Sunday, September 27, 2015

Love is light in whatsoever house it may shine

Life in this mortal world will quickly come to an end, and this earthly glory, wealth, comfort and happiness will soon vanish and be no more. Summon ye the people to God and call the souls to the manners and conduct of the Supreme Concourse. To the orphans be ye kind fathers, and to the unfortunate a refuge and shelter. To the poor be a treasure of wealth, and to the sick a remedy and healing. Be a helper of every oppressed one, the protector of every destitute one, be ye ever mindful to serve any soul of mankind. Attach no importance to self-seeking, rejection, arrogance, oppression and enmity.
Heed them not. Deal in the contrary way. Be kind in truth, not only in appearance and outwardly. Every soul of the friends of God must concentrate his mind on this, that he may manifest the mercy of God and the bounty of the Forgiving One. He must do good to every soul whom he encounters, and render benefit to him, becoming the cause of improving the morals and correcting the thoughts so that the light of guidance may shine forth and the bounty of His Holiness the Merciful One may encompass. Love is light in whatsoever house it may shine and enmity is darkness in whatsoever abode it dwell.

Bahá’í World Faith—Selected ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

O ye dear friends!

O ye dear friends!
The world is engaged in war and struggle, and mankind is in the utmost conflict and danger. The darkness of unfaithfulness has enshrouded the earth and the illumination of faithfulness has become concealed. All nations and tribes of the world have sharpened their claws and are warring and fighting with each other. The edifice of man is shattered. Thousands of families are wandering disconsolate. Thousands of souls are besmeared with dust and blood in the arena of battle and struggle every year, and the tent of happiness and life is overthrown. The prominent men become commanders and boast of bloodshed, and glory in destruction. One says: “I have severed with my sword the necks of a nation,” and one: “I have levelled a kingdom to the dust”; and another: “I have overthrown the foundation of a government.” This is the pivot around which the pride and glory of mankind are revolving.....

Bahá’í World Faith—Selected Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Be ye manifestations of ...

It is incumbent upon you to have union and harmony and love and uprightness,
Be ye manifestations of the mercy of God, dawning-places of the light of His great bounty, and arise with all steadfastness, truthfulness, trustworthiness, compassion, modesty, love and accord with the people of the world, no matter of what community they may be; inasmuch as it behooveth the light to shine even upon the rocks in the field, and the soul is qualified for quickening individuals, even though they be of the ugliest and most disagreeable form, and a pure tree is adapted to bestow a blessed fruit even upon those who throw stones at it.
and to be characterized with the morals of your Lord, the Clement; to walk in the highway of equity and beneficence.

Tablets of Abdul-Baha, Abbas

Sunday, September 20, 2015

O COMPANION OF MY THRONE!

Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so that, free and content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom for evermore.
The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh


ای رفيق عرشی
 بد مشنو و بد مبين و خود را ذليل مکن و عويل برميار * يعنی بد مگو تا نشنوی و عيب مردم را بزرگ مدان تا عيب تو بزرگ ننمايد و ذلّت نفسی مپسند تا ذلّت تو چهره نگشايد * پس با دل پاک و قلب طاهر و صدر مقدّس و خاطر منزّه در ايّام عمر خود که اقلّ از آنی محسوبست فارغ باش تا بفراغت از اين جسد فانی بفردوس معانی راجع
شوی و در ملکوت باقی مقرّ يابی *


حضرت بهاءالله کلمات مکنونه

Saturday, September 19, 2015

This earthly life shall ...

 "Say, this earthly life shall come to an end, and everyone shall expire and return unto my Lord God Who will reward with the choicest gifts the deeds of those who endure with patience. Verily thy God assigneth the measure of all created things as He willeth, by virtue of His behest; and those who conform to the good-pleasure of your Lord, they are indeed among the blissful.
Thy Lord hath never raised up a prophet in the past who failed to summon the people to His Lord, and today is truly similar to the times of old, were ye to ponder over the verses revealed by God."

Selections From the Writings of the Báb

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Be thou of the people of ...

"Be thou of the people of hell-fire, but be not a hypocrite.
Be thou an unbeliever, but be not a plotter.
Make thy home in taverns, but tread not the path of the mischief-maker.
Fear thou God, but not the priest.
Give to the executioner thy head, but not thy heart.
Let thine abode be under the stone, but seek not the shelter of the cleric.
Thus doth the Holy Reed intone its melodies, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its song, so that He may infuse life eternal into the mortal frames of men, impart to the temples of dust the essence of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly Light, and draw the transient world, through the potency of a single word, unto the Everlasting Kingdom."

Extracts From The Writings Of Bahá'u'lláh, #2050

Monday, September 7, 2015

The source of crafts, sciences and arts is ...

" The source of crafts, sciences and arts is the power of reflection. Make ye every effort that out of this ideal mine there may gleam forth such pearls of wisdom and utterance as will promote the well-being and harmony of all the kindreds of the earth.
Under all conditions, whether in adversity or at ease, whether honored or afflicted, this Wronged One hath directed all men to show forth love, affection, compassion and harmony. And yet whenever there was any slight evidence of progress and advancement, those concealed behind the veils would sally forth and utter calumnies more wounding than the sword. They cling unto misleading and reprehensible words and suffer themselves to be deprived of the ocean of verses revealed by God.

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, Kalimát-i-Firdawsíyyih P. 73

Sunday, September 6, 2015

The well-being of mankind, its peace and security,....

The One true God beareth Me witness, and His creatures will testify, that not for a moment did I allow Myself to be hidden from the eyes of men, nor did I consent to shield My person from their injury. Before the face of all men I have arisen, and bidden them fulfil My pleasure.

 My object is none other than the betterment of the world and the tranquillity of its peoples. The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. This unity can never be achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed are suffered to pass unheeded.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

Saturday, September 5, 2015

In the East the light of His Revelation hath brokeni Words

Say: In the East the light of His Revelation hath broken; in the West have appeared the signs of His dominion. Ponder this in your hearts, O people, and be not of those who have turned a deaf ear to the admonitions of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Praised. Let the Breeze of God awaken you. Verily, it hath wafted over the world. Well is it with him that hath discovered the fragrance thereof and been accounted among the well-assured.

 O concourse of bishops! Ye are the stars of the heaven of My knowledge. My mercy desireth not that ye should fall upon the earth. My justice, however, declareth: ‘This is that which the Son hath decreed.’ And whatsoever hath proceeded out of His blameless, His truth-speaking, trustworthy mouth, can never be altered. The bells, verily, peal out My Name, and lament over Me, but My spirit rejoiceth with evident gladness. The body of the Loved One yearneth for the cross, and His head is eager for the spear, in the path of the All-Merciful. The ascendancy of the oppressor can in no wise deter Him from His purpose. We have summoned all created things to attain the presence of thy Lord, the King of all names. Blessed is the man that hath set his face towards God, the Lord of the Day of Reckoning..’

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, LAWḤ-I-AQDAS, P.14

O Salman!

O Salman! The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever been, and will continue for ever to be, closed in the face of men. No man's understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a token of His mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving-kindness, He hath manifested unto men the Day Stars of His divine guidance, the Symbols of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self.
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. They are the Manifestations of God amidst men, the evidences of His Truth, and the signs of His glory.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

Insights from the field

  In the latest podcast episode from the Bahá’í World News Service, Mina Yazdani—a professor of history at Eastern Kentucky University in th...