Greatness and influence of the Cause and of this Day

In the Book of Isaiah it is written: “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty.” No man that meditateth upon this verse can fail to recognize the greatness of this Cause, or doubt the exalted character of this Day—the Day of God Himself.

Oh, how I long to announce unto every spot on the surface of the earth, and to carry to each one of its cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation - a Revelation to which the heart of Sinai hath been attracted, and in whose name the Burning Bush is calling: 'Unto God, the Lord of Lords, belong the kingdoms of earth and heaven.' Verily this is the Day in which both land and sea rejoice at this announcement, the Day for which have been laid up those things which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart, hath destined for revelation.

This is the Night in which the fragrance of reunion hath been diffused, in which the portals leading unto the divine presence were, in fulfilment of the ultimate objective, flung open and all created things did proclaim: "Verily, the Kingdom is God's, the Lord of Names, He Who is come invested with such sovereignty as pervadeth the whole creation".

This is a Night the world of creation hath never seen its like. Such is the evidence of the heavenly grace vouchsafed by God, the Mighty, the Bountiful.

O concourse of the seen and the unseen! Rejoice with exceeding gladness in your hearts and souls, for the night hath come for the harvesting of the ages and the gathering up of past cycles, the night wherein all days and nights were called into being and the time preordained for this Revelation was fulfilled at the behest of Him Who is the Lord of might and power.

Blessed be this dawn for having been honored by a Day wherein the Lord of destiny hath turned toward the Most Great Scene and the Throne of the All-Merciful hath been established in the garden named Ridvan.

This is the Day in which He Who held converse with God hath attained the light of the Ancient of Days, and quaffed the pure waters of reunion from this Cup that hath caused the seas to swell. Say: By the one true God! Sinai is circling round the Dayspring of Revelation, while from the heights of the Kingdom the Voice of the Spirit of God is heard proclaiming: "Bestir yourselves, ye proud ones of the earth, and hasten ye unto Him."

O Nasir! The excellence of this Day is immensely exalted above the comprehension of men, however extensive their knowledge, however profound their understanding. How much more must it transcend the imaginations of them that have strayed from its light, and been shut out from its glory! Shouldst thou rend asunder the grievous veil that blindeth thy vision, thou wouldst behold such a bounty as naught, from the beginning that hath no beginning till the end that hath no end, can either resemble or equal.

Say: The Cause of God hath come; hasten it not, for verily the Cause of God hath been, upon the truth, by the truth, nigh. And verily God's promise hath been, by the truth, fulfilled.

… God hath indeed appointed for you this Day on the land of the Path, upon the bridge over the Fire, as a fixed time.

Behold how the manifold grace of God, which is being showered from the clouds of Divine glory, hath, in this day, encompassed the world. For whereas in days past every lover besought and searched after his Beloved, it is the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers and is inviting them to attain His presence.

Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. The Call of God hath been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men.

… Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it.

The Most Exalted Pen hath made mention of the friends of God in the most eloquent tongue, and now uttereth in the sweetest Persian that this is a Day of surpassing greatness and magnitude, a Day attributed in all the Divine Books to God Himself and known as the Day of God. It behooveth all to ponder the greatness of this Day and to refrain from comparing that which hath come to pass therein with aught that hath preceded or shall follow it.

It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is divinely ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God’s appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that have preceded it. The designation “Seal of the Prophets” fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath, verily, ended. The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted up the Ensign of Power, and is now shedding upon the world the unclouded splendor of His Revelation.

In the divine Books of the past and future the Most Great Festival hath been established in remembrance of this blessed Day. Blessed is the soul that hath attained and become aware of the station of this Day.

O ye righteous servants and handmaids of the glorious Lord!

Centuries nay, countless ages, must pass away ere the Day-Star of Truth shineth again in its mid-summer splendor, or appeareth once more in the radiance of its vernal glory…

Yet now, praised be God, ye have been called forth and gathered together in the age of Him Who is the Desired One, the Beauteous Beloved, the Sun of the world of the Kingdom, the Most Great Luminary of the realm on highâ€"my spirit be a sacrifice for His servants.

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Verily, this Day walketh and speaketh and proclaimeth, yet most of the people are heedless. It crieth out by its own self and saith: "By God! The Lord of Eternity hath come with the Most Great Name.

Every deed in this Day is mighty, for this is the Day of which God gave tidings aforetime in His exalted Word: "The Kingdom on that Day shall be God's" and likewise in another place: "Whose is the Kingdom this Day? God's, the One, the All-Compelling."

In the ages to come, though the Cause of God may rise and grow a hundredfold and the shade of the Sadratu’l-Muntaha shelter all mankind, yet this present century shall stand unrivalled, for it hath witnessed the breaking of that Morn and the rising of that Sun.

Today the Sun of bounty hath dawned from the horizon of the world and is manifest, and the waves of the ocean of utterance are visible before the faces of all religions. Deprive not yourselves. By the life of God! A feast hath appeared and an assembly hath been raised up in the Concourse on High, for today He Who conversed on Sinai is seated upon the throne of manifestation, and the people of God have attained His presence, and the blessed, goodly City hath descended from heaven.

O Naqi-Qabli-Khan! Today the Call is raised and the world is perfumed with the fragrance of the Revelation. He who desireth to hear, heareth, and he who desireth to see, seeth. From the beginning of this Revelation, when the ocean of bounty surged, We removed the word "never" and appeared without veil or covering.

Say: This is the Day of Victory, did ye but know it, and this is the Day of remembrance and praise. Blessed is he who hath uttered that which he was commanded in My Preserved Tablet, wherein have been sent down the mysteries of what hath been and what will be. Say: This is the Day whereon the Temple of Revelation was established upon the throne of Sinai, yet most of the people do not understand. Say: This is the Day of Utterance, did ye but comprehend it, and this is the Day of distinction, would ye but judge with fairness.

The water says: "O earth, let us set aside the remembrances of the world and occupy ourselves with the praise of the Ancient King." The mountains say: "O trees, today is the day of singing and melody, for the Hidden and Manifest Purpose is seated upon the throne of revelation." Blessed is our time, blessed is our day, and blessed is our state! The grace of the Beloved of the worlds has encompassed all, the lights of the Sun of loving-kindness have shone forth, the ocean of mercy is surging, and the light of bounty is radiant. A fleeting moment, in this Day, excelleth centuries of a bygone age.

The whole world awaited to attain unto this Most Great Revelation and be enabled to hearken unto but one word of His utterances. Yet none attained this most exalted station save whom God willed.

Know thou the value of this Day and arise to that which is worthy and befitting. Should anyone miss aught in this Day,

he shall never be able to make up for it in other days, nor shall he ever have the power to do so.

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Today is the Day which all have heard mentioned, for it hath been extolled in all the divine Books and, like unto the true Sun, hath shone forth resplendent from the horizons of the divine Tablets.

This is the Day wherein all things have turned towards the Lord of Names, save such souls as have been prevented from the Straight Path by the drunkenness of the wine of vainglory.

O thou illumined leaf!

A hundred thousand maidservants, who for countless years engaged in divers arduous devotions, and who, with fervent longing and tearful lamentation, supplicated the threshold of Divine Oneness that they might live for but a moment in these Days and perceive the merest glimmer of the Sinaitic fire, expired at last in the wilderness of separation, and, with infinite regret, laid down their lives in love's arena.

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The prestige of the Faith of God has immensely increased. Its greatness is now manifest. The day is approaching when it will have cast a tremendous tumult in men's hearts. Rejoice, therefore, O denizens of America, rejoice with exceeding gladness!

This is the Day which in all the divine Books, Scriptures and Psalms hath truly been attributed to God and is known as the Day of God.

… In one of the Tablets these firm and perfect words were revealed: Great and wondrous is this Day, for He is manifest in the garment of I and the Hidden One speaketh with the tongue of I am the One Who is seen.

O 'Ata! Say: This Day hath no peer or likeness.

This is the Day wherein the gate of grace hath been opened and the Day-Star of justice hath shone forth from the horizon of God's will, the Lord of lords.

The world hath been illumined by the Most Great Luminary, yet the people remain veiled in thick darkness. The Mount of Sinai hath soared with longing to attain the presence of God in this Revelation whose lights have encompassed all worlds.

The Most Great Ocean is surging and the Sun of Pre-existence is rising from the resplendent horizon. It is the time of gathering and resurrection, the moment of longing and excitement.

Assuredly we are today living in the Days of God. These are the glorious days on the like of which the sun hath never risen in the past. These are the days which the people in bygone times eagerly expected.

When the Call was raised and the Cloud bore witness to the Lord of Lords, say: O people! This is the Day you were promised in the Books of God. He has appeared in truth, and in it the Balance has been set up, the Path made manifest, and the mountains passed away.

The whole world hath been created for this Day and all are promised it in the divine Books. This blessed Day, the Day when "thy Lord shall come" hath been as the apple of the Qur'an's eye, and "thy Lord shall come with angels rank on rank" is its heart.

This is the Day wherein the ocean of divine knowledge hath surged before the faces of all religions, and the hidden and treasured Mystery hath been revealed, through which the Herald proclaimed: "He hath come, He at Whose mention Paradise and the Most Exalted Garden were attracted."

This is a Day that has brought joy to the eye of creation, did ye but know. In it hath appeared the Most Great Sign, manifested in human form.

This Day a different Sun hath arisen, and a different Heaven hath been adorned with its stars and its planets. The world is another world, and the Cause another Cause.

With such gifts and bounties, such signs and confirmations, why should not the fire of Moses appear and the spirit of Christ bestow life? Why should hearts not take flight, and spirits not become intimate with humility and supplication? Bounty upon bounty, and gift upon gift!

The holy ones of past ages and centuries have, each and all, yearned with tearful eyes to live, though for one moment, in the Day of God.

O Children of Israel! The God of Hosts declareth: This is the day of the Most Great Manifestation. Arise to serve. Power and might, glory and grandeur circle round about.

The Glory shining from the horizon of eternity be upon thee and upon those who have cast behind them vain imaginings, turning unto Our Name, the Self-Subsisting, Who when He appeared, the Most Great Joy appeared and the Most Great Terror, and the Nightingale spoke: "The gate of heaven hath been opened and the Lord of Names hath come with evident sovereignty."

All the Divine Books and Scriptures have predicted and announced unto men the advent of the Most Great Revelation. None can adequately recount the verses recorded in the Books of former ages which forecast this supreme Bounty, this most mighty Bestowal.

In this day the breeze of God is wafted, and His Spirit hath pervaded all things. Such is the outpouring of His grace that the pen is stilled and the tongue is speechless.

Though He hath bestowed upon all days a portion of His wondrous favors according to their capacity, yet He hath ordained for the days of His manifestation a station beyond the comprehension of those endowed with understanding. Thus, should all the hearts of those who dwell in the heavens and the earth turn in those divine days towards that Sun of celestial glory and be directed unto Him, they would all find themselves sanctified, illumined and purified.

Say: Were someone to appear every day, the Cause of God would not be established in the cities and lands.

This is what hath dawned from the horizon of thy Lord, the All-Merciful. O My Name! Today is the day of divine assistance and, by the truth of My Being, all the realities of the exalted ones and the spirits of those nigh unto God who circle round have beseeched to appear in the outward vesture of human temples and arise to aid the Cause of God in the visible realm.

Though all days belong to God and are from God, yet this Day hath been singled out, even as mention hath been made of it in the heavenly Books, Tablets and Scriptures, and they who are endued with vision have perceived it and hastened to the supreme Scene.

A World-Teacher appearing now, after so long a lapse of time since the last, and under the changed world-conditions which now prevail, might be expected to be greater than his predecessors; and such he is. He is a World-Teacher in a broader sense than they. His teachings cannot be limited to any nation or race. His problem is to guide and instruct the whole world as it is to-day; his teachings must meet every condition of the world.

O My leaf! The greatness of the Cause hath become a veil unto it. Say: In this day, in every moment, the pearls of wisdom and utterance appear and shine forth from the treasuries of the Pen of the All-Merciful. They have not been and are not concealed.

Say: The rivers of divine wisdom and utterance which flowed through the Tablets of God are joined to this Most Great Ocean, could ye but perceive it, and whatever hath been set forth in His Books hath attained its final consummation in this most exalted Word -- a Word shining above the horizon of the Will of the All-Glorious in this Revelation which hath filled with delight all things seen and unseen.

This is the Day whereon every sweet smelling thing hath derived its fragrance from the smell of My garment -- a garment that hath shed its perfume upon the whole of creation. This is the Day whereon the rushing waters of everlasting life have gushed out of the Will of the All-Merciful.

This is the Day on which all eyes shall stare up with terror, the Day in which the hearts of them that dwell on earth shall tremble, save them whom thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, pleaseth to deliver.

… This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come down in the clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest sovereignty.

That which hath been made manifest in this preeminent, this most exalted Revelation, stands unparalleled in the annals of the past, nor will future ages witness its like.

Say: By God, the Truth! That which had never appeared in creation hath been made manifest, whereby the clouds of grace have been raised up, the Tree of Bounty hath borne fruit, the Dove hath warbled, the Cock of the Throne hath crowed, the spirits have been quickened, and every moldering bone hath been stirred to life.

But the teachings of Baha'u'llah penetrated to such a degree that twenty thousand souls were martyred, yet day by day their power increased.

O thou who art yearning for the Kingdom of God! The contingent world has become the dawning-place of the lights of the Countenance of the All-Merciful, and the realm of existence has become the center of the manifestation of the Lord.

The effects of the penetrating power of the Word of God will become manifest in the heart of creation, and centuries and ages shall be stirred by this glorious century and this new age. For this is the age of the Peerless Lord.

Behold, how the divers peoples and kindreds of the earth have been waiting for the coming of the Promised One. No sooner had He, Who is the Sun of Truth, been made manifest, than, lo, all turned away from Him, except them whom God was pleased to guide. We dare not, in this Day, lift the veil that concealeth the exalted station which every true believer can attain, for the joy which such a revelation must provoke might well cause a few to faint away and die.

He Who is the Heart and Center of the Bayán hath written: “The germ that holdeth within itself the potentialities of the Revelation that is to come is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces of all those who follow Me.” And, again, He saith: “Of all the tributes I have paid to Him Who is to come after Me, the greatest is this, My written confession, that no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor can any reference to Him in My Book, the Bayán, do justice to His Cause.”

Whoso hath searched the depths of the oceans that lie hid within these exalted words, and fathomed their import, can be said to have discovered a glimmer of the unspeakable glory with which this mighty, this sublime, and most holy Revelation hath been endowed. From the excellence of so great a Revelation the honor with which its faithful followers must needs be invested can be well imagined. By the righteousness of the one true God! The very breath of these souls is in itself richer than all the treasures of the earth. Happy is the man that hath attained thereunto, and woe betide the heedless.

Praise be to God, thou hast attained unto this station. God willing, thou art confirmed in preserving it. The servant in attendance read thy letter. Blessed art thou for having acknowledged that which God hath acknowledged and that which was inscribed in His Books, His Scriptures and His Tablets. Concerning the gathering of souls which thou didst mention, verily We make mention of each one of them as a token of Our grace. He, verily, is the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous.

By God the Truth! This Cause is mighty, mighty indeed! This is a word We have repeated in most of the Tablets, that perchance the servants may thereby be awakened.

Today the Mother Book is manifest and speaking, and the Preserved Tablet circleth round manifestation in remembrance.

O servants of the Truth! Know ye the value of this Day and deprive not yourselves of its fragrances.

O thou who hast turned! By the life of God, this is the Day of sight and this is the Day of hearing, for the divine call is raised and the lights of His countenance are manifest and evident.

This is the Day whereon the books of the first and the last depend upon the recognition of this Most Great Revelation. All things are known through Him, while He is self-subsisting, manifest and known of Himself.

Say: By my Lord, the All-Merciful! But for Him the Bayan would not have been revealed, nor would the Tablets of God, the Mighty, the Exalted, the Unconstrained, have been sent down.

By the life of God, verily this Day is great and this Cause is great. Today all things are adorned with a new ornament, and the Promised City hath descended from the new heaven.

The Sun of Revelation hath risen from the horizon of the Will of the Lord of the Day of Resurrection, shining and manifest, and the Ocean of mercy hath appeared before the faces of all beings, evident and resplendent. Yet most of mankind remain veiled by doubts and idle fancies, such that they are seen to be deprived and debarred from this Most Great Day and supreme bounty.

The heaven hath been rolled up, and another heaven hath been spread out, and it hath been raised up through this Name whereby every hidden matter hath been made manifest.

O Mulla Hasan! The Supreme Pen hath never paused for an instant; it moveth and speaketh, and through its movement all things were set in motion and all created things appeared. The whole world was created for this Most Great Revelation.

Each hour of it equals a thousand hours, each day of it equals a thousand days.

When He says "The Day of Resurrection is fifty thousand years," it means matters that would take fifty thousand years to occur or be achieved will be manifested in one day in the Day of Manifestation.

Abdul Baha:

The teachings of Baha'u'llah are not yet evident, not yet made known, not all accumulated. For instance, there are teachings in the Book of Akdas, but they are not all there. There are the Tablet of Bishara, etc., but all these do not contain all the teachings of Baha'u'llah. They are scattered, but they will be gathered together.

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The days of the Divine Manifestations are in one sense referred to as the Day of God, but these days are specially distinguished in all the Books as the appearance of the Hidden Mystery and the Treasured Secret, Who calleth out with the most exalted voice before the faces of all the world.

Today the people of God are souls who have, with the strength of certitude, shattered the idols of vain imaginings. Neither the might of princes nor the clamor of divines could hold them back from the Lord of Names. The All-Knowing, the All-Informed, says: Today the world is illumined by the lights of Him Who conversed with God on Sinai, and the Divine Call is raised.

In truth I say, this is the Day of trade and the profit of those who are near unto God is beyond measure.

...This Day is God's Day, and this Cause His Cause. Happy is he who hath renounced this world, and clung to Him Who is the Dayspring of God's Revelation....

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In this day, however, means of communication have multiplied, and the five continents of the earth have virtually merged into one. And for everyone it is now easy to travel to any land, to associate and exchange views with its peoples, and to become familiar, through publications, with the conditions, the religious beliefs and the thoughts of all men. In like manner all the members of the human family, whether peoples or governments, cities or villages, have become increasingly interdependent. For none is self-sufficiency any longer possible, inasmuch as political ties unite all peoples and nations, and the bonds of trade and industry, of agriculture and education, are being strengthened every day. Hence the unity of all mankind can in this day be achieved. Verily this is none other but one of the wonders of this wondrous age, this glorious century.

Nay, may America become the distributing center of spiritual enlightenment, and all the world receive this heavenly blessing! For America has developed powers and capacities greater and more wonderful than other nations.

This illumined century needeth and calleth for its fulfilment. In every century a particular and central theme is, in accordance with the requirements of that century, confirmed by God. In this illumined age that which is confirmed is the oneness of the world of humanity. Every soul who serveth this oneness will undoubtedly be assisted and confirmed.

See how good Baha'u'llah is to us, how great the power of His Word! From what distant parts of the world He has brought us together in this house and caused us to meet at this heavenly table, for love has prepared a feast and bidden Abdu'l-Baha to let this entertainment be in His name. What a union of hearts and what a confirmation of Baha'u'llah between East and West has been established! How His bounty has embraced all! How His favors have been perfected for all!

For every era hath a spirit; the spirit of this illumined era lieth in the teachings of Baha'u'llah. For these lay the foundation of the oneness of the world of humanity and promulgate universal brotherhood.

Therefore, thank ye God that ye have come into the plane of existence in this radiant century wherein the bestowals of God are appearing from all directions, when the doors of the Kingdom have been opened unto you, the call of God is being raised, and the virtues of the human world are in the process of unfoldment. The day has come when all darkness is to be dispelled, and the Sun of Truth shall shine forth radiantly.

For this century is the most luminous century, the century of the progress of minds and thoughts, the century of the education of souls and spirits, the century of the appearance of the mysteries of creation, and the age of the dawning of the Sun of Reality. It is the age of peace and reconciliation, of love and harmony.

But now Baha'u'llah has come with incomparable glory like the glow of the sun at midday, the moment of its greatest heat and light. The glory of God has proclaimed a cause that until now none had heard. He addresses himself to the whole of humanity, saying: "O people of the world, ye are all the branches of one tree, the leaves of one branch, the drops of one sea."

Likewise, the continent of America is, in the eyes of the one true God, the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the free assemble.

The renown of His Cause hath reached to east and west, and word of the power of the Abha Beauty hath quickened north and south. That cry from the American continent is a choir of holiness, that shout from far and near that riseth even to the Company on high is "Ya Baha'u'l-Abha!" Now is the east lit up with a glory, and the west rose-sweet, and all the earth is fragrant with ambergris, and the winds that blow over the Holy Shrine are laden with musk.

And yet another of His signs is the wide-spreading rays of the sun of His era, the rising moon of His times in the heaven of all the ages: His day, which standeth at the summit of all days, for its rank and power, its sciences and its arts, reaching far and wide, that have dazzled the world and astonished the minds of men.

The light of truth has heretofore been seen dimly through variegated glasses, but now the splendors of Divinity shall be visible through the translucent mirrors of pure hearts and spirits.

This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things.

O ye who are the chosen ones of the Abha Kingdom! Praise ye the Lord of Hosts for He, riding upon the clouds, hath come down to this world out of the heaven of the invisible realm, so that East and West were lit by the glory of the Sun of Truth, and the call of the Kingdom was raised, and the heralds of the realm above, with melodies of the Concourse on high, sang out the glad tidings of the Coming.

This age is indeed as a hundred other ages: should ye gather the yield of a hundred ages, and set that against the accumulated product of our times, the yield of this one era will prove greater than that of a hundred gone before. Take ye, for an example, the sum total of all the books that were ever written in ages past, and compare that with the books and treatises that our era hath produced: these books, written in our day alone, far and away exceed the total number of volumes that have been written down the ages.

This is the day when the Lord of hosts hath come on the clouds of glory. This is the day in which the inhabitants of the world shall enter under the tent of the word of God. This is the day whose real sovereign is His Highness the Almighty.

It is the hour of unity of the sons of men, and a drawing together of all races and all classes. You are loosed from ancient superstitions which have kept men ignorant, destroying the foundations of true humanity. The gift of God of this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and the fundamental oneness of religion. War shall cease between nations, and by the will of God the Most Great Peace shall come; the world will be seen as a new world, and all men shall live as brothers.

O friends of the Ancient Beauty! This age is the age of attraction, and this century is the century of the Lord of Lords.

Now, praised be God, the light of love hath spread in both East and West, and the tabernacle of fellowship amongst hearts and souls is raised in the midmost heart of the world. The teachings of Baha'u'llah have been spread in the East and the West, the fame of the Kingdom hath encompassed the earth, and the tidings of the world's Great Peace have created tumult in the realm of the hearts.

That is, this wondrous Dispensation is so different and distinguished from the previous ones that, even as ye witness, though it is still the first century, so many mysteries of creation have, within so short a period, stepped forth out of the realm of the invisible into the visible world. How many well-guarded secrets once enshrined within the realm of the unseen have been revealed! How many discoveries have been made of the hidden realities of things, and how many inventions and wonders have appeared!

With every passing day, these signs will be revealed and made more manifest, these lights will shine more resplendent; and with every passing moment, this musk-laden breeze will shed its perfume upon the world.

But in this wondrous Dispensation, the supreme outpouring of the Glorious Lord became the cause of manifest achievements by women. Some handmaidens arose who excelled men in the arena of knowledge. They arose with such love and spirituality that they became the cause of the outpouring of the bounty of the Sovereign Lord upon mankind, and with their sanctity, purity and attributes of the spirit led a great many to the shore of unity.

Now in this world of being, the Hand of Divine Power hath firmly laid the foundations of this all-highest Bounty and this wondrous Gift. Gradually whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this Holy Cycle shall appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its Signs. Ere the close of this Century and of this Age, it shall be made clear and manifest how wondrous was that Springtide and how heavenly was that Gift!

What other cause in the world has raised or could raise the banner of human unity at the pole of possibility with such power?

This luminous century is unparalleled in human history, distinguished from all centuries, blessed with virtues that cause the brilliant star of heavenly confirmations to shine from the horizon of this century upon all ages and centuries.

In the beginning, how small is the seed, yet in the end it is a mighty tree. Look ye not upon the seed, look ye upon the tree, and its blossoms, and its leaves and its fruits. Consider the days of Christ, when none but a small band followed Him; then observe what a mighty tree that seed became, behold ye its fruitage. And now shall come to pass even greater things than these, for this is the summons of the Lord of Hosts, this is the trumpet-call of the living Lord, this is the anthem of world peace, this is the standard of righteousness and trust and understanding raised up among all the variegated peoples of the globe; this is the splendour of the Sun of Truth, this is the holiness of the spirit of God Himself. This most powerful of dispensations will encompass all the earth, and beneath its banner will all peoples gather and be sheltered together.

Erelong will it be witnessed that the government of the native land of the Blessed Perfection will become the most honoured government of this world, and Iran will become the most prosperous of all lands.

Now it is a thousand times greater, for this is the age of the Incomparable Lord and the century of the Living, Self-Subsisting One. Therefore this age and century has superiority and distinction over all other centuries in all respects. It is established and confirmed by the learned ones and scholars of this age among historians and others that the achievements of this century exceed the glories of fifty centuries. This century is like the sun while other centuries are like stars; this age is like an ocean while other ages are like rivers.

In these days in Tehran, indeed in the East and West of the entire world, a wonderful receptivity has emerged, for the call of God's Cause has encompassed the world and news of the rising of the Sun of Truth has stirred the horizons.

O friends of God! This cycle and dispensation cannot be compared to former ages, for previous eras were but a ray of this era, and former centuries but a token of this century. Observe ye the progress and exaltation of this mighty century, which is distinguished in all aspects and conditions. It is the sun of all ages and centuries - its traces brilliant, its lights manifest, its power overwhelming, and its radiance adorning both East and West.

Convey to that gathering the following message on my behalf:

"Praise be to God, this century is an illumined century. It is the century of the divine spirit. It is the century of truth, in which the sun of truth will shine with such intensity as to obliterate the darkness of blind imitation and to entirely banish contention and conflict, hatred and hostility from amongst mankind.

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Thus it became evident that this century is the century of lights, the manifestation of mysteries, the elevation of stations, the exaltation of bounties, the appearance of effulgences, and the manifestation of the Kingdom of signs.

The Land of Hijaz was a sandy desert---arid, barren, and uncultivated. Yet through the dawning of the Sun of Truth, it became the Qiblih of the world and a land round which circle peoples from every region of the earth. Now that the Most Great Light hath risen above the horizon of Iran, consider what the future will hold for it.

Every moment we must give thanks to God that He enabled us to be here during the spring season of His Manifestation. We entered this world during the spring sunshine. I pray God that you, as trees in this spring time, will bear such sweet flowers and delicious fruits as will give life to the whole contingent world.

The only deliverance for her in this day is the Cause of Baha'u'llah. Because this Movement teachers the oneness of the world of humanity and universal Peace.

This Cause has become worldwide. In a short space of time it has permeated throughout all the regions for it has a magnetic power which attracts all the intelligent men and women toward its center. Were a person become informed with the reality of this Cause he will believe in it. For these teachings are the Spirit of this age.

Question: "We (by "We" they meant the missionary world) are watching with great interest the progress of this Movement. For it seems to us it is advancing with great rapidity without the usual propaganda organization which to us hard-headed, practical Americans seems so essential and necessary. We are watching to see what will be the objective aims of this Cause."

Answer: "The objective aims are the oneness of the world of humanity, Universal Peace, Universal Love, international Cooperation and reciprocity, the founding of divine Civilization, the promotion of the principle of human consanguinity and solidarity and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, first in the hearts of men and then upon earth. These are the noble objective aims. Are you not in sympathy with them? Will you not do also your utmost to hasten that day? What harm is there in this? We are working day and night for the realization of these Ideas and purposes. God and His servants are also pleased with those souls who are serving under a different flag and in a different camp to actualize these principles of humanity."

The object of my undertaking such a long journey with all its inconveniences has been to bring about spiritual illumination in the Occident, for the Occident has great capacity and its people are less fettered by vain imaginings and imitations. Lofty ideals find a quick acceptance among them and today the loftiest ideal of all is devotion to the unity of mankind and universal peace.

If they would just consider this much, they would understand how the Cause of Baha'u'llah can develop Iran and exalt the Iranians. But what use is it? They have no awareness and think that Iran will be revived by "bonjour" or "good morning" - that is, the French and English languages.

Today it is established throughout all regions of the world that the teachings of the Ancient Beauty are the spirit of this age and the light of this century. They are the instantaneous cure for chronic diseases and the supreme healing antidote for the poisoned body of the world.

Praise be to this Faith that revealed every hidden gem in the mine of Iran. The pure seed that His Holiness Zoroaster scattered sprouted with the rain of heavenly bounty and the field became green and verdant. The time of harvest arrived and it became a celestial blessing. The treasure that that Leader stored up was revealed on this auspicious day and its precious pearls were scattered over the world.

O pure leaf, throughout the dispensations men were the heroes of the battlefield and the valiant members of the army of revolt, but in this great cycle some women will arise who will become the envy of men, and the example to be emulated by the traditional hero, Rustam.

Let us consider, in comparison, the signs of those days which preceded and succeeded each Manifestation to the signs which have become manifest in these days--the days of the Blessed Perfection. The signs are both material and spiritual. In this century, the science and spiritual understanding have so progressed that all the philosophers and learned men call it the "Century of Light." They all say that if we compare the discoveries of the past 4,000 years with the discoveries that have taken place in this century, we will find the latter greater and more marvelous than all those which have been disclosed in the past centuries.

In the whole world there is hardly one who is conscious of reality. Baha'u'llah in appearing has brought the force to rend the veils. He has spread the teachings which are the soul of our time, opened the doors to the seekers of the great law, breathed into the hearts a great love, united those who were at enmity and given victory to saints and pure spirits.

The importance of this journey will become evident later. Until now such a thing has never occurred, and in no age has it been seen that someone from the East would travel to the furthermost regions of the West in such a way that, in proclaiming the Cause of God and explaining the new teachings and divine matters in temples and assemblies of different peoples, they would stand and speak in such a way that no one would have any opportunity for denial or objection. Rather, all became enthralled and attracted, and showed the utmost honor and respect.

The Reuters news agency telegraphed that a Baha'i by the name of Mr. Dodd was proceeding for India. Reuters only sends telegrams for such prominent personages as the Prince of Germany, and the likes. Sanctified is God! What bounty, what beneficence, what light, what spirit, what brilliance, what sun is this?!

Most people are unaware of this Cause. If they were to become properly informed of it, every person would find their purpose, every patient their healing from this Most Great Cause. This is why wherever these blessed teachings are explained, every soul becomes submissive.

Aside from the true meaning of this passage which pertains to the power and might of the Cause of God, to the revelation of verses and signs, to the solution of divine problems, to the disclosure of the mysteries of the Holy Book and to the spread of knowledge - each of which is a hundred times greater in this mighty revelation than in any previous one - materially, too, all the learned men of this age agree that the advancements in knowledge, the arts, industries and inventions of this century are equal to those of the last fifty centuries, indeed, even greater than that.

Soon will the Jewish people return to the Holy Land, and even in outward appearance, they will be exalted. They will then be so glorified that they would be the object of the enemies' envy. This is naught but a divine decree, and nothing can impede its fulfillment.

The sovereignty of David and the splendor of Solomon will once more be manifested. This land will be the envy of the world. It will be the center of industry and sciences.

How Baha'u'llah suffered, what persecutions and hardships He endured! He saw His property plundered and carried off. He was chained and imprisoned so that hearts would be connected, that the East and the West would find harmony, that the oneness of humanity would come about and that universal peace may reign.

O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God and enkindled with the Fire wherein Moses, the Speaker, found Guidance!

May it be salutary to thee, the draught from this cup, which is overflowing with the wine of the love of God.

Blessed art thou, that thy heart is connected with the callings of the Kingdom of El-ABHA, so that thou hast dispensed with the telepathic wires of the world, because the terminal of the spiritual wire reached the center of thy heart and the other is placed in the Spiritual Center, vibrating information constantly through the power of the Spirit and successively conveying the great glad-tidings. This is the station of (or for) every maid-servant whose heart is filled with the love of God and attracted to the Beauty of El-ABHA.

Thank God for showing unto thee and thy dear friend, the revered ..., the great power and might of the Kingdom personified in the body of humanity, and that thou didst worship Him with a brilliant heart, and He addressed thee (saying): "Peace be unto thee! Peace be unto thee!" His white vestment is the garment of the Manifestation and [His] brilliant color. Regarding the gems which appeared on His breast, they are peerless pearls of wisdom which shine unto the horizons with a godlike fame. As to His shining face, verily it hath illumined the earth and dispersed the darkness from the contingent world. Regarding thine entrance with thy friend into the gallery lighted with lamps, know thou that gallery is the world of humanity and the lamps His wonderful teaching, His all-wisdom, His perfect bounty and His clear manifestation. He is the Absent-Present in the world of humanity.

O maid-servant of God! It is incumbent upon thee to diffuse the fragrances, it is incumbent upon thee to promulgate the teachings of God and it is incumbent upon thee to breathe the spirit of life into the hearts of the people of those regions, so that thou be a lamp of guidance in the recess of Green Acre. Take the cup of the love of God in thy right hand and with thy left hand hoist the banner of universal peace, love and affection among the nations of the earth . Call out (saying): "Hasten! Hasten unto the Great Bounty! Press! Press forward unto the Abundant Mercy! Speed! Speed unto the Manifest Light! Be urgent! Be urgent for the Great Attainment! Verily, by God the True One, the doors of the Kingdom are opened, the lights of God have shown forth and illumined the horizon of the earth! The Lord of Hosts hath descended with the army of lights and angels of heaven and depressed the armies of darkness! He sent His angels to all directions, with a call of the trumpet of realities and meanings, instructions and teachings! Therefore, O people of the earth, appreciate the opportunity, in this new century, wherein the lights have been revealed by the Glorious Lord!"

In regard to the school which thou didst think of and its organization: I ask God that thou shouldst become confirmed in it with all order and command. But now it is necessary first to organize the Cause of God in those countries; then, order and preparation. Therefore arise, through a power from God, in organizing the Cause of God--that is, the diffusion of the fragrances of God, promotion of the Word of God and heralding unto the nations and peoples with a pre-existent power the appearance of the Most Great Sun.

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I was pleased by reading it because it indicated your health and well-being and your firmness and steadfastness in this great Cause - a great Cause whose brilliant lights have encompassed the horizons and established the unity of the human world.

Without doubt it is the cause of unity among all nations and the greatest bond between all who dwell on earth.

This age is the greatest divine age. This age is the age of everlasting life. This age is the age of the breaths of the Holy Spirit. This age is the age of the flowering of all the hidden virtues of the world of humanity.

Why should this most great and lofty Cause -- the day-star of the firmament of true civilization and the cause of the glory, the advancement, the well-being and the success of all humanity -- be regarded as impossible of achievement? Surely the day will come when its beauteous light shall shed illumination upon the assemblage of man.

O my two sons and beloved brother! Praise be to God that He hath brought the distant near, made strangers into friends, made the deprived ones into confidants of mysteries, and awakened those who were asleep.

O handmaid of God! The grace and bounty of the Sovereign of existence has reached such a degree that in this Most Great Cycle women have been raised up who, in recognition, certitude, utterance and explanation, have won the palm of victory from men and have been so gathered beneath the all-embracing Word that they have become the manifestation of most wondrous signs. The Glory be upon thee.

Among the miracles which distinguish this sacred Dispensation is this, that women have evinced a greater boldness than men when enlisted in the ranks of the Faith.

The Cause of God has in itself an animate force propelling it forward and onward.

… Who could ever dream that after the hard incarceration of Acca, the spies, and the closing of the doors of all correspondence - to the extent that we could not send out one letter - the voice of the Cause would be heard from Honolulu.

For every great cause which is to appear, God will prepare some means. For instance, when the season of Spring is at hand, before that season appears there will be snow storms, rain, thunder and a great many things will happen. This is a preparation for the coming of the Spring. If preparation should not precede, the Spring would not appear. The greater the storms, the more abundant the fall of rain, the more beautiful and splendid is the Spring.

Although the former Manifestations have come from God, the means of unity for mankind was not prepared in their time. It was as though there was nothing, and conflicting conditions were still remaining in the world; there was no transportation and railways, no joining of Europe, Asia and Africa. People could not meet each other, the means were not ready. If a man should travel some distance from his country, he could not let it be known where he was. Because of this the teachings of Moses were confined to Palestine. The cause of Jesus Christ was spread over some parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, and the cause of Mohammed over some parts of Europe, Asia and Africa; none were universal.

The unity of mankind was not realized, perfect connection was not produced amongst mankind, for there was no means for this; they could not meet each other. But in the Cause of the Blessed Perfection, Baha'u'llah, the greatest preparations are in evidence. The means for the unity and harmony of mankind is found in the most complete way. Communication is so easy that in a single moment the East can communicate with the West. A hundred days can be passed in a single day. Ships, in other Manifestations, could only sail near the shore, and if sometimes they did go far they would be missed and could not be traced. Now they cross the ocean.

In the days of the Prophets, Christ and Mohammed, there were many plains and deserts on which no one had traveled, now the trains can go directly and pass over them easily, and the land and sea are so connected with each other that the globe can be traversed in one month. Hence the world has received the capacity for the unity of mankind. These preparations, these capacities, are all made ready for the spread of the teachings of this Great Cause; and it is possible that the teachings and instruction of Baha'u'llah can be given to everybody in the world; therefore, the hope is great that the tent of unity will soon be pitched, and there is great probability that war and strife will be annihilated, and it is possible that the trades, professions and arts of the earth shall be diffused, therefore it is possible that the Teachings shall be spread throughout the world.

Were it not for this preparation it would be impossible for you to have heard of this Cause in your country. This is a self-evident proof that the world has received the capacity for the Cause, and what Cause in the world is greater than this?

God has prepared for us all the convenient ways of voyage so that we may travel far and wide and spread the Cause.

I have come to you as to my own people—brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. My bond is with all mankind; so should yours be.

This is the Day whereon the Ocean of God’s mercy hath been manifested unto men, the Day in which the Daystar of His loving-kindness hath shed its radiance upon them, the Day in which the clouds of His bountiful favor have overshadowed the whole of mankind.

To what depths of degradation he can sink, depths which the meanest of creatures have never reached! Seize, O friends, the chance with this Day offereth you, and deprive not yourselves of the liberal effusions of His grace.

Today every soul must ponder what hath been revealed and search with their own intellect and understanding, lest they be deprived of the effulgent rays of the Sun of Truth. The Truth hath ever been and shall forever remain distinct from aught else.

Say: So great is the glory of the Cause of God that even the blind can perceive it, how much more they whose sight is sharp, whose vision is pure.

How great, how very great is the blessing of these days; and the favors of the All-Bountiful Lord are indeed very glorious. A single goodly deed and one endeavor for the sake of God in this day, is regarded as myriads of charitable deeds and as tens of thousands of seemly works. A sole breath in this age is worth one hundred thousand years of worship.

If the lights do not shine forth and the rays of dawn do not spread, the morn of guidance will not illumine the dark world, the appearance of the Sun of Truth will yield no result, and the blessed Tree will remain fruitless.

The greatness of the teachings of Baha'u'llah will be known when they are acted upon and practiced. Not one of a hundred has as yet come into force. All of your thoughts should be turned toward bringing these blessed teachings into practice.

This is the most glorious bounty of this Age; this is the bestowal of the Baha'i Circle; this is the Light that illuminates every heart. This is the water that allays every thirst one; this is the Divine Elixir that changes man into the image and likeness of the Almighty.

Await ye, O people, the days of justice which have indeed come in truth. Beware lest ye be veiled from them and be of the heedless ones.

In this glorious Day everything that can be seen is a witness, and calleth all men unto the one true God. Say! This is the Day in which the sun of spiritual discernment is shining forth in the heaven of true understanding.

O friends of Jesus Christ! know that the promises of nineteen hundred years ago are today fulfilled, and that the Son of Man is here in "the Kingdom of His Father," holding out His loving arms toward the North, South, East and West, while His Voice is calling, ever calling:

"O people! The Doors of the Kingdom are opened; the Sun of Truth is shining upon the world; the Fountains of Life are flowing; the Daysprings of Mercy have appeared; the Greatest and Most Glorious Light is now manifest to illuminate the hearts of men.

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Say: O friends! This Day hath no peer or likeness. On this blessed Day, any pure deed that appeareth is accounted as the sovereign of deeds, and any mention that proceedeth from the lips is and shall be the king of all remembrance.

O people of Baha! Know ye the value of these days and arise to perform deeds worthy and befitting this Day. … The greatness of this day is such that the Spirit speaketh, saying: "Praise be to Thee, O my God, for having enabled me to attain unto Thy presence," and He Who conversed with God uttereth: "Thanks be to Thee, O my God, for having shown me Thy Beauty and for having shed upon me the light of Thy countenance."

Do you appreciate the Day in which you live?

This is the century of the Blessed Perfection! This is the cycle of the light of His beauty!

This is the consummate day of all the Prophets!

O My Letters! Verily I say, immensely exalted is this Day above the days of the Apostles of old. Nay, immeasurable is the difference! You are the witnesses of the Dawn of the promised Day of God. You are the partakers of the mystic chalice of His Revelation.

… The secret of the Day that is to come is now concealed. It can neither be divulged nor estimated. The newly born babe of that Day excels the wisest and most venerable men of this time, and the lowliest and most unlearned of that period shall surpass in understanding the most erudite and accomplished divines of this age.

O friends! How fortunate, exalted in destiny, and blessed in fate you are that you were born in such a cycle and age, and have arrived at such a threshold, and prostrate yourselves at such a court, and rest in the shade of such a tree, and partake of such fruit! The cycle is the cycle of the Ancient Beauty, the age is the age of the Greatest Name, the threshold is the threshold of God's Law, the court is the court of the Most Glorious Beauty, the tree is the divine tree, the fruit is the fruit of the Lote-Tree of the furthermost boundary.

O handmaids of the Merciful! Render ye thanks unto the Ancient Beauty that ye have been raised up and gathered together in this mightiest of centuries, this most illumined of ages.

For this is the Day which the one true God, glorified be He, hath announced in all His Books, unto His Prophets and His Messengers.

Were the greatness of this Day to be revealed in its fullness, most men would swoon away and fall prostrate.

The bounty, favor and grace of God - exalted be His Glory - hath reached such a degree that were all the peoples of the world to sacrifice themselves in His path, it would still be little, now and forever.

The darkest night hath been illumined as the dawn breathed forth from the horizon of eternity.

… All things have been stirred by the breezes of revelation while they remain in heedlessness and error.

O Javad! Such is the greatness of this Day that the Hour itself is seized with perturbation, and all heavenly Scriptures bear evidence to its overpowering majesty. In this Day the Book solemnly testifieth to His glory and the Balance is moved to lift up its voice. This is the Day wherein the Sirat calleth aloud: "I am the straight Path," and Mount Sinai exclaimeth: "Verily the Lord of Revelation is come."

Praise be to God, this cycle is the cycle of love and loyalty, this age is of fellowship and fidelity. It is the century of lights and the day of the revelation of mysteries. It is the time of the manifestation of Mount Sinai and the era of the cup whose mixture is of camphor. It is the dawning of the Sun of Truth and the age of the light of oneness.

His glory be magnified and His utterance exalted:

O Majid! These are the days of the Most Great Manifestation -- days whose mention hath been on the lips of them that are nigh unto God, the sincere ones, and the Messengers. All have yearned and hoped for the attainment of this Day from God, exalted be His grace.

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Should all the world unite with utmost striving and effort to extinguish the light of God and quench the fire of the divine Word, they shall prove powerless and shall find themselves impotent.

Say: Seize ye these days! By God, the eyes have not seen their like, as attested by him who possesses a preserved tablet.

Today the Cause of God is at the height of power, yet some foolish ones intend to weaken this mighty structure of the Cause of God so that they may, through its weakness, seize what they can and achieve their own ends. Alas! Alas! That divine Physician, though in chains, bestowed such power to this structure that its strength shall assuredly dispel all ills and ailments, and naught shall remain for them save manifest loss.

Although at present the full significance of this divine institution is not yet clearly apparent, in the future it shall become as manifest and radiant as the sun.

If any tract of land with its capacities and realities does not become verdant and flourishing in this Most Great Day, there is no doubt it will remain forever deprived of the outpourings of the All-Merciful and will grow naught but the thorns of regret and despair.

Most mighty is the Cause and most great is the Day. This is that Day which in most of the Books hath been designated as the Day of God, and this is that Day wherein, as He hath declared, Truth shall be made manifest and the ranks of angels shall stand ready to serve. No one hath been or shall ever be capable of befittingly describing this blessed Day.

The Mother Book on the Day of Return proclaims: O learned ones, recognize the value of this Day! This is that Day which the Torah foretold in the revealed words "Lead forth the people from darkness into light and remind them of the Days of God." And the Desired One of all worlds declares in the Qur'an: "The Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds." Each of the divine Books is adorned with His mention and bears glad tidings of His appearance.

Say: O friends! With the utmost joy and fragrance, occupy yourselves with the remembrance of the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and strive to make up for what hath passed, for this Day hath no likeness or equal.

This is a Revelation that infuseth strength into the feeble, and crowneth with wealth the destitute.

O friends! These are days around which all centuries and ages revolve, and this is a time before which all times in the world bow down in humility. Let not the diverse colors of the world deprive you of everlasting bounty and eternal, enduring blessings.

If the contents of this glorious volume are from the mysteries of the Day of Manifestation and the divine conditions of the One manifested on the Mount, it will make the world bright and luminous, and if its meanings are from the realities required by the human world it will make one sorrowful and grief-stricken.

O ye friends! This cycle is the cycle of Bestowal and this period is the period of Mercy. All the seasons are the season of spring and all the periods are the period of the Grace of the Almighty. The Breeze of Providence is wafting, the Fragrances of the rose garden of the realities and significances are perfuming the nostrils and the melody of the Kingdom of Mercifulness has stirred into joy and happiness the heart and the soul! What a delightful age is this! What a heart-attracting century is this!

By God the True One, every seed that is sown in this glorious age will be made to grow by God through the bounty of His clouds of mercy which preceded all contingent things, and from which and through which all existing things were awakened and issued forth, and unto which they shall return.

Furthermore, the Cause of Baha'u'llah cannot be compared with any other, for within this Cause are all others included. The followers of every religion, the members of every assemblage, will find the basis of their own cause in this one.

O friends! Know ye the value of these days of the Merciful One. By God! The sun hath never shone upon their like or similitude. Seize ye the opportunity in My days, then restrict your affairs to the service of My Cause. God will soon exalt your stations and ranks thereby, and will manifest to all on earth your loftiness and elevation and what ye have endured in His path and what hath befallen you in His wondrous Cause.

Now all must unite in raising the comprehensive Word and must, with the utmost striving and effort, engage in teaching God's Cause with wisdom and forbearance.

All must regard the time as precious, for a single minute of these days cannot be compared with the centuries of bygone ages.

Hold fast unto truth and fix thy gaze upon Him. By My life! The traces of every soul that ariseth today shall remain on earth as long as the divine names and attributes endure. All that is witnessed today shall vanish save those matters which are related to truth and which have appeared in His path.

This Day has no equal. In this transient station, one must acquire an everlasting rank.

O Muhammad! We created the world for this Most Great Day, yet when it appeared, the divines of the earth denied it, and through their denial the people denied it also.

The King of Eternity hath come for the betterment of the world. If the people but knew, they would have circumambulated His Throne.

They must conduct themselves in such a way that they make kings their subjects and princes captives to the love of God.

But each of you, like unto a brilliant star, shall shine from the horizon of reality upon the world of being, and through the passage of ages and centuries shall remain radiant. Your eternal glory shall increase day by day, and in the Concourse on High, with bright countenance, ye shall so shine forth that your luminous rays will illumine the centuries and cycles.

How many blessed souls have longed for this radiant century, their utmost hopes and desires centered upon the happiness and joy of one such day as this. Many the nights they passed sleepless and lamenting until the very morn in longing anticipation of this age, yearning to realize even an hour of this time. God has favored you in this century and has specialized you for the realization of its blessings.

He has created us in this radiant century, a century longed for and expected by all the sanctified souls in past periods. It is a blessed century; it is a blessed day. The philosophers of history have agreed that this century is equal to one hundred past centuries. This is true from every standpoint. This is the century of science, inventions, discoveries and universal laws. This is the century of the revelation of the mysteries of God. This is the century of the effulgence of the rays of the Sun of Truth.

Now it is just beginning to sprout. This is just the beginning. Now I am blowing the Breath of Life into you. If you adhere to My Words, if you obey My Commands, you will become entirely illumined.

Q: 'Abdu'l-Baha, when will the Kingdom come? How soon will His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven?

A: "It depends on how intensely you, each and every one of you, serve day and night. Ye are all torches that I have lighted with mine own hands. Go forth, light others till all the separate waiting servants are linked together in a great Unity.

If in this glorious century you do not illuminate your faces, make manifest your sweet fragrances, open your eyes, and find repose in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree of favors, then in what time and what moments will you brighten your countenance and make the world a rose garden?

If in this new age and glorious cycle we remain silent and withered, in what age and cycle shall we become eloquent and fresh? If in this divine springtime we remain listless and faded, in what spring shall we become full of vigor and alive?

The Blessed Beauty has transferred this community from what realm to what realm! This community used to be intent on bloodshed and killing and pillage and plunder. Now when the whole world is warlike, they are in the utmost love and kind to all.

Blessed art thou and blessed is he who hath attained unto this most exalted and most high station. The bounty is great, the seeker rare. They who are on earth have gathered around the putrid carcasses of passion and desire, and are deprived of the descended feast from the heaven of the bounty of God, exalted be His glory. Convey the greetings of the Wronged One to the people of the village. The mention of all, whether male or female, and likewise the service of each one, is clear and evident in the Most Holy Court.

By the life of God! This is that Cause which the passage of centuries and ages shall not alter, which extinction shall not overtake, and whosoever attaineth unto it hath attained unto God's infinite bounties in all the worlds.

Convey greetings on behalf of this evanescent servant to all the friends, and say to them on behalf of this servant: O friends! Such days as these have never been seen nor shall be seen again. Know ye their worth and, with perfect fellowship and unity, occupy yourselves with the remembrance of the Lord of the Day of Judgment, that perchance ailing souls may drink from the sea of healing and distant servants attain to the Kawthar of nearness. For whatsoever is manifested from any soul today shall endure as long as the kingdom of earth and heaven endure.

Convey My greetings to all the kindred, and likewise say to the friends of God: O people of God! This is a day wherein if a single pure deed is performed for the sake of God, it cannot be equated with the deeds of centuries and ages. Among goodly deeds it is as the sun among the stars. Blessed is he who hath recognized the station of the Day of God and hath arisen as befitteth it.

Today is the day of deeds and the day for the manifestation of human stations. All must, God willing, be witnessed as firm and steadfast in the Cause of the Lord of Names with the most great steadfastness, and act according to that which hath been revealed in the Book. One pure deed today is better than the deeds of countless years.

As to the Ancient Beauty and the Most Great Name---my spirit be a sacrifice to the dust beneath His feet---alone and single, manifest and evident, without helper or defender, He, by His blessed Self, confronted all governments and peoples, and withstood all who dwelt upon the earth. Like the shining sun was He, and like a radiant candle in every assembly. Ever did He tear away the veils and raise aloft the standard, and make His breast the target for the shafts of hostile factions.

Yet another proof is that it was from within this afflictive prison that Baha'u'llah revealed and advanced such a sublime Revelation---a Revelation whose renown hath spread throughout the world, which hath been firmly established in the East, and the light of whose radiant morn is diffused even as the rays of the sun. And all this despite the fact that the governments and peoples of the East arose in resistance and opposition, launching their attacks with every power at their disposal. Reflect: Hath such might and power ever been manifested before?

The greater the Cause, the more stupendous its upheavals. The vaster the ocean, the more tumultuous its tempests. A lake is not as turbulent as the sea. The waves of the most great Sea are impetuous, ungovernable. The foams and scums of a great sea are huge, prodigious. The revolutions, the events and the happenings that transpire and the difficulties that arise in a movement are likened in the Koran to the scums and foams on the surface of a raging sea.

The Ocean of the Cause is limitless, shoreless, depthless. One wave and all this foam will be scattered to the four corners of the sea. I do not look at the present disturbed conditions of the ocean. My heart is assured and confident as to the future of the Cause. No person no matter how powerful, how mighty can shake the foundation of the Baha'i Faith. It rests upon the eternal rock of ages.

Consider how the Cause of God was great, that in those very days when the Firman of the Sultan of Turkey came for the exile of Baha'u'llah from Bagdad, those days became the happiest days in the Baha'i Calendar -- Rizwan Days. Reflect what a degree of spirituality existed amongst the Baha'is, that the days of their greatest affliction were transferred into days of rejoicing and pure joy to all the people of the world.

Such are the intentions of this evil man."

`Abdu'l-Baha then added, "However, this man does not know that even if `Akka is destroyed or `Abdu'l-Baha slain or Baha'is martyred, he can never extinguish the Faith of God. 'Leave them to their inventions.' Soon you will witness how God deals with the tongue that has spoken in this way and so dishonestly uttered such lies and slander."

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During the lifetime of Baha'u'llah, because of the combinations of a number of favorable spiritual and material conditions the influence of the Cause and its potency was felt by all the inhabitants but during the last few years owing to my absence and devoting my attention to other important affairs and the presence of unforeseen elements the former conditions do not exist.

Say: O masters! Today is that Day when all things have been transformed - brother hath shunned brother, father hath dissociated from son, and likewise son from father. How many friends whose bonds of fellowship were severed because of the Word of God, and how many distant ones who drew near, and how many near ones who became distant! How many thirsty ones remained bewildered in the deserts of error and perished, and how many of them made their way to the Most Great Ocean, attained unto it and drank therefrom! This is the Day wherein kinship is not observed. The souls who have accepted are both fathers and sons, for they walk on one path, drink from one wine, gaze toward one horizon, and dwell in one house. Their relationship is made firm through the Name of God. Blessed are they and those who love them.

From the beginning of creation until now, no Revelation like this Revelation hath appeared and no eye hath beheld its like. All that was made manifest in the past is as a drop compared to this Ocean.

And this Most Great Cause, despite its loftiness, sublimity, glory, ascendancy and power, hath appeared in the realm of Persia, yet until now its people remain heedless of it, save for a few. Not for a moment have they contemplated this Cause with justice and fairness, nor have they ever sought to exalt it.

The land of Hijaz, though deserted and sterile in its soil and its tribes ignorant and barbarous, yet the power of the Cause of God has made of such a spot a Point of Adoration and the focal centre of world devotion.

The eyes of all creation have been gladdened by what hath shone forth from the horizon of the Prison, and ears have been purified to hearken unto what hath been raised therein, and all things have been stirred by its most sweet call. How wondrous is this Revelation, the like of which hath never appeared in creation! It is as though every atom of earthly dust danceth from its fragrances, moveth in its atmosphere, and seeketh to attain the presence of its countenance.

Even all enemies testify to this, for this world-consuming war caused all the divine texts to be fulfilled and become manifest like the sun at its zenith. No one was left with the possibility of denial, for the proof became complete.

But you, O you who are firm and steadfast in the religion of God, be not grieved by what they do, for surely Our hosts shall be victorious.

Erelong the power of the Kingdom will encompass all the world and then they will be awakened and will cry and lament over those who were oppressed and martyred, and will sigh and moan.

God be praised, for the renown and glory of the Abha Beauty hath conquered the world, and the fame of the advent of the Most Great Name hath stirred up the whole earth. His call is now raised in every land, and His life-giving breezes blow from every region. Yet, regrettably, the unfaithful are striving to the utmost to extinguish His radiant Light, to still the wafting of His perfumed breeze, and to hinder the diffusion of His sweet fragrance.

'Abdu'l-Baha then pointed to me and asked about Germany. I made a few remarks about the believers in Vaibkan and Kinsitad, and shared the story of Mrs. Schwarz and the fact that she used to say, "I will make the German believers like a magnet, attracting 'Abdu'l-Baha to our land."

The Master said: "The power and the efficacy of the Word of God has produced such an influence that, when one considers it closely, one becomes astonished. From Iran to Germany! It is all miracles. Certain wronged souls were banished from Iran, but this exile resulted in the construction of the Shrine of the Bab and the pilgrim house on Mount Carmel! This exile resulted in the establishment of the Faith in America and in Germany! This exile resulted in the propagation of the Cause throughout both the East and the West. This exile resulted in the diffusion of the Word of God and the divine fragrance throughout all corners of the globe!

"With all his pomp and ceremony, Nasiri'd-Din Shah died in the utmost misery, but this band, without any help or succor, became the recipient of infinite divine favors and confirmations. Indeed, the situation has reached such a state that when any of the friends travel to other parts of the world, they are received as beloved kinsman and feel that they have loving relations everywhere.

"I noticed that some Iranians and wayward friends went [to Germany] and pretended to be believers. In turn, the [western] Baha'is accepted them with the utmost sincerity and love. These imposters caused considerable difficulties, and therefore, I wrote that those not bearing My notice and signature should not be received [as Baha'is].

"Germany is now in war with all the nations and has conquered them all. But we have conquered Germany. Is this conquest not the source of her everlasting glory?"

If we reflect for one moment and compare the results of the two Movements we will logically conclude that no power on earth can stand in the path of the progress of the Baha'i Cause which is the Cause of Humanity.

O Shaykh! By the life of God! The eye of creation hath not witnessed the like of this Day, wherein the Lord of the worlds hath ascended the Most Great Throne and hath spoken that which hath enraptured Sinai, saying: "Blessed be the spot of earth that hath been ennobled by Thy footsteps and adorned by Thy mighty throne."

Do the calumnies of the people hinder it? Nay, by His very Self! Do the threats of today frighten it? Nay, by His light through which earth and heaven were illumined!

We have manifested the Cause and raised up the prison to such a station that every lofty place bows before it.

Today the greatest of all things is steadfastness in the Cause of the All-Forgiving Lord and drawing light from the glass of illumination. Today the Cause of God shines like a lamp at its zenith, and all eyes are bewildered and amazed that a Cause of such greatness, like the brilliant moon, has never before appeared in the realm of possibility.

And now the bats of the world's religions are thinking to prepare for themselves a refuge, shelter, dwelling and abode in the darkness of wells and the depths of dark caverns, for they have become utterly hopeless and have witnessed the power of God's Cause, especially after the ascension of the Intended One, for the sovereignty of the Ancient Beauty became greater and His power was manifested more perfectly.

That is why thou seest that though the disciples of Christ were weak and fragile and though to outward seeming they appeared to be crushed and conquered by the oppression of the princes of their times but at the last their Cause achieved total sovereignty and victory over the world. The entire world was brought beneath their shadow.

It will become clear and evident that Christ remained unharmed, and "they slew him not, neither crucified him, but it appeared so unto them." The Blessed Beauty will be seated upon the celestial throne of sovereignty, and the might and majesty of the Cause of God will encompass all regions.

Look not at the beginning; consider the end. Christ was crucified, the Prince of Martyrs was slain and plundered and His people taken captive. But observe now how these two illustrious ones shine forth manifest and resplendent from the horizon of might and power, while the obstinate Jews and Yazid are abased, overthrown, despised, rejected, condemned and wrapped in the severest torment and veils.

[Regarding the many exiles of Baha'u'llah and His banishment from Iran to 'Iraq, Istanbul, Edirne and eventually to 'Akka, 'Abdu'l-Baha remarked:] Abraham's migration precipitated the manifestation and appearance of Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Exalted One [i.e. the Bab] and Baha'u'llah. Ponder what mighty influences and stupendous consequences will appear in the contingent world as a result of the exiles, hardships, and banishments of the Blessed Perfection.

However, the migration and wandering of Abraham resulted in the guidance of the entire world and precipitated the Manifestation of Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Christ, Muhammad and the Exalted One [the Bab]. Verily, Our exile and banishment also resulted in the proclamation of the Cause of God.

Say: By the life of God! This Cause is founded upon a firm, steadfast and immovable foundation that neither the winds of rejection and opposition, nor the hosts of those who have turned away from God, the Lord of all worlds, can shake.

The rulers of Palestine envied His influence and power. Governors and mutisarrifs, generals and local officials, would humbly request the honor of attaining His presence - a request to which He seldom acceded.

This blessed, pure, and hallowed word sufficeth thee, and all the peoples of the world---would that they might ponder it! In every word of the divine utterance a sea of knowledge and awareness lieth hidden.

Every lamp is quenched save the lamp of God's Cause which shineth resplendent in the midst of the world - winds cause its light to increase and cannot extinguish it.

I swear by the Sun of existence that all the world shall perish save those deeds that have been and shall be manifested in the path of God.

Say: By God! In these days when the Sun of Beauty has risen from the horizon of grandeur, questions shall profit you not, save that you turn unto God with manifest humility. Say: O people! Fear God, and fabricate not against His servant, and be not of the oppressors. Beware lest you draw against me the swords of rancor and hatred; have mercy, rather, upon my solitude amidst these idolaters, and upon my tribulation at the hands of mine enemies, whereby I have become imprisoned in this deep pit.

Despite the onslaught of various enemies, turmoil and corruption of the foolish, and storms of trials, still 'Abdu'l-Baha stands firm like an impregnable fortress, openly serving the Cause of God, such that the fame of the Blessed Beauty's greatness has become world-embracing and the call of the divine friends has reached the ethereal sphere.

The Cycle of the Blessed Perfection will last for a long time. The next manifestation will not be so great as this One. When He appears, He will not be an independent One.

Today all are beheld on a single plane. How excellent is the state of the one who hath turned with celestial power and might toward the King of Oneness.

As for thy reaching a house that was larger and more magnificent than a palace, and each of its chambers appeared as grand as a palace - these details testify to the greatness of the Cause, the expansion of the Revelation, and the extensiveness of its holy hem.

And amidst what We commanded thee, We saw Amin standing at the side of this manifest Scene with a luminous and joyous countenance, and We commanded him as We had commanded thee, and We recited unto him this most exalted Word which the All-Merciful had made as a brilliant gem upon the brow of utterance: "O servant! Know thou the value of these days. Verily, the sojourn of the All-Merciful among the peoples of the worlds is like unto the duration of the rose in the garden."

O friend! Though the Cause of God was made manifest in every cycle, yet it hath never been so plain and evident as in this most great Cycle, for this luminous Dispensation is distinguished in every respect and hath no peer or likeness in any regard.

O friends of God! This is the Day that hath been mentioned and recorded in all the Books, Scriptures, Psalms and Tablets. By the life of God! It is more glorious than all else in the sight of God, the Lord of the worlds. How blessed is the state of those souls who have recognized Him and acted as befitteth Him.

Say: O people! The Day, promised unto you in all the Scriptures, is now come. Fear ye God, and withhold not yourselves from recognizing the One Who is the Object of your creation. Hasten ye unto Him. Better is this for you than the world and all that is therein.

The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all the sacred Scriptures.

This is a Day wherein the Beloved speaks "We have known thee" and Moses declares "Verily we have seen thee."

O ye beloved of God! How great is this Dispensation! How bright the effulgence of this Age, the Age of the All-Glorious Lord! All creation hath been set in motion, and the universe vibrateth with tidings of joy and ecstasy. The realities of all things are filled with blissful rapture, and every atom in existence is ecstatic with delight. Souls are attaining unto prosperity and advancement, and the friends are achieving success and progress.

If we are not happy and joyous at this season, for what other season shall we wait and for what other time shall we look? Boundless treasure is in the hand of the King of Kings! Lift the hem of thy garment to receive it. This is the time for growing; the season for joyous gathering!

This Day hath been and is unlike all other days. All the Prophets gave glad tidings of this Day, and likewise did all things. Blessed are they whom neither the tales of the past and future prevented from the Kawthar of the All-Merciful's utterance, nor did the rejection of the rejectors and the opposition of the oppressors hold back from turning to the Truth.

Great is this Day and mighty the Cause, while most people are weak. Where are they who stood firm in the Cause such that neither the tempests of deception nor the storms of the Evil One could move them? And where are they who cast away the world and held fast to the cord of the name of their Lord, the Lord of Names? And where are they who arose to aid the Cause of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise?

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 assemblages of the world and the rays of the Sun of Truth will illumine every house, every place and corner.

O servant of Baha'u'llah!

Those regions and environs are the ground wherein grew the blessed Tree, and are the homeland of the Desired One. In the fullness of time they shall so prosper as to become the envy of every other land.

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...equipped and empowered to accomplish that which will adorn the pages of history, to become the envy of the world, and be blest in both the East and the West

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Say: This is the Day whereon the Sun of Justice is seen behind the clouds by reason of what the hands of the oppressors have wrought.

Reflect upon these days, that their greatness and He Who hath appeared in them through the sovereignty of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Praised, may become evident unto thee.

This is the King of Days, the Day that hath seen the coming of the Best-Beloved of the worlds. This indeed is He Who hath been the Desired One throughout all eternity.

Although the glory and greatness of this service is not apparent now, in future centuries it will acquire tremendous importance and will attract the attention of the greatest authors of the world.

These days, the region of the Caucasus hath acquired an extraordinary receptivity. An effort must needs be exerted so that it may be proven that "Qaf, by the glorious Qur'an"1 is the nest of the Divine Eastern Phoenix: Haply, the voice of the Simurgh2 of the Cause of God may be raised from those territories and regions, and the reflection of this luminous mountain fall in effulgence and splendour upon this illimitable expanse.

We have revealed the verses and manifested the evidences and rent asunder the veils before all faces, such that the might of the world hath not hindered Us.

By the life of God! This is a Day that hath no peer or likeness. Act ye therein according to that which We have revealed in the perspicuous Book.

The Tongue of Eternity speaks: O My handmaiden and daughter of My handmaiden! We have created all servants and handmaidens specifically for this Day, for the Purpose of all worlds is now manifest, established upon the throne of grandeur, and at all times the divine heralds call the people to the direction of the All-Merciful.

… The Cause is mighty and the Purpose mighty; therefore the seekers of the sanctuary of the All-Merciful must not be prevented by trials.

But make firm the hearts of the maidservants and believers in this Cause which the greatest powers of the world cannot withstand and which spreads in spite of all through the power of the kingdom of God.

This is the time for gladness, the day of joy and exhilaration, for, praised be God, all doors are opened wide through the bounty of the Abha Beauty.

Consider that the soul-imparting melody of His Holiness Christ - may my life be a sacrifice to Him - became effective and world-conquering after three hundred years, but in a short space of time the Melody of the Kingdom of Abha stirred into cheerfulness the East and the West!

Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds. This evanescent servant conveys greetings to all the friends in that land and beseeches God to confirm them all in unity, concord, firmness, steadfastness and service. This day has no likeness or parallel. You must regard the time as precious. I swear by the Sun of Truth that every moment of these days has been and is more precious than mountains of gold. O friends! Consider the time precious and act as befits it.

O Qasim! Great is the Cause and souls are weak. We beseech God to adorn all with the ornament of strength and power, that all may remain firm on the straight path of His Cause.

O Afnan of the Blessed Tree! Consider how the kings of the world could not resist the Cause of God and were ultimately frustrated and disappointed, despite their countless armies and tumultuous hosts - each with forces that conquered the world like waves, each with armies that shook the earth.

O 'Ali-i-Akbar! The whole world awaited the appearance of the Ancient King, beseeching with utmost lamentation, helplessness and supplication from the Self-Sufficient, the Exalted, the manifestation of the Dawning-Place of Revelation and the Rising-Point of His verses. Yet when the expanse of the world was illumined by the lights of the Most Great Luminary, all arose in opposition.

This age is the first age, and this century the greatest of centuries. Though in future centuries the standards of guidance shall wave over all regions, yet the power of divine confirmation in this century is greater than in all centuries, and the light of oneness shineth with mighty rays upon all hearts. One step in this day is equal to a hundred thousand steps, and one breath in this time is equal to a hundred thousand breaths, for this is the beginning of bounty and the time of the intense outpouring of grace.

In this Most Great Century of Glory, which is the envy of earlier centuries and manifest over later ones, show forth a high endeavor and pursue noble aims, that whatever is required by this bounty may become evident and manifest.

O Land of Ta! By God, thou hast attained to that which most of the world's lands have not attained. God hath made thee the dawning-place of His signs and the manifestation of His names. He is the Powerful, the Mighty.

Convey greetings from the All-Merciful to them that circle round the Kaaba of divine knowledge and say: Should all the writers of the earth gather together and attempt to describe this most mighty, most holy Day as it truly is, they would surely find themselves powerless to do so.

I testify that this is Thy Day which hath been mentioned in Thy Books, Thy Epistles, Thy Psalms and Thy Tablets. In it Thou hast manifested that which was hidden in Thy Knowledge and stored up in the repositories of Thine unfailing protection.

The call of Thy Greatest Name hath caused a mighty reverberation throughout all the kingdoms, and the Power of Thy Consummate Word hath unfurled Thy Ensign to the East and to the West!

This is the Day the attainment of which all the Prophets and Messengers beseeched of God and yearned after.

I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast ordained this Day to stand unequalled amongst all the days of Thy world and unrivalled amidst all that Thou hast fashioned through Thy creative power. This is that primal Day which Thou hast singled out from among all other days, and exalted over all other times, and appointed as the King of Days unto all peoples, inasmuch as Thou didst manifest on this Day the tokens of Thy transcendent power and the evidences of Thy holy unity.

Behold, how firm and strong is the foundation of the Cause of God. The divine teaching is a splendorous light that no evil doer can withstand and a surging sea of bounty that no tyranny can confine.

I beseech Thee by the Crimson Scroll and by the Point through which all things were distinguished, and through which was manifested that which lay hidden in the kingdom of names, to assist me in this Cause whereby the heart of the world hath been shaken and the nations have lamented, save those who have held fast to the cord of Thy grace and clung to the hem of Thy bounty.

Behold the grace and bounty of the Blessed Beauty who, purely out of grace and loving-kindness, without any capacity or worthiness on our part, gave us the spirit of life in this radiant century, gathered us beneath the banner of the King of horizons, and distinguished us with a gift that was the ultimate desire of the noble ones.

O handmaidens of the All-Merciful! Give thanks unto God that you have stepped into the arena of existence in such a blessed age and have been nurtured in the cradle of being during what is the most luminous sun of all cycles and ages.

Thou art He Who, O my God, hath exalted Thy Cause to such heights that thoughts are bewildered thereby and the limbs of the evil ones tremble. There is no city but hath been illumined with the lights of Thy mention.

Magnified be Thy name, O my God, for that Thou hast manifested the Day which is the King of Days, the Day which Thou didst announce unto Thy chosen Ones and Thy Prophets in Thy most excellent Tablets, the Day whereon Thou didst shed the splendor of the glory of all Thy names upon all created things.

The entire world awaited the Day of Manifestation, yet on the Day of God, their deeds profited none. Their actions became the cause of the waywardness of the servants. Had they held fast to the divine Will and acted according to that which is in the Book, they would not have been seen deprived and forbidden from the ocean of grace and the sun of loving-kindness on this wondrous Day.

This is the Day wherein every hearer has attained to hearing the Call of God, the Lord of the Throne and of the dust, and every seeing one to beholding the lights of the countenance of his Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful.

The Day is the Day of God - all must be focused on Him and detached from all else. One deed performed on this Day cannot be equaled by the deeds manifested in centuries and ages past.

To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Baha'u'llah's stupendous Revelation must, it is my unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and it is our bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance as we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of the truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based.

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The Baha'i Faith is the Revelation of Baha'u'llah: His Own Words as interpreted by 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardian. It is a Revelation of such staggering magnitude that no Baha'i at this early stage in Baha'i history can rightly claim to have more than a partial and imperfect understanding of it.

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How vast is the Revelation of Baha'u'llah! How great the magnitude of His blessings showered upon humanity in this day! And yet, how poor, how inadequate our conception of their significance and glory! This generation stands too close to so colossal a Revelation to appreciate, in their full measure, the infinite possibilities of His Faith, the unprecedented character of His Cause, and the mysterious dispensations of His Providence.

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He Who in such dramatic circumstances was made to sustain the overpowering weight of so glorious a Mission was none other than the One Whom posterity will acclaim, and Whom innumerable followers already recognize, as the Judge, the Lawgiver and Redeemer of all mankind, as the Organizer of the entire planet, as the Unifier of the children of men, as the Inaugurator of the long-awaited millennium, as the Originator of a new "Universal Cycle," as the Establisher of the Most Great Peace, as the Fountain of the Most Great Justice, as the Proclaimer of the coming of age of the entire human race, as the Creator of a new World Order, and as the Inspirer and Founder of a world civilization.

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The Revelation of Baha'u'llah, whose supreme mission is none other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to its implications, be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution of man's collective life on this planet.

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This idea of the coming of age of mankind constitutes the central core of the Baha'i Teachings, and is the most distinguishing feature of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. A proper understanding of this concept gives the key to an adequate appreciation of the tremendous claim made by the Author of the Faith, both with regard to His own station, and to the incomparable greatness of His Dispensation.

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All the spiritual and social movements existing in the world, and undoubtedly there are many of them, have some spark of the divine truth. Their very existence shows that they have something to offer to man and fulfil some purpose. But what the world needs, at such a critical moment in its history, is not a mere palliative. It needs a movement that goes deep into its social and spiritual illness and brings about a complete, fundamental change - a change that will include in its scope both the social and spiritual reform of man. But such a movement cannot be inaugurated save by a messenger of God, revealed by Him for that very object. In similar critical moments that have punctuated the history of man in the past, a Zoroaster, a Moses, a Christ and a Muhammad appeared, and in this day, the Baha'is declare, Baha'u'llah has been revealed.

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World peace is not only possible but inevitable. It is the next stage in the evolution of this planet -- in the words of one great thinker, "the planetization of mankind".* Whether peace is to be reached only after unimaginable horrors precipitated by humanity's stubborn clinging to old patterns of behaviour, or is to be embraced now by an act of consultative will, is the choice before all who inhabit the earth.

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"I testify before God," proclaims Baha'u'llah, "to the greatness, the inconceivable greatness of this Revelation. Again and again have We in most of Our Tablets borne witness to this truth, that mankind may be roused from its heedlessness." "In this most mighty Revelation," He unequivocally announces, "all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, their final consummation."

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Verily I say, in this most mighty Revelation, all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, their final consummation.

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In this most mighty Revelation all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest and final consummation. Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation after Him, such a man is assuredly a lying imposter.

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"Verily I say! No one hath apprehended the root of this Cause. It is incumbent upon everyone, in this day, to perceive with the eye of God, and to hearken with His ear. Whoso beholdeth Me with an eye besides Mine own will never be able to know Me. None among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath ever completely apprehended the nature of this Revelation." … "In this most mighty Revelation all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, their final consummation."

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This day the powers of all the leaders of religion are directed towards the dispersion of the congregation of the All-Merciful, and the shattering of the Divine Edifice. The hosts of the world, whether material, cultural or political are from every side launching their assault, for the Cause is great, very great. Its greatness is, in this day, clear and manifest to men's eyes. It is therefore incumbent upon all who have come within the shade of the protecting wing of God's gracious providence to evince, by His divine and merciful assistance, such conspicuous steadfastness and firmness as will arrest the gaze and astound the minds of all.

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We are called upon by our beloved Master in His Will and Testament not only to adopt it [Baha'u'llah's new world order] unreservedly, but to unveil its merit to all the world. To attempt to estimate its full value, and grasp its exact significance after so short a time since its inception would be premature and presumptuous on our part. We must trust to time, and the guidance of God's Universal House of Justice, to obtain a clearer and fuller understanding of its provisions and implications....

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