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/)

November 1970: Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga on Blood Reserve, Alberta, Canada

(Baha'i Canada, vol. 2, no. 5, October 1970)

“Spirit, mind, soul, and the powers of sight and hearing are but one single reality…”

O Pen of the Most High! Recount unto him who hath turned unto Thy Lord, the All-Glorious, that which shall enable him to dispense with the sayings of men. Say: Spirit, mind, soul, and the powers of sight and hearing are but one single reality which hath manifold expressions owing to the diversity of its instruments. As thou dost observe, man’s power to comprehend, move, speak, hear, and see all derive from this sign of his Lord within him. It is single in its essence, yet manifold through the diversity of its instruments. This, verily, is a certain truth. For example, if it directeth its attention to the means of hearing, then hearing and its attributes become manifest. Likewise, if it directeth itself to the means of vision, a different effect and attribute appear. Reflect upon this subject that thou mayest comprehend the true meaning of what hath been intended, find thyself independent of the sayings of the people, and be of them that are well assured.  In like manner, when this sign of God turneth towards the brain, the head, and such means, the powers of the mind and the soul are manifested. Thy Lord, verily, is potent to do whatsoever He pleaseth. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)

References to Baha’u’llah in the New Testament – identified by Shoghi Effendi

To Him Jesus Christ had referred as the “Prince of this world,” as the “Comforter” Who will “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment,” as the “Spirit of Truth” Who “will guide you into all truth,” Who “shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak,” as the “Lord of the Vineyard,” and as the “Son of Man” Who “shall come in the glory of His Father” “in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” with “all the holy angels” about Him, and “all nations” gathered before His throne. To Him the Author of the Apocalypse had alluded as the “Glory of God,” as “Alpha and Omega,” “the Beginning and the End,” “the First and the Last.” Identifying His Revelation with the “third woe,” he, moreover, had extolled His Law as “a new heaven and a new earth,” as the “Tabernacle of God,” as the “Holy City,” as the “New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” To His Day Jesus Christ Himself had referred as “the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory.” To the hour of His advent St. Paul had alluded as the hour of the “last trump,” the “trump of God,” whilst St. Peter had spoken of it as the “Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” His Day he, furthermore, had described as “the times of refreshing,” “the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

The “attributes of the Bahá'ís”

O army of God! Through the protection and help vouchsafed by the Blessed Beauty — may my life be a sacrifice to His loved ones — ye must conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he should become a centre of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of that city may cry out and say: "This man is unquestionably a Bahá'í, for his manners, his behaviour, his conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the Bahá'ís." Not until ye attain this station can ye be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and Testament of God.... 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Excellence in All Things)

Baha’i Temples: “outward expression of the illumination of hearts and minds by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah”; their dependencies: “institutions of social service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant.”

The new Temple of light is the outward expression of the illumination of hearts and minds by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, that process initiated in these islands at the turn of the century and now reaching a mighty crescendo. The effulgent light of His Teachings has aroused stirrings in the friends, impelling them to apply these heavenly principles in their personal lives and in the daily activities of their communities. Just as the spiritual illumination of the Baha'is is symbolized in the Temple, so the development of local community life in all its aspects, whether administrative or social, which flow from the fountainhead of faith in God's Revelation, will reach a fuller expression in the form of various dependencies around this edifice -- dependencies which the Guardian described as "institutions of social service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant." 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated August 1984 to the friends gathered in Apia, Western Samoa on the occasion of the dedication of the Mother Temple of the Pacific Islands; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

How Baha’is should associate with stranger and friend

Wherefore must the loved ones of God associate in affectionate fellowship with stranger and friend alike, showing forth to all the utmost loving-kindness, disregarding the degree of their capacity, never asking whether they deserve to be loved. In every instance let the friends be considerate and infinitely kind. Let them never be defeated by the malice of the people, by their aggression and their hate, no matter how intense. If others hurl their darts against you, offer them milk and honey in return; if they poison your lives, sweeten their souls; if they injure you, teach them how to be comforted; if they inflict a wound upon you, be a balm to their sores; if they sting you, hold to their lips a refreshing cup. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha')

Not to “transgress the bounds of moderation“ or to “overstep the limits” that Baha’u’llah has set

Praise be to God that whatever is essential for the believers in this Revelation to be told has been revealed. Their duties have been clearly defined, and the deeds they are expected to perform have been plainly set forth in Our Book. Now is the time for them to arise and fulfil their duty. Let them translate into deeds the exhortations We have given them. Let them beware lest the love they bear God, a love that glows so brightly in their hearts, cause them to transgress the bounds of moderation, and to overstep the limits We have set for them.

- Baha'u'llah  (Words of Baha’u’llah to some pilgrims and a few resident believers who were admitted into His presence on January 8, 1889, quoted by Nabil in the ‘Dawn-Breakers, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

Station of the Letters of the Living

• These “first Letters generated from the Primal Point,”
• this “company of angels arrayed before God on the Day of His coming,”
• these “Repositories of His Mystery,”
• these “Springs that have welled out from the Source of His Revelation,”
• these first companions who, in the words of the Persian Bayán, “enjoy nearest access to God,”
• these “Luminaries that have, from everlasting, bowed down, and will everlastingly continue to bow down, before the Celestial Throne,” and lastly
• these “elders” mentioned in the Book of Revelation as “sitting before God on their seats,” “clothed in white raiment” and wearing on their heads “crowns of gold”— ...

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By)

New Site: Baha'i Knowledge Wave

Exploring the rich literature of the Baha’i Faith throughrandom access to various documents available at 70+ sites of Baha’i Multimedia Resources

1979: National Convention of the Baha'is of Canada

Delegates to the thirty-first National Convention held in Guelph, Ontario. Seen also are special guests of the convention: Hand of the Cause John Robarts and wife Audrey, Continental Counsellor Angus Cowan, and Auxiliary Board Members serving in Canada. 
(Baha'i Canada, vol. 2, no. 3, July/August 1979)