Chapter 10

(167) The deep heart's love and the longing of the soul of this wronged one for those spiritual beloved ones, and in particular for those who are kin to the peerless Holy Tree of sanctity and oneness, cannot be told in words, and my most ardent wish is that I might correspond with each one of you, but our alarm and grief over this momentous happening, this terrible affliction and ill-omened agony, this inexorable divine decree, the passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha--may our souls be offered up for all the wrongs He bore!--has left us wretched, desolate, to such a degree that there is no peace in the spirit, no will to endure in the heart.

This is an earthquake which shook the foundations of our lives, this is a wailing and an uproar within the Company on High. The lightning bolt of this departure has set the very world aflame, and the fires of this leave-taking have scorched the whole earth.

The grieving dwellers in the courts of holiness have rent their garments of long-suffering, and the household of the Most High have put on mourning dress. Truly the people of Baha and those who are kin to the divine Lote-Tree are sharing with us the pangs of this bereavement, this direst of torments, and are partners in anguish of those who suffer here.

Now that this dread event has come upon us all, it is to be hoped that new stirrings and wondrous new vibrations will be felt; that a renewed staunchness and fidelity, an ever more vigorous firmness and loyalty, will take over and astound the world. Thus all will clearly understand that even though that sacred and mysterious Being has laid aside the garment of His mortal life, even though that Bird of eternity has abandoned the cage of this earth, still is His spirit in our midst, still is He watching over us all from the realm of the All-Glorious, ever is He gladdening the hearts of the beloved, and to the souls of those who are fast-rooted in the Covenant, ever is He bringing tidings of great joy.

45: The good news has come that the Will and ...

(168) The good news has come that the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha, may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has been read at the meetings of the friends, and we here are rejoiced to learn of their unity and their steadfastness and loyalty, and of their directing themselves toward the designated Centre, the named and specified Guardian of the Cause of God, the interpreter of the Book of God, the protector of His Faith, the keeper of His Law, Shoghi Effendi. This news brought extreme joy.

It is certain that enlightened and sensitive minds and spiritual hearts will continually obtain illumination from the Centre of Mysteries, and beg for bounties in abundance from Him Who is the Celestial Beauty Unconstrained. The ear of their intellect is hearkening to the divine call from the Company on High, and they drink the draught of faithfulness from bounty's cup. To them, all that is not the Beloved is nothing at all, and from whatever is not the good-pleasure of God, they veil their eyes. They worship truth, they seek reality, and they are intoxicated with the wine of His love.

God be praised, you have attained these bestowals. Now is the time for zeal and ardour, the season of fervour and joy. Thoughts must be focused on one Centre, opinions united on a single point, to publish abroad the Teachings of God and to act in accord with the counsels of 'Abdu'l-Baha, so that the light of divine confirmations may wax ever brighter, and the bounties of divine favour and success appear on every side, and that in a brief period, great progress will be made, and secrets now hidden will be divulged, and joy and radiance will appear.

It is to be hoped that out of the concealed and manifest favour of the Abha Beauty, He will generate a new spirit in His loyal loved ones, and make them to radiate a new and wondrous joy. This indeed does not seem far from the outpourings of His bounties and bestowals.

46: In this noblest of all ages the Sun of grace ...

(169) In this noblest of all ages the Sun of grace and loving-kindness has shone out from the divine day-spring with such resplendent glory and is casting His beams so bright and far, that He has lit up all the earth and made the hearts and minds of men to be as sanctified mirrors and reflectors of holiness--this to such a degree that from turning their faces unto that bright Orb, that Star of the loftiest heaven, those illumined beings have received abundant grace and have been enabled to understand the secret of God's oneness, and the mystery of His unity, and to become alert to subtle realities.

Praised be God the Beloved that He has disclosed, through His invisible bounties and visible grace, such secrets, and drawn such veils aside. Words have taken on new meaning, and meaning itself has been adorned with the divine. A clear Covenant makes our duty plain; an explicit and lucid Text explains the revealed Book; a specifically named Centre has been designated, toward whom all must turn, and the pronouncement of him who is the Guardian of the Cause and the interpreter of the Book has been made the decisive decree. All this is out of the grace and favour of our Beloved, the All-Glorious, and the loving-kindness of Him from the splendours of Whose servitude earth and heaven were illumined.

'Abdu'l-Baha, may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has filled to overflowing the cup of bounty for the people of Baha, and encompassed with His grace persons of every degree. He has destroyed the very basis of disunity, ruined any attempts at dissension and mischief, and clearly pointed out to all the highway of guidance, now and for evermore.

The hope is that we may arise with a new spirit and be confirmed with bountiful blessings, and urge on our steeds in the field of service, of purity and sincerity, and of high endeavour--nor is this much to ask of the loving-kindness and grace of our exalted Lord.

47: The purport of your letter is highly indicative ...

(170) The purport of your letter is highly indicative of your steadfastness in His Cause, of your unswerving constancy in the Covenant, of having set your face toward Shoghi Effendi, the authorized Point to whom all must turn, the Centre of the Cause, the Chosen Branch, the bough that has branched out from the twin heavenly Trees. Indeed, this is the essential thing, this is the meaning of true devotion, this is the unshakable, the indubitable truth whereby the people of Baha, the dwellers of the Crimson Ark, are distinguished.

The loved ones of the All-Merciful are those that have truly served the Most Exalted One,(171) have been nurtured by the hand of the Abha Beauty, have received training under the care of 'Abdu'l-Baha--may our life be sacrificed for the wrongs suffered by Them. Such souls have drunk from the soft-flowing river of true understanding, have quaffed their fill from the living waters of assurance, have set their affection on the one true God, and have rid themselves of all attachment to aught except Him. They tread the straight path of truth and stride along His undeviating way. They incline their attentive ears to the Call of the Concourse on High and are attracted to the Celestial Voice ringing from the realms of glory. Great indeed is their blessedness, and may they meet with a good ending.

We earnestly hope that through the bounty of the Lord of eternity a fresh measure of His confirmations may soon appear and you may be encompassed by His pervasive aid and assistance.

48: At this hour while yet the heart burns with ...

(172) At this hour while yet the heart burns with the anguish of sorrow, and the gloom of bereavement still hangs low, my thoughts turn in loving remembrance to my sincere beloved sisters and brothers in the Cause.

The news of your firmness in the Covenant, of your endeavour to work in unity and harmony, and of your untiring zeal and devotion in the Path of Service, has been a source of untold joy to me. For now my sole comfort lies in the loyalty and faithfulness of the friends, and my one joy in the progress of the Cause.

Dear friends! At this critical time through which the Cause is passing the responsibility that has fallen on every individual Baha'i is great, and his duties are pressing and manifold. Now that the Sun of the Covenant has set on the horizon of the world, the eyes of all the people are turned expectant upon us. Now the time has come for the faithful friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha, who have been the recipients of the Glorious Light, to shine forth even as brilliant stars. The radiance of our Faith must be such as to dispel the clouds of doubt and guide the world to the Day-spring of Truth.

Our firmness must be such as to cause him who wavers and errs to turn back penitent unto the fold; our unity and love must be such as to cause the peoples of the world to join hands in amity and brotherhood; and our activity in service must be such as to have all parts of the world resound with the echoes of 'YA-BAHA'U'L-ABHA!'.

For inspiration and guidance let us turn unto His life-imparting exhortations: 'O friends, show forth your fidelity! O my loved ones, manifest your steadfastness and your constancy! O ye who invoke His Name, turn ye and hold fast unto Him! O ye who lift up your hearts and implore His aid, cling to Him and walk in His ways! It is incumbent upon every one of us to encourage each other, to exert our utmost endeavour to diffuse His divine fragrances and engage in exalting His Word. We must, at all times, be stirred by the breeze that bloweth from the rose-garden of His loving-kindness, and be perfumed with the fragrances of the mystic flowers of His grace.'

Thus does 'Abdu'l-Baha still call to us from His realm of effulgent glory. Will not each of us hearken unto His voice, and exert the utmost endeavour to fulfil His hopes?

Dear friends, this is the day of faithfulness; this is the day of unity; this is the day of service. Let us not wait, nor ponder, but, detached from the world and its concerns, clad in the armour of faith, filled with the divine spirit of love, and quickened by His life-giving exhortations, let us arise in utmost love and harmony, hasten to the field of service, and subdue the domain of hearts with the arms of the love of God and the sword of peace and brotherhood.

For all inspiration and assurance let us turn unto Baha'u'llah's promise: 'Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day-star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. We are truly almighty.'

Dear friends! A great obligation of every Baha'i is vigilance to protect and shield the stronghold of the Faith from the onslaught of the enemies. In these days their activity has waxed strong. They are constantly on the alert, and exert the utmost endeavour to cause such harm as would impede the onward march of the Cause.

Association with such people will cause discord and unrest among the friends and will be detrimental to the progress of the Cause. Therefore it is urgent that the friends exercise great wisdom and vigilance lest through the evil schemes of the enemies a breach be made in the Faith. The few people whom 'Abdu'l-Baha pronounced as injurious to the Cause must be shunned by all the friends, as Shoghi Effendi himself tells us to do in his second letter to the American believers.

49: O steadfast ones, gathered beneath the ...

(173) O steadfast ones, gathered beneath the Abha Beauty's standard of oneness, O faithful lovers of 'Abdu'l-Baha! Sad news has come to us out of Iran in recent days, and it has intensely grieved the entire Baha'i world: they have, in most parts of that land, set bonfires of envy and malevolence, and hoisted the banner of aggression against this much-wronged community; they have left no means untried, no plot or strategy neglected, and have arisen with extreme hostility and spite to pull out by their very roots the trees of this garden of God.

From every side, they are aiming their arrows at hearts that rejoice in the knowledge of God and are filled with the love of Him. From every ambush, they are hunting down gazelles that pasture in the meadows of His unity. They are taking the men and women believers captive, and making orphans of the children. They are plundering the believers' property, sacking their hearths and homes.

Those, however, who have been trained and educated in the school of God, even when coming to such a pass, are resignation itself, and to the brutal aggressor they are as the living waters of Heaven. They are rivers of pure mercy and peace. Though powerful and well able to defend themselves, they never raise a hand to strike, nor do they open their lips to protest. They confront the others' taunts and curses with prayers that God will forgive them, and their reply to the wounds of bullet and sword is to offer milk and honey. They kiss the murderer's hand; as intoxicated lovers, they drain the martyr's cup.

Such is the way of those who are attracted to His Kingdom, and that other is the behaviour of the foolish, the heedless of God. So has it been, at the time when the Manifestations of God appeared: the heedless and the ignorant turned upon their heavenly Teachers, and the diseased harried and tortured their loving Physicians in the spirit, idly thinking that they were acquiring merit thereby. Thus have their imaginings always been, at the outset of every Faith: that by such cruel acts they could destroy that seed, the Word of God; or that by blowing against it, they could put out the lamp that He has lit; or that by directing a storm of denial against them, they could bring down His trees, so flourishing, so firmly rooted in His Kingdom, or lay His fair gardens in ruins.

But as, time and again, experience has shown, in every age they have only seen verified the Blessed Beauty's assurance that calamity's rushing rain is the greening of His planted field, and afflictions are the oil that feeds and adds to the radiance of the lamp of God. And then, as the days go by, and they see with their own eyes the Day-Star in its noonday splendour, witness the bewildering richness of the fields that God has sown, behold His great and all-pervading Cause--then the fires of hatred and envy flame out of the hell of their natures; they can contain themselves no longer, and the truth of the holy words is proved, that God will not bring down a people from their station unless they have corrupted their good qualities themselves, and it becomes clearly shown that God brings on the downfall of the heedless little by little and in ways that they know not.

During occurrences of this kind, it is incumbent upon the believers in other countries to immediately adopt prudent and reasonable measures, that through wise methods such fires may be put out. Let them not allow the claws of ravening wolves to be reddened with their brothers' blood; let them defend God's lambs from the hungry leopard's knife-sharp teeth; let them guard the members of the one and single Baha'i family from the poisoned sting of scorpions and snakes.

This is the unique obligation of the Baha'is of the world. Addressing the believers, Baha'u'llah says: 'Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body.' This means that just as each member safeguards the rest, warding off any threatened harm, so too must the individual Baha'is do, whether in the East or the West. At this time it is urgently needful, and it is the request of this grieving servant, that the assembly of the believers in that area act at once, and take the case to the ambassador of the Iranian government. Let them tell him, 'The holy Cause of Baha'u'llah has so unified us who are His world-wide followers, and has brought us so close together, that we have become like a single body. If the foot of a Baha'i, in the farthest Eastern land, is so much as scratched by a thorn, it is even as if we Baha'is here in the West had suffered the same. We have now received word from Iran that in _Sh_iraz, in Sultanabad, in Hamadan, in Ka_sh_an, even in Tihran, and in other places as well, the fanaticism of the ignorant and heedless has been fanned into flame, and that agitators are stirring up the populace--with the result that our brothers and sisters, who are but well-wishers of all humankind and are indeed the world's only hope for peace, and are obedient and helpful citizens of Iran and her government, find themselves under attack and pushed into the heart of the fire.

'We therefore request the representative of Iran to ask his government to safeguard our brothers in Iran from the aggressions of their enemies, and to deliver that flock of God's lovers from the claws of the wolf, and provide for their security and well-being. By bringing us word of this outcome, Iran will earn the deep and heartfelt gratitude of thousands of Baha'is who reside in these countries, and widespread appreciation will be voiced by us in our many gatherings, of her government's good offices on our behalf.'

And further, if it be possible, you should make this same representation through your own ambassador in Tihran, so that he may direct the attention of the Iranian authorities to these persecutions, and awaken that government to the possibility of divine retribution and to the shameful stigma occasioned by such actions directed against this innocent community by the heedless and ignorant amongst the mass of the people.

Let him make them aware that there are thousands of adherents of this Faith of the love of God around the world, who are gazing in astonishment and disbelief at the savage acts now being perpetrated against their brothers, and are eagerly waiting to hear that the government has come to the rescue of this unique, this law-abiding people, who are the well-wishers of mankind, from the attacks of the ravening wolves.

I pray for you continually at the Holy Threshold, and call upon Him on behalf of each one of you, and beg that He will bestow on you the blessings of the Kingdom.

Upon you, men and women alike, be the Glory of the All-Glorious.

50: A physician treats every illness with a ...

(174) A physician treats every illness with a certain remedy and to every painful sore he applies a specially prepared compound. The more severe the illness, the more potent must be the remedy, so that the treatment may prove effective and the illness cured. Now consider, when the divine Physician(175) determined to conceal His countenance from the gaze of men and take His flight to the Abha Kingdom, He knew in advance what a violent shock, what a tremendous impact, the effect of this devastating blow would have upon His beloved friends and devoted lovers. Therefore He prepared a highly potent remedy and compounded a unique and incomparable cure--a cure most exquisite, most glorious, most excellent, most powerful, most perfect, and most consummate. And through the movement of His Pen of eternal bounty He recorded in His weighty and inviolable Testament the name of Shoghi Effendi--the bough that has grown from the two offshoots of the celestial glory, the branch that has branched from the two hallowed and sacred Lote-Trees. Then He winged His flight to the Concourse on High and to the luminous horizon. Now it devolves upon every well-assured and devoted friend, every firm and enkindled believer enraptured by His love, to drink this healing remedy at one draught, so that the agony of bereavement may be somewhat alleviated and the bitter anguish of separation dissipated. This calls for efforts to serve the Cause, to diffuse the sweet savours of God, to manifest selflessness, consecration and self-sacrifice in our labours in His Path.

51: I was very glad to know of your meeting ...

(176) I was very glad to know of your meeting with the Chinese students, and I am sure your effect and influence shall be great upon them because their fresh and receptive minds are ready to grasp the importance of this Manifestation; and when you go to China, which you may if you think it wise, your influence and success, I hope, will be still more.

I pray God that He should confirm you in your teaching, and when you go to China, He should make you a pioneer in carrying the Message of this Dispensation to the farthermost countries of the world and to the most obscure.

The members of the Holy Family join me in extending to you their love and Baha'i greetings, and may the spirit of 'Abdu'l-Baha guide you and keep you.

52: We were delighted to receive your excellent ...

(177) We were delighted to receive your excellent letter ... and read it with joy. It gladdens our hearts to witness from its contents the evidences of loyalty and sincerity and perfect steadfastness in the Cause of God, and unshakeable constancy in His Covenant.

I offered praise to my Lord, the All-Glorious, for His abundant blessings, the prodigality of His bestowals, and His wondrous grace; for He has created such spiritual beings, such illumined essences, who attract bounty from the Sun of Truth, and are lit by its heavenly light, which unravels the mysteries, parts the curtains, and tears aside the veils. He has sent forth pure and holy souls whom the blame of the blamer cannot shut out from the Faith of God, nor frighten away from establishing the truth of His Teachings. These are they whose thirst is quenched, whose ills are healed, whose hearts are gladdened, whose minds are set at rest, whose souls are stirred, whose spirits rejoice, whose eyes find consolation by beholding the splendours of the beauty, and the graces of perfection, that come down, one following after another, from the firmament of glory. Well is it with them for such wondrous gifts, and bliss be to them for such blessings!

As for me, acquainted with great grief as I am, subjected as I am to calamities, I have no solace in this dire ordeal that has suddenly come upon me to darken my days, save only to see happiness in the hearts of the believers; to breathe in the sweet scents of loving-kindness from the gardens of their hearts, and to behold the sparkling lights of unity amongst God's chosen ones, and to note how widespread are the breaths of fellow-feeling and love amongst the righteous, and how His teachings and the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha are being disseminated throughout those lands--always in accord with wisdom, as enjoined by the Almighty and set forth in the Writings.

I beg of God, even as a pauper, and I implore Him with all lowliness, feebleness and contrition, to assist you all with His unseen favours, and open before your eyes the portals of His bounty and grace, and make ready for you whatsoever you desire out of His everlasting bestowals, and make all things easy for you, and fulfil your hopes--so that in serving the Faith of your Lord, the Glory of the All-Glorious, you will reach your furthermost goals. Verily is He the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving.

I beg of Him too, that He will cause every difficulty to vanish away, and will dispel every cloud, until it becomes possible for you to present yourselves at this blessed, this luminous and fragrant Spot, and bow down your foreheads in the dust of this bright Threshold, and attain this ultimate goal, for the friends long to behold you.

Again, I supplicate the Eternal Glory to send down His herald of holiness with the garment in his hands,(178) that all eyes may be solaced and all hearts rejoiced by the return to this country of the Chosen Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, Shoghi Effendi, in the briefest of times. This indeed is well within the reach of the bounties of our Almighty and All-Generous Lord.

53: Following the ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha ...