Upon them be the Glory of God, the Most Glorious!
He is God!
O ye friends of God!
O ye manifestors of bounties and favours of the Beauty of Abha!
That illumined Orb (Baha'u'llah) hath risen from the horizon
of sanctity and holiness to shed Its Rays upon the expanse of the universe and
that mysterious Beloved hath rent asunder the veil of concealment and appeared
in the Assemblage of Humanity so that the wooers of His heart-captivating
Beauty attained to His meeting, and torrents of spiritual teachings have
descended from His Holy Lips, that we may be enabled to hear with the ear of
the spirit, walk in the Path of the Beloved; see His Attributes and Manners;
behold His Character and Principles; drink the Cup of Bestowal, taste the
sweetness of His Reality, obey His Religion and emulate His glorious Example.
O ye friends! His gentle nature was excellent and His sweet
disposition sublime. He was in the utmost humility and submission, and perfect
kindliness and praise. Worthy courtesy
adorned His Being. He was a refuge for every affrighted one; an asylum for
every discomfited one; a fountain for every thirsty one; a Highway of Salvation
for every wandering one; a healing to every sick one, and a dressing for every
wounded one. In brief, ye have undoubtedly heard and read His Holy
Instructions. But alas! we have entirely neglected them and are pursuing our
own desires, following our own opinions, seeking our own ideas, and chasing our
own shadows! Is it not a shame to change His Rose Garden into a bramble patch?
His Delectable Paradise into a ruined abode? To seek to eradicate His
Foundation and completely destroy His structure? To forget the Divine
Instructions and cast behind our backs the Commands of God; with our lips to
speak of the waves of the tumultuous Ocean, while inwardly we are dying of
thirst; and while claiming divine wealth of consciousness, we are so
poverty-stricken in spirit as to be but illusive phantoms-blown about by every
wind?
I declare by the Bounty of the Blessed Perfection that nothing will produce results save intense sincerity! Nothing will be productive of fruit save complete advancement toward God! Everything is condemned save severance and every idea is fruitless and unacceptable save supplication, communion, prayer and obedience! We must entirely collect our scattered thoughts, purify and sanctify the house of our existence from every attachment and make the palace of our hearts the nest and shelter of the Dove of Holiness. Then, and not till then will the significance of confirmation and assistance become evident and known, the power of the Kingdom become apparent, and the hosts of the Supreme Concourse run swiftly into the arena of heavenly conquest, to gain victory over the East and the West of the hearts, and make the North and South of the spirits of men the flowery regions of the Love of God!
Praise be to God that the Province of Caucasia-Baku-is a
glorious light in the Lamp of Oneness, a wonderful effulgence from the Sun of
Beauty of the Divine Beloved. Its
believers arc sincere and its friends are the favoured ones in the Threshold of
Oneness.
Truly I say this is a most great Bounty and a most eminent
Gift!
Upon ye be the Glory of God!
(Signed) 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas
(Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 6, June 24, 1911)