We should all visit the sick. When they are in sorrow and suffering, it is
a real help and benefit to have a friend come. Happiness is a great healer
to those who are ill. In the East it is the custom to call upon the
patient often and meet him individually. The people in the East show the
utmost kindness and compassion to the sick and suffering. This has greater
effect than the remedy itself. You must always have this thought of love
and affection when you visit the ailing and afflicted.
The world of humanity may be likened to the individual man himself; it has
its illness and ailments. A patient must be diagnosed by a skillful
physician. The Prophets of God are the real Physicians. In whatever age or
time They appear They prescribe for human conditions. They know the
sicknesses; They discover the hidden sources of disease and indicate the
necessary remedy. Whosoever is healed by that remedy finds eternal health.
For instance, in the day of Jesus Christ the world of humanity was
afflicted with various ailments. Jesus Christ was the real Physician. He
appeared, recognized the symptoms and prescribed the real remedy. What was
that remedy? It was His revealed teaching especially applicable to that
age. Later on many new ailments and disorders appeared in the body
politic. The world became sick; other severe maladies appeared, especially
in the peninsula of Arabia. God manifested Muhammad there. He came and
prescribed for the conditions so that the Arabs became healthy, strong and
virile in that time.
In this present age the world of humanity is afflicted with severe
sicknesses and grave disorders which threaten death. Therefore,
Baha'u'llah has appeared. He is the real Physician, bringing divine remedy
and healing to the world of man. He has brought teachings for all
ailments--the Hidden Words, I_sh_raqat, Tarazat, Tajalliyat, Words of
Paradise, Glad Tidings, etc. These Holy Words and teachings are the remedy
for the body politic, the divine prescription and real cure for the
disorders which afflict the world. Therefore, we must accept and partake
of this healing remedy in order that complete recovery may be assured.
Every soul who lives according to the teachings of Baha'u'llah is free
from the ailments and indispositions which prevail throughout the world of
humanity; otherwise, selfish disorders, intellectual maladies, spiritual
sicknesses, imperfections and vices will surround him, and he will not
receive the life-giving bounties of God.
Baha'u'llah is the real Physician. He has diagnosed human conditions and
indicated the necessary treatment. The essential principles of His healing
remedies are the knowledge and love of God, severance from all else save
God, turning our faces in sincerity toward the Kingdom of God, implicit
faith, firmness and fidelity, loving-kindness toward all creatures and the
acquisition of the divine virtues indicated for the human world. These are
the fundamental principles of progress, civilization, international peace
and the unity of mankind. These are the essentials of Baha'u'llah's
teachings, the secret of everlasting health, the remedy and healing for
man.
It is my hope that you may assist in healing the sick body of the world
through these teachings so that eternal radiance may illumine all the
nations of mankind.
18 June 1912
Talk at 309 West Seventy-eighth Street, New York