Upon them be Baha’u’l-Abha!
He is God!
O ye spiritual friends of Abdu'l-Baha!
"Perfume Thou the East! Illumine Thou the West! Bestow Thou light to the North! Grant Thou life to the South!” This verse bath been revealed from the lips of the Center of the Covenant one year after the departure of Baha’u’llah… Praise be to God! that now its signs have become manifest, its powers evident, and its proof plain. Thanks be unto Him! that the East and the 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 God! 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 God! Show ye forth an earnest endeavor and display ye a resolute effort, so that ye may become assisted 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 assemblage of the world; to become shining 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 existence in 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 of man is wholly subject to danger and impermanency. A person cannot put his assurance even in one moment's continuity Notwithstanding this, the nations of the world, deceived by the mirage of superstition, imagine themselves secure in the heavenly way. Alas! Alas! Former communities in bygone ages entertained the same perishing 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 a great self-abnegation in the path of God. Such souls shine 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 not ye rest, neither day nor night; seek not ye for composure; talk ye of the mystery of servitude, and seek ye the path of thralldom; so that through the promised confirmations ye may receive assistance 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 bloodthirstiness and rapaciousness are considered the noblest excellencies of the world of men.
His Highness the Almighty hath chosen the friends from among the concourse of men and hath specialized 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 God; 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 manifestos 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 on those who are deprived, grant a portion to those who are shameless, give unmeasured treasure to the indigent ones, and show forth the power of proof to the seekers.
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! 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 heart, my soul and my spirit, saying: O my God! O my God! 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 flashing forth from the netherworld, 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 benefited me and power and strength are taken away from me!" Verily, O my God, 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:
Hasten ye toward affinity!
Hasten ye toward faithfulness!
Hasten ye toward generosity!
Hasten ye toward guidance!
Hasten ye toward union!
Hasten ye to behold the Light of the World!
Hasten ye toward love and prosperity!
Hasten ye toward peace and reconciliation!
Hasten ye toward the law of disarmament!
Hasten ye toward harmony and success!
Hasten ye toward cooperation and mutual help in the path of
guidance!
Verily, these wronged ones do sacrifice themselves with infinite joy and happiness for the sake of the people with all their souls and spirits throughout all regions. Verily, Thou beholdest them weeping at the misfortunes of every one of Thy creatures and becoming grieved at the distress of Thy children; they are kind to all the people and pained at the sight of the calamities of the inhabitants of the world. O my Lord! make the wings of prosperity to grow upon their shoulders, so that they may ever soar toward the apex of their aspirations; strengthen their loins in the service of Thy people, and confirm them in the thralldom and adoration of the threshold of Thy Holiness.
Verily, Thou art the Merciful! Thou art the Clement, and there is no God but Thee, the Powerful, the Compassionate, and the Ancient!
(Signed) ‘Abdu’l-Baha Abbas (Star of the West, vol. 4, no.1, March 21, 1913)