Divine Physician

Its sickness is approaching the stage of utter hopelessness, inasmuch as the true Physician is debarred from administering the remedy, whilst unskilled practitioners are regarded with favour, and are accorded full freedom to act.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 39-40

No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician have attained. Little wonder, then, if the treatment prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his sickness a special remedy?

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 80-81

O Son of Man! Be thou content with Me and seek no other helper. For none but Me can ever suffice thee.

Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words, Arabic 17

Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I moulded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.

Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words, Arabic 13

Put your whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created you, and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succour cometh from Him alone. He succoureth whom He will with the hosts of the heavens and of the earth.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 234

That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 254

The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 212

The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the right to question their words or disparage their conduct, for they are the only ones who can claim to have understood the patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ailments.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 80

The Tongue of Wisdom proclaimeth: He that hath Me not is bereft of all things. Turn ye away from all that is on earth and seek none else but Me. I am the Sun of Wisdom and the Ocean of Knowledge. I cheer the faint and revive the dead. I am the guiding Light that Illumineth the way. I am the royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty. I unfold the drooping wings of every broken bird and start it on its flight.

Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 169

These are not days of prosperity and triumph. The whole of mankind is in the grip of manifold ills. Strive, therefore, to save its life through the wholesome medicine which the almighty hand of the unerring Physician hath prepared.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 80-81

Thou art He Who changeth through His bidding abasement into glory and weakness into strength, and powerlessness into might, and fear into calm, and doubt into certainty.

Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers & Meditations, p. 249

Though the world is encompassed with misery and distress, yet no man hath paused to reflect what the cause or source of that may be. Whenever the True Counsellor uttered a word in admonishment, lo, they all denounced Him as a mover of mischief and rejected His claim. How bewildering, how confusing is such behaviour!

Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p.163

We can well perceive how the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable afflictions. We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and disillusioned. They that are intoxicated by self-conceit have interposed themselves between it and the Divine and infallible Physician. Witness how they have entangled all men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices. They can neither discover the cause of the disease, nor have they any knowledge of the remedy. They have conceived the straight to be crooked, and have imagined their friend an enemy.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 212

Every divine Manifestation is the very life of the world, and the skilled physician of each ailing soul.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 59

For even as Christ said of them in the Gospel, the people are blind, they are deaf, they are dumb; and He said: "I will heal them."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 172

He [Bahá’u’lláh] is the real Physician, bringing divine remedy and healing to the world of man. He has brought teachings for all ailments: The Hidden Words, Ishráqát, Tarázat, Tajallíyát, Words of Paradise, Glad Tidings, etc. These Holy Words and teachings are the remedy for the body politic, the divine prescription and real cure for the disorders which afflict the world. Therefore, we must accept and partake of this healing remedy in order that complete recovery may be assured.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 63

Let them cling to the hem of Almighty God, and put their faith in the Beauty of the most High; let them lean on the unfailing help that cometh from the Ancient Kingdom, and depend on the care and protection of the generous Lord.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 9-10

O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious. Ask whatsoever thou wishest of Him alone; seek whatsoever thou seekest from Him alone. With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief. He doeth as He doeth, and what recourse have we? He carrieth out His Will, He ordaineth what He pleaseth. Then better for thee to bow down thy head in submission, and put thy trust in the All-Merciful Lord.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 51

The treatment ordered by wise physicians of the past, and by those that follow after, is not one and the same, rather doth it depend on what aileth the patient; and although the remedy may change, the aim is always to bring the patient back to health. In the dispensations gone before, the feeble body of the world could not withstand a rigorous or powerful cure. For this reason did Christ say: 'I have yet many things to say unto you, matters needing to be told, but ye cannot bear to hear them now. Howbeit when that Comforting Spirit, Whom the Father will send, shall come, He will make plain unto you the truth.' [1 cf. John 15:26; 16:12-13]

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 59

The world of man is sick, and that competent Physician knoweth the cure, arising as He doth with teachings, counsels and admonishments that are the remedy for every pain, the healing balm to every wound. It is certain that the wise physician can diagnose his patient's needs at any season, and apply the cure.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 59

There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the treatment of physicians; the second consisteth in prayers offered by the spiritual ones to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and practised. Illnesses which occur by reason of physical causes should be treated by doctors with medical remedies; those which are due to spiritual causes disappear through spiritual means. Thus an illness caused by affliction, fear, nervous impressions, will be helped more effectively by spiritual rather than by physical treatment. Hence, both kinds of treatment should be followed; they are not contradictory. Therefore thou shouldst also accept physical remedies inasmuch as these too have come from the mercy and favour of God, Who hath revealed and made manifest medical science so that His servants may profit from this kind of treatment also. Thou shouldst give equal attention to spiritual treatments, for they produce marvelous effects. Now, if thou wishes to know the true remedy which will heal man from all sickness and will give him the health of the divine kingdom, know that it is the precepts and teachings of God. Focus thine attention upon them.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 151-152

Wherefore, relate thou the Teachings of the Bahá Beauty to the urgent needs of this present day, and thou wilt see that they provide an instant remedy for the ailing body of the world. Indeed, they are the elixir that bringeth eternal health.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 59

Thus we see how the Divine Physician is both the "Judge" of mankind and its "Redeemer.

The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 332

This complex world is very sick. It is dying from lack of a skilled physician. Its disease is so complicated, so affecting every part and organ, and the attending physicians-the statesman, moralists, and idealists-so ignorant of the underlying causes, that eminent

dissolution is impending. Shall we come to the despairing conclusion that there is no wise Physician? Shall we supinely acquiesce that this dissolution is assured, and stand with watch in hand at the bedside of the dying patient awaiting the inevitable hour? Or shall we, possibly as a last desperate resort, if our faithless souls so wish to call it, turn to One who at least lays claim to ability to diagnose and prescribe? One who declares over and over again in Words of matchless power and eloquence His Divine Power to heal?

Howard Colby Ives, Portals to Freedom, p. 240