January 18
The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the
earth is now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures,
have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and
Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His
Revelation. Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been
revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Meditate
upon this, O ye beloved of God, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word,
so that ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the crystal waters
of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His
Cause. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah')
January 17
We have enjoined obligatory prayer upon you, with nine
rak’áhs, to be offered at noon and in the morning and the evening unto God, the
Revealer of Verses. We have relieved you of a greater number, as a command in
the Book of God. He, verily, is the Ordainer, the Omnipotent, the Unrestrained.
When ye desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court of My Most
Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that God hath made the Centre round which
circle the Concourse on High, and which He hath decreed to be the Point of
Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of Eternity, and the Source of Command
unto all that are in heaven and on earth; and when the Sun of Truth and
Utterance shall set, turn your faces towards the Spot that We have ordained for
you. He, verily, is Almighty and Omniscient. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
(For additional explanation please visit ‘Daily Spiritual Food for Thought’)
January 16
When the oppression and afflictions that are to befall
mankind will have come to pass, then shall the sun be withheld from shining,
the moon from giving light, the stars of heaven shall fall upon the earth, and
the pillars of the earth shall quake. At that time, the signs of the Son of man
shall appear in heaven, that is, the promised Beauty and Substance of life
shall, when these signs have appeared, step forth out of the realm of the
invisible into the visible world. And He saith: at that time, all the peoples
and kindreds that dwell on earth shall bewail and lament, and they shall see
that divine Beauty coming from heaven, riding upon the clouds with power,
grandeur, and magnificence, sending His angels with a great sound of a trumpet.
Similarly, in the three other Gospels, according to Luke, Mark, and John, the
same statements are recorded. As We have referred at length to these in Our
Tablets revealed in the Arabic tongue, We have made no mention of them in these
pages, and have confined Ourselves to but one reference.
Inasmuch as the Christian divines have failed to apprehend the meaning of these words, and did not recognize their object and purpose, and have clung to the literal interpretation of the words of Jesus, they therefore became deprived of the streaming grace of the Muhammadan Revelation and its showering bounties. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
Inasmuch as the Christian divines have failed to apprehend the meaning of these words, and did not recognize their object and purpose, and have clung to the literal interpretation of the words of Jesus, they therefore became deprived of the streaming grace of the Muhammadan Revelation and its showering bounties. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
January 15
By the righteousness of God! These are the days in which God
hath proved the hearts of the entire company of His Messengers and Prophets,
and beyond them those that stand guard over His sacred and inviolable
Sanctuary, the inmates of the celestial Pavilion and dwellers of the Tabernacle
of Glory. How severe, therefore, the test to which they who join partners with
God must needs be subjected! (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 14
Magnified be Thy name, O my God! I testify that if Thy
servants were to turn towards Thee with the eyes Thou
didst create in them and with the ears wherewith Thou didst endow them, they
would all be carried away by a single word sent down from the right hand of the
throne of Thy majesty. That word alone would suffice to brighten their faces,
and to assure their hearts, and to cause their souls to soar up to the
atmosphere of Thy great glory, and to ascend into the heaven of Thy
sovereignty. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah)
January 13
You should exhort all the friends to patience, to acquiescence,
and to tranquillity, saying: O ye loved ones of God in that land! Ye are
glorified in all the worlds of God because of your relationship to Him Who is
the Eternal Truth, but in your lives on this earthly plane, which pass away as
a fleeting moment, ye are afflicted with abasement. For the sake of the one
true God, ye have been reviled and persecuted, ye have been imprisoned, and
surrendered your lives in His path. Ye should not, however, by reason of the
tyrannical acts of some heedless souls, transgress the limits of God's
commandments by contending with anyone. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Bahá'í World vol.
XVIII’; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, Crisis and Victory)
January 12
O Living Temple!
Through Thee have We gathered together all created things, whether in
the heavens or on the earth, and called them to account for that which We had
covenanted with them before the foundation of the world. And lo, but for a few radiant faces and
eloquent tongues, We found most of the people dumbfounded, their eyes staring
up in fear. From the former We brought
forth the creation of all that hath been and all that shall be. These are they whose countenances God hath
graciously turned away from the face of the unbelievers, and whom He hath
sheltered beneath the shadow of the Tree of His own Being; they upon whose
hearts He hath bestowed the gift of peace and tranquillity, and whom He hath
strengthened and assisted through the hosts of the seen and the unseen. (Baha’u’llah,
Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
January 11
I entreat Thee to enable me to cleave steadfastly to Thy
Love and Thy remembrance. This is, verily, within my power, and Thou art the One
that knoweth all that is in me. Thou, in truth, art knowing, apprised of all.
Deprive me not, O my Lord, of the splendors of the light of Thy face, whose
brightness hath illuminated the whole world. No God is
there beside Thee, the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah)
January 10
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’)
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