O thou who art marching onward to G.o.d!
I have read thy beautiful letter which contained delicate meanings, and I am made glad by its contents which expressed spiritual feelings. I have prayed to G.o.d to send down upon thee a blessing from the Kingdom of Heaven and thus make thy heart beat with joy in the love of G.o.d, and make thee meek and humble before the good maid-servants of G.o.d, and pure and holy in His Kingdom.***
"O thou who art submissive and humble before the..."
O thou who art submissive and humble before the Holy Threshold!
Know thou, verily, submissiveness is the good quality of the maid-servants of G.o.d, and humility is the character of the G.o.d-fearing leaves(51) who have sprung forth from the Tree of Mercifulness.
Thou oughtest to be characterized with these, that thou mayest be an example for the maid-servants of the Merciful and a leader of the leaves who are moved by the winds of the love of G.o.d. Abandon the concerns of mankind and be naturalized with the attributes of the angels of the Supreme Concourse, because these angels humble themselves to the lowest thing of the things despite their honor, glory, the loftiness of station and the greatness of their might. This is seemly to the unitarian women and an honor for those women who are surely believing in G.o.d! This is the consolation of the heart of the G.o.d-fearing women, and this is a tranquility to the soul of those women who are attracted to the fragrances of the Lord of Signs!
"O thou whose heart is soaring in the sky of the love of..."
O thou whose heart is soaring in the sky of the love of G.o.d!
Praise be unto Him whose light hath risen, whose appearance hath become exalted, whose signs are promulgated and whose evidences are fulfilled.
The tongue of the realities of all things hath uttered: "Glory be to my G.o.d, the El-Baha!" Thanks for His manifest Beauty and for His Great Splendor! -for He hath quickened mankind with the spirit of guidance and hath rendered clear the White Path of Gifts, through the arguments which are brilliant and clear to the hearts of the intelligent and thereby these hearts are moved, enlightened, illuminated and become cognizant of the Mighty Message(52) in this Manifest Day of the Manifestation of the Honorable Station(53) when the mystery of existence flows just as do the souls in the bodies.
"O my G.o.d! O my G.o.d!..."
O my G.o.d! O my G.o.d!
This, Thy servant, hath advanced toward Thee and is pa.s.sionately wandering in the desert of Thy love and is walking in the path of Thy service, is expecting Thy favors, hoping for Thy bounty, depending upon Thy Kingdom and intoxicated by the wine of Thy gift.
O my G.o.d! Increase his fervor in Thy affection, his constancy in Thy praise and his ardor in Thy love.
Verily, Thou art the Generous and endued with great bounty. There is no G.o.d save Thee, the Forgiving, the Merciful!
"O thou who hast acknowledged the Kingdom of G.o.d!..."
O thou who hast acknowledged the Kingdom of G.o.d!
I received thy letter and considered its wonderful expressions and found therein facts which show thine approach toward G.o.d, thy pa.s.sionate love of the Beauty of G.o.d, thy cheerfulness in the Cause of G.o.d and thy turning unto the Center of the Testament, for that thou art brightened through the light of the effulgence.
Then praise G.o.d for that He hath made thee to show the light of guidance, to lay hold on the hem of the robe of greatness and to be attracted by the breaths of the Supreme Concourse. This is a matter which will satisfy thee from aught else save G.o.d and make thee above all needs and will cause thee to acquire an immortal wealth. Then thank G.o.d for this heavenly bounty on which the life of spirit depends entirely in all the worlds.
"O ye two birds in the open-s.p.a.ce of the Love of G.o.d!..."
O ye(54) two birds in the open-s.p.a.ce of the Love of G.o.d!
Verily I read your letter and I inhaled therefrom a spiritual fragrance which perfumes the nostrils of the spirit. Thank ye G.o.d that He hath filled for you the cup of gift with the wine of the great guidance and hath abundantly bestowed His benefit on you and hath enabled you to be healed from spiritual ailments which deaden the souls. Truly, I say unto you verily this guidance is a precious pearl and a gem, the lights of which glitter and the rays of which beam forth during centuries and ages.
Appreciate ye its value and show forth spiritual virtues, merciful characteristics and brilliant manners; so that ye may be submerged in the seas of great mercy and shine forth from the horizon of mighty gift.
"O thou who art longing for the Orb of the Horizons!..."
O thou who art longing for the Orb of the Horizons!(55)
Verily, I read thine eloquent, accurate and wonderful letter, whereby the feelings of thy heart and the loftiness of thy thoughts and the craving of thy spirit for the Kingdom of G.o.d were expressed.
Thank thou G.o.d that He hath given thee a power for discriminating the reality of things, hath made thy feet firm in the Path, hath made thy heart overflowing with His love and hath exhilarated thee with the wine of His knowledge.
I beg of G.o.d to entirely remove the veiling from thine insight, so that thou mayest become duly cognizant of the teachings of Baha". And I beg of G.o.d to forgive thy sins and to illumine thy face with the light of forgiveness, so that thou mayest conquer the self which desires the earthly world and prevent it from its wishes and appet.i.tes.
As to the spiritual meeting which ye have organized for diffusing the fragrances of G.o.d (i.e., for teaching the Truth), this is a good thing that ye have performed. I beg of G.o.d, to make the Holy Spirit breathe there in such fragrances which may perfume all regions.
Be not grieved at the smallness of your number and thank G.o.d for the power of your spirits. He shall a.s.sist you with such a confirmation whereat minds will be astonished and souls will be amazed.
"O thou Secretary of the meanings emanated from the..."
O thou Secretary of the meanings emanated from the hearts of the people of the Kingdom.
Verily, I have read thine eloquent letter and brilliant writing, which indicated the attraction of the people of G.o.d by the fragrances of His Kingdom, and their gathering in the a.s.sembly of the merciful feelings and the congregation of the upright.
I do supplicate G.o.d to confirm that spiritual a.s.sembly, that gathering of commemoration, to that whereby the merciful faces brighten, and I beseech Him to a.s.sist them and thee to that whereby man ascends the highest and n.o.blest station of excellence and the loftiest apex of honor, to make them humble and courteous before the beloved of G.o.d, to become severed from aught else save G.o.d, to beseech the Kingdom of ABHA, to be freed from every mention save the commemoration of G.o.d, and to be sanctified from all the grades of pa.s.sion and desire, with pure, holy hearts which are devoid of every feeling except entire attention unto G.o.d, the Lord of the present and the world to come.
I have written answers to the letters which thou hast sent and I enclose them with this Tablet. I wrote also a Tablet to the a.s.sembly(56) ; read it unto them with a fluent tongue and a heart overflowing with the love of G.o.d.