January 9
In regard to thy mention of the setting in order of the
verses and epistles - this undertaking is accounted one of the greatest of
deeds by Him Who is the All-Sufficing, the Exalted. . . The greater portion of
the writings and verses have fallen into the hands of the infidels whether in
the Land of Tá or other lands. The people of God should do all that lieth
within their power to protect and preserve the Tablets. In the Land of Tá
whatever there was in the homes of the friends was taken and fell into the
hands of the heedless. We have commanded all to safeguard that which hath
proceeded from the Pen of the Most High. We ask God to aid them to act in
accordance with His wish and desire, and to draw them nigh to Him. He, verily,
is the Almighty, the Powerful. (Baha’u’llah, compilation ‘Importance of
collecting and safeguarding Baha’i Writings’, prepared by Baha’i International
Archives; published in Baha’i Studies Review, no. 11, 2003)
January 8
Arise ye, under all conditions, to render service to the
Cause, for God will assuredly assist you through the power of His sovereignty
which overshadoweth the worlds. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’; compilation ‘Unlocking
the Power of Action’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal
House of Justice)
January 7
Know thou of a certainty that whenever thou makest mention
of Him Whom God shall make manifest, only then art thou making mention of God.
In like manner shouldst thou hearken unto the verses of the Bayán and acknowledge its truth, only then would the revealed verses
of God profit thee. Otherwise what benefit canst thou derive therefrom? For
wert thou to prostrate thyself in adoration from the beginning of life till the
end and to spend thy days for the sake of God’s remembrance, but disbelieve in
the Exponent of His Revelation for the age, dost thou imagine that thy deeds
would confer any benefit upon thee? On the other hand, if thou believest in Him
and dost recognize Him with true understanding, and He saith: ‘I have accepted
thine entire life spent in My adoration’, then assuredly hast thou been
worshipping Him most ardently. Thy purpose in performing thy deeds is that God
may graciously accept them; and divine acceptance can in no wise be achieved
except through the acceptance of Him Who is the Exponent of His Revelation. For
instance, if the Apostle of God—may divine blessings rest upon Him—accepted a
certain deed, in truth God accepted it; otherwise it hath remained within the
selfish desires of the person who wrought it, and did not reach the presence of
God. Likewise, any act which is accepted by the Point of the Bayán is accepted
by God, inasmuch as the contingent world hath no other access unto the presence
of the Ancient of Days. Whatever is sent down cometh through the Exponent of
His Revelation, and whatever ascendeth, ascendeth unto the Exponent of His
Revelation. (The Báb, excerpt from the Persian Bayan, ‘Selections from the
Writings of the Báb)
January 6
He Who is the Heart and Center of the Bayán hath written:
“The germ that holdeth within itself the potentialities of the Revelation that
is to come is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces of all
those who follow Me.” And, again, He saith: “Of all the tributes I have paid to
Him Who is to come after Me, the greatest is this, My written confession, that
no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor can any reference to Him in
My Book, the Bayán, do justice to His Cause.”
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. From the excellence of so
great a Revelation the honor with which its faithful followers must needs be
invested can be well imagined. By the righteousness of the one true God! The
very breath of these souls is in itself richer than all the treasures of the
earth. Happy is the man that hath attained thereunto, and woe betide the
heedless. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 5
There are people who every night until morning busy
themselves with the worship of God, and even at present when the Day-Star of
Truth is nearing its zenith in the heaven of its Revelation, they have not yet
left their prayer-rugs. If any one of them ever heard the wondrous verses of
God recited unto him, he would exclaim: ‘Why dost thou keep me back from
offering my prayers?’ O thou who are wrapt in veils! If thou makest mention of
God, wherefore sufferest thou thyself to be shut out from Him Who hath kindled
the light of worship in thy heart? If He had not previously revealed the
injunction: ‘Verily, make ye mention of God’[Qur’án 8:47;
33:41; 62:10], what would have prompted thee to offer devotion unto God, and
whereunto wouldst thou turn in prayer? (The Báb, excerpt from the Persian
Bayan, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
January 4
O SON OF BEING! Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’) (For an explanation by ‘Abdu’l-Baha please visit Daily Spiritual Food for Thought)
January 3
You have asked regarding the heavenly books. The pulse of
the world is in the hand of the skillful Physician. He diagnoses the illness
and wisely prescribes the remedy. Every day has its own secret, and every
tongue a melody. The illness of today has one cure and that of tomorrow
another. Look ye upon this day, and consider, and discuss its needs. One sees
that existence is afflicted with innumerable ailments, compelling it to lie
upon the bed of suffering. Men who are intoxicated with the wine of
self-contemplation prevent the wise physician from reaching the patient. Thus
they cause themselves and the world to suffer. They know not the ailment nor
recognize the remedy. They take the wrong for the right, the crooked for the straight,
the enemy for the friend.
Harken ye to the melody of this Prisoner! Stand up and proclaim; perchance those who are asleep may awaken. Say, O ye dead ones, the generous hand of the Almighty is passing around the water of eternal life. Hasten ye and drink. Whosoever becomes alive in this Day shall never die, and whosoever dies in this Day can never find life. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Baha'i Scriptures’)
Harken ye to the melody of this Prisoner! Stand up and proclaim; perchance those who are asleep may awaken. Say, O ye dead ones, the generous hand of the Almighty is passing around the water of eternal life. Hasten ye and drink. Whosoever becomes alive in this Day shall never die, and whosoever dies in this Day can never find life. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Baha'i Scriptures’)
January 2
O Pen of the Most High!
Hearken unto the Call of Thy Lord, raised from the Divine Lote-Tree in
the holy and luminous Spot, that the sweet accents of Thy Lord, the
All-Merciful, may fill Thy soul with joy and fervour, and that the breezes that
waft from My name, the Ever-Forgiving, may dispel Thy cares and sorrows. Raise up, then, from this Temple, the temples
of the Oneness of God, that they may tell out, in the kingdom of creation, the
tidings of their Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, and be of them that
are illumined by His light. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the
Lord of Hosts’)
January 1
How vast is the tabernacle of the Cause of God! It hath
overshadowed all the peoples and kindreds of the earth, and will, ere long,
gather together the whole of mankind beneath its shelter. Thy day of service is
now come… Arise for the triumph of My Cause, and, through the power of thine
utterance, subdue the hearts of men. Thou must show forth that which will
ensure the peace and the well-being of the miserable and the downtrodden. Gird
up the loins of thine endeavour, that perchance thou mayest release the captive
from his chains, and enable him to attain unto true liberty. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets
of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
December 31
The Tongue of Wisdom proclaimeth: He that hath Me not is
bereft of all things. Turn ye away from all that is on earth and seek none else
but Me. I am the Sun of Wisdom and the Ocean of Knowledge. I cheer the faint
and revive the dead. I am the guiding Light that illumineth the way. I am the
royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty. I unfold the drooping wings of every
broken bird and start it on its flight. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s
Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
December 30
Suffer me not, O my Lord, to be deprived of the knowledge of
Thee in Thy days, and divest me not of the robe of Thy guidance. Give me to
drink of the river that is life indeed, whose waters have streamed forth from
the Paradise (Ridván) in which the throne of Thy Name, the All-Merciful, was
established, that mine eyes may be opened, and my face be illumined, and my
heart be assured, and my soul be enlightened, and my steps be made firm. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
December 29
We cherish the hope that through the earnest endeavours of
such as are the exponents of the power of God—exalted be His glory—the weapons
of war throughout the world may be converted into instruments of reconstruction
and that strife and conflict may be removed from the midst of men. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
December 28
Hast thou heard anyone of old passing a judgement similar to
the one thou didst contrive or like unto that whereto thou didst give thine
assent? Woe then unto the oppressors! Both thine intentions and the manner in
which thou dealest with the people clearly demonstrate thine infidelity towards
God, hence He hath ordained a severe chastisement for thee. Verily I seek
patience only in God, and Him do I regard as the goal of My desire. This
signifieth that I have the undoubted Truth on My side. (The Báb, Extracts from
an Epistle to Muhammad Shah of Persia, ‘Selections from the Writings of the
Báb)
December 27
Glory is due unto God, the Discoverer, who, through one shower of the ocean of His Generosity, expanded the firmament of existence, begemmed it with the stars of knowledge and summoned the people to the most high court of perception and understanding!
This shower, which is the Primal Word of the Almighty, is sometimes called the Water of Life, for it quickens the dead souls in the desert of ignorance with the spring of intelligence. Sometimes it is called the First Emanation which appears from the Sun of Wisdom, and when it began to shine the first movement became manifest and known; then phenomena stepped into the arena of existence and these appearances were through the generosity of the incomparable, the Wise One. He is the Knower, the Giver! He is sanctified and holy above every statement and attribute! The seen and the unseen fail to attain the measure of His understanding. The world of being and whatever has issued from it bears witness to this utterance.
Therefore, it has become known that the First Bestowal of the Almighty is the Word. The receiver and acceptor of it is the understanding. It is the First Instructor in the University of Existence and it is the Primal Emanation of God. Whatever has appeared is through the reflection of its Light and whatever is manifested is the appearance of its Wisdom. All the names originate in His Name and the beginnings and endings of all affairs are in His Hand. (Baha’u’llah, Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 1, March 21, 1910)
This shower, which is the Primal Word of the Almighty, is sometimes called the Water of Life, for it quickens the dead souls in the desert of ignorance with the spring of intelligence. Sometimes it is called the First Emanation which appears from the Sun of Wisdom, and when it began to shine the first movement became manifest and known; then phenomena stepped into the arena of existence and these appearances were through the generosity of the incomparable, the Wise One. He is the Knower, the Giver! He is sanctified and holy above every statement and attribute! The seen and the unseen fail to attain the measure of His understanding. The world of being and whatever has issued from it bears witness to this utterance.
Therefore, it has become known that the First Bestowal of the Almighty is the Word. The receiver and acceptor of it is the understanding. It is the First Instructor in the University of Existence and it is the Primal Emanation of God. Whatever has appeared is through the reflection of its Light and whatever is manifested is the appearance of its Wisdom. All the names originate in His Name and the beginnings and endings of all affairs are in His Hand. (Baha’u’llah, Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 1, March 21, 1910)
December 26
It is binding and incumbent upon the peoples of the world,
one and all, to extend aid unto this momentous Cause which is come from the
heaven of the Will of the ever-abiding God, that perchance the fire of
animosity which blazeth in the hearts of some of the peoples of the earth may,
through the living waters of divine wisdom and by virtue of heavenly counsels
and exhortations, be quenched, and the light of unity and concord may shine
forth and shed its radiance upon the world. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
December 25
Great is the blessedness of that divine that hath not
allowed knowledge to become a veil between him and the One Who is the Object of
all knowledge, and who, when the Self-Subsisting appeared, hath turned with a
beaming face towards Him. He, in truth, is numbered with the learned. The
inmates of Paradise seek the blessing of his breath, and his lamp sheddeth its
radiance over all who are in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is numbered with
the inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth him hath, verily, beheld the
True One, and he that turneth towards him hath, verily, turned towards God, the
Almighty, the All-Wise. (Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Promised
Day Is Come’)
December 24
Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to
God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself,
however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences,
as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The
deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any
mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the
influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the
quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive and
resplendent Spirit. We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the
splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered
from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him the unchaste and
wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the
blind were opened and the soul of the sinner sanctified.... He it is Who
purified the world. Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light,
hath turned towards Him. (Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The
Promised Day Is Come’)
December 23
These are the melodies, sung by Jesus, Son of Mary, in
accents of majestic power in the Ridván of the Gospel, revealing those signs
that must needs herald the advent of the Manifestation after Him. In the first
Gospel according to Matthew it is recorded: And when they asked Jesus
concerning the signs of His coming, He said unto them: “Immediately after the
oppression [The Greek word used (Thlipsis) has two meanings: pressure and
oppression] of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
earth shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet.” [Matthew
24:29–31] (Baha’u’llah, ‘Kitab-i-Iqan’)
December 22
Wert thou to incline thine inner ear unto all created
things, thou wouldst hear: ‘The Ancient of Days is come in His great glory!’
Everything celebrateth the praise of its Lord. Some have known God and remember
Him; others remember Him, yet know Him not. Thus have We set down Our decree in
a perspicuous Tablet. (Baha’u’llah, from a Tablet addressed to Napoleon III,
‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
December 21
O Living Temple!
Arise by the power of Thy Self in such wise that all created things will
be moved to arise with Thee. Aid, then,
Thy Lord through such ascendancy and might as We have bestowed upon Thee. Take heed lest Thou falter on that Day when
all created things are filled with dismay; rather be Thou the revealer of My
name, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
Assist Thy Lord to the utmost of Thine ability, and pay no heed to the
peoples of the world, for that which their mouths utter is like unto the
droning of a gnat in an endless valley.
Quaff the water of life in My name, the All-Merciful, and proffer unto
the near ones amongst the inmates of this lofty station that which shall cause
them to become detached from all names and enter beneath this blessed and
all-encompassing shadow. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord
of Hosts’)
December 20
In every country where any of this people reside, they must
behave towards the government of that country with loyalty, honesty and
truthfulness. This is that which hath been revealed at the behest of Him Who is
the Ordainer, the Ancient of Days. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
December 19
If the wayfarer’s goal be the dwelling of the Praiseworthy
One (Mahmúd), [An
attribute of God and one of the titles of Muhammad] this is the station
of primal reason which is known as the Prophet and the Most Great Pillar. [Maqám-i-Mahmúd—Praiseworthy
Station—is the rank of Prophets endowed with constancy] Here reason
signifieth the divine, universal mind, whose sovereignty enlighteneth all
created things … (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys’)
December 18
O people! Words must be supported by deeds, for deeds are the true test of words. Without the former, the latter can never quench the thirst of the yearning soul, nor unlock the portals of vision before the eyes of the blind. The Lord of celestial wisdom saith: A harsh word is even as a sword thrust; a gentle word as milk. The latter leadeth the children of men unto knowledge and conferreth upon them true distinction. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
December 17
Verily, the breezes of forgiveness have been wafted from the
direction of your Lord, the God of Mercy; whoso turneth thereunto, shall be
cleansed of his sins, and of all pain and sickness. Happy
the man that hath turned towards them, and woe betide him that hath turned
aside. (Baha’u’llah, from a Tablet addressed to Napoleon III, ‘Epistle to the
Son of the Wolf’)
December 16
O people of the Bayán! Would ye deny Him Whose presence is the very object of your creation,
while ye rejoice idly upon your couches? Would ye laugh to scorn and contend with Him, a single hair of Whose
head excelleth, in the sight of God, all that are in the heavens and all that
are on the earth? O people of the Bayán! Produce, then, that which ye possess, that I
may know by what proof ye believed aforetime in the Manifestations of His
Cause, and by what reason ye now wax so disdainful!
I swear by Him Who hath fashioned Me from the light of His own Beauty! None have I ever seen that surpasseth you in heedlessness or exceedeth you in ignorance. Ye seek to prove your faith in God through such holy Tablets as ye possess, yet when the verses of God were revealed and His Lamp was lighted, ye disbelieved in Him Whose very Pen hath fixed the destinies of all things in the Preserved Tablet. Ye recite the sacred verses and yet repudiate Him Who is their Source and Revealer. Thus hath God blinded your eyes in requital for your deeds, would ye but understand. Day and night ye transcribe the verses of God, and yet ye remain shut out, as by a veil, from Him Who hath revealed them. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
I swear by Him Who hath fashioned Me from the light of His own Beauty! None have I ever seen that surpasseth you in heedlessness or exceedeth you in ignorance. Ye seek to prove your faith in God through such holy Tablets as ye possess, yet when the verses of God were revealed and His Lamp was lighted, ye disbelieved in Him Whose very Pen hath fixed the destinies of all things in the Preserved Tablet. Ye recite the sacred verses and yet repudiate Him Who is their Source and Revealer. Thus hath God blinded your eyes in requital for your deeds, would ye but understand. Day and night ye transcribe the verses of God, and yet ye remain shut out, as by a veil, from Him Who hath revealed them. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
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