Remember, whether or
not I be on earth, My presence will be with you always.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Quoted
by Shoghi Effendi in ‘God Passes By’)
November 29
Whoso reciteth this
prayer with lowliness and fervour will bring gladness and joy to the heart of
this Servant; it will be even as meeting Him face to face.
He is the
All-Glorious!
O God, my God! Lowly
and tearful, I raise my suppliant hands to Thee and cover my face in the dust
of that Threshold of Thine, exalted above the knowledge of the learned, and the
praise of all that glorify Thee. Graciously look upon Thy servant, humble and
lowly at Thy door, with the glances of the eye of Thy mercy, and immerse him in
the Ocean of Thine eternal grace.
Lord! He is a poor
and lowly servant of Thine, enthralled and imploring Thee, captive in Thy hand,
praying fervently to Thee, trusting in Thee, in tears before Thy face, calling
to Thee and beseeching Thee, saying:
O Lord, my God! Give
me Thy grace to serve Thy loved ones, strengthen me in my servitude to Thee,
illumine my brow with the light of adoration in Thy court of holiness, and of
prayer to Thy Kingdom of grandeur. Help me to be selfless at the heavenly
entrance of Thy gate, and aid me to be detached from all things within Thy holy
precincts. Lord! Give me to drink from the chalice of selflessness; with its
robe clothe me, and in its ocean immerse me. Make me as dust in the pathway of
Thy loved ones, and grant that I may offer up my soul for the earth ennobled by
the footsteps of Thy chosen ones in Thy path, O Lord of Glory in the Highest.
With this prayer
doth Thy servant call Thee, at dawntide and in the night-season. Fulfil his
heart's desire, O Lord! Illumine his heart, gladden his bosom, kindle his
light, that he may serve Thy Cause and Thy servants.
Thou art the
Bestower, the Pitiful, the Most Bountiful, the Gracious, the Merciful, the
Compassionate.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha ('Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha')
November 28
My name is
'Abdu'l-Bahá. My qualification is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My reality is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My
praise is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Thraldom to the Blessed Perfection is my glorious and
refulgent diadem, and servitude to all the human race my perpetual religion...
No name, no title, no mention, no commendation have I, nor will ever have,
except 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This is my longing. This is my greatest yearning. This is
my eternal life. This is my everlasting glory."
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Quoted by
Shoghi Effendi, ‘The World Order of Baha'u'llah’)
November 27
Today, the Lord of
Hosts is the defender of the Covenant, the forces of the Kingdom protect it,
heavenly souls tender their services, and heavenly angels promulgate and spread
it broadcast. If it is considered with insight, it will be seen that all the
forces of the universe, in the last analysis serve the Covenant.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá’)
November 26
It is indubitably
clear, that the pivot of the oneness of mankind is nothing else but the power
of the Covenant.... The power of the Covenant is as the heat of the sun which
quickeneth and promoteth the development of all created things on earth. The
light of the Covenant, in like manner, is the educator of the minds, the spirits,
the hearts and souls of men.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in
"God Passes By")
November 25
Today the pulsating
power in the arteries of the body of the world is the spirit of the Covenant -
the spirit which is the cause of life. Whosoever is vivified with this spirit,
the freshness and beauty of life become manifest in him, he is baptized with
the Holy Spirit, he is born again, is freed from oppression and tyranny, from
heedlessness and harshness which deaden the spirit, and attains to everlasting
life. Praise thou God that thou art firm in the Covenant and the Testament and
art turning thy face to the Luminary of the world, His Highness Bahá'u'lláh.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Cited in "Star of the West, vol. 14, No. 7, October 1923;
The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1, The Covenant)
November 24
A few days ago I
arrived in New York, coming direct from Alexandria. On a former trip I traveled
to Europe, visiting Paris and London. Paris is most beautiful in outward
appearance. The evidences of material civilization there are very great, but
the spiritual civilization is far behind. I found the people of that city
submerged and drowning in a sea of materialism. Their conversations and
discussions were limited to natural and physical phenomena, without mention of
God. I was greatly astonished. Most of the scholars, professors and learned men
proved to be materialists. I said to them, “I am surprised and astonished that
men of such perceptive caliber and evident knowledge should still be captives of
nature, not recognizing the self-evident Reality.”
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk,
15 April, 1912, New York; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered
by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
November 23
Man has two powers;
and his development, two aspects. One power is connected with the material
world, and by it he is capable of material advancement. The other power is
spiritual, and through its development his inner, potential nature is awakened.
These powers are like two wings. Both must be developed, for flight is
impossible with one wing. Praise be to God! Material advancement has been
evident in the world, but there is need of spiritual advancement in like
proportion. We must strive unceasingly and without rest to accomplish the
development of the spiritual nature in man, and endeavor with tireless energy
to advance humanity toward the nobility of its true and intended station. For
the body of man is accidental; it is of no importance. The time of its disintegration
will inevitably come. But the spirit of man is essential and, therefore,
eternal. It is a divine bounty. It is the effulgence of the Sun of Reality and,
therefore, of greater importance than the physical body.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a
talk, 25 April, 1912, Washington, D.C.; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace:
Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and
Canada in 1912’)
November 22
All the sciences, arts and discoveries were mysteries of
nature, and according to natural law these mysteries should remain latent,
hidden; but man has proceeded to break this law, free himself from this rule
and bring them forth into the realm of the visible. Therefore, he is the ruler
and commander of nature. Man has intelligence; nature has not. Man has
volition; nature has none. Man has memory; nature is without it. Man has the
reasoning faculty; nature is deprived. Man has the perceptive faculty; nature
cannot perceive. It is therefore proved and evident that man is nobler than
nature.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 15
April, 1912, New York; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by
'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
November 21
In the innate
nature of things there is no evil—all is good. This applies even to certain
apparently blameworthy attributes and dispositions which seem inherent in some
people, but which are not in reality reprehensible. For example, you can see in
a nursing child, from the beginning of its life, the signs of greed, of anger,
and of ill temper; and so it might be argued that good and evil are innate in
the reality of man, and that this is contrary to the pure goodness of the
innate nature and of creation. The answer is that greed, which is to demand
ever more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is displayed under the
right circumstances. Thus, should a person show greed in acquiring science and
knowledge, or in the exercise of compassion, high-mindedness, and justice, this
would be most praiseworthy. And should he direct his anger and wrath against
the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, this too would be most
praiseworthy. But should he display these qualities under other conditions, this
would be deserving of blame.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Table talks in Akka,
authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised
translation by the Baha’i World Center)
November 20
O ye friends of God!
Exert ye with heart and soul, so that association, love, unity and agreement be
obtained between the hearts, all the aims may be merged into one aim, all the
songs become one song and the power of the Holy Spirit may become so
overwhelmingly victorious as to overcome all the forces of the world of nature.
Exert yourselves; your mission is unspeakably glorious. Should success crown
your enterprise, America will assuredly evolve into a center from which waves
of spiritual power will emanate, and the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in
the plentitude of its majesty and glory, be firmly established.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of the Divine Plan’)
November 19
No one was a denier
of His [Baha’u’llah’s] virtues. All the wise men of the East considered Him the
greatest person in the world. But they said, `Alas, that He has claimed
divinity for Himself.' Many of the people of the East said and wrote about me,
too, `all agree that he excels in knowledge, learning, speech and explanation,
but, alas! he is the propagator of a new law'. They expected us to be servants
and propagators of their old dogmas and customs, not knowing that we are
obliged to serve humanity and spread universal love and harmony.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of
‘Abdu’l-Baha, October 3, 1912, San Francisco, USA, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani; ‘Mahmud’s
Diary’)
November 18
Observe the
influence on material situations of that training which is inculcated by the
true Educator. Here were tribes so benighted and untamed that during the period
of the Jáhilíyyih [Age of Ignorance] they would bury their seven-year-old
daughters alive—an act which even an animal, let alone a human being, would
hate and shrink from but which they in their extreme degradation considered the
ultimate expression of honor and devotion to principle—and this darkened
people, thanks to the manifest teachings of that great Personage, advanced to
such a degree that after they conquered Egypt, Syria and its capital Damascus,
Chaldea, Mesopotamia and Írán, they came to administer single-handedly whatever
matters were of major importance in four main regions of the globe.
The Arabs then
excelled all the peoples of the world in science and the arts, in industry and
invention, in philosophy, government and moral character. And truly, the rise
of this brutish and despicable element, in such a short interval, to the
supreme heights of human perfection, is the greatest demonstration of the
rightfulness of the Lord Muhammad’s
Prophethood.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Secret of Divine Civilization’)
November 17
As there are four
seasons in this material world, so it is in the spiritual world. When the
divine spring is over and the heavenly bounty ceases, the trees of being lie
dormant. Lifelessness and stillness prevail over the world of man. People
become spiritless and withered. Autumn and winter set in. There exists no
flower or greenery, no cheerfulness or mirth, no happiness or joy. Then the
spiritual spring spreads its tent once more. The gardens of the hearts regain
their freshness, charm and verdure. The buds of knowledge open and the anemones
of reality appear. The world of man becomes another world. This is the divine
law and is a requirement of the world of creation. This is the cause of the
appearance of the many Manifestations of God.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, October 3, 1912, San Francisco, USA, recorded by
Mahmud Zarqani; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)
November 16
‘Abdu’l-Bahá hath
long cherished the desire that a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár be upraised in that region.
Praised be God, thanks to the strenuous efforts of the friends, in recent days
the joyful news of this hath been announced. This service is highly acceptable
at the Threshold of God, for the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár inspiriteth the lovers of
God and delighteth their hearts, and causeth them to become steadfast and firm.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
November 15
The first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
in America was instituted in Chicago, and this honor and distinction is
infinite in value. Out of this Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, without doubt, thousands of
Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs will be born.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of the Divine Plan’)
November 14
A hundred
thousand glad-tidings be upon ye that the Sun of the Reality of the Beauty of
Abha hath shone forth from the Horizon of the Contingent Being and hath
illumined the regions with the lights of the Most Great Guidance. The realities
of the Old Testament and the Gospel are already fulfilled and the Mysteries of
the Heavenly Books have become manifest. This is the century of the Merciful
One and the Period of Joy and Gladness. O ye heedless ones, become mindful! O ye
sleeping ones, be awakened! O ye blind ones, become seeing! O ye deaf ones,
become hearing! O ye dumb ones, become speakers! O ye dead ones, become living!
O ye deprived ones, take a portion! This is the effulgence of the Merciful and
the moving of the Depthless Sea. This is the outpouring of the wonderful and
new springtime and the falling of the showers of the Bounty of the Most Great
Lord!
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 6, June 24,
1911)
November 13
The foundation of
the belief of the people of Bahá (may my life be offered up for them) is this:
His holiness the exalted One (the Báb) is the Manifestation of the unity and
oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty (Bahá’u’lláh). His
holiness, the Abhá Beauty (Bahá’u’lláh) (may my life be offered up as a
sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation of God and
the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence.
November 12
Every proof and prophecy,
every manner of evidence, whether based on reason or on the text of the
scriptures and traditions, are to be regarded as centered in the persons of
Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. In them is to be found their complete fulfillment.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’)
November 11
The call of the
Kingdom was in the very beginning raised from Chicago. This is indeed a great
privilege, for in future centuries and cycles, it will be as an axis around
which the honor of Chicago will revolve.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of the Divine
Plan’)
November 10
Among these half
animal people Muhammad was sent with His divine Message. He taught the people
that idol worship was wrong, but that they should reverence Christ, Moses and
the Prophets. Under His influence they became a more enlightened and civilized
people and arose from the degraded state in which He found them.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, Paris, October 27, 1911; ‘Paris Talks’)
November 9
Christ was the
Prophet of the Christians, Moses of the Jews—why should not the followers of
each prophet recognize and honour the other prophets also? If men could only
learn the lesson of mutual tolerance, understanding, and brotherly love, the
unity of the world would soon be an established fact.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a
talk, Paris, October 27, 1911; ‘Paris Talks’)
November 8
O ye old believers
and intimate friends:
God says in the
great Qur’án: “He specializes for His Mercy whomsoever He willeth.” [Qur’an
2:105; 3:74]
These twelve Central
States [1] of the United States are like unto the heart of America, and the
heart is connected with all the organs and parts of man. If the heart is
strengthened, all the organs of the body are reinforced, and if the heart is
weak all the physical elements are subjected to feebleness.
Now praise be to God
that Chicago and its environs from the beginning of the diffusion of the
fragrances of God have been a strong heart. Therefore, through divine bounty
and providence it has become confirmed in certain great matters.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of the Divine Plan’)
[1] “Michigan,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.”
November 7
Look at the Gospel
of the Lord Christ and see how glorious it is! Yet even today men fail to
understand its priceless beauty, and misinterpret its words of wisdom.
Christ forbade war!
When the disciple Peter, thinking to defend his Lord, cut off the ear of the
servant of the High Priest, Christ said to him: ‘Put up thy sword into the
sheath’. Yet, in spite of the direct
command of the Lord they profess to serve—men still dispute, make war, and kill
one another, and His counsels and teaching seem quite forgotten.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, Paris, October 27, 1911; ‘Paris Talks’)
November 6
Thou hast asked about places of worship and the underlying
reason therefor. The wisdom in raising up such buildings is that at a given
hour, the people should know it is time to meet, and all should gather
together, and, harmoniously attuned one to another, engage in prayer; with the
result that out of this coming together, unity and affection shall grow and
flourish in the human heart.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
November 5
Verily I say unto
thee the truth, that I am with you in spirit and in heart, that I rejoice by
your joy and am happy by your happiness; and hear with the ear of spirit your
calling and scent with the spiritual nostrils the fragrances of your garden.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1’)
November 4
I ask God to make ye
lamps ignited by the great Light, so that ye may stand with all power,
meekness, humbleness, sacrifice and self-resignation and thus become examples
for the people and pure types for the world, be salt of the earth, stars of
guidance, great trees with broad foliage and excellent fruits of fragrant
scent, growing by the bounty of the cloud of the Kingdom of El-Abha.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1’)
November 3
Note thou carefully
that in this world of being, all things must ever be made new. Look at the
material world about thee, see how it hath now been renewed. The thoughts have
changed, the ways of life have been revised, the sciences and arts show a new
vigour, discoveries and inventions are new, perceptions are new. How then could
such a vital power as religion—the guarantor of mankind’s great advances, the
very means of attaining everlasting life, the fosterer of infinite excellence,
the light of both worlds—not be made new? This would be incompatible with the
grace and loving-kindness of the Lord.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the
Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
November 2
It is incumbent upon human society to expend all its forces
on the education of the people, and to copiously water men's hearts with the
sacred streams that pour down from the Realm of the All-Merciful, and to teach
them the manners of Heaven and spiritual ways of life, until every member of
the community of man will be schooled, refined, and exalted to such a degree of
perfection that the very committing of a shameful act will seem in itself the
direst infliction and most agonizing of punishments, and man will fly in terror
and seek refuge in his God from the very idea of crime, as something far harsher
and more grievous than the punishment assigned to it.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a
Tablet; included in a Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal
House of Justice dated 23 May 1991, forwarded to an individual believer by the
Department of the Secretariat of the Universal House of Justice)
November 1
In regard
to the verse, which is revealed in the Qur'án, that His Highness Christ, was
not killed and was not crucified by this is meant the Reality of Christ.
Although they crucified this elemental body, yet the merciful reality and the
heavenly existence remain eternal and undying, and it was protected from the
oppression and persecution of the enemies, for Christ is Eternal and Everlasting.
How can He die? This death and crucifixion was imposed on the physical body of
Christ, and not upon the Spirit of Christ. ...
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 2, nos. 7 & 8,
August 1, 1911)
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