Sunday, January 25, 2015

"Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? ..."







"IS there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants and all abide by His bidding!"

-The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb









Dorothea Lange

Saturday, January 24, 2015

" ... and the banner of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth” raised amidst all peoples."



"IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE ONE, THE INCOMPARABLE, THE ALL-POWERFUL, THE ALL-KNOWING, THE ALL-WISE.

PRAISE be to God, the Eternal that perisheth not, the Everlasting that declineth not, the Self-Subsisting that altereth not. He it is Who is transcendent in His sovereignty, Who is manifest through His signs, and is hidden through His mysteries. He it is at Whose bidding the standard of the Most Exalted Word hath been lifted up in the world of creation, and the banner of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth” raised amidst all peoples. He it is Who hath revealed His Cause for the guidance of His creatures, and sent down His verses to demonstrate His Proof and His Testimony, and embellished the preface of the Book of Man with the ornament of utterance ..."

-Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Friday, January 23, 2015

"... we still seek from Thee a ‘seat of truth ...’



"O Divine Providence! Though wicked, sinful, and intemperate, we still seek from Thee a ‘seat of truth,’ and long to behold the countenance of the Omnipotent King. It is Thine to command, and all sovereignty belongeth to Thee, and the realm of might boweth before Thy behest. Everything Thou doest is pure justice, nay, the very essence of grace. One gleam from the splendors of Thy Name, the All-Merciful, sufficeth to banish and blot out every trace of sinfulness from the world, and a single breath from the breezes of the Day of Thy Revelation is enough to adorn all mankind with a fresh attire. Vouchsafe Thy strength, O Almighty One, unto Thy weak creatures, and quicken them who are as dead, that haply they may find Thee, and may be led unto the ocean of Thy guidance, and may remain steadfast in Thy Cause."

-Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Thursday, January 22, 2015

" ... that haply thou mayest inhale the breath of detachment and have pity upon thyself and upon others ..."



"They whose sight is keen, whose ears are retentive, whose hearts are enlightened, and whose breasts are dilated, recognize both truth and falsehood, and distinguish the one from the other. Recite thou this prayer that hath flowed from the tongue of this Wronged One, and ponder thereon with a heart rid of all attachment, and with ears that are pure and sanctified, be attentive to its meaning, that haply thou mayest inhale the breath of detachment and have pity upon thyself and upon others:

“My God, the Object of my adoration, the Goal of my desire, the All-Bountiful, the Most Compassionate! All life is of Thee, and all power lieth within the grasp of Thine omnipotence. ..."

-Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

" ... so that all may become aware of that which is the cause of human upliftment ..."



"It is incumbent upon thee to summon the people, under all conditions, to whatever will cause them to show forth spiritual characteristics and goodly deeds, so that all may become aware of that which is the cause of human upliftment, and may, with the utmost endeavor, direct themselves towards the most sublime Station and the Pinnacle of Glory. "

-Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

" ... forsake the things that profit thee, and cleave unto that which will profit mankind."



“O son of man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee, and cleave unto that which will profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself. Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation. Great is the Day, and mighty the Call! In one of Our Tablets We have revealed these exalted words: ‘Were the world of the spirit to be wholly converted into the sense of hearing, it could then claim to be worthy to hearken unto the Voice that calleth from the Supreme Horizon; for otherwise, these ears that are defiled with lying tales have never been, nor are they now, fit to hear it.’ Well is it with them that hearken; and woe betide the wayward.”

-Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf . pp. 29-30






Library of Congress

Monday, January 19, 2015

‘O would I had been severed in Thy path, so that the world might be quickened, and all its peoples be united!’



"“As My tribulations multiplied, so did My love for God and for His Cause increase, in such wise that all that befell Me from the hosts of the wayward was powerless to deter Me from My purpose. Should they hide Me away in the depths of the earth, yet would they find Me riding aloft on the clouds, and calling out unto God, the Lord of strength and of might. I have offered Myself up in the way of God, and I yearn after tribulations in My love for Him, and for the sake of His good pleasure. Unto this bear witness the woes which now afflict Me, the like of which no other man hath suffered. Every single hair of Mine head calleth out that which the Burning Bush uttered on Sinai, and each vein of My body invoketh God and saith: ‘O would I had been severed in Thy path, so that the world might be quickened, and all its peoples be united!’ Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf , pp. 52-53