September 1

Whoso hath searched the depths of the oceans that lie hid within these exalted words, and fathomed their import, can be said to have discovered a glimmer of the unspeakable glory with which this mighty, this sublime, and most holy Revelation hath been endowed.... 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening our Knowledge of the Faith)

August 31

Do thou meditate on that which We have revealed unto thee, that thou mayest discover the purpose of God, thy Lord, and the Lord of all worlds. In these words the mysteries of Divine Wisdom have been treasured.... 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of the Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation, and the Devotional Attitude)

August 30

They whom God hath endued with insight will readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples.... 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, A Chase and Holy Life)

August 29

The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High.... 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I. Baha’i Education)

August 28

Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil its purpose, your object is attained. If any one should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him. A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding... 

(Baha’u’llah,’Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)

August 27

In this Day the secrets of the earth are laid bare before the eyes of men. The pages of swiftly-appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world. They reflect the deeds and the pursuits of divers peoples and kindreds. They both reflect them and make them known. They are a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech. This is an amazing and potent phenomenon. However, it behoveth the writers thereof to be purged from the promptings of evil passions and desires and to be attired with the raiment of justice and equity. They should enquire into situations as much as possible and ascertain the facts, then set them down in writing. 

(Baha’u’llah, from the Tarazat, published in ‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Writers and Writing)

August 26

This is the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by the Pen of this Wronged One to mankind. Wherefore fear ye, O My well-beloved ones? Who is it that can dismay you? A touch of moisture sufficeth to dissolve the hardened clay out of which this perverse generation is moulded. The mere act of your gathering together is enough to scatter the forces of these vain and worthless people. 

(Baha’u’llah, from the LAWH-I-DUNYÁ (Tablet of the World), ‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Power of Divine Assistance)

August 25

Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instil new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere revelation of the word "Fashioner," issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, The Importance of Arts in Promoting the Faith)

August 24

Drink ye, O handmaidens of God, the Mystic Wine from the cup of My words. Cast away, then, from you that which your minds abhor, for it hath been forbidden unto you in His Tablets and His Scriptures. Beware lest ye barter away the River that is life indeed for that which the souls of the pure-hearted detest. Become ye intoxicated with the wine of the love of God, and not with that which deadeneth your minds, O ye that adore Him! Verily, it hath been forbidden unto every believer, whether man or woman. Thus hath the sun of My commandment shone forth above the horizon of My utterance, that the handmaidens who believe in Me may be illumined. 

(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in "The Advent of Divine Justice"; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Prohibition on Drinking Alcohol)

August 23

In like manner, those words that have streamed forth from the source of power and descended from the heaven of glory are innumerable and beyond the ordinary comprehension of man. To them that are possessed of true understanding and insight the Surah of Hud surely sufficeth. Ponder a while those holy words in your heart, and, with utter detachment, strive to grasp their meaning.... 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Kitab-i-Iqan’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II,  The Importance of Prayer, Meditation, and the Devotional Attitude) 

August 22

We beseech God to aid all the leaves to attain the knowledge of the Tree and deprive them not of the ocean of His generosity. In this day no regard is paid to loftiness or lowliness, to poverty or wealth, to nobility and lineage, to weakness or might. Whosoever recognizeth the incomparable Beloved is the possessor of true wealth and occupieth a divine station. Today, in the court of the True One, the queen of the world and her like are not worth a mustard seed, because although she may speak in the name of God, invoke the Lord of creation every day in the temple of her body, and spend large sums of earthly wealth for the development of her nation, she is deprived of recognition of the Sun of His Manifestation and is barred from the True One in Whose remembrance she is engaged. 

(Baha’u’llah; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women)

August 21

It is incumbent upon the children to exert themselves to the utmost in acquiring the art of reading and writing.... Writing skills that will provide for urgent needs will be enough for some; and then it is better and more fitting that they should spend their time in studying those branches of knowledge which are of use.

As for what the Supreme Pen hath previously set down, the reason is that in every art and skill, God loveth the highest perfection. 

(Baha’u’llah, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Arts and Crafts)

August 20

It is incumbent upon the Aghsan, the Afnan and My kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: "When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root." The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch ('Abdu'l-Bahá). Thus have We graciously revealed unto you our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful. 

(Baha’u’llah, cited by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh - Selected Letters’; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, The Covenant)

August 19

Respect ye the divines and learned amongst you, they whose conduct accords with their professions, who transgress not the bounds which God hath fixed, whose judgments are in conformity with His behests as revealed in His Book. Know ye that they are the lamps of guidance unto them that are in the heavens and on the earth. They who disregard and neglect the divines and learned that live amongst them – these have truly changed the favour with which God hath favoured them. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)

August 18

...Everyone, whether man or woman, should hand over to a trusted person a portion of what he or she earneth through trade, agriculture or occupation, for training and education of children, to be spent for this purpose with the knowledge of the Trustees of the House of Justice. 

(Baha’u’llah, 'Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; ‘The Compilation of Compilations’, vol. I, Baha’i Education)

August 17

Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, A Chase and Holy Life)

August 16

The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments of devotion is this, that thou mayest give thy best attention to the remembrance of God, that thy heart may at all times be animated with His Spirit, and not be shut out as by a veil from thy Best Beloved. Let not thy tongue pay lip service in praise of God while thy heart be not attuned to the exalted Summit of Glory, and the Focal Point of communion. 

(The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

August 15

Since all men have issued forth from the shadow of the signs of His Divinity and Lordship, they always tend to take a path, lofty and high. And because they are bereft of a discerning eye to recognize their Beloved, they fall short of their duty to manifest meekness and humility towards Him. Nevertheless, from the beginning of their lives till the end thereof, in conformity with the laws established in the previous religion, they worship God, piously adore Him, bow themselves before His divine Reality and show submissiveness toward His exalted Essence. At the hour of His manifestation, however, they all turn their gaze toward their own selves and are thus shut out from Him, inasmuch as they fancifully regard Him as one like unto themselves. Far from the glory of God is such a comparison. Indeed that august Being resembleth the physical sun, His verses are like its rays, and all believers, should they truly believe in Him, are as mirrors wherein the sun is reflected. Their light is thus a mere reflection. 

(The Báb, Excerpts from the Persian Bayán, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

August 14

Better is it for a person to write down but one of His verses than to transcribe the whole of the Bayan and all the books which have been written in the Dispensation of the Bayan. For everything shall be set aside except His Writings, which will endure until the following Revelation. And should anyone inscribe with true faith but one letter of that Revelation, his recompense would be greater than for inscribing all the heavenly Writings of the past and all that has been written during previous Dispensations. Likewise continue thou to ascend through one Revelation after another, knowing that thy progress in the Knowledge of God shall never come to an end, even as it can have no beginning. 

(The Báb, Excerpts from the Persian Bayán, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

August 13

By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. 

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

August 12

Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God. 

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

August 11

O people of Baha! Ye are the dawning-places of the love of God and the daysprings of His loving-kindness. Defile not your tongues with the cursing and reviling of any soul, and guard your eyes against that which is not seemly. Set forth that which ye possess. If it be favourably received, your end is attained; if not, to protest is vain. Leave that soul to himself and turn unto the Lord, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. Be not the cause of grief, much less of discord and strife. The hope is cherished that ye may obtain true education in the shelter of the tree of His tender mercies and act in accordance with that which God desireth. Ye are all the leaves of one tree and the drops of one ocean. 

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

August 10

In this Revelation the hosts that can render it victorious are the hosts of praiseworthy deeds and upright character. The leader and commander of these hosts hath ever been the fear of God, a fear that encompasseth all things and reigneth over all things. 

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

August 9

He is My true follower who, if he come to a valley of pure gold, will pass straight through it aloof as a cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause. Such a man is, assuredly, of Me. From his garment the Concourse on high can inhale the fragrance of sanctity.... And if he met the fairest and most comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least shadow of desire for her beauty. Such an one, indeed, is the creation of spotless chastity. Thus instructeth you the Pen of the Ancient of Days, as bidden by your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, A Chase and Holy Life)

August 8

How vast the number of people who are well versed in every science, yet it is their adherence to the holy Word of God which will determine their faith, inasmuch as the fruit of every science is none other than the knowledge of divine precepts and submission unto His good-pleasure. 

(The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

August 7

The Mystic Wine of the one true God hath a different intoxication and imparteth another exhilaration. The one diminisheth the intelligence of man, the other increaseth it. The one leadeth to perdition, the other bestoweth life. 

(Baha’u’llah, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Prohibition on Drinking Alcohol)

August 6

Unto every father hath been enjoined the instruction of his son and daughter in the art of reading and writing and in all that hath been laid down in the Holy Tablet. He that putteth away that which is commanded unto him, the Trustees are then to take from him that which is required for their instruction if he be wealthy and, if not, the matter devolveth upon the House of Justice. Verily have We made it a shelter for the poor and needy. He that bringeth up his son or the son of another, it is as though he hath brought up a son of Mine; upon him rest My glory, My loving-kindness, My mercy, that have compassed the world. (Baha'u'llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Education)

August 5

In the abundance of Our grace and loving-kindness We have revealed specially for the rulers and ministers of the world that which is conducive to safety and protection, tranquillity and peace; haply the children of men may rest secure from the evils of oppression. He, verily, is the Protector, the Helper, the Giver of victory. It is incumbent upon the men of God's House of Justice to fix their gaze by day and by night upon that which hath shone forth from the Pen of Glory for the training of peoples, the upbuilding of nations, the protection of man and the safeguarding of his honour. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, The Establishment of the Universal House of Justice)

August 4

Gather ye together with the utmost joy and fellowship and recite the verses revealed by the merciful Lord. By so doing the doors to true knowledge will be opened to your inner beings, and ye will then feel your souls endowed with steadfastness and your hearts filled with radiant joy. (Baha’u’llah, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening our Knowledge of the Faith)

August 3

Consider, how can he that faileth in the day of God's Revelation to attain unto the grace of the "Divine Presence" and to recognize His Manifestation, be justly called learned, though he may have spent aeons in the pursuit of knowledge, and acquired all the limited and material learning of men? It is surely evident that he can in no wise be regarded as possessed of true knowledge. Whereas, the most unlettered of all men, if he be honoured with this supreme distinction, he verily is accounted as one of those divinely-learned men whose knowledge is of God; for such a man hath attained the acme of knowledge, and hath reached the furthermost summit of learning. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitáb-i-Iqán’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)

August 2

The purpose of the one true God in manifesting Himself is to summon all mankind to truthfulness and sincerity, to piety and trustworthiness, to resignation and submissiveness to the Will of God, to forbearance and kindliness, to uprightness and wisdom. His object is to array every man with the mantle of a saintly character, and to adorn him with the ornament of holy and goodly deeds. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)

August 1

This is the Day, O my Lord, which Thou didst  announce unto all mankind as the Day whereon Thou wouldst reveal Thy Self, and shed Thy radiance, and shine brightly over all Thy creatures. Thou hast, moreover, entered into a covenant with them, in Thy Books, and Thy Scriptures, and Thy Scrolls, and Thy Tablets, concerning Him Who is the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation, and hast appointed the Bayan to be the Herald of this Most Great and all-glorious Manifestation, and this most resplendent and most sublime Appearance. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh’ The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, The Covenant)