itions.

Glory be unto Thee, O Lord of the world and Desire of the nations, O Thou
Who hast become manifest in the Greatest Name whereby the pearls of wisdom
and utterance have appeared from the shells of the great sea of Thy
knowledge, and the heavens of divine revelation have been adorned with the
light of the appearance of the Sun of Thy countenance.

I beg of Thee, by that Word through which Thy proof was perfected among
Thy creatures and Thy testimony was fulfilled among Thy servants to
strengthen Thy people in that whereby the face of the Cause will radiate
in Thy dominion, the standards of Thy power will be planted among Thy
servants, and the banners of Thy guidance will be raised throughout Thy
dominions.

O my Lord! Thou beholdest them clinging to the rope of Thy grace and
holding fast unto the hem of the mantle of Thy beneficence. Ordain for
them that which may draw them nearer unto Thee, and withhold them from all
else save Thee. I beg of Thee, O Thou King of existence and Protector of
the seen and the unseen, to make whosoever ariseth to serve Thy Cause as a
sea moving by Thy desire, as one ablaze with the fire of Thy Sacred Tree,
shining from the horizon of the heaven of Thy Will. Verily Thou art the
mighty One Whom neither the power of all the world nor the strength of
nations can weaken. There is no God but Thee, the One, the Incomparable,
the Protector, the Self-Subsistent.

O thou who hast quaffed the wine of Mine utterance from the chalice of My
knowledge! These sublime words were heard today from the rustling of the
divine Lote-Tree which the Lord of Names hath, with the hand of celestial
power, planted in the All-Highest Paradise:

The first Taraz and the first effulgence which hath dawned from the
horizon of the Mother Book is that man should know his own self and
recognize that which leadeth unto loftiness or lowliness, glory or
abasement, wealth or poverty. Having attained the stage of fulfilment and
reached his maturity, man standeth in need of wealth, and such wealth as
he acquireth through crafts or professions is commendable and praiseworthy
in the estimation of men of wisdom, and especially in the eyes of servants
who dedicate themselves to the education of the world and to the
edification of its peoples. They are, in truth, cup-bearers of the
life-giving water of knowledge and guides unto the ideal way. They direct
the peoples of the world to the straight path and acquaint them with that