e restored to his former
life?" Were ye to examine carefully the verses of God, ye would find many
such statements recorded in the Book.

69 Would that pure and stainless hearts could be found, that I might
impart unto them a sprinkling from the oceans of knowledge which My Lord
hath bestowed upon Me, so that they may soar in the heavens even as they
walk upon the earth and speed over the waters even as they course the
land, and that they may take up their souls in their hands and lay them
down in the path of their Creator. Howbeit, leave hath not been granted to
divulge this mighty secret. Indeed, it hath been from everlasting a
mystery enshrined within the treasuries of His power and a secret
concealed within the repositories of His might, lest His faithful servants
forsake their own lives in the hope of attaining this most great station
in the realms of eternity. Nor shall they who wander in this oppressive
darkness ever attain unto it.

70 O My brother! At every juncture We have restated Our theme, that all
that hath been recorded in these verses may, by the leave of God, be made
clear unto thee, and that thou mayest become independent of those who are
plunged in the darkness of self and who tread the valley of arrogance and
pride, and be of them that move within the paradise of everlasting life.

71 Say: O people! The Tree of Life hath verily been planted in the heart
of the heavenly paradise and bestoweth life in every direction. How can ye
fail to perceive and recognize it? It will in truth aid thee to grasp all
that this well-assured Soul hath disclosed unto thee of the essence of the
divine mysteries. The Dove of holiness warbleth in the heaven of
immortality and admonisheth thee to array thyself with a new vesture,
wrought of steel to shield thee from the shafts of doubt concealed in the
allusions of men, saying: "Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the
flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not
that I said unto thee, ye must be born again."(49)

72 Wing then thy flight unto this divine Tree and partake of its fruits.
Gather up that which hath fallen therefrom and guard it faithfully.
Meditate then upon the utterance of one of the Prophets as He intimated to
the souls of men, through veiled allusions and hidden symbols, the
glad-tidings of the One Who was to come after Him, that thou mayest know
of a