Selections of “The Hidden Words” by Bahá’u’lláh (vegetarian) – From the Persian, Passages 1-17 and 72-82, Part 2 of 2

“O MY SERVANT [OF GOD]! Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer’s knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world.”

“O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE! Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty and rejoice not therein. Ye are even as the unwary bird that with full confidence warbles upon the bough; till of a sudden the fowler Death throws it upon the dust, and the melody, the form and the color are gone, leaving not a trace. Wherefore take heed, O bondslaves of desire!”

“O SON OF MY HANDMAID [IN GOD’S HOUSEHOLD]! Quaff from the tongue of the merciful the stream of Divine Mystery, and behold from the dayspring of Divine Utterance the unveiled splendor of the daystar of wisdom. Sow the seeds of My Divine Wisdom in the pure soil of the heart, and water them with the waters of certitude, that the hyacinths of knowledge and wisdom may spring up fresh and green from the holy city of the heart.”

“O MY SERVANTS [OF GOD]! Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may profit therefrom. […] O men of understanding! For results depend upon means, and the grace of God shall be all-sufficient unto you. Trees that yield no fruit have been and will ever be for the fire.”

“O MY SERVANT [OF GOD]! The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds.” “The mystic and wondrous Bride [the Divine Feminine], hidden ere this beneath the veiling of utterance, has now, by the grace of God and His Divine Favor, been made manifest even as the resplendent light shed by the beauty of the Beloved. I bear witness, O friends! that the favor is complete, the argument fulfilled, the proof manifest and the evidence established. Let it now be seen what your endeavors in the path of detachment will reveal. In this wise has the Divine Favor been fully vouchsafed unto you and unto them that are in Heaven and on Earth. All praise to God, the Lord of all Worlds.”