arthra
Baha'i
`Abdu’l-Bahá said that The Sun of Truth shines and gives light and warmth to our souls and without it, we would wither away, “even so do the souls of men need the Sun of Truth to shed its rays upon their souls, to develop them, to educate and encourage them”. He continues to elaborate on this Divine Light “that can give us sight for the invisible things”, and counsels us to seek this Heavenly Lights so we become “enabled to understand the realities, that you may know the secret things of God, that the hidden ways may be made plain before your eyes”. `Abdu’l-Bahá continues to explain that “this light may be likened unto a mirror, and as a mirror reflects all that is before it, so this Light shows to the eyes of our spirits all that exists in God’s Kingdom and causes the realities of things to be made visible. By the help of this effulgent Light all the spiritual interpretation of the Holy Writings has been made plain, the hidden things of God’s Universe have become manifest, and we have been enabled to comprehend the Divine purposes for man”. The Sun of Truth gives us Light and it is for us to seek it and transform ourselves to reflect its splendor in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions.
Below follows a brief compilation on the Revelation of God being the Light and that it cannot be concealed or destroyed. Following these, there are a few quotations on the light we have in us. Perhaps these passages can be of assistance during personal reflections during the month of beauty or perhaps as readings for the Nineteen Day Feast. This compilation on The Month of Nur/Light is also available for download.
Selection of passages from the Writings
I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast ordained this Day to stand unequalled amongst all the days of Thy world and unrivalled amidst all that Thou hast fashioned through Thy creative power. This is that primal Day which Thou hast singled out from among all other days, and exalted over all other times, and appointed as the King of Days unto all peoples, inasmuch as Thou didst manifest on this Day the tokens of Thy transcendent power and the evidences of Thy holy unity. Thou hast caused its radiance to surpass the splendour of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and to transcend the brightness of every lofty and glorious, every shining and brilliant light. Nay, Thou hast illumined this Day, O my Best-Beloved, with the very lights of Thine own inaccessible Being and with the full glory of Thine own exalted Essence. (Bahá’u’lláh, Days to Remember, Tablet nr. 11 in Ridvan Section)
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Magnified, then, be this Day whereon Thou hast revealed unto all things the effulgent lights of Thy glorious unity and cast upon all creation the radiance of Thy sovereign and transcendent oneness, the Day whereon Thou hast lifted the veil of concealment from the countenance of Thy beauty; burned away, through Thy gracious favour, the shrouds of idle fancy blinding the eyes of the people; and summoned all to partake of Thy nearness and reunion. Immensely glorified be this Day whereon the oceans of splendour and grace have surged and the rivers of bounty and justice have flowed, a Day whereon Thy bounty hath attained such a degree that every stammering tongue hath celebrated Thy praise, every blind eye hath beheld the lights of Thy beauty, and every deaf ear hath hearkened unto the glorious strains of the Dove of Thy oneness. (Bahá’u’lláh, Days to Remember, Tablet nr. 11 in Ridvan Section)
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By Thy glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence. (Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, p. 272).
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Below follows a brief compilation on the Revelation of God being the Light and that it cannot be concealed or destroyed. Following these, there are a few quotations on the light we have in us. Perhaps these passages can be of assistance during personal reflections during the month of beauty or perhaps as readings for the Nineteen Day Feast. This compilation on The Month of Nur/Light is also available for download.
Selection of passages from the Writings
I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast ordained this Day to stand unequalled amongst all the days of Thy world and unrivalled amidst all that Thou hast fashioned through Thy creative power. This is that primal Day which Thou hast singled out from among all other days, and exalted over all other times, and appointed as the King of Days unto all peoples, inasmuch as Thou didst manifest on this Day the tokens of Thy transcendent power and the evidences of Thy holy unity. Thou hast caused its radiance to surpass the splendour of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and to transcend the brightness of every lofty and glorious, every shining and brilliant light. Nay, Thou hast illumined this Day, O my Best-Beloved, with the very lights of Thine own inaccessible Being and with the full glory of Thine own exalted Essence. (Bahá’u’lláh, Days to Remember, Tablet nr. 11 in Ridvan Section)
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Magnified, then, be this Day whereon Thou hast revealed unto all things the effulgent lights of Thy glorious unity and cast upon all creation the radiance of Thy sovereign and transcendent oneness, the Day whereon Thou hast lifted the veil of concealment from the countenance of Thy beauty; burned away, through Thy gracious favour, the shrouds of idle fancy blinding the eyes of the people; and summoned all to partake of Thy nearness and reunion. Immensely glorified be this Day whereon the oceans of splendour and grace have surged and the rivers of bounty and justice have flowed, a Day whereon Thy bounty hath attained such a degree that every stammering tongue hath celebrated Thy praise, every blind eye hath beheld the lights of Thy beauty, and every deaf ear hath hearkened unto the glorious strains of the Dove of Thy oneness. (Bahá’u’lláh, Days to Remember, Tablet nr. 11 in Ridvan Section)
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By Thy glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence. (Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, p. 272).
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