Saturday, February 25, 2017

Quote of the Day, 1 Ayyam-i-Ha 173 BE






“He that seeketh to be a helper of God in this Day, let him close his eyes to whatever he may possess, and open them to the things of God. Let him cease to occupy himself with that which profiteth him, and concern himself with that which shall exalt the all-compelling name of the Almighty.”

— Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh




Quote of the Day, 19 Mulk 173 BE







“O Son of Man!

Thou dost wish for gold and I desire thy freedom from it. Thou thinkest thyself rich in its possession, and I recognize thy wealth in thy sanctity therefrom. By My life! This is My knowledge, and that is thy fancy; how can My way accord with thine?”

— Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh




Quote of the Day, 18 Mulk 173 BE






“Attach not thyself to anything unless in it thou seest the reality of God — this is the first step into the court of eternity. The earth life lasts but a short time, even its benefits are transitory; that which is temporary does not deserve our heart's attachment.”

— Words attributed to `Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy




Quote of the Day, 17 Mulk 173 BE






"...it has become clearer still that, in different nations in different ways, the social consensus around ideals that have traditionally united and bound together a people is increasingly worn and spent. It can no longer offer a reliable defence against a variety of self-serving, intolerant, and toxic ideologies that feed upon discontent and resentment. With a conflicted world appearing every day less sure of itself, the proponents of these destructive doctrines grow bold and brazen. We recall the unequivocal verdict from the Supreme Pen: “They hasten forward to Hell Fire, and mistake it for light.” Well-meaning leaders of nations and people of goodwill are left struggling to repair the fractures evident in society and powerless to prevent their spread. The effects of all this are not only to be seen in outright conflict or a collapse in order. In the distrust that pits neighbour against neighbour and severs family ties, in the antagonism of so much of what passes for social discourse, in the casualness with which appeals to ignoble human motivations are used to win power and pile up riches—in all these lie unmistakable signs that the moral force which sustains society has become gravely depleted.

Yet there is reassurance in the knowledge that, amidst the disintegration, a new kind of collective life is taking shape which gives practical expression to all that is heavenly in human beings... we see how the initial stirrings of activity arise out of the love for Bahá’u’lláh held in the heart of a committed believer. Notwithstanding the orders of complexity that must eventually be accommodated as a community grows in size, all activity begins with this simple strand of love. It is the vital thread from which is woven a pattern of patient and concentrated effort, cycle after cycle, to introduce children, youth, and adults to spiritual ideas; to foster a feeling for worship through gatherings for prayer and devotion; to stimulate conversations that illuminate understanding; to start ever-growing numbers on a lifetime of study of the Creative Word and its translation into deeds; to develop, along with others, capacity for service; and to accompany one another in the exercise of what has been learned."

— Universal House of Justice, Riḍván 2015 Message to the Baha'is of the world




Quote of the Day, 16 Mulk 173 BE






“I confess that Thou hast no desire except the regeneration of the whole world, and the establishment of the unity of its peoples, and the salvation of all them that dwell therein.”

— Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh





Quote of the Day, 15 Mulk 173 BE





"O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious. Ask whatsoever thou wishest of Him alone; seek whatsoever thou seekest from Him alone. With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief. He doeth as He doeth, and what recourse have we? He carrieth out His Will, He ordaineth what He pleaseth. Then better for thee to bow down thy head in submission, and put thy trust in the All-Merciful Lord."
— Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Baha




Quote of the Day, 14 Mulk 173 BE






"Believe thou in God, and keep thine eyes fixed upon the exalted Kingdom; be thou enamoured of the Abhá Beauty; stand thou firm in the Covenant; yearn thou to ascend into the Heaven of the Universal Light. Be thou severed from this world, and reborn through the sweet scents of holiness that blow from the realm of the All-Highest. Be thou a summoner to love, and be thou kind to all the human race. Love thou the children of men and share in their sorrows. Be thou of those who foster peace. Offer thy friendship, be worthy of trust. Be thou a balm to every sore, be thou a medicine for every ill. Bind thou the souls together. Recite thou the verses of guidance. Be engaged in the worship of thy Lord, and rise up to lead the people aright. Loose thy tongue and teach, and let thy face be bright with the fire of God’s love. Rest thou not for a moment, seek thou to draw no easeful breath. Thus mayest thou become a sign and symbol of God’s love, and a banner of His grace."

— Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Baha




Quote of the Day, 13 Mulk 173 BE






“Referring to both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice we read these emphatic words: "The sacred and youthful Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (the Báb) (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God."
From these statements it is made indubitably clear and evident that the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word and that the Universal House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested.”
— Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh




Quote of the Day, 12 Mulk 173 BE






“Well is it with him who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Bahá'u'lláh and rendereth thanks unto his Lord! For He will assuredly be made manifest. God hath indeed irrevocably ordained it in the Bayán.”

— The Báb, Persian Bayán





Quote of the Day, 11 Mulk 173 BE






"How much more grievous would it be, were aught else to be mentioned in that Presence, were man's heart, his tongue, his mind, or his soul, to be busied with any one but the Well-Beloved, were his eyes to behold any countenance other than His beauty, were his ear to be inclined to any melody but His Voice, and were his feet to tread any way but His way...."

— Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Iqan





Quote of the Day, 10 Mulk 173 BE






"...so that blessed individuals, who have freed themselves from the murk of the animal world, shall rise up with those qualities which are the adornings of the reality of man."

— Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha





Quote of the Day, 9 Mulk 173 BE





“He is, and should for all time be regarded, first and foremost, as the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant, His most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, the embodiment of every Bahá'í ideal, the incarnation of every Bahá'í virtue, the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root, the Limb of the Law of God, the Being "round Whom all names revolve," the Mainspring of the Oneness of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of the Central Orb of this most holy Dispensation—styles and titles that are implicit and find their truest, their highest and fairest expression in the magic name `Abdu'l-Bahá.”

— Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh




Quote of the Day, 8 Mulk 173 BE

  




"...the worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting; more especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of God."

— `Abdu'l-Baha, Tablet to Dr M. G. Skinner, Star of the West Vol. 3




Quote of the Day, 7 Mulk 173 BE






"Know ye that by “the world” is meant your unawareness of Him Who is your Maker, and your absorption in aught else but Him. The “life to come,” on the other hand, signifieth the things that give you a safe approach to God, the All-Glorious, the Incomparable. Whatsoever deterreth you, in this Day, from loving God is nothing but the world."

— Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh





Quote of the Day, 6 Mulk 173 BE





"Turn thou unto the Kingdom of Oneness and chant thou the verses of Singleness."

— Tablets of `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas Vol 1





Quote of the Day, 5 Mulk 173 BE





"...we feel compelled to raise a warning: It will be important for all to recognize that the value of engaging in social action and public discourse is not to be judged by the ability to bring enrolments. Though endeavours in these two areas of activity may well effect an increase in the size of the Bahá’í community, they are not undertaken for this purpose. Sincerity in this respect is an imperative."

- Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 2010 Message





Quote of the Day, 4 Mulk 173 BE






"The aim of the appearance of the Blessed Perfection—may my life be a sacrifice for His beloved ones! —was the unity and agreement of all the people of the world."

- Tablets of `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas Vol 1





Quote of the Day, 3 Mulk 173 BE






"O OFFSPRING OF DUST!
Be not content with the ease of a passing day, and deprive not thyself of everlasting rest. Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world. Up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless."

- Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah




Quote of the Day, 2 Mulk 173 BE






“Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous….”

- Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh





Quote of the Day, 1 Mulk 173 BE




"Knowledge is one of the wondrous gifts of God. It is incumbent upon everyone to acquire it."

- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of Tarazat (Ornaments)





Quote of the Day, 19 Sulṭán 173 BE






"And just as all of the many things grow on earth and sustain the people, the newly arriving Great Law will come to shed light on the minds of the people, the elders and the younger people, everybody, even the children, and this is what you will work at: everyone shall become related to one another, so that it is what will unite them: the Good Message, and the Power, and the Peace."

– Words attributed to Native American prophet The Great Peacemaker (Deganawida), Concerning the League





Quote of the Day, 18 Sulṭán 173 BE





“What more shall I say? What else can my pen recount? So loud is the call that reverberates from the Abhá Kingdom that mortal ears are well-nigh deafened with its vibrations. The whole creation, methinks, is being disrupted and is bursting asunder through the shattering influence of the Divine summons issued from the throne of glory. More than this I cannot write.”

- Bahá'u'lláh, quoted by Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh





Quote of the Day, 17 Sulṭán 173 BE






“Beware lest ye sow tares of dissension among men or plant thorns of doubt in pure and radiant hearts.”

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




Quote of the Day, 16 Sulṭán 173 BE





“Far from aiming at the overthrow of the spiritual foundation of the world's religious systems, its avowed, its unalterable purpose is to widen their basis, to restate their fundamentals, to reconcile their aims, to reinvigorate their life, to demonstrate their oneness, to restore the pristine purity of their teachings, to cöordinate their functions and to assist in the realization of their highest aspirations. These divinely-revealed religions, as a close observer has graphically expressed it, "are doomed not to die, but to be reborn...”

- Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh




Quote of the Day, 15 Sulṭán 173 BE






“If the soul identifies itself with the material world it remains dark, for in the natural world there is corruption, aggression, struggles for existence, greed, darkness, transgression and vice. If the soul remains in this station and moves along these paths it will be the recipient of this darkness; but if it becomes the recipient of the graces of the world of mind, its darkness will be transformed into light, its tyranny into justice, its ignorance into wisdom, its aggression into loving kindness; until it reach the apex. Then there will not remain any struggle for existence. Man will become free from egotism; he will be released from the material world; he will become the personification of justice and virtue, for a sanctified soul illumines humanity and is an honor to mankind, conferring life upon the children of men and suffering all nations to attain to the station of perfect unity.”

- Words attributed to `Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy




Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Quote of the Day, 14 Sulṭán 173 BE






“Say: Deliver your souls, O people, from the bondage of self, and purify them from all attachment to anything besides Me. Remembrance of Me cleanseth all things from defilement, could ye but perceive it.”

- Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh




Quote of the Day, 13 Sulṭán 173 BE






“...the divine reality is unlimited and immeasurable and can never stop or deteriorate, therefore the holy souls who are confirmed with this divine power are likewise endowed with eternal motion. Their progress becomes unlimited. Day unto day their lives are strengthened, the circle of their comprehension becomes wider, the sphere of their intellects becomes more effectual and their capacities are increased.
I desire for you that ideal power, so that you may come into the stream of uninterrupted motion and never cease progressing.
Day unto day may you inherit eternal qualities, so that you may continue to travel along all the infinite degrees of human and divine attainments.”

- Words attributed to `Abdu'l-Bahá, Divine Philosophy




Quote of the Day, 12 Sulṭán 173 BE






“Strive, O people, that your eyes may be directed towards the mercy of God, that your hearts may be attuned to His wondrous remembrance, that your souls may rest confidently upon His grace and bounty, that your feet may tread the path of His good-pleasure.”

- Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh




Quote of the Day, 11 Sulṭán 173 BE





“God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is like a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp is in glass, the glass as if it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow forth, though no fire touched it. Light upon Light! God guides to His Light whom He wills.”

- Qur'an 24:35




Quote of the Day, 10 Sulṭán 173 BE





“All blessings are divine in origin, but none can be compared with this power of intellectual investigation and research, which is an eternal gift producing fruits of unending delight.”

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




Quote of the Day, 9 Sulṭán 173 BE




"Reveal then Thyself, O Lord, by Thy merciful utterance and the mystery of Thy divine being, that the holy ecstasy of prayer may fill our souls—a prayer that shall rise above words and letters and transcend the murmur of syllables and sounds..."

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha'i Prayers




Quote of the Day, 8 Sulṭán 173 BE





“O God! O God! This is a broken-winged bird and his flight is very slow—assist him so that he may fly toward the apex of prosperity and salvation, wing his way with the utmost joy and happiness throughout the illimitable space, raise his melody in Thy Supreme Name in all the regions, exhilarate the ears with this call, and brighten the eyes by beholding the signs of guidance.”

- `Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan




Quote of the Day, 7 Sulṭán 173 BE





" O children of dust! Turn your faces from the darkness of estrangement to the effulgent light of the daystar of unity. This is that which above all else will benefit the peoples of the earth."

- Baha'u'llah, Tablet to Mánikchí Ṣáḥib




Sunday, January 22, 2017

Quote of the Day, 6 Sulṭán 173 BE






"They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick... I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

- Matthew 9:12-13, King James Edition




Quote of the Day, 5 Sulṭán 173 BE





“That the divers communions of the earth, and the manifold systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the feelings of animosity among men, is, in this Day, of the essence of the Faith of God and His Religion.”

- Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh




Quote of the Day, 4 Sulṭán 173 BE





"Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth and transcendeth the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas and convictions of the children of men."

- Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh




Quote of the Day, 3 Sulṭán 173 BE




"They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the egocage of “I,” “me,” and “mine” to be united with the Lord. This is the supreme state. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality."

- Words attributed to Krishna, Bhagavad Gita




Quote of the Day, 2 Sulṭán 173 BE






"That which the people now fail to apprehend they shall erelong discover, on that day when their steeds shall stumble and their finery be folded up, their blades blunted and their feet made to falter."

- Baha'u'llah, Tablet to Násiri’d-Dín Sháh




Quote of the Day, 1 Sulṭán 173 BE






"Turn not away yourself from the three best things: good word, good thought, good deed."

- Words attributed to Zoroaster, the Avesta




Quote of the Day, 19 Sharaf 173 BE





"Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil its purpose, your object is attained. If any one should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him."

- Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah




Quote of the Day, 18 Sharaf 173 BE





"Pleasure from the senses seems like nectar at first, but it is bitter as poison in the end."

- Words attributed to Krishna, Bhagavad Gita




Quote of the Day, 17 Sharaf 173 BE





"Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. I am born in every age to protect the good, to destroy evil, and to reestablish dharma."

- Words attributed to Krishna, Bhagavad Gita




Quote of the Day, 16 Sharaf 173 BE





“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.”

- Bahá’u’lláh, Tabernacle of Unity




Quote of the Day, 15 Sharaf 173 BE





“The suckling child must be nourished with milk. If it be given meat it will assuredly perish, and this would be naught but sheer injustice and unwisdom. Blessed are they that understand.”

- Bahá’u’lláh, Tabernacle of Unity




Quote of the Day, 14 Sharaf 173 BE





"O SON OF SPIRIT!
The bird seeketh its nest; the nightingale the charm of the rose; whilst those birds, the hearts of men, content with transient dust, have strayed far from their eternal nest, and with eyes turned towards the slough of heedlessness are bereft of the glory of the divine presence. Alas! How strange and pitiful; for a mere cupful, they have turned away from the billowing seas of the Most High, and remained far from the most effulgent horizon."

- Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah