Need the source for this photo.Thy footsteps in this wilderness [XI]
98) As will be seen in the quote at the first bullet point below, Baha’u’llah indicates that the Holy land is the literal wilderness in which the Messengers of God walked. Perhaps another allusion here is to the sacrifice of the Manifestations in appearing among humanity on this earthly plane.
I entreat Thee by Thy footsteps in this wilderness, and by the words “Here am I. Here am I” which Thy chosen Ones have uttered in this immensity [XI]
99) “Here am I” appears to be a cry of willingness, readiness, and resolution that rings out in every age.
“Here Am I”
- “This Holy Land hath been mentioned in all the sacred Scriptures. In it have appeared the Prophets of God and His chosen Ones. This is the wilderness in which all the Messengers of God have wandered, from which Their cry ‘Here am I, here am I, O my God’ was raised."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, CLXIII, p.344) [Emphasis added.]
- Exodus 3:4 “…God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said ‘Moses, Moses.’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’”
- Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then said I, ‘Here am I; send me.’”
(King James Bible)
- “The river Jordan is joined to the Most Great Ocean, and the Son, in the holy vale, crieth out: ‘Here am I, here am I O Lord, my God!’”
(Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Aqdas, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 11)
- Baha'u'llah to Napoleon III: “It behoveth thee when thou hearest His Voice calling from the seat of glory to cast away all that thou possessest, and cry out: "Here am I, O Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on earth!”
(Baha'u'llah, Summons of the Lord of Hosts, pp. 72-73)
- "Soon will the cry, 'Yea, yea, here am I, here am I' be heard from every land. For there hath never been, nor can there ever be, any other refuge to fly to for anyone.”
(Baha'u'llah, Quoted in Advent of Divine Justice, p. 69)
- O SHERIF!...All thy life thou hast accorded worship unto Us, but when We manifested Ourself unto thee, thou didst desist from bearing witness unto Our Remembrance, and from affirming that He is indeed the Most Exalted, the Sovereign Truth, the All-Glorious. Thus hath Thy Lord put thee to proof in the Day of Resurrection. Verily He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
For hadst thou uttered 'Here am I' at the time We sent thee the Book, We would have admitted thee to the company of such of Our servants as truly believe, and would have graciously praised thee in Our Book, until the Day when all men shall appear before Us for judgement. This is in truth far more advantageous unto thee than all the acts of worship thou hast performed for thy Lord during all thy life, nay, from the beginning that hath no beginning. Assuredly this is what would have served and will ever serve thy best interests. Verily We are cognizant of all things...”
(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, (SWB) p. 29) [Emphasis added.] (See also SWB pp. 36 and 206.)
- Nabil-i-Zarandi
- Muhammad-Sadiq
- Aqa Muhammad-Ibrahim
- Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi, the Afnan
- Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin
this immensity [XI]
100) One might wonder, ‘What immensity?’
“Strive, O people, to gain admittance into this vast Immensity for which God ordained neither beginning nor end, in which His voice hath been raised, and over which have been wafted the sweet savors of holiness and glory.”
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, LII, p. 107) [Emphasis added.]
"We beseech God that He may graciously vouchsafe His grace unto all men, and enable them to attain the knowledge of Him and of themselves. By My life! Whoso hath known Him shall soar in the immensity of His love, and shall be detached from the world and all that is therein."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, C, p. 205) [Emphasis added.]
"Pass beyond the narrow retreats of your evil and corrupt desires, and advance into the vast immensity of the realm of God, and abide ye in the meads of sanctity and of detachment, that the fragrance of your deeds may lead the whole of mankind to the ocean of God's unfading glory."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, CXV, p. 241) [Emphasis added.]
"Grant, I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Everlasting King and the Sovereign Protector of all men, that I may be enabled to manifest that which shall cause the hearts and souls of men to soar in the limitless immensity of Thy love, and to commune with Thy Spirit."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, CXLII, p. 311) [Emphasis added.]
"Above the horizon of tribulation He hath lifted up His voice and He crieth out, summoning all the inmates of heaven and all the inhabitants of the earth to the immensity of Thy mercy and the court of Thy grace."
(Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, XCL, p. 153) [Emphasis added.]
by the breaths of Thy Revelation, and the gentle winds of the Dawn of Thy Manifestation [XI]
101) These beautiful expressions may, for some Baha'is, evoke creation accounts as found in scriptures and cultures the world over; the life-giving qualities of the Word of God; and intimate the first stirrings of morning.
In the allusive flow of this prayer, following after these phrases referring to “breaths” and “gentle winds,” the next sentence of directions has one repeat three times the aspiratory syllables of the Greatest Name, ‘Allah-u-Abha.’
to ordain that I may gaze on Thy beauty and observe whatsoever is in Thy Book [XI]
102) Love of God’s beauty is linked to obedience. One way of understanding this entreaty of the prayer is that here one is asking to gaze with spiritual eyes, become enthralled, and attune to God’s guidance.
"Observe My commandments, for the love of My beauty."
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 20)
Thy Book [XI]
103) ‘The "Book" is the record of the revealed Word of the Manifestations of God.’
(The Kitab-i-Aqdas, Notes, p. 231)
Next: "Allah-u-Abha"
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