O handmaid of God! It is with the Lord Christ even as with
Adam. Did the first human being who came into existence on this earth have a
father or mother? It is certain that he had neither. But Christ lacked only a
father. 
Give thou my greetings to Miss Ford. Convey to her the glad
tidings that these are the days of the Kingdom of God. Say unto her: Blessed
art thou for thy noble aims, blessed art thou for thy goodly deeds, blessed art
thou for thy spiritual nature. Verily do I love thee on account of these thine
aims and qualities and deeds. Tell her further: Remember the Messiah, and His
days on earth, and His abasement, and His tribulations, and how the people paid
Him no mind. Remember how the Jews would hold Him up to ridicule, and mock at
Him, and address Him with: ‘Peace be upon thee, King of the Jews! Peace be upon
thee, King of Kings!’ How they would say that He was mad, and would ask how the
Cause of that crucified One could ever spread out to the easts of the world and
the wests thereof. None followed Him then, save only a few souls who were
fishermen, carpenters, and other plain folk. Alas, alas, for such delusions!
Know thou that all the powers combined have not the power to
establish universal peace, nor to withstand the overmastering dominion, at
every time and season, of these endless wars. Erelong, however, shall the power
of heaven, the dominion of the Holy Spirit, hoist on the high summits the
banners of love and peace, and there above the castles of majesty and might
shall those banners wave in the rushing winds that blow out of the tender mercy
of God.
As to the fundamentals of teaching the Faith: know thou that
delivering the Message can be accomplished only through goodly deeds and
spiritual attributes, an utterance that is crystal clear and the happiness
reflected from the face of that one who is expounding the Teachings. It is
essential that the deeds of the teacher should attest the truth of his words.
Such is the state of whoso doth spread abroad the sweet savours of God and the
quality of him who is sincere in his faith.
What a radiant face he had! [Mírzá Muhammad-‘Alí, the Afnán
– a kindred of the Báb] He was nothing but light from head to foot. Just to
look at that face made one happy; he was so confident, so assured, so rooted in
his faith, and his expression so joyous. He was truly a blessed being. He was a
man who made progress day by day, who added, every day, to his certitude and
faith, his luminous quality, his ardent love.
We told the Master of a group of Jews who were on the boat
from Brindisi to Palestine. He said:
…His Holiness Baha’u’llah said that complete union between
the various sections of the world would be an unrealized dream as long as an
international language was not established.
By saying there is no evil in existence is meant that what
has come from the Origin of existence and being is good and useful. It is good
in its time and place and not evil. For example, I can say that there is no
darkness in the sun because darkness is the absence of light and has no
existence in itself. Oppression is the absence of justice and ignorance is the
lack of knowledge. Hence, the imperfections and defects of the world of
creation, the contingent world, are merely the absence of virtues and the lack
of perfections. These defects have not come from the Source; rather, the
essential properties of the world of matter which are change and transformation
cause the training of all things and the manifestation of perfections of
realities and spirits.
The most blessed moments of my life are those which I spend
in the company of the friends of God. These are the best times. Therefore, I am
extremely happy to be with you now. Praise be to God that your faces are
illumined, your hearts and souls are rejoicing and all are turned toward the
Abhá Kingdom. This is the utmost happiness for me.
The Báb, the Exalted One, is the Morn of Truth, the splendor
of Whose light shineth throughout all regions. He is also the Harbinger of the
Most Great Light, the Abha Luminary. The Blessed Beauty is the One promised by
the sacred books of the past, the revelation of the Source of light that shone
upon Mount Sinai, Whose fire glowed in the midst of the Burning Bush.
In Daniel 8:13 it is said: “Then I heard one saint speaking,
and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be
the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation,
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said
unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed”, until it says: “at the time of the end shall be the vision”. That is
to say, how long shall this misfortune, this ruin, this abasement and
degradation endure? Or, when will the morn of Revelation dawn? Then he said,
“two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”.
Briefly, the point is that he fixes a period of 2,300 years, for according to
the text of the Torah each day is one year. Therefore, from the date of the
edict of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem until the day of the birth of Christ
there are 456 years, and from the birth of Christ until the day of the advent
of the Báb there are 1,844 years, and if 456 years are added to this number it
makes 2,300 years. That is to say, the fulfilment of the vision of Daniel took
place in A.D. 1844, and this is the year of the advent of the Báb.
As soon as the Báb revealed His Cause, Bahá’u’lláh
proclaimed: “This great Man is the Lord of the righteous, and it is incumbent
upon all to bear allegiance unto Him.” He arose to promote the Cause of the
Báb, adducing decisive proofs and conclusive arguments of His truth. Although
the divines of the nation had obliged the Persian government to exert the most
vehement opposition; although they had all issued decrees ordering the
massacre, pillage, persecution, and annihilation of the Báb’s followers; and
although throughout the land the people had undertaken to kill, burn, and
plunder them, and even harass their women and children—despite all this,
Bahá’u’lláh was engaged, with the utmost constancy and composure, in exalting
the word of the Báb.
Admonish the Friends so they will not backbite and
criticize, voicing the mistakes and sins of others. Have a sin covering-eye. As
soon as you see a trace of the Love of Baha’u’llah in a soul, revere that soul
under all conditions.
Now therefore I will pray for you and you must pray for me:
Waste not your precious time in fault-finding and
backbiting. Polish the surface of the mirrors of your hearts from the dross of
human frailties. If you live according to the standard of other communities,
then what difference does there exist between you and them? Baha'u'llah has
summoned you to such a lofty summit the very thought of which is too dazzling a
prospect! He has not chosen you to be satisfied with water and clay!
O ye believers of God! This day is the day of your
attraction! This day is the day in which you must diffuse the Fragrances of
God! This day is the day that you must unfurl the Banner of the Kingdom of
Abha! This day is the day of Peace and Concord! This day is the day of the
proclamation of the oneness of the world of humanity! This day is the day of
forgiveness and leniency! This day is the day of Truth and righteousness! This
day is the day of conciliation and beatitude! This day is the day of awakening and
enkindlement!
He [God] has created all with His Power, supplied all with
His Mercy, and trained all with His Divinity. You will not find in the creation
of the Merciful any differences. Then let us follow the glorious Lord in our
good policy; dealing with justice, favor and generosity. Let us leave
oppression and wickedness. Let us be as one family, with justice and kindness.
Let us blend as water and wine. Let us unite as the unity of the souls. We
cannot establish a policy greater than the policy of God. We cannot find
anything which is suitable to the world of humanity greater than the Bounties
of God. Then be ye guided with the examples of the Lord. Do not change the gift
of God -which is perfect unity - in this Path!
Consecrate all thy time to the service of the Kingdom of God
and the propagator of its principles. Let thine own supreme concern be the
promotion of the Word of God.
The old centuries have passed and the carpet of hatred and
struggle have rolled up, because this age has shone with the Luminous Lights,
glorious bounties, admirable verses, apparent signs, lights which are
dispersing the darkness - alleviating pain - conductive to unity and uprooting
inharmony.
I am ‘Abdu'l-Baha. The believers must be satisfied with this
explanation so that I may be pleased with them. All of the friends must be
united on this matter. Praise be to God! that up to this time, through the
Favor and Providence of the Blessed Perfection, no other title or word save
"’Abdu’l-Baha" has appeared either from my tongue or pen. I hope that
all the believers will walk in my footsteps so that I may become satisfied with
all of them. Our highest aspiration must be this: that we may become confirmed
to render some slight service in the Path of God. There is no greater station
than this.
How long this drowsiness and sleep! How long this ignorance
and blindness! How long this heedlessness and misery! How long this oppression
and injustice! How long this hatred and discord! How long this rage of ignorant
ones! How long this grasping with frail imaginations! How long this strife and
argument! How long this turmoil and these battles! How long these racial
prejudices! How long these patriarchal prejudices! How long these political
prejudices!
…Unity is good, and that suppression (slavery under the yoke
of tradition and prejudice) is the cause of disunion. To know this is not
enough. All knowledge is good, but it can bear no fruit except by action. It is
well to know that riches are good, but that knowledge will not make a man rich;
he must work, he must put his knowledge into practice. We hope the people
realize and know that unity is good, and we also hope that they will not be
content to stand still in that knowledge. Do not only say that Unity, Love and
Brotherhood are good; you must work for their realization.
The Czar of Russia suggested the Hague Peace Conference and
proposed a decrease in armament for all nations. In this Conference it was
proved that Peace was beneficial to all countries, and that war destroyed
trade, etc. The Czar’s words were admirable though after the conference was
over he himself was the first to declare war (against Japan).
The differences in language cause disunion between nations.
There must be one universal language. The diversity in Faiths is also a cause
of separation. The true foundation of all faiths must be established, the outer
differences abolished. There must be a Oneness of Faith. To end all these
differences is a very hard task. The whole world is sick, and needs the power
of the Great Healer.
The Universal Races Congress was good, for it was intended
for the furtherance and progress of unity among all nations and a better
international understanding. The purpose was good. The causes of dispute among
different nations are always due to one of the following classes of prejudice:
racial, lingual, theological, personal, and prejudices of custom and tradition.
It requires a universal active force to overcome these differences. A small
disease needs a small remedy, but a disease which pervades the whole body needs
a very strong remedy. A small lamp may light a room, a larger would light a
house, a larger still might shine through the city, but the sun is needed to
light the whole world.
Those who help on the cause of unity are doing God’s work.
Unity is the Divine Bounty for this luminous century.
O thou who art sincere in the Cause of God, looking unto the
Kingdom of God and uttering the praise of God! — thank thou Him for that by
reason of which He hath made thee wholly faithful in His Cause, kindled thy
heart with the fire of the Testament, illumined thy mind with the light and
conveyed unto thy spirit the glad-tidings of the breaths of the Holy Spirit in
the world of effulgence. Therefore, roll up thy sleeves to serve the Covenant,
make the hearts firm in the Covenant of the beloved Lord, create harmony and
agreement among the believers and impart to them the glad-tidings of the
confirmation which they will receive from God if the differences of opinion be
removed and if they unite and agree, be firm in spreading the fragrance of God,
divulging the traces and chanting the signs of God.
The outer, physical causal factor in disease, however, is a
disturbance in the balance, the proportionate equilibrium of all those elements
of which the human body is composed. To illustrate: the body of man is a
compound of many constituent substances, each component being present in a
prescribed amount, contributing to the essential equilibrium of the whole. So
long as these constituents remain in their due proportion, according to the
natural balance of the whole—that is, no component suffereth a change in its
natural proportionate degree and balance, no component being either augmented
or decreased—there will be no physical cause for the incursion of disease.
Alone, He [the Báb] undertook a task that can scarcely be
conceived, for the Persians are known throughout the world for their religious
fanaticism. This illustrious Being arose with such power as to shake the
foundations of the religious laws, customs, manners, morals, and habits of
Persia, and instituted a new law, faith, and religion. Though the eminent men
of the State, the majority of the people, and the leaders of religion arose one
and all to destroy and annihilate Him, He single-handedly withstood them and
set all of Persia in motion. How numerous the divines, the leaders, and the
inhabitants of that land who with perfect joy and gladness offered up their
lives in His path and hastened to the field of martyrdom!
Set aside every mention save the mention of God and abandon
everything save the divulgence of the Testament, be attracted by the magnet of
the Covenant that thou mayest see the triumph of the angels of the King of the
Kingdom and the valor of the hosts of the Lord of Might. By the life of the
Lord! The Invincible Power will indeed strengthen, the Holy Spirit will speak
in thy mouth, the Word of God will be revealed in thy heart, the sound of the
trumpet of the Lord will gladden thee, the light of unity will shine from thy
brow, the doors of success and prosperity will be opened upon thy face and the
secrets of the Holy Books will be unfolded. Then, at that time, thou shalt cry
at the top of thy voice, saying: “Blessed I am for this great bounty! Blessed I
am for this evident victory! Blessed I am for this power which could not be
resisted by the powers of whomsoever is upon the earth!”
O ye, God’s loved ones! Experience hath shown how greatly
the renouncing of smoking, of intoxicating drink, and of opium, conduceth to
health and vigour, to the expansion and keenness of the mind and to bodily
strength. There is today a people [1] who strictly avoid tobacco, intoxicating
liquor and opium. This people is far and away superior to the others, for
strength and physical courage, for health, beauty and comeliness. A single one
of their men can stand up to ten men of another tribe. This hath proved true of
the entire people: that is, member for member, each individual of this
community is in every respect superior to the individuals of other communities.