ns are never going to become perfect, for perfection belongs to a
realm we are not destined to enter. However, we must constantly mount
higher, seek to be more perfect.

The ego is the animal in us, the heritage of the flesh which is full of
selfish desires. By obeying the laws of God, seeking to live the life laid
down in our teachings, and prayer and struggle, we can subdue our egos. We
call people "saints" who have achieved the highest degree of mastery over
their egos.

There is no contradiction between Gleanings p. 66 and p. 262. In one place
He says the mirror will never be free from dross, in the other place He
says it will be "so cleared as to be able" etc. It is a relative thing;
perfection will never be reached, but great and ever greater, progress can
be made.

The word "Guardian" in the Seven Valleys has no connection with the Baha'i
Guardianship.

The Qur'an should be to some extent studied by the Baha'is but they
certainly need not seek to acquire a mastery over it, which would take
years, unless they really want to. All Divine Revelation seems to have
been thrown out in flashes. The Prophets never composed treatises. That is
why in the Qur'an and our own Writings different subjects are so often
included in one Tablet. It pulsates, so to speak. That is why it is
"Revelation".

Life is a constant struggle, not only against forces around us, but above
all against our own ego. We can never afford to rest on our own oars, for
if we do, we soon see ourselves carried down stream again. Many of those
who drift away from the Cause do so for the reason that they had ceased to
go on developing. They became complacent or indifferent, and consequently
ceased to draw the spiritual strength and vitality from the Cause which
they should have. Sometimes, of course, people fail because of a test they
just do not meet, and often our severest tests come from each other.
Certainly the believer should try to avert such things, and if they
happen, remedy them through love. Generally speaking nine-tenths of the
friends' troubles are because they don't do the Baha'i thing, in relation
to each other, to the administrative bodies or in their personal lives.

No doubt to the degree we Baha'is the world over strive to spread the
Cause and live up to its teachings, there will be some mitigation of the
suffering of the peoples of the world. But it seems apparent that the
great failure to respond to Baha'u'llah's instructions, app