O ye dear friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha! A blessed letter hath been received
from you, telling of the election of a Spiritual Assembly. It hath
rejoiced my heart to know that, God be praised, the friends in that area,
with absolute unity, fellowship and love, have held this new election and
were successful in voting for souls who are sanctified, are favoured at
the Holy Threshold and are well known amongst the friends to be staunch
and firm in the Covenant.
Now must those elected representatives arise to serve with spirituality
and joy, with purity of intent, with strong attraction to the fragrances
of the Almighty, and well supported by the Holy Spirit. Let them raise up
the banner of guidance, and as soldiers of the Company on high, let them
exalt God's Word, spread abroad His sweet savours, educate the souls of
men, and promote the Most Great Peace.
Truly, blessed souls have been elected. The moment I read their names, I
felt a thrill of spiritual joy to know that, praised be God, persons have
been raised up in that country who are servants of the Kingdom, and ready
to lay down their lives for Him Who hath neither likeness nor peer.
O ye dear friends of mine! Light up this Assembly with the splendour of
God's love. Make it ring out with the joyous music of the hallowed
spheres, make it thrive on those foods that are served at the Lord's
Supper, at the heavenly banquet table of God. Come ye together in gladness
unalloyed, and at the beginning of the meeting, recite ye this prayer:
O Thou Lord of the Kingdom! Though our bodies be gathered here together,
yet our spellbound hearts are carried away by Thy love, and yet are we
transported by the rays of Thy resplendent face. Weak though we be, we
await the revelations of Thy might and power. Poor though we be, with
neither goods nor means, still take we riches from the treasures of Thy
Kingdom. Drops though we be, still do we draw from out Thy ocean deeps.
Motes though we be, still do we gleam in the glory of Thy splendid Sun.
O Thou our Provider! Send down Thine aid, that each one gathered here may
become a lighted candle, each one a centre of attraction, each one a
summoner to Thy heavenly realms, till at last we make this nether world
the mirror image of Thy Paradise.
O ye dear friends of mine! It is incumbent upon the assemblies of those
regions to be connected one with another and to correspond with one
another, and also to communicate with the assemblies of the east, thus to
become agencies for union throughout the world.
O ye spiritual friends! Such must be your constancy that should the
evil-wishers put every believer to death and only one remain, that one,
singly and alone, will withstand all the peoples of the earth, and will go
on scattering far and wide the sweet and holy fragrances of God.
Wherefore, should any fearsome news, any word of terrifying events, reach
you from the Holy Land, see to it that ye waver not, be ye not stricken by
grief, be ye not shaken. Rather, rise ye up instantly, with iron resolve,
and serve ye the Kingdom of God.
This Servant of the Lord's Threshold hath been in peril at all times. He
is in peril now. At no time have I had any hope of safety, and my dearest
wish is this: to drink of the martyr's bounteous and brim-full cup, and
die on the field of sacrifice, delighting in that wine which is the most
precious of God's gifts. This is my highest hope, this my most vehement
desire.
We hear that the Tablets of I_sh_raqat (Splendours), Tarazat (Ornaments),
Bi_sh_arat (Glad Tidings), Tajalliyyat (Effulgences), and Kalimat (Words
of Paradise) have been translated and published in those regions. In these
Tablets will ye have a model of how to be and how to live.