Selected Writings of Baha'u'llah
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Bahá'u'lláh, Selected Writings of Baha'u'llah, Wilmette, IL: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1942, bahai-library.com.
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Selected Writings of

Baha'u'llah
Author of the Baha'i Dispensation

Baha'i Publishing Committee
Wilmette, Illinois
1942
Copyright 1942
By the National Spiritual Assembly of thi
Baha'i's of the United States and Canada

Printed in U.S.A.
Prayer for Union in
the Law of God

Lauded be Thy name, 0 Lord my God! Dark
ness hath fallen upon every land, and the forces
of mischief have encompassed      all the nations.
Through them, however, I perceive the splendors of
Thy wisdom, and discern the brightness of the light
of Thy providence.
They that are shut out as by a veil from Thee
have imagined that they have the power to put out
Thy light, and to quench Thy fire, and to still the
winds of Thy grace.    Nay, and to this Thy might
beareth    me   witness!Had not every tribulation
been made the bearer of Thy wisdom, and every
ordeal the vehicle of Thy providence, no one would
have dared oppose us, though the powers of earth
and heaven were to be leagued against us. Were
I to unravel the wondrous mysteries of Thy wisdom
which are laid bare before me, the reins of Thine
enemies would be cleft asunder.
Glorified be Thou, then, 0 my God! I beseech
Thee   by Thy Most Great Name to assemble them
that love Thee around the Law that streameth from
the good-pleasure  of Thy will, and to send down
upon   them  what will assure their hearts.
Potent    art Thou to do what pleaseth     Thee. Thou
art, verily, the Help      in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
selected writings of
baha'u'llah
AUTHOR   OF THE BAHA'l              DISPENSATION

The Ocean of Mercy
1. This is the Day in which God's most excellent favors
have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His
most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things.
It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to recon
cile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace,
abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and lov
ing-kindness.    It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever
will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their
stations, and to the promotion of their best interests. Happy
are those whom the all-glorious Pen was moved to remem
ber, and blessed are those men whose names, by virtue of
0ur inscrutable decree, We have preferred to conceal.
Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may
be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in
0ur sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up,
and a new one spread         out in its stead.            Verily, thy Lord
speaketh     the truth, and is the Knower              of things unseen.

2.   Say:   0 men!   This is a matchless         Day.     Matchless must,
likewise,    be the tongue    that       celebrateth    the praise of the
Desire of all nations, and matchless the deed that aspireth
to be acceptable  in His sight. The whole human race hath
longed for this Day, that perchance it may fulfil that which
well beseemeth its station, and is worthy of its destiny.

-
SELECTED   WRITINGS

Blessed  is the man whom the affairs of the world have
failed to deter from recognizing Him Who is the Lord of
all things.
So blind hath become the human heart that neither the
disruption of the city, nor the reduction of the mountain
in dust, nor even the cleaving of the earth, can shake off
its torpor. The allusions made in the Scriptures have been
unfolded, and the signs recorded therein have been revealed,
and the prophetic cry is continually being raised. And yet
all, except such as Cod was pleased to guide, are bewildered
in the drunkenness of their heedlessness!
Witness how the world is being afflicted with a fresh
calamity every day.    Its tribulation is continually deepen
ing. From the moment the Suriy-i-Ra'is (Tablet to Ra'is)
was revealed until the present day, neither hath the world
been tranquillized, nor have the hearts of its peoples been
at rest. At one time it hath been agitated by contentions
and disputes, at another it hath been convulsed by wars,
and fallen a victim to inveterate diseases.     Its sickness is
approaching the stage of utter hopelessness, inasmuch as the
true Physician is debarred from administering the remedy,
whilst unskilled practitioners are regarded with favor, and
are accorded full freedom to act. . . . The dust of sedition
hath clouded the hearts of men, and blinded their eyes.
Erelong, they will perceive the consequences of what their
hands have wrought in the Day of God.            Thus warneth
you He Who is the All-Informed, as bidden by 0ne Who is
the Most Powerful, the Almighty.

3. This is the Day whereon    the 0cean of God's mercy hath
been manifested     unto men, the Day in which the Day Star
of His    loving-kindness hath shed its radiance upon them,
the Day in which the clouds of His bountiful favor have
overshadowed the whole of mankind.  Now is the time to

of bahaVllah
cheer    and   refresh   the down-cast   through the invigorating
breeze   of love and fellowship,         and the living waters of
friendliness and charity.
They who are the beloved of God, in whatever place they
gather    and whomsoever    they may meet, must evince, in
their attitude towards God, and in the manner of their cele
bration of His praise and glory, such humility and sub-
missiveness that every atom of the dust beneath their feet
may attest the depth of their devotion.     The conversation
carried by these holy souls should be informed with such
power that these same atoms of dust will be thrilled by
its influence.  They should conduct themselves in such man
ner that the earth upon which they tread may never be
allowed to address to them such words as these: "I am
to be preferred above you.     For witness, how patient I am
in bearing the burden which the husbandman layeth upon
me.     I am the instrument that continually imparteth unto
all beings the blessings with which He Who is the Source
of all grace hath entrusted me. Notwithstanding the honor
conferred upon me, and the unnumbered evidences of my
wealth — a wealth that supplieth the needs of all creation —
behold the measure of my humility, witness with what
absolute submissiveness    I allow myself to be trodden be
neath the feet of men. . . ."
Show forbearance and benevolence and love to one an
other.  Should any one among you be incapable of grasp
ing a certain truth, or be striving to comprehend
it,

show
forth, when conversing with him,      spirit of extreme kind
a

liness and good-will.   Help him to see and recognize the
truth, without esteeming yourself to be, in the least, superior
to him, or to be possessed of greater endowments.
The whole duty of man in this Day      to attain that share
is

of the flood of grace which God poureth forth for him. Let
none, therefore, consider the largeness or smallness of the
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receptacle.        The portion of some might lie in the palm of
a man's      hand,   the portion of others might fill a cup, and
of others even a gallon-measure.

God and His Manifestations
4. All-praise  to the unity of God, and all-honor to Him,
the sovereign  Lord, the incomparable and all-glorious Ruler
of the universe, Who, out of utter nothingness, hath created
the reality of all things, Who, from naught, hath brought
into being the most refined and subtle elements of His
creation, and Who, rescuing His creatures from the abase
ment of remoteness and the perils of ultimate extinction,
hath received them into His kingdom of incorruptible glory.
Nothing short of His all-encompassing grace, His all-per
vading mercy, could have possibly achieved it. How could
otherwise, have been possible for sheer nothingness
it,

to
have acquired by itself the worthiness      and capacity   to
emerge from its state of non-existence    into the realm of
being?
Having created the world and all that liveth and moveth
therein, He, through the direct operation of His uncon
strained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the
unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love
Him — capacity that must needs be regarded as the gen
a

erating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the
whole of creation. . . Upon the inmost reality of each and
.

every created thing He hath shed the light of one of His
attributes.   Upon the reality of man, however, He hath
focused the radiance of all of His names and attributes,
and made        mirror of His own Self. Alone of all created
it
a

things man hath been singled out for so great       favor, so
a

enduring           bounty.
a

These energies with which the Day Star of Divine bounty
and Source of heavenly           guidance   hath endowed   the reality
of bahaVllah
of man lie, however, latent within him, even as the flame
is hidden within the candle and the rays of light are poten
tially present in the lamp. The radiance of these energies
may be obscured by worldly desires even as the light of
the sun can be concealed beneath the dust and dross which
cover the mirror.     Neither the candle nor the lamp can
be lighted through their own unaided efforts, nor can it
ever be possible for the mirror to free itself from its dross.
It is clear and evident that until a fire is kindled the lamp
will never be ignited, and unless the dross is blotted out
from the face of the mirror it can never represent the image
of the sun nor reflect its light and glory.
And since there can be no tie of direct intercourse to bind
the  one true God with His creation, and no resemblance
whatever can exist between the transient and the Eternal,
the contingent and the Absolute, He hath ordained that in
every age and dispensation a pure and stainless Soul be
made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and heaven. Unto
this subtle, this mysterious and ethereal Being He hath as
signed a twofold nature; the physical, pertaining to the
world of matter, and the spiritual, which is born of the
substance of God Himself.

5. To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident
that God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is
immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as
corporeal existence, ascent and decent, egress and regress.
Far be it from His glory that human tongue should ade
quately recount His praise, or that human heart compre
hend His fathomless mystery.     He is, and hath ever been,
veiled in the ancient eternity of His Essence, and will re
main in His Reality everlastingly hidden from the sight
of men.   "No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all
vision; He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving." . . .

SELECTED WRITINGS

The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days being
thus closed   in the face of all beings, the Source of infinite
grace, according to His saying, "His grace hath transcended
all things; My grace hath encompassed them all," hath
caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to appear out of
the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human
temple, and be made manifest unto all men, that they may
impart unto the world the mysteries of the unchangeable
Being, and tell of the subtleties of His imperishable Essence.
These sanctified Mirrors, these Day Springs of ancient
glory, are, one and all, the Exponents on earth of Him
Who is the central 0rb of the universe, its Essence and
ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and
power; from Him is derived their sovereignty.      The beauty
of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and
their revelation a sign of His deathless glory. They are
the Treasuries of Divine knowledge,       and the Repositories
of celestial wisdom.     Through them is transmitted a grace
that is infinite, and by them is revealed the Light that can
never fade. . . . These Tabernacles of Holiness, these Primal
Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but
expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles.
By the revelation of these Gems of Divine virtue all the
names and attributes of God, such as knowledge and power,
sovereignty    and dominion, mercy       and wisdom,    glory,
bounty,    and grace, are made manifest.
These    attributes of God are not, and have never been,
vouchsafed   specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld
from others.     Nay, all the Prophets of God, His well-
favored, His holy and chosen Messengers are, without ex
ception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments
of His attributes.   They only differ in the intensity of their
revelation, and the comparative potency of their light. Even
as He hath revealed: "Some of the Apostles We have caused
to excel   the others."
of bahaVllah
It   hath,   therefore,   become     manifest   and   evident     that
within the tabernacles of these Prophets and chosen 0nes
of God the light of His infinite names and exalted attributes
hath been reflected, even though the light of some of these
attributes may or may not be outwardly revealed from these
luminous Temples to the eyes of men.         That a certain
attribute of God hath not been outwardly manifested         by
these Essences of Detachment doth in no wise imply that
they who are the Day Springs of God's attributes and the
Treasuries of His holy names did not actually possess it.
Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these beauteous Coun
tenances have, each and every one of them, been endowed
with all the attributes of God, such as sovereignty, domin
ion, and the like, even though to outward seeming they be
shorn of all earthly majesty. . . .

6.   Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets
of God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God,
the Creator, saith : There is no distinction whatsoever among
the Bearers of My Message.       They all have but one pur
pose; their secret is the same secret.       To prefer one in
honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in
no wise to be permitted.    Every true Prophet hath regarded
His Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation
of every other Prophet gone before Him.           If any man,
therefore, should fail to comprehend this truth, and should
consequently   indulge in vain and unseemly language, no
one whose         sight   is keen   and   whose   understanding      is en
lightenedwould ever allow such idle talk to cause him to
waver in his belief.
The measure of the revelation of the Prophets of God
in this world, however, must differ. Each and every one
of them hath been the Bearer of a distinct Message, and
hath been commissioned  to reveal Himself through specific

SELECTED WRITINGS

acts.  It is for this reason that they appear to vary in
their greatness.  Their Revelation may be likened unto
the light of the moon that sheddeth its radiance upon the
earth.  Though every time it appeareth, it revealeth a fresh
measure of its brightness,   yet its inherent  splendor can
never diminish, nor can its light suffer extinction.

It is clear and evident, therefore, that any apparent
variation in the intensity of their light is not inherent in
the light itself, but should rather be attributed to the vary
ing receptivity of an ever-changing world. Every Prophet
Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath purposed
to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted with
a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would
best meet the requirements of the age in which He appeared.
God's purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is two
fold.   The first is to liberate the children of men from
the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of
true understanding.     The second is to insure the peace and
tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by
which they can be established.
The Prophets of God should be regarded       as physicians
whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its
peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal
the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the
right to question their words or disparage their conduct,
for they are the only ones who can claim to have under
stood   the patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ail
ments.     No man, however acute his perception, can ever
hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and under
standing of the Divine Physician have attained.    Little won
der, then, if the treatment prescribed by the physician in
this day should not be found to be identical with that which
he prescribed before.    How could it be otherwise when the
ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his
of baha'u'llah
sickness   a special remedy?  In like manner, every time the
Prophets of God have illumined the world with the resplend
ent radiance of the Day Star of Divine knowledge,          they
have invariably summoned its peoples to embrace the light
of God through such means as best befitted the exigencies
of the age in which they appeared.       They were thus able
to scatter the darkness of ignorance, and to shed upon the
world the glory of their own knowledge.          It is towards
the inmost essence of these Prophets, therefore,       that the
eye of every man of discernment must be directed, inasmuch
as their one and only purpose hath always been to guide
the erring, and give peace to the afflicted.    These are not
days of prosperity and triumph.      The whole of mankind
is in the grip of manifold ills.    Strive, therefore, to save
its life through the wholesome medicine which the almighty
hand of the unerring Physician hath prepared.

And now concerning thy question regarding the nature
of religion. Know thou that they who are truly wise have
likened the world unto the human temple.         As the body
it,

of man needeth a garment to clothe        so the body of man
kind must needs be adorned with the mantle of justice and
wisdom.    Its robe     the Revelation vouchsafed unto     by
is

it

God.     Whenever   this robe hath fulfilled its purpose, the
Almighty will assuredly renew it. For every age requireth
fresh measure of the light of God. Every Divine Revela
a

tion hath been sent down in      manner that befitted the cir
a

cumstances of the age in which        hath appeared.
it

As to thy question regarding the sayings of the leaders
of past religions. Every wise and praiseworthy man will
no doubt eschew such vain and profitless talk.     The in
comparable Creator hath created all men from one same
substance, and hath exalted their reality above the rest
of His creatures.  Success or failure, gain or loss, must,
therefore,   depend   upon   man's   own   exertions.

SELECTED WRITINGS

7. Beware,    0      believers           of God, lest ye be
in the Unity
tempted    to make any distinction between  any of the Mani
festations of His Cause, or to discriminate against the signs
that have accompanied     and proclaimed their Revelation.
This indeed is the true meaning of Divine Unity, if ye be
of them that apprehend and believe this truth.         Be ye
assured, moreover,   that the works and acts of each and
every one of these Manifestations of God, nay whatever
pertaineth  unto them, and whatsoever they may manifest
in the future, are all ordained by God, and are a reflec
tion of His Will and Purpose. Whoso maketh the slightest
possible difference   between their persons,    their words,
their messages, their acts and manners, hath indeed dis
believed in God, hath repudiated     His signs, and betrayed
the Cause of His Messengers.

8. Know      thou that when the Son of Man        (Christ)   yielded
up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great
weeping.  By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity
was infused        all created things.
into                 Its evidences, as wit
nessed    in all             of the earth, are now manifest
the peoples
before thee.   The deepest wisdom which the sages have
uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath
unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced,
the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but
manifestations  of the quickening power released by His
transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent     Spirit.

The Path to God

9. How    wondrous is the unity of the Living, the Ever-
Abiding   God — a unity which is exalted above all limita
tions, that transcendeth the comprehension  of all created
things!   He hath, from everlasting, dwelt in His inacces

of baha'u'llah
sible habitation of holiness and glory, and will unto ever
lasting continue to be enthroned upon the heights of His
independent sovereignty and grandeur. How lofty hath been
His incorruptible Essence, how completely independent of
the knowledge     of all created things, and how immensely
exalted will it remain above the praise of all the inhabitants
of the heavens and the earth!
From the exalted source, and out of the essence of His
favor and bounty, He hath entrusted every created thing
with a sign of His knowledge, so that none of His creatures
may be deprived of its share in expressing, each according
to its capacity and rank, this knowledge.    This sign is the
mirror of His beauty in the world of creation.    The greater
the effort exerted for the refinement of this sublime and
noble mirror, the more faithfully will it be made to reflect
the glory of the names and attributes of God, and reveal
the wonders of His signs and knowledge.         Every created
thing will be enabled (so great is this reflecting power) to
reveal the potentialities of its pre-ordained station, will
recognize its capacity and limitations, and will testify to
the truth that "He, verily, is God; there is none other God
besides Him." . . .

10. The vitality   of men's belief in God is dying out in
every land; nothing short of His wholesome       medicine   can
ever restore it.  The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into
the vitals of human society; what else but the Elixir of
His potent Revelation can cleanse and revive it?         Is it J.
within human power, 0 Hakim, to effect in the constituent
elements of any of the minute and indivisible particles of
matter so complete     a transformation as to transmute     it
into purest gold?      Perplexing and difficult as this may
appear, the still greater task of converting satanic strength
into heavenly power is one that We have been empowered

SELECTED   WRITINGS

to accomplish.   The Force capable of such a transforma
tion transcendeth the potency of the Elixir itself.  The
Word of God, alone, can claim the distinction of being
endowed with the capacity required for so great and far-
reaching   a change.

11. The generations   that have gone on before you —whither
are they fled?    And those round whom in life circled the
fairest and the loveliest of the land, where now are they?
•Profit by their example,     0 people, and be not of them
that are gone astray.

0thers ere long will lay hands on what ye possess, and
enter into your habitations.Incline your ears to My words,
and be not numbered among the foolish.
For every one of you his paramount duty is to choose
for himself that on which no other may infringe and none
usurp from him. Such a thing — and to this the Almighty is
My witness —is the love of God, could ye but perceive it.
Build ye for yourselves     such houses as the rain and floods
can never destroy, which shall protect
you from the changes
and        of this life. This is the instruction of Him
chances
Whom the world hath wronged and forsaken.

12. That the heart is the throne, in which the Revelation
of God the All-Merciful is centered, is attested by the holy
utterances which We have formerly revealed.     Among them
is this saying: "Earth and heaven cannot contain Me; what
can alone contain Me is the heart of him that believeth in
Me, and is faithful to My Cause."       How often hath the
human heart, which is the recipient of the light of God and
the seat of the revelation of the All-Merciful, erred from
Him Who is the Source of that light and the Well Spring
of that revelation.  It is the waywardness of the heart that

of bahaVllah
removeth it far from God, and condemneth it to remoteness
from Him. Those hearts, however, that are aware of His
Presence, are close to Him, and are to be regarded as hav
ing drawn nigh unto His throne.
Consider, moreover, how frequently doth man become
forgetful of his own self, whilst God remaineth, through
His all-encompassing    knowledge,    aware of His creature,
and continueth to shed upon him the manifest radiance of
His glory.   It is evident, therefore, that, in such circum
stances, He is closer to him than his own self.     He will,
indeed, so remain for ever, for, whereas the one true God
knoweth   all things, perceiveth all things, and compre-
hendeth all things, mortal man is prone to err, and is
ignorant of the mysteries that lie enfolded within him. . . .

.13.   Blessed   are they that have soared on the wings of de
tachment     and    attained the station which, as ordained by
God, overshadoweth       the entire      whom neither the
creation,
vain imaginations of the learned, nor the multitude of the
hosts of the earth have succeeded in deflecting from His
Cause.   Who is there among you, 0 people, who will re
nounce the world, and draw nigh unto God, the Lord of all
names?    Where is he to be found who, through the power
of My name that transcendeth all created things, will cast
away the things that men possess, and cling, with all his
might, to the things which God, the Knower of the unseen
and of the seen, hath bidden him observe? Thus hath His
bounty been sent down unto men, His testimony fulfilled,
and His proof shone forth above the Horizon of mercy.
Rich is the prize that shall be won by him who hath be
lieved and exclaimed: "Lauded art Thou, 0 Beloved of
all worlds!   Magnified be Thy name, 0 Thou the Desire
of every understanding heart!"

SELECTED    WRITINGS

14. Tear asunder, in My Name, the veils that have grievous
ly blinded your vision, and, through the power born of
your belief in the unity of God, scatter the idols of vain
imitation.    Enter, then, the holy paradise of the good-
pleasure   of the All-Merciful.  Sanctify your souls from
whatsoever is not of God, and taste ye the sweetness of rest
within the pale of His vast and mighty Revelation, and
beneath the shadow of His supreme and infallible authority.
Suffer not yourselves to be wrapt in the dense veils of your
selfish desires, inasmuch as I have perfected in every one
of you My creation, so that the excellence of My handi
work may be fully revealed unto men. It follows, there
fore, that every man hath been, and will continue to be,
able of himself to appreciate the Beauty of God, the Glori
fied.  Had he not been endowed with such a capacity, how
could he be called to account for his failure?     If, in the
Day when all the peoples of the earth will be gathered
together, any man should, whilst standing in the presence
of God, be asked: "Wherefore hast thou disbelieved in My
Beauty  and turned away from My Self," and if such a man
should reply and say: "Inasmuch as all men have erred,
and none hath been found willing to turn his face to the
Truth, I, too, following their example, have grievously
failed to recognize the Beauty of the Eternal," such a plea
will, assuredly,  be rejected. For the faith of no man can
be    conditioned by any one except himself.

15.   0 My servants!   It behoveth   you to refresh   and revive
your souls through the gracious favors which, in this Divine,
this soul-stirring Springtime, are being showered upon you.
The Day Star of His great glory hath shed its radiance
upon you, and the clouds of His limitless grace have over
shadowed you.      How high the reward of him that hath not

of bahaVllah
deprived himself of so great a bounty, nor failed to recog
nize the beauty of his Best-Beloved in this, His new attire.

Say: 0 people!     The Lamp of God is burning; take
heed, lest the fierce winds of your disobedience extinguish
its light. Now is the time to arise and magnify the Lord,
your God. Strive not after bodily comforts, and keep your
heart pure and stainless.   The Evil 0ne is lying in wait,
ready to entrap you.    Gird yourselves against his wicked
devices, and, led by the light of the name of the one true
God, deliver yourselves from the darkness that surroundeth
you.   Center your thoughts in the Well-Beloved, rather than
in your own selves.

16. Blessed is the man that hath acknowledged   his belief
in God and in His signs, and recognized that "He shall not
be asked of His doings."    Such a recognition hath been
made by God the ornament of every belief, and its very
foundation. Upon it must depend the acceptance of every
it,

goodly deed. Fasten your eyes upon         that haply the
whisperings of the rebellious may not cause you to slip.
Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time
immemorial had been forbidden, and forbid that which
had, at all times, been regarded as lawful, to none  given
is

the right to question His authority.   Whoso will hesitate,
though          be for less than       moment,   should be regarded
it

a

as       transgressor.
a

Whoso hath not recognized this sublime and fundamental
verity, and hath failed to attain this most exalted station,
the winds of doubt will agitate him, and the sayings of the
infidels will distract his soul. He that hath acknowledged
this principle will be endowed with the most perfect con
stancy.

SELECTED   WRITINGS

The Paradise of His Presence
17. Release yourselves,   0 nightingales of God, from the
thorns and brambles of wretchedness and misery, and wing
your flight to the rose-garden of unfading splendor.       0
My friends that dwell upon the dust!        Haste forth unto
your celestial habitation. Announce unto yourselves the
joyful tidings: "He Who is the Best-Beloved is come! He
hath crowned Himself with the glory of God's Revelation,
and hath unlocked to the face of men the doors of His
ancient Paradise."    Let all eyes rejoice, and let every ear
be gladdened, for now is the time to gaze on His beauty,
now is the fit time to hearken to His voice. Proclaim unto
every longing lover: 'Behold, your Well-Beloved hath come
among men!" and to the messengers of the Monarch of
love impart the tidings: "Lo, the Adored 0ne hath appeared
arrayed in the fullness of His glory!" 0 lovers of His
beauty!    Turn the anguish of your separation from Him
into the joy of an everlasting reunion, and let the sweet
ness of His presence dissolve the bitterness of your re
moteness from His court.
Behold how the manifold grace of God, which is being
showered   from the clouds of Divine glory, hath, in this
day, encompassed the world.        For whereas in days past
every lover besought and searched after his Beloved, it is
the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers and
is inviting them to attain His presence.      Take heed lest
ye forfeit so precious a favor; beware lest ye belittle so
remarkable    a token of His grace.     Abandon not the in
corruptible benefits, and be not content with that which
perisheth.   Lift up the veil that obscureth your vision, and
dispel the darkness with which it is enveloped, that ye may
gaze on the naked beauty of the Beloved's face, may behold
that which no eye hath beheld, and hear that which no
ear hath   heard.

of bahaVllah
Hear Me, ye mortal birds!         In the Rose Garden of
changeless   splendor a Flower hath begun to bloom, com
pared to which every other flower is but a thorn, and be
fore the brightness    of Whose glory the very essence of
beauty must pale and wither. Arise, therefore, and, with
the whole enthusiasm of your hearts, with all the eagerness
of your souls, the full fervor of your will, and the concen
trated efforts of your entire being, strive to attain the para
dise of His presence, and endeavor to inhale the fragrance
of the incorruptible Flower, to breathe the sweet savors of
holiness, and to obtain a portion of this perfume of celestial
glory. Whoso followeth this counsel will break his chains
asunder, will taste the abandonment        of enraptured  love,
will attain unto his heart's desire, and will surrender his
soul into the hands of his Beloved.       Bursting through his
cage, he will, even as the bird of the spirit, wing his flight
to his holy and everlasting nest.

18.   0 My brother!    When a true seeker determineth        to
take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowl
edge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse
his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner
mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired
knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic
fancy.   He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary
of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement,
and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and
clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral       attachments.    He
must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or
hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him
to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even
as thou dost witness in this Day how most of the people,
because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal
Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments     of the Divine

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mysteries,   and,   shepherdless,    are   roaming   through   the
wilderness   of oblivion and error.
That seeker must, at all times, put his trust in God, must
renounce   the peoples of the earth, must detach himself
from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the
Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above
any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every
trace of pride and vain-glory, must cling unto patience and
resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For
the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a
deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas
the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The
force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects
of the latter endureth a century.
That seeker should, also, regard backbiting as grievous
error, and keep himself aloof from its dominion, inasmuch
as backbiting quencheth the light of the heart, and extin-
guisheth the life of the soul.   He should be content with
little, and be freed from all inordinate desire.   He should
treasure the companionship of them that have renounced
the world, and regard avoidance of boastful and worldly
people a precious benefit.    At the dawn of every day he
should commune with God, and, with all his soul, persevere
in the quest of his Beloved.      He should consume every
wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention,
and, with the swiftness of lightning, pass by all else save
Him. He should succor the dispossessed, and never with
hold his favor from the destitute.     He should show kind
ness to animals, how much more unto his fellow-man, to
him who is endowed with the power of utterance.            He
should not hesitate to offer up his life for his Beloved, nor
allow the censure of the people to turn him away from the
Truth. He should not wish for others that which he doth
not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth not

of bahaVllah
fulfil. With all his heart he should avoid fellowship with
evil-doers, and pray for the remission   of their sins.   He
should forgive the sinful, and never despise his low estate,
for none knoweth what his own end shall be. How often
hath a sinner attained, at the hour of death, to the essence
of faith, and, quaffing the immortal draught, hath taken
his flight unto the Concourse on high!      And how often
hath a devout believer, at the hour of his soul's ascension,
been so changed as to fall into the nethermost fire!
0ur purpose in revealing these convincing and               weighty
utterances                upon the seeker that he should
is to impress
regard all else beside God as transient, and count all things
save Him, Who is the 0bject of all adoration, as utter
nothingness.
These      are among   the attributes   of the exalted,    and con
stitute the hall-mark of the spiritually-minded.             They have
already   been mentioned in connection with the requirements
of the wayfarers that tread the path of Positive Knowl
edge. When the detached wayfarer and sincere seeker hath
fulfilled these essential conditions, then and only then can
he be called a true seeker.     Whensoever    he hath fulfilled
the conditions implied in the verse: "Whoso maketh efforts
for Us," he shall enjoy the blessings conferred by the words:
"In 0ur Ways shall We assuredly guide him."
Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of
longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of
rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker's heart,
and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his
soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of
doubts and misgivings be dissipated,    and the lights of
knowledge and certitude envelop his being.     At that hour
will the Mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the
Spirit, shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the
morn, and, through the trumpet-blast    of knowledge, will

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awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber
of heedlessness.   Then will the manifold favors and out
pouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer
such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself
endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a
new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the
universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the
soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will perceive within
every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of abso
lute certitude.  He will discover in all things the mysteries
of Divine Revelation, and the evidences of an everlasting
Manifestation. . . .
When the channel of the human soul is cleansed of all
worldly and impeding attachments, it will unfailingly per
ceive the breath of the Beloved across immeasurable    dis
tances, and will, led by its perfume, attain and enter the
City of Certitude. . . .
They that valiantly   labor in quest of God, will, when
once they have renounced    all else but Him, be so attached
and wedded unto that City, that a moment's separation from
it would to them be unthinkable. They will hearken unto
infallible proofs from the Hyacinth of that assembly, and
will receive the surest testimonies from the beauty of its
Rose, and the melody of its Nightingale. 0nce in about a
thousand years shall this City be renewed and readorned.

That City is none other than the Word of God revealed
in every age and dispensation.    In the days of Moses it
was the Pentateuch;  in the days of Jesus, the Gospel; in
the days of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, the Qur'an;
in this day, the Bayan; and in the Dispensation of Him
Whom God will make manifest, His own Book —the Book
unto which all the Books of former Dispensations    must
needs be referred, the Book that standeth amongst them
all transcendent and supreme.

of bahaVllah
19. Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him
with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor,
an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the
needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge.    Be fair
in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.       Be unjust
to no man, and show all meekness to all men.        Be as a
lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrow
ful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an
upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.       Let
integrity and uprightness   distinguish all thine acts.    Be
a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower
of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a
guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament
to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity,
a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to
the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justics, a
luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of
the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge,          a
sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wis
dom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a
fruit upon the tree of humility.

20. Beautify your tongues,   0 people,with truthfulness, and
adorn   your souls with the ornament   of honesty.   Beware,
0 people, that ye deal not treacherously with any one. Be
ye the trustees of God amongst His creatures, and the em
blems of His generosity    amidst His people.      They that
follow their lusts and corrupt inclinations, have erred and
dissipated  their efforts. They, indeed, are of the lost.
Strive, 0 people, that your eyes may be directed towards
the mercy of God, that your hearts may be attuned to His
wondrous remembrance, that your souls may rest confident
ly upon His grace and bounty, that your feet may tread
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the path of His good-pleasure.         Such are the counsels which
I bequeath      unto    you.   Would    that ye might follow My
counsels!

21. Gird     up the loins of thine endeavor,that haply thou
mayest         thy neighbor to the law of God, the Most
guide
Merciful.   Such an act, verily, excelleth all other acts in
the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the Most High. Such
must be thy steadfastness in the Cause of God, that no
earthly thing whatsoever will have the power to deter thee
from thy duty.    Though the powers of earth be leagued
against thee, though all men dispute with thee, thou must
remain      unshaken.
Be unrestrained  as the wind, while carrying the Message
of Him Who hath caused the Dawn of Divine Guidance
to break.   Consider, how the wind, faithful to that which
God hath ordained, bloweth upon all the regions of the
earth, be they inhabited or desolate.   Neither the sight of
desolation, nor the evidences of prosperity, can either pain
or please it. It bloweth in every direction, as bidden by
its Creator. So should be every one that claimeth to be a
lover of the one true God. It behoveth him to fix his gaze
upon the fundamentals of His Faith, and to labor diligently
for its propagation. Wholly for the sake of God he should
proclaim His Message, and with that same spirit accept
whatever response his words may evoke in his hearer.      He
who shall accept and believe, shall receive his reward;
and he who shall turn away, shall receive none other than
his own punishment.

22. Do thou         beseech God to enable    thee to remain   stead
fast in this path,      and to aid thee to guide    the peoples   of
the world to Him Who is the manifest          and sovereign   Ruler,
Who hath revealed Himself in a distinct attire, Who giveth

of bahaVllah
utterance  to a Divine and specific Message.    This is the
essence  of faith and certitude.   They that are the wor
shipers of the idol which their imaginations have carved,
and who call it Inner Reality, such men are in truth ac
counted among the heathen.     To this hath the All-Merciful
borne witness in His Tablets. He, verily, is the All-Know
ing, the All-Wise.

23. The ordinances  of God have been sent down from the
heaven of His most august Revelation.  All must diligently
observe them. Man's supreme distinction, his real advance
ment, his final victory, have always depended, and will
continue to depend, upon them.   Whoso keepeth the com
mandments of God shall attain everlasting   felicity.
A twofold obligation     resteth upon him who hath recog
nized   the Day Spring   of the Unity of God, and acknowl
edged the truth of Him Who is the Manifestation of His
oneness.   The first is steadfastness in His love, such stead
fastness that neither the clamor of the enemy nor the claims
of the idle pretender can deter him from cleaving unto
Him Who is the Enternal Truth, a steadfastness that taketh
no account of them whatever.       The second is strict observ
ance of the laws He hath prescribed — laws which He hath
always ordained, and will continue to ordain, unto men,
and through which the truth may be distinguished and
separated from falsehood.

24. By My Beauty!    Nothing whatsoever shall, in this Day,
be accepted from you, though ye continue to worship and
prostrate yourselves before God throughout the eternity
of His dominion. For all things are dependent upon His
Will, and the worth of all acts is conditioned upon His
acceptance and pleasure.    The whole universe is but a
handful of clay in His grasp.  Unless one recognizes God

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and loves Him, his cry shall not be heard       by God in this
Day.      This   is   of the essence of His Faith, did ye but
know it.

25. Know assuredly         that just as thou
firmly believest that
the Word of God, exalted          be His glory, endureth
for ever,
thou must, likewise, believe with undoubting faith that its
meaning    can never      be exhausted.   They who are its
appointed   interpreters,  they whose hearts are the reposi
tories of its secrets, are, however, the only ones who can
comprehend     its manifold wisdom.     Whoso, while reading
the Sacred Scriptures, is tempted to choose therefrom what
ever may suit him with which to challenge the authority
of the Representative of God among men, is indeed, as one
dead, though to outward seeming he may walk and con
verse with his neighbors, and share with them their food
and their drink. . . .

We beseech God to strengthen         thee with His power, and
enable    thee to     recognize   Him Who    is the Source of all
knowledge,  that thou mayest detach thyself from all human
learning, for, "what would it profit any man to strive after
learning when he hath already found and recognized Him
Who is the 0bject of all knowledge?" Cleave to the Root
of Knowledge, and to Him Who is the Fountain thereof,
that thou mayest find thyself independent of all who claim
to be well versed in human learning, and whose claim no
clear proof, nor the testimony of any enlightening book,
can support.

0 My servants!
if,

26.                   Sorrow not     in these days and on
this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have
been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful
joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you.
Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to

of bahaVllah
your eyes.    You are          by Him, in this world and
destined
hereafter,            of their benefits, to share in their
to partake
joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To
each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain.

27. Know    thou for a certainty that whoso disbelieveth in
God  is neither trustworthy nor truthful.  This, indeed, is
the truth, the undoubted    truth. He that acteth treacher
ously towards God will, also, act treacherously towards his
king. Nothing whatever can deter such a man from evil,
nothing can hinder him from betraying his neighbor, noth
ing can induce him to walk uprightly.

28. Intone, 0 My servant, the verses of God that have been
received  by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh
unto   Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle
thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso
reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed
by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter
abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth,
and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb.

Progress of the Soul

29. Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation
from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth
the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither
the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and
chances of this world, can alter.     It will endure as long
as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and
power will endure.    It will manifest the signs of God and
His attributes, and will reveal His loving kindness and
bounty.    The movement of My Pen is stilled when it
attempteth to befittingly describe the loftiness and glory

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of so exalted a station. The honor with which the Hand
of Mercy will invest the soul is such as no tongue can
adequately reveal, nor any other earthly agency describe.
Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation
from
the   body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the
peoples of the world.     Such a soul liveth and moveth in
accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the
all-highest Paradise.

30. And now concerning thy question    whether human souls
continue to be conscious one of another after their separa
tion from the body. Know thou that the souls of the people
of Baha, who have entered and been established within
the Crimson Ark, shall associate and commune intimately
one with another, and shall be so closely associated in their
lives, their aspirations, their aims and strivings as to be
even as one soul. They are indeed the ones who are well-
informed, who are keen-sighted, and who are endued with
understanding.    Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is
the All-Knowing,   the All- Wise.

31. Know thou that all men have been created in the nature
made by God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Unto each
one hath been prescribed a pre-ordained measure, as de
creed in God's mighty and guarded Tablets.   All that which
ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as
a    result of your own volition.

32. Know thou that the soul of man is exalted above, and
is independent of all infirmities of body or mind. That a
sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hind
rances that interpose themselves between his soul and his
body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any bodily
ailments.   Consider the light of the lamp. Though an

of baha'u'llah
external object may interfere with its radiance, the light
itself continueth to shine with undiminished power.      In
like manner, every malady afflicting the body of man is an
impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its
inherent might and power. When it leaveth the body, how
ever, it will evince such ascendancy, and reveal such in
fluence as no force on earth can equal.   Every pure, every
refined and sanctified soul will be endowed with tremend
ous power, and shall rejoice with exceeding gladness.

Attainment of Peace and Tranquillity

33. The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day
by day.  Its face is turned towards waywardness and un
belief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now
would not be meet and seemly.    Its perversity will long
continue.  And when the appointed hour is come, there
shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of
mankind to quake.    Then, and only then, will the Divine
Standard  be  unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise
warble its melody.

34. The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these
words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one
branch.  Deal ye one with another with the utmost love
and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship.      He Who
is the Day Star of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful
is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.
The one true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself
testifieth to the truth of these words.
Exert yourselves that ye may attain this transcendent
and most sublime station, the station that can insure the
protection and security of all mankind. This goal excelleth
every other goal, and this aspiration is the monarch of all
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aspirations. So long, however, as the thick clouds of op
pression,  which obscure the day star of justice, remain
undispelled, it would be difficult for the glory of this sta
tion to be unveiled to men's eyes. . . .

35.   0 contending   peoples  and kindreds of the earth!   Set
your faces towards    unity, and let the radiance of its light
shine upon you.     Gather ye together, and for the sake of
God resolve to root out whatever is the source of conten
tion amongst you. Then will the effulgence of the world's
great Luminary envelop the whole earth, and its inhabitants
become the citizens of one city, and the occupants of one
and the same throne.      This wronged 0ne hath, ever since
the early days of His life, cherished none other desire but
this, and will continue to entertain no wish except this
wish.    There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of
the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their in
spiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects
of one God. The difference between the ordinances under
which they abide should be attributed to the varying re
quirements and exigencies of the age in which they were
revealed.    All of them, except a few which are the out
come of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are
a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with
the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain
imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave
unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you.

36. The Great    Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites
of the peace and tranquillity of the world and the advance
ment of its peoples, hath written : The time must come when
the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-
embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized.
it,

The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend     and,

OF    bahaVllah
participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways
and means as will lay the foundations of the world's Great
Peace     amongst     men.      Such    a   peace   demandeth     that   the
Great   Powers should resolve, for the sake of the tran
quillity of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled
among themselves.      Should any king take up arms against
another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him.         If
this be done, the nations of the world will no longer require
any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the
security of their realms and of maintaining internal order
within their territories. This will insure the peace and
composure    of every people, government and nation.

37. Now that ye have refused                the Most Great
hold       Peace,
ye    fast unto   this, the Lesser      Peace,      in
that haply ye may
some degree better your own condition and that of your
dependents.
0 rulers of the earth!        Be reconciled among          yourselves,
that ye may       need no more         armaments      save in a measure
to safeguard      your territories and dominions. Beware lest
ye disregard      the counsel  of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.
Be united,     0 kings of the earth,           for thereby   will   the
tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples
find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend.    Should any
one among      you take up arms against another, rise ye all
against    him, for this is naught but manifest justice.

38.  0 ye the elected representatives of the people in every
land! Take ye counsel together, and let your concern be
only for that which profiteth mankind, and bettereth the
condition thereof, if ye be of them that scan heedfully.
Regard the world as the human body which, though at its
creation whole and perfect, hath been afflicted, through
various causes, with grave disorders and maladies.       Not

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for one day did it gain ease, nay its sickness waxed more
severe, as it fell under the treatment  of ignorant physicians,
who gave full rein to their personal desires, and have erred

if,
grievously. And          at one time, through the care of an
able physician,      member of that body was healed, the rest

a
remained   afflicted   as before.   Thus informeth you the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
it,
We behold     in this day, at the mercy of rulers so drunk
with pride that they cannot discern clearly their own best
advantage, much less recognize      Revelation so bewildering

a
and challenging as this.    And whenever any one of them
hath striven to improve its condition, his motive hath been
his own gain, whether confessedly so or not; and the un-
worthiness  of this motive hath limited his power to heal
or cure.
That which the Lord hath         ordained as the sovereign
remedy   and mightiest               for the healing of all the
instrument
world    the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause,
is

one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except
through the power of     skilled, an all-powerful and inspired
a

Physician.   This, verily,     the truth, and all else naught
is

but error.

39.   All men have been created     to carry forward an ever-
advancing    civilization.The Almighty beareth Me witness:
To act like the beasts of the field     unworthy of man. Those
is

virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance,    mercy, com
passion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and
kindreds of the earth.      Say:      friends! Drink your fill

from this crystal stream that floweth through the heavenly
grace of Him Who        the Lord of Names.      Let others par
is

take of its waters in My name, that the leaders of men in
every land may fully recognize the purpose for which the

of bahaVllah
Eternal Truth hath been revealed, and the reason for which
they themselves have been created.

40. The   All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the
pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and pre-
scribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy.     Every age
hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspira
tion. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflic
tions can never be the same as that which a subsequent
age may require.    Be anxiously concerned with the needs
of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its
exigencies   and requirements.
We can well perceive how the whole human race is en
compassed    with great, with incalculable afflictions.   We
see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and dis
illusioned.   They that are intoxicated by self-conceit have
interposed  themselves between it and the Divine and in
fallible Physician.   Witness how they have entangled all
men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices.
They can neither discover the cause of the disease, nor have
they any knowledge of the remedy.       They have conceived
the straight to be crooked, and have imagined their friend
an enemy.

41. How vast is the tabernacle    of the Cause of God!    It
hath   overshadowed   all the peoples and kindreds of the
earth, and will, erelong, gather together the whole of man
kind beneath its shelter.   Thy day of service is now come.
Countless Tablets bear the testimony of the bounties vouch
safed unto thee. Arise for the triumph of My Cause, and,
through the power of thine utterance, subdue the hearts
of men. Thou must show forth that which will insure the
peace and the well-being of the miserable and the down
trodden.   Gird up the loins of thine endeavor, that per

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chance thou mayest release the captive from his chains,             and
enable   him to attain unto true liberty.

is,
Justice    in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity
groaneth      beneath the yoke of oppression.  The thick clouds
of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and en
veloped its peoples.     Through the movement of 0ur Pen
of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent
0rdainer, breathed      new life into every human frame, and
instilled into every word a       fresh potency.   All created

a
things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regenera
tion.   This     the most great, the most joyful tidings im
is

parted by the pen of this wronged One to mankind. Where
fore fear ye,      My well-beloved ones! Who           that can

is
it
dismay you?         touch of moisture sufficeth to dissolve the
A

hardened    clay out of which this perverse generation

is
molded.    The mere act of your gathering together       enough

is
to scatter the forces of these vain and worthless people. . . .

Every man of insight will, in this day, readily admit
that the counsels  which the Pen of this wronged 0ne hath
revealed constitute the supreme animating power for the
advancement of the world and the exaltation of its peoples.
Arise,    people, and, by the power of God's might, resolve

to gain the victory over your own selves, that haply the
whole earth may be freed and sancified from its servitude
to the gods of its idle fancies — gods that have inflicted such
loss upon, and are responsible       for the misery of, their
wretched worshipers.      These idols form the obstacle that
impeded man in his efforts to advance in the path of per
fection. We cherish the hope that the Hand of Divine power
may lend its assistance to mankind, and deliver        from its
it

state of grievous abasement.
In one of the Tablets these words have         been revealed:
people of God!    Do not busy yourselves in your own

concerns; let your thoughts be fixed upon that which will

of bahaVllah
rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts
and souls of men. This can best be achieved through pure
and holy deeds, through a virtuous life and a goodly be
havior. Valiant acts will insure the triumph of this Cause,
and a saintly character will reinforce its power.       Cleave
unto righteousness, 0 people of Baha!      This, verily, is the
commandment      which this wronged 0ne hath given unto
you, and the first choice of His unrestrained Will for every
one of you.

0 friends!      It behoveth you to refresh and revive your
souls   through the gracious favors which in this Divine,
this soul-stirring Springtime are being showered upon you.
The Day Star of His great glory hath shed its radiance upon
you, and the clouds of His limitless grace have over
shadowed you.        How high the reward of him that hath
not deprived himself of so great a bounty, nor failed to
recognize the beauty of his Best-Beloved      in this, His new
attire.   Watch over yourselves, for the Evil One is lying
in wait, ready to entrap you.     Gird yourselves against his
wicked devices, and, led by the light of the name of the
All-Seeing God, make your escape from the darkness that
surroundeth you.        Let your vision be world-embracing,
rather than confined to your own self.       The Evil 0ne is
he that hindereth      the rise and obstructeth   the spiritual
progress of the children of men.

It is   incumbent upon every man, in this Day, to hold
fast unto   whatsoever will promote the interests, and exalt
the station, of all nations and just governments.      Through
each and every one of the verses which the Pen of the Most
High hath revealed, the doors of love and unity have been
unlocked and flung open to the face of men.           We have
erewhile declared — and 0ur Word is the truth — : "Consort
with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness
and fellowship."   Whatsoever hath led the children of men

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to shun one another,   and hath caused dissensions   and divi
sions amongst them, hath, through the revelation of these
words, been nullified and abolished.   From the heaven
of God's Will, and for the purpose of ennobling the world
of being and of elevating the minds and souls of men,
hath been sent down that which is the most effective instru
ment for the education    of the whole human race.       The
highest essence and most perfect expression of whatsoever
the peoples of old have either said or written hath, through
this most potent Revelation, been sent down from the heaven
of the Will of the All-Possessing, the Ever-Abiding God.
0f old it hath been revealed: "Love of one's country is an
element of the Faith of God."      The Tongue of Grandeur
hath, however, in the day of His manifestation proclaimed:
"It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his
who loveth the world."     Through the power released by
these exalted words He hath lent a fresh impulse, and set
a new direction, to the birds of men's hearts, and hath
obliterated every trace of restriction and limitation from
God's holy Book.
0 people of Justice!   Be as brilliant as the light, and
as splendid as the fire that blazed in the Burning Bush.
The brightness of the fire of your love will no doubt fuse
and unify the contending peoples and kindreds of the earth,
whilst the fierceness of the flame of enmity and hatred can
not but result in strife and ruin.  We beseech God that He
may shield His creatures from the evil designs of His
enemies.   He verily hath power over all things.

All-praise be to the one true God — exalted be His glory
— inasmuch    as He hath, through the Pen of the Most High,
unlocked the doors of men's hearts.      Every verse which
this Pen hath revealed is a bright and shining portal that
discloseth the glories of a saintly and pious life, of pure
and stainless deeds.   The summons and the message which

of baha'u'llah
We gave were never intended to reach or to benefit one
land or one people only. Mankind in its entirety must
firmly adhere to whatsoever hath been revealed and vouch
safed unto it. Then and only then will it attain unto true
liberty. The whole earth is illuminated with the resplend
ent glory of God's Revelation.

42. The 0ne true     God beareth Me witness, and His crea
tures   will testify,                      did I allow Myself
that not for a moment
to be hidden from the eyes of men, nor did I consent to
shield My person from their injury.        Before the face of
all men I have arisen, and bidden them fulfil My pleasure.
My object is none other than the betterment of the world
and the tranquillity of its peoples.   The well-being of man
kind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and
until its unity is firmly established.   This unity can never
be achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the
Most High hath revealed are suffered to pass unheeded.
Through the power of the words He hath uttered the
whole of the human race can be illumined with the light
of unity, and the remembrance of His Name is able to set
on fire the hearts of all men, and burn away the veils that
intervene between them and His glory.     0ne righteous act
is endowed with a potency that can so elevate the dust as to
cause it to pass beyond the heaven of heavens.   It can tear
every bond asunder, and hath the power to restore the
force that hath spent itself and vanished. . . .

43. The   purpose of the one true God, exalted be His
Glory, in revealing Himself unto men is to lay bare those
gems that lie hidden within the mine of their true and in
most selves.  That the divers communions of the earth, and
the manifold systems of religious belief, should never be
allowed to foster the feelings of animosity among men, is,

SELECTED   WRITINGS

in this Day, of the essence of the Faith of God and His
Religion.   These principles and laws, these firmly-estab
lished and mighty systems, have proceeded from one Source,
and are the rays of one Light.   That they differ one from
another is to be attributed to the varying requirements  of
the ages in which they were promulgated.
Gird up the loins of your endeavor, 0 people of Baha,
that haply the tumult of religious dissension and strife that
agitateth the peoples of the earth may be stilled, that every
trace of it may be completely obliterated. For the love of
God, and them that serve Him, arise to aid this most sub
lime and momentous Revelation. Religious fanaticism and
hatred  are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can
quench.    The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver
mankind from this desolating affliction.

44. The affairs of the people             in charge of the
are placed
men of the House of Justice of God.  They are the trustees
of God among His servants and the day springs of command
in His countries.
0 people of God! The trainer of the world is Justice,
for it consisteth of two pillars: Reward and Retribution.
These two pillars are two fountains for the life of the people
of the world. Inasmuch as for each time and day a par
ticular decree and order is expedient, affairs are therefore
entrusted to the ministers of the House of Justice, so that
they may execute that which they deem advisable         at the
time. Those souls who arise to serve the Cause sincerely to
please God will be inspired by the divine, invisible inspira
tions.  It is incumbent upon all to obey.
Administrative affairs are all in charge of the House of
Justice; but acts of worship must be observed according as
they are revealed in the Book. . . . The ministers of the
House of Justice must promote the Most Great Peace, in

of baha'u'llah
order that the world may be freed from onerous expendi
ture.  This matter is obligatory and indispensable; for
warfare and conflict are the foundation of trouble and
distress.

45. Whoso layeth    claim to   a    Revelation direct from God,
ere the expiration of a full thousand      years, such a man is
assuredly a lying impostor. We pray God that He may
graciously assist him to retract and repudiate such claim.
Should he repent, God will, no doubt, forgive him. If,
however, he persisteth in his error, God will, assuredly,
send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible,
indeed, is God in punishing!     Whosoever interpreteth  this
verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the
Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all
created things.  Fear God, and follow not your idle fancies.
Nay, rather follow the bidding of your Lord, the Almighty,
the All-Wise.

The Covenant Thou Hast Established
46. Glorified  art Thou, 0 my God!       Thou knowest that
my             in revealing Thy Cause hath been to reveal
sole aim
Thee and not myself, and to manifest Thy glory rather than
my glory. In Thy path, and to attain Thy pleasure, I have
scorned rest, joy, delight. At all times and under all con
ditions my gaze hath been fixed on Thy precepts, and mine
eyes bent upon the things Thou hast bidden me observe in
Thy Tablets. I have wakened every morning to the light
of Thy praise and Thy remembrance, and reached every
evening inhaling the fragrances of Thy mercy.
And when the entire creation was stirred up, and the
whole earth was convulsed, and the sweet savors of Thy
name, the All-Praised, had almost ceased to breathe over
Thy realms, and the winds of Thy mercy had well-nigh

SELECTED WRITINGS

been stilled throughout Thy dominions, Thou didst, through
the power of Thy might, raise me up among Thy servants,
and bid me to show forth Thy sovereignty   amidst Thy
people. Therefore I arose before all Thy creatures, strength
ened by Thy help and Thy power, and summoned all the
multitudes unto Thee, and announced unto all Thy servants
Thy favors and Thy gifts, and invited them to turn towards
this 0cean, every drop of the waters of which crieth out,
proclaiming unto all that are in heaven and on earth that
He is, in truth, the Fountain of all life, and the Quickener
of the entire creation, and the 0bject of the adoration of all
worlds, and the Best-Beloved of every understanding heart,
and the Desire of all them that are nigh unto Thee.

Though the fierce winds of the hatred of the wicked doers
blew and beat on this Lamp, He was, at no time, in His
love for Thy beauty, hindered from shedding the fragrance
of His light. As the transgressions committed against Thee
waxed    greater   and   greater,    my   eagerness   to   reveal Thy
Cause    correspondingly     increased,    and   as the    tribulations
deepened — and to this Thy glory beareth me witness — a
fuller measure of Thy sovereignty and of Thy power was
vouchsafed by me unto Thy creatures.

And finally, I was cast by the transgressors    into the
prison-city of 'Akka, and my kindred were made captives
in Baghdad.    The power of Thy might beareth me witness,
0 my God! Every trouble that hath touched me in Thy
path hath added to my joy and increased my gladness.      I
swear by Thee, 0 Thou Who art the King of Kings! None
of the kings of the earth hath power to hinder me from
remembering    Thee or from extolling Thy virtues.     Were
they to be leagued — as they have been leagued — against me,
and   to brandish their sharpest  swords and most afflictive
spears   against   me,   I would not hesitate
to magnify Thy
name before    all them that are in Thy heaven and on Thy

of baha'i/llah
earth.     Nay rather,   I would cry out and say: "This, 0 my
Beloved,  is my face which I have offered up for Thy face,
and this is my spirit which I have sacrificed for Thy spirit,
and this is my blood that seetheth in my veins, in its longing
to be shed for love of Thee and in Thy path."
Though — as Thou beholdest me, 0 my God —I be dwell
ing in a place within whose walls no voice can be heard
except the sound of the echo, though all the gates of ease
and comfort be shut against us, and thick darkness appear
to have encompassed us on every side, yet my soul hath
been so inflamed by its love for Thee, that nothing what
ever can either quench the fire of its love or abate the con
suming flame of its desire.   Lifting up its voice, it crieth
aloud amidst Thy servants, and calleth them, at all times
and under all conditions, unto Thee.
I beseech  Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to open the
eyes  of Thy servants, that they may behold Thee shining
above the horizon of Thy majesty and glory, and that they
may not be hindered by the croaking of the raven from
hearkening to the voice of the Dove of Thy sublime one
ness, nor be prevented by the corrupt waters from partak
ing of the pure wine of Thy bounty and the everlasting
streams of Thy gifts.
Gather                      around this Divine Law, the
them, then, together
covenant   of which Thou hast established   with all Thy
prophets and Thy messengers, and Whose ordinances Thou
hast written down in Thy Tablets and Thy Scriptures, raise
them up, moreover, to such heights as will enable them to
perceive Thy call.
Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee.         Thou art,
verily, the Inaccessible, the All-Glorious.
-- Selected Writings of Baha'u'llah (Used by permission of the curator)