Know of a certainty that in every Dispensation the light of
Divine Revelation hath been vouchsafed to men in direct proportion to their
spiritual capacity. Consider the sun. How feeble its rays the moment it appeareth
above the horizon. How gradually its warmth and potency increase as it
approacheth its zenith, enabling meanwhile all created things to adapt
themselves to the growing intensity of its light. How steadily it declineth
until it reacheth its setting point. Were it all of a sudden to manifest the
energies latent within it, it would no doubt cause injury to all created
things... In like manner, if the Sun of Truth were suddenly to reveal, at the
earliest stages of its manifestation, the full measure of the potencies which
the providence of the Almighty hath bestowed upon it, the earth of human
understanding would waste away and be consumed; for men’s hearts would neither
sustain the intensity of its revelation, nor be able to mirror forth the
radiance of its light. Dismayed and overpowered, they would cease to exist.
April 12
Know verily that the veil hiding Our countenance hath not
been completely lifted. We have revealed Our Self to a degree corresponding to
the capacity of the people of Our age. Should the Ancient Beauty be unveiled in
the fullness of His glory mortal eyes would be blinded by the dazzling
intensity of His revelation.
(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter
dated February 8, 1934; ‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’)
April 11
All Feasts have attained their consummation in the two Most
Great Festivals, and in the two other Festivals that fall on the twin days—the
first of the Most Great Festivals being those days whereon the All-Merciful
shed upon the whole of creation the effulgent glory of His most excellent Names
and His most exalted Attributes, and the second being that day on which We
raised up the One Who announced unto mankind the glad tidings of this Name,
through which the dead have been resurrected and all who are in the heavens and
on earth have been gathered together. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is
the Ordainer, the Omniscient.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
April 10
Were
mankind to give heed in a befitting manner to no more than one word of such a
praise it would be so filled with delight as to be overpowered and lost in
wonder. Entranced, it would then shine forth resplendent above the horizon of
true understanding.
(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in, The
Dispensation of Baha'u'llah)
April 9
The world
of being shineth in this Day with the resplendency of this Divine Revelation.
All created things extol its saving grace and sing its praises. The universe is
wrapt in an ecstasy of joy and gladness. The Scriptures of past Dispensations
celebrate the great jubilee that must needs greet this most great Day of God.
Well is it with him that hath lived to see this Day and hath recognized its
station.
(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in, The Dispensation of
Baha'u'llah)
April 8
Say: O people! Fear ye God, and allow not your tongues to
utter, in their deceitfulness, that which displeaseth Him. Stand abashed before the One Who, as ye well
know, hath created you out of a drop of water. Say: We have created all that are in heaven and on
earth in the nature made by God.
Whosoever turneth unto this blessed Countenance shall manifest the
potentialities of that inborn nature, and whosoever remaineth veiled therefrom
shall be deprived of this invisible and all-encompassing grace. Verily, there is naught from which Our favour
hath been withheld, inasmuch as We have dealt equitably in the fashioning of
each and all, and by a word of Our mouth presented unto them the trust of Our
love. They that have accepted it are
indeed safe and secure, and are numbered among those who are immune from the
terrors of this Day. Those, however, who
have rejected it have, in truth, disbelieved in God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting. Thus do We distinguish
between the people and pronounce judgement upon them. We, of a certainty, have the power to
discern.
(Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)
April 7
Blessed is he that hath set himself towards Thee, and hasted
to attain the Day-Spring of the lights of Thy face. Blessed is he who with all
his affections hath turned to the Dawning-Place of Thy Revelation and the
Fountain-Head of Thine inspiration. Blessed is he that hath expended in Thy
path what Thou didst bestow upon him through Thy bounty and favor. Blessed is
he who, in his sore longing after Thee, hath cast away all else except Thyself.
Blessed is he who hath enjoyed intimate communion with Thee, and rid himself of
all attachment to any one save Thee.
(Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations of
Baha’u’llah’)
April 6
Witness how the world is being afflicted with a fresh
calamity every day. Its tribulation is continually deepening. From the moment
the Súriy-i-Ra’ís (Tablet to Ra’ís) was revealed until the present day, neither
hath the world been tranquillized, nor have the hearts of its peoples been at
rest. At one time it hath been agitated by contentions and disputes, at another
it hath been convulsed by wars, and fallen a victim to inveterate diseases. Its
sickness is approaching the stage of utter hopelessness, inasmuch as the true Physician is debarred from administering the remedy,
whilst unskilled practitioners are regarded with favor, and are accorded full
freedom to act. ...The dust of sedition hath clouded the hearts of men, and
blinded their eyes. Erelong, they will perceive the consequences of what their
hands have wrought in the Day of God. Thus warneth you He Who is the
All-Informed, as bidden by One Who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty.
(Baha’u’llah,
‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
April 5
Regarding the statement ascribed to the Author of the
Qur’án: “Through My appearance every law and religion hath proven to be unsound
and no law holdeth but Mine”, no such words were ever uttered by that Source
and Fount of divine wisdom. Nay rather, He confirmed that which had been sent
down before from the empyrean of the Divine Will unto the Prophets and
Messengers of God. He saith, exalted be His utterance: “Alif. Lám. Mím. God!
There is no God but Him, the Living, the Ever-Abiding. He it is Who hath sent
down to Thee the Book through the power of truth, confirming those which
preceded it. He revealed aforetime the Torah and the Evangel as a guidance unto
men, and He hath now revealed the Qur’án….” [1] He, moreover, hath asserted
that all the Prophets have proceeded from God and have returned unto Him.
Viewed in this light, they are all as one and the same Being, inasmuch as they
have not uttered a word, brought a message, or revealed a cause, of their own
accord. Nay, all that they have said hath proceeded from the one true God,
exalted be His glory. They have all summoned men unto the Supreme Horizon and
imparted the tidings of eternal life.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity,
Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
[1] Qur’án 3:1
April 4
Great is the blessedness of him who hath in this Day cast away
the things current amongst men and hath clung unto that which is ordained by
God, the Lord of Names and the Fashioner of all created things, He Who is come
from the heaven of eternity through the power of the Most Great Name, invested
with so invincible an authority that all the powers of the earth are unable to
withstand Him. Unto this beareth witness the Mother Book, calling from the Most
Sublime Station.
(Baha’u’llah, excerpt from Tajalliyat [Effulgences]; ‘Tablets
of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
April 3
Behold how the sovereignty of Muhammad, the Messenger of
God, is today apparent and manifest amongst the people. You are well aware of
what befell His Faith in the early days of His Dispensation. What woeful
sufferings did the hand of the infidel and erring, the divines of that age and
their associates, inflict upon that spiritual Essence, that most pure and holy
Being! How abundant the thorns and briars which they have strewn over His path!
It is evident that that wretched generation, in their wicked and satanic fancy,
regarded every injury to that immortal Being as a means to the attainment of an
abiding felicity; inasmuch as the recognized divines of that age …all treated
Him as an impostor... Such sore accusations they brought against Him that in
recounting them God forbiddeth the ink to flow, Our pen to move, or the page to
bear them. These malicious imputations provoked the people to arise and torment
Him…
For this reason did Muhammad cry out: “No Prophet of God
hath suffered such harm as I have suffered.” And in the Qur’án are recorded all
the calumnies and reproaches uttered against Him, as well as all the
afflictions which He suffered.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha’u’llah’)
April 2
O SON OF BEING! Ascribe not to any soul that which thou
wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This
is My command unto thee, do thou observe it.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of
Baha’u’llah’)
April 1
It is not permissible to contend with anyone, nor is it
acceptable in the sight of God to ill-treat or oppress any soul. Time and again
have these sublime words streamed from the Pen of the Most High, blessed and
exalted be He: “O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the
Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the
unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship
amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of
hate and enmity”.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s
Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
March 31
Better is it for a person to write down but one of His
verses than to transcribe the whole of the Bayán and all the books which have
been written in the Dispensation of the Bayán. 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, excerpt from the Persian Bayan, ‘Selections
from the Writings of the Báb)
March 30
Lauded be Thy name, O my God! Thou beholdest how the
tempestuous winds of tests have caused the steadfast in faith to tremble, and
how the breath of trials hath stirred up those whose hearts had been firmly
established, except such as have partaken of the Wine that is life indeed from
the hands of the Manifestation of Thy name, the Most Merciful. These are the
ones whom no word except Thy most exalted word can move, whom nothing whatever
save the sweet smelling fragrance of the robe of Thy remembrance can enrapture,
O Thou Who art the Possessor of all names and the Maker of earth and heaven!
I implore Thee, O Thou Who art the beloved Companion of
Bahá, by Thy name, the All-Glorious, to keep safe these Thy servants under the
shadow of the wings of Thine all-encompassing mercy, that the darts of the evil
suggestions of the wicked doers among Thy creatures, who have disbelieved in
Thy signs, may be kept back from them. No one on earth, O my Lord, can
withstand Thy power, and none in all the kingdom of Thy names is able to
frustrate Thy purpose. Show forth, then, the power of Thy sovereignty and of
Thy dominion, and teach Thy loved ones what beseemeth them in Thy days.
(Baha’u’llah,
Prayers and Meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
March 29
Well is it with the man of discernment who hath recognized
and perceived the Truth, and the one possessed of a hearing ear who hath
hearkened unto His sweet Voice, and the hand that hath received His Book with
such resolve as is born of God, the Lord of this world and of the next, and the
earnest wayfarer who hath hastened unto His glorious Horizon, and the one
endued with strength whom neither the overpowering might of the rulers, nor the
tumult raised by the leaders of religion hath been able to shake. And woe
betide him who hath rejected the grace of God and His bounty, and hath denied
His tender mercy and authority; such a man is indeed reckoned with those who
have throughout eternity repudiated the testimony of God and His proof.
(Baha’u’llah,
excerpt from Tajalliyat [Effulgences]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after
the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
March 28
Say: We have revealed
Our verses in nine different modes. Each
one of them bespeaketh the sovereignty of God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting. A single one of them
sufficeth for a proof unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth; yet the
people, for the most part, persist in their heedlessness. Should it be Our wish, We would reveal them
in countless other modes.
(Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal, The Summons of the Lord
of Hosts)
March 27
If thou be of the inmates of this city[the City of Divine
Unity] within the ocean of divine unity, thou wilt view all the Prophets and
Messengers of God as one soul and one body, as one light and one spirit, in
such wise that the first among them would be last and the last would be first.
For they have all arisen to proclaim His Cause and have established the laws of
divine wisdom. They are, one and all, the Manifestations of His Self, the
Repositories of His might, the Treasuries of His Revelation, the Dawning-Places
of His splendour, and the Daysprings of His light. Through them are manifested
the signs of sanctity in the realities of all things and the tokens of oneness
in the essences of all beings. Through them are revealed the elements of
glorification in the heavenly realities and the exponents of praise in the
eternal essences. From them hath all creation proceeded and unto them shall
return all that hath been mentioned. And since in their inmost Beings they are
the same Luminaries and the self-same Mysteries, thou shouldst view their
outward conditions in the same light, that thou mayest recognize them all as
one Being, nay, find them united in their words, speech, and utterance.
(Baha’u’llah,
‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
March 26
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, excerpt from the Persian Bayán, ‘Selections
from the Writings of the Báb)
March 25
O SON OF EARTH! Know, verily, the heart wherein the least
remnant of envy yet lingers, shall never attain My everlasting dominion, nor
inhale the sweet savors of holiness breathing from My kingdom of sanctity.
(Baha’u’llah,
‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
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