Israel

Little Bird Becomes a Great Eagle

Posted on by Cary Enoch

O servant of God! Through the power of God’s love the weak become mighty, the poor become rich, the little bird becomes a great eagle soaring on the ethereal wave, the tiny plant grows into a great palm tree.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá v1, p. 63

135044alttmp Be constantly attached to and seek always the confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh for these turn the drop into a sea and convert the gnat into an eagle.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 103

PIL07Eagle2Solar I photographed this statue of an eagle in Bahjí (near Akká, Israel) during my first Bahá’í pilgrimage. It’s outside the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh. The statue does not actually glow. That was something I added while developing the film. It’s a process called solarization. In the writings of the Bahá’í faith eagles are frequently used as symbols of victory due to how high they can soar and their great strength. Once while taking private pilot lessons over Puget Sound I saw two eagles not far from my wing tip. My altitude was 4500 feet (1371 m.).

Here you can download a document in Adobe PDF format that includes many references to eagles in the Bahá’í writings.

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Sacred Gardens

Posted on by Cary Enoch

Some of Bahá’u’lláh’s most beautiful and ecstatic writings are His luminous descriptions of gardens. Bahá’u’lláh declared his divine mission in a garden in Baghdad in 1863. He frequented the beautiful Garden of Ridván near Akká and wrote tablets describing wondrous visions he beheld in that garden. (See The Movement of Trees for a description and a painting of the Garden of Ridván.) Best known are the beautiful world famous Bahá’i gardens on the slopes of Mt. Carmel in Haifa.

Image (C)Copyright by Cary Enoch Reinstein
From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth?
Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 60

From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth?
A divine Mine only can yield the gems of divine knowledge, and the fragrance of the mystic Flower can be inhaled only in the ideal Garden, and the lilies of ancient wisdom can blossom nowhere except in the city of a stainless heart.
Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 191

Image (C)Copyright by Cary Enoch Reinstein
Shouldst thou, by the leave of God, enter this sublime and exalted garden, thou wouldst find its sun in its noontide glory, never to set, never to be eclipsed.
Bahá’u’lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 71

Consider how all created things eloquently testify to the revelation of that inner Light within them. Behold how within all things the portals of the Ridván of God are opened, that seekers may attain the cities of understanding and wisdom, and enter the gardens of knowledge and power. Within every garden they will behold the mystic bride of inner meaning enshrined within the chambers of utterance in the utmost grace and fullest adornment.
Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 139)

Image (C)Copyright by Cary Enoch Reinstein
After this heavenly journey and mystical ascent the wayfarer will enter within the Garden of Wonderment.
Bahá’u’lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 67

a heart like unto glass O Thou the Compassionate God. Bestow upon me a heart which, like unto glass, may be illumined with the light of Thy love, and confer upon me thoughts which may change this world into a rose garden through the outpourings of heavenly grace.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Compilations, Bahá’í Prayers, p. 70

Download a compilation from the Bahá’í Writings referring to gardens.

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