Spirit, Mind and Soul

O thou who art rejoiced at the explanation of the maid-servant of God .........!

Thank thou god that He hath sent forth unto thee such a spiritual and loving sister, who is preserved from egotism and desires and is rejoiced at the glad-tidings of God. Can there be imagined any greater mercy than this? No! by the One who hath created the heaven and earth! Blessed thou art, for thou hast inhaled the fragrances of life from the garden of the Kingdom of El-Baha before thine ears had heard the call!

As to ......... whom thou hast mentioned, it behooveth him to seek only the divine bounties and subjects which lead to the real knowledge of the invisible (world of god), through the mediation of the Holy spirit. Then he will perceive the reality of the triune powers in man, through his innate perception. For, verily, the sign of these triune powers which exist in mankind are spirit, mind and soul. The spirit is the power of life, the mind is the power which apprehendeth the reality of things, and the soul is an intermediary between the Supreme Concourse (or Spiritual World) and the lower concourse (or material world). It, i.e., the soul, hath two phases: The higher aspireth to the Kingdom of El-Baha, and the lights of the mind shine forth from that horizon (or kingdom) unto its higher sphere; the other phase inclineth to the lower concourse of the material world and its lowest sphere is enveloped in the darkness of ignorance. But when light is poured upon this phase, and if this phase of the soul is capable of receiving it, then “truth hath come and falsehood vanisheth, for falsehood is of short duration”—otherwise, darkness will surround it from all directions and it will be deprived of association with the Supreme Concourse and will remain in the lowest depths.

As to the “voice:” There are two kinds of voices. One is the physical voice and it is expressed by atmospheric vibrations which affect the nerves of the ear; the other is the breath of the Merciful, and this is a call which is continually heard from the Supreme Concourse and cheereth the pure and holy souls. May it be beneficial to those who have heard the Call!

Know thou that the Ancient Light and the Manifest Beauty (God) hath sown seeds in the soil of existence and hath irrigated it through His spiritual bounties. This soil will surely bring forth good plants of divine gifts; the leaves of this growth are love and union, its stem is the teachings of the True One and His supreme laws, and the grain pods are the heavenly blessings which giveth life to the souls. Depend thou on these! Depend thou on these! Depend thou on this, and abandon every imagination and be attracted to the light of reality and discover both the divine truths and physical truths!

also, know thou that the greatest spiritual and divine “chaplet” is the Word of God and the Sun of Truth which penetrateth the reality of the created things and attracteth the entire soul of man in the world of existence and shineth forth unto all horizons (or regions). Hast thou ever perceived a greater “chaplet” than this? No! by the Splendor of Baha’!

Verily, I yearn for the visit of those souls who are cheered, dilated and moved by and attracted to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas (1909). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19312.

'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1909). *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19312/pg19312-images.html