1967: Hand of the Cause John Robarts with Auxiliary Board Members Peggy Ross, Ted Anderson, Fred Graham and Jack McCants

(Canadian Baha’i News, no, 211, August 1967)

1848: Mulla Husayn's Journey on foot

('Mulla Husayn, Disciple at Dawn', by R. Mehrabkhani)

Introducing an existing site: Daily Verses of God – revealed by Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb

This site which has been in existence since 2010 contains, as of today, some 3449 excerpts from the Writings of God’s latest Twin Manifestations. The short passages are from all authorized translations of the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb in published books, and also those that have become available at the Baha’i World Center’s site: the online Baha’i Reference Library. The selected passages also come from all compilations prepared by the Baha’i World Center and published in the three volumes of ‘The Compilation of Compilations’. A list of all such published compilations and books is also available at the site.There is also the option of receiving daily emails.

The invocation “Yá Iláha’l-Mustagháth” (“O Lord of the time of ‘Mustagháth’”), or Yá Alláhu’l-Mustagháth” (“O Thou God Who art invoked”)

As Mr. … is no doubt well aware, the phrase in question was revealed by the Báb and has been associated with a variety of instructions for its recitation. It seems to us that his questions are answered in a letter dated 25 November 1999 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, as follows:

Concerning the phrase “Yá Alláhu’l-Mustagháth”, this is an invocation revealed by the Báb. He prescribed it for recitation by His followers in times of trouble and difficulty. Shoghi Effendi has translated the word “Mustagháth” as “He Who is invoked for help”. This phrase can be correctly transliterated in two ways, as set out below:

“Yá Iláha’l-Mustagháth”, which has been translated as “O Lord of the time of ‘Mustagháth’”

“Yá Alláhu’l-Mustagháth”, which has been translated as “O Thou God Who art invoked”

With regard to the number of times these words are to be repeated, the repetition of this invocation is not definitely fixed, and there is a great deal of flexibility concerning the repetition of this and other prayers. While the invocation is prescribed in the Writings of the Báb to be repeated 2098 times during occasions of great need, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in one Tablet states that this verse is to be repeated 95 times and, in another Tablet, 81 times. Letters from the Guardian concerning this invocation, as well as other prayers, indicate that repetition is a matter of individual choice. In a postscript added in his own handwriting to a letter to an individual he stated:

There is no objection to saying “Yá Iláha’l-Mustagháth” any time you like and as often as you like.

Nurturing “the roots which sustain the spiritual life of the community and ensure its sound development”

As the processed impelling a rapidly evolving Order on the highroad of its destiny multiply and gather momentum, attention should be increasingly directed to the vital need of ensuring, by every means possible, the deepening of the faith, the understanding and the spiritual life of the individuals who, as the privileged members of this community, are called upon to participate in this glorious unfoldment and are lending their assistance to this historic evolution.

• A profound study of the Faith which they have espoused, its history, its spiritual as well as administrative principles;
• a thorough understanding of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and of the Will of `Abdu'l-Bahá;
• a deeper realization of the implication of the claims advanced by the Founders of the Faith;
• strict adherence to the laws and principles which They have established;
• a greater dedication to the fundamentals and verities enshrined in Their teachings

- these constitute, I feel convinced, the urgent need of the members of this rapidly expanding community. For upon this spiritual foundation must depend the solidity of the institutions which they are now so painstakingly erecting. Every outward thrust into new fields, every multiplication of Bahá'í institutions, must be paralleled by a deeper thrust of the roots which sustain the spiritual life of the community and ensure its sound development. From this vital, this ever-present need attention must, at no time, be diverted; nor must it be, under any circumstances, neglected, or subordinated to the less vital and urgent task of ensuring the outer expansion of Bahá'í administrative institutions. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 30 December 1948 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith)

A prayer revealed by Baha’u’llah for His mother

[provisional translation approved by the Baha'i World Center]

The most honoured, esteemed and respected mother.

He is God! 

Praised be Thou O Lord, My God! This is My mother who hath acknowledged Thy oneness, confessed Thy unity, attained the honour of meeting Thy Manifestations in Thy days, reached the station of recognition and entered the tabernacle of Heaven, for she loved Thyself and Thy Servant and held fast to the cord of Thy love through the sanctified Temples of Thy Sovereignty. 

I beseech Thee, therefore, O My God, to grant her the honour of beholding Thy Beauty, and vouchsafe unto her the gift of Thy Presence. Give her to drink then from the ocean of Thy mercy and the chalice of Thy forgiveness. Make her to dwell, O My God, in the precincts of Thy mercy in the Heaven of eternity. Grant her to hear Thy holy melodies that she may cast the veil from her head in her eagerness to meet Thee and speed through the domains of Thy nearness and union.

Thou art verily powerful over all that Thou desirest, and Thou art verily the Mighty, the Most Luminous.

(Source: published in the book: ‘Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees’, by Baharieh Rouhani-Ma’ani; approved by the Baha’i World Center)

1980 Canada - Participants at a conference called by the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America for all Auxiliary Board members serving in Canada

Three Hands of the Cause were in attendance, John Robarts, William Sears and Dr. Varqa. On Sunday June 30, the National Spiritual Assembly was invited to consult along with the National Teaching Committee, members of the National Pioneer Committee as well as three members of the Hazfratu'l -Quds staff. 

(Baha’i Canada, vol. 2, no. 11, July/August 1980)

Building a bridge for the entire human race…

I would like you all to imagine a very deep 'V', like a deep abyss. On the one side of this abyss is the world of man: the darkness, the hatred, the wars and prejudices. On the other side is the world of God: the love of God, the illumination, the happiness, the joy and life of God.

Now, we Baha'is are building a bridge across this abyss because someday hundreds of millions of people are going to have to walk across that narrow bridge. In fact, the whole of mankind is going to have to pass across it. The bricks with which we are building the bridge are those of unity, of faith in God and devotion to Him, and love for mankind. The bridge is not yet completed. We have a long way to go to get it right across the abyss and to make it strong enough to carry the tremendous load which it will have to support.

Every one of us, every Baha'i in the world, without any exception, has his part to play in this great work."

- Hand of the Cause John Robarts (Address to Canadian National Convention, Vancouver, Canada, 1980; Baha’i Canada, vol. 2, no. 10, May/June 1980)

circa 1890: Adrianople - now Edirne

(https://www.bahaullah.org/)