This Interfaith Devotional program focuses on the virtues of God and how we manifest them in our lives. These readings have been selected from various religious traditions. Please come and join us on Sundays at 9:30 am at the Beaverton Baha’i Center.
Opening Prayer
O Thou kind Lord!
These are Thy servants who have gathered in this meeting, have turned unto Thy kingdom and are in need of Thy bestowal and blessing. O Thou God! Manifest and make evident the signs of Thy oneness which have been deposited in all the realities of life. Reveal and unfold the virtues which Thou hast made latent and concealed in these human realities.
O God! We are as plants, and Thy bounty is as the rain; refresh and cause these plants to grow through Thy bestowal. We are Thy servants; free us from the fetters of material existence. We are ignorant; make us wise. We are dead; make us alive. We are material; endow us with spirit. We are deprived; make us the intimates of Thy mysteries. We are needy; enrich and bless us from Thy boundless treasury. O God! Resuscitate us; give us sight; give us hearing; familiarize us with the mysteries of life, so that the secrets of Thy kingdom may become revealed to us in this world of existence and we may confess Thy oneness. Every bestowal emanates from Thee; every benediction is Thine. Thou art mighty. Thou art powerful. Thou art the Giver, and Thou art the Ever-Bounteous.
Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Bahá
First Reading
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
Christianity, 2nd Peter 1:2-3
O MY FRIENDS!
Quench ye the lamp of error, and kindle within your hearts the everlasting torch of divine guidance. For ere long the assayers of mankind shall, in the holy presence of the Adored, accept naught but purest virtue and deeds of stainless holiness.
Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh
Music
Second Reading
True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as in His Hands is the destiny of all His servants.
The essence of detachment is for man to turn his face towards the courts of the Lord, to enter His Presence, behold His Countenance, and stand as witness before Him.
The essence of understanding is to testify to one’s poverty, and submit to the Will of the Lord, the Sovereign, the Gracious, the All-Powerful.
Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’llah
Without selfless service are no objectives fulfilled; In service lies the purest action.
Sikhism. Adi Granth, Maru, M.1, p. 992
The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
Confucianism. Analects 6.28.2 a
The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.
The essence of true safety is to observe silence, to look at the end of things and to renounce the world.
The beginning of magnanimity is when man expendeth his wealth on himself, on his family and on the poor among his brethren in his Faith.
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. This is that which the Finger of Glory and Splendour hath revealed.
The source of all evil is for man to turn away from his Lord and set his heart on things ungodly.
Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’llah
Music
Third Reading
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are noble, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.
Christianity, Philippians 4:8
The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His Glory, and this cannot be attained save through the knowledge of His Divine Manifestation.
The essence of abasement is to pass out from under the shadow of the Merciful and seek the shelter of the Evil One.
The source of error is to disbelieve in the One true God, rely upon aught else but Him, and flee from His Decree.
True loss is for him whose days have been spent in utter ignorance of his self.
Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’llah
The earth is upheld by the veracity of those who have subdued their passions, and, following righteous practices, are never contaminated by desire, covetousness, and wrath.
Hinduism. Vishnu Purana 3.12
The perfume of flowers blows not against the wind, nor does the fragrance of sandalwood, tagara and jasmine, but the fragrance of the virtuous blows against the wind; the virtuous man pervades every direction.
Buddhism. Dhammapada 54
Music
Open Prayers
Music
Fourth Reading
Gentle character it is which enables the rope of life to stay unbroken in one’s hand.
African Traditional Religions. Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)
He who can find no room for others lacks fellow feeling, and to him who lacks fellow feeling, all men are strangers.
Taoism. Chuang Tzu 23
Rendering help to another is the function of all human beings.
Jainism. Tattvarthasutra 5.21
All men are responsible for one another.
Judaism. Talmud, Sanhedrin 27b
The best of men are those who are useful to others.
Islam. Hadith of Bukhari
The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye.
Thus have We instructed thee, manifested unto thee Words of Wisdom, that thou mayest be thankful unto the Lord, thy God, and glory therein amidst all peoples.
Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah
Closing Prayer
O God, my God! Cast upon this gathering the glances of Thy loving-kindness. Keep safe each and all in Thy custody and under Thy protection. Send down upon these souls Thy heavenly blessings. Immerse them in the ocean of Thy mercy, and quicken them through the breaths of the Holy Spirit. Thou art the Powerful the Omnipotent, the Merciful, and Thou art the Generous, the Beneficent, the Lord of grace abounding.
Bahá’í Faith, `Abdu’l-Bahá
- Cover – Divine Virtues
- Revised Program – Divine Virtues
- Revised Program (rtf) – Divine Virtues
- Revised Readings – Divine Virtues
Photo by O.C. Gonzalez on Unsplash
