Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas Part 110

"O thou servant of G.o.d!..."

O thou servant of G.o.d!

I was a.s.suredly informed of thy confessing the unity of G.o.d and that thou hast drawn from the ocean of the gift of G.o.d and thine insight hath brightened by the light of guidance and by the dependence of thine heart upon the lights of the Beauty of G.o.d. The, glad-tidings be unto thee for this bounty which G.o.d hath a.s.signed unto every holy and spiritual being in the Kingdom of G.o.d.

By the life of G.o.d! verily, the gift of guidance, during this great century and this age of lights, is greater than reigning over the earth and all that is in it; because the earthly reign is mortal, banishing, imaginary and of no permanence; but this gift is permanent, eternal, everlasting and endless. consequently, it is confirmed that this (gift of guidance) is greater than the sovereignty of the world.

O servant of G.o.d! Rejoice, announce glad-tidings and be filled with the Spirit and preach and call in the Name of G.o.d in that region and hear the good-tidings of G.o.d in that land!

Thou shalt hear the sound of this glorious bell in every near and distant region, and the call of the True One will be elevated in the monasteries of the world of mankind, just as it was elevated in the a.s.smeblies of the divine world, and the earthly people will be combined with the divine and heavenly concourse.

Thereupon thy heart shall rejoice, thy soul shall become pure, thine eye shall brighten and thou shalt be inwardly revived. Praise be upon thee!

"O thou who art advancing unto the Face of G.o.d!..."

O thou who art advancing unto the Face of G.o.d!

Blessed art thou for that thou wert saved from the storm of doubts, wert healed from all manner of disease, wert rejoiced in spirit by the fragrances of G.o.d, held firm to the love of G.o.d and G.o.d helped thee through the trials. This we heralded unto thee before and it was an ordained and firm promise.

Draw night unto G.o.d and perservere in (thy) communion with (or prayer to) thy Lord, so that the fire of G.o.d's love may glow more luminously in the heart, its heat grow stronger and give warmth to that region and its sound reach the Supreme Concourse.

"O thou maid-servant of G.o.d!..."

O thou maid-servant of G.o.d!

Truly, I say, complete capacity and ability is the cause of the appearance of the divine gifts. Souls are many who in the years gone by have listened to the glad-tidings, but up to this time they have remained veiled, deprived and unmoved. But, through the bounty of the Beauty of Abha, as soon as thou didst hear the call, thou didst turn thy face toward the Lord of Hosts and became a believer in G.o.d and a.s.sured of His divine verses.

Immediately the Most Great Name made an impression upon thee. Therefore, I hope thy breath may become also effective and in a short time, like unto dry wood, become enkindled and ignited.

Do not wonder at the mercy and bounty of G.o.d. Consider thou how one spark sets on fire a great forest. Therefore, there is great hope, and the favor and grace of the Almighty is limitless.

"O thou advancing maid-servant of G.o.d!..."

O thou advancing maid-servant of G.o.d!

Thy letter was received and I was informed of its contents. Thanks be to G.o.d! thou art guided to the Light of guidance and hast attained to this most great gift. I hope thou mayest become a daughter of the Kingdom. Thou must be thankful to Mrs. ........., for she was the cause of thy guidance; and thou must forever seek the providence of G.o.d in her behalf, for she hath illumined thine eyes. The love that she hath shown to you, its value is not known at present, but after departing from this transient world, its value will become known and evident in the divine Kingdom, and even in this mortal world its value shall appear in future. In the days of Christ, guidance had no importance whatever to the deniers; now consider how much importance it hath gained.

Turn thou with thy heart ot he divine Kingdom and supplicate to Him, (saying):

""O Compa.s.sionate G.o.d! Thanks be to Thee for..."

"O Compa.s.sionate G.o.d! Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made (me) conscious. Thou hast given me a seeing eye and favored me with a hearing ear; hast led me to Thy Kingdom and guided me to Thy Path. Thou hast shown me the right way and caused me to enter the Ark of Deliverance.

O G.o.d! Keep me steadfast and make me firm and stanch. Protect me from violent tests and preserve and shelter me in the strongly fortified fortress of Thy Covenant and Testament. Thou art the Powerful! Thou art the Seeing! Thou art the Hearing! O Thou the Compa.s.sionate G.o.d! Bestow upon me a heart which, like unto gla.s.s, may be illumined wit the light of Thy love, and confer upon me a thought which may change this world into a rose-garden through the spiritual bounty. Thou art the Compa.s.sionate, the Merciful! Thou art the Great Beneficent G.o.d!"

"O ye friends of G.o.d!..."

O ye(288) friends of G.o.d!

Do ye know in what cycle ye are created and in what age ye exist? This is the age of the Blessed Perfection and this is the time of the Greatest Name! This is the century of the Manifestation, the age of the Sun of the Horizons and the beautiful springtime of His Holiness the Eternal One!

The earth is in motion and growth; the mountains, hills and prairies are green and pleasant; the bounty is overflowing; the mercy universal; the rain is descending from the cloud of mercy; the brilliant Sun is shining; the full moon is ornamenting the horizon of ether; the great ocean-tide is flooding every little stream; the gifts are successive; the favors consecutive; and the refreshing breeze is blowing, wafting the fragrant perfume of the blossoms. Boundless treasure is in the hand of the King of Kings! Lift the hem of thy garment in order to receive it.

If we are not happy and joyous at this season, for what other season shall we wait and for what other time shall we look?

This is the time for growing; the season for joyous gathering! Take the cup of the Testament in thy hand; leap and dance with ecstasy in the triumphal procession of the Covenant! Lay your confidence in the everlasting bounty, turn to the presence of the generous G.o.d; ask a.s.sistance from the Kingdom of Abha; seek confirmation from the Supreme World; turn thy vision to the horizon of eternal wealth; and pray for help from the Source of Mercy!

Soon shall ye see the friends attaining their longed-for destination and pitching their tents, while we are but in the first day of our journey.

"O thou servant of the Threshold of G.o.d!..."

O thou servant(289) of the Threshold of G.o.d!

I read what flowed from thy pen in the love of G.o.d, and found charming meanings from the contents (of thy letter). I hope, through the gift of the glorious Lord, that thou wilt be always refreshed and revived by the fragrances of the Merciful.

As to what thou hast written concerning "Reincarnation": Believing in reincarnation is one of the old tenets held by most nations and creeds, as well as by the Greek and Roman philosophers and wise men, the old Egyptians and the chief a.s.syrians. But all these sayings and superst.i.tions are vanity in the sight of G.o.d.

The greatest [argument] produced by those who held to reincarnation has been this: "That it is necessary to the justice of G.o.d to give every one his due. Now everybody who is afflicted by any calamity is said to have sinned; but when a little child, which is still in the womb of its mother and hath just been formed, is found to be blind, deaf or imperfect, how could it have committed any sin that we might say this imperfection is given to it as a punishment therefore-so, though such a child hath not done outwardly any sin in the womb of its mother, ye [they say] it must have sinned when it was in its former body, which hath caused it to suffer this punishment."

Indeed, these people have been negligent of the fact that had the creation been carried out in a uniform fashion, how could the statement be true, that "G.o.d doeth whatever He wisheth and G.o.d doeth whatever He desireth!"(290)

Though the fact of "Return" is mentioned in the Divine Books, by this is intended the return of the qualities, characters, perfections, truths and lights (of the past age), which re-appear in every age, and not (the return) of certain persons and souls. For example: If we say this lamp is the return of that of last night, or that the last year's flower hath returned in the garden (this year), in this sense the return of the individual, or ident.i.ty, or personality is not meant; nay, rather, it is intended that the same qualities and states existing in that lamp or flower, which are now seen in this lamp or flower, have returned. That is, the same perfections and virtues and properties which existed in the past springtime have returned during this present springtime. For instance: When one says, these fruits are the same as those of last year; in this sense, he hath reference to the freshness and delicacy of the fruit, which hath returned, although there is no doubt that the identical fruit of last year hath not returned.

Have the friends of G.o.d found such enjoyments and respose during their existence on this visible earth, that they might wish to have their return renewed and repeated constantly? Are all these calamities, injuries, trials and difficulties of the once coming not sufficient for them that they should wish a repeated life in this world? Hath this cup been of such sweetness that they should long for it successively and repeatedly? No!