"All have issued forth from abodes of dust, and unto dust shall they return ..."

"By Him Who shineth above the Dayspring of Sanctity! The friends of God have not, nor will they ever, set their hopes upon the world and its ephemeral possessions. The one true God hath ever regarded the hearts of men as His own, His exclusive possession—and this too but as an expression of His all-surpassing mercy, that haply mortal souls may be purged and sanctified from all that pertaineth to the world of dust and gain admittance into the realms of eternity. For otherwise that ideal King is, in Himself and by Himself, sufficient unto Himself and independent of all things. Neither doth the love of His creatures profit Him, nor can their malice harm Him. All have issued forth from abodes of dust, and unto dust shall they return, while the one true God, alone and single, is established upon His Throne, a Throne which is beyond the reaches of time and space, is sanctified above all utterance or expression, intimation, description and definition, and is exalted beyond all notion of abasement and glory. And none knoweth this save Him and those with whom is the knowledge of the Book. No God is there but Him, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, pp. 110-111

Cezanne

" ... I have hung for thee the choicest fruits ..."

"O SON OF MAN! Upon the tree of effulgent glory I have hung for thee the choicest fruits, wherefore hast thou turned away and contented thyself with that which is less good? Return then unto that which is better for thee in the realm on high."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic No. 21

Romare Bearden

"My love has made in thee its home, it cannot be concealed."

"O SON OF SPIRIT! My claim on thee is great, it cannot be forgotten. My grace to thee is plenteous, it cannot be veiled. My love has made in thee its home, it cannot be concealed. My light is manifest to thee, it cannot be obscured."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic No.20



Winslow Homer

"I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit ..."

"O SON OF THE WONDROUS VISION! I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit, that thou mayest be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken Me and sought a beloved other than Me?"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic No. 19

Cezanne

"I counsel you, in the end, not to overstep the bounds of God, nor to heed the ways and habits of men, for these can neither "fatten nor appease your hunger"."

"O ye learned of the world! Ye failed to seek Our presence, that ye might hearken unto the sweet melodies of the Spirit and perceive that which God in His bounty hath pleased to bestow upon Me. Verily, this grace hath now escaped you, did ye but know. Had ye sought Our presence, We would have imparted unto you a knowledge that would have rendered you independent of all else. But this ye failed to do, and thus hath the decree of God been fulfilled. Now have I been forbidden to disclose it, since We stand accused of sorcery, if ye perceive Our meaning. The same words were uttered by the deniers of old, men whom death hath long since overtaken and who now dwell in the fire bewailing their plight. The deniers of this day shall likewise meet their doom. Such is the irrevocable decree of Him Who is the All-Powerful, the Self-Sufficient.

I counsel you, in the end, not to overstep the bounds of God, nor to heed the ways and habits of men, for these can neither "fatten nor appease your hunger". Fix, rather, your gaze upon the precepts of God. Whosoever desireth, let him accept this counsel as a path leading unto his Lord, and whosoever desireth, let him return to his own idle imaginings. My Lord, verily, is independent above all who are in the heavens and on the earth, and above all that they say and do.

I close with these words uttered by God, exalted be His glory: "Say not to everyone who meeteth you with a greeting, ‘Thou art not a believer’." 27

Peace be upon you, O concourse of the faithful, and praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, Súriy-i-Mulúk, pp. 234-235

27. Qur’án 4:94

"His are the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation."

"God testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His are the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation. He, in truth, hath manifested Him Who is the Dayspring of Revelation, Who conversed on Sinai, through Whom the Supreme Horizon hath been made to shine, and the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing hath spoken, and through Whom the call hath been proclaimed unto all who are in heaven and on earth: “Lo, the All-Possessing is come. Earth and heaven, glory and dominion are God’s, the Lord of all men, and the Possessor of the Throne on high and of earth below!”"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, MEDIUM OBLIGATORY PRAYER, p. 99

" ... remember your own faults and not the faults of My creatures ..."

"O EMIGRANTS! The tongue I have designed for the mention of Me, defile it not with detraction. If the fire of self overcome you, remember your own faults and not the faults of My creatures, inasmuch as every one of you knoweth his own self better than he knoweth others."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 66 Persian


Mark Tobey