Wednesday, October 3, 2012

"Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with Me."




"O SON OF BEING! Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This is that which hath been destined for thee in Our kingdom above and Our exalted dominion."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 5 Arabic






Hiroshige

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

" ... if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own ..."



"O SON OF MAN! If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 7 Arabic

















Sudek

Monday, October 1, 2012

"I loved thy creation, hence I created thee."




"O SON OF MAN! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 4 Arabic














Summers

Saturday, September 29, 2012

"Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed."




"Know thou that every hearing ear, if kept pure and undefiled, must, at all times and from every direction, hearken to the voice that uttereth these holy words: “Verily, we are God’s, and to Him shall we return.” The mysteries of man’s physical death and of his return have not been divulged, and still remain unread. By the righteousness of God! Were they to be revealed, they would evoke such fear and sorrow that some would perish, while others would be so filled with gladness as to wish for death, and beseech, with unceasing longing, the one true God—exalted be His glory—to hasten their end.

Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life.

As to those that have tasted of the fruit of man’s earthly existence, which is the recognition of the one  true God, exalted be His glory, their life hereafter is such as We are unable to describe. The knowledge thereof is with God, alone, the Lord of all worlds."

- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, CLXV, pp. 345-346

"Adversities are incapable of estranging them from Thy Cause, and the vicissitudes of fortune can never cause them to stray from Thy pleasure."




"Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Every man of insight confesseth Thy sovereignty and Thy dominion, and every discerning eye perceiveth the greatness of Thy majesty and the compelling power of Thy might. The winds of tests are powerless to hold back them that enjoy near access to Thee from setting their faces towards the horizon of Thy glory, and the tempests of trials must fail to draw away and hinder such as are wholly devoted to Thy will from approaching Thy court.

Methinks, the lamp of Thy love is burning in their hearts, and the light of Thy tenderness is lit within their breasts. Adversities are incapable of estranging them from Thy Cause, and the vicissitudes of fortune can never cause them to stray from Thy pleasure.

I beseech Thee, O my God, by them and by the sighs which their hearts utter in their separation from Thee, to keep them safe from the mischief of Thine adversaries, and to nourish their souls with what Thou hast ordained for Thy loved ones on whom shall come no fear and who shall not be put to grief."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, I, p.3

Friday, September 28, 2012

"How great the felicity that awaiteth the man that forsaketh all he hath in a desire to obtain the things of God!"




"He Who is your Lord, the All-Merciful, cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body. Haste ye to win your share of God’s good grace and mercy in this Day that eclipseth all other created Days. How great the felicity that awaiteth the man that forsaketh all he hath in a desire to obtain the things of God! Such a man, We testify, is among God’s blessed ones."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, CVII,p. 214

Thursday, September 27, 2012

"Should the Word be allowed to release suddenly all the energies latent within it, no man could sustain the weight of so mighty a Revelation."





"It hath been decreed by Us that the Word of God and all the potentialities thereof shall be manifested unto men in strict conformity with such conditions as have been foreordained by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. We have, moreover, ordained that its veil of concealment be none other except its own Self. Such indeed is Our Power to achieve Our Purpose. Should the Word be allowed to release suddenly all the energies latent within it, no man could sustain the weight of so mighty a Revelation. Nay, all that is in heaven and on earth would flee in consternation before it."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XXXIII, pp. 76-77