Archive for August, 2008

“Thy day of service is now come.”

“That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.”

“There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service of God, a company of His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men, who shall aid His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the entire human race rise up and war against them.”   [Editor: that’s us]

“Proclaim, then, that which the Most Great Spirit will inspire thee to utter in the service of the Cause of thy Lord, that thou mayest stir up the souls of all men and incline their hearts unto this most blessed and all-glorious Court….”

“I entreat Thee, O Lord of the Kingdom of eternity, by the shrill voice of the Pen of Glory, and by the Burning Fire which calleth aloud from the verdant Tree, and by the Ark which Thou hast specially chosen for the people of Baha, to grant that I may remain steadfast in my love for Thee, be well pleased with whatsoever Thou hast prescribed for me in Thy Book and may stand firm in Thy service and in the service of Thy loved ones.”

“Man’s merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches.”

“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.”

From the Writings of Baha’u’llah

“O Lord! Make this youth radiant, and confer Thy bounty upon this poor creature. Bestow upon him knowledge, grant him added strength at the break of every morn and guard him within the shelter of Thy protection so that he may be freed from error, may devote himself to the service of Thy Cause, may guide the wayward, lead the hapless, free the captives and awaken the heedless, that all may be blessed with Thy remembrance and praise. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful.”

‘Abdu’l-Baha

Photo: staff members from the Baha’i World Centre in Haifa, Israel climb up the wall of Avdat Canyon in southern Israel during a weekend trip.

 “Every Prophet Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath purposed to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted with a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would best meet the requirements of the age in which He appeared. God’s purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.”

“Say: Honesty, virtue, wisdom and a saintly character redound to the exaltation of man, while dishonesty, imposture, ignorance and hypocrisy lead to his abasement.”

“Every discerning man of wisdom is well acquainted with that which We have mentioned, but not those who have strayed far from the living fountain of fairmindedness and are roving distraught in the wilderness of ignorance and blind fanaticism.”

“True loss is for him whose days have been spent in utter ignorance of his self.”

“Thus it is that certain invalid souls have confined the lands of knowledge within the wall of self and passion, and clouded them with ignorance and blindness, and have been veiled from the light of the mystic sun and the mysteries of the Eternal Beloved; they have strayed afar from the jewelled wisdom of the lucid Faith of the Lord of Messengers, have been shut out of the sanctuary of the All-Beauteous One, and banished from the Ka’bih of splendor.”

From the Writings of Baha’u’llah 

“Those who live thinking good thoughts, doing good deeds, and with love in their hearts — the minds of these become ever clearer, reflecting more and more perfectly the love of God, while the minds of those who live in ignorance and desire are clouded and obscured, and give forth His light but meagrely.”

‘Abdu’l-Baha

Photo: the monument marking the resting place of Munirih Khanum, the wife of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, in the Monument Gardens of the Baha’i World Centre in Haifa, Israel.

“Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God! Thou beholdest what the tongue of no one except Thee can utter, and bearest witness unto things which no mouth can recount. The floods of afflictions are let loose, and the winds of Thy judgment have blown, and from the clouds rain down the darts of tests, and the heavens of Thy decree pour forth the arrows of trial.

Thou seest, O my Lord, how Thy servants, who have believed on Thee and acknowledged Thy signs, have fallen into the clutches of Thine enemies, how the doors of ease and comfort have been shut against them, how they languish in the Fortress wherein neither pleasantness nor hope can be found. They have suffered in Thy path what no man before them hath suffered. To this bear witness they who abide around Thy throne, and the dwellers of the earth, and the Concourse on high.

These, O my God, are Thy servants who, for love of Thy beauty, have forsaken their homes, and been so stirred up by the gentle winds of their desire for Thee that they have sundered every tie in Thy path. Such of Thy servants as dwell in Thy land and have transgressed against Thee have assailed them, and banished them from Thy cities, and made them captives, and delivered them into the hands of workers of iniquity among Thy people and the perverse amidst the wicked doers in Thy realm. And finally, they were made to abide in this place with which no other place, however loathsome, in all Thy dominion, can compare. They were seized with such trials that the clouds weep over them and the thunder groaneth by reason of the manifold tribulations that have afflicted them in their love for Thee and for the sake of Thy pleasure.

Thou knowest full well, O my God, that there is no one on Thine earth who can claim to be related to Thee except these, some of whom have suffered martyrdom for Thy sake, while the rest have been permitted to survive. Though for such as are like unto us, O my God, it beseemeth not to claim to be related to Thee, inasmuch as our misdeeds and our waywardness have hindered us from reaching the depths of the ocean of Thy oneness, and from immersing ourselves beneath the waters of Thy transcendent mercy, yet our tongues, O my God, bear witness, and our hearts testify, and our limbs confess that Thy mercy hath enveloped all created things and Thy compassion surpassed all that are in heaven and all that are on earth.   

I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, through which all created things were rent asunder and the whole creation was shaken, to send down from the clouds of Thy mercy that which will purge them from every ordeal and from whatever is hateful to Thee. Raise them up, then, to such heights that no amount of tribulation will keep them back from Thy wondrous remembrance, nor any trouble hinder them from turning toward the court of Thy transcendent oneness.”

 Baha’u’llah  

We remember in our thoughts and prayers the tests being endured by our beloved friends in Iran and other countries who are being set upon with such meanness and ignorance in the name, of all things, of God.

Photo: 10 Haparsim Street in Haifa, Israel, taken from the site of the Master’s House. It was originally built as the pilgrim house for Western pilgrims after a donation by an American pilgrim, William Randall. It served as the original Seat of the Universal House of Justice from 1963 to 1982, and then as the Seat of the International Teaching Centre until its permanent seat was completed on the Arc Path.

“I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee.”  Baha’u’llah

This, the opening line of the short obligatory prayer, tells us why we were created. This worship is expressed inwardly, in our hearts, by our gratitude, our thankfulness. It is expressed outwardly through our conduct, that is, in the manner in which we relate to others.

Baha’u’llah further shares this reality with us in the first of His “Hidden Words”:

“O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.”

We are spiritual beings, created by God. Here is our fundamental duty to our Father. Strive to possess a virtuous character, that is, to make our inner selves, our thoughts and motives, pure. Behave in a manner that displays these inner qualities, which is kindliness. Our inner qualities will reach the hearts of others, which is their reflection, and in turn create a positive effect on the thinking, emotions, and conduct of others.  

We are not the beasts of the field. Ours is a higher calling, an unavoidable obligation given us by our Creator, and which is ignored both to the detriment of one’s own soul and to the loss of humanity. Fulfilling this duty to our Father, which is entirely for our own benefit, requires our daily vigilence every day of our lives. This effort is one avenue that helps us come closer to God, in addition to other means given to us by our loving Creator, such as prayer and fasting.

Photo: from the Austalian production “Walking with Dinosaurs” at its United States debut in July 2007, in Tacoma, Washington

Praise be unto God, incomparable in majesty, power and beauty, peerless in glory, might and grandeur; too high is He for human imaginations to comprehend Him or for any peer or equal to be ascribed unto Him. He hath clearly set forth His straight Path in words and utterances of highest eloquence. Verily He is the All-Possessing, the Most Exalted. When He purposed to call the new creation into being, He sent forth the Manifest and Luminous Point from the horizon of His Will; it passed through every sign and manifested itself in every form until it reached the zenith, as bidden by God, the Lord of all men.   Baha’u’llah

The sword of a virtuous character and upright conduct is sharper than blades of steel.   Baha’u’llah

According to the words of the Old Testament God has said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” This indicates that man is of the image and likeness of God — that is to say, the perfections of God, the divine virtues, are reflected or revealed in the human reality. Just as the light and effulgence of the sun when cast upon a polished mirror are reflected fully, gloriously, so, likewise, the qualities and attributes of Divinity are radiated from the depths of a pure human heart. This is an evidence that man is the most noble of God’s creatures.   ‘Abdu’l-Baha

He is a true Bahá’í who strives by day and by night to progress and advance along the path of human endeavor, whose most cherished desire is so to live and act as to enrich and illuminate the world, whose source of inspiration is the essence of Divine virtue, whose aim in life is so to conduct himself as to be the cause of infinite progress. Only when he attains unto such perfect gifts can it be said of him that he is a true Bahá’í. For in this holy Dispensation, the crowning glory of bygone ages and cycles, true Faith is no mere acknowledgement of the Unity of God, but rather the living of a life that will manifest all the perfections and virtues implied in such belief….    Shoghi Effendi

Photo: Mount McKinley, Alaska, the tallest mountain in North America.

Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.
Baha’u’llah

This is the hour when ye must associate with all the earth’s peoples in extreme kindliness and love, and be to them the signs and tokens of God’s great mercy.
‘Abdu’l-Baha

And for everyone it is now easy to travel to any land, to associate and exchange views with its peoples, and to become familiar, through publications, with the conditions, the religious beliefs and the thoughts of all men. In like manner all the members of the human family, whether peoples or governments, cities or villages, have become increasingly interdependent. For none is self-sufficiency any longer possible, inasmuch as political ties unite all peoples and nations, and the bonds of trade and industry, of agriculture and education, are being strengthened every day. Hence the unity of all mankind can in this day be achieved. Verily this is none other but one of the wonders of this wondrous age, this glorious century.
‘Abdu’l-Baha

Photo: L’Avenue des Champs Élysées, Paris, one of the great streets in one of the great cities of the world, as seen from atop the Arc de Triomphe.