Bird
Ye are even as the bird which soareth, with the full force of its mighty wings and with complete and joyous confidence, through the immensity of the heavens, until, impelled to satisfy its hunger, it turneth longingly to the water and clay of the earth below it, and, having been entrapped in the mesh of its desire, findeth itself impotent to resume its flight to the realms whence it came. Powerless to shake off the burden weighing on its sullied wings, that bird, hitherto an inmate of the heavens, is now forced to seek a dwelling-place upon the dust. Wherefore, O My servants, defile not your wings with the clay of waywardness and vain desires, and suffer them not to be stained with the dust of envy and hate, that ye may not be hindered from soaring in the heavens of My divine knowledge."
- Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words Persian 26
Quote of the Day
Istiqlal 5 Qudrat 182 B.E.
As to the punishments for such acts as rape, these will be determined in the future by the Universal House of Justice.
From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer – 8 June 1982