O MAN OF TWO VISIONS! Close one eye and open the other.
Close one to the world and all that is therein, and open the other to the
hallowed beauty of the Beloved.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of
Baha’u’llah’)
June 18
The children of men are all brothers, and the prerequisites
of brotherhood are manifold. Among them is that one should wish for one’s
brother that which one wisheth for oneself. Therefore, it behoveth him who is
the recipient of an inward or outward gift or who partaketh of the bread of
heaven to inform and invite his friends with the utmost love and kindness. If
they respond favourably, his object is attained; otherwise he should leave them
to themselves without contending with them or uttering a word that would cause
the least sadness. This is the undoubted truth, and aught else is unworthy and
unbecoming.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity,
Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
June 17
I shall restate here My theme, that perchance this may
assist thee in recognizing thy Creator. Know thou that God—exalted and
glorified be He—doth in no wise manifest His inmost Essence and Reality. From
time immemorial He hath been veiled in the eternity of His Essence and
concealed in the infinitude of His own Being. And when He purposed to manifest
His beauty in the kingdom of names and to reveal His glory in the realm of
attributes, He brought forth His Prophets from the invisible plane to the
visible, that His name “the Manifest” might be distinguished from “the Hidden”
and His name “the Last” might be discerned from “the First”, and that there may
be fulfilled the words: “He is the First and the Last; the Seen and the Hidden;
and He knoweth all things!” [Qur’án 57:3] Thus hath He revealed these most excellent
names and most exalted words in the Manifestations of His Self and the Mirrors
of His Being.
It is therefore established that all names and attributes
return unto these sublime and sanctified Luminaries. Indeed, all names are to
be found in their names, and all attributes can be seen in their attributes.
Viewed in this light, if thou wert to call them by all the names of God, this
would be true, as all these names are one and the same as their own Being.
Comprehend then the intent of these words, and guard it within the tabernacle
of thy heart, that thou mayest recognize the implications of thine inquiry,
fulfil them according to that which God hath ordained for thee, and thus be
numbered with those who have attained unto His purpose.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of
Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
June 16
Adorn yourselves with the raiment of goodly deeds. He whose
deeds attain unto God’s good pleasure is assuredly of the people of Bahá and is
remembered before His throne. Assist ye the Lord of all creation with works of
righteousness, and also through wisdom and utterance. Thus, indeed, have ye
been commanded in most of the Tablets by Him Who is the All-Merciful. He,
truly, is cognizant of what I say. Let none contend with another, and let no
soul slay another; this, verily, is that which was forbidden you in a Book that
hath lain concealed within the Tabernacle of glory. What! Would ye kill him
whom God hath quickened, whom He hath endowed with spirit through a breath from
Him? Grievous then would be your trespass before His throne! Fear God, and lift
not the hand of injustice and oppression to destroy what He hath Himself raised
up; nay, walk ye in the way of God, the True One. No sooner did the hosts of
true knowledge appear, bearing the standards of Divine utterance, than the
tribes of the religions were put to flight, save only those who willed to drink
from the stream of everlasting life in a Paradise created by the breath of the
All-Glorious.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
June 15
O ‘Alí-Akbar! Consider how abject is the state of the
disbelievers. They all give utterance to the words: ‘Verily He is to be praised
in His deeds and is to be obeyed in His behest.’ Nevertheless if We reveal
aught which, even to the extent of a needle’s eye, runneth counter to their
selfish ways and desires, they will disdainfully reject it. Say, none can ever
fathom the manifold exigencies of God’s consummate wisdom. In truth, were He to
pronounce the earth to be heaven, no one hath the right to question His
authority. This is that whereunto the Point of the Bayán hath testified in all
that was sent down unto Him with truth at the behest of God, He Who hath caused
the Dawn to break.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
June 14
Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! I am Thy servant and the son
of Thy servant. I have set my face towards Thy Cause, believing in Thy oneness,
acknowledging Thy unity, recognizing Thy sovereignty and the power of Thy
might, and confessing the greatness of Thy majesty and glory.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers
and Meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
June 13
O dwellers of the earth! Would ye contend that if We raise up a soul unto the Sadratu’l-Muntahá, it shall then cease to be subject to the power
of Our sovereignty and dominion? Nay, by
Mine own Self! Should it be Our wish, We
would return it to the dust in less than the twinkling of an eye. Consider a tree: Behold how We plant it in a garden, and
nourish it with the waters of Our loving care; and how, when it hath grown tall
and mature, and brought forth verdant leaves and goodly fruits, We send forth
the tempestuous gales of Our decree, tear it up by its roots, and lay it
prostrate upon the face of the earth. So
hath it been Our way with all things, and so shall it be in this day. Such, in truth, are the matchless wonders of
Our immutable method—a method which hath ever governed, and shall continue to
govern, all things, if ye be of them that perceive. None, however, knoweth the wisdom thereof
save God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
(Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal,
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)
[1] “The tree beyond which there is no passing”, a reference
to the station of the Manifestation of God.
June 12
The One true God may be compared unto the sun and the
believer unto a mirror. No sooner is the mirror placed before the sun than it
reflects its light. The unbeliever may be likened unto a stone. No matter how
long it is exposed to the sunshine, it cannot reflect the sun. Thus the former
layeth down his life as a sacrifice, while the latter doeth against God what he
committeth. Indeed, if God willeth, He is potent to turn the stone into a
mirror, but the person himself remaineth reconciled to his state. Had he wished
to become a crystal, God would have made him to assume crystal form. For on
that Day whatever cause prompteth the believer to believe in Him, the same will
also be available to the unbeliever. But when the latter suffereth himself to
be wrapt in veils, the same cause shutteth him out as by a veil. Thus, as is
clearly evident today, those who have set their faces toward God, the True One,
have believed in Him because of the Bayán, while such as are veiled have been deprived
because of it.
(The Báb, excerpts from the Persian Bayán; ‘Selections from the
Writings of the Báb’)
June 11
Consider these days in which He Who is the Ancient Beauty
hath come in the Most Great Name, that He may quicken the world and unite its
peoples. They, however, rose up against Him with sharpened swords, and
committed that which caused the Faithful Spirit to lament, until in the end
they imprisoned Him in the most desolate of cities, and broke the grasp of the
faithful upon the hem of His robe. Were anyone to tell them: ‘The World
Reformer is come,’ they would answer and say: ‘Indeed it is proven that He is a
fomenter of discord!’, and this notwithstanding that they have never associated
with Him, and have perceived that He did not seek, for one moment, to protect
Himself. At all times He was at the mercy of the wicked doers. At one time they
cast Him into prison, at another they banished Him, and at yet another
hurried Him from land to land. Thus have they pronounced judgment against Us,
and God, truly, is aware of what I say.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Epistle to the Son of
the Wolf’)
June 10
Say: The heavens have been folded together, and the earth is
held within His grasp, and the corrupt doers have been held by their forelock,
and still they understand not. They drink of the tainted water, and know it
not. Say: The shout hath been raised, and the people have come forth from their
graves, and arising, are gazing around them. Some have made haste to attain the
court of the God of Mercy, others have fallen down on their faces in the fire
of Hell, while still others are lost in bewilderment. The verses of God have
been revealed, and yet they have turned away from them. His proof hath been
manifested, and yet they are unaware of it. And when they behold the face of
the All-Merciful, their own faces are saddened, while they are disporting
themselves. They hasten forward to Hell Fire, and mistake it for light. Far
from God be what they fondly imagine! Say: Whether ye rejoice or whether ye
burst for fury, the heavens are cleft asunder, and God hath come down, invested
with radiant sovereignty. All created things are heard exclaiming: “The Kingdom
is God’s, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”
(Baha’u’llah,
‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
June 9
Say: In the East the light of His Revelation hath broken; in
the West have appeared the signs of His dominion. Ponder this in your hearts, O
people, and be not of those who have turned a deaf ear to the admonitions of
Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Praised. Let the Breeze of God awaken you.
Verily, it hath wafted over the world. Well is it with him that hath discovered
the fragrance thereof and been accounted among the well-assured.
(Baha’u’llah,
from Lawh-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Tablet) [Sometimes referred to as Tablet to
the Christians]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
June 8
After scaling the high summits of wonderment the wayfarer
cometh to the
Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness. This station is the dying from self and the living in God,
the being poor in self and rich in the Desired One. Poverty as here referred to
signifieth being poor in the things of the created world, rich in the things of
God’s world. For when the true lover and devoted friend reacheth to the
presence of the Beloved, the sparkling beauty of the Loved One and the fire of
the lover’s heart will kindle a blaze and burn away all veils and wrappings.
Yea, all he hath, from heart to skin, will be set aflame, so that nothing will
remain save the Friend.
When the qualities of the Ancient of
Days stood revealed,
Then the qualities of earthly things did Moses burn away. [1]
Then the qualities of earthly things did Moses burn away. [1]
He who hath attained this station is sanctified from all
that pertaineth to the world. Wherefore, if those who have come to the sea of
His presence are found to possess none of the limited things of this perishable
world, whether it be outer wealth or personal opinions, it mattereth not. For
whatever the creatures have is limited by their own limits, and whatever the
True One hath is sanctified therefrom…
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Seven Valleys and the
Four Valleys')
1. The Mathnaví
June 7
Take heed lest the
world beguile you as it beguiled the people who went before you! Observe ye the
statutes and precepts of your Lord, and walk ye in this Way which hath been
laid out before you in righteousness and truth. They who eschew iniquity and
error, who adhere to virtue, are, in the sight of the one true God, among the
choicest of His creatures; their names are extolled by the Concourse of the
realms above, and by those who dwell in this Tabernacle which hath been raised
in the name of God.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
June 6
Justice, which consisteth in rendering each his due,
dependeth upon and is conditioned by two words: reward and punishment. From the
standpoint of justice, every soul should receive the reward of his actions,
inasmuch as the peace and prosperity of the world depend thereon, even as He
saith, exalted be His glory: “The structure of world stability and order hath
been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars of
reward and punishment”. In brief, every circumstance requireth a different
utterance and every occasion calleth for a different course of action. Blessed
are they that have arisen to serve God, who speak forth wholly for His sake,
and who return unto Him.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other
Writings’)
June 5
That which God hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and
mightiest instrument for the healing of the world is the union of all its
peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be
achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful, and inspired
Physician. By My life! This is the truth, and all else naught but error. Each
time that Most Mighty Instrument hath come, and that Light shone forth from the
Ancient Dayspring, He was withheld by ignorant physicians who, even as clouds,
interposed themselves between Him and the world. It failed therefore, to
recover, and its sickness hath persisted until this day. They indeed were
powerless to protect it, or to effect a cure, whilst He Who hath been the
Manifestation of Power amongst men was withheld from achieving His purpose, by
reason of what the hands of the ignorant physicians have wrought.
(Baha’u’llah,
‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
June 4
O QURRATU’L-‘AYN! Say: Verily I am the One Who is hailed in
the Mother Book as the ‘Great Announcement’. Say: The people have grievously
differed over Me, whereas in truth there is no difference between Me and the
Báb; and God, the Eternal Truth, is sufficient witness.
(The Báb, excerpt from
the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)
June 3
Say: It is in Our
power, should We wish it, to cause all created things to expire in an instant,
and, with the next, to endue them again with life. The knowledge thereof, however, is with God
alone, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
It is in Our power, should We wish it, to enable a speck of floating dust
to generate, in less than the twinkling of an eye, suns of infinite, of
unimaginable splendour, to cause a dewdrop to develop into vast and numberless
oceans, to infuse into every letter such a force as to empower it to unfold all
the knowledge of past and future ages.
This, in truth, is a matter simple of accomplishment. Such have been the evidences of My power from
the beginning that hath no beginning until the end that hath no end. My creatures, however, have been oblivious of
My power, have repudiated My sovereignty, and contended with Mine own Self, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
(Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal, The Summons of the
Lord of Hosts)
June 2
Sanctified be the Lord of all mankind, at the mention of
Whose name all the atoms of the earth have been made to vibrate, and the Tongue
of Grandeur hath been moved to disclose that which had been wrapt in His
knowledge and lay concealed within the treasury of His might. He, verily,
through the potency of His name, the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the Most High,
is the ruler of all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth.
(Baha’u’llah,
‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
June 1
O SON OF MAN! Wert thou to speed through the immensity of
space and traverse the expanse of heaven, yet thou wouldst find no rest save in
submission to Our command and humbleness before Our Face.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
May 31
…when the hour of the Revelation of Jesus drew nigh, a few
of the Magi, aware that the star of Jesus had appeared in heaven, sought and
followed it, till they came unto the city which was the seat of the Kingdom of
Herod. The sway of his sovereignty in those days embraced the whole of that
land.
These Magi said: “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen His star in the east and are come to worship Him!” [1] When they had searched, they found out that in Bethlehem, in the land of
Judea, the Child had been born. This was the sign that was manifested in the
visible heaven. As to the sign in the invisible heaven—the heaven of divine
knowledge and understanding—it was Yahyá, son of Zachariah, who gave unto the
people the tidings of the Manifestation of Jesus. Even as He hath revealed:
“God announceth Yahyá to thee, who shall bear witness unto the Word from God,
and a great one and chaste.” [2] By the term “Word” is meant Jesus,
Whose coming Yahyá foretold. Moreover, in the heavenly Scriptures it is
written: “John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [3] By John is meant Yahyá.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan)
1. Matthew 2:2
3. Matthew 3:1–2
May 30
Shield us… O my God, from the mischief of Thine enemies, and
assist us to help Thy Faith, and to protect Thy Cause, and to celebrate Thy
glory. Thou art, verily, He Who from everlasting hath inhabited the
inaccessible heights of His unity, and will continue to remain the same for
ever and ever. Nothing whatsoever escapeth Thy knowledge, nor is there anything
that can frustrate Thee. No God is there beside Thee, the Almighty, the
Ever-Faithful, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved.
(Baha’u’llah,
‘Prayers and Meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
May 29
O concourse of priests! Leave the bells, and come forth,
then, from your churches. It behoveth you, in this day, to proclaim aloud the
Most Great Name among the nations. Prefer ye to be silent, whilst every stone
and every tree shouteth aloud: ‘The Lord is come in His great glory!’? Well is
it with the man who hasteneth unto Him. Verily, he is numbered among them whose
names will be eternally recorded and who will be mentioned by the Concourse on
High. Thus hath it been decreed by the Spirit in this wondrous Tablet. He that
summoneth men in My name is, verily, of Me, and he will show forth that which
is beyond the power of all that are on earth. Follow ye the Way of the Lord and
walk not in the footsteps of them that are sunk in heedlessness. Well is it
with the slumberer who is stirred by the Breeze of God and ariseth from amongst
the dead, directing his steps towards the Way of the Lord. Verily, such a man
is regarded, in the sight of God, the True One, as a jewel amongst men and is
reckoned with the blissful.
(Baha’u’llah, from Lawhpi-Aqdas (The Most Holy
Tablet) [Sometimes referred to as Tablet to the Christians]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
May 28
Let not your hearts be perturbed, O people, when the glory
of My Presence is withdrawn, and the ocean of My utterance is stilled. In My
presence amongst you there is a wisdom, and in My absence there is yet another,
inscrutable to all but God, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing. Verily, We
behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid whosoever will arise for the
triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high and a company of
Our favoured angels.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas)
May 27
The Pen of Holiness, I solemnly affirm
before God, hath writ upon My snow-white brow and in characters of effulgent
glory these glowing, these musk-scented and holy words: ‘Behold ye that dwell
on earth, and ye denizens of heaven, bear witness, He in truth is your
Well-Beloved. He it is Whose like the world of creation hath not seen, He Whose
ravishing beauty hath delighted the eye of God, the Ordainer, the All-Powerful,
the Incomparable!’
(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Dispensation
of Baha’u’llah’)
May 26
Among the Prophets was Abraham, the Friend of God. Ere He
manifested Himself, Nimrod dreamed a dream. Thereupon, he summoned the
soothsayers, who informed him of the rise of a star in the heaven. Likewise,
there appeared a herald who announced throughout the land the coming of
Abraham.
After Him came Moses, He Who held converse with God. The
soothsayers of His time warned Pharaoh in these terms: “A star hath risen in
the heaven, and lo! it foreshadoweth the conception of a Child Who holdeth your
fate and the fate of your people in His hand.” In like manner, there appeared a
sage who, in the darkness of the night, brought tidings of joy unto the people
of Israel, imparting consolation to their souls, and assurance to their hearts.
To this testify the records of the sacred books.
(Baha'u'llah, The
Kitab-i-Iqan)
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