The Blessed Beauty entered into this Covenant for obedience
and not for opposition. I say this merely for the protection of the Cause of
God and for the purpose of safeguarding unity among the friends. Were it not
for the removal of vain imaginings and the eradication of differences, I should
not have asserted that I am `the Center of the Covenant'. We must obey the
Blessed Beauty. We must never forget His favors and exhortations. If even a
breath of egotism is found in us, we shall perish at once. The friends must be
alert. Everyone who expresses a word not from the texts sows discord among the
believers. The Blessed Beauty entered into this Covenant for obedience; that
is, that no one should utter a word from his own self or cause any conflict. If
it were not so, everyone would open a way for himself and expound the Words of
God in his own manner. One would say, for instance,`As I have the power of the
Holy Spirit, I have a greater capacity for understanding.' Others, even these
old ladies, would at once retort, `We, too, have the power of the Holy Spirit.'
The power of the Holy Spirit is limited to the Blessed
Beauty and the interpretation thereof to none but me. If it is so, then there
will be no differences. We must occupy ourselves with thoughts of spreading the
Cause. Know that whoever has any thought other than this will become the cause
of discord among the friends.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From
a talk, New York, July 7, 1912; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)
