Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas

O thou who hast sought illumination from the Light of the Guidance of God!

Verily I read thy words of thanksgiving to God for that He hath directed thee to His Kingdom, illuminated thine insight with the light of guidance, and baptized thee with the water which hath descended from heaven, with the fire which was ignited in the Sinaitic Tree, and with the Holy Spirit which quickeneth hearts and souls. Then, thank thou God for this gift whereby thy face is shining amid the concourse of Chosen Ones. 166

Know thou, verily, man before reaching (spiritual) maturity passes his days and only apprehends trivial things which are clear on account of their exoteric indications, but when he attains full development, then he grasps the reality of things and their esoteric facts. Every day after maturity is equivalent to one year before it, on account of (man’s) perception, understanding apprehension and discoveries.

Now, thou hast reached development and apprehended the degree of maturity: Gaze at the grades of the existence, the realities of beings, the allegories in the epistles of God, and the mysteries in the Old and New Testament. By the life of Baha’, the covering will be removed from off thee (i.e., facts will be unfolded to thee), and thou wilt be informed of that which all the philosophers and wise men are unable to apprehend. Verily, this is a gift which God assigns only to such of His chosen servants as He willeth. Verily, thy Lord will inspire thee with the mysteries of God, the Protector, the Self-subsistent.

Verily, I beseech the Lord of Hosts to increase thy faith each day over that of the previous day, to confirm thee through His Holy Spirit, to give thee capacity to partake of the lights of knowledge and wisdom, to make thee a herald of the Covenant in those regions, and to instruct thee in that which thou knowest not; so that thou mayest become a physician for bodies as well as souls, to heal bodies with the medicines which are useful and beneficial for physical (sickness), and to cure hearts and souls with that antidote which quickeneth hearts and souls.

O my friend, it is incumbent upon thee to be severed 167 (from all else save God), to be attracted, to be sincere, and to spend thy life in the path of God. Be thou holy, spiritual, divine, lively, brilliant, godlike, sanctified, pure, with merciful character, firm in the Covenant, fluent and knowing; and gaze toward the Kingdom of El-ABHA with a heart brimming over with the love of God, with tears flowing the commemoration of God, with a face scintillating through the light of God, with a heart sincere to the beloved of God, and with a sword which divides truth from falsehood. By God, the True One, the Spirit of Baha’ will assist thee with such strength that all the concourse of the earth will fail (to withstand).