Archive for February, 2021

Ayyam-i-Ha 177 B.E. Sunset 2/25/2021-Sunset 2/28/2021-Fast Begins At Sunset 2/28/2021 & Ends At Sunset 3/19/2021

Saturday, February 27th, 2021

Ayyam-i-Ha 177 B.E. Sunset 2/25/2021-Sunset 2/28/2021-Fast Begins At Sunset 2/28/2021 & Ends At Sunset 3/19/2021

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O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and the end. Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all mankind. The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God as a token of His grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous.

Baha’u’llah, Kitab-I-Aqdas

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Bahá’u’lláh explains: “The Festival of Naw-Rúz falleth on the day that the sun entereth the sign of Aries, [The vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere] even should this occur no more than one minute before sunset.”

This year the sun enters the constellation of Aries at 5:37 am Eastern Time (U.S.) on Saturday, March 20, 2021.

The Fast period begins at the begining of the Baha’i day at sunset, Sunday, February 28, 2021 and ends at the begining of the Baha’i day at sunset, Friday, March 19, 2021.

The Baha’i Holy Day of Naw-Ruz, 178 B.E. will be celebrated from sunset on Friday March 19, 2021 until sunset on Sunday, March 21, 2021. The Baha’i Month of Baha’ begins at sunset, on Sunday, March 21, 2021.

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Baha’i Sabbath: Mulk 13, 177 B.E. (2/19/2021)

Friday, February 19th, 2021

O SALMÁN! [“Blessed One”, from Arabic S-L-M] All that the sages and mystics have said or written have never exceeded, nor can they ever hope to exceed, the limitations to which man’s finite mind hath been strictly subjected. To whatever heights the mind of the most exalted of men may soar, however great the depths which the detached and understanding heart can penetrate, such mind and heart can never transcend that which is the creature of their own conceptions and the product of their own thoughts. The meditations of the profoundest thinker, the devotions of the holiest of saints, the highest expressions of praise from either human pen or tongue, are but a reflection of that which hath been created within themselves, through the revelation of the Lord, their God. Whoever pondereth this truth in his heart will readily admit that there are certain limits which no human being can possibly transgress. Every attempt which, from the beginning that hath no beginning, hath been made to visualize and know God is limited by the exigencies of His own creation—a creation which He, through the operation of His own Will and for the purposes of none other but His own Self, hath called into being. Immeasurably exalted is He above the strivings of human mind to grasp His Essence, or of human tongue to describe His mystery. No tie of direct intercourse can ever bind Him to the things He hath created, nor can the most abstruse and most remote allusions of His creatures do justice to His being. Through His world-pervading Will He hath brought into being all created things. He is and hath ever been veiled in the ancient eternity of His own exalted and indivisible Essence, and will everlastingly continue to remain concealed in His inaccessible majesty and glory. All that is in heaven and all that is in the earth have come to exist at His bidding, and by His Will all have stepped out of utter nothingness into the realm of being. How can, therefore, the creature which the Word of God hath fashioned comprehend the nature of Him Who is the Ancient of Days?

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings #CXLVIII

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Thou hast known how grievously the Prophets of God, His Messengers and Chosen Ones, have been afflicted. Meditate a while on the motive and reason which have been responsible for such a persecution. At no time, in no Dispensation, have the Prophets of God escaped the blasphemy of their enemies, the cruelty of their oppressors, the denunciation of the learned of their age, who appeared in the guise of uprightness and piety. Day and night they passed through such agonies as none can ever measure, except the knowledge of the one true God, exalted be His glory.

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings XXIII (exc)

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Had the Shi’i realized that Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha, during their lifetimes, were seated upon the throne of King David (as did Omar and Ali, the second and fourth Caliphs, recognize the living Davidic King exilarch Bostanai in their day) Persia would be the world leader now instead of America. But the throne of David came into exile here in America. And no matter how inept, foolish or adept American policy may or may not be it is UNDER THE PROTECTION OF GOD. Had the Israelis protected ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s son (an aghsan) Mason Remey from the “Hands”–instead of exiling him from the Holy Land–Israel would be the world leader, instead of the world loser it is today. When Israel under King Saul rejected King David (and exiled him) it was Palestine that took him in, and became the world leader in that time. Whatever people recognizes and protects the throne of King David and the basic human rights of the living one seated upon that throne in that day and age will be exalted, and its nation preserved and its peoples protected both materially and spiritually. Should they violate basic human rights, become an arrogant abomination of worthless consumption, or be hijacked by corrupt leadership God Himself shall depose them–through unforeseen world events–and those who oppose this mighty Covenant of God will be dispersed and degraded–like the Ottoman and Persian Empires that are no more who failed to recognize Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha in their own lifetimes. Like that of Rome which opposed Christ and is gone. Like that of Hitler who sought to kill off all the Jewish people including the heir to the throne of David by exterminating an entire peoples–and now that empire is nothing.

But these worldly affairs mean nothing in the sight of those whose hearts are pure, whose minds are elevated upon the love of God, and whose souls are set free.

Neal Chase – 3rd Aghsan Guardian of the Baha’i Faith

Baha’i Sabbath: Mulk 6, 177 B.E. (2/12/2021)

Friday, February 12th, 2021

Peruse that which Isaiah hath spoken in His Book. He saith: “Get thee up into the high mountain, O Zion, that bringest good tidings; lift up Thy Voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. Lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: ‘Behold your God! Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him.’” This Day all the signs have appeared. A Great City hath descended from heaven, and Zion trembleth and exulteth with joy at the Revelation of God, for it hath heard the Voice of God on every side. This Day Jerusalem hath attained unto a new Evangel, for in the stead of the sycamore standeth the cedar. Jerusalem is the place of pilgrimage for all the peoples of the world, and hath been named the Holy City. Together with Zion and Palestine, they are all included within these regions. Wherefore, hath it been said: “Blessed is the man that hath migrated to ‘Akká.”

Baha’u’llah, excerpted from Epistle To The Son Of The Wolf

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Whatsoever Is Possible Of Accomplishment In Human Government Will Be Effected Through These Principles

 

Baha’i Month: Mulk/Dominion 1, 177 B.E. (Sunset 2/6/2021-Sunset 2/7/2021)

Saturday, February 6th, 2021

Strive then, O My brother, to apprehend this matter, that the veils may be lifted from the face of thy heart and that thou mayest be reckoned among them whom God hath graced with such penetrating vision as to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion, to fathom the mysteries of His kingdom, to perceive the signs of His transcendent Essence in this mortal world, and to attain a station wherein one seeth no distinction amongst His creatures and findeth no flaw in the creation of the heavens and the earth.

Baha’u’llah, Gems Of Divine Mysteries, Paragraph 5

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In these days the tabernacle of justice hath fallen into the clutches of tyranny and oppression. Beseech ye the One true God—exalted be His glory—not to deprive mankind of the ocean of true understanding, for were men but to take heed they would readily appreciate that whatever hath streamed from and is set down by the Pen of Glory is even as the sun for the whole world and that therein lie the welfare, security and true interests of all men; otherwise the earth will be tormented by a fresh calamity every day and unprecedented commotions will break out. God grant that the people of the world may be graciously aided to preserve the light of His loving counsels within the globe of wisdom. We cherish the hope that everyone may be adorned with the vesture of true wisdom, the basis of the government of the world.

The Great Being saith: The heaven of statesmanship is made luminous and resplendent by the brightness of the light of these blessed words which hath dawned from the dayspring of the Will of God: It behooveth every ruler to weigh his own being every day in the balance of equity and justice and then to judge between men and counsel them to do that which would direct their steps unto the path of wisdom and understanding. This is the cornerstone of statesmanship and the essence thereof. From these words every enlightened man of wisdom will readily perceive that which will foster such aims as the welfare, security and protection of mankind and the safety of human lives. Were men of insight to quaff their fill from the ocean of inner meanings which lie enshrined in these words and become acquainted therewith, they would bear witness to the sublimity and the excellence of this utterance. If this lowly one were to set forth that which he perceiveth, all would testify unto God’s consummate wisdom. The secrets of statesmanship and that of which the people are in need lie enfolded within these words. This lowly servant earnestly entreateth the One true God—exalted be His glory—to illumine the eyes of the people of the world with the splendor of the light of wisdom that they, one and all, may recognize that which is indispensable in this day.

Baha’u’llah, Tablet of Maqsud

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Baha’i Sabbath: Sultan 18, 177 B.E. (2/5/2021)

Friday, February 5th, 2021

“Such is the true meaning of rendering assistance unto God. Sedition hath never been pleasing unto God, nor were the acts committed in the past by certain foolish ones acceptable in His sight. Know ye that to be killed in the path of His good pleasure is better for you than to kill. The beloved of the Lord must, in this day, behave in such wise amidst His servants that they may by their very deeds and actions guide all men unto the paradise of the All-Glorious.”

Baha’u’llah-The Summons of The Lord of Hosts

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The dust of sedition hath clouded the hearts of men, and blinded their eyes. Erelong, they will perceive the consequences of what their hands have wrought in the Day of God. Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Informed, as bidden by One Who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty.

Baha’u’llah-Gleanings #XVI, Exc.

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The faults of kings, like their favours, can be great. A king who is not deterred by the vainglory of power and authority from observing justice, nor is deprived of the splendours of the day-star of equity by luxury, riches, glory or the marshalling of hosts and legions shall occupy a high rank and a sublime station amongst the Concourse on high. It is incumbent upon everyone to extend aid and to manifest kindness to so noble a soul. Well is it with the king who keepeth a tight hold on the reins of his passion, restraineth his anger and preferreth justice and fairness to injustice and tyranny.

Baha’u’llah-Kalimát-i-Firdawsíyyih (Words of Paradise), 4th Leaf, Exc.

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Blessed is the ruler who succoureth the captive, and the rich one who careth for the poor, and the just one who secureth from the wrong doer the rights of the downtrodden, and happy the trustee who observeth that which the Ordainer, the Ancient of Days hath prescribed unto him.

Baha’u’llah-Kalimát-i-Firdawsíyyih (Words of Paradise), 9th Leaf, Exc.

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It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of understanding may favourably regard them, they will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious influence upon men.

Baha’u’llah-Lawḥ-i-Maqṣúd (Tablet of Maqṣúd), Exc./Baha’u’llah-Proclamation Of, Exc.

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The American nation, of which the community of the Most Great Name forms as yet a negligible and infinitesimal part, stands, indeed, from whichever angle one observes its immediate fortunes, in grave peril. The woes and tribulations which threaten it are partly avoidable, but mostly inevitable and God-sent, for by reason of them a government and people clinging tenaciously to the obsolescent doctrine of absolute sovereignty and upholding a political system, manifestly at variance with the needs of a world already contracted into a neighborhood and crying out for unity, will find itself purged of its anachronistic conceptions, and prepared to play a preponderating role, as foretold by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, in the hoisting of the standard of the Lesser Peace, in the unification of mankind, and in the establishment of a world federal government on this planet. These same fiery tribulations will not only firmly weld the American nation to its sister nations in both hemispheres, but will through their cleansing effect, purge it thoroughly of the accumulated dross which ingrained racial prejudice, rampant materialism, widespread ungodliness and moral laxity have combined, in the course of successive generations, to produce, and which have prevented her thus far from assuming the role of world spiritual leadership forecast by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá’s unerring pen—a role which she is bound to fulfill through travail and sorrow.

Shoghi Effendi-Citadel of Faith, July 28, 1954 American Bahá’ís in the Time of World Peril, America Passing Through Crisis, Exc.

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PRAYER FOR AMERICA

by

Abdu’l-Baha’

O Thou kind Lord! This gathering is turning to Thee. These hearts are radiant with Thy love. These minds and spirits are exhilarated by the message of Thy glad-tidings. O God! Let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees, and render this just government victorious. Confirm this revered nation to upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity, to promulgate the Most Great Peace, to become thereby most glorious and praiseworthy among all the nations of the world. O God! This American nation is worthy of Thy favors and is deserving of Thy mercy. Make it precious and near to Thee through Thy bounty and bestowal.

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