The Proof Is All Around Us !

This Galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars which have untold planets circling them which harbor who knows what kind of life.

It's just one of God's creations...

"Consider the relation between the craftsman and his handiwork, between the painter and his painting. Can it ever be maintained that the work their hands have produced is the same as themselves? By Him Who is the Lord of the Throne above and of earth below! They can be regarded in no other light except as evidences that proclaim the excellence and perfection of their author."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection CLX, p. 337

Religion & Science

So far, in this new "incarnation" of B.I.D.E. Blog, I've only quoted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Bahá’u’lláh.

Today the excerpt is from a document published by the World Governing Body of the Bahá’í Faith:

“While it is true to speak of the unity of all religions, understanding of the context is vital. At the deepest level, as Bahá'u'lláh emphasizes, there is but one religion.

"Religion is religion, as science is science.

"The one discerns and articulates the values unfolding progressively through Divine revelation; the other is the instrumentality through which the human mind explores and is able to exert its influence ever more precisely over the phenomenal world. The one defines goals that serve the evolutionary process; the other assists in their attainment. Together, they constitute the dual knowledge system impelling the advance of civilization. Each is hailed by the Master [‘Abdu’l-Bahá] as an ‘effulgence of the Sun of Truth’.”

Universal House of Justice, One Common Faith, par. 43

Spiritual Protection

I'd mentioned in a previous post how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Who I quote here often...) had to spend 40 years in Middle Eastern prisons before he visited Europe and the USA.

His Father, Bahá’u’lláh, spent the same amount of time as a prisoner yet He had much more suffering heaped upon Him.

Here is a Supreme Example of the correct internal attitude to maintain if others attack us for our beliefs:

"Armed with the power of Thy love, the hatred which moveth them that are against Thee can never alarm me; and with Thy praise on my lips, the rulings of Thy decree can in no wise fill me with sorrow. Fortify, therefore, Thy love within my breast, and suffer me to face the assaults which all the peoples of the earth may launch against me."

Bahá’u’lláh: Prayers and Meditations, Selection CXXVII, p. 214

"Worlds, Holy and Spiritually Glorious"

It takes Faith to read Scripture and firmly believe that, in spite of the severity of our suffering in the body, our souls can realize supreme happiness.

It takes Faith like a rooted mountain!

This quote from Reality says it much better than I can:

"O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection CLIII, p. 329

~ TRUTH ~

I remember, about 40 years ago, a social "movement" whose dogma was: Tell The Extreme Truth, No Matter What.

For a short while I tried it and encouraged others to be this "Honest".

What a fiasco!

How great the hurt and harm.

Even though the "truth" often needs moderation, we must not fall into the trap of abandoning the "Truth".

What a gem today's quote from Reality is:

"How great the multitude of truths which the garment of words can never contain! How vast the number of such verities as no expression can adequately describe, whose significance can never be unfolded, and to which not even the remotest allusions can be made! How manifold are the truths which must remain unuttered until the appointed time is come! Even as it hath been said: 'Not everything that a man knoweth can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the capacity of those who hear it.'"

Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 176

No Greater Bliss

Today's quote from Reality is beautifully clear and complete to me.

So...

No comment...

"Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Secret of Divine Civilization, pp. 2-3

Spiritual Road Map

I just love the way this excerpt from Reality begins with rather specific methods and actions for our Spiritual Journey; then, it begins to fly; and then, soars in Realms Beyond...

"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection CXXX, p. 285

True Unity

There's way too much dissension, discord, confrontation, division, and dissonance in our poor ol' world...

Where will it lead?

I firmly believe that God is in charge and all this suffering will purge humanity's selfishness so we all can experience the Spiritual State extolled in today's excerpt from Reality:

"O CHILDREN OF MEN!

"Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory."

Bahá’u’lláh: The Hidden Words, Arabic #68

Perfections are without Limit

Get ready to Soar!

Today's quote from Reality continues a focus on prayer but takes its effects to the Next World and Back Again!!

"As we have power to pray for these souls here, so likewise we shall possess the same power in the other world, which is the Kingdom of God. Are not all the people in that world the creatures of God? Therefore, in that world also they can make progress. As here they can receive light by their supplications, there also they can plead for forgiveness and receive light through entreaties and supplications. Thus as souls in this world, through the help of the supplications, the entreaties and the prayers of the holy ones, can acquire development, so is it the same after death. Through their own prayers and supplications they can also progress, more especially when they are the object of the intercession of the Holy Manifestations."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Some Answered Questions, Chapter 62: "Perfections are without Limit", p. 232