Show thou forth love and kindness on my behalf toward thy dear husband and convey to him longing greeting. I supplicate from G.o.d in his behalf, and invoke a.s.sistance and confirmation for you both.
"O ye friends of Abdul-Baha!..."
O ye(242) friends of Abdul-Baha!
His honor Mr. ... wrote a letter and in that letter he mentioned your names, asking divine favor on your behalf. While reading your names I opened my tongue in thanksgiving in the Threshold of Oneness, that he hath granted such favor and bestowed such providence. He guided the souls and pointed out to them the entrance to the Kingdom. Such confirmation deserveth thanks and praise, and such guidance is the most great bounty of His Highness the One.
Likewise, you must be engaged day and night, with all your soul and heart, in thanksgiving and the glorification of His Highness the Desired One who hath created you in such a glorious period, made you the manifestors of guidance in the Day of the Lord, imparted to you the insight and enkindled your souls and spirits with the fire of love. Today the grandeur, the majesty, the splendor and the magnitude of this station is not clear and manifest because it is the time of seed-sowing and the beginning of the planting of trees in the orchard of the Merciful One. When that seed is grown and the tree reacheth the time of its fruition, then many harvests shall be gathered and all regions and kingdoms shall be adorned with its blossoms and fruits.
Ere long the Adored One of this providence will become the Beloved of the a.s.semblages of the world and the rays of the Sun of Truth will illumine every house, every place and corner. At that time the greatness and superiority of the friends of G.o.d will become evident and demonstrated.
Consider ye! In the day of His Highness Christ, the grandeur and majesty of their Holiness the Apostles, was not known. After three-hundred years the loftiness of the station and the exaltation of their attainment became manifest. Ere long the result of the deeds in this cycle of Baha"o"llah will appear and every one of the friends and the maid-servants will be crowned with a diadem whose splendid gems will radiate brilliancy and effulgence throughout cycles and ages.
Therefore, O ye servants of G.o.d and the maid-servants of the Merciful One, do ye not rest for one moment! Do ye not seek any composure! Do ye not wish for any rest and ease! Endeavor and make ye an effort with all your heart and soul to spread the fragrances of Paradise, to raise the eternal melody of the Kingdom of Abha, to establish the gathering of fellowship, to become a.s.sisted with the confirmations of the Holy Spirit; to clothe the temple of existence with a new garment; to bestow eternal life upon the reality of souls; to become a cause of the civilization of the human world; to characterize the bloodthirsty animals with the heavenly attributes and divine commemorations; to pacify the world with peace and salvation, and to adorn man with the favors of His Highness the Merciful One; that perchance ignorance, animosity and strangeness may be removed entirely from among the denizens of the world, and the Banner of Reconciliation, Freedom, n.o.bleness and Oneness be hoisted; for the chains of existence contain countless links, each connected with the other. This connection is the cause of the appearance of the invisible powers in the world of the visible.
O ye real friends! Make ye an effort that this universe may become another universe and this darkened world find a ray of the Sun of Truth and become luminous and refulgent.
I entreat G.o.d that this favor may be realized and this unending outpouring become manifest and apparent, and the friends of G.o.d be confirmed by every bounty.
"O ye blessed souls!..."
O ye(243) blessed souls!
On the night of the feast ye entertained the beloved and were occupied in the service of the friends of G.o.d and the maid-servants of the Merciful One. Service to the sons and the daughters of the Kingdom is the diadem of everlasting glory with which ye have crowned your heads, the garment of eternal sovereignty with which ye have adorned your bodies, and the throne of majesty and grandeur of heaven upon which ye sat. Abdul-Baha found the utmost rejoicing from that feast and he was a host in his heart and soul, praying and entreating at the Threshold of Oneness that the breaths of the Holy Spirit waft, the angels of mercy descend and the confirmations of the Kingdom of Abha surround you upon all sides.
Rest ye a.s.sured that ye will become illumined, spiritual and celestial, and your services were accepted and praised at the Threshold of Oneness.
"O ye two kind and beloved maid-servants of G.o.d!..."
O ye two(244) kind and beloved maid-servants of G.o.d!
A splendour from the Supper of the Lord was cast upon the table that ye have spread and the spiritual food descended. It was on this account that the souls were rejoicing and happy and the spirits of those who were present were uplifted. The soul and heart of Abdul-Baha was present and manifest. What a happy night that was, and what a blessed feast! It became conducive to the happiness of the people of the Supreme Concourse, and the cause of joy and bliss to the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Abha. I beg of G.o.d that He may a.s.sist and confirm you so that ye may bring about such feasts.
"O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of G.o.d!..."
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of G.o.d!
Be thou thankful and grateful to the favored maid-servant ..., for she became the cause of thy utmost joy and bliss; she delivered thee from the narrow way of doubts and imaginations and ushered thee into the delectable meadow of happiness and beat.i.tude. She led thee from the inferior world to the exalted realm of divinity; she took thee away from darkness and guided thee to light, and while thou hast been deprived, she made thee confident of the mysteries of the Kingdom.
I supplicate G.o.d that the coverings may be removed, the Beauty of Truth become apparent and evident; in order that thou mayest be taught in the wisdom of G.o.d, become a great teacher in the world of humanity and all thy desires be attained.***
"O thou seeker of the Kingdom!..."
O thou seeker of the Kingdom!
The letter was received and I became acquainted with its contents.
The Cause of Baha"o"llah is the same as the Cause of Christ. It is the same Temple and the same Foundation. Both of these are spiritual springtimes and seasons of the soul-refreshing awakening and the cause of the renovation of the life of mankind. The spring of this year is the same as the spring of last year. The origins and ends are the same. The sun of today is the sun of yesterday. In the coming of Christ, the divine teachings were given in accordance with the infancy of the human race. The teachings of Baha"o"llah have the same basic principles, but are according to the stage of the maturity of the world and the requirements of this illumined age.
O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Make thou an effort so that thou mayest partake from the spiritual Supper of the Lord. At that time every difficulty will become easy, and every trouble will be conducive to the tranquility of the heart and soul.
I supplicate G.o.d that thy spiritual sight be opened so that thou mayest behold the mysteries of the Kingdom and become the cause of ease, adornment, reconciliation, faithfulness and uprightness in the human world.
"O thou who art guided by the Light of Guidance!..."
O thou who art guided by the Light of Guidance!
The material world is gloomy. Praise be to G.o.d! thou hast been led to the illumined realm. Darkness hath environed all the inhabitants of the globe, but thou hast found guidance. The souls are dead; thou hast been quickened through the Spirit of Truth. The eyes are blind; thine eyes became bright by beholding the lights. The ears are deaf; thou hast heard the voice of the Merciful One.
Thou must express the utmost satisfaction and thanks to Mrs. ..., for she hath guided thee and beckoned thee to the everlasting universe. For thee she desired perpetual glory and for thee she asked life eternal. Therefore strive in order that in the divine vineyard thou mayest become a gardener of Truth and live with such deeds and words that thou mayest become the cause of the enlightenment of the world.
"O thou wooer of Truth and attracted one toward the Kingdom of G.o.d!..."
O thou wooer of Truth and attracted one toward the Kingdom of G.o.d!
Thy detailed letter was received and its reading produced the utmost joy, for it was a glorious proof of the loftiness of thy aim and the exaltation of thine intention. Praise be to G.o.d! that thou art the well-wisher of the human world, art attracted to the Kingdom of Abha and art aspiring for the advancement of the realm of humanity. I hope that, through the instrumentality of these lofty thoughts, attractions of heart and heavenly glad-tidings, thou mayest become so illumined that, through the mildly beaming splendor of the love of G.o.d, thou mayest shine and gleam throughout centuries and cycles.
Thou hast written that thou art a student in the progressive spiritual school. Happy is thy condition! If the various progressive schools join themselves to the universal university of the Kingdom, such knowledge and sciences will be brought into light that man will see that the potentialities of the "Open Tablet" of existence are infinite; will realize that all the created things are as letters and words; will be instructed in the lessons of the degrees of significances; will perceive the signs of oneness in the primordial atoms of the earth; will hear the voice of the Lord of the Kingdom; will behold the confirmations of the Holy Spirit and will find such ecstasy and joy that, being unable to contain himself in the vast area of existence, he will prepare himself for the journey toward the Kingdom and will hasten to the immensity of the Realm of Might. As soon as a bird if fledged, it cannot keep itself on the ground; nay, rather it soareth up toward the Supreme Apex-except the birds whose feet are tied, whose wings are clipped and feathers broken and who are soiled with water and clay.
O thou seeker of Truth! The realm of the Kingdom is a unit. The only difference lies in this: That when the season of spring dawneth, a new and wonderful motion and rejuvenation is witnessed in all the existing things; the mountains and meadows are revived; the trees find freshness and delicacy and are clothed with radiant and bright leaves, blossoms and fruits. In a like manner the preceding Manifestations form an inseparable link with the subsequent dispensations; nay, rather they are identical with each other. Since the world is constantly developing itself, the rays become stronger, the outpouring becometh greater and the sun appeareth in the meridian orbit.