July 29, 2015
July 28, 2015
Why Baha’u’llah bore all the ordeals and calamities – ‘Abdu’l-Baha explains
…the Blessed Perfection bore all these ordeals and
calamities in order that our hearts might become enkindled and radiant, our
spirits be glorified, our faults become virtues, our ignorance be transformed
into knowledge; in order that we might attain the real fruits of humanity and
acquire heavenly graces; in order that, although pilgrims upon earth, we should
travel the road of the heavenly Kingdom, and, although needy and poor, we might
receive the treasures of eternal life. For this has He borne these difficulties
and sorrows.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, New York, 18 April 1912; ‘The
Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His
Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
July 27, 2015
The birth of Rúhu'lláh Varqa and Tablets from Baha’u’llah - by Martha Root
Alí Muhammad
Varqá [who was later designated as one of the Apostles of
Baha’u’llah] was an ardent Bahá'í of Tabríz, Persia, in the days
when Bahá'u'lláh was a Prisoner in 'Akká, Palestine from 1868 until His passing
in 1892. He was exiled and imprisoned because His Teachings which are now being
studied by some rulers, many statesmen and millions of other people, were, like
those of other World Teachers, very far ahead of His time.
To begin at the beginning, 'Alí Muhammad
Varqá had one son, 'Azízu'lláh, two years old, when one day in April
another little son was born in his home, and he and his wife named the child Rúhu'lláh
which means "the Spirit of God".
There was glad rejoicing when Bahá'u'lláh from 'Akká sent
these parents a Tablet (a letter) about this new babe and in it the reader with
insight will discern the introduction to this thrilling story which follows.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote:
"O Varqá! It is for thee to chant in both ears of this
little one three times:
"Verily, thou hast come by the Command of God! Thou
hast appeared to speak of Him, and thou hast been created to serve Him Who is
the Dear, the Beloved!"
July 26, 2015
July 23, 2015
How to increase “one's ability and capacity” -- 'Abdu'l-Baha explains
During thy supplications to God and thy reciting, “Thy Name
is my healing," consider how thine heart is cheered, thy soul delighted by
the spirit of the love of God, and thy mind attracted to the Kingdom of God! By
these attractions one's ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is
enlarged the water increases, and when the thirst grows the bounty of the cloud
becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is the mystery of supplication and
the wisdom of stating one's wants.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Quoted by J.E. Esslemont in
‘Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, The
Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude)
July 21, 2015
The “most beloved and acceptable deed” in the presence of Baha'u'llah
Today the most beloved and acceptable deed before His
Highness, Bahá'u'lláh, is the union of the friends and the concord of men, and
the most unacceptable is difference and disharmony.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet, Star of the West, vol.
2, no. 5, June 5, 1911)
July 19, 2015
The Badi Calendar -- its basic features and adoption by the Universal House of Justice the provisions uniting East and West
Prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United kingdom
The three parts together is also available at these sites:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
The three parts together is also available at these sites:
July 18, 2015
1898: A group of early Baha'is in New York City
July 13, 2015
A Tablet from Baha’u’llah “which causeth the souls of men to soar”
Baha’u’llah identifies this Tablet as “a door to the mercy
of thy Lord.”
We are called upon to “Commit it to memory, and recite it.”
We are called upon to “Commit it to memory, and recite it.”
July 9, 2015
Similarities between Jesus Christ and the Báb
The passion of Jesus Christ, and indeed His whole public
ministry, alone offer a parallel to the Mission and death of the Báb, a
parallel which no student of comparative religion can fail to perceive or
ignore. In the youthfulness and meekness of the Inaugurator of the Bábí Dispensation;
in the extreme brevity and turbulence of His public ministry; in the dramatic
swiftness with which that ministry moved towards its climax; in the apostolic
order which He instituted, and the primacy which He conferred on one of its
members; in the boldness of His challenge to the time-honored conventions,
rites and laws which had been woven into the fabric of the religion He Himself
had been born into; in the rôle which an officially recognized and firmly
entrenched religious hierarchy played as chief instigator of the outrages which
He was made to suffer; in the indignities heaped upon Him; in the suddenness of His arrest; in the interrogation to which He
was subjected; in the derision poured, and the scourging inflicted, upon Him;
in the public affront He sustained; and, finally, in His ignominious suspension
before the gaze of a hostile multitude—in all these we cannot fail to discern a
remarkable similarity to the distinguishing features of the career of Jesus
Christ.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By)
July 5, 2015
“fundamental aspects of Baha’i community life intended for all” = “acts of service”
- Teaching the Faith
- Initiating Children’s Classes,
- Initiating Junior Youth Groups
- Initiating Study Circles
- Hosting Devotional Gatherings
- Undertaking Home Visits
(Adapted from a message dated 5 January 2015 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice to American National Spiritual Assembly)
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