Sovereignty: Chicago, USA
“The sovereignty of God is eternal. There has been no beginning; there will be no end. This is as evident as the sun at midday, even to one endowed with limited reason.” “We cannot limit God to a boundary. Man is limited, but the world of Divinity is unlimited. Prescribing limitation to God is human [...]
Sovereignty: Taipei, Taiwan
On a Chinese chess set, the red general, or shuai is guarded. There is no “king” piece because China’s past rulers objected to the royal name being given to a game piece. “Could there be a king without country, subjects and armies? If we conceive of a time when there were no creatures, no servants, [...]
Sovereignty: Marrakech, Morroco
“The doors of the Kingdom are opened. The lights of the Sun of Truth are shining. The clouds of divine mercy are raining down their priceless jewels. The zephyrs of a new and divine springtime are wafting their fragrant breaths from the invisible world. Know ye then the value of these days.” -’Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation [...]
Sovereignty: Sydney, Australia
Birdcage, birdcage, birdcage…hanging between the concrete walls, you stand so poignant, but your vessels are empty. Only the echoes of your melody can be heard siphoning through the air. “Thus doth the Nightingale utter His call unto you from this prison. He hath but to deliver this clear message. Whosoever desireth, let him turn aside [...]
Sovereignty: Paris, France
“The highest praise is due to men who devote their energies to science, and the noblest center is a center wherein the sciences and arts are taught and studied. Science ever tends to the illumination of the world of humanity. It is the cause of eternal honor to man, and its sovereignty is far greater [...]
Sovereignty: Chicago, USA
The canal next to the House of Worship is frozen over, which makes it look a lot more majestic than the rest of the year, when it is a terrible green color. “All majesty and glory, O my God, and all dominion and light and grandeur and splendour be unto Thee. Thou bestowest sovereignty on [...]
‘Not Even A Concealed Sigh’
Ruhi Hiebert shares with Geoffrey Tyson the story her great-grandmother Pari Jan Khanoum’s persecution for the crime of being a Baha’i in mid-nineteenth century Iran.
Rethink
An invitation to explore whether things in our lives often stated as fact are indeed “true”.
Honour: Chicago, USA
The lights on the railings going up the stairs at the House of Worship light our steps as we pray. “It is certain that man’s highest distinction is to be lowly before and obedient to his God; that his greatest glory, his most exalted rank and honor, depend on his close observance of the Divine [...]
Honour: Oxford, England
The Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, studied here, at Balliol College from 1920 and translated important Baha’i works into English. Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the oldest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Here are some Gothic arches that form part of its architecture and you can [...]
Honour: Chicago, USA
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. // Socrates
Honour: Bali
A family gathered with their neighbors on a holiday designated to offer thanks. “. . . it behooveth them to shake the dust of every land which they have passed by off their shoes and to be with God and without need of the rich—although their bed is the soil, their light is the stars [...]
Honour: Florence, Italy
The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Honour: Sydney, Australia
I find it remarkable that as humans we exhibit great strength to persevere through all boundaries of physical and emotional weariness. “The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and [...]
Honour: Adelaide, Australia
“The day is approaching when the intervening clouds will have been completely dissipated, when the light of the words, “All honor belongeth unto God and unto them that love Him,” will have appeared, as manifest as the sun, above the horizon of the Will of the Almighty.”
Honour: Vancouver, Canada
“O Son Of The Throne! Thy hearing is My hearing, hear thou therewith. Thy sight is My sight, do thou see therewith, that in thine inmost soul thou mayest testify unto My exalted sanctity, and I within Myself may bear witness unto an exalted station for thee” ~Baha’u’llah
Honour: Taipei City, Taiwan
Honoring a great teacher, the Confucius Temple in Tainan, Taiwan. The entire screen bears 205 words of “The Great Learning”. The first portion in this photograph, translated loosely, reads, “The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their [...]
Questions: Milwaukee, USA
The top section of the portico of one of the three entrances on the eastern side of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. The other two porticos read “Justice” and “Order”. Abdu’l-Baha addressed a gathering in New York on 3 December 1912 as follows. “You have assembled here this afternoon in the utmost love, engaged in the [...]
Questions: Chicago, USA
“O SON OF BEING! With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My work is perfect and My command is binding. Question it not, nor [...]
Questions: Honiara, Solomon Islands
What do you see when you look at this picture? A decaying, vibrant fruit or the beginning steps of your next chocolate bar? It seems we are so often disconnected from the origins of the most basic things around us. “God has given man the eye of investigation by which he may see and recognise [...]
Questions: Tainan, Taiwan
Alisa Mappes © “… it behoveth thine eminence to inquire into these and other questions pertaining to thine origin and ultimate goal…” Baha’u’llah ~ Gems of Devine Mysteries Why do we chop wood and carry water? In this case, the goal is to prepare a foot bath after a traditional Chinese reflexology session in Tainan, [...]
Questions: Oklahoma, USA
“Say: Rejoice not in the things ye possess; tonight they are yours, tomorrow others will possess them….Happy the days that have been consecrated to the remembrance of God, and blessed the hours which have been spent in praise of Him Who is the All-Wise.” -Bahá’u’lláh
Questions: Casablanca, Morocco
“Know, therefore, O questioning seeker, that earthly sovereignty is of no worth, nor will it ever be, in the eyes of God and His chosen Ones. Moreover, if ascendency and dominion be interpreted to mean earthly supremacy and temporal power, how impossible will it be for thee to explain these verses: “And verily Our host [...]
Questions: Vancouver, Canada
“O Son Of Man! Write all that We have revealed unto thee with the ink of light upon the tablet of thy spirit. Should this not be in thy power, then make thine ink of the essence of thy heart. If this thou canst not do, then write with that crimson ink that hath been [...]
