In every age, God has conveyed His guidance to humanity through the sacred Word, as revealed by His Manifestations. And as Bahá’u’lláh explains: “The purpose underlying the revelation of every heavenly Book, nay, of every divinely revealed verse, is to endue all men with righteousness and understanding, so that peace and tranquillity may be firmly established amongst them.” To attain that end, each Divine Educator has reaffirmed the eternal truths of the oneness of God and the purpose of life for the individual soul and has set down laws and teachings to guide humanity through the successive stages of social evolution. Now, in this, the latest stage in the process of progressive revelation, Bahá’u’lláh, the Manifestation of God for this day, has revealed the teachings and laws necessary to gather together the peoples of the world under the banner of the oneness of humanity and guide them to raise up a global civilization that will ensure the security and welfare of all, ushering in the long-promised era of universal peace.
The Báb, the Herald of Bahá’u’lláh, wrote: “There is no paradise more wondrous for any soul than to be exposed to God’s Manifestation in His Day, to hear His verses and believe in them, to attain His presence, which is naught but the presence of God, to sail upon the sea of the heavenly kingdom of His good-pleasure, and to partake of the choice fruits of the paradise of His divine Oneness.” This vision of paradise is increasingly becoming a reality for millions of souls, in all parts of the world, who join an ever-expanding multitude representing the diversity of the entire human family, walking a path of learning and action in service to the common good and the betterment of the world. In their neighbourhoods and villages, towns and cities, they have encountered the Creative Word in devotional meetings, the courses of the training institute, and classes for the young, and have experienced its transformative effect upon hearts and lives.
“The Word”, Bahá’u’lláh writes, “is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked.” In another passage He compares the Word of God to a sapling, whose roots have been implanted in human hearts. “It is incumbent upon you to foster its growth through the living waters of wisdom, of sanctified and holy words, so that its root may become firmly fixed and its branches may spread out as high as the heavens and beyond.” The aim of this volume is to extend the initial encounters with the Creative Word in both breadth and depth, vastly expanding access to Bahá’u’lláh’s Words and teachings, that the sapling may grow into a mighty tree.
Bahá’í Sacred Writings contains 257 selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, which span a period of almost four decades, concluding with His passing in 1892, and 241 passages from the Writings of His son and successor, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, including a few selections from His utterances, which illuminate important aspects of Bahá’u’lláh’s life and teachings. Within these pages, readers will find many of the passages with which they are already familiar from institute courses, often set within the context of the books and Tablets from which they are taken. Included as well are a number of newly translated excerpts published for the first time in this volume. Although representing but a small portion drawn from the vast ocean of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, the volume provides an overview of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, along with extensive elucidations by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on a wide range of themes including the relationship between God and humanity through His Manifestations, the mission of Bahá’u’lláh, the nature of His Covenant, the process of personal spiritual transformation, and teachings for social change and the raising of a just and peaceful global civilization.
May this volume be of assistance and inspiration to all who aspire to be protagonists in the building of communities that serve as a refuge and source of revitalization and hope for every soul.