The Bahá’í Way

Were I to disclose unto you 

the mysteries which God 

hath enshrined therein,

ye would, of a truth, 

offer up your lives in His path,

renounce your riches, 

and forsake all that ye possess,

that ye might attain 

this transcendent and all-glorious station.

 (Súriy-i-Mulúk 50)

O kings of the earth! . . . .

Fling away, then, the things ye possess,

and take fast hold 

on the Handle of God, 

the Exalted, the Great.

Set your hearts 

towards the Face of God,

and abandon that which 

your desires have bidden you to follow,

and be not of those who perish.

 (Súriy-i-Mulúk 2)

What is it of which ye can rightly boast?

Is it on your food and your drink 

that ye pride yourselves,

on the riches 

ye lay up in your treasuries,

on the diversity 

and the cost of the ornaments

with which ye deck yourselves?

If true glory were to consist

in the possession 

of such perishable things,

then the earth on which ye walk

must needs vaunt itself over you,

because it supplieth you,

and bestoweth upon you,

these very things, 

by the decree of the Almighty.

In its bowels are contained,

according to what God hath ordained,

all that ye possess.

From it, as a sign of His mercy,

ye derive your riches.

Behold then your state,

the thing in which ye glory!

Would that ye could perceive it!

(Súriy-i-Mulúk 13)

Cast away the things ye possess,

and cling to that 

which God hath bidden you observe.

Seek ye His grace [unearned favor],

for he that seeketh it 

treadeth His straight Path.

(Súriy-i-Mulúk 21)

Overstep not 

the bounds of moderation,

and deal justly 

with them that serve thee.

Bestow upon them 

according to their needs,

and not to the extent 

that will enable them

to lay up riches for themselves,

to deck their persons, 

to embellish their homes,

to acquire the things 

that are of no benefit unto them,

and to be numbered with the extravagant.

Deal with them 

with undeviating justice,

so that none among them 

may either suffer want,

or be pampered with luxuries.

This is but manifest justice.

 (Súriy-i-Mulúk 66)

O concourse of Ministers of State! Do ye believe in your hearts that We have come to divest you of your earthly possessions and vanities? Nay, by the One in Whose hand is My soul! Our intention hath been to make clear that We oppose not the commands of the sovereign, nor are We to be numbered with the rebellious. Know ye of a certainty that all the treasures of the earth, all the gold, the silver, and the rare and precious gems they contain, are, in the sight of God, of His chosen ones and His loved ones, as worthless as a handful of clay. For erelong all that is on earth shall perish, and the kingdom will remain unto God, the All-Powerful, the Incomparable. That which perisheth can never profit Us, nor can it profit you, were ye but to reflect.

(Súriy-i-Mulúk 55)

Neither the pomp of the mighty, 

nor the wealth of the rich, 

nor even the ascendancy of the

ungodly will endure…

What advantage is there 

in the earthly things 

which men possess?  

That which shall profit them, 

they have utterly neglected.  

Erelong, they will awake 

from their slumber, 

and find themselves

unable to obtain that 

which hath escaped them 

in the days of their Lord, 

the Almighty, the All-Praised.  

Did they but know it, 

they would renounce their all, 

that their names may be mentioned 

before His throne.

(The Kitab-I-Aqdas 40)

Amongst the proofs 

demonstrating the truth

of this Revelation is this, 

that in every age and Dispensation,

whenever the invisible Essence 

was revealed in the person 

of His Manifestation, 

certain souls, obscure and detached 

from all worldly entanglements,

would seek illumination 

from the Sun of Prophethood 

and Moon of Divine guidance, 

and would attain 

unto the Divine Presence.  

For this reason, the divines of the age 

and those possessed of wealth, 

would scorn and scoff at these people.

(p. 179, Gleanings From the Writings of Baha'u'llah, Sec 91)

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.

(P 269, ibid)

 Mountains of Kurdistan in Sulaymaniyyih,

Baha'u'llah's yard 

Baha'u'llah camped out near Elijah's Cave on Mt. Carmel, Israel

 Citadel in Acre, Israel, where Baha'u'llah was imprisoned. 

Why is it folks would rather have a bird in a cage than flying free?