All Praise to the Omnipotent Lord
Bahíyyih Khánum, Bahíyyih Khánum, (1982) · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
All praise to the omnipotent Lord, that in this auspicious day He Who is the Sun of bounty has shone out so fair and bright as to light up the world of the hearts. He has burned away the veils of waywardness and ignorance. He has struck off the fetters of baseless myths and ignoble concepts that chained the people hand and foot. He has cleansed and burnished the mirrors of men’s souls, sullied by the dust and rust of this dark world. He has opened wide the door to that Celestial Tavern of matchless wine, and He is freely pouring out the immortal draught of knowledge and perception and love. He has hoisted the banner of oneness, and destroyed the foundations of estrangement. Under the sway of His unity, the many-coloured races and diverse religions have tasted the rose-red wine of His love, and are aliens no more. Those pure in spirit who have set eyes upon Him, and approached the place He dwells in, reflecting Him have shone out like mirrors, and cleaving to Him alone, they have detached their hearts from all else but Him. They have heard, with their inner ears, His words, and they have noted His ways, and forgotten all else. They are ever soaring upward, out of the lower world to the world above, and they are fit to be told the mysteries, and they understand them.
Such a day, then, is a day for praise and thanks, a time of benedictions and blessings, a time to wash away the stains of earth’s defilement.
Let us turn our hearts to the world aloft, and cup our hands and supplicate our matchless Loved One, and urgently entreat Him, saying:
O Thou Kind Bestower, O Nourisher of our souls and hearts!
We have no aim, except to walk Thy path; we have no wish, except to bring Thee joy. Our souls are united, and our hearts are welded, each to each. In offering Thee our thanks and praise, in following Thy ways and soaring in Thy skies, we are all one.
We are helpless, stand Thou by us, and give us strength.
Thou art the Protector, the Provider, the Kind.
Source: Bahíyyih Khánum, in Bahíyyih Khánum (1982). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19242.
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Khánum, B.. (1982). *Bahíyyih Khánum*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19242/pg19242-images.html
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