Baha'i Prayers:

[arthra]

Thanks Flowperson!


Here's excerpt from Abdul-Baha in London:

"All the teaching of the Prophets is one; one faith; one Divine light shining throughout the world. Now, under the banner of the oneness of humanity all people of all creeds should turn away from prejudice and become friends and believers in all the Prophets."

[arthra]

Blessed is the spot, and the house,
and the place, and the city,
and the heart, and the mountain,
and the refuge, and the cave,
and the valley, and the land,
and the sea, and the island,
and the meadow where mention
of God hath been made,
and His praise glorified.

—Bahá’u’lláh

[arthra]

From every direction melodies are sounded and we must needs have discriminating ears.

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 shall we 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.

Whenever the sun of reality dawns, the lower sphere expresses the virtues of the higher world.

Why does not man harken to the soul-stirring music of the supreme concourse and not run wild with joy over the jarring notes of a street organ!

Strive day and night;

perchance these sleeping ones may be awakened by the celestial strains of the city of melody and hear the soft, delicate music which is streaming down from the kingdom of El-Abha.

[arthra]

O God! O God! 1
Thou dost look upon us from Thine unseen Kingdom of Oneness, [beholding] that we have assembled in this Spiritual Meeting, believing in Thee, confident in Thy signs, firm in Thy Covenant and Testament, attracted unto Thee, set aglow with the fire of Thy love, sincere in Thy Cause, servants in Thy vineyard, spreaders of They Religion, worshipers of Thy Countenance, humble to Thy beloved, submissive at Thy door and imploring Thee to confirm us in the service of Thy chosen ones. Support us with Thine unseen hosts, strengthen our loins in Thy servitude and make us submissive and worshiping servants, communing with Thee.
O our Lord! Turn our faces unto Thy divine face; feed us from Thy heavenly table by Thy godly grace; help us through the hosts of Thy supreme angels and confirm us by the holy ones of the Kingdom of Abha.
Verily Thou art the Generous, the Merciful! Thou art possessor of great bounty and verily Thou art the Clement and Gracious!

~ Abdul-Baha

[arthra]

Certain religious teachers, however, think only of their creeds. They believe a holy war can conquer the world. They reason thus: "All the other religious teachers are in error and I am obliged to chastise them and show them their mistakes for their own salvation."

The belief of the friends of God is quite different. They believe that one must affiliate with all, love all humanity and seek ever to better its condition. God is one, the true shepherd of all creation. Let us be kind to every one in order to unify the world and spread affection abroad.

Let us be ready to give our lives, our fortunes, positions, achievements, in order that a new state of existence may be diffused throughout the earth. There are fellow-beings who are weaker than we are, let us strengthen them; there are those who are more ignorant, we must teach them; some are as children, help them to develop; many are asleep, awaken them; others are ill, heal them; never despise them. Be kinder to them than to the stronger ones. One must always be kinder to the weak and ill and to the children. Never seek to humiliate your brother.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 97)

[arthra]

O SON OF SPIRIT!

My claim on thee is great, it cannot be forgotten.

My grace to thee is plenteous, it cannot be veiled.

My love has made in thee its home, it cannot be concealed.

My light is manifest to thee, it cannot be obscured.

~ Baha'u'llah in the Hidden Words

[arthra]

If a soul is seeking to quarrel, ask ye for reconciliation; if he blame you, praise him; if he give you a deadly poison, bestow ye an all-healing antidote; if he createth death, administer ye eternal life; if he becometh a thorn, change ye into roses and hyacinths. Perchance, through such deeds and words, this darkened world will become illuminated, this terrestrial universe will become transformed into a heavenly realm, and this satanic prison become a divine court; warfare and bloodshed be annihilated, and love and faithfulness hoist the tent of unity upon the apex of the world.

~ Abdul-Baha

[arthra]

It is my hope that the breaths of the Holy Spirit

will so be breathed into your hearts that your tongues will disclose the mysteries,

and set forth and expound the inner meanings of the Holy Books;

that the friends will become physicians,

and will, through the potent medicine of the heavenly Teachings,

heal the long-standing diseases that afflict the
body of this world;

that they will make the blind to see,

the deaf to hear,

the dead to come alive;

that they will awaken those who are sound asleep.

~ Abdul-Baha

[arthra]

O GOD our Lord! Protect us through Thy grace from whatsoever may be repugnant unto Thee and vouchsafe unto us that which well beseemeth Thee. Give us more out of Thy bounty and bless us. Pardon us for the things we have done and wash away our sins and forgive us with Thy gracious forgiveness. Verily Thou art the Most Exalted, the Self-Subsisting.
Thy loving providence hath encompassed all created things in the heavens and on the earth, and Thy forgiveness hath surpassed the whole creation. Thine is sovereignty; in Thy hand are the Kingdoms of Creation and Revelation; in Thy right hand Thou holdest all created things and within Thy grasp are the assigned measures of forgiveness. Thou forgivest whomsoever among Thy servants Thou pleasest. Verily Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Loving. Nothing whatsoever escapeth Thy knowledge, and naught is there which is hidden from Thee.
O God our Lord! Protect us through the potency of Thy might, enable us to enter Thy wondrous surging ocean, and grant us that which well befitteth Thee.
Thou art the Sovereign Ruler, the Mighty Doer, the Exalted, the All-loving.


~ The Bab

[flowperson]

Hi Art...I'm still stopping in to read your posts here. I find them inspiring and they sometimes raise some questions. The latest thing that caught my eye was this reference in your most recent post," and enable us to enter Thy wondrous surging ocean." And also this phrase is bracketed by references to G-d's power, and a supplication to G-d that pleasing things for G-d may emerge from the actions of people who "enter Thy wondrous surging ocean". Also the singular nature of the word "ocean" denotes a sense of specificity and not generality.

I'm of the opinion that this is not just a casual remark about the literal act of wading or swimming. When an adjective such as "wondrous" is included, the phrase is removed from the mundane and placed in the realm of mystery.

I've done a lot of work trying to understand ancient ritual going back into neolithic times. Quite often important ancient religious sites, such as Stonehenge, Egyptian Temples, Macchu Picchu, Lake Titicaca Temples are near access to rivers and other bodies of water. Traces of constructed and delineated ways to and from the water are found with portals and gateways or dolmens placed in the path of such ways connected to/with the sites.

In the three Abrahamic religions water plays an important purification role in worship or preparation for worship. The ritual baths of the Hebrews, foot washing in all three major faiths there, and the rites of baptism in Christianity being prominent

Do the Ba'hai have such connections to/with water in their rituals and rites ? I'm of the opinion that entry into the medium of water in this universal and timeless sense is mostly a metaphor for entering into another and mystical realm that represents a "crossing over" process of some sort intimately related to Deity. As a matter of fact, the roots of the name "Hebrew" "Hibaru" translates to the concept of crossing over, or more specifically "those who cross over".

Sorry to take so much space and time in this thread, but you know we all are seekers if we are serious about believing. Any thoughts ?

flow....

[arthra]

Thanks Flowperson for your post..and also your seeking!

I'm glad you enjoy the excerpts from Baha'i Prayers.

The ocean is an important motiff in Baha'i Writings and so on..

Baha'u'llah's father had a vision of Him when He was a child... He saw an ocean with Him floating and a great light around Him with His hair strands separated and a fish on each strand floating..

There were also sayings that the name of God should be recited with each wave of the sea this pertained to Akka where Baha'u'llah was imprisoned.

All Baha'is also perform ablutions before reciting the obligatory prayers...

Here are some more references to the ocean in the Writings quoting His Holiness the Bab:

"I am a letter out of that most mighty book and a dewdrop from that limitless ocean, and, when He shall appear, My true nature, My mysteries, riddles, and intimations will become evident, and the embryo of this religion shall develop through the grades of its being and ascent, attain to the station of 'the most comely of forms,'

(Abdu'l-Baha, A Traveller's Narrative, p. 33)

There are hundreds of uses of the ocean in the Writings and there is no space here to include them all...

- Art

[flowperson]

Art...thanks, and as I suspected yours is a religion very rich in meaningful symbolism, which should be a religion's most important attribute as far as I'm concerned. Thanks again, especially for the further quotation of the Bab.

flow....

[arthra]

O God, Who art the Author of all Manifestations, the Source of all Sources, the Fountainhead of all Revelations, and the Wellspring of all Lights!

I testify that by Thy Name the heaven of understanding hath been adorned, and the ocean of utterance hath surged, and the dispensations of Thy providence have been promulgated unto the followers of all religions.

I beseech Thee so to enrich me as to dispense with all save Thee, and be made independent of anyone except Thyself. Rain down, then, upon me out of the clouds of Thy bounty that which shall profit me in every world of Thy worlds.

Assist me, then, through Thy strengthening grace, so to serve Thy Cause amidst Thy servants that I may show forth what will cause me to be remembered as long as Thine own kingdom endureth and Thy dominion will last.

This is Thy servant, O my Lord, who with his whole being hath turned unto the horizon of Thy bounty, and the ocean of Thy grace, and the heaven of Thy gifts. Do with me then as becometh Thy majesty, and Thy glory, and Thy bounteousness, and Thy grace.

Thou, in truth, art the God of strength and power, Who art meet to answer them that pray Thee. There is no God save Thee, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

—Bahá’u’lláh

[arthra]

O God, my God!

Thou art my Hope and my Beloved, my highest Aim and Desire!

With great humbleness and entire devotion I pray to Thee to make me a minaret of Thy love in Thy land, a lamp of Thy knowledge among Thy creatures, and a banner of divine bounty in Thy dominion.

Number me with such of Thy servants as have detached themselves from everything but Thee, have sanctified themselves from the transitory things of this world, and have freed themselves from the promptings of the voicers of idle fancies.

Let my heart be dilated with joy through the spirit of confirmation from Thy kingdom, and brighten my eyes by beholding the hosts of divine assistance descending successively upon me from the kingdom of Thine omnipotent glory.

Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Powerful.

—‘Abdu’l-Bahá

[arthra]

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Every man of insight confesseth Thy sovereignty and Thy dominion, and every discerning eye perceiveth the greatness of Thy majesty and the compelling power of Thy might. The winds of tests are powerless to hold back them that enjoy near access to Thee from setting their faces towards the horizon of Thy glory, and the tempests of trials must fail to draw away and hinder such as are wholly devoted to Thy will from approaching Thy court.

Methinks, the lamp of Thy love is burning in their hearts, and the light of Thy tenderness is lit within their breasts. Adversities are incapable of estranging them from Thy Cause, and the vicissitudes of fortune can never cause them to stray from Thy pleasure.

I beseech Thee, O my God, by them and by the sighs which their hearts utter in their separation from Thee, to keep them safe from the mischief of Thine adversaries, and to nourish their souls with what Thou hast ordained for Thy loved ones on whom shall come no fear and who shall not be put to grief.

~ Baha'u'llah