# Divine Melody: Song of the Mystic Dove

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Lorraine Hetu Manifold, Divine Melody: Song of the Mystic Dove, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> The
> 
> Divine
> Melody
> Song of the Mystic Dove
> 
> Compilation from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,
> the Báb, ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and
> the Universal House of Justice.
> 
> Compiled by Lorraine Hétu Manifold
> The Divine Melody: Song of the Mystic Dove
> 
> Source © Bahá’í International Community
> 
> Compiled by Lorraine Hétu Manifold
> 
> Cover design by Oscar Gomez
> 
> Publication © National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia Inc.
> Published November 2022
> All Rights Reserved
> 
> ISBN 978-1-925320-25-1
> B.E. 180 edition
> 
> Distributed by
> Bahá’í Distribution Services of Australia
> 173 Mona Vale Rd, Ingleside NSW, 2101
> 
> bds@bahai.org.au
> www.bahaibooks.com.au
> CONTENTS
> 
> Introduction                          i
> 
> The Divine Melody                    1
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise           67
> 
> Melodies in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár   117
> 
> Effort to Diffuse Divine Melodies   123
> Introduction
> Music can claim an exalted station in the Bahá’í Faith.
> Bahá’u’lláh says in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book),
> “We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a
> means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on
> high…” 1 Like prayer, music is a powerful means to lift our
> spirits towards God. Instrumental music can touch us deeply
> and elevate our souls but when we set the Word of God to
> music and sing sacred songs, the combination is even more
> powerful. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá elaborates:
> 
> Music is like this glass which is perfectly pure and polished.
> It is precisely like this clear chalice before us. And the
> Teachings and Utterances of God are like the water. When
> the chalice is in the utmost state of purity, absolutely clear
> and polished, and the water is perfectly fresh, then it will
> confer life. Wherefore, the Teachings of God, whether
> they be Utterances in the form of homilies, or prayers
> and communes, when they are melodiously chanted will
> proved [sic] most impressive. 2
> 
> Singing the Word of God can transform us, as Bahá’u’lláh
> affirms when He states that divinely-revealed words are
> “endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every
> human frame…” 3 Sacred songs based on the divine teachings
> can touch our souls and bring us closer to God. Anyone who
> has sung a prayer or the Word of God either alone or in a
> group will have felt the power that music has on their hearts
> 
> 1   Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 2   The Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 81-82
> 3   Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> i
> and souls. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá refers to the Word of God as a melody
> that will change the world:
> 
> … know ye this: save for this song of God, no song will stir
> the world, and save for this nightingale-cry of truth from
> the Garden of God, no melody will lure away the heart.
> ‘Whence cometh this Singer Who speaketh the Beloved’s
> name?’ 4
> 
> In this passage ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is perhaps also encouraging us
> to sing the Word of God as we work to transform the world.
> How uplifting that would be: singing to bring unity and peace
> to our neighbourhoods and communities all over the globe!
> 
> While there are already compilations on both Music 5 and the
> Arts, 6 numerous passages in the Writings refer to the Word of
> God as a melody. A search through the Bahá’í Writings reveals
> a multitude of passages where the Word of God is described
> as music being warbled by such creatures as the Mystic Dove,
> the Dove of Truth or of Utterance, the Nightingale of Paradise
> or of Holiness, the Bird of Heaven, of Eternity, or of Holiness,
> the Spirit of God, or sung by His wondrous, His sublime, His
> all-compelling, His clear, and most eloquent Voice.
> 
> In these passages, the Word of God itself is referred to in such
> terms as the sweet Melodies of the spirit, the celestial Melody,
> the Melody of the Supreme Concourse, the soul-elevating
> harmony of heaven, the Melodies of thankful birds.
> 
> 4   ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 5   Compilation on Music:
> bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/music/
> 6   Compilation on Arts:
> bahai-library.com/pdf/compilations/arts.pdf
> Compilation on The Importance of the Arts in Promoting the Faith:
> bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/importance-art/
> 
> ii
> It is interesting to consider how the concept of the Word of
> God as a divine melody could shape our Bahá’í communities
> going forward. Indeed, the future might be increasingly
> musically oriented as more Bahá’í-inspired music is created.
> Communities where group singing is not yet prevalent might
> discover a love of singing together. Shoghi Effendi reminds
> us that music is “an important feature of all Baha’i gatherings”
> and that the “Master Himself has emphasized its importance.” 7
> However, in order for people to feel comfortable singing as
> adults, musical education might need to start when we are
> young. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá not only recommended that children
> study music, but said that music instruction is compulsory:
> 
> It is incumbent upon each child to know something of
> music … Likewise, it is necessary that the schools teach it
> in order that the souls and hearts of the pupils may become
> vivified and exhilarated and their lives be brightened with
> enjoyment. 8
> 
> As a growing number of Bahá’í children learn music and go
> on to enter adulthood, our gatherings may naturally become
> more musical, with both children and adults playing instruments either alone or together. Likewise, singing may become
> a bigger part of our activities as musical abilities develop and
> we witness the power that music has to transform our inner
> and outer lives.
> 
> Further impetus to the global development of Bahá’í-inspired
> vocal music is given by the teaching that only live vocal music
> can be sung in the Houses of Worship:
> 
> 7   Letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer,
> 17 March 1935, in The Compilation of Compilations, p. 80
> 8   ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> iii
> Music in the House of Worship is to be vocal only, whether
> by singers or a singer …[and] all references to vocal music
> in the central Edifice imply the physical presence of the
> singers. 9
> 
> As more local Houses of Worship are built, an exponential
> number of Bahá’í choirs will likely form, aligning with Shoghi
> Effendi’s encouragement for choirs to sing in the Houses of
> Worship. 10 Singing in a House of Worship is an unforgettable
> experience that unites singers around one common goal,
> causes hearts to beat as one and lifts the spirits of both singers
> and audience up the rungs of a spiritual ladder towards the
> heavens.
> 
> The following compilation is by no means exhaustive, and as
> more Tablets are translated into English, other passages will
> undoubtedly emerge on this topic. The selection presented
> here includes Writings from the Bahá’í Faith that relate to
> the concept of the Divine Melody as well as passages that
> encourage us to sing this Divine Melody. Passages that refer
> more generally to music or the arts can be found in the compilations on Music and on the Arts published by the Research
> Department of the Universal House of Justice (see footnotes 5
> and 6) and are not included here.
> 
> The first chapter focusses on Baha’i Writings in which the
> Word of God is referred to as a Divine Melody. This is followed
> by a selection of prayers to help us recognise or hearken to the
> Word of God. In the second chapter, the passages focus on
> how we can sing or impart the divine melodies. The third
> chapter presents a short series of quotes on the topic of singing
> the Divine Melodies in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. Finally, a brief
> 9  From a letter written by the Universal House of Justice to the National
> Spiritual Assembly of the United States, 13 March 1964
> 10 “Shoghi Effendi would urge that choir singing by men, women and
> children be encouraged in the Auditorium [of the Temple].” From a
> letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual
> Assembly of the United States and Canada, 2 April 1931
> 
> iv
> chapter is included on the concept of ‘focus’ as a virtue which
> is required in order both to spread the divine melodies and
> to sing them.
> 
> Understanding the Word of God as a Divine Melody can
> perhaps shed further light on the invitation of the International
> Teaching Centre to Bahá’í communities all over the world, to
> increase our use of the arts in all our endeavours:
> 
> As with all other aspects of the expansion and consolidation work, the requirements of the time call on us to be
> more systematic in the use of the arts. They should not be
> considered simply an embellishment to our programs or
> an afterthought in our planning. Rather they must become
> an integral part of our teaching plans and community life.
> The arts have a vital role to play in the process of entry by
> troops. 11
> 
> It is my hope that this compilation will encourage each one
> of us to hearken to the Divine Melodies and inspire us to sing
> God’s praise and utilise the arts as we strive to, as Bahá’u’lláh
> proclaims, “promote the well-being and harmony of all the
> kindreds of the earth.” 12
> 
> Lorraine Hétu Manifold
> 
> 11 From a letter written by the International Teaching Centre to the
> Continental Board of Counsellors, 5 November, 2001
> 12 Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas:
> “The source of crafts, sciences and arts is the power of reflection. Make
> ye every effort that out of this ideal mine there may gleam forth such
> pearls of wisdom and utterance as will promote the well-being and
> harmony of all the kindreds of the earth.”
> 
> v
> Note: Many of the quotes from the Bahá’í Writings were written
> in Persian or Arabic, where there is no masculine or feminine.
> While the English translation often uses the masculine pronouns,
> it is to be understood in the generic sense: ‘man’, ‘he’, ‘his’ are
> applicable to both women and men.
> 
> vi
> THE DIVINE MELODY
> 
> From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Blessed the man who, assured of My Word, hath arisen from
> among the dead to celebrate My praise. Blessed is he that hath
> been enraptured by My wondrous melodies and hath rent the
> veils asunder through the potency of My might. Blessed is
> he who hath remained faithful to My Covenant, and whom
> the things of the world have not kept back from attaining
> My Court of holiness. Blessed is the man who hath detached
> himself from all else but Me, hath soared in the atmosphere
> of My love, hath gained admittance into My Kingdom,
> gazed upon My realms of glory, quaffed the living waters
> of My bounty, hath drunk his fill from the heavenly river of
> My loving providence, acquainted himself with My Cause,
> apprehended that which I concealed within the treasury of
> My Words, and hath shone forth from the horizon of divine
> knowledge engaged in My praise and glorification. Verily, he
> is of Me. Upon him rest My mercy, My loving-kindness, My
> bounty and My glory.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> Thus hath the Nightingale sung with sweet melody upon the
> celestial bough, in praise of its Lord, the All-Merciful. Well is
> it with them that hearken.
> Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> By the righteousness of God! But for the anthem of praise
> voiced by Him Who heralded the divine Revelation, this
> Wronged One would never have breathed a word which might
> have struck terror into the hearts of the ignorant and caused
> them to perish.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> O MY Name! Yield thou praise unto God for having graciously
> chosen thee to be a shower of bounty for that which We have
> sown in the pure and blessed soil and enabled thee to serve as
> a springtime of tender mercy for the wondrous and sublime
> trees We have planted. Indeed so great is this favour that of all
> created things in the world of existence, none can ever hope to
> rival it. We have moreover given thee to drink the choice wine
> of utterance from the chalice of the heavenly bestowals of thy
> merciful Lord, which is none other than this Tongue of holiness—a Tongue that, as soon as it was unloosed, quickened
> the entire creation, set in motion all beings and caused the
> Nightingale to pour forth its melodies. This is the Fountain of
> living water for all that dwell in the realm of being.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> O My Name! Suffer all created things to quaff once again from
> this chalice which hath caused the seas to rise. Kindle then
> in the hearts the blazing fire which this crimson Tree hath
> ignited, that they may arise to extol and magnify His Name
> amidst the adherents of all Faiths.
> Numerous letters from thee have been presented before
> Our Throne. We have perused them as a token of grace on
> Our part, and for each name thou didst mention therein We
> have revealed that which will stir the minds of men and will
> cause the spirits to soar. Moreover We have repeatedly enabled
> thee to hearken unto the warblings of the birds of heaven and
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> to incline thine ear to the songs of the nightingales pouring
> forth their melodies upon the branches. Thus was the Pen of
> God set in motion in thy remembrance that thou mightest
> admonish men through the power of this utterance which is
> divinely ordained to be the revealer of the signs of His glory.
> Blessed is the spot wherein the anthem of His praise is raised,
> and blessed the ear that hearkeneth unto that which hath been
> sent down from the heaven of the loving-kindness of thy Lord,
> the All-Merciful.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> THIS is a Tablet sent down by the Lord of mercy that the
> people of the world may be enabled to draw nigh unto this
> Ocean which hath surged through the potency of His august
> Name. Amongst men there are those who have turned away
> from Him and gainsaid His testimony, while others have
> quaffed the wine of assurance in the glory of His Name which
> pervadeth all created things. A grievous loss hath indeed
> been suffered by those that have inclined their ears to the
> croaking of the raven, and refused to hearken unto the sweet
> warblings of the Bird of Heaven singing upon the twigs of the
> Tree of eternity: Verily there is none other God but Me, the
> All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> Say, by the righteousness of God! The All-Merciful is come
> invested with power and sovereignty. Through His power the
> foundations of religions have quaked and the Nightingale of
> Utterance hath warbled its melody upon the highest branch
> of true understanding. Verily, He Who was hidden in the
> knowledge of God and is mentioned in the Holy Scriptures
> hath appeared.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> O King! Wert thou to incline thine ears unto the shrill voice
> of the Pen of Glory and the cooing of the Dove of Eternity,
> which on the branches of the Lote-Tree beyond which there
> is no passing, uttereth praises to God, the Maker of all Names
> and the Creator of earth and heaven, thou wouldst attain
> unto a station from which thou wouldst behold in the world
> of being naught save the effulgence of the Adored One, and
> wouldst regard thy sovereignty as the most contemptible of
> thy possessions, abandoning it to whosoever might desire it,
> and setting thy face toward the Horizon aglow with the light
> of His countenance.
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
> 
> To continue: I have hearkened to the song of the nightingale
> of knowledge upon the twigs of the tree of thine inmost
> being, and to the cooing of the dove of certitude upon the
> branches of the bower of thine heart. Methinks I inhaled the
> fragrance of purity from the raiment of thy love … Of this did
> the nightingale of oneness sing in the garden of his mystical
> treatise, 1 saying, “And there shall appear upon the tablet of
> thine heart an inscription of the subtle mysteries of the verse
> ‘Fear ye God; God will teach you’, and the bird of thy spirit
> shall recall the sanctuaries of ancient splendour, and soar
> upon the wings of longing into the heaven of the command
> ‘Walk the beaten paths of thy Lord’, and partake of the choice
> fruits of communion in the gardens of the utterance ‘Feed,
> moreover, on every kind of fruit.’ ” 2
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> 1   Literally, “in the garden of Ghawthíyyih”. The Risáliy-i-Ghawthíyyih
> is a mystical treatise by ‘Abdu’l-Qádir-i-Gílání (ca. 1077–1166). The
> sentence that follows is a quotation from this work.
> 2   Qur’án 2:282, 16:69
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> He steppeth into the inner sanctuary of the Friend and, as an
> intimate, shareth the pavilion of the Well-Beloved. He stretcheth forth the hand of truth from the sleeve of the Absolute and
> revealeth the mysteries of divine power. He seeth in himself
> neither name nor fame nor rank, but findeth his own praise
> in the praise of God, and in the name of God beholdeth his
> own. To him “all songs are from that sovereign King” and
> every melody from Him. He sitteth on the throne of “Say, all
> things are of God”. 3
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> And if a nightingale soar beyond the clay of self and dwell in
> the rose bower of the heart, and in Arabian melodies and sweet
> Persian tones recount the mysteries of God—a single word
> whereof quickeneth anew every lifeless form and bestoweth
> the spirit of holiness upon every mouldering bone—thou
> wilt behold a thousand claws of envy and a myriad talons of
> hatred hunting after Him and striving with all their power to
> encompass His death.
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> Thus it hath been made clear that these stages depend on
> the attainment of the wayfarer. In every city he will behold
> a world, in every valley reach a spring, in every meadow
> hear a song. But the falcon of the mystic heaven hath many a
> wondrous carol of the spirit in its breast, and the Persian bird
> keepeth in its soul many a sweet Arabian melody; yet these
> are hidden, and hidden shall remain.
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> 3   Qur’án 4:78
> 
> The tongue faileth in describing these three valleys, and
> speech falleth short. The pen steppeth not into this arena, the
> ink leaveth only a blot. In these stations, the nightingale of the
> heart hath other songs and secrets, which make the heart to
> leap and the soul to cry out, but this mystery of inner meaning
> may be whispered only from heart to heart, and confided only
> from breast to breast.
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> Wert thou to hearken unto the melodies of this mortal Bird,
> then wouldst thou seek out the eternal and undying chalice
> and renounce every fleeting and perishable cup. Peace be
> upon him who followeth the way of guidance!
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> O My friend! Listen with heart and soul to the songs of the
> spirit, and treasure them as thine own eyes; for heavenly
> wisdoms, even as vernal showers, will not rain forever upon
> the earth of men’s hearts, and though the grace of the All-
> Bounteous One is never ceasing and never stilled, yet to every
> time and era a portion is allotted and a bounty assigned, which
> is vouchsafed in a given measure.
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> O Pen of the Most High! Bestir Thyself in remembrance of
> other kings in this blessed and luminous Book, that perchance
> they may rise from the couch of heedlessness and give ear
> unto that which the Nightingale singeth upon the branches
> of the Divine Lote-Tree, and hasten towards God in this most
> wondrous and sublime Revelation.
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> O Ancient Beauty! Turn aside from the unbelievers and that
> which they possess, and waft over all created things the sweet
> savours of the remembrance of Thy Beloved, the Exalted, the
> Great. This remembrance quickeneth the world of being and
> reneweth the temples of all created things. Say: He, verily,
> hath established Himself upon the Throne of might and
> glory. Whosoever desireth to gaze upon His countenance, lo,
> behold Him standing before thee! Blessed be the Lord Who
> hath revealed Himself in this shining and luminous Beauty.
> Whosoever desireth to hearken unto His melodies, lo, hear
> them rising from His resplendent and wondrous lips! And
> unto whosoever desireth to be illumined by the splendours
> of His light, say: Seek the court of His presence, for God hath
> verily granted you leave to approach it, as a token of His grace
> unto all mankind.
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> I swear by God, O King! Wert thou to incline thine ear to
> the melodies of that Nightingale which warbleth in manifold
> accents upon the mystic bough as bidden by thy Lord, the
> All-Merciful, thou wouldst cast away thy sovereignty and set
> thy face towards this Scene of transcendent glory, above whose
> horizon shineth the Book of the Dawntide, 4 and wouldst
> expend all that thou possessest in thine eagerness to obtain the
> things of God. Then wouldst thou find thyself raised up to the
> summit of exaltation and glory, and elevated to the pinnacle
> of majesty and independence.
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> 4   Cf. Qur’án 17:78
> 
> Say: God is My witness, O concourse of the negligent! We
> came not unto you to spread disorder in your lands or to sow
> dissension amongst your peoples. Nay rather, We came in obedience to the command of the sovereign, and in order to exalt
> your authority, to instruct you in the ways of Our wisdom,
> and to remind you of that which ye had forgotten—even as
> He saith in truth: “Warn them, for, in truth, Thy warning will
> profit the believers.” 5 But ye hearkened not unto the sweet
> melodies of the Spirit, and gave ear unwittingly unto Our
> enemies, they who follow the promptings of their corrupt
> inclinations, whose deeds the Evil One hath made fair-seeming in their own eyes, and whose tongues utter calumnies
> against Us. Heard ye not that which hath been revealed in
> His all-glorious and unerring Book: “If a wicked man come to
> you with news, clear it up at once”? 6 Wherefore have ye then
> cast the command of God behind your backs, and followed in
> the footsteps of them that are bent on mischief ?
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> Say: O people! Is it your wish to conceal the beauty of the
> Sun behind the veils of your own selfish desires, or to prevent
> the Spirit from raising its melodies within this sanctified and
> luminous breast? Fear ye God, and contend not with Him
> Who representeth the Godhead.
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> Give ear unto that which the Dove of Eternity warbleth upon
> the twigs of the Divine Lote-Tree: O peoples of the earth!
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> 5   Qur’án 51:55
> 6   Qur’án 49:6
> The Divine Melody
> 
> Say: O people, do ye imagine that, after rejecting the One
> through Whom the religions of the world have been made
> manifest, ye still bear allegiance to the Faith of God? By the
> righteousness of God! Ye are accounted among the inmates of
> the Fire. Thus hath the decree been recorded in the Tablets by
> the Pen of God. Say: Never will the barking of dogs deter the
> Nightingale from warbling its melodies. Ponder awhile that
> perchance ye may discover a path leading to the Eternal Truth.
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> Great God! When the stream of utterance reached this stage,
> We beheld, and lo! the sweet savours of God were being wafted
> from the dayspring of Revelation, and the morning breeze was
> blowing out of the Sheba of the Eternal. Its tidings rejoiced
> anew the heart, and imparted immeasurable gladness to the
> soul. It made all things new, and brought unnumbered and
> inestimable gifts from the unknowable Friend. The robe of
> human praise can never hope to match Its noble stature, and
> Its shining figure the mantle of utterance can never fit. Without
> word It unfoldeth the inner mysteries, and without speech It
> revealeth the secrets of the divine sayings. It teacheth lamentation and moaning to the nightingales warbling upon the bough
> of remoteness and bereavement, instructeth them in the art of
> love’s ways, and showeth them the secret of heart-surrender.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> O ye learned of the world! Ye failed to seek Our presence,
> that ye might hearken unto the sweet melodies of the Spirit
> and perceive that which God in His bounty hath pleased to
> bestow upon Me. Verily, this grace hath now escaped you, did
> ye but know. Had ye sought Our presence, We would have
> imparted unto you a knowledge that would have rendered you
> independent of all else.
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> Thus doth the Pen of the Most High warble unto thee its
> melodies by the leave of thy Lord, the All-Glorious. When
> thou hast heard and recited them, say: “Praise be unto Thee, O
> Lord of all the worlds, inasmuch as Thou hast made mention
> of me through the tongue of Him Who is the Manifestation
> of Thy Self at a time when He was confined in the Most Great
> Prison, that the whole world might attain unto true liberty.”
> Summons of the Lord of Hosts
> 
> The answer to all that the distinguished Ṣáḥib hath asked is
> clear and evident. The intent of that which was sent down in
> his honour from the heaven of divine providence was that
> he might give ear to the wondrous melodies of the Dove of
> Eternity and the gentle murmuring of the inhabitants of the
> most exalted Paradise, and that he might perceive the sweetness of the call and set foot upon the path.
> The Tabernacle of Unity
> 
> O servant of God! We have bestowed a dewdrop from the
> ocean of divine grace; would that men might drink therefrom!
> We have brought a trace of the sweet melodies of the Beloved;
> would that men might hearken with their inner ear! Soar
> upon the wings of joy in the atmosphere of the love of God.
> The Tabernacle of Unity
> 
> Content with a transitory dominion, they have deprived
> themselves of an everlasting sovereignty. Thus, their eyes
> beheld not the light of the countenance of the Well-Beloved,
> nor did their ears hearken unto the sweet melodies of the Bird
> of Desire.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> It is obvious and manifest that the true meaning of the
> utterances of the Birds of Eternity is revealed to none except
> those that manifest the Eternal Being, and the melodies of
> the Nightingale of Holiness can reach no ear save that of the
> denizens of the everlasting realm.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> It is evident unto thee that the Birds of Heaven and Doves
> of Eternity speak a twofold language. One language, the
> outward language, is devoid of allusions, is unconcealed and
> unveiled; that it may be a guiding lamp and a beaconing light
> whereby wayfarers may attain the heights of holiness, and
> seekers may advance into the realm of eternal reunion. Such
> are the unveiled traditions and the evident verses already
> mentioned. The other language is veiled and concealed, so
> that whatever lieth hidden in the heart of the malevolent may
> be made manifest and their innermost being be disclosed.
> Thus hath Sadiq, son of Muhammad, spoken: “God verily
> will test them and sift them.” This is the divine standard, this
> is the Touchstone of God, wherewith He proveth His servants.
> None apprehendeth the meaning of these utterances except
> them whose hearts are assured, whose souls have found favour
> with God, and whose minds are detached from all else but
> Him. In such utterances, the literal meaning, as generally
> understood by the people, is not what hath been intended.
> Thus it is recorded: “Every knowledge hath seventy meanings,
> of which one only is known amongst the people. And when
> the Qá’im shall arise, He shall reveal unto men all that which
> remaineth.” He also saith: “We speak one word, and by it we
> intend one and seventy meanings; each one of these meanings
> we can explain.”
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> By God! This Bird of Heaven, now dwelling upon the dust,
> can, besides these melodies, utter a myriad songs, and is able,
> apart from these utterances, to unfold innumerable mysteries.
> Every single note of its unpronounced utterances is immeasurably exalted above all that hath already been revealed, and
> immensely glorified beyond that which hath streamed from
> this Pen. Let the future disclose the hour when the Brides of
> inner meaning will, as decreed by the Will of God, hasten
> forth, unveiled, out of their mystic mansions, and manifest
> themselves in the ancient realm of being. Nothing whatsoever
> is possible without His permission; no power can endure save
> through His power, and there is none other God but He. His is
> the world of creation, and His the Cause of God. All proclaim
> His Revelation, and all unfold the mysteries of His Spirit.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> Inasmuch as it hath been clearly shown that only those who
> are initiated into the divine mysteries can comprehend the
> melodies uttered by the Bird of Heaven, it is therefore incumbent upon every one to seek enlightenment from the illumined
> in heart and from the Treasuries of divine mysteries regarding
> the intricacies of God’s Faith and the abstruse allusions in the
> utterances of the Day-springs of Holiness. Thus will these
> mysteries be unravelled, not by the aid of acquired learning,
> but solely through the assistance of God and the outpourings
> of His grace. “Ask ye, therefore, of them that have the custody
> of the Scriptures, if ye know it not.” 7
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> 7   Qur’án 16:43
> The Divine Melody
> 
> At this hour, when the sweet savours of attraction have
> wafted over Me from the everlasting city, when transports of
> yearning have seized Me from the land of splendours at the
> dawning of the Daystar of the worlds above the horizon of
> ‘Iráq, and the sweet melodies of Ḥijáz have brought to Mine
> ears the mysteries of separation, I have purposed to relate
> unto thine eminence a portion of that which the Mystic Dove
> hath warbled in the midmost heart of Paradise as to the true
> meaning of life and death, though the task be impossible.
> For were I to interpret these words for thee as it hath been
> inscribed in the Guarded Tablets, all the books and pages of
> the world could not contain it, nor could the souls of men bear
> its weight. I shall nonetheless mention that which beseemeth
> this day and age, that it might serve as a guidance unto whosoever desireth to gain admittance into the retreats of glory in
> the realms above, to hearken unto the melodies of the spirit
> intoned by this divine and mystic bird, and to be numbered
> with those who have severed themselves from all save God
> and who in this day rejoice in the presence of their Lord.
> Gems of Divine Mysteries
> 
> Hearken then unto that which the Bird of Heaven uttered,
> in the sweetest and most wondrous accents, and in the most
> perfect and exalted melodies, concerning them—an utterance
> that shall fill them with remorse from now unto “the day when
> mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds”: “Although
> they had before prayed for victory over those who believed
> not, yet when there came unto them He of Whom they had
> knowledge, they disbelieved in Him. The curse of God on the
> infidels!” 8 Such indeed are their condition and attainments in
> their vain and empty life. Erelong shall they be cast into the
> fire of affliction and find none to help or succour them.
> Gems of Divine Mysteries
> 
> 8   Qur’án 83:6; 2:89
> This is the text of that which was revealed aforetime in the
> first Gospel, according to Matthew, regarding the signs that
> must needs herald the advent of the One Who shall come after
> Him. He saith: “And woe unto them that are with child, and
> to them that give suck in those days…”, 9 until the mystic Dove,
> singing in the midmost heart of eternity, and the celestial Bird,
> warbling upon the Divine Lote-Tree, saith: “Immediately after
> the oppression of those days shall the sun be darkened, and
> the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
> heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
> then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and
> then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see
> the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power
> and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great
> sound of a trumpet.” 10
> Gems of Divine Mysteries
> 
> In the second Gospel, according to Mark, the Dove of holiness
> speaketh in such terms: “For in those days shall be affliction,
> such as was not from the beginning of the creation which
> God created unto this time, neither shall be.” 11 And it singeth
> later with the same melodies as before, without change or
> alteration. God, verily, is a witness unto the truth of My words.
> Gems of Divine Mysteries
> 
> O My brother! Sanctify thy heart, illumine thy soul, and
> sharpen thy sight, that thou mayest perceive the sweet accents
> of the Birds of Heaven and the melodies of the Doves of
> Holiness warbling in the Kingdom of eternity, and perchance
> apprehend the inner meaning of these utterances and their
> 
> 9 Matt. 24:19
> 10 Cf. Matt. 24:29–31
> 11 Mark 13:19
> The Divine Melody
> 
> hidden mysteries. For otherwise, wert thou to interpret these
> words according to their outward meaning, thou couldst
> never prove the truth of the Cause of Him Who came after
> Jesus, nor silence the opponents, nor prevail over the contending disbelievers. For the Christian divines use this verse
> to prove that the Gospel shall never be abrogated and that,
> even if all the signs recorded in their Books were fulfilled and
> the Promised One appeared, He would have no recourse but
> to rule the people according to the ordinances of the Gospel.
> They contend that if He were to manifest all the signs indicated in the Books, but decree aught besides that which Jesus had
> decreed, they would neither acknowledge nor follow Him, so
> clear and self-evident is this matter in their sight.
> Gems of Divine Mysteries
> 
> If these wayward souls had indeed paused to reflect upon their
> conduct, recognized the sweet melodies of that Mystic Dove
> singing upon the twigs of this snow-white Tree, embraced that
> which God had revealed unto and bestowed upon them, and
> discovered the fruits of the Tree of God upon its branches,
> wherefore then did they reject and denounce Him? Had they
> not lifted their heads to the heavens to implore His appearance? Had they not besought God at every moment to honour
> them with His Beauty and sustain them through His presence?
> Gems of Divine Mysteries
> 
> Incline your ears to the sweet melody of this Prisoner. Arise,
> and lift up your voices, that haply they that are fast asleep
> may be awakened. Say: O ye who are as dead! The Hand of
> Divine bounty proffereth unto you the Water of Life. Hasten
> and drink your fill. Whoso hath been re-born in this Day, shall
> never die; whoso remaineth dead, shall never live.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Strive, O people, to gain admittance into this vast Immensity
> for which God ordained neither beginning nor end, in which
> His voice hath been raised, and over which have been wafted
> the sweet savors of holiness and glory. Divest not yourselves of
> the Robe of grandeur, neither suffer your hearts to be deprived
> of remembering your Lord, nor your ears of hearkening
> unto the sweet melodies of His wondrous, His sublime, His
> all-compelling, His clear, and most eloquent voice.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> When thou art departed out of the court of My presence, O
> Muḥammad, direct thy steps towards My House (Baghdád
> House), and visit it on behalf of thy Lord. When thou reachest
> its door, stand thou before it and say: Whither is the Ancient
> Beauty gone, O most great House of God, He through Whom
> God hath made thee the cynosure of an adoring world, and
> proclaimed thee to be the sign of His remembrance unto all
> who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth? Oh! for
> the former days when thou, O House of God, wert made His
> footstool, the days when in ceaseless strains the melody of the
> All-Merciful poured forth from thee! What hath become of
> thy jewel whose glory hath irradiated all creation? Whither are
> gone the days in which He, the Ancient King, had made thee
> the throne of His glory, the days in which He had chosen thee
> alone to be the lamp of salvation between earth and heaven,
> and caused thee to diffuse, at dawn and at eventide, the sweet
> fragrance of the All-Glorious?
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day.
> Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such
> shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet
> and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that
> which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then, and
> only then, will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the
> Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> The Pen of Revelation exclaimeth: “On this Day the Kingdom
> is God’s!” The Tongue of Power is calling: “On this Day all
> sovereignty is, in very deed, with God!” The Phoenix of the
> realms above crieth out from the immortal Branch: “The
> glory of all greatness belongeth to God, the Incomparable,
> the All-Compelling!” The Mystic Dove proclaimeth from its
> blissful bower, in the everlasting Paradise: “The source of
> all bounty is derived, in this Day, from God, the One, the
> Forgiving!” The Bird of the Throne warbleth its melody in its
> retreats of holiness: “Supreme ascendancy is to be attributed,
> this Day, to none except God, Him Who hath no peer nor
> equal, Who is the Most Powerful, the All-Subduing!” The
> inmost essence of all things voiceth in all things the testimony:
> “All forgiveness floweth, in this Day, from God, Him to Whom
> none can compare, with Whom no partners can be joined,
> the Sovereign Protector of all men, and the Concealer of their
> sins!” The Quintessence of Glory hath lifted up its voice above
> My head, and crieth from such heights as neither pen nor
> tongue can in any degree describe: “God is my witness! He, the
> Ancient of everlasting days is come, girded with majesty and
> power. There is none other God but Him, the All-Glorious,
> the Almighty, the All-Highest, the All-Wise, the All-Pervading,
> the All-Seeing, the All-Informed, the Sovereign Protector, the
> Source of eternal light!”
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Say: O people of the Bayán! Did We not admonish you, in all
> Our Tablets and in all Our hidden Scriptures, not to follow
> your evil passions and corrupt inclinations, but to keep your
> eyes directed towards the Scene of transcendent glory, on the
> Day when the Most Mighty Balance shall be set, the Day when
> the sweet melodies of the Spirit of God shall be poured out
> from the right hand of the throne of your Lord, the omnipotent Protector, the All-Powerful, the Holy of Holies? Did We
> not forbid you to cleave to the things that would shut you
> out from the Manifestation of our Beauty, in its subsequent
> Revelation, be they the embodiments of the names of God
> and all their glory, or the revealers of His attributes and their
> dominion? Behold, how, as soon as I revealed Myself, ye have
> rejected My truth and turned away from Me, and been of them
> that have regarded the signs of God as a play and pastime!
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> O Shaykh! Thou hast heard the sweet melodies of the Doves of
> Utterance cooing on the boughs of the Lote-Tree of knowledge.
> Hearken, now, unto the notes of the Birds of Wisdom upraised
> in the Most Sublime Paradise. They verily will acquaint thee
> with things of which thou wert wholly unaware. Give ear unto
> that which the Tongue of Might and Power hath spoken in
> the Books of God, the Desire of every understanding heart.
> At this moment a Voice was raised from the Lote-Tree beyond
> which there is no passing, in the heart of the Most Sublime
> Paradise, bidding Me relate unto thee that which hath been
> sent down in the Books and Tablets, and the things spoken
> by My Forerunner, Who laid down His life for this Great
> Announcement, this Straight Path.
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> O Shaykh! We have enabled thee to hear the melodies of the
> Nightingale of Paradise, and unveiled to thine eyes the signs
> which God, by His all-compelling behest, hath sent down in
> the Most Great Prison, that thine eye might be cheered, and
> thy soul be well-assured. He, verily, is the All-Bounteous, the
> Generous.
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
> 
> Such are the words sung by the Dove of Truth on the boughs
> of the Divine Lote-Tree. Well is it with him that hath given
> ear unto its Voice, and quaffed from the oceans of Divine
> utterance that lie concealed in each of these words. In another
> connection hath the Voice of the Bayán called aloud from
> the loftiest branches. He saith—blessed and glorified be He:
> “In the year nine ye will attain unto all good.” On another
> occasion He saith: “In the year nine ye will attain unto the
> Presence of God.” These melodies, uttered by the Birds of the
> cities of Knowledge, conform with that which hath been sent
> down by the All-Merciful in the Qur’án. Blessed are the men
> of insight; blessed they that attain thereunto.
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
> 
> O Shaykh! Hearken unto the melodies of the Gospel with the
> ear of fairness. He saith—glorified be His utterance—prophesying the things that are to come: “But of that Day and Hour
> knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son,
> but the Father.” By Father in this connection is meant God—
> exalted be His glory. He, verily, is the True Educator, and the
> Spiritual Teacher.
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
> 
> Isaiah saith: “The Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day.”
> Concerning the greatness of the Revelation He saith: “Enter
> into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord,
> and for the glory of His majesty.” And in another connection
> He saith: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad
> for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the
> rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy
> and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the
> splendor of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the
> Lord, and the splendor of our God.”
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
> 
> Ere long, thine eyes will behold the standards of divine power
> unfurled throughout all regions, and the signs of His triumphant might and sovereignty manifest in every land. As most
> of the divines have failed to apprehend the meaning of these
> verses, and have not grasped the significance of the Day of
> Resurrection, they therefore have foolishly interpreted these
> verses according to their idle and faulty conception. The one
> true God is My witness! Little perception is required to enable
> them to gather from the symbolic language of these two verses
> all that We have purposed to propound, and thus to attain,
> through the grace of the All-Merciful, the resplendent morn
> of certitude. Such are the strains of celestial melody which the
> immortal Bird of Heaven, warbling upon the Sadrih of Bahá,
> poureth out upon thee, that, by the permission of God, thou
> mayest tread the path of divine knowledge and wisdom.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> This is the day on which the Bird of Utterance hath warbled its
> melody upon the branches, in the name of its Lord, the God of
> Mercy. Blessed is the man that hath, on the wings of longing,
> soared towards God, the Lord of the Judgment Day.
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
> The Divine Melody
> 
> We have created thine eyes to behold the light of My countenance, thine ears to hearken unto the melody of My words, thy
> body to pay homage before My throne. Do thou render thanks
> unto God, thy Lord, the Lord of all the world.
> Cited in Bahíyyih Khánum the Greatest Holy Leaf, p. 3
> 
> I bear witness that thou hast hearkened unto the melody of
> God and His sweet accents, inclined thine ear to the cooing of
> the Dove of divine Revelation and hast heard the Nightingale
> of fidelity pouring forth its notes upon the Branch of Glory:
> Verily there is none other God but Me, the Incomparable, the
> All-Informed.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb‐i‐Aqdas
> 
> The day will surely come when the Nightingale of Paradise
> will have winged its flight away from its earthly abode unto
> its heavenly nest. Then will its melody be heard no more, and
> the beauty of the rose cease to shine. Seize the time, therefore,
> ere the glory of the divine springtime hath spent itself, and
> the Bird of Eternity ceased to warble its melody, that thy
> inner hearing may not be deprived of hearkening unto its
> call. This is My counsel unto thee and unto the beloved of
> God. Whosoever wisheth, let him turn thereunto; whosoever
> wisheth, let him turn away. God, verily, is independent of him
> and of that which he may see and witness.
> These are the melodies, sung by Jesus, Son of Mary,
> in accents of majestic power in the Riḍván of the Gospel,
> revealing those signs that must needs herald the advent of the
> Manifestation after Him …
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> Furthermore, among the “veils of glory” are such terms as
> the “Seal of the Prophets” and the like, the removal of which
> is a supreme achievement in the sight of these base-born
> and erring souls. All, by reason of these mysterious sayings,
> these grievous “veils of glory,” have been hindered from
> beholding the light of truth. Have they not heard the melody
> of that bird of Heaven, 12 uttering this mystery: “A thousand
> Fátimihs I have espoused, all of whom were the daughters of
> Muḥammad, Son of ‘Abdu’lláh, the ‘Seal of the Prophets’”?
> Behold, how many are the mysteries that lie as yet unravelled
> within the tabernacle of the knowledge of God, and how
> numerous the gems of His wisdom that are still concealed
> in His inviolable treasuries! Shouldest thou ponder this in
> thine heart, thou wouldst realize that His handiwork knoweth
> neither beginning nor end. The domain of His decree is too
> vast for the tongue of mortals to describe, or for the bird of
> the human mind to traverse; and the dispensations of His
> providence are too mysterious for the mind of man to comprehend. His creation no end hath overtaken, and it hath ever
> existed from the “Beginning that hath no beginning”; and the
> Manifestations of His Beauty no beginning hath beheld, and
> they will continue to the “End that knoweth no end.” Ponder
> this utterance in thine heart, and reflect how it is applicable
> unto all these holy Souls.
> Likewise, strive thou to comprehend the meaning of
> the melody of that eternal beauty, Ḥusayn, son of ‘Alí, who,
> addressing Salmán, spoke words such as these: “I was with
> a thousand Adams, the interval between each and the next
> Adam was fifty thousand years, and to each one of these I
> declared the Successorship conferred upon my father.” He
> then recounteth certain details, until he saith: “I have fought
> one thousand battles in the path of God, the least and most
> insignificant of which was like the battle of Khaybar, in which
> 
> 12 Imám ‘A lí
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> battle my father fought and contended against the infidels.”
> Endeavour now to apprehend from these two traditions the
> mysteries of “end,” “return,” and “creation without beginning
> or end.”
> O my beloved! Immeasurably exalted is the celestial
> Melody above the strivings of human ear to hear or mind to
> grasp its mystery! How can the helpless ant step into the court
> of the All-Glorious? And yet, feeble souls, through lack of
> understanding, reject these abstruse utterances, and question
> the truth of such traditions. Nay, none can comprehend them
> save those that are possessed of an understanding heart.
> Say, He is that End for Whom no end in all the universe can
> be imagined, and for Whom no beginning in the world of
> creation can be conceived. Behold, O concourse of the earth,
> the splendours of the End, revealed in the Manifestations of
> the Beginning!
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> Let the future disclose what the Judgment of God will ordain,
> and the Tabernacle of His decree reveal. In such wise We
> recount unto thee the wonders of the Cause of God, and
> pour out into thine ears the strains of heavenly melody, that
> haply thou mayest attain unto the station of true knowledge,
> and partake of the fruit thereof. Therefore, know thou of a
> certainty that these Luminaries of heavenly majesty, though
> their dwelling be in the dust, yet their true habitation is the
> seat of glory in the realms above. Though bereft of all earthly
> possessions, yet they soar in the realms of immeasurable
> riches. And whilst sore tried in the grip of the enemy, they
> are seated on the right hand of power and celestial dominion.
> Amidst the darkness of their abasement there shineth upon
> them the light of unfading glory, and upon their helplessness
> are showered the tokens of an invincible sovereignty.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> Thus in moments in which these Essences of being were
> deeply immersed beneath the oceans of ancient and everlasting holiness, or when they soared to the loftiest summits
> of divine mysteries, they claimed their utterance to be the
> Voice of divinity, the Call of God Himself. Were the eye of
> discernment to be opened, it would recognize that in this very
> state, they have considered themselves utterly effaced and
> non-existent in the face of Him Who is the All-Pervading, the
> Incorruptible. Methinks, they have regarded themselves as
> utter nothingness, and deemed their mention in that Court an
> act of blasphemy. For the slightest whispering of self, within
> such a Court, is an evidence of self-assertion and independent
> existence. In the eyes of them that have attained unto that
> Court, such a suggestion is itself a grievous transgression.
> How much more grievous would it be, were aught else to be
> mentioned in that Presence, were man’s heart, his tongue,
> his mind, or his soul, to be busied with anyone but the Well-
> Beloved, were his eyes to behold any countenance other than
> His beauty, were his ear to be inclined to any melody but His
> voice, and were his feet to tread any way but His way.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> They that valiantly labour in quest of God’s will, when once
> they have renounced all else but Him, will be so attached and
> wedded to that City that a moment’s separation from it would
> to them be unthinkable. They will hearken unto infallible
> proofs from the Hyacinth of that assembly, and receive the
> surest testimonies from the beauty of its Rose and the melody
> of its Nightingale. Once in about a thousand years shall this
> City be renewed and re-adorned.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> Give ear unto God’s holy Voice, and heed thou His sweet and
> immortal melody.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> Gracious God! How great is Our amazement at the way the
> people have gathered around him, and have borne allegiance
> to his person! Content with transient dust, these people have
> turned their face unto it, and cast behind their backs Him
> Who is the Lord of Lords. Satisfied with the croaking of the
> crow and enamoured with the visage of the raven, they have
> renounced the melody of the nightingale and the charm
> of the rose. What unspeakable fallacies the perusal of this
> pretentious book hath revealed! They are too unworthy for
> any pen to describe, and too base for one moment’s attention.
> Should a touchstone be found, however, it would instantly
> distinguish truth from falsehood, light from darkness, and
> sun from shadow.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> And, now, strive thou to comprehend the meaning of this
> saying of ‘A lí, the Commander of the Faithful: “Piercing the
> veils of glory, unaided.” Among these “veils of glory” are the
> divines and doctors living in the days of the Manifestation
> of God, who, because of their want of discernment and their
> love and eagerness for leadership, have failed to submit to the
> Cause of God, nay, have even refused to incline their ears unto
> the divine Melody. “They have thrust their fingers into their
> ears.” 13 And the people also, utterly ignoring God and taking
> them for their masters, have placed themselves unreservedly
> under the authority of these pompous and hypocritical
> leaders, for they have no sight, no hearing, no heart, of their
> own to distinguish truth from falsehood.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> 13 Qur’án, 2:19                                                   25
> O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE! Set not your affections
> on mortal sovereignty and rejoice not therein. Ye are even as
> the unwary bird that with full confidence warbleth upon the
> bough; till of a sudden the fowler Death throws it upon the
> dust, and the melody, the form and the color are gone, leaving
> not a trace. Wherefore take heed, O bondslaves of desire!
> The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Persian no. 75
> 
> O SON OF DUST! Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold
> My beauty; stop thine ears, that thou mayest hearken unto the
> sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself of all learning, that
> thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and sanctify thyself
> from riches, that thou mayest obtain a lasting share from the
> ocean of My eternal wealth. Blind thine eyes, that is, to all save
> My beauty; stop thine ears to all save My word; empty thyself
> of all learning save the knowledge of Me; that with a clear
> vision, a pure heart and an attentive ear thou mayest enter the
> court of My holiness.
> The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Persian no. 11
> 
> O MY CHILDREN! I fear lest, bereft of the melody of the
> dove of heaven, ye will sink back to the shades of utter loss,
> and, never having gazed upon the beauty of the rose, return
> to water and clay.
> The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Persian no. 13
> 
> O SON OF SPIRIT! The time cometh, when the nightingale
> of holiness will no longer unfold the inner mysteries and ye
> will all be bereft of the celestial melody and of the voice from
> on high.
> The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Persian no. 15
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> The one true God, exalted be His glory, hath wished nothing
> for Himself. The allegiance of mankind profiteth Him not,
> neither doth its perversity harm Him. The Bird of the Realm
> of Utterance voiceth continually this call: “All things have I
> willed for thee, and thee, too, for thine own sake.”
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> How unspeakably glorious are the signs, the tokens, the revelations, and splendors which He, Who is the King of Names and
> Attributes, hath destined for that City! The attainment unto this
> City quencheth thirst without water, and kindleth the love of
> God without fire. Within every blade of grass are enshrined the
> mysteries of an inscrutable Wisdom, and upon every rose-bush
> a myriad nightingales pour out, in blissful rapture, their melody.
> Its wondrous tulips unfold the mystery of the undying Fire in
> the Burning Bush, and its sweet savors of holiness breathe the
> perfume of the Messianic Spirit. It bestoweth wealth without
> gold, and conferreth immortality without death. In each one
> of its leaves ineffable delights are treasured, and within every
> chamber unnumbered mysteries lie hidden.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Peace be upon him that inclineth his ear unto the melody of
> the Mystic Bird calling from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá! Glorified
> be our Lord, the Most High!
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> O ESSENCE OF NEGLIGENCE! Myriads of mystic tongues
> find utterance in one speech, and myriads of hidden mysteries
> are revealed in a single melody; yet, alas, there is no ear to
> hear, nor heart to understand.
> The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Persian no. 16
> 
> O SON OF BEAUTY! By My spirit and by My favor! By My
> mercy and by My beauty! All that I have revealed unto thee
> with the tongue of power, and have written for thee with the
> pen of might, hath been in accordance with thy capacity and
> understanding, not with My state and the melody of My voice.
> The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic no. 67
> 
> Hearken ye, O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the
> Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on
> the Branch of Eternity: “There is none other God but Me, the
> Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.”
> The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> From the Prayers of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> He is the King, the All-Knowing, the Wise! Lo, the Nightingale
> of Paradise singeth upon the twigs of the Tree of Eternity, with
> holy and sweet melodies, proclaiming to the sincere ones the
> glad tidings of the nearness of God, calling the believers in
> the Divine Unity to the court of the Presence of the Generous
> One, informing the severed ones of the message which hath
> been revealed by God, the King, the Glorious, the Peerless,
> guiding the lovers to the seat of sanctity and to this resplendent Beauty …
> Rely upon God, thy God and the Lord of thy fathers. For
> the people are wandering in the paths of delusion, bereft of
> discernment to see God with their own eyes, or hear His
> Melody with their own ears. Thus have We found them, as
> thou also dost witness.
> Tablet of Ahmad
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> I beseech Thee, by Thine own Self and by Him Whom Thou
> hast appointed as the Manifestation of Thine own Being and
> Thy discriminating Word unto all that are in heaven and on
> earth, to gather together Thy servants beneath the shade of the
> Tree of Thy gracious providence. Help them, then, to partake
> of its fruits, to incline their ears to the rustling of its leaves, and
> to the sweetness of the voice of the Bird that chanteth upon its
> branches. Thou art, verily, the Help in Peril, the Inaccessible,
> the Almighty, the Most Bountiful.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Thou art He Who from everlasting was, through the potency
> of His might, supreme over all things, and, through the
> operation of His will, was able to ordain all things. Nothing
> whatsoever, whether in Thy heaven or on Thy earth, can frustrate Thy purpose. Have mercy, then, upon me, O my Lord,
> through Thy gracious providence and generosity, and incline
> mine ear to the sweet melodies of the birds that warble their
> praise of Thee, amidst the branches of the tree of Thy oneness.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Thou seest Me forbidden to speak forth: Then from where will
> spring Thy melodies, O Nightingale of the worlds?
> Fire Tablet
> 
> Roll not up, O my Lord, what hath been spread out in Thy
> name, and extinguish not the lamp which Thine own fire hath
> lit. Withhold not, O my Lord, the water that is life indeed
> from running down—the water from whose murmuring
> the wondrous melodies which extol and glorify Thee can be
> heard. Deny not, moreover, Thy servants the sweet fragrance
> of the breath which hath been wafted through Thy love.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 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.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Enrapture him, moreover, with the sweet melodies of Him
> Who is the Fountain-Head of Thy Revelation, in such wise
> that he may wholly surrender his will to Thy pleasure, and fix
> his hopes upon the things Thou didst ordain in Thy Tablets.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> 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…”
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to open the eyes of
> Thy servants, that they may behold Thee shining above the
> horizon of Thy majesty and glory, and that they may not be
> hindered by the croaking of the raven from hearkening to the
> voice of the Dove of Thy sublime oneness, nor be prevented
> by the corrupt waters from partaking of the pure wine of Thy
> bounty and the everlasting streams of Thy gifts.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> Thou beholdest, O my God, how every bone in my body
> soundeth like a pipe with the music of Thine inspiration,
> revealing the signs of Thy oneness and the clear tokens of
> Thy unity. I entreat Thee, O my God, by Thy Name which
> irradiateth all things, to raise up such servants as shall incline
> their ears to the voice of the melodies that hath ascended from
> the right hand of the throne of Thy glory. Make them, then, to
> quaff from the hand of Thy grace the wine of Thy mercy, that
> it may assure their hearts, and cause them to turn away from
> the left hand of idle fancies and vain imaginings to the right
> hand of confidence and certitude.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Having testified, therefore, unto mine own impotence and the
> impotence of Thy servants, I beseech Thee, by the brightness
> of the light of Thy beauty, not to refuse Thy creatures attainment to the shores of Thy most holy ocean. Draw them, then,
> O my God, through the Divine sweetness of Thy melodies,
> towards the throne of Thy glory and the seat of Thine eternal
> holiness. Thou art, verily, the Most Powerful, the Supreme
> Ruler, the Great Giver, the Most Exalted, the Ever-Desired.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> I implore Thee by Thine All-Glorious Name, wherewith Thou
> didst adorn all the denizens of the kingdom of Thy revelation
> and the inmates of the heaven of Thy will, to grant that my
> soul may be attracted by the sweetness of the melody of the
> Bird of Heaven that chanteth amidst the branches of the tree
> of Thy decree that Thou art God, that there is none other God
> beside Thee.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Magnified be Thy name, O Lord my God! Behold Thou mine
> eye expectant to gaze on the wonders of Thy mercy, and mine
> ear longing to hearken unto Thy sweet melodies, and my heart
> yearning for the living waters of Thy knowledge. Thou seest
> Thy handmaiden, O my God, standing before the habitation of
> Thy mercy, and calling upon Thee by Thy name which Thou
> hast chosen above all other names and set up over all that are
> in heaven and on earth. Send down upon her the breaths of
> Thy mercy, that she may be carried away wholly from herself,
> and be drawn entirely towards the seat which, resplendent
> with the glory of Thy face, sheddeth afar the radiance of Thy
> sovereignty, and is established as Thy throne. Potent art Thou
> to do what Thou willest. No God is there beside Thee, the
> All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Purge out thoroughly their ears, O my Lord, that they may
> hearken unto the sweet melodies that have ascended from the
> right hand of the throne of Thy glory. I swear by Thy might!
> Were any one to attune his ears to their harmony he would
> soar up to the kingdom of Thy revelation, wherein every
> created thing proclaimeth that Thou art God, and that there
> is none other God save Thee, the Omnipotent, the Help in
> Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Cleanse Thou, O my God, the eyes
> of Thy servants, and so transport them by the sweetness of
> Thine utterances that calamities will be powerless to hinder
> them from turning unto Thee, and from directing their eyes
> towards the horizon of Thy Revelation.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Lulled by the cooing of the Dove of Thine Eternity, suffer me
> to sleep, for woes at their blackest have befallen me.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> Create in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil
> conscience within me, O my Hope! Through the spirit of
> power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved,
> and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou
> the Goal of my desire! Through the power of Thy transcendent
> might lift me up unto the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of
> my being, and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me, O
> Thou Who art my God! Let Thine everlasting melodies breathe
> tranquillity on me, O my Companion, and let the riches of
> Thine ancient countenance deliver me from all except Thee,
> O my Master, and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine
> incorruptible Essence bring me joy, O Thou Who art the most
> manifest of the manifest and the most hidden of the hidden!
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Lauded and glorified art Thou, O my God! I entreat Thee by
> the sighing of Thy lovers and by the tears shed by them that
> long to behold Thee, not to withhold from me Thy tender
> mercies in Thy Day, nor to deprive me of the melodies of the
> Dove that extolleth Thy oneness before the light that shineth
> from Thy face.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Graciously assist me, O my God, in the days of the Manifestation
> of Thy Cause and of the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation, to tear
> asunder the veils which have hindered me from recognizing
> Thee, and from immersing myself beneath the ocean of Thy
> knowledge. Hold Thou me with the hands of Thy power, and
> grant that I may be so carried away by the sweet melodies of the
> Dove of Thy oneness, that I will cease to regard in all creation
> any face except Thy face, O Thou the Goal of my desire, and
> will recognize in the visible world naught else save the evidences of Thy might, O Thou Who art the God of mercy!
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> From the fragrant breezes of Thy joy let a breath pass over me,
> O my Goal, and into the heights of the paradise of Thy reality
> let me gain admission, O my Adored One! To the melodies of
> the dove of Thy oneness suffer me to hearken, O Resplendent
> One, and through the spirit of Thy power and Thy might
> quicken me, O my Provider!
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Sanctify, then, their eyes, O my God, that they may behold the
> light of Thy Beauty, and purge their ears, that they may listen
> to the melodies of the Dove of Thy transcendent oneness.
> Flood, then, their hearts with the wonders of Thy love, and
> preserve their tongues from mentioning any one save Thee,
> and guard their faces from turning to aught else except Thyself.
> Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, verily, art the
> Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> I yield Thee such thanks as can enable the Heavenly Dove
> to warble forth, upon the branches of the Lote-Tree of
> Immortality, her song: “Verily, Thou art God. No God is
> there besides Thee. From eternity Thou hast been exalted
> above the praise of aught else but Thee, and been high above
> the description of any one except Thyself.” I yield Thee such
> thanks as can cause the Nightingale of Glory to pour forth
> its melody in the highest heaven: “‘A lí (the Báb), in truth, is
> Thy servant, Whom Thou hast singled out from among Thy
> Messengers and Thy chosen Ones, and made Him to be the
> Manifestation of Thyself in all that pertaineth unto Thee, and
> that concerneth the revelation of Thine attributes and the
> evidences of Thy names.”
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> How great is Thy power! How exalted Thy sovereignty!
> How lofty Thy might! How excellent Thy majesty! How
> supreme is Thy grandeur—a grandeur which He Who is
> Thy Manifestation hath made known and wherewith Thou
> hast invested Him as a sign of Thy generosity and bountiful
> favor. I bear witness, O my God, that through Him Thy most
> resplendent signs have been uncovered, and Thy mercy hath
> encompassed the entire creation. But for Him, how could
> the Celestial Dove have uttered its songs or the Heavenly
> Nightingale, according to the decree of God, have warbled
> its melody?
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I call upon Thee at this
> time when the accents of the dove of separation are raised from
> the land of Iraq, and the warbling of the Nightingale of fervent
> longing is heard from the horizon of the world—at such a time
> do I call upon Thee, proclaiming: “Thou in truth art God, the
> King, the Mighty, the Beauteous. From everlasting, O my God,
> Thou hast been exalted in the supremacy of Thy might, Thy
> power, and Thy glory, and unto all eternity Thou wilt remain
> transcendent in the sublimity of Thy grandeur, Thy majesty,
> and Thy splendour. Every Prophet is filled with consternation
> when confronted by the manifold evidences of Thy wrath, and
> every Chosen One standeth dismayed before the revelations
> of Thy might. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the
> All-Powerful, the All-Compelling.”
> Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> From the Writings of the Báb
> 
> Recite ye as much as convenient from this Qur’án both at
> morn and at eventide, and chant the verses of this Book, by
> the leave of the eternal God, in the sweet accents of this Bird
> which warbleth its melody in the vault of heaven.
> Selections from the Writings of the Báb
> 
> Immeasurably glorified and exalted art Thou! That which
> alone beseemeth Thee is the befitting mention made by Thine
> Own Self, and that only which is worthy of Thee is the anthem
> of praise voiced by Thine Own Essence …
> Selections from the Writings of the Báb
> 
> From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Let us seek the song with the sweetest strains, so that it may be
> taken up by the angels and carried to the supreme concourse.
> Let us hearken to the melody which will stir the world of
> humanity, so that the people may be transformed with joy.
> Let us listen to a symphony which will confer life on man;
> then we can obtain universal results; then we shall receive a
> new spirit; then we shall become illumined. Let us investigate
> a song which is above all songs; one which will develop the
> spirit and produce harmony and exhilaration, unfolding the
> inner potentialities of life.
> Divine Philosophy
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> These servants were noble souls, and these radiant hearts
> were made illumined and resplendent through the light of
> Thy guidance. They drank a brimming cup of the wine of
> Thy love, and gave ear to eternal mysteries imparted by the
> melodies of Thy knowledge.
> Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O ye beloved of the Merciful! The Abhá Beauty hath shone
> forth with His manifold names and attributes from the
> Dawning-Point of all desires. He hath caused this glorious
> century to become the revealer of His wondrous grace through
> the effulgence of this new light, and hath set aglow the candle
> of unity in the world of being. In sweet accents of oneness
> and in celestial melodies proclaiming Divine Unity, He hath
> warbled upon the branches of the garden of inner meanings
> so as to gather the scattered peoples of the world under the
> shadow of the Word of God and bring the hostile and contentious tribes of the earth together in unity and harmony
> beneath the canopy of the love of God.
> Light of the World
> 
> The four pages in the blessed handwriting of the Báb—may
> my life be a sacrifice unto Him—that thou didst present to
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a gift were received. Thereupon, the very walls
> resounded with the anthem of “O blessed, blessed are we!”
> whilst ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hearkened from a corner unto these sweet
> melodies. Well done! Well done! for having cheered our hearts
> with such a cherished gift.
> Light of the World
> 
> O thou who art firm in the Covenant! The opening of thy
> letter bore the words “O ‘Abdu’l- Bahá!” What a call this was,
> for it caused my heart to leap with joy and my soul to tremble
> with delight. Glad-tidings encircled me on every side, my
> eyes were cheered, and my whole being breathed in the sweet
> savours of a garden of roses. This call, even as the melody of
> the Concourse on high, filled the soul of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with
> joy and rapture.
> By Him Who hath illumined my face with the light of
> absolute servitude to His Holy Threshold! No melody can fill
> this yearning soul with such joy and rapture as the call of “O
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” And no sweet accents warbled by the birds of
> the orchards can thrill my heart with such delight as the dulcet
> tune of “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” This melody causeth my heart to
> leap with joy, and these wondrous words fill me with blissful
> rapture, but only on condition that this name be accompanied by no other epithets of praise, and paired with no other
> titles. The designation should be “‘Abdu’l-Bahá” alone for it
> to bestow boundless joy upon my heart and soul. This is my
> qualification and my station, this is my title and my glory, and
> this indeed is my highest aspiration throughout eternity.
> Light of the World
> 
> But know this: The lamp of God shall be lit, and His brilliant
> star shall shine upon the assemblage of humanity. His ocean
> shall surge, and the leviathan of the heavenly sea shall roar.
> The songbird of the rose-garden of Bahá shall warble with
> blissful rapture, and the nightingale of the bower of the Lord
> shall chant its eternal song. Thereupon shall the hearing ear,
> attuned to the song of the nightingale, hearken to the divine
> call, proclaiming: “Sanctified be the Lord! This is the songster
> of My paradise! This is the nightingale of My rose-garden! This
> is the candle of My worlds!” The glory of God rest upon thee.
> Light of the World
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> O friends! Praise be to God that the banner of Divine Unity
> hath been hoisted in every land, and the melody of the Abhá
> Kingdom hath been raised on every side. The holy Seraph of
> the Concourse on high is raising the cry of “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!”
> in the midmost heart of the world, and the power of the Word
> of God is breathing true life into the body of existence.
> Light of the World
> 
> O thou who art kindled by the fire of the Love of God!
> Rejoice through the fragrance of God and be attracted by
> the melodies of the holy birds in the garden of the gifts of God!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> And now shall come to pass even greater things than these,
> for this is the summons of the Lord of Hosts, this is the
> trumpet-call of the living Lord, this is the anthem of world
> peace, this is the standard of righteousness and trust and
> understanding raised up among all the variegated peoples of
> the globe; this is the splendour of the Sun of Truth, this is the
> holiness of the spirit of God Himself.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O ye who are the chosen ones of the Abhá Kingdom! Praise ye
> the Lord of Hosts for He, riding upon the clouds, hath come
> down to this world out of the heaven of the invisible realm, so
> that East and West were lit by the glory of the Sun of Truth,
> and the call of the Kingdom was raised, and the heralds of the
> realm above, with melodies of the Concourse on high, sang
> out the glad tidings of the Coming.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> DAY and night I have no other occupation than the remembrance of the friends, praying from the depth of my heart
> in their behalf, begging for them confirmation from the
> Kingdom of God and supplicating the direct effect of the
> breaths of the Holy Spirit. I am hopeful from the favors of
> His Highness the Lord of Bestowals, that the friends of God
> during such a time may become the secret cause of the illumination of the hearts of humanity, breathing the breath of life
> upon the spirits—whose praiseworthy results may become
> conducive to the glory and exaltation of humankind throughout all eternity. Although in some of the Western States, like
> California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado, the fragrances
> of holiness are diffused, numerous souls have taken a share
> and a portion from the fountain of everlasting life, they have
> obtained heavenly benediction, have drunk an overflowing
> cup from the wine of the love of God and have hearkened
> to the melody of the Supreme Concourse—yet in the states
> of New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona
> and Nevada, the lamp of the love of God is not ignited in a
> befitting and behooving manner, and the call of the Kingdom
> of God has not been raised. Now, if it is possible, show ye an
> effort in this direction. Either travel yourselves, personally,
> throughout those states or choose others and send them, so
> that they may teach the souls. For the present those states are
> like unto dead bodies: they must breathe into them the breath
> of life and bestow upon them a heavenly spirit. Like unto the
> stars they must shine in that horizon and thus the rays of the
> Sun of Reality may also illumine those states.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> O ye beloved of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and ye handmaids of the
> Merciful! It is early morning, and the reviving winds of the
> Abhá Paradise are blowing over all creation, but they can stir
> only the pure of heart, and only the pure sense can detect
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> their fragrance. Only the perceiving eye beholdeth the rays
> of the sun; only the listening ear can hear the singing of the
> Concourse on high.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Now California and the other Western States must earn an
> ideal similarity with the Holy Land, and from that state and
> that region the breaths of the Holy Spirit be diffused to all
> parts of America and Europe, that the call of the Kingdom of
> God may exhilarate and rejoice all the ears, the divine principles bestow a new life, the different parties may become one
> party, the divergent ideas may disappear and revolve around
> one unique center, the East and the West of America may
> embrace each other, the anthem of the oneness of the world
> of humanity may confer a new life upon all the children of
> men, and the tabernacle of universal peace be pitched on the
> apex of America; thus Europe and Africa may become vivified
> with the breaths of the Holy Spirit, this world may become
> another world …
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> Are you pleased to receive such a guest, freed from his prison
> to bring the glorious Message to you? He who never could
> have thought such a meeting possible! Now by the Grace
> of God, by His wonderful Power, I, who was condemned to
> perpetual imprisonment in a far off town of the East, am here
> in Paris talking with you!
> Henceforward we shall always be together, heart and
> soul and spirit, pressing forward in the work till all men are
> gathered together under the tent of the Kingdom, singing the
> songs of peace.
> Paris Talks
> 
> Fifth: The first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America was instituted
> in Chicago, and this honor and distinction is infinite in value.
> Out of this Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, without doubt, thousands of
> Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs will be born.
> 
> Likewise (were instituted in Chicago) the general Annual
> Conventions, the foundation of the Star of the West, the
> Publishing Society for the publication of books and Tablets
> and their circulation in all parts of America, and the preparations now under way for the celebration of the Golden
> Centenary Anniversary of the Kingdom of God. I hope that
> this Jubilee and this Exhibition may be celebrated in the
> utmost perfection so that the call to the world of unity, “There
> is no God but One God, and all the Messengers, from the
> beginning to the Seal of the Prophets (Muḥammad) were sent
> on the part of the True One!” may be raised; the flag of the
> oneness of the world of humanity be unfurled, the melody of
> universal peace may reach the ears of the East and the West,
> all the paths may be cleared and straightened, all the hearts
> may be attracted to the Kingdom of God, the tabernacle of
> unity be pitched on the apex of America, the song of the love
> of God may exhilarate and rejoice all the nations and peoples,
> the surface of the earth may become the eternal paradise, the
> dark clouds may be dispelled and the Sun of Truth may shine
> forth with the utmost intensity …
> Continually my ear and eye are turned toward the Central
> States; perchance a melody from some blessed souls may reach
> my ears—souls who are the dawning-places of the love of God,
> the stars of the horizon of sanctification and holiness—souls
> who will illumine this dark universe and quicken to life this
> dead world. The joy of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá depends upon this! I
> hope that you may become confirmed therein.
> Consequently, those souls who are in a condition of the
> utmost severance, purified from the defects of the world
> of nature, sanctified from attachment to this earth, vivified
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> with the breaths of eternal life—with luminous hearts, with
> heavenly spirit, with attraction of consciousness, with celestial
> magnanimity, with eloquent tongues and with clear explanations—such souls must hasten and travel through all parts of
> the Central States. In every city and village they must occupy
> themselves with the diffusion of the divine exhortations and
> advices, guide the souls and promote the oneness of the world
> of humanity. They must play the melody of international
> conciliation with such power that every deaf one may attain
> hearing, every extinct person may be set aglow, every dead
> one may obtain new life and every indifferent soul may find
> ecstasy. It is certain that such will be the consummation.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> O ye friends!
> Thank God that the Light of Truth shone in that city, the
> bounty of guidance was granted, the fire of the love of God
> was ignited and the veil of superstition was burned away.
> Some souls have arisen who have unsealed their eyes,
> unstopped their ears, witnessed the great signs and heard
> the eternal melody of the Supreme Concourse. Each of them
> became a faithful tree in the orchard of the love of God and
> a shining luminous star in the horizon of the knowledge of
> God. This is from the eternal bounty and the everlasting gift.
> I entreat and supplicate in the Threshold of the Almighty
> and ask for your confirmation and assistance, that you may be
> born wholly out of the physical world into the Realm Divine,
> to seek after the eternal life and wish for the everlasting gift,
> so that you may shine upon ages and cycles like unto the
> morning star!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Praise be to God that the divine outpourings are infinite, the
> melody of the lordly principles is in the utmost efficacy, the
> most great Orb shining with perfect splendor, the cohorts of
> the Supreme Concourse are attacking with invincible power,
> the tongues are sharper than the swords, the hearts are more
> brilliant than the light of electricity, the magnanimity of the
> friends precedes all the magnanimities of the former and
> subsequent generations, the souls are divinely attracted, and
> the fire of the love of God is enkindled.
> At this time and at this period we must avail ourselves
> of this most great opportunity. We must not sit inactive for
> one moment; we must sever ourselves from composure, rest,
> tranquillity, goods, property, life and attachment to material
> things. We must sacrifice everything to His Highness, the
> Possessor of existence, so that the powers of the Kingdom
> may show greater penetration and the brilliant effulgence in
> this New Cycle may illumine the worlds of minds and ideals.
> It is about twenty-three years that the fragrances of God
> have been diffused in America, but no adequate and befitting
> motion has been realized, and no great acclamation and
> acceleration has been witnessed. Now it is my hope that
> through the heavenly power, the fragrances of the Merciful,
> the attraction of consciousness, the celestial outpourings,
> the heavenly cohorts and the gushing forth of the fountain
> of divine love, the believers of God may arise and in a short
> time the greatest good may unveil her countenance, the Sun of
> Reality may shine forth with such intensity that the darkness
> of the world of nature may become entirely dispelled and
> driven away; from every corner a most wonderful melody
> may be raised, the morning birds may break into such a song
> that the world of humanity may be quickened and moved, the
> solid bodies may become liquefied, and the souls who are like
> unto adamantine rocks may open their wings and through the
> heat of the love of God fly heavenward.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> But these stories did not have any effect on the resolution
> of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He, trusting in God, turned his face toward
> Montreal. When he entered that city he observed all the
> doors open, he found the hearts in the utmost receptivity
> and the ideal power of the Kingdom of God removing every
> obstacle and obstruction. In the churches and meetings of that
> Dominion he called men to the Kingdom of God with the
> utmost joy, and scattered such seeds which will be irrigated
> with the hand of divine power. Undoubtedly those seeds will
> grow, becoming green and verdant, and many rich harvests
> will be gathered. In the promotion of the divine principles
> he found no antagonist and no adversary. The believers he
> met in that city were in the utmost spirituality, and attracted
> with the fragrances of God. He found that through the effort
> of the maidservant of God Mrs. Maxwell a number of the
> sons and daughters of the Kingdom in that Dominion were
> gathered together and associated with each other, increasing
> this joyous exhilaration day by day. The time of sojourn was
> limited to a number of days, but the results in the future are
> inexhaustible. When a farmer comes into the possession of a
> virgin soil, in a short time he will bring under cultivation a
> large field. Therefore I hope that in the future Montreal may
> become so stirred, that the melody of the Kingdom may travel
> to all parts of the world from that Dominion and the breaths
> of the Holy Spirit may spread from that center to the East and
> the West of America.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> O Lord of Hosts! Confirm Thine affectionate … in Thy servitude, aid him in the service of Thy Word, open to his face
> the door of knowledge, reveal to his heart the realities and
> significances, and grant him the ecstasy of the cup of reality,
> gladden him through the melody of Thy love, make his night,
> day, and day, happy!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> Consider ye! In the day of His Highness Christ, the grandeur
> and majesty of their Holiness the Apostles, was not known.
> After three-hundred years the loftiness of the station and
> the exaltation of their attainment became manifest. Ere long
> the result of the deeds in this cycle of Baha’o’llah will appear
> and every one of the friends and the maid-servants will be
> crowned with a diadem whose splendid gems will radiate
> brilliancy and effulgence throughout cycles and ages.
> Therefore, O ye servants of God and the maid-servants of
> the Merciful One, do ye not rest for one moment! Do ye not
> seek any composure! Do ye not wish for any rest and ease!
> Endeavor and make ye an effort with all your heart and soul to
> spread the fragrances of Paradise, to raise the eternal melody
> of the Kingdom of Abha, to establish the gathering of fellowship, to become assisted with the confirmations of the Holy
> Spirit; to clothe the temple of existence with a new garment;
> to bestow eternal life upon the reality of souls; to become a
> cause of the civilization of the human world; to characterize
> the bloodthirsty animals with the heavenly attributes and
> divine commemorations; to pacify the world with peace and
> salvation, and to adorn man with the favors of His Highness
> the Merciful One; that perchance ignorance, animosity
> and strangeness may be removed entirely from among the
> denizens of the world, and the Banner of Reconciliation,
> Freedom, Nobleness and Oneness be hoisted; for the chains
> of existence contain countless links, each connected with the
> other. This connection is the cause of the appearance of the
> invisible powers in the world of the visible.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> O thou servant of the True One!
> Thy letter was received. The meeting … which was
> arranged with the utmost union in the studio of Miss … was
> in reality spiritual, merciful and illumined. The friends of God
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> were associating with great harmony and friendship. I hope
> that all the people of the world become united and cemented.
> The Blessed Perfection hath appeared for the sole purpose of
> the unification and solidarity of the people of the world, so
> that all of them may enter under the shade of one tree, sing
> one melody in one rose-garden and adorn the universe with
> love and oneness.
> Every meeting which is organized for the purpose of
> unity and concord will be conducive to changing strangers
> into friends, enemies into associated, and Abdul-Baha will be
> present in his heart and soul with that meeting.
> I entreat from God that the believers may at all times strive
> to bring about union and harmony, in order that this power of
> unity may display an effect in this world; each country become
> illuminated, the darkness of foreignness be dispelled gradually
> and the light of unanimity dawn and shed its rays to all parts.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> The tree will grow, the earth will send forth hyacinths 14 and
> give blessings, and man will become of the heavenly angels.
> Feed on the light of guidance and impart light to the people.
> The bird will warble melodies unknown save by the birds of
> heaven; then tear asunder the veil and see the realities of things
> with the eye of God. Verily, thy Lord guideth whomsoever He
> willeth unto the Straight Path!
> The Promised Spot will be made a racecourse for the steeds
> of the race of Knowledge and the lights of the Merciful will
> shine upon it. The dispersed ones will return to the Center of
> Gathering and the birds will return from the meadows of the
> world unto the Nest of Harmony. This is a preordained matter.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> 14 Symbol of knowledge
> 
> Briefly, four days and four nights were they the guests in
> the house of this imprisoned one, continually praising and
> commending the beloved of God and giving the glad-tidings
> of the attraction of the friends with the fragrances of God. In
> this prison, Abdul-Baha hath no happiness except the arrival
> of the good news of the believers. Whenever one praises them,
> the heart is dilated and the soul is rejoiced.
> Therefore, O ye companions of Abdul-Baha, display ye an
> effort, so that ye may make that region (America) the Paradise
> of Abha, hoisting the banner of the Most Great Peace and
> spreading the teachings of the Beauty of Abha; in order that
> the slumbrous world become awakened, the unconscious
> become mindful, the universe become another universe,
> the human world become the realm of the Kingdom, earthly
> emotions become heavenly attractions, cruelty and oppression be changed into love and faithfulness, the clattering of
> the sword be transformed into the sweet melody of the pen
> and the discordant sound of war become the wonderful song
> of love and intelligence; in order that all the individuals of
> humanity embrace each other and live among themselves in
> perfect love and affinity.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Know thou that some of the souls who arrive at this Blessed
> Spot possess hearing, seeing and smelling; they see what
> no eye hath ever seen, they hear the melodies of the Dove
> of Holiness on the Tree of Life, they inhale the fragrances of
> God from this Garden, and they surely realize that, verily, this
> Blessed Spot is a center for pure seeing and strong hearing and
> is the direction from which the breezes of the Holy Spirit blow.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> Remove not, O Lord, the festal board that hath been spread
> in Thy Name, and extinguish not the burning flame that hath
> been kindled by Thine unquenchable fire. Withhold not from
> flowing that living water of Thine that murmureth with the
> melody of Thy glory and Thy remembrance, and deprive not
> Thy servants from the fragrance of Thy sweet savors breathing
> forth the perfume of Thy love.
> Bahá’í Prayers
> 
> The anthem of the Abhá Kingdom can be heard from the
> celestial Concourse:
> … The sweetly singing mystic bird, upon a verdant cypress
> bough, imparteth knowledge to the soul;
> Commit His secrets to thy heart! Commit His secrets to
> thy heart!
> Light of the World
> 
> O thou spiritual clarion!
> The voice of the physical clarion may travel the distance of
> three miles, but the harmony of the spiritual Clarion reacheth
> to the East and the West. The effect of that is only in the bodies;
> but the effect of this is in the spirits. The first proclaimeth the
> time of prayer; the second announceth the appearance of the
> Most Great Resurrection. That hath no conscious knowledge
> of its own voice; while this is exhilarated and rejoiced by its
> own melody.
> How significant and eloquent were those new verses, for
> they were the notes of the clarion of the love of God.
> Raise thou this call as much as thou canst, and sound and
> blow this clarion continually night and day, so that the souls
> may become quickened and the people find eternal life.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> The doors of the Kingdom are opened; O what good news to
> those who advance! The garden of paradise is drawn near; O
> what a pleasure to those who enter! The dove of holiness is
> cooing; O what a happiness to those who hear! The gates of
> heaven are open; blessed are they who see! The hosts of angels
> are standing in battle order; what a joy to those who gain the
> victory! The trumpet of life is sounding; how good it is to
> those who are awake!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Thou hast written that thou lovest the Bible. Undoubtedly,
> the friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful should
> know the value of the Bible, for they are the ones who have
> discovered its real significances and have become cognizant
> of the hidden mystery of the Holy Book.
> Deliver my greeting to … and say: “I supplicate God that
> thou mayest gladden and rejoice the heart of … with the
> melody of the Kingdom, rend asunder the veil of her concealment, enlighten her face with the light of the Most Great
> Guidance and make her eyes see and her ears hear.”
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O ye dear friends of Abdul-Baha! It is some time since any
> heart-thrilling melody hath reached the ear of life from certain
> countries, and life and conscience have not found happiness
> and joy. Howbeit all are remembered at all times and are
> indeed present before the sight. For, verily, the chalice of the
> heart is overflowing with the wine of the love of the friends;
> and their attachment and the desire to see them flow and
> circulate in the veins and arteries, even as the spirit.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> O ye beloved servants of Abdul-Baha and the maid-servants of
> the Merciful One! It is the early dawn and the soul-refreshing
> breeze of the Paradise of Abha is wafting upon all the contingent beings, but it displays the effect only in pure hearts and
> perfumes only the healthy mind. A seeing eye beholdeth the
> splendors of the sun and a hearing ear listeneth to the melody
> of the Supreme Concourse.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> In brief, arise thou in the service of thy Lord with the utmost
> firmness and steadfastness. I was very much pleased with thee.
> Undoubtedly this favor will become the cause of the greatest
> development for thee.
> Likewise, thou and his honor Mirza … are two brothers
> and like unto two birds living in one nest and singing one
> melody.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Announce on my behalf longing greeting to Mr … and say,
> “The melody of the Kingdom is that which hath caused
> the motion of the universe; the musk-diffusing fragrance
> of the rose-garden of God is that which hath perfumed the
> nostrils; and the reflection of the Sun of Truth is that which
> hath illumined the whole earth. Now is the beginning of
> illumination! …”
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> On that night thy house was the nest and the shelter of the
> birds of God. The divine melodies and the celestial lyres made
> that place a feast of heaven and an assembly of the Kingdom.
> Abdul-Baha was present there in heart and soul and was
> joyful and happy. Thank thou God.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> O ye beloved of God! As long as ye can strive to set aglow the
> hearts with love, be attracted to one another and be members
> of each other. Every soul of the beloved ones must adore the
> other and withhold not his possession and life from them, and
> by all means he must endeavor to make that other joyous and
> happy. But that other (the recipient of such love) must also
> be disinterested and life-sacrificing. Thus may this Sunrise
> flood the horizons, this melody gladden and make happy all
> the people, this divine remedy become the panacea for every
> disease, this Spirit of Reality become the cause of life for
> every soul.
> O ye friends and maid-servants of the Merciful! It is life-offering, rejoicing, happiness and the manifestation of Divine
> Favors.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> As to the wonderful melody whereby thy spirit was revived,
> verily it is a melody of the melodies of the divine music, which
> will cause the spirits to ascend unto the Supreme Horizon and
> will (cause) the mysteries to be unfolded.
> O maid-servant of God! Be one of the angels of peace and
> a saint in the world. Verily thy Lord will cause thee to listen
> to that wonderful melody, through the spiritual instrument.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O Thou kind God! That scattered assembly 15 is Thine, and
> that gathering of friends is of Thee. Their eyes are opened,
> their hearts in tune with Thy love, and their ears in communion with Thy hidden mysteries.
> O Thou who art self-sufficient! Let a beautiful song reach
> this people from the birds of that garden, that they may warble,
> rejoice and be happy, implore and supplicate the Lord.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> 52   15 American believers
> The Divine Melody
> 
> Verily, I beg of God to ordain for thee in the future to come
> to this Blessed and White Land, to cause thee to hear the
> melodies of the Dove and to grant that thou mayest present
> thyself before the hands of Abdul-Baha.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O maid-servant of God! The radiance of favor is (cast) upon
> thy head and thou art clad with the robe of gift. Praise be
> unto God, that the breeze of the divine spring maketh the soul
> thrive and the fragrances of holiness are quickening the heart
> of man. Favor is perfect and bounty is overflowing—the doors
> of prosperity are opened and hearts are expanded and dilated.
> The drops of the cloud of favor are continually (falling) and
> the lakes of graces are successively overflowing. The wine of
> the love of God is circulating, and the melodies of thankful
> birds are astonishing all people distant and near.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O my God! O my God! I ask thee to protect these two birds in
> the orchard of Thy mercy, confirmed in joy and happiness in
> the garden of Thy bounties, warbling with the best melodies
> in the wood (garden) of Thy knowledge. Verily Thou art the
> Precious, the Mighty, the Protecting!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O ye friends of mine! Illuminate the meeting with the light
> of the love of God, make it joyful and happy through the
> melody of the Kingdom of holiness, and with heavenly food
> and through the “Lord’s Supper” 16 confer life.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> 16 A term synonymous with heavenly food
> I desire for you all that you will have this great assistance
> and partake of this great bounty, and that in spirit and heart
> you will strive and endeavor until the world of war become
> the world of peace; the world of darkness the world of light;
> satanic conduct be turned into heavenly behavior; the ruined
> places become built up; the sword be turned into the olive
> branch; the flash of hatred become the flame of the love of
> God and the noise of the gun the voice of the Kingdom; the
> soldiers of death the soldiers of life; all the nations of the world
> one nation; all races as one race; and all national anthems
> harmonized into one melody.
> Then this material realm will be Paradise, the earth
> Heaven, and the world of Satan become the world of Angels.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> Now, through the aid and bounty of God, this power of
> guidance and this merciful bestowal are found in thee. Arise,
> therefore, in the utmost Power that thou mayest bestow spirit
> upon mouldering bones, give sight to the blind, balm and
> freshness to the depressed, and liveliness and grace to the
> dispirited. Every lamp will eventually be extinguished save
> the lamp of the Kingdom, which increaseth day by day in
> splendour. Every call shall ultimately weaken except the call to
> the Kingdom of God, which day unto day is raised. Every path
> shall finally be twisted except the road of the Kingdom, which
> straighteneth day by day. Undoubtedly heavenly melody is
> not to be measured with an earthly one, and artificial lights
> are not to be compared with the heavenly Sun. Hence one
> must exert endeavour in whatever is lasting and permanent
> so that one may more and more be illumined, strengthened
> and revived …
> Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> The third station is that of the divine appearance and heavenly
> splendor: it is the Word of God, the Eternal Bounty, the Holy
> Spirit. It has neither beginning nor end, for these things are
> related to the world of contingencies and not to the divine
> world. For God the end is the same thing as the beginning.
> So the reckoning of days, weeks, months and years, of yesterday and today, is connected with the terrestrial globe; but
> in the sun there is no such thing—there is neither yesterday,
> today nor tomorrow, neither months nor years: all are equal.
> In the same way the Word of God is purified from all these
> conditions and is exempt from the boundaries, the laws and
> the limits of the world of contingency. Therefore, the reality
> of prophethood, which is the Word of God and the perfect
> state of manifestation, did not have any beginning and will
> not have any end; its rising is different from all others and is
> like that of the sun. For example, its dawning in the sign of
> Christ was with the utmost splendor and radiance, and this
> is eternal and everlasting. See how many conquering kings
> there have been, how many statesmen and princes, powerful
> organizers, all of whom have disappeared, whereas the breezes
> of Christ are still blowing; His light is still shining; His melody
> is still resounding; His standard is still waving; His armies are
> still fighting; His heavenly voice is still sweetly melodious; His
> clouds are still showering gems; His lightning is still flashing;
> His reflection is still clear and brilliant; His splendor is still
> radiating and luminous; and it is the same with those souls
> who are under His protection and are shining with His light.
> Some Answered Questions
> 
> But these ill-omened owls have done a wrong,
> And learned to sing as the white falcon sings.
> And what of Sheba’s message that the lapwing brings
> If the bittern learn to sing the lapwing’s song? 17
> The Secret of Divine Civilization
> 
> 17 Cf. Qur’án 27:20 ff                                                55
> If for example a spiritually learned Muslim is conducting a
> debate with a Christian and he knows nothing of the glorious
> melodies of the Gospel, he will, no matter how much he
> imparts of the Qur’án and its truths, be unable to convince
> the Christian, and his words will fall on deaf ears. Should,
> however, the Christian observe that the Muslim is better versed
> in the fundamentals of Christianity than the Christian priests
> themselves, and understands the purport of the Scriptures even
> better than they, he will gladly accept the Muslim’s arguments,
> and he would indeed have no other recourse.
> The Secret of Divine Civilization
> 
> When for the second time the unmistakable signs of Israel’s
> disintegration, abasement, subjection and annihilation had
> become apparent, then the sweet and holy breathings of the
> Spirit of God (Jesus) were shed across Jordan and the land
> of Galilee; the cloud of Divine pity overspread those skies,
> and rained down the copious waters of the spirit, and after
> those swelling showers that came from the most great Sea,
> the Holy Land put forth its perfume and blossomed with the
> knowledge of God. Then the solemn Gospel song rose up till it
> rang in the ears of those who dwell in the chambers of heaven,
> and at the touch of Jesus’ breath the unmindful dead that lay
> in the graves of their ignorance lifted up their heads to receive
> eternal life.
> The Secret of Divine Civilization
> 
> O Breakwell, O my dear one!
> Thy song is even as birdsong now, thou pourest forth
> verses as to the mercy of thy Lord; of Him Who forgiveth ever,
> thou wert a thankful servant, wherefore hast thou entered into
> exceeding bliss.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> O my dearly beloved, O Breakwell! Thou hast been a divine
> bird and, forsaking thy earthly nest, thou hast soared toward
> the holy rose-garden of the Divine Kingdom and obtained a
> luminous station there!
> O my dearly beloved, O Breakwell! Verily thou art like
> unto the birds, chanting the verses of thy Lord, the Forgiving,
> for thou wert a thankful servant; therefore thou hast entered
> (into the realm beyond) with joy and happiness!
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> In flower-spangled meadows hath the divine springtime
> pitched its tents, and the spiritual are inhaling sweet scents
> from the Sheba of the spirit, carried their way by the east
> wind. Now doth the mystic nightingale carol its odes, and
> buds of inner meaning are bursting into blossoms delicate
> and fair. The field larks are become the festival’s musicians,
> and lifting wondrous voices they cry and sing to the melodies
> of the Company on high, ‘Blessed are ye! Glad Tidings! Glad
> Tidings!’ And they urge on the revellers of the Abhá Paradise
> to drink their fill, and they eloquently hold forth upon the
> celestial tree, and utter their sacred cries. All this, that withered
> souls who tread the desert of the heedless, and faded ones lost
> in the sands of unconcern, may come to throbbing life again,
> and present themselves at the feasts and revels of the Lord
> God.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Praise be to God, that thou hast become especialized with
> Divine Favor and Bounty. Thou didst become awake, beheld
> the lights and harkened unto the Melody of the Supreme
> Concourse.
> Japan Will Turn Ablaze!
> 
> O ye beloved of God! Know ye, verily, that the happiness of
> mankind lieth in the unity and the harmony of the human
> race, and that spiritual and material developments are conditioned upon love and amity among all men. Consider ye the
> living creatures, namely those which move upon the earth and
> those which fly, those which graze and those which devour.
> Among the beasts of prey each kind liveth apart from other
> species of its genus, observing complete antagonism and
> hostility; and whenever they meet they immediately fight and
> draw blood, gnashing their teeth and baring their claws. This
> is the way in which ferocious beasts and bloodthirsty wolves
> behave, carnivorous animals that live by themselves and
> fight for their lives. But the docile, good-natured and gentle
> animals, whether they belong to the flying or grazing species,
> associate with one another in complete affinity, united in
> their flocks, and living their lives with enjoyment, happiness
> and contentment. Such are the birds that are satisfied with
> and grateful for a few grains; they live in complete gladness,
> and break into rich and melodious song while soaring over
> meadows, plains, hills and mountains.
> The Secret of Divine Civilization
> 
> In this divine garden, thousands of fresh and verdant trees
> have raised their tops to the Supreme Apex and on every
> tree there are thousands of nests. Therefore, for thee, who
> art a bird of high flight, a nest has been prepared. Then soar,
> that thou mayest attain to that nest. This is a divine nest in
> the Heavenly Kingdom. Every bird that attained to this nest
> learned a melody and also taught the birds of the meadows the
> divine harmony which moves and enraptures the East and the
> West. Do thou therefore strive with all thy heart and soul that
> thou mayest abide in this nest and thrive till eternity.
> Japan Will Turn Ablaze!
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> For instance, in Írán the fire of revolution blazed in such
> wise that all communities, government and nations, became
> afflicted with the most severe trials; but the power of the
> Covenant protected the Bahá’í friends to such a degree that
> in this turbulent storm no dust fell upon them, except in
> one locality, which became the cause of the spreading of the
> Religion of God and the diffusion of the Word of God. Now
> all the parties in Írán are wondering how the people of Bahá
> were guarded and protected. Praise be to God that in Ṭihrán
> and all the provinces of Írán the Call of God has been raised,
> the Ensign of the Covenant has been unfurled, the cry of
> “Yá-Bahá’u’l-Abhá!” has been heard and the melody of the
> Kingdom of Abhá has been promulgated among the people
> of intelligence …
> Bahá’í World Faith
> 
> All is to be yielded up, save only the remembrance of God; all
> is to be dispraised, except His praise. Today, to this melody of
> the Company on high, the world will leap and dance: ‘Glory
> be to my Lord, the All-Glorious!’ But know ye this: save for
> this song of God, no song will stir the world, and save for this
> nightingale-cry of truth from the Garden of God, no melody
> will lure away the heart. ‘Whence cometh this Singer Who
> speaketh the Beloved’s name?’
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> This is a blessed meeting, for these revered souls have come
> together in complete unity and with an intelligent purpose. It
> is an occasion of great joy to me. Before me are faces radiant
> with the glad tidings of God, hearts aglow with the fire of the
> love of God, ears attuned to the melodies of the Kingdom and
> eyes illumined by the signs and evidences of Divinity.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> Behold how the sun shines upon all creation, but only surfaces
> that are pure and polished can reflect its glory and light.
> The darkened soul has no portion of the revelation of the
> glorious effulgence of reality; and the soil of self, unable to
> take advantage of that light, does not produce growth. The
> eyes of the blind cannot behold the rays of the sun; only pure
> eyes with sound and perfect sight can receive them. Green
> and living trees can absorb the bounty of the sun; dead roots
> and withered branches are destroyed by it. Therefore, man
> must seek capacity and develop readiness. As long as he
> lacks susceptibility to divine influences, he is incapable of
> reflecting the light and assimilating its benefits. Sterile soil
> will produce nothing, even if the cloud of mercy pours rain
> upon it a thousand years. We must make the soil of our hearts
> receptive and fertile by tilling in order that the rain of divine
> mercy may refresh them and bring forth roses and hyacinths
> of heavenly planting. We must have perceiving eyes in order
> to see the light of the sun. We must cleanse the nostril in order
> to scent the fragrances of the divine rose garden. We must
> render the ears attentive in order to hear the summons of the
> supreme Kingdom. No matter how beautiful the melody, the
> ear that is deaf cannot hear it, cannot receive the call of the
> Supreme Concourse. The nostril that is clogged with dust
> cannot inhale the fragrant odors of the blossoms. Therefore,
> we must ever strive for capacity and seek readiness. As long
> as we lack susceptibility, the beauties and bounties of God
> cannot penetrate. Christ spoke a parable in which He said His
> words were like the seeds of the sower; some fall upon stony
> ground, some upon sterile soil, some are choked by thorns
> and thistles, but some fall upon the ready, receptive and fertile
> ground of human hearts. When seeds are cast upon sterile
> soil, no growth follows. Those cast upon stony ground will
> grow a short time, but lacking deep roots will wither away.
> Thorns and thistles destroy others completely, but the seed
> cast in good ground brings forth harvest and fruitage.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> The Divine Melody
> 
> The lights of the divine traces are manifest in Palestine. The
> majority of the Israelitish Prophets raised the call of the
> Kingdom of God in this holy ground. Having spread the
> spiritual teachings, the nostrils of the spiritually-minded
> ones became fragrant, the eyes of the illumined souls became
> brightened, the ears were thrilled through this song, the hearts
> obtained eternal life from the soul-refreshing breeze of the
> Kingdom of God and gained supreme illumination from the
> splendor of the Sun of Reality. Then from this region the light
> was spread to Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Australia.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received.
> It was like the melody of the divine nightingale, whose song
> delighteth the hearts. This is because its contents indicated
> faith, assurance and firmness in the Covenant and the
> Testament. Today the dynamic power of the world of existence is the power of the Covenant which like unto an artery
> pulsateth in the body of the contingent world and protecteth
> Bahá’í unity.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O ye friends of God! Exert ye with heart and soul, so that
> association, love, unity and agreement be obtained between
> the hearts, all the aims may be merged into one aim, all the
> songs become one song and the power of the Holy Spirit
> may become so overwhelmingly victorious as to overcome
> all the forces of the world of nature. Exert yourselves; your
> mission is unspeakably glorious. Should success crown your
> enterprise, America will assuredly evolve into a center from
> which waves of spiritual power will emanate, and the throne
> of the Kingdom of God will, in the plentitude of its majesty
> and glory, be firmly established.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> Oh, how I yearn to see the friends united, even as a shining
> strand of pearls, as the brilliant Pleiades, as the rays of the sun,
> the gazelles of one meadow!
> The mystic nightingale is singing for them; will they not
> listen? The bird of paradise is warbling; will they not hear?
> The Angel of the Kingdom of Abhá is calling to them; will they
> not hearken? The Messenger of the Covenant is pleading; will
> they not heed?
> Ah! I am waiting, waiting to hear the glad news that the
> believers are the embodiment of sincerity and loyalty, the
> incarnation of love and amity and the manifestation of unity
> and concord!
> Will they not rejoice my heart? Will they not satisfy my
> yearnings? Will they not heed my pleadings? will they not
> fulfill my hopes? Will they not answer my call?
> I am waiting, I am patiently waiting!
> Cited in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era
> 
> Remember when the holy breaths of the Spirit of God (Jesus)
> were shedding their sweetness over Palestine and Galilee, over
> the shores of Jordan and the regions around Jerusalem, and
> the wondrous melodies of the Gospel were sounding in the
> ears of the spiritually illumined, all the peoples of Asia and
> Europe, of Africa and America, of Oceania, which comprises
> the islands and archipelagoes of the Pacific and Indian Oceans,
> were fire-worshipers and pagans, ignorant of the Divine Voice
> that spoke out on the Day of the Covenant. Alone the Jews
> believed in the divinity and oneness of God.
> The Secret of Divine Civilization
> 
> Erelong our days shall draw to a close, and the birds of the
> meadows shall carol the anthem of departure.
> Light of the World
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> Again, there are those famed and accomplished men of
> learning, possessed of praiseworthy qualities and vast
> erudition, who lay hold on the strong handle of the fear of
> God and keep to the ways of salvation. In the mirror of their
> minds the forms of transcendent realities are reflected, and
> the lamp of their inner vision derives its light from the sun
> of universal knowledge. They are busy by night and by day
> with meticulous research into such sciences as are profitable
> to mankind, and they devote themselves to the training of
> students of capacity. It is certain that to their discerning taste,
> the proffered treasures of kings would not compare with a
> single drop of the waters of knowledge, and mountains of
> gold and silver could not outweigh the successful solution of
> a difficult problem. To them, the delights that lie outside their
> work are only toys for children, and the cumbersome load of
> unnecessary possessions is only good for the ignorant and
> base. Content, like the birds, they give thanks for a handful of
> seeds, and the song of their wisdom dazzles the minds of the
> world’s most wise.
> The Secret of Divine Civilization
> 
> The West has always received spiritual enlightenment from
> the East. The Song of the Kingdom is first heard in the East,
> but in the West the greater volume of sound bursts upon the
> listening ears.
> The Lord Christ arose as a bright Star in the Eastern sky,
> but the light of His Teaching shone more perfectly in the West,
> where His influence has taken root more firmly and His Cause
> has spread to a greater degree than in the land of His birth.
> The sound of the Song of Christ has echoed over all the
> lands of the Western World and entered the hearts of its
> people.
> Paris Talks
> 
> From the Prayers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Let us pray to God that He will exhilarate our spirits so we
> may behold the descent of His bounties, illumine our eyes to
> witness His great guidance and attune our ears to enjoy the
> celestial melodies of the heavenly Word. This is our greatest
> hope. This is our ultimate purpose.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> O LORD, my God! Praise and thanksgiving be unto Thee for
> Thou hast guided me to the highway of the kingdom, suffered
> me to walk in this straight and far-stretching path, illumined
> my eye by beholding the splendors of Thy light, inclined my
> ear to the melodies of the birds of holiness from the kingdom
> of mysteries and attracted my heart with Thy love among the
> righteous.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> Lord! Do Thou kindle in their hearts the flame of Thy divine
> attraction and grant that the bird of love and understanding
> may sing within their hearts. Grant that they may be even as
> potent signs, resplendent standards, and perfect as Thy Word.
> Exalt by them Thy Cause, unfurl Thy banners and publish
> far and wide Thy wonders. Make by them Thy Word triumphant, and strengthen the loins of Thy loved ones. Unloose
> their tongues to laud Thy Name, and inspire them to do Thy
> holy will and pleasure. Illumine their faces in Thy Kingdom
> of holiness, and perfect their joy by aiding them to arise for
> the triumph of Thy Cause.
> Bahá’í Prayers
> 
> The Divine Melody
> 
> O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the
> fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of
> Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word,
> and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.
> Bahá’í Prayers
> 
> O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the
> same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same
> household. In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants,
> and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all
> have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.
> O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all,
> dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all. Thou hast endowed
> each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged
> in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.
> O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and
> make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one
> family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live
> together in perfect harmony.
> O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.
> O God! Establish the Most Great Peace.
> Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.
> O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the
> fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of
> Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word,
> and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.
> Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving
> and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of
> all mankind.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> O Thou who attractest the hearts of the righteous by the
> magnet of favors, unto the Kingdom of El-Abha! O my Lord!
> Cause me to speak Thy praise, illumine my sight through
> the light of Thy knowledge, cause me to hear Thy Call, and
> quicken me with the spirit of Thy grace. Make me rejoiced
> at the melodies of the birds of Thy holiness, and make me a
> servant to Thy maid-servants.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> MELODIES OF LOVE
> & PRAISE
> 
> From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> 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,
> The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> They who recite the verses of the All-Merciful in the most
> melodious of tones will perceive in them that with which
> the sovereignty of earth and heaven can never be compared.
> From them they will inhale the divine fragrance of My
> worlds—worlds which today none can discern save those
> who have been endowed with vision through this sublime,
> this beauteous Revelation. Say: These verses draw hearts
> that are pure unto those spiritual worlds that can neither be
> expressed in words nor intimated by allusion. Blessed be those
> who hearken.
> The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> We have made it lawful for you to listen to music and singing.
> Take heed, however, lest listening thereto should cause you to
> overstep the bounds of propriety and dignity. Let your joy be
> the joy born of My Most Great Name, a Name that bringeth
> rapture to the heart, and filleth with ecstasy the minds of all
> who have drawn nigh unto God. We, verily, have made music
> as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted
> up unto the realm on high; make it not, therefore, as wings
> to self and passion. Truly, We are loath to see you numbered
> with the foolish.
> The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> Blessed is the spot wherein the anthem of His praise is raised,
> and blessed the ear that hearkeneth unto that which hath been
> sent down from the heaven of the loving-kindness of thy Lord,
> the All-Merciful.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been
> received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh
> unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine
> own soul, and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso reciteth,
> in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God,
> the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the
> fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause
> the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at
> first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace
> vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise
> its influence upon his soul. Thus have the mysteries of the
> Revelation of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him
> Who is the Source of power and wisdom.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Magnified art Thou, O Lord my God! I ask Thee by Thy Name
> which Thou hast set up above all other names, through which
> the veil of heaven hath been split asunder and the Day-Star
> of Thy beauty hath risen above the horizon, shining with the
> brightness of Thy Name, the Exalted, the Most High, to succor
> me with Thy wondrous help and to preserve me in the shelter
> of Thy care and protection.
> I am one of Thy handmaidens, O my Lord! Unto Thee
> have I turned, and in Thee have I placed my trust. Grant that
> I may be so confirmed in my love for Thee, and in fulfilling
> that which is well-pleasing unto Thee, that neither the defection of the infidels among Thy people, nor the clamor of the
> hypocrites among Thy creatures, may avail to keep me back
> from Thee.
> Purge Thou mine ear, O my Lord, that I may hearken unto
> the verses sent down unto Thee, and illuminate my heart with
> the light of Thy knowledge, and loose my tongue that it may
> make mention of Thee and sing Thy praise. By Thy might,
> O my God! My soul is wedded to none beside Thee, and my
> heart seeketh none except Thine own Self.
> No God is there beside Thee, the All-Glorious, the Great
> Giver, the Forgiving, the Compassionate.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Nay, all else besides these Manifestations, live by the operation
> of their Will, and move and have their being through the
> outpourings of their grace. “But for Thee, I would have not
> created the heavens.” Nay, all in their holy presence fade into
> utter nothingness, and are a thing forgotten. Human tongue
> can never befittingly sing their praise, and human speech can
> never unfold their mystery.
> The Kitáb-i-Íqán
> 
> Say: Step out of Thy holy chamber, O Maid of Heaven, inmate
> of the Exalted Paradise! Drape thyself in whatever manner
> pleaseth Thee in the silken Vesture of Immortality, and put
> on, in the name of the All-Glorious, the broidered Robe of
> Light. Hear, then, the sweet, the wondrous accent of the Voice
> that cometh from the Throne of Thy Lord, the Inaccessible,
> the Most High. Unveil Thy face, and manifest the beauty of
> the black-eyed Damsel, and suffer not the servants of God to
> be deprived of the light of Thy shining countenance. Grieve
> not if Thou hearest the sighs of the dwellers of the earth, or
> the voice of the lamentation of the denizens of heaven. Leave
> them to perish on the dust of extinction. Let them be reduced
> to nothingness, inasmuch as the flame of hatred hath been
> kindled within their breasts. Intone, then, before the face of
> the peoples of earth and heaven, and in a most melodious
> voice, the anthem of praise, for a remembrance of Him Who
> is the King of the names and attributes of God. Thus have We
> decreed Thy destiny. Well able are We to achieve Our purpose.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> 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 …
> The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> All-praise be to Thee, O Lord, my God! I know not how to
> sing Thy praise, how to describe Thy glory, how to call upon
> Thy Name.
> Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Say: O my Lord, my Best-Beloved, the Mover of my actions,
> the Lode Star of my soul, the Voice that crieth in mine inmost
> being, the Object of mine heart’s adoration! Praise be to Thee
> for having enabled me to turn my face towards Thee, for having
> set my soul ablaze through remembrance of Thee, for having
> aided Me to proclaim Thy Name and to sing Thy praises.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Praise be to God, the All-Possessing, the King of incomparable
> glory, a praise which is immeasurably above the understanding of all created things, and is exalted beyond the grasp of the
> minds of men. None else besides Him hath ever been able to
> sing adequately His praise, nor will any man succeed at any
> time in describing the full measure of His glory.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out, ‘Great
> is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the footstool of thy God, and been chosen as the seat of His mighty
> throne.’ ” “The world of being shineth, in this Day, with the
> resplendency of this Divine Revelation. All created things
> extol its saving grace, and sing its praises. The universe is
> wrapt in an ecstasy of joy and gladness …”
> Cited in The Advent of Divine Justice
> 
> The songs which the bird of thine heart had uttered in its great
> love for its friends have reached their ears, and moved Me to
> answer thy questions …
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> I ask Thee then, O my God, by Thy light which hath illuminated all beings, and by Thy glory which hath irradiated
> the whole of creation, to remember Thy servant who hath
> been designated “Jím” in the realms of Thine eternity and
> the canopy of Thy grandeur. Cause him then, O my God, to
> hearken unto the holy melodies of Thy tender mercy, that
> they may draw him away from himself and from whatsoever
> is not of Thee, and attract him unto the dawning splendours
> of Thy love and adoration. Potent art Thou to accomplish this
> through Thy transcendent might.
> Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> I entreat Thee, moreover, O Lord of all being and Possessor of
> all things visible and invisible, to bestow upon me a righteous
> child who may make mention of Thee on Thine earth and sing
> Thy praise throughout Thy realms; this, notwithstanding that
> Thou hast, with this Tablet, made me rich enough to dispense
> with every fruit, trace, or mention. I close my supplication, at
> this moment, with that which one of Thy chosen ones hath
> aforetime spoken: “O my Lord, leave me not childless, even
> though there is no better heir than Thyself.”
> Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Thou kind Lord! Bestow heavenly confirmation upon this
> daughter of the kingdom, and graciously aid her that she may
> remain firm and steadfast in Thy Cause and that she may,
> even as a nightingale of the rose garden of mysteries, warble
> melodies in the Abhá Kingdom in the most wondrous tones,
> thereby bringing happiness to everyone. Make her exalted
> among the daughters of the kingdom and enable her to attain
> life eternal.
> Thou art the Bestower, the All-Loving.
> Bahá’í Prayers and Tablets for Children
> 
> O Lord my God, my Haven and my Refuge! How can I befittingly make mention of Thee, even with the most wondrous
> words of glorification or the most eloquent odes of praise,
> O Thou Almighty and Forgiving One, aware as I am that
> the tongue of every eloquent speaker doth falter, and every
> expression of praise from either human pen or tongue is
> confounded in its attempt to glorify but one of the signs of
> Thine omnipotent power or to extol a single Word that hath
> been created by Thee.
> Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l Bahá
> 
> O Divine Providence, O forgiving Lord! How can I ever befittingly sing Thy praise or sufficiently worship and glorify Thee?
> Thy description by any tongue is naught but error, and Thy
> depiction by any pen is an evidence of folly in attempting this
> formidable task. The tongue is but an instrument composed
> of elements; voice and speech are naught but accidental
> attributes. How, then, can I celebrate, with the instrument of
> an earthly voice, the praise of Him Who hath neither peer
> nor likeness?
> Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l Bahá
> O thou bird of pleasing tones!
> Thy little book of poems, which were very sweet, was
> read. It was a source of joy, for it was a spiritual anthem and a
> melody of the love of God.
> Continue as long as thou canst this melody in the gatherings of the beloved; thus may the minds find rest and joy
> and become in tune with the love of God. When eloquence
> of expression, beauty of sense and sweetness of composition
> unite with new melodies the effect is very great, especially if it
> be the anthem of the verses of oneness and the songs of praise
> to the Lord of Glory.
> Endeavor your utmost to compose beautiful poems to be
> chanted with heavenly music; thus may their beauty affect the
> minds and impress the hearts of those who listen.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> The Faith of the Blessed Beauty is summoning mankind
> to safety and love, to amity and peace; it hath raised up its
> tabernacle on the heights of the earth, and directeth its call
> to all nations. Wherefore, O ye who are God’s lovers, know ye
> the value of this precious Faith, obey its teachings, walk in this
> road that is drawn straight, and show ye this way to the people.
> Lift up your voices and sing out the song of the Kingdom.
> Spread far and wide the precepts and counsels of the loving
> Lord, so that this world will change into another world, and
> this darksome earth will be flooded with light, and the dead
> body of mankind will arise and live; so that every soul will ask
> for immortality, through the holy breaths of God.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Even as two birds they should warble melodies upon the
> branches of the tree of fellowship and harmony.
> Cited in Family Life (compilation)
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Thankful, the birds
> of the spirit seek only to fly in the high heavens and to sing out
> their songs with wondrous art.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> This wonderful age has rent asunder the veils of superstition
> and has condemned the prejudice of the people of the East.
> Among some of the nations of the Orient, music and
> harmony was not approved of, but the Manifested Light,
> Bahá’u’lláh, in this glorious period has revealed in Holy
> Tablets that singing and music are the spiritual food of the
> hearts and souls. In this dispensation, music is one of the arts
> that is highly approved and is considered to be the cause of
> the exaltation of sad and desponding hearts.
> Therefore … set to music the verses and the divine words
> so that they may be sung with soul-stirring melody in the
> Assemblies and gatherings, and that the hearts of the listeners
> may become tumultuous and rise towards the Kingdom of
> Abhá in supplication and prayer.
> Bahá’í World Faith
> 
> O my God! O my God! Thou seest these children who are the
> twigs of the tree of life, the birds of the meads of salvation,
> the pearls of the ocean of Thy grace, the roses of the garden
> of Thy guidance.
> O God, our Lord! We sing Thy praise, bear witness to Thy
> sanctity and implore fervently the heaven of Thy mercy to
> make us lights of guidance, stars shining above the horizons of
> eternal glory amongst mankind, and to teach us a knowledge
> which proceedeth from Thee. Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!
> Bahá’í Prayers and Tablets for Children
> 
> The Ancient Beauty, the Most Great Name, tasted the poison
> of every tribulation and quaffed from the brimming cup of
> every bitter affliction. He made His breast the target of every
> dart and readied His neck to every sword. He was cast into
> prison and bound by pitiless chains. He was beset by ferocious
> foes and attacked with stones hurled by the wicked. He was
> subjected to chains and fetters and confined to shackles and
> stocks. He was exiled from His homeland, banished to the
> lands of the Bulgars and the Serbs, and finally sore tried by
> grave affliction in the Most Great Prison. In this darksome pit,
> this prison of tyranny, His blessed days came to an end and
> He winged His flight to His Kingdom.
> And now, O faithful friends, O loved ones of that luminous
> Beauty! Would it be meet and seemly for us to rest even for
> a moment? Would it be fitting for us to tarry or delay, to seek
> our own ease or comfort, thereby falling prey to idleness and
> tests, becoming preoccupied with our own fancies, and setting
> our affections on friend and stranger alike? Nay, by God! It
> behoveth us not to rest for a moment, whether by day or by
> night, nor to defile our pure hearts with the corruption of
> this world. We must spread a banquet of renunciation; hold a
> festival of love; lift up our voices and sing the blissful anthems
> of the Abhá Kingdom to the melody of the harp, the tambour,
> and the flute; and, hastening with joy and rapture to the field
> of martyrdom, surrender our lives and our all in His path.
> Light of the World
> 
> The teacher, when teaching, must be himself fully enkindled,
> so that his utterance, like unto a flame of fire, may exert influence and consume the veil of self and passion. He must also be
> utterly humble and lowly so that others may be edified, and be
> totally self-effaced and evanescent so that he may teach with
> the melody of the Concourse on high—otherwise his teaching
> will have no effect.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Praise be to Him! The renown of His Cause hath reached
> to east and west, and word of the power of the Abhá Beauty
> hath quickened north and south. That cry from the American
> continent is a choir of holiness, that shout from far and near
> that riseth even to the Company on high is ‘Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!’
> Now is the east lit up with a glory, and the west rose-sweet,
> and all the earth is fragrant with ambergris, and the winds
> that blow over the Holy Shrine are laden with musk. Erelong
> shall ye see that even the darkest lands are bright, and the
> continents of Europe and Africa have turned into gardens of
> flowers, and forests of blossoming trees.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> As to thy stay in the Murgh-Mahallih 1 of Shimírán for a change
> of air, this is truly a divine favour That place is not the abode
> of mere birds, but the nest of the Phoenix of the East and the
> dwelling of the mystic Bird of the sacred Mount. For there,
> in that pure and hallowed field, the Blessed Beauty—may my
> life be offered up for His loved ones—took up residence for an
> entire summer. There he resided in the garden of Ḥájí-Báqir,
> which consisted of three terraces overlooking a lake. This was
> in the earliest days of the Cause, when that district became
> the throne of the Lord of the Kingdom. A large stone platform
> was raised in the heart of the lake, with a tent in the centre
> and gardens all around. About one hundred and fifty friends
> would gather, and at night hymns of praise would rise up to
> the Concourse on high. Those were wonderful times indeed.
> The Blessed Beauty would frequently make mention of that
> place.
> Light of the World
> 
> 1   Abode of the Birds
> O musician of God! … The songsters of fellowship that abide
> in the gardens of holiness must pour forth such a triumphant
> burst of songs in this age that the birds in the fields may wing
> their flight in a transport of delight; and in this divine festival,
> this heavenly banquet, they should play the lute and the harp,
> and the viol and the lyre in such wise that the people of east
> and west may be filled with exceeding joy and gladness, and
> be carried away with exultation and happiness.
> The Importance of the Arts in Promoting the Faith (compilation)
> 
> Thy splendid letter aroused spiritual affections in my heart. I
> read it with admiration, for it was a melody of Divine Unity
> and an ensign proclaiming His oneness.
> Light of the World
> 
> O thou revered maidservant of God! Thy letter from Los
> Angeles was received. Thank divine Providence that thou
> hast been assisted in service and hast been the cause of the
> promulgation of the oneness of the world of humanity, so that
> the darkness of differences among men may be dissipated,
> and the pavilion of the unity of nations may cast its shadow
> over all regions. Without such unity, rest and comfort, peace
> and universal reconciliation are unachievable. This illumined
> century needeth and calleth for its fulfilment. In every
> century a particular and central theme is, in accordance with
> the requirements of that century, confirmed by God. In this
> illumined age that which is confirmed is the oneness of the
> world of humanity. Every soul who serveth this oneness will
> undoubtedly be assisted and confirmed.
> I hope that in the assemblies thou mayest sing praises with
> a sweet melody and thus become the cause of joy and gladness
> to all.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Strive, therefore, with heart and soul that ye become ignited
> candles in the assemblage of the world, glittering stars on the
> horizon of Truth and may become the cause of the propagation of the light of the Kingdom; in order that the world of
> humanity may be converted into a divine realm, the nether
> world may become the world on high, the love of God and
> the mercy of the Lord may raise their canopy upon the apex
> of the world, human souls may become the waves of the ocean
> of truth, the world of humanity may grow into one blessed
> tree, the verses of oneness may be chanted and the melodies
> of sanctity may reach the Supreme Concourse.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> When the friends do not endeavour to spread the message,
> they fail to remember God befittingly, and will not witness
> the tokens of assistance and confirmation from the Abhá
> Kingdom nor comprehend the divine mysteries. However,
> when the tongue of the teacher is engaged in teaching, he will
> naturally himself be stimulated, will become a magnet attracting the divine aid and bounty of the Kingdom, and will be
> like unto the bird at the hour of dawn, which itself becometh
> exhilarated by its own singing, its warbling and its melody.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O Bashír-i-Iláhí! Thy letter was like unto a treasury of poems
> in glorification and praise of the Blessed Beauty. It hath
> imparted the utmost joy and gladness. Each word of thy letter
> is a sign of joyous music: One word is the lyre and the lute;
> another, the psalms of the House of David. One word is the
> timbrel and the harp; another, pure poetry and song. It is a
> perfect symphony, causing the listeners to leap with rapture
> and joy. From afar thou playest the melody, and here His
> lovers rejoice with ecstasy.
> Light of the World
> Wherefore, O ye friends of God, redouble your efforts, strain
> every nerve, till ye triumph in your servitude to the Ancient
> Beauty, the Manifest Light, and become the cause of spreading
> far and wide the rays of the Day-Star of Truth. Breathe ye
> into the world’s worn and wasted body the fresh breath of
> life, and in the furrows of every region sow ye holy seed. Rise
> up to champion this Cause; open your lips and teach. In the
> meeting place of life be ye a guiding candle; in the skies of this
> world be dazzling stars; in the gardens of unity be birds of the
> spirit, singing of inner truths and mysteries.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God!
> Verily, I read thy poem, which contained new significances
> and beautiful words. My heart was dilated by its eloquent
> sense. I prayed God to make thee utter more beautiful compositions that this. Thus thou mayest be the first to praise the
> Beauty of El-ABHA and the first utterer of His Name among
> the women.
> Chant the verses of guidance among the people and
> commence [the composition of ] melodies of great beauty
> and effect in praise and glorification of the Generous Lord …
> O maid-servant of God! Warble as birds in the garden of joy
> and pray to thy forgiving Lord, so that the souls may rejoice
> through the psalms of the descendant of David.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> I hope thou wilt memorize all the poetry of the Blessed
> Perfection and chant with wonderful melody in the assemblages and gatherings. These verses will soon be translated
> into English poetical form and then this Divine Song will rise
> from those lands and reach the ABHA Kingdom in utmost joy
> and happiness.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> You have written concerning the Feast of Remembrance which
> you arranged after the Persian manner, at which Mr … and
> Mr … engaged in serving the beloved ones like unto Abdul-
> Baha: This arrangement of festivities and affection, chanting
> of Tablets, explaining realities and significances, and this
> inculcating of the teachings and exhortations of Abdul-Baha
> causeth everlasting life and maketh the hearers as heavenly
> angels … As to chanting supplications in the Oriental tune,
> this is very agreeable. His honor … must exert his endeavors
> in this matter.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Know thou, verily, I read thy letter which expressed the commemoration of thy Lord, the Great, and indicated that the fire
> of the love of God is ablaze in thy heart and in the soul of the
> sincere ones. Truly I say unto thee, verily thy magnificent letter
> was as one of the melodies of the birds of holiness in the wonderful garden. Verily the hearts of the Supreme Concourse are
> dilated with the songs which thou hast warbled on the Blessed
> Tree in the Exalted Paradise … O maid-servant of God! Be
> rejoiced at this glad-tidings whereby the hearts of the people of
> the Kingdom of El-Abha are moved with joy. Verily I beseech
> God to make Green Acre as the paradise of El-Abha, so that
> the melodies of the nightingale of sanctity may be heard from
> it and that the chanting of the verses of unity may be raised
> therein; to cause the clouds of the great gift to pour upon it
> the rains falling from heaven; to make those countries become
> verdant with the myrtles of truth and inner significances and
> to plant therein blessed trees, with the hand of Providence,
> which may bring forth pure and excellent fruits wherefrom
> the fragrances of God may be diffused throughout all regions.
> These signs shall surely appear and these lights shall shine
> forth.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> I ask God that thou mayest find rest and comfort in the shelter
> of the holy Banner of Peace and Concord; become the means
> of spreading the love of God; attain boundless health and
> security; grow joyfully, day by day, through the glad-tidings;
> soar on high through ecstasy and delight; sings the melody
> and proclaim the call, “Ya Baha-ul-ABHA!”
> O maid-servant of God! That call to which thou didst listen
> is from the Kingdom of ABHA. Therefore, praise and glorify
> the Possessor of that Call, so that the call may be repeated.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> As to the difference between inspiration and imagination:
> Inspiration is in conformity with the Divine Texts, but imaginations do not conform therewith. A real, spiritual connection
> between the True One and the servant is a luminous bounty
> which causeth an ecstatic (or divine) flame, passion and
> attraction. When this connection is secured (or realized) such
> an ecstasy and happiness become manifest in the heart that
> man doth fly away (with joy) and uttereth melody and song.
> Just as the soul bringeth the body in motion, so that spiritual
> bounty and real connection likewise moveth (or cheereth)
> the human soul.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O thou honorable one!
> Thank thou God that thou art instructed in music and
> melody, singing with pleasant voice the glorification and
> praise of the Eternal, the Living. I pray to God that thou
> mayest employ this talent in prayer and supplication, in order
> that the souls may become quickened, the hearts may become
> attracted and all may become inflamed with the fire of the
> love of God!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Cast behind every single thought and idea and attach thyself
> to the commemoration of thy Master, the Ancient. Be thou
> soaring in the Kingdom of God, the Mighty, the Beneficent.
> Live thou in Paris until the fragrance of the love of God may
> emanate from thee in the college wherein thou art studying
> sciences and unfurl thou the standard of universal peace, reconciliation, agreement and security among all men. Rejoice
> thou by the bounty of thy Lord which hath encompassed the
> whole existence and sing and warble with the most wonderful
> melody in the rose-garden of knowledge. Verily thy Lord, the
> Beneficent, will confirm thee in every moment and second
> and will empower thee with such a power that the columns
> of warfare and bloodshed shall shake and the foundation of
> peace and harmony shall arise.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> The hosts of the Kingdom of Abha are drawn and filed up in
> battle-array on the plain of the Supreme Apex and are expecting that a band of volunteers step upon the field of action with
> the intention of service; so that they may assist that band and
> make it victorious and triumphant.
> O Thou Almighty God! Confirm Thou these friends
> and the maid-servants of the Merciful! Grant Thou to them
> assistance. Open Thou before their faces the closed doors and
> make them intimate with the fragrances of holiness, so that
> they may become the confident friends of each other; raise the
> melody and the song of joy and sing the harmony of heaven,
> in order that they may exhilarate and gladden the regions of
> the West and impart attraction and ecstasy!
> Make Thou them the magnets of love so that they may
> attract the hearts to the Kingdom of Abha!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> His Holiness Christ, addressing the believers, uttereth the
> following in the Gospel: “Be awake lest the Son of Man
> come and find ye asleep!” Now, thou wast awake, therefore
> thou didst advance and engage in the service of the Word of
> God. Appreciate the value of this attainment, and, like unto a
> candle, radiate the light of the love of God in the meeting of
> the beloved. Encourage the beloved of God and be a source of
> joy and gladness to the Bahais. Hold meetings and read and
> chant the heavenly teachings, so that city may be illumined
> with the light of reality and that country become a veritable
> paradise by the strength of the Holy Spirit, for this cycle is the
> cycle of the Glorious Lord and the melody of oneness and
> solidarity of the world of mankind must reach the ears of the
> East and West.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> O Lord! Should the breath of the Holy Spirit confirm the
> weakest of creatures, he would attain all to which he aspireth
> and would possess anything he desireth. Indeed, Thou hast
> assisted Thy servants in the past and, though they were the
> weakest of Thy creatures, the lowliest of Thy servants and the
> most insignificant of those who lived upon the earth, through
> Thy sanction and potency they took precedence over the
> most glorious of Thy people and the most noble of mankind.
> Whereas formerly they were as moths, they became as royal
> falcons, and whereas before they were as brooks, they became
> as seas, through Thy bestowal and Thy mercy. They became,
> through Thy most great favor, stars shining on the horizon
> of guidance, birds singing in the rose gardens of immortality,
> lions roaring in the forests of knowledge and wisdom, and
> whales swimming in the oceans of life.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Raise ye a clamour like unto a roaring sea; like a prodigal
> cloud, rain down the grace of heaven. Lift up your voices and
> sing out the songs of the Abhá Realm. Quench ye the fires of
> war, lift high the banners of peace, work for the oneness of
> humankind and remember that religion is the channel of love
> unto all peoples.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O ye esteemed maid-servants of God, and ye revered beloved
> ones (or men believers) of the Merciful!
> Your letter was received and its contents noted. The
> maid-servant of God, she who hath ascended to heaven, i.e.,
> Mrs … hastened from this mortal world to the divine world
> and soared from this temporal realm to the expanse of the
> Kingdom. She abandoned the earthly cage and flew toward
> the bower of the upper world; so that, like unto a nightingale
> of significances, she may, in that divine rose-garden, engage
> in praising, glorifying and sanctifying the True One, with the
> most marvelous melody.
> Consequently, do ye not sigh in grief of her decease, and
> be not dejected on account of her ascension.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Then, O ye friends of God! Appreciate the value of this
> precious Revelation, move and act in accordance with it and
> walk in the straight path and the right way. Show it to the
> people. Raise the melody of the Kingdom and spread abroad
> the teachings and ordinances of the loving Lord so that the
> world may become another world, the darkened earth may
> become illumined and the dead body of the people may
> obtain new life. Every soul may seek everlasting life through
> the breath of the Merciful.
> Bahá’í World Faith
> 
> O ye beloved friends of Abdul-Baha!
> The news of your spiritual assembly reached this Illumined
> Spot and the heart of this yearning one was rejoiced on
> account of your concord, unity and affinity. What wonderful
> meetings and brilliant gatherings were those, whose fame will
> become world-wide and whose melody will ere long reach to
> all the kingdoms! that in the region of America the believers
> are real companions and associates with each other and are
> as beloved friends among themselves; that they bring about
> gatherings of friendship, engage themselves in the praise and
> glorification of the glorious Lord, deliver eloquent speeches,
> establish the proofs and arguments of the Manifestation of the
> Sun of Truth, spread the divine teachings and shed broadcast
> the musk-diffusing fragrances of the Kingdom, so that the
> nostrils become perfumed and the eyes become brightened.
> O ye friends! O ye maid-servants of the Merciful! Those
> assemblies are the emblems of the Supreme Concourse and the
> prototypes of the congregations of the spirits in the Kingdom
> of Abha. Avail yourselves of the opportunities of this time,
> neither let the occasion slip by unheeded. The season of the
> soul-refreshing springtime will not appear at all time, neither
> will the breezy dawn be at every moment. Now is the time of
> proclamation and the occasion of supplication and invocation
> toward the Kingdom of Abha.
> Therefore, sing ye the sweet melody in the assemblages,
> entreat ye at the Threshold of the Kingdom of the Lord of
> Hosts and beg ye for confirmation and assistance. The Guide
> of Providence will appear and the “beloved of divine gift” will
> unveil her luminous countenance.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> O Divine Providence! This assemblage is composed of Thy
> friends who are attracted to Thy beauty and are set ablaze by
> the fire of Thy love. Turn these souls into heavenly angels,
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> resuscitate them through the breath of Thy Holy Spirit, grant
> them eloquent tongues and resolute hearts, bestow upon them
> heavenly power and merciful susceptibilities, cause them to
> become the promulgators of the oneness of mankind and
> the cause of love and concord in the world of humanity, so
> that the perilous darkness of ignorant prejudice may vanish
> through the light of the Sun of Truth, this dreary world may
> become illumined, this material realm may absorb the rays of
> the world of spirit, these different colors may merge into one
> color and the melody of praise may rise to the kingdom of Thy
> sanctity. Verily, Thou art the Omnipotent, and the Almighty!
> Bahá’í Prayers
> 
> O thou worshipper of Truth!
> Thy letter was received and its contents became known.
> Praise be to God! Immense results and great effect have been
> produced by forwarding [recent] Tablets to that country
> (America). They gladdened and exhilarated the friends and
> imparted happiness to the souls. They granted sight to the
> eyes and hearing to the ears. It is hoped that wonderful effects
> will be displayed in the future, that the friends of God may
> live and act in accord with the heavenly teachings, in order
> that the region of America may become the Paradise of Abha,
> that desert and wilderness become the rose-garden of human
> perfections, the verses of guidance be read, the melody of “Ya
> Baha El-Abha!” reach the Kingdom of Beauty; warfare and
> bloodshed be removed from among the people, affinity and
> love hoist their tent upon the apex of the world, all mankind
> become real friends with one another and each soul respect
> the other. Whenever these signs appear, then it will become
> manifest that the Tablets have had their effect.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> The following commune is to be read by them every day:
> O GOD! O God! This is a broken-winged bird and his
> flight is very slow—assist him so that he may fly toward the
> apex of prosperity and salvation, wing his way with the utmost
> joy and happiness throughout the illimitable space, raise his
> melody in Thy Supreme Name in all the regions, exhilarate
> the ears with this call, and brighten the eyes by beholding the
> signs of guidance.
> O Lord! I am single, alone and lowly. For me there is no
> support save Thee, no helper except Thee and no sustainer
> beside Thee. Confirm me in Thy service, assist me with the
> cohorts of Thine angels, make me victorious in the promotion
> of Thy Word and suffer me to speak out Thy wisdom amongst
> Thy creatures. Verily, Thou art the helper of the weak and the
> defender of the little ones, and verily Thou art the Powerful,
> the Mighty and the Unconstrained.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> The beloved of the Lord, with their musk-scented breath,
> burn like bright candles in every clime, and the friends of
> the All-Merciful, even as unfolding flowers, can be found in
> all regions. Not for a moment do they rest; they breathe not
> but in remembrance of Thee, and crave naught but to serve
> Thy Cause. In the meadows of truth they are as sweet-singing
> nightingales, and in the flower-garden of guidance they are
> even as brightly-coloured blossoms. With mystic flowers they
> adorn the walks of the Garden of Reality; as swaying cypresses
> they line the riverbanks of the Divine Will. Above the horizon
> of being they shine as radiant stars; in the firmament of the
> world they gleam as resplendent orbs. Manifestations of
> celestial grace are they, and daysprings of the light of divine
> assistance.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Be, therefore, a divine bird, proceed to thy native country,
> spread the wings of sanctity over those spots and sing and
> chant and celebrate the name of thy Lord, that thou mayest
> gladden the Supreme Concourse and make the seeking souls
> hasten unto thee as the moths hasten to the lamp, and thus
> illumine that distant country by the light of God.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O ye merciful friends of Abdul-Baha! At this moment a letter
> hath been received from America containing the good news
> that that region of the Occident hath become the Orient; that
> is, in that region the rays of the Sun of Truth have appeared
> and shone forth with such penetration that the bright light
> of the morn of guidance hath dawned and every longing one
> hath attained to the desire of this heart, and that the melody
> of the Kingdom of Abha ascends continuously to the Supreme
> Concourse and the soul-refreshing strains of “ Ya Baha
> El-Abha!” reach the ears of the peoples and communities of
> that country.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> If, in this momentous task, a mighty effort be exerted, the
> world of humanity will shine out with other adornings, and
> shed the fairest light. Then will this darksome place grow
> luminous, and this abode of earth turn into Heaven. The very
> demons will change to angels then, and wolves to shepherds
> of the flock, and the wild-dog pack to gazelles that pasture on
> the plains of oneness, and ravening beasts to peaceful herds,
> and birds of prey, with talons sharp as knives, to songsters
> warbling their sweet native notes.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Heroes are they, O my Lord, lead them to the field of battle.
> Guides are they, make them to speak out with arguments
> and proofs. Ministering servants are they, cause them to pass
> round the cup that brimmeth with the wine of certitude. O
> my God, make them to be songsters that carol in fair gardens,
> make them lions that couch in the thickets, whales that plunge
> in the vasty deep.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Then let you engage in the praise of Bahá’u’lláh, for it is
> through His grace and succour that ye have become sons and
> daughters of the Kingdom; it is thanks to Him that ye are now
> songsters in the meadows of truth, and have soared upward
> to the heights of the glory that abideth forever. Ye have found
> your place in the world that dieth not; the breaths of the Holy
> Spirit have blown upon you; ye have taken on another life, ye
> have gained access to the Threshold of God.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Now is the time for the lovers of God to raise high the banners
> of unity, to intone, in the assemblages of the world, the verses
> of friendship and love and to demonstrate to all that the
> grace of God is one. Thus will the tabernacles of holiness be
> upraised on the summits of the earth, gathering all peoples
> into the protective shadow of the Word of Oneness. This great
> bounty will dawn over the world at the time when the lovers
> of God shall arise to carry out His Teachings, and to scatter far
> and wide the fresh, sweet scents of universal love.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Wherefore, O beloved of the Lord, strive ye with heart and
> soul to receive a share of His holy attributes and take your
> portion of the bounties of His sanctity—that ye may become
> the tokens of unity, the standards of singleness, and seek out
> the meaning of oneness; that ye may, in this garden of God,
> lift up your voices and sing the blissful anthems of the spirit.
> Become ye as the birds who offer Him their thanks, and in
> the blossoming bowers of life chant ye such melodies as will
> dazzle the minds of those who know. Raise ye a banner on
> the highest peaks of the world, a flag of God’s favour to ripple
> and wave in the winds of His grace; plant ye a tree in the field
> of life, amid the roses of this visible world, that will yield a
> fruitage fresh and sweet.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Therefore, O ye friends of God! Show ye forth an earnest
> endeavor and display ye a resolute effort, so that ye may
> become assisted in the adoration of the Ancient Beauty and
> the Manifest Light; to be the cause of spreading the light of the
> Sun of Truth; to infuse into the dead, antiquated body of the
> world a new spirit; to cast in the fields of the hearts pure seeds;
> to arise in the service of the Cause; to speak with eloquent
> tongues; to become candles of guidance in the assemblage
> of the world; to become shining stars in the horizon of the
> existent being; to become merciful birds in the rose-garden
> of oneness; to sing the melodies of realities and significances;
> to spend every breath of your lives in the most great Cause;
> and to devote the period of your existence to the service of
> this conspicuous Light; so that in the end ye may be freed
> from loss and failure and attain to the inexhaustible treasury
> of the Kingdom.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s supreme joy is in observing that a number of
> leaves from among the handmaidens of the Blessed Beauty
> have been educated, that they are the essence of detachment,
> and are well-informed of the mysteries of the world of being;
> that they raise such a call in their glorification and praise of
> the Greatest Name as to cause the inmates of the Fanes of the
> Kingdom to become attracted and overjoyed, and that they
> recite prayers in prose and poetry, and melodiously chant the
> divine verses. I cherish the hope that thou wilt be one of them,
> wilt cast forth pearls, wilt be constantly engaged in singing
> His praise and wilt intone celestial strains in glorification of
> His attributes …
> Women (compilation)
> 
> The time hath come when, as a thank-offering for this
> bestowal, ye should grow in faith and constancy as day followeth day, and should draw ever nearer to the Lord, your
> God, becoming magnetized to such a degree, and so aflame,
> that your holy melodies in praise of the Beloved will reach
> upward to the Company on high; and that each one of you,
> even as a nightingale in this rose garden of God, will glorify
> the Lord of Hosts, and become the teacher of all who dwell
> on earth.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Take the cup of sanctity in thy right hand and pass the glass of
> the Kingdom, in the social meeting—which is the wine of the
> love of God and the sweet, pure, cool water of the knowledge
> of God—and give to drink to those who are in attendance, that
> they may rejoice, be happy and sing the hymns of sanctity and
> unification, offering their praise to the Supreme Kingdom.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Bestow upon them the everlasting life and bless them with the
> new teachings. Make every one a lighted torch and a warbling
> nightingale—the king of the rose in the garden. Reveal to
> them Thine attractive beauty; make each a growing tree on
> the shore of Thy guidance, bearing the fruit of Thy grace. Thus
> may the East illumine the West and the West become the East
> of the Supreme Heaven.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> Do not wonder at the favor and bounty of the Lord. By the
> favor of God, how often a drop hath become undulating like
> a sea, and an atom become shining like the sun!
> The Sun of Truth hath enlightened the divine world and
> illumined the universe. The rays of His grace have shone upon
> the East and West, and His heat hath caused vegetation in all
> countries. So the lights and the heat of the Sun of Truth being
> help and assistance, what more dost thou need?
> Thou must warble, like the nightingale of significances, in
> the rose garden so that thou mayest inspire all the birds of the
> meadow to chant and to sing.
> Japan Will Turn Ablaze!
> 
> Therefore, roll up thy sleeves to serve the Covenant, make
> the hearts firm in the Covenant of the beloved Lord, create
> harmony and agreement among the believers and impart to
> them the glad-tidings of the confirmation which they will
> receive from God if the differences of opinion be removed
> and if they unite and agree, be firm in spreading the fragrance
> of God, divulging the traces and chanting the signs of God.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> As to thee, convey unto the maid-servants of the Merciful
> that they must be firm in the love of El-Baha at the time of
> the severe trials and tests; forasmuch as the storms and winds
> occur during the winter seasons; then comes the spring with
> the wonderful scenery and it adorns the hills and plains with
> flowers and beautiful birds sing the melodies of joy on the
> branches of the trees and warble beautiful tunes on the roofs
> of bowers, in wonderful melodies. Soon shalt thou see that
> the lights have shone forth, the banners of the Kingdom have
> been raised, the fragrances of God diffused, the hosts of the
> Kingdom descending, the angels of heaven confirmed and the
> Holy Spirit breathed into those horizons (regions). Then shalt
> thou see the waverers frightened and at loss. This is a complete
> matter on the part of the Lord of Signs.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> Blessed ye are, O ye pure and chaste ones! Glad-tidings be
> unto you through the gift of the Covenant, from the light
> of which all regions are illuminated! Be rejoiced that the
> lights of the Sun of Truth are shining forth unto all parts; be
> gladdened at the gifts of your Lord, which have surrounded
> all the universe; dilate your breasts by chanting the verses of
> God, and console your eyes by witnessing the bounties of the
> Supreme Concourse.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O thou who art attracted to God!
> I send this letter written by my own hand, that thou mayest
> thank God, thy Lord, the Supreme, grow in happiness in the
> love of God and be kindled by the fire of His love, chanting
> verses of greetings and thanks, and be quickened by the breezes
> of life blown from the garden of the knowledge of God.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God!
> Verily I read thy last letter and gathered from its meanings
> the mysteries of thy great love. I supplicate to my Lord that
> He may at every moment increase thy joy and fragrance, thy
> speech and utterance, thine attraction and enkindlement, and
> that He may heal thee from the infirmities which have affected
> thee and weakened thy feeble body, and strengthen thee to
> guide mankind into the Supreme Kingdom and quicken
> hearts by the fragrances of the Paradise of Abha, so that thou
> mayest become a bird warbling upon the twigs of the Tree of
> Life, with most wonderful melodies and most charming tunes.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O ye friends of this prisoner!
> According to what is heard and evident, you have arranged
> an assembly in the utmost beauty and a number of you present
> yourselves in that meeting with all love and unity and engage
> in communion (i.e., reading of the communes), chanting
> of the verses, spiritual conversation and utterance of the
> Kingdom. Blessed are ye for having adorned such a meeting
> and for having prepared such a feast! That gathering receiveth
> bounty from the Supreme Concourse and that nucleus is
> under the protection of the Bounty of Abha.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Go out from the solitary place like unto a shining star blazing
> on its horizon. This is better for thee in the Kingdom of
> the Lord of the worlds. Thus, hearken unto the melodies
> of the birds of holiness, in the garden of fellowship, upon
> the branches of purity; to the murmuring of its waters, the
> rustling of the trees, the blowing of its breezes and the cooing
> of its doves.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> O my friend, verily the Cause is great and great, and the penetration of the Word of God in the temple (body) of all the
> regions is similar to the pervasion of the soul in a sound body.
> By the life of Baha’, verily, the power of the Kingdom of
> God hath taken hold of the pillars of the world, and hath possessed all the nations. Thou wilt surely find the standards of
> the Testament waving in all regions, the chanting of the verses
> of unity raised in exalted assemblies, and the lights of the Sun
> of Truth and its heat dispersing the thick clouds massed on the
> horizon. Be rejoiced at this glad-tidings, whereby the hearts of
> the sincere among the beloved are cheered.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O ye illumined faces! O ye divine souls! and O ye
> spiritual temples!
> Verily, I read your letter which uttered your extreme love
> and entire attraction to the Kingdom of God, your trust in
> God, your immersing into the deep seas of the bounties of God
> and your chanting the verses of thanksgiving to God, because
> He guided you to His Eternal Kingdom, manifested to you His
> evident light, descended upon you a heavenly table through
> His great favor, planted you in His glorious vineyard and
> caused you to become manifestations of guidance among the
> people and dawning-points of wisdom among the creatures.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O thou who art kindled as a lamp with the Fire of the Love
> of God!
> Be thou a fountain flowing with the waters of the mercy
> of God, a myrtle perfumed with the fragrances of God and a
> bird warbling the most wonderful melodies of the knowledge
> of God in the garden of faith.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> Thus with a heavenly power, divine strength, merciful fragrance, supreme light, and conscious attraction, may they
> arise to serve Thee, to perfume the East and the West with
> the fragrances of holiness, establish the universal peace,
> promulgate integrity and honesty, to adore the truth, become
> a means of life to the people of the world, a cause of comfort
> and rest to them; to help the spiritual meeting, to serve the
> gathering of the Lord, to send well-informed souls (teachers)
> to other regions and climes, to be self-sacrificing with life and
> heart, to build the Mashrak-el-Azcar, to raise the anthem of
> sanctity to the Supreme Kingdom, to live in perfect love with
> one another …
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Blessed is the pure blood which was shed on the perfumed
> soil, and which was poured out in the path of the forgiving
> Lord! Blessed is thy body which was burned by the hand of
> every transgressor! Blessed is thy throat which was cut by
> the poniard of every traitor! Blessed is thy breast which was
> stricken by the oppressors’ darts! Blessed is thy heart which
> was wounded by a sharp sword! Blessed art thou, for thou
> hast showed forth all happiness and joy when thou wert
> being paraded in the streets of the people of haughtiness
> and the people of wickedness were clapping their hands and
> oppressing thee with innumerable blows and wounds, whilst
> thou wert clapping thy hands with them—O thou manifestor
> of light!—and wert warbling melodies, whereby the people
> of the Kingdom of El-Abha were moved and breasts dilated
> (with joy)!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Among the people, a multitude became intoxicated with this
> divine wine—and a multitude were deprived of this great
> favor. Many a soul enlightened his sight and insight by the
> radiance of grace, and many were cheered and rejoiced at the
> melodies of unity. Some birds sang melodies and harmonies,
> and some nightingales began to warble on the branches of the
> rose-tree of mercifulness. The Kingdom and the phenomenal
> world were adorned, and became the envy of the delectable
> paradise …
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O thou maid-servant of God who art attracted to the
> Fragrances of God!
> Speak of my servitude unto God, of my humbleness and
> submissiveness to the Beloved of God, and of my evanescence,
> nothingness and utter meekness to the Threshold of Baha’.
> Verily, I am the servant of Baha’, the slave of Baha’ and the
> captive of Baha’. I have no grade but this and I do not possess
> anything for myself. Therefore, mention me in my pure
> servitude; this is that by which my heart is dilated by every
> maid-servant who speaks the praise of God. I beseech God
> to make thee a dove in the grove of holiness, to coo with the
> most wonderful melodies the praise of thy Lord, the Merciful!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> O thou Eternal One! Make the friends of that country
> prosperous, acquaint them with the mysteries; usher them
> into the divine rose-garden and reveal to them the hidden
> realities and significances; make their hearts the association
> of truth and their souls full of divine melodies and sacred
> (choral) music! O God! This respectful assemblage are my
> relatives and kindred and the cause of the happiness of this
> afflicted one. Bestow upon them a shining face and grant them
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> a musk-diffusing character. Show them the mystery of the
> Kingdom and suffer them to hear the soul-elevating harmony
> of heaven! Awaken (the people) by the breeze of the Paradise
> of Abha and make them alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.
> Verily, Thou are the Powerful and Omnipotent, and Thou art
> the Bestower and generous!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> … O beloved of God, endeavor with your hearts and souls,
> that ye may be qualified with the morals and attributes of the
> Blessed Perfection, and partake of the bounties of His sanctity;
> that ye may become signs of unity and standards of oneness,
> discover the essence of singleness and sing harmonies and
> lays in in this divine garden, in merciful melodies; that ye may
> become as thankful birds, and sing a song in the rose-garden
> of existence which may astonish minds and senses; that ye
> may hoist a standard on the apex of the universe which may
> flutter in the winds of favor, and plant a tree in the field of
> the visible world which may bring forth fruits of the utmost
> delicacy and freshness.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O thou son of the Kingdom! If one possesses the love of God,
> everything that he undertakes is useful, but if the undertaking
> is without the love of God, then it is hurtful and the cause
> of veiling one’s self from the Lord of the Kingdom. But with
> the love of God every bitterness is changed into sweetness
> and every gift becometh precious. For instance, a musical
> and melodious voice imparteth life to an attracted heart but
> lureth toward lust those souls who are engulfed in passion
> and desire.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its
> garb. The turning and falling of the autumn leaves is past;
> the bleakness of the winter time is over. The new year hath
> appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand. The black
> earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the
> wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards
> before the cypress and jessamine trees; while the birds are
> singing among the rose branches like the angels in the highest
> heavens, announcing the glad-tidings of the approach of that
> spiritual spring, and the sweet music of their voices is causing
> the real essence of all things to move and quiver.
> O my spiritual friend! Dost thou know from what airs
> emanate the notes sung by those birds? They are from the
> melodies of peace and reconciliation, of love and unity, of
> justice and security, of concord and harmony. In a short time
> this heavenly singing will intoxicate all humanity; the foundations of enmity shall be destroyed; unity and affection shall be
> witnessed in every assembly; and the lovers of the love of God
> at these great festivals shall behold their splendor.
> Therefore, contemplate what a spirit of life God hath given
> that the body of the whole earth may attain life everlasting!
> The Paradise of El-Abha will soon spread a pavilion from the
> pole-star of the world, under whose shelter the beloved shall
> rejoice and the pure hearts shall repose in peace.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Verily, I supplicate God to enkindle in thy heart the fire of
> His love; and enkindlement the light of which shall affect all
> regions, so that thy face may become illumined by the lights of
> the Spirit and [give forth] fragrance in the world of possibility.
> Arise for the service of the Cause of God in those countries
> which are vast and spacious, and sing, warbling beautiful
> melodies in the Name of thy Lord, the Supreme.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> O thou chosen maid-servant of God! It is time for thee to cry
> aloud and fervently, day and night, not to sit still a moment,
> not to rest for an instant, but to be always engaged in the
> commemoration of God and invite the people with the utmost
> longing and ecstasy unto the Kingdom of God.
> Raise thou such melodies and harmony in Green Acre
> that may reach unto the Kingdom of Abha and cause joy
> and exaltation in the angels of heaven! This matter needs a
> great enthusiasm (heat or exertion) and a sanctity and purity
> like unto a manifest light. Thou knowest what secrets doeth
> the spirit of Abdul-Baha communicate with thee and what
> glad-tidings he giveth unto thee! Show forth thy capacity and
> merit, for without capacity the Gift doth not become manifest.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God! Verily, I
> noted thy letter and utterance. God hath accepted thy devotion,
> prayer and worship and hath manifested upon thee the lights
> of His great favor, ushered thee into His Kingdom, gave thee
> to drink of the wine of His love and made thee to hear the
> melodies of the birds of holiness in this wonderful day.
> Thank God that He enriched thee beyond the delicacies
> of this mortal world and caused thee to taste the sweetness of
> His love in His New Kingdom.
> O maid-servant of God! Sing with beautiful melodies in
> the meetings of the maid-servants, praising and glorifying thy
> Supreme Lord … Confine thy interests, thy works and efforts
> to the Cause of God. Thus the spirit of power and might will
> confirm thee and the manifest light will shine upon thy brow.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> I hope that ye will attain the utmost patience, composure and
> resignation, and I entreat and implore at the Threshold of
> Oneness, begging for forgiveness and pardon. My hope from
> the infinite bounties of God is that He may shelter this dove
> of the garden of faith, and cause him to abide on the branch
> of the Supreme Concourse, that he may sing in the best of
> melodies the praise and glorification of the Lord of Names
> and Attributes.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> … in the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and
> Minnesota—praise be to God—believers are found who
> are associating with each other in the utmost firmness and
> steadfastness—day and night they have no other intention
> save the diffusion of the fragrances of God, they have no other
> hope except the promotion of the heavenly teachings, like the
> candles they are burning with the light of the love of God,
> and like thankful birds are singing songs, spirit-imparting,
> joy-creating, in the rose garden of the knowledge of God …
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> O thou dear maid-servant of God!
> Mr … hath greatly praised thee that—praise be to God!
> —thou art like unto a melodious nightingale, singing and
> warbling in the rose-garden of the love of God, and art
> uttering of the mystery of the Kingdom; that thy house and
> dwelling is a meeting-place of the spiritual ones and thy nest
> and abode is a shelter for the birds of heaven. Nothing is better
> than that man should become a manifestor of the powers of
> God and the cause of illuminating the creatures.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> This Feast was established by His Highness the Bab, to occur
> once in nineteen days. Likewise, the Blessed Perfection 2
> hath commanded, encourage and reiterated it. Therefore,
> it hath the utmost importance. Undoubtedly you must give
> the greatest attention to its establishment and raise it to the
> highest point of importance, so that it may become continual
> and constant. The believers of God must assemble and associate with each other in the utmost love, joy and fragrance.
> They must conduct themselves (in these Feasts) with the
> greatest dignity and consideration, chant divine verses, peruse
> instructive articles, read the Tablets of Abdul-Baha, encourage
> and inspire each other with love for the whole human race,
> invoke God with perfect joy and fragrance, sing the verses,
> glorifications and praises of the Self-subsistent Lord and
> deliver eloquent speeches.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O bird that singeth sweetly of the Abhá Beauty! In this new
> and wondrous dispensation the veils of superstition have
> been torn asunder and the prejudices of eastern peoples stand
> condemned. Among certain nations of the East, music was
> considered reprehensible, but in this new age the Manifest
> Light hath, in His holy Tablets, specifically proclaimed that
> music, sung or played, is spiritual food for soul and heart.
> The musician’s art is among those arts worthy of the highest
> praise, and it moveth the hearts of all who grieve. Wherefore,
> O thou Shahnáz, 3 play and sing out the holy words of God
> with wondrous tones in the gatherings of the friends, that the
> listener may be freed from chains of care and sorrow, and his
> soul may leap for joy and humble itself in prayer to the realm
> of Glory.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> 2   Bahá’u’lláh
> 3   Shahnáz, the name given to the recipient of this Tablet, is also the
> name of a musical mode
> … you must thank God that—praise be to God!—through
> His grace and favor the lamp of the most great guidance has
> been ignited in your hearts, and He has summoned you to His
> Kingdom. He has caused the call of the Supreme Concourse
> to reach your ears. The doors of heaven have been opened
> unto you. The Sun of Reality is shining upon you, the cloud
> of mercy is pouring down, and the breezes of providence are
> wafting through your souls. Although the bestowal is great
> and the grace is glorious, yet capacity and readiness are
> requisite. Without capacity and readiness the divine bounty
> will not become manifest and evident. No matter how much
> the cloud may rain, the sun may shine and the breezes blow,
> the soil that is sterile will give no growth. The ground that is
> pure and free from thorns and thistles receives and produces
> through the rain of the cloud of mercy. No matter how much
> the sun shines, it will have no effect upon the black rock, but
> in a pure and polished mirror its lights become resplendent.
> Therefore, we must develop capacity in order that the signs
> of the mercy of the Lord may be revealed in us. We must
> endeavor to free the soil of the hearts from useless weeds and
> sanctify it from the thorns of worthless thoughts in order that
> the cloud of mercy may bestow its power upon us. The doors
> of God are open, but we must be ready and fitted to enter. The
> ocean of divine providence is surging, but we must be able to
> swim. The bestowals of the Almighty are descending from the
> heaven of grace, but capacity to receive them is essential. The
> fountain of divine generosity is gushing forth, but we must
> have thirst for the living waters. Unless there be thirst, the
> salutary water will not assuage. Unless the soul hungers, the
> delicious foods of the heavenly table will not give sustenance.
> Unless the eyes of perception be opened, the lights of the
> sun will not be witnessed. Until the nostrils are purified, the
> fragrance of the divine rose garden will not be inhaled. Unless
> the heart be filled with longing, the favors of the Lord will not
> be evident. Unless a perfect melody be sung, the ears of the
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> hearers will not be attracted. Therefore, we must endeavor
> night and day to purify the hearts from every dross, sanctify
> the souls from every restriction and become free from the
> discords of the human world. Then the divine bestowals will
> become evident in their fullness and glory. If we do not strive
> and sanctify ourselves from the defects and evil qualities of
> human nature, we will not partake of the bestowals of God. It
> is as if the sun is shining in its full glory, but no reflection is
> forthcoming from hearts that are black as stone. If an ocean of
> salubrious water is surging and we be not thirsty, what benefit
> do we receive? If the candle be lighted and we have no eyes,
> what enjoyment do we obtain from it? If melodious anthems
> should rise to the heavens and we are bereft of hearing, what
> enjoyment can we find?
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> O thou bird warbling in the Garden of the Love of God!
> Thank God that He hath illumined thine insight, led thee
> unto the Fire glowing in the Tree of Man, caused thee to utter
> His praise among the creatures and guided certain women
> to whom thou delivered the Word of God … I pray God to
> confirm the relatives in attaining to the Brilliant Light, to
> let the light of insight shine forth to the hearts and sights,
> to aid thy friends in being illumined by the light of El-Baha
> and [being] fed from the heavenly table, and to make thee
> empty, void from the thoughts of the life of this world and
> filled with the love of thy Lord, ready for His service, uttering
> His praise and demonstrating with proofs the appearance of
> the Kingdom of God.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O ye two 4 singing birds in the Garden of Belief !
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> 4   husband and wife                                                  105
> O thou bird who art warbling in the Garden of the Guidance
> of God!
> Verily, I read thy excellent and brilliant letter. It showed
> how thou hast sought the fire of guidance from the Sinaitic
> Tree, and art shining by the light of faithfulness of the
> Supreme Concourse.
> Blessed art thou; again, blessed art thou! Glad-tidings be
> unto thee; again, glad-tidings be unto thee!
> Appreciate the worth of this peerless and choice Pearl (of
> the Truth). By the life of God, verily, this is the most splendid
> jewel which glitters on the crown of glory, among all the
> people of the world.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> My God! My God! Elohim.
> To this Thy servant give the understanding of the Old
> Testament and the New and enable her to speak forth with
> mighty voice and to sing with power the holy songs and to
> discover the real meaning and the secret mysteries of those
> verses, for Thou art the Powerful Inspirer and the Mighty One!
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> It is incumbent upon thee to assemble continuously with
> the beloved of God and to meet with those whose faces are
> illumined with the light of the love of God. Verily, I supplicate
> to God to make thee sincere in this love, to illumine thee
> with the light of His Kingdom, and to destine unto thee the
> illumination by the light of His attributes, to make thee a sign
> of mercy, a bird warbling the verses of unity; that thou mayest
> be nurtured in the bosom of His providence, and become a
> growing tree bearing fruit in the Paradise of El-Abha.
> Bahá’í World Faith
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> If thou art a hero of the field and a melodious bird in the
> garden of the Merciful One, speak of the Beauty of Abha, for
> it is ready and present.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> O thou son of the Kingdom! All things are beneficial if joined
> with the love of God; and without His love all things are
> harmful, and act as a veil between man and the Lord of the
> Kingdom. When His love is there, every bitterness turneth
> sweet, and every bounty rendereth a wholesome pleasure. For
> example, a melody, sweet to the ear, bringeth the very spirit
> of life to a heart in love with God, yet staineth with lust a soul
> engrossed in sensual desires. And every branch of learning,
> conjoined with the love of God, is approved and worthy of
> praise; but bereft of His love, learning is barren—indeed, it
> bringeth on madness. Every kind of knowledge, every science,
> is as a tree: if the fruit of it be the love of God, then is it a
> blessed tree, but if not, that tree is but dried-up wood, and
> shall only feed the fire.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O thou son of the Kingdom!
> Thy sweet letters with their interesting contents are
> always conducive to the joy of the hearts. They are like unto
> the melodies of the nightingale which imparteth exultation
> to soul and mind. Thank thou God! that thou hast gone to
> those parts 5 for the purpose of spreading the Word of God
> and diffusing the holy fragrances of the Kingdom of God
> and that thou art a gardener in the divine orchard. Ere long,
> confirmation and assistance shall environ thee.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> 5   Germany
> … this limitless universe is like the human body, all the
> members of which are connected and linked with one
> another with the greatest strength. How much the organs, the
> members and the parts of the body of man are intermingled
> and connected for mutual aid and help, and how much they
> influence one another! In the same way, the parts of this
> infinite universe have their members and elements connected with one another, and influence one another spiritually
> and materially.
> For example, the eye sees, and all the body is affected; the
> ear hears, and all the members of the body are moved. Of
> this there is no doubt; and the universe is like a living person.
> Moreover, the connection which exists between the members
> of beings must necessarily have an effect and impression,
> whether it be material or spiritual.
> For those who deny spiritual influence upon material
> things we mention this brief example: wonderful sounds and
> tones, melodies and charming voices, are accidents which
> affect the air—for sound is the term for vibrations of the
> air—and by these vibrations the nerves of the tympanum of
> the ear are affected, and hearing results. Now reflect that the
> vibration of the air, which is an accident of no importance,
> attracts and exhilarates the spirit of man and has great effect
> upon him: it makes him weep or laugh; perhaps it will
> influence him to such a degree that he will throw himself into
> danger. Therefore, see the connection which exists between
> the spirit of man and the atmospheric vibration, so that the
> movement of the air becomes the cause of transporting him
> from one state to another, and of entirely overpowering him;
> it will deprive him of patience and tranquillity. Consider how
> strange this is, for nothing comes forth from the singer which
> enters into the listener; nevertheless, a great spiritual effect is
> produced. Therefore, surely so great a connection between
> beings must have spiritual effect and influence.
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> It has been mentioned that the members and parts of
> man affect and influence one another. For example, the eye
> sees; the heart is affected. The ear hears; and the spirit is
> influenced. The heart is at rest; the thoughts become serene,
> and for all the members of man’s body a pleasant condition is
> realized. What a connection and what an agreement is this!
> Since this connection, this spiritual effect and this influence,
> exists between the members of the body of man, who is only
> one of many finite beings, certainly between these universal
> and infinite beings there will also be a spiritual and material
> connection. Although by existing rules and actual science
> these connections cannot be discovered, nevertheless, their
> existence between all beings is certain and absolute.
> Some Answered Questions
> 
> What a wonderful meeting this is! These are the children
> of the Kingdom. The song we have just listened to was very
> beautiful in melody and words. The art of music is divine and
> effective. It is the food of the soul and spirit. Through the
> power and charm of music the spirit of man is uplifted. It has
> wonderful sway and effect in the hearts of children, for their
> hearts are pure, and melodies have great influence in them.
> The latent talents with which the hearts of these children
> are endowed will find expression through the medium of
> music. Therefore, you must exert yourselves to make them
> proficient; teach them to sing with excellence and effect. It is
> incumbent upon each child to know something of music, for
> without knowledge of this art the melodies of instrument and
> voice cannot be rightly enjoyed. Likewise, it is necessary that
> the schools teach it in order that the souls and hearts of the
> pupils may become vivified and exhilarated and their lives be
> brightened with enjoyment.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> My meaning is this, that in every aspect of life, purity and
> holiness, cleanliness and refinement, exalt the human condition and further the development of man’s inner reality.
> Even in the physical realm, cleanliness will conduce to
> spirituality, as the Holy Writings clearly state. And although
> bodily cleanliness is a physical thing, it hath, nevertheless,
> a powerful influence on the life of the spirit. It is even as a
> voice wondrously sweet, or a melody played: although sounds
> are but vibrations in the air which affect the ear’s auditory
> nerve, and these vibrations are but chance phenomena carried
> along through the air, even so, see how they move the heart.
> A wondrous melody is wings for the spirit, and maketh the
> soul to tremble for joy. The purport is that physical cleanliness
> doth also exert its effect upon the human soul.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> In the spiritual world the divine bestowals are infinite, for in
> that realm there is neither separation nor disintegration, which
> characterize the world of material existence. Spiritual existence
> is absolute immortality, completeness and unchangeable being.
> Therefore, we must thank God that He has created for us both
> material blessings and spiritual bestowals. He has given us
> material gifts and spiritual graces, outer sight to view the lights
> of the sun and inner vision by which we may perceive the glory
> of God. He has designed the outer ear to enjoy the melodies of
> sound and the inner hearing wherewith we may hear the voice
> of our Creator. We must strive with energies of heart, soul and
> mind to develop and manifest the perfections and virtues latent
> within the realities of the phenomenal world, for the human
> reality may be compared to a seed. If we sow the seed, a mighty
> tree appears from it. The virtues of the seed are revealed in the
> tree; it puts forth branches, leaves, blossoms, and produces
> fruits. All these virtues were hidden and potential in the seed.
> Through the blessing and bounty of cultivation these virtues
> 
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> became apparent. Similarly, the merciful God, our Creator, has
> deposited within human realities certain latent and potential
> virtues. Through education and culture these virtues deposited
> by the loving God will become apparent in the human reality,
> even as the unfoldment of the tree from within the germinating
> seed. I will pray for you.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> Through Mirza Ahmad, to the friends and maid-servants of
> God, Sandusky, Ohio.
> Upon them be Baha’o’llah-El-Abha! He is God! O ye who
> are favored in the Threshold of the Almighty!
> Your letter was a rose-garden of significances and from it
> the fragrance of the Love of God was exhaled. The friends can
> talk with each other without the lips or tongue, and without
> the assistance of pen, ink and paper they correspond with each
> other in the world of heart and spirit. Your brief letter was
> an indication of those detailed letters. It was the essence of
> truths and contained innumerable meanings. Therefore, in
> reality I read in your letter a book, and I felt that all of you are
> illumined by the light of guidance, are soaring in the infinite
> sphere of the love of God, like unto the birds singing wonderful melodies in this rose-garden and like unto the nightingale
> chanting harmonious songs and music. We expect that day
> after day this melody will become sweeter, this symphony
> more wonderful and this song more exquisite. It is assured
> that the confirmations of God will assist that gathering to
> progress; the boundless gifts will increase and illumine all
> with the light of guidance.
> Upon them be Baha’o’llah-El-Abha!
> Star of the West, Bahá’í News, vol. 1, no. 6, 24 June 1910
> 
> From the Writings of Shoghi Effendi
> 
> Of the exact circumstances attending that epoch-making
> Declaration we, alas, are but scantily informed. The words
> Bahá’u’lláh actually uttered on that occasion, the manner
> of His Declaration, the reaction it produced, its impact on
> Mírzá Yaḥyá, the identity of those who were privileged to hear
> Him, are shrouded in an obscurity which future historians
> will find it difficult to penetrate. The fragmentary description
> left to posterity by His chronicler Nabíl is one of the very few
> authentic records we possess of the memorable days He spent
> in that garden. “Every day,” Nabíl has related, “ere the hour of
> dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four
> avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the
> floor of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when
> His companions gathered to drink their morning tea in His
> presence, they would be unable to see each other across it. All
> these roses Bahá’u’lláh would, with His own hands, entrust to
> those whom He dismissed from His presence every morning
> to be delivered, on His behalf, to His Arab and Persian friends
> in the city.” “One night,” he continues, “the ninth night of the
> waxing moon, I happened to be one of those who watched
> beside His blessed tent. As the hour of midnight approached,
> I saw Him issue from His tent, pass by the places where some
> of His companions were sleeping, and begin to pace up and
> down the moonlit, flower-bordered avenues of the garden.
> So loud was the singing of the nightingales on every side that
> only those who were near Him could hear distinctly His voice.
> He continued to walk until, pausing in the midst of one of
> these avenues, He observed: ‘Consider these nightingales. So
> great is their love for these roses, that sleepless from dusk till
> dawn, they warble their melodies and commune with burning
> passion with the object of their adoration. How then can those
> who claim to be afire with the rose-like beauty of the Beloved
> choose to sleep?’ For three successive nights I watched and
> circled round His blessed tent. Every time I passed by the
> 112   couch whereon He lay, I would find Him wakeful, and every
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> day, from morn till eventide, I would see Him ceaselessly
> engaged in conversing with the stream of visitors who kept
> flowing in from Baghdád. Not once could I discover in the
> words He spoke any trace of dissimulation.”
> God Passes By
> 
> The executioners, though accustomed to their own gruesome
> task, would themselves be amazed at the fiendish cruelty of
> the populace. Women and children could be seen led down
> the streets by their executioners, their flesh in ribbons, with
> candles burning in their wounds, singing with ringing voices
> before the silent spectators: “Verily from God we come, and
> unto Him we return!”
> God Passes By
> 
> As regard the chanting of Tablets in the Temple, Shoghi
> Effendi wishes in this connection to urge the friends to avoid
> all forms of rigidity and uniformity in matters of worship.
> There is no objection to the recital or chanting of prayers in the
> Oriental language, but there is also no obligation whatsoever
> of adopting such a form of prayer at any devotional service in
> the auditorium of the Temple. It should neither be required
> nor prohibited. The important thing that should always be
> borne in mind is that with the exception of certain specific
> obligatory prayers, Bahá’u’lláh has given us no strict or special
> rulings in matters of worship, whether in the Temple or elsewhere. Prayer is essentially a communion between man and
> God, and as such transcends all ritualistic forms and formulae.
> Directives from the Guardian
> 
> One night, aware that the hour of her death was at hand,
> she 6 put on the attire of a bride, and annointed herself with
> perfume, and, sending for the wife of the Kalantar, she communicated to her the secret of her impending martyrdom,
> and confided to her her last wishes. Then, closeting herself
> in her chambers, she awaited, in prayer and meditation, the
> hour which was to witness her reunion with her Beloved. She
> was pacing the floor of her room, chanting a litany expressive
> of both grief and triumph, when the farráshes of Azíz Kháni-Sardár arrived, in the dead of night, to conduct her to the
> Ílkhání garden, which lay beyond the city gates, and which
> was to be the site of her martyrdom.
> God Passes By
> 
> The cup of Bahá’u’lláh’s sorrows was now running over. All
> His exhortations, all His efforts to remedy a rapidly deteriorating situation, had remained fruitless. The velocity of His
> manifold woes was hourly and visibly increasing. Upon the
> sadness that filled His soul and the gravity of the situation
> confronting Him, His writings, revealed during that somber
> period, throw abundant light. In some of His prayers He
> poignantly confesses that “tribulation upon tribulation” had
> gathered about Him, that “adversaries with one consent” had
> fallen upon Him, that “wretchedness” had grievously touched
> Him, and that “woes at their blackest” had befallen Him. God
> Himself He calls upon as a Witness to His “sighs and lamentations,” His “powerlessness, poverty and destitution,” to the
> “injuries” He sustained, and the “abasement” He suffered. “So
> grievous hath been My weeping,” He, in one of these prayers,
> avows, “that I have been prevented from making mention of
> Thee and singing Thy praises.”
> God Passes By
> 
> 6   Tahirih
> Melodies of Love & Praise
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written that “Among certain nations of
> the East, music was considered reprehensible”. Though the
> Qur’án contains no specific guidance on the subject, some
> Muslims consider listening to music as unlawful, while others
> tolerate music within certain bounds and subject to particular conditions.
> There are a number of passages in the Bahá’í Writings in
> praise of music. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, for example, asserts that “music,
> sung or played, is spiritual food for soul and heart”.
> Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> How many a night did she 7 whom the world wronged spend
> as a prisoner, worn with care, tormented, banished from her
> home. How many a day did she live through as an exile and
> a captive! There was no venom of affliction, at the hands of
> this Faith’s foes, that was not given her to drink, no arrow of
> cruelty but struck her holy breast. Yet in spite of the endless
> tribulations and disasters, she who was a spirit of holiness and
> a songster of Heaven, would even in the midst of dire ordeals,
> her face aglow, bloom like a rose.
> Cited in Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, p. 82.
> 
> From the Universal House of Justice
> 
> We recall the testimony of His distinguished sister, the Greatest
> Holy Leaf, that “in the dark of the night, out of the depths of
> His bosom, could be heard His burning sighs, and when the
> day broke, the wondrous music of His prayers would rise up
> to the denizens of the realm on high.”
> 27 November 2021
> 
> 7   Greatest Holy Leaf
> MELODIES IN THE
> MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR
> 
> From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Teach your children the verses revealed from the heaven of
> majesty and power, so that, in most melodious tones, they
> may recite the Tablets of the All-Merciful in the alcoves within
> the Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs. Whoever hath been transported
> by the rapture born of adoration for My Name, the Most
> Compassionate, will recite the verses of God in such wise as
> to captivate the hearts of those yet wrapped in slumber. Well
> is it with him who hath quaffed the Mystic Wine of everlasting
> life from the utterance of his merciful Lord in My Name—a
> Name through which every lofty and majestic mountain hath
> been reduced to dust.
> Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> O Lord, our God! We are helpless; Thou art the Lord of
> strength and power. We are wretched; Thou art the Almighty,
> the All-Glorious. We are poor; Thou art the All-Possessing,
> the Most Generous. Graciously assist us in our servitude to
> Thy sacred Threshold, and aid us, through Thy strengthening grace, to worship Thee at the dawning-places of Thy
> praise. Enable us to diffuse Thy holy fragrances amongst Thy
> creatures, and strengthen our loins to serve Thee amidst Thy
> servants, so that we may guide all nations to Thy Most Great
> Name and lead all peoples to the shores of the glorious ocean
> of Thy oneness.
> O Lord! Deliver us from the attachments of the world and
> its peoples, from the transgressions of the past, and from the
> afflictions yet to come, that we may arise to exalt Thy Word
> with the utmost joy and radiance and celebrate Thy praise in
> the daytime and in the night season, that we may summon
> all people to the way of guidance and enjoin them to observe
> righteousness, and that we may chant the verses of Thy unity
> amidst all Thy creation. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth
> Thee. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.
> Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> In the organization of the Mashrak-el-Azcar, thou art indeed
> well striving. I hope thou wilt attain a great reward, open an
> eloquent tongue, raise a wonderful melody in every meeting,
> draw and paint the images and forms of the Kingdom in the
> material world.
> Rest assured in the grace of the Lord and be dilated by His
> infinite favors.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Melodies in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
> 
> The utmost joy was attained, for—praise be to God! —the
> friends of the Merciful passed some time on that day joyous
> and singing in the land of the Mashrak-el-Azcar and enjoyed
> commemorating the Lord of the verses with the greatest joy.
> That melody was heard by the Supreme Concourse and
> that rose-song of the nightingale of faithfulness gladdened the
> people of the rose-garden of ABHA.
> I am hopeful that, during the coming Rizwan, 1 a great feast
> shall be held in the land of the Mashrak-el-Azcar, a spiritual
> celebration prepared and the melodies of the violin and the
> mandoline and hymns in praise and glorification of the Lord
> of Hosts make all the audience joyous and ecstatic.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God!
> Verily, I chanted thy poem. Its significance was beautiful,
> its composition eloquent and its words excellent. It was
> like the melody of the birds of holiness in the paradise of
> El-ABHA. The breasts of the maid-servants of the Merciful
> were exhilarated by its chanting. Blessed art thou for uttering
> forth such an excellent poem and brilliant pearl.
> Verily, these verses shall be sung in the divine meetings and
> in the assemblages of the spiritual in the course of ages and
> centuries to come, for thou hast uttered the praise of thy Lord
> and expressed significant meanings in eulogy of thy Lord, the
> Merciful, the Clement. All poems shall be forgotten in the
> course of time save those that are extraordinary; thy poem
> shall be chanted with melody and best voices in the Center of
> Worship (or Mashrak-el-Azcar) forevermore.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> 1   21 April, 1909
> 
> Temples are symbols of the reality and divinity of God—the
> collective center of mankind. Consider how within a temple
> every race and people is seen and represented—all in the
> presence of the Lord, covenanting together in a covenant of
> love and fellowship, all offering the same melody, prayer and
> supplication to God. Therefore, it is evident that the church
> is a collective center for mankind. For this reason there have
> been churches and temples in all the divine religions; but
> the real Collective Centers are the Manifestations of God, of
> Whom the church or temple is a symbol and expression. That
> is to say, the Manifestation of God is the real divine temple and
> Collective Center of which the outer church is but a symbol.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> It befitteth the friends to hold a gathering, a meeting, where
> they shall glorify God and fix their hearts upon Him, and
> read and recite the Holy Writings of the Blessed Beauty—may
> my soul be the ransom of His lovers! The lights of the All-
> Glorious Realm, the rays of the Supreme Horizon, will be
> cast upon such bright assemblages, for these are none other
> than the Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs, the Dawning-Points of God’s
> Remembrance, which must, at the direction of the Most
> Exalted Pen, be established in every hamlet and city … These
> spiritual gatherings must be held with the utmost purity and
> consecration, so that from the site itself, and its earth and the
> air about it, one will inhale the fragrant breathings of the Holy
> Spirit.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Truly, pure and radiant hearts are the dawning-places of the
> mention of God from which the melodies of supplication and
> prayer continually reach the Concourse on high.
> The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (compilation)
> 
> Melodies in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
> 
> The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is the dawning-place of lights and
> the gathering place of the righteous. Whenever a company of
> noble souls assemble in a heavenly gathering there and offer
> supplications, intone divine verses, and chant prayers with
> wondrous melodies, the inmates of the Concourse on high
> hearken and call out, crying, “Happy are we; let all the world
> rejoice!” for, praise be unto God, souls from among the angels
> of the Kingdom of Glory have arisen in the nether world to
> commune with their Lord and intone the verses of Divine
> Unity in a gathering of holiness. What bounty is there greater
> than this?
> The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (compilation)
> 
> The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is a divine edifice in this nether world
> and a means for attaining the oneness of humanity, inasmuch
> as all the peoples of the world shall gather in fellowship and
> harmony within the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and, chanting the
> anthems of Divine Unity, engage in the praise and glorification of the Lord of Hosts. Thy joy must, of a certainty, rest in
> diffusing the light of divine guidance.
> The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (compilation)
> 
> When the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is completed, when the lights
> are emanating therefrom, and the righteous assemble therein,
> when prayers are offered to the Kingdom of divine mysteries
> and the voice of glorification is raised to the Supreme Lord,
> then shall the believers rejoice, and their hearts be dilated,
> overflowing with the love of the ever-living and self-subsisting
> God.
> The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (compilation)
> 
> O ye loved ones of God! The news was received that a
> Mashriqu’l-Adhkár hath been established, that in that land
> the praise and glorification of God hath reached the Kingdom
> of Glory and the melodies of worship and praise of that
> glorious Beloved have ascended to the Concourse on high.
> What boundless joy and delight were produced by these
> glad-tidings …
> The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (compilation)
> 
> From the Writings of Shoghi Effendi
> 
> It should be borne in mind that the central Edifice of the
> Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, round which in the fullness of time shall
> cluster such 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, should
> be regarded, apart from these Dependencies, as a House solely
> designed and entirely dedicated to the worship of God …
> 25 October 1929, Bahá’í Administration
> 
> And thus having recognized in Bahá’u’lláh the Source whence
> this celestial light proceeds, they will irresistibly feel attracted
> to seek the shelter of His House, and congregate therein,
> unhampered by ceremonials and unfettered by creed, to
> render homage to the one true God, the Essence and Orb
> of eternal Truth, and to exalt and magnify the name of His
> Messengers and Prophets Who, from time immemorial even
> unto our day, have, under divers circumstances and in varying
> measure, mirrored forth to a dark and wayward world the
> light of heavenly Guidance.
> 25 October 1929, Bahá’í Administration
> 
> EFFORT TO DIFFUSE
> DIVINE MELODIES
> 
> From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Not every sea hath pearls; not every branch will flower, nor
> will the nightingale sing thereon. Then, ere the nightingale
> of the mystic Paradise repair to the celestial garden, and the
> rays of the morn of inner meaning return to the Day-Star of
> Truth, make thou an effort, that haply in this dust-heap of a
> mortal world thou mayest catch a fragrance from the everlasting rose-garden and live in the shadow of the inhabitants of
> this everlasting city. And when thou hast attained this highest
> plane and most exalted degree, then shalt thou gaze on the
> Beloved and forget all else.
> The Call of the Divine Beloved
> 
> O people of Bahá! The source of crafts, sciences and arts is
> the power of reflection. Make ye every effort that out of this
> ideal mine there may gleam forth such pearls of wisdom and
> utterance as will promote the well-being and harmony of all
> the kindreds of the earth.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> O peoples of the world! Forsake all evil, hold fast that which
> is good. Strive to be shining examples unto all mankind, and
> true reminders of the virtues of God amidst men. He that
> riseth to serve My Cause should manifest My wisdom, and
> bend every effort to banish ignorance from the earth. Be
> united in counsel, be one in thought. Let each morn be better
> than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday. Man’s
> merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of
> wealth and riches. Take heed that your words be purged from
> idle fancies and worldly desires and your deeds be cleansed
> from craftiness and suspicion. Dissipate not the wealth of your
> precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor
> let your endeavours be spent in promoting your personal
> interest. Be generous in your days of plenty, and be patient in
> the hour of loss. Adversity is followed by success and rejoicings
> follow woe. Guard against idleness and sloth, and cling unto
> that which profiteth mankind, whether young or old, whether
> high or low. Beware lest ye sow tares of dissension among men
> or plant thorns of doubt in pure and radiant hearts.
> Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> 
> From the exalted source, and out of the essence of His favor
> and bounty He hath entrusted every created thing with a
> sign of His knowledge, so that none of His creatures may
> be deprived of its share in expressing, each according to its
> capacity and rank, this knowledge. This sign is the mirror
> of His beauty in the world of creation. The greater the effort
> exerted for the refinement of this sublime and noble mirror,
> the more faithfully will it be made to reflect the glory of the
> names and attributes of God, and reveal the wonders of His
> signs and knowledge. Every created thing will be enabled (so
> great is this reflecting power) to reveal the potentialities of its
> pre-ordained station, will recognize its capacity and limitations, and will testify to the truth that “He, verily, is God; there
> is none other God besides Him.” …
> Effort to Diffuse Divine Melodies
> 
> There can be no doubt whatever that, in consequence of the
> efforts which every man may consciously exert and as a result
> of the exertion of his own spiritual faculties, this mirror can be
> so cleansed from the dross of earthly defilements and purged
> from satanic fancies as to be able to draw nigh unto the meads of
> eternal holiness and attain the courts of everlasting fellowship.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> 
> Make thou an effort, that haply thou mayest obtain the aforementioned Tablets and acquire therefrom a share of the pearls
> of wisdom and utterance that have issued from the treasury of
> the Pen of the All-Merciful. The glory of God rest upon thee,
> upon every steadfast and unwavering heart and upon every
> constant and faithful soul.
> The Tabernacle of Unity
> 
> From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Consequently, the believers of God must display the utmost
> effort, upraise the divine melody throughout those regions,
> promulgate the heavenly teachings and waft over all the
> spirit of eternal life, so that those republics may become so
> illumined with the splendors and the effulgences of the Sun
> of Reality that they may become the objects of the praise and
> commendation of all other countries … the intention must
> be purified, the effort ennobled and exalted, so that you may
> establish affinity between the hearts of the world of humanity.
> This glorious aim will not become realized save through the
> promotion of divine teachings which are the foundations of
> the holy religions.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> O thou servant of the Beauty of Abha!
> We considered all that thou hast written. It seems that
> the maid-servant of God, Mrs … hath arisen to deliver (the
> truth). If she advanceth in this manner, maketh more effort
> and day by day groweth in spirituality, sincerity, devotion and
> severance, in a short time she will become purely merciful
> and will spiritualize others; she will progress in the stations of
> sanctity and purity; she will become the possessor of a fluent
> speech and will find her heart brilliant and full of serenity
> and faith to such an extent that her pure breath will so take
> effect even in stone, tree and clay (i.e., in all people), that she,
> herself, will be astonished. When the interior parts of musical
> instruments become clear and polished, their tone will take
> effect and warm the hearts. I hope the maid-servant of God,
> Mrs … may attain to this degree, for she is capable.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol 3
> 
> O thou sign of the Kingdom and the bird singing with the
> most wonderful melodies in the rose-garden of Paradise! …
> O thou maid-servant of God! Display thou an effort,
> gird up the loins of endeavor, dilate thy breast and be thou
> prepared for the manifestation of the breaths of the Holy Spirit
> in thine heart. By God, the true One, verily, the Holy Spirit
> confirmeth every maid-servant who ariseth to spread the
> fragrances of God, so that the inhabitants of the whole world
> cannot overcome her spiritual strength—for similar things
> have happened in the past centuries.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> I hope that you may become assisted and confirmed, and never
> lose courage in the promotion of the divine teachings. Day by
> day may you add to your effort, exertion, and magnanimity.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> Effort to Diffuse Divine Melodies
> 
> Thou hast written concerning the tests that have come upon
> thee. To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God, the
> Exalted, for a heroic person hasteneth, with the utmost joy and
> gladness, to the tests of a violent battlefield, but the coward
> is afraid and trembles and utters moaning and lamentation.
> Likewise, an expert student prepareth and memorizeth his
> lessons and exercises with the utmost effort, and in the day of
> examination he appeareth with infinite joy before the master.
> Likewise, the pure gold shineth radiantly in the fire of test.
> Consequently, it is made clear that for holy souls, trials are
> as the gift of God, the Exalted; but for weak souls they are an
> unexpected calamity. This test is just as thou hast written: it
> removeth the rust of egotism from the mirror of the heart until
> the Sun of Truth may shine therein. For, no veil is greater than
> egotism and no matter how thin that covering may be, yet it
> will finally veil man entirely and prevent him from receiving
> a portion from the eternal bounty.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> In brief, I hope you will display in this respect the greatest
> effort and magnanimity. It is assured that you will become
> assisted and confirmed. A person declaring the glad tidings
> of the appearance of the realities and significances of the
> Kingdom is like unto a farmer who scatters pure seeds in the
> rich soil. The spring cloud will pour upon them the rain of
> bounty, and unquestionably the station of the farmer will be
> raised in the estimation of the lord of the village, and many
> harvests will be gathered.
> Therefore, ye friends of God! Appreciate ye the value of
> this time and be ye engaged in the sowing of the seeds, so that
> you may find the heavenly blessing and the lordly bestowal.
> Upon you be Bahá’u’l-Abhá!
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> O ye friends of God! Be kind to all peoples and nations, have
> love for all of them, exert yourselves to purify the hearts as
> much as you can, and bestow abundant effort in rejoicing the
> souls … Exert with your soul; seek no rest in body; supplicate
> and beseech with your heart and search for divine assistance
> and favor, in order that ye may make this world the Paradise
> of ABHA and this terrestrial globe the arena of the Supreme
> Kingdom. If ye make an effort, it is certain that these lights will
> shine, this cloud of mercy shall rain, this soul-nourishing breeze
> shall waft, and the scent of this most fragrant musk be diffused.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> It is incumbent upon thee to make thy greatest effort; to put
> forth thy full strength; to supplicate and to worship, and to be
> careful to put thy full trust in the Kingdom of the Lord Most
> High.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> Make thou an effort that thou mayest take thy place under the
> sun and receive an abundant share of its dazzling light.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> It is, therefore, evident and proved that an effort must be put
> forward to complete the purpose and plan of the teachings of
> God in order that in this great Day of days the world may be
> reformed, souls resuscitated, a new spirit of life found, hearts
> become illumined, mankind rescued from the bondage of
> nature, saved from the baseness of materialism and attain
> spirituality and radiance in attraction toward the divine
> Kingdom. This is necessary; this is needful. Mere reading of
> the Holy Books and texts will not suffice.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> Effort to Diffuse Divine Melodies
> 
> If only ye exert the effort, it is certain that these splendours
> will shine out, these clouds of mercy will shed down their rain,
> these life-giving winds will rise and blow, this sweet-smelling
> musk will be scattered far and wide.
> Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> 
> Consequently, if one looks for praiseworthy results and wishes
> to produce eternal effects, let him make exceeding effort, in
> order that Green Acre may become an assemblage for the
> Word of God and a gathering place for the spiritual ones of
> the heavenly world.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 2
> 
> As to you: Your efforts must be lofty. Exert yourselves with
> heart and soul so that, perchance, through your efforts
> the light of universal peace may shine and this darkness of
> estrangement and enmity may be dispelled from amongst
> men, that all men may become as one family and consort
> together in love and kindness, that the East may assist the West
> and the West give help to the East, for all are the inhabitants
> of one planet, the people of one original native land and the
> flocks of one Shepherd.
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> 
> O ye believers of God! Exalt your effort and magnify your
> aims.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> For a man who has love, effort is a rest.
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London
> 
> Question: One of the powers possessed by the Divine
> Manifestations is knowledge. To what extent is it limited?
> 
> Answer: Knowledge is of two kinds. One is subjective and
> the other objective knowledge—that is to say, an intuitive
> knowledge and a knowledge derived from perception.
> The knowledge of things which men universally have is
> gained by reflection or by evidence—that is to say, either
> by the power of the mind the conception of an object is
> formed, or from beholding an object the form is produced
> in the mirror of the heart. The circle of this knowledge is
> very limited because it depends upon effort and attainment.
> But the second sort of knowledge, which is the knowledge of
> being, is intuitive; it is like the cognizance and consciousness
> that man has of himself.
> For example, the mind and the spirit of man are cognizant
> of the conditions and states of the members and component
> parts of the body, and are aware of all the physical sensations;
> in the same way, they are aware of their power, of their
> feelings, and of their spiritual conditions. This is the knowledge of being which man realizes and perceives, for the spirit
> surrounds the body and is aware of its sensations and powers.
> This knowledge is not the outcome of effort and study. It is an
> existing thing; it is an absolute gift.
> Some Answered Questions
> 
> It is from the bounty of God that man is selected for the
> highest degree; and the differences which exist between
> men in regard to spiritual progress and heavenly perfections
> are also due to the choice of the Compassionate One …
> Nevertheless, by effort and perseverance, knowledge, science
> and other perfections can be acquired; but only the light of
> the Divine Beauty can transport and move the spirits through
> the force of attraction.
> Some Answered Questions
> Effort to Diffuse Divine Melodies
> 
> O ye real friends! Make ye an effort that this universe may
> become another universe and this darkened world find a ray
> of the Sun of Truth and become luminous and refulgent.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> If ye make an effort, it is certain that these lights will shine, this
> cloud of mercy shall rain, this soul-nourishing breeze shall
> waft, and the scent of this most fragrant musk be diffused.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 1
> 
> Seize the opportunity, use every effort and depend not upon
> circumstances which produce no fruits. Spend thy days, with
> all joy and fragrance, in speaking to the praise of God, being
> gladdened through His good tidings, in rejoicing through His
> graces and in spreading His breaths.
> Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, vol. 3
> 
> Effort, the utmost effort, is required. Should you display an
> effort, so that the fragrances of God may be diffused among
> the Eskimos, its effect will be very great and far-reaching. God
> says in the great Qur’án: A day will come wherein the lights of
> unity will enlighten all the world.
> Tablets of the Divine Plan
> 
> I rejoice to hear that thou takest pains with thine art, for in
> this wonderful new age, art is worship. The more thou strivest
> to perfect it, the closer wilt thou come to God. What bestowal
> could be greater than this, that one’s art should be even as the
> act of worshipping the Lord?
> Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks
> 
> “The day will come when
> the Cause will spread like wildfire
> when its spirit and teachings
> will be presented on the stage or
> in art and literature as a whole.
> 
> Art can better awaken such noble
> sentiments than cold rationalizing,
> especially among the mass of the people.”
> 
> Universal House of Justice, 21 April 1996.
>
> — *Divine Melody: Song of the Mystic Dove (Used by permission of the curator)*