It behoveth the people of God to be forbearing. They should
impart the Word of God according to the hearer’s particular measure of
understanding and capacity, that perchance the children of men may be roused
from heedlessness and set their faces towards this Horizon which is
immeasurably exalted above every horizon. 
The troubling conditions facing the world’s peoples and the
persistent problems caused by disunity within and between nations have, as you
know, been a prominent theme in the messages of the Universal House of Justice.
Bahá’ís, of course, are ever mindful of the state of the world. The well-being
of humanity and its peace and tranquillity are the constant desire of all those
who have taken to heart Bahá’u’lláh’s exhortation to “be anxiously concerned
with the needs of the age ye live in”. It is abundantly clear, moreover, that
the longing of the believers to contribute to the betterment of the world and
to participate constructively in the life of society is in no way contradicted
by their non-involvement in politics. While consciousness of the hardships
afflicting so many strengthens a commitment to fundamental social change,
political activity by Bahá’ís would only dissipate the community’s energies and
fail to bring about this change. It must arise from the spiritual
transformation of society.
He is indeed pleased to know that the book of Prayers and
Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh has been out in time to enable the friends to read
it during the Fast, and he has every hope that the perusal of such a precious
volume will help deepen, more than any other publication, the spirit of faith
in the friends, and thus charge them with all the spiritual power they require
for the accomplishment of their tremendous duties towards the Cause.
To Him Isaiah, the greatest of the Jewish prophets, had
alluded as the “Glory of the Lord,” the “Everlasting Father,” the “Prince of
Peace,” the “Wonderful,” the “Counsellor,” the “Rod come forth out of the stem
of Jesse” and the “Branch grown out of His roots,” Who “shall be established
upon the throne of David,” Who “will come with strong hand,” Who “shall judge
among the nations,” Who “shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and
with the breath of His lips slay the wicked,” and Who “shall assemble the
outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth.” Of Him David had sung in his Psalms, acclaiming Him as
the “Lord of Hosts” and the “King of Glory.” To Him Haggai had referred as the
“Desire of all nations,” and Zachariah as the “Branch” Who “shall grow up out
of His place,” and “shall build the Temple of the Lord.” Ezekiel had extolled
Him as the “Lord” Who “shall be king over all the earth,” while to His day Joel
and Zephaniah had both referred as the “day of Jehovah,” the latter describing
it as “a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and
desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick
darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against
the high towers.” His Day Ezekiel and Daniel had, moreover, both acclaimed as the
“day of the Lord,” and Malachi described as “the great and dreadful day of the
Lord” when “the Sun of Righteousness” will “arise, with healing in His wings,”
whilst Daniel had pronounced His advent as signalizing the end of the
“abomination that maketh desolate.”
To Him Muhammad, the Apostle of God, had alluded in His Book
as the “Great Announcement,” and declared His Day to be the Day whereon “God”
will “come down” “overshadowed with clouds,” the Day whereon “thy Lord shall
come and the angels rank on rank,” and “The Spirit shall arise and the angels
shall be ranged in order.” His advent He, in that Book, in a súrih said to have
been termed by Him “the heart of the Qur’án,” had foreshadowed as that of the
“third” Messenger, sent down to “strengthen” the two who preceded Him. To His
Day He, in the pages of that same Book, had paid a glowing tribute, glorifying
it as the “Great Day,” the “Last Day,” the “Day of God,” the “Day of Judgment,”
the “Day of Reckoning,” the “Day of Mutual Deceit,” the “Day of Severing,” the
“Day of Sighing,” the “Day of Meeting,” the Day “when the Decree shall be
accomplished,” the Day whereon the second “Trumpet blast” will be sounded, the
“Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the world,” and “all shall
come to Him in humble guise,” the Day when “thou shalt see the mountains, which
thou thinkest so firm, pass away with the passing of a cloud,” the Day “wherein
account shall be taken,” “the approaching Day, when men’s hearts shall rise up,
choking them, into their throats,” the Day when “all that are in the heavens
and all that are on the earth shall be terror-stricken, save him whom God
pleaseth to deliver,” the Day whereon “every suckling woman shall forsake her
sucking babe, and every woman that hath a burden in her womb shall cast her
burden,” the Day “when the earth shall shine with the light of her Lord, and
the Book shall be set, and the Prophets shall be brought up, and the witnesses;
and judgment shall be given between them with equity; and none shall be
wronged.”
To Him Jesus Christ had referred as the “Prince of this
world,” as the “Comforter” Who will “reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment,” as the “Spirit of Truth” Who “will guide you
into all truth,” Who “shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear,
that shall He speak,” as the “Lord of the Vineyard,” and as the “Son of Man”
Who “shall come in the glory of His Father” “in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory,” with “all the holy angels” about Him, and “all nations”
gathered before His throne. To Him the Author of the Apocalypse had alluded as
the “Glory of God,” as “Alpha and Omega,” “the Beginning and the End,” “the
First and the Last.” Identifying His Revelation with the “third woe,” he,
moreover, had extolled His Law as “a new heaven and a new earth,” as the
“Tabernacle of God,” as the “Holy City,” as the “New Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” To His
Day Jesus Christ Himself had referred as “the regeneration when the Son of Man
shall sit in the throne of His glory.” To the hour of His advent St. Paul had
alluded as the hour of the “last trump,” the “trump of God,” whilst St. Peter
had spoken of it as the “Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be
dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” His Day he,
furthermore, had described as “the times of refreshing,” “the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy
Prophets since the world began.”
The new Temple of light is the outward expression of the
illumination of hearts and minds by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, that process
initiated in these islands at the turn of the century and now reaching a mighty
crescendo. The effulgent light of His Teachings has aroused stirrings in the
friends, impelling them to apply these heavenly principles in their personal
lives and in the daily activities of their communities. Just as the spiritual
illumination of the Baha'is is symbolized in the Temple, so the development of
local community life in all its aspects, whether administrative or social,
which flow from the fountainhead of faith in God's Revelation, will reach a
fuller expression in the form of various dependencies around this edifice --
dependencies which the Guardian described as "institutions of social
service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor,
shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the
ignorant."
We should never insist on teaching those who are not really
ready for the Cause. If a man is not hungry you cannot make him eat. Among the
Theosophists there are, no doubt, many receptive souls, but those who are
satisfied should be just associated with in a friendly way, but let alone. Once
a seeker comes to accept the concept of progressive religion, and accepts
Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation for this day, the reincarnation concept will
fade away in the light of truth; we should try and avoid controversial issues
in the beginning, if possible.
O my loving friends! After the passing away of this wronged
one, it is incumbent upon the Aghsán (Branches),the Afnán (Twigs) of the Sacred
Lote-Tree, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause of God and the loved ones of the
Abhá Beauty to turn unto Shoghi Effendi - the youthful branch branched from the
two hallowed and sacred Lote-Trees and the fruit grown from the union of the
two offshoots of the Tree of Holiness - as he is the sign of God, the chosen
branch, the guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom all the Aghsán, the
Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God and His loved ones must turn. He is the
expounder of the words of God and after him will succeed the first-born of his
lineal descendents.
Wherefore must the loved ones of God associate in
affectionate fellowship with stranger and friend alike, showing forth to all
the utmost loving-kindness, disregarding the degree of their capacity, never
asking whether they deserve to be loved. In every instance let the friends be
considerate and infinitely kind. Let them never be defeated by the malice of
the people, by their aggression and their hate, no matter how intense. If
others hurl their darts against you, offer them milk and honey in return; if
they poison your lives, sweeten their souls; if they injure you, teach them how
to be comforted; if they inflict a wound upon you, be a balm to their sores; if
they sting you, hold to their lips a refreshing cup.
O friends of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá! The Lord, as a sign of His
infinite bounties, hath graciously favoured His servants by providing for a
fixed money offering (Huqúq), to be dutifully presented unto Him, though He,
the True One and His servants have been at all times independent of all created
things, and God verily is the All-Possessing, exalted above the need of any
gift from His creatures. This fixed money offering, however, causeth the people
to become firm and steadfast and draweth Divine increase upon them.
In the Qur'án, God says: "Thou shalt see no difference
in the creatures of God."[Qur'án 67:3] In other words, He says: From the
ideal standpoint, there is no variation between the creatures of God, because
they are all created by Him. From the above premise, a conclusion is drawn,
that there is no difference between countries. The future of the Dominion of
Canada, however, is very great, and the events connected with it infinitely
glorious. It shall become the object of the glance of providence, and shall
show forth the bounties of the All-Glorious.
He is delighted to hear you are now fully recovered and
again active in your important work for the Cause. However, you should not
neglect your health, but consider it the means which enables you to serve. It
-- the body -- is like a horse which carries the personality and spirit, and as
such should be well cared for so it can do its work! You should certainly
safeguard your nerves, and force yourself to take time, and not only for prayer
and meditation, but for real rest and relaxation. We don't have to pray and
meditate for hours in order to be spiritual.