• daughter

    daughter

    O Thou kind Lord! Bestow heavenly confirmation upon this daughter of the kingdom, and graciously aid her that she may remain firm and steadfast in Thy Cause and that she may, even as a nightingale of the rose garden of mysteries, warble melodies in the Abhá Kingdom in the most wondrous tones, thereby bringing happiness…

  • birds

    birds

    “O my Lord! Disappoint not my hopes, pardon me my misconduct, and make me a sign of Thy bounty in the midst of Paradise, that I may burst into song like the birds upon the branches and, with a blissful conscience, celebrate Thy praise amidst the boughs.“ – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks

  • stopping-place

    stopping-place

    “On the journey from Iraq to Constantinople, Mírzá Ja‘far was one of Bahá’u’lláh’s retinue, and in seeing to the needs of the friends, he was a partner to this servant. When we would come to a stopping-place the believers, exhausted by the long hours of travel, would rest or sleep. Mírzá Ja‘far and I would…

  • flowing

    flowing

    “Keep safe Thy servants and Thy hand-maidens, O my Lord, from the darts of idle fancy and vain imaginings, and give them from the hands of Thy grace a draught of the soft-flowing waters of Thy knowledge.” —Bahá’u’lláh Bahá’í Prayers

  • pass

    pass

    “O SON OF WORLDLINESS!Pleasant is the realm of being, wert thou to attain thereto; glorious is the domain of eternity, shouldst thou pass beyond the world of mortality…“ – Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, #70 from the Persian In memory of Dean Deter.

  • light

    light

    “These servants are turning to Thy kingdom and seeking Thy grace and bounty. O God! Make their hearts good and pure in order that they may become worthy of Thy love. Purify and sanctify the spirits that the light of the Sun of Reality may shine upon them. Purify and sanctify the eyes that they…

  • sand

    sand

    “O God, my God! Thou seest me plunged in an ocean of anguish, held fast to the fires of tyranny, and weeping in the darkness of the night. Sleepless I toss and turn upon my bed, mine eyes straining to behold the morning light of faithfulness and trust. I agonize even as a fish, its…

  • abandoned

    “Those who are near unto Thee have been abandoned in the darkness of desolation: Where is the shining of the morn of Thy reunion, O Desire of the worlds?” – Bahá’u’lláh, from the Fire Tablet, Bahá’í Prayers

  • fish

    fish

    “Say: My creatures are even as the fish of the deep. Their life dependeth upon the water, and yet they remain unaware of that which, by the grace of an omniscient and omnipotent Lord, sustaineth their very existence. Indeed, their heedlessness is such that were they asked concerning the water and its properties, they would…

  • final

    final

    I knew not what amazement was  Until I made Thy love my cause.  O how amazing would it be  If I were not amazed by Thee! In this valley the wayfarers stray and perish ere they attain their final abode. – Bahá’u’lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries

  • shades

    shades

    “O MY CHILDREN!I fear lest, bereft of the melody of the dove of heaven, ye will sink back to the shades of utter loss, and, never having gazed upon the beauty of the rose, return to water and clay.” – Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, #13 from the Persian

  • serene

    serene

    “Consider the ocean, how serene it lieth, how majestically it reposeth within its bed. Yet the winds of the will of the eternal Beloved cause countless ripples and innumerable swells to appear upon its surface, each wave distinct and divergent from the others. All the peoples of the world today are preoccupied with the ebb…

  • lettuce

    lettuce

    “Even as the clouds let us shed down tears, and as the lightning flashes let us laugh at our coursings through east and west. By day, by night, let us think but of spreading the sweet savors of God. Let us not keep on forever with our fancies and illusions, with our analyzing and interpreting…

  • heavy

    heavy

    “Here He was imprisoned in an underground dungeon, where the light of day was never seen. A heavy chain was placed about His neck by which He was chained to five other Bábís; these fetters were locked together by strong, very heavy bolts, and screws. His clothes were torn to pieces, also His fez. In…

  • wonder

    wonder

    “…ascend unto the heaven of wonderment, that thou mayest taste the goodly fruits of this blessed realm, lose thyself in bewilderment before the power of thy Beloved and the dominion of thy Creator, and proclaim that which the King of existence and the Goal of all desire hath proclaimed: “Increase my wonder and amazement at…

  • soar

    soar

    “O SON OF SPIRIT! Burst thy cage asunder, and even as the phoenix of love soar into the firmament of holiness. Renounce thyself and, filled with the spirit of mercy, abide in the realm of celestial sanctity.” – Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, #38, Part Two, from the Persian

  • delight

    delight

    “I beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every mention but the mention of Thee, and for every praise but the praise of Thee, and for every delight but delight in Thy nearness, and for every pleasure but the pleasure of communion with Thee, and for every joy but the joy of Thy…

  • brilliance

    brilliance

    “The spiritually learned must be characterized by both inward and outward perfections; they must possess a good character, an enlightened nature, a pure intent, as well as intellectual power, brilliance and discernment, intuition, discretion and foresight, temperance, reverence, and a heartfelt fear of God. For an unlit candle, however great in diameter and tall, is…

  • confused

    confused

    “A superficial culture, unsupported by a cultivated morality, is as “a confused medley of dreams,” and external luster without inner perfection is “like a vapor in the desert which the thirsty dreameth to be water.” For results which would win the good pleasure of God and secure the peace and well-being of man, could never be fully…

  • verdant

    verdant

    “It is Our hope that our encounter may never be forgotten nor effaced from the heart by the passage of time, but rather that, out of the seeds thus sown, the sweet herbs of friendship may spring forth and remain forever fresh and verdant for all to behold.” – Bahá’u’lláh, The Tabernacle of Unity

  • apple

    apple

    “A survey, however inadequate of the varied and immense activities of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá in His tour of Europe and America cannot leave without mention some of the strange incidents that would often accompany personal contact with Him… …the touching scene when ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, receiving from the hands of a Persian friend, recently arrived in London from ‘Ishqábád,…

  • ascension

    ascension

    Centenary Commemoration of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The new film, Exemplar, follows His life and works.

  • two

    two

    “Wherefore, wed Thou in the heaven of Thy mercy these two birds of the nest of Thy love, and make them the means of attracting perpetual grace; that from the union of these two seas of love a wave of tenderness may surge and cast the pearls of pure and goodly issue on the shore…

  • farm

    farm

    “You find, for example, that an individual seeking to further his own petty and personal concerns, will block the advancement of an entire people. To turn his own water mill, he will let the farms and fields of all the others parch and wither. To maintain his own leadership, he will everlastingly direct the masses…

  • harvest

    harvest

    “Rejoice with exceeding gladness in your hearts and souls, for the night hath come for the harvesting of the ages and the gathering up of past cycles, the night wherein all days and nights were called into being and the time preordained for this Revelation was fulfilled at the behest of Him Who is the…

  • noon

    noon

    “Once the sun hath mounted to high noon, its fires will burn so hot as to stir even the creeping things beneath the earth; and although it is not for them to behold the light, yet will they all be set in frenzied motion by the impact of the heat.” – ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, Selections from the…

  • service

    service

    “Now this is the time that you may arise and perform this most great service and become the cause of the guidance of innumerable souls. Thus through this superhuman service the rays of peace and conciliation may illumine and enlighten all the regions and the world of humanity may find peace and composure.“ – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,…

  • market

    market

    “He set forth, on foot, in the heat of midday, … reciting, as He walked, through the streets and markets, verses, in a voice and in a manner that greatly astonished those who saw and heard Him.” – Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By

  • early

    early

    “‘Abdu’l‑Bahá has stated that the morning Obligatory Prayer may be said as early as dawn.” – The Kitáb-i-Aqdas

  • journey

    journey

    “In this journey the seeker becometh witness to a myriad changes and transformations, confluences and divergences. He beholdeth the wonders of Divinity in the mysteries of creation and discovereth the paths of guidance and the ways of His Lord. Such is the station reached by them that search after God, and such are the heights…

  • stretching

    stretching

    “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‑Bahá, Selections from the…

  • sunset

    sunset

    “The physical sun has its rising and its setting. The earthly world has its day and its night. After each sunset there is a sunrise and the coming of a new dawn. The Sun of Reality, likewise, has its rising and setting. There is a day and a night in the world of spirituality. After…

  • confinement

    confinement

    “In prison, all fidelity is Thine, O Thou the Bestower of gifts, and in confinement, all eternity is Thine, O Thou Who art the ever-abiding King!“ – Bahá’u’lláh, Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh

  • across

    across

    “Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God is the education and training of children… that these children, reared one and all in the holy Teachings, will develop natures like unto the sweet airs that blow across the gardens of the All-Glorious, and will waft their fragrance…

  • pour

    pour

    “Pour out Thy steadfastness and send down Thy calm upon them, O my Lord! Thou art, in truth, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.” – Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh

  • city

    city

    “Issue forth from your cities, O peoples of the West and aid God ere the Day when the Lord of mercy shall come down unto you in the shadow of the clouds with the angels circling around Him, exalting His praise and seeking forgiveness for such as have truly believed in Our signs. – The Báb, Selections…

  • splendor

    splendor

    “Cause them to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy splendors on the loftiest mount.“ —‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, Bahá’í Prayers

  • fallen

    fallen

    “Happy is the faithful one who is attired with the vesture of high endeavor and hath arisen to serve this Cause. Such a soul hath truly attained the desired Goal and hath apprehended the Object for which it hath been created. But a myriad times alas for the wayward who are like unto dried-up leaves…

  • golden

    golden

    “From beneath her veil she drew forth her hand, golden tinged as a sunbeam falling upon the face of a stainless mirror. Rejoice! This is the immortal Beauty, come with a resplendent adorning.“ – Bahá’u’lláh, Days of Remembrance

  • extinct

    extinct

    “…the world of existence is dependent for its progress upon reformation; otherwise, it will be as dead. Consider: If a new springtime failed to appear, what would be the effect upon this globe, the earth? Undoubtedly it would become desolate and life extinct. The earth has need of an annual coming of spring.” – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,…