" First and foremost among these favors, which the Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding."

"Know thou that, according to what thy Lord, the Lord of all men, hath decreed in His Book, the favors vouchsafed by Him unto mankind have been, and will ever remain, limitless in their range.  First and foremost among these favors, which the Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding. His purpose in conferring such a gift is none other except to enable His creature to know and recognize the one true God—exalted be His glory. This gift giveth man the power to discern the truth in all things, leadeth him to that which is right, and helpeth him to discover the secrets of creation. Next in rank, is the power of vision, the chief instrument whereby his understanding can function. The senses of hearing, of the heart, and the like, are similarly to be reckoned among the gifts with which the human body is endowed. Immeasurably exalted is the Almighty Who hath created these powers, and revealed them in the body of man.

Every one of these gifts is an undoubted evidence of the majesty, the power, the ascendancy, the all-embracing knowledge of the one true God—exalted be His glory. Consider the sense of touch. Witness how its power hath spread itself over the entire human body. Whereas the faculties of sight and of hearing are each localized in a particular center, the sense of touch embraceth the whole human frame. Glorified be His power, magnified be His sovereignty!"

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCV, pp. 194-195

"Where is the man of insight who will recognize and perceive the truth?"

"Where is the man of insight who will recognize and perceive the truth? Where is to be found the man of hearing who will hearken unto My wondrous Voice calling from the realm of glory? Where is the soul who will set his face towards the Divine Lote-Tree in such wise that neither the overpowering might of the kings, nor the violent commotions of their subjects may frustrate him, lifting up his voice amidst the entire creation through the power of wisdom and utterance and testifying unto that whereunto hath testified God, that verily no God is there besides Him, the Powerful, the Invincible, the Omnipotent, the Knowing, the Wise."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas,p. 250

" ... You must have heard of such things taking place all down the ages, and are now observing them in these days."

"It is evident that the changes brought about in every Dispensation constitute the dark clouds that intervene between the eye of man’s understanding and the Divine Luminary which shineth forth from the day spring of the Divine Essence. Consider how men for generations have been blindly imitating their fathers, and have been trained according to such ways and manners as have been laid down by the dictates of their Faith. Were these men, therefore, to discover suddenly that a Man, Who hath been living in their midst, Who, with respect to every human limitation hath been their equal, had risen to abolish every established principle imposed by their Faith—principles by which for centuries they have been disciplined, and every opposer and denier of which they have come to regard as infidel, profligate and wicked,—they would of a certainty be veiled and hindered from acknowledging His truth. Such things are as “clouds” that veil the eyes of those whose inner being hath not tasted the Salsabíl of detachment, nor drunk from the Kawthar of the knowledge of God. Such men, when acquainted with those circumstances, become so veiled that, without the least question, they pronounce the Manifestation of God as infidel, and sentence Him to death. You must have heard of such things taking place all down the ages, and are now observing them in these days."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XIII, pp. 26-27

Salsabíl: Literally, softly flowing. A fountain of Paradise. 

Kawthar: A river of Paradise from which all the others flow. Part of its waters are led into a great lake on the shores of which the souls of the faithful rest when they have crossed the terrible bridge which is laid over the midst of Hell.

"... 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. ..."

"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 of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 20 Persian

"This is the Cause that hath made all your superstitions and idols to tremble."

"Beware lest any name debar you from Him Who is the Possessor of all names, or any word shut you out from this Remembrance of God, this Source of Wisdom amongst you. Turn unto God and seek His protection, O concourse of divines, and make not of yourselves a veil between Me and My creatures. Thus doth your Lord admonish you, and command you to be just, lest your works should come to naught and ye yourselves be oblivious of your plight. Shall he who denieth this Cause be able to vindicate the truth of any cause throughout creation? Nay, by Him Who is the Fashioner of the universe! Yet the people are wrapped in a palpable veil. Say: Through this Cause the day-star of testimony hath dawned, and the luminary of proof hath shed its radiance upon all that dwell on earth. Fear God, O men of insight, and be not of those who disbelieve in Me. Take heed lest the word “Prophet” withhold you from this Most Great Announcement, or any reference to “Vicegerency” debar you from the sovereignty of Him Who is the Vicegerent of God, which overshadoweth all the worlds. Every name hath been created by His Word, and every cause is dependent on His irresistible, His mighty and wondrous Cause. Say: This is the Day of God, the Day on which naught shall be mentioned save His own Self, the omnipotent Protector of all worlds. This is the Cause that hath made all your superstitions and idols to tremble."

- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 80

Paul Strand

"Noble have I created thee ..."

"O SON OF SPIRIT! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created."


- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 22 Arabic

"Teaching As Worship: Pedagogy of the Spirit in the Narratives of Bahá'í Educators." Tracey Booth Snipes, Ph.D.

In honor and remembrance of our departed and beloved sister Tracey Snipes we post a link to her doctoral dissertation:

SNIPES, TRACEY BOOTH, Ph.D. 
Teaching As Worship: Pedagogy of the Spirit 
in the Narratives of Bahái Educators. (2007)
Directed by Dr. Kathleen Casey. 212 pp.