O OFFSPRING OF DUST! Be not content with the ease of a passing day, and deprive not thyself of everlasting rest. Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world. Up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless. (Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah)
Red Grammar’s music can be found on Red Grammar.com and available for purchase on Amazon.com. Song above from the album “Soul Man in a Techno World”. Photo by Francesco Gallaroto on Unsplash.com
O SON OF MAN! Humble thyself before Me, that I may graciously visit thee. Arise for the triumph of My cause, that while yet on earth thou mayest obtain the victory.
O SON OF THE THRONE! Thy hearing is My hearing, hear thou therewith. Thy sight is My sight, do thou see therewith, that in thine inmost soul thou mayest testify unto My exalted sanctity, and I within Myself may bear witness unto an exalted station for thee.
Song by Grant Hindin Miller, from Baha’i Blog. Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash
O SON OF BEING! With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My work is perfect and My command is binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt thereof.
-Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah
Special thanks to Baha’i Blog and Bakang Nakedi for this wonderful song
Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
O Son of Being! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee. (from the HIdden Words of Baha’u’llah)
O Lord! Unto Thee I repair for refuge, and toward all Thy signs I set my heart. O Lord! Whether traveling or at home, and in my occupation or in my work, I place my whole trust in Thee. Grant me then Thy sufficing help so as to make me independent of all things, O Thou Who art unsurpassed in Thy mercy!
Bestow upon me my portion, O Lord, as Thou pleasest, and cause me to be satisfied with whatsoever Thou hast ordained for me.Thine is the absolute authority to command. (Prayer of the Bab)
Sung by Philadelphia’s own Shaun Gould. Photo by Liane Metzler on Unsplash
O Moving Form of Dust! I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me. The sword of thy rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee, yet boundless shame thou hast chosen for thyself. While there is yet time, return, and lose not thy chance. – Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words
All the great Revelations have taught humanity to come to terms with death and live their lives in anticipation of it. For all these great religions, death is not the end but is a transition of our abstract souls into a more abstract existence. We are taught that it is only “abstract” in relation to this world, but is still a real existence. Jesus consoled His disciples about His own death by saying that His “father’s house” had “many rooms” and that if they followed His teachings, they would find Him there. The Prophet Muhammad reminds us in the Quran that “every soul shall taste of death“, and that when we die, we should die in a “state of submission” unto God.
Baha’u’llah’s Revelation is more expansive on this theme and we will share several quotes tonight that reflect that. He describes “worlds of God” that exist beyond this one, and that we are part of as vast a spiritual universe as we are a physical universe. The purpose of life is to develop the spiritual aspect of ourselves to prepare for the world beyond, which has none of the physical features with which we often define ourselves. He tells us that “a true believer lives in this world and the world to come“, indicating that our spiritual lives and our life in the next world are intimately connected. Baha’u’llah also taught that we should not fear death, nor excessively grieve about it. In a Tablet provisionally translated as the Tablet of Consolation, Baha’u’llah comforts a man who has lost his father-
This is no day of woe and weeping. Ye who believe in God should rejoice in the days of your Lord, the All-Forgiving, the Munificent. He(God) it is who suffices you and He is more loving than a thousand fathers.
Indeed, we should meditate about death, because seeing our lives in that broader context helps us to live life with purpose and meaning.
This is most succinctly expressed in the following Hidden Word, in which God speaks directly to each of us with a message about death. It has been beautifully set to music by Paul Parrish.
I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom?
Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
-Jesus, Gospel of Matthew
O MY SERVANTS! Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may profit therefrom. Thus it is incumbent on every one to engage in crafts and professions, for therein lies the secret of wealth, O men of understanding! For results depend upon means, and the grace of God shall be all-sufficient unto you. Trees that yield no fruit have been and will ever be for the fire.
