"Shouldst thou attain this station, thou wouldst be freed from destruction and death, from toil and sin."

 

photo by TRina Ridvan

O SON OF WORLDLINESS!

Pleasant is the realm of being, wert thou to attain thereto; glorious is the domain of eternity, shouldst thou pass beyond the world of mortality; sweet is the holy ecstasy if thou drinkest of the mystic chalice from the hands of the celestial Youth. Shouldst thou attain this station, thou wouldst be freed from destruction and death, from toil and sin.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #70 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/400714616

"Call ye to mind that covenant ye have entered into with Me upon Mount Párán ..."

 

O MY FRIENDS!

Call ye to mind that covenant ye have entered into with Me upon Mount Párán, situate within the hallowed precincts of Zamán. I have taken to witness the concourse on high and the dwellers in the city of eternity, yet now none do I find faithful unto the covenant. Of a certainty pride and rebellion have effaced it from the hearts, in such wise that no trace thereof remaineth. Yet knowing this, I waited and disclosed it not.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #71 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/750932930

"Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire ..."

 

O MY SERVANT! 

Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer’s knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, # 72 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/261142065

" ... let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor."

 

photo by Trina Ridvan

O MY FRIEND!

Thou art the daystar of the heavens of My holiness, let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend asunder the veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge resplendent and array all things with the apparel of life.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #73 Persian)

www.bahai.org/r/369559272

"By My beauty! All will I gather beneath the one-colored covering of the dust ..."

 

photo by Trina Ridvan

O CHILDREN OF VAINGLORY!

For a fleeting sovereignty ye have abandoned My imperishable dominion, and have adorned yourselves with the gay livery of the world and made of it your boast. By My beauty! All will I gather beneath the one-colored covering of the dust and efface all these diverse colors save them that choose My own, and that is purging from every color.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #74 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/077330259

"Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty and rejoice not therein."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2025

O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE!

 Ye are even as the unwary bird that with full confidence warbleth upon the bough; till of a sudden the fowler Death throweth it upon the dust, and the melody, the form and the color are gone, leaving not a trace. Wherefore take heed, O bondslaves of desire!

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #75 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/783843342

"Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds."

 

© Chuck egerton 2025

O SON OF MY HANDMAID!

Guidance hath ever been given by words, and now it is given by deeds. Everyone must show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones. Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds. In this wise We counsel you in this holy and resplendent tablet.

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, #76 Persian)
www.bahai.org/r/358991785