POWER

Complied by Kate Lindsey

© 1999 by Kate Lindsay

 

TYPES OF POWER

• power of unity--no power exists without it

• power of rational faculty--manifestation of all...names and attributes 

• power of spiritual perceptions

• power of physical senses: hearing, sight, touch, smell, taste

• power of vision 

• power of understanding

• power of discernment

• power of vision 

• power of speech & utterance

• power of truth 

• power of wisdom 

• power of faith 

• power of reflection 

• power of reliance and renunciation 

• power of the spirit 

• power of Thy grace

• power of Thy love

• power of Thy wrath and might 

• power of the Word of God & a single Word 

• Trustworthiness illumines domain of power 

• humility exalteth man to heaven of glory and power

• source of his...power is...the very earth

• Divine power 

• power of My Name

• power of the Most Great Name

• all the powers of earth and heaven 

• reins of power 

• power of those drops of the blood of Husayn 

• power of His invisible hosts

• power of the Kingdom

Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. 

(Baha'u'llah: Kitab-i-Aqdas, pages 32-33)

Ere long will the state of affairs within thee be changed, and the reins of power fall into the hands of the people. 

(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page page 111)

No power can exist except through unity. 

(Baha'u'llah: Extracted from a previously untranslated Tablet. Cited in Consultation, section 167, page 93 of Compilation of Compilations, Volume 1)

He, verily, will, through the power of truth, render you victorious, and He, verily, is powerful to do what He willeth, and in His grasp are the reins of omnipotent might. 

(Baha'u'llah: quoted in The Advent of Divine Justice, page 82)

And if his love for Me wax stronger, God will establish his ascendancy over all the powers of earth and heaven. Thus have We breathed the spirit of power into all regions. 

(Baha'u'llah: quoted in The World Order of Baha'u'llah, page 106)

Now is the moment in which to cleanse thyself with the waters of detachment that have flowed out from the Supreme Pen, and to ponder, wholly for the sake of God, those things which, time and again, have been sent down or manifested, and then to strive, as much as lieth in thee, to quench, through the power of wisdom and the force of thy utterance, the fire of enmity and hatred which smouldereth in the hearts of the peoples of the world. 

(Baha'u'llah: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, page 12)ne

Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction. 

(Baha'u'llah: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, page 14)

Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation. 

(Baha'u'llah: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, page 30)

Every man of discernment, while walking upon the earth, feeleth indeed abashed, inasmuch as he is fully aware that the thing which is the source of his prosperity, his wealth, his might, his exaltation, his advancement and power is, as ordained by God, the very earth which is trodden beneath the feet of all men. There can be no doubt that whoever is cognizant of this truth, is cleansed and sanctified from all pride, arrogance, and vainglory. 

(Baha'u'llah: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, page 44)

Consider the rational faculty with which God hath endowed the essence of man. Examine thine own self, and behold how thy motion and stillness, thy will and purpose, thy sight and hearing, thy sense of smell and power of speech, and whatever else is related to, or transcendeth, thy physical senses or spiritual perceptions, all proceed from, and owe their existence to, this same faculty. So closely are they related unto it, that if in less than the twinkling of an eye its relationship to the human body be severed, each and every one of these senses will cease immediately to exercise its function, and will be deprived of the power to manifest the evidences of its activity. It is indubitably clear and evident that each of these aforementioned instruments has depended, and will ever continue to depend, for its proper functioning on this rational faculty, which should be regarded as a sign of the revelation of Him Who is the sovereign Lord of all. Through its manifestation all these names and attributes have been revealed, and by the suspension of its action they are all destroyed and perish.

It would be wholly untrue to maintain that this faculty is the same as the power of vision, inasmuch as the power of vision is derived from it and acteth in dependence upon it. 

(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 164)

Arise for the triumph of My Cause, and, through the power of thine utterance, subdue the hearts of men. 

(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 92)

We bear witness that through the power of the Word of God every leper was cleansed, every sickness was healed, every human infirmity was banished. 

(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 86)

...the Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding. His purpose in conferring such a gift is none other except to enable His creature to know and recognize the one true God--exalted be His glory. This gift giveth man the power to discern the truth in all things, leadeth him to that which is right, and helpeth him to discover the secrets of creation. Next in rank, is the power of vision, the chief instrument whereby his understanding can function. The senses of hearing, of the heart, and the like, are similarly to be reckoned among the gifts with which the human body is endowed. Immeasurably exalted is the Almighty Who hath created these powers, and revealed them in the body of man. 

(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 194)

Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. 

(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 217)

The All-Merciful hath conferred upon man the faculty of vision, and endowed him with the power of hearing. 

(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 340)

Such are the mysteries of the Word of God, which have been unveiled and made manifest, that haply thou mayest apprehend the morning light of divine guidance, mayest quench, by the power of reliance and renunciation, the lamp of idle fancy, of vain imaginings, of hesitation, and doubt, and mayest kindle, in the inmost chamber of thine heart, the new-born light of divine knowledge and certitude. 

(Baha'u'llah: Kitab-i-Iqan, page 49)

By "angels" is meant those who, reinforced by the power of the spirit, have consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and limitations, and have clothed themselves with the attributes of the most exalted Beings and of the Cherubim. 

(Baha'u'llah: Kitab-i-Iqan, pages 78-79)

But the purpose of these verses is not what they have imagined. Nay, the terms "ascendancy," "power," and "authority" imply a totally different station and meaning. For instance, consider the pervading power of those drops of the blood of Husayn which besprinkled the earth. What ascendancy and influence hath the dust itself, through the sacredness and potency of that blood, exercised over the bodies and souls of men! So much so, that he who sought deliverance from his ills, was healed by touching the dust of that holy ground, and whosoever, wishing to protect his property, treasured with absolute faith and understanding, a little of that holy earth within his house, safeguarded all his possessions. These are the outward manifestations of its potency. And were We to recount its hidden virtues they would assuredly say: "He verily hath considered the dust to be the Lord of Lords, and hath utterly forsaken the Faith of God." 

(Baha'u'llah: Kitab-i-Iqan, pages 127-128)

Bestow on me the good of this world and of the next, through the power of Thy grace that hath encompassed all created things and Thy mercy that hath surpassed the entire creation. 

(Baha'u'llah: Prayers and Meditations, page 100)

Armed with the power of Thy love, the hatred which moveth them that are against Thee can never alarm me; and with Thy praise on my lips, the rulings of Thy decree can in no wise fill me with sorrow. Fortify, therefore, Thy love within my breast, and suffer me to face the assaults which all the peoples of the earth may launch against me. 

(Baha'u'llah: Prayers and Meditations, page 214)

Lay hold on them with the power of Thy wrath and might, O my God, and expose their shameful acts and their wickedness, that whatever is hid in their breasts may be revealed unto the people that dwell within Thy land, O Thou Who art the Inflictor of trials, the Fashioner of nations, and the Bestower of favors! 

(Baha'u'llah: Prayers and Meditations, page 301)

Trustworthiness is the greatest portal leading unto the tranquillity and security of the people. In truth the stability of every affair hath depended and doth depend upon it. All the domains of power, of grandeur and of wealth are illumined by its light. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 37)

O people of Baha! The source of crafts, sciences and arts is the power of reflection. Make ye every effort that out of this ideal mine there may gleam forth such pearls of wisdom and utterance as will promote the well-being and harmony of all the kindreds of the earth. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 72)

We entreat Him--blessed and exalted is He--to graciously confirm thee in extolling Him and in magnifying His glory and to strengthen thee through the power of His invisible hosts. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 77)

Through the strengthening power of My Name seize ye the chalice of knowledge, drink then your fill in defiance of the people of the world who have broken the Covenant of God and His Testament, rejected His proofs and clear tokens, and cavilled at His signs which have pervaded all that are in heaven and on earth. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 79)

Walk thou high above the world of being through the power of the Most Great Name, that thou mayest become aware of the immemorial mysteries and be acquainted with that wherewith no one is acquainted. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, pages 142-143)

Neither can the power of the powerful frustrate Thee, nor the ascendancy of the rulers prevail against Thee. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 233)

Persevere thou in helping His Cause through the strengthening power of the hosts of wisdom and utterance. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 249)

He is fully capable of revolutionizing the world through the power of a single Word. Having enjoined upon all men to observe wisdom, He Himself hath adhered to the cord of patience and resignation. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, pages 259-260)

The Books, the Scriptures and Holy Writings of previous ages have all proclaimed the joyful tidings that the purpose underlying this most mighty Revelation is none other than the rehabilitation of the world and its nations: that perchance the power of utterance may prevail over the power of arms, and the world's affairs be administered through the potency of love. 

(Baha'u'llah: Extracted from a previously untranslated Tablet. 

Cited in Trustworthiness, section 2032, 

page 332 of Compilation of Compilations, Volume 1)

Unto the emblems of justice and the exponents of equity it is indubitably clear and evident that this Wronged One, strengthened by the transcendent power of the Kingdom, is seeking to efface from among the peoples and kindreds of the earth every evidence of disorder, discord, dissension, differences or divisions; and it is for no other reason but this great, this momentous object that He hath again and again been cast into prison and many a day and a night hath been subjected to chains and fetters. Blessed are they that judge this impregnable Cause, this glorious Announcement, with fairness and equity. 

(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 260)