-- provisional translation by Ahmad Sohrab
In the Name of God the Peerless!
Glory is due unto God, the Discoverer, who, through one
shower of the ocean of His Generosity, expanded the firmament of existence,
begemmed it with the stars of knowledge and summoned the people to the most
high court of perception and understanding!
This shower, which is the Primal Word of the Almighty, is
sometimes called the Water of Life, for it quickens the dead souls in the
desert of ignorance with the spring of intelligence. Sometimes it is called the
First Emanation which appears from the Sun of Wisdom, and when it began to
shine the first movement became manifest and known; then phenomena stepped into
the arena of existence and these appearances were through the generosity of the
Incomparable, the Wise One. He is the Knower, the Giver! He is sanctified and
holy above every statement and attribute! The seen and the unseen fail to
attain the measure of His understanding. The world of being and whatever has
issued from it bears witness to this utterance.
Therefore, it has become known that the First Bestowal of
the Almighty is the Word. The receiver and acceptor of it is the understanding.
It is the First Instructor in the University of Existence and it is the Primal
Emanation of God. Whatever has appeared is through the reflection of Its Light
and whatever is manifested is the appearance of Its Wisdom. All the names
originate in His Name and the beginnings and endings of all affairs are in His
Hand.
You have asked regarding the heavenly Books: The pulse of
the universe is in the hand of the skillful Physician. He diagnoses the illness
and wisely prescribes the remedy. Every day has its own secret and every tongue
a melody. The illness of today has one cure and that of tomorrow another. Look
ye upon this day; consider and discuss its needs. One sees that existence is
afflicted with innumerable diseases compelling it to lie upon the bed of
suffering. Men who are intoxicated with the wine of self-contemplation prevent
the wise Physician from reaching it. Thus have they made themselves and the
world to suffer. They know not the ailment nor recognize the cure. They take
the wrong for the right, the crooked for the straight, the enemy for the
friend.
Hearken ye to the melody of this Prisoner! Stand up and
proclaim! Perchance those who are asleep may awaken! Say, O ye dead ones! The
generous Hand of the Almighty is passing around the Water of Eternal Life.
Hasten ye and drink! Whosoever becomes
alive in this day shall never die, and whosoever dies in this day can never
find Life.
Ye have written regarding the language: Both Persian and
Arabic are good, for that which one desires to gain from language is to attain
to the meanings of the speaker and this can be accomplished in both. As in this
day the Sun of Wisdom has appeared and shone forth from the horizon of Persia,
the more you respect this language the better it is.
O Friend! When the Primal Word appeared in these latter
days, a number of the heavenly souls heard the Melody of the Beloved and
hastened toward it, while others, finding that the deeds of some did not
correspond with their words, were prevented from the Splendors of the Sun of
Knowledge.
Say, O ye sons of earth! The Pure God proclaims that which
in this glorious day shall purify you from the stains of desire and enable you
to attain to tranquility in My straight path and My manifest road. To be
severed from attachment means to be separated from those things which occasion
loss and lessen the grandeur of man. If the people of the world should attain
to the Heavenly Utterances they would never be prevented from the Ocean of
Divine Generosity.
The heaven of righteousness has no Star, and never shall
have one, brighter than this. The first Utterance of the Wise One is this: O ye
Sons of Earth! Turn from the night of foreignness to the shining of the Sun of
Unity. This is that which shall benefit the people of the world more than aught
else.
O Friend! The Tree of the Word has no better Blossom and the
Ocean of Wisdom shall never have a brighter Pearl than this: O ye Sons of
Intelligence! The thin eyelid prevents the eye from seeing the world and what
is contained therein. Then think of the result when the curtain of greed covers
the sight of the heart.
Say, O People! The darkness of greed and envy obscures the
light of the soul as the cloud prevents the penetration of the sun's rays.
Should one listen with the ear of intelligence to this Utterance, he shall
spread the wings of freedom and soar with great joy toward the heaven of
understanding.
When the world was environed with darkness, the Sea of
Generosity was set in motion and Divine Illumination appeared so that the deeds
were disclosed. This is the same illumination which is promised in the heavenly
books. Should the Almighty desire the hearts of the people of the world, He
will purify and sanctify them with the power of the Word, and will pour forth
the Light of the Sun of Unity upon the souls to regenerate the world.
O People! The word must be demonstrated by the deed, for the
righteous witness of the Word is action. The former without the latter shall
not allay the thirst of the needy nor open the doors of sight to the blind.
The Heavenly Wise One proclaimeth: A harsh word is like a
sword, but gentle speech is like unto milk. The children of the world attain to
knowledge and better themselves through this.
The Tongue of Wisdom says: Whosoever possesses Me not, has
nothing. Pass by whatever exists in this world and find Me. I am the Sun of
Perception and the Ocean of Science. I revive the withered ones and quicken the
dead. I am that Light which illumines the path of Insight. I am the Falcon on
the arm of the Almighty; I bear healing in MY wings and teach the knowledge of
soaring to the Heaven of Truth.
The Peerless Beloved says: The way of freedom is opened!
Hasten ye! The Fountain of Knowledge is gushing! Drink ye! Say, O Friends! The
Tabernacle of Oneness is raised; look not upon each other with the eye of
strangeness. Ye are all the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch.
Truly, I say, whatever lessens ignorance and increases knowledge, that has
been, is and shall be accepted by the Creator.
Say, O People! Walk ye under the shade of the Tree of
Righteousness; enter ye under the protection of the Tent of Unity. Say, O thou
Possessor of Sight! The past is the mirror of the future; look and perceive.
Perchance, after the acquirement of knowledge, ye may know the Friend and
attain to His good pleasure. Today the best fruit of the Tree of Science and
Knowledge is that which benefits mankind and improves his condition.
Say! The tongue is the witness of My Truth; do not pollute
it with untruthfulness. The spirit is the treasury of My Mystery; do not
deliver it into the hand of greed. It is hoped that in this Dawn the universe
shall become illumined with the rays of the sun of understanding and knowledge,
so that we may attain to the good pleasure of the Beloved and drink from the
Ocean of Divine Recognition.
O Friend! As there were few ears to hear, so for some time
the Pen has been silent in its own chamber and to such a degree that silence
has preceded utterance. Say, O People! Words are revealed according to capacity,
so that the beginners may make progress. The milk must be given according to
the measure, so that the babe of the world may enter into the realm of grandeur
and be established in the Court of Unity.
O Friend! We have seen the pure ground and cast the seed of
knowledge. Now it depends upon the rays of the sun whether it burns up or is
caused to grow. Say, today through the greatness of the Peerless, Wise One, the
Sun of Knowledge has appeared from behind the covering of the Spirit and all
the birds of the meadow of oneness are intoxicated with the wine of
Understanding and are commemorating the Name of the Beloved. Happy is the one
who finds this and becomes immortal.
- Baha’u’llah (Star of the West, vol. 1,
no. 1, March 21, 1910)