The Ornament of Thy Love

...I implore Thee to adorn every soul with the ornament of Thy love, that none may remain on Thine earth who hath not turned towards Thee....

And whoso loveth Me cometh to Me. Whoso shall offer Me in faith and love a leaf, a flower, a fruit, water poured forth, that offering I accept, lovingly made with pious will.

Even those who in faith worship other gods, because of their love they worship me, although not in the right way.

I am alike for all! I know not hate, I know not favour! What is made is Mine! But them that worship Me with love, I love; they are in Me, and I in them!

Who hateth nought of all which lives, living himself benign, compassionate, from arrogance exempt, exempt from love of self, unchangeable by good or ill; patient, contented, firm in faith, mastering himself, true to his word, seeking Me, heart and soul; vowed unto Me, that man I love!

Who troubleth not his kind, and is not troubled by them; clear of wrath, living too high for gladness, grief, or fear, that man I love!

Who, dwelling quiet-eyed, stainless, serene, well-balanced, unperplexed, working with Me, yet from all works detached, that man I love!

Who, fixed in faith on Me, dotes upon none, scorns none; rejoices not, and grieves not, letting good or evil hap light when it will, and when it will depart, that man I love!

Who, unto friend and foe keeping an equal heart, with equal mind bears shame and glory; with an equal peace takes heat and cold, pleasure and pain; abides quit of desires, hears praise or calumny in passionless restraint, unmoved by each; linked by no ties to earth, steadfast in Me, that man I love!

But most of all I love those happy ones to whom 'tis life to live in single fervid faith and love unseeing, drinking the blessed Amrit of my Being!

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O Son of Man! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient 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.

(Remembrance Ensemble, "Arabic #4"; text from The Hidden Words, #4 from the Arabic)

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

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Love your neighbor / As you love yourself. / Love your Lord God / With all your heart / With all your soul / And with all your strength. / The people of the earth / Might know that / The hand of the Lord / Is powerful. / And so that / You might always fear / The Lord your God / He did this / So that / A wise son / Brings joy / To his father / But a foolish son / Grief to / His mother. / Jehovah is my shepherd. / I press on toward the goal. / I press on to win the prize / For which God has called me. / Jehovah is my shepherd. / My heart and flesh cry out / For the living God. / Awu, awu. / Hallelujah, hallelujah. / Who can purify you, hallelujah / Who can purify us from unrighteousness. / Hallelujah, hallelujah. / Who can forgive you? / It's only Jesus who is faithful. / It's only Jesus. / Jehovah is my shepherd.

(Ladysmith Black Mambazo, "Love Your Neighbor")

A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ... If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

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Meditabor in mandatis tuis, quae dilexi valde: et levabo manus meas ad mandata tua, quae dilexi.

[I will meditate on Thy commandments, which I have loved exceedingly: and I will lift up my hands to Thy commandments which I have loved.]

(Gregorian Chant, "Meditabor", Choralschola der Wiener Hofburgkapelle)

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they shall cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.... And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

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O Son of Man! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.

(Remembrance Ensemble, "Arabic #5"; text from The Hidden Words, #5 from the Arabic)

For God loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.

On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, the Beneficent will bestow love.

It may be that God will grant love (and friendship) between you and those whom ye (now) hold as enemies. For God has power (over all things); And God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude God's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth God make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided.

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O Son of Justice! Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? and what seeker findeth rest away from his heart's desire? To the true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart hath no peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten to the abode of his beloved.

(The Bahá'í Chorale, "Whither Can a Lover Go?"; text from The Hidden Words, #4 from the Persian)

O Son of Being! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.

Love is the source of all the bestowals of God. Until love takes possession of the heart, no other divine bounty can be revealed in it.

Armed with the power of Thy name nothing can ever hurt me, and with Thy love in my heart all the world's afflictions can in no wise alarm me.

Help me to guard the pearls of Thy love which, by Thy decree, Thou hast enshrined within my heart.

The essence of love is for man to turn his heart to the Beloved One, and sever himself from all else but Him, and desire naught save that which is the desire of his Lord.... The source of courage and power is the promotion of the Word of God, and steadfastness in His Love. The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth Me is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth Me not is indeed of the poor and needy.

And as the human heart, as fashioned by God, is one and undivided, it behoveth thee to take heed that its affections be, also, one and undivided. Cleave thou, therefore, with the whole affection of thine heart, unto His love, and withdraw it from the love of any one besides Him, that He may aid thee to immerse thyself in the ocean of His unity, and enable thee to become a true upholder of His oneness.

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[ Create in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope! Through the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved, and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my desire! Through the power of Thy transcendent might lift me up unto the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of my being, and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me, O Thou Who art my God! Let Thine everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity on me, O my Companion, and let the riches of Thine ancient countenance deliver me from all except Thee, O my Master, and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible Essence bring me joy, O Thou Who art the most manifest of the manifest and the most hidden of the hidden! ]

(Narges, "The Pure Heart"; text from Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditiations, CLV)

The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Daystar of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.

Illumine and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the thistles of malice. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.

O My servants! Deprive not yourselves of the unfading and resplendent Light that shineth within the Lamp of Divine glory. Let the flame of the love of God burn brightly within your radiant hearts. Feed it with the oil of Divine guidance, and protect it within the shelter of your constancy.

Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.

The brightness of the fire of your love will no doubt fuse and unify the contending peoples and kindreds of the earth....

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Où peut aller l'amant sinon au pays de sa bien-aimée? Quel chercheur trouverait le repos loin de l'objet de son désir? Pour l'amoureux sincère, la réunion est la vie, la séparation est la mort. Il est à bout de patience, et son coeur n'a point de paix. Il sacrifierait des myriades de vies pour se hâter la demeure de sa bien-aimée.

[O Son of Justice! Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? and what seeker findeth rest away from his heart's desire? To the true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart hath no peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten to the abode of his beloved.]

(Lucie Dubé, "Où peut aller l'amant?"; text from The Hidden Words, #4 from the Persian)

Be in perfect unity. Never become angry with one another. Let your eyes be directed toward the kingdom of truth and not toward the world of creation. Love the creatures for the sake of God and not for themselves. You will never become angry or impatient if you love them for the sake of God. Humanity is not perfect. There are imperfections in every human being, and you will always become unhappy if you look toward the people themselves. But if you look toward God, you will love them and be kind to them, for the world of God is the world of perfection and complete mercy. Therefore, do not look at the shortcomings of anybody; see with the sight of forgiveness. The imperfect eye beholds imperfections. The eye that covers faults looks toward the Creator of souls. He created them, trains and provides for them, endows them with capacity and life, sight and hearing; therefore, they are the signs of His grandeur. You must love and be kind to everybody, care for the poor, protect the weak, heal the sick, teach and educate the ignorant.

If Thou smellest from any one the smell of the love of Thy Lord, offer up Thyself for him....

If any differences arise amongst you, behold Me standing before your face, and overlook the faults of one another for My name's sake and as a token of your love for My manifest and resplendent Cause. We love to see you at all times consorting in amity and concord within the paradise of My good-pleasure, and to inhale from your acts the fragrance of friendliness and unity, of loving-kindness and fellowship.

Try with all your hearts to be willing channels for God's Bounty. For I say unto you that He has chosen you to be His messengers of love throughout the world, to be His bearers of spiritual gifts to man, to be the means of spreading unity and concord on the earth. Thank God with all your hearts that such a privilege has been given unto you. For a life devoted to praise is not too long in which to thank God for such a favour.

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There is a time an age and a season of empty words
Witnessing stars that fall from the heavens of what we believe
Age old quest to find all the secrets of ages past
A desperate search for the truth of where we have been

Tell me how would you know if you gazed into Their eyes
Could you tell would you see even standing there face to face
Of the signs once foretold in all the ancient books of old
And yet some things can be told only heart to heart

The mystic path to be sought by those who struggle to find their way
Abandon all that deprives of walking the sacred way
The journey long and hard the passage open to those who choose
And yet some things can be told only heart to heart

We long to see the face behind the stars
Shake off the clay return the heart to its sacred home
We have been told by many sages of the past
To hold in these times a watchful eye

(Smith and Dragoman, "Heart to Heart")