March 17

By Myself, the True One, O ‘Alí! The fire that hath inflamed the heart of Bahá is fiercer than the fire that gloweth in thine heart, and His lamentation louder than thy lamentation. Every time the sin committed by any one amongst them was breathed in the Court of His Presence, the Ancient Beauty would be so filled with shame as to wish He could hide the glory of His countenance from the eyes of all men, for He hath, at all times, fixed His gaze on their fidelity, and observed its essential requisites.

The words thou hadst written have, as soon as they were read in My Presence, caused the ocean of My fidelity to surge within Me, and the breeze of My forgiveness to be wafted over thy soul, and the tree of My loving-kindness to overshadow thee, and the clouds of My bounty to rain down upon thee their gifts. I swear by the Day Star that shineth above the horizon of eternity, I sorrow for thee in thy grief, and lament with thee in thy tribulation.... I bear witness to the services thou hast rendered Me, and testify to the various troubles thou hast sustained for My sake. All the atoms of the earth declare My love for thee.

The call thou didst raise, O ‘Alí, is highly acceptable in My sight. Proclaim with both thy pen and tongue My Cause. Cry out and summon the people to Him Who is the Sovereign Lord of all worlds, with such zeal and fervor that all men may be set on fire by thee. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings to the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

March 16

This is the Day whereon the Spirit [Jesus] proclaimed from the midmost heart of heaven: … “O priests! Tell Our servants to ring not the bells save in His name, the All-Glorious, the Most High. This is the Day whereon the sore athirst have attained the stream of everlasting life and the yearning souls have beheld the Vision of the All-Merciful. This is the Day whereon the lowly have been exalted, the poor enriched, the sick made whole, the deaf given to hear His melody, and the blind made to see. Render thanks, then, and be not of those who join partners with God. The Kingdom of God doth in truth circle round Him. It is for His sake that I adorned the cross with My body and then arose from the dead to perfect His remembrance amongst men. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

March 15

This is the Day whereon the Spirit [Jesus] proclaimed from the midmost heart of heaven: “O concourse of creation! He Who is the sovereign Ruler of all hath been made manifest. That which pertaineth to the Kingdom of My Lord hath been fulfilled. He Who is the Beloved of My heart and the Helper of My Cause is now come. Follow Him, and be not of those that have turned aside. This is the Day whereon every veil hath been parted, and your Lord, the Almighty, the Most Bountiful, hath appeared and fulfilled through His appearance all that was promised aforetime. Hasten then to this resplendent, this most luminous Beauty! 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

March 14

Indeed, O brother, if we ponder each created thing, we shall witness a myriad consummate wisdoms and learn a myriad new and wondrous truths. One of the created phenomena is the dream. Behold how many secrets have been deposited therein, how many wisdoms treasured up, how many worlds concealed. Observe how thou art asleep in a dwelling, and its doors are shut; on a sudden thou findest thyself in a far-off city, which thou enterest without moving thy feet or wearying thy body. Without taxing thine eyes, thou seest; without troubling thine ears, thou hearest; without a tongue, thou speakest. And perchance when ten years have passed, thou wilt witness in this temporal world the very things thou hast dreamt tonight.

Now there are many wisdoms to ponder in the dream, which none but the people of this valley can comprehend in their reality. First, what is this world where without eye or ear or hand or tongue one can put all these to use? Second, how is it that in the outer world thou seest today the effect of a dream which thou didst witness in the world of sleep some ten years past? Consider the difference between these two worlds, and the mysteries they conceal, that, attended by divine confirmations, thou mayest attain unto heavenly discoveries and enter the realms of holiness.

God, the Most High, hath placed these signs in men so that veiled minds might not deny the mysteries of the life beyond, nor belittle that which hath been promised them. For some hold fast to reason and deny whatever reason comprehendeth not, and yet feeble minds can never grasp the reality of the stages that we have related: The universal divine Intellect alone can comprehend them. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘The Seven Valleys’, 2019 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre; ‘The Call of the Divine Beloved’)

March 13

This is the Day whereon Muhammad, the Apostle of God, cried out from the midmost heart of Paradise, saying: “O peoples of the earth! By God, the Beloved of the worlds and the Desire of every understanding heart is come! He, verily, is the One to Whose voice I hearkened on My Night Journey but Whose beauty I was not to behold until the days attained their consummation in this Day, a Day which is the adornment of all the days of God, the Sovereign Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised. This is the Day whereon the rule of His grace and all-pervading mercy hath been so universally established as to embrace every soul, for He hath in truth summoned each and all to His presence and hath shed upon all things the splendour of His glorious and refulgent beauty.” 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

March 12

I swear by Thy glory, O Fashioner of names and Creator of earth and heaven! The tongues of Thy creatures are powerless to render thanks for the favours Thou hast bestowed upon them in this Day, a Day from which Thou hast made all Thy days to proceed. This is the Day whereon Thou hast summoned the well-favoured to the Dayspring of Thy nearness and the sincere to the Dawning-Place of the light of Thy countenance. This is the Day concerning which Thou didst covenant with every Prophet to herald unto all the advent of Him Who shall be manifested therein with Thy sovereign might and celestial power. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

March 11

If ye meet the abased or the down-trodden, turn not away disdainfully from them, for the King of Glory ever watcheth over them and surroundeth them with such tenderness as none can fathom except them that have suffered their wishes and desires to be merged in the Will of your Lord, the Gracious, the All-Wise. O ye rich ones of the earth! Flee not from the face of the poor that lieth in the dust, nay rather befriend him and suffer him to recount the tale of the woes with which God’s inscrutable Decree hath caused him to be afflicted. By the righteousness of God! Whilst ye consort with him, the Concourse on high will be looking upon you, will be interceding for you, will be extolling your names and glorifying your action. Blessed are the learned that pride not themselves on their attainments; and well is it with the righteous that mock not the sinful, but rather conceal their misdeeds, so that their own shortcomings may remain veiled to men’s eyes. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

March 10

Beware lest the veils deter you from the outpourings of His bounty in this Day. Cast away the things that keep you back from God and persevere on this far-stretching Way. We desire naught for you but that which profiteth you as hath been recorded in His Preserved Tablet. We often remember Our loved ones; however, We have found them wanting in that which becometh them at the Court of the favour of their Lord, the Gracious, the Forgiving, save those whom God desireth to exempt. Verily, potent is He to do what He willeth. He giveth and withholdeth. He is indeed the Eternal Truth, the Knower of things unseen. . 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

March 9

I know not, O my God, which among Thy gifts to extol in this Day, a Day that Thou hast made to be the source of all Thy days and the dawning-place whence the rays of the light of Thine Essence and the splendours of the glory of Thy countenance have shone forth. Shall I praise the heavenly repast which Thou hast sent down in this Day unto the people of Bahá, whom Thou hast singled out for Thy favour amongst the dwellers of earth and heaven? This, verily, is a sustenance borne in the vessel of Thy words, from every letter of which a myriad suns of divine wisdom and utterance dawn forth and the lights of authority and exposition shine resplendent. This, verily, is a sustenance whose substance is such inner meanings as had from everlasting lain concealed within Thine inviolable treasuries and hidden beneath the tabernacles of Thy glory. Or shall I, O my God, extol Thine appearance in this Day from the dawning-place of Thine Essence; or Thine establishment, before the gaze of all men, upon the throne of Thy name, the All-Bountiful; or yet Thy proclamation, through the Tongue of might and power, to all things visible and invisible? By Myself, the True One! The Hidden Secret and Treasured Mystery hath been revealed. Whosoever seeketh Me shall behold Me. . 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

March 8

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Can anyone befittingly thank Thee for such blessings as Thou hast sent down from the heaven of Thy oneness and the firmament of Thy Will, blessings which Thou hast reserved for the people of Bahá in the realm of creation? Nay, by Thy might, O Thou the Beloved of the worlds and the sole Desire of them that have recognized Thee! Wert Thou to endow every creature of earth and heaven with a myriad tongues, even to the number of the atoms of the universe, and were they to yield Thee thanks, so long as Thy kingdom and Thy dominion endure, for the bounties which Thou hast bestowed upon Thy loved ones in this Day—a Day whereon Thou hast revealed Thyself in Thine own Essence and inmost Being to the dwellers of earth and heaven, and in Thy Beauty to the inhabitants of the cities of eternity, and through Thy Names to them that are immersed in the billowing oceans of grandeur—yet would their thanksgiving fade into nothingness before that which Thou hast bestowed upon them through Thy grace and bounty. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

March 7

By My life! The Day is come which from all eternity was concealed in the treasuries of the might of your Lord. Rejoice in this blessed, this glorious and sublime Day. For He verily is Mine own Appearance amongst you, and whoso maketh the slightest distinction between Him and Me hath indeed strayed far from the straight path of truth. He it is Who hath caused the Mystic Dove to warble upon the twigs of the Tree of glory, saying: “By the one true God! The Best-Beloved of the worlds is come!” 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

March 6

O Children of Vainglory! For a fleeting sovereignty ye have abandoned My imperishable dominion, and have adorned yourselves with the gay livery of the world and made of it your boast. By My beauty! All will I gather beneath the one-colored covering of the dust and efface all these diverse colors save them that choose My own, and that is purging from every color. 

- Baha’u’llah  ('The Hidden Words’)

March 5

Seize ye, O loved ones of the All-Merciful, the chalice of eternal life proffered by the hand of the bountiful favours of your Lord, the Possessor of the entire creation, then drink ye deep therefrom. I swear by God, it will so enrapture you that ye shall arise to magnify His Name and proclaim His utterances amidst the peoples of the earth and shall conquer the cities of the hearts of men in the name of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

March 4

The supreme cause for creating the world and all that is therein is for man to know God. In this Day whosoever is guided by the fragrance of the raiment of His mercy to gain admittance into the pristine Abode, which is the station of recognizing the Source of divine commandments and the Dayspring of His Revelation, hath everlastingly attained unto all good. Having reached this lofty station a twofold obligation resteth upon every soul. One is to be steadfast in the Cause with such steadfastness that were all the peoples of the world to attempt to prevent him from turning to the Source of Revelation, they would be powerless to do so. The other is observance of the divine ordinances which have streamed forth from the wellspring of His heavenly-propelled Pen. For man’s knowledge of God cannot develop fully and adequately save by observing whatsoever hath been ordained by Him and is set forth in His heavenly Book. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

March 3

…We announce unto everyone the joyful tidings concerning that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book—a Book from above whose horizon the day-star of My commandments shineth upon every observer and every observed one. Hold ye fast unto it and fulfil that which is revealed therein. Indeed better is this for you than whatsoever hath been created in the world, did ye but know it. Beware lest the transitory things of human life withhold you from turning unto God, the True One. Ponder ye in your hearts the world and its conflicts and changes, so that ye may discern its merit and the station of those who have set their hearts upon it and have turned away from that which hath been sent down in Our Preserved Tablet. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

March 2

This is, O my God, the first of the days on which Thou hast bidden Thy loved ones to observe the Fast. I ask of Thee by Thy Self and by him who hath fasted out of love for Thee and for Thy good-pleasure - and not out of self and desire, nor out of fear of Thy wrath - and by Thy most excellent names and august attributes, to purify Thy servants from the love of aught except Thee and to draw them nigh unto the Dawning-Place of the lights of Thy countenance and the Seat of the throne of Thy oneness. Illumine their hearts, O my God, with the light of Thy knowledge and brighten their faces with the rays of the Daystar that shineth from the horizon of Thy Will. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. No God is there but Thee, the All-Glorious, Whose help is implored by all men. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; published in The American Baha'i, September 2000)

March 1

Cling firmly to obligatory prayer and fasting. Verily, the religion of God is like unto heaven; fasting is its sun, and obligatory prayer is its moon. In truth, they are the pillars of religion whereby the righteous are distinguished from those who transgress His commandments. We entreat God, exalted and glorified be He, that He may graciously enable all to observe that which He hath revealed in His Ancient Book. 

- Baha’u’llah  (Compilation on The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

February 28

...they that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly -- their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth. They should put their trust in God, and, holding fast unto Him, follow in His way. Then will they be made worthy of the effulgent glories of the sun of divine knowledge and understanding, and become the recipients of a grace that is infinite and unseen… 

- Baha'u'llah  (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)

February 27

O Children of Dust! Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth. To give and to be generous are attributes of Mine; well is it with him that adorneth himself with My virtues. 

- Baha'u'llah  (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)

February 26

Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)