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8: TABLET TO THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 47 48 |
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THE BLESSED Person of the Promised One is interpreted
in the Holy Book as the Lord of Hosts—the
heavenly armies. By heavenly armies those souls are intended
who are entirely freed from the human world,
transformed into celestial spirits and have become divine
angels. Such souls are the rays of the Sun of Reality
who will illumine all the continents. Each one is holding
in his hand a trumpet, blowing the breath of life over
all the regions. They are delivered from human qualities
and the defects of the world of nature, are characterized
with the characteristics of God, and are attracted with
the fragrances of the Merciful. Like unto the apostles of
Christ, who were filled with Him, these souls also have
become filled with His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh; that is, the
love of Bahá’u’lláh has so mastered every organ, part
and limb of their bodies, as to leave no effect from the
promptings of the human world.
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These souls are the armies of God and the conquerors
of the East and the West. Should one of them
turn his face toward some direction and summon the
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people to the Kingdom of God, all the ideal forces and
lordly confirmations will rush to his support and reinforcement.
He will behold all the doors open and all the
strong fortifications and impregnable castles razed to the
ground. Singly and alone he will attack the armies of the
world, defeat the right and left wings of the hosts of all
the countries, break through the lines of the legions of
all the nations and carry his attack to the very center of
the powers of the earth. This is the meaning of the Hosts
of God.
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Any soul from among the believers of Bahá’u’lláh
who attains to this station will become known as the
Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh. Therefore strive ye with heart
and soul so that ye may reach this lofty and exalted position,
be established on the throne of everlasting glory,
and crown your heads with the shining diadem of the
Kingdom, whose brilliant jewels may irradiate upon
centuries and cycles.
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O ye kind friends! Uplift your magnanimity and
soar high toward the apex of heaven so that your blessed
hearts may become illumined more and more, day by
day, through the rays of the Sun of Reality, that is, His
Holiness Bahá’u’lláh; at every moment the spirits may
obtain a new life, and the darkness of the world of nature
may be entirely dispelled; thus you may become
incarnate light and personified spirit, become entirely
unaware of the sordid matters of this world and in touch
with the affairs of the divine world.
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Behold the portals which Bahá’u’lláh hath opened
before you! Consider how exalted and lofty is the station
you are destined to attain; how unique the favors
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with which you have been endowed. Should we become
intoxicated with this cup, the sovereignty of this globe
of earth will become lower in our estimation than children’s
play. Should they place in the arena the crown of
the government of the whole world, and invite each one
of us to accept it, undoubtedly we shall not condescend,
and shall refuse to accept it.
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The first condition is firmness in the Covenant of
God. For the power of the Covenant will protect the
Cause of Bahá’u’lláh from the doubts of the people of
error. It is the fortified fortress of the Cause of God and
the firm pillar of the religion of God. Today no power
can conserve the oneness of the Bahá’í world save the
Covenant of God; otherwise differences like unto a most
great tempest will encompass the Bahá’í world. It is evident
that the axis of the oneness of the world of humanity
is the power of the Covenant and nothing else. Had
the Covenant not come to pass, had it not been revealed
from the Supreme Pen and had not the Book of the
Covenant, like unto the ray of the Sun of Reality, illuminated
the world, the forces of the Cause of God
would have been utterly scattered and certain souls who
were the prisoners of their own passions and lusts would
have taken into their hands an axe, cutting the root of
this Blessed Tree. Every person would have pushed forward
his own desire and every individual aired his own
opinion! Notwithstanding this great Covenant, a few
negligent souls galloped with their chargers into the
battlefield, thinking perchance they might be able to
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weaken the foundation of the Cause of God: but praise
be to God all of them were afflicted with regret and loss,
and erelong they shall see themselves in poignant despair.
Therefore, in the beginning the believers must
make their steps firm in the Covenant so that the confirmations
of Bahá’u’lláh may encircle them from all sides,
the cohorts of the Supreme Concourse may become
their supporters and helpers, and the exhortations and
advices of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, like unto the pictures engraved
on stone, may remain permanent and ineffaceable in the
tablets of all hearts.
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The second condition: Fellowship and love amongst
the believers. The divine friends must be attracted to
and enamored of each other and ever be ready and willing
to sacrifice their own lives for each other. Should one
soul from amongst the believers meet another, it must
be as though a thirsty one with parched lips has reached
to the fountain of the water of life, or a lover has met his
true beloved. For one of the greatest divine wisdoms regarding
the appearance of the holy Manifestations is
this: The souls may come to know each other and become
intimate with each other; the power of the love of
God may make all of them the waves of one sea, the
flowers of one rose garden, and the stars of one heaven.
This is the wisdom for the appearance of the holy Manifestations!
When the most great bestowal reveals itself
in the hearts of the believers, the world of nature will be
transformed, the darkness of the contingent being will
vanish, and heavenly illumination will be obtained.
Then the whole world will become the Paradise of Abhá,
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every one of the believers of God will become a blessed
tree, producing wonderful fruits.
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O ye friends! Fellowship, fellowship! Love, love!
Unity, unity!—so that the power of the Bahá’í Cause
may appear and become manifest in the world of existence.
My thoughts are turned towards you, and my
heart leaps within me at your mention. Could ye know
how my soul glows with your love, so great a happiness
would flood your hearts as to cause you to become enamored
with each other.
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The third condition: Teachers must continually
travel to all parts of the continent, nay, rather, to all
parts of the world, but they must travel like ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
who journeyed throughout the cities of America.
He was sanctified and free from every attachment and
in the utmost severance. Just as His Holiness Christ says:
Shake off the very dust from your feet.
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You have observed that while in America many
souls in the utmost of supplication and entreaty desired
to offer some gifts, but this servant, in accord with the
exhortations and behests of the Blessed Perfection, never
accepted a thing, although on certain occasions we were
in most straitened circumstances. But on the other
hand, if a soul for the sake of God, voluntarily and out
of his pure desire, wishes to offer a contribution (toward
the expenses of a teacher) in order to make the contributor
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happy, the teacher may accept a small sum, but must
live with the utmost contentment.
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The aim is this: The intention of the teacher must
be pure, his heart independent, his spirit attracted, his
thought at peace, his resolution firm, his magnanimity
exalted and in the love of God a shining torch. Should
he become as such, his sanctified breath will even affect
the rock; otherwise there will be no result whatsoever.
As long as a soul is not perfected, how can he efface the
defects of others? Unless he is detached from aught else
save God, how can he teach severance to others?
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Amongst other things is the holding of the meetings
for teaching so that blessed souls and the old ones
from amongst the believers may gather together the
youths of the love of God in schools of instruction and
teach them all the divine proofs and irrefragable arguments,
explain and elucidate the history of the Cause,
and interpret also the prophecies and proofs which are
recorded and are extant in the divine books and epistles
regarding the manifestation of the Promised One, so
that the young ones may go in perfect knowledge in all
these degrees.
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Likewise, whenever it is possible a committee must
be organized for the translation of the Tablets. Wise
souls who have mastered and studied perfectly the Persian,
Arabic, and other foreign languages, or know one
of the foreign languages, must commence translating
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Tablets and books containing the proofs of this Revelation,
and publishing those books, circulate them
throughout the five continents of the globe.
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In short, after this universal war, the people have
obtained extraordinary capacity to hearken to the divine
teachings, for the wisdom of this war is this: That it may
become proven to all that the fire of war is world-consuming,
whereas the rays of peace are world-enlightening.
One is death, the other is life; this is extinction, that
is immortality; one is the most great calamity, the other
is the most great bounty; this is darkness, that is light;
this is eternal humiliation and that is everlasting glory;
one is the destroyer of the foundation of man, the other
is the founder of the prosperity of the human race.
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Consequently, a number of souls may arise and act
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in accordance with the aforesaid conditions, and hasten
to all parts of the world, especially from America to
Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, and travel through
Japan and China. Likewise, from Germany teachers
and believers may travel to the continents of America,
Africa, Japan and China; in brief, they may travel
through all the continents and islands of the globe. Thus
in a short space of time, most wonderful results will be
produced, the banner of universal peace will be waving
on the apex of the world and the lights of the oneness of
the world of humanity may illumine the universe.
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In brief, O ye believers of God! The text of the
divine Book is this: If two souls quarrel and contend about
a question of the divine questions, differing and disputing,
both are wrong. The wisdom of this incontrovertible
law of God is this: That between two souls from
amongst the believers of God, no contention and dispute
may arise; that they may speak with each other
with infinite amity and love. Should there appear the
least trace of controversy, they must remain silent, and
both parties must continue their discussions no longer,
but ask the reality of the question from the Interpreter.
This is the irrefutable command!
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O GOD, my God! Thou seest how black darkness is
enshrouding all regions, how all countries are burning
with the flame of dissension, and the fire of war and
carnage is blazing throughout the East and the West.
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Blood is flowing, corpses bestrew the ground, and severed
heads are fallen on the dust of the battlefield.
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O Lord! Have pity on these ignorant ones and look
upon them with the eye of forgiveness and pardon. Extinguish
this fire, so that these dense clouds which obscure
the horizon may be scattered, the Sun of Reality
shine forth with the rays of conciliation, this intense
gloom be dispelled and the resplendent light of peace
shed its radiance upon all countries.
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O Lord! Draw up the people from the abyss of the
ocean of hatred and enmity, and deliver them from this
impenetrable darkness. Unite their hearts, and brighten
their eyes with the light of peace and reconciliation.
Deliver them from the depths of war and bloodshed,
and free them from the darkness of error. Remove the
veil from their eyes, and enlighten their hearts with the
light of guidance. Treat them with Thy tender mercy
and compassion, and deal not with them according to
Thy justice and wrath which cause the limbs of the
mighty to quake.
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O Lord! Make manifest in Thy lands humble and
submissive souls, their faces illumined with the rays of
guidance, severed from the world, extolling Thy Name,
uttering Thy praise, and diffusing the fragrance of Thy
holiness amongst mankind.
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O Lord! Dispel the darkness of these corrupt
desires, and illumine the hearts with the lamp of Thy love
through which all countries will erelong be enlightened.
Confirm, moreover, Thy loved ones, those who, leaving
their homelands, their families and their children,
have, for the love of Thy Beauty, traveled to foreign
countries to diffuse Thy fragrances and promulgate Thy
teachings. Be Thou their companion in their loneliness,
their helper in a strange land, the remover of their sorrows,
their comforter in calamity. Be Thou a refreshing
draught for their thirst, a healing medicine for their ills
and a balm for the burning ardor of their hearts.
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1. | Cf. Matthew 10:14. [ Back To Reference] |