Baha’u’llah was the
teacher and the founder
of the Baha’i Faith.
He and his teachings are
believed to be prophesied
in Buddhism,
Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism,
and other religions.
Baha’u’llah was born
in 1817 in Tehran, Persia,
in present-day Iran.
The word Baha means
‘glory’ or ‘splendor.’
The Baha’i Faith rests
on three core principles:
unity of God,
unity of religion,
and unity of humankind.
Approximately
7 million people today
in many countries adhere
to the Baha’i faith.
Their scriptures
are translated
into 800 languages,
and there are houses
of worship in just about
every corner of the world.
Baha’i principles
envision an ideal society.
They are gender equality;
elimination of all forms
of prejudice whether
religious, racial, class,
or national; harmony
of religion and science;
universal opportunity
of education for all;
a universal auxiliary
language, which
all humanity can use
to cooperate quickly
with one another;
a judicious world
government;
and the elimination
of extremes of wealth
and poverty.
Many people,
like the Baha’i followers,
see a noble society as
a real goal to be pursued
in everyday life.
Today we present
the sage wisdom
of Baha’u’llah
with excerpts from
the holy book, “Gems
of Divine Mysteries.”
Enlightened viewers,
we appreciate
your tranquil company
for this episode of
Between Master
and Disciples
here on
Supreme Master Television.
Animal World:
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In joyous gratitude,
may our planet be always
immersed in Heaven’s
mercy and grace.
Gems of Divine Mysteries
The essence
of the divine mysteries
in the journeys of ascent
set forth for those
who long to draw nigh
unto God, the Almighty,
the Ever-Forgiving—
blessed be the righteous
that quaff from
these crystal streams!
HE IS THE EXALTED,
THE MOST HIGH!
At this hour,
when the sweet savors
of attraction
have wafted over Me
from the everlasting city,
when transports of yearning
have seized Me from
the land of splendors
at the dawning of
the Daystar of the worlds
above the horizon of ‘Iráq,
and the sweet melodies
of Ḥijáz have brought
to Mine ears
the mysteries of separation,
I have purposed to relate
unto thine eminence
a portion of that
which the Mystic Dove
hath warbled
in the midmost heart
of Paradise
as to the true meaning
of life and death, though
the task be impossible.
For were I to interpret
these words for thee
as it hath been inscribed
in the Guarded Tablets,
all the books and pages
of the world
could not contain it,
nor could the souls of men
bear its weight.
I shall nonetheless mention
that which beseemeth this
day and age, that it might
serve as a guidance
unto whosoever desireth
to gain admittance
into the retreats of glory
in the realms above,
to hearken unto
the melodies of the spirit
intoned by this divine
and mystic bird,
and to be numbered with
those who have severed
themselves from all
save God
and who in this day
rejoice in the presence
of their Lord.
Know then that “life”
hath a twofold meaning.
The first pertaineth
to the appearance of man
in an elemental body,
and is as manifest
to thine eminence and
to others as the midday sun.
This life cometh to an end
with physical death,
which is a God-ordained
and inescapable reality.
That life, however,
which is mentioned in
the Books of the Prophets
and the Chosen Ones of God
is the life of knowledge;
that is to say,
the servant’s recognition
of the sign of
the splendors wherewith
He Who is the Source
of all splendor
hath Himself invested him,
and his certitude
of attaining unto
the presence of God
through the Manifestations
of His Cause.
This is that blessed
and everlasting life that
perisheth not: whosoever
is quickened thereby
shall never die,
but will endure as long as
His Lord and Creator
will endure.
The first life,
which pertaineth
to the elemental body,
will come to an end, as
hath been revealed by God:
“Every soul shall
taste of death.”
But the second life,
which ariseth from
the knowledge of God,
knoweth no death,
as hath been revealed
aforetime: “Him
will We surely quicken
to a blessed life.”
And in another passage
concerning the martyrs:
“Nay, they are alive and
sustained by their Lord.”
And from the Traditions:
“He who is a true believer
liveth both in this world
and in the world to come.”
Numerous examples
of similar words
are to be found
in the Books of God
and of the Embodiments
of His justice.
For the sake of brevity,
however, We have
contented Ourself
with the above passages.
O My brother!
Forsake thine own desires,
turn thy face unto thy Lord,
and walk not
in the footsteps of those
who have taken
their corrupt inclinations
for their god,
that perchance
thou mayest find shelter
in the heart of existence,
beneath the redeeming
shadow of Him
Who traineth all names
and attributes.
For they who turn away
from their Lord in this day
are in truth accounted
amongst the dead, though
to outward seeming they
may walk upon the earth,
amongst the deaf,
though they may hear,
and amongst the blind,
though they may see,
as hath been
clearly stated by Him
Who is the Lord
of the Day of Reckoning:
“Hearts have they with
which they understand not,
and eyes have they with
which they see not….”
They walk the edge
of a treacherous bank
and tread the brink
of a fiery abyss.
They partake not of
the billows of this surging
and treasure-laden Ocean,
but disport themselves
with their own idle words.
In this connection
We will relate unto thee
that which was revealed
of old concerning “life”,
that perchance
it may turn thee away from
the promptings of self,
deliver thee
from the narrow confines
of thy prison
in this gloomy plane, and
aid thee to become of them
that are guided aright in
the darkness of this world.
He saith, and He, verily,
speaketh the truth:
“Shall the dead
whom We have quickened,
and for whom
We have ordained a light
whereby he may walk
amongst men, be like him
whose likeness is
in the darkness, whence
he will not come forth?”
This verse was revealed
with respect to Ḥamzih
and Abú-Jahl,
the former of whom
was a believer whilst
the latter disbelieved.
Most of the leaders
mocked and derided it,
were agitated,
and clamored:
“How did Ḥamzih die?
And how was he restored
to his former life?”
Were ye to examine
carefully the verses of God,
ye would find
many such statements
recorded in the Book.
Would that pure
and stainless hearts
could be found, that
I might impart unto them
a sprinkling from
the oceans of knowledge
which My Lord
hath bestowed upon Me,
so that they may soar
in the heavens even as
they walk upon the earth
and speed over the waters
even as they course the land,
and that they may take up
their souls in their hands
and lay them down in
the path of their Creator.
Howbeit, leave hath not
been granted to divulge
this mighty secret.
Indeed, it hath been from
everlasting a mystery
enshrined within
the treasuries of His power
and a secret concealed
within the repositories
of His might,
lest His faithful servants
forsake their own lives
in the hope of attaining
this most great station
in the realms of eternity.
Nor shall they
who wander in
this oppressive darkness
ever attain unto it.
O My brother!
At every juncture We
have restated Our theme,
that all that hath been
recorded in these verses
may, by the leave of God,
be made clear unto thee,
and that thou mayest
become independent of
those who are plunged
in the darkness of self
and who tread the valley
of arrogance and pride,
and be of them that move
within the paradise
of everlasting life.
Say: O people!
The Tree of Life
hath verily been planted
in the heart
of the heavenly paradise
and bestoweth life
in every direction.
How can ye fail to
perceive and recognize it?
It will in truth aid thee
to grasp all that
this well-assured Soul
hath disclosed unto thee
of the essence
of the divine mysteries.
The Dove of holiness
warbleth in the heaven
of immortality
and admonisheth thee
to array thyself
with a new vesture,
wrought of steel
to shield thee
from the shafts of doubt
concealed in the allusions
of men, saying:
“Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God.
That which is born
of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not
that I said unto thee,
ye must be born again.”
Wing then thy flight
unto this divine Tree
and partake of its fruits.
Gather up that which
hath fallen therefrom
and guard it faithfully.
Meditate then
upon the utterance
of one of the Prophets
as He intimated
to the souls of men,
through veiled allusions
and hidden symbols,
the glad-tidings
of the One Who was
to come after Him, that
thou mayest know of
a certainty that their words
are inscrutable to all
save those
who are endued with
an understanding heart.
He saith: “His eyes were
as a flame of fire”, and
“brass-like were His feet”,
and “out of His mouth
goeth a two-edged sword”.
How could these words
be literally interpreted?
Were anyone to appear
with all these signs,
he would assuredly
not be human.
And how could any soul
seek his company?
Nay, should he appear
in one city, even
the inhabitants of the next
would flee from him,
nor would any soul
dare approach him!
Yet, shouldst thou reflect
upon these statements,
thou wouldst find them
to be of such surpassing
eloquence and clarity
as to mark the loftiest
heights of utterance and
the epitome of wisdom.
Methinks it is from them
that the suns of eloquence
have appeared
and the stars of clarity
have dawned forth
and shone resplendent.
Behold, then,
the foolish ones
of bygone times and
those who, in this day,
await the advent
of such a being!
Nor would they ever bear
allegiance unto him
except that he appear in
the aforementioned form.
And as such a being
will never appear, so too
will they never believe.
Such indeed is the measure
of the understanding
of these perverse
and ungodly souls!
How could those
who fail to understand
the most evident
of the evident
and the most manifest
of the manifest
ever apprehend
the abstruse realities
of the divine precepts
and the essence
of the mysteries of
His everlasting wisdom?
I shall now briefly explain
the true meaning
of this utterance,
that thou mayest discover
its hidden mysteries and
be of them that perceive.
Examine then and
judge aright that which
We shall reveal unto thee,
that haply
thou mayest be accounted
in the sight of God
amongst those
who are fair-minded
in these matters.
Know then that He
who uttered these words
in the realms of glory
meant to describe
the attributes of the One
Who is to come in such
veiled and enigmatic terms
as to elude
the understanding
of the people of error.
Now, when He saith:
“His eyes were
as a flame of fire”,
He alludeth but
to the keenness of sight
and acuteness of vision
of the Promised One,
Who with His eyes
burneth away every veil
and covering,
maketh known
the eternal mysteries in
the contingent world, and
distinguisheth the faces
that are obscured
with the dust of hell
from those that shine
with the light of paradise.
Were His eyes not made
of the blazing fire of God,
how could He consume
every veil and burn away
all that the people possess?
How could He behold
the signs of God
in the Kingdom
of His names and
in the world of creation?
How could He
see all things with
the all-perceiving eye
of God?
Thus have we
conferred upon Him
a penetrating vision
in this day.
Would that ye believe
in the verses of God!
For, indeed, what fire
is fiercer than this flame
that shineth
in the Sinai of His eyes,
whereby He consumeth all
that hath veiled
the peoples of the world?
Immeasurably exalted
shall God remain above all
that hath been revealed
in His unerring Tablets
concerning the mysteries
of the beginning
and the end until that day
when the Crier will cry out,
the day whereon we shall
all return unto Him.
As to the words
“brass-like were His feet”,
by this is meant
His constancy upon
hearing the call of God
that commandeth Him:
“Be thou steadfast as
thou hast been bidden.”
He shall so persevere
in the Cause of God,
and evince such firmness
in the path of His might,
that even if all the powers
of earth and heaven
were to deny Him,
He would not waver
in the proclamation
of His Cause, nor
flee from His command
in the promulgation
of His Laws.
Nay rather,
He will stand as firm
as the highest mountains
and the loftiest peaks.
He will remain immovable
in His obedience to God
and steadfast in
revealing His Cause and
proclaiming His Word.
No obstacle will hinder Him,
nor will the censure
of the froward deter Him
or the repudiation
of the unbelievers
cause Him to waver.
All the hatred,
the rejection, the iniquity,
and the unbelief
that He witnesseth serve
but to strengthen His love
for God, to augment
the yearning of His heart,
to heighten the exultation
of His soul,
and to fill His breast
with passionate devotion.
Hast thou ever seen
in this world
brass stronger,
or blade sharper,
or mountain
more unyielding than this?
He shall verily stand
upon His feet to confront
all the inhabitants
of the earth,
and will fear no one,
notwithstanding that which,
as thou well knowest,
the people are wont
to commit.
Glory be to God,
Who hath established Him
and called Him forth!
Potent is God
to do what He pleaseth.
He, in truth,
is the Help in Peril,
the Self-Subsisting.