***O ye real friends of Abdul-Baha!
From the gathering of those illuminated faces and flowers of the rose-garden (of G.o.d) in Camp Mineola(195) utmost joy and fragrance (to me) was the result.
I hope that a.s.sembly, like sparkling stars, may shed the lights of love and unison upon the human world, and become the cause of the happiness and joy of the inhabitants of the earth; that they may become like unto clear mirrors reflecting (the rays) of the Sun of Truth, and give the glad-tidings of the manifestation of the Lord of the Kingdom.
I ask the blessings of G.o.d that year after year He may add souls to that a.s.sembly, and in future it may become doubled an hundred-fold.
How blessed it is that this a.s.sembly may become firmly established, and it is sure that the heavenly confirmations will pour down!
"O ye beloved friends of Abdul-Baha!..."
O ye(196) beloved friends of Abdul-Baha!
The detailed letter which you have written was received and it was read with the greatest attention. From the rose-garden of its significances a perfumed fragrance reached the nostrils and from its suggestions and statements traces of sincerity of intention became manifest.
Praise be to G.o.d!-that each one of that a.s.sembly is like unto a shining lamp, is ignited by the fire of the love of G.o.d, hath closed his eyes to the world and the inhabitants thereof, hath burned away the veils of superst.i.tions and hath acquired the treasury of Truth. I have loosened my tongue to thank G.o.d for this gift at the Threshold of Oneness and praised and glorified the Incomparable G.o.d for His bounty, because He a.s.sisted those souls in the service of the Kingdom, and established such an a.s.sembly in New York that it will finally become a cause of the guidance of that continent.
You have written that there is a difference among the believers concerning the "Second Coming of Christ." Praise be to G.o.d!-time and again this question hath arisen and its answer hath emanated in a clear and irrefutable text from the pen of Abdul-Baha that what is meant in the prophecies by the "Lord of Hosts," the "Promised Christ" is the Blessed Perfection (Baha"o"llah) and His Highness the Supreme (the Bab). The faith of everyone must resolve around this palpable and evident text.
My name is Abdul-Baha, my ident.i.ty is Abdul-Baha, my qualification is Abdul-Baha, my reality is Abdul-Baha, my praise is Abdul-Baha. Thraldom to the Blessed Perfection is my glorious and refulgent diadem; and servitude to all the human race is my perpetual religion. Through the bounty and favor of the Blessed Perfection, Abdul-Baha is the Ensign of the Most-Great-Peace, which is waving from the Supreme Apex; and through the gift of the Greatest name, he is the Lamp of Universal Salvation, which is shining with the light of the love of G.o.d. The Herald of the Kingdom is he, so that he may awaken the people of the East and of the West. The Voice of Friendship, Uprightness, Truth and Reconciliation is he, so as to cause acceleration throughout all regions. No name, no t.i.tle, no mention, no commendation hath he nor will ever have except Abdul-Baha. This is my longing. This is my supreme apex. This is my greatest yearning. This is my eternal life. This is my everlasting glory! Express ye the same thing which is issued from my pen. This is the duty of all. Consequently the friends of G.o.d must a.s.sist and help Abdul-Baha in the adoration of the True One; in the servitude to the human race; in the well-being of the human world and in divine love and kindness.
O ye friends of G.o.d! Through the Appearance of the Blessed Perfection the theories are abrogated and the facts are established. The time of superficiality is gone by and the cycle of reality hath appeared. One must become the incarnation of Servitude, the personification of Love, the embodiment of Spirituality and the mirror of Mercy.
The believers must become the cause of life; deliver the people from heedlessness, call the souls to the perfection of humanity, beckon nations to unity and agreement, destroy the foundations of foreignness, make everyone as friends and a.s.sociates, treat the negligent souls as their own children, and train and educate them with the utmost love-so that the ignorant become wise, the blind become endowed with sight, and the deaf be given hearing.
O ye friends of G.o.d! Beware! Beware of differences! By differences the Temple of G.o.d is razed to its very foundation, and by the blowing of the winds of disagreement the Blessed Tree is prevented from producing any fruit. By the intense cold of the diversity of opinions the rose-garden of Unity is withered, and the fire of the love of G.o.d is extinguished!
O ye friends of G.o.d! Abdul-Baha is the Manifestation of Thraldom and not "Christ." The servant of the human realm is he, and not a "chief."
Nonexistent is he and not "Existent." Pure nothingness is he and not "Eternal(197) ."
There is no outcome or result to these discussions. We must put aside these disputes and controversies, nay, rather must we consign them to utter oblivion and arise to do that which is indispensable and which is demanded of us in this Day. Controversies are words and not significances, theories and not realities.
The quintessence of Truth is this: We must all become united and harmonized in order to illumine this gloomy world, to abolish the foundations of hostility and animosity from among mankind, to perfume the inhabitants of the universe with the holy fragrances of the nature and disposition of the Beauty of Abha, to enlighten the people of the East and West with the light of guidance, to hoist the tent of the love of G.o.d and suffer each and all to enter under its protection, to bestow comfort and tranquillity to every one under the shade of the Divine Tree, to astonish the enemy by the manifestation of the utmost love, to make the ravenous and bloodthirsty wolves to be gazelles of the meadow of the love of G.o.d; to administer the taste of non-resistance to the tyrant, to teach long-suffering and resignation of the martyrs to the murderer, to spread the traces of Oneness, to chant the praises and glorification of the Glorious Lord, to raise the voice of "Ya Baha El-Abha!" to the Supreme Apex and to reach the ears of the inhabitants of the Kingdom with the outcry-"Verily the earth is illumined by the lights of its Lord!" This is reality! This is guidance! This is service! This is the consummation of the perfection of the realm of humanity!
O ye believers of G.o.d! Each person must summon the people to the Servitude of Abdul-Baha and not the Christhood; and no soul must either publicly or privately utter one word against or in contradiction to the general Teachings, and no one must believe that Abdul-Baha is the "Second Coming of Christ", nay, rather he must believe that he is the Manifestation of Servitude, the Main-spring of the Unity of the human world, the Herald of the True One with spiritual power throughout all regions, the Commentator of the Book according to the divine text, and the Ransom to each one of the believers of G.o.d in the transitory world.
Print ye this Tablet and spread it throughout all countries.
"O ye who are turned towards the Kingdom and drawn..."
O ye(198) who are turned towards the Kingdom and drawn unto the Holy Fragrances diffused from the Garden of El-Abha!
Arise with every power to a.s.sist the Covenant of G.o.d and serve in His vineyard. Be confident that a confirmation will be granted unto you and a success on His part given unto you. Verily He shall support you by the angels of His Holiness and reinforce you with the breaths of the Spirit that ye may mount the Ark of Safety, set forth the evident signs, impart the spirit of life, declare the essence of His commands and precepts, guide the sheep who are straying from the fold in all directions, use every effort in your power to give the blessings ye have and strive earnestly and wisely in this new century. By G.o.d, verily the Lord of Hosts is your support, the angels of heaven your a.s.sistance, the Holy Spirit your companion and the Center of the Covenant your helper! Be not idle, but active and fear not. Look unto those who have been in the former ages-how they have resisted all nations and suffered persecutions and afflictions, and how their stars shone and their attacks proved successful, their teachings established, their regions expanded, their hearts gladdened, their ideas cleared and their motives effective. Ye are now in a great station and n.o.ble rank and ye shall find yourselves in evident success and prosperity, the like of which the eye of existence hath never seen in former ages.
El-Baha and salutations be upon every one who is firm in the Covenant, free from dissension, sanctified from deceits and steadfast in the Path!
"O ye elect and chosen ones of the Kingdom!..."
O ye(199) elect and chosen ones of the Kingdom!
Thank G.o.d that the Greatest Name selected and elected that gathering, ushered it into the Kingdom of Eternal Glory, honored and crowned it amid the Supreme Concourse.
He placed upon each head a glorious diadem of guidance and established each one upon the throne of eternal reign. This is not known now but shall become evident and clear hereafter.
The seed when growing, at first doth not attract attention, but later it becometh green and thriveth, adorning the rose-garden and the orchard.
Now, likewise, this divine bounty is unknown, it is not yet revealed, but soon will its splendor illumine the horizons and brighten the East and the West.
Send Mr. ........ to India for the purpose of teaching. He must have a companion. If this be not possible from among the men, send one of the maid-servants of the Merciful.
As to the ordeals of Abdul-Baha, his trials and calamities, grieve not on that account, but rather be in perfect happiness and joy, for-praise be to G.o.d!-he was worthy and deserved these trials in the Path of Baha".
Through the news of the progress of the Cause of G.o.d, and the unity and agreement of the beloved of G.o.d, great joy was realized, and to such an extent that I forgot all sorrow and all ills. ***
"O ye sons of the Kingdom!..."
O ye(200) sons of the Kingdom!
At a time when conditions were most difficult and oppressive and the reception or letters hard and impracticable, your letter was received.
Therefore, its reception denoteth that the honorable a.s.sembly is confirmed. I hope from the bounties of His Highness the Incomparable One that under all circ.u.mstances and conditions ye may become a.s.sisted in the service of the Kingdom of G.o.d.
Ye have written regarding the erection of the Temple and the purchase of the ground, or the finding of a place to be as a home for the gathering of the believers. At this moment that Abdul-Baha is immersed in the ocean of calamities, this news caused him joy and happiness, that-praise be to G.o.d!-the friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful are thinking to serve the Kingdom of G.o.d.
O ye sanctified souls! It is the time of firmness and steadfastness and the period of arising in the service of the Word of G.o.d, for the Blessed City(201) is environed from all directions with the tempestuous waves of tests and trials and the sweeping hurricanes of persecutions and hardships are blowing and roaring high. The joy and happiness of the heart of Abdul-Baha depends upon the stability and constancy of the believers. For they must live and act in accord with the divine advices and exhortations and show forth to each other the power of the perfection of love with infinite accord and unity, so that they may become the embodiment of one existence, the waves of ones sea, the myrtles of one rose-garden, the rays of one sun, the stars of one horizon, the fruits of one tree and the birds of one meadow.
Likewise, they must treat with and behave toward all the governments, nations, communities, kings and subjects with the utmost sincerity, trustworthiness, straightforwardness, love and kindness. Even they must make hopeful a bloodthirsty enemy, show sympathy with the utmost faithfulness and honor to the perfidious unjust, know the ill-wisher as the well-wisher and torment not the sinner with reproaches. Should they become the targets of a thousand arrows of persecution, they must challenge it with love and friendship and treat every one with purity of purpose and kindness.
O ye friends of G.o.d! Show ye an endeavor that all the nations and communities of the world, even the enemies, put their trust, a.s.surance and hope in you; that if a person falls into errors for a hundred-thousand times he may yet turn his face to you, hopeful that you will forgive his sins; for he must not become hopeless, neither grieved nor despondent.
This is the conduct and the manner of the people of Baha". This is the foundation of the most high pathway! Ye should conform your conduct and manners with the advices of Abdul-Baha.
Concerning the erection of the Temple: Now all the believers must become united, so that the Temple may be built soon in one place. For should (the believers) undertake (the erection of the Temple) in many places, it will not become completed anywhere; and as in Chicago they have preceded every other place to plan the erection of the Temple, undoubtedly to cooperate and help them is n.o.bler and a necessity. Then, when it is built in one place, it will become erected in many other places. If, for the present, you prepare or establish a home in New York, though by renting it, to become a center for the gathering of the believers of G.o.d, it is very acceptable. G.o.d willing, in all the states of America in the future there will be erected Temples with infinite architectural beauty, art, with pleasing proportion and handsome and attractive appearances; especially in New York. But for the present, be ye satisfied with a rented place.
The utmost happiness was produced by hearing the news of unity and agreement among the believers in New York; for the foundation of progress is union and when this object is attained, the Cause will develop.