O ye apostles of Baha'u'llah,--May my life be a ransom to you!
The blessed Person of the Promised One is interpreted in the Holy Book as
the Lord of Hosts, i.e., the heavenly armies. By heavenly armies those
souls are intended who are entirely freed from the human world,
transformed into celestial spirits and have become divine angels. Such
souls are the rays of the Sun of Reality who will illumine all the
continents. Each one is holding in his hand a trumpet, blowing the breath
of life over all the regions. They are delivered from human qualities and
the defects of the world of nature, are characterized with the
characteristics of God, and are attracted with the fragrances of the
Merciful. Like unto the apostles of Christ, who were filled with Him,
these souls also have become filled with His Holiness Baha'u'llah, i.e.,
the love of Baha'u'llah has so mastered every organ, part and limb of
their bodies, as to leave no effect by the promptings of the human world.
These souls are the armies of God and the conquerors of the East and the
West. Should one of them turn his face toward some direction and summon
the people to the Kingdom of God, all the ideal forces and lordly
confirmations will rush to his support and reinforcement. He will behold
all the doors open and all the strong fortifications and impregnable
castles razed to the ground. Singly and alone he will attack the armies of
the world, defeat the right and left wings of the hosts of all the
countries, break through the lines of the legions of all the nations and
carry his attack to the very center of the powers of the earth. This is
the meaning of the Hosts of God.
Any soul from among the believers of Baha'u'llah who attains to this
station, will become known as the Apostle of Baha'u'llah. Therefore strive
ye with heart and soul--so that ye may reach this lofty and exalted
position, be established on the throne of everlasting glory, and crown
your heads with the shining diadem of the Kingdom, whose brilliant jewels
may irradiate upon centuries and cycles.
O ye kind friends! Uplift your magnanimity and soar high toward the apex
of heaven--so that your blessed hearts may become illumined more and more,
day by day, through the Rays of the Sun of Reality, i.e., His Holiness
Baha'u'llah; at every moment the spirits may obtain a new life, and the
darkness of the world of nature may be entirely dispelled--thus ye may
become incarnate light and personified spirit, become entirely unaware of
the sordid matters of this world and in touch with the affairs of the
divine world.
Consider ye what doors His Holiness Baha'u'llah has opened before you, and
what a high and exalted station He has destined for you, and what bounties
He has prepared for you! Should we become intoxicated with this cup, the
sovereignty of this globe of earth will become lower in our estimation
than the children's plays. Should they place in the arena the crown of the
government of the whole world, and invite each one of us to accept it,
undoubtedly we shall not condescend, and shall refuse to accept it.
To attain to this supreme station is, however, dependent on the
realization of certain conditions.
The first condition is firmness in the Covenant of God. For the power of
the Covenant will protect the Cause of Baha'u'llah from the doubts of the
people of error. It is the fortified fortress of the Cause of God and the
firm pillar of the religion of God. Today no power can conserve the
oneness of the Baha'i world save the Covenant of God; otherwise
differences like unto a most great tempest will encompass the Baha'i
world. It is evident that the axis of the oneness of the world of humanity
is the power of the Covenant and nothing else. Had the Covenant not come
to pass, had it not been revealed from the Supreme Pen and had not the
Book of the Covenant, like unto the ray of the Sun of Reality, illuminated
the world, the forces of the Cause of God would have been utterly
scattered and certain souls who were the prisoners of their own passions
and lusts would have taken into their hands an axe, cutting the root of
this Blessed Tree. Every person would have pushed forward his own desire
and every individual aired his own opinion! Notwithstanding this great
Covenant, a few negligent souls galloped with their chargers into the
battlefield, thinking perchance they might be able to weaken the
foundation of the Cause of God: but praise be to God, all of them were
afflicted with regret and loss, and ere long they shall see themselves in
poignant despair. Therefore, in the beginning one must make his steps firm
in the Covenant--so that the confirmations of Baha'u'llah may encircle from
all sides, the cohorts of the Supreme Concourse may become the supporters
and the helpers, and the exhortations and advices of 'Abdu'l-Baha, like
unto the pictures engraved on stone, may remain permanent and ineffaceable
in the tablets of the hearts.
The second condition: Fellowship and love amongst the believers. The
divine friends must be attracted to and enamored of each other and ever be
ready and willing to sacrifice their own lives for each other. Should one
soul from amongst the believers meet another, it must be as though a
thirsty one with parched lips has reached to the fountain of the water of
life, or a lover has met his true beloved. For one of the greatest divine
wisdoms regarding the appearance of the Holy Manifestations is this: The
souls may come to know each other and become intimate with each other; the
power of the love of God may make all of them the waves of one sea, the
flowers of one rose garden and the stars of one heaven. This is the wisdom
for the appearance of the Holy Manifestations! When the most great
bestowal reveals itself in the hearts of the believers, the world of
nature will be transformed, the darkness of the contingent being will
vanish, and heavenly illumination will be obtained. Then the whole world
will become the Paradise of Abha, every one of the believers of God will
become a blessed tree, producing wonderful fruits.
O ye friends! Fellowship, fellowship! Love, love! Unity, unity! --So that
the power of the Baha'i Cause may appear and become manifest in the world
of existence. Just at this moment I am engaged in your commemoration and
this heart is in the utmost glow and excitement! Were ye to realize how
this conscience is attracted with the love of the friends, unquestionably
ye would obtain such a degree of joy and fragrance that ye would all
become enamored with each other!
The third condition: Teachers must continually travel to all parts of the
continent, nay, rather, to all parts of the world, but they must travel
like 'Abdu'l-Baha, who journeyed throughout the cities of America. He was
sanctified and free from every attachment and in the utmost severance.
Just as His Holiness Christ says: "Shake off the very dust from your
feet."
Ye have observed that while in America many souls in the utmost of
supplication and entreaty desired to offer some gifts, but this servant,
in accord with the exhortations and behests of the Blessed Perfection,
never accepted a thing, although on certain occasions we were in most
straitened circumstances. But on the other hand, if a soul for the sake of
God, voluntarily and out of his pure desire, wishes to offer a
contribution (toward the expenses of a teacher) in order to make the
contributor happy, the teacher may accept a small sum, but must live with
utmost contentment.
The aim is this: The intention of the teacher must be pure, his heart
independent, his spirit attracted, his thought at peace, his resolution
firm, his magnanimity exalted and in the love of God a shining torch.
Should he become as such, his sanctified breath will even affect the rock;
otherwise there will be no result whatsoever. As long as a soul is not
perfected, how can he efface the defects of others! Unless he is detached
from aught else save God, how can he teach the severance to others!
In short, O ye believers of God! Endeavor ye; so that ye may take hold of
every means in the promulgation of the religion of God and the diffusion
of the fragrances of God.
Amongst other things is the holding of the meetings for teaching--so that
blessed souls and the old ones from amongst the believers may gather
together the youths of the love of God in schools of instruction and teach
them all the divine proofs and irrefragable arguments, explain and
elucidate the history of the Cause, and interpret also the prophecies and
proofs which are recorded and are extant in the divine Books and Epistles
regarding the Manifestation of the Promised One, so that the young ones
may go in perfect knowledge in all these degrees.
Likewise, whenever it is possible a committee must be organized for the
translation of the Tablets. Wise souls who have mastered and studied
perfectly the Iranian, Arabic and foreign languages, or know one of the
foreign languages--must commence translating Tablets and books containing
the proofs of this Revelation, and publishing those books, circulate them
throughout the five continents of the globe.
Similarly, the Magazine, the Star of the West must be edited in the utmost
regularity, but its contents must be the promulgator of the Cause of
God--so that both in the East and the West, they may become informed of the
most important events.
In short, in all the meetings, whether public or private, nothing should
be discussed save that which is under consideration, and all the articles
be centered around the Cause of God. Promiscuous talks must not be dragged
in and contention is absolutely forbidden.
The teachers traveling in different directions must know the language of
the country in which they will enter. For example, a person being
proficient in the Japanese language may travel in Japan, or a person
knowing the Chinese language may hasten to China, and so forth.
In short, after this universal war, the people have obtained extraordinary
capacity to hearken to the divine teachings, for the wisdom of this war is
this: That it may become proven to all that the fire of war is
world-consuming, whereas the rays of peace are world-enlightening. One is
death, the other is life; this is extinction, that is immortality; one is
the most great calamity, the other is the most great bounty; this is
darkness, that is light; this is eternal humiliation and that is
everlasting glory; one is the destroyer of the foundation of man, the
other is the founder of the prosperity of the human race.
Consequently, a number of souls may arise and act in accordance with the
aforesaid conditions, and hasten to all parts of the world, especially
from America to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, and travel through
Japan and China. Likewise, from Germany teachers and believers may travel
to the continents of America, Africa, Japan and China; in brief, they may
travel through all the continents and islands of the globe. Thus in a
short space of time, most wonderful results will be produced, the banner
of Universal Peace will be waving on the apex of the world and the lights
of the oneness of the world of humanity may illumine the universe.
In brief, O ye believers of God! The text of the Divine Book is this: If
two souls quarrel and contend about a question of the Divine questions,
differing and disputing, both are wrong. The wisdom of this
incontrovertible law of God is this: That between two souls from amongst
the believers of God, no contention and dispute might arise; that they may
speak with each other with infinite amity and love. Should there appear
the least trace of controversy, they must remain silent, and both parties
must continue their discussions no longer, but ask the reality of the
question from the Interpreter. This is the irrefutable command!