Love is the highest honor to every righteous nation!
The people who are confirmed therein are indeed glorified by the Supreme
Concourse, the angels of heaven and the dwellers of the Kingdom of
El-Abha! But if the hearts of the people become devoid of the Divine
Grace--the Love of God--they wander in the desert of ignorance, descend to
the depths of ruin and fall to the abyss of despair where there is no
refuge! They are like insects living in the lowest plane.
O beloved of God! Be ye the manifestations of God and the lamps of
guidance throughout all regions shining with the light of love and union!
How beautiful the effulgence of this light!
O my friend! Let this letter be spread among the beloved in America, that
they may agree, unite and love one another; nay, rather that they should
love all the people, and (be willing to) sacrifice even their lives for
one another.
This is the Path of El-Baha!
This is the Religion of El-Baha!
This is the Law of El-Baha!
He who hath not this hath no portion with El-Baha!
"O thou maid-servant of God!..."
O thou maid-servant of God!
I ask from the favors of the Sun of Truth the splendors of the eternal
outpouring for thee; I beg everlasting glory and desire for thee and thy
family divine gifts, so that all of you may become united and harmonized,
rest under the shade of the Tree of Life, and become eternal and
established in the Kingdom of Being.
"O thou who art turning toward the Kingdom of God!..."
O thou who art turning toward the Kingdom of God!
I was informed of the contents of thy excellent letter and supplicated the
Holy Threshold, the Circuit of the Supreme Concourse, to baptize thee with
the water of knowledge and the fire of the love of God and to make thee a
perfect and faithful servant in His Great Vineyard, so that thou mayest
water the trees of the love of God in the Paradise of Abha; and to make
thee a sign of meekness and humbleness among the maid-servants of God and
a promulgator of His Cause in those vast and extensive regions.
"O thou pure soul who hath turned with a submissive..."
O thou pure soul(241) who hath turned with a submissive heart to the
Kingdom of God!
Turn thy face to the Assembly of the Covenant and [hear him] say:
"Salutations and praise be upon you, the fragrances of God be upon you!
for that by reason of which ye have awakened from your sleep, arisen from
your negligence and heedlessness, aroused from your couches, relied upon
your Creator, depended upon your Maker and been kindled with the fire
burning in the Spirit on Mt. Sinai and in the Heart of Mt. Paran --from
this conflagration shall appear dazzling lights, which shall shine upon
all regions.
"Consider the first century of the time of Christ--glory be unto Him! --and
the beginning of His Cause. In that time no one but a certain few persons
believed in Him; and the great one among them was Peter the disciple, who,
through the burning of the fire of test and persecution, was in great fear
and denied Christ three times; then the Jews who were scoffing,
persecuting, deriding and laughing at Him, despised Him as through He were
a thief, a murderer, or a villain, and committed against Him that which
made the hearts lament, distressed the minds, caused tears to flow and the
foundations of existence to tremble and shake! They thought that they had
quenched the Fire which flamed in the tree of Christian certainty; nay,
verily, that Lamp hath diffused its dazzling rays unto the Supreme Height
and that Fire hath burned until it kindled the hearts of the righteous!"
"Then consider this day, and the day of His existence among those
people--how they crowned Him with a diadem of thorns and now how thousands
of people adorn their heads in His name, with the Most Brilliant Gem,
glittering to the sight! Woe, woe unto the like of such heedless people!
Alas for the souls, because of what they have committed against the Word
of God in the day of His Appearance--and today they worship the dust which
the feet of His Beloved have trod! Such is the condition of the people.
Abandon them and let them play until they fall in abasement and loss!
"But as to you, O ye beloved of God, let your breasts be dilated with joy
for that by reason of which ye have attained unto the Day of God, entered
the Kingdom of God, and tasted the food of Knowledge which hath descended
from Heaven!"
"O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of God!..."
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of God!
Thy letter was read; its contents had bearing upon Guidance. Praise be to
God! thou possessed a perceiving eye and an attentive ear! Now is the time
for thee to give thanks to God with an expressive tongue; to appreciate
this bounty.
Consider in what a great age thou hast stepped into the world of existence
and under the shadow of what an Ensign of Guidance thou wert sheltered and
attained the hope and greatest desire of the saints!
If thou dost arise to comply with that which is deemed worthy of this
favor and is a duty, thou shalt observe that this Guidance is the crown of
eternal sovereignty and this attainment is everlasting glory, happiness
and the means of the forgiveness of sins and the lamp of eternal life in
the Kingdom of Heaven.
"O thou who art witnessing the Light of Guidance!..."
O thou who art witnessing the Light of Guidance!
Verily I read thy excellent letter and praised God, for He hath removed
the veil (from thy sight), caused the light of guidance to appear, filled
for thee the cup of bestowal and directed thee to His Kingdom.
I supplicate God to increase thy faith, to encircle thee with the lights
of the Kingdom, and to guide thy thirsting and craving sons to the
Fountain-head of Mercifulness. And (I beg of Him) to enable thee
"III-530..."
III-530 to teach His truth, to deliver His Cause, to promote His Word, and
to train the souls whom superstitions have veiled from witnessing the
lights of the Bounty of these days.
O maid-servant of God! Be filled with joy, so that thine eyes may be
overflowing with tears of happiness and beatitude, and beseech thou God to
remove the veil from the face of your sons so that they may find a
spiritual understanding of the existence of God and may know how the human
soul can receive bounty from the divine Spirit.
"O thou kind maid-servant of God!..."
O thou kind maid-servant of God!
Thy letter was like a perfumed nosegay and from that nosegay the fragrance
of faith and assurance was inhaled. Well done! Well done! that thou hast
turned thy face toward the invisible Kingdom. Excellent! Excellent that
thou art attracted to the Beauty of His Highness the Almighty! Well done!
Well done! How happy thou art that thou hast attained to his Most Great
Gift!
"O thou beloved maid-servant of God!..."
O thou beloved maid-servant of God!
Thank thou God that thou hast stepped into the arena of existence in such
a blessed Age and hast opened thine ears and thine eyes in such a Promised
Day. The Splendor of the Sun of Truth thou hast beheld and the divine Call
thou hast heard. To thine ultimate desire thou hast attained and from the
sweetness of the love of God thou hast tasted. Consequently, supplicate
ardently for spiritual attraction and ecstacy.
O thou beloved maid-servant of God! If thou art not seeing dreams (and
visions), be thou not sad. Thou are going to see, whilst thou art awake. A
wakeful eye is acceptable in the Threshold of the Almighty. Therefore, I
hope that thou wilt open the eye of thine insight, travel in all the
realms of God, see the splendor of the Kingdom and behold the effulgence
of the Realm of Might.
Show thou forth love and kindness on my behalf toward thy dear husband and
convey to him longing greeting. I supplicate from God in his behalf, and
invoke assistance and confirmation for you both.
"O ye friends of Abdul-Baha!..."
O ye(242) friends of Abdul-Baha!
His honor Mr. ... wrote a letter and in that letter he mentioned your
names, asking divine favor on your behalf. While reading your names I
opened my tongue in thanksgiving in the Threshold of Oneness, that he hath
granted such favor and bestowed such providence. He guided the souls and
pointed out to them the entrance to the Kingdom. Such confirmation
deserveth thanks and praise, and such guidance is the most great bounty of
His Highness the One.
Likewise, you must be engaged day and night, with all your soul and heart,
in thanksgiving and the glorification of His Highness the Desired One who
hath created you in such a glorious period, made you the manifestors of
guidance in the Day of the Lord, imparted to you the insight and enkindled
your souls and spirits with the fire of love. Today the grandeur, the
majesty, the splendor and the magnitude of this station is not clear and
manifest because it is the time of seed-sowing and the beginning of the
planting of trees in the orchard of the Merciful One. When that seed is
grown and the tree reacheth the time of its fruition, then many harvests
shall be gathered and all regions and kingdoms shall be adorned with its
blossoms and fruits.
Ere long the Adored One of this providence will become the Beloved of the
assemblages of the world and the rays of the Sun of Truth will illumine
every house, every place and corner. At that time the greatness and
superiority of the friends of God will become evident and demonstrated.
Consider ye! In the day of His Highness Christ, the grandeur and majesty
of their Holiness the Apostles, was not known. After three-hundred years
the loftiness of the station and the exaltation of their attainment became
manifest. Ere long the result of the deeds in this cycle of Baha'o'llah
will appear and every one of the friends and the maid-servants will be
crowned with a diadem whose splendid gems will radiate brilliancy and
effulgence throughout cycles and ages.
Therefore, O ye servants of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful One,
do ye not rest for one moment! Do ye not seek any composure! Do ye not
wish for any rest and ease! Endeavor and make ye an effort with all your
heart and soul to spread the fragrances of Paradise, to raise the eternal
melody of the Kingdom of Abha, to establish the gathering of fellowship,
to become assisted with the confirmations of the Holy Spirit; to clothe
the temple of existence with a new garment; to bestow eternal life upon
the reality of souls; to become a cause of the civilization of the human
world; to characterize the bloodthirsty animals with the heavenly
attributes and divine commemorations; to pacify the world with peace and
salvation, and to adorn man with the favors of His Highness the Merciful
One; that perchance ignorance, animosity and strangeness may be removed
entirely from among the denizens of the world, and the Banner of
Reconciliation, Freedom, Nobleness and Oneness be hoisted; for the chains
of existence contain countless links, each connected with the other. This
connection is the cause of the appearance of the invisible powers in the
world of the visible.
O ye real friends! Make ye an effort that this universe may become another
universe and this darkened world find a ray of the Sun of Truth and become
luminous and refulgent.
I entreat God that this favor may be realized and this unending outpouring
become manifest and apparent, and the friends of God be confirmed by every
bounty.
"O ye blessed souls!..."
O ye(243) blessed souls!
On the night of the feast ye entertained the beloved and were occupied in
the service of the friends of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful
One. Service to the sons and the daughters of the Kingdom is the diadem of
everlasting glory with which ye have crowned your heads, the garment of
eternal sovereignty with which ye have adorned your bodies, and the throne
of majesty and grandeur of heaven upon which ye sat. Abdul-Baha found the
utmost rejoicing from that feast and he was a host in his heart and soul,
praying and entreating at the Threshold of Oneness that the breaths of the
Holy Spirit waft, the angels of mercy descend and the confirmations of the
Kingdom of Abha surround you upon all sides.
Rest ye assured that ye will become illumined, spiritual and celestial,
and your services were accepted and praised at the Threshold of Oneness.
"O ye two kind and beloved maid-servants of God!..."
O ye two(244) kind and beloved maid-servants of God!
A splendour from the Supper of the Lord was cast upon the table that ye
have spread and the spiritual food descended. It was on this account that
the souls were rejoicing and happy and the spirits of those who were
present were uplifted. The soul and heart of Abdul-Baha was present and
manifest. What a happy night that was, and what a blessed feast! It became
conducive to the happiness of the people of the Supreme Concourse, and the
cause of joy and bliss to the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Abha. I beg of
God that He may assist and confirm you so that ye may bring about such
feasts.
"O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of God!..."
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of God!
Be thou thankful and grateful to the favored maid-servant ..., for she
became the cause of thy utmost joy and bliss; she delivered thee from the
narrow way of doubts and imaginations and ushered thee into the delectable
meadow of happiness and beatitude. She led thee from the inferior world to
the exalted realm of divinity; she took thee away from darkness and guided
thee to light, and while thou hast been deprived, she made thee confident
of the mysteries of the Kingdom.
I supplicate God that the coverings may be removed, the Beauty of Truth
become apparent and evident; in order that thou mayest be taught in the
wisdom of God, become a great teacher in the world of humanity and all thy
desires be attained.***
"O thou seeker of the Kingdom!..."
O thou seeker of the Kingdom!
The letter was received and I became acquainted with its contents.
The Cause of Baha'o'llah is the same as the Cause of Christ. It is the
same Temple and the same Foundation. Both of these are spiritual
springtimes and seasons of the soul-refreshing awakening and the cause of
the renovation of the life of mankind. The spring of this year is the same
as the spring of last year. The origins and ends are the same. The sun of
today is the sun of yesterday. In the coming of Christ, the divine
teachings were given in accordance with the infancy of the human race. The
teachings of Baha'o'llah have the same basic principles, but are according
to the stage of the maturity of the world and the requirements of this
illumined age.
O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Make thou an effort so that thou mayest
partake from the spiritual Supper of the Lord. At that time every
difficulty will become easy, and every trouble will be conducive to the
tranquility of the heart and soul.
I supplicate God that thy spiritual sight be opened so that thou mayest
behold the mysteries of the Kingdom and become the cause of ease,
adornment, reconciliation, faithfulness and uprightness in the human
world.
"O thou who art guided by the Light of Guidance!..."
O thou who art guided by the Light of Guidance!
The material world is gloomy. Praise be to God! thou hast been led to the
illumined realm. Darkness hath environed all the inhabitants of the globe,
but thou hast found guidance. The souls are dead; thou hast been quickened
through the Spirit of Truth. The eyes are blind; thine eyes became bright
by beholding the lights. The ears are deaf; thou hast heard the voice of
the Merciful One.
Thou must express the utmost satisfaction and thanks to Mrs. ..., for she
hath guided thee and beckoned thee to the everlasting universe. For thee
she desired perpetual glory and for thee she asked life eternal. Therefore
strive in order that in the divine vineyard thou mayest become a gardener
of Truth and live with such deeds and words that thou mayest become the
cause of the enlightenment of the world.
"O thou wooer of Truth and attracted one toward the Kingdom of God!..."
O thou wooer of Truth and attracted one toward the Kingdom of God!
Thy detailed letter was received and its reading produced the utmost joy,
for it was a glorious proof of the loftiness of thy aim and the exaltation
of thine intention. Praise be to God! that thou art the well-wisher of the
human world, art attracted to the Kingdom of Abha and art aspiring for the
advancement of the realm of humanity. I hope that, through the
instrumentality of these lofty thoughts, attractions of heart and heavenly
glad-tidings, thou mayest become so illumined that, through the mildly
beaming splendor of the love of God, thou mayest shine and gleam
throughout centuries and cycles.
Thou hast written that thou art a student in the progressive spiritual
school. Happy is thy condition! If the various progressive schools join
themselves to the universal university of the Kingdom, such knowledge and
sciences will be brought into light that man will see that the
potentialities of the "Open Tablet" of existence are infinite; will
realize that all the created things are as letters and words; will be
instructed in the lessons of the degrees of significances; will perceive
the signs of oneness in the primordial atoms of the earth; will hear the
voice of the Lord of the Kingdom; will behold the confirmations of the
Holy Spirit and will find such ecstasy and joy that, being unable to
contain himself in the vast area of existence, he will prepare himself for
the journey toward the Kingdom and will hasten to the immensity of the
Realm of Might. As soon as a bird if fledged, it cannot keep itself on the
ground; nay, rather it soareth up toward the Supreme Apex--except the birds
whose feet are tied, whose wings are clipped and feathers broken and who
are soiled with water and clay.
O thou seeker of Truth! The realm of the Kingdom is a unit. The only
difference lies in this: That when the season of spring dawneth, a new and
wonderful motion and rejuvenation is witnessed in all the existing things;
the mountains and meadows are revived; the trees find freshness and
delicacy and are clothed with radiant and bright leaves, blossoms and
fruits. In a like manner the preceding Manifestations form an inseparable
link with the subsequent dispensations; nay, rather they are identical
with each other. Since the world is constantly developing itself, the rays
become stronger, the outpouring becometh greater and the sun appeareth in
the meridian orbit.
O thou yearner after the Kingdom! Each Manifestations is the heart of the
world and the proficient Physician of every patient. The world of humanity
is sick, but that skilled Physician hath the healing remedy and He
bestoweth divine teachings, exhortations and advices which are the remedy
of every ailment and the dressing for every wound. Undoubtedly, the wise
physician discovereth the needs of the patient at every season and
prescribeth medicine. Therefore, when thou wilt compare the teachings of
the Beauty of Abha with the requisitions and necessities of the present
time, thou wilt conclude that they are to the sick body of the world the
swift healing antidote; nay, rather they are the remedy of everlasting
health. The prescription of the proficient physicians of the past and the
future will not be the same; nay, rather they will be in accord with the
ailment of the patient. Although the medicine is changed, yet all of these
are for the sole purpose of the healing of the sick. In former
dispensations the sick body of the world could not bear the strong and
overpowering remedies. That is why His Highness the Christ said: "I have
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit,
when He, the Spirit of the Comforter, who is sent by the Father, is come,
He will guide you into all truth." Therefore, in this age of lights,
specific teachings have become universal, in order that the outpouring of
the Merciful One environ both the East and the West, the oneness of the
Kingdom of humanity become visible and the luminosity of truth enlighten
the world of consciousness. The descent of the New Jerusalem is the
heavenly religion which secures the prosperity of the human world and is
the effulgence of the illumination of the realm of God. In reality
Emmanuel was the forerunner of the second coming of His Highness the
Christ and the herald of the path of the Kingdom.
This is self-evident that the letter is an organic member of the word.
This membership denotes subordination; that is, the letter draws its life
from the word and hath spiritual relationship with it and is accounted a
part of it. The apostles were the Letters and His Highness Christ the
Essence of the Word; and the significance of the Word, which is the
Everlasting Outpouring, cast a splendor upon those Letters,. Since a
Letter is a part of the Word itself, it is intrinsically identical with
the Word.
I hope that thou shalt arise to perform all that which His Highness
Emmanuel hath predicted. Know thou this of a certainty that thou shalt
become assisted. The confirmations of the Holy Spirit are descending
uninterruptedly. The power of the Word shall penetrate in such wise that
the Letter will become the reflective mirror of the Sun of the Word, and
the radiation of the lights of the Word shall illumine the whole earth.
But the heavenly Jerusalem, which is established upon the Apex of the
world and the Holy of Holies of the Almighty, which hath hoisted its
banner, comprehendeth and includeth in it all the perfections and
teachings of the former dispensations. Likewise, it is the herald of the
oneness of the world of humanity, the ensign of universal peace, the
spirit of eternal life, the lights of divine perfections, the surrounding
bestowal of the realm of existence, the adornment and grandeur of the
world of creation and the cause of the tranquility of human-kind.
Turn thy attention toward the holy Tablets. Read and reflect upon the
Tablets of Ishraghat, Tajalliat, the Words of Paradise, the Glad-tidings,
Tarazat and the Book of Akdas.(245) These divine teachings in this day are
the remedy of the ailments of the world of man and the dressing for the
wounded body of existence; they are the Spirit of Life, the Ark of
Salvation, the Magnet of the Everlasting Glory and the penetrative power
in the reality of man!
"O thou dear wise man!..."
O thou dear wise man!
They letter *** was considered. Its contents were in the utmost of beauty
and great joy was realized therefrom.
Thou hast asked "Is it possible that this new and living Cause is to take
the place of the dead religion of England when there hath been organized
certain sects who have arrived at high stations of spiritual knowledge and
to exalted degrees of merciful powers, and have become distinguished in
virtue from all predecessors; notwithstanding this, is it possible that
this new Cause will attract the attention of such people to such a degree
as to unite their hearts, and gather them under its over-shadowing
protection?"
O thou dear friend! Know thou that the Distinguished Individual of every
age is according to the virtues of that age. The Distinguished Personage
who was in the former cycle, His power and virtues were according to the
former age, but in this brilliant age and divine cycle, the Noble
Personage, the Radiant Star, the Distinguished One, will manifest with
virtues which will eventually amaze the peoples, for He is in spiritual
virtues and divine perfections loftier than all the Individuals; any,
rather He is the Source of Divine Benediction and the Center of the
Radiant Circle. He is certainly comprehensive. There is no doubt that He
will reveal Himself to such a degree as to bring all under His
over-shadowing shelter.