O ye who are steadfast in the Covenant! The pilgrim hath made mention of
each one of you, and hath asked for a separate letter addressed to each,
but this wanderer in the wilderness of God's love is withheld from
correspondence by a thousand preoccupations and concerns; and since out of
the easts and the wests of the earth there poureth a mounting flood of
letters upon him, it would be impossible to send a separate letter to each
one, wherefore this one letter is addressed to each of you, that it may,
as sealed wine, rejoice your souls and warm your hearts.
O ye steadfast loved ones! The grace of God is beating down upon mankind,
even as the rains in spring, and the rays of the manifest Light have made
this earth to be the envy of heaven. But alas, the blind are deprived of
this bounty, the heedless are closed off from it, the withered despair of
it, the faded are dying away--so that even as flooding waters, this endless
stream of grace passeth back into its primal source in a hidden sea. Only
a few receive this grace and take their share of it. Wherefore, let us put
our hopes in whatever the strong arm of the Beloved can bring about.
We trust that in a time to come the slumberers will waken, and the
heedless will be made aware, and the excluded will become initiates in the
mysteries. Now must the friends work on with heart and soul and put forth
a mighty effort, until the ramparts of dissension are toppled down and the
glories of the oneness of humanity lead all to unity.
Today the one overriding need is unity and harmony among the beloved of
the Lord, for they should have among them but one heart and soul and
should, so far as in them lieth, unitedly withstand the hostility of all
the peoples of the world; they must bring to an end the benighted
prejudices of all nations and religions and must make known to every
member of the human race that all are the leaves of one branch, the fruits
of one bough.
Until such time, however, as the friends establish perfect unity among
themselves, how can they summon others to harmony and peace?
That soul which hath itself not come alive,
Can it then hope another to revive? Reflect ye as to other than human
forms of life and be ye
admonished thereby: those clouds that drift apart cannot produce the
bounty of the rain, and are soon lost; a flock of sheep, once scattered,
falleth prey to the wolf, and birds that fly alone will be caught fast in
the claws of the hawk. What greater demonstration could there be that
unity leadeth to flourishing life, while dissension and withdrawing from
the others, will lead only to misery; for these are the sure ways to
bitter disappointment and ruin.
The holy Manifestations of God were sent down to make visible the oneness
of humanity. For this did They endure unnumbered ills and tribulations,
that a community from amongst mankind's divergent peoples could gather
within the shadow of the Word of God and live as one, and could, with
delight and grace, demonstrate on earth the unity of humankind. Therefore
must the desire of the friends be this, to bring together and unify all
peoples, that all may receive a generous drink of this pure wine from this
cup that is 'tempered at the camphor fountain.'(74) Let them make the
differing populations to be as one and induce the hostile and murderous
kindreds of the earth to love one another instead. Let them loose from
their shackles the captives of sensual desires and cause the excluded to
become intimates of the mysteries. Let them give to the bereft a share of
the blessings of these days; let them guide the portionless to
inexhaustible treasure. This grace can come about through words and ways
and deeds that are of the Unseen Kingdom but, lacking such, it can never
be.
The confirmations of God are the surety for these blessings; the sacred
bounty of God bestoweth these great gifts. The friends of God are
supported by the Kingdom on high and they win their victories through the
massed armies of the most great guidance. Thus for them every difficulty
will be made smooth, every problem will most easily be solved.
Note ye how easily, where unity existeth in a given family, the affairs of
that family are conducted; what progress the members of that family make,
how they prosper in the world. Their concerns are in order, they enjoy
comfort and tranquillity, they are secure, their position is assured, they
come to be envied by all. Such a family but addeth to its stature and its
lasting honour, as day succeedeth day. And if we widen out the sphere of
unity a little to include the inhabitants of a village who seek to be
loving and united, who associate with and are kind to one another, what
great advances they will be seen to make, how secure and protected they
will be. Then let us widen out the sphere a little more, let us take the
inhabitants of a city, all of them together: if they establish the
strongest bonds of unity among themselves, how far they will progress,
even in a brief period and what power they will exert. And if the sphere
of unity be still further widened out, that is, if the inhabitants of a
whole country develop peaceable hearts, and if with all their hearts and
souls they yearn to cooperate with one another and to live in unity, and
if they become kind and loving to one another, that country will achieve
undying joy and lasting glory. Peace will it have, and plenty, and vast
wealth.
Note then: if every clan, tribe, community, every nation, country,
territory on earth should come together under the single-hued pavilion of
the oneness of mankind, and by the dazzling rays of the Sun of Truth
should proclaim the universality of man; if they should cause all nations
and all creeds to open wide their arms to one another, establish a World
Council, and proceed to bind the members of society one to another by
strong mutual ties, what would happen then? There is no doubt whatsoever
that the divine Beloved, in all His endearing beauty, and with Him a
massive host of heavenly confirmations and human blessings and bestowals,
would appear in His full glory before the assemblage of the world.
Wherefore, O ye beloved of the Lord, bestir yourselves, do all in your
power to be as one, to live in peace, each with the others: for ye are all
the drops from but one ocean, the foliage of one tree, the pearls from a
single shell, the flowers and sweet herbs from the same one garden. And
achieving that, strive ye to unite the hearts of those who follow other
faiths.
For one another must ye give up even life itself. To every human being
must ye be infinitely kind. Call none a stranger; think none to be your
foe. Be ye as if all men were your close kin and honoured friends. Walk ye
in such wise that this fleeting world will change into a splendour and
this dismal heap of dust become a palace of delights. Such is the counsel
of 'Abdu'l-Baha, this hapless servant.