The doors of God are open, but we must be ready and fitted to enter.
The ocean of divine providence is surging, but we must be able to swim.
The bestowals of the Almighty are descending from the heaven of grace,
but capacity to receive them is essential.
The fountain of divine generosity is gushing forth,
but we must have thirst for the living waters.
Unless there be thirst, the salutary water will not assuage.
Unless the soul hungers, the delicious foods of the heavenly table will not give sustenance.
Unless the eyes of perception be opened, the lights of the sun will not be witnessed.
Until the nostrils are purified, the fragrance of the divine rose garden will not be inhaled.
Unless the heart be filled with longing, the favors of the Lord will not be evident.
Unless a perfect melody be sung, the ears of the hearers will not be attracted.
Therefore, we must endeavor night and day to purify the hearts from every dross,
sanctify the souls from every restriction
and become free from the discords of the human world.
Then the divine bestowals will become evident in their fullness and glory.

(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 195)

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Clouds may veil the sun, but, be they never so dense, his rays will penetrate!
Nothing can prevent the radiance of the sun
descending to warm and vivify the Divine Garden.

Nothing can prevent the fall of the rain from Heaven.

Nothing can prevent the fulfilment of the Word of God!

(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 104)

"Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith: There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message. They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret. To prefer one in honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be permitted." -Bahá'u'lláh

From a Bahá'í perspective, when one of the Messengers of God states in Holy Writings something to the effect of "I am the only Way," that Messenger if referring to the Changeless Faith of God, the Eternal religion of God as expressed through the Messengers of God. 

We do not see such statements as excluding other Messengers or faiths.  Instead, we see these statements as proof that God wishes us to remember Him at all times and in every Age, for the central Truths of all religions stay the same while the social laws change. 

This is why Bahá'ís accept Bahá'u'lláh as the Messenger of this Day but do not slander or dismiss the Messengers of the past.  To do so would be a grievous error.

The Only Way
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHRISTIANITY, John 14:6
I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

BUDDHISM, Dhammapada 20:274
This is the path. There is no other that leads to vision.

HINDUISM, Bhagavad Gita 18:66
Abandoning all duties, come to Me alone for shelter.

ZOROASTRIANISM, The Teachings of the Magi, P.22
There is only one religious way. This one way is that of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, the way of heaven, of light and of purity, of the infinite Creator.

Submitted: David Gray

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How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an atom,

and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop!

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 100)

The more difficulties one sees in the world the more perfect one becomes.
The more you plough and dig the ground the more fertile it becomes.
The more you cut the branches of a tree the higher and stronger it grows.
The more you put the gold in the fire, the purer it becomes.
The more you sharpen the steel by grinding the better it cuts.
Therefore, the more sorrows one sees the more perfect one becomes.

That is why, in all times,
the Prophets of God have had tribulations and difficulties to withstand.
The more often the captain of a ship is in the tempest
and difficult sailing the more greater his knowledge becomes.
Therefore I am happy that you have had great tribulations and difficulties . . .
Strange it is that I love you and still I am happy that you have sorrows.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. XIV, no. 2, p. 41)

"O my dear friend!
Verily, my heart is united with thee even though my body is in a distant land,
for verily neither long distance nor immense remoteness
can prevent the union between hearts,
because the clear hearts are in reality assembled in union in the Kingdom of God,
while bodies are disperse in the east and west of the earth.
This dispersion cannot stop the affinity
and cannot veil the eye of soul from seeing in all directions. "

Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas, Page 482: gr2

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"We ought to show something greater than forgiveness
in meeting the cruelties and strictures in our lives. 
To be hurt and forgive is saintly but far beyond this
is the power to comprehend and not be hurt... 
...We ought never to be known to complain or lament. 
It is not that we would  "make the best of things",
but that we may find in everything, even in calamity, the gems of enduring wisdom. 
We ought never be impatient. 
We ought to be as incapable of impatience as one would be of revolt. 
This not being so much long-suffering as quiet awareness
of the forces that operate in the hours of dark or years of waiting and inactivity. 
Always we ought to move with the larger rhythm, the wider sweep, toward our ultimate goal, in that complete acquiescence,
that perfect chord which underlies the spirit of the faith itself."

Bahiyyih Khanum, Baha'i World, Vol V, p. 185

Meditate profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed unto you,
that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and imperishable fragrance,
and that you may acknowledge the truth
that from time immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried,
and will continue to try, His servants, so that light may be distinguished from darkness, truth from falsehood, right from wrong, guidance from error,
happiness from misery, and roses from thorns.
Even as He hath revealed:
"Do men think when they say 'We believe'
they shall be let alone and not be put to proof?"[1]
[1 Qur'án 29:2.]

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 8)

The first sign of faith is love.
The message of the holy, divine Manifestations is love;
the phenomena of creation are based upon love;
the radiance of the world is due to love;
the well-being and happiness of the world depend upon it.
Therefore, I admonish you that you must strive
throughout the human world to diffuse the light of love.
The people of this world are thinking of warfare; you must be peacemakers.
The nations are self-centered; you must be thoughtful of others rather than yourselves.
They are neglectful; you must be mindful.
They are asleep; you should be awake and alert.
May each one of you be as a shining star in the horizon of eternal glory.
This is my wish for you and my highest hope.

(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 337)

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"The worlds of God are in perfect harmony and correspondence one with another.
Each world in this limitless universe is, as it were,
a mirror reflecting the history and nature of all the rest.
The physical universe is, likewise, in perfect correspondence with the spiritual or divine realm. The world of matter is an outer expression or facsimile of the inner kingdom of spirit.
The world of minds corresponds with the world of hearts.

If we look reflectively upon the material world,
we realize that all outer phenomena are dependent upon the sun.
Without the sun
the phenomenal world would be in a state of utter darkness and devoid of life.
All earthly creation -- whether mineral, vegetable, animal or human -
- is dependent upon the heat, light and splendor of the great central solar body
for training and development.
Were it not for the solar heat and sunlight, no minerals would have been formed,
no vegetable, animal and human organisms would or could have become existent.
It is clearly evident, therefore,
that the sun is the source of life to all earthly and outer phenomena.

In the inner world, the world of the Kingdom,
the Sun of Reality is the Trainer and Educator of minds, souls and spirits.
Were it not for the effulgent rays of the Sun of Reality,
they would be deprived of growth and development;
nay, rather, they would be nonexistent.
For just as the physical sun is the trainer of all outer and phenomenal forms of being
through the radiation of its light and heat,
so the radiation of the light and heat of the Sun of Reality gives growth,
education and evolution to minds, souls and spirits toward the station of perfection."

(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 270)

Humanity may be likened to a tree.
This tree has branches, leaves, buds and fruit.
Think of all men as being flowers, leaves or buds of this tree,
and try to help each and all to realize and enjoy God's blessings.
God neglects none: He loves all.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 170)

Here's a Baha'i version of the Golden Rule.

 
29. O SON OF BEING!
Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it.  - (Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

 

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In 1852, the despotic government of Persia increased its fiery rage of persecution and oppression of the early believers.  Amongst the many imprisonments and cruel acts of injustice stands a moving story about the confinement of Bahá’u’lláh with His fellow-believers.  They were cast into the dark pit of the Siyáh-Chál—an old reservoir that had been turned into a foul and stench-ridden dungeon.  They were huddled together in one cell, their feet in stocks, and around their necks was fastened the most weighty and wretched of chains.  The air they breathed was unbearable, while the floor they sat upon was covered in filth and infested with vermin.  The conditions they lived in were beyond any imagining.  No light reached the dreary dungeon and no warmth comforted them.  The friends were placed in two rows, each facing the other. -Nabil's Narrative



"As My tribulations multiplied, so did My love for God and for His Cause increase, in such wise that all that befell Me from the hosts of the wayward was powerless to deter Me from My purpose. Should they hide Me away in the depths of the earth, yet would they find Me riding aloft on the clouds, and calling out unto God, the Lord of strength and of might. I have offered Myself up in the way of God, and I yearn after tribulations in My love for Him, and for the sake of His good pleasure. Unto this bear witness the woes which now afflict Me, the like of which no other man hath suffered. Every single hair of Mine head calleth out that which the Burning Bush uttered on Sinai, and each vein of My body invoketh God and saith: 'O would I had been severed in Thy path, so that the world might be quickened, and all its peoples be united!' Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed." -Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 52