O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole
earth, and to spiritualize the community of man. Laudable are the results
and the fruits thereof, abundant the holy evidences deriving from this
grace. This is mercy unalloyed and purest bounty; it is light for the
world and all its peoples; it is harmony and fellowship, and love and
solidarity; indeed it is compassion and unity, and the end of foreignness;
it is the being at one, in complete dignity and freedom, with all on
earth.
The Blessed Beauty saith: 'Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the leaves
of one branch.' Thus hath He likened this world of being to a single tree,
and all its peoples to the leaves thereof, and the blossoms and fruits. It
is needful for the bough to blossom, and leaf and fruit to flourish, and
upon the interconnection of all parts of the world-tree, dependeth the
flourishing of leaf and blossom, and the sweetness of the fruit.
For this reason must all human beings powerfully sustain one another and
seek for everlasting life; and for this reason must the lovers of God in
this contingent world become the mercies and the blessings sent forth by
that clement King of the seen and unseen realms. Let them purify their
sight and behold all humankind as leaves and blossoms and fruits of the
tree of being. Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a
kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love,
consideration, thoughtful help. Let them see no one as their enemy, or as
wishing them ill, but think of all humankind as their friends; regarding
the alien as an intimate, the stranger as a companion, staying free of
prejudice, drawing no lines.
In this day, the one favoured at the Threshold of the Lord is he who
handeth round the cup of faithfulness; who bestoweth, even upon his
enemies, the jewel of bounty, and lendeth, even to his fallen oppressor, a
helping hand; it is he who will, even to the fiercest of his foes, be a
loving friend. These are the Teachings of the Blessed Beauty, these the
counsels of the Most Great Name.
O ye dear friends! The world is at war and the human race is in travail
and mortal combat. The dark night of hate hath taken over, and the light
of good faith is blotted out. The peoples and kindreds of the earth have
sharpened their claws, and are hurling themselves one against the other.
It is the very foundation of the human race that is being destroyed. It is
thousands of households that are vagrant and dispossessed, and every year
seeth thousands upon thousands of human beings weltering in their
life-blood on dusty battlefields. The tents of life and joy are down. The
generals practise their generalship, boasting of the blood they shed,
competing one with the next in inciting to violence. 'With this sword,'
saith one of them, 'I beheaded a people!' And another: 'I toppled a nation
to the ground!' And yet another: 'I brought a government down!' On such
things do men pride themselves, in such do they glory!
Love--righteousness--these are everywhere censured, while despised are
harmony, and devotion to the truth.
The Faith of the Blessed Beauty is summoning mankind to safety and love,
to amity and peace; it hath raised up its tabernacle on the heights of the
earth, and directeth its call to all nations. Wherefore, O ye who are
God's lovers, know ye the value of this precious Faith, obey its
teachings, walk in this road that is drawn straight, and show ye this way
to the people. Lift up your voices and sing out the song of the Kingdom.
Spread far and wide the precepts and counsels of the loving Lord, so that
this world will change into another world, and this darksome earth will be
flooded with light, and the dead body of mankind will arise and live; so
that every soul will ask for immortality, through the holy breaths of God.
Soon will your swiftly-passing days be over, and the fame and riches, the
comforts, the joys provided by this rubbish-heap, the world, will be gone
without a trace. Summon ye, then, the people to God, and invite humanity
to follow the example of the Company on high. Be ye loving fathers to the
orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a
cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the
patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some
service to every member of the human race. Pay ye no heed to aversion and
rejection, to disdain, hostility, injustice: act ye in the opposite way.
Be ye sincerely kind, not in appearance only. Let each one of God's loved
ones centre his attention on this: to be the Lord's mercy to man; to be
the Lord's grace. Let him do some good to every person whose path he
crosseth, and be of some benefit to him. Let him improve the character of
each and all, and reorient the minds of men. In this way, the light of
divine guidance will shine forth, and the blessings of God will cradle all
mankind: for love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate
is darkness, no matter where it may make its nest. O friends of God! That
the hidden Mystery may stand revealed, and the secret essence of all
things may be disclosed, strive ye to banish that darkness for ever and
ever.