|
Holy Kitab I Aqdas
Texts 1-19
Texts 20-38
Texts 39-57
Texts 58-76
Texts 77-95
Texts 96-114
Texts 115-133
Texts 134-152
Texts 153-171
Texts 172-190
Holy Kitab I Iqan
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Prayers & Meditations by Bahaullah
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
| |
|
Prayers and
Meditations by Bahaullah:
Section 7 |
LVII
God testifieth to the unity of His Godhood and to the singleness
of His own Being. On the throne of eternity, from the
inaccessible heights of His station, His tongue proclaimeth that
there is none other God but Him. He Himself, independently of
all else, hath ever been a witness unto His own oneness, the
revealer of His own nature, the glorifier of His own essence.
He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Beauteous.
He is supreme over His servants, and standeth over His
creatures. In His hand is the source of authority and truth. He
maketh men alive by His signs, and causeth them to die through
His wrath. He shall not be asked of His doings and His might is
equal unto all things. He is the Potent, the All-Subduing. He
holdeth within His grasp the empire of all things, and on His
right hand is fixed the Kingdom of His Revelation. His power,
verily, embraceth the whole of creation. Victory and
overlordship are His; all might and dominion are His; all glory
and greatness are His. He, of a truth, is the All-Glorious, the
Most Powerful, the Unconditioned.
LVIII
Praise be to Thee, to Whom the tongues of all created things
have, from eternity, called, and yet failed to attain the heaven
of Thine eternal holiness and grandeur. The eyes of all beings
have been opened to behold the beauty of Thy radiant
countenance, yet none hath succeeded in gazing on the brightness
of the light of Thy face. The hands of them that are nigh unto
Thee have, ever since the foundation of Thy glorious sovereignty
and the establishment of Thy holy dominion, been raised
suppliantly towards Thee, yet no one hath been able to touch the
hem of the robe that clotheth Thy Divine and sovereign Essence.
And yet none can deny that Thou hast ever been, through the
wonders of Thy generosity and bounty, supreme over all things,
art powerful to do all things, and art nearer unto all things
than they are unto themselves.
Far be it, then, from Thy glory that anyone should gaze on Thy
wondrous beauty with any eye save Thine own eye, or hear the
melodies proclaiming Thine almighty sovereignty with any ear
except Thine own ear. Too high art Thou exalted for the eye of
any creature to behold Thy beauty, or for the understanding of
any heart to scale the heights of Thine immeasurable knowledge.
For should the birds of the hearts of them that are nigh unto
Thee be ever enabled to soar as long as Thine own overpowering
sovereignty can endure, or to ascend as long as the empire of
Thy Divine holiness can last, they shall, in no wise, be able to
transcend the limitations which a contingent world hath imposed
upon them, nor pass beyond its confines. How, then, can he whose
very creation is restricted by such limitations, attain unto Him
Who is the Lord of the Kingdom of all created things, or ascend
into the heaven of Him Who ruleth the realms of loftiness and
grandeur?
Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, my Best-Beloved!
Inasmuch as Thou hast ordained that the utmost limit to which
they who lift their hearts to Thee can rise is the confession of
their powerlessness to enter the realms of Thy holy and
transcendent unity, and that the highest station which they who
aspire to know Thee can reach is the acknowledgment of their
impotence to attain the retreats of Thy sublime knowledge I,
therefore, beseech Thee, by this very powerlessness which is
beloved of Thee, and which Thou hast decreed as the goal of them
that have reached and attained Thy court, and by the splendors
of Thy countenance that have encompassed all things, and by the
energies of Thy Will whereby the entire creation hath been
generated, not to deprive them that have set their hopes in Thee
of the wonders of Thy mercy, nor to withhold from such as have
sought Thee the treasures of Thy grace. Ignite, then, within
their hearts the torch of Thy love, that its flame may consume
all else except their wondrous remembrance of Thee, and that no
trace may be left in those hearts except the gem-like evidences
of Thy most holy sovereignty, so that from the land wherein they
dwell no voice may be heard except the voice that extolleth Thy
mercifulness and might, that on the earth on which they walk no
light may shine except the light of Thy beauty, and that within
every soul naught may be discovered except the revelation of Thy
countenance and the tokens of Thy glory, that haply Thy servants
may show forth only that which shall please Thee and shall
conform wholly unto Thy most potent will.
Glory be to Thee, O my God! The power of Thy might beareth me
witness! I can have no doubt that should the holy breaths of Thy
loving-kindness and the breeze of Thy bountiful favor cease, for
less than the twinkling of an eye, to breathe over all created
things, the entire creation would perish, and all that are in
heaven and on earth would be reduced to utter nothingness.
Magnified, therefore, be the marvelous evidences of Thy
transcendent power! Magnified be the potency of Thine exalted
might! Magnified be the majesty of Thine all-encompassing
greatness, and the energizing influence of Thy will! Such is Thy
greatness that wert Thou to concentrate the eyes of all men in
the eye of one of Thy servants, and to compress all their hearts
within his heart, and wert Thou to enable him to behold within
himself all the things Thou hast created through Thy power and
fashioned through Thy might, and were he to ponder, throughout
eternity, over the realms of Thy creation and the range of Thy
handiwork, he would unfailingly discover that there is no
created thing but is overshadowed by Thine all-conquering power,
and is vitalized through Thine all-embracing sovereignty.
Behold me, then, O my God, fallen prostrate upon the dust before
Thee, confessing my powerlessness and Thine omnipotence, my
poverty and Thy wealth, mine evanescence and Thine eternity,
mine utter abasement and Thine infinite glory. I recognize that
there is none other God but Thee, that Thou hast no peer nor
partner, none to equal or rival Thee. In Thine unapproachable
loftiness Thou hast, from eternity, been exalted above the
praise of any one but Thee, and shalt continue for ever, in Thy
transcendent singleness and glory, to be sanctified from the
glorification of any one except Thine own Self.
I swear by Thy might, O my Beloved! To make mention of any
created thing beseemeth not Thy most exalted Self, and to bestow
any praise upon any one of Thy creatures would be wholly
unworthy of Thy great glory. Nay, such a mention would be but
blasphemy uttered within the court of Thy holiness, and such
praise would amount to no less than a transgression in the face
of the evidences of Thy Divine sovereignty. For the mere mention
of any one of Thy creatures would in itself imply an assertion
of their existence before the court of Thy singleness and unity.
Such an assertion would be naught but open blasphemy, an act of
impiety, the essence of profanity and a wanton crime.
Wherefore, I bear witness with my soul, my spirit, my entire
being, that should They Who are the Day-Springs of Thy most holy
unity and the Manifestations of Thy transcendent oneness be able
to soar so long as Thine own sovereignty endureth and Thine
all-compelling authority can last, they will fail in the end to
attain unto even the precincts of the court wherein Thou didst
reveal the effulgence of but one of Thy most mighty Names.
Glorified, glorified be, therefore, Thy wondrous majesty.
Glorified, glorified be Thine unattainable loftiness. Glorified,
glorified be the &preeminence of Thy kingship and the sublimity
of Thine authority and power.
The highest faculties which the learned have possessed, and
whatsoever truths they, in their search after the gems of Thy
knowledge, have discovered; the brightest realities with which
the wise have been endowed, and whatever secrets they, in their
attempts to fathom the mysteries of Thy wisdom, have unraveled,
have all been created through the generative power of the Spirit
that was breathed into the Pen which Thy hands have fashioned.
How, then, can the thing which Thy Pen hath created be capable
of comprehending those treasures of Thy Faith with which, as
decreed by Thee, that Pen hath been invested? How can it ever
know of the Fingers that grasp Thy Pen, and of Thy merciful
favors with which it hath been endowed? How can it, already
unable to reach this station, be made aware of the existence of
Thy Hand that controlleth the Fingers of Thy might? How can it
attain unto the comprehension of the nature of Thy Will that
animateth the movement of Thy Hand?
Glorified, glorified be Thou, O my God! How can I ever hope to
ascend into the heaven of Thy most holy will, or gain admittance
into the tabernacle of Thy Divine knowledge, knowing as I do
that the minds of the wise and learned are impotent to fathom
the secrets of Thy handiwork--a handiwork which is itself but a
creation of Thy will?
Praise be to Thee, O Lord, my God, my Master, my Possessor, my
King. Now that I have confessed unto Thee my powerlessness and
the powerlessness of all created things, and have acknowledged
my poverty and the poverty of the entire creation, I call unto
Thee with my tongue and the tongues of all that are in heaven
and on earth, and beseech Thee with my heart and the hearts of
all that have entered beneath the shadow of Thy names and Thine
attributes, not to shut us from the doors of Thy loving-kindness
and grace, nor to suffer the breeze of Thy bountiful care and
favor to cease from being wafted over our souls, nor to permit
that our hearts be occupied with any one except Thee, or our
minds to be busied with any remembrance save remembrance of Thy
Self.
By the glory of Thy might, O my God! Wert Thou to set me king
over Thy realms, and to establish me upon the throne of Thy
sovereignty, and to deliver, through Thy power, the reins of the
entire creation into my hands, and wert Thou to cause me, though
it be for less than a moment, to be occupied with these things
and be oblivious of the wondrous memories associated with Thy
most mighty, most perfect, and most exalted Name, my soul would
still remain unsatisfied, and the pangs of my heart unstilled.
Nay, I would, in that very state, recognize myself as the
poorest of the poor, and the most wretched of the wretched.
Magnified be Thy name, O my God! Now that Thou hast caused me to
apprehend this truth, I beseech Thee by Thy Name which no scroll
can bear, which no heart can imagine and no tongue can utter --a
Name which will remain concealed so long as Thine own Essence is
hidden, and will be glorified so long as Thine own Being is
extolled--to unfurl, ere the present year draw to a close, the
ensigns of Thine undisputed ascendancy and triumph, that the
whole creation may be enriched by Thy wealth, and may be exalted
through the ennobling influence of Thy transcendent sovereignty,
and that all may arise and promote Thy Cause.
Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Highest, the
All-Glorious, the All-Subduing, the All-Possessing.
LIX
All praise, O my God, be to Thee Who art the Source of all glory
and majesty, of greatness and honor, of sovereignty and
dominion, of loftiness and grace, of awe and power. Whomsoever
Thou willest Thou causest to draw nigh unto the Most Great
Ocean, and on whomsoever Thou desirest Thou conferrest the honor
of recognizing Thy Most Ancient Name. Of all who are in heaven
and on earth, none can withstand the operation of Thy sovereign
Will. From all eternity Thou didst rule the entire creation, and
Thou wilt continue for evermore to exercise Thy dominion over
all created things. There is none other God but Thee, the
Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.
Illumine, O Lord, the faces of Thy servants, that they may
behold Thee; and cleanse their hearts that they may turn unto
the court of Thy heavenly favors, and recognize Him Who is the
Manifestation of Thy Self and the Day-Spring of Thine Essence.
Verily, Thou art the Lord of all worlds. There is no God but
Thee, the Unconstrained, the All-Subduing.
LX
Glorified be Thou, O my God! Behold Thou my head ready to fall
before the sword of Thy Will, my neck prepared to bear the
chains of Thy Desire, my heart yearning to be made a target for
the darts of Thy Decree, mine eyes expectant to gaze on the
tokens and signs of Thy wondrous Mercy. For whatsoever may
befall me from Thee is the cherished desire of them who thirst
to meet Thee, and the supreme aspiration of such as have drawn
nigh unto Thy court.
By the glory of Thy might, O Thou my Well-Beloved! To have
sacrificed my life for the Manifestations of Thy Self, to have
offered up my soul in the path of the Revealers of Thy wondrous
Beauty, is to have sacrificed my spirit for Thy Spirit, my being
for Thy Being, my glory for Thy glory. It is as if I had offered
up all these things for Thy sake, and for the sake of Thy loved
ones.
Though my body be pained by the trials that befall me from Thee,
though it be afflicted by the revelations of Thy Decree, yet my
soul rejoiceth at having partaken of the waters of Thy Beauty,
and at having attained the shores of the ocean of Thine
eternity. Doth it beseem a lover to flee from his beloved, or to
desert the object of his heart's desire? Nay, we all believe in
Thee, and eagerly hope to enter Thy presence.
LXI
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou dost witness that Thy
will hath prevailed over all created things, and Thy mercy hath
surpassed all who are in heaven and on earth. And when Thou
didst purpose to unveil Thy sovereignty, and to glorify Thy
word, and to reveal Thy bounteousness and mercy, Thou didst
raise up one of Thy servants, and didst choose Him above all Thy
creatures, and didst single Him out for Thy purpose, and didst
clothe Him with the robe of Thy guidance, and didst immerse Him
beneath the seas of Thy majesty and grandeur, and didst sanctify
Him from all that beseemeth not the greatness of Thy glory and
the power of Thy might, and didst bid Him to cry out before all
that are in heaven and on earth, and summon the multitudes to
the Manifestation of Thy Self and the Revealer of Thy signs.
No sooner had He proclaimed Thy Cause, and risen up to carry out
the things prescribed unto Him in the Tablets of Thy decree,
than the Great Terror fell upon Thy creatures. Some turned
towards Thee, and detached themselves from all except Thee, and
sanctified their souls from the world and all that is therein,
and were so enravished by the sweetness of Thy voice that they
forsook all Thou hadst created in the kingdom of Thy creation.
Others recognized Thee and then hesitated, others allowed the
world to come in between them and Thee and to withhold them from
recognizing Thee. Others disdained Thee, and turned back from
Thee, and wished to prevent Thee from achieving Thy purpose. And
yet behold how all of them are calling upon Thee, and are
expecting the things they were promised in Thy Tablets. And when
the Promised One came unto them, they recognized Him not, and
disbelieved in Thy signs, and repudiated Thy clear tokens, and
strayed so grievously from Thy path that they slew Thy servants,
through the brightness of whose faces the countenances of the
Concourse on high have been illumined.
I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names, to guard
Thy loved ones against Thine enemies, and to strengthen them in
their love for Thee and in fulfilling Thy pleasure. Do Thou
protect them, that their footsteps may slip not, that their
hearts may not be shut out as by a veil from Thee, and that
their eyes may be restrained from beholding anything that is not
of Thee. Cause them to be so enraptured by the sweetness of Thy
divine melodies that they will rid themselves of all attachment
to any one except Thee, and will turn wholly towards Thee, and
extol Thee under all conditions, saying: "Praised be Thou, O
Lord our God, inasmuch as Thou hast enabled us to recognize Thy
most exalted and all-glorious Self. We will, by Thy mercy,
cleave to Thee, and will detach ourselves from any one but Thee.
We have realized that Thou art the Beloved of the worlds and the
Creator of earth and heaven!"
Glorified be God, the Lord of all creation!
LXII
Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou art He Who
from everlasting hath been clothed with majesty, with authority
and power, and will continue unto everlasting to be arrayed with
honor, with strength and glory. The learned, one and all, stand
aghast before the signs and tokens of Thy handiwork, while the
wise find themselves, without exception, impotent to unravel the
mystery of Them Who are the Manifestations of Thy might and
power. Every man of insight hath confessed his powerlessness to
scale the heights of Thy knowledge, and every man of learning
hath acknowledged his failure to fathom the nature of Thine
Essence.
Having barred the way that leadeth unto Thee, Thou hast, by
virtue of Thine authority and through the potency of Thy will,
called into being Them Who are the Manifestations of Thy Self,
and hast entrusted Them with Thy message unto Thy people, and
caused Them to become the Day-Springs of Thine inspiration, the
Exponents of Thy Revelation, the Treasuries of Thy Knowledge and
the Repositories of Thy Faith, that all men may, through Them,
turn their faces towards Thee, and may draw nigh unto the
kingdom of Thy Revelation and the heaven of Thy grace.
I beseech Thee, therefore, by Thyself and by Them, to send down,
from the right hand of the throne of Thy grace, upon all that
dwell on earth, that which shall wash them from the stain of
their trespasses against Thee, and cause them to become wholly
devoted to Thy Self, O Thou in Whose hand is the source of all
gifts, that they may all arise to serve Thy Cause, and may
detach themselves entirely from all except Thee. Thou art the
Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Unrestrained.
O my God, my Master, my Best-Beloved! I am Thy servant and the
son of Thy servant. I have held fast the cord of Thy grace, and
clung to the hem of the garment of Thy loving providence. I
entreat Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, Whom Thou hast appointed
as the unerring Balance among the nations, and Thine infallible
Proof unto all men, not to forsake me, nor to abandon me to my
corrupt desires. Do Thou preserve me beneath the shadow of Thy
Supreme Sinlessness, and enable me to magnify Thine own Self
amidst the concourse of Thy creatures. Withhold not from me the
Divine fragrance of Thy days, and deprive me not of the sweet
savors wafting from the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation. Bestow on
me the good of this world and of the next, through the power of
Thy grace that hath encompassed all created things and Thy mercy
that hath surpassed the entire creation. Thou art He Who holdeth
in His grasp the kingdom of all things. Thou doest what Thou
willest through Thy decree, and choosest, through the power of
Thy might, whatsoever Thou desirest. None can resist Thy will;
naught can exhaust the impelling force of Thy command. There is
no God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most
Bountiful. |
|
| |
Friendly sites
Hagia Sopia
Humor and fun
PictureXL photos
Casino directory
Tzop
web directory
GameroomXL games
Betting tips
|
