Duty of Man

"I do as bidden, and I bring the message, Whether it gives thee counsel or offense.

~ Sa'di, Baha'u'llah, the Four Valleys


What "oppression" is more grievous than that a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek it?

~ Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 31


"O thou soul who art well assured, Return to thy Lord, well-pleased, and pleasing unto Him."

"Enter thou among My servants, And enter thou My paradise."

"This station hath many signs, unnumbered proofs. Hence it is said: "Hereafter We will show them Our signs in the regions of the earth, and in themselves, until it becomes manifest unto them that it is the truth," and that there is no God save Him.
One must, then, read the book of his own self, rather than some treatise on rhetoric. Wherefore He hath said, "Read thy Book: There needeth none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day."
The story is told of a mystic knower, who went on a journey with a learned grammarian as his companion. They came to the shore of the Sea of Grandeur. The knower straightway flung himself into the waves, but the grammarian stood lost in his reasonings, which were as words that are written on water. The knower called out to him, "Why dost thou not follow?" The grammarian answered, "O Brother, I dare not advance. I must needs go back again." Then the knower cried, "Forget what thou didst read in the books of &Sibavayh and Qawlavayh, of &Ibn-i-Hajib and &Ibn-i-Malik, and cross the water."

"The death of self is needed here, not rhetoric: Be nothing, then, and walk upon the waves."

~ Baha'u'llah, the Four Valleys (the First Valley)


"How can feeble reason encompass the
Qur'an,
Or the spider snare a phoenix in his web?
Wouldst thou that the mind should not entrap
thee?
Teach it the science of the love of God!"

"On this plane, the traveler meeteth with many a trial and reverse. Now is he lifted up to heaven, now is he cast into the depths. As it hath been said: "Now Thou drawest me to the summit of glory, again Thou castest me into the lowest abyss." The mystery treasured in this plane is divulged in the following holy verse from the Surih of THE CAVE:
"And thou mightest have seen the sun when it arose, pass on the right of their cave, and when it set, leave them on the left, while they were in its spacious chamber. This is one of the signs of God. Guided indeed is he whom God guideth; but for him whom He misleadeth, thou shalt by no means find a patron."

"Knowledge is a light which God casteth into the heart of whomsoever He willeth."

"Verily we are from God, and to Him shall we return."

~ Baha'u'llah, the Four Valleys (the Second Valley)


Love shunneth this world and that world
too,
"In him are lunacies seventy-and-two.
The minstrel of love harpeth this lay:
Servitude enslaveth, kingship doth betray."

"On this plane, neither the reign of reason is sufficient nor the authority of self. Hence, one of the Prophets of God hath asked: "O my Lord, how shall we reach unto Thee?" And the answer came, "Leave thyself behind, and then approach Me."

"Crazed, he sought the Tavern where the
wine they buy and sell.
The love of Thee hath leveled down the fort
of patience,
The pain of Thee hath firmly barred the gate
of hope as well."

"The lover's teacher is the Loved One's
beaut,
His face their lesson and their only book.
Learning of wonderment, of longing love
their duty,
Not on learned chapters and dull themes they
look.
The chain that binds them is His musky hair,
The Cyclic Scheme, to them, is but to Him
a stair."

"O Lord! O Thou Whose bounty granteth
wishes!
I stand before Thee, all save Thee forgetting.
Grant that the mote of knowledge in my
spirit
Escape desire and the lowly clay;
Grant that Thine ancient gift, this drop of
wisdom,
Merge with Thy mighty sea."

Thus do I say: There is no power or might
save in God, the Protector, the Self-Subsistent.

~ Baha'u'llah, the Four Valleys (the Third Valley)


"He doth what He willeth, ordaineth what He pleaseth."

"Love is a light that never dwelleth in a heart possessed by fear."

"And if he feareth not God, God will make him to fear all things; whereas all things fear him who feareth God."

"See, our hearts come open like shells, when
He raineth grace like pearls,
And our lives are ready targets, when
agony's arrows He hurls."

"The duty of long years of love obey
And tell the tale of happy days gone by,
That land and sky may laugh aloud today,
And it may gladden mind and heart and
eye."

"Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the beloved."

"Never the covetous heart shall come to the
stealer of hearts,
Never the shrouded soul unite with beauty's
rose."

"No work withholdeth Him from another."

"Every day doth some new work employ Him."

"I turn my face to Him Who hath created the Heavens and the earth ... I am not one of those who add gods to God."

"Wherefore, put thy hand into thy bosom, then stretch it forth with power, and behold, thou shalt find it a light unto all the world."

"Astonishment here is highly prized, and utter poverty essential. Wherefore hath it been said, "Poverty is My pride." And again: "God hath a people beneath the dome of glory, whom He hideth in the clothing of radiant poverty."

"O My Servant!
Obey Me and I shall make thee like unto Myself.
I say `Be,' and it is, and thou shalt say `Be,' and
it shall be."

"O Son of Adam! Seek
fellowship with none until thou hast found Me,
and whenever thou shalt long for Me, thou shalt
find Me close to thee."

"I seek thy nearness, dearer than sweet
Heaven;
I see thy visage, fairer than Paradise
bowers."

"Let us tell, some other day
This parting hurt and woe;
Let us write, some other way,
Love's secrets--better so."

~ Baha'u'llah, the Four Valleys (the Fourth Valley)