Selections from the writings of ‘Abdu'l-BaháʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Religion
Selections from the writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Bahai Faith
209: O YE SERVANTS OF THE BLESSED BEAUTY!... IT IS CLEAR ...
O ye servants of the Blessed Beauty!... It is clear that in this day,
confirmations from the unseen world are encompassing all those who deliver
the divine Message. Should the work of teaching lapse, these confirmations
would be entirely cut off, since it is impossible for the loved ones of
God to receive assistance unless they teach.
Under all conditions, the teaching must be carried forward, but with
wisdom. If the work cannot proceed openly, then let them teach in private,
and thus engender spirituality and fellowship among the children of men.
If, for example, each and every one of the believers would become a true
friend to one of the unheeding, and, conducting himself with absolute
rectitude, associate with this soul, treat him with the utmost kindness,
himself exemplify the divine instructions he hath received, the good
qualities and behaviour patterns, and at all times act in accord with the
admonitions of God—it is certain that little by little he will succeed in
awakening that previously heedless individual, and in changing his
ignorance to knowledge of the truth.
Souls are inclined toward estrangement. Steps should first be taken to do
away with this estrangement, for only then will the Word take effect. If a
believer showeth kindness to one of the neglectful, and, with great love,
gradually leadeth him to an understanding of the validity of the Holy
Cause, so that he may come to know the fundamentals of God’s Faith and the
implications thereof—such a one will certainly be transformed, excepting
only those seldom-encountered individuals who are even as ashes, whose
hearts are ‘hard as rocks, or harder still.’(72)
If every one of the friends should strive in this way to guide one soul
aright, the number of believers will double every year; and this can be
accomplished with prudence and wisdom, and no harm whatever would result
therefrom.
Furthermore, the teachers must travel about, and if spreading the Message
openly should cause a disturbance, then instead, let them stimulate and
train the believers, inspire them, delight them, rejoice their hearts,
revive and refresh them with the sweet savours of holiness.
210: O YE ROSES IN THE GARDEN OF GOD’S LOVE! O YE ...
O ye roses in the garden of God’s love! O ye bright lamps in the
assemblage of His knowledge! May the soft breathings of God pass over you,
may the Glory of God illumine the horizon of your hearts. Ye are the waves
of the deep sea of knowledge, ye are the massed armies on the plains of
certitude, ye are the stars in the skies of God’s compassion, ye are the
stones that put the people of perdition to flight, ye are clouds of divine
pity over the gardens of life, ye are the abundant grace of God’s oneness
that is shed upon the essences of all created things.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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