Site: ‘Daily Verses of God’ - morning and evening

This site will now have two daily excerpts from the sacred Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb: - for morning and evening

“Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide. Whoso faileth to recite them hath not been faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament, and whoso turneth away from these holy verses in this Day is of those who throughout eternity have turned away from God. Fear ye God, O My servants, one and all. Pride not yourselves on much reading of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and day; for were a man to read a single verse with joy and radiance it would be better for him than to read with lassitude all the Holy Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Read ye the sacred verses in such measure that ye be not overcome by languor and despondency. Lay not upon your souls that which will weary them and weigh them down, but rather what will lighten and uplift them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses towards the Dawning-place of His manifest signs; this will draw you nearer to God, did ye but comprehend.”

- Bahá’u’lláh  ('The Kitáb-i-Aqdas')

1992: Reflecting on “how we have fared since 1892, and to consider where we are now headed” – by the Universal House of Justice

We are particularly pleased that we have been afforded a special opportunity to pause for a moment, together with our fellow-believers, to gather our thoughts, to see how we have fared since 1892, and to consider where we are now headed. This enables us to engage in a symbolic act which by its very nature exemplifies the purpose of the Covenant―a Covenant intended by its divine Author to unite the races and nations of the earth.

Sublime emotions surge in our hearts as we survey the dramatic history and amazing progress of these one hundred years. At the time of the passing of Bahá’u’lláh, the Bahá’í community was contained within the borders of no more than fifteen countries, the vast majority of its members living in His native Iran. The community now embraces the entire planet. We rejoice at the spirit of unity which is evident in its steady consolidation through the workings of the Administrative Order to which the Covenant has given birth. Our cumulated experience has clearly demonstrated the efficacy of the Covenant. The genuine unity it induces greatly encourages our expectation that all of humanity can and will be united.

We have toiled to build a community at a period when the world has witnessed startling changes which have profoundly altered the character of society and plunged it into an unprecedented state of worry and confusion. Indeed, the world in its current condition has lost its bearings through the operation of forces it neither understands nor can control. It is a period in which great dynasties and empires have collapsed in rapid succession, in which powerful ideologies have captured the hearts of millions only to expire in infamy, in which two world wars wreaked havoc on civilized life as it was known at the beginning of the twentieth century.

1963 & 1992: First and Second Baha’i World Congress

It was Shoghi Effendi who called for the first World Congress which jubilantly marked the one hundredth anniversary of Bahá’u’lláh's declaration of His divine mission. With admirable resourcefulness the Hands of the Cause planned and executed it. That unforgettable occasion in London some three decades ago, coming at the end of the Ten Year Crusade, affirmed for the Bahá’ís themselves that the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh had truly emerged as a world religion with a world community. Now at this moment, throughout the Bahá’í world, we are engaged in another centennial observance for the purpose not only of celebrating the unique history of the Covenant, but also of proclaiming abroad its aims and unifying power. The second World Congress now convened is the mainspring in the launching of worldwide commemorative activities which will promulgate the Covenant as the axis of unity for all humankind and broadcast its qualities for reforming human society. Moreover, through these activities and other extended measures, the community at all levels―local, national, continental and international―will exert immense effort to spread across the planet the Name of the World Reformer, Bahá’u’lláh, that hearts may be attracted and minds illumined. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 23 November 1992 addressed to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh attending the second Bahá’í World Congress; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)

New York City: - City of the Covenant

It was during His [‘Abdu’l-Baha’s] epic journey to North America that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, recently released from imprisonment, impressed upon the early occidental believers the pivotal importance of the new Covenant; and it was in New York City that He chose to disclose to His disciples the special characteristics of that Covenant and His true station as its appointed Center. The occasion won for this leading city of the western hemisphere the surname, City of the Covenant. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 23 November 1992 addressed to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh attending the second Bahá’í World Congress; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)

circa 1930: The Garden of Ridvan, Baghdad

 

(The Baha'i World 1932-1934)