"If true glory were to consist in the possession of such perishable things, then the earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you ..."

"Examine Our Cause, inquire into the things that have befallen Us, and decide justly between Us and Our enemies, and be ye of them that act equitably towards their neighbour. If ye stay not the hand of the oppressor, if ye fail to safeguard the rights of the downtrodden, what right have ye then to vaunt yourselves among men? What is it of which ye can rightly boast? Is it on your food and your drink that ye pride yourselves, on the riches ye lay up in your treasuries, on the diversity and the cost of the ornaments with which ye deck yourselves? If true glory were to consist in the possession of such perishable things, then the earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you, because it supplieth you, and bestoweth upon you, these very things, by the decree of the Almighty. In its bowels are contained, according to what God hath ordained, all that ye possess. From it, as a sign of His mercy, ye derive your riches. Behold then your state, the thing in which ye glory! Would that ye could perceive it!

Nay, by Him Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of the entire creation! Nowhere doth your true and abiding glory reside except in your firm adherence unto the precepts of God, your wholehearted observance of His laws, your resolution to see that they do not remain unenforced, and to pursue steadfastly the right course."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, Súriy-i-Mulúk, pp. 190-191

"How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others?"

"O SON OF BEING! How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others? Whoso doeth this is accursed of Me."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 26 Arabic

"The clay clods of the world have set forth to visit the embellished, the luminous, the crimson City of God ..."

"HE Who leadeth to true victory is come. By the righteousness of God! He is fully capable of revolutionizing the world through the power of a single Word. Having enjoined upon all men to observe wisdom, He Himself hath adhered to the cord of patience and resignation.

The clay clods of the world have set forth to visit the embellished, the luminous, the crimson City of God, and certain emissaries from Persia are secretly stirring up mischief, though to outward seeming they pretend to be gentle and meek. Gracious God! When will this world-afflicting craftiness be transformed into sincerity? The exhortations of God, the True One, have compassed the world, but until now their influence hath not been disclosed. Men’s unseemly deeds have kept them back from attaining unto Him. We entreat God—exalted and glorified is He—to pour down, out of the clouds of divine grace, the overflowing rain of His bounty upon all His servants. Verily potent is He over all things."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 259-260

Ellsworth  Kelly

"God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of teaching His Cause."

"God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of teaching His Cause. Whoever ariseth to discharge this duty, must needs, ere he proclaimeth His Message, adorn himself with the ornament of an upright and praiseworthy character, so that his words may attract the hearts of such as are receptive to his call. Without it, he can never hope to influence his hearers."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, CLVIII, p. 335

"Methinks, they are like the angels which Thou hast created of snow and of fire."

"The hearts that yearn after Thee, O my God, are burnt up with the fire of their longing for Thee, and the eyes of them that love Thee weep sore by reason of their crushing separation from Thy court, and the voice of the lamentation of such as have set their hopes on Thee hath gone forth throughout Thy dominions.

Thou hast Thyself, O my God, protected them, by Thy sovereign might, from both extremities. But for the burning of their souls and the sighing of their hearts, they would be drowned in the midst of their tears, and but for the flood of their tears they would be burnt up by the fire of their hearts and the heat of their souls. Methinks, they are like the angels which Thou hast created of snow and of fire. Wilt Thou, despite such vehement longing, O my God, debar them from Thy presence, or drive them away, notwithstanding such fervor, from the door of Thy mercy? All hope is ready to be extinguished in the hearts of Thy chosen ones, O my God! Where are the breezes of Thy grace? They are hemmed in on all sides by their enemies; where are the ensigns of Thy triumph which Thou didst promise in Thy Tablets? ..."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, XCIV, pp. 157-158

Commemoration of the Martyrdom of Báb

Commemoration of the Martyrdom of Báb July 9, 1850 Tabriz

"WORSHIP thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire, no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy recompense should be paradise. Thus and thus alone should be the worship which befitteth the one True God. Shouldst thou worship Him because of fear, this would be unseemly in the sanctified Court of His presence, and could not be regarded as an act by thee dedicated to the Oneness of His Being. Or if thy gaze should be on paradise, and thou shouldst worship Him while cherishing such a hope, thou wouldst make God’s creation a partner with Him, notwithstanding the fact that paradise is desired by men.

Fire and paradise both bow down and prostrate themselves before God. That which is worthy of His Essence is to worship Him for His sake, without fear of fire, or hope of paradise.

Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from the fire, and entereth the paradise of God’s good-pleasure, yet such should not be the motive of his act. However, God’s favour and grace ever flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.

The most acceptable prayer is the one offered with the utmost spirituality and radiance; its prolongation hath not been and is not beloved by God. The more detached and the purer the prayer, the more acceptable is it in the presence of God."

-The Báb, EXCERPTS FROM THE PERSIAN BAYÁN VII, 19, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, pp. 77-78


Shrine of The Báb, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel © 2011 Chuck Egerton










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" ...we should open our eyes, meditate upon His Word, and seek the sheltering shadow of the Manifestations of God ..."

"O brother, we should open our eyes, meditate upon His Word, and seek the sheltering shadow of the Manifestations of God, that perchance we may be warned by the unmistakable counsels of the Book, and give heed to the admonitions recorded in the holy Tablets; that we may not cavil at the Revealer of the verses, that we may resign ourselves wholly to His Cause, and embrace wholeheartedly His law, that haply we may enter the court of His mercy, and dwell upon the shore of His grace. He, verily, is merciful, and forgiving towards His servants."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 217