They Are the Body and Thou Art the Life
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas, (1909) · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
O ye illumined faces! O ye divine souls! and O ye spiritual temples!
Verily, I read your letter which uttered your extreme love and entire attraction to the Kingdom of God, your trust in God, your immersing into the deep seas of the bounties of God and your chanting the verses of thanksgiving to God, because He guided you to His Eternal Kingdom, manifested to you His evident light, descended upon you a heavenly table through His great favor, planted you in His glorious vineyard and caused you to become manifestations of guidance among the people and dawning-points of wisdom among the creatures.
Servants of God! Sanctify the soul and dilate the breast by the promise your Lord gave you, that, verily, He confirms you through the hosts of inspiration. Ye will see (the time when) your faces shine as stars in the horizon of guidance and your heads crowned by the crown of success in the Supreme World.
O Thou kind Lord!
These souls are Thy friends and this gathering is longing for Thee. They are captives of the lights of Thy Beauty and ecstatic by Thy musk-scented locks. Their hearts are Thine; they are Thy poor, humble and homeless; they have severed themselves from relative and stranger and have established the relationship of unity with Thee. They have adored Thee. They were sons of earth; Thou hast made them new fruits of the Kingdom. They were plants of the desert of bereavement; Thou hast made them trees of the rose-garden of knowledge. They were silent; Thou hast made them speak. They were extinct; Thou hast lighted them. They were sterile soil; Thou hast made them the rose-garden of significances. They were the children of the world of humanity; Thou hast caused them to attain development and the maturity of the Kingdom!
O kind One! Grant them shelter and security under Thy protection, preserve them from tests and trials, send them invisible help and confer upon them the doubtless bounty, O Thou kind Beloved!
They are the body and Thou art the Life. The body is dependent for its life and freshness upon the Spirit—therefore they are in need of confirmation and long for the Breaths of the Holy Spirit in this new Cause!
Thou art the Able! Thou art the Giver, the Educator, the Forgiver, the Pardoner and the Light shining from the Invisible Realm!
Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas (1909). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19312.
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'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1909). *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19312/pg19312-images.html
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