Heart

All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame.

Ignite, then, within their hearts the torch of Thy love, that its flame may consume all else except their wondrous remembrance of Thee, and that no trace may be left in those hearts except the gem-like evidences of Thy most holy sovereignty, so that from the land wherein they dwell no voice may be heard except the voice that extolleth Thy mercifulness and might, that on the earth on which they walk no light may shine except the light of Thy beauty, and that within every soul naught may be discovered except the revelation of Thy countenance and the tokens of Thy glory, that haply Thy servants may show forth only that which shall please Thee and shall conform wholly unto Thy most potent will.

It followeth, therefore, that rendering assistance unto God, in this day, doth not and shall never consist in contending or disputing with any soul; nay rather, what is preferable in the sight of God is that the cities of men's hearts, which are ruled by the hosts of self and passion, should be subdued by the sword of utterance, of wisdom and of understanding. Thus, whoso seeketh to assist God must, before all else, conquer, with the sword of inner meaning and explanation, the city of his own heart and guard it from the remembrance of all save God, and only then set out to subdue the cities of the hearts of others.

Out of the whole world He hath chosen for Himself the hearts of men -- hearts which the hosts of revelation and of utterance can subdue.

Ponder awhile. Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one heart? Cast out then the stranger, that the Friend may enter His home.

The things He hath reserved for Himself are the cities of men's hearts, that He may cleanse them from all earthly defilements, and enable them to draw nigh unto the hallowed Spot which the hands of the infidel can never profane. Open, O people, the city of the human heart with the key of your utterance. Thus have We, according to a pre-ordained measure, prescribed unto you your duty.

Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation.

Unlock, O people, the gates of the hearts of men with the keys of the remembrance of Him Who is the Remembrance of God and the Source of wisdom amongst you. He hath chosen out of the whole world the hearts of His servants, and made them each a seat for the revelation of His glory. Wherefore, sanctify them from every defilement, that the things for which they were created may be engraven upon

them. This indeed is a token of God's bountiful favour.

For love of God and spiritual attraction do cleanse and purify the human heart and dress and adorn it with the spotless garment of holiness; and once the heart is entirely attached to the Lord, and bound over to the Blessed Perfection, then will the grace of God be revealed.

I ask God that He may open the gate of the knowledge of this station to thine heart so that thou mayest apprehend whatever is necessary and proper, garner spiritual bounties from the heaven of the All-Merciful, obtain the effulgences of knowledge from the Sun of Reality, and become a manifestation of inspiration from the Unseen and a source of glad-tidings from the All-Merciful.

I have the greatest desire to speak with you, but if I do not talk with my tongue I commune with my heart and my soul is with you. Without the medium of words it speaks to you of mysteries. Those who understand can converse with me thus for night and day I cry, "Yá Bahá El-Bahá," and I proclaim the kingdom of BAHA'O'LLAH so that intelligent hearts can understand the significance. Those turned toward the kingdom perceive the light of BAHA'O'LLAH; but if they are not turned, even should I address them in eloquent and resonant words, it would be like playing a marvelous instrument for the deaf. Thanks be to God, your hearts and intelligence are awakened, so that you hear the divine mention night and day, I hope that you understand what I say, that you comprehend the praises of BAHA'O'LLAH, for I have no aim save to proclaim the kingdom of El-Bahá; I have no occupation save to explain the book of BAHA'O'LLAH. My hope in you is great, that the song may penetrate.

O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of God! Verily, I supplicate God to illuminate thy heart through the light which is shining from the Supreme Concourse that His mightiest power may strengthen thee to be firm, steadfast, submissive and lowly before the Kingdom of God, and to be an example of good deeds among the maid-servants of the Merciful. And I beseech Him to make thy breast a clear mirror to reflect the light of the spirit of God.

Verily pure hearts are as clear and brilliant mirrors which imprint the one on the other, and hearts discover the secrets of hearts. Therefore, they (hearts) chant the verses of longing and recite the odes of glorification and praise. Consequently, the recourse is to pages of hearts, not pages filled with written lines.

God has created man in such wise that the two focal points in his being, namely the mind and the heart, should complement each other. The mind without the heart illumined by faith does not acquire the capacity to investigate, or the language to understand, the truth of the Cause of God. Similar to the eye when deprived of light, it is unable to explore the world of the spirit. Instead, it develops its powers in the field of materialism and naturally rejects the concept of God and religion. Thus it becomes the most effective barrier to the individual's acquisition of faith. In such circumstances the heart becomes filled with love of the world and its own self, for it is a characteristic of the heart to love. If it is not allowed to love God, it will love itself and its worldly possessions. And this is one significance of the 'stranger' that Bahá’u’lláh refers to in The Hidden Words: O My Friend in word! Ponder awhile. Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one heart? Cast out then the stranger, that the friend may enter His home.

It is a fascinating thought that God has given man an infinite number of things all that is in heaven and earth. This means that everything in this creation belongs to man except one thing, and that is his own heart. 'The stranger' mentioned above is none other than man's attachment to this world and the most formidable type of attachment is the love of one's own self. This type of attachment manifests itself mainly in the form of pride in one's own knowledge and other accomplishments such as tank and position. It is the love of one's own self that renders the individual opinionated, self-centred, proud and egotistical. In fact, it denudes him of spiritual qualities. Such a person has indeed harboured within his heart a great enemy, namely, 'the stranger'.

It is within the heart of man that the spark of faith appears. But this can only happen when the heart becomes freed from attachment to the things of the world. Bahá’u’lláh declares in The Hidden Words: O Son of Dust! All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame.

That the heart is entrusted to man by God for the descent of His love and bestowals and not for harbouring passion and worldly desires is the very basis of the spiritual life of the individual. How vast is the gap between this concept and that of the great majority of the human race today who live their lives forgetful of the purpose for which they are created!

The heart of man falls in love with the world and its own self. But it is also the habitation wherein God's attributes are revealed. Bahá’u’lláh states: O Son of Being!

Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent...

The heart pulsates within the body and through its life-giving energies every organ becomes active. The eyes, the eats, the tongue, the mind, the hands, all function in harmony with the heart. Since the heart is meant to be the dawning-place of the love of God, it is only logical that these organs should follow suit. Indeed, Bahá’u’lláh has confirmed this in many of His Tablets. 'Know thou', He states, 'that the eat of man hath been created that it may hearken unto The Divine Voice on this day . . .'(15) And in His Book of the Covenant he states: Verily I say, the tongue is for mentioning what is good, defile it not with unseemly talk.(16) In one instance He states that the ears are created to hear His Melodies, the eyes to behold the effulgent light of His Countenance, the tongue to utter His praise and glorification and the hands to hold His Epistles and Tablets.

To acquire faith, then, and to enable the revelation of God to shine within the heart, one must cast out the 'stranger', or man's attachment to this world, of which the most formidable and most harmful type is attachment to one's own self. It manifests itself mainly in pride in one's own knowledge and other accomplishments, such as rank and position. Love of one's self renders the individual opinionated, self-centred, proud and egotistical and, in fact, denudes him of spiritual qualities. Such a person has indeed harboured within his heart a great enemy, namely, the 'stranger' referred to by Bahá’u’lláh. Even if he becomes a Bahá’í, he will find it difficult to derive spiritual upliftment from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh because this attachment has become a barrier between himself and God . . .