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195
O thou exalted bough of the divine Lote-Tree!
...When thou art disdained and rejected by the wicked
doers be not cast down; and at the power and stiffneckedness
of the presumptuous be neither vexed nor sick at heart;
for such is the way of heedless souls, from time out of mind.
`O the misery of men! No Messenger cometh unto them
but they laugh Him to scorn!'1
Indeed, the attacks and the obstructiveness of the ignorant
but cause the Word of God to be exalted, and spread His
signs and tokens far and wide. Were it not for this opposition
by the disdainful, this obduracy of the slanderers, this
shouting from the pulpits, this crying and wailing of great
and small alike, these accusations of unbelief levelled by the
ignorant, this uproar from the foolish--how could news of
the advent of the Primal Point and the bright dawning of
the Day-Star of Bahá ever have reached to east and west?
How else could the planet have been rocked from pole to
pole? How else could Persia have become the focal point of
scattering splendours, and Asia Minor the radiating heart
of the beauty of the Lord? However else could the flame
of the Manifestation have spread into the south? By what
means could the cries of God have been heard in the far
north? How else could His summons have been heard in
the continents of America and of Africa the dark? How else
could the cock-crow of Heaven have penetrated those ears?
How else could the sweet parrots of India have come upon
this sugar, or nightingales have lifted up their warblings out
of the land of `Iráq? What else could set the east and west
to dancing, how else could this Consecrated Spot become
the throne of the Beauty of God? How else could Sinai
behold this burning brightness, how could the Advent's
flame adorn that mount? How else could the Holy Land be
made the footstool of God's beauty, and the holy vale of
Towa2 become the site of excellence and grace, the sacred
spot where Moses put off His shoes? How could the breaths
of heaven be carried across the Vale of Holiness, how could
the sweet-scented, airy streams that blow out of the Abhá
gardens ever be perceived by those that dwell on the
Verdant Isle? How else could the pledges of the Prophets,
the joyous tidings of the holy Seers of old, the stirring
promises given unto this Sacred Place by the Manifestations
of God, ever have been fulfilled?
How else could the Tree of Anísá have been planted here,
the flag of the Testament be flown, the intoxicating cup of
the Covenant be lifted to these lips? All these blessings and
bestowals, the very means of proclaiming the Faith, have
come about through the scorn of the ignorant, the opposition
of the foolish, the stubbornness of the dull-witted, the
violence of the aggressor. Had it not been for these things,
the news of the Báb's advent would not, to this day, have
reached even into lands hard by. Wherefore we should
never grieve over the blindness of the unwitting, the attacks
of the foolish, the hostility of the low and base, the heedlessness
of the divines, the charges of infidelity brought
against us by the empty of mind. Such too was their way in
ages past, nor would it be thus if they were of those who
know; but they are benighted, and they come not close to
understanding what is told them.3
Wherefore doth it befit thyself, an offshoot of the Holy
Tree of God, branched out from that mighty Trunk--and
it behoveth ourselves as well--so to burn, through the
sustaining grace of the Ancient Beauty--may my life be
offered up for His Most Holy Shrine--with this kindled
flame out of heaven, that we will light the fire of God's love
from pole to pole. Let us take for our example the great and
sacred Tree of the exalted Báb--may my life be offered up
for Him. Like Him let us bare our breasts to the shafts of
agony, like Him make our hearts to be targets for the spears
decreed by God. Let us, like candles, burn away; as moths,
let us scorch our wings; as the field larks, vent our plaintive
cries; as the nightingales, burst forth in lamentations.
Even as the clouds let us shed down tears, and as the
lightning flashes let us laugh at our coursings through east
and west. By day, by night, let us think but of spreading
the sweet savours of God. Let us not keep on forever with
our fancies and illusions, with our analysing and interpreting
and circulating of complex dubieties. Let us put aside all
thoughts of self; let us close our eyes to all on earth, let us
neither make known our sufferings nor complain of our
wrongs. Rather let us become oblivious of our own selves,
and drinking down the wine of heavenly grace, let us cry
out our joy, and lose ourselves in the beauty of the All-Glorious.
O thou Afnán of the divine Lote-Tree! We must strive,
each one of us, to become as fecund boughs and to yield an
ever sweeter and more wholesome fruit, that the branch
may prove itself to be a continuation of the root, and the
part be in harmony with the whole. It is my hope that out
of the bounty of the Greatest Name and the loving kindness
of the Primal Point--may my soul be offered up for Them
both--we shall become the means of exalting the Word of
God around the world; that we may ever render services
unto the Source of our Cause and spread over all the canopy
of the true and holy zeal of the Lord. That from over the
fields of grace, we may make zephyrs to blow, bringing to
man the sweet scents that come from the gardens of God.
That we may make of this world the Abhá Paradise, and
change this nether place into the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is true that every one of God's servants, and in particular
those who are on fire with the Faith, have been
allotted this task of servitude to Almighty God; still, the
duty imposed upon us is greater than that which hath been
laid upon the rest. To Him do we look for grace and favour
and strength.
All praise and thanksgiving be unto the Blessed Beauty,
for calling into action the armies of His Abhá Kingdom, and
sending forth to us His never-interrupted aid, dependable as
the rising stars. In every region of the earth hath He supported
this single, lonely servant, at every moment hath He
made known to me the signs and tokens of His love. He
hath cast into a stupor all those who are clinging to their
vain illusions, and made them infamous in the sight of high
and low. He hath caused those who run after their fads and
fancies to become objects of general reproach, and hath
exposed the arrogant to public view; He hath made those
of the friends who proved infirm of faith to serve as a
warning to every beholder, and hath caused the leaders of
those who waver to love but themselves and sink down in
self-conceit. Meanwhile, by the power of His might, He
hath made this broken-winged bird to rise up before all
who dwell on earth. He hath shattered the serried ranks of
the rebellious, and hath given the victory to the hosts of
salvation, and breathed into the hearts of those who stand
firm in the Covenant and Testament the breath of everlasting
life.
Convey thou the greetings of Abhá to each one of the
Afnán, branched from the Holy Tree. The glory rest upon
thee and upon all the Afnán who remain faithful and true to
the Covenant.
1. Qur'án 36:29
2. Qur'án 20:12. Also referred to as the "Sacred Vale."
3. cf. Qur'án 4:80
Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá
pages 234-238
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