Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas Part 113

O thou who art firm in the Covenant!

Thy last letter, sent by Mirza ........., hath arrived. It is not a very long time since I wrote thee a letter in which I said how contented I was with thee and I explained to thee the importance of thy visit to India and showed thee the results and the fruits of that visit.

At this moment hath arrived a letter in which thou hast praised the believers of Rangoon, especially Seyed ........., Mirza ........., Mirza ......... and Khai Khosroe(295) who sacrificed his life for thine; ea, this is the truth! Consider what a difference exists between his country and thine and what a great effect this Bahai spirit hath manifested that an oriental sacrificed his life for an Occidental! What attraction, what love, what relationship is this! Blessed are those who are able to arrive at an understanding of the reality of the power of this love!

Concerning Mr. ........., one of the Hindus of whom thou hast written: Say to him, "To me thou art not a stranger, but a friend; thou art not unknown, but known."

Thou hast spoken of a spiritual wave. This is not a wave, but a sea; nay, the very ocean! But his is not to destroy the cities, but to purify them; and soon it will submerge them all. This does not mean destruction, but salvation; it is not death, but life; it is not enmity, but love; it is not pain; it is a remedy. The world of existence is the body, and this is its spirit; this immense world is the gla.s.s [chimney], and this is the lamp [lighted wick]; humanity is the heaven, and this is its sun. The signs of this bounty are clear and visible. The proof is the changing of the characters of the friends and the perfection that the believers have made in their actions and words: They were dark, they became luminous; they were terrestrial, they became celestial; they were human, they became divine; they were diabolic, they became angelic; they were a drop, they became the sea; they were an atom, they became the sun. These are the signs of those who are entirely submerged by this wave; that is to say, this ocean.

O thou .........! I hope that thou wilt progress more and more; that thou wilt increase thy knowledge and science; and that thou wilt ever strive for gentleness and love.

Perhaps it will be possible for thee, next winter, to go to Persia.

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

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

Thank ye that G.o.d hath enkindled the light of guidance in this darkness of ignorance, hath quickened those who were asleep, made mindful those who were heedless, made unproductive trees full of blossoms and fruit, and old men laden with years, fair and graceful youths.

Praise be unto G.o.d! What an effect there lies in divine guidance! It endoweth the blind with sight, granteth strength to the impotent, maketh the darkened ones illuminated, changeth youth to the aged; nay, rather it breatheth life into the dead!

O thou maid-servant of G.o.d! If thou seeketh after a work which is brighter and more attractive, sweeter and more delightful than all the affairs, it is the thralldom in the Threshold of the Almighty and servitude to His Highness the Lord of Might.

Forget thou entirely the ease, tranquility, composure and living of this transitory world and occupy thyself with the well-being and the service of the human world and conduct thyself in accord with the advices and exhortations of G.o.d.

"O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of G.o.d!..."

O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of G.o.d!

I have read thy beautiful letter containing beautiful significances and indicating that which hath occurred to thy heart of spiritual events, and that which hath encompa.s.sed thy spirit of merciful thoughts. This is from the bounty of Thy Lord upon thee and upon every maid-servant chosen by His mercy in this new age.

(Question: "Master, who art thou? Art thou the Christ?")

As to what thou asked concerning me: Verily, I say unto thee, that I am indeed an humble, submissive and imploring servant of G.o.d; a servant of His Beloved; a messenger of the exaltation of His Word; a spreader of His Fragrances; an extoller of the banner of love and harmony; a promoter of the greatest peace among all nations and tribes; a kindler of the fire of the love of G.o.d in the hearts of the people; a runner to the place of martyrdom in the Cause of G.o.d; a yearner for every calamity in the love of G.o.d; a longer for suspension upon the cross for the love of the beloved; a herald of the Kingdom of G.o.d among the sects of all horizons. This is my station and condition; this is my blazing crown; this is my glorious throne; because my servitude to the Holy Threshold is my brilliant light, my shining star and my drawn sword; and beside this I have no other name.

Then know that for the dominion of the reality of Christ there is no beginning and there is no end. Everlastingly that luminous Ent.i.ty hath been sitting on the throne of might and everlastingly It will have a penetrating dominion over the worlds of existence. This dominion is eternal and everlasting and has no abrupt end.

(Question: "When is the time of the millenium? Will I see it?)

Concerning the one thousand years as recorded in the Book: It signifieth the beginning of this Manifestation until the end of its predominance throughout the contingent world; because this Cause is great, its powers are growing and its signs are dazzling. It shall continue in elevation, exaltation, growth, promulgation and promotion until it shall reach the apex of its glory in one thousand years-as the day of this Manifestation is one thousand years. Thou shalt see its conquering power, its manifest dominion, its eternal might and its everlasting glory.

(Question: "At the time of thy departure will there not be some great spiritual manifestation all over the earth?")

As to the question of "after my departure" to the neighborhood of the mercy of my Lord: Know there shall appear wonderful traces; the breath of G.o.d shall pa.s.s by; the fragrance of G.o.d shall spread and the Spirit of G.o.d shall run in the body of the contingent world both before and after my departure; but I supplicate G.o.d that He may grant the greatest spirituality in these days. Endeavor, therefore, that thou mayest have a great portion in it.

(Question: "What did the vision of a paper signify in my dream?")

Concerning the appearance of a paper in thy dream, before thine eyes, which thou wast unable to read: Thou shalt read it through the permission of G.o.d and thou shalt comprehend its meanings. It is a diary of the Word of G.o.d and the divine mysteries.

"O ye who are attracted by the Fragrances of G.o.d!..."

O ye(296) who are attracted by the Fragrances of G.o.d!

Verily, this mundane world is as the mirage of the desert, but the Kingdom is like unto a sea of great surges and rolling waves. Those who longed for the mirage have indeed become more thirsty the more they hastened toward it and have perished in grief after a drop of water.

Ye see, as the condition really is, that the people of the world are striving day and night for the sake of attaining perfect happiness and tranquil life, but the result is none other to them than disappointment, affliction, lamentation and destruction.

But those who have advanced to the Kingdom of G.o.d have a.s.suredly advanced to a sea of clear and limpid water and thus have attained unto the greatest bounty, the perfect rest and the eternal life to which there is no abrupt end. Their faces have shined with joy, their souls delighted with pleasure, their hearts illumined and their cups overflowed with abundance. Their edifice hath risen high, their palaces have been adorned, their suns shone, their stars gleamed and their diadems radiated with a dazzling light. Their dominions have expanded and their lights have spread to all ages and generations. These are their set-up thrones, their high palaces, their luminous lamps and their shining moons throughout all horizons. These are their traces in the world; how much more then would be their lights in the highest of the high-consider, therefore, O ye maid-servants of the Merciful!

This being the case, care no more for the world and its desires, but cling to the spiritual world and its gifts, spread the fragrances of G.o.d, be submissive to the Word of G.o.d, establish a spiritual meeting-place wherefrom theincense of sanct.i.ty and purity will rise up to G.o.d, a.s.semble there with fragrance and spirituality and celebrate the Name of your Lord by day and by night. At that time ye would become illumined lamps, spiritual stars; rather, eternal suns. This is a favor that was longed for by the spirits of the G.o.dly people and the hearts of the queens in the former ages.

"O ye maid-servants of G.o.d and leaves of the Tree of..."

O ye maid-servants(297) of G.o.d and leaves of the Tree of Eternal Life!

Blessed are ye for attaining to that which was the greatest hope of Mary the Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jacob! This gift was shining on the face of the Virgin Mary like unto a brilliant gem glistening on the great crown of glory.

Happy are ye for this favor, the likeness of which was not seen by the eye of existence, not its similitude heard by the ears of the creatures; because it is the greatest favor on the part of the Lord of the Kingdoms in the world of existence; that is, the greatest guidance, the attainment unto the day of the Lord and listening unto the call of G.o.d. How blessed is this great favor!

O ye maid-servants of G.o.d! All the palaces shall be destroyed and become like graves, buried beneath the ground, but G.o.d, through His mighty hand, will build for ye solid palaces in His Kingdom which will not be destroyed forever and evermore; nay, rather its foundation will be strengthened in the course of ages and centuries.

Therefore, call in His Name, spread the fragrances of G.o.d, guide unto the path of G.o.d and cause souls to enter the Kingdom of G.o.d!

"If you arise in accord with the exhortations and commands..."

(298) If you arise in accord with the exhortations and commands of the Blessed Perfection-may my life be a sacrifice to His beloved ones! -before long agreeable results will be obtained, the great newspapers of the world will all engage in praising you and such activity will be brought about in the West as will increase the motion and activity in the East.