O People of Persia! … The winds of the true springtide are
passing over you; adorn yourselves with blossoms like
trees in the scented garden. Spring clouds are streaming; then turn you fresh
and verdant like the sweet eternal fields. The dawn star is shining, set your
feet on the true path. The sea of might is swelling, hasten to the shores of
high resolve and fortune. The pure water of life is welling up, why wear away
your days in a desert of thirst? Aim high, choose noble ends; how long this
lethargy, how long this negligence! Despair, both here and hereafter, is all
you will gain from self-indulgence; abomination and misery are all you will
harvest from fanaticism, from believing the foolish and the mindless. The
confirmations of God are supporting you, the succor of God is at hand: why do you
not cry out and exult with all your heart, and strive with all your soul!
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)
