Spiritual transformation

And yet, is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself, both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed, the futility of God's universal Manifestation would be apparent.

But at last, the ocean of Thy bounty surged forth and the sun of Thy favour shone resplendent. A new springtime arrived, and a vivifying breeze wafted; the clouds rained down, and that Day-Star of loving-kindness shone resplendent. The country was stirred to life again, the barren dust turned into a rose-garden, and the darksome earth became the envy of every orchard. The world became a new world and resounded with its praise. The mountains and the plains became green and verdant, and the birds of the field warbled their chorus of sweet melodies.

The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast approaching. Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise that all created things may be regenerated and made new.

O My servants! It behoveth you to refresh and revive your souls through the gracious favors which, in this Divine, this soul-stirring Springtime, are being showered upon you.

O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth, and to spiritualize the community of man. Laudable are the results and the fruits thereof, abundant the holy evidences deriving from this grace.

He hath rescued all who are in heaven and on earth from the perils of death and extinction, clothed them in the garment of true and everlasting existence, and bestowed upon them a new life.

The people shall hasten to worship in that heavenly Temple, the fragrance of God will be diffused, the Divine Teachings will take root in the hearts like unto the establishment of the spirit in the souls of men and the people will stand firm in the Cause of your Lord, the All-Merciful.

Then rose the Sun of Truth and the splendours of the Kingdom were shed over east and west. Those who had eyes to see rejoiced at the glad tidings and cried out: 'O blessed, blessed are we!', and they witnessed the inner reality of all things, and uncovered the mysteries of the Kingdom. Delivered then from their fancies and their doubts, they beheld the light of truth, and so exhilarated did they become from draining the chalice of God's love, that they utterly forgot the world and their own selves.

O ye heavenly heralds:

These are the days of Naw-Ruz. I am always thinking of those kind friends! I beg for each and all of you confirmations and assistance from the threshold of oneness, so that those gatherings may become ignited like unto candles, in the republics of America, enkindling the light of the love of God in the hearts; thus the rays of the heavenly teachings may begem and brighten the states of America like the infinitude of immensity with the stars of the Most Great Guidance.

The Northeastern States on the shores of the Atlantic--Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York--in some of these states believers are found, but in some of the cities of these states up to this date people are not yet illumined with the lights of the Kingdom and are not aware of the heavenly teachings; therefore, whenever it is possible for each one of you, hasten ye to those cities and shine forth like unto the stars with the light of the Most Great Guidance. God says in the glorious Qur'an: "The soil was black and dried. Then we caused the rain to descend upon it and immediately it became green, verdant, and every kind of plant sprouted up luxuriantly." In other words, He says the earth is black, but when the spring showers descend upon it that black soil is quickened, and variegated flowers are pushed forth. This means the souls of humanity belonging to the world of nature are black like unto the soil. But when the heavenly outpourings descend and the radiant effulgences appear, the hearts are resuscitated, are liberated from the darkness of nature and the flowers of divine mysteries grow and become luxuriant. Consequently man must become the cause of the illumination of the world of humanity and propagate the holy teachings revealed in the sacred books through the divine inspiration. It is stated in the blessed Gospel: Travel ye toward the East and toward the West and enlighten the people with the light of the Most Great Guidance, so that they may take a portion and share of eternal life.

Praise be to God, that the Northeastern States are in the utmost capacity. Because the ground is rich, the rain of the divine outpouring is descending. Now you must become heavenly farmers and scatter pure seeds in the prepared soil. The harvest of every other seed is limited, but the bounty and the blessing of the seed of the divine teachings is unlimited. Throughout the coming centuries and cycles many harvests will be gathered. Consider the work of former generations. During the lifetime of Jesus Christ the believing, firm souls were few and numbered, but the heavenly blessings descended so plentifully that in a number of years countless souls entered beneath the shadow of the Gospel. God has said in the Qur'an: "One grain will bring forth seven sheaves, and every sheaf shall contain one hundred grains." In other words, one grain will become seven hundred; and if God so wills He will double these also. It has often happened that one blessed soul has become the cause of the guidance of a nation. Now we must not consider our ability and capacity, nay, rather, we must fix our gaze upon the favors and bounties of God, in these days, Who has made of the drop a sea, and of the atom a sun.

Question: "Do the Baha'i teachings renovate the individual, private life? Or are they only a set of principles for the adjustment of general relations between men without the necessary requirements of personal regeneration."

Answer: "The Teachings of Baha'u'llah are the Breaths of the Holy Spirit which create men anew.

Baha'u'llah has come into this world. He has renewed that springtime. The same fragrances are wafting; the same heat of the Sun is giving life; the same cloud is pouring its rain, and with our own eyes we see that the world of existence is advancing and progressing. The human world has found new life.

O beloved servants and handmaidens of God! In its weakness and frailty, the world of humanity is even as a heap of darksome dust. Yet when the clouds of mercy of the All-Knowing Lord rain down upon it, this dark earth shall bring forth crimson flowers and shall become the resplendent rose-garden of the Concourse on high.

Out of this pitch blackness there dawned the morning splendour of the Teachings of Baha'u'llah. He hath dressed the world with a garment new and fair, and that new garment is the principles which have come down from God.

Say: When We found the earth of hearts barren of the vegetation of knowledge and wisdom, We then caused to descend from the clouds of grace that which made them stir and swell, bringing forth every noble kind.

O God, and the God of all Names, and Maker of the heavens! I entreat Thee by Thy Name through which He Who is the Day-Spring of Thy might and the Dawning-Place of Thy power hath been manifested, through which every solid thing hath been made to flow, and every dead corpse hath been quickened, and every moving spirit confirmed -- I entreat Thee to enable me to rid myself of all attachment to any one but Thee, and to serve Thy Cause, and to wish what Thou didst wish through the power of Thy sovereignty, and to perform what is the good pleasure of Thy will.

That universal Manifestation will subdue the world through a spiritual power, not through war and strife. He will array the world with peace and harmony, not with swords and spears. He will establish this divine sovereignty through genuine love, not through military might. He will promote these divine teachings through kindness and amity, not through violence and arms.

In like manner, when the holy Manifestation of God, Who is the Sun of the world of creation, casts His splendour upon the world of hearts, minds, and spirits, a spiritual springtime is ushered in and a new life is unveiled. The power of the matchless springtide appears and its marvellous gifts are beheld.

Praise and glory be to God, Who hath endowed Creation with such beatitude and conferred such tranquillity upon the hearts, and by imparting heavenly knowledge made the friends stars of the East, brilliant moons, so that they would enkindle the Light of Understanding, and with the showers of the rain of their utterance make human hearts the envy of meadows and rose-gardens.

The hearts of Thy dear ones, however, will rejoice only at the Divine Springtime of Thy tender mercies, whereby the hearts are quickened, and the souls are renewed, and the trees of human existence bear their fruits.

It requires a divine power that can cause advancement from the lowest depths to the highest summit - a power that elevated the savage Arabs of the waterless, plantless desert to eternal glory; a power that transformed a few lowly Jews into Peter the Great and John and Paul the Apostle and made them the pride of all Europe; a power that granted the weak and lowly Israel the kingdom of Solomon.

The mass of the people are occupied with self and worldly desire, are immersed in the ocean of the nether world and are captives of the world of nature, save those souls who have been freed from the chains and fetters of the material world and, like unto swift-flying birds, are soaring in this unbounded realm. They are awake and vigilant, they shun the obscurity of the world of nature, their highest wish centereth on the eradication from among men of the struggle for existence, the shining forth of the spirituality and the love of the realm on high, the exercise of utmost kindness among peoples, the realization of an intimate and close connection between religions and the practice of the ideal of self-sacrifice. Then will the world of humanity be transformed into the Kingdom of God.

How numerous the trees of human souls that have become fresh and verdant in this mystic, holy springtide, and richly laden with the fruits of divine knowledge! And how numerous the trees of human souls that have become parched and withered in this same season, deprived of all God's manifold bestowals!

Thus doth the Holy Reed intone its melodies, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its song, so that He may infuse life eternal into the mortal frames of men, impart to the temples of dust the essence of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly Light, and draw the transient world, through the potency of a single word, unto the Everlasting Kingdom.

The purport of these words is that, through the manifestation of Christ, the sacred teachings, which are everlasting grace, were spread abroad, the lights of guidance shone forth, and the spirit of life was conferred upon human realities. Whosoever was guided aright found life, and whosoever remained astray was overtaken by everlasting death. That bread which came down from heaven was the celestial body of Christ and His spiritual elements, of which the disciples ate and through which they attained everlasting life.

Baha'u'llah appeared in Persia at a time when the darkness of ignorance enveloped the East, and there was no trace of human love and fellowship. Through divine education and the power of the breaths of the Holy Spirit He so refined the souls of the Persians who followed Him that they attained a station of highest intelligence and reflected the attributes of perfection to the world.

This transformation in man is made by the Manifestations of God. Through them the wicked become righteous, the weak firm, the barren fruitful.

Concerning what thou hast written about the heedlessness, oppression and transgressions of the people of the Bayan, and likewise about the progress of the children who have ascended from barren lands through the breaths of revelation and have attained to the Kingdom of utterance - verily the divine traces in those who have turned unto Him appear more swiftly than the twinkling of an eye, transforming their very being in an instant and leading them from the corner of ignorance to the realm of knowledge.

This is the Day whereon Pharaoh was drowned and Moses beheld Him Who is the Beauty of the All-Glorious Lord. All glory be to that which God hath bestowed upon us!

A people who had been withered for a thousand years were brought back to life by the divine breath and gained boundless freshness and grace.

The East hath verily been illumined with the light of the Kingdom. Ere long will this same light shed a still greater illumination upon the West. Then will the hearts of its people be vivified through the potency of the teachings of God and their souls be set aglow by the undying fire of His love.

He quickly turned to me and said: "When thou travelest in those parts, tell the people: The Heavenly Irrigator appeared 70 years ago in Persia and taught His disciples how to flood the dry fields of the hearts. Through His knowledge and inspiration they were enabled to transform the waste deserts of the minds and souls into the luxuriant gardens in which the rivers of light are flowing from the inaccessible mountains of God."

The coming of a Manifestation is the Divine Springtime and the soul of man is adorned by it with a new garment of spiritual life, clothed with the robe of divine attributes and qualities. It becomes enlightened; it is made alive - born anew. The blind will be made to see; that which was darkness will become light; the timid will become courageous; the dumb will speak; the heedless awake. In brief, they will be perfected into the Image of God and His Divine Qualities; born of the Spirit, they will be Manifestations of union and harmony.

After this dark autumn there hath been and shall be a luminous spring, and whatsoever hath fallen from the trees shall God cause to grow anew through His bounty. Verily thy Lord is He Who causeth to grow, the All-Wise.

Were mankind to give heed in a befitting manner to no more than one word of such a praise it would be so filled with delight as to be overpowered and lost in wonder. Entranced, it would then shine forth resplendent above the horizon of true understanding.

The Word of God is the quickener of bodies and the resurrector of souls.

O handmaiden of God! Illnesses are of two kinds: spiritual and physical. Physical illnesses are cured through medicines, essences of herbs and drugs. But illnesses that result from psychic conditions are treated through the power of the human spirit. However, the power of the divine spirit rules over both physical and psychic conditions. Therefore when the human spirit becomes confirmed by the Holy Spirit's reinforcements, it can have its effects at every level in the world of existence.

One drop from the ocean of divine wisdom struck Badi' and like a ball of fire he sought martyrdom. His moisture was transformed to heat, his weakness to power, his sluggishness to swiftness.

This is the wisdom of the appearance of the Prophets: to educate humanity, that this lump of coal may become a diamond and this barren tree may be grafted and yield fruit of the utmost sweetness and delicacy.

And from the essence of Divine Unity and the quintessence of singleness, He taught and made known to us remedies that purify and tranquillize and soothe. And all this, so that the feeble frame of the world might be freed from the burning thirst of error and ignorance, and this afflicted body might be delivered from the sore distress of heedlessness and impotence and attain unto a state of divine health and a well-being spiritual, complete, and absolute.

Therefore one must strive with one's soul - first make the patients aware of their illness and awaken them to knowledge of the physicians. Then they will be free and delivered from the malady.

Combine then these twin noble elements, and harmonize and unite these twin soundest pillars, and so obtain the Noblest Stone---that is, the Jewel of Jewels, the Ruby of the Mine of the Kingdom---so that thou mayest discover the Most Great Elixir and find the Alchemy of Truth, and, casting it upon the copper and iron of men’s souls, transmute them into purest gold.

I beseech Thee, O Possessor of invention, that Thou transmute the base metal of existence into pure gold through the elixir of Thy wisdom and loving-kindness.

These few have been endued with the Divine Elixir that can, alone, transmute into purest gold the dross of the world, and have been empowered to administer the infallible remedy for all the ills that afflict the children of men. No man can obtain everlasting life, unless he embraceth the truth of this inestimable, this wondrous, and sublime Revelation.

It requires a universal active force to overcome these differences. A small lamp could light a room, a larger could light a whole house, a larger still could shine through the city, but the sun is needed to light the whole world. A small disease needs a small remedy, but a disease which pervades the whole body needs a very strong remedy.

These are they who regard all else save God as non-existent, who through the Most Great Antidote have, with the aid of the True Physician, cured chronic ailments such as pride and vainglory, fear and trepidation, and the like. With perfect health, complete strength and firm steadfastness they have raised aloft the banner of triumph and hoisted the standard of victory.

With the love of the Friend, what is bitter becometh sweet, and colocynth turneth to honey.

I beg of Thee, O my God, by Thy most exalted Word which Thou hast ordained as the Divine Elixir unto all who are in Thy realm, the Elixir through whose potency the crude metal of human life hath been transmuted into purest gold, O Thou in Whose hands are both the visible and invisible kingdoms, to ordain that my choice be conformed to Thy choice and my wish to Thy wish, that I may be entirely content with that which Thou didst desire, and be wholly satisfied with what Thou didst destine for me by Thy bounteousness and favor.

O loved ones of the All-Merciful! The Day is a mighty Day, and the Century is the Century of the Glorious Sovereign, and the Age is the Age of the Mighty Lord. His honor Aqa Mulla Kazim is present and conversing, and I both listen and write. Among his words is this verse: "If a crow partakes, it becomes a nightingale."

I also say that if by that wine is meant the pure wine whose essence is camphor, which gleamed in the crystal of the Day of Manifestation, then say: If a thorn partakes, it becomes a hyacinth; if an atom partakes, it becomes a radiant sun; if a drop partakes, it becomes the vast ocean; if a gnat partakes, it becomes an eagle soaring in the heavens; if dust partakes, it becomes flowers and herbs; if a stone partakes, it becomes hyacinth and sweet basil; if a coward partakes, he becomes a man of the arena; if a wise one partakes, he becomes the chief of the mystics; if a manifestation of Satan partakes, he becomes a manifestation of the All-Merciful; if rock and clay partake, they become rubies of Badakhshan; if pottery and jet partake, they become gleaming pearls.

For that divine wine is the ancient bounty and the wondrous revelation and the new spirit of the Ever-Living, All-Powerful Lord that is manifest in this mighty Cycle. For that goblet has come round, and that flagon is in the hand of the Cup-bearer, and that chalice is brimming, and that tavern has reopened, and that wine-vault has begun to flow, and those wine-lovers have begun to cry out. How blessed are they who drink! How pleasant for those who taste! Blessed are they from this cup overflowing with the wine of God's bounties!

O loved ones of God! Be not lifeless, be not stunned. Strive until you attain to the praiseworthy station, which is attraction to the fragrances of God and enkindlement with the fire of the love of God and arising to serve the Cause of God. Blessed are they who attain!

The bats have no share in the rays of the sun, and the ignorant have no portion in the world of mysteries - unless divine power transforms essences, turns dust into the philosopher's stone, makes stone into the ruby of Badakhshan, transforms black earth into the rose garden of mysteries, and awakens the eternally sleeping one to consciousness and awareness.

Through the grace of the Ancient Beauty, deem nothing strange and count nothing remote. Through His favors, the shell becometh a pearl, stone and rock turn into precious gems, dust acquireth the glory of the pure soul, and the sand of the desert is transformed into the ruby of Badakhshan.

He must transmute the iron of self into the gold of altruism. For example iron is cold, hard and black; but once thrown into the furnace of fire it becomes warm, soft and red - it assumes the qualities of fire. Thus through the Fire of the Love of God the lower, debasing thoughts of man must be changed and become the shining, scintillating ideals of the Kingdom.

The Divine power transforms the mosquito into an eagle, the drop into a sea and the ray into a sun.

Well has the Sadi of Shiraz said, "I was a worthless piece of clay and through the company of the rose I became amber."

No disease hath been or is greater than heedlessness, treachery, envy, malice and hate; and no healing remedy hath been or is more potent than the Word of God.

The first utterance of Him Who is the All-Wise is this: O children of dust! Turn your faces from the darkness of estrangement to the effulgent light of the daystar of unity. This is that which above all else will benefit the peoples of the earth.

What aileth you that ye remember not within yourselves a remembrance from God, the Truth, even a little? How can ye deny God when ye were dead, knowing naught from the knowledge of the Book in truth and through truth? He it is Who created you, then sustained you, then causeth you to die, then giveth you life as He willeth.

The purpose is that earthlings should turn into the people of Heaven, and those who walk in darkness should come into the light, and those who are excluded should join the inner circle of the Kingdom, and those who are as nothing should become intimates of the everlasting Glory.

It is my hope that out of the bestowals of the Lord of Hosts ye will become the spiritual essence and the very radiance of humankind, binding the hearts of all with bonds of love; that through the power of the Word of God ye will bring to life the dead now buried in the graves of their sensual desires; that ye will, with the rays of the Sun of Truth, restore the sight of those whose inner eye is blind; that ye will bring spiritual healing to the spiritually sick.

I yield Thee thanks, O my Lord, that Thou hast wakened me from my sleep, and stirred me up, and created in me the desire to perceive what most of Thy servants have failed to apprehend.

Many a chilled heart, O my God, hath been set ablaze with the fire of Thy Cause, and many a slumberer hath been wakened by the sweetness of Thy voice. How many are the strangers who have sought shelter beneath the shadow of the tree of Thy oneness, and how numerous the thirsty ones who have panted after the fountain of Thy living waters in Thy days!

Existential rewards consist in the virtues and perfections that adorn the human reality. For example, man was immersed in darkness and becomes luminous; he was ignorant and becomes informed; he was heedless and becomes aware; he was asleep and is awakened; he was dead and is quickened to life; he was blind and begins to see; he was deaf and begins to hear; he was earthly and becomes heavenly; he was material and becomes spiritual.

For even as Christ said of them in the Gospel, the people are blind, they are deaf, they are dumb; and He said: "I will heal them."

Praise be to God that your vision is illumined and your hearts like unto a rose-garden. Your cups are filled with choice wine, and your assemblage adorned with the Cup-bearer’s beauteous face.

They belonged to this nether world; Thou didst welcome them into Thy Kingdom. They were as withered plants in the wilderness of deprivation and loss; Thou didst make them the saplings of the garden of knowledge and understanding. Their voices were stilled; Thou didst cause them to speak forth. They were dispirited; Thou didst shed illumination upon them. They were as parched and barren soil; Thou didst turn them into a rose-garden of inner meanings. They were as children in the world of humanity; Thou didst enable them to attain heavenly maturity.

He Is God

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! This is one of the days of the Ridvan Festival whereon a dwelling-place in the Prison hath been embellished through the presence of the Exponent of Thy Beauty, Who deigned to accept an invitation at the earnest request of one that hath been carried away by longing and desire.

Magnified be Thou, inasmuch as Thou hast shone forth above the horizon of the Prison with so dazzling a splendour that all parts of the world have been illumined by virtue of the bounty Thou hast conferred upon those that have entered beneath Thy shadow and were admitted within Thy precincts. On this Day Thou didst unloose Thy tongue with holy utterances and scattered abroad pearls of inner meaning and exposition upon all the denizens of the entire creation. Through the influence of this chalice, do Thou revive O Lord, all the dwellers of the earth and ordain for the people of Baha -- they that yearn to behold Thy face but have been turned away by reason of what the hands of Thine enemies have wrought -- ordain for them that which will profit them, O Thou Who art the Lord of names and the Possessor of earth and heavens! Grant them then a portion from the outpourings of Thy mercy in these days, when every abased one is exalted, every believer is adorned with grace, every dejected soul is stirred up with joy, every poor one is enriched and every seeker hath voiced Thy praise.

O Lord! Glory be to Thee for Thou hast singled out Thy loved ones, distinguished them from among Thy people and hast turned Thy gaze towards them from this place, wherein the Tabernacle of Thy Cause is incarcerated. O Lord! Hinder them not from attaining the things Thou dost possess, but cause their hearts to be enraptured by the sweet savours of Thy divine Revelation, in such wise that they may, thereby, be detached from all else but Thee and may set their faces towards the court of Thy favour and loving kindness. Verily, potent art Thou to do what Thou willest; powerful art Thou over all things, and lauded art Thou, O Desire of the worlds!

Pray that God may assist in this heavenly undertaking, that the world of mankind shall be saved from the ordeals of ignorance, blindness and spiritual death. Then will you behold light upon light, joy upon joy, absolute happiness reigning everywhere, the people of the religions consorting together in fragrance and felicity, this world in its maturity becoming the reflection of the eternal Kingdom and this terrestrial abode of man the very paradise of God.

Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers" - the intention is the spiritual resurrection, whereby souls that are dead in the graves of desire are resurrected by the trumpet blast of the Abha Kingdom from the greatest stupor and eternal death.

I lay asleep on the bed of self when lo, Thou didst waken me with the divine accents of Thy voice, and didst unveil to me Thy beauty, and didst enable me to listen to Thine utterances, and to recognize Thy Self, and to speak forth Thy praise, and to extol Thy virtues, and to be steadfast in Thy love.

The small shall be made great, and the powerless shall be given strength; they that are of tender age shall become the children of the Kingdom, and those that have gone astray shall be guided to their heavenly home.

Praised be God that thou hast partaken of a fruit from the Tree of Life, and hast discovered a glimmer of the bounties of the Lord of manifest signs. Thou hast quaffed a cup of the wine of heaven, and hast left an enduring legacy in this transitory world, notwithstanding that those who have renounced the world seek neither name nor fame, and pursue neither ambition nor desire.

O thou lady of the Kingdom! Praise thou God that in this age, the age of the dispensation of Baha'u'llah, thou hast been awakened, hast been made aware of the Manifestation of the Lord of Hosts.

O God! I am a barber - make me divine. I am of the contingent world - make me of the realm beyond. I am of the horizons - make me of the dawning-places. I am of the dust - make me heavenly.

Now, praise be to God, ye have shown will-power and have turned to the Sun of Truth. The plain of your hearts hath been illumined by the lights of the Lord of the Kingdom and ye have been led to the straight path, have marched along the road that leadeth to the Kingdom, have entered the Abha Paradise, and have secured a portion and share of the fruit of the Tree of Life.

Thou hast attained unto the bounty of kissing the ground of the sacred Precincts, and hast been invested with the honour of inhaling the life-giving fragrances and soul-stirring breezes that waft from that pure and holy Shrine. Thou hast blessed thy countenance and hair with the dust of that sacred Threshold, and hast brightened and illumined both thine outer and inner eye.

You were asleep; you are awakened. Your ears are attentive; your hearts are informed. You have acquired the love of God. You have attained to the knowledge of God. This is the most great bestowal of God. This is the breath of the Holy Spirit, and this consists of faith and assurance. This eternal life is the second birth; this is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

We found man asleep; We awakened him. And We saw him distant; We drew him near. And We found him mute; We caused him to speak, that he might speak before the face of the world through the Most Great Name.

Therefore, do not be sorrowful, do not be grief-stricken, for he cannot be counted as dead - rather, he was dead and became alive, was mortal and became immortal, was earthly and became heavenly, was physical and became spiritual.

O ye two celestial souls! Turn to the divine Kingdom and recite this prayer:

O Kind God! We were heedless, Thou didst make us aware; we were asleep, Thou didst awaken us; we were unconscious, Thou didst make us conscious; we were deprived of portion and share, Thou didst bestow upon us a portion from the Great Bounty; we were astray, Thou didst guide us; we were thirsty, Thou didst give us to drink; we were debarred, Thou didst make us privy to the mystery.

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I was dead, and Thou didst bring me to life. I was in dark night, and Thou didst guide me to the luminous morn.

Gloomy am I; make me joyous. I am earthly; make me heavenly. Worldly am I; make me spiritual. I am heedless; make me an adorer of God. I am wavering; make me firm. Asleep am I; give me perceiving eyes, attentive ears and an eloquent tongue.

For, no matter if the people are living in appearance, yet they may be dead in reality. That is why His Holiness Christ, sayeth in the Gospels: "Let the dead bury the dead!" Praise be to God! that you have found eternal life from among the dead; that is, you have heard the call of the divine Kingdom, are attracted to the Heavenly Countenance and have turned your faces toward the Center of the Light of Truth.

When a person is a light sleeper, one single touch will awake him. If he sleeps heavily then one must awake him by shaking him; another person may sleep so soundly that he may need a big stick so as to awaken him. If the big stick does not give the desired effect, we may bring into service the noise of a cannon and if this will not also awake him we will then get a dynamite. In short, the sleepy ones must become mindful.

He who hath no spirit hath been raised up, while he who walketh and speaketh we behold among the dead. They who have arisen through the fragrance of God are the daysprings of guidance amidst all creation.

By graves is meant heedlessness of the self and passion, and the death of those in such graves is more severe and greater than physical death.

That life, however, which is mentioned in the Books of the Prophets and the Chosen Ones of God is the life of knowledge; that is to say, the servant's recognition of the sign of the splendours wherewith He Who is the Source of all splendour hath Himself invested him, and his certitude of attaining unto the presence of God through the Manifestations of His Cause. This is that blessed and everlasting life that perisheth not: whosoever is quickened thereby shall never die, but will endure as long as His Lord and Creator will endure.

But ye, praise be to God, are at present especially favored with this bounty, have become of the chosen, have been informed of the heavenly instructions, have gained admittance into the Kingdom of God, have become the recipients of unbounded blessings and have been baptized with the Water of Life, with the fire of the love of God and with the Holy Spirit.

Ye were but babes in the womb, then were ye sucklings, and from a precious breast ye drew the milk of knowledge, then came ye to your full growth, and won salvation.

In like manner, man must be born from the world of nature, that he may enter the world beyond nature; that is, he must be delivered from the defects of the natural world, that he may receive a share and portion of the virtues of the divine world. For nature is imperfect; it can do no more than this. It cannot discover spiritual realities, disclose the Kingdom, or gain tidings of the world of God.

Look at Me and be as I am; ye must die to yourselves and to the world, so shall ye be born again and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

What is meant by eternal life is receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit, even as a flower partakes of the gifts and breezes of spring. Observe that in the beginning this flower had a purely mineral life, yet through the advent of springtime, the outpouring of its vernal showers and the heat of its shining sun, it found another life and appeared with the utmost vitality, delicacy and fragrance.

What is important is to bestow true insight and everlasting life, that is, a spiritual and divine life; for this material life will not endure and its existence is tantamount to non-existence. Even as Christ said in reply to one of His disciples: "let the dead bury their dead"; for "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

O thou sanctified bough of the Tree of Holiness! Though that illustrious offshoot was severed from the garden of the contingent world, he hath been joined to the sacred Lote-Tree and hath grown fresh and verdant in the garden of the Placeless. He hath been nurtured from the wellspring of living waters and stirred by the breezes wafting from the bowers of the Abha Kingdom. He hath entered the paradise of the Divine Presence, attained the court of the Almighty, and found his habitation in the bountiful realm of the All-Glorious.

The spiritual father is greater than the physical one, for the latter bestoweth but this world's life, whereas the former endoweth his child with life everlasting. This is why, in the Law of God, teachers are listed among the heirs.

Be thou severed from this world, and reborn through the sweet scents of holiness that blow from the realm of the All-Highest.

The resuscitation or rebirth of the spirit of man is through the science of the love of God. It is through the efficacy of the water of life. This life and quickening is the regeneration of the phenomenal world.

Although the embryo is alive in the womb of the mother, yet it is considered as dead, and when it is born from the mother's womb, it received a new life and a great spirit; so the same result occurs in the Second Birth which is a Spiritual one. When it is produced for a person, that person will possess another life, receive another energy, obtain another power and gain another might.

The human spirit attains eternity through faith and second birth.

Thus the descent of the Holy Spirit means that the Apostles were attracted by the messianic Spirit, attained constancy and steadfastness, found a new life through the spirit of Godis love, and saw Christ to be their ever-living helper and protector. They were mere drops and became the ocean; they were feeble gnats and became soaring eagles; they were all weakness and became endowed with strength.

When one looks at the people on the streets of Haifa, it seems as if one hundred years would be required for their spiritual development.

… These souls have lived not spiritual life. They are like abortive children - they do not attain to (spiritual) life in this world. In the world of God, they may attain to divine grace.

The call of the Kingdom is heard in your midst. Glory be to God, you have been born again, you have been baptized by the fire of the Love of God; you have been plunged in the Sea of Life and regenerated by the Spirit of Love!

Ye have found your place in the world that dieth not; the breaths of the Holy Spirit have blown upon you; ye have taken on another life, ye have gained access to the Threshold of God.

Praise be to God that thou hast experienced the second birth from the darkness of the world of nature and hast been baptized with the fire of love, the water of life, and the breathings of the Holy Spirit.

All the believers in this cycle are in the same station when they accept the Manifestation of God and His Teachings. This is the baptism of water. When the soul advances to the second stage, it receives and becomes conscious of the Divine Spirit; then the spirit speaks through it, it is inspired and can answer all questions, because man does not answer for himself, but the Holy Spirit enlightens and teaches him so long as he seeks from this source, the Ocean of Reality. This is the baptism of the spirit. The third station is the baptism of fire. Then the soul is aflame with the fire of the Love of God and is detached from all worldly states, such as the merely intellectual perceptions.

Whenever the heart is happy, the atmosphere is good, no matter what or where the place may be. During the days of the Blessed Perfection, had they offered us the glories of the world we would not have changed them, because the Beloved of the world was here. And now, as our prison abode is in the path of God, we like it better than any other place in the world, as my heart is happy and at rest when I endure difficulties in the path of my Lord.

People whose idea is to gain benefit from this world, endure great hardships, work hard and bear all sorts of troubles--even sometimes, too, they give up family and comforts--yet at last they have only a material and transient blessing which is not a lasting reward. Another, caring for fame and the commendation of the people of the world, will risk life and limb in traveling to foreign lands, and even endeavor to reach the North Pole, in search of something which will cause the people to praise and mention him: But of what use is this mention and fame? In a few years he is forgotten and his fame is supplanted by that of another.

We are seeking heavenly and everlasting benefits, blessings and fame which fade not away, and for these bounties we are ready to cast away our lives and sacrifice everything. For this reason, the atmosphere, weather, water and climate are suitable and comfortable, because we are in search of a heavenly discovery and are happy to bear all trials for the sake of attaining our end.

If we have a beautiful garden, with one small narrow gate and desire to enter therein, we will not mind the difficulties encountered in passing the gate when we inhale the fragrance of the flowers and see the beauty of the garden; for, it is the garden we desire, not the gate.

When a child is born into this world, the pain of birth is very severe, but the pain is a great gift to both parents and child, because through it the parents obtain a child and the child obtains the opportunities of living and gaining knowledge in this spacious world.

Wherefore, the trouble one has in severing his heart from this world is a great blessing in reality; but as a newly hatched bird has difficulty at first in accomplishing its flight and after a little practice finds it easier to soar aloft into the regions of light, leaving the earth and all its hardships far below, so man must be.

For example, the saints of God could never have attained hardship had they not suffered and been tried, even unto death, in this world. Thus, when trials come, let us bear them and widen our breasts that in the end we, perhaps, may become the saints of God.

Abdul-Baha here turned to Madam K. and said: "Some thoughts come to your mind which make you very sad, but do not let anything make you sad and do not let things of this world attract you. Sometimes you feel that your friends are faithless, but remember that God is a friend that can be relied upon and He is faithful and true, and He alone is to be implicitly trusted.

Jesus Christ said 'Ye must be born again' so that divine Life may spring anew within you.

The third baptism is that of fire, when the soul becomes aflame with the love of God and insensible to any other attraction. This baptism Moses received when, as it is written, he saw God in the flame of fire, and the same experience is recorded of many other prophets.

It is said of Mary Magdalen that out of her went seven devils. This means seven evil qualities which Jesus cast out of her by teaching her the Truth. She was not such a bad woman as some supposed before her conversion, but the wonder is that such a saint and miracle of purity and goodness could have been created by the New Birth.

Undoubtedly you must be firm in holding it, and on the day of meeting raise such song and melody in the glorification and praise of Bahá’u’lláh that you may cause a tumult in that city—so that everyone may hear the call of God and obtain a new spirit through the soul-refreshing breeze wafted from the rose-garden of the Covenant.

He acquires divine wisdom; he searches out the mysteries of creation; he witnesses the radiance of omnipotence; he attains the second birth -- that is to say, he is born out of the material world just as he is born of the mother; he attains to everlasting life; he draws nearer to God; his heart is replete with the love of God.

You must be newly created. You must not be the same as you were before you became Bahais. A transformation must take place. Your words must be changed, your name must be changed, your very being must be transformed, just as when a child is born from the matrix of the mother into this world.

Just as he is born into this world of imperfection from the womb of his earthly mother, so is he born into the world of spirit through divine education. When a man is born into the world of phenomena he finds the universe; when he is born from this world to the world of the spirit, he finds the Kingdom.'

The new birth is realized in this world when we become characterized with the characteristics of God, when His name and attributes become our name and attributes.

Blessed is the man who hath detached himself from all else but Me, hath soared in the atmosphere of My love, hath gained admittance into My Kingdom, gazed upon My realms of glory, quaffed the living waters of My bounty, hath drunk his fill from the heavenly river of My loving providence, acquainted himself with My Cause, apprehended that which I concealed within the treasury of My Words, and hath shone forth from the horizon of divine knowledge engaged in My praise and glorification.

Release yourselves, O nightingales of God, from the thorns and brambles of wretchedness and misery, and wing your flight to the rose-garden of unfading splendor.

O My friends that dwell upon the dust! Haste forth unto your celestial habitation.

The cause of ascent is lightness, and the cause of lightness is heat. Thus hath it been decreed by God. The cause of stillness is weight and density, which in turn are caused by cold. Thus hath it been decreed by God.

And since He hath ordained heat to be the source of motion and ascent and the cause of attainment to the desired goal, He hath therefore kindled with the mystic hand that Fire that dieth not and sent it forth into the world, that this divine Fire might, by the heat of the love of God, guide and attract all mankind to the abode of the incomparable Friend.

Should the fire of the love of God be kindled in Greenland, all the ice of that country will be melted, and its cold weather become temperate--that is, if the hearts be touched with the heat of the love of God, that territory will become a divine rose garden and a heavenly paradise, and the souls, even as fruitful trees, will acquire the utmost freshness and beauty.

If the fire of separation be not kindled, the Kawthar of nearness and reunion will not flow.

O Shams! Hearken with all thy heart unto the nightingale song of the Beloved, that perchance thou mayest abandon the habitation of self and desire and step into the placeless realm of eternal glory, forsake thine own life, and commune with Him Who is the life of thy life. Wert thou to traverse the limitless reaches of the spirit, thou wouldst of a certainty rend asunder the garment of patience and forbearance, hasten to offer up thy soul, renounce the dross of this fleeting world, and find repose upon the throne of ancient glory.

This is the mystery of sacrifice, and inexhaustible are its meanings. Among them are freedom from passion and desire, laying down one's life in the path of guidance, and detachment from all save God. Another meaning is the annihilation of the seed and its appearance in all respects in the tree and the fruit. The seed doth truly sacrifice itself for the tree, for were the seed not to disintegrate outwardly, that tree with its branches, fruits, leaves, and blossoms would not come into being in the world of existence.

Be utter poverty and complete evanescence. Strip yourself entirely of descriptions of existence and become hidden in the setting of nothingness, that you may shine like the morning star in the horizon of being and enter beneath the shadow of the Face.

Saints are men who have freed themselves from the world of matter and who have overcome sin. They live in the world but are not of it, their thoughts being continually in the world of the spirit. Their lives are spent in holiness, and their deeds show forth love, justice and godliness.

The rapture of that Call so seized him that he became detached from all created things, turning toward Pharaoh and his concourse with a power from thy Lord, the Protector over what was and what shall be.

When man attains to the station of renunciation and loses entirely his "I-hood" his existence is identical with non-existence and a splendor of the Being of the True One is cast upon him. Then he shall discern with the Eye of God, hear with the ears of the True One, and become like unto the iron, which when cast in the fire loses its qualities of coldness, blackness and solidity, and the characteristics of fire such as heat, redness and glowing will become apparent and manifest in it....

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"Christ said to His disciples, 'I am in you, the Father is in Me and I am in you,' meaning that the qualities of the Father were in Him and His qualities were in them.

"There are many explanations of sacrifice. A seed in the ground sacrifices itself--that is, it becomes nothing that the beautiful plant may appear (the qualities of the plant are latent in the seed). The tree and its beautiful branches, leaves and fruit are manifestations of the perfection of the seed.

O friend! Thine epistle was received. It told of naught save the fire which hath been kindled in the tree of human reality, and bore no message but that which bestoweth a new life upon enlightened hearts. Well is it with him that hath been set ablaze by the fire of thy love, and who hath quaffed the water of life from the cup of thine affection.

Say: His love is water in its effect and fire in its nature. Through its heat it attracts the moisture which hath prevented people from ascending to the atmosphere of the knowledge of their Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful.

Whoso hath drunk of the cup which the hand of Thy mercy hath borne round will strip himself of all things except Thee, and will be able, through a word of his mouth, to enrapture the souls of such of Thy servants as have slumbered on the bed of forgetfulness and negligence, and to cause them to turn their faces toward Thy most Great Sign, and seek from Thee naught else except Thyself, and ask of Thee only what Thou hast determined for them by the pen of Thy judgment and hast prescribed in the Tablet of Thy decree.

Like drops, become extinct in the waves of the sea, and like atoms, soar in the worlds of the sun's lights. Like moths, burn your wings around the candle, and like chameleons, become enchanted by the sun.

As to the fourth significance of sacrifice: It is the principle that a reality sacrifices its own characteristics. Man must sever himself from the influences of the world of matter, from the world of nature and its laws; for the material world is the world of corruption and death. It is the world of evil and darkness, of animalism and ferocity, bloodthirstiness, ambition and avarice, of self-worship, egotism and passion; it is the world of nature. Man must strip himself of all these imperfections, must sacrifice these tendencies which are peculiar to the outer and material world of existence.

When Saint Paul was asked about certain philosophical questions, he answered that before he had news of Christ, he knew everything, but when he received news of Christ, he became unaware of everything. For Christ so infused him that no room remained for anything else. This heart became empty and filled with Christ, meaning divine outpourings and heavenly inspirations.

Until the ancient edifice is demolished, the lofty palace cannot be built. Until the trees are stripped bare, they will not bring forth fruit and blossoms. Until the old garment is torn, the new robe cannot be donned.

Human nature is like iron, of which the characteristics in its normal state are to be black, to be cold, and to be solid. The grace of the Holy Spirit is like fire which glows upon the iron and changes its blackness to redness, its coldness to heat, its solidity to fluidity. … In the same way, the spirit of man, which is his perceiving soul, when it shall receive the rays of the Holy Spirit will become endowed with the attributes of the Holy Spirit. His imperfect qualities will be changed to perfect ones.

Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most.'

Now in life, occupy thyself with the remembrance and praise of the Friend, and seek from God true sacrifice, which is to submerge thine own will and purpose in the Will and Purpose of God, exalted be His glory - that is, to manifest no intention or purpose of thine own. Whosoever attaineth unto this station hath attained unto true martyrdom, and aught else is not permitted in this Day, for We have commanded all to wisdom, and they who are endued with insight must look to the Command of God and not act according to their own will.

The hearing and sight of the people have likewise progressed, and wings besmeared with clay have been cleansed and sanctified by the Kawthar of utterance and are now capable of flight.

Man is like unto a sword, and its essence is forbearance and piety. As long as it remains sheathed in the scabbard of self, its quality remaineth unknown.

He says: The world of nature is the world of darkness, because it is the origin of a thousand depravities; nay, rather, it is darkness upon darkness. The illumination of the world of nature is dependent upon the splendor of the Sun of Reality. The grace of guidance is like unto the candle which is enkindled in the glass of knowledge and wisdom and that glass of knowledge and wisdom is the mirror of the heart of humanity.

O servants! The springs of divine bounty are flowing - drink from them, that by the help of the peerless Friend ye may be cleansed from the dust of earth and enter the precincts of the one true Friend.

The second wisdom is that fasting is conducive to spiritual awareness. One's heart grows more tender, one's spirituality is increased, and as a result one's thoughts become purely focused on the remembrance of God. Such awareness and awakening leads inexorably to spiritual progress.

Therein hath the breeze of holiness, laden with the love of thy Lord, stirred thy spirit within thee, and the waters of understanding have washed from thee the stains of remoteness and ungodliness.

May divine susceptibilities be increased and awakened; may your devotion to the heavenly Kingdom become intense. May you be the recipients of the impulses of the Holy Spirit, be assisted in the world of morality and attain ideal power so that the sublimity of the world of mankind may become apparent in you. Thus may you attain the highest happiness, the eternal life, the everlasting glory, the second birth, and become manifestations of the bestowals of God.

One heart may possess the capacity of the polished mirror; another, be covered and obscured by the dust and dross of this world. Although the same Sun is shining upon both, in the mirror which is polished, pure and sanctified you may behold the Sun in all its fullness, glory and power, revealing its majesty and effulgence; but in the mirror which is rusted and obscured there is no capacity for reflection, although so far as the Sun itself is concerned it is shining thereon and is neither lessened nor deprived.

When man allows the spirit, through his soul, to enlighten his understanding, then does he contain all Creation; because man, being the culmination of all that went before and thus superior to all previous evolutions, contains all the lower world within himself. Illumined by the spirit through the instrumentality of the soul, man's radiant intelligence makes him the crowning-point of Creation.

So I hope that you will grow day by day in capacity, so as to receive more and more of the divine blessings. This capacity comes but by being detached from the world and by being attracted to God with a hearty inclination for His Cause.

Therefore, it is requisite that we must develop capacity and divine susceptibility in order that the merciful bounty of the Sun of Truth intended for this age and time in which we are living may reflect from us as light from pure crystals.

The bounties of the Blessed Perfection are infinite. We must endeavor to increase our capacity daily, to strengthen and enlarge our capabilities for receiving them, to become as perfect mirrors.

The Heavenly Father gave the priceless gift of intelligence to man so that he might become a spiritual light, piercing the darkness of materiality, and bringing goodness and truth into the world.

O Ali, upon you be God's eternal peace! In truth, this Wronged One has had and has no desire except for the refinement of souls and the extinguishing of the fire of hatred and animosity in hearts.

We must endeavor to free the soil of the hearts from useless weeds and sanctify it from the thorns of worthless thoughts in order that the cloud of mercy may bestow its power upon us.

The doors of God are open, but we must be ready and fitted to enter.

Little reflection, little admonition is necessary for us to realize the purpose of our creation. What a heavenly potentiality God has deposited within us! What a power God has given our spirits! He has endowed us with a power to penetrate the realities of things; but we must be self-abnegating, we must have pure spirits, pure intentions, and strive with heart and soul while in the human world to attain everlasting glory.

When the heart is pure, the Spirit enters, and our growth is natural and assured.

Whatever has been and is being endured has but one purpose: that hearts and souls may be sanctified from selfish and passionate inclinations and turn toward the Most Holy Horizon, so that through divine favor they may, in this transient world, attain unto eternal stations.

These are the days of fasting, when the dawning-place of the manifestations of the grace of the Lord of all beings decreases the carnal and increases the spiritual. It transforms base desire into guidance and cruelty into faithfulness.

Although this ancient grace and mighty effulgence and the outpouring rain from the cloud of bounty was at the height of power and might, yet souls must become receptive and worthy, and the realities of existence must acquire suitable capacities.

There is a power which purifies the mirror from dust and transforms its reflection into intense brilliancy and radiance so that spiritual susceptibilities may chasten the hearts and heavenly bestowals sanctify them. … But sincerity, justice, humility, severance, and love for the believers of God will purify the mirror and make it radiant with reflected rays from the Sun of Truth.

They are like the dry wood which bursts into flame as soon as it touches the fire. So it is with a lamp; the oil within it responds instantly to the fire and gives forth light.

The hope for attaining the fruit and continuous meeting is not dependent or conditional, for if stone and clay were to melt in fire for a thousand years it would have no effect, while the lamp's wick immediately blazes forth upon merely touching the fire. This brief connection of the wick is greater than a thousand years' connection of stone.

O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the love of God!

A pure soul must be sacrificed in the path of God, and a heart sanctified from water and clay must become worthy of the outpouring of the All-Merciful. A black stone cannot become a brilliant ruby, nor can rock and clay transform into a Badakhshan ruby. A fragment of pottery cannot become a pearl of the sea, nor can a worthless pebble become a lustrous gem.

First we must make ourselves receptive, then the bounties of God descend upon us. The mirror must become clear from rust first then the sun with all its glory will be reflected therein. Prepare your apartment first before you invite the guest. Therefore, first we must become severed and detached, then we will obtain the divine Bounties.

As to the recitation of the hidden verse that was asked about: it is obligatory to purify the "earth of souls" -- that is, that they neither hear, nor behold, nor utter, nor write aught save the words of the 'Illiyyin. And even as the earth of the Book of God was filled with justice and equity, so must the earth of souls likewise be.

That divine world is manifestly a world of lights; therefore, man has need of illumination here. That is a world of love; the love of God is essential. It is a world of perfections; virtues, or perfections, must be acquired. That world is vivified by the breaths of the Holy Spirit; in this world we must seek them. That is the Kingdom of everlasting life; it must be attained during this vanishing existence.

The entire Law is but a path for the servant to journey toward his Lord, but through movement toward the pivot We have indicated. As for the way to reach this pivot, know thou that attaining unto the station of thine own reality is attaining unto thy Lord, and it is the station of pure God-fearingness, as one of the Prophets asked about God, saying: "How can one reach Thee?" God, the Exalted, replied: "Cast away thyself and come unto Me."

Our Lord: "As I have said before: Man first is like a pupil. He becomes a learned man; then he becomes a teacher. First he is a patient. He must attain perfect health, and, having attained it, he can become a doctor.

Abdu'l-Baha. -- 'To acquire virtues. … So that we may attain perfection in each of these kingdoms, that we may possess the best qualities of the mineral, that we may acquire the power of growing as in the plant, that we may be adorned with the instincts of the animal and possess the faculties of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste, until from the animal kingdom we step into the world of humanity and are gifted with reason, the power of invention, and the forces of the spirit.'

O servant! Say: "In the name of God, by God and in the name of our Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious!" Soar then upon the wings of true knowledge to the supreme Habitation, that thou mayest hear the melodies of God from the Divine Lote-Tree.

We must strive unceasingly and without rest to accomplish the development of the spiritual nature in man, and endeavor with tireless energy to advance humanity toward the nobility of its true and intended station.

At the gate of the garden some stand and look within, but do not care to enter. Others step inside, behold its beauty, but do not penetrate far. Still others encircle this garden inhaling the fragrance of the flowers and, having enjoyed its full beauty, pass out again by the same gate.

But there are always some who enter and, becoming intoxicated with the splendor of what they behold, remain for life to tend the garden.

Yet al-Sadiq said in al-Misbah: "When knowledge is realized in the breast it fears, when fear is confirmed it flees, when it flees it is saved. When the light of certainty shines in the heart it witnesses grace, when grace is established in vision it hopes, when it finds the sweetness of hope it seeks, when it succeeds in seeking it finds. When the radiance of knowledge is unveiled in the inner heart, the wind of love stirs; when the wind of love stirs it finds intimacy in the presence of the Beloved and prefers the Beloved over all else, implementing His commands and avoiding His prohibitions, choosing them over everything else. When [one reaches] the Beloved while fulfilling His commands and avoiding His prohibitions, one attains the spirit of communion and nearness."

The parable of these three principles is like the Sacred Precinct, the Mosque, and the Ka'bah. Whoever enters the Sacred Precinct is safe from creation; whoever enters the Mosque, their limbs are protected from being used in disobedience; whoever enters the Ka'bah, their heart is protected from being occupied with other than God. This is only due to their distance from observing the lights of Divine Unity.

And this hath come to pass only because of their remoteness from beholding the lights of oneness; otherwise they would have chosen, for their own selves, naught save that which God---glorified be He---hath caused to flow forth from the outpouring of His power, and hath chosen after His own Self. And this is the grace of God: He bestoweth it upon whom He willeth of His servants; and He is the Mighty, the Wise. And if thou dost gaze upon the mystery of the worlds, thou shalt behold, in this world, none other but Him.

Every day, in the morning when arising you should compare today with yesterday and see in what condition you are. If you see your belief is stronger and your heart more occupied with God and your love increased and your freedom from the world greater then thank God and ask for the increase of these qualities.

When one enters the other world, he sees and knows so much that is now hidden that this world seems but a dark and narrow prison from which he has escaped. As a bird freed from the cage desires not to return there, so the soul of man freed from the body has no inclination to return to its close confines again, but loves to soar upward, nearer and ever nearer unto the Perfection of God.

And were we to claim that reincarnation is intended to bring about perfection, so that matter might gain in purity and refinement and that the light of the spirit might appear therein with the utmost perfection, this too would be mere imagination. For even if we granted such an assumption, the renewal of an object's existence cannot bring about the transformation of its essence. For the substance of imperfection, by returning, will not become the reality of perfection, total darkness will not become a source of light, abject weakness will not become power and strength, and an earthly essence will not become a heavenly reality.

Know thou that progress is of two kinds: one is progress in station and the other is progress in perfections. Progress in station pertains to this world, as thou observest that the human body was first in the mineral state, then from the mineral state it advanced to the vegetable state, and from the vegetable to the animal state, and from the animal to the human state, thus progressing through stations.

Thus active souls and vigilant people rest neither by day nor by night; they strive to be closely linked to the divine Kingdom and thereby become the manifestations of infinite bounty and ideal gardeners for these forests. Thus the world of humanity will be wholly transformed and the merciful bounties become manifest.

Man accomplishes his true growth when the soul develops in its own station. His station does not change; simply his capacity for knowing God is increased and developed. Knowledge of God is the only spiritual development.

It is by progressing into the spiritual life that the ascending arc is reached and man can grow and develop.

When it reacheth the stage of soul, spirit, and mind, then in accordance with that stage, it hath a death which will certainly destroy all privative aspects. Finally, the command will reach the stage of the inmost heart, which is the gulf of immortality and pure life, in the presence of the Lord of creation.

Arise from thy place, then walk upon the earth seven steps, and in each step traverse one of the books: In the first, enter into the sea of search and seek God, thy Lord, in thy inner being and heart. In the second, enter into the sea of love and remember God, thy Lord, in the raptures of thy longing and the dominions of thy taste. In the third, walk in the paths of detachment - that is, detach thyself from thy desires and follow thy Master. In the fourth, enter into the depths of the seas of oneness and the ocean of divine unity.

If his morals become spiritual in character, his aspirations heavenly and his actions conformable to the will of God, man has attained the image and likeness of his Creator; otherwise, he is the image and likeness of Satan.

For by exercise the spirit grows stronger, more capable of withstanding, just as the muscle of the outer body increases its fibre through continual action.

God forbid that he should grow and develop with harmful morals and unpraiseworthy intentions and thoughts, and persist in these for a time. From the evil and misguidance of this he will not find deliverance for a lifetime, and he will become so habituated to harmful thoughts and deeds as one who is addicted to opium - preferring deadly poison to any delicious feast, and finding bitterness better than any sweet food.

In every breath be other than thy former self, and with every step advance beyond thy previous step, that thou mayest be occupied at all times in purifying and sanctifying thyself.

But the All-Merciful Lord has vouchsafed infinite bounty to spiritual human beings and he has made them distinguished with his perfections and attributes so that they may become the embodiment of the spirit and the manifestations of light, that they may become the cause of life in the path of salvation, that they may obtain the lights of bounty from the lord of manifest signs, that they may become the dawning places of the effulgences.

If we step further into a valley every day we shall become ever more radiant, ever more enlightened, ever closer to the threshold to the one true God. We shall see the doors of His bounty opening wide before us and shall find the meaning of true happiness. We shall celebrate in the divine festival, participate in unending joy, and spend the days of our lives in exhilaration and gladness.

Praise be to God that a ray has struck the heart and brought gladness to the soul.

Yet every gift must increase and progress day by day, for stagnation leads to decline.

Therefore, strive with all thy power in this most great station, that this drop may expand day by day until at last it becomes a boundless ocean whose waves reach unto the heights of the Supreme Concourse.

Know thou that before maturity man liveth from day to day and comprehendeth only such matters as are superficial and outwardly obvious. However, when he cometh of age he understandeth the realities of things and the inner truths. Indeed, in his comprehension, his feelings, his deductions and his discoveries, every day of his life after maturity is equal to a year before it....

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The soul does not evolve from degree to degree as a law -- it only evolves nearer to God, by the Mercy and Bounty of God.

For a soul to travel in the path of Baha'u'llah, receive confirmations, and then become lukewarm, is very astonishing to me. I was astonished to see this in America. It is true that to pursue the pathway of God is very difficult.

Man from the beginning of his life up to thirty years is progressive; from thirty to forty he is stationary; and from forty onward he is retrogressive. In reality the beginning of his retrogression is the day of his stagnation.

If the faith of man does not progress day by day, he is retrogressing.

Soon will our handful of days, our vanishing life, be gone, and we shall pass, empty-handed, into the hollow that is dug for those who speak no more; wherefore must we bind our hearts to the manifest Beauty, and cling to the lifeline that faileth never.

Therefore think not that this fierce opposition and cruelty hath brought humiliation and abasement upon you. Nay, I swear by God, besides Whom there is none other God, they redound to imperishable glory and unfading bounty. Indeed, this persecution is a cooling draught and these trials a source of delight. This poison is but sugar and this venom the essence of sweetness.

My only joy in this swiftly passing world was to tread the stony path of God and to endure hard tests and all material griefs. For otherwise, this earthly life would prove barren and vain, and better would be death. The tree of being would produce no fruit; the sown field of this existence would yield no harvest.

I testify that my countenance, which shineth above the Day-Spring of eternity, hath been irradiated by adversity, and my body hath been adorned by it before all who are in heaven and all who are on earth.

Days will pass and comfort and ease will yield no result, but enduring tribulations and tests will nurture a tree that bears eternal fruit and everlasting results.

It is said in the Quran: 'Did ye suppose that ye will enter the Paradise, but when trials, similar unto those suffered by men before you, come upon you, you were overcome with grief and afflictions?' Man cannot find intoxication without drinking from this cup. Man cannot take part in the hilarity of those drunk from the wine of the love of God without quaffing the cup of calamity. The more you beat the iron, the sharper it becomes; the longer you subject gold to red-hot fire, the purer and clearer it becomes.

They are now under the process of refining. When they come out of the crucible their brightness will become manifest. The word of God is the refinery which will polish them, suffering them to become as pure as tested gold....

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Although the author of the following saying had intended it otherwise, yet We find it pertinent to the operation of God's immutable Will: "Even or odd, thou shalt win the wager." The friends of God shall win and profit under all conditions, and shall attain true wealth. In fire they remain cold, and from water they emerge dry. Their affairs are at variance with the affairs of men. Gain is their lot, whatever the deal. To this testifieth every wise one with a discerning eye, and every fair-minded one with a hearing ear...

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However, such faithful friends as have laid down their lives as martyrs will be stirred by the waves of the ocean of ecstasy. They will be filled with joy and radiance through the revelation of heavenly glad-tidings, will receive divine confirmations of loving-kindness and will be sustained by the wondrous blessings of the peerless Lord in such wise that they will be moved to say: "Praise be unto God that during our lifetime in this mortal world we became the target of darts in the path of God and were exposed to the dire peril of arrows and spears.

Until one sees every hardship and becomes afflicted with every difficulty in God's path, one remains immature and weak, nameless and deficient. Therefore this hardship is a mercy and this difficulty is the essence of bounty, for it looks to the ultimate outcome.

Souls are like soil - the more you plow its breast, the more bounty and blessing it yields, and the roots of thorny bushes are completely destroyed. Consider that the onslaught of self and passion can only be broken through the power of the hosts of tribulation.

This deed of thine is, however, an eloquent testimony to thy noble spirit of self-sacrifice. Thou hast, verily, sacrificed thy life and great will be the spiritual results thou shalt obtain.

Caiaphas lived a comfortable and happy life while Peter's life was full of sorrow and trial; which of these two is the more enviable? Assuredly we should choose the present state of Peter, for he possesses immortal life whilst Caiaphas has won eternal shame. The trials of Peter tested his fidelity. Tests are benefits from God, for which we should thank Him. Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance, they are sent to us by the Divine Mercy for our own perfecting.

This springtime smile comes from winter's weeping, and this freshness and grace of plain and mountain comes from winter's snow and rain and storm.

The meaning is that until trials, hardships and difficulties appear, the holy fragrances of the Lord of Verses will not perfume the nostrils of the spiritual ones....

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O my brother, thankfully worship God when He forms you with pressure, sing His praise when He, the great Master of the workshop, can for a time release you from the pressing form, from the hot embers of the furnace of sorrow!

Pure gold has never any fear or dread of the fire of tests - it is the false metal that fears the fire.

I beseech God that He may graciously enable every one of you to adorn himself, in this blessed Day, with the ornament of pure and holy deeds.

I hope that each one of you will become just, and direct your thoughts towards the unity of mankind; that you will never harm your neighbors nor speak ill of anyone; that you will respect the rights of all men, and be more concerned for the interests of others than for your own.

Until man acquires perfections himself, he will not be able to teach perfections to others. Unless man attains life himself, he cannot convey life to others. Unless he finds light, he cannot reflect light. We must, therefore, endeavor ourselves to attain to the perfections of the world of humanity, lay hold of everlasting life and seek the divine spirit in order that we may thereby be enabled to confer life upon others, be enabled to breathe life into others.

O thou who art serving the world of humanity! Thy letter was received and from its contents we felt exceedingly glad. It was a decisive proof and a brilliant evidence. It is appropriate and befitting that in this illumined age -- the age of the progress of the world of humanity -- we should be self-sacrificing and should serve the human race. Every universal cause is divine and every particular one is temporal. The principles of the divine Manifestations of God were, therefore, all-universal and all-inclusive.

Every imperfect soul is self-centred and thinketh only of his own good. But as his thoughts expand a little he will begin to think of the welfare and comfort of his family. If his ideas still more widen, his concern will be the felicity of his fellow citizens; and if still they widen, he will be thinking of the glory of his land and of his race. But when ideas and views reach the utmost degree of expansion and attain the stage of perfection, then will he be interested in the exaltation of humankind. He will then be the well-wisher of all men and the seeker of the weal and prosperity of all lands. This is indicative of perfection.

Thus, the divine Manifestations of God had a universal and all-inclusive conception. They endeavoured for the sake of everyone's life and engaged in the service of universal education. The area of their aims was not limited -- nay, rather, it was wide and all-inclusive.

Therefore, ye must also be thinking of everyone, so that mankind may be educated, character moderated and this world may turn into a Garden of Eden.

Love ye all religions and all races with a love that is true and sincere and show that love through deeds and not through the tongue; for the latter hath no importance, as the majority of men are, in speech, well-wishers, while action is the best.

Confine thy thoughts to whatever will lift up the human soul to the Paradise of heavenly grace, and make every bird of the Kingdom wing its way unto the Supreme Horizon, the central point of everlasting honour in this contingent world.

Say: If ye love striving in God's path, strive with your own selves - this indeed is the greater striving. Hearken thou unto My words: Purify thy heart and the hearts of the people from all the allusions of the idolaters, then stand firm upon the throne of certitude beneath the shadow of thy Lord, the All-Merciful.

Question: Those who do good works, who are well-wishers of all mankind, who have a praiseworthy character, who show forth love and kindness to all people, who care for the poor, and who work for universal peace--what need do they have of the divine teachings, with which they believe they can well afford to dispense? What is the condition of such people?

Answer: Know that such ways, words and deeds are to be lauded and approved, and they redound to the glory of the human world. But these actions alone are not sufficient: they are a body of the greatest beauty, but without a spirit. No, that which leads to everlasting life, eternal honour, universal enlightenment, and true success and salvation is, first and foremost, the knowledge of God. It is clear that this knowledge takes precedence over every other knowledge and constitutes the greatest virtue of the human world. For the understanding of the reality of things confers a material advantage in the realm of being, and brings about the progress of outward civilization, but the knowledge of God is the cause of spiritual progress and attraction, true vision and insight, the exaltation of humanity, the appearance of divine civilization, the rectification of morals, and the illumination of the conscience.

Second comes the love of God. The light of this love is kindled, through the knowledge of God, in the lamp of the heart, and its spreading rays illumine the world and bestow upon man the life of the Kingdom. And in truth the fruit of human existence is the love of God, which is the spirit of life and grace everlasting. Were it not for the love of God, the contingent world would be plunged in darkness. Were it not for the love of God, the hearts of men would be bereft of life and deprived of the stirrings of conscience. Were it not for the love of God, the perfections of the human world would entirely vanish. Were it not for the love of God, no real connection could exist between human hearts. Were it not for the love of God, spiritual union would be lost. Were it not for the love of God, the light of the oneness of mankind would be extinguished. Were it not for the love of God, the East and the West would not embrace as two lovers. Were it not for the love of God, discord and division would not be transmuted into fellowship. Were it not for the love of God, estrangement would not give way to unity. Were it not for the love of God, the stranger would not become the friend. Indeed, love in the human world is a ray of the love of God and a reflection of the grace of His bounty.

It is clear that human realities differ one from another, that opinions and perceptions vary, and that this divergence of thoughts, opinions, understandings and sentiments among individuals is an essential requirement. For differences of degree in creation are among the essential requirements of existence, which is resolved into countless forms. We stand therefore in need of a universal power which can prevail over the thoughts, opinions and sentiments of all, which can annul these divisions and bring all souls under the sway of the principle of the oneness of humanity. And it is clear and evident that the greatest power in the human world is the love of God. It gathers diverse peoples under the shade of the tabernacle of oneness and fosters the greatest love and fellowship among hostile and contending peoples and nations.

Observe how numerous were the diverse nations, races, clans and tribes who, after the advent of Christ, gathered through the power of the love of God under the shadow of His Word. Consider how the differences and divisions of a thousand years were entirely abolished, how the delusion of the superiority of race and nation was dispelled, how the unity of souls and sentiments was attained, and how all became Christians in truth and in spirit.

The third virtue of humanity is goodly intention, which is the foundation of all good deeds. Some seekers after truth have held intention to be superior to action, for a goodly intention is absolute light and is entirely sanctified from the least trace of malice, scheming, or deception. Now, one can perform an action which appears to be righteous but which is in reality prompted by self-interest. For example, a butcher raises a sheep and guards its safety; but this good deed of the butcher is motivated by the hope of profit, and the end result of all this care will be the slaughter of the poor sheep. How many are the goodly and righteous deeds that are in reality prompted by self interest! But the pure intention is sanctified above such faults.

Briefly, good deeds become perfect and complete only after the knowledge of God has been acquired, the love of God has been manifested, and spiritual attractions and goodly motives have been attained. Otherwise, though good deeds be praiseworthy, if they do not spring from the knowledge of God, from the love of God, and from a sincere intention, they will be imperfect. For example, human existence must encompass all perfections in order to be complete. The power of sight is highly prized and precious, but it must be aided by that of hearing; the hearing is highly prized, but it must be aided by the power of speech; the power of speech is highly prized, but it must be aided by that of reason, and so on with the other powers, organs and members of man. When all these powers, senses, parts and organs are combined together, perfection is attained.

In the world today we meet with souls who sincerely desire the good of all people, who do all that lies in their power to assist the poor and succour the oppressed, and who are devoted to universal peace and well-being. Yet, however perfect they may be from this perspective, they remain deprived of the knowledge and the love of God and as such are imperfect.

Galen the physician wrote in his commentary on Plato's treatise on the art of governance that religious beliefs exert a profound influence on true civilization, the proof being that "most people cannot grasp a sequence of logical arguments, and stand therefore in need of symbolic allusions heralding the rewards and punishments of the next world. The proof of this is that we see today a people called Christians who believe in the rewards and punishments of the next world and who show forth goodly deeds that are like those of a true philosopher. Thus we all plainly see that they have no fear of death and that they are, by virtue of their ardent yearning for justice and equity, to be regarded as though they were true philosophers."

Now observe closely how great the sincerity, the self-abnegation, the spiritual emotions, the pure intentions and the good deeds of the Christian believers must have been for Galen---a philosopher and physician who was not himself a Christian---to attest to the morals and the perfections of these people and call them true philosophers. Such virtues and qualities cannot be attained through good deeds alone. If virtue only meant that some good be obtained and bestowed, then why do we not praise this burning lamp which lights the room, even though its light is without a doubt a good thing? The sun nurtures all earthly things and fosters their growth and development by its heat and light--what greater good is there than this? Nonetheless, since this good does not flow from goodly motives and from the love and knowledge of God, it does not impress in the least. But when someone offers a cup of water to another, he is shown appreciation and gratitude. An unthinking person might say, "This sun which gives light to the world and manifests this great bounty must surely be praised and glorified. For why should we praise a man for such a modest gift and not yield thanks to the sun?" But if we were to gaze with the eye of truth, we would see that the modest gift bestowed by this person stems from the stirrings of conscience and is therefore praiseworthy, whereas the light and heat of the sun are not due to this and thus are not worthy of our praise and gratitude. In like manner, while those who perform good deeds are to be lauded, if these deeds do not flow from the knowledge and love of God they are assuredly imperfect.

Aside from this, if you consider the matter with fairness you will see that these good deeds of the non-believers also have their origin in the divine teachings. That is, the Prophets of old exhorted men to perform them, explained their advantages and expounded their positive effects; these teachings then spread among mankind, successively reaching the non-believing souls and inclining their hearts toward these perfections; and when they found these actions to be laudable and to bring about joy and happiness among men, they too conformed to them. Thus these actions also arise from the divine teachings. But to see this a measure of fair-mindedness is called for and not dispute and controversy.

Praise be to God, you have visited Persia and have witnessed the loving-kindness which, through the sanctified breezes of Baha'u'llah, Persians have come to show forth to all humanity. Formerly, if they chanced upon a follower of another religion, they would set upon him, display the utmost enmity, hatred and malice, and even regard him as impure. They would burn the Gospel and the Torah and would wash their hands if they had been soiled by touching these books. But now, most of them recite and interpret, as required by the occasion, from the contents of these two books in their assemblies and gatherings, and expound and elucidate their inner meanings and mysteries. They show kindness to their enemies and treat bloodthirsty wolves with tender care, as they would the gazelles of the meadows of God's love. You have seen their conduct and character, and you have heard of the morals which the Persians had in former times. Can this transformation of morals and this rectification of speech and conduct be brought about other than through the love of God? No, by God! If we undertook to spread such morals and manners merely by means of knowledge and learning, a thousand years would pass and still they would not have been achieved among the masses.

In this day, thanks to the love of God, this has been achieved with the greatest ease. Take heed, then, O ye of understanding heart!

O ye kind brothers who tread the path of God! Render thanks to Him that ye have combined both physical and spiritual brotherhood, that your inner reality hath become even as the outer, and that your outer reality hath come to express the inner.

There is a vast difference between the soul who merely reads the words of Baha'u'llah and the one who tries to live them. Read thou the Hidden Words. Ponder over their meanings and embody the behests into thy life.

When he returned Gregory was quite another Gregory. He had become a new creation.

This valor and courage consists in overcoming the fearsome self, for it is possible that a person may easily triumph over East and West, but victory over passion and desire and the self-loving ego is most difficult.

No matter how low a man has descended, how sinful he has been, how perverse has become his character, yet through the Power of Repentance and the Love of God, is he capable of complete regeneration.

And when the heart and soul are purified from attachment to all else but God, you must act according to what has been revealed in the tablets, so that the temples of the servants may also become outwardly pure and sanctified.

If someone ask: "What is the proof of Baha'u'llah?" one may say such a person -- there is the proof; look at her. Baha'u'llah has educated this person. he has awakened this soul. He has quickened this life. He has made this person a speaker; He has given her knowledge, made her holy, made her sanctified -- a shining light -- He has made her a sun.

We must strive to change our bad qualities into good ones. Quick temper must be changed into calmness, pride into humility, falsehood into truth, deceit into frankness, laziness into activity, etc.

Prior to his embracing this Faith, he was so dauntless and merciless that he had killed countless persons but after embracing this Faith he was entirely transformed, so much so that when once he was fired at by a pistol he did not even raise his arm in self-defense.

You are near to God, and day by day you will progress by the knowledge of God toward spiritual joy. Then you will be a source of guidance to others. In you they will now behold another person; in fact, everybody will witness the change in your life.

When a person's life is purely moral, when his daily actions are propelled by ethical forces he will influence tremendously the lives of those who come in touch with him. The insincere man learns from him the lessons of sincerity, the faithless becomes faithful, the ignorant wise, and the cowardly, courageous.

Though now thou art hidden and concealed, in the future thou shalt become manifest and evident. Abu Dharr was but a shepherd, and Bilal a household slave. 'Ammar was a bearer of burdens, and Salman a barber and bath attendant. Now observe how they shone like brilliant stars and bloomed and smiled like flowers in a rose garden. They became famous throughout the horizons and accomplished scholars without limitation.

They become filled with the breaths of the Holy Spirit. They increase in the knowledge of God and in those virtues which belong to the world of humanity. They attain to the very image and likeness of God.

When the heavenly forces overcome the satanic or animal forces in man he then becomes angelic, and he is then worthy of presenting the image and likeness of God. That is to say, the divine virtues become resplendent in the world of humanity, like unto the light of the sun, which shines upon all objects, making radiant that which was dark.

When they came out Baha'u'llah said that Mirza Ali Akbar is completely changed; that the present Mirza Ali Akbar is not the old one, he is re-created; that within the short space of five minutes he had made marvelous progress...

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Beneath the shade of the Blessed Perfection there must occur in a Baha'i life a complete regeneration! If he continues to live in accord with the old standards and habits, then what has he gained by the change of a name!

In terms of physical form, the person is the same as before, but in terms of spirit--that is, in terms of character--he has become a different person.

Before faith he was young, after faith he became brave; he was greedy, he became content; he was treacherous, he became trustworthy; he was proud, he became humble; he was faithless, he became faithful; he was tyrannical, he became just; he was false, he became truthful; he was self-worshipping, he turned to divine worship; he was vain, he became selfless; he was ignorant, he became learned--and in like manner all his characteristics were transformed and he acquired different qualities.

Man has different ways of approaching God. One man thinks he must make extraordinary efforts in science to arrive at the knowledge of the divine and another thinks that he must train his morals. The prophets teach us that the only way to approach God is by characterizing ourselves with the attributes of divinity.

The meaning is this: Man has two natures-a higher nature, which is Divine, and a lower nature, which is human. The higher nature is the inspiration of God within us; the lower nature is the slave of sensuous pleasure, desire, attachment, and ignorance. The struggle which Jesus experienced was that between the higher and the lower selves. In this struggle Jesus perceived that the things of the senses and the world are impermanent and futile. He conquered his lower nature, and his higher self-that which was of God-became ascendant.

Ordinarily a moral teacher strives day and night until a person abandons one of his many evil attributes. But as soon as the guidance of God and the faith of God dawn from the horizon of a heart that person is a changed man. All his evil characteristics are transformed into praiseworthy attributes.

But if you are so angry, so depressed and so sore that your spirit cannot find deliverance and peace even in prayer, then quickly go and give some pleasure to someone lowly or sorrowful, or to a guilty or innocent sufferer! Sacrifice yourself, your talent, your time, your rest to another, to one who has to bear a heavier load than you - and your unhappy mood will dissolve into a blessed, contented submission to God.

His purpose is this, that we, all of us, should strive with our whole hearts to offer ourselves up, guide others to His path, and train the souls of men--until these frenzied beasts change to gazelles in the meadows of oneness, and these wolves to lambs of God, and these brutish creatures to angelic hosts; till the fires of hatred are quenched, and the flame coming out of the sheltered vale of the Holy Shrine doth shed its splendors; till the foul odor of the tyrant's dunghill is blown away, and yieldeth to the pure, sweet scents that stream from the rosebeds of faith and trust.

O Thou pure God! Let these saplings which have sprouted by the stream of Thy guidance become fresh and verdant through the outpourings of the clouds of Thy tender mercy; cause them to be stirred by the gentle winds wafting from the meads of Thy oneness and suffer them to be revived through the rays of the Sun of Reality, that they may continually grow and flourish, and burst into blossoms and fruit.

In the school of realities they educate these sons and daughters, according to teachings from God, and foster them in the bosom of grace, so that they may develop along every line, show forth the excellent gifts and blessings of the Lord, and combine human perfections; that they may advance in all aspects of human endeavor, whether outward or inward, hidden or visible, material or spiritual, until they make of this mortal world a widespread mirror, to reflect that other world which dieth not.

O God! We are as plants, and Thy bounty is as the rain; refresh and cause these plants to grow through Thy bestowal. We are Thy servants; free us from the fetters of material existence. We are ignorant; make us wise. We are dead; make us alive. We are material; endow us with spirit.

Thou wilt transform earthly children into heavenly youths and make Persian children into spiritual adolescents.

O Lord! Cause this sapling to become verdant, fresh and flourishing by the outpourings of Thy special bounty and favour, wherewith Thou hast endued the tabernacles of holiness in Thy eternal Kingdom and hast adorned the essences of unity in the arena of reunion.

Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God is the education and training of children, young plants of the Abha Paradise, so that these children, fostered by grace in the way of salvation, growing like pearls of divine bounty in the shell of education, will one day bejewel the crown of abiding glory.

O ye two tender plants in the Abha Paradise! Render thanks unto God that ye have sprouted in this heavenly garden. God willing ye will become firmly rooted, will develop and grow through the outpourings of the heavenly clouds and will attain perfection and bring forth fruit through the radiance of the Sun of Reality.

O thou sapling which hast grown in the garden of the love of God!

Unloose thy tongue in thanksgiving to the Kingdom of glory for having received the light of divine guidance while still a child and for being singled out, through His supreme bounty, as a choice plant in the Abha Paradise.

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Say on my behalf to the maid-servant of God, ..., "The end of every (material) work is without result, because it is perishable and inconstant, but the first (real) work is attraction to the fragrance of God, enkindlement with the fire of the love of God, reading the verse of Unity and beholding the lights from the Dawning-place of Mystery. After that cometh the training of the soul, purification of character and service to humanity. If thou art able to accomplish any one of these, the result is eternal and the fruit everlasting."

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O thou verdant plant of the Abha Paradise! O thou tender sapling of the rose-garden of immortality! Although thou art but a tiny creature in this world of existence, yet it is my earnest hope that thou wilt become great in the Kingdom of heaven. Although a mere child, yet praise be to God that through the strengthening power of faith and certitude thou art indeed as a grown-up and mature soul.

Without an educator, little progress can be made in material affairs, still less in spiritual affairs and divine morals. How can humanity find composure and eternal happiness without an educator?

The children are like unto green branches. As long as the branch is wet you can train it in whatever way you think best but once the branch is dried up you cannot do anything with it. if you want [to] straighten it, it will break.

O thou who art captivated by the truth and magnetized by the Heavenly Kingdom! Thy long letter hath come and it brought great joy, as it clearly betokened thy strenuous efforts and high purposes. Praised be God, thou wishest well to men, and yearnest after the Kingdom of Baha, and art longing to see the human race press forward.

He who is educated by the Divine Spirit can, in his time, lead others to receive the same Spirit.

… Think not of your own limitations, dwell only on the welfare of the Kingdom of Glory.

The songsters of fellowship that abide in the gardens of holiness must pour forth such a triumphant burst of songs in this age that the birds in the fields may wing their flight in a transport of delight; and in this divine festival, this heavenly banquet, they should play the lute and the harp, and the viol and the lyre in such wise that the people of east and west may be filled with exceeding joy and gladness, and be carried away with exultation and happiness.

A new era of divine consciousness is upon us. The world of humanity is going through a process of transformation.

I pray that God in His mercy may illumine your hearts and souls with His glorious Light, then shall each one of you shine as a radiant star in the dark places of the world.

Thou wilt raise the banner of peace and sound the clarion of love and unity throughout those lands, guide the souls unto the wellspring of life, lead them unto the arena of true understanding, grant them to drink from the cup of certitude, quicken them with the breaths of the All-Merciful, attire them with the robe of bounty, and give them to quaff of the wine of faithfulness through the love of Bahá. Thus will they be awakened from the slumber of selfish desire and behold the mighty signs of their Lord in this exalted creation.

O thou sincere seeker! Strive thou with all thy might to summon the people to the heavenly Kingdom, so that through divine guidance thou mayest enable the human souls to become even as the angels of Paradise, mayest promote universal peace in this distinguished Age and serve the oneness of the world of humanity, and mayest attain unto everlasting life, follow the example of Christ, and become a companion of 'Abdu'l-Baha in this path.

O thou who art attracted to the fragrances of God! I pray God to send down upon thee heavenly blessings, quicken thy soul with everlasting life through the power of the Holy Spirit, and make thy heart a wellspring of spiritual susceptibilities, so that thy breath may vivify the souls, the attraction of thy soul may move the very core of the world, the intensity of thy love may attract the hearts of the people, and the abundance of thine affection may become a source of mercy to humankind in the world of being.

With the greatest longing I have wished to see you. Realizing it was only with great difficulty that you could come to me and that very few could make the trip, I decided to come to you so that all might have the pleasure of meeting. Praise be to God! I am here, and I am looking into your faces -- faces radiant with inner beauty, hearts attracted to the Kingdom of Abha, spirits exhilarated through the glad tidings of God.

My hope is that the members of that assembly shall be distinguished by these attributes and qualities, and shall each day prove anew the existence of these blessings within the reality of their own being. If it be so, Burma shall become even as the snow-white Spot, and those regions shall become the arenas of God’s most great bestowals.

Wherever purified, severed and illumined souls are found, that is the paradise of Baha.

When we give the Message, we develop ourselves. Our own heart is opened when we teach the heart of the listener. The more we give, the more we get. Therefore, as this is the means of our own development we should never cease teaching.

It is now the time in the history of the world for us to strive and give an impetus to the advancement and development of inner forces -- that is to say, we must arise to service in the world of morality, for human morals are in need of readjustment. We must also render service to the world of intellectuality in order that the minds of men may increase in power and become keener in perception, assisting the intellect of man to attain its supremacy so that the ideal virtues may appear.

We must let loose the divine forces so that these souls who are standing still at the turnpike may move along the path of progress. The centers around which the thought of the majority of mankind revolve are egoism, selfishness, blind passion, hypocrisy, insincerity and cupidity. We must do something to change these centers entirely and generate New Thoughts, New ideals which are the essential requirements of this divine age. Then these people shall become freed from every tie and soar toward the atmosphere of spiritual freedom.

Through the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved, and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my desire!

Make me to quaff, O my Lord, from the fingers of Thy bounteousness the living waters which have enabled every one that hath partaken of them to rid himself of all attachment to any one save Thee, and to soar into the atmosphere of detachment from all Thy creatures, and to fix his gaze upon Thy loving providence and Thy manifold gifts.

Deliver me from darkness, make me a brilliant light; free me from unhappiness, make me a flower of the rose-garden; suffer me to become a servant of Thy threshold and confer upon me the disposition and nature of the righteous; make me a cause of bounty to the human world and crown my head with the diadem of eternal life.

O Thou forgiving Lord! These servants were noble souls, and these radiant hearts were made illumined and resplendent through the light of Thy guidance. They drank a brimming cup of the wine of Thy love, and gave ear to eternal mysteries imparted by the melodies of Thy knowledge. They bound their hearts to Thee, broke free from the snare of estrangement, and laid hold of Thy unity.

O Thou compassionate One! This servant of Thine has hastened to the regions of the West from the uttermost parts of the East that, perchance, these nostrils may be perfumed by the fragrances of Thy bestowals; that the breeze of the rose garden of guidance may blow over these cities; that the people may attain to the capacity of receiving Thy favors; that the hearts may be rejoiced through Thy glad tidings; that the eyes may behold the light of reality; that the ears may hearken to the call of the Kingdom.

Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting.

I beseech Thee by Thy Name, through which Thou hast enabled them that have recognized Thee to soar to the sublimest heights of the knowledge of Thee and empowered such as devoutly worship Thee to ascend into the precincts of the court of Thy holy favors, to aid me to turn my face towards Thy face, to fix mine eyes upon Thee, and to speak of Thy glory.

To the melodies of the dove of Thy oneness suffer me to hearken, O Resplendent One, and through the spirit of Thy power and Thy might quicken me, O my Provider! In the spirit of Thy love keep me steadfast, O my Succorer, and in the path of Thy good-pleasure set firm my steps, O my Maker!

I beseech Thee, by the wrong Thou hast suffered and the ills inflicted upon Thee by the hosts of wrongful doers, to send down upon me from the clouds of Thy mercy that which will purify me of all that is not of Thee, that I may be worthy to praise Thee and fit to love Thee.

O Lord, my God! Lowly are these servants of Thine, exalt them in Thy kingdom on high; feeble, strengthen them by Thy supreme power; abased, bestow upon them Thy glory in Thine all-highest realm; poor, enrich them in Thy great dominion. Do Thou then ordain for them all the good Thou hast destined in Thy worlds, visible and invisible, prosper them in this world below, gladden their hearts with Thine inspiration, O Lord of all beings!

Suffer him to become heedful, discerning and noble and grant that he may attain eternal life and abide in Thy Kingdom for evermore.

I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Thy call whereby they who recognized Thy unity have sought the shadow of Thy most gracious providence, and the sincere have fled far from themselves unto Thy name, the most exalted, the all-glorious, through which Thy verses were sent down, and Thy word fulfilled, and Thy proof manifested, and the sun of Thy beauty risen, and Thy testimony established, and Thy signs uncovered, -- I beseech Thee to grant that I may be numbered with them that have quaffed the wine that is life indeed from the hands of Thy gracious providence, and have rid themselves, in Thy path, of all attachment to Thy creatures, and been so inebriated with Thy manifold wisdom that they hastened to the field of sacrifice with Thy praise on their lips and Thy remembrance in their hearts.

O Thou Forgiving Lord!

Although some souls have spent the days of their lives in ignorance, and became estranged and contumacious, yet, with one wave from the ocean of Thy forgiveness, all those encompassed by sin will be set free. … Shouldst Thou deal with us with Thy justice, we are all naught but sinners and deserving to be shut out from Thee, but shouldst Thou uphold mercy, every sinner would be made pure and every stranger a friend.

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O God, my God! I thirst for the celestial wine of Thy grace, and verily Thou art the Giver, the Bountiful, the Gracious, the Almighty.

In it I have communed with Thy loved ones, and from the House within its walls I have inhaled the breaths of Thy holiness and perceived the fragrances of Thy fellowship.

Send down upon them what shall wholly detach them from aught else except Thee, and make them able to soar in the atmosphere of Thy nearness, in such wise that neither the ascendancy of the oppressor nor the suggestions of them that have disbelieved in Thy most august and most mighty Self shall be capable of keeping them back from Thee.

Thou hast, in Thine all highest Paradise, assigned unto Thy servants such stations that if any one of them were to be unveiled to men's eyes all who are in heaven and all who are on earth would be dumbfounded.

I am he, O my God, who hath embraced Thy love and accepted all the adversities which the world can inflict, who hath offered up himself as a ransom for the sake of Thy loved ones, that they may ascend into the heavens of Thy knowledge and be drawn nearer unto Thee, and may soar in the atmosphere of Thy love and Thy good-pleasure.

Illumine, O Lord, the faces of Thy servants, that they may behold Thee; and cleanse their hearts that they may turn unto the court of Thy heavenly favors, and recognize Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy Self and the Day-Spring of Thine Essence.

O Thou kind Lord! Sanctify my heart from all attachment, and gladden my soul with tidings of joy. Free me from attachment to friend and stranger alike, and captivate me with Thy love, that I may become wholly devoted to Thee and be filled with fervid rapture; that I may desire naught but Thee, seek no one except Thyself, tread no other path besides Thine, and commune only with Thee; that I may, even as a nightingale, be spellbound by Thy love and, by day and night, sigh and wail and weep and cry out, "Ya Baha'u'l-Abha!"

And when I attained full maturity Thou didst cause Me to bear allegiance unto Thine inaccessible Remembrance, and enabled Me to advance towards the designated station, where Thou didst educate Me through the subtle operations of Thy handiwork and didst nurture Me in that land with Thy most gracious gifts.

I beseech Thee, by Thy name through which Thou turnest restlessness into tranquillity, fear into confidence, weakness into strength, and abasement into glory, that Thou of Thy grace wilt aid me and Thy servants to exalt Thy name, to deliver Thy Message, and to proclaim Thy Cause, in such wise that we may remain unmoved by either the assaults of the transgressors or the wrath of the infidels, O Thou Who art my Well-Beloved!

Some, O my God, Thou didst, through Thy strengthening grace, enable to approach it, while others Thou didst keep back by reason of what their hands have wrought in Thy days. Whoso hath hasted towards it and attained unto it hath, in his eagerness to gaze on Thy beauty, yielded his life in Thy path, and ascended unto Thee, wholly detached from aught else except Thyself.

O God, my God! Bestow upon me a pure heart, like unto a pearl.

I beseech Thee, by the embodiments of Thy names whom no grief can hinder from rejoicing in Thy love or from gazing on Thy face, and whom all the hosts of the heedless are powerless to cause to turn aside from the path of Thy pleasure, to supply him with the good things Thou dost possess, and to raise him up to such heights that he will regard the world even as a shadow that vanisheth swifter than the twinkling of an eye.

Give her to quaff, O my God, by Thy Name, the Manifest and the Hidden, of Thy choice sealed Wine that it may take her away from her own self, and make her to be entirely devoted to Thy remembrance, and wholly detached from any one beside Thee.

Therefore, O my God, cause the dove of yearning for Thee to soar in his heart, then cause to flow from his inner heart the seas of Thy love, and from his tongue the wonders of Thy remembrance, and from his spirit the jewels of Thy praise.

Thou beholdest how the tempestuous winds of tests have caused the steadfast in faith to tremble, and how the breath of trials hath stirred up those whose hearts had been firmly established, except such as have partaken of the Wine that is life indeed from the hands of the Manifestation of Thy name, the Most Merciful.

Since Thou didst quicken them by Thy bounteousness, O my God, make them steadfastly inclined, through Thy graciousness, towards Thy will; and since Thou didst suffer them to enter into the Tabernacle of Thy Cause, grant by Thy grace that they may not be kept back from Thee.

"O Lord, enlighten my sight by beholding Thy lights in this dark night, and make me happy by the wine of Thy love in this wonderful age! O Lord, make me hear Thy call, and open before my face the doors of Thy heaven, so that I may see the light of Thy glory (Baha') and become attracted to Thy beauty!"

Catalogue reference: AB06528 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

It is my dearest hope that you may all become a blessing to others, that you may give sight to the spiritually blind, hearing to the spiritually deaf and life to those who are dead in sin. May you help those sunk in materiality to realize their Divine son-ship, and encourage them to arise and be worthy of their birthright.

Catalogue reference: ABU0613 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

We can hear the voice of Mecca acclaiming: "All praise be to Thee, O Lord my God, the All-Glorious, for having wafted over me the breath redolent with the fragrance of Thy presence!" And from another direction the cry is raised from the Furthermost Mosque, saying: "All praise be to Thee for having quickened me with the breeze of Thy nearness after I was slain by separation from Thee, O Beloved of earth and heaven!"

Catalogue reference: BH08907 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

All the divine teachings can be summarized as this: that these thoughts singling out advantages to one group may be banished from our midst, that human character may be improved, that equality and fellowship may be established amongst all mankind, until every individual is ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of his fellowman. … The outpourings of the Holy Spirit are such that they can transform man, imbuing him with all the virtues, bestowing upon him the second birth, baptizing him with the fire of the love of God, which is love for all created things, and quickening him with the water of eternal life, and the Holy Spirit itself.

Catalogue reference: AB00158 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

It ill-beseemeth men to centre all their efforts on their own selves; rather must they ceaselessly strive for the betterment of the lives of one another.

Catalogue reference: BH01171 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

The troubles of this world pass, and what we have left is what we have made of our souls, so it is to this we must look--to becoming more spiritual, drawing nearer to God, no matter what our human minds and bodies go through.

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The believers, as we all know, should endeavour to set such an example in their personal lives and conduct that others will feel impelled to embrace a Faith which reforms human character. However, unfortunately, not everyone achieves easily and rapidly the victory over self. What every believer, new or old, should realize is that the Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us if we make the effort to let that power influence us, and the greatest help in this respect is prayer. We must supplicate Baha'u'llah to assist us to overcome the failings in our own characters, and also exert our own will-power in mastering ourselves.

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Indeed when we see the increasing darkness in the world today we can fully realize that unless the Message of Baha'u'llah reaches into the hearts of men and transforms them, there can be no peace and spiritual progress in the future. His constant hope is that the believers will conduct themselves, individually and in their Baha'i Community life, in such a manner as to attract the attention of others to the Cause. The world is not only starving for lofty principles and ideals, it is, above all, starving for a shining example which the Baha'is can and must provide.

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