Monday, September 19, 2022

"A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth; and yet none hath discovered its cause or perceived its motive."

 
"THE 
Pen of the Most High is unceasingly calling; and yet, how few are those that have inclined their ear to its voice! The dwellers of the kingdom of names have busied themselves with the gay livery of the world, forgetful that every man that hath eyes to perceive and ears to hear cannot but readily recognize how evanescent are its colors.


A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth; and yet none hath discovered its cause or perceived its motive. Consider the peoples of the West. Witness how, in their pursuit of that which is vain and trivial, they have sacrificed, and are still sacrificing, countless lives for the sake of its establishment and promotion. The peoples of Persia, on the other hand, though the repository of a perspicuous and luminous Revelation, the glory of whose loftiness and renown hath encompassed the whole earth, are dispirited and sunk in deep lethargy."

 
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCVI, part 1)
www.bahai.org/r/074513061

Sunday, September 18, 2022

"All praise be to Thee, O Thou, the Desire of every understanding heart!"




"Render thanks unto thy Lord for having vouchsafed unto thee so great a bounty. Lift up thy voice and say: All praise be to Thee, O Thou, the Desire of every understanding heart!"


(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCV, part 3)
www.bahai.org/r/135185730

Saturday, September 17, 2022

"It is, in its essence, and will ever so remain, the Bread which cometh down from Heaven. "

 
"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!


These gifts are inherent in man himself. That which is preeminent above all other gifts, is incorruptible in nature, and pertaineth to God Himself, is the gift of Divine Revelation. Every bounty conferred by the Creator upon man, be it material or spiritual, is subservient unto this. It is, in its essence, and will ever so remain, the Bread which cometh down from Heaven. It is God’s supreme testimony, the clearest evidence of His truth, the sign of His consummate bounty, the token of His all-encompassing mercy, the proof of His most loving providence, the symbol of His most perfect grace. He hath, indeed, partaken of this highest gift of God who hath recognized His Manifestation in this Day."


(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCV, part 2)
www.bahai.org/r/867290844

Friday, September 16, 2022

"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."


(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCV, part 1)
www.bahai.org/r/555550228

Thursday, September 15, 2022

" ... should in itself be regarded as a token of His gracious favor unto men ..."

 

"The tie of servitude established between the worshiper and the adored One, between the creature and the Creator, should in itself be regarded as a token of His gracious favor unto men, and not as an indication of any merit they may possess. To this testifieth every true and discerning believer."


(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCIV, part 4)
www.bahai.org/r/183777963

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

"The birds of men’s hearts, however high they soar, can never hope to attain the heights of His unknowable Essence."

 
© 2022 Chuck Egerton
"He, in truth, hath, throughout eternity, been one in His Essence, one in His attributes, one in His works. Any and every comparison is applicable only to His creatures, and all conceptions of association are conceptions that belong solely to those that serve Him. Immeasurably exalted is His Essence above the descriptions of His creatures. He, alone, occupieth the Seat of transcendent majesty, of supreme and inaccessible glory. The birds of men’s hearts, however high they soar, can never hope to attain the heights of His unknowable Essence. It is He Who hath called into being the whole of creation, Who hath caused every created thing to spring forth at His behest. Shall, then, the thing that was born by virtue of the word which His Pen hath revealed, and which the finger of His Will hath directed, be regarded as partner with Him, or an embodiment of His Self? Far be it from His glory that human pen or tongue should hint at His mystery, or that human heart conceive His Essence. All else besides Him stand poor and desolate at His door, all are powerless before the greatness of His might, all are but slaves in His Kingdom. He is rich enough to dispense with all creatures."


(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, XCIV, part 3)
www.bahai.org/r/998881880

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

" ... all else besides Him have been created by His behest, have been fashioned by His leave, are subject to His law ..."

 
"Bear thou witness in thine inmost heart unto this testimony which God hath Himself and for Himself pronounced, that there is none other God but Him, that all else besides Him have been created by His behest, have been fashioned by His leave, are subject to His law, are as a thing forgotten when compared to the glorious evidences of His oneness, and are as nothing when brought face to face with the mighty revelations of His unity."


(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh XCIV, part 2)
www.bahai.org/r/804041256