d
during its fifty-year existence, the unerring Hand which had shaped its
destiny ever since its inception was suddenly removed, leaving a gap which
friend and foe alike believed could never again be filled.

Yet, as the appointed Center of Baha'u'llah's Covenant and the authorized
Interpreter of His teaching had Himself later explained, the dissolution
of the tabernacle wherein the soul of the Manifestation of God had chosen
temporarily to abide signalized its release from the restrictions which an
earthly life had, of necessity, imposed upon it. Its influence no longer
circumscribed by any physical limitations, its radiance no longer
beclouded by its human temple, that soul could henceforth energize the
whole world to a degree unapproached at any stage in the course of its
existence on this planet.

Baha'u'llah's stupendous task on this earthly plane had, moreover, at the
time of His passing, been brought to its final consummation. His mission,
far from being in any way inconclusive, had, in every respect, been
carried through to a full end. The Message with which He had been
entrusted had been disclosed to the gaze of all mankind. The summons He
had been commissioned to issue to its leaders and rulers had been
fearlessly voiced. The fundamentals of the doctrine destined to recreate
its life, heal its sicknesses and redeem it from bondage and degradation
had been impregnably established. The tide of calamity that was to purge
and fortify the sinews of His Faith had swept on with unstemmed fury. The
blood which was to fertilize the soil out of which the institutions of His
World Order were destined to spring had been profusely shed. Above all the
Covenant that was to perpetuate the influence of that Faith, insure its
integrity, safeguard it from schism, and stimulate its world-wide
expansion, had been fixed on an inviolable basis.

His Cause, precious beyond the dreams and hopes of men; enshrining within
its shell that pearl of great price to which the world, since its
foundation, had been looking forward; confronted with colossal tasks of
unimaginable complexity and urgency, was beyond a peradventure in safe
keeping. His own beloved Son, the apple of His eye, His vicegerent on
earth, the Executive of His authority, the Pivot of His Covenant, the
Shepherd of His flock, the Exemplar of His faith, the Image of His
perfections, the Mystery of His Revelation, the Interpreter of His mind,
the Architect of His World Order,