Upon them be
Baha’u’l-Abha!
O ye spiritual
friends of ‘Abdu'l-Baha!
"Perfume Thou the East! Illumine Thou the West! Bestow
Thou light to the North! Grant Thou life to the South!
This verse bath been revealed from the lips of the Center of
the Covenant one year after the departure of Baha’u’llah. But the Naghezeen
(Covenant-breakers) wondered and derided. Praise be to God! that now its signs
have become manifest, its powers evident, and its proof plain. Thanks be unto
Him! that the East and the West are stirred into cheerfulness, and through the
Holy Fragrances all directions are perfumed.
The Blessed Perfection, in a clear text, hath promised us in
the Book: "Verily I behold you from the horizon of Abha and will make
victorious whomsoever will arise in the service of my Cause with the hosts of
the Supreme Concourse and the cohorts of the favored angels." Praise be to
God! that this victory and confirmation became visible and manifest and hath
shone forth from the horizon of the world like unto the sun.
Therefore, O ye friends of God! Show ye forth an earnest
endeavor and display ye a resolute effort, so that ye may become assisted in
the adoration of the Ancient Beauty and the Manifest Light; to be the cause of
spreading the light of the Sun of Truth; to infuse into the dead, antiquated
body of the world a new spirit; to cast in the fields of the hearts pure seeds;
to arise in the service of the Cause; to speak with eloquent tongues; to become
candles of guidance in the assemblage of the world; to become shining stars in
the horizon of the existent being; to become merciful birds in the rose garden
of oneness; to sing the melodies of realities and significances; to spend every
breath of your existence in the service of this conspicuous light; so that in
the end ye may be freed from loss and failure and attain to the inexhaustible
treasury of the Kingdom.
For the life of man is wholly subject to danger and
impermanency. A person cannot put his assurance even in one moment's continuity. Notwithstanding this, the nations of the world, deceived by the mirage of
superstition, imagine themselves secure in the heavenly way. Alas! Alas! Former
communities in bygone ages entertained the same perishing thoughts; but by one
of those periodical fluctuations they were all hidden under the ground, and
afflicted with deprivation and loss, except those souls who had become pure
evanescence and had arisen with a great self-abnegation in the path of God.
Such souls shine forth as brilliant stars from the horizon of the Ancient
Glory, and the results which emanated from their lives in succeeding ages and
cycles are the proofs of this statement.
Therefore, do not ye rest, neither day nor night; seek not
ye for composure; talk ye of the mystery of servitude, and seek ye the path of
thralldom; so that through the promised con formations ye may receive
assistance from the Kingdom of Oneness.
O ye friends! Dense and gloomy clouds have covered the
horizon of the world, and the darkness of hatred, malignity, persecution,
tyranny and the greatest cruelty is spreading. All the people are drunk with
the wine of heedlessness; and bloodthirstiness and rapaciousness are considered
the noblest excellencies of the world of men.
His Highness the Almighty hath chosen the friends from among
the concourse of men and bath specialized them with the most eminent guidance
and the highest gift; so that we may with our souls and hearts exert ourselves,
sacrifice our lives, be engaged in the guidance of the people and the training
of souls; so that the wild beasts may become the gazelles of the meadows of
unity; the wolves the sheep of God; the bloodthirsty ones the heavenly angels;
the fire of malice be extinguished and the flame of safety in the blessed
tabernacle bestow illumination; the odor of the nether realm of infidelity be
dispelled and the fragrances of the rose garden of faithfulness be diffused in
all parts; the weak draw light from the Universal Reason and evil souls seek to
be purified with the holy and divine Breath. There are needed manifestors for
this gift; farmers for this field; gardeners for this rose garden; fishers for
this sea; luminous stars for this heaven; spiritual physicians for these ill
ones, and loving guides for these wanderers; so that they may bestow a share on
those who are deprived, grant a portion to those who are shameless, give
unmeasured treasure to the indigent ones, and show forth the power of proof to
the seekers.
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou
my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou
my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my heart, my soul and my spirit,
saying:
O my God! O my God! Verily, the gloomy night hath fallen
upon all regions and the clouds of ignorance have extended in all directions;
the people are immersed in the darkness of surmise and the tyrants are sunk in
the depths of brutality and lawlessness. The red glare of the burning fire is
flashing forth from the netherworld, roaring, ominous voices are rising from
the cruel, destructive and terrible armaments; every region is crying out with
its dumb secret tongue: "Nothing that I possess hath benefited me and
power and strength are taken away from me!"
Verily, O my God, the lamps of guidance are extinguished;
the fire of animosity is enkindled; wrath and antipathy are spread abroad and
provocation and maliciousness are disseminated upon the face of the earth. Yet
I see only Thy wronged followers who are crying at the tops of their voices and
summoning the people:
Hasten ye toward
affinity!
Hasten ye toward
faithfulness!
Hasten ye toward
generosity!
Hasten ye toward
guidance!
Hasten ye toward
union!
Hasten ye to behold
the Light of the World!
Hasten ye toward love
and prosperity!
Hasten ye toward
peace and reconciliation!
Hasten ye toward the
law of disarmament!
Hasten ye toward
harmony and success!
Hasten ye toward cooperation and mutual help in the path of
guidance!
Verily, these wronged ones do sacrifice themselves with
infinite joy and happiness for the sake of the people with all their souls and
spirits throughout all regions. Verily, Thou beholdest them weeping at the
misfortunes of every one of Thy creatures and becoming grieved at the distress
of Thy children; they are kind to all the people and pained at the sight of the
calamities of the inhabitants of the world.
O my Lord! make the wings of prosperity to grow upon their
shoulders, so that they may ever soar toward the apex of their aspirations;
strengthen their loins in the service of Thy people, and confirm them in the
thralldom and adoration of the threshold of Thy Holiness.
Verily, Thou art the Merciful! Thou art the Clement, and
there is no God but Thee, the Powerful, the Compassionate, and the Ancient!
(Signed) ‘Abdu’l-Baha Abbas
(Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 1, March 21, 1913)