Pages 21-22 of Tablets of The Divine Plan
from the Tablet to the Baha'is of the Western States (by 'Abdu'l-Baha, 1916)
DAY and night I have no other occupation than the remembrance of the friends,
praying from the depth of my heart in their behalf,
begging for them confirmation from the Kingdom of God
and supplicating the direct effect of the breaths of the Holy Spirit.
I am hopeful from the favors of His Highness the Lord of Bestowals,
that the friends of God during such a time
may become the secret cause of the illumination of the hearts of humanity,
breathing the breath of life upon the spirits
--whose praiseworthy results
may become conducive to the glory and exaltation of humankind throughout all eternity.
Although in some of the Western States, like California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado,
the fragrances of holiness are diffused,
numerous souls have taken a share and a portion from the fountain of everlasting life,
they have obtained heavenly benediction,
have drunk an overflowing cup from the wine of the love of God
and have hearkened to the melody of the Supreme Concourse
--yet in the states of New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Nevada,
the lamp of the love of God is not ignited in a befitting and behooving manner,
and the call of the Kingdom of God has not been raised.
Now, if it is possible, show ye an effort in this direction.
Either travel yourselves, personally, throughout those states
or choose others and send them, so that they may teach the souls.
For the present those states are like unto dead bodies:
they must breathe into them the breath of life and bestow upon them a heavenly spirit.
Like unto the stars they must shine in that horizon
and thus the rays of the Sun of Reality may also illumine those states.

Page 32 of Tablets of Divine Plan
Likewise the republic of Mexico is very important.
The majority of the inhabitants of that country are devoted Catholics.
They are totally unaware of the reality of the Bible, the Gospel and the new divine teachings.
They do not know that the basis of the religions of God is one
and that the holy Manifestations are like unto the Sun of Truth,
rising from the different dawning-places.
Those souls are submerged in the sea of dogmas.
If one breath of life be blown over them, great results will issue therefrom.
But it is better for those who intend to go to Mexico to teach,
to be familiar with the Spanish language.

Page 34 of Tablets of Divine Plan
Now is the time
for you to divest yourselves of the garment of attachment to this world that perisheth,
to be wholly severed from the physical world,
become heavenly angels, and travel to these countries.
I swear by Him, besides Whom there is none other God,
that each one of you will become an Israfil of Life,
and will blow the Breath of Life into the souls of others.

Page 38 of Tablets of Divine Plan
He is God!
O ye real Baha'is of America:
PRAISE be to His Highness the Desired One
that ye have become confirmed in the promotion of divine teachings in that vast Continent,
raised the call of the Kingdom of God in that region
and announced the glad tidings of the manifestation of the Lord of Hosts
and His Highness the Promised One.
Thanks be unto the Lord that ye have become assisted and confirmed in this aim.
This is purely through the confirmations of the Lord of Hosts
and the breaths of the Holy Spirit.
The full measure of your success is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended.
Erelong ye will,
with your own eyes,
witness how brilliantly every one of you,
even as a shining star,
will radiate in the firmament of your country the light of divine Guidance,
and will bestow upon its people the glory of an everlasting life.

Page 49 of Tablets of Divine Plan
THE BLESSED Person of the Promised One
is interpreted in the Holy Book as the Lord of Hosts
--the heavenly armies.
By heavenly armies those souls are intended who are entirely freed from the human world,
transformed into celestial spirits and have become divine angels.
Such souls are the rays of the Sun of Reality who will illumine all the continents.
Each one is holding in his hand a trumpet,
blowing the breath of life over all the regions.
They are delivered from human qualities and the defects of the world of nature,
are characterized with the characteristics of God,
and are attracted with the fragrances of the Merciful.
Like unto the apostles of Christ, who were filled with Him,
these souls also have become filled with His Holiness Baha'u'llah;
that is, the love of Baha'u'llah has so mastered every organ, part and limb of their bodies,
as to leave no effect from the promptings of the human world.


Page 54 of Tablets of Divine Plan
The aim is this:
The intention of the teacher must be pure,
his heart independent,
his spirit attracted,
his thought at peace,
his resolution firm,
his magnanimity exalted
and in the love of God a shining torch.
Should he become as such,
his sanctified breath will even affect the rock;
otherwise there will be no result whatsoever.
As long as a soul is not perfected,
how can he efface the defects of others?
Unless he is detached from aught else save God,
how can he teach severance to others?

Page 65 of Tablets of Divine Plan
O Almighty! Look upon us with the glance of mercifulness.
Grant us heavenly confirmation.
Bestow upon us the breath of the Holy Spirit,
so that we may be assisted in Thy service and,
like unto brilliant stars,
shine in these regions with the light of Thy guidance.


Page 70 of Tablets of Divine Plan (letter to the Bahá’ís of the Southern States, 1917)
Therefore in these sixteen states,
because they are contiguous to other states
and their climate being in the utmost of moderation,
unquestionably the divine teachings must reveal themselves with a brighter effulgence,
the breaths of the Holy Spirit must display a penetrating intensity,
the ocean of the love of God must be stirred with higher waves,
the breezes of the rose garden of the divine love be wafted with higher velocity,
and the fragrances of holiness be diffused with swiftness and rapidity.

Pages 72-73 of Tablets of Divine Plan (letter to the Bahá’ís of the Southern States, 1917)
O MY God! O my God!
Thou seest me in my lowliness and weakness,
occupied with the greatest undertaking,
determined to raise Thy word among the masses
and to spread Thy teachings among Thy peoples.
How can I succeed unless Thou assist me with the breath of the Holy Spirit,
help me to triumph by the hosts of Thy glorious kingdom,
and shower upon me Thy confirmations,
which alone can change a gnat into an eagle,
a drop of water into rivers and seas,
and an atom into lights and suns?
O my Lord! Assist me with Thy triumphant and effective might,
so that my tongue may utter Thy praises and attributes among all people
and my soul overflow with the wine of Thy love and knowledge.

Page 80 of Tablets of Divine Plan (letter to the Bahá’ís of the Central States, 1917)
Consequently, those souls who are in a condition of the utmost severance,
purified from the defects of the world of nature,
sanctified from attachment to this earth,
vivified with the breaths of eternal life
--with luminous hearts,
with heavenly spirit,
with attraction of consciousness,
with celestial magnanimity,
with eloquent tongues
and with clear explanations
--such souls must hasten and travel through all parts of the Central States.
In every city and village they must occupy themselves
with the diffusion of the divine exhortations and advices,
guide the souls and promote the oneness of the world of humanity.
They must play the melody of international conciliation
with such power that every deaf one may attain hearing,
every extinct person may be set aglow,
every dead one may obtain new life
and every indifferent soul may find ecstasy.
It is certain that such will be the consummation.


Page 96 of Tablets of Divine Plan (letter to the Bahá’ís of Canada and Greenland, 1917)
As regards the teachers,
they must completely divest themselves from the old garments
and be invested with a new garment.
According to the statement of Christ, they must attain to the station of rebirth
--that is, whereas in the first instance they were born from the womb of the mother,
this time they must be born from the womb of the world of nature.
Just as they are now totally unaware of the experiences of the fetal world,
they must also forget entirely the defects of the world of nature.
They must be baptized
with the water of life, the fire of the love of God and the breaths of the Holy Spirit;
be satisfied with little food, but take a large portion from the heavenly table.
They must disengage themselves from temptation and covetousness,
and be filled with the spirit.
Through the effect of their pure breath,
they must change the stone into the brilliant ruby and the shell into pearl.
Like unto the cloud of vernal shower,
they must transform the black soil into the rose garden and orchard.
They must make the blind seeing, the deaf hearing,
the extinguished one enkindled and set aglow, and the dead quickened.

Pages 103-104 of Tablets of Divine Plan
(letter to the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, 1917)

Consider the flowers of a garden.
Though differing in kind, color, form, and shape, yet,
inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring,
revived by the breath of one wind,
invigorated by the rays of one sun,
this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth unto their beauty.
How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and plants,
the leaves and blossoms, the fruits, the branches and the trees of that garden
were all of the same shape and color!
Diversity of hues, form and shape, enricheth and adorneth the garden,
and heighteneth the effect thereof.
In like manner, when divers shades of thought, temperament and character,
are brought together under the power and influence of one central agency,
the beauty and glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest.
Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God,
which ruleth and transcendeth the realities of all things,
is capable of harmonizing
the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas, and convictions of the children of men.

Therefore, the believers of God throughout all the republics of America,
through the divine power,
must become the cause of the promotion of heavenly teachings
and the establishment of the oneness of humanity.
Every one of the important souls must arise,
blowing over all parts of America the breath of life,
conferring upon the people a new spirit,
baptizing them
with the fire of the love of God, the water of life, and the breaths of the Holy Spirit
so that the second birth may become realized.
For it is written in the Gospel:
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." [John 3:6.]

Page 19 of the World Order of Baha'u'llah (Shoghi Effendi, 1930)
"...What can possibly be the agency that can safeguard these Bahá'í institutions, so strikingly resemblant, in some of their features, to those which have been reared by the Fathers of the Church and the Apostles of Muhammad, from witnessing the deterioration in character, the breach of unity, and the extinction of influence, which have befallen all organized religious hierarchies? Why should they not eventually suffer the self-same fate that has overtaken the institutions which the successors of Christ and Muhammad have reared?

Upon the answer given to these challenging questions will, in a great measure,
depend the success of the efforts which believers in every land are now exerting
for the establishment of God's kingdom upon the earth.
Few will fail to recognize that the Spirit breathed by Bahá'u'lláh upon the world,
and which is manifesting itself with varying degrees of intensity
through the efforts consciously displayed by His avowed supporters
and indirectly through certain humanitarian organizations,
can never permeate and exercise an abiding influence upon mankind
unless and until it incarnates itself in a visible Order,
which would bear His name, wholly identify itself with His principles,
and function in conformity with His laws.

Pages 15-16 of the Kitab'i'Aqdas (Baha'u'llah, 1873, but this passage is from the introduction)
The laws and ordinances that constitute the major theme of this Book,
Baha'u'llah, moreover, has specifically characterized
as "the breath of life unto all created things",
as "the mightiest stronghold",
as the "fruits" of His "Tree",
as "the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples",
as "the lamps of His wisdom and loving-providence",
as "the sweet-smelling savour of His garment",
and the "keys" of His "mercy" to His creatures.
"This Book", He Himself testifies,
"is a heaven which We have adorned with the stars of Our commandments and prohibitions." "Blessed the man",
He, moreover, has stated,
"who will read it, and ponder the verses sent down in it by God,
the Lord of Power, the Almighty.
Say, O men! Take hold of it with the hand of resignation...
By My life! It hath been sent down in a manner that amazeth the minds of men.
Verily, it is My weightiest testimony unto all people,
and the proof of the All-Merciful unto all who are in heaven and all who are on earth."
And again:
"Blessed the palate that savoureth its sweetness,
and the perceiving eye that recognizeth that which is treasured therein,
and the understanding heart that comprehendeth its allusions and mysteries.

Pages 19-20 of Kitab'i'Aqdas (Baha'u'llah, 1873)
They whom God hath endued with insight
will readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God
constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world
and the security of its peoples.
He that turneth away from them is accounted among the abject and foolish.
We, verily, have commanded you
to refuse the dictates of your evil passions and corrupt desires,
and not to transgress the bounds which the Pen of the Most High hath fixed,
for these are the breath of life unto all created things.
The seas of Divine wisdom and Divine utterance have risen
under the breath of the breeze of the All-Merciful.
Hasten to drink your fill, O men of understanding!
They that have violated the Covenant of God by breaking His commandments,
and have turned back on their heels,
these have erred grievously in the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the Most High.

Page 33 of Kitab'i'Aqdas
Say: Can ye claim that what ye own is lasting or secure?
Nay! By Myself, the All-Merciful, ye cannot,
if ye be of them who judge fairly.
The days of your life flee away as a breath of wind,
and all your pomp and glory shall be folded up
as were the pomp and glory of those gone before you.

Page 46 of Kitab'i'Aqdas
Let none contend with another, and let no soul slay another;
this, verily, is that which was forbidden you in a Book
that hath lain concealed within the Tabernacle of glory.
What! Would ye kill him whom God hath quickened,
whom He hath endowed with spirit through a breath from Him?
Grievous then would be your trespass before His throne!

Page 60 of Kitab'i'Aqdas
Say: This day, verily, is the crown of all the months and the source thereof,
the day on which the breath of life is wafted over all created things.
Great is the blessedness of him who greeteth it with radiance and joy.

Page 68 of Kitab'i'Aqdas
Say: This is a Revelation around which every proof and testimony doth circle.
Thus hath it been sent down by your Lord, the God of Mercy,
if ye be of them that judge aright.
Say: This is the very soul of all Scriptures
which hath been breathed into the Pen of the Most High,
causing all created beings to be dumbfounded,
save only those who have been enraptured by the gentle breezes of My loving-kindness
and the sweet savours of My bounties which have pervaded the whole of creation.

Page 34 of Kitab'i'Iqan
It is the warmth that these Luminaries
of God generate, and the undying fires they
kindle, which cause the light of the love of God to
burn fiercely in the heart of humanity. It is
through the abundant grace of these Symbols of
Detachment that the Spirit of life everlasting is
breathed into the bodies of the dead. Assuredly
the visible sun is but a sign of the splendour of that
Day-star of Truth, that Sun Which can never have
a peer, a likeness, or rival. Through Him all
things live, move, and have their being.


Page 43 of Kitab'i'Iqan
O my brother! Take thou the step of the spirit,
so that, swift as the twinkling of an eye, thou mayest
flash through the wilds of remoteness and bereavement,
attain the Ridvan of everlasting reunion,
and in one breath commune with the
heavenly Spirits. For with human feet thou canst
never hope to traverse these immeasurable distances,
nor attain thy goal.


Page 58 of Kitab'i'Iqan
And now, take heed, O brother! If such things
be revealed in this Dispensation, and such incidents
come to pass, at the present time, what would the
people do? I swear by Him Who is the true Educator
of mankind and the Revealer of the Word of
God that the people would instantly and unquestionably
pronounce Him an infidel and would
sentence Him to death. How far are they from
hearkening unto the voice that declareth: Lo! a
Jesus hath appeared out of the breath of the Holy
Ghost, and a Moses summoned to a divinely-appointed
task! Were a myriad voices to be raised, no
ear would listen if We said that upon a fatherless
Child hath been conferred the mission of Prophethood,
or that a murderer hath brought from the
flame of the burning Bush the message of "Verily,
verily, I am God!"


Page 67 of Kitab'i'Iqan
Though they be dwelling on this earth, yet
their true habitations are the retreats of glory in
the realms above. Whilst walking amongst mortals,
they soar in the heaven of the divine presence.
Without feet they tread the path of the spirit, and
without wings they rise unto the exalted heights of
divine unity. With every fleeting breath they cover
the immensity of space, and at every moment traverse
the kingdoms of the visible and the invisible.
Upon their thrones is written: "Nothing whatsoever
keepeth Him from being occupied with any
other thing;" and on their seats is inscribed: "Verily,
His ways differ every day."

Pages 112-113 of Kitab'i'Iqan
Furthermore, how numerous are those peoples of divers
beliefs, of conflicting creeds, and opposing temperaments,
who, through the reviving fragrance of
the Divine springtime, breathing from the Ridvan
of God, have been arrayed with the new robe of
divine Unity, and have drunk from the cup of His
singleness!

from the LAWH-I-KARMIL
Thou didst ordain as Thy trumpet-call amidst Thy
people. And when the hour at which Thy resistless Faith
was to be made manifest did strike, Thou didst breathe a
breath of Thy spirit into Thy Pen, and lo, the entire
creation shook to its very foundations, unveiling to mankind
such mysteries as lay hidden within the treasuries of Him
Who is the Possessor of all created things.'

from the LAWH-I-AQDAS
Say: Blessed the slumberer who is awakened by My
Breeze. Blessed the lifeless one who is quickened through
My reviving breaths. Blessed the eye that is solaced by
gazing at My beauty.

from The sixth Taraz of the TARAZAT
...Change injustice into justice and inequity into equity.
We cherish the hope that the breaths of divine inspiration
may strengthen thee and that thine inner ear
may be enabled to hear the blessed words:
`Say, it is God, then leave them to entertain themselves with their cavillings.'

from the LAWH-I-DUNYA
Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have,
at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer,
breathed a new life into every human frame,
and instilled into every word a fresh potency.
All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration.

The ninth Ishraq from the ISHRAQAT
Upon Our arrival in Iraq We found the Cause of God
sunk in deep apathy and the breeze of divine revelation
stilled. Most of the believers were faint and dispirited, nay
utterly lost and dead. Hence there was a second blast on the
Trumpet, whereupon the Tongue of Grandeur uttered
these blessed words: `We have sounded the Trumpet for the
second time.' Thus the whole world was quickened through
the vitalizing breaths of divine revelation and inspiration.

page 21 of Baha'i Prayers
Remove not, O Lord, the festal board that hath
been spread in Thy Name, and extinguish
not the burning flame that hath been kindled by
Thine unquenchable fire. Withhold not from
flowing that living water of Thine that murmureth
with the melody of Thy glory and Thy
remembrance, and deprive not Thy servants from
the fragrance of Thy sweet savors breathing forth
the perfume of Thy love.
Lord! Turn the distressing cares of Thy holy
ones into ease, their hardship into comfort, their
abasement into glory, their sorrow into blissful
joy, O Thou that holdest in Thy grasp the reins of
all mankind!
Thou art, verily, the One, the Single, the
Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
- Abdu'l-Baha

page 35 of Baha'i Prayers
O Peerless Lord! Be Thou a shelter for this
poor child and a kind and forgiving Master
unto this erring and unhappy soul. O Lord!
Though we are but worthless plants, yet we belong
to Thy garden of roses. Though saplings
without leaves and blossoms, yet we are a part of
Thine orchard. Nurture this plant then through
the outpourings of the clouds of Thy tender mercy
and quicken and refresh this sapling through the
reviving breath of Thy spiritual springtime. Suffer
him to become heedful, discerning and noble,
and grant that he may attain eternal life and abide
in Thy Kingdom for evermore. - Abdu'l-Baha

page 66 of Baha'i Prayers
Deny me not, O my Lord, the fragrances of
Thy raiment in Thy days, and deprive me not of
the breathings of Thy Revelation at the appearance
of the splendors of the light of Thy face.
Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee.
Naught can resist Thy will, nor frustrate what
Thou hast purposed by Thy power.
No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the
All-Wise. - Baha'u'llah

page 98 of Baha'i Prayers
O Thou compassionate Lord, Thou Who art generous and able!
We are servants of Thine sheltered beneath Thy providence.
Cast Thy glance of favor upon us.
Give light to our eyes, hearing to our ears, and understanding and love to our hearts.
Render our souls joyous and happy through Thy glad tidings.
O Lord! Point out to us the pathway of Thy kingdom
and resuscitate all of us through the breaths of the Holy Spirit.
Bestow upon us life everlasting and confer upon us never-ending honor.
Unify mankind and illumine the world of humanity.
May we all follow Thy pathway,
long for Thy good pleasure and seek the mysteries of Thy kingdom.
O God! Unite us and connect our hearts with Thy indissoluble bond.
Verily, Thou art the Giver, Thou art the Kind One and Thou art the Almighty.
- Abdu'l-Baha


pages 4-5 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
O God, my God! Have mercy then upon my helpless state,
my poverty, my misery, my abasement!
Give me to drink from the generous cup of Thy grace and forgiveness,
stir me with the sweet scents of Thy love,
gladden my bosom with the light of Thy knowledge,
purify my soul with the mysteries of Thy oneness,
raise me to life with the gentle breeze that cometh from the gardens of Thy mercy
--till I sever myself from all else but Thee,
and lay hold of the hem of Thy garment of grandeur,
and consign to oblivion all that is not Thee,
and be companioned by the sweet breathings that waft during these Thy days,
and attain unto faithfulness at Thy Threshold of Holiness,
and arise to serve Thy Cause,
and to be humble before Thy loved ones,
and, in the presence of Thy favoured ones, to be nothingness itself.


pages 9-10 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
The beloved of the Lord must stand fixed as the mountains,
firm as impregnable walls. Unmoved must they
remain by even the direst adversities, ungrieved by the
worst of disasters. Let them cling to the hem of Almighty
God, and put their faith in the Beauty of the Most High;
let them lean on the unfailing help that cometh from the
Ancient Kingdom, and depend on the care and protection
of the generous Lord. Let them at all times refresh and
restore themselves with the dews of heavenly grace, and
with the breaths of the Holy Spirit revive and renew themselves
from moment to moment. Let them rise up to serve
their Lord, and do all in their power to scatter His breathings
of holiness far and wide....

page 14 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
The light hath shone forth, and radiance floodeth Mount
Sinai, and a gentle wind bloweth from over the gardens of
the Ever-Forgiving Lord; the sweet breaths of the spirit are
passing by, and those who lay buried in the grave are rising
up--and still do the heedless slumber on in their tombs.


page 23 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
O ye friends of God! True friends are even as skilled
physicians, and the Teachings of God are as healing balm, a
medicine for the conscience of man. They clear the head, so
that a man can breathe them in and delight in their sweet
fragrance. They waken those who sleep. They bring awareness
to the unheeding, and a portion to the outcast, and to
the hopeless, hope.


page 27 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
Know thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of
God's holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful,
the fountain of spiritual outpourings. Love is
heaven's kindly light, the Holy Spirit's eternal breath that
vivifieth the human soul. Love is the cause of God's revelation
unto man, the vital bond inherent, in accordance with
the divine creation, in the realities of things.


page 53 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
And this is clear: a power above and beyond the powers
of nature must needs be brought to bear, to change this
black darkness into light, and these hatreds and resentments,
grudges and spites, these endless wrangles and wars, into
fellowship and love amongst all the peoples of the earth.
This power is none other than the breathings of the Holy
Spirit and the mighty inflow of the Word of God.



pages 56-57 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
Haste thou to life before death cometh; haste
thou to the spring season before autumn draweth in; and
before illness striketh, haste thou to healing--that thou
mayest become a physician of the spirit who, with the
breaths of the Holy Spirit, healeth all manner of sickness in
this famed and glorious age.


page 94 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
...These spiritual gatherings must be held with the utmost
purity and consecration, so that from the site itself, and its
earth and the air about it, one will inhale the fragrant
breathings of the Holy Spirit.
56. Whensoever a company of people shall gather in a
meeting place, shall engage in glorifying God, and shall
speak with one another of the mysteries of God, beyond
any doubt the breathings of the Holy Spirit will blow
gently over them, and each shall receive a share thereof.


page 151 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
131. When giving medical treatment turn to the
Blessed Beauty, then follow the dictates of thy heart.
Remedy the sick by means of heavenly joy and spiritual
exultation, cure the sorely afflicted by imparting to them
blissful glad tidings and heal the wounded through His
resplendent bestowals. When at the bedside of a patient,
cheer and gladden his heart and enrapture his spirit through
celestial power. Indeed, such a heavenly breath quickeneth
every mouldering bone and reviveth the spirit of every sick
and ailing one.


page 157 in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha
Whensoever thou dost examine, through a microscope,
the water man drinketh, the air he doth breathe, thou wilt
see that with every breath of air, man taketh in an abundance
of animal life, and with every draught of water, he also
swalloweth down a great variety of animals. How could it
ever be possible to put a stop to this process? For all
creatures are eaters and eaten, and the very fabric of life is
reared upon this fact. Were it not so, the ties that interlace
all created things within the universe would be unravelled.