EdBergJr/gleanings_baha · Datasets at Hugging Face

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signs of Thy victory? Wilt Thou not behold, O my Master, the hearts
wherein have beaten the wings of the dove of longing and love for Thee? By
Thy glory! Things have come to such a pass that hope hath well nigh been
banished from the hearts of Thy chosen ones, and the breaths of despair
are ready to seize them, by reason of what hath befallen them in Thy days.

Behold me, then, O my God, how I have fled from myself unto Thee, and have
abandoned my own being that I may attain unto the splendors of the light
of Thy Being, and have forsaken all that keepeth me back from Thee, and
maketh me forgetful of Thee, in order that I may inhale the fragrances of
Thy presence and Thy remembrance. Behold how I have stepped upon the dust
of the city of Thy forgiveness and Thy bounty, and dwelt within the
precincts of Thy transcendent mercy, and have besought Thee, through the
sovereignty of Him Who is Thy Remembrance and Who hath appeared in the
robe of Thy most pure and most august Beauty, to send down, in the course
of this year, upon Thy loved ones what will enable them to dispense with
any one except Thee, and will set them free to recognize the evidences of
Thy sovereign will and all-conquering purpose, in such wise that they will
seek only what Thou didst wish for them through Thy bidding, and will
desire naught except what Thou didst desire for them through Thy will.
Sanctify, then, their eyes, O my God, that they may behold the light of
Thy Beauty, and purge their ears, that they may listen to the melodies of
the Dove of Thy transcendent oneness. Flood, then, their hearts with the
wonders of Thy love, and preserve their tongues from mentioning any one
save Thee, and guard their faces from turning to aught else except
Thyself. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, verily, art the
Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

Protect, moreover, O my Beloved, through Thy love for them and through the
love they bear to Thee, this servant, who hath sacrificed his all for
Thee, and expended whatsoever Thou hast given him in the path of Thy love
and Thy good pleasure, and preserve him from all that Thou abhorrest, and
from whatsoever may hinder him from entering into the Tabernacle of Thy
holy sovereignty, and from attaining the seat of Thy transcendent oneness.
Number him, then, O my God, with such as have allowed nothing whatever to
deter them from beholding Thy beauty, or from meditating on the wondrous
evidences of Thine everlasting handiwork, that he may have fellowship with
none except Thee, and turn to naught save Thyself, and discover in
whatever hath been created by Thee in the kingdoms of earth and heaven
nothing but Thy wondrous Beauty and the revelation of the splendors of Thy
face, and be so immersed beneath the billowing oceans of Thine overruling
providence and the surging seas of Thy holy unity, that he will forget
every mention except the mention of Thy transcendent oneness, and banish
from his soul the traces of all evil suggestions, O Thou in Whose hands
are the kingdoms of all names and attributes!

Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who art the Goal of my desire! I swear by Thy
glory! How great is my wish to attain unto a detachment so complete that
were there to appear before me those countenances which are hid within the
chambers of chastity, and the beauty of which Thou didst veil from the
eyes of the entire creation, and whose faces Thou didst sanctify from the
sight of all beings, and were they to unveil themselves in all the glory
of the splendors of Thine incomparable beauty, I would refuse to look upon
them, and would behold them solely for the purpose of discerning the
mysteries of Thy handiwork, which have perplexed the minds of such as have
drawn nigh unto Thee, and awed the souls of all them that have recognized
Thee. I would, by Thy power and Thy might, soar to such heights that
nothing whatsoever would have the power to keep me back from the manifold
evidences of Thy transcendent dominion, nor would any earthly scheme shut
me out from the manifestations of Thy Divine holiness.

Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, O my God, and my Beloved, and
my Master, and my Desire! Shatter not the hopes of this lowly one to
attain the shores of Thy glory, and deprive not this wretched creature of
the immensities of Thy riches, and cast not away this suppliant from the
doors of Thy grace, and Thy bounty, and Thy gifts. Have mercy, then, upon
this poor and desolate soul who hath sought no friend but Thee, and no
companion except Thee, and no comforter save Thee, and no beloved apart
from Thee, nor cherished any desire but Thyself.

Cast, then, upon me, O my God, the glances of Thy mercy, and forgive me my
trespasses and the trespasses of them that are dear to Thee, and which
come in between us and the revelation of Thy triumph and Thy grace. Cancel
Thou, moreover, our sins which have shut off our faces from the splendors
of the Day-Star of Thy favors. Powerful art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou
ordainest what Thou willest, and art not asked of what Thou wishest
through the power of Thy sovereignty, nor canst Thou be frustrated in
whatsoever Thou prescribest through Thine irrevocable decree. No God is
there save Thee, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the Ever-living, the
Most Compassionate.

signs of Thy victory? Wilt Thou not behold, O my Master, the hearts

wherein have beaten the wings of the dove of longing and love for Thee? By

Thy glory! Things have come to such a pass that hope hath well nigh been

banished from the hearts of Thy chosen ones, and the breaths of despair

are ready to seize them, by reason of what hath befallen them in Thy days.

Behold me, then, O my God, how I have fled from myself unto Thee, and have

abandoned my own being that I may attain unto the splendors of the light

of Thy Being, and have forsaken all that keepeth me back from Thee, and

maketh me forgetful of Thee, in order that I may inhale the fragrances of

Thy presence and Thy remembrance. Behold how I have stepped upon the dust

of the city of Thy forgiveness and Thy bounty, and dwelt within the

precincts of Thy transcendent mercy, and have besought Thee, through the

sovereignty of Him Who is Thy Remembrance and Who hath appeared in the

robe of Thy most pure and most august Beauty, to send down, in the course

of this year, upon Thy loved ones what will enable them to dispense with

any one except Thee, and will set them free to recognize the evidences of

Thy sovereign will and all-conquering purpose, in such wise that they will

seek only what Thou didst wish for them through Thy bidding, and will

desire naught except what Thou didst desire for them through Thy will.

Sanctify, then, their eyes, O my God, that they may behold the light of

Thy Beauty, and purge their ears, that they may listen to the melodies of

the Dove of Thy transcendent oneness. Flood, then, their hearts with the

wonders of Thy love, and preserve their tongues from mentioning any one

save Thee, and guard their faces from turning to aught else except

Thyself. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, verily, art the

Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

Protect, moreover, O my Beloved, through Thy love for them and through the

love they bear to Thee, this servant, who hath sacrificed his all for

Thee, and expended whatsoever Thou hast given him in the path of Thy love

and Thy good pleasure, and preserve him from all that Thou abhorrest, and

from whatsoever may hinder him from entering into the Tabernacle of Thy

holy sovereignty, and from attaining the seat of Thy transcendent oneness.

Number him, then, O my God, with such as have allowed nothing whatever to

deter them from beholding Thy beauty, or from meditating on the wondrous

evidences of Thine everlasting handiwork, that he may have fellowship with

none except Thee, and turn to naught save Thyself, and discover in

whatever hath been created by Thee in the kingdoms of earth and heaven

nothing but Thy wondrous Beauty and the revelation of the splendors of Thy

face, and be so immersed beneath the billowing oceans of Thine overruling

providence and the surging seas of Thy holy unity, that he will forget

every mention except the mention of Thy transcendent oneness, and banish

from his soul the traces of all evil suggestions, O Thou in Whose hands

are the kingdoms of all names and attributes!

Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who art the Goal of my desire! I swear by Thy

glory! How great is my wish to attain unto a detachment so complete that

were there to appear before me those countenances which are hid within the

chambers of chastity, and the beauty of which Thou didst veil from the

eyes of the entire creation, and whose faces Thou didst sanctify from the

sight of all beings, and were they to unveil themselves in all the glory

of the splendors of Thine incomparable beauty, I would refuse to look upon

them, and would behold them solely for the purpose of discerning the

mysteries of Thy handiwork, which have perplexed the minds of such as have

drawn nigh unto Thee, and awed the souls of all them that have recognized

Thee. I would, by Thy power and Thy might, soar to such heights that

nothing whatsoever would have the power to keep me back from the manifold

evidences of Thy transcendent dominion, nor would any earthly scheme shut

me out from the manifestations of Thy Divine holiness.

Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, O my God, and my Beloved, and

my Master, and my Desire! Shatter not the hopes of this lowly one to

attain the shores of Thy glory, and deprive not this wretched creature of

the immensities of Thy riches, and cast not away this suppliant from the

doors of Thy grace, and Thy bounty, and Thy gifts. Have mercy, then, upon

this poor and desolate soul who hath sought no friend but Thee, and no

companion except Thee, and no comforter save Thee, and no beloved apart

from Thee, nor cherished any desire but Thyself.

Cast, then, upon me, O my God, the glances of Thy mercy, and forgive me my

trespasses and the trespasses of them that are dear to Thee, and which

come in between us and the revelation of Thy triumph and Thy grace. Cancel

Thou, moreover, our sins which have shut off our faces from the splendors

of the Day-Star of Thy favors. Powerful art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou

ordainest what Thou willest, and art not asked of what Thou wishest

through the power of Thy sovereignty, nor canst Thou be frustrated in

whatsoever Thou prescribest through Thine irrevocable decree. No God is

there save Thee, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the Ever-living, the

Most Compassionate.