Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas Part 98

Thou must warble, like the nightingale of significances, in the rose-garden, so that thou mayest inspire all the birds of the meadow to chant and to sing.

"O thou youth of G.o.d!..."

O thou youth of G.o.d!

Thank G.o.d that thou hast found thy way to the Radiant Kingdom, torn asunder the veil of superst.i.tion and learned the reality of the mysteries.

All the people have formed a G.o.d in the world of thought, and that form of their own imagination they wors.h.i.+p; when the fact is that the imagined form is finite and the human mind is infinite.(260) Surely the infinite is greater than the finite, for imagination is accidental (or non-essential) while the mind is essential; surely the essential is greater than the accidental.

Therefore consider: All the sects and peoples wors.h.i.+p their own thought; they create a G.o.d in their own minds and acknowledge him to be the creator of all things, when that form is superst.i.tion-thus people adore and wors.h.i.+p imagination (or illusion).

That Essence of the Divine Ent.i.ty and the Unseen of the unseen is holy above imagination and is beyond thought. Consciousness doth not reach It.

Within the capacity of comprehension of a produced (or created) reality that Ancient Reality cannot be contained. It is a different world; from it there is no information; arrival thereat is impossible; attainment thereto is prohibited and inaccessible. This much is known: It exists and Its existence is certain and proven-but the condition is unknown.

All the philosophers and the doctors knew that It is, but they were perplexed in the comprehension of Its existence and were at last discouraged, and in great despair they left this world. For the comprehension of the condition and mysteries of that Reality of realities and Mystery of mysteries there is need for another power and another sense. That power and sense is not possessed by mankind, therefore they have not found any information. For example: If a man possess the power of hearing, the power of tasting, the power of smelling and the power of feeling, but no power of seeing, he cannot see. Hence, through the powers and senses present in man the realization of the Unseen Reality, which is pure and holy above the reach of doubts, is impossible. Other powers are needed and other senses required. If those powers and senses are obtained, then information can be had; otherwise, not.

As to the question of marriage, according to the law of G.o.d: First you must select one, and then it depends upon the consent of the father and mother. Before your selection they have no right of interference.

Endeavor as much as thou canst to acquire the English language with the utmost of eloquence and excellence, so that thou mayest be enabled to translate the Tablets into the j.a.panese tongue. This is my advice.

Certainly exert thy utmost endeavor to attain this bounty.

"O thou who art attracted by the Word of G.o.d to the..."

O thou who art attracted by the Word of G.o.d to the Kingdom of G.o.d!

Turn with the whole of thy being to G.o.d, forget aught else save G.o.d, and supplicate G.o.d to make thee a sign of guidance in the midst of people who are veiled from G.o.d; perchance they may be guided to the Orb of all horizons, enter the kingdom of harmony, drink of the cup of the love of G.o.d, rejoice at the manifestation of the Kingdom of G.o.d, and shelter themselves in the shadow of the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of G.o.d.

This beseemeth the believers; this is the qualification of the sincere; this is the path of the knowers, and this is the utmost aim of the faithful.

Exert thy utmost power that thou mayest share this great bounty.

"O thou spiritual youth!..."

O thou spiritual youth!(261)

j.a.pan hath made wonderful progress in material civilization, but she will become perfect when she also becometh spiritually developed and the power of the Kingdom becometh manifest in her.

One will encounter a little difficulty in the beginning of the establishment of the Cause of G.o.d in that country, but later it will become very easy, for the inhabitants of j.a.pan are intelligent, sagacious and have the power of rapid a.s.similation.

For the present, a perfect youth like thee is favored by the bounty of the Kingdom and hath attained to the knowledge of the Lord of the Kingdom.

Show thou forth an effort that thou mayest finish that which is necessary in the acquisition and study of science and art; then travel thou toward the countries of j.a.pan, so that thou mayest hoist the Ensign of Truth waving from the apex of the Supreme Concourse. Look thou not upon thine own capability; the invisible divine confirmations are great and the protection and providence of the Beauty of Abha is the helper and the a.s.sistant. When a drop draws help from the ocean, it is an ocean in itself, and a little seed, through the outpouring of rain, the favor of the sun and the soul-refres.h.i.+ng breeze, will become a tree with the utmost freshness, full of leaves, blossoms and fruits. Therefore, do not consider thy capacity and merit, but rely upon the infinite bounty and trust to His Highness the Almighty. Do not delay. Undertake soon that which thou art intending.

There are prophecies concerning this Manifestation in the Buddhistic books, but they are in symbols and metaphors, and some spiritual conditions are mentioned therein, but the leaders of religion do not understand. They think these prophecies are material things; yet those signs are foreshadowing spiritual occurances.

"Announce greeting on my behalf to the two young..."

(262) Announce greeting on my behalf to the two young j.a.panese(263) and say:

"His Imperial Majesty, the Mikado, became the cause of the material progress of j.a.pan. I hope that you may become the cause of her spiritual development. This is the principle of progress.

"Unless man maketh spiritual progress in the world of spirit, intellect and heart, he cannot gather universal results from material advancements.

Now you must gird up the loins of endeavor and reflect duly, so that you may quicken the people of j.a.pan through the spirit of G.o.d."

"O ye spiritual friends of Abdul-Baha!..."

(264) O ye spiritual friends of Abdul-Baha!

"Perfume Thou the East! Illumine Thou the West! Bestow Thou light to the North! Grant Thou life to the South!"

This verse hath been revealed from the lips of the Center of the Covenant one year after the departure(265) of Baha'o'llah. But the nakazeen (not understanding its spiritual purport) wondered and derided. Praise be to G.o.d! that now its signs have become manifest, its power evident, and its proof plain. Thanks be unto Him! that the East and West are stirred into cheerfulness, and through the Holy Fragrances all directions are perfumed.

The Blessed Perfection, in a clear text, hath promised us in the Book: "Verily I behold you from the Horizon of Abha and will make victorious whomsoever will arise in the service of my cause with the hosts of the Supreme Concourse and the cohorts of the favored angels!" Praise be to G.o.d! that this victory and confirmation became visible and manifest and hath shone forth from the horizon of the world like unto the sun.

Therefore, O ye friends of G.o.d! Show ye forth an earnest endeavor and display ye a resolute effort, so that ye may become a.s.sisted in the adoration of the Ancient Beauty and the Manifest Light; to be the cause of spreading the light of the Sun of Truth; to infuse into the dead, antiquated body of the world a new spirit; to cast in the fields of the hearts pure seeds; to arise in the service of the Cause; to speak with eloquent tongues; to become candles of guidance in the a.s.semblage of the world; to become s.h.i.+ning stars in the horizon of the existent being; to become merciful birds in the rose-garden of oneness; to sing the melodies of realities and significances; to spend every breath of your lives in the most great Cause; and to devote the period of your existence to the service of this conspicuous Light; so that in the end ye may be freed from loss and failure and attain to the inexhaustible treasury of the Kingdom.

For the life on man is wholly subject to danger and impermanency. A person cannot put his a.s.surance even in one moment's continuity. Notwithstanding this, the nations of the world, deceived by the mirage of superst.i.tion, imagine themselves secure in the heavenly way. Alas! Alas! Former communities in bygone ages entertained the same peris.h.i.+ng thoughts; but by one of those periodical fluctuations they were all hidden under the ground and afflicted with deprivation and loss, except those souls who had become pure evanescence and had arisen with great self-abnegation in the path of G.o.d. Such souls s.h.i.+ne forth as brilliant stars from the Horizon of the Ancient Glory, and the results which emanated from their lives in succeeding ages and cycles are the proofs of this statement. Therefore, do ye not rest, neither day nor night; seek ye not for composure; talk ye of the mystery of servitude, and seek ye the path of thralldom; so that through the promised confirmations ye may become a.s.sisted from the Kingdom of Oneness.

O ye friends! Dense and gloomy clouds have covered the horizon of the world, and the darkness of hatred, malignity, persecution, tyranny, and the greatest cruelty is spreading. All the people are drunk with the wine of heedlessness; and blood-thirstiness and rapaciousness are considered the n.o.blest excellencies of the world of men.

His Highness the Almighty hath chosen the friends from among the concourse of men and hath especialized them with the most eminent guidance and the highest gift; so that we may with our souls and hearts exert ourselves, sacrifice our lives, be engaged in the guidance of the people and the training of souls; so that the wild beasts may become the gazelles of the meadows of unity; the wolves the sheep of G.o.d; the bloodthirsty ones the heavenly angels; the fire of malice be extinguished and the flame of safety in the blessed tabernacle bestow illumination; the odor of the nether realm of infidelity be dispelled and the fragrances of the rose-garden of faithfulness be diffused in all parts; the weak draw light from the Universal Reason and evil souls seek to be purified with the holy and divine Breath. There are needed manifestors for this gift; farmers for this field; gardeners for this rose-garden; fishers for this sea; luminous stars for this heaven; spiritual physicians for these ill ones, and loving guides for these wanderers; so that they may bestow a share to those who are deprived, grant a portion to those who are shareless, give unmeasured treasure to the indigent ones, and show forth the power of proof to the seekers.

"Glory be unto Thee, O my G.o.d! I supplicate unto..."

Glory be unto Thee, O my G.o.d! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my hear, my soul and my spirit, saying:

O my G.o.d! O my G.o.d! Verily, the gloomy night hath fallen upon all regions and the clouds of ignorance have extended in all directions; the people are immersed in the darkness of surmise and the tyrants are sunk in the depths of brutality and lawlessness; the red glare of the burning fire is flas.h.i.+ng forth from the nether world; roaring, ominous voices are rising from the cruel, destructive and terrible armaments; every region is crying out with its dumb secret tongue: "Nothing that I possess hath benefitted me and power and strength are taken away from me!" Verily, O my G.o.d, the lamps of guidance are extinguished; the fire of animosity is enkindled; wrath and antipathy are spread abroad and provocation and maliciousness are disseminated upon the face of the earth. Yet I see only Thy wronged followers who are crying at the tops of their voices and summoning the people: