…the greatest test for a tree is to have
the latent possibility of fruition, and with the appearance of the spring they
put forth leaves, branches and blossoms, but if a tree is barren at this season
it will remain deprived and fruitless. Likewise, those souls who have been firm
in the Covenant of God, are detached from all else save God, and are attracted
to the fragrances of God, their faces will shine like unto the luminous moon,
with the Light of Assurance. But the jealous bats, the people of injustice and
pride, flew away from the Light of the Covenant and shrank out of sight into
the dark dungeon of hesitation and fear. They have left the lamp of the
Testament and are running in the Sahara of discord and are seeking the gloom of
worldliness. They turned away from the Pure Spring of Life and attached
themselves to the stagnant pools of superstition. They left behind the Paradise
of Abha and were contented with this nether world.
They do not search after the Garden of
Holiness but they wish for the sterile desert of passions and selfishness. They
passed by the Blessed Tree and gathered around the stunted bitter plant. They
did not yearn for the Star of Guidance, but they desired the wil' o' the wisp
of allurements. This is the result of their exertion in this life. Leave them
to themselves, pay no heed to their faults, for verily they have left the Path
of Guidance and forgotten the Road to Righteousness.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a
Tablet; Star of the West vol. 1, no. 13, November 4, 1910)
