December 31, 2023 - One’s inability to adequately praise and glorify God and His creation

Praise be to God, the All-Possessing, the King of incomparable glory, a praise which is immeasurably above the understanding of all created things, and is exalted beyond the grasp of the minds of men. None else besides Him hath ever been able to sing adequately His praise, nor will any man succeed at any time in describing the full measure of His glory. Who is it that can claim to have attained the heights of His exalted Essence, and what mind can measure the depths of His unfathomable mystery? From each and every revelation emanating from the Source of His glory, holy and never-ending evidences of unimaginable splendor have appeared, and out of every manifestation of His invincible power oceans of eternal light have outpoured. How immensely exalted are the wondrous testimonies of His almighty sovereignty, a glimmer of which, if it but touched them, would utterly consume all that are in the heavens and in the earth! How indescribably lofty are the tokens of His consummate power, a single sign of which, however inconsiderable, must transcend the comprehension of whatsoever hath, from the beginning that hath no beginning, been brought into being, or will be created in the future till the end that hath no end. All the Embodiments of His Names wander in the wilderness of search, athirst and eager to discover His Essence, and all the Manifestations of His Attributes implore Him, from the Sinai of Holiness, to unravel His mystery.

A drop of the billowing ocean of His endless mercy hath adorned all creation with the ornament of existence, and a breath wafted from His peerless Paradise hath invested all beings with the robe of His sanctity and glory. A sprinkling from the unfathomed deep of His sovereign and all-pervasive Will hath, out of utter nothingness, called into being a creation which is infinite in its range and deathless in its duration. The wonders of His bounty can never cease, and the stream of His merciful grace can never be arrested. The process of His creation hath had no beginning, and can have no end. 

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

1912: 'Abdu'l-Baha with Musette 'Ruhiyyih' Jones and Joseph Ioas in Chicago

1913 - Baha'i students and teachers at Beirut school

Shoghi Effendi is indicated by an "x"

A suggested quote to memorize: - Fundamental purpose of religion

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. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)

Birth of “the Administration of Bahá'u'lláh's invincible Faith”

Out of the pangs of anguish which His bereaved followers have suffered, amid the heat and dust which the attacks launched by a sleepless enemy had precipitated, the Administration of Bahá'u'lláh's invincible Faith was born. The potent energies released through the ascension of the Center of His Covenant crystallized into this supreme, this infallible Organ for the accomplishment of a Divine Purpose. The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá unveiled its character, reaffirmed its basis, supplemented its principles, asserted its indispensability, and enumerated its chief institutions.... 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘America and the Most Great Peace, 21 April 1933, "The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Significance of the Formative Age of Our Faith)

April 1912: 'Abdu'l-Baha's bedroom, Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, USA

(The Baha'i World 1932-1934)

God’s forgiveness for “those who truly believe in God and are well assured in the signs revealed by Him”

Verily in this Day all that dwell on earth are the servants of God. As to those who truly believe in God and are well assured in the signs revealed by Him, perchance He will graciously forgive them the things their hands have committed, and will grant them admission into the precincts of His mercy. He, in truth, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Compassionate. But the verdict of divine chastisement is pronounced against those who have turned away disdainfully from Me and have repudiated the conclusive proofs and the unerring Book with which God hath invested Me, and on the Day of Severing they shall find no protector or helper.

- The Báb  (From a Tablet addressed to Muhammad Shah of Persia, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)

October 1957 - Shoghi Effendi caught Asiatic influenza

On Sunday afternoon[while in London], October 27th, Shoghi Effendi told Ruhiyyih Khanum that he had a pain across his knuckles in both hands; she asked him if he had any other pains, and he said no, that just his fingers pained him and were stir. He added: "I feel so tired, so tired." She begged him to rest, saying that if he did not wish to go to bed, at least he should rest quietly because the probability was that he was getting the influenza which was sweeping through Europe and indeed all over the world. (She herself had been in bed with fever since Thursday night.) That night he had a fever and by the following day his temperature had risen to thirty-nine degrees. Ruhiyyih Khanum succeeded in finding an excellent doctor who had taken over the practice of a well-known Harley Street physician who had retired. This doctor was contacted and immediately prescribed medicine for the beloved Guardian and came to see him early in the evening when he was able to get away from his hospital. He examined his patient very carefully; heart, chest, temperature, pulse, etc., and said that he considered that both the Guardian and Ruhiyyih Khanum had cases of Asiatic influenza, the beloved Guardian's case being the more severe.

- Ruhiyyih Khanum  ('The Passing of Shoghi Effendi')

Obstacles to overcome

Now as never before should you strive mightily to free yourselves from the obstacles of apathy, attachment to worldly pursuits, and lethargy...

- The Universal House of Justice  (Ridvan 153, 1996 message to North America)

Rafieh Mansour -- patient handmaiden of God

In 1889, when Rafieh was three years old, her family had the joy of being invited by Baha'u'llah to move to the Holy Land where she lived until 1938. During the first three years of her stay in 'Akka, she was many times permitted into the presence of Baha'u'llah. Her uncle, Muhammad Hasan had served Baha'u'llah as a secretary when He was in Adrianople. Baha'u'llah had sent him back to Baghdad with a promise that he would be invited to rejoin Him in one Vahid (nineteen years) -- which happened in 1889! Her grandfather, 'Abdu'l-Rasoul was one of the famed martyrs of the Heroic Age of the Faith. Her mother, Zekrieh, was asked by 'Abdu'l-Baha to take on the responsibility for caring for the House of 'Abud. Her mother's parents were the first believers in Baghdad. They accepted the Faith in the days of Tahirih and it was her grandfather who helped to escort Tahirih from Baghdad back to Iran. 

(Adapted from Baha'i News, April 1974)

A story for children: The Fire Temple

The way to Ashok's school led past a Fire Temple of the Zoroastrians and Ashok was first attracted by the fragrance of sandalwood from it. He wondered what was in this temple and why sandalwood was burned there. When he was early for school Ashok would stand at the entrance and watch Zoroastrians going in and out, wearing special caps. His school friend Jamshed, had told him that a big fire was always kept burning before which they stood and prayed. Ashok had become interested and very curious. Once he had asked Jamshed to take him inside the Fire Temple but Ashok was told that only Zoroastrians could go in. This made Ashok more eager than ever. And this was why he had decided to know everything about Zoroaster and His teaching through the Time Capsule.

Ashok had found that Zoroaster lived 3000 years ago in the land of Persia, now called Iran. So he knew now what keys to tap on the Time Capsule's keyboard. As the room darkened strange voices filled the room. As the screen lit up Ashok found himself in ancient Persia amid a fair people with dark hair who wore long robes. Even the soldiers of King Vishtaspa who ruled over them, wore long tunics and carried spears and shields.

Farmers brought their products for sale in the market loaded on donkeys. They appeared to be a friendly people, kind and simple. They were all talking about the sudden and strange illness of "Asb-i-siyah" the favourite black stallion, of King Vishtaspa. Many wise men and doctors had examined the horse and tried different treatment but none would cure it. The King had offered a high reward for anyone who could make his horse well again.

“Ministers of the House of Justice”

O people of God! That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the sources of life to the world. Inasmuch as for each day there is a new problem and for every problem an expedient solution, such affairs should be referred to the Ministers of the House of Justice that they may act according to the needs and requirements of the time. They that, for the sake of God, arise to serve His Cause, are the recipients of divine inspiration from the unseen Kingdom. It is incumbent upon all to be obedient unto them. All matters of State should be referred to the House of Justice, but acts of worship must be observed according to that which God hath revealed in His Book.

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, The Establishment of the Universal House of Justice)

First Canadian National Spiritual Assembly -- Elected in 1948

Front row, left to right: Rosemary Sala, Siegfried Schopflocher, Laura Davis, Ross Woodman, John Robarts. Back row, left to right: Emeric Sala, Rowland Estall, Doris Richardson, Lloyd Gardner

1896: The True family

Corinne, Moses and the children 

Christ established unity of communities and nations, Baha’u’llah will establish unity of East and West

Christ appeared in this world nineteen hundred years ago to establish ties of unity and bonds of love between the various nations and different communities. He cemented together the sciences of Rome and the splendors of the civilization of Greece. He also accomplished affiliation between the Assyrian kingdom and the power of Egypt. The blending of these nations in unity, love and agreement had been impossible, but Christ through divine power established this condition among the children of men.

A much greater difficulty confronts us today when we endeavor to establish unity between the Orient and the Occident. Bahá'u'lláh through the power of heaven has brought the East and the West together. Erelong we shall know that they have been cemented by the power of God. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

One of the places Baha'u'llah stayed during His period of retirement

Takyiy-i-Mawlana Khalid in Sulaymaniyyih, Iraq, where Baha'u'llah stayed during His period of retirement. (The Baha'i World 1932-1934)

Huqúqu'lláh - “…ranking in importance immediately after the two great obligations of recognition of God and steadfastness in His Cause...”

In one of His Tablets Bahá'u'lláh refers to the law of Huququ'lláh as ranking in importance immediately after the two great obligations of recognition of God and steadfastness in His Cause, and yet the introduction and implementation of this law are characterized by kindness, forgiveness, tolerance and magnanimity. Although it deals with the material things of this world, it is placed among those spiritual obligations resting on the individual soul, such as prayer and fasting, the fulfilment of which is a direct responsibility of each believer towards God, not subject to the sanctions or impositions of His institutions in this world. It is, indeed, a clear expression of the priorities with which Bahá'u'lláh views the duties of mankind. First comes the spiritual, and then the material -- however important in practice the latter may be. 

(From a document titled "The Development of the Institution for the Huququ'lláh", prepared by the Research Department at the Bahá'í World Centre and sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies on 25 March 1987. A revised version was subsequently prepared and sent to all NSAs on 31 July 2002)

The “Kingdom is the real world, and this nether place is only its shadow stretching out.”

Know thou that the Kingdom is the real world, and this nether place is only its shadow stretching out. A shadow hath no life of its own; its existence is only a fantasy, and nothing more; it is but images reflected in water, and seeming as pictures to the eye. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha’)

The only real Baha’i in the world

From the earliest days of his ministry Shoghi Effendi set about creating order in what was then a very small Bahá'í world, barely existing in some of the thirty-five countries which had received at least a ray of illumination from the Light of Bahá'u'lláh. The great, guiding lines were clear in his mind and as he grew older, and the community of believers grew and increased in experience, these lines became clearer and details were added. 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself in His Will and Testament had foreshadowed this unfoldment when He said of the Guardian, "that day by day he may wax greater in happiness, in joy and spirituality, and may grow to become even as a fruitful tree." Time and space do not permit of a chronological recapitulation of this evolution. We must try to catch the great vision he gave us and see how the details were gradually filled in. So often, as I listened to and observed Shoghi Effendi, I felt he was the only real Bahá'í in the world. Everyone else, claiming to be a Bahá'í, had a portion of the Faith, an angle on it, a concept, however large, tinctured by his own limitations, but the Guardian saw it as a whole, in all its greatness and perfect balance. He had not only the capacity to see but to analyse and express with brilliant clarity what he saw. 

- Ruhiyyih Khanum  (‘The Priceless Pearl’)

The story of a modern search for the Holy Grail – The Beloved Báb

This is the story of a modern search for the Holy Grail, the cup of everlasting life. It began in the land from which the three Kings came to Bethlehem guided by a bright star. It was now the nineteenth century, and there was another sign in the heavens, a great fiery comet. Many were awed, many were frightened, many were cheered, for both the East and the West were caught up in a millennial zeal. In Persia, home of the "three wise men," the excitement over the coming of a Messiah was greater than in any other land. In America and Europe, scholars wrote and spoke of the expected appearance of the promised Christ, but in Persia many people were actively searching for Him. They believed the Promised One to be already in their midst. Among these devout searchers was Shaykh Ahmad, a kindly, gentle man. At the age of forty, he left his home and kindred in one of the islands to the south of the Persian Gulf, and set out to unravel the mystery of the coming Messenger. An inner voice kept urging him on. Eagerly, he devoured everything written on the subject. He questioned the great religious and scientific authorities until he felt that at last he knew the truth.

To “grow in faith and constancy as day followeth day, and should draw ever nearer to the Lord, your God”

O ye peoples of the Kingdom! How many a soul expended all its span of life in worship, endured the mortification of the flesh, longed to gain an entry into the Kingdom, and yet failed, while ye, with neither toil nor pain nor self-denial, have won the prize and entered in.

It is even as in the time of the Messiah, when the Pharisees and the pious were left without a portion, while Peter, John and Andrew, given neither to pious worship nor ascetic practice, won the day. Wherefore, thank ye God for setting upon your heads the crown of glory everlasting, for granting unto you this immeasurable grace.

The time hath come when, as a thank-offering for this bestowal, ye should grow in faith and constancy as day followeth day, and should draw ever nearer to the Lord, your God, becoming magnetized to such a degree, and so aflame, that your holy melodies in praise of the Beloved will reach upward to the Company on high; and that each one of you, even as a nightingale in this rose garden of God, will glorify the Lord of Hosts, and become the teacher of all who dwell on earth. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha  ('Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Baha')

circa 1920 -- 'Abdu'l-Baha with Eastern and Western Pilgrims

Shoghi Effendi is third from front.

One needs God’s assistance to “purify” himself/herself “from the love of aught except” God

I ask of Thee [God] by Thy Self…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. 

- Baha’u’llah  (compilation: ‘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)

Attempts to avoid Baha’i laws

If a believer who did not like a particular law were to be permitted to leave the community to break the law, and then rejoin with impunity, this would make a mockery of the Law of God. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated May 15, 1967, to a National Spiritual Assembly; compilation: ‘Developing Distinctive Baha'i Communities’, prepared by US NSA, 1998 edition)

Bahá'u'lláh’s remarkable knowledge and sagacity during His youthful years was acknowledged in all gatherings of theological doctors and scholars

…There was in Tihrán… a Youth of the family of one of the ministers and of noble lineage, gifted in every way, and adorned with purity and nobility. Although He combined lofty lineage with high connection, and although His ancestors were men of note in Persia and universally sought after, yet He was not of a race of doctors or a family of scholars. Now this Youth was from His earliest adolescence celebrated amongst those of the ministerial class, both relatives and strangers, for single-mindedness, and was from childhood pointed out as remarkable for sagacity, and held in regard in the eyes of the wise. He did not, however, after the fashion of His ancestors, desire elevation to lofty ranks nor seek advancement to splendid but transient positions. His extreme aptitude was nevertheless admitted by all, and His excessive acuteness and intelligence were universally avowed. In the eyes of the common folk He enjoyed a wonderful esteem, and in all gatherings and assemblies He had a marvelous speech and delivery. Notwithstanding lack of instruction and education such was the keenness of His penetration and the readiness of His apprehension that when during His youthful prime He appeared in assemblies where questions of divinity and points of metaphysic were being discussed, and, in presence of a great concourse of doctors and scholars loosed his tongue, all those present were amazed, accounting this as a sort of prodigy beyond the discernment natural to the human race. From His early years He was the hope of His kindred and the unique one of His family and race, nay, their refuge and shelter. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘A Traveler’s Narrative’)

A Baha’i Teaching: "no one should exalt himself over the other"

O Children of Men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory. 

- Bahá’u’lláh  (‘The Hidden Words’)

A Tablet of Baha'u'llah addressed to 'Abdu'l-Baha

Translation of part of this Tablet appears in 'The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah', page 43, paragraph beginning with "O Thou Who art the apple of Mine eye!"

Book: The Story of Baha’u’llah , Promised One of All Religions - by Druzelle Cederquist

This remarkable book contains many touching stories mainly about the life of Baha’u’llah, and some of the Bab’s, both during and after the Advent of the Bab. Each story has a heading which helps the reader to focus on pertinent factors involved. The book also contains some explanations of certain historical events that took place outside of Persia during particular periods associated with the Ministries of the Bab and Bah’u’llah.

Below are the headings of the 69 stories that are described in the book, and the titles of the 5 very useful appendices.

Part 1: The Dawn

1 Shaykh Mahmud’s Secret Plan

2 The Puppet Show and the Dream

3 The Home of Love

4 Father of the Poor and Mother of Consolation

5 No Time to Lose

6 The Quest

7 Witnesses of the Dawn

8 Noble Descendant of a Noble Father

9 The Mujtahid and the Dervish

10 Awake, Awake!

11 The Scholar and the Governors

12 The Open Mountain and the Grievous Mountain

13 Rage and a Secret Rescue

14 The Blast of the Trumpet

15 The Sermon of Wrath and a Royal Command

16 Bandar-Gaz and the Black Standard

17 Danger at Amul

18 Courage at Tabarsi

19 Embattled

20 No Peace in the City of Tabriz

21 A Promise Kept in Karbala

22 A Plot against the Shah

23 Prisoner

24 The Black Pit

25 cruel Days

26 The Mystery of God and His Treasure

28 Terrible Journey

Part 2: The Sun in Its Splendor

The “Heroic, the Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and… the initial stages of the Formative, the Transitional, the Iron Age”

In its broadest outline the first century of the Bahá’í Era may be said to comprise the Heroic, the Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and also the initial stages of the Formative, the Transitional, the Iron Age which is to witness the crystallization and shaping of the creative energies released by His Revelation. The first eighty years of this century may roughly be said to have covered the entire period of the first age, while the last two decades may be regarded as having witnessed the beginnings of the second. The former commences with the Declaration of the Báb, includes the mission of Bahá’u’lláh, and terminates with the passing of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá. The latter is ushered in by His Will and Testament, which defines its character and establishes its foundation.

- Shoghi Effendi  (Preface to ‘God Passes By’)

The Báb describes His life until first year of captivity in Chihríq

Thou art aware, O My God, that since the day Thou didst call Me into being out of the water of Thy love till I reached fifteen years of age I lived in the land which witnessed My birth [Shíráz]. Then Thou didst enable Me to go to the seaport [Búshihr] where for five years I was engaged in trading with the goodly gifts of Thy realm and was occupied in that with which Thou hast favoured Me through the wondrous essence of Thy loving-kindness. I proceeded therefrom to the Holy Land [Karbilá] where I sojourned for one year. Then I returned to the place of My birth. There I experienced the revelation of Thy sublime bestowals and the evidences of Thy boundless grace. I yield Thee praise for all Thy goodly gifts and I render Thee thanksgiving for all Thy bounties. Then at the age of twenty-five I proceeded to thy sacred House [Mecca], and by the time I returned to the place where I was born, a year had elapsed. There I tarried patiently in the path of Thy love and beheld the evidences of Thy manifold bounties and of Thy loving-kindness until Thou didst ordain for Me to set out in Thy direction and to migrate to Thy presence. Thus I departed therefrom by Thy leave, spending six months in the land of Sád [Iṣfáhán] and seven months in the First Mountain [Mákú], where Thou didst rain down upon Me that which beseemeth the glory of Thy heavenly blessings and befitteth the sublimity of Thy gracious gifts and favours. Now, in My thirtieth year, Thou beholdest Me, O My God, in this Grievous Mountain [Chihríq] where I have dwelt for one whole year.

Praise be unto Thee, O My Lord, for all times, heretofore and hereafter; and thanks be unto Thee, O My God, under all conditions, whether of the past or the future. The gifts Thou hast bestowed upon Me have reached their fullest measure and the blessings Thou hast vouchsafed unto Me have attained their consummation. Naught do I now witness but the manifold evidences of Thy grace and loving-kindness, Thy bounty and gracious favours, Thy generosity and loftiness, Thy sovereignty and might, Thy splendour and Thy glory, and that which befitteth the holy court of Thy transcendent dominion and majesty and beseemeth the glorious precincts of Thine eternity and exaltation. 

- The Báb  (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

Prayer for individual - Praise & Gratitude: one’s utter powerlessness to befittingly praise God

Verily I am Thy servant, O my God, and Thy poor one and Thy suppliant and Thy wretched creature. I have arrived at Thy gate, seeking Thy shelter. I have found no contentment save in Thy love, no exultation except in Thy remembrance, no eagerness but in obedience to Thee, no joy save in Thy nearness, and no tranquillity except in reunion with Thee, notwithstanding that I am conscious that all created things are debarred from Thy sublime Essence and the entire creation is denied access to Thine inmost Being. Whenever I attempt to approach Thee, I perceive nothing in myself but the tokens of Thy grace and behold naught in my being but the revelations of Thy loving-kindness. How can one who is but Thy creature seek reunion with Thee and attain unto Thy presence, whereas no created thing can ever be associated with Thee, nor can aught comprehend Thee? How is it possible for a lowly servant to recognize Thee and to extol Thy praise, notwithstanding that Thou hast destined for him the revelations of Thy dominion and the wondrous testimonies of Thy sovereignty? Thus every created thing beareth witness that it is debarred from the sanctuary of Thy presence by reason of the limitations imposed upon its inner reality. It is undisputed, however, that the influence of Thine attraction hath everlastingly been inherent in the realities of Thy handiwork, although that which beseemeth the hallowed court of Thy providence is exalted beyond the attainment of the entire creation. This indicateth, O my God, my utter powerlessness to praise Thee and revealeth my utmost impotence in yielding thanks unto Thee; and how much more to attain the recognition of Thy divine unity or to succeed in reaching the clear tokens of Thy praise, Thy sanctity and Thy glory. Nay, by Thy might, I yearn for naught but Thine Own Self and seek no one other than Thee. 

- The Báb  (Selections from the Writings of the Báb)