Yea, the intensity of His revelation hath covered Him, and the fullness of His shining forth hath hidden Him. — (Bahá’u’lláh in Seven Valleys)

Chapter I

The Divine Revelators

EACH religion[pg 32] teaches that a mediator is necessary between man and the Creator — one who receives the full light of the divine splendor and radiates it over the human world, as the earth’s atmosphere receives and diffuses the warmth of the sun’s rays. This mediator between God and humanity has different designations though he always brings the same spiritual command.

In one era he is called Abraham, at another time Moses, again he is called Buddha, another time Jesus, and yet another time Muḥammad. All turned to the divine reality for their strength. Those who followed Moses accepted him as their mediator; those who followed Zoroaster accepted him as their mediator; but all the Israelites deny Zoroaster, and the Zoroastrians deny Moses. They fail to see in both the one light. Had the Zoroastrians comprehended the reality of Zoroaster, they would have understood Moses and Jesus. Alas! the majority of men attach themselves[pg 33] to the name of the mediator and lose sight of the real purport.

Therefore did Bahá’u’lláh cry, “O God, deliver us from the sea of names!”

Man must turn to the light and not think that the form of the lamp is essential, for the lamp may be changed; but he who longs for light welcomes it from whatever source it comes. If the Jews had comprehended Moses, they would have accepted the Christ; but they were occupied with the name and when that name was changed they denied the reality.

It is the same with the Christians today. What a pity that they are worshipping a title! They see only the garment. If one recognizes a king by his garments, one would not know him were he to clothe himself differently.

Who is the Christ? When one sees the Christ qualities shining from another source, one must recognize that light. We say this flower is exquisite; we do not say that it is the only beautiful one, for beauty is of the divine effulgence that is universal and unlimited in its manifestations. The marvelous bestowals of God are continuous. Should the outpouring of light be suspended, we would be in darkness. But how could it be withheld? If the divine graces are suspended, then divinity itself would be interrupted. Even men ask for continuity.

We have eyes and we desire eternal sight; blindness is an imperfection. We have ears; deafness is a deficiency. As long as we consider[pg 34] these as imperfections in the human world, are they not even greater defects in the divine world?

We must be adorers of the sun of reality from whatsoever horizon it may appear, rather than adorers of the horizon; for should we concentrate our attention in one direction, the sun may appear from quite another and leave us deprived of the sun’s bestowals which are the wisdom and guidance of God and the favor of God, which constitute spiritual progress.

Praise be to God that the sun of reality of religion hath dawned. From all parts of the world, host after host are coming under its radiance and ere long it will become world-spread.

I desire for you a universal patriotism. A high soaring bird attaches not its heart to its earth nest and abode. At every dawn it sings a new melody and at every eve it warbles the strains of divine mysteries in a new meadow. At one time it rises above the summit of the green mountains and spreads its imperial wings over deserts and plains and anon it breaks into ideal harmonies and chants sweetly the secrets of God.

It is not attached to home and comfort nor is it limited to nest and abode. Nay, rather, it is intoxicated with the wine of the love of God, singing at all times the anthems and praises of the Almighty. This is the habit and custom of heavenly birds; this is the manner and conduct of the nightingale of the rosegarden of the merciful![pg 35]

Today firmness in the covenant of servitude is the means of effectively flinging forth the divine proclamation into all horizons and this firmness is conducive to the power of the word of the teacher; for in this day when one arises to herald the Kingdom of Abhá, a magnetic power is produced which attracts the rays of confirmation; the hosts of the supreme concourse will make whosoever is sincere victorious and the power of the Holy Spirit will assist him.

The obstacle which prevents the so-called religious man from accepting the teachings of God is literal interpretation. Moses announced the coming of Christ. The Israelites were awaiting him with the greatest impatience and anxiety, but when he came they called him Beelzebub. “The conditions laid down in the Bible for the coming of the expected one were not fulfilled,” they said. They did not understand that the conditions were symbolical.

For instance, it is written — “He will come from an unknown place.” Jesus came from Nazareth. “How can this be the Messiah?” they reasoned. “It is written — he will carry an iron scepter, that is to say, his shepherd’s staff will be a sword. This man has no sword. It was prophesised — he will be seated on the throne of David; behold this man has not so much as a mat whereon to sit. He was to spread the law[pg 36] of Moses; this man, on the contrary, seeks to destroy it. How can he be the promulgator of God’s law?” they scornfully laughed.

It was prophesised that the east and west would be united under the Jewish law; the animals would be at peace one with another; that the wolf would no longer devour the sheep. They did not see these conditions fulfilled. Roman tyranny enveloped the world and they crucified the Christ.

The Jews were blind to reality. The real Christ came from the city of light. In the eternal realms Christ is a king. His shepherd’s staff, that is, his tongue, was a sword dividing the true from the false. The throne of David is not a material throne but an eternal kingdom. Christ re-established this kingdom; it had been forgotten. Christ conquered the east and the west. This means a spiritual victory, not a material one.

Animals were to live in peace. This means the Chaldeans, the Syrians, the Romans, the Greeks, who were to make peace among themselves, for Christ spread the cause of peace. As the Jews did not understand these things, they were deprived of the beauty of the Christ. Behold again, the Christians are expecting the stars to fall and Christ to appear in the clouds, yet these are but symbols. They are awaiting a Christ from a heaven that does not exist.

Let us awake! Let us acquire a new intelligence in order to interpret the symbols and[pg 37] become acquainted with the mysteries. The real Christ’s spirit has come again from the supreme apex to illumine the world.

In the Gospel, Jesus said, “I am come from heaven.” Physically, he was born of a woman, but the Christ’s reality is from the city of eternity, for the heaven is not a place but a state of consciousness.

Man has a sacred power which permits him to discover the inner significances, the reality of invisible things. Ponder over these statements, so that the portals of divine wisdom and infinite knowledge may open before thy face.

I wish to awaken you out of your deep slumber. Do you know in what day you are living? Do you realize in what dispensation you exist? Have you not read in the holy scriptures that at the consummation of the ages there would dawn a day — the sum total of all past days? This is the day when the Lord of hosts hath come on the clouds of glory. This is the day in which the inhabitants of the world shall enter under the tent of the word of God. This is the day whose real sovereign is His Highness the Almighty. This is the day when the east and the west shall embrace each other like unto two lovers; war and contention shall be forgotten and nations and governments shall enter into an eternal bond of amity and conciliation. This century is the fulfillment[pg 38] of the promised century, the dawn of the appearances of the glorious visions of past prophets and sages.

Now is the early dawn; ere long the effulgent sun shall rise and station itself in the meridian of its majesty. Then ye shall observe the effects — then ye shall behold what heavenly illumination has become manifest — then ye shall comprehend that these are the infinite bestowals of God — then ye shall realize that this world has become another world and ye shall perceive the divine instructions, universally spread.

The teachings of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh, like unto the spirit, shall penetrate the dead body of the world and like unto an artery shall beat through the heart of the five continents.

In the Gospels it is written that the Christ said: “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now! But when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you unto all knowledge.” Christ is alluding to a person, because he says, “When he is come, he will not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.” This means by the power of innate knowledge.

Some Christians claim that the Holy Ghost descended after the resurrection of the Christ and that Christ is alluding to this. But as the Holy Ghost was always with the Christ, is this logical? Again he says, “He will guide you unto truth,” he will be better for you than I. He adds, “Until I go, he cannot come.” Endeavor to understand the divine words, otherwise difficulties will arise. Had the Jews understood symbology, they would have understood the Christ. The holy books are full of significance and must never be taken literally. Elijah also was expected to come from heaven, and the Christ said, “Elijah is none other than John the Baptist.” The reality of John was in the supreme concourse. It is essential to have divine perception in order to see the truth, to hear the call, and obey — liberating the hearts from all earthly attachment.

The mountains being shaken before the coming of the messenger means that great peoples — great as mountains — are shaken and become transplanted.

I hope you will be the cause of opening the eyes and exalting the spirits to follow divine direction. Thus you will assist others to walk in the path of the good pleasure of the Lord. What is the ultimate goal of a human life? Assuredly it is not to eat, nor to sleep, nor to dress, nor to repose on the couch of negligence. Nay, it is to find one’s way to eternity and understand the divine signs; to receive wisdom from the Lord of Lords, and to move steadily forward like a great sea. This is my hope for thee.[pg 41]

In former times men either became believers, or else they became enemies of the cause of God. For instance, in the time of Moses, all those who believed in him as a prophet and in the unity of God, became of the faithful. In the time of Christ, those who believed in the divinity of the father and that Jesus was the word, became disciples. Faith consisted in the blind acceptance of these truths and those who accepted were considered saved, the rest were doomed to perdition.

But in this day the question is far more important. Faith does not consist in belief, it consists in deeds. It is not sufficient to believe in Bahá’u’lláh and to say, “I am of the people of Abhá”; we must act in accordance with the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, who commands us to become centers of divine attraction, so that the attributes of God may emanate from us, that we may become wise and well intentioned to all the peoples of the earth in order to better the condition of all.

We must look upon our enemies with a sin-covering eye and act with justice when confronted with any injustice whatsoever, forgive all, consider the whole of humanity as our own family, the whole earth as our own country, be sympathetic with all suffering, nurse the sick, offer a shelter to the exiled, help the poor and those in need, dress all wounds and share the happiness of each one. Be compassionate, so that your actions will shine like unto the light[pg 42] streaming forth from the lamp. If the whole world should arise to deny this cause, we must not fight. Our only role is to spread the teachings. If it be accepted, all is well; if not, leave the people to God.

If we see a man acting after this manner we can say of him: “Verily, verily, he is a reflector of servitude!” We cannot conceive of a star without light, a tree without seed. If we claim to be followers of light we must diffuse the light through our actions. To label ourselves will not be sufficient.

There are five hundred million people who call themselves Christians. If you compare their deeds with the text of the Gospels, you will find no likeness thereto. The real Christians are rare. The Christ exhorted men to be kind. The Christians are fighting and killing one another, leading their young men into war, shedding blood, destroying dwellings, causing mothers to lose their sons and children their fathers. What has all this to do with the teachings of Christ? Is a man whose highest aim is bloodshed a Christian? Christ suffered in order to teach kindness. “O Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Thus he pardoned his murderers. How merciful he was!

The advanced men of all time have ever been persecuted and continually in adversity. He who discovered the movement of the earth and the relative immobility of the sun terminated[pg 43] his days in prison, because his teachings did not please the priests.

One who is wise in the ways of God sees that his words and deeds reflect the glory of God. I hope that the light of this glory may shine forth from each one of you, for this is the decisive proof — for this Bahá’u’lláh suffered — that he might educate men to become the educators of the world and spread truth abroad.

May ye attain to this station — upon ye be greetings and praise!

When the prophets of God appear upon this earth, their validity is established by means of certain proofs. One of the proofs is through the fulfillment of former prophecies, the second proofs are their creative words and phrases which salute the hearts of humanity, the third are their deeds and the fourth are their teachings.

The prophecies deal with dates and symbols which proclaim the end of each dispensation. In former books the conditions are explained concerning subsequent manifestors of the divine plan. But those who do not follow closely these things will not be convinced by proofs such as these. This then is not a final proof.

Miracles are likewise convincing to a limited number only. For instance, a Buddhist would not be convinced by the miracles of Moses which are proofs only so far as the orthodox Jews are concerned, because they love Moses. On the[pg 44] other hand the miracles attributed to Jesus Christ are refuted by the Jews as a whole, saying “No one lives today who has seen these miracles performed, therefore, who can bear testimony to them?”

A clear proof of validity lies in the achievements and here we are confronted by certain irrefutable facts. The prophets have come from the lowliest and most humiliated of the nations and in each age the prophet has raised his downtrodden nation to the highest zenith of prosperity and success among the nations of the earth. For instance, His Holiness Christ was quite alone. He was a Jew from among the Jews. He came at a time when the Israelites were under the yoke of the Romans. He revivified the people till they were transferred from one state of existence into a higher state of existence.

At a time when the East was enshrouded with superstition and hatred, Bahá’u’lláh flooded these regions with his glorious light. Under the chains he unfurled the flag of the oneness of the world of humanity; in the prisons he spread the principles of universal peace and brotherhood; from behind the barracks he wrote his famous epistles to the kings and rulers of the world, arraigning the oppressors of the earth and calling upon them in the name of God the exalted not to place their sovereignty above that of His Highness the Almighty. He admonished them on the part of the wronged ones to listen to the call of the[pg 45] new day else their kingdoms would pass out of their hands and would fall into the hands of others. “Know that brotherhood hath been proclaimed — even so hath this matter been recorded upon a mighty tablet with the strong pen of God.”¹

A supreme proof is the teaching. For instance the precepts of Christ were sufficient proof of his validity. There is no greater proof than these teachings. They were the light of that cycle and the spirit of that age. All that he said accorded with the needs of the humanity of that time. They were peerless and unique.

Consider His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh and his teaching. They are the spirit of this cycle — the light of this age. They illumine the dark places of humanity, for they address themselves to the heart of the race. For instance, the greatest evil of this century is war. In the new age Bahá’u’lláh has prohibited war. The need of this century is universal peace — Bahá’u’lláh has instituted it. The most urgent requisite of mankind is the declaration of the oneness of the world of humanity — this is the great principle of Bahá’u’lláh. That which will leaven the human world is a love that will insure the abandonment of pride, oppression and hatred. The principles of Bahá’u’lláh are the remedy and balm for the wounded world; and without[pg 46] their inculcation, reconciliation between the nations will not be reached. These very teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are the greatest proofs of his claim. Such a power hath appeared from him as will suffice to convince the whole world.

The proof of the sun is its light and heat.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá arose with hands extended, palms upward, he uttered the following: