" ... that ye may unravel the mysteries of love from its windflowers and learn the secret of divine and consummate wisdom from its eternal fruits."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2025

O YE DWELLERS IN THE HIGHEST PARADISE!

Proclaim unto the children of assurance that within the realms of holiness, nigh unto the celestial paradise, a new garden hath appeared, round which circle the denizens of the realm on high and the immortal dwellers of the exalted paradise. Strive, then, that ye may attain that station, that ye may unravel the mysteries of love from its windflowers and learn the secret of divine and consummate wisdom from its eternal fruits. Solaced are the eyes of them that enter and abide therein!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #18 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/915681675

"Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise?"

 

divine Lote Tree

O MY FRIENDS!

Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awestruck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #19 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/069414826

"Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would, in truth, prefer a myriad griefs unto this joy, and would count death itself better than this life."

© Chuck Egerton 2025

In the eighth of the most holy lines, in the fifth Tablet of Paradise, He saith: 

O YE THAT ARE LYING AS DEAD ON THE COUCH OF HEEDLESSNESS!

Ages have passed and your precious lives are well-nigh ended, yet not a single breath of purity hath reached Our court of holiness from you. Though immersed in the ocean of misbelief, yet with your lips ye profess the one true faith of God. Him whom I abhor ye have loved, and of My foe ye have made a friend. Notwithstanding, ye walk on My earth complacent and self-satisfied, heedless that My earth is weary of you and everything within it shunneth you. Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would, in truth, prefer a myriad griefs unto this joy, and would count death itself better than this life.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #20 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/824146051

"Though immersed in the ocean of misbelief, yet with your lips ye profess the one true faith of God."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2025

O YE THAT ARE LYING AS DEAD ON THE COUCH OF HEEDLESSNESS!

Ages have passed and your precious lives are well-nigh ended, yet not a single breath of purity hath reached Our court of holiness from you. Though immersed in the ocean of misbelief, yet with your lips ye profess the one true faith of God. Him whom I abhor ye have loved, and of My foe ye have made a friend. Notwithstanding, ye walk on My earth complacent and self-satisfied, heedless that My earth is weary of you and everything within it shunneth you. Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would, in truth, prefer a myriad griefs unto this joy, and would count death itself better than this life.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words. #20 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/824146051

"While there is yet time, return, and lose not thy chance."

photo by trina ridvan

O MOVING FORM OF DUST!

I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me. The sword of thy rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee, yet boundless shame thou hast chosen for thyself. While there is yet time, return, and lose not thy chance.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #21 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/492712156

"Ye that have eyes, behold and wonder."

 

photo by margarete p. 

O SON OF DESIRE!

The learned and the wise have for long years striven and failed to attain the presence of the All-Glorious; they have spent their lives in search of Him, yet did not behold the beauty of His countenance. Thou without the least effort didst attain thy goal, and without search hast obtained the object of thy quest. Yet, notwithstanding, thou didst remain so wrapt in the veil of self, that thine eyes beheld not the beauty of the Beloved, nor did thy hand touch the hem of His robe. Ye that have eyes, behold and wonder.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #22 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/475255532

"Mortal blasts have beset the everlasting candle, and the beauty of the celestial Youth is veiled in the darkness of dust."

O DWELLERS IN THE CITY OF LOVE!

Mortal blasts have beset the everlasting candle, and the beauty of the celestial Youth is veiled in the darkness of dust. The chief of the monarchs of love is wronged by the people of tyranny and the dove of holiness lieth prisoned in the talons of owls. The dwellers in the pavilion of glory and the celestial concourse bewail and lament, while ye repose in the realm of negligence, and esteem yourselves as of the true friends. How vain are your imaginings!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #23 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/927133713

"Wherefore do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when inwardly ye have become wolves, intent upon My flock?"

 

O YE THAT ARE FOOLISH, YET HAVE A NAME TO BE WISE!

Wherefore do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when inwardly ye have become wolves, intent upon My flock? Ye are even as the star, which riseth ere the dawn, and which, though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the wayfarers of My city astray into the paths of perdition.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #24 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/904750204

"Ye are like clear but bitter water ..."

 

O YE SEEMING FAIR YET INWARDLY FOUL!

Ye are like clear but bitter water, which to outward seeming is crystal pure but of which, when tested by the divine Assayer, not a drop is accepted. Yea, the sunbeam falleth alike upon the dust and the mirror, yet differ they in reflection even as doth the star from the earth: nay, immeasurable is the difference!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #25 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/947541230

"Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one heart?"

 

Photo by Margarete P. 

O MY FRIEND IN WORD!

Ponder awhile. Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one heart? Cast out then the stranger, that the Friend may enter His home.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #26 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/676488956

"All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart ..."

 

O SON OF DUST!

All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #27 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/326525665

"O ESSENCE OF DESIRE!"

 

© Chuck Egerton 2025

O ESSENCE OF DESIRE!

At many a dawn have I turned from the realms of the Placeless unto thine abode, and found thee on the bed of ease busied with others than Myself. Thereupon, even as the flash of the spirit, I returned to the realms of celestial glory and breathed it not in My retreats above unto the hosts of holiness.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #28 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/642676691

" ... with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things. "

 

photo by margarete P.

O SON OF BOUNTY!

Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things. Thus, ere thou didst issue from thy mother’s womb, I destined for thee two founts of gleaming milk, eyes to watch over thee, and hearts to love thee. Out of My loving-kindness, ’neath the shade of My mercy I nurtured thee, and guarded thee by the essence of My grace and favor. And My purpose in all this was that thou mightest attain My everlasting dominion and become worthy of My invisible bestowals. And yet heedless thou didst remain, and when fully grown, thou didst neglect all My bounties and occupied thyself with thine idle imaginings, in such wise that thou didst become wholly forgetful, and, turning away from the portals of the Friend didst abide within the courts of My enemy.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words #29 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/567841905

"Many a dawn hath the breeze of My loving-kindness wafted over thee ..."

 

Photo By trina Ridvan

O BONDSLAVE OF THE WORLD!

Many a dawn hath the breeze of My loving-kindness wafted over thee and found thee upon the bed of heedlessness fast asleep. Bewailing then thy plight it returned whence it came.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #30 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/931320080

" ...My will and the will of another than Me, even as fire and water, cannot dwell together in one heart."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2025

O SON OF EARTH!

Wouldst thou have Me, seek none other than Me; and wouldst thou gaze upon My beauty, close thine eyes to the world and all that is therein; for My will and the will of another than Me, even as fire and water, cannot dwell together in one heart.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #31 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/809848791

"The healer of all thine ills is remembrance of Me, forget it not."

 

O BEFRIENDED STRANGER!

The candle of thine heart is lighted by the hand of My power, quench it not with the contrary winds of self and passion. The healer of all thine ills is remembrance of Me, forget it not. Make My love thy treasure and cherish it even as thy very sight and life.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #32 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/889172469

"Sow the seeds of My divine wisdom in the pure soil of thy heart, and water them with the water of certitude ..."

 

photo by Margarete p.

O MY BROTHER!

Hearken to the delightsome words of My honeyed tongue, and quaff the stream of mystic holiness from My sugar-shedding lips. Sow the seeds of My divine wisdom in the pure soil of thy heart, and water them with the water of certitude, that the hyacinths of My knowledge and wisdom may spring up fresh and green in the sacred city of thy heart.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #33 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/725404749

"With the hands of loving-kindness I have planted in the holy garden of paradise the young tree of your love and friendship ..."

photo by Margarete p. 

O DWELLERS OF MY PARADISE!

With the hands of loving-kindness I have planted in the holy garden of paradise the young tree of your love and friendship, and have watered it with the goodly showers of My tender grace; now that the hour of its fruiting is come, strive that it may be protected, and be not consumed with the flame of desire and passion.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #34 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/478336069

" ... kindle within your hearts the everlasting torch of divine guidance ..."

 

Photo by Margarete P.

O MY FRIENDS! 

Quench ye the lamp of error, and kindle within your hearts the everlasting torch of divine guidance. For ere long the assayers of mankind shall, in the holy presence of the Adored, accept naught but purest virtue and deeds of stainless holiness.

(Bahá'u'lláh,The Hidden Words #35 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/839248912

"The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing ..."

 

© chuck egerton 2025

O SON OF DUST!

The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing, even as the cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth a seeker, and the lover who crieth not out from the depths of his heart until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved. Wherefore sow the seeds of wisdom and knowledge in the pure soil of the heart, and keep them hidden, till the hyacinths of divine wisdom spring from the heart and not from mire and clay.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #36 Persian)

www.bahai.org/r/447289253

"This is the river of everlasting life that hath flowed from the wellspring of the pen of the merciful; well is it with them that drink!"

 

photo by Trina Ridvan

O MY SERVANT!

Abandon not for that which perisheth an everlasting dominion, and cast not away celestial sovereignty for a worldly desire. This is the river of everlasting life that hath flowed from the wellspring of the pen of the merciful; well is it with them that drink!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #37 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/998408191

"Burst thy cage asunder, and even as the phoenix of love soar into the firmament of holiness."

 

photo by Margarete p. 

O SON OF SPIRIT!

Burst thy cage asunder, and even as the phoenix of love soar into the firmament of holiness. Renounce thyself and, filled with the spirit of mercy, abide in the realm of celestial sanctity.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #38 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/988131543

"Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world."

 

photo by Margarete p. 

O OFFSPRING OF DUST!

Be not content with the ease of a passing day, and deprive not thyself of everlasting rest. Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world. Up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #39 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/921804077

"... loose thy soul from the prison of self."

 

photo by Trina Ridvan

O MY SERVANT!

Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #40 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/178899283

"Didst thou behold immortal sovereignty, thou wouldst strive to pass from this fleeting world."

 

O SON OF MY HANDMAID!

Didst thou behold immortal sovereignty, thou wouldst strive to pass from this fleeting world. But to conceal the one from thee and to reveal the other is a mystery which none but the pure in heart can comprehend.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #41 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/228576295

"Purge thy heart from malice ..."

 

photo by Margarete P. 

O MY SERVANT!

Purge thy heart from malice and, innocent of envy, enter the divine court of holiness.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #42 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/006213096

"Walk ye in the ways of the good pleasure of the Friend, and know that His pleasure is in the pleasure of His creatures."

 

© Chuck EGerton 2025

O MY FRIENDS!

Walk ye in the ways of the good pleasure of the Friend, and know that His pleasure is in the pleasure of His creatures. That is: no man should enter the house of his friend save at his friend’s pleasure, nor lay hands upon his treasures nor prefer his own will to his friend’s, and in no wise seek an advantage over him. Ponder this, ye that have insight!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #43 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/452186269

"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 ..."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2025

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 forevermore.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #44 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/697759113

"Ye bow the knee before your vain imagining, and call it truth."

© Chuck Egerton 2025

 

ALAS! ALAS! O LOVERS OF WORLDLY DESIRE! 

Even as the swiftness of lightning ye have passed by the Beloved One, and have set your hearts on satanic fancies. Ye bow the knee before your vain imagining, and call it truth. Ye turn your eyes towards the thorn, and name it a flower. Not a pure breath have ye breathed, nor hath the breeze of detachment been wafted from the meadows of your hearts. Ye have cast to the winds the loving counsels of the Beloved and have effaced them utterly from the tablet of your hearts, and even as the beasts of the field, ye move and have your being within the pastures of desire and passion.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #45 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/577977380

"The essence of beauty is within the peerless pavilion, set upon the throne of glory, whilst ye busy yourselves with idle contentions."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2025

O BRETHREN IN THE PATH!

Wherefore have ye neglected the mention of the Loved One, and kept remote from His holy presence? The essence of beauty is within the peerless pavilion, set upon the throne of glory, whilst ye busy yourselves with idle contentions. The sweet savors of holiness are breathing and the breath of bounty is wafted, yet ye are all sorely afflicted and deprived thereof. Alas for you and for them that walk in your ways and follow in your footsteps!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #46 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/076998102

" ... divest yourselves of the attire of haughtiness."

 

O CHILDREN OF DESIRE! 

Put away the garment of vainglory, and divest yourselves of the attire of haughtiness.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #47 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/630765205

"By My beauty! I have created all things from dust, and to dust will I return them again."

 

blood moon by Margarete P.

O BRETHREN!

Be forbearing one with another and set not your affections on things below. Pride not yourselves in your glory, and be not ashamed of abasement. By My beauty! I have created all things from dust, and to dust will I return them again.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #48 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/410608045

"To give and to be generous are attributes of Mine ..."

 

bloodmoon by Trina Ridvan

O CHILDREN OF DUST!

Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth. To give and to be generous are attributes of Mine; well is it with him that adorneth himself with My virtues.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #49 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/886046055

" ... the contented hath ever been loved and praised."

 

Seal of BahÁ'u'llÁh

O QUINTESSENCE OF PASSION!

 
Put away all covetousness and seek contentment; for the covetous hath ever been deprived, and the contented hath ever been loved and praised.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #50 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/089879189

“God is the all-possessing”

 

photo by Trina Ridvan

O SON OF MY HANDMAID!

Be not troubled in poverty nor confident in riches, for poverty is followed by riches, and riches are followed by poverty. Yet to be poor in all save God is a wondrous gift, belittle not the value thereof, for in the end it will make thee rich in God, and thus thou shalt know the meaning of the utterance, “In truth ye are the poor,” and the holy words, “God is the all-possessing,” shall even as the true morn break forth gloriously resplendent upon the horizon of the lover’s heart, and abide secure on the throne of wealth.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #51 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/937503023

"Worldly friends, seeking their own good, appear to love one the other, whereas the true Friend hath loved and doth love you for your own sakes ..."

 O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE AND PASSION!

Ye have suffered My enemy to enter My house and have cast out My friend, for ye have enshrined the love of another than Me in your hearts. Give ear to the sayings of the Friend and turn towards His paradise.
Worldly friends, seeking their own good, appear to love one the other, whereas the true Friend hath loved and doth love you for your own sakes; indeed He hath suffered for your guidance countless afflictions. Be not disloyal to such a Friend, nay rather hasten unto Him. Such is the daystar of the word of truth and faithfulness, that hath dawned above the horizon of the pen of the Lord of all names. Open your ears that ye may hearken unto the word of God, the Help in peril, the Self-Existent.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #52 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/564055916

"The rich, but for a few, shall in no wise attain the court of His presence nor enter the city of content and resignation."

 

O YE THAT PRIDE YOURSELVES ON MORTAL RICHES!

Know ye in truth that wealth is a mighty barrier between the seeker and his desire, the lover and his beloved. The rich, but for a few, shall in no wise attain the court of His presence nor enter the city of content and resignation. Well is it then with him, who, being rich, is not hindered by his riches from the eternal kingdom, nor deprived by them of imperishable dominion. By the Most Great Name! The splendor of such a wealthy man shall illuminate the dwellers of heaven even as the sun enlightens the people of the earth!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #53 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/305325189

"The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust ..."

 

© chuck egerton 2025

O YE RICH ONES ON EARTH!

The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #54 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/278984163