glorious victory, “that the holy, the luminous body of the Báb … after having for sixty years been transferred from place to place, by reason of the ascendancy of the enemy, and from fear of the malevolent, and having known neither rest nor tranquillity has, through the mercy of the Abhá Beauty, been ceremoniously deposited, on the day of Naw-Rúz, within the sacred casket, in the exalted Shrine on Mt. Carmel…

Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By

Talk at 309 West Seventy-eighth Street, New York

Photo from http://www.bahaiwritingsasart.com/

I desire to make manifest among the friends in America a new light that they may become a new people, that a new foundation may be established and complete harmony be realized; for the foundation of Bahá’u’lláh is love. When you go to Green Acre, you must have infinite love for each other, each preferring the other before himself. The people must be so attracted to you that they will exclaim, “What happiness exists among you!” and will see in your faces the lights of the Kingdom; then in wonderment they will turn to you and seek the cause of your happiness. You must give the message through action and deed, not alone by word. Word must be conjoined with deed. You must love your friend better than yourself; yes, be willing to sacrifice yourself. The Cause of Bahá’u’lláh has not yet appeared in this country. I desire that you be ready to sacrifice everything for each other, even life itself; then I will know that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh has been established...

`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace.

Love manifests its reality in ...

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! Water shows its power in various ways, in quenching thirst, causing seed to grow, etc...
We must find a way of spreading love among the sons of humanity.
Love is unlimited, boundless, infinite!
The perfect love needs an unselfish instrument, absolutely freed from fetters of every kind.

Abdu'l-Bahá. Paris Talks