Until a being setteth his foot in the plane of sacrifice, he is
bereft of every favour and grace; and this plane of sacrifice is the realm of
dying to the self, that the radiance of the living God may then shine forth.
The martyr’s field is the place of detachment from self, that the anthems of
eternity may be upraised. Do all ye can to become wholly weary of self, and
bind yourselves to that Countenance of Splendours; and once ye have reached
such heights of servitude, ye will find, gathered within your shadow, all
created things. This is boundless grace; this is the highest sovereignty; this
is the life that dieth not. All else save this is at the last but manifest
perdition and great loss.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
