1by Global Perspective, call or fax:
989-772-1432
1-800-949-1863 (only in U.S.)
If you prefer, order online or by mail:
Website: www.globalperspective.org
Email: info@globalperspective.org
Address: Global Perspective
1106 Greenbanks Dr.
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
1Copyright © 2007 by Hushidar Hugh Motlagh
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 9798700269681
2Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984. International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version (NKJ)
Copyright © 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Printed by
permission.
1service to humankind, whose desire
for spreading the knowledge of
the Glory of God knows no bounds.
2For the earth shall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14
In My Father’s house are many man-
sions…I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to
Myself ; that where I am, there you
may be also. Christ (John 14:2-3 nkj)
He, verily, is come with His Kingdom,
and all the atoms cry aloud: ‘Lo! The
Lord is come in His great majesty!’
3Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home,
reunion with Me. Bahá’u’lláh
In My Father’s house are many mansions…
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you to Myself; that where
I am, there you may be also.
Christ (John 14:2-3 nkj)
To those who do good, a good reward in this
present world; but better is the mansion of
the next, and splendid the abode of the God-
fearing! Qur’án 16:30
The dust returns to the ground…and the
spirit returns to God… Ecclesiastes 12:7 niv
You guide me with your counsel, and after-
ward you will take me into glory. Whom
have I in heaven but you?
1Reunion with God…………………………
Evidence for the Afterlife………………
A Glimpse Into the Next Life…………
Good Deed is Its Own Reward. ……..
This Life is a Test…………………………
Glories of the Next Life. ……………….
2Heaven and Hell ………………………….
Preparation for the Next Life. ………..
Attributes Needed in the Kingdom
of Heaven…………………………………….
Why Were We Created?…………………
Our Ultimate Purpose and
Destiny………………………………………..
The Link That Connects Us to
God……………………………………………..
The End Is Glorious. …………………….
A Review of the Journey……………….
32. Quotations from Sacred Scriptures………
The Greatness of Human Spirit………
God’s Purpose for Humankind……….
1Bahá’u’lláh
1Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?…………………………….. 113
1Bahá’í Scriptures Available in English. ……..129
Bahá’u’lláh’s Works……………………. 131
Other Bahá’í Writings Available
in English………………………………….. 135
2Books on the Bahá’í Faith by the
Same Author. ……………………………………….137
Evidence for the Bahá’í Faith………. 139
History and Teachings. ……………….. 150
The Afterlife………………………………. 153
1A Letter for New Seekers. …………………………161
2References…………………………………………………171
1“Blazon-His-Name” Series
2Dear Seeker of Knowledge:
This is the state of the western world: “There
is so much to do and so little time to do it.”
Many people fail to spare enough time for
their families, let alone for reading a whole
book on impractical and elusive subjects,
such as who are we, why are we here, and
what on earth are we doing? Life is too short
to spend it in search of answers that may
never be found.
This volume is written for those who can find
a little time for their soul. It is one of a series
of mini books on human purpose and destiny,
written in response to the changing times.
3These books will make your life a little easier
in a number of ways:
These books will make your life a little eas-
ier in a number of ways:
• You are more likely to read them and feel
less guilty for not reading them!
• You are more likely to share them with
friends, and feel less disappointed for
knowing that they are neither reading
them nor have any intention of returning
them to you!
• You are saved from the agony of buying
and keeping a large book you may not
like.
• You can begin with a subject that interests
you.
What purpose do these mini books serve?
Their prime purpose is:
• To inspire you to investigate “the Greatest
and Most Joyous News” the world has
ever known: the glorious News of the Ad-
vent of the promised Redeemer of our
time, Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God.
4• To give you a taste of some of Bahá’u’lláh’s
teachings and to describe briefly God’s
plan for each of us and for the world.
Since this copy may be the first and the last
one you may ever receive, a brief introduc-
tion to Bahá’u’lláh’s life and a list of sug-
gested readings, are included at the end of
most volumes. Please send your comments
and suggestions to the author:
hugh@globalperspective.org
5Time does not wait for anyone. We must
choose our destiny, or “the relentless
course of events” will make all the choices
for us.
True wisdom lies in gathering the
precious things out of each day as it
goes by.
6Books in This Series
7Knowing and Loving God
1. Do You Really Know Who You Are? The
glory and the joy of knowing yourself
2. God’s 19 Great Little Tranquilizers.
Heaven’s prescription for peace and tran-
quility
3. Seize Your Chance. Destiny is a choice.
Have you made yours?
4. Prayer: The Key that Unlocks the Heart
of Heaven
5. Death: The Door to Mansions of Heaven
6. Did God Create the Universe, or is it an
Accident?
7. Why Suffer? Take Heaven’s Advice.
Learning to understand and cope with
adversity
88. Knowing and Loving God. How does
God motivate us to seek Him, to know
Him, and to love Him?
9. Who Needs Religion?
9Bahá’u’lláh
and the Bahá’í Faith
10. Bahá’u’lláh: A New Name Everyone
Should Know
11. Bahá’u’lláh: the One Promised in all
Scriptures
12. Bahá’í Faith: God’s Greatest Gift to
Humankind
13. Thy Kingdom Come! God’s plan for a
Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven
10Evidence for Bahá’u’lláh
and the Bahá’í Faith
14. Hath the Hour Come? Bahá’u’lláh’s
Epistle to Christians
1115. Evidence for Bahá’u’lláh
16. The Greatest News. Behold! I shall come
upon you like a thief!
17. By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them.
Knowing God by His Word
18. I Shall Come Like a Thief
19. Mysteries of the Bible. Who can bring
them to light?
20. Prophecy: The Obstacle that Prevents
People from Knowing Their Redeemer
21. Should We Know God by Miracles or by
His Word?
22. If There is One Way, Why Are There So
Many Religions?
23. Why Does God Test us and How?
24. The Greatest Lesson of History
25. If This is a New Day, Why are People
Sleeping?
26. You Are Invited. Are you dressed for the
banquet of heaven?
12Death
The Door to Heaven
1Why did we come into this world? Did we come
to live for a few decades and then disappear into a
grave? No! This book shows that we are here for a
purpose—a most glorious purpose. We are at the
beginning of an everlasting journey, where we pause
for a moment, and then move on. Yet that one mo-
ment matters more than the eternity that follows it.
It sets the course for the rest of our journey. The
choices we make in this world determine our destiny
in all the worlds that follow it. Should we not then
learn how to spend this one moment the way God
would wish us to spend it?
What a waste of the precious gift of life to live
without knowing why we are here, where we are
going, and how we can reach our destination—the
one God has chosen for us. This small book offers
the signposts that can help us make our journey
pleasant and fruitful not only during our brief stay
here, but also during the eternity that follows it.
2Part I
1Sacred Scriptures declare that we are God’s and
unto Him shall we return:
“Behold, all souls are Mine” (Eze. 18:4). “In God’s
hand are…the spirits of all human kind” (Job
12:10 neb). “At death, God takes souls unto Him-
self ” (Qur’án 39:43). “I saw the souls of those
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus”
(Rev. 20:4). “The spirit shall return unto God”
(Eccl. 12:7). “Unto Him shall all return”1 (the
Báb). “Hereafter shall you return to your Lord,
and He will tell you of your works” (Qur’án
39:9). “As from a fire aflame thousands of sparks
226 Death: The Door to Heaven
3come forth, even so from the Creator an infinity
of being have [received] life and to Him return
again…” (Upanishad). “Verily, we are God’s…
And unto Him we do return”2 (Bahá’u’lláh).
Is it not nice to know that for homecoming we will
all return to God? We see death as evil; God sees
death as good:
I have made death a messenger of joy to thee.
Wherefore dost thou grieve?3 Bahá’u’lláh
The spirit of holiness beareth unto thee the joy-
ful tidings of reunion; wherefore dost thou
grieve? 4 Bahá’u’lláh
Rejoice, for the eternal life is awaiting you.5
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will
give you the crown of life. Rev. 2:10 niv
We are not the permanent residents of this planet,
but travelers on a voyage to a new and exciting
world:
Everything that man does, every experience that
he encounters, his whole world, mental and
physical, is there for but one purpose—to launch
him on an eternal voyage to a destination far
better than his dearest dreams.6
Can a question in human life matter as much as
this: is death a voyage to the grave or to God? Is
death “extinguishing the light, or quenching the
lamp because the sun hath risen”? The question is
vital, indeed urgent, because our stay on the earth,
5compared to eternity, is very brief. It counts even
less than a moment.7 Yet that moment may matter
more in determining our final destiny than the eter-
nity that follows it. Hence any time spent in unrav-
eling the mystery of death and immortality is time
well spent.
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken, before the pitcher
is shattered…before the dust returns to the earth
as it began and the spirit returns to God who
gave it. Eccl. 12:6-7 neb
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
was not spoken of the soul.
“There was a famous king in history who appointed
a man to live in his royal presence and to say every
day to him, ‘Philip, remember thou art mortal,’ lest
he forget his kinship with the earth. But doesn’t
every person need another daily whisper in his ears,
‘Remember, thou art immortal,’ lest he forget his
kinship with eternity?”
What are we? An everlasting soul or billions of
dying cells? As noted psychologist, Dr. Wayne Dyer
observes:
I see my form changing all the time. If I thought
that was all that I am, I would feel distressed
over my physical changes. But I know that I am
much more than this form that I occupy. I know
that I am a soul with a body, rather than a body
with a soul.8
628 Death: The Door to Heaven
7The Báb declares that here we live in a dream. At
death, we wake up from the dream. This is an il-
lusive life, the next an awakened life. As dreams
are mostly illusions, so are many of our assump-
tions, fears, and beliefs, such as our concern for the
decline of our physical form.
Is this life the beginning or the end of a journey?
Does the drama of human life terminate here in this
world? Bahá’u’lláh reaffirms and restates repeatedly
the immortality of the human soul:
o son of man!
Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth
not, wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou
art My light and My light shall never be extin-
guished, why dost thou dread extinction? Thou
art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art
My robe and My robe shall never be outworn.
Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest
find Me in the realm of glory.9
We are God’s Love made visible; His Wisdom dis-
played; His Knowledge laid bare; His Thoughts and
Attributes unveiled to the fullest.
How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge
that shine in an atom, and how vast the oceans
of wisdom that surge within a drop! To a supreme
degree is this true of man, who, among all created
things, hath been invested with the robe of such
gifts, and hath been singled out for the glory of
such distinction. For in him are potentially re-
vealed all the attributes and names of God to a
degree that no other created being hath excelled
9or surpassed. All these names and attributes are
applicable to him. Even as He hath said: “Man
is My mystery, and I am his mystery.”10
Bahá’u’lláh
It is contrary to the Wisdom of the all-knowing to
efface His most beloved creation, a being so sub-
lime as to mirror forth the Creator Himself. God
destroying us is like a lover destroying his best-
beloved, a viewer desecrating his own image, a
genius undoing his master work. It is as though God
has rejected part of His own Self. What is the worth
of a human if he can be buried in a grave?
That which possesses the body is eternal. It can-
not be limited or destroyed. Bhagavad-Gita
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual
body. I Cor. 15:44
All human beings need a vision of the future. With-
out it, life turns into a journey of despair. Eternity
is a seed planted in every soul (Eccl. 3:11). Our
vision of the future is the sunshine that nourishes
the seed, that allows the “eternity” to blossom forth
and flourish. The death of the seed is the death of
hope.
There is a God-shaped vacuum in every heart.
1If our life were to end here, why would God’s great
Messengers and Teachers—the essence and the
230 Death: The Door to Heaven
3source of all Knowledge and all Wisdom—consent
to bear the unbearable: rejection, ridicule, torture,
and death? Consider the following statement from
Bahá’u’lláh:
How could such Souls have consented to sur-
render themselves unto their enemies if they
believed all the worlds of God to have been re-
duced to this earthly life? Would they have will-
ingly suffered such afflictions and torments as
no man hath ever experienced or witnessed?11
A most evident sign of the spirit is revealed to us
in the dream world. What is it, we might ask, that
can soar without wings, see without sight, hear
without sound, converse without words?
Sleep and death—they differ in duration rather
than in quality. Perhaps both are sojourns in the
spiritual, the real world. In one case our carriage
waits nightly to take us back from the entrance
of slumber, while in the other, having arrived at
our destination and with no further use for the
carriage, it is dismissed.12
What is the power in us that can leap into the future,
unravel the unknown, and unfold mysteries as yet
unborn? The dream world is a spiritual world not
confined by time and space. The fact that we some-
times dream of an event and years later observe
with wonder and awe its realization—with every
detail exactly as dreamed—indicates that the world
in which we encounter the event must be an inde-
pendent world (can exist on its own), and that we
can be a part of it and have the potential to perceive
5it. What more evidence can we expect? Of course
there are many other evidences, but few seem as
personal and as close to our heart. In the following
passage, Bahá’u’lláh refers to the dream world as
evidence of the independent existence of the soul:
Consider thy state when asleep. Verily, I say, this
phenomenon is the most mysterious of the signs
of God amongst men, were they to ponder it in
their hearts. Behold how the thing which thou
hast seen in thy dream is, after a considerable
lapse of time, fully realized. Had the world in
which thou didst find thyself in thy dream been
identical with the world in which thou livest, it
would have been necessary for the event occur-
ring in that dream to have transpired in this
world at the very moment of its occurrence.
Were it so, you yourself would have borne wit-
ness unto it. This being not the case, however,
it must necessarily follow that the world in
which thou livest is different and apart from that
which thou hast experienced in thy dream. This
latter world hath neither beginning nor end. It
would be true if thou wert to contend that this
same world is, as decreed by the All-Glorious and
Almighty God, within thy proper self and is
wrapped up within thee. It would equally be true
to maintain that thy spirit, having transcended
the limitations of sleep and having stripped itself
of all earthly attachment, hath, by the act of God,
been made to traverse a realm which lieth hidden
in the innermost reality of this world.13
632 Death: The Door to Heaven
7God guides us and communicates with us through
dreams and visions, often veiled by “symbols” with
none or few words.
“It is not for man that God should speak with
him but by vision, or from behind a veil” (Qur’án
42:50). “God taketh souls unto Himself…during
sleep…Herein are signs for the reflecting” (Qur’án
39:43). “Thus God showeth you His signs that
ye may ponder on this present world, and on the
next” (Qur’án 2:217-218).
All these signs, and others, point to an entity or
essence independent and exalted, one transcending
the bounds of time and space.
Science teaches us that nothing in nature—not even
the tiniest particle—can disappear without a trace.
Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is
transformation. As noted scientist Von Braun indi-
cates:
Now, if God applies this fundamental principle
to the most minute and insignificant parts of His
universe, doesn’t it make sense to assume that
He applies it also to the human soul? I think it
does. And everything science has taught me—
and continues to teach me—strengthens my belief
in the continuity of our spiritual existence after
death. Nothing disappears without a trace.14
The study of near-death vision (ndv) by eminent
scientists has opened a new door to the enchanting
dimension of the afterlife. Scientists and scholars
9of various persuasions (physicians, physicists, psy-
chologists, and philosophers) who began their search
as skeptics were forced, by their own admission, to
submit to their findings, to succumb to the over-
whelming evidence pointing to human survival.
As Dr. Raymond Moody, Dr. Melvin Morse, Dr.
Michael Sabom, Dr. Kenneth Ring, and others have
maintained, no explanation save the survival of
human consciousness can resolve all the issues
connected with near-death visions. The following
two cases, out of thousands that have been studied,
demonstrate the point:
On Long Island, a seventy-year-old woman who
had been blind since the age of eighteen was
able to describe in vivid detail what was hap-
pening around her as doctors resuscitated her
after a heart attack.
Not only could she describe what the instruments
used looked like, but she could even describe
their colors. The most amazing thing about this
to me was that most of these instruments weren’t
even thought of over fifty years ago when she
could last see. On top of all this, she was even
able to tell the doctor that he was wearing a blue
suit when he began the resuscitation.15
Another amazing case…was relayed to me by a
doctor in South Dakota. Driving into the hospi-
tal one morning, he had rear-ended a car. It had
been very upsetting to him. He was very worried
that the people he had hit would claim neck
injury and sue him for a large sum of money.
1034 Death: The Door to Heaven
11This accident left him distraught and was very
much on his mind later that morning when he
rushed to the emergency room to resuscitate a
person who was having a cardiac arrest.
The next day, the man he had rescued told him a
remarkable story: “While you were working on
me, I left my body and watched you work.”
The doctor began to ask questions about what
the man had seen and was amazed at the accu-
racy of his description. In precise detail, he told
the doctor how the instruments looked and even
in what order they were used. He described the
colors of the equipment, shapes, and even set-
tings of dials on the machines.
But what finally convinced this young cardiolo-
gist that the man’s experience was genuine was
when he said, “Doctor, I could tell that you were
worried about that accident. But there isn’t any
reason to be worried about things like that. You
give your time to other people. Nobody is going
to hurt you.”
Not only had this patient picked up on the phys-
ical details of his surroundings, he had also read
the doctor’s mind.16
Despite all the research done and the evidence un-
covered, many still remain unconcerned or uncon-
vinced. Some people must “die” to believe in their
own immortality. No wonder Jesus said:
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith
on earth? Christ (Luke 18:8 neb)
13On the heel of a stressful winter comes the stirrings
of a new life in the spring. Similarly, the stress and
distress of our lives sometimes leads our hearts
heavenward, and stirs in us thoughts of the greater
beyond. We discover within the seed of our soul
the gift of immortality.
But there comes a moment when man wearies
of the things he has won; when he suspects with
bewilderment and dismay that there is some pro-
found and eternal purpose in his being. It is then
that he discovers that beyond the kingdom of
the world there exists a kingdom of the soul.17
I am fully convinced that the soul is indestruc-
tible, and that its activities will continue through
eternity. It is like the sun, which, to our eyes,
seems to set in night; but it has really gone to
diffuse its light elsewhere.18
Death is the opening of a more subtle life. In the
flower, it sets free the perfume; in the chrysalis,
the butterfly; in man, the soul.19
1worlds beyond this world, and that our earthly life
is but the first step along the path of our spiritual
journey—a journey that will endure for all eternity.
While on the earthly plane, the voyager is unable
to see beyond the boundaries of his vision, unable
2cent glory and splendor. But lack of this perception
is no proof that nothing exists beyond his vision.
Even as a fetus, we are bound to the womb of the
earth. Not until the barrier of birth into the new life
is lifted are we in a position to view our eternal
destiny.
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator
for all I have not seen. Emerson
Faith declares what the senses do not see, but
not the contrary of what they see. It is above
them, not contrary to them. Blaise Pascal
There is a limit where the intellect fails and
breaks down, and this limit is where the ques-
tions concerning God, and freewill, and immor-
tality arise. Immanuel Kant
The knowledge of the next life is placed beyond
our perception, beyond our vision. All we can dis-
cern during our earthly journey is the evidence of
the next life, and all we can receive is an occa-
sional glimpse of what is to come, without ever
being able, or allowed, to see the full Panorama.
“The angels conceal from us the beauty beyond
death, that we may endure life.” Bahá’u’lláh de-
clares that if we could ever lift the veil, if we could
ever see the full splendor concealed from our eyes,
we would become so enraptured with our vision as
to lose touch with the world, and become incapable
of pursuing our earthly life. Here are His words:
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou hast,
3servants such stations that if any one of them
were to be unveiled to men’s eyes all who are
in heaven and all who are on earth would be
dumbfounded. By Thy might! Were kings to wit-
ness so great a glory they would, assuredly, rid
themselves of their dominions and cleave to
such of their subjects as have entered beneath
the shadow of Thine immeasurable mercy and
sought the shelter of Thine all-glorious name.20
I swear by the righteousness of God! Were any-
one apprised of that which is veiled from the
eyes of men, he would become so enraptured as
to wing his flight unto God, the Lord of all that
hath been and shall be.21
Scientific studies of near-death vision by such re-
nowned figures as Dr. Kübler Ross and Dr. Raymond
Moody portray death as a door to a realm filled with
beauty and splendor. This is how a child described
her “death:”
All I remember was waking up in a garden filled
with large flowers…I looked around and saw this
being. The garden was beautiful, but everything
paled in his presence. I felt completely loved
and nourished by his presence. It was the most
delightful feeling I’ve ever known.22
A few more descriptions:
What happens after death is so unspeakably
glorious that our imaginations and our feelings
do not suffice to form even an approximate con-
4No one should fear death. I know, because I have
come face to face with death several times. It is
really a pleasant experience. You seem to hear
beautiful music and everything is mellow and
sweet and serene—no struggle, no terror, just
calmness and beauty. When death comes, you
will find it to be one of the easiest and most
blissful experiences you have ever had.23
Another reason we should not know what lies be-
yond is that such a knowledge would infringe on
our freedom of choice. We would be so over-
whelmed by our heavenly vision as to be utterly
subdued by intense feelings. We would be unwit-
tingly forced to live by the Law out of no other
motive than fear and hope—to avoid the punish-
ment, and to gain the reward. We would live like a
servant under the sway of an absolute master with
1not, and would not, regard good and bad as equal.
We also know that each act meets with a conse-
quence—either reward or punishment. But this
knowledge, Bahá’u’lláh teaches, should not be the
reason for wishing to be noble, the motive for hon-
oring and living the law. The only motive, the only
reason for living a noble life should be the love of
God. Even as a true lover should we aspire to love
2A person may be called upon to make a sacrifice,
to embark on a heroic act such as saving a child
from a ravaging fire. He responds to the call by
plunging into the fire out of pure love for the life
of the child. Before plunging, he may know that
his heroism will bring honors and glories, but that
is in no way the cause, or the purpose, of his hero-
ism. He seeks and finds the reward only in the act
itself. Such should be our acts of devotion and our
motivation for honoring the law. Bahá’u’lláh re-
minds us that:
For every act performed there shall be a recom-
pense according to the estimate of God…For
surely if deeds were not rewarded and yielded
no fruit, then the Cause of God—exalted is
He—would prove futile…However, unto them
that are rid of all attachments a deed is, verily,
its own reward.24
As our love for God and truth increases, our fear
decreases:
Love is a light that never dwelleth in a heart
possessed by fear.25 Bahá’u’lláh
There is no fear in love. I John 4:18 niv
In relation to the next life, the rewards are so lofty
and so lasting—everlasting—and the losses so con-
sequential that if we ever fully recognized them,
we would not dare deviate from the Law—never
wish to be anything but a perfect robot. In the light
of that knowledge, our love for God would be
3and totally crushed by our fear of the imminent
punishment. In such a context, no unselfish or de-
voted act could ever spring from our conscience.
God in His boundless Wisdom has always provided,
through His great Messengers and Redeemers, the
essential knowledge about our future destiny. This
knowledge remained quite unchanged during the
past ages, throughout the whole span of recorded
history—unchanged until Bahá’u’lláh’s advent. For
through Him—“the Spirit of Truth who will guide
you unto all Truth”—the knowledge suddenly
surged up, reflecting the uniqueness of the new age
and our increased capacity. But even now it is be-
stowed only in preordained measures. Because as
knowledge increases, freedom decreases. It is God’s
will that we should trust His words and live as if
His words about our future destiny are absolute
truth—which they are. Trusting is a test of our love
for our Creator. With full knowledge, trust would
have no independent existence:
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and
1touchstone. Every soul is provided with a clear
blueprint, and then given a choice to build its future
destiny, a choice to prove itself, to make itself, to
find itself, to become that which it deserves—a hut
2A person with a closed mind disregards the divine
blueprint, rejects the evidence, and denies the truth.
He will get what he deserves. He will deprive him-
self of the incomparable joy and supreme honor of
knowing and loving the truth, both in this world
and the next. A person with an open and seeking
mind examines the evidence objectively and judges
fairly. He will also get what he deserves: the joy of
knowing and loving the truth, and the rewards that
follow both in this world and the next. The same
law prevails in every other aspect of human life.
Why should it differ in our relation to our Creator?
Every decision or choice we encounter is a test.
Our response to the test reveals the quality of our
character—brings to light what is hidden in our
soul.
We will certainly put you to the test in order to
distinguish those among you who strive and
steadfastly persevere. Qur’án 47:31
Verily, God will bring everything to light, though
it were but the weight of a grain of mustard-
seed, and hidden in a rock or in the heavens or
in the earth; for God is Subtile, informed of
all.26 Bahá’u’lláh
For there is nothing hidden that will not be dis-
closed, and nothing concealed that will not be
known or brought out into the open.
Christ (Luke 8:18)
o son of being!
Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire
We test the gold, and with gold We test Our
3Trust in God reveals our “knowledge of God.” It is
a test of our spiritual maturity. Can we truly know
God, but fail to trust Him? Our inability to have
absolute faith in our Creator points to a lack of true
knowledge.
A farmer shows his trust in Nature by burying his
seeds in the ground. He knows that he will be repaid
many times over in due season. Do we not have as
much trust in God Himself as we have in His “Na-
ture” in His Handiwork? How far from His Justice
not to repay us for trusting Him, not to reward us
for loving Him, for abiding by His Will, for honor-
ing His Law:
The reward of no good deed is or ever will be
lost.28 Bahá’u’lláh
And everyone who has left houses or brothers
or sisters or father or mother or children or fields
for my sake will receive a hundred times as
much and will inherit eternal life.
Christ (Matt. 19:29 niv)
The source of all good is trust in God, submis-
sion unto His command, and contentment with
His holy will and pleasure.29 Bahá’u’lláh
A farmer who refuses to trust Nature’s wisdom, who
fails to cultivate and seed his farm in the springtime,
has no choice but to anticipate and encounter only
weeds, no choice but to labor in the cold—when
Nature is in rest and in wrath—with little rewards
to come, no choice but to regret his failure, to wish
4Whoever plants a seed beneath the sod,
And waits to see it push away the clod,
He trusts in God.
Whoever says, when clouds are in the sky,
Be patient, heart, light breaketh by and by,
1Let us now get a glimpse of our future destiny, of
our heavenly Home where our true essence will be
made manifest. In the following words Bahá’u’lláh
briefly lifts the veil of concealment, and reveals
glimpses of the splendors of the life to come in the
most majestic and moving terms:
Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its sep-
aration from the body, will continue to progress
until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state
and condition which neither the revolution of
ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances
of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as
the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His do-
minion and power will endure. It will manifest
the signs of God and His attributes, and will
reveal His loving-kindness and bounty. The move-
ment of My Pen is stilled when it attempteth to
befittingly describe the loftiness and glory of so
exalted a station. The honor with which the
Hand of Mercy will invest the soul is such as
no tongue can adequately reveal, nor any other
earthly agency describe.
244 Death: The Door to Heaven
3Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its
separation from the body, is sanctified from the
vain imaginings of the peoples of the world.
Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance
with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the
all-highest Paradise. The Maids of Heaven, in-
mates of the loftiest mansions, will circle around
it, and the Prophets of God and His chosen ones
will seek its companionship. With them that soul
will freely converse, and will recount unto them
that which it hath been made to endure in the
path of God, the Lord of all worlds. If any man
be told that which hath been ordained for such
a soul in the worlds of God, the Lord of the
throne on high and of earth below, his whole
being will instantly blaze out in his great longing
to attain that most exalted, that sanctified and
resplendent station…The nature of the soul after
death can never be described, nor is it meet and
permissible to reveal its whole character to the
eyes of men.
The Prophets and Messengers of God have been
sent down for the sole purpose of guiding man-
kind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose
underlying Their revelation hath been to educate
all men, that they may, at the hour of death,
ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and
with absolute detachment, to the throne of the
Most High. The light which these souls radiate
is responsible for the progress of the world and
the advancement of its peoples. They are like
unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being,
5and constitute the animating force through which
the arts and wonders of the world are made
manifest. Through them the clouds rain their
bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth
its fruits. All things must needs have a cause, a
motive power, an animating principle. These
souls and symbols of detachment have provided,
and will continue to provide, the supreme mov-
ing impulse in the world of being.
The world beyond is as different from this world
as this world is different from that of the child
while still in the womb of its mother. When the
soul attaineth the Presence of God, it will as-
sume the form that best befitteth its immortality
and is worthy of its celestial habitation.30
6No Act Ever Lost or Effaced
“A law of nature rules that energy cannot be de-
stroyed. You change its form from coal to steam,
from steam to power in the turbine, but you do not
destroy energy. In the same way, another law governs
human activity and rules that honest effort cannot
be lost, but that some day the proper benefits will
be forthcoming.”31
Our spiritual evolution continues endlessly; it endures
as long as the Creator Himself. The perfections gained
in this world are carried into the next. Following its
departure from the earthly plane, the soul continues
its ever-advancing journey toward its ultimate Object
and Fashioner, the Impulse and the Essence of all
746 Death: The Door to Heaven
8creation. No soul is ever destroyed; no noble or
ignoble thought or deed ever fades or is forgotten.
Nothing can ever be done without lasting conse-
quences, without being engraved on imperishable
and unfading tablets—the conscience of creation—
there to endure throughout all eternity. As
Bahá’u’lláh states:
Every act ye meditate is as clear to Him as is
that act when already accomplished. There is
none other God besides Him. His is all creation
and its empire. All stands revealed before Him;
all is recorded in His holy and hidden Tablets.32
…I [God] behold your actions… Qur’án 34:10
9Our life consists of tiny seconds and “little” caring
or uncaring acts. Seldom are we called upon to take
giant leaps or engage in grand adventures. Thus it
is the accumulation of little acts that ultimately
count the most. This idea is confirmed by Dr.
Moody in The Light Beyond:
It was those kinds of things—the little things
you do while not even thinking—that come up
most importantly in the review [of one’s record
of deeds].
Many people are asked by the being, “What was
in your heart while this was going on?”
Every act of kindness, such as greeting a stranger
or offering someone a cup of water, will count and
be rewarded:
11If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye
with a better greeting, or at least return it; God
taketh count of all things. Qur’án 4:88
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones because he is my dis-
ciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not
lose his reward. Christ (Matt. 10:42)
A disturbed person may “take his life” only to find
his soul in agony, like a bud suddenly crushed
open—intense, broken, regretful. A selfish soul may
blindly exult in its shrewdness, in the brief splen-
dors of earthly life, only to find itself, upon depar-
ture from the mortal realm, bowed down by intense
guilt, by the inseparable burden of its own self. A
sinner may live a full-fledged life of sin, hoping to
find an escape at the end of the journey, only to find
himself face to face with the full panorama of his
evil acts. Alas, no escape for anyone.
o heedless ones!
Think not the secrets of hearts are hidden, nay,
know ye of a certainty that in clear characters
they are engraved and are openly manifest in the
holy Presence.34 Bahá’u’lláh
The strength of the divine Law in cultivating and
controlling the human conscience springs from this:
that one may escape the dictates of his country, but
not those of his conscience; that one can elude his
society, but not his own self; that one can evade
human punishment, but not the divine punishment.
1248 Death: The Door to Heaven
13Mrs. Rúhíyyih Rabbání uses the following beautiful
and picturesque analogy to show how the role we
play here transfers to the hereafter, how the true
portrait of our souls hangs on our conscience for
ages to come:
…we take the picture in this world; the views,
the colors, the subjects are all preserved on the
film. Over part of it we have no choice…but over
part of it we have complete sway, for we can
choose our angles, our time of the day, our im-
mediate subjects. This is what we do during our
everyday life; we make the film; it is small, one
little picture after another…When we die the film
is projected…[Pictures] we never realized we
were taking appear on the screen: down in the
corner we may have got the village dump (we
did not want it in—but there it is!) and in a bed
of flowers we may suddenly discover butterflies
hovering and glimmering about, an unexpected
touch of beauty, an added joy to us now…
We can no longer take these views over again;
the time, the place, the people, are all gone. Per-
haps our film will be a joy to us—we shall be
rewarded for all the patient effort we put into
it. Perhaps we shall find it mediocre and dull
and wish we could introduce improvements.
Perhaps we shall discover some horror repro-
duced there, a murder scene, an act of brutality,
some obscenity that haunts us; we are punished
perpetually by its presence. What can we do?
The camera, our body, and life, our subject, are
all gone.35
1minute…in all the thousand small uncaring
ways.36
The righteous are called alive in death; the
wicked are called dead even when alive.37
Bahá’u’lláh teaches that “spiritual death” signifies
debasement, not extinction or destruction. When a
soul is said to be dead or destroyed, having failed
to attain “eternal life,” it simply means that it has
failed to pursue its ultimate purpose. Instead of
rising it has fallen, instead of advancing it has
declined—to a state of spiritual poverty in the dire
depths of selfishness and remoteness from God. As
‘Abdu’l-Bahá observes, the eye and the nail are both
endowed with life, yet the latter functions at such
a low level as to be in a state of death, in comparison
with the former. Thus even the most depraved,
cruel, and negligent souls will enjoy “a second
chance!” They will receive further opportunities to
rise, but from the lowest and dimmest point named
hell.
The waters of everlasting life have, in their full-
ness, been proffered unto men. Every single cup
hath been borne round by the hand of the Well-
Beloved. Draw near, and tarry not, though it be
for one short moment.38 Bahá’u’lláh
…free thyself from the veils of idle fancies and
enter into My court, that thou mayest be fit for
250 Death: The Door to Heaven
3may death not come upon thee, neither weari-
ness nor trouble.39 Bahá’u’lláh
1Hell is truth seen too late—duty neglected in its
season.40
‘Abdu’l-Bahá teaches that heaven and hell do not
stand for places. They rather refer to states of per-
fection, or imperfection, attained by the soul. They
represent a spectrum signifying our stage of spiri-
tual advancement. Toward one end—hell—lies the
domain of darkness, where selfish forces prevail
and thrive. Toward the other end—heaven—reigns
the realm of light, where purity, love, wisdom, truth
and all the divine virtues mingle and merge in mag-
nificent glory and splendor—like rainbows, inter-
twined, embracing the heavens.
Even on the earthly plane, such states constantly
permeate and dominate our lives, for the kingdom
of heaven also reigns within (Luke 17:21), deep in
the soul.
How often in our everyday lives we call happi-
ness “heaven” and say, in the depths of grief or
agony, that we are in “hell.” They are both inside
us. We do not go to them when we die, we take
them with us.41
Heaven will be inherited by every man who has
heaven in his soul.42
3There may be some doubt about hell beyond the
grave but there is no doubt about there being
one on this side of it.43
A cruel, selfish, and hate-ridden heart harbors hell.
A pure, rich, and radiant heart dominated by love,
mercy, charity, and truth is a haven of heaven, a
home of paradise, a habitation of God Himself.
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 manifesta-
tion of My holiness sought His own abode, a
stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened
unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstand-
ing I have concealed thy secret and desired not
thy shame.44 Bahá’u’lláh
Such a view of human destiny, such an abstract
image of hell and heaven, represents a more ad-
vanced stage of truth. It is more fitting to our present
potential and maturity, one beyond the understand-
ing of the peoples of past ages. In the following
passage Bahá’u’lláh testifies to the reality of
heaven and hell both in this world and the next. He
also points to the conditions conducive to their
realization:
As to Paradise: It is a reality and there can be
no doubt about it, and now in this world it is
realized through love of Me and My good-
pleasure. Whosoever attaineth unto it God will
452 Death: The Door to Heaven
5aid him in this world below, and after death He
will enable him to gain admittance into Paradise
whose vastness is as that of heaven and earth.
Therein the Maids of glory and holiness will
wait upon him in the daytime and in the night
season, while the day-star of the unfading beauty
of his Lord will at all times shed its radiance
upon him and he will shine so brightly that no
one shall bear to gaze at him. Such is the dis-
pensation of Providence, yet the people are shut
out by a grievous veil. Likewise apprehend thou
the nature of hell-fire and be of them that truly
believe.45
Daniel describes hell as “everlasting contempt” and
heaven as “everlasting life” (Dan. 12:2). Christ por-
trays hell as “eternal punishment” and heaven as
“eternal life” (Matt. 25:46).
The Báb describes paradise and the means of attain-
ing that most glorious gift in these words:
No created thing shall ever attain its paradise
unless it appeareth in its highest prescribed de-
gree of perfection…Man’s highest station, how-
ever, is attained through faith in God in every
Dispensation and by acceptance of what hath
been revealed by Him…46
For those who have been faithful to God’s Cove-
nant, death is not doom but joy and peace; it is not
darkness but a crown of life, an immortal glory and
honor:
Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you
a crown of life. Christ (Rev. 2:10)
7Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of
his saints. Psalms 116:15
The death of an infant is a loss only for the occu-
pants of this earthly kingdom. God’s heavenly king-
dom contains many gardens and many growing
flowers. “We weep over the grave of little ones
taken from us by death; but an early grave may be
the shortest way to heaven.” Our judgment remains
faulty unless it views the world through the Vision
of Providence. To a mother who had lost a son,
‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote:
…although the loss of a son is indeed heart-
breaking and beyond the limits of human endur-
ance, yet one who knoweth and understandeth
is assured that the son hath not been lost but,
rather, hath stepped from this world into an-
other, and she will find him in the divine realm.
That reunion shall be for eternity, while in this
world separation is inevitable and bringeth with
it a burning grief…
That beloved child addresseth thee from the hid-
den world: ‘O thou kind Mother, thank divine
Providence that I have been freed from a small
and gloomy cage and, like the birds of the mead-
ows, have soared to the divine world—a world
which is spacious, illumined, and ever gay and
jubilant. Therefore, lament not, O Mother, and
be not grieved; I am not of the lost, nor have I
been obliterated and destroyed. I have shaken
off the mortal form and have raised my banner
in this spiritual world. Following this separation
is everlasting companionship. Thou shalt find
854 Death: The Door to Heaven
9me in the heaven of the Lord, immersed in an
ocean of light.’47
Is there any pain and anguish (disease, failure, be-
trayal, or loss…) in the next realm? Pain and an-
guish hereafter comes from our failures here, from
our remoteness from God, from being deprived of
His glory, from remembering lost opportunities,
from saying “I wish I…” “Why didn’t I…?” “I could
have at least…” “Why was I so…?” The memories
of our spiritual stagnation here are the links of an
undying “worm” that will pester our conscience
hereafter for ages to come.
…hell…where their worm does not die…
Christ (Mark 9:44-48 niv)
See also Isaiah 66:18, 22-24
Anguish can also come from seeing apathy, selfish-
ness, negligence, and remoteness from God in our
loved ones who refuse to awaken and arise while
they have a chance, who decline to take their share
of the heavenly bounties.
The next realm itself is not a source of afflictions
and calamities:
The eternal realm…is sanctified from all afflic-
tions and calamities.48 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
This is the time and here is the place where we must
choose our everlasting destiny—nearness to God,
or remoteness from His presence. Once we pass
away from this life, we will never have this chance
and this choice again:
11To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven…
Ecclesiastes 3:1
See also John 9:4
Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no
more.49 Bahá’u’lláh
God has created “the heavenly mansions” for all of
us. He invites everyone to His presence, to His
“court of holiness” to His everlasting Banquet:
O Son of Spirit! With the joyful tidings of light
I hail thee: rejoice! To the court of holiness I
summon thee; abide therein that thou mayest
live in peace for evermore.50 Bahá’u’lláh
Our Creator wishes to grant to every human being
the honor of attaining His presence in the heavenly
Kingdom. And He uses every appeal conceivable
to motivate and inspire us to say yes to His invita-
tions, but he does not force us. If He did, we would
no longer be human beings, we would lose the
honor of reflecting His supreme image. (For exam-
ples of 15 kinds of appeals God uses to motivate
us, see Choosing Your Destiny, Chapter 13.)
1I am ready to meet my maker, but whether my
maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting
me is another matter. Winston Churchill
How can we prepare our souls for the next kingdom?
By living a full and balanced life in this kingdom.
256 Death: The Door to Heaven
3That which prepares us to live an abundant life here
also prepares us to live an abundant life hereafter.
We must live in the world and soar above it as close
to heaven as possible without losing touch with the
earth.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward
you will take me into glory. Whom have I in
heaven but you? Psalms 73:24-25 niv
No lever can uplift the human soul to duty and
dignity, to peace and contentment, and to strength
and self-sacrifice as the hope of immortality. The
most astonishing evidence of the transforming
power of a firm belief in immortality comes from
the change of attitude among those who attempt
suicide. Studies indicate that the knowledge of the
next life, as revealed through near-death visions,
substantially reduces the desire for suicide.
As Dr. Raymond Moody notes:
These results don’t surprise me. Loss of hope is
often the reason people try to commit suicide.
They feel burdened by life and void of spiritual
beliefs…Where before these people felt that life
led nowhere, they now feel a rich and fulfilling
afterlife awaits them. That knowledge has a way
of relieving the pain in their lives. It makes them
feel that life is worth living.51
Belief in immortality gives dignity to life and
enables us to endure cheerfully those trials that
come to us all. As the thought of immortality
5occupies our minds, we gain a clearer conception
of duty and are inspired to cultivate character.52
Life in the hereafter is an extension of life here; it
is like going from one continent to another. The
desire to live in heaven inspires a desire to develop
a heaven in one’s soul. The heaven above builds a
heaven within, and the heaven within leads to a
heaven above.
There is only one way to get ready for immor-
tality, and that is to love this life and live it as
bravely and faithfully and cheerfully as we can.53
The earth is God’s training and recruiting station
for heaven. It is a school where we must learn skills
that we need not only here but also after graduation.
The problem is that many people ignore or repress
thoughts of their graduation. They devote most of
their efforts to the demands of the flesh, rather than
the joys of the spirit.
Some people fear that preoccupation with hereafter
undermines thoughts of living a full life here. But
this concern seldom if ever is realized. The monks
who separate themselves from the society may be
among the few exceptions. What usually happens
is just the opposite: preoccupation with living on
earth undermines the realization of a full life both
on earth and in heaven. In one of His Epistles
Bahá’u’lláh expresses astonishment that people in-
vest much effort into their earthly houses, which
they occupy for only a short while, yet they ignore
their heavenly houses, which they occupy for ever.
It seems:
658 Death: The Door to Heaven
7The wicked work harder to reach hell than the
righteous strive to reach heaven.54
What would draw humans away from the ephem-
eral glamour of the present to the eternal glory of
the future? Reflection is the power that dims the
glamour, and meditation the light that unveils the
glory.
The best use of life is to spend it for something
that outlasts life.55
In the earthly realm, we encounter two stages and
states of preparation, one physical, and the other
spiritual. First begins the physical phase in the
womb in the state of a seed growing limbs and
roots. Then follows the spiritual seeking to manifest
the fruits of the spirit. Yes, “the roots and the limbs”
are left behind—cast to the winds. Only the “fruits”
are kept and cast into the mold of immortality—ris-
ing out of the gloomy ashes of the ephemeral into
the glorious lights of the celestial.
At death, each soul is merely the fruits of its own
labors—as perfect and pure, as rich and ravishing
as it has made itself.
Those who were blind in this world, will be
blind in the hereafter… Qur’án 17:72 y
A child born into the world handicapped faces
limitations and losses. A soul born into the next
kingdom unprepared encounters similar conse-
quences. Yet in both cases the limitations and
losses remain unknown and unrecognized until the
9voyager reaches the next stage of its journey—
where the undeveloped capacities are most needed
and their absence most evident.
The same holds true with developed capacities. The
spiritual virtues that we gain here are mostly in-
visible in the earthly realm. This world does not
have the capacity to reveal their full glory. We do
not and cannot appreciate their true worth until we
arrive at a spiritual realm. A diamond is invisible
in darkness, and only light can reveal its brilliance
and beauty.
A humble, pure, virtuous soul in our midst may
hold no special esteems or honors in our eyes. Only
when it casts off its crust will the wonders of its
being be made manifest.
See that you do not look down on one of these
little ones. For I tell you that their angels in
heaven always see the face of my heavenly
Father. Christ (Matt. 18:10-11)
Despite similarities, the earthly and spiritual realms
differ in this: the consequences of the perfection or
imperfection of the fetus are temporary, for the
physical realm ends here; those of the soul are ever-
lasting, for the spiritual life continues indefinitely.
In the context of eternity, the span of human life
on the earthly plane counts less than a moment. Yet
so many of us fail to grow in due season, in the
springtime of our journey. We fail to discern the
awesome consequences of our negligence in over-
coming our imperfections. True, following our
1060 Death: The Door to Heaven
11departure from the earthly plane we will have fur-
ther opportunities to evolve, to advance, but the
earth is the field where the limbs and roots take
form, giving rise to the final and perennial essence:
the fruit. The foundation of our physical health must
be laid in the womb, that of the spiritual in the
womb of the earth.
Alas, the earthly splendors, the temporal glamours
dim our vision; otherwise we would see and seek
nothing but heavenly virtues. In the words of
Bahá’u’lláh:
Were man to appreciate the greatness of his sta-
tion and the loftiness of his destiny he would
manifest naught save goodly character…56
‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that the souls who have passed
on to the next Kingdom wish that they could return
to the earthly home, not because of their attachment
to this world but their yearning for another chance
to perform noble acts of love and service, their hope
to live and teach the truth. The Qur’án, too, con-
firms this fact:
They will say: “Would that we were but sent
back! Then would we not reject the Signs
[proofs] of our Lord, but would be among those
who believe.” Qur’án 6:27 y
Therein [in hell] they shall cry out: “Our Lord!
Deliver us! We will engage in virtuous deeds,
unlike what we did in the past. Qur’án 35:37
Yet those of us who have not yet made the departure
live in negligence, as though life were to end here.
13We should be intelligently aware…that life is
uni-directional, swift, purposeful; that we are
speeding on through the days and years to a des-
tination; at that destination we embark on a jour-
ney to a new world. We have a through ticket…
and while we are carried along we must keep
our wits about us and prepare what we need for
that future embarkation, for we cannot keep the
plane waiting and we cannot come back for any-
thing we forget!57
I shall pass through this world but once. Any-
thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness
that I can show to any human being, let me do
it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I
shall not pass this way again!58
A little gleam of time between two eternities; no
second chance to us forever more!59
A rich woman who had near-death vision said that
for the first time she saw herself outside the context
of her riches. No expensive jewelry to adorn her,
no mansions to anchor her pride, no servants to
serve her. Suddenly she realized that her belongings
had no relevance to her. This one experience
changed everything in her life.
The only thing we take with us from this world
is what we are…In this world we slide through
life both outwardly and inwardly with a lot of
disguises…Short people wear high-heeled shoes,
tall people wear low-heeled ones; clothes round
out the gaps or cover the deformities; likewise,
polite phrases…gloss over the poverty within…
1462 Death: The Door to Heaven
15But death strips us of these foibles. The mis-
taken esteem of our friends, the adulation of the
foolish, the honor we possessed through appear-
ance rather than through merit…fall away. We
go as we really are into a new life.60
As the Scriptures teach, the Gates of the Kingdom
are open only to the meek, the humble in heart, who
seek and adore the truth wherever and whenever
they find it.
When God arose to judgment, to save all the
meek of the earth. Psalms 76:9
For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he
will beautify the meek with salvation.
Psalms 149:4
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tid-
ings unto the meek… Isaiah 61:1
The humble are those who admit ignorance and
gaze at new ideas with the wonder of a child. The
humble are also those who do not place their con-
fidence in the proud and powerful, for they know
well the promise of the Scriptures that “the last shall
be first, and the first last” (Matt. 20:16; Mark 10:31).
What happens when the music changes and the
marching band turns?
Bahá’u’lláh reminds us repeatedly of our divine
essence and supreme destiny. He seeks to warn us
of our accountability before our Creator, and to
awaken us to “the appointed hour” that “shall in-
evitably come upon all of us,” the hour that “none
can put back.” Consider the following quotations:
17The generations that have gone on before you—
whither are they fled? And those round whom
in life circled the fairest and the loveliest of the
land, where now are they? Profit by their exam-
ple, O people, and be not of them that are gone
astray.
Others ere long will lay hands on what ye possess,
and enter into your habitations. Incline your ears
to My words, and be not numbered among the
foolish.
For every one of you his paramount duty is to
choose for himself that on which no other may
infringe and none usurp from him. Such a
thing—and to this the Almighty is My witness—
is the love of God, could ye but perceive it.
Build ye for yourselves such houses as the rain
and floods can never destroy, which shall protect
you from the changes and chances of this life.
This is the instruction of Him Whom the world
hath wronged and forsaken.61
Know ye that the world and its vanities and its
embellishments shall pass away. Nothing will
endure except God’s Kingdom which pertaineth
to none but Him, the Sovereign Lord of all, the
Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the Almighty.
The days of your life shall roll away, and all the
things with which ye are occupied and of which
ye boast yourselves shall perish, and ye shall,
most certainly, be summoned by a company of
His angels to appear at the spot where the limbs
1864 Death: The Door to Heaven
19of the entire creation shall be made to tremble,
and the flesh of every oppressor to creep. Ye
shall be asked of the things your hands have
wrought in this, your vain life, and shall be re-
paid for your doings. This is the day that shall
inevitably come upon you, the hour that none
can put back. To this the Tongue of Him that
speaketh the truth and is the Knower of all things
hath testified.62
Seize the time, therefore, ere the glory of the
divine springtime hath spent itself…63
Seize, O friends, the chance which this Day
offereth you, and deprive not yourselves of the
liberal effusions of His grace. I beseech God that
He may graciously enable every one of you to
adorn himself, in this blessed Day, with the
ornament of pure and holy deeds. He, verily,
doeth whatsoever He willeth.64
The promise of the coming of a great Redeemer at
“the time of the end” is made in all the holy Scrip-
tures (Acts 3:19-21), a Messenger destined to lead
humankind not only to the earthly kingdom but to
the heavenly, a divine Teacher promised to bring
peace not only to the world but to the soul—leading
every receptive heart to his heavenly home.
Did Jesus not speak of the many mansions in His
Father’s Home (John 14:2)? And did He not say to
His followers “I go to prepare a place for you,” and
“I will come again and receive you to myself that
where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3)?
21And did He not further address His followers saying
that you too must prepare yourselves for receiving
Me, for entering the heavenly Mansions?
If ye choose to follow Me, I will make you heirs
of My Kingdom…65 Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’u’lláh proclaims, in the most certain and de-
finitive terms, to be that same great Spirit spoken
of by Jesus, that same celestial Redeemer come
once again to receive us, to redeem us, and to lead
us on to the heavenly Realms—the Mansions of
light and glory.
1As stated, this world is a school; we must work
hard to graduate with honors. Failing or dropping
out will be very costly. We must earn special degrees
that prepare us for a smooth transfer to the heavenly
schools. We need one degree that prepares us for
meeting our Creator, and another that harmonizes
us with His creation:
• Klf (Being prepared to meet God)
• Phds (Being in harmony with God’s creation)
If you are baffled, then look at the following list
and see what each degree stands for. In one of His
talks, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cited seven attributes that He
said would prepare us for our heavenly home:
2Attributes Needed in
the Kingdom of Heaven
3Being in Harmony
with God
• Knowledge of God (K)
• Love of God (L)
• Faith (F)
4Being in Harmony
with God’s Creation
• Philanthropic deeds (P)
• Holiness or purity (H)
• Detachment (D)
• Self-sacrifice (S)
6The Báb and Bahá’u’lláh both place special em-
phasis on holiness, sanctity, and purity:
God loveth those who are pure. Naught in the…
sight of God is more loved than purity…67
The Báb
Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that
thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable
and everlasting.68 Bahá’u’lláh
Sanctify your souls, O ye peoples of the world,
that haply ye may attain that station which God
hath destined for you…69 Bahá’u’lláh
Purity means having good motives, living honestly
and sincerely, being free from deception, hypocrisy,
malice, envy, lust, egotism, pretension, and pride;
it means lacking a desire to manipulate or use people
for one’s own selfish needs and interests. Purity is
the basis of other virtues. How can one know or love
God if he is deceptive? How can one be charitable
or engage in self-sacrifice if he is a liar, a hypocrite,
or a manipulator? Little children are our best models
of holiness. Their pure, pristine heart is their entrance
ticket to the mansions of heaven:
I tell you the truth, unless you change and be-
come like little children, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven. Christ (Matt. 18:3 niv)
We should note that because of lack of mental
growth and training, children lack wisdom. When
they engage in unseemly behavior, the fault is not
with their hearts but with their minds.
768 Death: The Door to Heaven
8In an Epistle to a disciple, Bahá’u’lláh states that
it is better to be an infidel than to be deceptive and
cunning. A deceptive person cannot truly believe in
God; and his declared faith in Providence is another
deception that further adds to his hypocrisy, and puts
him in a worse shape than an honest nonbeliever.
Sometimes we wish to go to the wisest person in
the world and ask him for his one best advice. How
wonderful it would be if we could ask this same
question from the All-Wise—our Creator. Fortunate-
ly we need not remain in wonderment. Bahá’u’lláh
in a very intimate letter to a disciple says that His
best advice to him is to acquire the gift of a pure
heart.
Those who fail to attain purity here may have to
stand behind the gate of heavenly Kingdom a long,
long time. If we were to hold a beautiful, fragrant
banquet, would we invite a person who would spoil
the beauty and purity of our feast? Would it be fair
to the other invited guests to have such a person
present? And even if we invited an unprepared
guest, would he be comfortable at the banquet?
Would he not feel ashamed in the presence of the
other guests?
Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who
may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is
blameless and who does what is righteous, who
speaks the truth from his heart…
Psalms 15:1-2 niv
Recently I found myself in a meeting attended by
a large gathering of well-dressed people listening
intensely to an informative and entertaining speaker.
10Suddenly, I noticed a man in working clothes sitting
near me. Instantly it became evident to me that this
man was out of harmony with the audience (and
himself), and unable to appreciate and enjoy the
talk. His mental and spiritual unpreparedness be-
came most evident when he appeared unable to
understand the speaker’s humor. While the other
guests were laughing and having a good time, this
man was looking around with envy and anger. He
occupied some of my attention, and made me un-
comfortable watching his angry and bewildered
face, which he kept turning around. It seemed he
would be happier almost anywhere else.
By the way, I saw this man in my dream last night
just after putting my finishing touches to this topic!
Holy words and pure and goodly deeds ascend
unto the heaven of celestial glory. Strive that
your deeds may be cleansed from the dust of
self and hypocrisy and find favor at the court of
glory; for ere long the assayers of mankind shall,
in the holy presence of the Adored One, accept
naught but absolute virtue and deeds of stainless
purity.70 Bahá’u’lláh
A pure heart is the shortest and surest highway to
heaven. Why? Because it absorbs and reflects the
truth; it radiates with love and justice and charity.
Who else deserves heaven but the pure? Who else
deserves to see God’s glory? “Blessed are the pure
in heart: for they shall see God” (Christ, Matt. 5:8).
If we had a grand banquet would we invite guests
with filthy clothes and foul odors? Are the banquets
of heaven less worthy than those of the earth?
1170 Death: The Door to Heaven
12Should a foul soul be allowed to take a seat at the
table along with the pure?
Purity is a precious prize, a divine pearl for which no
effort should be spared, a heavenly gift that deserves
our highest aspirations. If this pearl is missing from
our hearts, then we have lived in poverty. If this
gift is not found in our soul, then we have lived in
vain. If this prize is not gained, we have lost the
chance of a lifetime. It would be better not to have
lived at all than to live and be without it.
We should note that the seed of purity grows out
of self-knowledge:
He hath known God who hath known him-
self.71 Bahá’u’lláh
Where does impurity grow from? From a soil that
lacks life-giving nutrients. It grows from self-
deception, “vain imaginings,” and “idle fancies.”
It arises from “pursuing empty phantoms” (Jer. 2:5),
floating in the fog of fantasy, and worshiping one’s
own carved image of reality (Ezek. 8:12). It comes
from creating and living in a dark world of illusions
in which one feels comfortable with his prejudices
—his selfish, immediate, and worldly needs, goals,
and desires. Impurity can remain invisible only in
the dark of delusion, and only true knowledge can
expose it to the light.
Human beings have unlimited potential for self-
deception. People who claim to be the most pious
and devoted believers, torture and kill with a clear
conscience the One whose name they glorify, and
14then call themselves heroes! If people can do this,
then they can deceive themselves into doing any-
thing that their imagination can conceive.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in
the end leads to [spiritual] death.
Proverbs 14:12 niv
Thus the first step to purity is to break the vicious
cycle of self-deception.
Arise, O people, and, by the power of God’s
might, resolve to gain the victory over your own
selves, that haply the whole earth may be freed
and sanctified from its servitude to the gods of
its idle fancies—gods that have inflicted such
loss upon, and are responsible for the misery of
their wretched worshippers. These idols form
the obstacle that impedeth man in his efforts to
advance in the path of perfection.72 Bahá’u’lláh
It is said that several minutes before the Titanic hit
an iceberg, the radio operator received a message
to this effect “This area is full of icebergs. Be care-
ful!” His response was: “Be quiet! I am busy.”
Many of us sail on the sea of life with the same
negligence. We are so occupied with the daily
demands of life and attracted to its short-lived
glamour that we lose sight of our mortality. Our
Creator reminds us that while we still have time,
before the iceberg has shattered our earthly dreams,
we must awaken and anchor our souls on the unsink-
able—the love of God. The end comes unheralded
—the angel of death does not prepare us for the
sudden departure:
1572 Death: The Door to Heaven
16o children of negligence!
Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty
and rejoice not therein. Ye are even as the un-
wary bird that with full confidence warbleth
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!73
Bahá’u’lláh
17Why Were We Created?
Do they not reflect that God hath created the
heavens and the earth and all that is between
them for a serious end, and for a fixed term? But
truly most men believe not that they shall meet
their Lord. Muhammad (Qur’án 30:7)
Why would have God ever wished to create us?
Did He need us? Was He lonely? God is Love,
Knowledge, Truth, Virtue, and Wisdom; and we are
the inevitable outcome of the outpouring of these
divine attributes. To be fulfilled, love must manifest
itself ; it must flow unhindered, unstifled, forever
evolving, growing—unfolding its boundless charm
in myriad ways. Wisdom, knowledge, and grace
must reach out from the Source onward—to the
receivers, to the objects of Love.
But for man, who, on My earth, would remem-
ber Me, and how could My attributes and My
names be revealed?74 Bahá’u’lláh
19o son of man!
Veiled in My immemorial being and in the an-
cient eternity of My essence, I knew My love
for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved
on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My
beauty.75 Bahá’u’lláh
Love without an object languishes, remains unreal-
ized—signifying imperfection. If stillness or self-
love signifies imperfection, then how can the divine
Love, the essence and the fashioner of perfection,
the pulse of all creation, stand hindered, stifled, still,
without expression?
God stands above all needs. He is but His own Self
when He unfolds His Perfections, when He unveils
His Wisdom. The sun radiates not because of need,
but because of its nature.
1The universe must have a purpose. The evidence
of modern physics suggests strongly that the
purpose includes us.76
To me it seems as if when God conceived the
world, that was poetry; He formed it, and that
was sculpture; He varied and colored it, and that
was painting; and then, crowning all, He peopled
it with living beings, and that was the grand
divine, eternal drama.77
274 Death: The Door to Heaven
3What is our ultimate purpose while on this earthly
plane? If our essence is spirit, then our enduring
purpose can be only spiritual, wherever or in what-
ever stage of our journey we may be—in this realm
or the next.
The earth is God’s great Touchstone, His crucible
of testing. Here, the soul has almost unlimited free-
dom to prove its purity and sincerity. It can choose
between the mortal and the immortal; between the
whims of the self, and the aspirations of the spirit;
between descent into the temptations of the world,
and ascent to the heavenly horizons. It can cling to
the earthly cage, or wing its flight to the Kingdom
above; it can fall to the depths of despair and dis-
honor, or rise to the crest of glory and grandeur.
…from time immemorial even unto eternity the
Almighty hath tried, and will continue to try,
His servants, so that light may be distinguished
from darkness, truth from falsehood, right from
wrong, guidance from error, happiness from
misery, and roses from thorns. Even as He hath
revealed: “Do men think when they say ‘We
believe’ they shall be let alone and not be put to
proof ?”78 Bahá’u’lláh
Our earthly life is but a seed. It is not the end, but
the means to the end. The seed must sacrifice itself
that it may give life to the fruit. The body must die
to unfold and set free the latent powers of the spirit,
for all the spiritual powers exist only as potential.
The potential can bloom into the actual only by
seeking, searching, and striving.
5Know thou that all men have been created in the
nature made by God, the Guardian, the Self-
Subsisting. Unto each one hath been prescribed
a pre-ordained measure, as decreed in God’s
mighty and guarded Tablets. All that which ye
potentially possess can, however, be manifested
only as a result of your own volition. Your own
acts testify to this truth.79 Bahá’u’lláh
Without the stirrings of the divine Spirit, our poten-
tials cannot bloom. “Human mind is a great slumber-
ing power until awakened by a keen desire” to rise
and tread the path of perfection.
Man is…the beginning of spirituality—that is to
say, he is the end of imperfection and the begin-
ning of perfection. He is at the last degree of
darkness, and at the beginning of light…He has
the animal side as well as the angelic side, and
the aim of an educator is to so train human souls
that their angelic aspect may overcome their
animal side. Then if the divine power in man,
which is his essential perfection, overcomes the
satanic power, which is absolute imperfection,
he becomes the most excellent among the crea-
tures; but if the satanic power overcomes the
divine power, he becomes the lowest of the crea-
tures. That is why he is the end of imperfection
and the beginning of perfection.80 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Our journey through the earthly kingdom corresponds
to springtime among the seasons. If the voyager
chooses to grow, to unfold, and to rise with the
seasons, as the Creator has ordained, he can surely
attain and fulfill his ultimate Purpose, his divine
676 Death: The Door to Heaven
7Mission. Otherwise, he withers and falls—unful-
filled, empty, incomplete.
What is the ultimate purpose of growing, of unfold-
ing our potential? The ultimate end is to prepare
the soul so that it may become worthy of attaining
the Presence of its Creator—the Source and Essence
of all joys, pleasures, and perfections. Our ultimate
end is nearness to God; that is our last haven, the
Object of our every hope and aspiration, our loftiest
heaven, our fondest and fairest dream, our most
enchanting and exalted happiness.
The purpose of God in creating man hath been,
and will ever be, to enable him to know his Cre-
ator and to attain His Presence. To this most
excellent aim, this supreme objective, all the
heavenly Books and the divinely-revealed and
weighty Scriptures unequivocally bear witness.
Whoso hath recognized the Day Spring of Divine
guidance [the Redeemer of the Age] and entered
His holy court hath drawn nigh unto God and
attained His Presence, a Presence which is the
real Paradise, and of which the loftiest mansions
of heaven are but a symbol.81 Bahá’u’lláh
Growth—or the unfolding of potentials—is the pro-
cess of rising from the self to the divine, from the
mortal to the immortal. Not to grow is a sin, a failure,
bringing its own consequence: “death” (Rom. 6:23)—
namely, stagnation of spiritual powers. Love, charity,
service, sanctity, honesty, humility, detachment
from the cares of the world, knowing, loving, and
9trusting God—these are the substances on which
depend the life of the spirit. In their absence,
“spiritual death” dominates the soul, stifling its life-
giving powers, obscuring its charm.
Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he un-
derstandeth and knoweth Me… Jeremiah 9:24
The final test of our lives will not be how much
we have lived but how we have lived, not how
tempestuous our lives have been, but how much
bigger, better and stronger these trials have left
us. Not how much money, fame or fortune we
have laid up here on earth, but how many treasure
we have laid up in heaven!82
1fathom the perfection of the Almighty?
Job 11:7 neb
How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom
you made them all… Psalms 104:24 niv
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are my ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9 neb
God is our Source and our ultimate End. We stand
so near to Him and yet so far from Him. We know
He is infinite, beyond our vision, and utterly un-
knowable, yet we seek to reach Him, to know Him,
2Only if we recognize that “knowing God” means
knowing His Manifestation or perfect Mirror—God
made visible and knowable to man.
The recognition of Him Who is the Bearer of
divine Truth is none other than the recognition
of God, and loving Him is none other than lov-
ing God.83 The Báb
We cannot gaze at the Sun with all its glory and
splendor; we must seek its light only through
mirrors—the reflectors of light. “The source of all
learning,” Bahá’u’lláh declares, “is the knowledge
of God, exalted be His Glory, and this cannot be
attained save through the knowledge of His Divine
Manifestation,” 84 or His “Day Star of Truth:”
Through the Teachings of this Day Star of Truth
every man will advance and develop until he
attaineth the station at which he can manifest all
the potential forces with which his inmost true
self hath been endowed. It is for this very purpose
that in every age and dispensation the Prophets
of God and His chosen Ones have appeared
amongst men, and have evinced such power as
is born of God and such might as only the Eternal
can reveal.85 Bahá’u’lláh
By recognizing and obeying the mediator or the
link—the Day Star of Truth—we attune our souls
to the divine. We learn to guide our volition, to
come into harmony with our true nature, free from
impurities; we gain the strength to grow deep into
the soil drawing abundant nourishment; we expand
3the violent winds of the self, overcoming the pains
and pressures of the world.
To know the will of God is the greatest knowl-
edge! To do the will of God is the greatest
achievement!86
The unfolding of self, the growing of spiritual pow-
ers, result not only from striving, but also from the
grace of God, reachable to us through the divine
Mediators. The seed develops both by the bounties
of the sun and its own strivings to grow deep in the
soil. We too can unfold our potential both by the
divine bounties and by our own endeavors—our
pure and pious deeds. What distinguishes us from
the plant is our volition: to choose death over life,
hunger instead of nourishment, darkness in place
1save for a worthy end. Qur’án 15:85
The course is clear, the end in sight and glorious,
yet the voyager hesitates, wavers. He ignores the
signs, losing sight of himself and his destiny; he
stumbles and falls. He fails to discern his heavenly
mission, to see his seemingly concealed self, his
unending and imperishable soul. He lives as if he
were the vehicle not the rider, the shell not the
pearl. He builds his mansion on the earth and on
sand, instead of in heaven and on his own mag-
2his destiny if he could rise above the barriers, if he
could cherish and adore the unfading pearl con-
cealed within the crust of his perishable passions
and desires.
The Scriptures declare that our eyes should be fixed
“not on the things that are seen, but on the things
that are unseen: for what is seen passes away; what
is unseen is eternal.” (II Cor. 4:16-18; 5:1-5). The
heavenly voice intimates that “flesh and blood can-
not inherit the kingdom of God” (I Cor. 15:50). Yet
we direct our gaze toward the seen, the ephemeral,
and the earthly, losing sight of the spiritual, the
unseen, the enduring, the eternal. The heavenly
Voice seeks to awaken us to our supreme destiny:
o son of the supreme!
To the eternal I call thee, yet thou dost seek that
which perisheth. What hath made thee turn away
from Our desire and seek thine own?87
Bahá’u’lláh
o my servant!
Abandon not for that which perisheth an ever-
lasting dominion, and cast not away celestial
sovereignty for a worldly desire. This is the
river of everlasting life that hath flowed from
the well-spring of the pen of the merciful; well
is it with them that drink!88 Bahá’u’lláh
o children of negligence!
Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty
and rejoice not therein. Ye are even as the un-
wary bird that with full confidence warbleth
upon the bough; till of a sudden the fowler Death
3and the color are gone, leaving not a trace.
Wherefore take heed, O bondslaves of desire!89
Bahá’u’lláh
4…set your mind upon his kingdom…Provide for
yourselves never-failing treasure in heaven,
where no thief can get near it, no moth destroy
1Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Psalms 33:12 neb
Let us review briefly life’s journey from its begin-
ning to its end. We come from God, are fashioned
out of love, and set on an ever-advancing yet never-
ending journey toward God Himself. “We are God’s,
and to Him shall we return.”90
Our immediate goal is to grow, to unfold our divine
potential; our ultimate end to move toward and to
attain the presence of all Perfections, God Himself.
In a sense, growing is an end in itself for it consists
of the harmonizing of the self with the divine. But,
ultimately, it is sought for a greater end—nearness
to the Object of the endeavors. The divine in us is
a perfect image concealed beneath the barrier of
self, entangled in worldly attachments. The more
we chisel away the unfitting and unsightly seg-
ments, the clearer the image becomes. This sums
up our whole mission and purpose of living.
282 Death: The Door to Heaven
3We can grow through love of God and through
deeds springing from pure motives—self-sacrifice,
detachment from the world, sanctity and holiness.
To love God we must know God, for without
knowledge, love cannot take root or grow. Since
God is unreachable and beyond our confined vision,
we must seek to reach Him and to know Him
through His Manifestations or Messengers sent to
us at appointed times.
As we learn to love God by knowing Him, so do
we learn to know Him by loving Him. And as we
learn to live in harmony with His Will, we con-
tinue to know Him and to love Him even more. For
God is Love and God is Wisdom.
To attain the fullest growth we are capable of, it is
absolutely essential that we know God’s latest
Manifestation, the One assigned to our own age,
our own dispensation.
Man’s highest station…is attained through faith
in God in every Dispensation and by acceptance
of what hath been revealed by Him [in the new
Dispensation]…91 The Báb
God reveals for us in each age a new Plan and a
new Purpose—more advanced, more relevant to
the temper and the needs of the time. If we fail to
recognize the new Plan and the new Purpose, our
growth will stagnate and suffer beyond measure.
We may grow, but without guidance; we may rise,
but for no purpose. A person trying to grow by the
teachings and the bounties of a Faith whose time
has passed and whose mission is already fulfilled,
5is like a sapling seeking to germinate in the cold
and deep shadows of darkness, or a mirror seeking
light from a source that is set.
Further, by knowing and following the new Plan,
our love for God continues to flourish, to abound,
to evolve, to grow ever deeper and more complete.
Because we can see more meaning in the new Plan,
finding it more relevant to our lives, to our needs,
to our nature. And, as a result of finding harmony
between what we need and what we are given or
asked to do, our thoughts, our ideals, our desires,
and our deeds begin to move together and to har-
monize, like a grand orchestra, soothing our souls
and enchanting our spirits. We are no longer torn
by conflicting standards and ideals; we can move
confidently and contentedly in the direction of our
dreams toward our ultimate destiny.
We are the signs of the knowledge of God, the
radiance of His love and great glory—but the signs
remain hidden in the self, the radiance is dimmed
by the clouds. Only the power of sincere desire can
manifest the signs, can scatter the clouds.
From the exalted source, and out of the essence
of His favor and bounty He hath entrusted every
created thing with a sign of His knowledge, so
that none of His creatures may be deprived of
its share in expressing, each according to its ca-
pacity and rank, this knowledge. This sign is the
mirror of His beauty in the world of creation.
The greater the effort exerted for the refinement
of this sublime and noble mirror, the more faith-
fully will it be made to reflect the glory of the
684 Death: The Door to Heaven
7names and attributes of God, and reveal the
wonders of His signs and knowledge.92
Bahá’u’lláh
Life is a divine investment. If we waste it, we dis-
please the Investor and diminish or destroy the
capital (our soul). Every ‘day’ must be invested for
spiritual growth. A day wasted never returns; a day
invested always endures.
What a loss if we misuse our cherished freedom, if
we fail to fulfill our divine mission, if we lose the
divine investment. We should once again hear
Bahá’u’lláh’s words:
o my servant!
Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and
loose thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy
chance, for it will come to thee no more.93
Bahá’u’lláh
Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives
in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection…94
Bahá’u’lláh
O friends! It behoveth you to refresh and revive
your souls through the gracious favors which in
this Divine, this soul-stirring Springtime are
being showered upon you. The Day Star of His
great glory hath shed its radiance upon you, and
the clouds of His limitless grace have over-
shadowed you. How high the reward of him that
hath not deprived himself of so great a bounty,
nor failed to recognize the beauty of his Best-
Beloved in this, His new attire.95 Bahá’u’lláh
8Quotations from
Sacred Scriptures
9In My Father’s house are many mansions;
if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you to Myself; that
where I am, there you may be also.
Christ (John 14:2-3 nkj)
Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly
home, reunion with Me.1 Bahá’u’lláh
Death proffereth unto every confident
believer the cup that is life indeed. It be-
stoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness.
10It conferreth the gift of everlasting life.2
Bahá’u’lláh
As to those that have tasted of the fruit of
man’s earthly existence, which is the rec-
ognition of the one true God, exalted be
His glory, their life hereafter is such as
We are unable to describe. The knowledge
thereof is with God, alone, the Lord of all
worlds.3 Bahá’u’lláh
The soul that hath remained faithful to the
Cause of God, and stood unwaveringly
firm in His Path shall, after his ascension,
be possessed of such power that all the
worlds which the Almighty hath created
can benefit through him.4 Bahá’u’lláh
Bring thyself to account each day ere thou
art summoned to a reckoning…5
Bahá’u’lláh
The world is but a show, vain and empty,
a mere nothing, bearing the semblance of
reality. Set not your affections upon it.6
Bahá’u’lláh
…the world is like the vapor in a desert,
which the thirsty dreameth to be water and
striveth after it with all his might, until
when he cometh unto it, he findeth it to
be mere illusion.7 Bahá’u’lláh
11Busy not thyself with this world, for with
fire We test the gold, and with gold We
test Our servants.8 Bahá’u’lláh
For whoever wants to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
will find it. Christ (Matt. 16:25 niv)
Provide purses for yourselves that will not
wear out, a treasure in heaven that will
not be exhausted, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys.
Christ (Luke 12:33 niv)
What good will it be for a man if he gains
the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or
what can a man give in exchange for his
soul? Christ (Matt. 16:26 niv)
Do not work for food that spoils, but for
food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give you. On him God
the Father has placed his seal of approval.
Christ (John 6:27 niv)
Abandon not the everlasting beauty for a
beauty that must die, and set not your
affections on this mortal world of dust.9
Bahá’u’lláh
If ye be seekers after this life and the
vanities thereof, ye should have sought
them while ye were still enclosed in your
12mothers’ wombs, for at that time ye were
continually approaching them, could ye
but perceive it. Ye have, on the other hand,
ever since ye were born and attained
maturity, been all the while receding from
the world and drawing closer to dust.
Why, then, exhibit such greed in amassing
the treasures of the earth, when your days
are numbered and your chance is well-
nigh lost? Will ye not, then, O heedless
ones, shake off your slumber?10
Bahá’u’lláh
Seize the time, therefore, ere the glory of
the divine springtime hath spent itself,
and the Bird of Eternity ceased to warble
its melody, that thy inner hearing may not
be deprived of hearkening unto its call.
This is My counsel unto thee and unto the
beloved of God. Whosoever wisheth, let
him turn thereunto; whosoever wisheth,
let him turn away. God, verily, is indepen-
dent of him and of that which he may see
and witness.11 Bahá’u’lláh
Paradise is attainment of His good-pleasure
and everlasting hell-fire His judgment
through justice.12 The Báb
…no paradise is more glorious in the sight
of God than attainment unto His good-
pleasure.13 The Báb
13Do not be afraid of those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be
afraid of the One who can destroy both
soul and body… Christ (Matt. 10:28 niv)
All that is with you passeth away, but that
which is with God abideth. With a reward
seemly for their best deeds will We surely
recompense those who have patiently en-
dured. Qur’án 16:98
If anyone’s name was not found written
in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire. Christ (Rev. 20:15 niv)
O people! Assuredly the promise of God
is true. Let not the present life deceive
you. Qur’án 5:34
And set before them an analogy of the
present life. It is as water which we send
down from heaven, and the herb of the
earth is mingled with it, and on the mor-
row it becometh dry stubble which the
winds scatter… Qur’án 18:43
Man—the true man—is soul, not body…14
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Soon will your swiftly-passing days be
over, and the fame and riches, the com-
forts, the joys provided by this rubbish-
heap, the world, will be gone without a
trace.15 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
14Man is like a breath; his days are like a
fleeting shadow. Psalms 144:4 niv
Teach us to count how few days we have
and so gain wisdom of heart.
Psalms 90:12 neb
1My holiness, let not the defilement of the
world eclipse thy splendor.16 Bahá’u’lláh
Could ye apprehend with what wonders
of My munificence and bounty I have
willed to entrust your souls, ye would, of
a truth, rid yourselves of attachment to
all created things, and would gain a true
knowledge of your own selves—a knowl-
edge which is the same as the comprehen-
sion of Mine own Being.17 Bahá’u’lláh
Heed not your weaknesses and frailty; fix
your gaze upon the invincible power of
the Lord, your God, the Almighty…Arise
in His name, put your trust wholly in Him,
and be assured of ultimate victory.18
The Báb
No capacity is limited when led by the
Spirit of God!19 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
2God’s Purpose
for Humankind
The purpose of the one true God in mani-
festing Himself…is to array every man
with the mantle of a saintly character, and
to adorn him with the ornament of holy
and goodly deeds.20 Bahá’u’lláh
The purpose of God in creating man hath
been, and will ever be, to enable him to
know his Creator and to attain His Pres-
ence.21 Bahá’u’lláh
Through the Teachings of this Day Star of
Truth every man will advance and devel-
op until he attaineth the station at which
he can manifest all the potential forces
with which his inmost true self hath been
endowed. It is for this very purpose that
in every age and dispensation the Prophets
of God and His chosen Ones have ap-
peared amongst men…22
Bahá’u’lláh
He Who is the Day Spring of Truth is, no
doubt, fully capable of rescuing from such
remoteness wayward souls and of causing
them to draw nigh unto His court and attain
His Presence. “If God had pleased He had
surely made all men one people.” His
purpose, however, is to enable the pure in
3spirit and the detached in heart to ascend,
by virtue of their own innate powers, unto
the shores of the Most Great Ocean, that
thereby they who seek the Beauty of the
All-Glorious may be distinguished and
separated from the wayward and perverse.
Thus hath it been ordained by the all-
glorious and resplendent Pen.23 Bahá’u’lláh
The purpose underlying Their revelation
hath been to educate all men, that they
may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the
utmost purity and sanctity and with abso-
lute detachment, to the throne of the Most
High.24 Bahá’u’lláh
O Lord!…were it not for the sake of ren-
dering service to Thee, my existence
would avail me not.25 Bahá’u’lláh
Ye have, one and all, been called into being
to seek His presence and to attain that
exalted and glorious station.26 The Báb
Know thou that first and foremost in reli-
gion is the knowledge of God.27 The Báb
Love is the fundamental principle of God’s
purpose for man, and He has commanded
us to love each other even as He loves us.28
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
4The All-loving God created man to radiate
the Divine light and to illumine the world
by his words, action and life.29
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
“What is the purpose of our lives?”…“To
acquire virtues.”30 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
If no fruits of the Kingdom appear in the
garden of his soul, man is not in the image
and likeness of God, but if those fruits are
forthcoming, he becomes the recipient of
ideal bestowals and is enkindled with the
fire of the love of God.31 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
The highest development of man is his
entrance into the divine Kingdom…32
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
1Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! Abase
not him whom Thou hast exalted through
the power of Thine everlasting sovereignty,
and remove not far from Thee him whom
Thou hast caused to enter the tabernacle
of Thine eternity. Wilt Thou cast away, O
my God, him whom Thou hast overshad-
owed with Thy Lordship, and wilt Thou
turn away from Thee, O my Desire, him to
whom Thou hast been a refuge? Canst Thou
degrade him whom Thou hast uplifted, or
forget him whom Thou didst enable to
remember Thee?
2Glorified, immensely glorified art Thou!
Thou art He Who from everlasting hath
been the King of the entire creation and
its Prime Mover, and Thou wilt to ever-
lasting remain the Lord of all created
things and their Ordainer. Glorified art
Thou, O my God! If Thou ceasest to be
merciful unto Thy servants, who, then,
will show mercy unto them; and if Thou
refusest to succor Thy loved ones, who is
there that can succor them?
Glorified, immeasurably glorified art
Thou! Thou art adored in Thy truth, and
Thee do we all, verily, worship; and Thou
art manifest in Thy justice, and to Thee
do we all, verily, bear witness. Thou art,
in truth, beloved in Thy grace. No God is
there but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-
Subsisting.1 Bahá’u’lláh
3Say: O God, my God! Thou hast commit-
ted into mine hands a trust from Thee, and
hast now according to the good-pleasure
of Thy Will called it back to Thyself. It is
not for me, who am a handmaid of Thine,
to say, whence is this to me or wherefore
4hath it happened, inasmuch as Thou art
glorified in all Thine acts, and art to be
obeyed in Thy decree. Thine handmaid,
O my Lord, hath set her hopes on Thy
grace and bounty. Grant that she may ob-
tain that which will draw her nigh unto
Thee, and will profit her in every world
of Thine. Thou art the Forgiving, the All-
Bountiful. There is none other God but
Thee, the Ordainer, the Ancient of Days.2
Bahá’u’lláh
5He is God, exalted is He, the Lord of
loving-kindness and bounty!
Glory be unto Thee, Thou, O my God, the
Lord Omnipotent. I testify to Thine om-
nipotence and Thy might, Thy sovereignty
and Thy loving-kindness, Thy grace and
Thy power, the oneness of Thy Being and
the unity of Thine Essence, Thy sanctity
and exaltation above the world of being
and all that is therein.
O my God! Thou seest me detached from
all save Thee, holding fast unto Thee and
turning unto the ocean of Thy bounty, to
the heaven of Thy favor, to the Daystar of
Thy grace.
6Lord! I bear witness that in Thy servant
Thou hast reposed Thy Trust, and that is
the Spirit wherewith Thou hast given life
to the world.
I ask of Thee by the splendor of the Orb
of Thy Revelation, mercifully to accept
from him that which he hath achieved
in Thy days. Grant then that he may be
invested with the glory of Thy good-plea-
sure and adorned with Thine acceptance.
O my Lord! I myself and all created things
bear witness unto Thy might, and I pray
Thee not to turn away from Thyself this
spirit that hath ascended unto Thee, unto
Thy heavenly place, Thine exalted Para-
dise and Thy retreats of nearness, O Thou
who art the Lord of all men!
Grant, then, O my God, that Thy servant
may consort with Thy chosen ones, Thy
saints and Thy Messengers in heavenly
places that the pen cannot tell nor the
tongue recount.
O My Lord, the poor one hath verily has-
tened unto the Kingdom of Thy wealth,
the stranger unto his home within Thy
precincts, he that is sore athirst to the
heavenly river of Thy bounty. Deprive
him not, O Lord, from his share of the
banquet of Thy grace and from the favor
7of Thy bounty. Thou art in truth the Al-
mighty, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful.
O my God, Thy Trust hath been returned
unto Thee. It behooveth Thy grace and
Thy bounty that have compassed Thy
dominions on earth and in heaven, to
vouchsafe unto Thy newly welcomed one
Thy gifts and Thy bestowals, and the fruits
of the tree of Thy grace! Powerful art
Thou to do as Thou willest, there is none
other God but Thee, the Gracious, the
Most Bountiful, the Compassionate, the
Bestower, the Pardoner, the Precious, the
All-Knowing.
I testify, O my Lord, that Thou hast en-
joined upon men to honor their guest, and
he that hath ascended unto Thee hath
verily reached Thee and attained Thy
Presence. Deal with him then according
to Thy grace and bounty! By Thy glory, I
know of a certainty that Thou wilt not
withhold Thyself from that which Thou
hast commanded Thy servants, nor wilt
Thou deprive him that hath clung to the
cord of Thy bounty and hath ascended to
the Dayspring of Thy wealth.
There is none other God but Thee, the
One, the Single, the Powerful, the Omni-
scient, the Bountiful.3 Bahá’u’lláh
8Lauded art Thou, O my God, my tres-
passes have waxed mighty and my sins
have assumed grievous proportions. How
disgraceful my plight will prove to be in
Thy holy presence. I have failed to know
Thee to the extent Thou didst reveal Thy-
self unto me; I have failed to worship
Thee with a devotion worthy of Thy sum-
mons; I have failed to obey Thee through
not treading the path of Thy love in the
manner Thou didst inspire me.
Thy might beareth me witness, O my God,
what befitteth Thee is far greater and more
exalted than any being could attempt to
accomplish. Indeed nothing can ever com-
prehend Thee as is worthy of Thee nor
can any servile creature worship Thee as
beseemeth Thine adoration. So perfect and
comprehensive is Thy proof, O my God,
that its inner essence transcendeth the
description of any soul and so abundant
are the outpourings of Thy gifts that no
faculty can appraise their infinite range.
O my God! O my Master! I beseech Thee
by Thy manifold bounties and by the pil-
lars which sustain Thy throne of glory, to
have pity on these lowly people who are
9powerless to bear the unpleasant things of
this fleeting life, how much less then can
they bear Thy chastisement in the life to
come—a chastisement which is ordained
by Thy justice, called forth by Thy wrath
and will continue to exist for ever.
I beg Thee by Thyself, O my God, my
Lord and my Master, to intercede in my
behalf. I have fled from Thy justice unto
Thy mercy. For my refuge I am seeking
Thee and such as turn not away from Thy
path, even for a twinkling of an eye—they
for whose sake Thou didst create the cre-
ation as a token of Thy grace and bounty.4
The Báb
10Praise be unto Thee, O Lord. Forgive us
our sins, have mercy upon us and enable
us to return unto Thee. Suffer us not to
rely on aught else besides Thee, and
vouchsafe unto us, through Thy bounty,
that which Thou lovest and desirest and
well beseemeth Thee. Exalt the station of
them that have truly believed and forgive
them with Thy gracious forgiveness. Ver-
ily Thou art the Help in Peril, the Self-
Subsisting.5 The Báb
11I beg Thy forgiveness, O my God, and
implore pardon after the manner Thou
wishest Thy servants to direct themselves
to Thee. I beg of Thee to wash away our
sins as befitteth Thy Lordship, and to
forgive me, my parents, and those who in
Thy estimation have entered the abode of
Thy love in a manner which is worthy of
Thy transcendent sovereignty and well
beseemeth the glory of Thy celestial
power.
O my God! Thou hast inspired my soul to
offer its supplication to Thee, and but for
Thee, I would not call upon Thee. Lauded
and glorified art Thou; I yield Thee praise
inasmuch as Thou didst reveal Thyself
unto me, and I beg Thee to forgive me,
since I have fallen short in my duty to
know Thee and have failed to walk in the
path of Thy love.6 The Báb
12I am aware, O Lord, that my trespasses
have covered my face with shame in Thy
presence, and have burdened my back
before Thee, have intervened between me
and Thy beauteous countenance, have
compassed me from every direction and
13have hindered me on all sides from gain-
ing access unto the revelations of Thy
celestial power.
O Lord! If Thou forgivest me not, who is
there then to grant pardon, and if Thou
hast no mercy upon me who is capable of
showing compassion? Glory be unto Thee,
Thou didst create me when I was non-
existent and Thou didst nourish me while
I was devoid of any understanding. Praise
be unto Thee, every evidence of bounty
proceedeth from Thee and every token of
grace emanateth from the treasuries of
Thy decree.7 The Báb
14O God our Lord! Protect us through Thy
grace from whatsoever may be repugnant
unto Thee and vouchsafe unto us that
which well beseemeth Thee. Give us more
out of Thy bounty and bless us. Pardon
us for the things we have done and wash
away our sins and forgive us with Thy
gracious forgiveness. Verily Thou art the
Most Exalted, the Self-Subsisting.
Thy loving providence hath encompassed
all created things in the heavens and on the
earth, and Thy forgiveness hath surpassed
the whole creation. Thine is sovereignty;
15in Thy hand are the Kingdoms of Creation
and Revelation; in Thy right hand Thou
holdest all created things and within Thy
grasp are the assigned measures of forgive-
ness. Thou forgivest whomsoever among
Thy servants Thou pleasest. Verily Thou
art the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Loving.
Nothing whatsoever escapeth Thy knowl-
edge, and naught is there which is hidden
from Thee.
O God our Lord! Protect us through the
potency of Thy might, enable us to enter
Thy wondrous surging ocean, and grant
us that which well befitteth Thee.
Thou art the Sovereign Ruler, the Mighty
Doer, the Exalted, the All-loving.8
The Báb
16Glory be unto Thee, O God. How can I
make mention of Thee while Thou art
sanctified from the praise of all mankind.
Magnified be Thy Name, O God, Thou art
the King, the Eternal Truth; Thou knowest
what is in the heavens and on the earth,
and unto Thee must all return. Thou hast
sent down Thy divinely-ordained Revela-
tion according to a clear measure. Praised
art Thou, O Lord! At Thy behest Thou
17dost render victorious whomsoever Thou
willest, through the hosts of heaven and
earth and whatsoever existeth between
them. Thou art the Sovereign, the Eternal
Truth, the Lord of invincible might.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord, Thou forgivest
at all times the sins of such among Thy
servants as implore Thy pardon. Wash
away my sins and the sins of those who
seek Thy forgiveness at dawn, who pray
to Thee in the day-time and in the night
season, who yearn after naught save God,
who offer up whatsoever God hath gra-
ciously bestowed upon them, who cele-
brate Thy praise at morn and eventide, and
who are not remiss in their duties.9
The Báb
18O my God! O Thou forgiver of sins, be-
stower of gifts, dispeller of afflictions!
Verily, I beseech Thee to forgive the sins
of such as have abandoned the physical
garment and have ascended to the spiri-
tual world.
O my Lord! Purify them from trespasses,
dispel their sorrows, and change their
darkness into light. Cause them to enter
the garden of happiness, cleanse them
with the most pure water, and grant them
19to behold Thy splendors on the loftiest
mount.10 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
20O my God! O my God! Verily Thy servant,
humble before the majesty of Thy divine
supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy one-
ness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy
verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath
been enkindled with the fire of Thy love,
hath been immersed in the depths of the
ocean of Thy knowledge, hath been at-
tracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon
Thee, hath turned his face to Thee, hath
offered his supplications to Thee, and hath
been assured of Thy pardon and forgive-
ness. He hath abandoned this mortal life
and hath flown to the kingdom of immor-
tality, yearning for the favor of meeting
Thee.
O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him
under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy,
cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise,
and perpetuate his existence in Thine ex-
alted rose garden, that he may plunge into
the sea of light in the world of mysteries.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Power-
ful, the Forgiver and the Bestower.11
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
21A Special Prayer Recited
at the Time of Burial
(The Prayer for the Dead is the only Bahá’í
obligatory prayer that is to be recited in con-
gregation; it is to be recited by one believer
while all present stand in silence. Bahá’u’lláh
has clarified that this prayer is required only
when the deceased is over the age of fifteen,
that its recital must precede internment, and
that there is no requirement to face the Qiblih
[the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh] during its recita-
tion.)
On the finger of the departed should be placed
a ring on which this prayer is inscribed: “I
came forth from God, and return unto Him,
detached from all save Him, holding fast to
His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate.”
O my God! This is Thy servant and the
son of Thy servant who hath believed in
Thee and in Thy signs, and set his face
towards Thee, wholly detached from all
except Thee. Thou art, verily, of those
who show mercy the most merciful.
Deal with him, O Thou Who forgivest
the sins of men and concealest their
faults, as beseemeth the heaven of Thy
bounty and the ocean of Thy grace. Grant
him admission within the precincts of Thy
transcendent mercy that was before the
foundation of earth and heaven. There is
22no God but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the
Most Generous.
(“Alláh’u’Abhá” is said once; then the first
of the six verses is recited nineteen times.
Then “Alláh’u’Abhá” is said again, followed
by the second verse, which is recited nine-
teen times, and so on.)
We all, verily, worship God.
We all, verily, bow down before God.
We all, verily, are devoted unto God.
We all, verily, give praise unto God.
We all, verily, yield thanks unto God.
We all, verily, are patient in God.
(If the dead be a woman, let him say: This
is Thy handmaiden and the daughter of Thy
handmaiden, etc…) 14 Bahá’u’lláh
23Part II
24Bahá’u’lláh
The Glory of God
25Bahá’u’lláh
The Glory of God
As stated in the introduction, a purpose of
“Blazon-His-Name” series is to introduce
Bahá’u’lláh—the Glory of God—to the
western world. He is the One promised in all
Scriptures. He has come to establish the
heavenly Kingdom both within our soul and
without. Only once in a thousand years a
spiritual Figure, a Messenger and Redeemer
from God, such as Bahá’u’lláh appears upon
the earth. You now have a chance to know
Him, to get a glimpse of His glory—a glory
that will in time fill the earth:
For the earth will be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14 niv
…all the earth shall be filled with the
glory of the Lord. Numbers 14:21
26Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?
27In examining the evidence for the One who has
claimed to speak the Word of God, the most vital
questions are these: Who was He? What was He
like? How did He live? What happened to Him?
Here are a few features of Bahá’u’lláh’s life, adapt-
ed mostly from a book entitled Some Answered
Questions:
Bahá’u’lláh was born in 1817, in Persia, to a rich and
noble family. He died in 1892, as a prisoner and
exile in the Holy Land. As an infant, He astonished
His parents by His uniqueness and distinctions. His
father related that He would never cry or scream.
“You don’t know,” he said, “what a potential He has,
how intelligent He is! He is like a flame of fire, and
in His tender years superior to young people.”
Bahá’u’lláh’s father was so captivated by Him that
he wrote a piece of poetry in his son’s honor, in-
scribed it on a plaque, and hung it on the wall of a
summer mansion in which Bahá’u’lláh lived. The
28114 Death: The Door to Heaven
29content of the poetry shows that the father sensed
the divine destiny of his Son:
When thou enterest the sacred abode of the Be-
loved say:
“I am at thy command.
This is the home of love; enter with reverence.
This is holy ground; remove thy shoes when
thou enterest here.”
People were attracted by Bahá’u’lláh’s many distinc-
tions. He did not attend any school, yet astonished
people by His wisdom and knowledge. Even His
enemies testified to His greatness. Great thinkers
flocked to His presence, asking Him their most dif-
ficult questions. They said, “This man is unique in
all perfections.”
He had an extraordinary power of attraction,
which was felt by all. People always crowded
around Him. Ministers and people of the Court
would surround Him, and the children also were
devoted to Him. When He was only thirteen or
fourteen years old He became renowned for His
learning. He would converse on any subject and
solve any problem presented to Him. In large
gatherings He would…explain intricate religious
questions. All of them used to listen to Him with
the greatest interest.3
He showed no interest in politics:
When Bahá’u’lláh was twenty two years old,
His father died, and the Government wished
30Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?
31Him to succeed to His father’s position in the
Ministry…but Bahá’u’lláh did not accept the
offer. Then the Prime Minister said: “Leave him
to himself. Such a position is unworthy of him.
He has some higher aim in view. I cannot under-
stand him, but I am convinced that he is destined
for some lofty career. His thoughts are not like
ours. Let him alone.”
Bahá’u’lláh was known especially for His generos-
ity and love for the poor:
He was most generous, giving abundantly to the
poor. None who came to Him were turned away.
The doors of His house were open to all.5
One day Bahá’u’lláh sent ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, His eldest
Son, to inspect the work of the shepherds who
were taking care of His sheep. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was
a small child at the time, and the persecutions
against Bahá’u’lláh and His family had not yet
started. Bahá’u’lláh then had a good deal of land
in the mountains and owned large herds of sheep.
When the inspection was finished and ‘Abdu’l-
Bahá was ready to leave, the man who had ac-
companied Him said, “It is your father’s custom
to leave a gift for each shepherd.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
became silent for a while, because He did not
have anything to give them. The man, however,
insisted that the shepherds were expecting some-
thing. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had an idea that made
Him very happy! He would give the shepherds
the sheep they were taking care of ! Bahá’u’lláh
was very much pleased when He heard about
32116 Death: The Door to Heaven
33‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s generous thoughts towards the
shepherds. He humorously remarked that every-
one had better take good care of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
because someday He would give Himself away.
Of course, this is exactly what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did
for the rest of His life. He gave everything He
had, each and every moment of His life, to hu-
manity, to unite us and bring us true happiness.6
Bahá’u’lláh was also known for His courage to
stand against the powerful who would abuse their
power:
All classes of men marveled at His miraculous
success in emerging unscathed from the most
perilous encounters. Nothing short of Divine
protection, they thought, could have ensured His
safety on such occasions…In His constant as-
sociation, during those days, with the highest
dignitaries of the realm…He was never content
simply to accede to the views they expressed or
the claims they advanced. He would, at their
gatherings, fearlessly champion the cause of truth,
would assert the rights of the downtrodden, de-
fending the weak and protecting the innocent.7
Bahá’u’lláh spent the early part of His life in the
utmost joy and happiness. But He later became a
target of prejudice and persecution. Thousands of
fanatical believers rose against Him. Religious
leaders were terrified of losing their power. They
said, “This man intends to destroy religion, law, the
nation, and the empire.” (People made the same ac-
cusations against Jesus.) He faced His enemies with
the utmost courage, showing no weakness or fear.
34Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?
35Bahá’u’lláh endured nearly 40 years of imprison-
ment and exile, yet He never complained. No human
being can imagine the extent of His sufferings.
Among His sufferings was imprisonment in an in-
famous dungeon in Tihrán, known as the Black Pit
or Black Dungeon, where He was kept for four
months. In that dungeon He endured every conceiv-
able pain and anguish:
• Total darkness: The underground prison had
neither lights nor windows.
• A terrible stench: About 150 of the worst crim-
inals were thrown in that dark, deep, and damp
dungeon with no air circulation or sanitary fa-
cilities. The ground was covered with several
inches of filthy mud and mire.
• Hunger and thirst: For the first three days and
nights Bahá’u’lláh received neither food nor
water.
• Severe pain and lack of mobility: Bahá’u’lláh’s
feet were put in stocks, and on His neck was
placed a chain so heavy that He was unable to
hold Himself upright. To hold the weight of the
chain, Bahá’u’lláh had to press His hands against
the ground covered with slime up to His wrists.
From the weight of the harsh metal, His neck
became inflamed and injured.
• Little if any sleep: Bahá’u’lláh could hardly
sleep under those horrible conditions.
• Lack of clothes: His outer garments were
stripped away on His way to the prison.
36118 Death: The Door to Heaven
37• Illness: Because of the unsanitary conditions,
Bahá’u’lláh suffered grave illness.
• Being poisoned: He also suffered pain from con-
suming poison placed in His food.
• Homelessness: All His properties were confis-
cated.
• Loneliness: “During this time none of His
friends were able to get access to Him.”
• Being surrounded by the worst criminals who
had little if any hope of survival or freedom.
• Anxiety about His family: Bahá’u’lláh’s family
members, including His young children, were
left at the mercy of fanatical mobs, filled with
rage and incited to seek revenge. (His Son,
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was then 9 years old.)
• Deep grief and concern for His devoted and
distinguished disciples, who were being hunted
down, tortured, and killed by enraged mobs out-
side the prison.
• Concern about the future: From that prison
Bahá’u’lláh was banished to strange lands. As
foretold in a prophecy (Matt. 25:41-46), He be-
came a stranger (an exile). Never again did He
see His homeland.
• Deep sorrow for those who were rejecting God’s
choicest blessings and bounties.•
•
The Bible contains numerous prophecies that predict
suffering for Jesus in His Second Advent. For a review of
such prophecies, see King of Kings.
38Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?
39It was in this dungeon that Bahá’u’lláh expressed
the first intimations of His Divine Mission:
One night, in a dream, these exalted words were
heard on every side: “Verily, We shall render
Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy Pen.
Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen
Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art in
safety. Erelong will God raise up the treasures
of the earth—men who will aid Thee through
Thyself and through Thy Name…”
Bahá’u’lláh repeatedly stated that He spoke only
by God’s command, and not of His own choosing.
He declared:
Think ye, O people, that I hold within My grasp
the control of God’s ultimate Will and Purpose?
…Had the ultimate destiny of God’s Faith been
in Mine hands, I would have never consented,
even though for one moment, to manifest Myself
unto you, nor would I have allowed one word
to fall from My lips. Of this God Himself is,
verily, a witness.10
This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of
thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised, have
stirred. Can it be still when the tempestuous
winds are blowing? Nay, by Him Who is the
Lord of all Names and Attributes!11
Bahá’u’lláh’s arrest and imprisonment in that dun-
geon give us only a glimpse of the sufferings He
endured for nearly 40 years in three different coun-
tries. How could anyone survive the scourge of such
40120 Death: The Door to Heaven
41unrelenting pressures? How much pain can a human
being endure? Why would God allow the One He
loved the most to go through so much suffering?
Did not Jesus endure similar ordeals?
Worldly friends, seeking their own good, appear
to love one the other, whereas the true Friend
[Bahá’u’lláh] hath loved and doth love you for
your own sakes; indeed He hath suffered for
your guidance countless afflictions. Be not dis-
loyal to such a Friend, nay rather hasten unto
Him.12 Bahá’u’lláh
The religious leaders feared Bahá’u’lláh’s influence,
so they had Him exiled to another land. They
thought in a strange land His influence would die
out. But the result was that His charm captivated
many more disciples. They exiled Him again and
again. The results were the same—a spreading of
His influence. Finally, they sent Him to the worst
place they could find: a prison for murderers and
thieves, located in a remote city (‘Akká) with a
dreadful climate and foul water. The sufferings
Bahá’u’lláh endured in ‘Akká surpassed even those
He experienced in the Black Dungeon.
Bahá’u’lláh was placed in a barren, filthy room,
while His followers were crowded into another,
the floor of which was covered with mud. Ten
soldiers were posted to stand guard over them.
To add further to their misery, the exiles,
parched from a long day in the hot sun, soon
found that the only water available to them was
unfit for consumption. Mothers were unable to
feed their babies, and infants cried for hours…
42Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?
43Under these conditions, all but ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
[Bahá’u’lláh’s Son] and one other, fell ill. With-
in a matter of days three men died. The officials
denied the prisoners permission to leave the
citadel to bury them, and the guards demanded
payment before removing the bodies. Bahá’u’lláh
ordered that His prayer rug, the only item of any
value that He possessed, be sold to cover the
cost of the burial. The guards pocketed the mon-
ey and buried the men in the clothes in which
they died…
Three days after the exiles’ arrival, the Sultán’s
edict was read aloud in the mosque. It sentenced
Bahá’u’lláh, His family, and His companions to
life imprisonment and expressly forbade the
exiles to associate with one another or with local
inhabitants.13
During Bahá’u’lláh’s imprisonment in ‘Akká, His
young son was pacing the roof of the prison,
“wrapped in devotions, when he fell through a
skylight. Mortally wounded, his dying wish to his
Father was that his life might be a ransom for those
who were prevented from attaining Bahá’u’lláh’s
presence.” 14 In a prayer, Bahá’u’lláh speaks of the
sacrifice of His son:
I have, O my Lord, offered up that which Thou
hast given Me, that Thy servants may be quick-
ened, and all that dwell on earth be united.15
Here Bahá’u’lláh explains why He accepted so
much pain and suffering:
44122 Death: The Door to Heaven
45The Ancient Beauty [Bahá’u’lláh] hath consent-
ed to be bound with chains that mankind may
be released from its bondage, and hath accepted
to be made a prisoner…that the whole world
may attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to
its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples
of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be
filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of your
Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We
have accepted to be abased…that ye may be
exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions,
that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath
come to build anew the whole world, behold,
how they…have forced Him to dwell within the
most desolate of cities!16
Despite this severe repression, Bahá’u’lláh’s influ-
ence continued to spread, His glory became more
evident. From behind prison walls, He triumphed
over all His enemies.
For if this idea…is of human origin, it will col-
lapse; but if it is from God, you will never be
able to put them [the believers] down, and you
risk finding yourself at war with God.
Acts 5:38-39
When Bahá’u’lláh was exiled to the Holy Land,
those aware of biblical prophecies suddenly realized
what had happened: Bahá’u’lláh’s enemies had,
unknowingly, become the very instruments for the
fulfillment of prophecies about Him because the
Bible predicts repeatedly that the Redeemer of the
Last Days will come to the Holy Land. Those who
46Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?
47had wished to destroy Him became the means of
His triumph. (For a review of these prophecies and
many others, see I Shall Come Again, Lord of
Lords, and King of Kings.)
In 1868, while under arrest, Bahá’u’lláh addressed
the kings and rulers of the earth, asking them to act
with justice and to work for peace. With the excep-
tion of Queen Victoria, they ignored His call. He
predicted their downfall and His own triumph.
Among these sovereigns was Napoleon iii. Bahá’u’lláh
asked him to investigate the reason for His impris-
onment. The sovereign did not respond. Bahá’u’lláh
sent a second letter, predicting his downfall. Soon
thereafter, in 1870, war between Germany and France
broke out. Everything seemed to be in Napoleon’s
favor, yet he was defeated, dishonored, and debased.
According to The Fall of Paris:
History knows of perhaps no more startling
instance of what the Greeks called peripateia,
the terrible fall from prideful heights. Certainly
no nation in modern times, so replete with appar-
ent grandeur and opulent in material achieve-
ment, has ever been subjected to a worse
humiliation in so short a time.17
Other sovereigns addressed by Bahá’u’lláh encoun-
tered similar fates. Every prediction that Bahá’u’lláh
made was fulfilled. These are discussed in a book
titled The Prisoner and the King, by William Sears.
Bahá’u’lláh’s greatness touched even those who did
not follow Him. They wrote about His knowledge,
48124 Death: The Door to Heaven
49His kindness, and His patience. They flocked to His
presence and marveled at His wondrous works.
How often would one of His bitter enemies say to
himself, “When I see Him, I will argue with Him
and defeat Him in this way…” But when faced with
Bahá’u’lláh, he would find himself speechless—
unable to utter a word.
Bahá’u’lláh declared His willingness to be tested.
To leave the religious leaders with no excuse,
Bahá’u’lláh said that He was willing to perform any
miracle that they requested. The only condition He
set was that, after the miracle was performed, they
would acknowledge the validity of His claim. The
religious leaders declined to accept the condition.
(God has always refused requests to perform mir-
acles to prove His power, see Matt. 4:7. We cannot
be sure why Bahá’u’lláh accepted this request. Per-
haps one reason was that He knew it would be re-
jected.)
Bahá’u’lláh demonstrated His dependence on the
divine and detachment from worldly desires by
associating with the poor and the humble and avoid-
ing the powerful and the pompous.18 A famous figure
wanted to meet Bahá’u’lláh. But to be seen with
Bahá’u’lláh meant danger. He sent a message asking
to meet with Him secretly. In response, Bahá’u’lláh
sent him a piece of poetry to this effect: “Unless
you have a desire to sacrifice your life, don’t come
here. This is the way if you wish to meet Bahá. If
you are unprepared for this journey, don’t come,
50Who Was Bahá’u’lláh?
51and don’t bring trouble.” The man dared not take
the risk of endangering his life and declined.
For nearly 50 years Bahá’u’lláh faced bitter enemies
who killed thousands of His followers yet failed to
destroy Him. Repeatedly they planned and plotted
against Him, but to no avail.
Are these marks of distinction not similar to those
found in the life of Jesus?
We must be just and acknowledge what an Edu-
cator this Glorious Being was, what marvelous
signs were manifested by Him, and what power
and might have been realized in the world
through Him.19 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
My deeds done in my Father’s name are my
credentials. Christ (John 10:25)
Accept the evidence of my deeds.
Christ (John 10:38)
52Part III
53Books that Can
Change Your Destiny
54• Bahá’í Scriptures
Available in English
55• Books on the Bahá’í
Faith by the Same
Author
56Bahá’í Scriptures
Available in English
57Bahá’u’lláh’s Works
58Seek ye out the book of Jehovah and read…
Isaiah 34:16
59Gleanings from the
Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
The most complete and comprehensive reference
on Bahá’u’lláh’s Works available in English. This
book, which is a compilation from the Writings of
Bahá’u’lláh, covers a wide spectrum of precepts
ranging from the purpose of man’s creation, his duty
and destiny, to the manifold mysteries of divine
Wisdom.
60Prayers and Meditations
By Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’u’lláh has left a rich repository of prayers
pertaining to every human hope and aspiration,
dream or desire. Thus, in this dispensation, the
seekers of serenity, guidance, and inspiration can
select and recite prayers and meditations revealed
and blessed by the Pen of the Redeemer of the age,
the revealer of divine Purpose.
61132 Death: The Door to Heaven
62Bahá’u’lláh has also written many prayers express-
ing His own supplication and servitude before God.
Such prayers offer an intimate knowledge of
Bahá’u’lláh’s own self—His indomitable spirit, His
unswerving love for the Creator and for humanity,
His steadfastness in His claim, His determination
before the onrush of adversities, His absolute trust
in God, and His loving counsel to all those athirst
for truth.
63The Hidden Words
of Bahá’u’lláh
No other of Bahá’u’lláh’s works so succinctly offers
the reader as complete and as representative a
sample of the ethical fruits of the new Revelation
as The Hidden Words. It is a small book filled with
gems, a treasure-house of celestial Wisdom, a di-
vine guide to the unfoldment and ennoblement of
the human spirit.
All the requirements for attaining purity and self-
fulfillment are stated in the most exquisite and lofty
language. Everything that the soul must seek or
surrender, everything that a spiritual seeker must
know or must do to direct the course of his or her
spiritual destiny is concisely and clearly revealed
and set forth by the pen of the Supreme Messen-
ger—the Revealer of hidden wisdom and divine
mysteries.
64Books that Can Change Your Destiny
65The Seven Valleys
and the Four Valleys
Perhaps the most mystical of Bahá’u’lláh’s works
available in English. It unfolds and enumerates the
stages of seeker’s journey towards God; revealing,
in a language at once poetic and perplexing, his po-
tential for attaining perfection and nobility, and his
sublime and celestial destiny, if he but turns to the
light instead of darkness, seeks the gems of divine
wisdom instead of the perishable joys of flesh, and
undertakes to tread the long but wondrous and en-
chanting path of purification and illumination.
Epistle to the
Son of the Wolf
Addressed to a cruel and cunning Muslim clergy-
man who, along with his father, inflicted death,
distress, and torment on some of Bahá’u’lláh’s most
beloved and most distinguished disciples. Though
addressed to a symbol of denial, it is a call to hu-
manity as a whole. This weighty volume covers and
clarifies many illuminating and inspiring arrays of
precepts.
The Summons of
the Lord of Hosts
Contains some of Bahá’u’lláh’s Epistles or Tablets
addressed to the kings and rulers of the world, to
its religious leaders, and to humanity in general.
These Tablets comprise Bahá’u’lláh’s most em-
phatic words on His claim and on His station as the
supreme Savior of humankind, the King of Kings,
66134 Death: The Door to Heaven
67the Glory of the Lord, the Desire of the Nations,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Lord
of the Vineyard, Christ returned in the Glory of the
Father, the Inaugurator of the Cycle of Fulfillment,
and the Promised One of all ages and religions.
68The Book of Certitude •
This book responds to questions raised by a seeker
of truth. It unseals “the sealed Wine of mysteries,”
and unveils the symbolism and the essence of all
the scriptures of the past, indicates how the seeker
of truth can rise above the prevailing perplexity and
confusion, how he or she can move from doubt to
certitude, and from unbelief to belief.
It offers proofs of divine Revelation, portrays in a
moving language man’s refusal to accept and ac-
knowledge, in every age, the gift of divine Guid-
ance, and conveys in a unique tone and style the
dramatic story of the unfoldment of the perennial
Faith of God, the unveiling of the eternal Truth.
69•
Also known as The Kitáb-i-Íqán.
70Other Bahá’í Writings
Available in English
71By Bahá’u’lláh:
1Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh
Gems of Divine Mysteries
1By the Báb:
Selections from the Writings of the Báb
2By ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
Some Answered Questions
Foundations of World Unity
The Secret of Divine Civilization
1Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
The Promulgation of Universal Peace
A Traveller’s Narrative
2Bahá’í Faith by
the Same Author
• Evidence for the Bahá’í Faith
3• History and Teachings
4• The Afterlife
1the Bahá’í Faith
1522 Pages
1Happy the man who stays awake.
Christ (Rev. 16:15)
Do not let Him find you sleeping. What I
say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!”
Christ (Mark 13:36)
Did you know that the Bible contains 16 time
prophecies concerning the year of the Second Ad-
vent? No wonder so many scholars discovered the
same date. Did you also know that all those
prophecies point to the same year: 1844? Bahá’ís
2already been fulfilled, precisely as predicted. Christ
did return in 1844, “like a thief,” in a way that the
News of His coming did not draw much attention.
And as the Book of Revelation predicts, God gave
Him a new name: Bahá’u’lláh, meaning the Glory
of God.
Obviously we expect you to be very skeptical, but
we invite you to stay spiritually awake, to “watch,”
to pay close attention, and to investigate this most
glorious News. How can you do this? Start your
search by examining the evidence presented in I
Shall Come Again, the first of a six-volume series
on the fulfillment of biblical prophecies by
Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God.
I Shall Come Again, written after three decades of
research, takes you step by step through 16 proph-
ecies that point to 1844, and hundreds of other
prophecies, concerning the return of Christ. It
proves how these prophecies, without exception,
were fulfilled by Bahá’u’lláh (the Glory of God)
and His martyred Herald, the Báb (the Gate), who
appeared in 1844. I Shall Come Again is one of
the most fascinating books of our time. If you have
faith in God’s promises and a desire to know the
truth, you will receive incomparable joy and hope
from reading it.
History shows that no false prophet has ever been
able to prove his claim by the evidence of fulfilled
prophecies. Christian scholars often regard Hebrew
prophecies as the most conclusive and convincing
3Let us consider a statement from Dr. Norman
Geisler, president of Southern Evangelical Semi-
nary, “who has published countless articles in aca-
demic journals and has authored over fifty books,
including Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apolo-
getics.” Dr. Geisler makes the following statement
concerning the prophecies that point to the First
Advent of Jesus:
Some have suggested…that the prophecies were
accidentally fulfilled in Jesus. In other words,
he happened to be in the right place at the right
time…If there is a God who is in control of the
universe, as we have said, then chance is ruled
out. Furthermore, it is unlikely that these events
would have converged in the life of one man.
Mathematicians have calculated the probability
of 16 predictions being fulfilled in one man at
1 in 1045…
But it is not just a logical improbability that rules
out this theory [of chance]; it is the moral im-
plausibility of an all-powerful and all-knowing
God letting things get out of control so that all
his plans for prophetic fulfillment are ruined by
someone who just happened to be in the right
place at the right time. God cannot lie, nor can
he break a promise (Heb. 6:18). So we must
conclude that he did not allow his prophetic
promises to be thwarted by chance. All the evi-
dence points to Jesus as the divinely appointed
fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. He was
God’s man confirmed by God’s signs. In brief,
4life of Christ, then he would not allow them to
be fulfilled in the life of any other. The God of
truth would not allow a lie to be confirmed as
true.
Imagine if the News of the Return of Jesus is true
and you choose not to investigate and not to know
Him! Imagine also if the News of His Return is
true and your investigation leads you to recognize
Him!
I shall come again and receive you to myself,
so that where I am you may be also.
Christ (John 14:3)
“He, verily, is come with His Kingdom, and all
the atoms cry aloud: ‘Lo! The Lord is come in
His great majesty!’” “Behold how He hath
come down from the heaven of His grace,
girded with power and invested with sovereignty.
Is there any doubt concerning His signs?”
1634 Pages
1cies concerning the Central Figures of the Bahá’í
Faith—the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—as well
as Shoghi Effendi (the Guardian of the Bahá’í
2Faith), the Universal House of Justice (the supreme
administrative body in the Bahá’í Faith), the Bahá’ís
(the followers of Bahá’u’lláh), the Bahá’í teachings,
and the Book of Bahá’í Laws (The Kitáb-i-Aqdas).
Lord of Lords presents six fulfillments for Daniel’s
prophecy of 1335, and shows their connection to
the Bahá’í Faith. The book also presents 86 simi-
larities between Jesus and the Báb, who is called
“One like a Son of Man.”
Christian scholars often apply the statistical laws
to the prophecies of Hebrew Scriptures to prove the
divine station of Jesus. Lord of Lords applies the
same laws to the prophecies of both Hebrew and
Christian Scriptures to prove the divine station of
the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
Lord of Lords shows that the probability of biblical
prophecies coming true in the Bahá’í Faith by
chance alone is about 1 in 10 80. The number 10 80 is
equal to the number of atoms in the known uni-
verse! What does this evidence indicate? It indi-
cates that if anyone could pick a specific atom in
the universe by chance, he could then claim that
the biblical prophecies fulfilled in the Bahá’í Faith
also happened by chance! The proof presented in
this volume is so compelling it can convince even
the most skeptic seeker!
…the desire of all nations shall come…
Haggai 2:7
He who is the Desired One is come in His tran-
scendent majesty…Better is this for you than
3For the Son of man shall come in the glory of
his Father… Christ (Matt. 16:27)
I have come in the shadows of the clouds of
glory, and am invested by God with invincible
1510 Pages
1ume also presents hundreds of biblical prophecies
concerning the advent of the Bahá’í Faith. Four of
its chapters show that, contrary to what most people
—both Christians and Jews—believe, the Bible
predicts suffering and severe persecution for the
Redeemer of our time. King of Kings also presents
many prophecies, in the course of two chapters, to
show that according to both Testaments, the title of
the Redeemer of our age (known to Christians as
the Second Coming of Christ and to the Jews as the
Messiah) is “the Glory of God,” the English trans-
lation of the original title “Bahá’u’lláh.”
A chapter discusses the many reasons why people
deny and persecute their promised Messenger and
Redeemer in every age, and then later claim that if
they had lived at the time of His Advent they would
2Many Christians expect the coming of the Anti-
christ. King of Kings presents two chapters to show
the fulfillment of this expectation by two deceptive
figures who opposed Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of
God, with all their might, and tried in vain to destroy
Him and establish themselves as the Central Figures
of the Bahá’í Faith.
I Shall Come Again, Lord of Lords, and King of
Kings prove that once again God has spoken to
humanity, that He has fulfilled His promises, and
has manifested His great glory and power by send-
ing two supreme Messengers and Redeemers—
Bahá’u’lláh, and His martyred Herald, the Báb—to
guide our bewildered world to unity, peace, and
justice, and to lead our wandering souls to His
heavenly Mansions. Not investigating this Message
of hope and fulfillment is to deprive yourself of the
very source of all wisdom and the very purpose of
coming to this world.
I have come down from heaven…
Christ (John 6:38)
Say, God is my witness! The Promised One
Himself [Bahá’u’lláh] hath come down from
heaven…with the hosts of revelation on His
right, and the angels of inspiration on His
left… Bahá’u’lláh (the Glory of God)
Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who
stays awake… Christ (Rev. 16:15)
Blessed the slumberer who is awakened…
3146 Death: The Door to Heaven
4that hath seen, and the heart that hath turned
unto Him… Bahá’u’lláh (the Glory of God)
1I Shall Come Again, Lord of Lords,
King of Kings?
A scholarly work of meticulous research. Ap-
pealing to reason and applying the scientific
method to prophetic scripture, it demonstrates
that God has once again revealed Himself to
humankind and has provided hope for unity and
peace on this planet. John Paul Vader, M.D.
1Division, International Monetary Fund,
1Your work never fails to astound me. The effort
and breadth of your knowledge both of the
Bible and other literature as well as the depth
of your understanding of Bahá’í Scripture is
truly amazing. Also, a hallmark of your work
is your thoroughness. Anyone who believes in
biblical prophecy, and reads these volumes with
an open mind, cannot fail to be convinced.
Dr. Tom Rowe
1prophecies and proofs of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revela-
tion. You offer so much information in rela-
tively few pages. Your many references prove
clearly the book’s central claim. Your language
is simple and exciting. You take the reader
through a complete spiritual and prophetic ad-
venture. Your approach is modest, yet dynam-
ic. I pray it will excite all your readers as it
has excited me. Joe Killeen
Bible Scholar, Former Minister
There are few works by a single author that can
rival Dr. Motlagh’s in their sheer scope, depth
2doubt, future Bahá’ís will thank Dr. Motlagh
for his achievements, that are, in my opinion,
not only astonishing—they are heroic.
An important work that will be referenced by
future Bahá’í scholars for millennia to come.
Robert F. Riggs
1Come Now, Let Us
1This book is written in response to the objections
raised by a pastor against the Bahá’í Faith. It re-
moves all the main obstacles that prevent Christians
from recognizing the return of the Son in the glory
2Books that Can Change Your Destiny
3Redeemer of our time—Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of
God. Once you start reading this book, you will
find it hard to put down.
1329 pages
2One way to prove that Bahá’u’lláh fulfills the
promise of the Second Advent is to compare Him
with Jesus Christ. The Glory of the Father: The
Case for Christ and Bahá’u’lláh, does exactly that.
It compares Jesus and Bahá’u’lláh in 35 different
ways. A fair-minded, even a skeptical, reader cannot
escape this conclusion: If Jesus is the One He claims
to be, so must be Bahá’u’lláh. A sincere Christian
cannot in good faith accept One and reject the oth-
er. It will be like having twin children, but loving
only one of them!
In addition, The Glory of the Father offers a sum-
mary of some of the most significant prophecies
presented in I Shall Come Again, Lord of Lords,
and King of Kings.
1On Wings of Destiny is based on a dialogue be-
tween two friends. Reading it is like joining a circle
of friends and participating in a “fireside chat.”
The prime purpose of the book is to inspire you—
and anyone else who values his soul and spiritual
life—to recognize that in this world you have an
awesome responsibility: you must choose your
everlasting destiny. That choice has unimaginable
consequences that will endure beyond death for
all eternity. Failing to make a choice is also a
choice. This book invites you to make every effort
to discover God’s plan for you and to follow that
plan.
On Wings of Destiny shows that the only way you
can attain true joy and happiness in all the worlds
of God is to cultivate your spiritual potential and
to draw nearer and nearer to God. If you value your
soul and wish to choose your destiny in the light
of knowledge and freedom, take the time to listen
to this inspiring “fireside chat” to discover how the
2Books that Can Change Your Destiny
3fulfill your life’s purpose, and discover your divine
destiny: Heaven’s most glorious gift to you.
1Most people leave their destiny to “chance.” What-
ever their parents happen to believe, they believe.
This book shows that our “destiny” is God’s most
precious gift to us. Should we throw this gift to the
wind? Should we allow “chance” rather than
“choice” determine our destiny?
The Bahá’í Faith has come to give us spiritual in-
sight and to help us choose our destiny in the light
of reason and true knowledge, rather than in the
darkness of tradition and conformity. The knowledge
contained in Choosing Your Destiny can liberate
us from past prejudices and illusions and set our
souls free. It can help us become spiritual by devel-
2One God, Many
1290 Pages
2One God, Many Faiths; One Garden, Many
Flowers shows that in God’s garden there are many
fragrant flowers, planted and nourished by the same
Gardener. The Bahá’í Faith has come to help us
recognize the beauty of the garden, the harmony of
the flowers, and the oneness of the Gardener.
When we realize that we are all one people, on one
planet, under one God, with one common destiny,
the walls of prejudice that divide God’s beautiful
garden will crumble. Only true knowledge and love
can reveal this beauty and bring about this wonder.
The Bahá’í Faith is that knowledge and that love.
It penetrates the hearts and souls of humankind to
dispel all shadows of prejudice and separation. It
connects our hearts and reveals the beauty and
splendor of our souls in the light of oneness. One
God, Many Faiths, One Garden, Many Flowers
offers you the knowledge that can change your
destiny.
1164 pages
2This is a compilation from the Bahá’í Scriptures on
the afterlife. It brings together the Writings of
Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the pur-
pose of human life and the continuation of that
purpose into the mysterious realms beyond. Unto
God Shall We Return is compiled and arranged to
portray a clear vision of the meaning of life—both
here and hereafter—and to offer guidance about
how we can prepare our soul for God’s “many
mansions in heaven.”
1A Messenger of Joy is the most comforting and
positive book ever written on death and the afterlife.
2it sets a standard that is not likely to be surpassed
for a long time.
This book portrays death as a message of joy and
hope, and not as the news of sorrow and despair. It
lifts the veil to show that death is not the end of
life, but the beginning of an everlasting and most
1Reinee Pasarow about one of her near death visions.
This is a state in which the individual shows no
vital signs of life, yet experiences life to its fullest.
What makes this story unique is this: Reinee’s vi-
sion guided her to become a Bahá’í. She was given
several clues by a spiritual being about the Bahá’í
Faith. For instance, one of the titles of Bahá’u’lláh—
the Blessed Beauty—was revealed to her. She was
also told the word “justice” and shown the seat of
the Universal House of Justice, exactly as it is built.
Reinee had many unusual dreams as a child, and
three near death visions.
We have added an introduction and a conclusion to
this DVD to make it more attractive and meaningful
to all viewers, especially to seekers. The introduc-
tion and conclusion present Biblical and Bahá’í
references to the many clues that Mrs. Pasarow re-
1the Words of Jesus Himself. The Glory of the Son
offers a brief summary of all the reasons Jesus—not
His followers—gave to substantiate His claim. This
is a book that every Christian should read. It will
also be of great value to those of the Jewish faith
who have a desire to know the evidence for their
glorious King and Redeemer: Jesus Christ.
2Will Jesus Come from the Sky
or as a Thief ?
Be always on the watch! Luke 21:36
The day of the Lord will come like a thief
in the night. I Thess. 5:2
In the mid-19th century many Christian scholars
had discovered that, according to numerous biblical
prophecies and promises, Christ would return in
1844. Thousands of Christians around the world
expected His Return in that year. Why did so many
discover the same date? And what piece of “the
prophetic puzzle” did they miss? Let us explore this
3Jesus declared that He would return “like a thief.”
He also repeatedly warned us to “Watch!” How
does a thief come? Secretly. A thief does not want
to draw attention to himself. This is his foremost
concern. How can we catch a thief ? By being awake
and “watchful,” by “paying attention” to his com-
ing. Jesus’ warning that He would return “like a
thief,” and His recommended strategy for recogniz-
ing Him by staying awake and by “watching” for
Him, are complementary:
The warning: I shall come like a thief!
The way to recognize me: Watch, pay close
attention! Do not be complacent!
What, then, did Jesus mean by warning us repeat-
edly and emphatically to “Watch!”? He meant:
“Pay close attention to the news of My coming!”
How did Jesus come the first time? Like a thief. He
walked among the Jews. He knew every one of
them, but with a few exceptions, they did not know
Him. Jesus concealed His supreme glory from “the
strangers,” from all those who were unworthy of
seeing the Spirit of God in Him (John 12:40), from
all those who “may look and look but see nothing”
(Mark 10:12). Only the spiritually-sighted paid
close attention to Him, only they “watched” with
their hearts and souls, and only they saw the glory
of God in Him. Jesus did not allow the spiritually
4By the vivid expression “like a thief ” Jesus in-
structs us to expect a repetition of the way He came
the first time. He further confirms this fact by pre-
dicting that people will respond to the News of His
coming the same way that they responded to the
News of the coming of Noah. They will be com-
placent, non-attentive, negligent, and spiritually
asleep!
What piece of “the prophetic puzzle” did Christians
(who expected the Return of Christ in 1844) miss?
The same “piece” that the Jews had missed 18 cen-
turies earlier and are still missing! That piece is the
word “SPIRIT :”
The “missing piece” for Jews:
He will come as a “king” means: “His
Spirit will come as a king.”
The “missing piece” for Christians:
He will come from heaven means: “His
Spirit will come from heaven.”
Jesus Himself decoded the word “sky” or “heaven”
several times. Compare the following two verses,
one from Jesus Christ, the Anointed One of God;
the other from Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God:
I [the Spirit of God, Christ] have come down
from heaven. Christ (John 6:38)
He [the Spirit of God, Bahá’u’lláh], verily, hath
again come down from heaven, even as He
came down from it the first time.
5158 Death: The Door to Heaven
1This book introduces Islam from a Bahá’í perspec-
tive. It demonstrates a remarkable harmony between
the Bible and the Qur’án. It also responds to the
objections raised against Islam.
1This book is written to refresh the life of the soul.
Its prime purpose is to advance the “knowledge of
God,” so that we may know our Creator as He re-
ally is, not as we may wish Him to be!
A poet once said: “God is closer to me than I am
to myself. Why, then, am I so far from Him?” How
can this be possible? The distance between our
spirit and the Spirit of God can be measured by the
difference between God as He really is, and the God
that we have created in our mind. The purpose of
acquiring the “knowledge of God” is to diminish
the distance. The more we know God as He really
is, the closer we draw to Him.
Our purpose in coming to this world is spiritual
transformation, which can be attained only by
knowing and loving God. Does Your Fish Bowl
Need Fresh Water? will help you attain this Most
Glorious Purpose. It appeals both to the mind and
to the heart. It satisfies the mind by presenting the
2and the afterlife. It inspires and transforms the heart
by showing the everlasting honors and rewards in
store for those who cultivate their spiritual potential
and the unimaginable losses for those who fail in
this endeavor.
How would you feel if you traveled for 70 years
toward a destination, and then at the end of this
journey, you suddenly discovered that you had trav-
eled in the wrong direction? This is the way many
people squander the precious days of their lives.
Imagine their disappointment at the end of their
spiritual journey! Should we not then learn a lesson
from their lives? Should we not take a little time
11. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 9.
2. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 90.
3. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 32.
4. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 34.
5. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 214.
6. Rabbání, Rúhíyyih. Prescription for Living, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1978, p. 93.
7. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 19.
8. Dyer, Wayne W. You’ll See It When You Believe It,
New York: Avon Books, 1989, p. 15.
9. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 14.
10. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 101.
11. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p.158.
12. Attributed to John Bigelow.
13. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 187-188.
2172 Death: The Door to Heaven
314. Wernher Von Braun.
15. Moody, Raymond, Jr. Light Beyond, New York:
Bantam Books, 1989, p. 171.
16. Moody, Raymond, Jr. Light Beyond, New York:
Bantam Books, 1989, p. 172.
17. A. J. Cronin.
18. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
19. Juliette Adam.
20. Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, p. 209.
21. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 232.
22. Moody, Raymond, Jr. Light Beyond, New York:
Bantam Books, 1989, pp. 75-76.
23. Moody, Raymond, Jr. Light Beyond, New York:
Bantam Books, 1989, p. 198.
24. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 189.
25. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 58.
26. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 107.
27. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 55.
28. The Compilation of Compilations, Volume II, p.
379.
29. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 155.
30. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 155-
157.
31. Paul Speicher.
32. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 150.
33. Moody, Raymond, Jr. Light Beyond, New York:
Bantam Books, 1989, p. 48.
34. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 59.
35. Rúhíyyih Rabbání. Prescription for Living, Oford:
George Ronald, 1978, pp. 101-103.
36. Stephen Ben.
4References
537. The Talmud.
38. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 34.
39. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 63.
40. Tryon Edwards.
41. Rúhíyyih Rabbání. Prescription fro Living, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1978, p. 101.
42. Henry Beecher.
43. Ed Howe.
44. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 27.
45. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 189.
46. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, pp. 88-89.
47. Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p.
201.
48. Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p.
239.
49. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 40.
50. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 33.
51. Moody, Raymond, Jr. The Light Beyond, New York:
Bantam Books, 1989, p. 100.
52. Samuel Lindsay.
53. Henry Van Dyke.
54. Josh Billings.
55. William James.
56. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 172.
57. Rúhíyyih Rabbání. Prescription fro Living, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1978, p. 95.
58. Etienne de Grallet.
59. Thomas Carlyle.
60. Rúhíyyih Rabbání. Prescription fro Living, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1978, pp. 96-97.
61. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 261.
6174 Death: The Door to Heaven
762. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 125.
63. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 24.
64. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 206.
65. The Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 96.
66. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 226.
67. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 80.
68. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 1.
69. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 3.
70. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 69.
71. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 178.
72. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 86.
73. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 75.
74. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 49.
75. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 3.
76. Paul Devies.
77. Charlotte Cushman.
78. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 8-9.
79. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 149.
80. Some Answered Questions, pp. 235-236.
81. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 70.
82. Megiddo Message.
83. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 121.
84. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 156.
85. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 68.
86. George W. Truett.
87. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 23.
88. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 37.
89. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 75.
90. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 252.
91. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 89.
8References
992. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 262.
93. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 40.
94. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 138.
95. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 94.
12. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 345.
3. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp.
345-346.
4. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 161.
5. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 31.
6. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 328.
7. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp.
328-329.
8. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic), no. 55.
9. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 14.
10. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 127.
11. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 24.
12. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 158.
13. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 103.
14. Paris Talks, p. 85.
15. Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 3.
16. The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Persian), no. 73.
17. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 326-
327.
18. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Bahá’í Publishing
Committee, 1953, p. 94.
19. Paris Talks, p. 166.
221. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 70.
22. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 68.
23. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 71.
24. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 157.
25. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 113.
26. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 165.
27. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 117.
28. Paris Talks, p. 122.
29. Paris Talks, p. 113.
30. Paris Talks, p. 177.
31. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 335.
1262.
2. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp.
133-134.
3. Bahá’í Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing
Trust, 1991 edition, pp. 43-45.
4. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, pp. 203-
204.
5. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 177.
6. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 210.
7. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 182.
8. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 178.
9. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 177.
10. Bahá’í Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing
Trust, 1991 edition, pp. 45-46.
11. Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp.
212. Bahá’í Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing
Trust, 2002 edition, p. 35.
13. Synopsis and Codification of the Laws and Ordi-
nances of the the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 62.
14. Bahá’í Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing
1164 Pages, $6.00
2Selections from the Bahá’í
1ity of the human soul.
Unto God Shall We Return portrays a most glori-
ous destiny for those who fulfill their lives’ purpose
during their short stay on this planet. It shows that
death is not a voyage to grave, but to God. This
book brings comfort to all those who mourn the
loss of their loved ones, and instills hope, peace,
and joy by unveiling glimpses of the glories that
await anyone who fulfills his mission on earth and
joins the host of heaven.
We are not permanent residents of this planet, but
travelers on a journey to a new and exciting world:
O Son of Man! Sorrow not save that thou
art far from Us. Rejoice not save that thou
art drawing near and returning unto Us.
Bahá’u’lláh
Man is the life of the world, and the life of man
is the spirit…Rejoice, for the life eternal is await-
3www.globalperspective.org
This Website is designed to serve the followers of
all religions and those of no religion. Its message
is universal and relevant to all ages, especially
young people in search of a meaning and an endur-
ing purpose in life. It can assist you in the follow-
ing ways:
• Help you choose your everlasting destiny in
the light of knowledge and full awareness.
• Strengthen your faith and cultivate your
spiritual potential.
• Help you find the means for creating a more
pleasant and peaceful world.
• Offer you a global perspective on God’s Plan
for humankind expressed in the advent of
many great religions throughout history, and
in this age through the advent of the Bahá’í
Faith.
On this Website you will find “Pamphlets” on many
topics, which you can download and print for study
1Bahá’u’lláh: The One Promised in All Scriptures
(soft cover), 234 pages $ 1.99
The Greatest News (soft cover), 164 pages $ 1.99
Death: the Door to Heaven (soft cover), 180 pages $ 2.99
God’s 19 Great Little Tranquilizers (soft cover), $ 1.25
62 pages
Bahá’í Faith: God’s Greatest Gift to Humankind $ 1.99
(soft cover), 162 pages
1Bahá’u’lláh: The One Promised in All Scriptures
(soft cover), 234 pages $ 1.99
The Greatest News (soft cover), 164 pages $ 1.99
Death: the Door to Heaven (soft cover), 180 pages $ 2.99
God’s 19 Great Little Tranquilizers (soft cover), $ 1.25
62 pages
Bahá’í Faith: God’s Greatest Gift to Humankind $ 1.99
(soft cover), 162 pages
📖 End of Book
Return to Book Details