O thou dear handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received, and its
contents were noted.
Marriage, among the mass of the people, is a physical bond, and this union
can only be temporary, since it is foredoomed to a physical separation at
the close.
Among the people of Baha, however, marriage must be a union of the body
and of the spirit as well, for here both husband and wife are aglow with
the same wine, both are enamoured of the same matchless Face, both live
and move through the same spirit, both are illumined by the same glory.
This connection between them is a spiritual one, hence it is a bond that
will abide forever. Likewise do they enjoy strong and lasting ties in the
physical world as well, for if the marriage is based both on the spirit
and the body, that union is a true one, hence it will endure. If, however,
the bond is physical and nothing more, it is sure to be only temporary,
and must inexorably end in separation.
When, therefore, the people of Baha undertake to marry, the union must be
a true relationship, a spiritual coming together as well as a physical
one, so that throughout every phase of life, and in all the worlds of God,
their union will endure; for this real oneness is a gleaming out of the
love of God.
In the same way, when any souls grow to be true believers, they will
attain a spiritual relationship with one another, and show forth a
tenderness which is not of this world. They will, all of them, become
elated from a draught of divine love, and that union of theirs, that
connection, will also abide forever. Souls, that is, who will consign
their own selves to oblivion, strip from themselves the defects of
humankind, and unchain themselves from human bondage, will beyond any
doubt be illumined with the heavenly splendours of oneness, and will all
attain unto real union in the world that dieth not.