of Thy realities, and lead us into the arena of
Thine attainments. Thou art the Powerful. Thou art the Able. Thou art the
kind Lord.

TALK 'ABDU'L-BAHA DELIVERED IN CHICAGO

16 September 1912
Talk at Home of Mrs. Corinne True
5338 Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

Notes by Gertrude Buikema

Allah-u-Abha! Praise be to God! I have spent a number of days among you,
associating with you in love and fragrance. Praise be to God! Your hearts
are pure, your faces radiant, your spirits exhilarated through the glad
tidings of God. I pray in your behalf, seeking heavenly confirmations for
you that each one may become a radiant candle, shedding light in the world
of humanity. May you become the quintessence of love. May you prove to be
the effulgence of God, replete with the efficacy of the Holy Spirit and
the cause of unity and fellowship in the world of humanity, for today
mankind has the greatest need of love and agreement. If the world should
remain as it is today, great danger will face it. But if reconciliation
and unity are witnessed, if security and confidence be established, if
with heart and soul we strive in order that the teachings of Baha'u'llah
may find effective penetration in the realities of humankind, inducing
fellowship and accord, binding together the hearts of the various
religions and uniting divergent peoples, the world of mankind shall attain
peace and composure, the will of God will become the will of man and the
earth a veritable habitation of angels. Souls shall be educated, vice be
dispelled, the virtues of the world of humanity prevail, materialism pass
away, religion be strengthened and prove to be the bond which shall cement
together the hearts of men.

In the world of existence there are various bonds which unite human
hearts, but not one of these bonds is completely effective. The first and
foremost is the bond of family relationship, which is not an efficient
unity, for how often it happens that disagreement and divergence rend
asunder this close tie of association. The bond of patriotism may be a
means of fellowship and agreement, but oneness of native land will not
completely cement human hearts; for if we review history, we shall find
that people of the same race and native land have frequently waged war
against each other. Often in civil strife they have shed the same racial
blood and destroyed the possessions of their own native kind. Therefore,
this bond is not sufficie