Baha'i Prayers:

[arthra]

Blessed the slumberer who is awakened by My Breeze.


Blessed the lifeless one who is quickened through My reviving breaths.

Blessed the eye that is solaced by gazing at My beauty.

Blessed the wayfarer who directeth his steps towards the Tabernacle of My glory and majesty.

Blessed the distressed one who seeketh refuge beneath the shadow of My canopy.

Blessed the sore athirst who hasteneth to the soft-flowing waters of My loving-kindness.

Blessed the insatiate soul who casteth away his selfish desires for love of Me and taketh his place at the banquet table which I have sent down from the heaven of divine bounty for My chosen ones.

Blessed the abased one who layeth fast hold on the cord of My glory; and the needy one who entereth beneath the shadow of the Tabernacle of My wealth.

Blessed the ignorant one who seeketh the fountain of My knowledge; and the heedless one who cleaveth to the cord of My remembrance.

Blessed the soul that hath been raised to life through My quickening breath and hath gained admittance into My heavenly Kingdom.

Blessed the man whom the sweet savours of reunion with Me have stirred and caused to draw nigh unto the Dayspring of My Revelation.

Blessed the ear that hath heard and the tongue that hath borne witness and the eye that hath seen and recognized the Lord Himself, in His great glory and majesty, invested with grandeur and dominion.

Blessed are they that have attained His presence.

Blessed the man who hath sought enlightenment from the Day-Star of My Word.

Blessed he who hath attired his head with the diadem of My love.

Blessed is he who hath heard of My grief and hath arisen to aid Me among My people.

Blessed is he who hath laid down his life in My path and hath borne manifold hardships for the sake of My Name.

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.

~ revealed by Baha'u'llah in "Tablet to the Christians"

[arthra]

O God, my God! I implore Thee with a throbbing heart and streaming tears to aid whosoever expendeth his energy for the erection of this House, and the construction of this Building wherein Thy name is mentioned every morn and every eve.

O God! Send down Thy divine increase on whosoever endeavoreth to serve this edifice and exerteth himself to raise it amongst the kindreds and religions of the world. Confirm him in every good deed in promoting the welfare of mankind. Open Thou the doors of wealth and abundance unto him and make him an heir to the treasures of the Kingdom, which perish not. Make him a sign of Thy bestowals among the peoples and reinforce him by the sea of Thy generosity and bounty, surging with waves of Thy grace and favor. Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Merciful and the Bountiful.

—‘Abdu’l-Bahá

[arthra]

O ye rulers of the earth! Wherefore have ye clouded the radiance of the Sun, and caused it to cease from shining? Hearken unto the counsel given you by the Pen of the Most High, that haply both ye and the poor may attain unto tranquillity and peace. We beseech God to assist the kings of the earth to establish peace on earth. He, verily, doth what He willeth.

O kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust. Fear the sighs and tears of this Wronged One, and lay not excessive burdens on your peoples. Do not rob them to rear palaces for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye choose for yourselves. Thus We unfold to your eyes that which profiteth you, if ye but perceive. Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber. By them ye rule, by their means ye subsist, by their aid ye conquer. Yet, how disdainfull ye look y upon them! How strange, how very strange!


~ Baha'u'llah

[arthra]

Verily, the One True God beareth Me witness that in this Day I am the true mystic Fane of God, and the Essence of all good. He who doeth good unto Me, it is as if he doeth good unto God, His angels and the entire company of His loved ones. He who doeth evil unto Me, it is as if he doeth evil unto God and His chosen ones. Nay, too exalted is the station of God and of His loved ones for any person's good or evil deed to reach their holy threshold. Whatever reacheth Me is ordained to reach Me; and that which hath come unto Me, to him who giveth will it revert. By the One in Whose hand is My soul, he hath cast no one but himself into prison. For assuredly whatsoever God hath decreed for Me shall come to pass and naught else save that which God hath ordained for us shall ever touch us. Woe betide him from whose hands floweth evil, and blessed the m n from whose hands floweth good. Unto no one do I take My plaint save to God; for He is the best of judges. Every state of adversity or bliss is from Him alone, and He is the All-Powerful, the Almighty . . .

~ The Bab

[arthra]

O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God!
Verily I say unto thee the truth, that I am with you in spirit and in heart, that I rejoice by your joy and am happy by your happiness; and hear with the ear of spirit your calling and scent with the spiritual nostrils the fragrances of your garden.
O ye friends of God! Arise from the corporeal beds (bodies) and ask for the divine favors, so that ye become revived by the Holy Spirit through the breath which the Spirit breathes into the souls.
By the glory of my Lord, there will be for your brilliant assemblage an evident sign and great effects in the spirits and the hearts. Therefore, gladden the friends of the Merciful with the glad-tidings of thy Lord in this time, and convey to them greeting from Abdul-Baha in this promised century, so that they may arise with me in servitude to the Threshold of El-Baha.

~ From Tablets of Abdul-Baha

[arthra]

The Birth of the Bábí Revelation

May 23, 1844, signalizes the commencement of the most turbulent period of the Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Era, an age which marks the opening of the most glorious epoch in the greatest cycle which the spiritual history of mankind has yet witnessed. No more than a span of nine short years marks the duration of this most spectacular, this most tragic, this most eventful period of the first Bahá'í century. It was ushered in by the birth of a Revelation whose Bearer posterity will acclaim as the "Point round Whom the realities of the Prophets and Messengers revolve," and terminated with the first stirrings of a still more potent Revelation, "whose day," Bahá'u'lláh Himself affirms, "every Prophet hath announced," for which "the soul of every Divine Messenger hath thirsted," and through which "God hath proved the hearts of the entire company of His Messengers and Prophets." Little wonder that the immortal chronicler of the events associated with the birth and rise of the Bahá'í Revelation has seen fit to devote no less than half of his moving narrative to the description of those happenings that have during such a brief space of time so greatly enriched, through their tragedy and heroism, the religious annals of mankind. In sheer dramatic power, in the rapidity with which events of momentous importance succeeded each other, in the holocaust which baptized its birth, in the miraculous circumstances attending the martyrdom of the One Who had ushered it in, in the potentialities with which it had been from the outset so thoroughly impregnated, in the forces to which it eventually gave birth, this nine-year period may well rank as unique in the whole range of man's religious experience. We behold, as we survey the episodes of this first act of a sublime drama, the figure of its Master Hero, the Báb, arise meteor-like above the horizon of Shíráz, traverse the sombre sky of Persia from south to north, decline with tragic swiftness, and perish in a blaze of glory. We see His satellites, a galaxy of God-intoxicated heroes, mount above that same horizon, irradiate that same incandescent light, burn themselves out with that self-same swiftness, and impart in their turn an added impetus to the steadily gathering momentum of God's nascent Faith.

~ From "God Passes By" Shoghi Effendi

[Postmaster]

Originally Posted by arthra

O ye rulers of the earth! Wherefore have ye clouded the radiance of the Sun, and caused it to cease from shining? Hearken unto the counsel given you by the Pen of the Most High, that haply both ye and the poor may attain unto tranquillity and peace. We beseech God to assist the kings of the earth to establish peace on earth. He, verily, doth what He willeth.

O kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust. Fear the sighs and tears of this Wronged One, and lay not excessive burdens on your peoples. Do not rob them to rear palaces for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye choose for yourselves. Thus We unfold to your eyes that which profiteth you, if ye but perceive. Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber. By them ye rule, by their means ye subsist, by their aid ye conquer. Yet, how disdainfull ye look y upon them! How strange, how very strange!


~ Baha'u'llah

Is this a prayer or is it what he wrote to the rulers?

[BruceDLimber]

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Is this a prayer or is it what he wrote to the rulers?

Hi, Peter! :-)

Unfortunately Art didn't provide the cites, but these appear to be from The Hidden Words, which is Baha'u'llah's first (earliest) volume of what we now consider the Baha'i scxriptures.

This consists of 153 exhortations, primarily to humanity in general but some addressed to specific groups (such as "O rich ones on earth!"). He says in the introduction that these are a brief recap of spiritual teachings of the past.

You can find them at: Bahá'í Reference Library - The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh

Best regards, :-)

Bruce

[arthra]

I believe the quote is from the newly published Summons of the Lord of Hosts... Yes in a sense it isn't worded like a prayer but it does I think answer the prayers and aspirations of mankind!

We beseech God to assist the kings of the earth to establish peace on earth. He, verily, doth what He willeth.

- Art

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Is this a prayer or is it what he wrote to the rulers?

It is amongst the Tablets to the Kings. I am on a laptop for awhile and I can't download Ocean to it, so someone with Ocean on their computer could do a search using some key words and find the original citation.

Regards,
Scott

[arthra]

You can find it in Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah p. 253 as well as Summons of the Lord of Hosts...page 93.

[arthra]

Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso hath recognized Me, will arise and serve Me with such determination that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his purpose.
The peoples of the world are fast asleep. Were they to wake from their slumber, they would hasten with eagerness unto God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. They would cast away everything they possess, be it all the treasures of the earth, that their Lord may remember them to the extent of addressing to them but one word. Such is the instruction given you by Him Who holdeth the knowledge of things hidden, in a Tablet which the eye of creation hath not seen, and which is revealed to none except His own Self, the omnipotent protector of all worlds. So bewildered are they in the drunkenness of their evil desires, that they are powerless to recognize the Lord of all being, Whose voice calleth aloud from every direction: “There is none other God but Me, the Mighty, the All-Wise.”

~ Baha'u'llah from Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah

[smkolins]

[QUOTE=arthra;108163]... We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. ...

With a couple background ideas in play, at least one of which is that the sheer number of people who proceed ultimately through the various valleys are fewer and fewer valley by valley....

I have wondered about a generalized perspective about one's life as a believer, even to that some become inactive, that people are wistful of their early days, somehow feeling closer to God then.... That the "power of truth" is less fulfilling and one feels God "with" us less.

I have thought to examine the Seven Valleys (and where those valleys are referenced in Gems of Divine Mysteries) for descriptions of experiences or "active" connections with spiritual feelings from the next world or God....

Consider...

The Valley/City of Search
(Seven Valleys)
At every step, aid from the Invisible Realm will attend him and the heat of his search will grow.
(Gems of Divine Mysteries)
God may guide him in the paths of His favour and the ways of His mercy...He beholdeth the wonders of Divinity in the mysteries of creation and discovereth the paths of guidance and the ways of His Lord.


Those mysterious alignments - "there are no accidents", coincidences that seem too meaningful to be coincidences.

The Valley/City of Love...
(Seven Valleys)
until thou burn with the fire of love, thou shalt never commune with the Lover of Longing.
Be as naught, if thou wouldst kindle the fire of being and be fit for the pathway of love.
(Gems of Divine Mysteries)
He yieldeth up spirit, soul, and body in the path of his Lord, and yet he doeth so by the leave of his Beloved and not of his own whim and desire....consumed by the onslaught of separation in this world.... His eyes are ever expectant to witness the wonders of God’s mercy and eager to behold the splendours of His beauty.


Here there seems to be a paucity of experiences - at best delayed until later. If this is a stage where voyagers "get religion" then they also discover they don't "feel" God like they may reflect they did during their search even if they didn't really "get it" then. They struggle to be obedient and may in fact be, but feel the separation.


The Valley of Knowledge
(Seven Valleys)
His inner eyes will open and he will privily converse with his Beloved... and consorteth with the people of the immortal realm.
(Gems of Divine Mysteries skips)


Again some kind of active experience, but directly consciously, very real.


The Valley/City of Unity
(Seven Valleys)
seeth the brilliant rays of the divine sun shining from the dawning-point of Essence alike on all created things, and the lights of singleness reflected over all creation.... His shining becometh visible in every limb and member.
(Gems of Divine Mysteries)
beholdeth all things with an eye illumined by the effulgent lights which God Himself hath shed upon him.



and so on through the rest of the Valleys. Let's suppose that most of the people who look to change their religion get the Valley of Search, and a good number of them ( who can overcome reasons not to change) get to the Valley of Love and "get religion". They then can loose their "heat" as they obey without seeming aid which they now feel they have lost - they know God and His Faith but it's not as alive as it was when they were looking.... Not until they pass the Valley of Love do they again engage personal experience, but this time selflessly, a spiritual internal connection. But they do so selflessly only because of the Love they have felt - the binding to God. And the experience gets even more powerful after that...

What do you think? Totally off base or "onto" something?

[arthra]

Sounds like you might be "on to something"! It's a lot like the Cloud of Unknowing too.

- Art

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by arthra

Sounds like you might be "on to something"! It's a lot like the Cloud of Unknowing too.

- Art

Hmmm hadn't heard that term.... it reminds me of the general condition of this world being where... for example, our own true value is hidden from us....

however if this what you are refering to?

Sprinkling of the Cloud of Unknowing