from the paradise of Abha are
resuscitating you. You must become of one heart, one spirit and one
susceptibility. May you become as the waves of one sea, stars of the same
heaven, fruits adorning the same tree, roses of one garden in order that
through you the oneness of humanity may establish its temple in the world
of mankind, for you are the ones who are called to uplift the cause of
unity among the nations of the earth.

First, you must become united and agreed among yourselves. You must be
exceedingly kind and loving toward each other, willing to forfeit life in
the pathway of another's happiness. You must be ready to sacrifice your
possessions in another's behalf. The rich among you must show compassion
toward the poor, and the well-to-do must look after those in distress. In
Persia the friends offer their lives for each other, striving to assist
and advance the interests and welfare of all the rest. They live in a
perfect state of unity and agreement. Like the Persian friends you must be
perfectly agreed and united to the extent and limit of sacrificing life.
Your utmost desire must be to confer happiness upon each other. Each one
must be the servant of the others, thoughtful of their comfort and
welfare. In the path of God one must forget himself entirely. He must not
consider his own pleasure but seek the pleasure of others. He must not
desire glory nor gifts of bounty for himself but seek these gifts and
blessings for his brothers and sisters. It is my hope that you may become
like this, that you may attain to the supreme bestowal and be imbued with
such spiritual qualities as to forget yourselves entirely and with heart
and soul offer yourselves as sacrifices for the Blessed Perfection. You
should have neither will nor desire of your own but seek everything for
the beloved of God and live together in complete love and fellowship. May
the favors of Baha'u'llah surround you from all directions. This is the
greatest bestowal and supreme bounty. These are the infinite favors of
God.

TALKS 'ABDU'L-BAHA DELIVERED IN NEW YORK

1 July 1912
Talk at 309 West Seventy-eighth Street, New York

Notes by Howard MacNutt

What could be better before God than thinking of the poor? For the poor
are beloved by our heavenly Father. When Christ came upon the earth, those
who believed in Him and followed Him were the poor and lowly, showing that
the poor were near to God. When a rich man believes and follows