Note1: the BC# is at the bottom of the page, unless the page could not fit into one page, in which case the BC# is at the end of the second page or perhaps a further page(s).
Note2: The (?)’s in this document should be searched out and compared with the original since the copy does not make these aspects clear.
Note3: (??) indictates a typo evident in the text copy also, but which is obviously wrong (I have taken the liberty to correct some obvious errors).
Note: I seem to be missing a full copy of this one (although it appears this is already on-line at http://www.bahai-library.org/provisionals/burying.html according to the Barstow index at http://bahai-library.org/archives/barstow.html .
However, the one page I do have corresponding to this on-line version has a little bit more information not included there.
For example, the phrase under the version translated by Ali Kuli Khan (though otherwise similar to the Barstow version) states “image, and will of necessity, be finally effaced. They preserve his...” whereas the Barstow version states “image, and shall of necessity, be finally effaced. Nay, rather, they preserve his...”
and “even though he be a stone, a tree, or a place of clay; how much more then, the body of man...” is “even though it be a stone, a tree, or clay; how much more the body of man...”
and “to the immediate disintegration of the body” should be “to the immediate disintegration of the body of a friend, father, mother, brother, or dear children. This is the requirement of affection. {new paragraph} Thus the ancient Egyptians mumified the body, in order that it should continue and remain forever; and they supposed that the longer it is preserved, the nearer it will be to that Divine Mercy.”
The paragraph beginning “But the brahmins...” should instead be:
“But the Brahmans of India cremate it, and take no heed thereof; nay, this is conducive to the comfort of their hearts. This heedlessness is unnatural, and an outgrowth of their faith, and not natural; for the Hindus believe that the more rapidly the body is disintegrated the nearer it will be to Divine Mercy, and, contrary to the ancient Egyptians, they suppose that as soon as it is rapidly disintegrated, forgiveness shall be secured, and the dead shall attain to everlasting benefit. This belief is the cause of their satisfaction in cremation.”
(followed by “Upon thee be greeting and praise!”)
The paragraph beginning “Another point remains...” should be:
“Another point remains and it is this: That in cases of contagious diseases, such as the plague and cholera, whether cremation of bodies with lime or other chemicals is allowable or not? In such cases, hygiene and preservation is necessarily more important; for, according to the clear Divine texts, medical commands are lawful and "necessities make forbidden things lawful" is one of the certain rules.”
Given the number of typographical errors here, I imagine the first page may also have errors as well.
BC#0
Translated by M.A.U.
Chicago, Oct. 1, 1902.
Through Mirza Ameen
Miss May Allen.
He is God!
O thou who art gazing at the Kingdom of God!
Verily I supplicate to God to illuminate thy face, by the light of knowledge, to shower upon thee from the Ocean of Mercy, to make thee severed from the deficits of the world; to cause thee to become certain, in true assurance, through the Mysteries of the Merciful One, and rejoiced by the glad tidings of God, in every instant. Upon thee be greeting and praise.
(Sig) Abdul Baha Abbas
BC#1 (not labeled as such in my copy)
Extract From Tablet
of
His Holiness ‘Abdu’l Bahá
On Palmistry
“As to thy question regarding palmistry - as all things in all the beings which compose the parts of the great body of existence are all in communication with each other - that is, as every one of the beings is a component part, a particle of that great body - so the truth of all things or particles can be discovered from any one of them.
As an example take the body of man, in which all the particles, limbs, parts and muscles are joined with each other by perfect communication. For instance, the heat of the lungs is discovered by the tint of the cheeks, and the hidden diseases of the internal organs are determined by the appearance of the eyes, and other ailments are discovered by the pulse. So now we cannot be surprised if some proofs are discovered by the lines in the palms of the hands which tend to unfold the facts of the present and the future.
But, O maid-servant of the Merciful! Ask God that thou shalt be strengthened through the breezes of the Holy Spirit, so that thou mayest become free from all the empirical methods, proofs, and powers, because those breezes are the powers which control the truth of things, and are of such effect that they quicken the dead, give sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. That is to say, the breezes tend to guide the ignorant souls to the river of the Knowledge of God, and to give a conscience to the soul-less. The breezes change gloomy darkness into a splendor of light, and crown the head of the ignorant with knowledge. This is the power of the Spirit and the influence of the Word of God. Entreat God that you may partake of and be truly benefitted by this great bounty and manifest prosperity.”
(Signed )‘Abdu’l Bahá abbás.
ALREADY PUBLISHED - see http://bahai-library.org/writings/shoghieffendi/ba/3/sec-40.html
“To the local Spiritual Assemblies and to the National Spiritual Assembly. “In my hours of prayer at the Holy Shrines, I will supplicate that the Light of Divine Guidance may illumine your path, and enable you to utilize in the most effective manner that spirit of individual enterprise which, once kindled in the breast of each and every believer and directed by the discipline of the majestic Law of Bahá’u’lláh, imposed upon us, will carry our beloved Cause forward to achieve its glorious destiny.”
(Signed) Your true brother,
Shoghi
ALREADY PUBLISHED - see http://bahai-library.org/writings/shoghieffendi/ba/3/sec-40.html
“I can not believe that those whose hearts have been touched by the regenerating influence of God’s creative Faith in His day will find it difficult to clenase their souls from every lingerinng trace of racial animosity so subversive of the Faith they profess. How can hearts that throb with the Love of God fail to respond to all the implications of this supreme injunction of Bahá’u’lláh, the unreserved acceptance of which, under the circumstances now prevailing in America, constitutes the Hall-mark of a true Bahá’í character?”
Fom Page 120, Bahá’í Administration by
The True brother,
Shoghi
BC#2
Through Anton Haddad, New York.
To the Maid-servant of God Henriette Emogene Hoagg.
He is God!
O thou who art rejoiced at the Glad Tidings of God.
I received thy last letter in which thou showest thy wistful consent to the good pleasure of God, thy resignation to His Will, and thy evanescence in the Wy of His Wish.
O Maid-servant of God! I assuredly know thy spiritual feelings, thy merciful thoughts, thy firmness in the Cause of God, and thy straightforwardness in the Testament of God.
It is encumbent upon thee to have good patience and to endure every grave and difficult matter, Patience is one of the Gifts of God. An attribute of the Elect, and a mark of the righteous.
I supplicate God to bestow upon thee a power and a blessing to enable thee to guide sincere servants and devoted maid-servants to enter the Golden El-Abha. This is better unto thee than that which is in existence in the World of Creation...this is a fact!
O Maid Servant of God! Be complaisant to your good husband, and delight him an dmake him say– “This is no other than a New Creation!”
Forget not, O maid Servant of God! the words of advise I have given thee in Haifa! Verily these words are more beneficial to thee than the treasures of the whole earth. The earthy treasures are perishable, but this most great happiness is eternal.
Be tranquil because of My Love to thee and My Prayers for thee, and rejoice at all times and under all circumstances.
O maid-servant of God! Grieve not because of my confinement, for this is My pleasure, My joy, the comfort of My heart, the rest of My soul, and the Merciful, the Compassionate!
Give My salutations and praise to the maid-servant of God, who is in His grace, Mrs....., that righteous soul and announce to her the good news that I pray for her and supplicate God that she may receive the greatest Gift, and a blessing from the Beauty of El Abha!
O maid-servant of God! Verily I say unto thee that when you assemble together at the meetings of friendship and become engrossed in mentioning God, The Spirit of Confirmation will assuredly descend upon that assembly, and the Lights of Benevolence will shine therein from thy Lord, The Exalted, The Great, Be sure of this!
Give My salutation and regards to the Maid-servant of God, that tender-hearted, generous and noble soul Mrs. Cole. A few days ago I sent to her a special letter that her eyes may become delighted at seeing it and her spirit rejoiced by its inner significances and wonderful contents.
O maid-servant of God! How excellent is that sentence thou hast written in thy letter. “It behoveth me to eliminate self (or egotism) so that I will not desire anything but the Will of God.” How good is this prayer, and how beautiful is this invocation. Aught else besides this makes it impossible for man to be confirmed by the abundance of the Gift of God; neither will he succeed in becoming an humble and submissive servant or laborer in His Great Vineyard.
All the devoted and Holy Leaves send their saalutations and praise.
My salutations and praise be upon you.
Signed--Abdul Baha Abbas
Received in 1903
Translated by Anton Haddad
BC#3
BC#4 (there is none)
(not a letter of the Central Figures)
BC#5
Nov. 21, 1935
“He wishes me in particular to express his appreciation .... He trusts that this circular will serve to promote greater unity and deeper understanding among the believers, and that through this medium the friends and sympathizers of the Cause will also receive a chance to deepen their knowledge of the teachings and to familiarize themselves with the activities of the Movement.
His hope therefore is that this will develop into and serve both as a teaching and administrative organ. He would urge you to enlarge its scope, as much as your resources permit, that in time it may include every phase of your activities, administration, devotional, humanitarian, and otherwise.
In his prayers and meditations at the Holy Shrines, the Guardian will specially remember you and will ardently entreat Bahá’u’lláh, to continue assisting, and guiding your labours.
BC#6
Haifa, Dec. 6
My dear George!–
Your kind letter has been received and I am so grateful to you for it. I hope, dear brother, that the hopes of the the Beloved and His marvellous repeated promises concerning you in your parents tablets will be one day fully realized and that you may become the radiant and resplendent George that the Master wishes you to become. How we miss you and particularly do I miss you in the presence of the Beloved.
I have read your notes on ‘H’, and I enclose it confirmed. I have exposed fully to the Master the call of your mother and His answer is this:– “I ever pray on her behalf and beg from God His divine remedy and healing. As in this dispensation consultation with expert doctors is highly advisable and actingin in accordance with their prescriptions obligatory it is well for her to undergo an operation if deemed necessary by such doctors. I am enclosing two pictures for you and your dear father. I send you also the copy of the Beloved’s talk which I promised you.
With a love that is ever strong and burning,
Shoghi
Notes of George Latimer on Huquq
The substance of Abdu’l Baha’s explanation was:
After one had paid all his necessary expenses 19% of what is left is taken by him and given as Huquq. For example if a person has 100 piastres left after all his expenses have been paid, then 19 piastres are taken as Huquq for the Cause of God. This is done at the end of the year after he has ascertained what his expenses are. For every hundred piastres, 19 are taken for Huquq. (It is to be noted that this is 19% and not 1/19 as has been erroneously given) G.A.L.)
He pays this once, then there is no more Huquq to be paid on that sum. It is finished. Next year he will pay on the amount he has left over in his possession after hi expenses have been deducted, and after the amount he paid Huquq on the previous year has also been deducted.
For example at the end of the first year a man has one thousand piastre left after all his expenses are paid, then 190 piastres are taken as Huquq at the end of the next year after all expenses are determined, he may have 200 piastres left. As he has already paid Huquq on a thousand piastres the previous year this sum is deducted from the 2,000 and he pays Huquq on 1000 piastres, or 190 piastres. The third year the net amoun tof what he own may be 2500 piastres, he deducts 2000 piastres from this amount and pays 19% on 500 piastres or 95 piastres. If at the end of the fourth year he has 2500 piastres, no Huquq is taken.
G.A.L. Question: In the deduction of our necessary expenses, are contributions to the Mashriqu’l Adhkar, Teaching and other activities of the Cause considered as part of Huquq or should they be taken separately?
BC#7a
2.
Notes of George Latimer on Huquq
A.B. replied that Huquq was separate and independent of these and came first. After that had been determined then the other affairs could be looked after. He smiled and said when Huquq is given Abdu’l Baha will ascertain how much of it is for the Mashrqiu’l Adhkar, how much for teaching and how much for the needy, etc. (This of course does not mean that the friends should stop helping all their activities but should continue to the utmost in their assistance to the Cause along all lines.) G.A.I.)
Two points stand out clearly in this matter, the first that the basis is 19% and not 1/19th; and the second, that it is levied on one’s wealth and not upon one’s income.
The justice of this law is that man, who receives all his bounties and belongings from the Creator, should render in return to Him a portion for the Cause of God.
_______________
I have copied this, with my own explanations from my own notes and I hope you will confirm it and make any changes necessary.
(In the handwriting of the True Brother, Shoghi Effendi.)
“The idea and the explanations are both correct.”
(Signed, Shoghi.)
Another example,
Year 1919
One’s wealth or belongings $50,000
Expenses $ 2,000
Bal. 48,000
Huquq, 19% on this 9,120.
Year 1920
Wealth $52,000
Expenses 4,000
No Huquq is required
Year 1921
Wealth $54,000
Expenses 4,000
Bal. $50,000
Deduct $48,000
2,000
19% Huquq on this is $ 380.
and so on
BC#7b
Tablet to Henrietta Emogene Hoagg
Received at Milano Italia in 1899
He is God!
O thou who art imploring God, and supplicating to the kingdom of God.
Blessed thou art! Blessed thou art! for that by reason of which thou hast been drawn by the Magnet of Love of God unto the Station of the Holy Spirit, the Angel of Perfection and the most immaculate Purity, which is sanctified form all human things. Should’s thou be firm in this matter thou wilt be ocnfirmed by the Spirit of Truth, and assisted by the Hosts of Heaven. Amen.
I say unto thee, rejoice at this Glad Tidings, which is the Greatest Means whereby the Kingdom of God may be entered....
Signed
Abbas Abdul Baha
This tablet was shared with me by
Amelie Willard Bodmer directly from Mrs. Hoagg.
Dec. 7th 1946
For Mr Hatch
By Vira J. Paxton
BC#8
BENEDICTION
“Sing this melody in all gatherings of Love and Harmony of the beloved of God.”
-’Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás
“May God’s love now hover o’er us As a dove with out-stretched wings. While His peace that flows around us To each heart sweet comfort brings. May we now receive His spirit. And its radiance shed afar Now and here in Love abiding In the Realms of EL-ABHA.
BC#9
A story Abdul Baha told
There was a very holy man who lived many years ago. He was so very beautiful that the angels longed to minister, in some especial way, to him and they asked that they might come and do this, and consent was given. So, these ministering angels came down to earth and said to this beautiful soul; “We have come to you with a gift. We are permitted to bestow upon you some gift from God. What will you have?” He said: “I want nothing.” They said: “But do you not want to heal?” He said “God will do that. I am but his servant.” They said: “Do you not want to save souls?” He said: God does that and chooses whom he desires.” Finally, after asking him very many questions, they said: “You must ask something. We have the privilege of bestowing a gift upon you, you must make some selection.” He said, after a moment’s thought: “I want to do all the good I can, in every way that I can, without ever knowing anything about it.” The angels took counsel together as to how they could grant that wish and finally they made a decision and came to him and said: “Your wish is granted. Wherever you go, wherever your shadow falls, behind you or to either side of you, but not in front of you blessings will fall. And so, as time passed, wherever that beautiful man went, in his simplicity, not knowing any good that he did, his path became a blessing. When his shadow fell to the right of him, or to the left of him, but never in front of him, blessings, refreshment and beauty marked his path. Mothers brought their babies to catch the gift of his shadow; the weary, the crippled and the lowly came about his path and caught those shadows; even the flowers sprang up more refreshed and the little brook fell back of him, or to either side of him, but never in front of him. And so, as time passed, even his name was forgotten and he was called “The Holy Shadow.”
9
Upon him be Bahá’u’lláh El Abhá!
HE IS GOD!
O Thou Almighty! O Thou Forgiver! The servant of Thy Threshold Windust, turns his face toward the Kingdom of Abhá and begs for his Father - Thy Grace and Bounty.
O Thou Omnipotent Lord! In this Great Dispensation Thou hast accepted the intercession of the sons in behlaf of their Fathers. This is one of the Special Infinite Bestowals of this Cycle.
Therefore:– O Thou Kind Almighty! Accept the request of this Thy servant at the Threshold of Thy Singleness, and submerge his Father in the ocean of Thy Graces - because his son is Confirmed in the accomplishment of Thy services and is displaying the utmost effort at all times, in the Pathway of Thy Love!
Verily, Thou art the Giver, the Forgiver and the Kind!
(A copy of part of a Tablet by Abdu’l Bahá to Mr. Albert R. Windust, from Star of the West, Vol. XI, No. 10, Page 319.)
From Tablets of the Divine Plan, section 12, to the Western States
BC#12
To the maid-servant of God, Miss Mary Lesch, Chicago, Ill.
Upon her be Baha’O’llah El Abha!
HE IS GOD!
O thou maid-servant of God!
Thy letter was received and its contents indicated firmness in the Covenant. Therefore, the hope is entertained that thou wilt be assisted under all conditions; for today that which is most important is firmness in the Covenant and Testament and otherwise Bahai unity will not be preserved. If Bahai unity could be preserved thru something else, undoubtedly the Blessed Beauty would have commanded it.
In accordance with the Kitabul Akdas, which is the supreme Authority and the Kitabul Ahd, which is the last Book of the Blessed Beauty written by His Supreme Pen, all are addressed in a clear and explicit manner. First He addresses the Aghsans, then the Afnans and then the relatives and finally the rest of the friends and bids them turn their faces toward the Center of the Covenant. And the verses which have been revealed in the Kitabul Akdas ordering all to turn after His ascension to Him who is branched from the pre-existent root are explicitly recorded in the Kitabul Ahd as having for their object the Center of the Covenant. And in another special Tablet, the authenticity of which is admitted by everyone, it is recorded that if the Center of Violation, whose proper name He mentions deviates the least from the shadow of the Cause, he at once loses the station of Brotherhood. How could it be more explicit? Now it must either be said, that the Blessed Beauty has done wrong and has led the people to error, for He ordered them to obey a person who ought not to have been obeyed, or on the other hand, it must be said that the least deviation from the Covenant and Testament entails deprivation from the Bounties of the Luminary of the world. One of the two alternatives must be true and there is no third one to it.
In fine, Bahai unity cannot be preserved save thru the Covenant of God. Today the stirring power in the body of the world is the Covenant and if this Covenant is made ineffective, what power will be able to stir It? The statement which is made orally by His Holiness Christ to Peter: “That thou art the rock and upon this rock I shall build My temple”, this declaration rpeserved for a thousand years Christian unity. After the lapse of a thousand years due to political questions, dissensions happened. Now, if this Word of Christ has preserved the Unity of Christendom for a thousand years, consider what will be done by the Kitabul Ahd which has been revealed by the Supreme Pen? But superficial, restless souls who at first were firm in the Covenant and have written epistles with reference to their firmness and detachment from violators and have considered them as outcasts from the Threshold of the Almighty - and these epistles are still extant- These persons like unto Judas Iscariot, have for personal interests and finantial motives, deviated from the Covenant. They follow the people of craft and stained their hands with the blood of Christ. Be admonished, O ye who possess intelligence!
BC#13A
If at all thou art firm and steadfast in the Covenant, strengthen and ofrtify thy relationship with the Convention, and form whomsoever thou inahlest the odor of violation avoid his company and keep aloof, that thou mayest remain safe and protected under the protection of the Covenant and like unto a candle be ignited with the light of steadfastness.
I am kind to all people and do not attack anyone. I pray on behalf of all that may gather under His Divine Protection. This Covenant and Testament have been entered into the Blessed Beauty and I have not taken any such part. Let them answer Him and I have no objection. My duty is to be kind to everyone; vengeance is reserved for the Blessed Beauty and not for Myself. As I am kind to everyone, I mention only the good characteristics of a person and if a word is written the intention is the setting forth of Truth and the preservation of the Religion of God, so that Bahai unity may be preserved. If any person desires to upset this unity, they are free and let them present their answers to the Blessed Beauty in the Abha Kingdom, should He address them as follows:–
”O ye my friends! Have I thru My Supreme Pen and the explicit verses of the Kitabul Akdas commanded obedience or disobedience? have I not ordered the Center of Violation to obey and turn his face (towards Him) or have ye turned away from My manifest and irrefutable Center? I have given the command to turn your faces towards Him, how have ye turned away? Why have yet upset Bahai unity? What will they answer?”
The friends must be very attentive and then what ever they deem advisable, they may preform. I have nothing to impose. In America no doubt whatever call is proclaimed, ambitious and thoughtless souls will be found to support it for a time. Even at Green Acre, it has been remarked that one of the inhabitants of Malta was summoning men to excessive hunger and use to receive pay for it. Notwithstanding this, some souls gathered around him and from hunger they seemed dead and would pay to that man.
Do not grieve for thy dear brother, who has ascended from this mortal world to the Eternal Realm and do not feel depressed. That drop has hastened to the limitless ocean and that wandering bird has flown to the shelter and nest of the Supreme Concourse. Thou shalt find him at the Effulgent gaterhing in the Kingdom of Mysteries.
As to the dream thou hadst had that thy brother appeared dressed for the street:– Clothing is the ornament of man and that is the Bounty of the Merciful. As to the bundle he had in hand, it is his benevolent deeds, and his serious look denoted his purpose to make thee realize the following fact:– “Consider to what bounty I have attained! Praise be to God, that I am safe and well and have on me the garment of piety and carry in my hand the bundle of my deeds. I am alive and not dead. Consider closely; I am living and have not passed away, be thou attentive!”
Upon thee be Baha El Abha!
(Signed) Abdul Baha Abbas.
Translated by Shoghi Rabbani,
Acca, Palestine,
July 22 1919.
Received by M.L. October 31 1919
BC#13B
9
ALLAH’U’ABHA!
In every age GOD has made Himself known by a definite NAME and certain Attributes, which have formed the foundation upon which the structure of a New Religion has been reared. Through the progression of the ages, the human family has today attained its majority and has been ushered into a New Dispensation and born into a New Heaven and earth. Across the flawless gold of that New Heaven is written, in characters of Majesty, and conferring the Power of Live to all who come within its influence, a NEW NAME (Rev. 3:12 - “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my GOD, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my GOD, and the name of the city of my GOD, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my GOD; and I will write upon him my new name.”
Against that flawless gold it stands forth in conflagrating Fire..Its rays are illuminating and consuming the old heavens and earths, quenching the sparkling of their stars. This ineffable Glory imprinting Itself upon the face of that New Heaven and earth and the Source of their effulgence, is the Greatest NAME of GOD. It is the NAME of Creation and Resurrection. It is the foundation of the New Holy City (Rev. 3:12) which is built upon the proportions of the twelve. (Rev. 21:16) “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as alrge as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.” It is that NAME the manifestation of which holds “within the hollow of His Hand” Existence, Being, Immortality, Perfection.
This Greatest NAME of GOD, vocalized, is ALLAH’U’ABHA, and is of the Arabic tongue. Its Divine expression, none save the soul who truly receives It “can understand”. The greatness of this NAME consists not in the giving or in the receiving, but in the use. That use confers Life. The neglect of IT destroys Life. (Rev. 2:17, “the hidden manna”– “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”) When Its Utterance is laid upon the soul, that soul has received its Great Gift, and its equal responsibility. By Its use the Doors of the Kingdom of GOD open, illumination is vouchsafed, and Divine Union results. It is the Name which is written in a white stone (Rev. 2:17); the “White Stone” symbolizes the perfect Wisdom. It is the Father’s Name written in the forehead (Rev. 14:1, also 22:4), “And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Sion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Fahter’s Name written in their foreheads.” “And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads;” symbolizing spiritual understanding. It is the NAME of our GOD, (Rev. 3:12).
ALLAH’U’ABHA!
ALLAH, interpreted, signifies GOD.
ABHA, interpreted, signifies “The Most Glorious!”
ABHA is a Word o but four letters, yet those four letters contain the Cause of all Creation and the sum of all Creation. The Cause of all creation is (Exodus 23:20-21) Himself, declared the Mighty Appearance of this Greatest Name. “Behold I send an Angel before thee in the way, and to bring thee unto the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in Him.”
Every Arabic letter possesses two values; one numerical, the other Spiritual. ABHA is composed of the following Arabic letters:
Alif equals 1; Ba 2; Ha 5; Ya 10. The total sum equals 18, and 18 equals 9 (1 plus 8 equals 9).
Nine mathematically signifies Perfection.
BC#14A
Spiritualy, Alif (or one) signifies GOD, the unmanifested Essence, the “Causeless Cause”. Ba signifies the Primal Will, or Creation. “Be, and it is!” It symbolizes the breathing forth of the Spirit. Ha means GOD in perfect Manifestation. Its numerical value is 5. This is the number of perfection in the human temple; of man united with GOD. Ya signifies the end. “For all the promises of GOD are in him, yea, and in him Amen, unto the Glory of GOD by us.” (2nd Cor. 1:20). Also, “Alif” signifies the beginning, and “Yea” the end of a cycle or period. “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
The use of the Greatest NAME, and dependence upon It, causes the soul to strip itself of the husks of mortality and to step forth, freed, reborn, a new creature, redeemed from the Law, and At-One with its Creator in the union of that Love which has its origin in Heaven.
The Arabic “one” is “Vahid” and its numerical value is 19. This is the unmanifested Essence of GOD. The square of 19 (19x19 equals 361), represents the macrocosm or Manifested Universe. Upon this planet, man, the microcosm, is born. The individualized human soul is the seed of GOD, the potentiality of immortality. Upon this planet this seed must germinate, sacrificing itself to become a Tree of Spirit. This is the Union with GOD: the AT-ONE-MENT.
Te daily morning use of the Greatest Name repeated 95 times is a Command revealed in Kitab-El-Akdas. By this devotion “the heart of man may be illumined with the Lights of Baha’u’llah.” Ninety-five is the numerical value of the word “Lellah” (for the sake of GOD). Each “L” equals 30; “H” (or Ha) equals 5. The Greatest NAME should be found upon the lips in the first awakening moment of the early dawn. It should be fed upon by constant use in daily invocation; in trouble; under opposition; and should be the last word breathed when the head rests upon the pillow at night. It is the NAME of comfort, protection, happiness, illumination, Love and Unity.
“The Greatest NAME saved Adam when he fell from Paradise, from utter destruction. It saved Noah from the flood. It saved Moses from the burning bush. It has saved all, and now It has manifested Itself for all.”
The “Hosanna” (Save us, we pray) of the past centuries has ascended unto the universal “Alleluia” (Praise the Lord) of Perfection.
(Compiled by Isabella D. Brittingham, 1903.)
BC#14B
Paris France
Rue St Didier, 30
9
Through Mrs Isabel Fraser
To __________________
He is God!
O thou my beloved!
Be not unhappy. Let not thy thoughts be scattered Man under the circumstances of tests must be patient, must be firm, must be steadfast. Thou must withstand these events with the power of thine heart. Know thou of a certainty that these events are ephemeral. They are not permanent. Like unto flitting shadows they shall vanish. Therefore let thy trust be in God for He is the Eternal and the Everlasting. Live thou in the station of resignation and contentment so that thy heart and soul may obtain peace and serenity. Do thou ever possess the immensity of heart so that it may never be contracted. Be thou stirred with the Divine Glad-Tidings so that thou mayst hold in thy grasp the chalice of imperishable happiness and discover the brilliant star of age-abiding felicity and rest! May thy heart be happy. (Sig) Abdul Baha Abbas
Trans by M Ahmad Sohrab,
Feb 25th, 1913, Paris, France.
BC#15
Through the maid-servant of GOD, Mrs. Brittingham.
To the maid-servant of GOD....................
(Upon her be Baha’u’llah!).
HE IS GOD!
Oh maid-servant of GOD!
Thy letter was read. If thou seekest information of the future, turn thyself to the Kingdom of ABHA, and ask for confirmation [unreadable text] (?) that man, while in the world of vision, receives a revelation, which, later, comes to pass in the contingent world.
The “perceiving soul” of man is the power which discovers the hidden mysteries therein and brings to light that which was veiled. Therefore, it was possible for man to arrive at the station wherein future events are revealed to him.
But as to the other phenomena which are known among the people, they are imagination. Yea, man, while thus playing, may concentrate nightly upon a certain object and discover a fact, imagining that he made the discovery through the phantoms, and attained the knowledge of the future. Nay, this is not so.
It is the “perceiving soul” that discovers.
Upon thee be greeting and praise.
(signed) Abdul-Baha Abbas.
(Translated by A.U. Fareed. New York, September 1904).
BC#16
Question asked Abdul Baha by I.D. Brittinghma in a letter to His Presence, 1902.
“Are the planets or stars the many mansions in heaven of which Christ spoke, telling the disciples that He went to prepare a place for them?”
Answer; containned in a Tablet from Abdul Baha to I.D. Brittingham, translated by Mirza Ameen Ullah, Chicago Aug. 15th, 1902.
“As to thy question regarding the stars: Know that these brilliant stars are numberless and their existence is not void of wisdom both useful and important (i.e., their existence is of great importance.)
“Rather they are worlds, as this world of ours. But they differ in their bodies, by the difference of elements, from this earthly body. They differ in (their) formation. The beings existent upon these bodies are according to their formation.
“As to the worlds whereunto Christ (unto whom be the great glory) referred: They are spiritual, divine, heavenly, single, unlocated; neither the imperfect mind can commprehend them, nor the shining soul can know them. But, verily the sights of the people of the Kingdom of El Abha perceive them and the intellects of the people of the Supreme Concourse apprehended them.”
(End of quotation from Tablet)
In July 1912, New York City, this quotation was presented to Abdul Baha by I.D. Brittingham and the following questions were asked, and again were asked Him in November 1912.
1st Question: “Some think that this teaching has been incorrectly translated and Abdul Baha teaches that the souls upon leaving this earth do go to the planets or stars, and that they progress in their spiritual development through living upon one after another of these bodies. Is any of this teaching true?”
Abdul Baha: “No”.
2nd Question: “Were the souls dwellers upon any planets or stars before coming to the earth?”
Abdul Baha: “No”.
3rd Question: “Were the souls created as individuals before they entered the physical bodies of this world?”
Abdul Baha: “They existed before coming to this world, but not as we know personality upon this planet.”
BC#17
To his honor, Mr George O. Latiner, unto him be the Glory of God, the Most Glorious.
He is God.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant. Today the glances of the favor of His Holiness Baha’o’llah is directed to those souls who are full of the love of God, detached from self and passion and reflecters of purity and piety.
Verily, verily thou art absolutely mindfull of the Kingdom of Abha, Thou hast no (?) thought nor uttereth any word unless spreading the breaths of God. (?)
Rest thou assured thou wilt be confirmed, thou wilt progress day by day and wilt soar to the apex of eternal glory.
Thou art observing that the emperors of the world disappear and become extent (?) in a short time while the sovereignty of the friends of God is ever-lasting and their banner is waving at the supreme apex. All the banners will ultimately be lowered while the banner of God is raised higher and higher day by day.
Convey to thy revered parents and also to others the utmost respect and consideration on my behalf. I pray for them and supplicate pre-existent grace and a new bestowal for them. What thou has written about hakuk is correct,
Upon thee be the Glory of Abha,
Signed----- Abdul Baha Abbas,
April 9, 1921
BC#18
The first paragraph after “He is the Most Gracious!” and “O ye friends of God!” is published in Bahá’í World Faith, pp. 412-413 at http://bahai-library.org/compilations/bwf/bwf9.html
The second and third paragraphs are published in “Bahá’í World Faith”, pp. 373-374 at http://bahai-library.org/compilations/bwf/bwf8.html
This is then followed by: “Unto ye be the glory of Abha!” and “(Signed) Abdul Baha Abbas”
Tranlsated by Azizullah S. Bahadur
Haifa, palestine, november 12th, 1920.
Received by Roy C. Wilhelm,
December 14th, 1920.
BC#19
Upon thee be Baha’u’llah El Abha!
You have asked concerning the relations and genealogy of the mother of ‘Abdu’l-Baha.
The father and grandfather went to Persia from the regions of Taif, and the inhabitants of those regions are all, with very few exceptions, descendants of the posterity of Ishmael.
Upon thee be Baha’u’llah El Abha
(signed) ‘Abdu’l-Baha Abbas
The rest of the page is a compilation of genealogy references and a quotation from “Guidance for Today and Tomorrow”
BC#20
Haifa, Palestine, December 17, 1918.
“Tomorrow the Master is also invited to address the final word of prayer at a public and immense gathering to celebrate the end of the war.
This is the text of the prayer:–
‘O Omnipotent GOD! Verily the pavilion of Justice has been raised in the Holy Land extending from East to West. We thank Thee and we praise Thee for the establishment of this just and equitable sovereignty, and this mighty government which strives for the comfort of its people and the safety of its subjects.
O Almighty GOD! Confirm the greatest Emperor George V through Thy divine confirmation and strengthen him by Thy merciful power and perpetuate his protecting shadow upon this noble land. This we ask through Thy help and assistance and protection.
Verily Thou art the Omnipotent, the Exalted, the Omnisciennt and the Generous!’ “
____________
** “The Beloved’s health is excellent and he reveals these days different tablets to Persia, Europe and America.”
(Note: Extract from letter of S. Rubbani, Haifa, to Captain Tudor-Pole, sent to me from Cairo December 22, 1918. Received January 18, 1919. Claudia Coles).
BC#21
(Attributed to be in Los Angeles in October 1912)
"We are on the even [sic] of the Battle of Armageddon referred to in the sixteenth chapter of Revelations. The time is two years hence, when only a spark will set aflame the whole of Europe. The social unrest in all countries, the growing religious scepticism antecedent to the millennium, and already here, will set aflame the whole of Europe as is prophesied in the Book of Daniel and in the Book (Revelation) of John. By 1917 kingdoms will fall and cataclysms will rock the earth.".
(as online at http://bahai-library.org/documents/imbrie.3.html )
also quoted on-line at:
http://bahai-library.org/newspapers/010825.html
http://bahai-library.org/excerpts/bach.html
The following is as quoted in the Barstow papers:
Prophecy of War. by Abdul Baha. Given in America in 1912
"We are on the eve of the battle of Armageddon refered to in the 16th chapter of Revelations. The time is only two years hence, when only a spark will set aflame the whole of Europe. The social unrest in all countries, the growing religious skepticism antecedent to the Millennium, already here, will set aflame the whole of Europe as is prophesied in the 1st of Daniel and in the Book of John. Before 1917 Kingdoms will fall and cataclysms will rock the earth.".
Then all nations shall be one in faith, all men as brothers and these fruitless strifes and ruinous wars shall pass away and the most great peace shall come; and men shall not glory in this that he loves his country but rather in that he loves his kind.”
BC#22
BC#23 is the same as BC#9
BC#24A, B attributed to Martha Root from Baha’i Magazine, vol. XXI, p. 54.
Portion of “Letter of Love” from Abdul-Baha Abbas to the “Beloved” in America.
HE IS GOD!
_______
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of God:
Know thou assuredly that–
LOVE is the Mystery of Divine Revelations:
LOVE is the Effulgent Manifestation:
LOVE is the Light of the Kingdom:
LOVE is the Breath of the Holy Spirit inspired into the human spirit:
LOVE is the cause of the Manifestation of the Truth [God] in the phenomenal world:
LOVE is the necessary tie proceeding from the realities of things through Divine Creation:
LOVE is the means of the most great happiness in both the material and Spiritual worlds:
LOVE is the light of guidance in the dark night:
LOVE is the bond between the Creator and the creature in the inner world:
LOVE is the cause of development to every enlightened man:
LOVE is the Greatest Law in this vast universe of GOD:
LOVE is the one law which causes and controls order among the existing atoms:
LOVE is the universal magnetic power between the planets and stars shining in the lofty firmament:
LOVE is the cause of unfoldment, to a searching mind, of the secrets deposited in the universe by the Infinite:
LOVE is the spirit of life in the bountiful body of the world:
LOVE is the cause of the civilization of nations in this mortal world:
LOVE is the highest honor to every righteous nation:
The people who are confirmed therein are indeed glorified by the Supreme Concourse, the angels of the Heaven and the dwellers in the Kingdom of El-ABHA. But, if the hearts of the people become void of the Divine Grace–THE LOVE OF GOD–they wander in the desert of ignorance, descend to the depths of ruin and fall to the abyss of despair where there is no refuge. They are like insects living in the lowest plane.
This is the Path of El-Baha.
This is the Religion of El-Baha
This is the Law of El-Baha.
He who has not this has no portion with El-Baha.
Greeting and praise be upon ye!
(SIGNED) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS
BC#25
quotations from Prayers and Meditations p. 6 and p. 248
BC#26
not sacred writings
BC#27, 28
Los Angeles, Califronia.
To the maid-servant of God, Mrs. F.B. Beckette, upon her be the Glory of God the Most Glorious.
HE IS GOD.
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of God!
Thy letter written Aug., the 3d, 1920 has been received. Praise be unto God, the friends at Los angeles have proved successful in their trials and the false impressions of the negligent souls did not make them waver; nay rather, they became firmer in the Covenant. And when Mr. George Latimer arrived a meeting was held at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Cline where the rays of the favor of His Holiness, Bahaullah poured upon that gathering. Conseuqently they were confirmed to establish a ‘House of Spirituality’. It is my hope that this assembly (House of Spirituality) will be bestowed with a new spirit; that it will go on to serve the oneness of the world of humanity, giving life to those who are dead and cuasing the viiolators to dry up.
The unity meeting. (nineteen day feasts) you should celebrate splendidly, and with one another you should be exceedingly kind and affectionate so that this may astonish the people of that city. In the meeting you should speak of the teachings of His Holiness, Bahaullah, deal with their details and explain the fruits they produce, which results have generated such great earthquakes in the East (Spiritual regeneration). You should explain how the different hostile religions which were thirsty for one another’s blood have been brought together by them (teachings of Bahullah) under the pavilion of uniformity, that is, the oneness of the world of humanity!
The heavenly maid-servants of God, Mrs. Platt and Miss. Clapp are verily self-sacrificing and they have no desire, save nearness to the Kingdom. Convey My (?) respectful greeting to them!
The class of the Junior Bahaia at Glendale is important and his honor Mr. Beckette is a revered teacher to the children, deserving the favor of the Kingdom. Though AbdulBaha is not present in these splendid meetings in body, yet in spirit and soul he is present and is (your) associate.
Upon thee be the Glory of Abha!
(signed) Abdul Baha Abbas.
Oct. 10, 1920,
Bahji, at the Holy Tomb,
Translated by ‘Azizullah S. Bahadur, Mount. Carmel. Palestine.
BC#29
To the friends and maid-servants of the Merciful in Los Angeles and the other cities of California, c/o Mr. and Mrs Beckett; Upon them be Bahaullah-il Abha.
HE IS GOD.
(The next two paragraphs are from:
Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 210-213 at http://bahai-library.org/writings/abdulbaha/swab/185.html )
“O ye friends and maidservants of the Merciful! From the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles a letter hath been received. It was indicative of the fact that the blessed souls in California, like unto an immovable mountain, are withstanding the gale of violation, have, like unto blessed trees, been planted in the soil of the Covenant and are most firm and steadfast. The hope is entertained, therefore, that through the blessings of the Sun of Truth they may daily increase in their firmness and steadfastness. The tests of every dispensation are in direct proportion to the greatness of the Cause, and as heretofore such a manifest Covenant, written by the Supreme Pen, hath not been entered upon, the tests are proportionately more severe. These trials cause the feeble souls to waver while those who are firm are not affected. These agitations of the violators are no more than the foam of the ocean, which is one of its inseparable features; but the ocean of the Covenant shall surge and shall cast ashore the bodies of the dead, for it cannot retain them. Thus it is seen that the ocean of the Covenant hath surged and surged until it hath thrown out the dead bodies--souls that are deprived of the Spirit of God and are lost in passion and self and are seeking leadership. This foam of the ocean shall not endure and shall soon disperse and vanish, while the ocean of the Covenant shall eternally surge and roar....”
Then there is the following:
Consider then that Christ in order to preserve the unity of Christendom, said to Peter;– “Thou art the rock and upon this rock I shall build my Temple.” This word has secured every one’s submissiveness and allegiance and has preserved for a thousand years the unity of the Christian world. Notwithstanding the fact that this declaration was not a command to obey and to follow and (?) was verbally delivered, yet it has proved to do away with any form that might appear on the surface of the ocean of Christ and to cast shore any dead body that sought the vanities of this world. At present His Holiness Baha-ullah, through His Supreme Pen, has written the Book of the Covenant and has called it the “The Book of the Covenant” and has entered with every one into a Covenant and a testament. He first addressed the Aghsans, then the Afnans and then the relations binding them to turn their faces to the Center of the Covenant and has then in accordance with the explicit text of the Most Holy Book, (the Book of laws) made of the Center of the Covenant the Expounder of the Book.
The next paragraph is also from:
Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 210-213 at http://bahai-library.org/writings/abdulbaha/swab/185.html )
From the early days of creation down to the present time, throughout all the divine dispensations, such a firm and explicit Covenant hath not been entered upon. In view of this fact is it possible for this foam to remain on the surface of the ocean of the Covenant? No, by God! The violators are trampling upon their own dignity, are uprooting their own foundations and are proud at being upheld by flatterers who exert a great effort to shake the faith of feeble souls. But this action of theirs is of no consequence; it is a mirage and not water, foam and not the sea, mist and not a cloud, illusion and not reality. All this ye shall soon see.
BC#30
The following Tablet was available on-line and taken from:
http://bahai-library.org/provisionals/ab.star.of.west.1a.html
TABLET FROM ABDUL-BAHA.
Revealed and sent to all parts of the world.HE IS GOD!
Praise be unto Thee, O my God! Thanks be unto Thee O my Beloved! Glory be unto Thee, O my Lord! for that which Thou hast bestowed, favored, conferred and granted. For Thou hast chosen sincere servants from among Thy people to serve Thy Religion. Thou hast elected them to draw inspiration from Thy Manifest Light, attraction from Thy Luminous Beauty and to walk in Thy straight path. O my Lord! Verily the souls are heedless of Thy mentioning and hearts deprived of Thy love, the eyes veiled from beholding the Kingdom of Thy Beauty and the intellects wandering away from the Centre of Thy Glory, except those who are firm in Thy Covenant, free from dissension, attracting the rays of the Sun of Truth, detaching themselves from inharmony, arising in the service of Thy Cause amongst Thy people and exhilarated from the pure wine of Thy Kingdom. Bestow upon them unlimited blessing and creative good from the never-ending Bounty, and pour upon them with great abundance, from the Cloud of Thy Majesty, the rain of Thy Grace, the water of Thy Generosity and the Universal Favor.
O Lord, suffer them to become the signs of Thy Guidance, the standards of the Realm of Might, the words of virtue, the army of the Supreme Concourse and the angels of heaven, so that through them the East and the West of the earth may become Illumined, Thy Name be mentioned in the North and South, that they may educate all races and communities and clothe them with the garment of the comely names and the perfect example in this realm of existence.
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O my Lord, reveal through them the ensign of Unity among mankind and the flag of Love between nations, so that multiplicities may converge into the centre of oneness and harmony, the veils of hatred be rent asunder, the conditions of discord pass away and enmity and rancor vanish from the world of man, So that after disunion the Beloved of Union shall unveil her countenance, animosity be changed into affection, the reign of faction and feud come to an end, and success and prosperity be attained.
O my Lord, strengthen their backs in their service, gird up their loins in their adoration, dilate their breasts with the light of Thy Knowledge, illumine the eyes by beholding Thy Face, gladden their spirits by the significances of thy Providence and purify their souls by the appearance of Thy Compassion. Verily Thou art the Merciful, the Clement, the Almighty, the Bestower, the Unconstrained! There is no God but Thee, the Giver, the Pardoner, the Hidden, the Manifest and the Source of Bounties!
O ye friends of God! Joy and happiness of the people of faithfulness consists in serving the Threshold of the Most High and turning their faces to the Kingdom of ABHA. The hope of the lovers is self-sacrifice, and the yearning of the longing ones Is self-effacement and evanescence. For love is an irresistible power and an inextinguishable conflagration and the mirror of the love of God is the great martyrdom. Therefore, the sanctified souls and the Manifestations of God yearned for self-abnegation and attainment to the city of martyrdom. They gave up their lives, experienced exile and banishment, endured persecution and dire calamities, became subject to imprisonment and bondage and the targets of the arrows of oppression, and objects of the sword of malice. They did not complain, neither did they become disheartened. They drank the cup of martyrdom from the Hand of the Cup-Bearer of Providence, and tasted with the greatest joy the sweetness of annihilation. They found not a moment of rest. They sought not an instant of tranquillity. They withstood the persecution of
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the enemies and became the centres of derision and scoffing of the people of envy. They sacrificed their homes and property and became homeless and wanderers. They experienced not one hour of safety, nor a day of repose of mind or body. This is the proof of the sincere lover and this is the evidence of the faithful friend. If it were not so every stranger would become a friend and the deprived one would become the confidant of the mysteries, the remote one would become the near one and the outcast would become the beloved. Consequently the Most Great Wisdom has ordained that the fire of tests shall rage and the rushing torrent of ordeals sweep tumultuously from the Mountain of Revelation, so that the untruthful may become distinguished from the truthful, the unrighteous be known from the righteous, the worshipper of self become separated from the worshipper of God, the good fruit be set apart from the evil fruit, the signs of light become manifest and the gloom of darkness be dispelled, the nightingale of trustworthiness sing the melody of love and the raven of oppression croak the discordant notes of error; the fertile soil become green and verdant and the barren ground produce its thorns and thistles; the attracted ones to the Breath of ABHA become firm and the follower of passion and desire turn away. This is the wisdom of trials and this is the cause of ordeals.
O ye friends of God! In these days the city of Tabriz has become red with the blood of mankind. Holy souls from among the believers of God sacrificed their lives in the path of Manifest Light. They hastened to the altar of love. Eyes are weeping on this account, hearts are burning for these events, lamentation and moaning is ascending to the apex of the Supreme Concourse and great grief and intense mourning is experienced. It is the utmost yearning of Abdul-Baha to drink from this cup of martyrdom and become exhilarated with the wine of sacrifice, so that the end of his life shall become the opening chapter of Divine Bounty. O my Lord, confer upon me that overflowing cup with the most great gift! Intoxicate me with that wine of the glorious favor and suffer me to partake of that food which cannot be tasted except by Thy
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faithful servant. Crown my head with this refulgent diadem, cause my blood to be shed in Thy Cause, my body to be suspended between heaven and earth, this temple to be dismembered and its bones be disjoined by the arrows of the enemies.
O ye friends of Abdul-Baha! In these days, through the happy circumstances and the confirmation of the Lord of the Supreme Heavens and the assistance of the Unseen Kingdom, the holy remains of His highness the Supreme (Bab) were transferred to the Mount of Carmel in Haifa in the present Tomb. Therefore, it is necessary for the believers to celebrate the occasion with joy and happiness. The believers in Tabriz became exhilarated with this cup and with the polo of magnanimity carried away the ball of service from the arena of the Cause. Perhaps later on the people of hatred and enmity, may calumniate and misrepresent the facts, stating that the blessed remains of the Bab are in some other place, or that a part of it is elsewhere. The friends of God must know that this is a pure falsehood, calumny and malicious slander. That blessed, crucified body is interred in its entirety on Mount Carmel, but the enemies will not rest quiet. It is certain that they will raise a clamor and claim that we stole that blessed body, or fraudulently transferred it or got hold of a part of it, or that the genii took it away from the firm ones. All these statements are fabrications and slanders. The whole truth is explained here. Upon ye be Baha-el-ABHA!
(signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Washington, D. C., March 3, 1910.)
BC#31A, BC#31B
WORDS OF ABDUL BAHA SPOKEN AT THE NINETEEN DAY FEAST AT THE HOME OF MISS ROBINSON. LONDON. DECEMBER 29, 1912. DURING THE TIME OF THE INTERNATIONAL PEACE ARBITRATION COMMITTEE MEETING IN LONDON.
Translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.
Transcribed from notes taken by Isabel Fraser.
“These delegates who have gathered in the Peace Conference are like merchants. Each strives to compete for victory with his rival. Even if peace were established, it would be but temporal. Years ago there was an international peace agreement, but wars have continued notwithstanding. If such conferences were endowed with the power to establish an enduring peace, the world would have been at rest long ago.
Praise be to God, souls have assembled here with pure intention. That which is the means of love and fellowship in the world of humanity is acceptable at the Divine Threshold, and that which is conducive to the welfare of mankind, but any movement which brings about rancor, hatred and animosity is not acceptable.
All the holy and inspired messengers who have shone in the history of the world have, as the fulfillment of their mission, the promotion of love and amity in the hearts of the people. In order tha tthe members of the world of humanity might associate with each other, these Divine Souls have utilized every means, for it has been the aim of all the Prophets of God to bring about reconciliation and fellowship among the sons of men. The divine philosophers and scholars of history strove with all their powers to bring about this ideal condition. In this highway they have given up wealth, property and possessions. For this central principle of peace more than twenty thousand in the Orient have given up their lives. While under the sword of execution, their great desire was this fulfillment; while in the pillory they longed for the effulgence of the Holy Spirit. While actually being hewed asunder, they went to death with the greatest joy and felicity, knowing that their martyrdom hastened the millenium. Consider to what an extent they were self-sacrificing. They were happy and ready to give up everything, even to life itself. There are certain souls whose aim is equally lofty. Their desire is also the affinity between members of the human family, but they practice it only to the extent of verbal demonstration. They are not ready to give up their lives for its accomplishment. There is a great difference between the man who rests on the bed of luxury and selfishness, and the man who in the arena of acticity (??) willingly sacrifices all for the attainment of a sacred object.
Philosophers and those who see visions dream safely in the security of their own houses. But the faithful servants of the Almighty did not merely dream high ideals in homes of comfort. In order to prove their sincerity, they gave up their houses and lives. The earth became crimson with their blood, the cross adorned with their holy temples; their bodies and their heads decorated the points of spears. Thereby we can judge of their sincerity. This is the station of sacrifice. This is the station of martyrdom. The man who desires the improvement of the human race must ever be ready to sacrifice his honor, glory and life. In this century the Bahais have sacrificed their lives so that fellowship and affection may become realized in the hearts, so that the world of humanity may become radiant, the children of men be resuscitated with a new life, and the earthly world become a mirror reflecting the divine world. When a holy and divine
BC#32
To the maidservant of God, the revered ____________________, America.
HE IS GOD!
O thou revered one!
Verily, I always remember thee, and forget thee not; I invoke God to ordain for thee good in this world and in the Kingdom; to dilate thy breast with His Favors, and to cheer thy soul thru His Spirit.
Verily, I consider not thy thoughts, but I consider thy heart, forasmuch as thoughts are moving like unto seas - one wave comes after another goes, and they have no stability. But the heart, whenever it becomes pure and tranquil, the lights will of necessity shine therein sooner or later.
Forget thou not my affection unto thee, my exceeding compassion unto thee, and the days that thou hast spent (here) while thou wert hearing such exhortations which would soften rocks and mountains, expand the hearts of the righteous and cheer the virtuous souls.
O maidservant of God! Verily, the test of God are so violent that mountains are uprooted by them. Stand the Divine tests with firmness and steadfastness, so that they may be transofrmed into gifts from God. Verily, I hope that thou mayst come out of the fire of tests as pure gold, through the assistance and providence of God.
It is said by Christ (Glory be to Him!) “Pray that ye may not enter into temptation.” Now, it is incumbent upn thee to pray! It is incumbent upon thee to beseech God!
There is no wonder if thou hast fallen into the tests, for, verily, the great Peter, who was the head of the Apostles, fell into tests thrice; but, verily, God made him so firm that he sacrificed his life in love for Christ. Oh, excellent is firmness that follows a test! Verily, I have compassion for thee, like unto that of an affectionate father for his dear daughter, and I beg of God to dilate thy breast under all circumstances. I have a spiritual, heavenly speech with thee, which, as a mercy, I do not wish to write by pen, or translate by tongue (i.e., put into words), but I will address them unto thee in a dream, inasmuch as I am compassionate toward thee.
Upon thee be greeting and praise!
(Signed) Abdul Baha Ababas.
BC#33
To Mrs. S.-- Brooklyn.
TABLET
O thou gem who art shining with the Light of the Love of God! Verily I read thy confession of the Oneness of God, thine acknowledgement of the Appearance of the Kingdom of God, thy turning toward the Day-Spring of the Verses of God, thy desire to arise in the service of the Cause of God, and thine adherence to the Covenant of God. Amen!
I say unto thee: Every woman who is directed to the Guidance of God in this Great Age, will surpass men in every respect; and she will be informed of the Hidden Mystery of Preserved Allegory; her word will take effect even in a hard rock; minds will be astonished at the power of her understanding; and souls will be subdued by the strength of her argument.
It is incumbent upon thee to be steadfast in this Great Cause, firm in this right path, quaff from this cup which is overflowing with the Wine of Knowledge, and resist the hosts of trial (or tests).
Upon thee be praise.
(Signed) Abdul-Baha Abbas.
BC#34
To be read every morn and eve:
HE IS EL-ABHA!
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I beg of Thee, by the Lights of Thy Beauty, the Exalted, the Supreme, and by the Appearance of the Might of Thy Dominion betwixt the heaven and earth, and by the Baha of Thy Face, whereby the denizens of the cities of Eternity are illumined, not to withhold me from the wonders of the Sun of Thy Knowledge, nor to deprive me from entering the Sanctity of Thy Meeting. Verily Thou art the Powerful in that which Thou willest. Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful. O my God, I am he who has turned away his Face from the faces of all the created beings and has turned unto the face of the Holiness fo Thy Oneness; and he has fled from himself and from all else save Thee, and sought shelter in the shadow of the Tree of Thy Singleness. Therefore, O my God, leave me not to myself nor to anything of what is created betwixt the Heavens and earth. Then cause me to enter, O my God, into the Tents of Thy Nearness and the Pavilions of Thy Love. Then disclose to me, O my God, that which is concealed from the sight of Thy servants and that which is veiled from the Knowledge of Thy creatures. Then grant, O my God, that I may be of such as have entered the Fortress of Thy Assistance and abided in the neighborhood of Thy Mercy. Verily Thou art the Doer of whatsoever Thou willest and Ruler over that which Thou desirest. Then protect me, O my God, from my enemies and from all that is not loved by Thy good pleasure. Then cause to descend upon me from the Heaven of Thy Generosity that which may sever me from all the creatures and may cause me to reach unto Thyself, the Supreme, in this most pure and brilliant Garment.
Consider what was revealed in Kitab-el-Akdas:
“When the Sea of Meeting sinks, and the Book of Origin is achieved to the end, turn to Him who is desired by God, who is branched from this pre-existent Root. The Aim of this blessed Verse if the Greatest Branch. Thus We manifested the Command as a favor from before Us, and I am The Generous! The Bountiful!”
“O people of creation! When the Dove soars from the bower of praise and aspires to the Supreme Purpose, ask whatever ye do not understand in the Book, from the Branch, who is branched from this pre-existent Root.”
BC#35
9
The Commands of Our Blessed MASTER, ABDUL-BAHA, as revealed in Tablets and Instructions for the beloved in America.
__________________
To live the life.
To be no cause of grief to any one.
To love each other very much.
To be kind to all people and to love them with a pure spirit.
Should opposition or injury happen to us, we must bear it and be as kind as ever we can be, and through all, we must love the people. Should calamity exist in the greatest degree, we must rejoice, for these things are the Gifts and Favors of GOD.
To be silent concerning the faults of others, to pray for them, and help them–through kindness–to correct their faults.
To look always at the good and not at the bad. If a man has ten good qualities and one bad one, we must look at the ten adn forget the one. And if a man has ten bad qualities and one good one, we must look at the one and forget the ten.
To never allow ourselves to speak one unkind word about another, even though that other be our enemy.
To rebuke those who speak to us of the faults of others.
All of our deeds must be done in kindness.
To be occupied in spreading the Teachings, for only through obedience to this Command, our Master has said, will we receive the power and confirmation of the Spirit; and that whosoever is granted this power and confirmation of the Spirit, is under the Favor of GOD, but, otherwise, he is as a lamp without light. The Master also said that: “Every seed cast in this great and magnificent century (i.e., period) will be cultivated by GOD, and produce plants, through the abundance of the clouds of His Mercy.
To cut our hearts from ourselves and from the world.
To be humble.
To be servants of each other and to know that we are less than any one else.
To be as one soul in many bodies; for the more we love each other, the nearer we will be to GOD; but that our love, our unity, our obedience, must not be by confession but of reality.
To act with cautiousness and wisdom.
To be truthful.
To be hospitable.
To be reverent.
To be a cause of healing for every sick one; a comforter for every sorrowful one; a pleasant water for every thirsty one; a Heavenly Table for every hungry one; a guide for every seeker; rain for cultivation; a star to every horizon; a light for every lamp; a herald to every yearning one for the Kingdom of GOD.
Our Blessed Master said: “By these things you know the faithful servant of GOD.”
BC#36
A MESSAGE FROM ACCA.
To live in peace, love, union and agreement, and overlook the faults and defects of others and to see only their good actions and not their bad ones. These are things that will lead to perfect success and thorough happiness.
Fear not any trouble, persecution or calamity which may befall you, for it is said that when the flag of the truth appears it will be cursed by the people of the east and west; just as it was in the past, so it will be now without the least difference.
Every soul is commanded by God to deliver the Truth and work out His Cause, and those who comply with His High Command should, FIRST, characterize themselves with the best characteristics, and THEN try to deliver the Truth to the people, who undoubtedly, under such circumstances, be attracted by the words of such teachers, if those be truth-seekers. Otherwise his words will not have the least effect in the hearts of the worshipers of God.
God, the Forgiving, the Merciful, also teaches you that those who do wrong and oppress others, and at the same time command the people to be just, will, by the words coming out of their mouths, be accused of lying and declared to be liars by the people of the Kingdom, and by those who go about the Handsome Throne of Thy Lord.
Oh, ye people, commit not what will make you lose your honor, dignity, and the sanctity of the Cause before the worshipers. Be careful not to come near anything shunned by your minds. Fear God and follow not the unmindful. Do not be unfaithful to the property of the people. Be faithful and honest on this earth. Do not deprive the poor people, or exclude them from what was given to you from the Bounty of God, and He will give you double of what you have and possess, for He is the Donor, the Bestower and the Generous.
Say! We have pre-ordained the delivery of the Truth through eloquence and demonstration; therefore beware not to dispute or argue with anyone, and he who wishes implicitly and sincerely to receive the Truth for the sake of the Face of his Lord, will be confirmed by the Holy Spirit and inspired with what will enlighten the heart of the world, how much more the hearts of the seekers!
Oh, people of Baha! Make submissive the Cities of the Hearts with the Sword of Wisdom and Explanation; and those who argue in accordance with own desire and wish, they are in obvious wrong.
Say! The Sword of Wisdom is stronger than the summer and sharper than the Sword of Iron, if ye are knowing. Draw out that Sword in My Name and Power, then invade with it the Cities of the Hearts of those who are fortifying themselves with the fortification of Desire, also, ye were commanded by your God, El-Baha, while He was sitting under the swords of the disbelievers, that if ye know of nay sin or wrong committed by others, do not make it public, and do not reveal it to others in order that He may not reveal you, for He is the One who veils often–the Possessor of the Great Bounty.
Oh rich people! When you see a poor man, do not grow proud and haughty and despise him, but think from what you were created, for each one is created from despised water. Be truthful and sincere to Him and your temples will be decorated and your names elevated and your posi-
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tions grow higher and higher among the people, and you will have before God The Truth, a great reward.
A TABLET TO GUIDE THE GUIDES.
He who wishes to deliver the Cause of his Lord must at first deliver it to himself, and then to others, in order to have their hearers attracted to what they say. Otherwise, their words will not have the least effect in the hearts of the truthseekers.
O people! Beware of being of those who command OTHERS to be righteous, and at the same time they forget themselves, for that which comes out of their mouths will declare them liars. Not only that, but they will be accused of lying by the facts of things, and by the angels who are near. But if it happens that the words of such guides do take effect in the hearts of any certain ones, it is not in reality from them, but from what was pre-ordained in the words by the Almighty, the Wise. Such guides will be likened unto a lamp from which the worshipers received light while it burns in itself, and at least is burned out.
O ye people! Commit not what will make you lose your honor and dignity, and the sanctity of the Cause before the worshipers. Be not sowers of discord, and be careful not to come near anything shunned by your minds. Turn aside sin and avoid iniquity, for it is forbidden by God in the Book, which could not be touched by any but by those whom God has purified from corruption and made them pure. Be just to yourselves, then to other people, so that the traces of Justice will, thro (?) your actions and deeds, appear before the sincere worshipers. Do not be unfaithful to the property of the people. Be faithful and honest amongst them and do not deprive the poor people of what was given to you from the Bounty of God, and He will give you the double of what you have and possess. There is no God but He, and in Him is the Creative Power and Command. He gives to whom He wishes and forbids whom He desires. He is the Donor, the Bestower, the Invincible, the Generous.
Say, oh people of Baha! Give the word of God, for God has commanded that it is the duty of every soul to deliver His Word, and it is the best thing and the greatest thing to do; as no soul will be accepted unless it knows God, the Almighty, the Powerful. It is pre-ordained to deliver the Truth through explanations and demonstrations and not otherwise.
It is also commanded by the Power of God, the Supreme, the Wise, not to argue or dispute with any soul, but remind that soul with good explanations and admonitions. If that soul is mindful, it is well. If not, leave, and do not argue. Do not argue about the world and its vanities, nor what was pre-ordained to anyone in this world, for God has left the world to its people, and He does not wish anything out of it but the hearts of the worshipers.
It is also commanded by God, El-Bhaa, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, to have mercy upon yourselves, then upon those near you, and then upon the sincere worshipers of God. If you come in contact with a certain low and contemptible person, do not grow haughty and despise him, for the Sultan of Glory and Grandeur will pass near him in these days and nobody knows hom, but only the One whose will is the will of your Lord, the Almighty, the Wise.
BC#37B
-3-
O people of wealth and riches! If you see a poor man suffering from any calamity, do not run away form him, but sit with him and ask him about the things heaped upon him from the seas of determination and predestination.
By God, under this circumstance, the people of the High World will testify for you, pray for you, ask forgiveness for you, mention you and glorify you with pure, holy and eloquent tongues. Blessed is the learned man who does not boast of his knowledge and despise those who are under him. How good is the charitable man who does not ridicule the one who disobeys and who does not make public the faults commited by that man so his sins and crimes may not be unveiled by God, who is the Best Veiler.
O people, be veilers and forgivers so that God may forgive you from His own Bounty, and overlook the trespasses of others, so that God may overlook yours and clothe you with the beautiful garment of Kindness. If any one of the believers asks you for protection, have him protected and do not deprive him of what he wants if you are able to do it, so that God may protect you in the shadow of His Mercy, on that day in which the bosoms heave, the hearts burn and the elements of all creations shake and tremble.
Say, O people! Tell the pure truth always, for it is the thing which will decorate yourselves and elevate your names and make your positions high and supreme amongst all the people in this world; and in the world to come a great reward from your God, the Truth. Also advise those who have believed and admonish them; perhaps they will accept the advice given to them in the Book of God and come to the Right Path.
The Kingdom of God is also likened unto the temple of man. We know very well that such temple is composed of many members which differ greatly in shape, form, action and office, and when these differenct members act in harmony with each other and have the real perfect affinity and attraction among them, they form together that temple which will be thoroughly ready to receive the Spirit - although so various and different. We cannot say that one member is preferred to another, or is of greater importance in the formation of the temple. No, we cannot say that, for each member has its own office and by the action of all in harmony and unison, a perfect result is produced. So is the case with the Kingdom of God, which Kingdom is composed of different members, and if these members, although differing in quality, ofrm, shapes and characters, act in harmony with each other and in perfect agreement, they will form the Kingdom of God and will be ready to receive the confirmation of His Spirit. But if disagreement falls among them, and each one wants to make himself greater than the other, thinking of his high office and importance, the Kingdom of God will not be formed of such members and they will never be ready or worthy to receive the confirmation of His Spirit.
The Kingdom of God is also likened unto a garden of trees. We all know that a garden, in order to be beautiful, must contain a good number of trees, various in size and different in colors, flowers and fruits. Some of the trees are tall and some are short, some bear good and sweet fruits, some sour and some bitter, but all the trees are necessary to form a garden. No tree can say to the other, ‘I am the most important organ of the lot,’ or ‘I am more profitable than you.’ Not
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so whatever. Because all of the trees in that garden are watered by the same Hand, having the same sun and the same breeze passing on them. If any distinction is to be made among them, such distinction must belong to the owner of the garden and not to the trees themselves.
So is the Kingdom of God. He is the Owner and Lord of the Kingdom, and everything relating to the members of the Kingdom is in His Hands and belongs to Him only, although the members are not equal in everything, but different in size, disposition, quality, character, conduct, color and fruit. Yet, all of them are necessary to form the Kingdom, but they cannot make any distinction among themselves. High distinction belongs only to the Lord of the Kingdom. No one can prefer himself to others, because all are watered by the same Hand, having the same sun, etc. Therefore, they should be as one, loving and respecting each other and considering themselves as brothers and sisters and even more, for in spirituality, kinship is not to be considered whatever. Jesus Christ said, “He who hears my word is my borther, sister and mother.”
Every man wishing to run (?) his face to the Supreme Horizon must purify his inside and outside, and abstain from what is forbidden in the Book of God, and do in accordance with what was descended in the vision, to-wit: ‘Say! He is God, then, in their ford let them play hopelessly.’ He ought to consider everythinng besides God as a handful of dust. Also, the Lights of the Cause on His Return has shown from the Horizon of Heaven in accordance to the will of God, the Almighty, the Invincible, the Bestower; and he who wishes to deliver the Cause of his Lord has to decorate his head with the crown of devotion and his body with purity and godliness. In another place, ‘Every guide has to overlook everything in his possession and in that of others, and look only to that which is in the possession of God, the Ever-lasting, the Unchangeable.”
We have said, and what We say is the Truth, ‘It is not the calamity that I have been imprisoned and persecuted by My enemies, but it is caused by those who relate themselves to Myself, and at the same time commit what will make My Heart mourn and My Pen lament.’
(It is here plainly outlined that the greatest enemies are those who sow discord as believers, not those who are unbelieving opposers of Truth.)
INSTRUCTIONS TO GUIDES AND BELIEVERS.
My worshipers and servants are commanded to practice integrity and piety, so that they may arise from the sleep of their desire, and turn their faces to God, the Creator of earth and Heaven. Also, we likewise commanded the worshipers at that time when the Brilliant Light shone from the direction of Arak. Some of the people have violated the Covenant, and some followed the command of the All-Knowing and Wise
It is not the calamity that I have been imprisoned and oppressed by the rebels of My subjects, but it is the action of those who attribute themselves to Me, the Oppressed, and who commit what will make them lose the honor of God amongst His creatures. They are nothing but sowers of discord and those who corrupt and do mischief on this earth, and who dispose of the property of people. I do not know them and will not unless they repent and come back to God, the Forgiving, the Generous, the Merciful.
BC#37D
To the members of the General Assembly of Los Angeles,
Upon them be the Glory of the Most Glorious.
He is GOD!
O ye honoured Souls:
The world had, through the rotten, out-of-date and blind imitatinos, become like unto a dark night. The foundations of the Teachings of GOD had totally been forgotten. The people had adhered to the shell and neglected the kernel. The nations had, like unto worn-out garments, fallen into a pitiful condition.
In this intense darkness the Light of the Teachings of Baha’o’llah appeared and adorned the temple of the world with a new Robe. This new Robe is the Divine Principles. A new Cycle dawned; Creation was renewed; the world of humanity received a new Spirit; the season of autumn passed away and the life-giving springtime arrived. Everything was renewed; sciences were reborn; thoughts were rebuilt; etiquette became remodelled; industry became revolutionized; discoveries were renovated; inventions were regenerated; even trivial matters such as dress, merchandise and weapons were transofrmed; the laws and regulations of every Government became reconstituted. In short, renovation followed renovation.
All these renovatinons originate in the Renewal of the Splendid Graces of the Lord of the Kingdom through which the universe was rejuvenated. Therefore the point is to release the people entirely from the worn-out thoughts so that all their mind may be concentrated in the new Teachings which constitute the Spirit of this Age and the light of this Century. Unless these Principles are among men established with full power and unless these old habits and out-of-date customs are forgotten, the world of existence cannot enjoy ease and comfort and cannot exhibit Heavenly accomplishments.
Ye should strive with heart and soul so that those who are negligent may become cognizant, those who are asleep may become awakened, those who are ignorant may obtain wisdom, those who are blind may obtain sight, those who are deaf may receive hearing, and those who are dead may be revived.
Ye should exhibit such a strengh of steadfastness as to make all the people astonished.
The Heavenly Confirmations are with ye.
Upon ye be Baha-ul Abha.
(signed) Abdul Baha Abbas.
Haifa, Syria; March 27 1920.
Translated by Azizullah S Bahadur.
BC#38
TO their honors, Mr. and Mrs. Beckett, Glendale, Cal. U.S.A.
Upon them be Bahullah’il Abha.
HE IS GOD.
O ye two faithful and assured souls!
The letter was received. Praise be to God, it imparted good tidings. California is ready for the promulgation of the Teachings of God. My hope is that ye may strive with heart and soul that the sweet scent may perfume the nostrils.
Miss. Anna Greig, Mrs Alice Blackman, Mrs Kathrine Tiggar and Mrs. Dr. Ruth Newland were blessed souls and praise be to God they passed away firm and steadfast. They flew away from a narrow and gloomy world to a specious and illumined realm, they have been freed from every pain and affliction and have attained unto everlasting joy and gladness.
Convey on my behalf to Mrs. Chase respectful greeting and say:– “Mr Chase is in the horizon of Truth a twinkling star be dissipated and the radiance of that star shall illumine the state of California. Appreciate thou this bounty that thou hast been his wife and companion in life”. In short, every year on the anniversary of the ascension of that blessed soul the friends must visit his tomb on behalf of Abdul-Baha in the utmost lowliness and humility, should with all respect lay on his grave wreaths of flowers (?) all the day in quiet prayer, while turning the face toward the kingdom of sighs and mentioning and praising the attributes of that illustrious person.
Those souls who during the war have served the poor and have been in the Red Cross mission work, their services are accepted at the Kingdom of God and are the cause of their everlasting life.
Convey to them this glad-tidings (?).
Upon thee be greeting praise.
Translated by Shoghi Rabbani,
Bahjen, Acca, Palestine;
July 23rd, 1919.
BC#39
Tablet Translation
9
To the believers of God and the maid-servants of God
Upon them be Baha-Ollah- El Abha.
Los Angeles, Calif.,
HE IS GOD!
O ye who are attracted to the Kingdom of God!
Your letter was received. It was glorius poor of your firmness in the Cause of God. Praise be to God that with the utmost joy and fragrance ye are engaged in laying the foundation of the edifice of Guidance and are striving in the promotion of the Teachings of His Highness the Almighty, and like unto the birds of meadows you are singing the Anthem of the Kingdom in that meeting;– so you may become the cause of the guidance of the erring ones and the means of the salvation of the wicked ones.
This intention is conducive to the attainment of Divine Bounty. It is certain that the Confirmation of the Lord of Glory will descend upon you.
Upon ye be Baha El Abha.
(Signed) Abdul Baha Abbas.
Tranlsated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab July 29th. 1914.
Home of Abdul Baha, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Syria.
BC#40
Through Mirza Ahmad Sohrab to Frank Beckett and Loretha Beckett.
HE IS GOD!
O ye true, pure souls!
Your letter was received. You have expressed happiness on account of my trip to Egypt. Through this trip the fame of the Cause of God will become world-wide and will display wonderful effect in the hearts and souls of the Believers; for the aim is serving the Word of God and raising the call of the Kingdom.
In brief, endeavor ye with heart and soul and impart with the utmost happiness and rejoicing the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God so that the inhabitants of Tropico may find rejoicing and beatitude and your kind father may also obtain Faith.
Upon thee be Baha el Abha!
(Signed) Abdul- Baha Abbas!
BC#41
To the friends and maidservants of the Merciful
in Los Angeles and the other cities of California,
% Mr, and Mrs. Beckett;
Upon them be Bhaullah’il Abha.
HE IS GOD!
O ye friends and maid-servants of the Merciful!
From the spiritual assembly of Los Angeles a letter has been received. It was indicative of the fact that the blessed souls in California, like unto an immovable mountain, are withstanding the gale of violation, have like unto blessed trees been implanted in the soil of the Covenant and are in the utmost firmness and steadfastness. The hope is entertained, therefore, that through the blessings of the Sun of Truth they may daily increase in their firmness and steadfastness. The tests of every dispensation are in direct proportion with the greatness of the Cause and as heretofore such a manifest Covenant, written by the Supreme Pen, has not been entered upon, the tests are proportionately severe. These trials cause the feeble souls to waver while those who are firm are not affected. These agitations of the violators are no more than the foam of the ocean, which is one of its inseparable features, but the ocean of the Covenant has surged and surged until it has thrown out the dead bodies– the souls that are deprived of the Spirit of God and are lost in passion and self and are seeking leadership. In fine this froth of the Ocean shall not endure but shall soon disappear and vanish while on the other hand the ocean of the Covenant shall eternally surge and roar.
Consider then that Christ, in order to preserve the unity of Christendom, said to Peter- “Thou art the rock and upon this rock I shall build my Temple.” This word has secured every one’s submissiveness and allegiance and has preserved for a thousand years the unity of the Christian world. Notwithstanding the fact that this declaration was not a command to obey and to follow and was verbally delivered, yet it has proved to do away with any foam that might appear on the surface of the ocean of Christ and to cast ashore any dead body that sought the vanities of this world. At present His Holiness Bahaullah, through His Supreme Pen, has written the Book of the Covenant and has called it the “Book fo the Covenant,” and has entered with every one into a covenant and a testament. He first addresses the Aghsans, then the Afnans and then the relations bidding them to turn their faces to the Center of the Covenant and has then in accordance with the explicit text of the Most Holy Book (the Book of Laws) made the Center of the Covenant the Expounder of the Book.
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(2)
From the early days of creation down to the present time, throughout all the Divine Dispensations, such a firm and explicit Covenant has not been entered upon. In view of this fact is it possible for these foams to remain on the surface of the Ocean of the Covenant? No, by God! The violators are trampling upon their own dignity, are uprooting their own foundation and are proud in that they are upheld by flatterers who exert a great effort to shake the faith of feeble souls. But this action of theirs is of no consequence; it is a mirage and not water, the foam and not the sea, the mist and not the cloud, illusion and not reality. All this ye shall soon see.
In short, praise be to God, ye are firm and steadfast and be ye thankful that like unto blessed trees ye are firmly implanted in the soil of the Covenant. It is sure that every firm one will grow, will yield fresh fruits and will increase daily in freshness and grace. Reflect upon all the writings of Bahaullah, whether epistles or prayers, and ye shall surely come across a thousand passages wherein Bahaullah prays as follows-- “O God! exterminate the violators (?) of the Covenant and defeat the opposers of the Testament,” “He who denies the Covenant and the Testament is rejected by God, and he who remains firm and steadfast therein is favored at the Threshold of Oneness.” Such sayings and prayers abound, refer to them and ye shall know.
In short, be never depressed. The more ye are stirred by violation, the more deepn ye in firmness and steadfastness, and be assured that the Divine Hosts shall conquer for they are assured of the victory of the Abha Kingdom. Throughout all regions the standard of firmness and steadfastness is upraised and the flag of violation is debased for only few weak souls have been led away be the flattery and the specious arguments of the violators, are outwardly with the greatest care exhibiting firmness but inwardly are engaged in stirring the souls. Only a few who are the leaders of those who stir and agitate are outwardly known as violators while the rest, through subtle means deceive the souls, for outwardly they assert their firmness and steadfastness in the Covenant but when they come across responsive ears they secretly sow the seeds of sucpicion. The case of all of them resembles the violation of the covenant by Judas Iscariot and his followers. Consider has any result or trace remained after them. Not even a name has been left behind his followers and although a great number of Jews have sided with him it was as if he had no followers at all. This Judas Iscariot who was the leader of the apostles betrayed His Holiness Christ for thirty dirhams.
Take heed, O ye people of perception!
BC#42B
At present these insignificant viiolators will surely give away the Center of the Covenant for the large sum which they have begged by every subtle means. It is now thirty years that His Holiness Bahaullah has ascended and these violators have meanwhile striven with the utmost effort. What have they done so far? Under all conditions those who have remained firm in the Covenant have conquered while the violators have met defeat, dejection and disappointment. After the ascension of Abdul-Baha, no trace of them shall remain. These souls ignore what will happen and are proud of their own fancies.
In short, O ye friends of God and the maid-servants of the merciful! The hand of the Divine Bounty has placed upon your heads a bejewelled crown, the precious gems of which shall eternally shine over all regions. Appreciate this bounty and unloosen the tongue in praise and thanksgiving, and engage in the promulgation of the Divine Teachings for this is the Spirit of Life and the means of salvation.
Upon ye be Baha’ilAbha.
Original of this tablet signed by Abdul-Baha.
Translated by Shoghie Rabbani,
Bahjeh, Acca, Palestine.
July 23rd, 1919.
BC#42C
To those who say Jesus Christ came back to earth in his earthly body they should reflect that Jesus Christ was 33 years old at the time of His death. According to medical science it is established that His body had been completely changed at least three times. If it was the body of the third decade of his life which revived, what became of the other two?
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After the death of the Blessed Perfection, one day the chief of Mohammedan priests of Acca came to our Lord, and said he had seen the door of his room open and the Blessed Perection come into his room. This was the Truth and Cause of the Blessed Perfection which manifested itself and its continuance to him this way.
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Resurrection.
Jesus Christ had two bodies - one spiritual and one material. The material body is of no importance. It changes and changes always. An old persons’ body is not the same as that o fthe same person when young. The visible world does nothing but change, and change leads to annihilation.
We must be sure that the soul of man leaves his body it never return to that body again.
In the Gospel record, when jesus was crucified and ascended, Mary Magdalen and the other disciples had fallen into such a state of excitement and agitation that during three days the Cause of God was annihilated for them. After three days their agitation, having abated, they realized that the Cause of Jesus Christ and his teaching was ever lasting in the world. The disciples would not at first write to the other believers openly that Jesus was crucified till mary Magdalen said to them, what does it matter, His soul is with us. When Jesus was crucified some said; “His religion is annihilated and gone”. Mary Magdalen said: “Matter is gone and flesh - but the soul of the religion is forever.”
Thomas was a feeble character who believed that the cause was lost; after a little time he saw that though Jesus was killed, the Cause of God still continued and then he realized and believed.
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Buddha
Buddha was a very good man - a divine philosopher, but not a great prophet. Many of his moral teaching greatly resemble those of Jesus. The doctrine of Reincarnation as taught by the Buddhists and some ancient philosophers, is not true. It was largely invented by those people who cling to this world, and loved it so, that they could conceive of no happiness apart from it. All those souls who are truly severed from the world and from everything save God, have always longed to depart and go onward to a more spiritual existence. Many of the theosophists have said that it was necessary for people to return again and again, in order gradually to attain to perfection, but there is no spiritual benefit in mere length of time! Those who receive the Holy Spirit can instantly become perfect.
Take for an illustration the olive trees, which exists for thousands of years yet they have not by this duration of time attained to the life and development of the animal kingdom, whereas a small
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insect existing for onlyl a few days or hours belongs to it. Indeed many of the ancient philosophers involved this idea of reincarnation in order to fill a flaw in their doctinres. They believed this material existence was all for they had not attained, as we have, to the knowledge of the spiritual existence beyond; and they thought it was necessary for the sake of justice that a man should be reborn on this earth again and again.
No infant is ever born bad - all infants are born alike good. But their education and surrounding and their individuality make them become what they afterwards are.
Question asked ABDUL BAHA by I. D. Brittingham in a letter in 1902.
“Are the planets or stars the many mansions in heaven of which Christ spoke, telling His disciples that He went to prepare a place for them?”
Answer: contained in a Tablet from Abdul Baha to I.D. Brittingham, translated by M.A. Fareed, Chicago, August 15, 1902
“As to thy question regarding the stars: Know thou those brilliant stars are numberless and their existence is not void of wisdom both useful and important (i.e., their existence is of great importance.)”
Rather, they are worlds, as this world of ours. But they differ in their bodies by the difference of elements from this earthly body. They differ in (their) formation. The beings existent upon these bodies are according to their formation.
“As to the worlds where unto Chirst (upon whom be the great glory!) referred- They are spiritual, divine, heavenly, single, unlocated: niether the imperfect mind can comprehend them, nor the sinning soul know them. But, verily, the sights of the people of the Kingdom of EL ABHA perceive them and the intellects of the people of the Supreme Concourse apprehend them.”
In July, 1912, New York City, this question was presented to Abdul Baha by I.D. Brittingham, and the following questions were asked, and again were asked Him in November, 1912.
1st question: “Some think that this teaching has been incorrectly translated and Abdul Baha teaches that the souls, upon leaving this earth, do go to the planets or stars, and that they progress in their spiritual development through living upon one after another of these bodies. Is any of this teaching true?”
Abdul Baha: “No”
2nd question- “Were the souls dwellers upon any planets or stars before coming to the earth?”
Abdul Baha “No”.
3rd question: “Were the souls created as individuals before they entered the physical bodies of this world?”
Abdul Baha: “They existed before coming to this world, but not as we know personality upon this planet.”
(see also BC#17)
BC#42B
Extracts from Tablets of Abdul Baha on Immortality.
Concerning the condition of the human soul after its ascention from the material world; The essences of the human soul are clarified from material substances and purified from the embodiment of substantial things. It is exclusively luminous; it has no body; it is a dazzling pencil of light; it is a celestial orb of brightness.
Those souls who are not vivified and attracted by the Holy Spirit are accounted among the dead, because their souls are deprived o fthe Breath of the Holy Spirit, and these after physical death, are in their environment, but, in comparison with the pure souls who have been vivified by the Holy Spirit, they are as dead and deprived.
Those souls who have passed through death have a sphere of their own. It is not removed from ours. Their work is ours, the work of the Kingdom, but it is sanctified from what we call time and place. In prayer there is a mingling of station a mingling of condition. Pray for them as they pray for you. When you do not know it they are able to make suggestions to you, if you are in difficulty and in a receptive attitude. But there is no phenomenal intercourse. That which seems like intercourse has a much depper and more subtle explanation. It is not possible to put into human words these great matters. The language of man is the language of children. Man’s language often leads astray.
“Concerning the question whether all souls enjoy Eternal Life; Know thou these souls partake of the Eternal Life in whom the Spirit of Life is breathed from the Presence of God, and all besides them are dead- without Life; as Christ has explained (this matter) in the texts of the Gospel. Any persons whose insight is opened by God sees the souls in their stations after the disintegration of the bodies. Verily, they are living and subsisting before their Lord! And he sees also the dead souls submerged in the gulf of mortality. Then know thou, verily, all the souls are created according to the Nature OF GOD, and all are in the state of (unconscious) purity at the time of their birth. But afterwards they difer from one another in so far as they acquire excellencies or defects. Nevertheless, the creatures have different degrees in existence in sofar as the creation goes for capacities are different but all of them are good and pure (in their essence;) then afterward they are polluted and defiled. Although there are different states of creation, yet all of them are beneficial.”
Question was asked Abdul Baha if any soul was annihilated/ He answered “No, it will be placed in different conditions by God’s Mercy, and will eventually progress.”
“But the spirits of heavenly souls will find eternal life; that is, they will attain to the highest and most great stations of perfection. But the spirits of the heedless souls, although they are immortal, are in a world of imperfection, concealment, and ignorance.
This is a concise answer. Contemplate and meditate upon it in order that thou mayest comprehend the realities of the mysteries in detail. For instance, no matter how much the mineral has an existence and a life, yet in comparison to man it is entirely non-existent and deprived of life. For man is translated from life to death his comparative station will be that of a mineral existence. In such wise, the mineral life typifies the detah of man. This is a brief answer.”
Abdul Baha says; the holy souls are promised the Gift of Intercession; know thou for a certainty that in the Divine Worlds the spiritual beloved ones (believers) will recognize each other and will seek union (with each other), but a spiritual union. I hope that we shall be together in the Divine worlds. Likewise a love that one may have
BC#43A
entertained for any one will not be forgotten in the world of the Kingdom. Likewise, thou wilt not forget the life that thou hast had in the material world. O maid-servant of God Hold fast to the “Most Strong Handle” and be thoroughly attracted to the Kingdom of Abha, until thou mayest at every instant find a new confirmation and attain to a wonderful Gift, and become a cause for the guidance of souls.”
“When the souls of the sincere depart (from this body), then their unreal vision (i.e., seeing) is changed unto a vision of reality. Even as man, when in the age of babyhood and imperfection, though he reacheth the world (or age) of perfection and becometh endowed with reasoning faculty and (the power of) discrimination and comprehension, then that vision of his is a vision (i.e., seeing) of reality and not the unreality. It is evident that the divine nearness is an unlimited nearness, be it in this world or the next one. This is a nearness which is sanctified from the comprehension of the minds. The more a man seeketh light from the Sun of Truth, the nearer he will draw. For instance, a clear body is near unto the sun, and a black stone is far from the sun. This nearness dependeth upon clearness, purity and perfection and that remoteness is due to density, dullness (or obscurity) and imperfection. “as to the qeustion whether the souls will recognize each other in the spiritual world; This (fact) is certain; for the Kingdom is the world of vision (i.e.,) things are visible in it, where all the concealed realities will become disclosed. How much more the well known souls will become manifest. The mysteries of which man is heedless in this earthly world, those will he discover in the heavenly world, and there will he be informed of the secret of truth; how much more will he recognize or discover persons with whom he hath been associated. Undoubtedly, the holy souls who find a pure eye and are favored with insight will, in the kingdom of lights, be acquainted with the mysteries, and will seek the bounty of witnessing the reality of the Beauty of God in that world. Likewise will they find all the friends of God, both those of the former and recent times, presen in the heavenly assemblage. As to the difference and distinction between Lazarus and that ‘rich man’; The first was spiritual, while the second was material. One was in the highest degree of knowledge and the other in the lowest depths of ignorance. The difference and distinction will naturally become realized between all men after their departure from this mortal world. But this distinction is not in respect to place, but it is in respect to the soul and conscience. For the Kingdom of God is sanctified (or free) from time and place; it is another world and another universe. But the holy souls are promised the Gift of Intercession.”
“Be not grieved at the death of thy dear daughter. This divine bird flew away to the rose garden of the Merciful and that plant of humanity hastened to the garden of the Kingdom of El Abha. That drop returned to the Most Great Sea and that ray betook herself to the Most Great Orb. Be happy and thankful because thou wilt see her face shining in the divine Kingdom and wilt find her as a lamp amid an assembly in the spiritual heaven.”
BC#43B
Extract from a Tablet to one of the American believers.
It hbehoveth him (Man) to seek only, Divine Bounties, and subjects, which lead to the Knowledge of the Invisible, (Word of God) through the mediation of the Holy Spirit. Then he will receive the Reality of the Triune powers in man, through his innate sight. For, verily, the signs of the triune powers which exist in mankind are spirit, Intellect and Soul.
Spirit is the Power of Life, the Intellect (Mind) is the power which comprehends the realities of things; and the Soul is an intermediary between the Supreme Concourse (Spiritual World) and the lower (Material) Concourse; it has two phases. The higher aspires to the Kingdom of El Abha, and the Light of the Intellect, shines forth from that Horizon (Kingdom) unto its higher sphere. The other plan inclines to the Lower Concourse of the Material world and its lowest sphere is enveloped in the darkness of ignorance, but when Light is poured upon this phase, and if this phase of the soul is capable of perceiving it, then “Truth has come and falsehood vanished for falsehood is short duration”. Otherwise darkness will surround it from all directions and it will deprive it of associating with the Supreme Concrouse, and it will remain in the lowest depths.
“As to the Voice?” i.e., There are two kinds of voices, One is the physical voice and it is expressed by atmospheric vibrations, which effect the nerve of the ear, the other is the Merciful Breath (of God), and this is a call which is continually heard from the Supreme Concourse, and cheers the pure and Holy Souls. May it be beneficial to to those who have heard this call” Know thou, verily, that the Ancient Light, and the Manifest Beauty (God) has sown seeds in the soil of existence, and hath irrigated them through His Spiritual Bounties. This soil will surely bring forth good plants of Divine gifts, the Leaves of this growth are Love and Union, and its stem is the Teaching of the True One and His Supreme Law and its grain pods are the Heavenly Blessings which give life to the Souls - Depend thou upon these” Depend thou upon these, Depend thou upon these. Abandon every imagination and be attracted to the Lights of Reality, and discover both the Divine Truths and the physical Truths. Also know thou, that he greatest spiritual and Divine chaplet (Talisman) is the word of God and the Sun of Truth which penetrates the reality of the created beings and attracts the entire soul of man in the world of existence, and which draws forth unto all horizons. Hast thou ever perceived a greater chaplet than this? No “By the splendor of Baha” Verily I yearn for the visit of those Souls who are cheered, dilated, moved by and attracted to the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. As to the critical period, through the confirmation of Baha;– nor is He dominated by any critical period; and as proof of this Abdul Baha has withstood all critical periods and great dangers since His earliest childhood, to the present day; through the assistance of the Supreme Lord.
Upon thee be greeting and praise
Abdul Baha Abbas
Extract from Mr Hatcher s Tablet.
“But know thou, verily, that I associate with heart and conscience with firm friends, and speak with them without lip or tongue, and discuss with them the divine messages which are abiding in the heart and soul. Praise be to God that this interpreter is between us. Therefore be thou not said.” “Be silent in the crouds.” (?)
“True souls must stand together today and must share confidences bearing upon the Cause in a way to bring about the best public appearance of condition, which we must ourselves face and act upon.”
BC#43C
Extract from a Tablet of Abdul-Baha.
Every soul who sacrificies his life (i.e., serves faithfully) in the service of the Cause of God, all the existing beings will come under his command, and confirmation will pour down upon him from every direction, so that he quickens the souls, tranquilizes the spiritis, and bestows prosperity to the bodies.
To Rosa Hunter in a Tablet
Words of Baha’o’llah.
O thou who art waiting!
Tarry no longer for He has come. Behold His Temple– the Glory dwelling therein! It is the Ancient Glory with a new Manifestation.
O nightingale of paradise!
The Branch of Life is waving to and fro. It is time for thee to sing thy harmony and give unto the world the joy of love.
Words of Abdul Baha written by request, on the fly-leaf of two copies of the Ighan.
O thou who art athirst for the Water of Life!
This manifest book is the fountain-head of the Water of Life eternal. Drink so much as thou art able from the fountain of the living Water.
O thou who art seeking after the knowledge (of God)!
Immerse thy self in the ocean of the explanation of the Beauty of the Merciful, so that thou mayest gather (from its depths) the pearls (of the wisdom of God).
The remaining quotes are from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas....
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His Holiness...Abdul Baha (Bahá’u’lláh?), has said to the children of the Spirit.
“I have manifested Myself before, and have sacrificed Myself for your salvation, to bring you intot he Kingdom of Our Fahter, with great glory. These are the days whereof I have promised you I will appear in the Kingdom of the FATHER, just as it was foretold by the Prophets and Messengers. Why do you turn from Me and take hold of some one else? Do you forget My COMMANDMENTS? By God, NO ONE WILL INRICH YOU BUT ME. NO ONE WILL MAGNIFY YOU BUT ME. NO ONE WILL MEDIATE FOR YOU BEFORE MY FAHTER, THE MERCIFUL BUT ME. Withhold from submitting yourselves to lusts and passions that you may see Me sitting in the chair of MIGHT and POTENCY. HE who denies Me first will deny Me in these days.
O people if you come to Me, you will not profit Me, and if you turn from Me you will not harm Me. Verily, God is the INDEPENDENT and SUFFICIENT for everything. BUT I HAVE SUFFERED HUMILIATION and SUBMISSIVENESS for your glory. Be merciful unto yourselves and unto the servants who are weak. Do not do what you have done before, and do not follow the path of the misdirected. To affiliate yourselves with the firm believers is a grace, and to be far from the backsliders is a comfort. MENTION YOUR LORD ALWAYS, and consort with FRAGRANCE and SPIRITUALITY.”
Selections from Letters of Mirza Ahmad, giving the Words of Abdul Baha in Paris, in March, 1913.
Come ye together Consecrate your spiritual forces, Arise with great fervor and enthusiasm, Show ye an united effort, Let a new attraction take possession of your hearts, Let a new spirit sweep over your temples, so that the Fire of the Love of GOD, which is enkindled in your holy of holies, may flame forth and set up a spiritual conflagration in the whole of Europe.
You must not rest day nor night until you have breathed into this body a new spirit, and ignited a light in this lamp.
To Ahmad: If thou couldst measure the heights and depths of the marvelous events which have transpired, and are transpiring, in this Cause, thou wouldst write down every word I utter with a pen of diamond upon a page of gold.
Extract from a Tablet written by Abdul Baha.
O servant of God! Know thou, verily, the Fragrances of the Garden of the Covenant have perfumed all regions: the Standard of the Testament is wavering upon the Castles of Glory, and there is no refuge for those who flee from this strongly fortified Foretress! Do the popel of surmise imagine that there is for them any other shelter than this Impregnable Refuge? Or, that there is any other retreat than this Blessed Region, from which the Lights have shone forth, the Mysteries have appeared, and the Sign are being diffused O servant of God! Arise to promote the Word of GOD; to promulgate the Covenant of GOD, and to chant the Verses of GOD with such power whereby the elements of discord may tremble in those regions!
Upon thee be greeting and praise!
Abdul Baha Abbas.
BC#45
To the Maid-servant of God! Mrs. Josephine Cowles.
Upon her be Baha’o’llah!
HE IS GOD!
O thou who art cheered in soul by the Fragrances of God!
Verily I read thy words of thanksgiving to God for He hath guided thee to the Light of Guidance, caused thee to hear the Call from the Supreme Concourse, shown unto thee His mighty Signs and made thee a herald in His Name among mankind.
Blessed art thou for thou hast received teachings from His Holiness, Professor Abdul Fazl, and hast visited His Honor Khan with all joy, happiness and fragrance.
Verily, God shall surely confirm thee with the Spirit of Life, thou art in the Ark of Deliverance, and He shall chant unto thee the verses of steadfastness, that thou mayest keep firm at the violence of tests and against the power of trials.
Verily, God hath already forgiven thy fortunate son who hath ascended to the Supreme Friend, and verily he addresses thee in the most wonderful explanation and says: “O my loving mother! O that my people would know that my Lord hath forgiven me, and made me of those who have attained.”
As to thee! Know thou verily, the winds of tests shall surely wax violent in those regions, and will pull out (certain) trees from their roots. But the firm ones, their Lord will assist them with the greatest powers, and will stand trials even as solid mountains with-stand whirl-winds, hurricanes and storms. Know thou verily, every firm one will be well rooted through the Grace of thy Lord, and the Lord of the Kingdom will assist him with the hosts of His Holy Realm of Might and with the Angels of His Kingdom, from all directions.
I beg of God that thou mayest be of them (firm ones) and withstand every whirl-wind, shock, violence and calamity.
(Signed) Abdul Baha Abbas.
Translated by A.K’ Khan.
Jan. 23, 1903.
BC#46
YA ALLAH EL MOSTAGHAS!
(O, Thou God, from whom relief and help is sought most urgently or desperately). Quoted from ABDUL BAHA and translated by Mirza Ali Kuli Khan, January 30th, 1915.
Extracts from letters in Paris by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab to Miss Harriet Magee, New York City (May 1913).
WORDS OF ABDULBAHA.
Blessed is he who is charitable for he shall inherit Eternal Life.
Blessed is he who overlooks the faults of others for he shall enjoy Divine Beautitude.
Blessed is he who associates with all with joy and fragrance for he has obeyed the Commands of BAHA’O’LLAH.
Blessed is he who is kind to enemies for he has walked in the footsteps of Christ.
Blessed is he who proclaims the doctrine of Spiritual Brotherhood for he shall be the Child of Light.
Blessed is he whose heart is tender and compassionate for he will throw stones at no one.
Blessed is he who will speak evil of no one for he hath attained to the good pleasure of the Lord.
Blessed is he who will not uncover the sins of others for he will become favored at the Threshold of the Almighty.
Blessed is he who hath a forgiving nature for he will win the spiritual graces of God.
Blessed is he who diffuses only the sweet fragrances of the flowers of (?) friendship and mutual association for he will obtain a goodly portion of the bounties of the Merciful.
Blessed is he who teaches union and concord for he will shine like unto (?) a star in Heaven.
Blessed is he who practices loving kindness and co-operation for he will be encircled with celestial benediction.
Blessed is he who comforts the down trodden for he will be the friend of God.
Referring to Mr. Bryan’s message (May 23, 1913)
The spirit of the age demands the establishment of universal peace. No power on earth can withstand before it. God has designed that peace must reign in this age and it will come to pass. Let the advocates of peace work with greater zeal and courage for the Lord of Hosts is their supporter. In this radiant century and merciful age the ears are open, the hearts are awakened, the eyes seeing, the conscience stirred. The age of strangeness has passed. The century of friendship has arrived. The dark hours have disappeared, and the luminary of unity hath dawned. Now is the time to be illumined with the rays of the Sun of Solidarity of the human race. This is not the hour for taking life, this is the hour for impartinng life. This is the hour for self-sacrifice for the commonweal of humanity.
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(Happiness-pp. 5.)
O thou Maidservant of God; Be not thou sad on account of past vicisitudes and troubles, neither be thou discouraged by hardships and difficulties. Be thou hopeful in the Bounty of the True One, and be thou happy and rejoiced in the love of God. This world is the arena of tests, trials and calamities. All the existing things are the targets for the arrows of mortalities; therefore one must not be sad or disheartened on account of troubles, or beocme hopeless over the intensity of misfortune and distress.
Praise be to God that thou hast found the guidance of God and hast entered the Kingdom of God, hast attained to peace and tranquility, and hast obtained a share from the everlasting Bounty and Mercy. Therefore, pass the remaining days of thy life in the utmost joy and fragrance, and with a joyful heart and tranquil mind live and act under the protection of His Highness, the Clement.
***** all
Strive with thy power to paint thy likeness on the ages of the hearts with such beauty as to brighten the minds. That beauty is the splendor of the Merciful and the Glad Tidings of Thy Lord, the Clement, whereby the faces shine with an eternal light in the court of ages and centuries. (Tablets-pp. 243.)
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OLA-LOFTINESS, FASTING & PRAYER
Prayer to be said during the Fast. Before using the Greatest Name 95 times.)
Cause us to drink from the River of the Kawther of Thine Eternity, O our GOD!
Cause us to taste the Fruits ot the Tree of Thine Idenitty, O our Hope!
Cause us to quaff the Clear Water of the Fountain of Thy Love, O our Baha!
Cause us to dwell in the Abode of Thine Everlasting Mercy, O our Light!
Cause us to walk in the Garden of the Nearness of Thy Presence, O our Beloved!
Cause us to sit on the Right-Hand of the Throne of Thy Bounty, O our Desire!
Send unto us the Fragrant Breezes of Thy Joy, O our Aim!
Cause us to attain to the Summit of the Paradise of Thy Reality, O our Adored One!
Cause us to hear the Melodies of the Dove of Unity, O Thou Whom we behold!
Quicken us through the Spirit of Power and Might, O our Sustainer!
In the Spirit of Thy Love make us steadfast, O our Assister!
In the Path of Thy Good-Pleasure make us firm, O our Restorer!
Cause us to be Sheltered in the Everlasting Ridván, before Thy Countenance, O our Merciful One!
Cause us to sit on the Throne of Thy Might, O our Master!
Cause us to ascend to the Heaven of Thy Providence, O our Awakener!
Direct us unto the Sun of Thy Guidance, O our Attractor!
Cause us to present ourselves before the Appearance of Thine Invisible Oneness, O our Origin and our Hope!
Cause us to return to the Pure River of Beauty in the One Whom Thou hast Manifested, O our GOD!
For verily, Thou art Powerful to Do whatsoever Thou Willest!
Thou art the Mighty, the Exalted!
-----9------
(Prayer used during the Fast. From Children of the Kingdom, Vol. IV, No. 2, P. 3 (?))
O GOD! As we are fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking even so Purify our hearts and lives from aught else save Thy Love, and Protect and Preserve our souls from self-passions and animal (?) traits.
Thus may the Spirit Associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything save Thy Mention.
-----9------
BC#49
BC#50
poem not from Central Figures
Explanation of the Greatest Name. by Abdul Baha Taken from various Tablets and Talks.
“The interpretation of the ring is not the meaning of the letters of its form; the real meaning is a symbol from the Real Light.
The word BAHA or the ofrm of this ring gives both ways alike the reality or significance of BAHA, which means Light. The Light of Truth. With this symbol this form of the ring, one can remember the meaning of that Light which means BAHA. When he looks upon the ring he may remember BAHA. This is the cause of remembrance, the form of this engraving on the stone. It can be read from four points the same., BAHA. One is the station of identity second qualities or attributes; third, the name; fourth, deeds, because every thing contains identity, attribute, name and deeds, which is its fragrance. For instance, the sun has identity, qualities, name and function.
These four, BAHA, are symbols of four things.”
BC#51
A COMPILATION OF TABLETS AND WORDS PERTAINING TO
THE CENTER OF THE COVENANT OF GOD ON VIOLATION
COMPILED BY MRS. H. EMOGENE HOAGG.
____________
“The Orb of the Covenant”
HE IS GOD!
“O thou whom my heart addresses!
Know thou verilyl, The Covenant is an Orb which shines and gleams forth unto the universe.
Verily Its Light will dispel darkness, Its Sea will cast out the thick froth of suspicions upon the shore of perdition.
Verily naught in the world can ever resist the Power of the Kingdom. Should all mankind assemble, could they prevent the sun from its light, the winds from their blowing the clouds from their showers, the mountains from their firmness, or the stars from their beaming? No! By the Lord, the Clement! Everything (in the world) is subject to corruption; but the Covenant of thy Lord shall continue to pervade all regions.
Address thou the waverers and say:
‘Have ye forgotten that which transpired in the time of Christ?
Are ye not informed of the events which took place in His Blessed Day?
Did not the Pharisees rise against Him?
Did they not give verdict to the shedding of His Blood, to the murder of His friends and to oppressing of His chosen ones?
Have ye heard concerning the heretics, the violators of His Covenant, (who appeared) after Him?
Are ye not informed of those kings, princes, learned and prominent men who persecuted Him?
Did ye not see what had been the end of the persecutors?’
And do thou advise them and illumine their inmost part, and say: unto them–
‘By GOD, the True One! Verily, ABDUL BAHA is assisted by the Beauty of EL ABHA who helps Him with a Power whereunto all the heads are made humble.
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-2-
You shall surely find the banner of hypocrisy reversed, the foundations of discord demolished and the Standards of Peace and Harmony waving throughout all regions!’
O my friend! Verily, Baha hath commanded me to be forbearing and patient, to conceal (their doings), to forgive and pardon. Otherwise, I would have rent their covering, disclosed their sins, divulged their deeds, depicted their character and unveiled their manners. Verily thou art already inofrmed of some of their deeds and it is sufficient for you.
Consequently, turn thy face unto the Covenant, thy heart beating with the love of God, thy soul attracted to the fragrances of God, thy tongue speaking of the appearance of the Kingdom of God, thy insight rending the veils asunder and disclosing the realities of things, and with a power which may move the heart of all the world.
This is a confirmation from the Lord of the Effulgence while all else save this shall never profit thee! This is that by reason of which thy face shall gleam, thy heart shall be dilated with joy, thy soul become pure, thy back strengthened, thy spirit rejoiced and thine identity quickened.
Leave the people of suspicion behind thy back and adher to the manifest signs!
By God, the True One! Verily the people are drunkedn and asleep, confused and heedless, and this will drag them to the lowest of the low.
This is no other than manifest loss.
Upon thee be greeting and praise!”
(Signed) ABDUL BAHA ABBAS.
BC#52B
The documents between BC#52B and BC#77B, I have not entered in (though they could be entered in).
(2)
Each one must sacrifice his life and possession to the other, and each person be loving to all the inhabitants of the world, to rend asunder the curtain of foreignness and consort with all the people with union and accord. They must be faithful to the traitors and benevolent to the tyrant. They must recognize the enemies as friends, the unknown as known.
These are the advices and exhortations of GOD! O ye friends! O ye maid-servants of the Merciful!
In order to thank for this Most Great Guidance, consort with all the people with the utmost joy and happiness;–so that ye may become the recopients [sic] of the Glances of Providence.
Become not sad on account of any calamity, neither be ye broken-hearted by any trials. Be ye firm and steadfast in order that the Beloved of hope become the Cup-bearer of the assembly and the greatest desire become realized.
Blessing be upon ye by the Bounty of your Lord, the Merciful.
Upon ye be Baha-El-Abha.
(Signed) Abdul-Baha Abbas.
Translated by M. Ahmed Espahani, Oct. 9, 1907, 10:p.m., Washington, D.C.
Published by C.E. Sprague, 3502 Lake Ave., Chicago, Ill.
BC#77B
BC#78A-E - Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas, vol. 2
(identical with the exception of a few notes and names omitted from the published version)
Through Mirza Ahmed, to the Members of the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago and
the Spiritual Assembly of New York.
Upon them be Baha’u’llah-el-Abha!
O ye two merciful Assemblies!
Praise be to GOD, that, through the outpouring of Guidance India is rapidly becoming a rose-garden of ABHA, for many sould [sic] have lately embraced the Truth and are in the utmost attraction and enkindlement.
Forward ye, as soon as ye can, a few copies of every Tablet and Epistle, which is translated into the English, and the books which are written by believers, in this language, to the merciful Assembly of Bombay and to his honor Aga Seyad Mostafa in Rangoon.
O ye spiritual friends of Abdul-Baha! At this moment when danger is threatening to surround all directions, Abdul-Baha is attracted to the Fragrances of the Kingdom of ABHA, and, with infinite joy and happiness, is begging providence and favor from the Threshold of Oneness in your behalf. Now is the time of firmness and resolution and and [sic] the moment of steadfastness and constancy, and the period of showing forth divine power by the strength of proof, the solidity of argument, the eloquence of utterance and the grandeur of spirit.
Upon ye be Baha-el-ABHA!
(Signed) Abdul-Baha Abbas.
Trans. by Mirza Ahmed Espahani, March 24, 4:P.M., 1908. Washington, D.C.
Pub. by C. E. Sprague, 3502 Lake Ave., Chicago, Ill.
BC#79
Revealed by Abdul-Baha Abbas.
O friends of GOD! O spiritual companions!
The Lord of the peoples of the world declares in the beneficent Koran: “And there is for you in the Prophet of GOD a good example; “That is to say, to follow His Holiness is a good example and to imitate that Real Leader is the means of acquiring success in both of the worlds. The followers of the Prophet (Mohammed) were commanded to follow Him in all affairs and manners, and when some individuals, having recognized this safe path as the Straight Road traveled therein they became Kings in the Land of the Righteous and the Kingdom of the Elect. And those in the Land of the Righteous and the Kingdom of the Elect. And those souls who tried to acquire comfort with ease, deprived themsevles of all bounties and perished in the lowest ditch of despair. Their days came to an end and their happiness terminated. Their bright morn became dark, and their transparent cup became full of dregs and rust. Their uprising star descended and their bright luminary set.
But those pure souls who followed (in the footsteps of the Prophet shone in the Highest Horizon as the Stars of Guidance and arose from the Dawning-place of hopes with matchless brilliancy. They sat on the Throne of the Kingdom of Eternity and rested on the couch of Divine Success. Their traces are clear and their lights brilliant; their star is luminouus and their attendants are the armies of angels of the Heavens of Immortality. Their palace is firm and their edifice is strong. Their light is illumining the world and their heat is consuming the world.
Now judge for yourselves: Those souls who followed in the wake of that Manifest Light acquired such bounties and stations! If we now follow in the footsteps of the Most Glorious Beauty (Baha’o’llah) and the most Exalted Majesty (the Bab) - may My Life be a sacrifice for those who suffered martyrdom in Their Path - what would be the result?
His Exalted Majesty (the Bab) from the beginning of the arising of His Beauty to the day of the Greatest Martyrdom spent days and nights under severest trials, in the Path of GOD; He made His breast a target for thousands of arrows of calamities, and with a breast pierced and torn hastened to the Most Glorious Kingdom.
The Eternal Beauty - the Greatest NAME - tasted of the poison of every calamity, drank of the cup brim full of all kinds of trials; made His breast a target for every arrow; made His neck indebted to every sword. He was incarcerated in a prison, and was bound in merciless chains. He was exposed to the derision of the crowds of enemies and became a butt for the stones of miscreants. He was subjected to chains and collars and was tightly bound with ropes and fetters. He was exiled from His native land and was carried to the land of Bulgers and Serbs. In the Most Great Prison He suffered inexorable calamities and His blessed days ended in this cruel prison, and dark dungeon while a prisoner of oppression and injustice, and He ascended to His Kingdom.
Now, O faithful friends and companions of that Bright Countenance! Is it becoming that we should sit idle, even for one moment, practice delay, and seek ease and comfort, so that we be exposed to temptation and
BC#80A
indolence, be occupied with our own thoughts and lose our hearts to strangers and kindred? Nay, by GOD, we ought not to rest for one moment, day nor night; we ought not to pollute our pure hearts with the attchment to this world:– we must prepare Divine Assemblies, establish Feasts of Love, sing the melody of the Most Glorious Kingdom accompanied with stringed instruments and with drums and flutes; hasten, dancing and laughing with joy, to the altar of martyrdom, and offer body and soul, head and trunk, as a sacrifice!
O friends, be loyal!
O beloved ones, be firm and steadfast!
O imploring ones, trust in GOD and rely upon HIm!
O humble ones, be attached to GOD and cling to Him!
Let us encourage each other and set all in motion.
Let us strive to diffuse the Fragrance of GOD and engage ourselves in exalting the Word of GOD!
Let us ever be alert through the influence of the gentle breeze wafted from the Garden of Favor, and enjoy the Sweet Fragrance of the Garden of Unity.
Let us put enthusiasm and commotion into the hearts of the righteous, and excitement and joy into the hearts of the free!
Praise be to GOD that the hosts of the Most Glorious Kingdom are coming together in large numbers and the stars of the Highest Horizon, are in uprising and ascension! The Banner of Guidance is in motion, the Cloud of Bounty is descending in a shower, and the Luminary of the Horizon of Significances is shining! The Feast and the enjoyment of the Kingdom are in complete Harmony, and the Dawn of Favor is breaking with the Light of Guidance! It is the Melody of the Kingdom of ABHA which is descending from the Supreme Concourse, saying:
O dead one, who art without heart and soul! Become alive! Become alive!
O sleeping one, in the water and clay! Be awake! Be awake!
O intoxicated one, who art witless and gone astray! Become sensible! Become sensible!
The horizons are full of fragrance! The eyes are full of light and the East is pouring down fire! Get rid of body and soul!
The time of sacrifice has come, the Merciful Breath abounds and the Divine Secrets are disclosed! Be a leader of lovers! Be a leader!
The sweet song of the melodious singing bird from the Branch of the Cypress Tree in the Garden is expounding the problems of spirituality! Be acquainted with the mysteries! Be acquainted with the mysteries!
Tranlsated 1909 by Mirza Enayet ‘o’llah.
BC#80B
BC#492-500, 508-599 are non-existent? (according to Barstow)
237 moved to after 620
6, 208, 410, 462, 474, 475-478 moved to after 624 (end of collection)