amongst all mankind hath He chosen you, and your eyes have been
opened to the light of guidance and your ears attuned to the music of the
Company above; and blessed by abounding grace, your hearts and souls have
been born into new life. Thank ye and praise ye God that the hand of
infinite bestowals hath set upon your heads this gem-studded crown, this
crown whose lustrous jewels will forever flash and sparkle down all the
reaches of time.

To thank Him for this, make ye a mighty effort, and choose for yourselves
a noble goal. Through the power of faith, obey ye the teachings of God,
and let all your actions conform to His laws. Read ye The Hidden Words,
ponder the inner meanings thereof, act in accord therewith. Read, with
close attention, the Tablets of Tarazat (Ornaments), Kalimat (Words of
Paradise), Tajalliyyat (Effulgences), I_sh_raqat (Splendours), and
Bi_sh_arat (Glad Tidings), and rise up as ye are bidden in the heavenly
teachings. Thus may each one of you be even as a candle casting its light,
the centre of attraction wherever people come together; and from you, as
from a bed of flowers, may sweet scents be shed.

Raise ye a clamour like unto a roaring sea; like a prodigal cloud, rain
down the grace of heaven. Lift up your voices and sing out the songs of
the Abha Realm. Quench ye the fires of war, lift high the banners of
peace, work for the oneness of humankind and remember that religion is the
channel of love unto all peoples. Be ye aware that the children of men are
sheep of God and He their loving Shepherd, that He careth tenderly for all
His sheep and maketh them to feed in His own green pastures of grace and
giveth them to drink from the wellspring of life. Such is the way of the
Lord. Such are His bestowals. Such, from among His teachings, is His
precept of the oneness of mankind.

The portals of His blessings are opened wide and His signs are published
abroad and the glory of truth is blazing forth; inexhaustible are the
blessings. Know ye the value of this time. Strive ye with all your hearts,
raise up your voices and shout, until this dark world be filled with
light, and this narrow place of shadows be widened out, and this dust heap
of a fleeting moment be changed into a mirror for the eternal gardens of
heaven, and this globe of earth receive its portion of celestial grace.

Then will aggression crumble away, and all that maketh for disunity be
destroyed, and the structure of oneness be raised--t