"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 of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 27 Persian

Japer Johns

"Grant, then, that they may go straight on in the path of Thy Cause ..."

... "Send down, therefore, O my God, upon all that seek Thee that which will entirely strip them of all that pertaineth not unto Thee, and will draw them nigh unto Thy Self. Assist them, by Thy grace, to love Thee and to conform unto that which shall please Thee. Grant, then, that they may go straight on in the path of Thy Cause, the path wherein have slipped the footsteps of the doubters among Thy people and the froward among Thy servants. Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Most Great."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, CLXI, p. 254






Plumb

"Let thy soul glow with the flame of this undying Fire ..."

"Let thy soul glow with the flame of this undying Fire that burneth in the midmost heart of the world, in such wise that the waters of the universe shall be powerless to cool down its ardor. Make, then, mention of thy Lord, that haply the heedless among Our servants may be admonished through thy words, and the hearts of the righteous be gladdened."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XV, p. 38

Rothko

"In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love ..."

"O FRIEND! , In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love and from the nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy hold. Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 3 Persian










Matisse

" ... the fragrance of the mystic Flower can be inhaled only in the ideal Garden ..."

"O my brother! A divine Mine only can yield the gems of divine knowledge, and the fragrance of the mystic Flower can be inhaled only in the ideal Garden, and the lilies of ancient wisdom can blossom nowhere except in the city of a stainless heart. “In a rich soil, its plants spring forth abundantly by permission of its Lord, and in that soil which is bad, they spring forth but scantily.” 31"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p, 191 

31. Qur’án 7:57.

Julius Shaier

"How can the shadow endure when once the sun hath shone forth?"

"How can a true lover continue to exist when once the effulgent glories of the Beloved are revealed? How can the shadow endure when once the sun hath shone forth? How can a devoted heart have any being before the existence of the Object of its devotion? Nay, by the One in Whose hand is my soul! In this station, the seeker’s complete surrender and utter effacement before his Creator will be such that, were he to search the East and the West, and traverse land, sea, mountain and plain, he would find no trace of his own self or of any other soul."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries (Javáhiru’l-Asrár), pp. 70-71

" ... that thy soul may be delivered in this day from the bondage of misbelief ..."

"O My brother! If thou be a champion of this arena, speed within the lands of certitude,  that thy soul may be delivered in this day from the bondage of misbelief, and that thou mayest perceive the sweet savours that waft from this garden. Verily, the perfume-laden breezes that carry the fragrance of this city blow over all regions. Forfeit not thy portion thereof and be not of the heedless. How well hath it been said:

His fragrant breaths diffused in Eastern lands could well
To sick ones in the West restore their sense of smell! 5"

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries (Javáhiru’l-Asrár), pp. 66-67


5. From the Díván of Ibn-i-Fárid.