Man is Not a Captive of Nature

From: Gems of Insight from ‘Abdu’l-Baha

... he [man] is the ruler and commander of nature. Man has intelligence; nature has not. Man has volition; nature has none. Man has memory; nature is without it. Man has the reasoning faculty; nature is deprived. Man has the perceptive faculty; nature cannot perceive. It is therefore proved and evident that man is nobler than nature.

If we accept the supposition that man is but a part of nature, we are confronted by an illogical statement, for this is equivalent to claiming that a part may be endowed with qualities which are absent in the whole. For man who is a part of nature has perception, intelligence, memory, conscious reflection and susceptibility, while nature itself is quite bereft of them. How is it possible for the part to be possessed of qualities or faculties which are absent in the whole? The truth is that God has given to man certain powers which are supernatural. How then can man be considered a captive of nature?

(‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk, ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace’)

Lawh-i-Maryam (Tablet to Maryam) - by Bahá’u’lláh

From: Baha’i Tablets – provisional translations

-- provisional translation by Julio Savi and Faezeh Mardani Mazzoli

He is sorrowful in My sorrow.

O Maryam! The wrongs which I suffer have blotted out the wrongs suffered by My First Name (the Báb) from the Tablet of creation [2] and the showers of affliction rained at all times upon this veilless Beauty from the clouds of God’s decree.

My expulsion from My country was for no other reason except My love for the Beloved, and my removal from My land was for no other motive but My willing submission to the Goal of all desire (ridáy-i-maqsúd).

In the summons of God’s decree I was even as a kindled and shining lamp and in the time of heavenly trials I was as steadfast (thábit) [3] as a mountain.

In the revelations of grace I was even as a raining cloud and in restraining the enemies of the King of Oneness like a blazing fire.

The tokens of My might have become a cause of the envy of My enemies and the effulgences of My wisdom have turned into instruments of the perfidy of the malicious.

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Two accounts of the Bab’s childhood days at school

From: Baha’i Stories

There are some accounts left for posterity concerning the time that the Bab attended school in Shiraz, Persia. Such accounts are priceless because they help us understand how each Manifestation of God exhibits very special God given qualities even in their childhood.

First Account:

A fellow student who was then twelve years old related the following account many years later concerning the Bab’s first day at school.

“The Báb had taken a seat, with great courtesy, in between this boy and another pupil who was also much older than Himself. His head was bowed over the primer put in front of Him, the first lines of which He had been taught to repeat. But He would not utter a word. When asked why He did not read aloud as other boys were doing He made no reply. Just then two boys, sitting near them, were heard to recite a couplet from Hafiz (a well known Persian poet), which runs thus:

From the pinnacles of Heaven they call out unto thee;

I know not what hath thee here entrapped.

'That is your answer,' said the Báb, turning to …” the older boy who recalled this incident.

('The Bab – The Herald of the Day of Days', by Hand of the Cause Balyuzi)

The thing remarkable about this account is that not only the Bab who was then only about five years old understood fully the meaning of this couplet, but that he equated himself with the phrase “thee”. To posses such keen understanding of such issues at such a young age is another proof of His innate and God given knowledge.
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The Trust of God

From: Portraits of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

"He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favoured servants ..." (Baha'u'llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in the World Order of Baha'u'llah)

Photograph taken in 1912 during 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit to the United States

No one should exalt himself over the other

From: Teachings of the Baha’i faith

O Children of Men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh’)