O thou servant of the sacred Threshold! It is possible, nay most easy, to please God, for if only one is pure in heart, His good-pleasure is attained; but to please the people is of the utmost difficulty. God Himself did not succeed in pleasing the people—how can thou and I hope to do it? Still, we should strive as far as possible, for “that which cannot be achieved in its entirety should not be discarded in its entirety”. [1]
It is my hope that, through the infinite bounties of the Almighty Lord, thou mayest achieve both. I for one have not succeeded; God willing, thou mayest succeed and pray in turn for my success. For the good-pleasure of God and that of His servants are the greatest of divine bestowals; indeed God’s good-pleasure resideth in our being pleased with His servants.
O Lord! Graciously assist me and this servant of Thine to attain unto this supreme bounty, that we may be pleased with everyone and they may be pleased with us. I beseech God to grant that we both may be confirmed in service to His holy Threshold. The Glory of Glories rest upon thee.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet, ‘Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks’, Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
[1] Arabic proverb
