gFrom the sweet-scented streams of
Thine eternity...h
From the sweet-scented streams of Thine eternity give me to drink, O my
God, and of the fruits of the tree of Thy being enable me to taste, O my Hope!
From the crystal springs of Thy love suffer me to quaff, O my Glory, and
beneath the shadow of Thine everlasting providence let me abide, O my Light!
Within the meadows of Thy nearness, before Thy presence, make me able to roam,
O my Beloved, and at the right hand of the throne of Thy mercy, seat me, O my
Desire! From the fragrant breezes of Thy joy let a breath pass over me, O my
Goal, and into the heights of the paradise of Thy reality let me gain
admission, O my Adored One! To the melodies of the dove of Thy oneness suffer
me to hearken, O Resplendent One, and through the spirit of Thy power and Thy
might quicken me, O my Provider! In the spirit of Thy love keep me steadfast, O
my Succorer, and in the path of Thy good pleasure set firm my steps, O my
Maker! Within the garden of Thine immortality, before
Thy countenance, let me abide for ever, O Thou Who art merciful unto me, and
upon the seat of Thy glory stablish me, O Thou Who art my Possessor! To the
heaven of Thy loving-kindness lift me up, O my Quickener, and unto the Daystar
of Thy guidance lead me, O Thou my Attractor! Before the revelations of Thine
invisible spirit summon me to be present, O Thou Who art my Origin and my
Highest Wish, and unto the essence of the fragrance of Thy beauty, which Thou
wilt manifest, cause me to return, O Thou Who art my God!
Potent art
Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the Most Exalted, the
All-Glorious, the All-Highest.
gCreate in me a pure heart, O my
God, and renew...h
Create in me
a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope!
Through the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved,
and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my
desire! Through the power of Thy transcendent might lift me up unto the heaven
of Thy holiness, O Source of my being, and by the
breezes of Thine eternity gladden me, O Thou Who art my God! Let Thine
everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity on me, O my Companion, and let the
riches of Thine ancient countenance deliver me from all except Thee, O my
Master, and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible Essence
bring me joy, O Thou Who art the most manifest of the manifest and the most
hidden of the hidden!
gHe is the Gracious, the
All-Bountiful!...h
He is the
Gracious, the All-Bountiful!
O God, my
God! Thy call hath attracted me, and the voice of Thy Pen of Glory awakened me.
The stream of Thy holy utterance hath enraptured me, and the wine of Thine
inspiration entranced me. Thou seest me, O Lord, detached from all things but
Thee, clinging to the cord of Thy bounty and craving the wonders of Thy grace.
I ask Thee, by the eternal billows of Thy loving-kindness and the shining
lights of Thy tender care and favor, to grant that which shall draw me nigh
unto Thee and make me rich in Thy wealth. My tongue, my pen, my whole being, testify
to Thy power, Thy might, Thy grace and Thy bounty, that
Thou art God and there is none other God but Thee, the Powerful, the Mighty.
I bear
witness at this moment, O my God, to my helplessness and Thy sovereignty, my
feebleness and Thy power. I know not that which profiteth me or harmeth me;
Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Do Thou decree for me, O Lord,
my God, and my Master, that which will make me feel content with Thine eternal
decree and will prosper me in every world of Thine. Thou art in truth the
Gracious, the Bountiful.
Lord! Turn
me not away from the ocean of Thy wealth and the heaven of Thy mercy, and
ordain for me the good of this world and hereafter. Verily, Thou art the Lord
of the mercy-seat, enthroned in the highest; there is none other God but Thee,
the One, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
gO my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my
food,...h
O my Lord!
Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my
hope, and praise of Thee my action, and remembrance of Thee my companion, and the power of Thy sovereignty my succorer, and Thy
habitation my home, and my dwelling-place the seat Thou hast sanctified from
the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee.
Thou art,
verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.
gLauded be Thy Name, O Lord my God!
I am...h
Lauded be
Thy Name, O Lord my God! I am Thy servant who hath laid hold on the cord of Thy
tender mercies, and clung to the hem of Thy bounteousness. I entreat Thee by
Thy name whereby Thou hast subjected all created things, both visible and
invisible, and through which the breath that is life indeed was wafted over the
entire creation, to strengthen me by Thy power which hath encompassed the
heavens and the earth, and to guard me from all sickness and tribulation. I
bear witness that Thou art the Lord of all names, and the Ordainer of all that
may please Thee. There is none other God but Thee, the Almighty, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Do Thou
ordain for me, O my Lord, what will profit me in every world of Thy worlds.
Supply me, then, with what Thou hast written down for the
chosen ones among Thy creatures, whom neither the blame of the blamer, nor the
clamor of the infidel, nor the estrangement of such as have withdrawn from
Thee, hath deterred from turning towards Thee.
Thou, truly, art the Help in Peril through the power
of Thy sovereignty. No God is there save Thee, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.
gO my God, the God of bounty and mercy!...h
O my God, the God of bounty and mercy!
Thou art that King by Whose commanding word the whole
creation hath been called into being; and Thou art that All-Bountiful One the
doings of Whose servants have never hindered Him from showing forth His grace,
nor have they frustrated the revelations of His bounty.
Suffer this servant, I beseech Thee, to attain unto
that which is the cause of his salvation in every world of Thy worlds. Thou
art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
gHe is the prayer-hearing, prayer-answering...h
He is the
prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God!
By Thy
glory, O Beloved One, Thou giver of light to the world! The flames of
separation have consumed me, and my waywardness hath melted my heart within me.
I ask of Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, O Thou the Desire of the world and the
Well-Beloved of mankind, to grant that the breeze of Thine inspiration may
sustain my soul, that Thy wondrous voice may reach my ear, that my eyes may
behold Thy signs and Thy light as revealed in the manifestations of Thy names
and Thine attributes, O Thou within Whose grasp are all things!
Thou seest,
O Lord my God, the tears of Thy favored ones, shed because of their separation
from Thee, and the fears of Thy devoted ones in their remoteness from Thy Holy
Court. By Thy power, that swayeth all things, visible and invisible! It
behooveth Thy loved ones to shed tears of blood for that which hath befallen
the faithful at the hands of the wicked and the oppressors on the earth. Thou
beholdest, O my God, how the ungodly have compassed Thy cities and Thy realms! I ask Thee by Thy Messengers and Thy chosen ones and by Him
whereby the standard of Thy divine unity hath been implanted amidst Thy servants,
to shield them by Thy bounty. Thou art, verily, the Gracious, the
All-Bountiful.
And, again,
I ask Thee by the sweet showers of Thy grace and the billows of the ocean of
Thy favor, to ordain for Thy saints that which shall solace their eyes and comfort
their hearts. Lord! Thou seest him that kneeleth yearning to arise and serve
Thee, the dead calling for eternal life from the ocean of Thy favor and craving
to soar to the heavens of Thy wealth, the stranger longing for his home of
glory eneath the canopy of Thy grace, the seeker hastening by Thy mercy to Thy
door of bounty, the sinful turning to the ocean of forgiveness and pardon.
By Thy
sovereignty, O Thou Who art glorified in the hearts of men! I have turned to
Thee, forsaking mine own will and desire, that Thy holy will and pleasure may
rule within me and direct me according to that which the pen of Thy eternal
decree hath destined for me. This servant, O Lord, though helpless turneth to
the Orb of Thy Power, though abased hasteneth unto the Dayspring of Glory, though needy craveth the Ocean of Thy Grace. I
beseech Thee by Thy favor and bounty, cast him not away.
Thou art
verily the Almighty, the Pardoner, the Compassionate.
gGlorified art Thou, O Lord my God!
I give...h
Glorified art
Thou, O Lord my God! I give Thee thanks inasmuch as Thou hast called me into
being in Thy days, and infused into me Thy love and Thy knowledge. I beseech
Thee, by Thy name whereby the goodly pearls of Thy wisdom and Thine utterance
were brought forth out of the treasuries of the hearts of such of Thy servants
as are nigh unto Thee, and through which the Daystar of Thy name, the
Compassionate, hath shed its radiance upon all that are in Thy heaven and on
Thy earth, to supply me, by Thy grace and bounty, with Thy wondrous and hidden
bounties.
These are
the earliest days of my life, O my God, which Thou hast linked with Thine own
days. Now that Thou hast conferred upon me so great an honor, withhold not from
me the things Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones.
I am, O my
God, but a tiny seed which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love, and caused
to spring forth by the hand of Thy bounty. This seed craveth, therefore, in its
inmost being, for the waters of Thy mercy and the living fountain of Thy grace.
Send down upon it, from the heaven of Thy loving-kindness, that which will
enable it to flourish beneath Thy shadow and within the borders of Thy court.
Thou art He Who watereth the hearts of all that have recognized Thee from Thy
plenteous stream and the fountain of Thy living waters.
Praised be
God, the Lord of the worlds.
gVouchsafe unto me, O my God, the
full measure...h
Vouchsafe
unto me, O my God, the full measure of Thy love and Thy good-pleasure, and
through the attractions of Thy resplendent light enrapture our hearts, O Thou
Who art the Supreme Evidence and the All-Glorified. Send down upon me, as a
token of Thy grace, Thy vitalizing breezes, throughout the daytime and in the
night season, O Lord of bounty.
No deed have
I done, O my God, to merit beholding Thy face, and I know of a certainty that
were I to live as long as the world lasts I would fail to accomplish any deed
such as to deserve this favor, inasmuch as the station of a servant shall ever
fall short of access to Thy holy precincts, unless Thy bounty should reach me
and Thy tender mercy pervade me and Thy loving-kindness encompass me.
All praise
be unto Thee, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God. Graciously enable me
to ascend unto Thee, to be granted the honor of dwelling in Thy nearness and to
have communion with Thee alone. No God is there but Thee.
Indeed
shouldst Thou desire to confer blessing upon a servant Thou wouldst blot out
from the realm of his heart every mention or disposition except Thine Own
mention; and shouldst Thou ordain evil for a servant by reason of that which
his hands have unjustly wrought before Thy face, Thou wouldst test him with the
benefits of this world and of the next that he might become preoccupied
therewith and forget Thy remembrance.
gO God! Refresh and gladden my
spirit. Purify...h
O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my
powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I
will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O
God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I
will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.
O God! Thou
art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.
gO my God! O my God! Glory be unto
Thee...h
O my God! O
my God! Glory be unto Thee for that Thou hast confirmed me to the confession of
Thy oneness, attracted me unto the word of Thy singleness, enkindled me by the
fire of Thy love, and occupied me with Thy mention and the service of Thy
friends and maidservants.
O Lord, help
me to be meek and lowly, and strengthen me in severing myself from all things
and in holding to the hem of the garment of Thy glory, so that my heart may be
filled with Thy love and leave no space for love of the world and attachment to
its qualities.
O God!
Sanctify me from all else save Thee, purge me from the dross of sins and
transgressions, and cause me to possess a spiritual heart and conscience.
Verily, Thou
art merciful and, verily, Thou art the Most Generous, Whose help is sought by
all men.
gO my Lord! O my Lord! This is a
lamp lighted...h
O my Lord! O
my Lord! This is a lamp lighted by the fire of Thy love and ablaze with the
flame which is ignited in the tree of Thy mercy. O my Lord! Increase his
enkindlement, heat and flame, with the fire which is kindled in the Sinai of
Thy Manifestation. Verily, Thou art the Confirmer, the Assister, the Powerful,
the Generous, the Loving.
gO my God! O my God! This, Thy
servant,...h
O my God! O
my God! This, Thy servant, hath advanced towards Thee, is passionately
wandering in the desert of Thy love, walking in the path of Thy service,
anticipating Thy favors, hoping for Thy bounty, relying upon Thy kingdom, and
intoxicated by the wine of Thy gift. O my God! Increase
the fervor of his affection for Thee, the constancy of his praise of Thee, and
the ardor of his love for Thee.
Verily, Thou
art the Most Generous, the Lord of grace abounding. There is no other God but
Thee, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
gO God, my God! This is Thy radiant
servant,...h
O God, my
God! This is Thy radiant servant, Thy spiritual thrall, who hath drawn nigh
unto Thee and approached Thy presence. He hath turned his face unto Thine,
acknowledging Thy oneness, confessing Thy singleness, and he hath called out in
Thy name among the nations, and led the people to the streaming waters of Thy
mercy, O Thou Most generous Lord! To those who asked He hath given to drink from
the cup of guidance that brimmeth over with the wine of Thy measureless grace.
O Lord,
assist him under all conditions, cause him to learn Thy well-guarded mysteries,
and shower down upon him Thy hidden pearls. Make of him a banner rippling from
castle summits in the winds of Thy heavenly aid, make of
him a wellspring of crystal waters.
O my
forgiving Lord! Light up the hearts with the rays of a lamp that sheddeth
abroad its beams, disclosing to those among Thy people whom Thou hast
bounteously favored, the realities of all things.
Verily, Thou
art the Mighty, the Powerful, the Protector, the Strong, the Beneficent!
Verily, Thou art the Lord of all mercies!
gO God, my God! These are Thy feeble
servants;...h
O God, my
God! These are Thy feeble servants; they are Thy loyal bondsmen and Thy
handmaidens, who have bowed themselves down before Thine exalted Utterance and
humbled themselves at Thy Threshold of light, and borne witness to Thy oneness
through which the Sun hath been made to shine in midday splendor. They have
listened to the summons Thou didst raise from out Thy hidden Realm, and with
hearts quivering with love and rapture, they have responded to Thy call.
O Lord,
shower upon them all the outpourings of Thy mercy, rain down upon them all the
waters of Thy grace. Make them to grow as beauteous plants in the garden of
heaven, and from the full and brimming clouds of Thy bestowals and out of the
deep pools of Thine abounding grace make Thou this garden to flower, and keep
it ever green and lustrous, ever fresh and shimmering and fair.
Thou art,
verily, the Mighty, the Exalted, the Powerful, He Who alone, in the heavens and
on the earth, abideth unchanged. There is none other God save Thee, the Lord of
manifest tokens and signs.
He is God!
O God, my
God! These are servants attracted in Thy days by the fragrances of Thy
holiness, enkindled with the flame burning in Thy holy tree, responding to Thy
voice, uttering Thy praise, awakened by Thy breeze, stirred by Thy sweet
savors, beholding Thy signs, understanding Thy verses, hearkening to Thy words,
believing Thy Revelation and assured of Thy loving-kindness. Their eyes, O
Lord, are fixed upon Thy kingdom of effulgent glory and
their faces turned toward Thy dominion on high, their hearts beating with the
love of Thy radiant and glorious beauty, their souls consumed with the flame of
Thy love, O Lord of this world and the world hereafter, their lives seething
with the ardor of their longing for Thee, and their tears poured forth for Thy
sake.
Shield them
within the stronghold of Thy protection and safety, preserve them in Thy
watchful care, look upon them with the eyes of Thy providence and mercy, make
them the signs of Thy divine unity that are manifest throughout all regions,
the standards of Thy might that wave above Thy mansions of grandeur, the
shining lamps that burn with the oil of Thy wisdom in the globes of Thy
guidance, the birds of the garden of Thy knowledge that warble upon the topmost
boughs in Thy sheltering paradise, and the leviathans of the ocean of Thy
bounty that plunge by Thy supreme mercy in the fathomless deeps.
O Lord, my
God! Lowly are these servants of Thine, exalt them in Thy kingdom on high;
feeble, strengthen them by Thy supreme power; abased, bestow upon them Thy
glory in Thine all-highest realm; poor, enrich them in
Thy great dominion. Do Thou then ordain for them all the good Thou hast
destined in Thy worlds, visible and invisible, prosper them in this world
below, gladden their hearts with Thine inspiration, O Lord of all beings!
Illumine their hearts with Thy joyful tidings diffused from Thine all-glorious
Station, make firm their steps in Thy Most Great Covenant and strengthen their
loins in Thy firm Testament, by Thy bounty and promised grace, O Gracious and
Merciful One! Thou art, verily, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful.
gO Thou Provider! Thou hast breathed
over...h
O Thou
Provider! Thou hast breathed over the friends in the West the sweet fragrance
of the Holy Spirit, and with the light of divine guidance Thou hast lit up the
western sky. Thou hast made those who were once remote to draw near unto
Thyself; Thou hast turned strangers into loving friends; Thou hast awakened
those who slept; Thou hast made the heedless mindful.
O Thou
Provider! Assist Thou these noble friends to win Thy good pleasure, and make them well wishers of stranger and friend alike. Bring them
into the world that abideth forever; grant them a portion of heavenly grace;
cause them to be true Baháfís, sincerely of God; save them from outward
semblances, and establish them firmly in the truth. Make them signs and tokens
of the Kingdom, luminous stars above the horizons of this nether life. Make
them to be a comfort and a solace to humankind and servants to the peace of the
world. Exhilarate them with the wine of Thy counsel, and grant that all of them
may tread the path of Thy commandments.
O Thou
Provider! The dearest wish of this servant of Thy Threshold is to behold the
friends of East and West in close embrace; to see all the members of human
society gathered with love in a single great assemblage, even as individual
drops of water collected in one mighty sea; to behold them all as birds in one
garden of roses, as pearls of one ocean, as leaves of one tree, as rays of one
sun.
Thou art the
Mighty, the Powerful, and Thou art the God of strength, the Omnipotent, the
All-Seeing.
—eAbdufl-Bahá
O Lord! We are weak; strengthen us.
Lord! We are weak; strengthen
us. O God! We are ignorant; make us knowing. O Lord! We are poor; make us
wealthy. O God! We are dead; quicken us. O Lord! We are humiliation itself; glorify
us in Thy kingdom. If Thou dost assist us, O Lord, we shall become as
scintillating stars. If Thou dost not assist us, we shall become lower than the
earth. O Lord! Strengthen us. O God! Confer victory upon us. O God! Enable us
to conquer self and overcome desire. O Lord! Deliver us from the bondage of the
material world. O Lord! Quicken us through the breath of the Holy Spirit in order
that we may arise to serve Thee, engage in worshipping Thee, and exert
ourselves in Thy kingdom with the utmost sincerity. O Lord! Thou art Powerful! O
God, Thou art Forgiving! O Lord, Thou art Compassionate!
—eAbdufl-Bahá