He [Baha’u’llah]—glorified be His mention—resembleth the
sun. Were unnumbered mirrors to be placed before it, each would, according to
its capacity, reflect the splendor of that sun, and were none to be placed
before it, it would still continue to rise and set, and the mirrors alone would
be veiled from its light. 
O Vafa! [1]… It behoveth thee, however, to exert thine
utmost to attain the very essence of fidelity. This implieth to be well assured
in thy heart and to testify with thy tongue to that whereunto God hath
testified for His Own exalted Self, proclaiming: ‘Verily, self-subsisting am I
within the Realm of Glory.’ Whoso is enabled in these days to solemnly affirm
this truth, hath attained unto all good, and the heavenly Spirit shall descend
upon him in the daytime and in the night season, shall graciously assist him to
glorify the Name of his Lord and suffer him to unloose his tongue and uphold
with his words the Cause of his Lord, the Merciful, the Compassionate. And none
can ever achieve this except he who hath purged his heart from whatsoever is
created between heaven and earth, and hath entirely detached himself from all
but God, the sovereign Lord, the Almighty, the Gracious.
O Vafa! [1] Render thanks unto thy Lord for having aided
thee to embrace His Cause, enabled thee to recognize the Manifestation of His
Own Self and raised thee up to magnify Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance in
this glorious Announcement.
And I praise and glorify that primal Sea which hath branched
out from the ocean of the unseen Essence, and that primal Morn which hath
broken forth upon the horizon of Singleness, and that primal Sun which hath
risen in the heaven of everlasting splendour, and that primal Fire which was
kindled from the Lamp of eternity within the Niche of oneness: He Who is called
“Ahmad” in the kingdom of the exalted ones, and “Muhammad” amongst the
concourse of the favoured ones, and “Mahmúd” in the realm of the sincere; [1]
and in the hearts of the knowing, “whichsoever ye call upon, most beauteous are
His names.” [2] And upon His kindred and His companions be abundant, abiding,
and eternal peace!
Far be it from us to despair at any time of the incalculable
favours of God, for if it were His wish He could cause a mere atom to be
transformed into a sun and a single drop into an ocean. He unlocketh thousands
of doors, while man is incapable of conceiving even a single one.
The essential requirement for whoso advanceth a claim is to
support his assertions with clear proofs and testimonies. Beyond this, the
rejection of the people, whether learned or ignorant, hath never been, nor
shall it ever be, of any consequence. The Prophets of God, those Pearls of the
ocean of Divine Unity and the Repositories of Divine Revelation, have ever been
the object of men’s repudiation and denial. Even as He saith: “Each nation hath plotted darkly against their
Messenger to lay violent hold on Him, and disputed with vain words to
invalidate the truth.” [Qur’an 40:5] And again: “No Messenger cometh unto them
but they laugh Him to scorn.” [Qur’an 36:30]
Let no one imagine that by Our assertion that all created
things are the signs of the revelation of God is meant that—God forbid—all men,
be they good or evil, pious or infidel, are equal in the sight of God. Nor doth
it imply that the Divine Being—magnified be His name and exalted be His
glory—is, under any circumstances, comparable unto men, or can, in any way, be
associated with His creatures. Such an error hath been committed by certain
foolish ones who, after having ascended into the heavens of their idle fancies,
have interpreted Divine Unity to mean that all created things are the signs of
God, and that, consequently, there is no distinction whatsoever between them.
Some have even outstripped them by maintaining that these signs are peers and
partners of God Himself. Gracious God! He, verily, is one and indivisible; one
in His essence, one in His attributes. Everything besides Him is as nothing
when brought face to face with the resplendent revelation of but one of His
names, with no more than the faintest intimation of His glory—how much less
when confronted with His own Self!
…these servants regard the one true God as He Who “doeth as
He willeth” [Qur’an 3:40; 14:27; 22:18] and “ordaineth as He pleaseth”.[Qur’an
5:1] Thus they view not as impossible the continued appearance in the
contingent world of the Manifestations of His Unity. Should anyone hold otherwise, how would he be
different from those who believe the hand of God to be “chained up”? [Qur’an 5:64] And if the one true
God—glorified be His mention!—be indeed regarded as unconstrained, then
whatever Cause that Ancient King may please to manifest from the wellspring of
His Command must be embraced by all. No refuge is there for anyone and no haven
to hasten unto save God; no protection is there for any soul and no shelter to
seek except in Him.
Consider…how frequently doth man become forgetful of his own
self, whilst God remaineth, through His all-encompassing knowledge, aware of
His creature, and continueth to shed upon him the manifest radiance of His
glory. It is evident, therefore, that, in such circumstances, He is closer to
him than his own self. He will, indeed, so remain for ever, for, whereas the
one true God knoweth all things, perceiveth all things, and comprehendeth all
things, mortal man is prone to err, and is ignorant of the mysteries that lie
enfolded within him....
Concerning thine own affairs, if thou wouldst content
thyself with whatever might come to pass it would be praiseworthy. To engage in
some profession is highly commendable, for when occupied with work one is less
likely to dwell on the unpleasant aspects of life. God willing thou mayest
experience joy and radiance, gladness and exultation in any city or land where
thou mayest happen to sojourn.
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!