Quote of the Day, 16 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened."

- Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom)

Quote of the Day, 15 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"Throughout the world, in diverse cultures, Bahá’ís encounter values and practices that stand in sharp contrast to the teachings of the Faith. Some are embedded in social structures, for instance, racial prejudice and gender discrimination, economic exploitation and political corruption. Others pertain to personal conduct, especially with respect to the use of alcohol and drugs, to sexual behaviour, and to self-indulgence in general. If Bahá’ís simply surrender to the mores of society, how will conditions change? How will the people of the world distinguish today’s moribund order from the civilization to which Bahá’u’lláh is summoning humanity?

...

Young Bahá’ís especially need to take care, lest they imagine they can live according to the norms of contemporary society while adhering to Bahá’í ideals at some minimum level to assuage their conscience or to satisfy the community, for they will soon find themselves consumed in a struggle to obey even the most basic of the Faith’s moral teachings and powerless to take up the challenges of their generation. “Wings that are besmirched with mire can never soar,” Bahá’u’lláh warns."

- From a letter from the Universal House of Justice to some individual Baha'is

Quote of the Day, 14 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.

O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord."

- Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i Prayers

Quote of the Day, 13 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday. Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches. Take heed that your words be purged from idle fancies and worldly desires and your deeds be cleansed from craftiness and suspicion. Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting your personal interest."

Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom)

Quote of the Day, 12 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"I belong to him that loveth Me, that holdeth fast My commandments, and casteth away the things forbidden him in My Book."

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Quote of the Day, 11 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"In this day, to thank God for His bounties consisteth in possessing a radiant heart, and a soul open to the promptings of the spirit. This is the essence of thanksgiving.

...

Regarding one’s lack of capacity and one’s undeserving on the Day of Resurrection, this does not cause one to be shut out from gifts and bounties; for this is not the Day of Justice but the Day of Grace, while justice is allotting to each whatever is his due. Then look thou not at the degree of thy capacity, look thou at the boundless favour of Bahá’u’lláh; all-encompassing is His bounty, and consummate His grace."

- Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha

Quote of the Day, 10 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"By the righteousness of God! The world and its vanities, and its glory, and whatever delights it can offer, are all, in the sight of God, as worthless as, nay, even more contemptible than, dust and ashes. Would that the hearts of men could comprehend it! Cleanse yourselves thoroughly, O people of Bahá, from the defilement of the world, and of all that pertaineth unto it. God Himself beareth Me witness. The things of the earth ill beseem you. Cast them away unto such as may desire them, and fasten your eyes upon this most holy and effulgent Vision."

- Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah

Quote of the Day, 9 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"The world of humanity is in need of great improvement..."

- Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha

Quote of the Day, 8 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"Soon will our handful of days, our vanishing life, be gone, and we shall pass, empty-handed, into the hollow that is dug for those who speak no more; wherefore must we bind our hearts to the manifest Beauty, and cling to the lifeline that faileth never. We must gird ourselves for service, kindle love’s flame, and burn away in its heat. We must loose our tongues till we set the wide world’s heart afire, and with bright rays of guidance blot out the armies of the night, and then, for His sake, on the field of sacrifice, fling down our lives."

- Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha

Quote of the Day, 7 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"O MOVING FORM OF DUST! I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me. The sword of thy rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee, yet boundless shame thou hast chosen for thyself. While there is yet time, return, and lose not thy chance."

- Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah

Quote of the Day, 6 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"Verily, God will bring everything to light, though it were but the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and hidden in a rock or in the heavens or in the earth; for God is Subtle, informed of all."

Baha'u'llah, quoting the Shia Hadith, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Quote of the Day, 5 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"The teachings specialized in Bahá'u'lláh are addressed to humanity. He says, "Ye are all the leaves of one tree." He does not say, "Ye are the leaves of two trees: one divine, the other satanic." He has declared that each individual member of the human family is a leaf or branch upon the Adamic tree; that all are sheltered beneath the protecting mercy and providence of God; that all are the children of God, fruit upon the one tree of His love. God is equally compassionate and kind to all the leaves, branches and fruit of this tree. Therefore, there is no satanic tree whatever -- Satan being a product of human minds and of instinctive human tendencies toward error. God alone is Creator, and all are creatures of His might. Therefore, we must love mankind as His creatures, realizing that all are growing upon the tree of His mercy, servants of His omnipotent will and manifestations of His good pleasure.

Even though we find a defective branch or leaf upon this tree of humanity or an imperfect blossom, it, nevertheless, belongs to this tree and not to another. Therefore, it is our duty to protect and cultivate this tree until it reaches perfection. If we examine its fruit and find it imperfect, we must strive to make it perfect. There are souls in the human world who are ignorant; we must make them knowing. Some growing upon the tree are weak and ailing; we must assist them toward health and recovery. If they are as infants in development, we must minister to them until they attain maturity. We should never detest and shun them as objectionable and unworthy. We must treat them with honor, respect and kindness; for God has created them and not Satan. They are not manifestations of the wrath of God but evidences of His divine favor. God, the Creator, has endowed them with physical, mental and spiritual qualities that they may seek to know and do His will; therefore, they are not objects of His wrath and condemnation. In brief, all humanity must be looked upon with love, kindness and respect; for what we behold in them are none other than the signs and traces of God Himself. All are evidences of God; therefore, how shall we be justified in debasing and belittling them, uttering anathema and preventing them from drawing near unto His mercy? This is ignorance and injustice, displeasing to God; for in His sight all are His servants."

- Words attributed to Abdu'l-Baha, Promulgation of Universal Peace

Quote of the Day, 4 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"The cornerstone of the Religion of God is the acquisition of the Divine perfections and the sharing in His manifold bestowals. The essential purpose of Faith and Belief is to ennoble the inner being of man with the outpourings of grace from on high. If this be not attained, it is indeed deprivation itself. It is the torment of infernal fire."

Words attributed to Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Volume 1

Quote of the Day, 3 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"Say: If ye be seekers after this life and the vanities thereof, ye should have sought them while ye were still enclosed in your mothers’ wombs, for at that time ye were continually approaching them, could ye but perceive it. Ye have, on the other hand, ever since ye were born and attained maturity, been all the while receding from the world and drawing closer to dust. Why, then, exhibit such greed in amassing the treasures of the earth, when your days are numbered and your chance is well-nigh lost? Will ye not, then, O heedless ones, shake off your slumber?"

- Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah

Quote of the Day, 2 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

"The fleeting hours of man’s life on earth pass swiftly by and the little that still remaineth shall come to an end, but that which endureth and lasteth for evermore is the fruit that man reapeth from his servitude at the Divine Threshold."

- Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha

Quote of the Day, 1 ‘Aẓamat 173 BE

“Read thy Book: There needeth none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day.”

- Qur'an 17:15

Quote of the Day, 19 Jamál 173 BE

"...is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed, the futility of God’s universal Manifestations would be apparent."

Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Iqan

Quote of the Day, 18 Jamál 173 BE

"Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation."

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Quote of the Day, 17 Jamál 173 BE

"...the Cause of the Ancient Beauty is the very essence of love, the very channel of oneness, existing only that all may become the waves of one sea, and bright stars of the same endless sky, and pearls within the shell of singleness, and gleaming jewels quarried from the mines of unity; that they may become servants one to another, adore one another, bless one another, praise one another; that each one may loose his tongue and extol the rest without exception, each one voice his gratitude to all the rest; that all should lift up their eyes to the horizon of glory, and remember that they are linked to the Holy Threshold; that they should see nothing but good in one another, hear nothing but praise of one another, and speak no word of one another save only to praise."

- Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha

Quote of the Day, 16 Jamál 173 BE

"...forgetful of self but ever mindful of what is Thine."

- Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i Prayers

Quote of the Day, 15 Jamál 173 BE

"A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding."

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Quote of the Day, 14 Jamál 173 BE

"The lowliest and most abject of all things holdeth sway over thee, and that is none other than self and passion, which have ever been reprehensible."

Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Ra'ís

Quote of the Day, 13 Jamál 173 BE

"Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction."

- Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah

Quote of the Day, 12 Jamál 173 BE

"...strive ye to unite the hearts of those who follow other faiths."

- Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha

Quote of the Day, 11 Jamál 173 BE

"The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh, the followers of His Faith firmly believe, is that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but facets of one truth, that their functions are complementary, that they differ only in the non-essential aspects of their doctrines, and that their missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society."

- Shoghi Effendi, From a letter to the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, 1947

Quote of the Day, 10 Jamál 173 BE

"Truth is one in all religions, and by means of it the unity of the world can be realized."

- Words attributed to Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks

Quote of the Day, 9 Jamál 173 BE

"Were man to appreciate the greatness of his station and the loftiness of his destiny he would manifest naught save goodly character, pure deeds, and a seemly and praiseworthy conduct."

- Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Maqsud

Quote of the Day, 8 Jamál 173 BE

"How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate the face of society?

...The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which beseemeth their station."

- Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Maqsud