Be rejoiced with the glad-tidings of God and thank your Lord for that He
assembled you in the brilliant gathering with illumined faces, pure
hearts, wherein the mysteries of God are printed, and spirits gladdened by
the fragrances of God. This is from His favor to you in this glorious
century.
I ask God to adorn your heads with the pearls of His favor, to ignite in
your hearts the fire of the love of God, to free your tongues in utterance
of eloquent words and excellent meanings and mysteries in the gathering of
the pious, to make ye roses of the paradise of El-ABHA, angels of heaven,
united in opinions, harmonious in thoughts and to manifest in your faces
signs of holiness of the Kingdom among the people.
Soon will your Lord make you growing trees in His wonderful vineyard,
blossoming, leafing and bearing fruits of the paradise of El-ABHA through
the shadow of His Name, the Merciful, the Clement.
"O ye crying voices in the region of America!..."
O ye(27) crying voices in the region of America!
Make level the path of the Covenant of God! BE firm in the Alliance of
God!
I surely read your answer to my words, and my heart overflowed with joy
and fragrance, when I heard of your supplication to God, and of your
entreaty to God, and of your begging assistance of God, and of your
endeavor in the service of the Cause of God, and of your effort in
publishing the Alliance of God, and of your yearning after and your
longing for harmony and union in the love of God.
Ye shall soon behold the lights of confirmation shining forth unto your
hearts and your spirits from the Kingdom of ABHA.
Stand up, as the standing of the souls by whose lights of sincerity in the
Cause of God the horizons are shining, and guard the sheep of God with the
staff of the instructions of God.
I beg God to confirm thee to His will, as He confirmed the Apostles (of
Jesus) aforetime.
I know, verily, that the universal, never ending, eternal, bright and
divine establishments are only the diffusing of the breaths of God, and
the spreading of the instructions of God, and all that are beside these,
though they be the reigning over all the regions of the earth, or the
construction of railroads from the earth to the heavens, or means of
transportation with the rapidity of rising lightning from the globe of
earth to the globe of the sun, all are but mortal, perishing, demolishing
and disadvantageous, in comparison with the divine establishments. Because
the latter (divine establishments) are intrinsic matters, while the former
are but metaphorical matters; the latter are truth, while the former are
imaginary.
Verily, I yearn after your visit as the yearning of the thirsty after the
fountain of the water of Euphrates (agreeable water), but at present your
remaining in that region (America) is obligatory. Please God, when it will
be the occasion, I will inform you to come; and (now) I will
circumambulate instead of you the Holy Tomb.(28) Glory be upon you!
"O thou son of the associate and companion of Abdul-Baha!..."
O thou son of the associate and companion(29) of Abdul-Baha!
You brought many letters with you from those regions, but on account of
the great disturbance it was not possible to write the answers. You saw
what a commotion was set up in the Blessed Spot(30) throught the
instigation of the jealous brother. It still continues. Therefore you must
apologize: Say that Abdul-Baha has considered every one of the letters
with the eyes of the spirit, has read each, and through the valid
messenger--that is, through the spiritual susceptibilities--has sent each
the message of peace and greeting. Therefore, let them turn to the blessed
and Radiant Spot with a pure heart and an attracted spirit, that they may
receive answer through the lights radiating therefrom.
Communication is not confined to writing. This is a trace, while the
spiritual message is fruitful and effective. That is the essential, and
without it communication is useless.
"O Thou kind God! That scattered assembly is..."
O Thou kind God! That scattered assembly(31) is Thine, and that gathering
of friends is of Thee. Their eyes are opened, their hearts in tune with
Thy love, and their ears in communion with Thy hidden mysteries.
O Thou who art self-sufficient! Let a beautiful song reach this people
from the birds of that garden, that they may warble, rejoice and be happy,
implore and supplicate the Lord.
O Thou Educator! Train that assembly of the righteous; comfort them; set
their hearts aglow with the fire of Thy love; acquaint them with Thy
mystery and commune with them, so that they may find Thy kingdom of
mysteries, become of the people of piety and leading in liberty.
Grant them the soul immortal; enrich them above the world, and detach them
from the world; usher them into the tent of Thy Kingdom and give them a
portion of the divine bounty.
Bestow upon them the everlasting life and bless them with the new
teachings. Make every one a lighted torch and a warbling nightingale--the
king of the rose in the garden. Reveal to them Thine attractive beauty;
make each a growing tree on the shore of Thy guidance, bearing the fruit
of Thy grace. Thus may the East illumine the West and the West become the
East of the Supreme Heaven.
Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Almighty, and verily Thou art the
Precious, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient!
"O ye my divine friends!..."
O ye my divine friends!(32)
At a time when the sea of tests had become tempestuous and the waves of
calamity were heaving and the hosts of nations were in the utmost violence
and the people of oppression dealt with infinite injustice, some of the
calumniators, uniting with our unkind brother, wrote a letter replete with
false accusations and engaged in seditions and calumnies.
They confused the mind of the government and agitated the state
authorities. From this it is evident how a prisoner in this ruined walled
city would fare and how the conditions are so full of perplexity and
confusion as to baffle all description! Notwithstanding, this imprisoned
exile is in the utmost firmness and calmness, trusts in His Highness the
Peerless God, and wishes for every calamity and affliction in the path of
the love of God! (To us) the arrow of oppression is a rich flow of divine
bounty, and deadly poison is a swift-healing antidote.
We were in such a state when a letter came from the friends in America.
The whole of its contents showed an agreement on their part to be in unity
and harmony in all respects, and it was signed by all, determined to be
self-sacrificing in the path of the love of God, in order thus to secure
eternal life.
Upon perusing that letter and looking at the name signed to it, such a joy
and gladness came over Abdul-Baha as is beyond description, and he thanked
God that such friends are found in that country, who in utmost joy and
fragrance are in union and accord and one in agreement with each other.
The more this Covenant is strengthened, the happier, the better, the
sweeter it will be and it will thus attract the divine confirmations. If
the friends of God are wishing for confirmation in order to enjoy the
friendship of the Supreme Concourse, they must exert themselves to confirm
and strengthen this Covenant; for the making of a covenant, and an
alliance for brotherhood and unity is like unto the irrigation of the tree
of life which is conducive to eternal life!
Briefly, O ye friends of God! Make your feet firm, make a firm compact,
and in union and accord endeavor to diffuse the fragrance of the love of
God and to spread the divine teachings, in order that ye may impart life
to the dead body of this world, and bestow a real healing on every one
diseased (in soul).
O ye friends of God! The world is like the body of man--it hath become
sick, feeble and infirm. Its eye is devoid of sight, its ear hath become
destitute of hearing and its faculties of sense are entirely dissolved.
The friends of God must become as wise physicians and care for and heal
this sick person, in accord with the divine teachings, in order that--God
willing--it may perchance gain health, find eternal healing and that its
lost powers may be restored; and that the person of the world may find
such health, freshness and purity that it will appear in the utmost beauty
and charm.
The first remedy is to guide the people, so that they may turn unto God,
hearken unto the divine commandments and go forth with a hearing ear and
seeing eye. After this swift and certain remedy hath been applied, then
according to the divine teachings, they ought to be trained in the
conduct, morals and deeds of the Supreme Concourse, encouraged and inspire
with the gifts of the Kingdom of ABHA. The hearts should be purified and
cleansed from every trace of hatred and rancor and enabled to engage in
truthfulness, conciliation, uprightness and love toward the world of
humanity; so that the East and the West may embrace each other like unto
two lovers, enmity and animosity may vanish from the human world and the
universal peace be established!
O ye friends of God! Be kind to all peoples and nations, have love for all
of them, exert yourselves to purify the hearts as much as you can, and
bestow abundant effort in rejoicing the souls. Be ye a sprinkling of rain
to every meadow and a water of life to every tree. Be ye as fragrant musk
to every nostril and a soul-refreshing breeze to every invalid. Be ye
salutary water to every thirsty one, a wise guide to every one led astray,
an affectionate father or mother to every orphan, and, in the utmost joy
and fragrance, a son or daughter to every one bent with age. Be ye a rich
treasure to every indigent one; consider love and union as a delectable
paradise, and count annoyance and hostility as the torment of hell-fire.
Exert with your soul; seek no rest in body; supplicate and beseech with
your heart and search for divine assistance and favor, in order that ye
may make this world the Paradise of ABHA and this terrestrial globe the
arena of the Supreme Kingdom. If ye make an effort, it is certain that
these lights will shine, this cloud of mercy shall rain, this
soul-nourishing breeze shall waft, and the scent of this most fragrant
musk be diffused.
O ye friends of God! Be ye not concerned with the events transpiring at
this Blessed Spot, and give no thought thereto. Whatever may happen is
good, for calamities are bestowal itself, hardship is the reality of
mercy, discomposure is but composure of mind, and sacrifice of life is a
manifest gift. Whatever may happen is a bounty from God, the Most High. Be
ye engaged in your own affairs; be employed in guiding the people; train
the souls in the qualities and nature of Abdul-Baha, and convey the
glad-tidings of the Kingdom of ABHA to the people. Do not seek rest during
night and day and sit not tranquil for a minute. Bring these glad-tidings
to the hearing of mankind with the utmost exertion, and accept every
calamity and affliction in your love for God and reliance on Abdul-Baha.
Endure the censure of enemies and bear the reproaches of the people of
oppression with patience. Follow the example of Abdul-Baha and at every
moment wish to offer yourselves in the path of the Beauty of ABHA. Shine
ye like unto the sun and roar and move like unto the sea; impart life to
mountain and desert like unto clouds, and similar to the vernal breeze,
bestow freshness, grace and elegance on the trees of human temples.
"O ye children of the Kingdom!..."
O ye(33) children of the Kingdom!
It is New Year; that is to say, the rounding of the cycle of the year. A
year is the expression of a cycle (of the sun); but now is the beginning
of a cycle of Realty, a New Cycle, a New Age, a New Century, a New Time
and a New Year. Therefore it is very blessed.
I wish this blessing to appear and become manifest in the faces and
characteristics of the believers, so that they, too, may become a new
people, and having found new life and been baptized with fire and spirit,
may make the world a new world, to the end that the old earth may
disappear and the new earth appear; old ideas depart and new thoughts
come; old garments be cast aside and new garments put on; ancient politics
whose foundation is war be discarded and modern politics founded on peace
raise the standard of victory; the new star shine and gleam and the new
sun illumine and radiate; new flowers bloom; the new spring become known;
the new breeze blow; the new bounty descend; the new tree give forth new
fruit; the new voice become raised and this new sound reach the ears, that
the new will follow the new, and all the old furnishings and adornments be
cast aside and new decorations put in their places.
I desire for you all that you will have this great assistance and partake
of this great bounty, and that in spirit and heart you will strive and
endeavor until the world of war become the world of peace; the world of
darkness the world of light; satanic conduct be turned into heavenly
behavior; the ruined places become built up; the sword be turne dinto the
olive branch; the flash of hatred become the flame of the love of God and
the noise of the gun the voice of the Kingdom; the soldiers of death the
soldiers of life; all the nations of the world one nation; all races as
one race; and all national anthems harmonized into one melody.
Then this material realm will be Paradise, the earth Heaven, and the world
of Satan become the world of Angels.
"O ye Cohorts of God!..."
O ye(34) Cohorts of God!
A letter which was signed by you in general was received. Its content was
of the utmost beauty, sweetness, eloquence and perfection. While reading
it the utmost happiness was produced. It spoke of fasting during the month
of the Fast. Happy is your condition for you have executed the divine
command; and have arisen to fast in these blessed days. For this physical
fasting is a symbol of the spiritual fasting, that is, abstaining from all
carnal desires, becoming characterized with the attributes of the
spiritual ones, attracted to the heavenly fragrances and enkindled with
the fire of the love of God.
Likewise your letter was an evidence of the union and affinity of the
hearts. I hope that through the bounty and favors of the Most Glorious
Lord, in this new age, the regions of the West become the East of the Sun
of Truth, the believers of God become the dawning-places of lights, the
manifestors of the signs, be protected and guarded from the doubts of the
heedless ones, remain firm and steadfast in the Covenant and Testament,
and strive day and night in order to awaken those who are asleep, to make
mindful those who are heedless, to make confident of the mysteries of the
Kingdom those who are deprived, to confer a share from the never-ending
outpouring upon those who are helpless, to become the heralds of the
Kingdom and to call the inhabitants of this terrestrial world to the
Celestial Realm.
O ye Cohorts of God! Today in the present world each community is
wandering in a wilderness, moving in accord with some passion and desire,
and running to and fro in pursuance of his own imagination. Among the
communities of the world, this community of the "Most Great Name" is free
from every thought, keeping aloof from every project and scheme, arising
with the purest designs and intentions, and striving and endeavoring with
the utmost hope to live in accordance with the divine teachings in order
that the surface of the earth become the delectable paradise, the nether
world become the mirror of the Kingdom, the universe become another
universe, and the human race attain to higher morals, conduct and manners.
O ye Cohorts of God! Through the protection and help of the Blessed
Perfection--may my life be a sacrifice to His beloved ones! --you must
conduct and deport yourselves in such a manner that you may stand out
among other souls distinguished by a brilliancy like unto the sun. If any
one of you enters a city he must become the center of attraction because
of the sincerity, faithfulness, love, honesty, fidelity, truthfulness and
loving-kindness of his disposition and nature toward all the inhabitants
of the world, that the people of the city may all cry out: "This person is
unquestionably a Bahai; for his manners, his behaviour, his conduct, his
morals, his nature and his disposition are of the attributes of the
Bahais." Until you do attain to this station, you have not fulfilled the
Covenant and the Testament of God. For according to the irrefutable texts,
He has taken from us a firm covenant that we may live and act in accord
with the divine exhortations, commands and lordly teachings.
O ye Cohorts of God! Now is the time when the signs and the perfections of
the "Most Great Name" become manifest and clear in this golden cycle in
order that it may become demonstrated and established beyond doubt that
this period is the period of the Blessed Perfection, and this cycle is
distinguished from all other cycles and epochs.
O ye Cohorts of God! If you observe that a soul has turned his face
completely toward the Cause of God, his intention is centralized upon the
penetration of the Word of God, he is serving the Cause day and night with
the utmost fidelity, no scent of selfishness is inhaled from his manners
and deeds, and no trace of egotism or prejudice is seen in his
personality--nay rather is he a wanderer in the wilderness of the love of
God, and one intoxicated with the wine of the knowledge of God, occupied
wholly with the diffusion of the fragrances of God, and attracted to the
signs of the Kingdom of God; know ye of a certainty that he is confirmed
with the powers of the Kingdom, assisted by the heaven of Might; and he
will shine, gleam and sparkle like unto the morning star with the utmost
brilliancy and splendor from the horizon of the everlasting gift. If he is
alloyed with the slightest trace of passion, desire, ostentation or
self-interest, it is certain that the results of all efforts will prove
fruitless, and he will become deprived and hopeless.
O ye Cohorts of God! Praise be to God! --that the Blessed Perfection hath
freed the necks from the bonds and fetters and released all from racial
attachments by proclaiming, "Ye are all the fruits of one tree and the
leaves of one branch." Be ye kind to the human world, and be ye
compassionate to the race of man, deal with the strangers as you deal with
the friends, be ye gentle toward the outsiders as you are toward the
beloved ones, know the enemy as the friend, look upon the satan as upon
the angel, receive the unjust with the utmost love like unto a faithful
one, and diffuse far and wide the fragrances of the musk of the gazelles
of Kheta and Khotan(35) to the nostrils of the ravenous wolves.
Become ye a shelter and asylum to the fearful ones, be ye a cause of
tranquillity and cease to the souls and hearts of the agitated ones,
impart ye strength to the helpless ones, be ye a remedy and antidote to
the afflicted ones, and a physician and nurse to the sick ones. Serve ye
for the promotion of peace and concord and establishe in this transitory
world the foundation of friendship, fidelity, reconciliation and
truthfulness.
O ye Cohorts of God! Strive ye that this human world may be changed into a
luminous realm and this mound of earth become the Paradise of ABHA.
Darkness hath environed the world upon all sides. Savage tempers and
inclination predominate. The human world has become the battlefield of the
rapacious savages and the arena of the heedless and ignorant ones. The
souls are either bloodthirsty wolves or beasts with degenerate reason.
They are either deadly poison, or worthless plants. There are a few souls
who in reality have some humanitarian intentions and are thinking of the
well-being and prosperity of human kind. You must in this instance (that
is, service to humanity) sacrifice your lives, and in sacrificing your
lives celebrate happiness and beatitude.
O ye Cohorts of God! His Highness, the Supreme(36)--may my life be a
sacrifice to Him! --hath given up His life, and at every moment the Blessed
Perfection(37) in His own life sacrificed hundreds of lives, endured dire
calamities and oppressions. Laden with fetters He was thrown into the dark
dungeon, He was exiled and banished to distant lands and finally passed
His days in the Most Great Prison(38) . Likewise a multitude of friends
drank the sweet chalice of martyrdom and sacrificed soul, possession,
family and relatives for the Cause. How many houses were overthrown! How
many residences were pillaged and rapined! How many magnificent palaces
were turned into a desolate tomb! All these phenomena transpired only that
the world of humanity may become a luminous realm; ignorance be changed
into wisdom, human souls become merciful, warfare and bloodshed be
destroyed to their very foundation, and the Kingdom of Peace become
paramount over all men. Now strive ye, that perchance this Beloved of
Hopes appear in the assemblage of the world and this Providence become a
realized fact.
O ye Cohorts of God! Beware lest ye offend the feelings of anyone, or
sadden the heart of any person, or move the tongue in reproach of and
finding fault with anybody, whether he is friend or stranger, believer or
enemy. Pray in behalf of all and entreat God for forgiveness and bounty
for all. Beware, beware that any soul take revenge or retaliate over
another even if he be a bloodthirsty enemy. Beware, beware that any one
rebuke or reproach a soul, though he may be an ill-wisher and an ill-doer.
Do ye not look upon the creature, advance ye toward the Creator. Behold ye
not the rebellious people, turn your faces toward the Lord of Hosts. Look
ye not upon the ground, raise your eyes to the world-illuminating Sun,
which hath transformed every atom of the gloomy soil into bright and
luminous substance.
O ye Cohorts of God! In the moment of catastrophe, find ye patience,
resignation and submission.
The more the calamities are intensified the less become ye disturbed.
Withstand ye, with perfect assurance, the flood of trials and calamities,
through the power of His Highness, the Almighty.