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XIV: The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen
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1 |
The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen,
for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast
approaching. Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the
entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His
praise, in such wise that all created things may be
regenerated and made new. Speak, and hold not thy
peace. The day star of blissfulness shineth above the
horizon of Our name, the Blissful, inasmuch as the
kingdom of the name of God hath been adorned with
the ornament of the name of thy Lord, the Creator
of the heavens. Arise before the nations of the earth,
and arm thyself with the power of this Most Great
Name, and be not of those who tarry. |
2 |
Methinks that thou hast halted and movest not
upon My Tablet. Could the brightness of the Divine
Countenance have bewildered thee, or the idle talk
of the froward filled thee with grief and paralyzed
thy movement? Take heed lest anything deter thee
from extolling the greatness of this Day ñ the Day
whereon the Finger of majesty and power hath
opened the seal of the Wine of Reunion, and called
all who are in the heavens and all who are on the
earth. Preferrest thou to tarry when the breeze announcing
the Day of God hath already breathed over
thee, or art thou of them that are shut out as by a
veil from Him? |
3 |
No veil whatever have I allowed, O Lord of all
names and Creator of the heavens, to shut me from
the recognition of the glories of Thy Day ñ the Day
which is the lamp of guidance unto the whole world,
and the sign of the Ancient of Days unto all them
that dwell therein. My silence is by reason of the veils
that have blinded Thy creatures' eyes to Thee, and
my muteness is because of the impediments that have
hindered Thy people from recognizing Thy truth.
Thou knowest what is in me, but I know not what
is in Thee. Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
By Thy name that excelleth all other names!
If Thy overruling and all-compelling behest should
ever reach me, it would empower me to revive the
souls of all men, through Thy most exalted Word,
which I have heard uttered by Thy Tongue of power
in Thy Kingdom of glory. It would enable me to
announce the revelation of Thy effulgent countenance
wherethrough that which lay hidden from the
eyes of men hath been manifested in Thy name, the
Perspicuous, the sovereign Protector, the Self-Subsisting. |
4 |
Canst thou discover any one but Me, O Pen, in
this Day? What hath become of the creation and the
manifestations thereof? What of the names and their
kingdom? Whither are gone all created things,
whether seen or unseen? What of the hidden secrets
of the universe and its revelations? Lo, the entire
creation hath passed away! Nothing remaineth except
My Face, the Ever-Abiding, the Resplendent,
the All-Glorious. |
5 |
This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except
the splendors of the Light that shineth from the face
of Thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most Bountiful. Verily,
We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of
Our irresistible and all-subduing sovereignty. We
have, then, called into being a new creation, as a
token of Our grace unto men. I am, verily, the All-Bountiful,
the Ancient of Days. |
6 |
This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth
out: "Great is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast
been made the foot-stool of thy God, and been chosen
as the seat of His mighty throne." The realm of glory
exclaimeth: "Would that my life could be sacrificed
for thee, for He Who is the Beloved of the All-Merciful
hath established His sovereignty upon thee,
through the power of His Name that hath been
promised unto all things, whether of the past or of
the future." This is the Day whereon every sweet
smelling thing hath derived its fragrance from the
smell of My garment ñ a garment that hath shed its
perfume upon the whole of creation. This is the Day
whereon the rushing waters of everlasting life have
gushed out of the Will of the All-Merciful. Haste
ye, with your hearts and souls, and quaff your fill, O
Concourse of the realms above! |
7 |
Say: He it is Who is the Manifestation of Him
Who is the Unknowable, the Invisible of the Invisibles,
could ye but perceive it. He it is Who hath
laid bare before you the hidden and treasured Gem,
were ye to seek it. He it is Who is the one Beloved of
all things, whether of the past or of the future.
Would that ye might set your hearts and hopes upon
Him! |
8 |
We have heard the voice of thy pleading, O Pen,
and excuse thy silence. What is it that hath so sorely
bewildered thee? |
9 |
The inebriation of Thy presence, O Well-Beloved
of all worlds, hath seized and possessed me. |
10 |
Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the
tidings that He Who is the All-Merciful hath directed
His steps towards the Ridván and entered it.
Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight
which God hath made the Throne of His Paradise.
We have chosen thee to be our most mighty Trumpet,
whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all
mankind. |
11 |
Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine
of utterance hath imprinted the testimony: "He that
was hidden from the eyes of men is revealed, girded
with sovereignty and power!" This is the Paradise,
the rustling of whose leaves proclaims: "O ye that
inhabit the heavens and the earth! There hath appeared
what hath never previously appeared. He
Who, from everlasting, had concealed His Face from
the sight of creation is now come." From the whispering
breeze that wafteth amidst its branches there
cometh the cry: "He Who is the sovereign Lord of
all is made manifest. The Kingdom is God's," while
from its streaming waters can be heard the murmur:
"All eyes are gladdened, for He Whom none hath
beheld, Whose secret no one hath discovered, hath
lifted the veil of glory, and uncovered the countenance
of Beauty."
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12 |
Within this Paradise, and from the heights of its
loftiest chambers, the Maids of Heaven have cried
out and shouted: "Rejoice, ye dwellers of the realms
above, for the fingers of Him Who is the Ancient
of Days are ringing, in the name of the All-Glorious,
the Most Great Bell, in the midmost heart of the
heavens. The hands of bounty have borne round the
cup of everlasting life. Approach, and quaff your
fill. Drink with healthy relish, O ye that are the very
incarnations of longing, ye who are the embodiments
of vehement desire!" |
13 |
This is the Day whereon He Who is the Revealer
of the names of God hath stepped out of the Tabernacle
of glory, and proclaimed unto all who are in
the heavens and all who are on the earth: "Put away
the cups of Paradise and all the life-giving waters
they contain, for lo, the people of Bahá have entered
the blissful abode of the Divine Presence, and quaffed
the wine of reunion, from the chalice of the beauty
of their Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most High." |
14 |
Forget the world of creation, O Pen, and turn thou
towards the face of thy Lord, the Lord of all names.
Adorn, then, the world with the ornament of the
favors of thy Lord, the King of everlasting days.
For We perceive the fragrance of the Day whereon
He Who is the Desire of all nations hath shed upon
the kingdoms of the unseen and of the seen the splendor
of the light of His most excellent names, and
enveloped them with the radiance of the luminaries
of His most gracious favors ñ favors which none can
reckon except Him, Who is the omnipotent Protector
of the entire creation. |
15 |
Look not upon the creatures of God except with
the eye of kindliness and of mercy, for Our loving
providence hath pervaded all created things, and Our
grace encompassed the earth and the heavens. This is
the Day whereon the true servants of God partake of
the life-giving waters of reunion, the Day whereon
those that are nigh unto Him are able to drink of the
soft-flowing river of immortality, and they who
believe in His unity, the wine of His Presence,
through their recognition of Him Who is the Highest
and Last End of all, in Whom the Tongue of Majesty
and Glory voiceth the call: "The Kingdom is Mine.
I, Myself, am, of Mine own right, its Ruler." |
16 |
Attract the hearts of men, through the call of Him,
the one alone Beloved. Say: This is the Voice of God,
if ye do but hearken. This is the Day Spring of the
Revelation of God, did ye but know it. This is the
Dawning-Place of the Cause of God, were ye to recognize
it. This is the Source of the commandment of
God, did ye but judge it fairly. This is the manifest
and hidden Secret; would that ye might perceive it.
O peoples of the world! Cast away, in My name that
transcendeth all other names, the things ye possess,
and immerse yourselves in this Ocean in whose depths
lay hidden the pearls of wisdom and of utterance, an
ocean that surgeth in My name, the All-Merciful.
Thus instructeth you He with Whom is the Mother
Book. |
17 |
The Best-Beloved is come. In His right hand is the
sealed Wine of His name. Happy is the man that
turneth unto Him, and drinketh his fill, and exclaimeth:
"Praise be to Thee, O Revealer of the signs
of God!" By the righteousness of the Almighty!
Every hidden thing hath been manifested through the
power of truth. All the favors of God have been sent
down, as a token of His grace. The waters of everlasting
life have, in their fullness, been proffered unto
men. Every single cup hath been borne round by the
hand of the Well-Beloved. Draw near, and tarry not,
though it be for one short moment. |
18 |
Blessed are they that have soared on the wings of
detachment and attained the station which, as ordained
by God, overshadoweth the entire creation,
whom neither the 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, O people, who will renounce 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 believed and exclaimed:
"Lauded art Thou, O Beloved of all worlds!
Magnified be Thy name, O Thou the Desire of every
understanding heart!" |
19 |
Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Bahá,
as ye call to remembrance the Day of supreme felicity,
the Day whereon the Tongue of the Ancient of
Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House,
proceeding to the Spot from which He shed upon the
whole of creation the splendors of His name, the All-Merciful.
God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the
hidden secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on
earth and in the heavens would swoon away and die,
except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty,
the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. |
20 |
Such is the inebriating effect of the words of God
upon Him Who is the Revealer of His undoubted
proofs, that His Pen can move no longer. With these
words He concludeth His Tablet: "No God is there
but Me, the Most Exalted, the Most Powerful, the
Most Excellent, the All-Knowing." |
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