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PUBLISHED NINETEEN TIMES A YEAR
In the Interest of the BAHAI MOVEMENT
By the BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, 515 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
Publishers: ALBERT R. WINDUST — GERTRUDE BUIKEMA — DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI
Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the post office at Chicago, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Terms: $3.00 per year; 20 cents per copy.
Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year.
Make Money Orders Payable to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
To personal checks please add sufficient to cover the bank exchange.
Address all communications to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.
WORDS OF ABDUL-BAHA.
"Great importance must be given to the development of the STAR OF THE WEST. The circle of its discussion must be widened; in its columns must be published the essential problems pertaining to the Bahai life in all its phases. Its contents must be so universal that even the strangers may subscribe to it. Articles must be published, dealing with the universal principles of the Cause, the writers proving that this Cause takes a vital interest in all the social and religious movements of the age and is conducive to the progress of the world and its inhabitants. In short, the STAR OF THE WEST must promote the aspirations and the ideals that will gather little by little around these general Tablets, bringing into the light of day all the historical, religious and racial knowledge which will be of the utmost value to the Bahai teachers all over the world."
From Unveiling of the Divine Plan.
| Vol. 11 | CONTENTS | No. 14 |
| PAGE | |
The Center of The Covenant, The Greatest Branch, ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS | 234 |
His Holiness ABDUL-BAHA | 235 |
| From The Bahai Proofs by MIRZA ABUL-FAZL. | |
ABDUL-BAHA'S Supplication and Declaration of His Servitude | 238 |
Some Important Commands from The Center of The Covenant | 239 |
"This, like unto a magnetic power, will attract ABDUL-BAHA to America" | 240 |
| Tablet to Mr. and Mrs. Howard MacNutt. | |
PERSIAN SECTION—Written by Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi | 248-244 |
| (1) The Book of The Covenant. (2) The necessity of The Covenant and The Testament. (3) The beginning of the violation of The Covenant. (4) Meaning of "Associate with all Religions with joy and fragrance." (5) Two kinds of relationship. | |
Following our usual custom, this issue of the STAR OF THE WEST is especially devoted to The Center of the Covenant, His Holiness ABDUL-BAHA—inasmuch as the 26th of November is commemorated as the Day and Feast of The Center of The Covenant.
--PHOTO--
THE CENTER OF THE COVENANT, THE GREATEST BRANCH: ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
"The one who hath turned unto him hath turned to My Face and is illumined through the Lights of My Beauty, hath acknowledged My Oneness and confessed My Singleness."— Words of Baha'o'llah.
"We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; that all nations shall become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened, that diversity of religion shall cease and differences of race be annulled. So it shall be; these fruitless strifes; these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come."—BAHA'O'LLAH.
| Vol. 11 | Kowl 1, 76 (November 23, 1920) | No. 14 |
His Holiness Abdul-Baha
From The Bahai Proofs, by MIRZA ABUL-FAZL.AS to the birth and life of His Holiness, ABDUL-BAHA—Glorified is his Name!—he was born, in Teheran, on the 5th day of the month Jamadi-ul-Aval, 1260 A. H. (May 23d, 1844), the same day in which the "First Point" (the BAB—Exalted is his Supreme Name!—had declared himself. He was reared in that city under the training of BAHA'O'LLAH. The author has heard from his own blessed lips, as well as from many others, that he very often suffered persecution and execrations, while yet a child, from the fanatics of Teheran, during the disasters which followed the appearance of the BAB. When BAHA'O'LLAH was in chains in the prison of Teheran, ABDUL-BAHA visited him. During the time BAHA'O'LLAH resided at Baghdad by command of the Persian Government, 1269 A. H. (1852-1853), His Holiness, ABDUL-BAHA, was in his service and constantly in his presence.
Although he had not studied in any school, yet, from his youth, fountains of knowledge flowed in his fluent explanations. The first trace which emanated from his Holy Being in the world of knowledge was the treatise he wrote in his early youth at Baghdad. This was a commentary upon the holy tradition:—"I was an invisible Treasury; as I loved to be known, therefore I created men to know Me." He wrote this commentary in answer to the request of one of the Pashas. The author was present at a meeting, when some one asked Haji-Seyd-Jawad Taba-Tabay of Kerbela concerning the life of BAHA'O'LLAH. The great Seyd answered:—"That holy being must be a shining Light whose great son hath written such a treatise during his childhood." By this the learned Seyd meant that while it is impossible even for a scholar to show forth such great knowledge, how much more impossible would it be for a person to write such a treatise in his childhood without having studied. Therefore, such knowledge is heavenly and not earthly; it is Divine wisdom, not human, and it owes its origin to the Holy Spirit of God.
Thus, even in his childhood, the signs of grandeur and dignity were manifest from his brow and he showed forth phenomenal intelligence and wisdom. His wonderful speech in explaining abstruse points astonished men of intelligence, and his marvelous eloquence everywhere attracted hearts and souls. His acute judgment was a brilliant lamp in elucidating intricate obscurities and his penetrative discernment in managing and deciding different affairs improved the condition of young and old. He was the companion of BAHA'O'LLAH and the sharer of his afflictions during his successive banishments from Baghdad to Constantinople, thence to Adrianople, and finally to Acca. All the people of Baha resorted to him in their difficulties and obeyed his decision. More especially during the twenty-four years of BAHA'O'LLAH'S residence at Acca, the troubles of ABDUL-BAHA were so great that no one but himself could have endured such calamities. The very fact that Acca was a place of exile for Turkish suspects and prisoners, meriting the name "Great Prison," given to it by the Supreme Pen, is a sufficient testimony of the tribulations and vicissitudes which
ABDUL-BAHA has suffered. For, as we have formerly remarked, BAHA'O'LLAH, during his residence at Acca, would not, as a rule, converse with any save the Bahäis, unless some one especially asked permission to visit him. His Holiness ABDUL-BAHA, however, held intercourse with all the men of different religions, aims, tastes, characters, and degrees, and each one would submit to him his individual wishes. Consequently, different classes and nationalities of Moslems, Christians, Bahäis, Arabs and Turks, as well as Persians belonging to the governing and learned classes,—likewise great merchants and people of the lower orders,—visited him from early morning until midnight. Some of them sought his presence for the benefit of his spiritual explanation; others for their personal affairs and requests. Any one informed upon the manners of oriental governments, and thoroughly acquainted with the conditions of the inhabitants of those countries, will realize the great difficulties which surrounded that holy being. He, under all circumstances, would receive the people with a cheerful face, and endeavor as far as possible to grant their wishes and assist them. Even in the present day, His Holiness is the resort of the people of that land, and all refer their wishes and hopes to him. He is a physician to every invalid, a shelter to every exile, a refuge to every seeker for help, and a dispeller of sorrow to every grieved soul. As God knows and witnesses, the author, during the ten months he stayed as guest in his beneficent shelter, can testify that even those fettered in the jail and deprived of seeing the daylight, received his benefits and favors; and exiles forsaken in the cells of oblivion were visited by him. These excellent characteristics were inborn in him, and no one can show forth such virtues through imitation or pretence. Even the greatest men in the world could not manifest their like. There is an old proverb:—"Nothing manufactured is like unto the natural."
ABDUL-BAHA was named Mirza-Abbas after his grandfather, but subsequent to their arrival at Baghdad, he was called "His Holiness, the Master." After the declaration of the Blessed Perfection [BAHA'O'LLAH], he was given several lofty titles by him, such as "Sir 'Ullah" (Mystery of God), "Ghusn 'Ullah 'El-A'zam" (Greatest Branch of God). By these titles he was addressed verbally and in writing by BAHA'O'LLAH and all the believers.
In the earlier days of BAHA'O'LLAH'S declaration, the blessed Book of Akdas was revealed. This is considered the greatest Book of the Bahäis, and contains all the Divine Laws and Ordinances. The following irrefutable command was revealed therein:—
"When the sea of (My) meeting sinks, and the book of the Origin is achieved to the end, turn ye your faces to 'He who is desired by God,' the One who is extended from this Ancient Root." Likewise it is recorded in another part of the same Book:—"When the Nightingale soareth from the grove of praise, and repaireth to the furthermost concealed destination, refer ye that which you understand not in the Book, to the Branch extended from this Firm Root."
Thus all the people of Bahä were informed of the One who would be the "Center of the Cause of God" and their resource, after the disappearance of the Sun of Truth and the departure of the Beauty of Oneness. Thus they have hope in and rely upon this providence shown forth by God, the Exalted, to them. They recognize in ABDUL-BAHA, the expounder of the Divine Book and the solver of the intricate points of the Heavenly Revelation; whose decision is conclusive; through whose explanation every discord and divergence is removed, and the seekers are brought to perfect realization, accord and affinity. They thank and praise God, the Exalted, and manifest the utmost joy and happiness at his appointing the resort of the Cause of God.
To the people of Faith, the clear appointment
of the Center of the Cause, after the departure of the Manifestation, is considered the most important point in religious matters, as it is the greatest channel which connects the servants of God with Holy and Divine Truth. For it is only through his explanation and decision that all discord is removed. Consequently the Bahäis appreciate the determining of the "Appointed Center" as the greatest of the Divine Providences, and account his blessed being as an impregnable fortress which protects the Divine Religion from the doubts of the sceptic and fanciful imaginations of men. They were all sure and convinced that the purpose of God, the Exalted, in these two blessed verses, has been no other than His Holiness, ABDUL-BAHA; for, apart from the Divine signs that were manifest in him, BAHA'O'LLAH clearly and implicitly, verbally and in writing, directed all of his servants to the blessed person of ABDUL-BAHA, and, under all circumstances, clearly showed that he was far distinguished above others, in order that all the servants should look unto him alone, and follow his commands. But notwithstanding all this, as BAHA'O'LLAH foresaw, that when his beauty of Oneness was concealed under the veils of disappearance, the people of desire, through jealousy, would hold to groundless doubts and suspicions, and, disregarding the prohibition to interpret the Book, would divert the real meaning of the two verses above quoted, away from the "Appointed Center." He, therefore, prior to his departure, revealed the blessed Kitab-el 'A'hd (Book of the Covenant, the Will of BAHA'O'LLAH). This he wrote, and sealed it with his own blessed hand and seal, in order that the darkness of discord might not again obscure the brilliant horizon of the Cause of God, and the calamities and disasters which afflicted other religions might not overtake this movement. In this Book (His Covenant) he clearly indicated that the purpose of the "Branch extended from the Ancient Root," revealed in the blessed verse of Akdas, was the Center of the Circle of Names, the Exalted Branch of the Blessed Tree of ABHA, His Holiness, ABDUL-BAHA. Then he, for the second time, enjoined, through an unchangeable and irrefutable command, all his "branches," "twigs," "relatives" and the people of Bahá without exception, to look unto that dawning-place of Divine Light, and to know him as the source and origin of the commands and prohibitions of the Heavenly Religion. He desired, by this clear elucidation, to counteract the imaginations of the ignorant, extinguish the world-consuming flame of the jealousy and hatred of people of error, and guard the Divine Religion from divisions and sects which are, according to the judgment of common-sense and the clear texts of the holy Tablets of God, the most deplorable for religion and humanity. By this he sought to preserve the Divine Word from human doubts, suspicions and artifices.
But alas! All these clear texts of God, commanding people to turn to the day-spring of the Light of the Covenant, did not check the evil thoughts of the people of discord; and his repeated exhortations and advices did not soften the hard hearts of the men of hostility, nor prevent them from ruinous discords and divisions, for when, in May, 1892 A. D. (2nd Zul-Ka'da, 1309 A. H.), BAHA'O'LLAH ascended to His Most Holy Station, and nine days after his departure, the Book of the Covenant of God was chanted in the Holy Tomb in the assembly of believers, the gloom of animosity and disappointment became instantly manifest upon the faces of those who had groundless pride and desire for leadership, and who sought to raise discord and contradiction. On the other hand, cheerfulness and joy were manifest in the shining faces of those who had no desire but that of seeking the Truth and telling the Truth. Some were seated upon the right hand of certainty, firmness and steadfastness in the solid
Covenant of God, and some stood upon the left hand of unhappiness, in their impossible desire and erroneous thoughts. The former became distinguished for their firmness and inflexibility; noted for the effectiveness of their word; their good name and success in assisting the Cause, while the latter were distinguished by their instability, degradation and shame. From that day, the thorn of violating the Covenant of God grew in the Garden of the Bahai community and the signs of senseless hatred and hostility proceeded from a limited number of persons who are known as the "nakazeen" (violators of the Covenant). . . .
Although these people who violated the Covenant received, during the life of BAHA'O'LLAH and after his departure, every kindness and favor from His Holiness, ABDUL-BAHA, who considered their welfare and prosperity before his own and that of the faithful believers, yet, on account of jealousy and selfishness, they violated the Cause of God. Thus came to pass that which was prophesied by the prophets—especially Christ—concerning the people of the right hand and the people of the left hand; and each will receive the reward of his deeds according to the justice of God. Two important points increased the flame of the fire of jealousy in the hearts of these nakazeen, whose number does not exceed thirty. One was that the Bahais of all countries refused to accept the seditious books and pamphlets forwarded to them by the nakazeen. According to the command of BAHA'O'LLAH they unanimously determined not to pay any attention to these intrigues and temptations, but took shelter, with the utmost union and harmony, under the banner of the Center of the Covenant. Another point was that during a short space of time the Cause of God became far more widely spread than before, through the fluent pen and brilliant explanations of ABDUL-BAHA; so the number of the Bahais became enormously multiplied since the departure of BAHA'O'LLAH. The fame of the dawning-place of the Light of the Covenant spread throughout all regions, and his holy Tablets became scattered as rose-petals throughout all countries. His great name filled the world with awe and the renown of his glorious deeds reached all in the East and West.
He Is God!
MY God, my God! I ask thee to forgive everything save my servitude to Thy Supreme Threshold, and I declare myself innocent of any announcement or praise save my adoration in Thy Merciful Presence. I isolate myself from every garment save that of humiliation and contrition of my evanescence to Thy Lordly Oneness. I flee from every station save the arrival to the Court of Thy Lordly Everlastingness. By Thy Power, verily, the sweetness of servitude is the food of my spirit, with the fragrance of servitude my breast will be dilated, my being will be refreshed, my mind will be quickened, my heart will be delighted, my eyes cleansed, my nostrils will be perfumed, and in it the healing of my disease, the allaying of my burning thirst, the soothing of my pain.
Immerse me, O my God, in this most bounteous, rolling ocean, give me to drink of this sweet, abundant water, cause me to enter this gateway of righteousness, ordain me for this praiseworthy station, cause me to obtain this cup which is over-flowing with the pouring water, light in the crystal of my heart this lamp which is giving forth its illuminating, brilliant radiance and strengthen me for the service of Thy Cause, O my Lord, the Forgiver! Accept my servitude in the Court of Thy Holy Oneness, O Thou, the Manifestor
of Mount Sinai! Assist me to abide in its conditions, O Thou, the Authority of Manifestation. Aid me to assist Thy Cause in the eastern and western parts of the earth, O Thou, the Possessor of the Day of Resurrection. I ask Thee, by Thy written Book, dispersed writings; by Thy Hidden Mystery, and Thy defended allusions, to cause me to be firm to Thy servitude, O my Lord, the Forgiver! Verily, Thou art the Powerful, above what Thou wishest, and verily, Thou are the Merciful and Most Compassionate!
O thou who art calling by the Testament, in the Pivot of the horizons!
This servant, according to the clear statements in Kitab-el-Akdas, and the unambiguous texts of the Kitab-el-Ahd, is the Commentator, and the Explainer of the texts of God. All the faithful ones, who are assured and firm in the Testament and Covenant of God, must neither overreach the clear explanation of this servant, nor the unambiguous interpretation of this slave. If anyone overreaches, he follows his own suppositions. This servant gives the real meaning, and the meaning of the real also. The Mystery of mysteries of the texts, words and lines, is servitude to the Holy Presence of the Beauty of Abha, and effacement, evanescence and perfect dispersion before the Blessed Threshold. This is my brilliant diadem, and my glorious crown. With this I will be glorious in the Heavenly Kingdom, and the earthly. And with it, I will vie with the beauty among the nearest ones to God, and no one is allowed to interpret other than this, and this is the perspicuous truth.
O thou, who are proclaiming the mentioning of God! The indicated Commentator is the Interpreter of the Words, and this servant is aside from praise, qualities, names, characteristics, virtues, peculiarities, eulogies and honors; but my name, being, reality and personality are servitude to the Beauty of Abha, and I am not worthy to be considered as having the shadow of arising. As the Manifestation (BAHA'O'LLAH) said: "Plant this Branch in the ground of the hearts, and make it holy from shadow and arising."
EXCERPTS from some instructions given by Abdul-Baha to several friends in America, July, 1912, which received his personal signature:
"If a soul shall utter a word without the sanction of the Covenant, he is not firm. BAHA'O'LLAH appointed a Covenant to ward off dissensions; so that no one can have his own opinions; so that the Center can be referred to. There were dissensions in the time of Christ because there was no Center. This is the reality of the question."
"Whatever the Center of the Covenant says is correct. No one should speak a word of himself. BAHA'O'LLAH has called down the vengeance of God upon anyone who violates the Covenant. Beware! Beware! Lest ye be shaken! Remain firm even if the people of heaven try to shake you. Firmness in the Covenant is not mere words. The command is explicit."
(Signed by ABDUL-BAHA)
"The Point to which all eyes should turn is One. All eyes must turn their attention to the Center of the Covenant while the presence of the Covenant is among us. No other should have any existence. All others save the Center of the Covenant are equal."
(Signed by ABDUL-BAHA)
In a talk given by ABDUL-BAHA in Los Angeles, Oct. 19th, 1912, he said:
(Continued on page 160.)
O thou STAR OF THE WEST!
Be thou happy! Be thou happy! Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shalt become the Star of the East and shalt spread in every country and clime. Thou art the first paper of the Bahais which is organized in the country of America. Although for the present thy subscribers are limited, thy form is small and thy voice weak, yet shouldst thou stand unshakable, become the object of the attention of the friends and the center of the generosity of the leaders of the faith who are firm in the Covenant, in the future thy subscribers will become hosts after hosts like unto the waves of the sea; thy volume will increase, thy arena will become vast and spacious and thy voice and fame will be raised and become world-wide—and at last thou shalt become the first paper of the world of humanity. Yet all these depend upon firmness firmness, firmness!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
O ye apostles of BAHA'O'LLAH—May my life be a ransom to you!
. . . . Similarly, the Magazine, the STAR OF THE WEST, must be edited in the utmost regularity, but its contents must be the promulgator of the Cause of God—so that both in the East and the West, they may become informed of the most important events.
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
| Northeastern States: HOOPER HARRIS. | Western States: HELEN S. GOODALL. |
| Southern States: | Dominion of Canada: MAY MAXWELL |
| Central States: ALBERT VAIL, CARL SCHEFFLER. | |
Editorial Staff: ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA—DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI
Honorary Member: MIRZA AHMAD SOHRAB
| Vol. 11 | Kowl 1, 76 (November 23, 1920) | No. 14 |
Abdul-Baha to America"
TABLET TO MR. AND MRS. HOWARD MACNUTTTo their honors Mr. and Mrs. Howard MacNutt, Brooklyn, N. Y.—Upon them be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O ye two blessed souls!
Your letter was received. Praise be to God! ye are glad, ye are full of joy and fragrance, and are safe and protected under the shelter of the Merciful One. Today those who are firm in the Covenant are soaring by the Bounties of the Holy Spirit in lofty regions, while the wavering ones are depressed, dejected and afflicted with a thousand pains and calamities. This is because the confirmations of the Abha Kingdom have been cut off from them. They have been deprived of the Light of the Sun of Truth and have had no share from the breezes of the Holy Spirit. They resemble those souls who arose to agitate the minds of men after the time of Christ. Each one, by every subtle means, gathered around himself a group of souls, but all were eventually led to face disappointment, loss and failure. This was because the result of their principles was like unto a tree destitute of roots, or like the ocean foam. A rootless tree, no matter how tall and hardy it may seem, will ultimately wither away, and the ocean foam, however formidable it may appear, shall at last vanish and disappear.
Arius, the patriarch at Constantinople, gathered around himself a million and a half followers. He even secured the adherence of the Emperor, but as
his basis was not secure, he vanished and was exterminated. What then will the violators do who are only a small number of feeble and insignificant souls? For thirty years they have endeavored and at last they succeeded in drawing around them a few thoughtless persons and some unbalanced and undignified women. Soon ye shall see that even this small group will scatter.
How strange it is in America! When I went to Green-Acre, I saw an idolatrous East Indian, insignificant, unpleasant and offensive in appearance—whom even animals would avoid; he had gathered around himself a group of people, had chosen a distant tree, and every morning before sunrise would run and hasten barefooted toward it, accompanied by a number of women. They would reach it tired and exhausted, and there would fall upon the ground as if they were worshipping an idol from among the idols of India. After several days had elapsed, by subtle methods he begged a few dollars from those persons and then returned to India.
In brief, my purpose is to show that whatever call is raised or proclaimed in America, a group will doubtless gather around it; while, on the other hand, the Oriental Friends (Bahais) are firm like unto the immovable mountains. For thirty years have the violators striven to undermine the Cause, but they have failed even to attract to their side their own kindred and relatives. That is why, undoubtedly, in Persia, twenty thousand Bahais have been martyred and severe tests have been brought about. Yet, praise be to God! not even a single soul among the Friends wavered. The violators in America do nothing but flatter, seduce and show a love that is insincere. Consider what they did to poor Lua (Getsinger) and how unfaithful they have been to her!
In short, take into consideration the outcomes and not the beginning. Every follower of error mentions the name of Truth, and even the enemies of Christ have declared in the name of God that Christ was a liar and an infidel—that He destroyed the foundation of honor, that He was the breaker of the Sabbath day and the associate of immoral persons. Although outwardly this charge was upholding the Cause of the Old Testament, and took into consideration the Religion of God, yet the underlying purpose was nothing but to overthrow the Divine Structure and to debase the exalted Christ. Although on the surface they seemed to defend the Cause of God, yet inwardly their purpose was manifest error.
Finally, ye know how considerate I have been with some souls—how much love and kindness I have shown them and at last found out that the Cause of God would be disgraced. I refused the three thousand pounds which ye gathered for the expense of my travel to America, and during my sojourn in that land did not accept anything from any person. Then I saw that secretly and for varied motives, unworthy actions were being manifested. Consider my feelings! My purpose was to demonstrate the independence and contentment of the Servants of God. Ye know that I did not accept anything from any person and acted in accordance with the admonition of Christ, who said that whenever ye leave a city, shake off even its dust from your shoes. Notwithstanding that unworthy behavior, I was still patient. All were my guests. I daily paid their expenses, showed them the utmost loving consideration and then paid fully to all of them their entire expenses. Up to the present time, after all this assistance and love, this has been my reward. What will be the recompense of those who have not shown this love and consideration?
In brief:—The Covenant is like unto the ocean which preserves Bahai Unity, and these souls are like unto the foam upon it. They manifest a temporary
activity, but soon, like unto Judas Iscariot and his associates and those who approved of his conduct, they shall be completely forgotten. The ocean of the Covenant, on the other hand, is eternally surging, for it preserves Bahai Unity.
At present arise ye with all your power to promulgate the Covenant and expound these matters to those who are weak and feeble and tell them that communities after Christ have opposed this clear and explicit declaration when He said to Peter: "Thou art the rock and upon this rock I shall build My Temple," and have thus been wholly deprived of the breaths of the Holy Spirit and have been ruined and exterminated.
Today, the Lord of Hosts is the defender of the Covenant, the forces of the Kingdom protect it, heavenly souls tender their services, and heavenly angels promulgate and spread it broadcast. If it is considered with insight, it will be seen that all the forces of the Universe, in the last analysis serve the Covenant. In the future it shall be made evident and manifest. In view of this fact, what can these weak and feeble souls achieve? Hardy plants that are destitute of roots and are deprived of the outpourings of the cloud of mercy will not last. What then may be expected from the young weeds?
Consider what a commotion the Theosophists have produced in Europe and America. At present their influence is waning, for their foundation was not as strong as it should be. What then will the violators do?
The days I spent as a guest at your home will never be forgotten, for through the Divine Bestowals and the breaths of the Holy Spirit, Abdul-Baha was so stirred that the effect will not pass from memory. I pray God that those days may be renewed. *Strive as much as ye are able not to sell that house; let it remain permanently a sign (or memorial) of yourselves. I often think of you and desire that you become a hotly enkindled flame, bestowing heat and light upon the surrounding regions. Not until the power of heat is intensified in the body of man, will growth and development take place as they should.
I supplicate and entreat to the Abha Kingdom and beg again for ye a fresh confirmation. I beseech for Mr. MacNutt the fluency of Peter and the eloquence of Paul.
Convey on my behalf the utmost love and kindness to the two respected souls, Victor Harvell and Roy Herrick. My hope is that they may be confirmed in service to the Kingdom of God and may secure every day a new power.
Upon ye be Baha-El-Abha!
P. S.—Thy last letter, dated July 21st, 1919, has been received. It imparted the glad tidings of the promulgation of the Word of God in those regions. For Abdul-Baha no joy and pleasure remain save in the glad tidings of the exaltation of the Word of God. Therefore as thou hast written of the efforts put forth by the friends for the diffusion of the Divine Fragrance and hast mentioned that thy time is confined to raising the Call of the Kingdom and consecrated in service to the Cause of God, this news was considered as glad tidings, and my hope is that thou mayest attain remarkable confirmations
*TRANSLATION—An (That) Khaneh (house) tatavanid (as much as ye are able) nafrushid (do not sell) biguzarid (allow or let) an (that) asar (a sign) az shuma (of yourselves) baqi (permanent) bimand (remain).
and mighty assistance. He says that whosoever draws a span nearer to God, Divine Providence will approach a meter toward him. Assuredly if man rises as he ought to in service to the Kingdom, the Spirit of the Divine Kingdom will encompass him.
Concerning the book about which thou hast written in thy letter:—It is highly suitable for thee to write such a book, and if this effort is realized, it is highly acceptable. Convey on my behalf to the respected maid-servant of God, Mrs. MacNutt, the utmost love and kindness. If the principle of amity and unity, which is one of the principles of His Holiness BAHA'O'LLAH, is strengthened among the friends—and if firmness in the Covenant renders the breakers of the Covenant hopeless and at a loss,—this like unto a magnetic power will attract Abdul-Baha to America.
(Translated by Shoghi Rabbani, Behjeh, Acca, Palestine, July 24th, 1919.)
"That which has come forth from the Center of the Covenant you must take fast hold of. That which issues from my lips and that which is written with my pen is the Reality. With this you can irrigate the vineyard of God. With this you can make the tree of the Cause of God become verdant. Through this the Name of the Kingdom of God will be spread all over the world. Through this the Sun of Reality will shine. Through this the clouds of Mercy will pour down. Whosoever utters a word you must ask: 'Where is the authority of the Center of the Covenant? Show it.' Without this you must not listen to him. If an angel comes down from heaven and has no authority from the Center of the Covenant, you must require his authority. Otherwise the vineyard will become withered and dry. This is the reality."
In New York City, July, 1912, Abdul-Baha said to several believers: "Any one quoting me must have authority written either with my own hand, or Tablets signed with my seal. Otherwise these statements do not belong to me. Every instruction, every teaching that I desire to spread I will write with my own hand. You must know this generally. Never accept any statement without my writing which is signed and sealed—any statement."
(Signed by ABDUL-BAHA)
In Egypt, in August, 1913, ABDUL-BAHA stated (Mirza Ahmad Sohrab interpreting): "When in America I repeatedly said that no one must believe one word said by another regarding any commands, teachings or statements made by me unless they can produce the same in writing over my signature."
"There is a Power in this Cause, a Mysterious Power, far, far, far away from the ken of men and angels; that Invisible Power is the Cause of all these outward activities. It moves the hearts. It rends the mountains. It administers the complicated affairs of the Cause. It inspires the friends. It dashes into a thousand pieces all the forces of opposition. It creates new spiritual worlds. This is a Mystery of the Kingdom of Abha."
(Words of ABDUL-BAHA from Mirza Ahmad Sohrab's diary.)
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