April 16
As My tribulations multiplied, so did My love for God and
for His Cause increase, in such wise that all that befell Me from the hosts of the wayward was powerless to deter Me from My
purpose. Should they hide Me away in the depths of the earth, yet would they
find Me riding aloft on the clouds, and calling out unto God, the Lord of
strength and of might. I have offered Myself up in the way of God, and I yearn
after tribulations in My love for Him, and for the sake of His good pleasure.
Unto this bear witness the woes which now afflict Me, the like of which no
other man hath suffered. Every single hair of Mine head calleth out that which
the Burning Bush uttered on Sinai, and each vein of My body invoketh God and
saith: ‘O would I had been severed in Thy path, so that the world might be
quickened, and all its peoples be united!’ (Baha’u’llah, from a Tablet to Napoleon, ‘Epistle to the
Son of the Wolf’)
April 15
It is recorded in all the Books of the Gospel that He Who is
the Spirit [Jesus] spoke in words of pure light unto His disciples, saying:
“Know that heaven and earth may pass away, but my words shall never pass away.”
[cf. Matt. 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33] As is clear and evident to thine
eminence, these words outwardly mean that the Books of the Gospel will remain
in the hands of people till the end of the world, that their laws shall not be
abrogated, that their testimony shall not be abolished, and that all that hath
been enjoined, prescribed, or ordained therein shall endure forever.
O My brother! Sanctify thy heart, illumine thy soul, and sharpen thy sight, that thou mayest perceive the sweet accents of the Birds of Heaven and the melodies of the Doves of Holiness warbling in the Kingdom of eternity, and perchance apprehend the inner meaning of these utterances and their hidden mysteries. For otherwise, wert thou to interpret these words according to their outward meaning, thou couldst never prove the truth of the Cause of Him Who came after Jesus, nor silence the opponents, nor prevail over the contending disbelievers. For the Christian divines use this verse to prove that the Gospel shall never be abrogated and that, even if all the signs recorded in their Books were fulfilled and the Promised One appeared, He would have no recourse but to rule the people according to the ordinances of the Gospel. They contend that if He were to manifest all the signs indicated in the Books, but decree aught besides that which Jesus had decreed, they would neither acknowledge nor follow Him, so clear and self-evident is this matter in their sight. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
O My brother! Sanctify thy heart, illumine thy soul, and sharpen thy sight, that thou mayest perceive the sweet accents of the Birds of Heaven and the melodies of the Doves of Holiness warbling in the Kingdom of eternity, and perchance apprehend the inner meaning of these utterances and their hidden mysteries. For otherwise, wert thou to interpret these words according to their outward meaning, thou couldst never prove the truth of the Cause of Him Who came after Jesus, nor silence the opponents, nor prevail over the contending disbelievers. For the Christian divines use this verse to prove that the Gospel shall never be abrogated and that, even if all the signs recorded in their Books were fulfilled and the Promised One appeared, He would have no recourse but to rule the people according to the ordinances of the Gospel. They contend that if He were to manifest all the signs indicated in the Books, but decree aught besides that which Jesus had decreed, they would neither acknowledge nor follow Him, so clear and self-evident is this matter in their sight. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
April 14
The fifteenth Glad-Tidings
Although a republican form of government profiteth all the peoples of the world, yet the majesty of kingship is one of the signs of God. We do not wish that the countries of the world should remain deprived thereof. If the sagacious combine the two forms into one, great will be their reward in the presence of God. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
Although a republican form of government profiteth all the peoples of the world, yet the majesty of kingship is one of the signs of God. We do not wish that the countries of the world should remain deprived thereof. If the sagacious combine the two forms into one, great will be their reward in the presence of God. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
April 13
O YE servants of God! Verily, be not grieved if a thing ye
asked of Him remaineth unanswered, inasmuch as He hath been commanded by God to
observe silence, a silence which is in truth praiseworthy. We have indeed
enabled Thee to truly see in Thy dream a measure of Our Cause, but wert Thou to
acquaint them with the hidden Mystery, they would dispute its truth among
themselves. Verily Thy Lord, the God of truth, knoweth the very secrets of
hearts [cf. Qur’án 8:45]... (The Báb, from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from
the Writings of the Báb)
April 12
O SON OF BEING! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee.
Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created
thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
April 11
“O King! We were in ‘Iráq, when the hour of parting arrived.
At the bidding of the King of Islám (Sultán of Turkey) We set Our steps in his
direction. Upon Our arrival, there befell Us at the hands
of the malicious that which the books of the world can never adequately
recount. Thereupon the inmates of Paradise, and they that dwell within the
retreats of holiness, lamented; and yet the people are wrapped in a thick
veil!”
And further We have said: “More grievous became Our plight from day to day, nay, from hour to hour, until they took Us forth from Our prison and made Us, with glaring injustice, enter the Most Great Prison. And if anyone ask them: ‘For what crime were they imprisoned?’ they would answer and say: ‘They, verily, sought to supplant the Faith with a new religion!’ If that which is ancient be what ye prefer, wherefore, then, have ye discarded that which hath been set down in the Torah and the Evangel? Clear it up, O men! By My life! There is no place for you to flee to in this day. If this be My crime, then Muhammad, the Apostle of God, committed it before Me, and before Him He Who was the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ), and yet earlier He Who conversed with God (Moses). And if My sin be this, that I have exalted the Word of God and revealed His Cause, then indeed am I the greatest of sinners! Such a sin I will not barter for the kingdoms of earth and heaven.” (Baha’u’llah, from a Tablet to Napoleon, ‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
And further We have said: “More grievous became Our plight from day to day, nay, from hour to hour, until they took Us forth from Our prison and made Us, with glaring injustice, enter the Most Great Prison. And if anyone ask them: ‘For what crime were they imprisoned?’ they would answer and say: ‘They, verily, sought to supplant the Faith with a new religion!’ If that which is ancient be what ye prefer, wherefore, then, have ye discarded that which hath been set down in the Torah and the Evangel? Clear it up, O men! By My life! There is no place for you to flee to in this day. If this be My crime, then Muhammad, the Apostle of God, committed it before Me, and before Him He Who was the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ), and yet earlier He Who conversed with God (Moses). And if My sin be this, that I have exalted the Word of God and revealed His Cause, then indeed am I the greatest of sinners! Such a sin I will not barter for the kingdoms of earth and heaven.” (Baha’u’llah, from a Tablet to Napoleon, ‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
April 10
Consider Moses! Armed with the rod of celestial dominion,
adorned with the white hand of Divine knowledge, and proceeding from the Párán
of the love of God, and wielding the serpent of power and everlasting majesty,
He shone forth from the Sinai of light upon the world. He summoned all the
peoples and kindreds of the earth to the kingdom of eternity, and invited them
to partake of the fruit of the tree of faithfulness. Surely you are aware of
the fierce opposition of Pharaoh and his people, and of the stones of idle
fancy which the hands of infidels cast upon that blessed Tree. So much so that
Pharaoh and his people finally arose and exerted their utmost endeavor to
extinguish with the waters of falsehood and denial the fire of that sacred
Tree, oblivious of the truth that no earthly water can quench the flames of
Divine wisdom, nor mortal blasts extinguish the lamp of everlasting dominion.
Nay, rather, such water cannot but intensify the burning of the flame, and such
blasts cannot but ensure the preservation of the lamp, were ye to observe with
the eye of discernment, and walk in the way of God’s holy will and pleasure....
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
April 9
O peoples of the world! Whatsoever ye have offered up in the
way of the One True God, ye shall indeed find preserved by God, the Preserver,
intact at God’s Holy Gate. O peoples of the earth! Bear ye allegiance unto this
resplendent light wherewith God hath graciously invested Me through the power
of infallible Truth, and walk not in the footsteps of the Evil One, [cf. Qur’án
2:204] inasmuch as he prompteth you to disbelieve in God, your Lord, and verily
God will not forgive disbelief in Himself, though He will forgive other sins to
whomsoever He pleaseth. [ cf. Qur’án 4:51] Indeed His knowledge embraceth all
things... (The Báb, from the
Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
April 8
O thou whom We have outwardly never met, yet whom We
inwardly cherish in Our heart! Be fair in thy judgement and present thyself
before Him Who seeth and knoweth thee, even if thou seest and knowest Him not:
Can any soul be found to elucidate these words with such convincing arguments,
clear testimonies, and unmistakable allusions as to appease the heart of the
seeker and relieve the soul of the listener? Nay, by the One in Whose hand is
My soul! Unto none is given to quaff even a dewdrop thereof unless he entereth
within this city, a city whose foundations rest upon mountains of
crimson-coloured ruby, whose walls are hewn of the chrysolite of divine unity,
whose gates are made of the diamonds of immortality, and whose earth sheddeth
the fragrance of divine bounty. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’,
‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
April 7
Grieve not if none be found to accept the crimson wine
proffered by Thy snow-white hand and to seize it in the name of Thy Lord, the
Most Exalted, the Most High—He Who hath appeared again in His name, the Most
Glorious. Leave this people unto
themselves, and repair unto the Tabernacle of majesty and glory, wherein Thou
shalt encounter a people whose faces shine as brightly as the sun in its
noontide splendour, and who praise and extol their Lord in this Name that hath
arisen, in the plenitude of might and power, to assume the throne of
independent sovereignty. From their lips
Thou shalt hear naught but the strains of My glorification and praise; unto
this Thy Lord beareth Me witness. The
existence of these people, however, hath remained concealed from the eyes of
all who, from everlasting, have been created through the Word of God. Thus have We made plain Our meaning and set
forth Our verses, that perchance men may reflect upon the signs and tokens of
their Lord.
These are they who, in truth, were not enjoined to prostrate themselves before Adam. [Qur’an 2:30-34; 38:71-75] They have never turned away from the countenance of Thy Lord, and partake at every moment of the gifts and delights of holiness. Thus hath the Pen of the All-Merciful set forth the secrets of all things, be they of the past or of the future. Would that the world might understand! Erelong shall God make manifest this people upon the earth, and through them shall exalt His name, diffuse His signs, uphold His words, and proclaim His verses, in spite of those that have repudiated His truth, gainsaid His sovereignty, and cavilled at His signs. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
These are they who, in truth, were not enjoined to prostrate themselves before Adam. [Qur’an 2:30-34; 38:71-75] They have never turned away from the countenance of Thy Lord, and partake at every moment of the gifts and delights of holiness. Thus hath the Pen of the All-Merciful set forth the secrets of all things, be they of the past or of the future. Would that the world might understand! Erelong shall God make manifest this people upon the earth, and through them shall exalt His name, diffuse His signs, uphold His words, and proclaim His verses, in spite of those that have repudiated His truth, gainsaid His sovereignty, and cavilled at His signs. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
April 6
Is there any man of insight, O my God, that can behold Thee
with Thine own eye, and where is the thirsty one who can direct his face
towards the living waters of Thy love? I am the one, O my God, who hath blotted
out from his heart the remembrance of all except Thee, and hath graven upon it
the mysteries of Thy love. Thine own might beareth me witness! But for tribulations,
how could the assured be distinguished from the doubters among Thy servants?
They who have been inebriated with the wine of Thy knowledge, these, verily,
hasten to meet every manner of adversity in their longing to pass into Thy
presence. I implore Thee, O Beloved of my heart and the Object of my soul’s
adoration, to shield them that love me from the faintest trace of evil and
corrupt desires. Supply them, then, with the good of this world and of the
next. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah)
April 5
Love seizeth not upon a living soul,
The falcon preyeth not on a dead mouse. [Persian mystic poem. Cf. The Hidden Words, No. 7, Arabic.]
Love setteth a world aflame at every turn, and he wasteth every land where he carrieth his banner. Being hath no existence in his kingdom; the wise wield no command within his realm. The leviathan of love swalloweth the master of reason and destroyeth the lord of knowledge. He drinketh the seven seas, but his heart’s thirst is still unquenched, and he saith, “Is there yet any more?” [Qur’án 50:29] He shunneth himself and draweth away from all on earth. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys’)
The falcon preyeth not on a dead mouse. [Persian mystic poem. Cf. The Hidden Words, No. 7, Arabic.]
Love setteth a world aflame at every turn, and he wasteth every land where he carrieth his banner. Being hath no existence in his kingdom; the wise wield no command within his realm. The leviathan of love swalloweth the master of reason and destroyeth the lord of knowledge. He drinketh the seven seas, but his heart’s thirst is still unquenched, and he saith, “Is there yet any more?” [Qur’án 50:29] He shunneth himself and draweth away from all on earth. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys’)
April 4
The kissing of hands hath been forbidden in the Book. This
practice is prohibited by God, the Lord of glory and command. To none is it
permitted to seek absolution from another soul; let repentance be between
yourselves and God. He, verily, is the Pardoner, the Bounteous, the Gracious,
the One Who absolveth the repentant. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
April 3
O YE peoples of the earth! Hearken unto My call, ringing
forth from the precincts of this sacred Tree—a Tree set ablaze by the
pre-existent Fire: There is no God but Him; He is the Exalted, the All-Wise. O
ye the servants of the Merciful One! Enter ye, one and all, through this Gate
and follow not the steps of the Evil One, for he
prompteth you to walk in the ways of impiety and wickedness; he is, in truth,
your declared enemy. [Qur’án 2:163–164] (The Báb, from the Qayyumu’l-Asma,
‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
April 2
...
whatever I behold I readily discover that it maketh Thee known unto me, and it
remindeth me of Thy signs, and of Thy tokens, and of Thy testimonies. By Thy
glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy
highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and
every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences
of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find
that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of
Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the
mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of
Thine omnipotence. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah)
April 1
Never since the beginning of the world hath the Message been
so openly proclaimed.... Glorified be this Power which hath shone forth and
compassed the worlds! This act of the Causer of Causes hath, when revealed,
produced two results. It hath at once sharpened the swords of the infidels, and
unloosed the tongues of such as have turned towards Him in His remembrance and
praise. This is the effect of the fertilizing winds, mention of which hath been
made aforetime in the Lawh-i-Haykal. The whole earth is now in a state of
pregnancy. The day is approaching when it will have yielded its noblest fruits,
when from it will have sprung forth the loftiest trees, the most enchanting
blossoms, the most heavenly blessings. Immeasurably exalted is the breeze that
wafteth from the garment of thy Lord, the Glorified! For lo, it hath breathed
its fragrance and made all things new! Well it is with them that comprehend. It
is indubitably clear and evident that in these things He Who is the Lord of
Revelation hath sought nothing for Himself. Though aware that they would lead
to tribulations, and be the cause of troubles and afflictive trials, He, solely
as a token of His loving-kindness and favor, and for the purpose of quickening
the dead and of manifesting the Cause of the Lord of all Names and Attributes,
and of redeeming all who are on earth, hath closed His eyes to His own
well-being and borne that which no other person hath borne or will bear.
(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Promised Day Is Come’)
March 31
O SON OF SPIRIT! There is no peace for thee save by
renouncing thyself and turning unto Me; for it behooveth thee to glory in My
name, not in thine own; to put thy trust in Me and not in thyself, since I
desire to be loved alone and above all that is. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words
of Baha’u’llah’)
March 30
Bereft, however, of the essence of the mysteries of His
wisdom, which We have imparted unto thee beneath the veils of these blessed and
soul-stirring words, thou wouldst fail to attain unto even a sprinkling of the
oceans of divine knowledge or the crystal streams of divine power, and wouldst
be recorded in the Mother Book, through the Pen of oneness and by the Finger of
God, amongst the ignorant. Nor wouldst thou be able to grasp a single word of
the Book or a single utterance of the Kindred of God [The Imáms of Shí’ih
Islám] concerning the mysteries of the beginning and the end. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
March 29
The fourteenth Glad-Tidings
It is not necessary to undertake special journeys to visit the resting-places of the dead. If people of substance and affluence offer the cost of such journeys to the House of Justice, it will be pleasing and acceptable in the presence of God. Happy are they that observe His precepts. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
It is not necessary to undertake special journeys to visit the resting-places of the dead. If people of substance and affluence offer the cost of such journeys to the House of Justice, it will be pleasing and acceptable in the presence of God. Happy are they that observe His precepts. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
March 28
And now, concerning His words—“The sun shall be darkened,
and the moon shall not give light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” By
the terms “sun” and “moon,” mentioned in the writings of the Prophets of God,
is not meant solely the sun and moon of the visible universe. Nay rather,
manifold are the meanings they have intended for these terms. In every instance
they have attached to them a particular significance. Thus, by the “sun” in one
sense is meant those Suns of Truth Who rise from the dayspring of ancient
glory, and fill the world with a liberal effusion of grace from on high. These
Suns of Truth are the universal Manifestations of God in the worlds of His attributes
and names. Even as the visible sun that assisteth, as decreed by God, the true
One, the Adored, in the development of all earthly things, such as the trees,
the fruits, and colours thereof, the minerals of the earth, and all that may be
witnessed in the world of creation, so do the divine Luminaries, by their
loving care and educative influence, cause the trees of divine unity, the
fruits of His oneness, the leaves of detachment, the blossoms of knowledge and
certitude, and the myrtles of wisdom and utterance, to
exist and be made manifest. Thus it is that through the rise of these
Luminaries of God the world is made new, the waters of everlasting life stream
forth, the billows of loving-kindness surge, the clouds of grace are gathered,
and the breeze of bounty bloweth upon all created things. It is the warmth that
these Luminaries of God generate, and the undying fires they kindle, which
cause the light of the love of God to burn fiercely in the heart of humanity.
It is through the abundant grace of these Symbols of Detachment that the Spirit
of life everlasting is breathed into the bodies of the dead. Assuredly the
visible sun is but a sign of the splendour of that Day-star of Truth, that Sun
Which can never have a peer, a likeness, or rival. Through Him all things live,
move, and have their being. Through His grace they are made manifest, and unto
Him they all return. From Him all things have sprung, and unto the treasuries
of His revelation they all have repaired. From Him all created things did proceed,
and to the depositories of His law they did revert. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
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