Spiritual gatherings: worship, welcome and a community’s life

Look ye not upon the fewness of thy numbers, rather, seek ye out hearts that are pure. One consecrated soul is preferable to a thousand other souls. If a small number of people gather lovingly together, with absolute purity and sanctity, with their hearts free of the world, experiencing the emotions of the Kingdom and the powerful magnetic forces of the Divine, and being at one in their happy fellowship, that gathering will exert its influence over all the earth. The nature of that band of people, the words they speak, the deeds they do, will unleash the bestowals of Heaven, and provide a foretaste of eternal bliss.

Ours should be the prayer that His blessings may be vouchsafed in still greater abundance, and ours to hold fast to such means as shall ensure a fuller outpouring of His grace and a greater measure of His divine assistance. One of the greatest of these means is the spirit of true fellowship and loving communion amongst the friends. Remember the saying: 'Of all pilgrimages the greatest is to relieve the sorrow-laden heart.'

You must conduct your meetings with great dignity and treat with honor those who come to them. Should there be any strangers, treat them with perfect friendship and love. Your duty is to unite all, in order that no disunion exist, especially among the believers. All must feel perfect at home, and especially, free to ask questions. In fact, you must conduct these meeting that they become sociable and charming. You must always read the Words of Baha'u'llah--from the Ighan. In your meetings there must always be shown respect for one another and for the Cause of GOD.

O dear ones of 'Abdu'l-Baha! In the world of existence there is no blessed gathering more precious than an assembly where white and black come together in the utmost spiritual love and heartfelt fellowship. When such gatherings are formed with perfect unity, the angels of the Kingdom of Abha offer praise, and blessed are ye, again blessed are ye.

O friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha! After reading this letter, gather in groups of nineteen in various places and at different times, mixing together friends from among the followers of the Qur'an and of Moses, and after reciting verses and prayers, read this letter from this yearning one and recite the prayer, and shake hands and embrace one another, renewing the covenant of love and oneness.

[In a feast held in 'Abdu'l-Baha's house, He remarked:] This feast belongs to the illustrious pilgrims of the Jewish descent. Through the favors of the Blessed Beauty, many diverse people have gathered in this assembly and partaken of this spiritual sustenance - Jewish, Christian or Muslim descendents, and friends from both the East and the West - each coming from a different locality arriving at this Land.

Assembly means the diffusion of the divine fragrances, not merely a gathering. Assembly means humility and submissiveness toward the loved ones of God. Assembly means the exaltation of the Word of God. Assembly means sanctification and purification from all else save God.

This is a spiritual assembly. This is a divine gathering. This is a heavenly congregation.

How spiritual are our meetings! In the utmost love are we set aglow! The hearts are all attracted to each other. It is just like being one soul, one body. Such a meeting as this is impossible and cannot be organized save through the Love of God. There is no material interest whatsoever. There is no worldly desire at all. In the utmost purity and holiness has the Force of Divinity assembled us.

Until love and fellowship and unity and accord reach this degree, the Beloved of confirmation and success will not appear unveiled in the assembly of spiritual ones.

Consider what a bounty He has bestowed. Now this gathering, each from a different place, each soul from a different clime and country - how much difference there was between us, how much strife, how much estrangement! He dawned upon us with His attribute of mercy, gathered us all together, gave us fellowship, united us, and gathered us at one table in such a foreign land. And we are all gathered at this table in utmost love, fellowship, unity and oneness, with no purpose save servitude at His Sacred Threshold, and no desire save love and fellowship.

Our Lord: "Although our assembly tonight numbers only ten outwardly, in reality it is representative of all the beloved of God. Why? Because it pictures the Baha'i community. The seed, no matter how small, in the estimation of the perceptive mind, is a veritable tree. The mind images the tree and the tree is revealed from the seed. Likewise, when I see you it is as though I were seeing all the beloved of God.

Such a gathering is fundamentally spiritual, sincere and most important. But we must arise in the accomplishment of its purposes, for our attention is directed toward the heavenly Kingdom unto which we must render faithful service.

All over Europe today one hears of meetings and assemblies, and societies of all kinds are formed. There are those interested in commerce, science, and politics, and many others. All these are for material service, their desire being for the progress and enlightenment of the world of matter. But rarely does a breath from the spirit world breathe upon them. They seem unconscious of the Divine Voice, careless concerning the things of God.

But this meeting in Paris is a truly spiritual one. The Divine Breath is poured forth in your midst, the light of the Kingdom is shining in all hearts.

Attendance at the gatherings of the friends is specifically to keep them alert, vigilant, loving and attracted to the divine Kingdom.

The greater their purity, the greater their reflected splendour.

Wherefore, let us arise, let us bestir ourselves, let us rally round the Standard of the One True God, and gather together under the shadow of the Lord's Sacred Tree, the Tree that hath voiced the Call of God and uttered the Word of Truth. This is indeed, in the eyes of the Lord, your God, the Gracious, a supreme and glorious triumph.

Every meeting which is organized for the purpose of unity and concord will be conducive to changing strangers into friends, enemies into associates, and Abdul-Baha will be present in his heart and soul with that meeting.

How joyful it is to see such a meeting as this, for it is in truth a gathering together of 'heavenly men'.

We are all united in one Divine purpose, no material motive is ours, and our dearest wish is to spread the Love of God throughout the world!

He first asked if we were all well and happy, and added: "This is a great day - greater than you can comprehend - and you ought to appreciate it. Truly the East and the West now meet together - Persia and America. In the time of Christ the disciples met with Him - it was then also the meeting of the East and West - and their meeting made this one possible, but this meeting is far greater on account of the greater love and unity. Their meeting was the seed and this meeting is the fruits.

It is my hope that the meetings of the Baha'i Assembly in New York shall become like meetings of the Supreme Concourse. When you assemble, you must reflect the lights of the heavenly Kingdom.

Now how often in one gathering do Turk and Tajik and Persian and American and European and African come together, all in perfect unity and oneness and affection and freedom, raising songs of praise to the Kingdom of Beauty.

Therefore, this meeting is blessed. But if it is firmly established and become constant, it will bring forth great results and most weighty developments will be attained. Consequently, persevere ye in renewing your meetings and display utmost magnanimity in firmness and steadfastness.

It contained the good news that the friends of God and the maidservants of the Merciful have gathered in summer at Green Acre, have been engaged day and night in the commemoration of God, have served the oneness of the world of humanity, have shown love to all religions, have remained aloof from every religious prejudice and have been kind to all people.

Wherever a lamp is lighted in the night, naturally people are attracted and gather around it. When you see such an assemblage as this, you may know that a light is illumining the darkness.

Speaking about the coming together of the friends he said:- "The meetings of the friends are like unto the delightful rose-gardens in which you find variegated flowers adding to each other's charm. It is evident that when the intellectual forces of minds are joined with another the result will be correspondingly greater.

I am very happy to see you all gathered here, and I hope that the fragrances of this meeting will reach the nostrils of the believers all over the world and make them glad. Such meetings have an effect upon all the people.

Their meetings must be held in great love, just like the gathering together of doves which are so loving to each other.

Profitless discussions fatigue and weary a person. People who call on me almost every day carry on a stream of profitless, unspiritual talk and I must listen to them with patience. We are commanded to associate with all the people.

… Manis speech is the revealer of his heart. In whatever world the heart travels, manis conversation will revolve around that center.

Such gatherings are heavenly, divine, lordly and merciful. If they attain permanence and steadfastness, they become centers for spiritual inspirations and sources of divine effects. They cause the progress of the human world and promote the divine teachings.

In any case, through the effulgence of the grace of the Light of Truth - may my spirit be a sacrifice for His loved ones - it is hoped that that gathering will, with the utmost wisdom, become the cause of enlightening hearts and dispelling sorrows.

O beloved friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha! In every dispensation, when the Sun of Truth has shone forth from the Dayspring of Oneness, through its loving-kindness a spiritual gathering has been established in every land, so that, turning to God, they might engage in spiritual matters and make manifest divine inspirations.

Observe the gatherings of the disciples after Christ: Their light is still shining, their power is still revealing and their trumpets still resounding throughout the ages. Such is the spiritual meeting.

How good it is that souls from different religions gather in one Assembly, being engaged in perusing the Words of God, spreading the Heavenly Teachings and living in accord with the teachings and exhortations of the Supreme Lord.

Such gatherings as this have no equal or likeness in the world of mankind, where people are drawn together by physical motives or in furtherance of material interests, for this meeting is a prototype of that inner and complete spiritual association in the eternal world of being.

"Similarly, numerous, various meetings and assemblages have been organized during the past ages and by-gone centuries. All these produced no result except those assemblages which rendered unmixed service to the Light of Truth; from such assemblages alone great results were realized in the world of existence.

There are many meetings, one is due to family relations, another because of commercial ends or another meeting may be for political reasons. All are due to one or another purpose, but all such meetings no results are forthcoming, anyway if they do bear results it is only temporary, not lasting. There is the meeting for the sake of God. This causes ideal attractions.

Say: Gather ye together around the Law which We have ordained in truth, that the backs of those who have disbelieved in God, the Lord of the Day of Judgment, may be broken. Seize ye these days and then gather together around that which God, the Lord of all mankind, hath willed.

One of the rabbis entered a meeting of the friends with an agitated heart and left with an expanded breast, thankful, grateful, cheerful and glad at what he saw of the Baha'is' love for him.

When the gathering of Baha'is is organized and the yearning lovers of the Divine Beauty come together like the Pleiades constellation in their sphere and arrange a meeting, that is the reflection of the Abha Kingdom and the radiance of the fellowship of the Supreme Concourse.

Do not discuss in the spiritual gathering and assembly of the friends about the late Mirza Muharram and his claims and debts. Have such discussions outside, for in the gathering they cause listlessness, they cause stagnation, they cause heedlessness, they cause other souls to become weary of the Cause of God.

Do not look to the small size of the gathering you have arranged - through sincerity of intention it will expand.

O ye who are firm in the Covenant!

Today whatever assembly is established that has for its purpose the welfare of mankind and is attached to the invocation of God, that gathering is a celestial one.

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The hearts of the friends are mirrors of the Kingdom. The All-Merciful Lord has ordained that the blessed countenance of each one should be reflected in the mirror of another's heart, so that, embracing one another, they may demonstrate the utmost oneness and, like the trees in the garden of the Concourse on High, become fruitful in a single paradise.

O thou dear maidservant of God!

The program of the Naw-Ruz festival was received and caused utmost joy. Praise be to God that white and colored, like unto the face and the hair of the Beloved of the Worlds, gathered together in utmost love and joy; and Mr. Alfred Lunt unloosened his tongue in eloquent speech.

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O thou who gazest upon the Abha Kingdom! In these days when the Lamp of the Covenant is burning brightly in all regions and the lights of the bounties of the Most Great Luminary are illumining East and West from the Kingdom of the Unseen, making them the envy of the world, the divine foundation must be laid upon humility and lowliness.

Throughout the world there are innumerable meetings and assemblages, more or less important according to their measure of contribution to human betterment, yet limited in their purpose and object to material questions and outcomes. They are political, commercial or educational in character; they seek to promote economic advancement, further agricultural purposes, encourage scientific research and assist discoveries; they provide for the establishment of new institutions, plan financial measures and agree upon laws of civic and social control. Such meetings are useful, but their influence and intention do not extend beyond the material welfare and government of mankind -- that is to say, they serve material civilization.

Every meeting which is held for the purpose of teaching the Cause of God and the people are gathered there to listen to the explanation of the Word and strive to live and act in accord with the advice and exhortation of the Blessed Perfection - that meeting is heavenly and its Cup-bearer is His Holiness Baha'u'llah. The lights of that meeting are the Confirmations of the Kingdom. Time and place have no control over this.

Sometimes there are people at a meeting who are like candles having no light. They have been extinguished. There are other candles which are aflame and give light to the meeting.

Meetings are like gardens. There are some gardens which are fresh and fertile, having trees which have beautiful blossoms, which produce very sweet and delicious fruit. But there are gardens which are dead.

Gather ye in your meeting places and remember God, your Creator. Through His remembrance are hearts illumined.

Blessed be your gathering, and your remembrance, and your utterance, and your love, and your fellowship, and your intentions, and your purposes in the path of God, the Lord of the worlds.

But when the friends have the intention of entering in these meetings and assemblies, they must first make their purpose pure, disengage the heart from all other reflections, ask the inexhaustible Divine Confirmation and with the utmost devotion and humility set their feet in the gathering-place. Let them not introduce any topic in the meeting except the mentioning of the True One, neither must they confuse that merciful assembly with perplexed outside questions.

As to the obligatory prayer (to be said three times a day): Each one must say his prayer alone by himself, and this is not conditional on a private place; that is, both at home and in the worshipping-place, which is a gathering-place, it is allowable for one to say his prayer; but each person must say his prayer by himself (i. e., not in company with others who might recite the same words and continue the same postures together at the same time). But if they chant supplications (communes, etc.) together ( and in company), in a good and effective voice, that is very good.

He answered:

"Gather once a week in a public meeting. Before the meeting opens, one must read a prayer or supplication from Baha'u'llah. Afterward they may sing together an anthem or a song. This is optional. They may do it or not. According to their tastes. Then some one may give an address, on some Baha'i subjects. Then they may read Tablets or extracts from the writings of Baha'u'llah such as the hidden words, Tarazat etc. or the news or letters received from other Baha'i Centers. Then with another supplication they may close the meeting.

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We asked 'Abdu'l-Baha about our Oakland, home meetings - how they should be conducted and we told him we opened our service by saying the Greatest Name (in silence) nine times. He replied, That is very good, that is right for that brings harmony into the meeting. Then He said that the "Hidden Words" should be read, and often the "Tajalleyat," that was important.

The general meeting should be wholly devotional in character. If possible, a separate home should be had. It should be had at the expense of the Temple, --a quiet place, entirely in the hands of the Cause.

The founding of these spiritual meetings is purely for the purpose of teaching; but, as the Mashreq'Ul Azkar is not yet founded, therefore in the spiritual meetings verses are chanted, supplications and communes offered and discourses delivered. However, when the Mashreq'Ul Azkar is organized the spiritual meetings will be devoted especially to teaching, and the place of worship will become focalized in the Mashreq'Ul Azkar.

When the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is completed, when the lights are emanating therefrom, and the righteous assemble therein, when prayers are offered to the Kingdom of divine mysteries and the voice of glorification is raised to the Supreme Lord, then shall the believers rejoice, and their hearts be dilated, overflowing with the love of the ever-living and self-subsisting God.

O servant of Baha! Music is regarded as a praiseworthy science at the Threshold of the Almighty, so that thou mayest chant verses at large gatherings and congregations in a most wondrous melody and raise such hymns of praise at the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to enrapture the Concourse on High.

Wherefore, O thou Shahnaz, play and sing out the holy words of God with wondrous tones in the gatherings of the friends, that the listener may be freed from chains of care and sorrow, and his soul may leap for joy and humble itself in prayer to the realm of Glory.

Come ye together in gladness unalloyed, and at the beginning of the meeting, recite ye this prayer:

O Thou Lord of the Kingdom! Though our bodies be gathered here together, yet our spellbound hearts are carried away by Thy love, and yet are we transported by the rays of Thy resplendent face.

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You wrote about the gathering of the loved ones, that it was characterized by the utmost joy and fragrance. This is indeed so, for in the spiritual gatherings, the Blessed Beauty is the witness of the assembly. Surely the utmost joy and fragrance must be attained.

In gatherings that are convened, external conversations should not take place at all. Rather, conversation should be confined to the chanting of verses, the reading of words, and matters pertaining to the Cause of God, such as the exposition of proofs and arguments, clear and evident reasons, and the traces of the Beloved of the worlds. Those who attend such gatherings should, before entering, be adorned with the utmost cleanliness and, turning their attention to the Abha Kingdom, enter in complete humility and submissiveness.

Gather ye together in spirit and fragrance, then recite the verses of the All-Merciful - through them shall the gates of true knowledge be opened unto your hearts.

The candle of the gathering must be the mention of God, teaching the Cause of God, explaining divine proofs, and expounding the teachings of Baha'u'llah. When this happens, the gathering becomes heavenly, becomes divine, becomes lordly, becomes illumined, and becomes the cause of guidance for the wayward and yields tremendous results.

The holy fragrances of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar vivify the souls of the righteous, and its vitalizing breezes confer life upon the pure in heart. The lamps of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, like unto the resplendent rays of dawn, illuminate the horizons. The melody of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar cheereth the souls of the Concourse on high, and the recitation within it of the verses of His Divine Unity bringeth joy and gladness to the inmates of the Kingdom of Glory.

In reality, the radiant, pure hearts are the Mashrak-el-Azcar and from them the voice of supplication and invocation continually reacheth the Supreme Concourse.

The power which has gathered you here today notwithstanding the cold and windy weather is, indeed, mighty and wonderful. It is the power of God, the divine favor of Baha'u'llah which has drawn you together. We praise God that through His constraining love human souls are assembled and associated in this way.

With all joy and great happiness I send you the good news of the beginning of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in 'Ishqabad. The friends of God assembled together with great rejoicing, and carried the stones themselves, upon their backs, attracted by the love of God and for the sake of the glory of God.

By the Majesty of My Lord, verily your gathering in the Meeting of Oneness, your commemoration of God with a pure heart, and your association with a spirit, rejoicing by the Spirit of God in this Great Day, profiteth you more than all favours, and this Bounty surpasseth all wishes.

Be thou a lamp-kindler in the gathering of the friends of God, and a moth consumed by the flame circling round the divine lamp. In the presence of spiritual ones, be thou a tongue mentioning the All-Merciful, and in the luminous assembly become a ray of divine knowledge, that thou mayest witness the confirmations of the Most Glorious Beauty and observe the favors of the Eternal Lord from the highest horizon.

With perfect wisdom, whenever possible, a gathering of remembrance and devotion should be arranged and the verses of divine unity should be chanted, so that the taste buds of the Concourse on High may be delighted and the hearts of the people of the Most Glorious Kingdom may be gladdened and rejoiced.

It is preferable that in the meetings, one of the attendants should read or chant the Tablets of His Holiness BAHA'O'LLAH and the others listen to the reading.

Regarding arrangements for the Bahai Sunday meeting for the purpose of worship, this is very suitable. But, in a meeting for worship, first, prayer should be chanted and supplication made until all gather; then communion should be made. After praying, sacred readings with melodious voices should be read by all together. As this is the commencement of holding meetings, this is sufficient.

Therefore, you must manifest in gatherings of the loved ones and meetings of the chosen ones an eloquent tongue, a brilliant proof, evident attraction, fluent speech and elevated utterance. You must certainly recite verses, prayers and poems in every gathering and deliver speeches with utmost eloquence so that all present may be filled with joy and gladness and all hearts may be attracted.

Whensoever a company of people shall gather in a meeting place, shall engage in glorifying God, and shall speak with one another of the mysteries of God, beyond any doubt the breathings of the Holy Spirit will blow gently over them, and each shall receive a share thereof.

The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is the dawning-place of lights and the gathering place of the righteous. Whenever a company of noble souls assemble in a heavenly gathering there and offer supplications, intone divine verses, and chant prayers with wondrous melodies, the inmates of the Concourse on high hearken and call out, crying, "Happy are we; let all the world rejoice!" for, praise be unto God, souls from among the angels of the Kingdom of Glory have arisen in the nether world to commune with their Lord and intone the verses of Divine Unity in a gathering of holiness.

Many may say, I can pray to God whenever I wish, when the feelings of my heart are drawn to God - when I am in the wilderness - when I am in the city - wherever I may be - why should I go where others are gathered upon a special day, at a certain hour, to unite my prayers with theirs - when I may not be in a frame of mind for praying. To think this is useless imagination --for when many are gathered together their force is greater. Separate soldiers fighting alone and individually have not the force of a united army.

This Society of Friends increased greatly in Persia, and up to the present time their societies exist. Many books and epistles were written by their leaders. When they assemble in their meeting-house they sit silently and contemplate; their leader opens with a certain proposition, and says to the assembly 'You must meditate on this problem'.

'Abdu'l-Baha said: "It is not a duty incumbent upon them; it is not obligatory, but if they have no special demand upon their time, the Believers must be present at the meetings.

I earnestly hope that thou wilt memorize all the Persian poems revealed by the Blessed Beauty and wilt sing them in a voice of incomparable sweetness at Baha'i meetings and gatherings.

Wherefore, with great gladness, establish ye spiritual assemblies, and engage ye in uttering the praise and glorification of the Lord, and calling Him Holy and Most Great.

O friends! To chant the verses of Divine Unity with a soul-stirring melody by night and by day is the exclusive privilege of the people of God. Therefore, one must not maintain silence even for a moment, but rather, in the secluded sanctuary of divine mystery, must convey divine praise and glorification to the court of the One with melodies like those of the birds of the sacred garden.

Continue as long as thou canst this melody in the gatherings of the beloved; thus may the minds find rest and joy and become in tune with the love of God.

Your letter was received. Due to lack of time, I am compelled to be brief in reply. During the chanting of prayers and the recitation of verses, the gathering must maintain complete stillness, silence and composure. Greetings and glorification upon entering during the recitation of verses should be uttered in one's heart....

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Through the bountiful grace of the Blessed Beauty, mayest thou revive the gatherings of the friends and cause the hearts of His loved ones to be united. This, however, is on condition that at such meetings thou makest mention of naught but the soul-stirring remembrance of the Ancient Beauty....

—may my spirit be sacrificed for His steadfast loved ones.

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If in the world of existence a meeting is organized, the attractions of consciousness surround, and the attention is completely turned toward the Kingdom of Abha, immediately the Supreme Concourse will photograph that gathering and that meeting will become the image and the likeness of the Kingdom of Abha. Strive ye by all means so that your meetings become as such.

As to what you mentioned regarding the friends of God being engaged every Friday in the recitation of verses and the remembrance of God, by the life of God, they have a station among the stations in the Book of God, the Lord of the worlds.

O maidservant of God! Truly I say unto thee: whenever ye come together in the assemblage of union and engage in the commemoration of God and beseech God and offer prayers unto God, be thou assured, the Spirit of Confirmation penetrates throughout such an assemblage, and the lights of Favors shine therein from thy Lord, the Lofty the Great.

In every spot on the face of the earth, gatherings of the loved ones are organized and arranged, and the melody of the lute and string and song is raised with "Glory be to God!" and "God is Most Great!", and the song of the Concourse on High reaches the ears of both the noble and the lowly.

Meetings organized with the utmost holiness and piety, wherein those who are present engage in the mention and thought of God, and wherein the verses of Oneness are chanted and the prayers of the Threshold of the Lord of Verses are offered and the exhortations and counsels of the Blessed Beauty recited, such meetings are illumined, spiritual, divine and heavenly. They are the means of training the world of humanity.

In whatever place the believers of God hold a meeting, peruse the heavenly teachings and associate with each other with the utmost amity, affection and harmony, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Holy Spirit will become the Candle of that gathering; and the blessed souls participating in that meeting will feel spontaneously the confirmations of the Holy Spirit.

The chanting of verses, whether individually or collectively, is the cause of the penetration of the Word of God in hearts and the reason for the flame of the fire of the love of God in breasts.

Thou hast written concerning the spiritual meetings. The spiritual meeting must be in the utmost of ecstasy and tumult. The supplication must be perused, the Tablets and verses be read, eloquent speeches be delivered, divine proofs be explained, the audience be encouraged and incited to enter the Kingdom of God, the news received from different parts be read and at the end they may collectively (ensemble) read (or chant or sing) a supplication.

O thou who art attracted to the Covenant! Praise be to God that thou hast made thy home a nest and shelter for the birds of the meadow, transformed it into a rose-garden of oneness, and established it as a gathering place for those who are detached, so that at dawn and daybreak it may become a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar where lights will shine forth and the melody of prayer and supplication will be raised to the Abha Kingdom.

At every festival compose a new ode or eloquent poem in praise and glorification of the Eternal Living One, the Eternal Beauty, the Most Great Name (may my spirit be sacrificed for His loved ones) and chant them in gatherings of the handmaidens of the All-Merciful.

It is incumbent upon the people of every city that upon receiving fresh news of the loved ones of God, they gather in a place and drink a beverage in the love of God, adding to that beverage eleven mithqals of rosewater, and while drinking, recite these words that perchance they may be preserved from the trials of the days:

"Most choice wine!

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Let the beloved of God gather together and associate most lovingly and spiritually and happily with one another, conducting themselves with the greatest courtesy and self-restraint. Let them read the holy verses, as well as essays which are of benefit, and the letters of 'Abdu'l-Baha; encourage and inspire one another to love each and all; chant the prayers with serenity and joy; give eloquent talks; and praise the matchless Lord.

The feast (supper) [every nineteen days] is very acceptable and will finally produce good results. The beloved and the maid-servants of the Merciful must inaugurate the feast in such wise as to resurrect the feast of the ancients--namely, the "lord's supper." The attracted maid-servant of God, Mrs..., I hope will be inspired so she may become the means of unity among the friends in every city. That meeting for feast for which thou wert preparing and providing, should recur every so often, so that it may prove a means of attracting the confirmation of the Kingdom of ABHA.

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This arrangement of festival and affection, chanting of Tablets, explaining realities and significances, and this inculcating of the teachings and exhortations of Abdul Baha—causes everlasting life and makes the hearers as Heavenly Angels. Whenever such an entertainment is arranged through spiritual sentiments, shining faces and merciful hearts, it is a "Lord's Supper".

When the disciples partook of these bounties of Christ, they became filled with the love of Christ and hastened to all corners of the world, raising the call of the Kingdom of God.

From His infinite grace, I hope that assembly will also partake of these bounties and favors.

Whatsoever gathering is arranged with the utmost love, and where those who attend are turning their faces toward the Kingdom of God, and where the discourse is of the Teachings of God, and the effect of which is to cause those present to advance -- that gathering is the Lord's, and that festive table hath come down from heaven.

From a human standpoint we could not stand the heat of the Arabian desert nor the heat inside the bamboo hut but making light of it we chanted Tablets, sang Baha'i songs and did not mind the natural discomforts.

The beloved of God must therefore consider this Day highly blessed, and glorify and praise it greatly. They must bring this Day to a close with the utmost joy and happiness and gather together in the spirit of infinite love and affection. If a sad feeling should have existed between two individuals, it should be cast away with the dawn of this Day: Great joy and happiness must be the common bond of all who come together at this feast.

Bad conduct or deeds are not allowed at any time and especially during the Feast. But those are the days of happiness, days of joy and gladness. This is from the verses that shall be known afterwards. For example, it is bad not to work on other days, but in these days of feasts, work must be abandoned. But it does not mean that it is permissible to drink liquor or commit immoral deeds. Those days are the days of forgiveness and pardon, days of cheer and enjoyment, days of affection and attraction, days of blessings.

1st question: - What is the real meaning of the 19 days feast, spiritual and material?

Answer: "Nineteen days are according to 19 'Letters of the Living' which is composed of the Bab and 18 others. The aim of this Feast is that at every 19 days the believers of God may gather together; engage in mentioning 'Him Whom God shall manifest' - Baha'u'llah - and be reminded of the Testament and the Covenant.

This prayer is to be recited before meals, and as for the prayer after meals, say:

My Lord and my Hope! Thanks be to Thee for these bounties, and praise be to Thee for these tables and blessings. Lord! Cause us to ascend to Thy Kingdom and seat us at the tables of Thy divine realm.

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I beseech God to graciously make of thy home a centre for the diffusion of the light of divine guidance, for the dissemination of the Words of God and for enkindling at all times the fire of love in the hearts of His faithful servants and maidservants. Know thou of a certainty that every house wherein the anthem of praise is raised to the Realm of Glory in celebration of the Name of God is indeed a heavenly home, and one of the gardens of delight in the Paradise of God.

Concerning what was written about spending an evening at the home of Aqa Siyyid Muhammad-Baqir, upon him be the glory of God, in the company of the friends of God, engaged in the remembrance of the Beloved of the worlds - this matter was presented in the Most Holy and Most Exalted Court.

O ye twain who are strongly attracted to the Kingdom, thank ye God that ye have made your home a Baha'i center and a gathering place for the friends.

O thou attracted maid-servant of God! The celebration of the Feast of Naw-Ruz made me glad. Consider how different this meeting was from that of last year. Consider the bounty and the blessing of God. Therefore, know that this Cause is progressive. No obstacles in the world can hinder it. Thou didst realize divine joy and happiness in that meeting. Is it possible for earthly gatherings to give such divine joy?

The Nineteen Day Feast was inaugurated by the Bab and ratified by Baha'u'llah, in His holy book, the Aqdas, so that people may gather together and outwardly show fellowship and love, that the divine mysteries may be disclosed.

… Then spread the feast and give refreshments. Assuredly great results will be the outcome of such meetings. Material and spiritual benefits will be assured. All who are present will be intoxicated with the breezes of the Love of God, and the Breath of the Holy Spirit will with tremendous power inspire the hearts.

O Muhammad! The house wherein is raised the call of the loved ones and wherein they are occupied with the remembrance of God is, in the sight of God, the circling-place of the near angels. Blessed is the house wherein are diffused the fragrances of Revelation and wherein is raised the remembrance of God, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the Wise.

In any case, your letter of the 11th of Shawwal [1337] was received. The feast you arranged where the friends of the All-Merciful gathered in fellowship, chanted the clear verses, and became attracted to the Abha Kingdom--that gathering was, in the words of Christ, the Lord's Supper, meaning a heavenly feast and celestial table "wherein is whatever the souls desire and the eyes delight in."

O spiritual friends! Your letter describing the Ridvan feast and spiritual gathering was read with utmost joy. Praise be to God that there was an assembly there in complete attraction who are turned toward the Abha Kingdom and desire to sacrifice their lives in the path of God. Therefore, 'Abdu'l-Baha has the utmost hope in those blessed souls that in a short time they will become the cause of the spread of the divine fragrances. However, with wisdom, they should always arrange feasts on the appointed days and hold heavenly gatherings and engage in the mention of God.

This your social gathering on the Great Feast is like unto a Mother who will in future beget many Heavenly Feasts, so that all eyes may be amazed as to what effulgence the true Sun of the East has shed on the West.

O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant!

We hear that thou hast in mind to embellish thy house from time to time with a meeting of Bahá’ís, where some among them will engage in glorifying the All-Glorious Lord…

and expounding the teachings of Baha'u'llah.

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As to Chinese, Japanese and Hindu students, there is no objection to their being admitted into your spiritual gatherings and meetings.

You constantly spread the feast of hospitality, arrange gatherings of love, prepare celebrations of joy for the friends, and set an abundant table.

The 19 days Feast was the Lord's Supper and its results are eternalized. Although physically Abdul Baha was far away but he was present in that meeting with heart and soul. Truly I say it was a glorious feast, perfect in every way.

That blessed assemblage was blessed indeed, and 'Abdu'l-Baha was present in spirit, as an intimate companion. On such blessed days, the friends of God must renew their unity and oneness, and must associate with one another in perfect love and kindness, in joy and delight. They must adorn their gathering with the remembrance of God and raise such melody and song as to bring the dwellers of the Kingdom into rapture and ecstasy.

O Roshan! May heavenly blessings be upon you. Praise be to God, you are nourished at the breast of the love of God and are developing in the embrace of the knowledge of God. You have a kind mother like the handmaiden of God Asiyih. You host gatherings on Naw-Ruz day and provide hospitality to a group of the loved ones of God and handmaidens of the All-Merciful, preparing both heavenly sustenance and physical food so that they may read divine tablets, explain the divine teachings, discuss the counsels and advice of the Most Glorious Beauty, speak and listen, engage in the mention of Truth, and arrange a celebration and feast for the victory of Naw-Ruz day - a feast where the luminous lamps are those radiant faces turned to God, the true sustenance is the mention and praise of God and divine teachings, its music and song are heavenly melodies, and its cup of wine is the wine of the love of God among humanity. Convey to your respected mother my most wondrous and glorious greetings, and likewise to all the friends and handmaidens of the All-Merciful. And upon you be the Most Glorious Glory.

Roshan to recite

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O thou who art drawn near to the Divine Threshold!

The gatherings that thou dost arrange in thine own home are a source of strength to the hearts of the spiritually-minded, of guidance to the seekers, and of awakening to those who slumber. That gathering is illumined by the light of divine favors and, like a garden of mystical knowledge, is adorned with the flowers of inner meanings and realities.

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It is with regard to this wisdom that the nineteen day meeting, or feast is organized; that every nineteen days the friends may gather together in the same place and enjoy this feast; thus may they exercise the same spirit of love which they exercised and previously enjoyed in the spiritual world.

During the last days of his life His Holiness Christ held one meeting for the apostles; for all of them sat around the same table. From that time it has been called the Lord's supper, because they discussed subjects pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Therefore if a meeting is held, the general discussion of which is spiritual, undoubtedly that meeting is godlike. Strive day and night that your assemblage may become radiant and the hearts illumined. Consort with each other so that your spirits may be stirred into cheerfulness through the Glad-tidings of the Kingdom.

'Ayn, Ta Ismu'llah mentioned the feast of the two leaves and it was accepted. Tonight, which is the twenty-first of Rabi'u'th-Thani, the feast is being held. Well done to those who eat and blessed be those who serve!

Now, in Montreal, exert thine efforts to continue holding such feasts, as these will conduce to the steadfastness and confirmation of the friends and handmaids of God. Then will the fragrances of the divine rose-garden be shed abroad and the quickening breezes of the Abha Paradise be wafted, causing the participants to be moved with boundless joy.

Give the utmost importance to the Nineteen-day Feasts, so that the Friends of God and the Maidservants of the Merciful may turn their faces to the Kingdom, read the supplications, entreat for confirmation, be attracted with love for one another, add to their holiness, virtue and sanctity, resist the army of passion and desire, be abstracted from the elemental world and submerged in the sea of spiritual emotions.

Henceforth your labor will greatly increase due to the multitude of visitors. From now on you must prepare yourselves so that all pilgrims and visitors may attain the utmost joy, delight, spirit and fragrance.

These gatherings cause the divine table to descend from Heaven, and draw down the confirmations of the All-Merciful. My hope is that the breathings of the Holy Spirit will be wafted over them, and that each one present shall, in great assemblies, with an eloquent tongue and a heart flooded with the love of God, set himself to acclaiming the rise of the Sun of Truth, the dawn of the Day-Star that lighteth all the World....

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The great feast that you celebrated on the occasion of the appearance of His Highness, the Bab, likewise the feasts of nineteen days, produced great rejoicing in the hearts of the believers. Whenever the friends and the maidservants of the Merciful gather together, read the Tablets and the words, interchange ideas and deliver eloquent speeches the heavenly blessings descend, the Spiritual Food becomes present, the celestial bounty is unveiled, the confirmations of the Holy Spirit descend uninterruptedly, spiritual development is attained and attractions of heart realized.

O thou who rejoicest in the glad-tidings of God! That home which turneth into the nest and shelter of the birds of the garden of Divine Unity, and where the nightingale of praise and utterance singeth upon the branches, extolling the Desired One and proclaiming the Cause of the Beloved, is as the highest paradise and the heavenly garden of the realms above.

One night in Akka there was a general feast where many souls from everywhere were present, and the table was spread with friends from Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Paris, London, America, Egypt, Syria and India - a large gathering of different peoples all seated at the table in the utmost joy, fragrance, unity and affection.

God has created Thursday night and Friday for His servants' delight, relieving them during these hours from occupations that might burden them and veil them from their pleasures - each according to what they find delightful: those who glorify through their glorification, those who sanctify through their sanctification, those who unite through their unification, those who magnify through their magnification, those who eat through their eating, those who drink through their drinking, those who beautify through their beautification, those who take pleasure in what God has ordained for them, and those who refine through their refinement - each according to what brings them delight.

Blessed are the houses that become gathering places for the loved ones of God, attracting souls and being adorned by the presence of His chosen ones. Blessed is the land that has attained in My days, which God has made a dwelling place for My pure ones, and blessed is the house that has found the fragrance of My loved ones, and blessed are the faces that have been illumined by the Sun of My loving-kindness.

Blessed is the house honored by your footsteps wherein was raised the mention of My Beloved and your Beloved. … Blessed is the master of the house who hath arisen amidst all peoples to serve God, the Lord of Days."

Concerning the holding of Baha'i meetings in thy home, it is very seasonable and they will become the cause of thy everlasting glory and the greatness of thy household forever and ever; because their wonderful results will appear in the future. They are not evident at the present time.

The unity meetings (nineteen day feasts) you should celebrate splendidly, and with one another you should be exceedingly kind and affectionate so that this may astonish the people of that city.

The gathering you have arranged in your home is a heavenly gathering, for the Sun of Truth has cast its rays upon it. In that gathering the mention of God is spread abroad, hearts are turned toward the divine Kingdom, and eyes are opened to witness the signs of the All-Merciful. Persist in holding this gathering and strive day by day to strengthen its foundations and organize its affairs.

O ye two kind and beloved maid-servants of God!

A splendor from the Supper of the Lord was cast upon the table that ye have spread and the spiritual food descended. It was on this account that the souls were rejoicing and happy and the spirits of those who were present were uplifted. The soul and heart of 'Abdu'l-Baha was present and manifest. What a happy night that was, and what a blessed feast!

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Such gatherings are very praiseworthy and acceptable, for all beget joy and fragrance, the hearts become illumined and the despondent souls become heavenly.

O honored guest, welcome, welcome!

The doors are open and the dwelling is the banquet-hall of the All-Loving Lord. … The circling-place of the Concourse on High calls out: "The Beloved is here - come, come!"

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As to the Nineteen Day Feast, ye must give this your most careful attention, and firmly establish it. For this Feast bringeth bliss and unity and love to the lovers of God.

O thou handmaid, faithful and believing!

The hearts of all the friends rejoiced, and in particular, the heart of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, when we heard of thy rising up to serve the Cause of God, and that thou hast set apart one of the rooms in thy home for meetings of the lovers of God, so that from it may ascend to the Lord of Revelation the clamour of chanted prayers.

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We are going to have a very quiet Rizwan holiday but the unseen congregation of the friends are all around us.

I am very happy that they have the nineteen day Feasts; they should become more and more spiritual. Though My Body is here, I am always with you in Heart and Spirit at those Feasts.

The greatest meeting held during the day of Christ was the Lord's supper. There were only twelve. The meeting was held in a very humble quarter with no table, no chairs and no rugs. They sat around a simple wooden board and spoke on the glad tidings of the Kingdom. Now consider the results of that one Supper. One end of Christ's table is in the East, the other is in the West and many nations and tongues are sitting around it!

In the Baha'i feasts the expression of moral sentiments must become very strong and overpouring and the table of divine life be spread. When the material and spiritual feasts are wedded together in love and affection, the child of harmony and peace will be born in the assemblage of the elect.

O Muhammad-Rida! Blessed is the house wherein My remembrance and praise have been raised, and blessed are the tongues that have recited My verses and the souls that have gathered therein to hear them in My days.

They envision that on specified days they will form an assembly in that gathering and consult, and adhere to and pursue whatever causes the spread of the light of guidance. If they arise to fulfill the necessary conditions and covenants, this assembly is truly a rose garden and meadow of reality and a sign of the bestowal of the Divine Unity.

"The first duty of the members is to effect their own unity and harmony, in order to obtain good results. If there be no unity, or the Committee becomes the cause of inharmony, undoubtedly, it is better that it does not exist.

If the Committee of Consultation or the general assembly becomes the cause of unhappiness, it must be abandoned.

Today the divine friends must recite the verses and divine counsels in their spiritual gatherings each week, arise to act according to them, and invite all the friends to put them into practice.

To make a building, first of all one must make a plan, then one must have the power (money) to build, then after all these preparations, one can build. One forms a Society of Unity--that is good--but meetings and talk are not enough. In Egypt these meetings take place, there is only talk and no result. These meetings here in London are good, the knowledge and the intention are good, but how can there be a result without action?

This is in truth a Baha'i house. Every time such a house or meeting place is founded it becomes one of the greatest aids to the general development of the town and country to which it belongs.

O my beloved friends! May the Spiritual Assembly be a manifestation of the aid and bounty of God. It shall be of service in the education of orphans and the poor and perform good works. Thus it is a manifestation of God's aid and bounty and is in every respect worthy of appreciation, respect and honour.

Indeed, if an assembly - that is to say, a gathering - of blessed, knowledgeable, and well-informed souls is established where anyone who develops a doubt or uncertainty can receive from that illumined gathering a sufficient and satisfactory explanation to remove such doubts, and which also engages in exhortation and counsel so as to awaken heedless hearts and cause proud souls to become humble and submissive, this would be most fitting and appropriate.

Therefore, Spiritual Assemblies must be established in all the cities and their aims must be the guidance of the souls.

In brief these are the things to be studied in your meetings, and in the privacy of your homes. These facts will cause the illumination of your hearts and the strengthening of your faith. Pass not your precious hours in the idle discussion of those problems which bear no result. Devote your time to high thinking and ennobling discourse.

To appoint a committee to superintend feasts. These are held by groups of friends every nineteen days. There will be kept in a book a record of the arrangement of feasts. Arrangements for feasts will be made through this committee, when a friend desires to give one. One friend may wish to give three feasts a year, another more; another not so many.

O Divine Providence! A gathering is now convened and an assemblage hath united to strive with heart and soul that they may bestow upon the friends a share of the bountiful showers of Thy grace and may, through Thy nurturing power, rear their young children in the bosom of knowledge, make them the pride of the learned, teach them the divine religion, and manifest thereby the bounty of God.

O ye co-workers who are supported by armies from the realm of the All-Glorious! Blessed are ye, for ye have come together in the sheltering shade of the Word of God, and have found a refuge in the cave of His Covenant; ye have brought peace to your hearts by making your home in the Abha Paradise, and are lulled by the gentle winds that blow from their source in His loving-kindness; ye have arisen to serve the Cause of God and to spread His religion far and wide, to promote His Word and to raise high the banners of holiness throughout all those regions.

As to you, O ye other handmaids who are enamored of the heavenly fragrances, arrange ye holy gatherings, and found ye Spiritual Assemblies, for these are the basis for spreading the sweet savors of God, exalting His Word, uplifting the lamp of His grace, promulgating His religion and promoting His Teachings, and what bounty is there greater than this? … These Spiritual Assemblies are shining lamps and heavenly gardens, from which the fragrances of holiness are diffused over all regions, and the lights of knowledge are shed abroad over all created things. From them the spirit of life streameth in every direction. They, indeed, are the potent sources of the progress of man, at all times and under all conditions.

Every day at first light, ye gather the Baha'i children together and teach them the communes and prayers. This is a most praiseworthy act, and bringeth joy to the children's hearts: that they should, at every morn, turn their faces toward the Kingdom and make mention of the Lord and praise His Name, and in the sweetest of voices, chant and recite.

O ye pure, honored and near leaves of the Divine Court!

Blessed, blessed are ye for ye have arranged spiritual meetings and engaged in propounding divine proofs and evidences. Ye are intent on vindicating truth in support of the manifest Light of the Cause, through conclusive arguments and proofs based on the sacred scriptures of the past. This is a very noble aim, and this cherished hope a cause of the illumination of all peoples and nations.

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Praised be God, the women believers have organized meetings where they will learn how to teach the Faith, will spread the sweet savours of the Teachings and make plans for training the children.

This gathering must be completely spiritual.

Numerous meetings are held in Paris every day for different purposes, to discuss politics, commerce, education, art, science and many other subjects.

All these meetings are good: but this assembly has met together to turn their faces towards God, to learn how best to work for the good of humanity, to seek how prejudices may be abolished, and the seed of love and universal brotherhood sown in the heart of man.

This is purely a spiritual meeting! Praise be to God, your hearts are turned to Him, your souls are attracted to the Kingdom, you have spiritual aspirations, and your thoughts soar above the world of dust.

Regarding the gatherings you had written about - truly all these gatherings are of utmost importance, whether gatherings of men or gatherings of women, and 'Abdu'l-Baha is pleased with all of them and prays for them and seeks divine confirmation and success for them.

Now it is necessary that you encourage and urge that the teaching gathering for women be multiplied, and there is no doubt that this first gathering that has been formed will be the cause of establishing great gatherings.

And if you wish to organize consultative and teaching gatherings, the membership of steadfast, assured, and devoted women who possess manly qualities, who are distinguished by perfection, who are adorned with the raiment of excellence and wisdom, is permissible.

You had written about Reverend Dr. Leon Harvey of the Unitarian Church. You must show this person the utmost respect, for he has made the effort to invite you to his church so that you may hold Baha'i meetings there and guide souls to the divine Kingdom.

O leaf attracted to the Abha Kingdom!

The Sunday school for the children in which the Tablets and Teachings of Baha'u'llah are read, and the Word of God is recited for the children is indeed a blessed thing. Thou must certainly continue this organized activity without cessation, and attach importance to it, so that day by day it may grow and be quickened with the breaths of the Holy Spirit.

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I hope that these gatherings may be productive of great results, and there is no greater result than the love of God.

There is no greater result than bonds of service in the divine Kingdom and attainment to the good pleasure of the Lord.

You must celebrate yearly, annually, the day of his departure from this life, and all of you, on my behalf, may go and visit his blessed tomb; and if possible spread a feast for the poor and give charity to those who are deprived on that occasion. Mention the services he has rendered, read passages from his words, and explain the history of his life.

I have written in many Tablets that the friends must speak in the meetings. Some of the believers forget this half and push forward the other half - which is about reading the Tablets etc.

As for Dr. Eugene Shippen, he revealed his benevolent intention and made his church the Baha'i meeting place. … It will become renowned throughout the horizons and in future ages and centuries be celebrated by the people of illumination, that he transformed that [earthly] church into a heavenly temple and made it the gathering place of spiritual ones.

Meet with her friends in her home and give an eloquent and articulate talk, and know that I am with you. Serving coffee, tea and sweets on Friday evenings in your home is very appropriate.

A study class for teaching must be established where necessary topics, brilliant meanings, and knowledge of spoken and written proofs and evidences are acquired. Beyond this, the divine friends should, when gathering together, limit their discussion and conversation to presenting proofs and evidence so they may gain complete proficiency in teaching.

With regard to the assembly, there must be spiritual consultation therein; discourses about the manifestation of the Greatest Orb, the effulgence of the Sun of Reality, the greatness of the blessed Cause, the power and penetration of the Word of God, the might of the divine Covenant and Testament must be mentioned. This will be conducive to the spirituality and illumination of the hearts.

Regarding the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Washington - certainly if public meetings are organized, it will cause the spread of the Cause of God. In those public gatherings, general matters should be discussed, not specific ones.

Holding your meetings when it is the time of prayer in other churches is not advisable; it would lead to alienation, since the Baha'i children who have their own Sunday school would be deprived of it if they tried to attend other Sunday schools.

In truth, these days, which are holidays when souls are joyful and are days of fellowship, love and gathering together, should have some result. There should be some discussions and consultations about beneficial matters, so that they may yield eternal fruits. For example, there should be a general consultation about teaching, a general consultation about charitable works and beneficial matters. In brief, there should be some result; it should not remain without fruit, so that from this joy, delight, attraction, enthusiasm and gladness, traces may become manifest.

The two gatherings you organized in Philadelphia where divine loved ones were present along with beginners were very acceptable in God's Kingdom and worthy of praise. It is hoped they will yield beneficial results, meaning that such gatherings will be organized again whenever possible. The children you speak with will be influenced by your pure breath.

O thou merciful youth who art the son of that glorious man!

Verily, thy letters have been received. They indicate thy great love to God, thy attraction to His fragrance, thy attachment to His Kingdom, the establishment of a meeting for the singing of the verses of God, the reading of the Holy Books, the study of the Tablets by the youths of that city, who have sincerely turned their faces to God and became enkindled with the fire of the love of God, abandoned all the conditions that prevent the acquiring of the merciful virtues and the good illumined morals, so that they may love one another and become united in the promulgation of the fragrances of God. The love of God kept them busy from ought else. This establishment is a blessed establishment. I ask God to make this meeting sanctified and holy above the human temperaments, illumined and adorned with the outpourings of severance to the Lord of mankind, so that they may become as one bouquet, spiritually and physically in the service of the Cause of God.

And regarding the matter of multiple gatherings - very good, but the gathering that the Blessed Beauty established is divine, heavenly, lordly, eternal, for the candle of that gathering is the Blessed Beauty and its lights radiate to all horizons. That gathering is for teaching, and every teaching gathering is an assembly among the assemblies of the higher realm.

What an assembly is this that has been established purely for consultation on spiritual matters! And what a gathering is this that has been formed for the expression of sacred opinions!

That gathering which you arranged at Mr. Bowen's home and where you gave a talk was an assembly of spiritual ones and caused the heedless to become aware and mindful. You will certainly continue to form such gatherings repeatedly so that you and the souls firm and steadfast in the Covenant may speak in these gatherings and awaken the sleeping ones and bring the dead to life.

Certainly a few of the friends of God must gather at times like the Pleiades stars in the exalted heaven and engage in teaching and learning. This is a wondrous bounty. Persistence and continuity is necessary. Blessed are those who gather together.

As to thy question regarding the meeting of trinity, it is incumbent on thee to make it a meeting of unity, an exposition of the mysteries of singleness, the elevation of the standard of universal love, the spreading of the knowledge of thy Merciful Lord, the guidance of the souls unto the path of the Kingdom of God, the animation of the hearts by the spirit of the love of God, and the purification of the eyes by the light of the knowledge of God.

As for the spiritual gatherings which are assemblies for presenting proofs and evidences and for the progress and education of youth - these are truly worthy of the utmost praise.

But, praise be to God in Hamadan the merciful assembly is organized. That assembly must be illumined. The illumination of every assembly is teaching the Cause of God. The spiritually of every meeting is the diffusion of the Fragrance of God. The mercifulness of every gathering-place is to correspond the deeds, actions and behaviour in accord with the Teachings of God.

Thou shouldst, if thou deemest it advisable and possible, proceed forthwith to organize a meeting of dignitaries. And when thy distinguished guests have assembled, speak to them about the Cause. Thou shouldst likewise advise the friends to arrange for another meeting with these same persons to be held one evening and to be addressed by them. This is a great service that I am entrusting to thee, and I pray to God that He may grant thee His assistance and confirmation, and bestow His blessings upon thy family.

This Convention will expand in the future and will surpass all conventions of the world, for it is a heavenly Convention, it is divine, its foundation is love and kindness and the promotion of the oneness of the human world and non-interference in political affairs.

The best of undertakings is to gather together every Sunday to expound upon the pure and goodly life and universal brotherhood which reveal the philosophy of universal religion.

O daughter of the Kingdom! In the days when I was in Stuttgart, you gathered together the children of the friends one day in Esslingen and I was present at that gathering. Those children were truly the children of the Kingdom. They had illumined hearts and spirits made joyous by the glad-tidings of God. The sweetness of that gathering is still remembered in my soul.

O luminous child! In a gathering where Baha'i children were assembled, a photograph was taken of the gathering above, for those children, like the angels of heaven, with illumined hearts turned towards the Abha Kingdom and offered such prayers... And upon thee be the Most Glorious Glory.

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My hope is that daily you may become more radiant, that your perceptions may be quickened, that the fruits of the world of humanity may become more evident in you, that you may advance. You must associate together in love. Whenever you meet let your conversation be heavenly in character. Speak of reality. Speak of the history of the prophets and of the reality of the religions of God. Speak of the history of Baha'u'llah and of the proof of the Blessed Perfection.

How excellent are these discussions, how much they bring joy to a person, they give exhilaration to a person. Every conversation, when it goes on too long, brings weariness to a person except conversation about the Divine Cause, conversation about the Exalted One [the Bab], about the Blessed Beauty [Baha'u'llah], about the beginning of this Cause, about the details of this Cause, about the proofs of this Cause, about the glad tidings of this Cause, about the events of the martyrs - how much joy these bring to a person.

You have written concerning the spiritual meetings.

The foundation of the spiritual meetings must be the teaching and delivering of the Cause of God. In these meetings the believers and maid-servants of the Merciful must proclaim the proofs and arguments and explain the signs of the appearance of the Beauty of Abha-May my life by a sacrifice to the beloved ones! Meanwhile they may read some Tablets and Communes, and at the end of the meetings, if they desire to sing with the utmost supplication and meekness, it is acceptable.

He said: "If they cannot arrange to go every Sunday, they must go every other Sunday, if not every other Sunday then once a month. But they must come together and must keep up the Sunday School."

If you go to Persia where the friends of Abha are many, you will at once realize the unifying force of God's work. They are doing their utmost to strengthen this bond of amity. There, people of different nationalities gather in one meeting and chant the divine tablets with one accord. It might be supposed that they were all brethren.

O how we miss you, O how we miss you!

They chant a wondrous melody in devotion and with a new song teach the stations of the spirit, in utmost love and supplication. O how we miss you, O how we miss you! Faces are illumined with the light of the love of God, and dispositions are fragrant with the sweet perfumes of the Abha Paradise, and hearts are like rose gardens and meadows.

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Thou hast written about the luminous assembly of Washington. It is the cause of rejoicing, as that assembly is the rose garden of divine mysteries and the most sweet fragrances are wafting therefrom. My prayer is that the friends and maidservants of the Merciful on that assembly may persevere with purity of heart and seek to grow day by day. With every passing moment let them become more luminous, and let the members of that assembly make extraordinary progress at the divine threshold.

A large stone platform was raised in the heart of the lake, with a tent in the centre and gardens all around. About one hundred and fifty friends would gather, and at night hymns of praise would rise up to the Concourse on high. Those were wonderful times indeed.

In these days I am determined to journey to America, as invitations are arriving continuously from gatherings of friends and strangers alike, and from scientific, political and general assemblies in America.

He gave such praise and descriptions of the Parsee assembly that it brought endless joy to heart and soul. Among the descriptions was that the Parsee assembly is so luminous that it is a spiritual gathering and a divine assembly - it is the highest paradise and reflects the form and pattern of the supreme gatherings.

O ye who are firm in the Covenant! 'Abdu'l‑Baha is constantly engaged in ideal communication with any Spiritual Assembly which is instituted through the divine bounty, and the members of which, in the utmost devotion, turn to the divine Kingdom and are firm in the Covenant. To them he is wholeheartedly attached and with them he is linked by everlasting ties. Thus correspondence with that gathering is sincere, constant and uninterrupted.

In any case, each year on the day of that blessed soul's ascension, the friends should visit his grave with utmost humility and submissiveness on behalf of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and with complete reverence scatter bouquets of flowers on his grave, and spend the entire day in prayer and turning to the Kingdom of Verses, and in thoughts and mention of that illustrious person's virtues.

Each of the meetings ye have organized, wherein ye feel heavenly emotions and comprehend realities and significances, is like unto the firmament, and those souls are as resplendent stars shining with the light of guidance.

However, since it contained the glad tidings of the fellowship of the friends and establishment of a gathering of the beloved ones, it brought the utmost joy and delight - provided that it proves lasting and does not endure for just a few days, after which weariness sets in and darkness appears in hearts, causing the dispersal of the gathering and the scattering of the assembly.

Jinab-i-Amin offers the highest praise for the spiritual gatherings of the Jewish friends, who truly show complete initiative and great endeavor in service to the Cause of God, to such an extent that I wish I could remember and write to each of these endearing friends individually.

Show great kindness to Mirza Lutfullah.

Once in every week, gather ye the steadfast friends together in a meeting-place, and there let them engage in praising and glorifying the Lord.

And as to what thou didst mention concerning Nabil, upon him be My glory - praise be to God Who has caused His loved ones to abide beneath the shade of His loving-kindness. How blessed are those souls who gather in the assembly of God's loved ones and engage in His remembrance with the utmost joy and attraction. Verily, We are with them and We shall show them the fruits of their deeds. The denizens of Paradise shower their prayers upon them. Thy Lord is, in truth, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

O ye members of the radiant Assembly!

Praise be to God that the lights of the Sun of Reality show forth from the horizon of Urbana and the Mysteries of the Kingdom became manifest. What a merciful assembly is founded! What a lordly circle is organized! This is no other save the confirmations of the Kingdom of Abha; for in that city such a meeting is established! This is the first cornerstone of the divine structure laid in that district.

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O ye two pilgrims of the Holy Shrine!

The news of your safe arrival in Paris was received and rejoiced my heart, as did the description of the love and devotion of the friends in Paris, who met you with exceeding joy and radiance, and who show forth the utmost love, faithfulness, and sincerity.

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O melodious visitor! Remember those days when we were gathered together like a flock of birds, and that melodious bird would chant the Tablets and verses with the most wondrous melodies, and we would all move toward the Holy Shrine in complete humility and supplication, lowly and submissive.

In America we had a good number of heavenly and spiritual gatherings. One night in Washington there was a gathering full of spirituality. It was so effective the Turkish Ambassador wept. This was a great gathering. We also had good gatherings in Europe, such as in London, Paris, Vienna, Budapest and Germany. They were all spiritual meetings.

'Abdu'l-Baha: "Such gatherings are only possible through the divine bounties and favors. Otherwise, how could the two of us ever hope to meet? A gathering such as this, in such a location, at a time when no one draws a breath of comfort, is not possible unless decreed through God's benevolence."

Great joy and fragrance indeed predominated in that gathering. Indeed, all those present were sincere and deeply impressed and even the Governor and the Judge were fully possessed with joy and fragrance! What a wonderful night it was!

You had given news of the gathering of the friends during the month of Ramadan and their engagement in the remembrance of God. This news had a pleasant effect, for praise be to God, those bewildered by the countenance of the Most Glorious Beloved are in rapture and attraction, and those yearning for the Supreme Kingdom are in joy and expansion. Every gathering in which the remembrance of the Beauty of the All-Merciful occurs - its sweet fragrances perfume the nostrils.

Think of the meetings in Lake Mohonk Conference, Church of the ascension, Philadelphia Baptist, New York Peace Society, meeting in the building of the Daughters of American Revolution, the public Library, in the Universalist Church in Washington, meetings in the churches and hotels of Chicago, meetings in the Jewish Synagogues, large, public meetings everywhere, and above all think of the farewell heavenly Banquets in Cincinati, Washington and New York! Nothing in the world can equal them in spirituality and grandeur.

However, by decree of the heart it was sealed: "It would be a pity to praise you among prisoners - it must either be in the heart or in spiritual gatherings." Praise be to God, spiritual gatherings exist both here and there.

Praise be to God, thou didst inhale the fragrance of the Divine raiment, and it guided thee unto the dawning-place of the Hidden Secret, and the dayspring of the Well-guarded Treasure: wherefore at length, on the wings of yearning and devotion, of rapture and attraction, thou didst set out to reach the Most Exalted Destination, traversing prairies, deserts, seas and mountains, until thou didst attain the Furthermost Bourne, and the Spot around which the Concourse on High circle in adoration. No station equalleth this station: thereto have testified the Books of God aforetime and hereafter, and withal this perspicuous and mighty Tablet.

Every meeting (in the Cause) whose formation is permitted and sanctioned by Abdul-Baha is accepted and favored by God, otherwise, it produces no result and bears no fruit, nay rather, it gives rise to the distraction of minds. I have no difference with anybody. I am busy in servitude to the Threshold of Baha'Ullah. Everybody who agrees with me, I feel attached to.

My purpose in this journey is not pleasure-seeking, comfort of heart and ease of soul. Rather, my ultimate desire is to bear hardship and difficulty in the path of God so that I may succeed in rendering some service....

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O ye spiritual friends of this prisoner!

According to what is heard and is evident, you have arranged an assembly in the utmost beauty and a number of you present yourselves in that meeting with all love and unity and engage in communion (i.e., reading of the communes), chanting of the verses, spiritual conversation and utterance of the Kingdom. Blessed are ye for having adorned such a meeting and for having prepared such a feast! That gathering receiveth bounty from the Supreme Concourse and that nucleus is under the protection of the Bounty of ABHA.

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Convey wonderful Abha greetings to his honor Mulla Muhammad-'Ali. At all times we beseech God for his confirmation. Winter has come - your gatherings should become very warm. And upon thee be Glory.

Despite this, I would go to three public gatherings each day and give detailed talks, and at other times there were many visitors and questioners. Even at night, in extreme cold, coughing with fever, I would go to a great gathering that had 120 marble steps.

Two meetings in one city are not conducive to spirituality. Therefore, strive so that the unity of the assembly may be the cause of unity, harmony and complete spirituality.

Hold the spiritual meeting at the stated times and be thou its candle, giving (the friends) such happiness and joy through the glad-tidings of God as will make them joyful and full of ecstasy.

Communication with the friends of God in other countries is a source of fragrant spirituality.

Thou hast written that in these days the establishment of the meeting has become impossible in that city; be thou not unhappy.

Praise be to God that the friends in Yazd gather in meetings with the utmost steadfastness, speaking of the realm of truth, engaging in discourse, and passing their time in fellowship and harmony. If these gatherings continue, they will eventually blaze forth in such wise as to influence both East and West....

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O Shoghi! Beseech God that thou mayest become a brilliant lamp in the assemblage of the spiritual ones and attain unto the breaths of the All-Merciful.

There were ten people living in one small room and often they did not have any other food than a few dates, yet from sunset till midnight and long after that they chanted prayers, sang and showed a merry heart, forgetting their outward circumstances and living only in spiritual atmosphere full of sweet communion and delightful converse.

O lovers of the Countenance of Truth!

It befitteth the friends to hold a gathering, a meeting, where they shall glorify God and fix their hearts upon Him, and read and recite the Holy Writings of the Blessed Beauty---may my soul be the ransom of His lovers! The lights of the All-Glorious Realm, the rays of the Supreme Horizon, will be cast upon such bright assemblages, for these are none other than the Mashriqu'l-Adhkars, the Dawning-Points of God's Remembrance, which must, at the direction of the Most Exalted Pen, be established in every hamlet and city

When these are firmly established, private assemblies shall be abolished.

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His Holiness the Wronged One, meaning the Name of God - upon him be all glory most glorious - in correspondence sent to this servant has greatly complained about the unwisdom shown in the Land of Ta. In one letter he wrote that "this servant was invited to a place, but upon arrival it was observed that fifty or sixty of the friends were gathered. I said: 'Have you not heard of wisdom, that it has been ordained that gatherings should not exceed nine persons?'

O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant! Do not suspend the meetings and gatherings, but let them be held with the utmost wisdom, and let not more than nine souls assemble in any one place; for the very act of gathering together causeth alarm in the people of enmity.

Gatherings in assemblies of more than nine or nineteen are not permissible. In all gatherings, if it is a meeting for fellowship and association, some mention should be made of the virtues of those in authority and the kindness of the king. And if they are meetings for remembrance and devotion, surely at the end a prayer for good should be offered, as they have rights of protection and support.

But now beneath the Bounty and Favor of the Blessed Perfection - - May my life be a sacrifice to his believers! - - such great meetings of different nationalities and religions are held here at the foot of Mount Carmel, adjoining the Tomb of the Blessed Herald of the Day of God, Tablets were chanted, poems are recited, speeches are delivered and the feasts of marriages between the friends are held with such perfection and rejoicing, while tea is served and delicacies of many forms and confections are handed around.

The feast given by the maidservant of God Dr. Moody truly became the cause of joy to the hearts of the maidservants of the All-Merciful and the means of enkindlement of souls. However, the gathering of such an assemblage in one place is causing anxiety in the minds of some of the authorities, for they are thinking about establishing peace and tranquility in Tehran. The gathering of a large crowd, whether women or men, in one place and the rising of songs and melodies from the women causes agitation in the hearts of the enemies.

Spiritual gatherings today are divine trumpets, for they breathe the breath of life. However, wisdom does not require large crowds in a single gathering--they should be multiple, so that the divine teachings may be promoted with utmost dignity and composure.

The formation of gatherings and the establishment of benevolent institutions is most acceptable, but these must be founded with the utmost wisdom.

Although these gatherings and meetings are patterns of the gatherings of the Concourse on High - what is below reflects what is above - yet since the eyes of the enemies are narrow and every hateful one is distressed with hatred and envy toward the loved ones, therefore one must be tactful and meetings should not exceed nineteen people.

When they hear the sound of poems [chanting] from above, they say these people must be happy because they are free from military service and have no worries, and that is why they are celebrating. They don't realize that this is remembrance [of God].

Gatherings are in no wise permitted. If several separate meetings be held, this would be more agreeable. When the Most Great Luminary was rising from the horizon of the Land of Mystery, this servant was commanded to write to him who was named Mihdi, whom God caused to dwell in His house after his migration, saying that ye should follow in the footsteps of the Lord of all beings, and associate with the people of the world in the utmost spirit of joy and fragrance, lest alarm and anxiety be aroused among the people and become a cause of disturbance to weak souls.

The friends in every land should gather together with wisdom and utterance in meetings and assemblies to read the verses of God, for the verses kindle the fire of love and ignite its flame. However, they must observe wisdom in all conditions, and gatherings of five to nine persons are sufficient. The locations must also be varied, for if they are held in one place, the heedless will become aware and cause commotion.

The hope of this broken heart servant is that the respected friends will at all times remain united and together in the utmost wisdom, will attain new life again through the mention of the Ancient Beauty and will kindle their joy, their yearning and fervour in each other through the thought of His good-pleasure Thus shall these glad tidings clothe all of humankind in fresh robes of grace and adorn the temple of humanity in wondrous garments.

If doing so openly would cause the strangers' antipathy and the evil ones' clamor, then keep this secret hidden, deliver that respected house from others' hands, and quietly arrange gatherings there, engaging in remembrances at dawn and prayers and supplications in the morning. … However in Shiraz it must proceed with utmost wisdom and caution, so that strangers may never become aware - even among the friends present it as a spiritual gathering.

O divine friends! Name the meeting "the gathering of fellowship" because the term "consultation" is not necessary - perhaps strangers will object and engage in fabrications. Therefore this name is more appropriate.

Offend not the mind of any person and grieve not the heart of any man; be towards all with the utmost humility and meekness, and be loyal and sincere subjects to the Royal Throne; obey the authorities of affairs, and make no interference whatsoever with political matters; adorn the meetings with the commemoration of God and train the individuals with the breath of the merficul One; utter no word save in the mention of God, and rest only in the shadow of hope.

Engage ye in the remembrance of God at dawn; rise ye up to praise and glorify Him. Blessed are ye, and joy be yours, O ye the righteous, for having established the Dawning-Point of the Praises of God.

O ye beloved of God! Behold how abundant shall be the freshness, tenderness, spirituality, and radiance that are attained when ye assemble in that gathering place of the spirit, occupy yourselves at dawn2 with the remembrance of God, and, after reciting prayers, make mention together of the Most Bountiful Lord in sweet melodies. These melodies shall reach unto the Kingdom of Glory, and these songs shall cheer and gladden the Concourse on high.

I said, "In Germany, the nationalistic slogans and patriotic military marches are heard from one direction, and from another, talks given in the Baha'i gatherings and the voices of prayer and supplication to God are heard.

O My loved ones! When you gather in any spot, remember what befell Me in My days and what I witnessed from those who denied God, the Cleaver of the dawn.

The friends had great enthusiasm - there were always one hundred or one hundred and fifty believers there, and people would come into His presence, and as they came He would teach them. It was a paradise within paradise. There was tremendous spirituality. At night, one would chant prayers, another would sing verses, another would be overcome with joy and ecstasy. It was quite remarkable. Everyone who came there was transformed.

How spiritual it was, with flowers on our heads, chanting prayers as we walked from the Garden of Ridvan toward the Mansion. How wonderful it was. May God requite them for how the Covenant-breakers disrupted everything.

Therefore, gather My loved ones in remembrance of Me, then make mention to them of that which hath been sent down from the direction of My Throne, that they may soar in the atmosphere of My nearness and ascend unto the heaven of My grandeur.

And it is obligatory and required for all friends that at the beginning of gatherings they mention and recite prayers, and ultimately pray with heart and soul for divine confirmation for this just sovereign and seek success for these perfect ministers, for they have the right of shepherding and protect and guard life, property and honor.

We on this Mount Carmel, in the vicinity of the Most Exalted Shrine, are occupied with melodies, are occupied with remembrance of God, and are occupied with supplication and entreaty while all people are shaken.

Our divine Assembly is There! Our spiritual Feast is There! Our eternal union is There! This meeting is only an introduction to the One prepared for us by the Blessed Perfection."

"I am leaving Paris for the Orient though in reality I am always with you. Place does not matter. Two people may be in the same room and yet not attain to a visitation. When I was in prison many people came to see me. They crossed seas and deserts and yet remained in the city of the blind while others in far-distant lands attained the meeting.

O Lord! Illumine their gatherings with the lights of Thy most glorious Kingdom, perfume their meeting places with the holy fragrances that waft from Thy most exalted Dominion, gladden their ears by causing them to hear the call from the Concourse on High, and rejoice their souls with the attainment of Thy greatest gift.

O Pure God! Make this assemblage a light unto the world and this gathering a rose garden and flower bed. Make its meeting place a Garden of Paradise and its dawning-place the dayspring of the lights of the All-Merciful.

O God! Grant that this palace reach completion, and this divinely-ordained temple become a mighty edifice, in order that the melodies of glorification and praise may reach unto the Kingdom, the nightingale's dawn-tide melodies may rise from the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to the world of mysteries, and the Concourse on High and the inmates of the Kingdom of Glory may be filled with joy and gladness.

O ye inhabitants of the tent of glory and mercy! Sing and warble the sweetest melodies in the elevated chambers, for the Beauty of the Concealed One hath appeared in this Revelation, and the Sun of the Unseen hath shone forth from the horizon of ancient glory.

O Kind God! This scattered gathering, each from a different land and region and border and frontier - one eastern, another western, one southern, another northern - just as Thou hast gathered these helpless ones in the earthly kingdom at the noblest spot on earth after the exalted Shrines, we hope that through Thy grace and generosity, Thy favor and bestowal, Thou wilt gather them at the noblest spot in the supreme Kingdom, that all may rest in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree and attain the blessing of achieving Thy presence.

O true friends of 'Abdul'-Baha, although ye are in that land and 'Abdul'-Baha in this prison, but in reality we are gathered in one assembly and together in one home. We are in utmost unity and are intimate companions in the assemblage. One hundred thousand mountains, deserts, valleys, or seas will not prevent this fellowship nor would they hinder this harmony.

O God! Assist Thou the well-favored to associate in harmonious assemblages held in Thy remembrance and Thy praise, and aid the steadfast to celebrate in holy gatherings convened for the love of Thee and for allegiance to Thee.

This is a day among the days of Ridvan wherein Thou didst manifest Thyself to all who are on earth through Thy name, the All-Merciful, and didst reveal Thy power and dominion to all who dwell in the realms of creation. O Lord! Thou seest this day one of Thy loved ones who hath invited the Manifestation of Thy Being from one place to another within the prison, and a gathering hath been held in Thy name and adorned by Thy presence, such that the sun of Thy beauty hath shone forth from its horizon.

O Lord! These are a gathering whom Thou hast united through Thy grace; gather their scattered affairs through Thy bounty; strengthen their loins through Thy beneficence; fortify their backs through Thy favors. They have taken refuge in the cave of unity and concord and have shunned discord and difference.

Whenever an illumined assembly of the friends of God is gathered, Abdu'l-Baha, although bodily absent, is yet present in spirit and in soul.

O Lord, assist them by Thy munificence and grace, and make their radiant faces lamps of guidance in assemblies devoted to the knowledge of Thee, and signs of heavenly bounty in gatherings where Thy verses are expounded.

Praise and thanksgiving be unto the Glorious Lord who has arranged such a gathering whose music and song is the melody of the Supreme Concourse, whose brilliant lamp is the light of supreme guidance, whose gathering's witness is the Blessed Beauty, whose soul-nurturing wine is the love and affection of the Peerless Beloved, and whose delicious food is the heavenly manna.

O two servants of the Divine Threshold! Although you are not physically present in the spiritual gathering and are not seated in the divine assembly, I swear by the Greatest Name that all the friends shine like the full moon in the inner chamber of the heart and soul.

O Thou Almighty God! Confirm Thou these friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful! Grant Thou to them assistance. Open Thou before their faces the closed doors and make them intimate with the fragrances of holiness, so that they may become the confident friends of each other; raise the melody and the song of joy and sing the harmony of heaven, in order that they may exhilarate and gladden the regions of the West and impart attraction and ecstasy!

Gather ye together as one soul at the divine spiritual table, and drink of the pure wine of the Greatest Remembrance in this Most Great Revelation, in the name of the Lord of all peoples.

My God, my Lord and my Master! To You do I turn in distress and flee in every state. I beseech You by Your Word which You cast upon the rocks and they burst forth, and upon the trees and they became green, and upon the branches and they bore fruit, and upon the earth and it swelled and sprouted, and upon the heaven and it became adorned, and upon the stars and they shone brightly, and upon the planets and they darkened, and upon the faces and they became radiant, and upon the blind and they saw, and upon the deaf and they heard, and upon the mute and they spoke, and upon the dead and they arose, and upon the children and they attained maturity under the shadow of Your favors, that You make this gathering abundant with the manifestation of the signs of Your mercy, and this assembly healing for the hearts of the believers through the appearance of the signs of Your oneness, and make this meeting for enkindlement with the fire of Your love, and this gathering intimate with the radiant lights from Your countenance, and this remembrance for Your generous face, and this fellowship for the acknowledgment of Your manifest light.

O Lord! One of Your servants whom You gave to drink from Your sealed nectar and intoxicated from Your camphor cup, and made him recognize Your beauty in the day of Your manifestation, and made him yearn to arrive at the gate of Your favors, has crossed the deserts and wastes and valleys and seas and arrived before You and reached the courtyard of Your oneness and appeared before You, and You shone upon him with the lights of Your presence and illumined his eyes with the vision of Your beauty and honored him with listening and gladdened his heart with the radiance of Your luminous countenance. He has risen to represent the one who was named a servant to You and a slave to Your name, and believed in You and Your verses and confirmed Your words and was enkindled with the fire ignited in the Tree of Your mercy and was honored to appear in the presence of Your beauty and entered upon You and arrived before You and reached the spring of Your mercy and spread this vast carpet and arranged this spacious gathering and prepared everything that souls desire and by which the eyes of Your loved ones are delighted and the ears of Your servants are blessed, that they may remember You and supplicate at the gate of Your favors that You ordain every good for Your entrusted servant and Your imploring and enkindled slave burning with the fire of Your love.

O Lord! Expand his breast through witnessing the appearance of the signs of Your confirmation and illumine his vision through observing the signs of Your assistance and gladden his heart through the fulfillment of his hopes in Your lands and make easy for him every difficulty and multiply for him every facility and raise him up through Your power and illumine him with the light of Your might and strengthen his back through the appearance of Your aid and reinforce his strength through the hosts of Your victory and make him a sign of Your care and a banner of Your mercy and a dweller in the tents of Your favors.

O Lord! Make Your servant who represents him confirmed in all affairs and successful in remaining firm in Your Cause, O Living, O Self-Subsisting. Make those present in this great gathering observers of the horizon of Your Kingdom and reliant upon the confirmation of Your Word and oriented toward Your face and gladdened by the appearance of Your mysteries and sincere to Your generous face, O my Great Lord! Verily You are the Most Merciful, the All-Merciful.

O loved ones of the Beauty of the All-Merciful! A group is present and His Holiness Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin is observing, and some from outside have entered the gathering, and the midday meal is prepared, and Salih Aqa is waiting like a servant for the partaking of the food, and this servant is occupied with mention of the divine friends and filled with joy in remembrance of the spiritual friends, and the pen is writing and the tongue is speaking and the heart is engaged in supplication and chanting verses of entreaty, remembering:

O Lord! These souls are enamored of Thy countenance and lost in Thy path and in love with Thy nature and disposition. They are intoxicated with Thy cup and birds upon Thy roof. They are the tame birds of providence and the enchanted nightingales of the roses of truth. They are the thirsty ones at the fountain of mercy and the wanderers in the realm of grace.

O Forgiver! Pardon the sins of Thy servants and grant refuge to the helpless ones. Thou art the Kind God and Thou art the Lord of pardon and forgiveness. Grant strength to the weak and bestow healing upon the sick, make the poor honored and give fire to the cold. Keep them safe from the evil of the great temptation and protected from the impact of severe tests. Make them steadfast in the Covenant and Testament and constant in their pledge and faith. Grant them dwelling in the shelter of Thy most glorious Kingdom and refuge in the protection of Thy most exalted Dominion. Thou art the Powerful and the Mighty, Thou art the Hearing and the Seeing.

In brief, O loved ones of God! Know with certainty that at all times in the Holy Shrine we beseech confirmation for you, that you may remain protected in the shelter and protection of the Divine Unity and be successful in attaining the good-pleasure of God. And upon you all be Glory!

Today he has invited Thy noble chosen ones and distinguished loved ones to Thy resplendent garden and mighty grove, hosting them with a wondrous heavenly feast that they may draw sustenance and provision from Thy most perfect grace, the food of heaven, their hearts expanding through generosity and bestowal, remembering Thy mention from morning until evening.

They establish assemblies and gatherings and their affairs are conducted through consultation among them for the exaltation of Thy Word and the education of the successful rising generation to establish Thy proofs and evidence, and the instruction of youth in the proofs and tidings that have preceded from the blessed souls who unveiled the mysteries of the Day of Thy Manifestation.

...O my Lord and my Hope, Ultimate Goal of my desires! Thou seest Thy sincere servants who have arisen to serve Thee amidst all peoples, who have sacrificed their souls through love for Thy resplendent Beauty, who have been attracted to the manifest horizon, who have walked the straight path, who have drunk from the flowing water and been satiated from the fountain of Tasnim, who have voiced Thy praise, who have magnified Thy bounties, who have been transported by meeting Thee, who have been infatuated with Thy beauty, and who have turned their faces purely toward Thy face. They have established gatherings and engaged in mentioning the mysteries in assemblies, they have gathered in Thy love and arisen to serve Thee. They were resented only because they chanted Thy verses and expounded Thy evidences. O Lord! Make Hisar a haven for the righteous, a center for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, and a source for the emanation of lights. Make that significant gathering encompassed by complete bounty and comprehensive triumph. Verily Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty, the Bestower, the Preserver, the Generous, and verily Thou art the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

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This was a lovely night. Praise be to God that we associated together with the utmost of concord. The power of divine Spirit has brought us together. I hope that we may be together always spiritually, that our spirits may talk one to another, that although we may never see each other in this physical body we may commune together on the plain of Reality.

Praise be to God that all of our gatherings were divine and were in commemoration of God, and were conducive to perfect joy and gladness. My hope is that immediately after your arrival in America ye may convene such blessed and spiritual gatherings-gatherings that proclaim loudly the Love of God.

O ye who are calling in the name of God, filled with love for the Beauty of God and attracted in heart to Abdul-Baha! I unceasingly supplicate my Lord in the depths of nights and at dawn, beseeching Him with all humility and contrition to strengthen you with hosts from the Supreme Concourse and armies of the angels of heaven, and to make this assembly of yours a source for the manifestation of signs of divine unity and the diffusion of holy fragrances to every distant region, so that seekers may hasten to this bountiful assembly from every deep valley, acquire the lights of knowledge, be attracted by the breaths of the All-Merciful, and have their hearts enkindled by the fire ignited in the Tree of Sinai, from which the call was raised aforetime: "O Moses! Verily I am thy Lord, the Most High. Put off thy shoes; thou art in the holy valley of Tuwa."

O my beloved friends! Be gladdened by this address, walk in the path of truth, be moved by the breeze of the Lord until your hearts are quickened, your spirits refreshed, your consciences purified, your insight illumined, your lights shine forth, your mysteries become manifest, your traces sanctified, and your trees bear fruit. Truly I say unto you, God will raise up souls that are holy, pure, luminous, heavenly and spiritual, who will ascend to the zenith of guidance and shine like stars in the highest horizon, who will perfume the regions with the fragrances of God, spread and disseminate the wisdom of God, speak in praise of God and call in the name of God. I beseech God that you may be enabled to achieve these virtues and that God may distinguish you with these gifts. Verily, He is the Generous, the Merciful, the Bestower. And upon you be greetings and praise.

Tomorrow, Friday, specifically on your behalf, a prayer of visitation will be chanted with all the friends in the Holy Shrine. And since the gathering will be large and all will be representing you, it will count as a hundred visits for you.

Hearken with the ear of the heart to the hidden secrets and heavenly Mysteries in the world of soul and spirit and listen to the Divine Glad-tidings.

For His Holiness Baha'u'llah has so united the hearts that they correspond together without the means of pen and paper, explaining the Mysteries of the Kingdom.

Supplication:

O thou almighty God! Make the spiritual assembly of Philadelphia the manifestor of invisible confirmations, and the dawning-place of the lights of the Merciful so that its members arise to serve the world of man and be benevolent to the children of humanity, and adore existence and become the cause of Eternal Life. O Lord, make that gathering-place the emblem of the Supreme Concourse, and that congregation the manifest sign of the Supreme Realm.

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But the best of meetings is the spiritual meeting; for in these days visits to these regions are accomplished with difficulty. I ask God that that spiritual meeting become realized so that the illumined bounty may prevail, the inner susceptibilities may be awakened and the eternal meeting in the Kingdom of God may be attained.

I became very happy to hear of the house that the friends prepared for me in New York, but they must consider that the heart and soul of Abdul Baha are present there, and the lights of unity and harmony must shine to such an extent that the house will be full of light and those who are there will feel that really Abdul Baha is present...

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O Handmaid of God, when you are united in a spiritual gathering and celebrate the remembrance of God by His Most Glorious Name, the Divine One, truly then 'Abdu'l-Baha is present and communes with you in spirit and asks God to grant your prayers through His eternal grace.

O thou who art firm in the Words of God!

It is morning, and a hundred thousand troubles, difficulties, matters, hardships and tribulations lie before me that must be attended to and resolved by my own self. Yet I have put all these aside and am occupied with thoughts of thee and engaged in penning this letter.

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Convey my longing greeting to all the friends there, stating that I entertain the utmost desire to see them; but physical meeting is not, after all, of great importance. The essential meeting is the spiritual meeting. Heart and Spirit must meet, and praise be to God, the Heart and the Spirit do meet. In the utmost of connection are they. In the utmost of love are they.

The servants and the maid servants are always in the Presence and they are spiritually associating with each other. The essential thing is the ideal communication of the hearts. Praise be to God that our hearts and spirits are connected with each other.

...the flourishing of the community ... involves the practice of collective worship of God. Hence, it is essential to the spiritual life of the community that the friends hold regular devotional meetings in local Baha'i centres, where available, or elsewhere, including the homes of believers.

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As we have such wonderful prayers and meditations in our writings, the reading of these with friends who are interested in and crave for this type of small meeting is often a step towards attracting them to the Faith. Perhaps you could start such an activity in your city.

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The Nineteen Day festivity is of the utmost importance that the friends should gather at a meeting where, in complete attunement and love, they should engage in the remembrance of God and His praise

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In every cycle and dispensation, the feast hath been favoured and loved, and the spreading of a table for the lovers of God hath been considered a praiseworthy act. This is especially the case today, in this dispensation beyond compare, this most generous of ages, when it is highly acclaimed, for it is truly accounted among such gatherings as are held to worship and glorify God.

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Consultation frank and unfettered, is the bedrock of this unique Order. Authority is concentrated in the hands of the elected members of the National Assembly. Power and initiative are primarily vested in the entire body of the believers acting through their local representatives. To generate those forces which must give birth to the body of their national administrators, and to confer, freely and fully and at fixed intervals, with both the incoming and outgoing National Assemblies, are the twofold functions, the supreme responsibility and sole prerogative of the delegates assembled in Convention.

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