O Son of My Handmaid! Wouldst thou seek the grace of the
Holy Spirit, enter into fellowship with the righteous, for he hath drunk the
cup of eternal life at the hands of the immortal Cup-bearer and even as the
true morn doth quicken and illumine the hearts of the dead. 
Methinks people’s sense of taste hath, alas, been sorely
affected by the fever of negligence and folly, for they are found to be wholly
unconscious and deprived of the sweetness of His utterance. How regrettable
indeed that man should debar himself from the fruits of the tree of wisdom
while his days and hours pass swiftly away. Please God, the hand of divine
power may safeguard all mankind and direct their steps towards the horizon of
true understanding.
O Son of Passion! Cleanse thyself from the defilement of
riches and in perfect peace advance into the realm of poverty; that from the
well-spring of detachment thou mayest quaff the wine of immortal life.
Bid then the heavenly youths, who have been fashioned from
the splendours of the All-Praised, to issue forth from their heavenly abode,
decked in the attire of the All-Merciful, and to proffer with ruby fingers the
chalice of immortality to the inmates of the highest Paradise among the
companions of Bahá, that they may be drawn nigh unto the Splendour of the Lord
of Grandeur—this shining and resplendent Beauty. All hail then to this, the
Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared above a dayspring of exalted glory!
Summon, then, the maids of eternity to hasten forth from
their crimson chambers in their celestial grace, and to appear betwixt earth
and heaven with the most glorious adorning. Grant them leave, then, to pass
round to the inhabitants of the world, high and low alike, that cup of life
which hath been drawn from the heavenly stream of mercy. All hail then to this,
the Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared above the horizon of holiness with
wondrous rapture!
This is a festival wherein all things have been absolved by
virtue of the appearance of Him Who is the Ancient King from behind the veil of
names. Wherefore, rejoice in your hearts, O peoples of the world, for the
breezes of forgiveness have been wafted over the entire creation and the spirit
of life hath been breathed into the world. All hail then to this, the Festival
of the Lord, that hath appeared above a dayspring of resplendent holiness!
By God! This is the festival wherein the beauty of the
Unknowable Essence hath appeared unveiled and arrayed with such sovereignty as
to lay low the necks of them that have repudiated His truth. All hail then to
this, the Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared with supreme dominion!
This is a festival wherein all things have been adorned with
the vesture of the names of God, and wherein His bounty hath compassed all
things from first to last. All hail then to this, the Festival of the Lord,
that hath shone above a dayspring of resplendent holiness!
Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Bahá, as ye
call to remembrance the Day of supreme felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of
the Ancient of Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House, proceeding to
the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of His
name, the All-Merciful. God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the hidden
secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on earth and in the heavens would
swoon away and die, except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Who is there among you, O people, who will renounce the
world, and draw nigh unto God, the Lord of all names? Where is he to be found
who, through the power of My name that transcendeth all created things, will
cast away the things that men possess, and cling, with all his might, to the
things which God, the Knower of the unseen and of the seen, hath bidden him
observe? Thus hath His bounty been sent down unto men, His testimony fulfilled,
and His proof shone forth above the Horizon of mercy. Rich is the prize that
shall be won by him who hath believed and exclaimed: “Lauded art Thou, O
Beloved of all worlds! Magnified be Thy name, O Thou the Desire of every
understanding heart!”
Consider the dispensation of Him Who is the Seal of the
Prophets and the King of the Chosen Ones—may the souls of all mankind be
offered up for His sake! After the
Daystar of Truth dawned above the horizon of Ḥijáz, how great were the
cruelties which the exponents of error inflicted upon that incomparable
Manifestation of the All-Glorious! Such
was their heedlessness that they regarded every injury inflicted upon that
sacred Being as ranking among the greatest of all acts, and constituting a
means of attainment unto God, the Most High.
For in the early years of His mission the divines of that age, both
Christian and Jewish, turned away from that Daystar of the heaven of glory,
whereupon all people, high and low alike, bestirred themselves to extinguish
the light of that Luminary of the horizon of inner meanings. The names of all these divines have been
mentioned in the books of old…
Suffer not yourselves to be shut out as by a veil from God
after He hath revealed Himself. For all that hath been exalted in the Bayán is
but as a ring upon My hand, and I Myself am, verily, but a ring upon the hand
of Him Whom God shall make manifest—glorified be His mention! He turneth it as
He pleaseth, for whatsoever He pleaseth, and through whatsoever He pleaseth.
He, verily, is the Help in Peril, the Most High.
O congregation of the Bayán and all who are therein!
Recognize ye the limits imposed upon you, for such a One as the Point of the
Bayán Himself hath believed in Him Whom God shall make manifest, before all
things were created. Therein, verily, do I glory before all who are in the
kingdom of heaven and earth.
It behoveth a prudent man of wisdom to speak with utmost
leniency and forbearance so that the sweetness of his words may induce everyone
to attain that which befitteth man’s station.
Peace be upon him that inclineth his ear unto the melody of
the Mystic Bird calling from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá!
We perceive none, however, amongst the people of the earth
who, sincerely yearning for the Truth, seeketh the guidance of the divine
Manifestations concerning the abstruse matters of his Faith. All are dwellers
in the land of oblivion, and all are followers of the people of wickedness and
rebellion. God will verily do unto them that which they themselves are doing,
and will forget them even as they have ignored His Presence in His day. Such is
His decree unto those that have denied Him, and such will it be unto them that
have rejected His signs.
By God! All the atoms of the universe groan and lament at
the cruelty perpetrated by the froward among the people of the Bayán. Whither
are gone they who are endued with insight and hearing? We beseech God—blessed
and glorified be He—to summon them and exhort them unto that which will profit
them, and withhold them from that which will harm them. He, in truth, is the
Strong, the All-Subduing, the Almighty.
Every word is endowed with a spirit, therefore the speaker
or expounder should carefully deliver his words at the appropriate time and
place, for the impression which each word maketh is clearly evident and
perceptible. The Great Being saith: One word may be likened unto fire, another
unto light, and the influence which both exert is manifest in the world.
Therefore an enlightened man of wisdom should primarily speak with words as
mild as milk, that the children of men may be nurtured and edified thereby and
may attain the ultimate goal of human existence which is the station of true
understanding and nobility.
Were He [Baha’u’llah] to make of every one on earth a
Prophet, all would, in very truth, be accounted as Prophets in the sight of
God.
…in every instance He [the Báb] hath stated that which is
conducive to the conversion, the advancement, the exaltation, and the guidance
of men. A few unfair ones, however, have become a veil, and an insurmountable
barrier, and debarred the people from turning towards the lights of His
Countenance. We pray God to cast them out by His sovereignty, and seize on them
with His seizing power. He, verily, is the Lord of Strength, the Mighty, the
All-Wise.
I, verily, am a believer in Him, and in His Faith, and in
His Book, and in His Testimonies, and in His Ways, and in all that proceedeth
from Him concerning them. I glory in My kinship with Him, and pride Myself on
My belief in Him.
It is evident unto thee that the Birds of Heaven and Doves
of Eternity speak a twofold language. One language, the outward language, is
devoid of allusions, is unconcealed and unveiled; that it may be a guiding lamp
and a beaconing light whereby wayfarers may attain the heights of holiness, and
seekers may advance into the realm of eternal reunion. Such are the unveiled
traditions and the evident verses already mentioned. The other language is
veiled and concealed, so that whatever lieth hidden in the heart of the
malevolent may be made manifest and their innermost being be disclosed. Thus
hath Sádiq, son of Muhammad, spoken: “God verily will test them and sift them.”
This is the divine standard, this is the Touchstone of God, wherewith He
proveth His servants. None apprehendeth the meaning of these utterances except
them whose hearts are assured, whose souls have found favour with God, and
whose minds are detached from all else but Him. In such utterances, the literal
meaning, as generally understood by the people, is not what hath been intended.
Thus it is recorded: “Every knowledge hath seventy meanings, of which one only
is known amongst the people. And when the Qá’im shall arise, He shall reveal
unto men all that which remaineth.” He also saith: “We speak one word, and by
it we intend one and seventy meanings; each one of these meanings we can
explain.”
The Great Being saith: Human utterance is an essence which
aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its influence,
this is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts
which are detached and pure. As to its moderation, this hath to be combined
with tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets.
It is clear and evident that, whether this Cause be seen as
right or wrong by the people, those who are associated with its name have
accepted and embraced it as true, and have forsaken their all in their
eagerness to partake of the things of God. That they should evince such renunciation in the path of the love of the
All-Merciful is in itself a faithful witness and an eloquent testimony to the
truth of their convictions. Hath it ever
been witnessed that a man of sound judgement should sacrifice his life without
cause or reason? And if it be suggested
that this people have taken leave of their senses, this too is highly
improbable, inasmuch as such behaviour hath not been confined to merely a soul
or two—nay, a vast multitude of every class have drunk their fill of the living
waters of divine knowledge, and, intoxicated, have hastened with heart and soul
to the field of sacrifice in the way of the Beloved.
…the heart is the throne, in which the Revelation of God the
All-Merciful is centered…
O My Son! The company of the ungodly increaseth sorrow,
whilst fellowship with the righteous cleanseth the rust from off the heart. He
that seeketh to commune with God, let him betake himself to the companionship
of His loved ones; and he that desireth to hearken unto the word of God, let
him give ear to the words of His chosen ones.
I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names, to
guard Thy loved ones against Thine enemies, and to strengthen them in their
love for Thee and in fulfilling Thy pleasure. Do Thou protect them, that their
footsteps may slip not, that their hearts may not be shut out as by a veil from
Thee, and that their eyes may be restrained from beholding anything that is not
of Thee. Cause them to be so enraptured by the sweetness of Thy divine melodies
that they will rid themselves of all attachment to any one except Thee, and
will turn wholly towards Thee, and extol Thee under all conditions, saying:
“Praised be Thou, O Lord our God, inasmuch as Thou hast enabled us to recognize
Thy most exalted and all-glorious Self. We will, by Thy mercy, cleave to Thee,
and will detach ourselves from any one but Thee. We have realized that Thou art
the Beloved of the worlds and the Creator of earth and heaven!” Glorified be
God, the Lord of all creation!