arthra
Baha'i
Possible Selections for the Feast:
O SON OF BEING!
With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My work is perfect and My command is binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt thereof.
~ Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words
Only those will attain to the knowledge of the Word of God that have turned unto Him, and repudiated the manifestations of Satan. Thus God hath reaffirmed the law of the day of His Revelation, and inscribed it with the pen of power upon the mystic Tablet hidden beneath the veil of celestial glory. Wert thou to heed these words, wert thou to ponder their outward and inner meaning in thy heart, thou wouldst seize the significance of all the abstruse problems which, in this day, have become insuperable barriers between men and the knowledge of the Day of Judgment. Then wilt thou have no more questions to perplex thee. We fain would hope that, God willing, thou wilt not return, deprived and still athirst, from the shores of the ocean of divine mercy, nor come back destitute from the imperishable Sanctuary of thy heart's desire. Let it now be seen what thy search and endeavours will achieve.
~Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 122
As to thy question concerning the origin of creation. Know assuredly that God's creation hath existed from eternity, and will continue to exist forever. Its beginning hath had no beginning, and its end knoweth no end. His name, the Creator, presupposeth a creation, even as His title, the Lord of Men, must involve the existence of a servant.
~Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 150
As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 150
And now concerning thy question regarding the soul of man and its survival after death. Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God , His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure.
~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 153
Thou hast asked Me concerning the nature of the soul. Know, verily, that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to 159 unravel. It is the first among all created things to declare the excellence of its Creator, the first to recognize His glory, to cleave to His truth, and to bow down in adoration before Him.
~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 156
And now concerning thy question whether human souls continue to be conscious one of another after their separation from the body. Know thou that the souls of the people of Baha, who have entered and been established within the Crimson Ark, shall associate and commune intimately one with another, and shall be so closely associated in their lives, their aspirations, their aims and strivings as to be even as one soul.
~Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 169
Couldst thou but grasp this subtle mystery, which is more hidden than any other mystery, thou wouldst find thyself independent of this and all other questions. It is for this reason that, in every age and century, as He desireth, the Unique Hidden One and the Eternal Essence manifesteth that true River and real Sea and causeth it to flow, adorning it with a new temple and a new vesture. All those structures of vain imaginings and palaces of the ungodly are then swept away and destroyed in its waters. With utmost desire and thirst they drown and perish, lacking even the faintest awareness that they could quaff a draught thereof. Thus doth God bestow life upon whom He willeth, and taketh it away from whom He willeth, and confirmeth whom He pleaseth, and denieth whom He pleaseth, could ye but perceive it.
~Baha’u’llah
(Sahífiy-i-Shattíyyih, Book of the River - Saiedi, p. 59)
O SON OF BEING!
With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My work is perfect and My command is binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt thereof.
~ Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words
Only those will attain to the knowledge of the Word of God that have turned unto Him, and repudiated the manifestations of Satan. Thus God hath reaffirmed the law of the day of His Revelation, and inscribed it with the pen of power upon the mystic Tablet hidden beneath the veil of celestial glory. Wert thou to heed these words, wert thou to ponder their outward and inner meaning in thy heart, thou wouldst seize the significance of all the abstruse problems which, in this day, have become insuperable barriers between men and the knowledge of the Day of Judgment. Then wilt thou have no more questions to perplex thee. We fain would hope that, God willing, thou wilt not return, deprived and still athirst, from the shores of the ocean of divine mercy, nor come back destitute from the imperishable Sanctuary of thy heart's desire. Let it now be seen what thy search and endeavours will achieve.
~Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 122
As to thy question concerning the origin of creation. Know assuredly that God's creation hath existed from eternity, and will continue to exist forever. Its beginning hath had no beginning, and its end knoweth no end. His name, the Creator, presupposeth a creation, even as His title, the Lord of Men, must involve the existence of a servant.
~Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 150
As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 150
And now concerning thy question regarding the soul of man and its survival after death. Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God , His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure.
~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 153
Thou hast asked Me concerning the nature of the soul. Know, verily, that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to 159 unravel. It is the first among all created things to declare the excellence of its Creator, the first to recognize His glory, to cleave to His truth, and to bow down in adoration before Him.
~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 156
And now concerning thy question whether human souls continue to be conscious one of another after their separation from the body. Know thou that the souls of the people of Baha, who have entered and been established within the Crimson Ark, shall associate and commune intimately one with another, and shall be so closely associated in their lives, their aspirations, their aims and strivings as to be even as one soul.
~Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 169
Couldst thou but grasp this subtle mystery, which is more hidden than any other mystery, thou wouldst find thyself independent of this and all other questions. It is for this reason that, in every age and century, as He desireth, the Unique Hidden One and the Eternal Essence manifesteth that true River and real Sea and causeth it to flow, adorning it with a new temple and a new vesture. All those structures of vain imaginings and palaces of the ungodly are then swept away and destroyed in its waters. With utmost desire and thirst they drown and perish, lacking even the faintest awareness that they could quaff a draught thereof. Thus doth God bestow life upon whom He willeth, and taketh it away from whom He willeth, and confirmeth whom He pleaseth, and denieth whom He pleaseth, could ye but perceive it.
~Baha’u’llah
(Sahífiy-i-Shattíyyih, Book of the River - Saiedi, p. 59)
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