In every age and cycle He hath, through the splendorous light shed by the Manifestations of His wondrous Essence, recreated all things, so that whatsoever reflecteth in the heavens and on the earth the signs of His glory may not be deprived of the outpourings of His mercy, nor despair of the showers of His favors. How all-encompassing are the wonders of His boundless grace! Behold how they have pervaded the whole of creation. Such is their virtue that not a single atom in the entire universe can be found which doth not declare the evidences of His might, which doth not glorify His holy Name, or is not expressive of the effulgent light of His unity.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 61

Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 259

This is one of my favorite quotes because it tells us that not only are their hidden treasures within all of us, but the only way that we can see them is to first educate.  By doing so, these treasures will be made available not just to the one who holds them, but to all of mankind.

Beautify your tongues, O people, with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the ornament of honesty.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 297

In so many of the writings, the poetry of the words hits me just as hard as the message.  The imagery of making one’s tongue more beautiful through adorning with an ornament of honesty is magical.  I can almost picture little ornaments made of honesty and truthfulness that could be hung upon the soul.

With the utmost friendliness and in a spirit of perfect fellowship take ye counsel together, and dedicate the precious days of your lives to the betterment of the world and the promotion of the Cause of Him Who is the Ancient and Sovereign Lord of all. He, verily, enjoineth upon all men what is right, and forbiddeth whatsoever degradeth their station.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 183 (XCII para. 3)

Together, with dedication, we can make a difference in the world.  Imagine if we coordinated the efforts of humanitarian aid missions around the world—if they would share information, resources, and human energy—that dedication and fellowship could better the world and promote even more unity.

Whoso ariseth among you to teach the Cause of his Lord, let him, before all else, teach his own self, that his speech may attract the hearts of them that hear him. Unless he teacheth his own self, the words of his mouth will not influence the heart of the seeker. Take heed, O people, lest ye be of them that give good counsel to others but forget to follow it themselves

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 277

Baha’is use the term teach to refer to any time we are letting someone know about the Faith, whether it be through our words or our actions.  Before teaching others though, it is important that we first teach ourselves what having faith, and devotion to leading a spiritual life is all about.  For if we fail to do so, we can cause more harm than good by providing a poor example.  We likely have all seen false prophets and those who would follow a “do as I say, not as I do” approach to spiritual teachings.  It is my hope that Baha’is will take the high ground and become living examples of the spiritual teachings of Baha’u’llah.

How wondrous is the unity of the Living, the Ever-Abiding God — a unity which is exalted above all limitations, that transcendeth the comprehension of all created things! He hath, from everlasting, dwelt in His inaccessible habitation of holiness and glory, and will unto everlasting continue to be enthroned upon the heights of His independent sovereignty and grandeur.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 261

Today is the Feast of Azamat, which means grandeur in Arabic.  I like this month because it reminds us to reflect on how perfect, how immeasurable and how grand is the glory of God.

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility. We pray God to protect thee from the heat of jealousy and the cold of hatred. He verily is nigh, ready to answer.

~ Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 93
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 285

This particular quote has been one of my favorites as it is comprised of small commands or directives on how to live one’s life.  In many ways, it reminds me of the Beatitudes from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount:

¹Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them saying:
³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek,
      for they will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,
      for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called sons of God.
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

~ Matthew 5:1-12, NIV

The children were memorizing the following quote:

All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 214

They were a little stuck on exactly what “an ever-advancing civilization meant”.  The teacher and I seemed to explain that “ever-advancing” refers to something that continuously progresses and improves; and that a civilization is comprised of the society we live in, containing social rules and a government.  They were not quite seeing how it all fit together, though.

I attempted to use the example of technology, presenting my digital camera, and how devices such as that have advanced over time—each generation making slight improvements.  They seemed to accept this concept, though I’m not sure it was fully absorbed.  Unfortunately, it was not until after the class that more ideas came to me.

While technology certainly is one advancement that can be seen, it came to mind first only because it is tangible.  Other advancements in our civilization have been much more profound, though not always as apparent on the surface:

• 600 years ago people believed the world was flat
• 150 years ago there was slavery in the United States
• 90 years ago women in the United States were not allowed to vote
• 70 years ago nobody had heard of a computer
• 60 years ago placing a long-distance telephone call required speaking to an operator
• 60 years ago White and Black were prohibited by law from attending the same schools
• 20 years ago the World Wide Web had not yet come into existence
• 100 days ago all of the Presidents of the United States were White

There have clearly been some advancements that our civilization has realized.  Baha’u’llah has told us all that our purpose is to “carry forward” further advancement and there are still plenty of area that need it:

• 2,700,000 = the number of slaves in the world, including children
• 93,000,000 = the number of children who are being denied an education
• 2,800,000,000 = the number of people living on less than $2 per day

Incidentally, the teacher of this class is the author of Meeting the Dual Challenge

Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul. Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Source of power and wisdom.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 295

This writing from Baha’u’llah is frequently found as an invocation at the beginning of prayer books.  I felt it would be fitting to begin this new blog containing writings from the Faith and on this first day of a new year in the Baha’i calendar.