Selections from The 'Words of Wisdom'
THE source of ...
- all good is trust in God, submission unto His command, and contentment with His holy will and pleasure.
- courage and power is the promotion of the Word of God, and steadfastness in His Love.
- all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His Glory, and this cannot be attained save through the knowledge of His Divine Manifestation.
The essence of ...
- detachment is for man to turn his face towards the courts of the Lord, to enter His Presence, behold His Countenance, and stand as witness before Him.
- love is for man to turn his heart to the Beloved One, and sever himself from all else but Him, and desire naught save that which is the desire of his Lord.
- wisdom is the fear of God, the dread of His scourge and punishment, and the apprehension of His justice and decree.
- religion is to testify unto that which the Lord hath revealed, and follow that which He hath ordained in His mighty Book.
- understanding is to testify to one's poverty, and submit to the Will of the Lord, the Sovereign, the Gracious, the All-Powerful.
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charity is for the servant to recount the blessings of his Lord, and to render thanks unto Him at all times and under all conditions.
- faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.
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true safety is to observe silence, to look at the end of things and to renounce the world.
The beginning of magnanimity is when man expendeth his wealth on himself, on his family and on the poor among his brethren in his Faith.
True remembrance is to make mention of the Lord, the All-Praised, and forget aught else beside Him.
True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as in His Hands is the destiny of all His servants.
True loss is for him whose days have been spent in utter ignorance of his self.
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 153)