Talks From MÍRZÁ Asadu'LLÁH

“Persian is the language of the Word because Bahá‘u'lláh revealed Himself in it. God be praised that you have come to ‘Akká! Mr. M. is a teacher. It is well that he has come to ‘Abdu'l-Bahá. As a pupil he should come to learn how ‘Abdu'l-Bahá teaches. This Revelation is like beautiful writing which the teacher sets forth as an example for the devoted pupils to copy. It is from God. All who teach must come to learn in order that they may give forth Truth to others. Christ's Teachings came forth after His Ascension. He was the example. By washing the feet of His disciples, He taught them the lesson of Servitude and Love. He set forth His qualities, and they followed Him. Every day of your stay in ‘Akká will be as a year. This will be evident to you after you have returned to America.' Here Asadu'lláh remained silent, not speaking for a long time. Then we asked him to talk. He said, ‘It is not difficult for me to talk; that is my work. Why is it so? Because I look upon the universe for my knowledge, whereas the teachings of science and philosophy are from books, and books are faulty. The whole world is my book. Therefore, it is no trouble for me to talk, for I simply speak of what I see in this great volume. It would tire my eyes to read the books of science, weary my brain to repeat and remember all they say. When I read the Book of the Universe, I read the essence of all books. All the prophets of God read this Book and were taught in this way. Those who love true knowledge know in this manner. When a Prophet appeared bringing a new Message of Truth, He was considered crazy. The Prophets are able to speak from different standpoints because their knowledge is from God and not from books. Where are the books of men? They perish and are destroyed. The Book of God is everlasting, imperishable. Messages from God are as points of beginning. They are Sources of Light and Knowledge.” “In the Persian alphabet you will find points or dots which change and form the letters. These letters form words, the words make sentences, and the sentences express thoughts. For instance, beginning with the letter ‘Alif' or ‘A'; then ‘Alif Bay' or ‘Ab'; and so on by addition of other letters and words until the meaning is conveyed. In the first point, in Alif, the meaning was hidden, waiting to be revealed. This meaning was not penned until the book and its sentences were formed with Alif as a source or first point. So it is with the seed and flower. The flower is in the seed and comes from it at maturity. Thus words gather together, make a chapter, and the chapters form a book. The Prophets from the Point of Oneness with God composed a Holy Book. The world is a book. It proceeds from the Point of Oneness. The Báb said, 'I am the point of the Book of the World.'” “All things are good if we see aright. A flower is beautiful; we desire to smell it and possess it. When we see something ugly, we wish to get away from it. Once we possess something good, it is always beautiful. Therefore, Truth and Righteousness are forever beautiful. The Prophets came into the world as living examples so the people might acquire their good qualities and perfections. The Ridván is not in its full beauty at this season of the year; but when its flowers are in bloom, when you breathe their many and varied fragrances which fill the air in summer, when you look upon their lovely, glorious faces—you are made happy—all your senses are delighted. Your nostrils are saluted by the heavenly odors, your eyes are greeted by matchless colors, you taste delicious fruits, you hear the sweet song of the birds. All this beauty is for your benefit, intended to make you happy. Then why not praise God for the beauty of the garden in which everything praises God! But if you go to another place which does not contain these beauties, you wish to hurry away immediately, for instance, a swamp infested with gnats and mosquitoes. This is only natural. Thus it is with the people of God who show forth the Beauty and Graces of God in their attitude toward humanity. We long to be with them. We love the beauty of their good qualities. They refresh our spiritual senses. We are filled with their beauty. They are the flowers and fruits in the Garden of Abhá, Ridván of the Blessed Perfection.” “Now I will tell you something about an orange. It will encourage you as a teacher in this Truth. For each one you teach will be the means of leading twenty others into the same pure Light. Out of one seed, by planting, you may produce one thousand oranges, the outcome increasing in greater and greater proportion. So it is with the Word of God. A teacher drops a seed. The one he teaches another, and in the end the outcome of your planting will be one thousand believers. If this increase is certain in the vegetable kingdom, how much higher and greater the result in the kingdom of men!” “Just as the description of ‘Akká by one who has lived here is different from your own impressions as you drive through these streets and actually see for yourself, so it is with the real disciples of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá. Without knowing the question asked Him, I gather from what He says the attitude of the seeker. His words cover every phase of a question. A perfect discourse must meet and fill everybody's requirements. To teach aright one must wander through the wilderness of human ideas as I have done. Then you will learn the secret of teaching by meeting all sorts of people and discussing and answering every kind of question. No one loves to teach more than I do with my own tongue. But the Truth and Reality of Interpretation must be given according to the form of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's Teaching. The one desire of a teacher should be to reflect the Truth as a mirror. On the face of the listener, the teacher should see what is needed and desired so that he may give forth that which will confirm, strengthen, and develop the one taught. That is to say, there is a key of knowledge which will unlock any door and enable us to enter with the Message of Truth. This may sound difficult, but it is easy to prove if you possess it. You must lead the seeker into the right road, then progress is straight ahead. In Chicago I taught many ladies. I will now give you a beautiful lesson, for you are a comparatively new believer, a new child in the Kingdom of Al-Abhá. Human hearts are like mirrors, and their Light is the Knowledge of God. If the Light should be dim, the mirror cannot reflect the Knowledge of God. But the Light of God is never dim. We can always depend upon its standard purity and power. Depend upon the Light, and it will always increase in power and illumination for you. The great need is to keep the mirror polished and clean and its face always turned toward the Light. When the mirror is pure, you will have perfect knowledge, full power, and true Light. The more Faith one has in the heart, the more the mirror is kept turned toward God and the more fixed the soul becomes upon God. The greater the firmness, the greater the understanding. Then the greater the Peace, and so on. If you do not grow after you see the Light shining from your words, it is your own neglect and failure. The Spirit of man is the cradle of the Lord. In it there comes the new birth, the new being which is to live forever. If you teach but a few souls, you have attained to spiritual greatness. From each one you will gain a hundred spiritual children. You are in the Kingdom. Gratitude and love will guide them to you. You will be like a lamp. The souls you have illumed have been lighted from your flame. You will be the focus of the rays, the center from which they come. Christ taught Peter. Peter planted the seed, and a thousand souls arose in the Kingdom of Christ. The Blessed Perfection would teach one soul, and from that one a multitude would be raised up. When the heart is pure, it will be guided and directed in the Truth, and power to teach will be given to you.” “Sometimes in America I had no one to translate for me. To speak in the language of Love we must have an instrument through which that Love may manifest itself. Love lives in the heart, even if one tries to hide it and is unwilling to speak it forth. Love in the heart becomes evident and speaks in our actions. For instance, suppose I have a strong desire to perform some action. Can I do it without the hand to carry out my desire? It is through actions that qualities and attributes express themselves. The rose is revealed through its color, perfume, and outer beauty. Knowledge is our greatest possession, but we cannot give it to others without speech or writing. If we do not express it in this way, it remains hidden and unrevealed. Take for instance a quality like mercy or generosity. If we do not use the tongue and bring forth these attributes, they are hidden, concealed. Therefore, all the human and divine qualities become visible through the powers God has given to man and through the Powers God Himself possesses. The tongue, the eyes, the ears are necessary to perfect man and enable him to express Reality. God created man with the intention that man should perfect his powers. If we did not possess these qualities and the powers to express them, we could not reflect the Work of God. God has said through His Manifestation, 'I have created man, and through man My likeness is revealed.' Man can, therefore, attain a very high station by reflecting the attributes of God. This power of expression is the Spirit.” “Independence is man's greatest gift. The knowledge of good and evil makes us responsible. Otherwise, we would be as the angels who are the messengers of Divine Purpose. So it came to pass that man was made of the dust and from the earth he should appear and be developed into a high station. This is reflected everywhere in creation. The eyes, ears, all the body of man evidence this high purpose.” “A child's knowledge does not depend upon the size of a child but upon the capacity of its mind. A mountain is very large, but it does not possess understanding. A bird is small by comparison, but it has life and the power of flight which the mountain has not. Do not look at your own inability and shortcomings when you wish to teach this Truth. Look at the Power and Bounty of God, which are limitless. When man looks at himself, the view is hopeless because he sees no ability and capacity in himself alone. But when he looks at the Bounty of God, he is encouraged, strengthened, and feels that nothing is too great for his accomplishment. The birds which fly above Mount Carmel can reach the upper regions of the atmosphere, inhale the breezes of life, and view the beauty which the creatures below cannot enjoy. These are the relative positions of the Manifestations of God and humanity. All the fields of the earth with their grains and seeds are for the sustenance of the bird, wherein he gains his food without sowing or planting. These things are provided by God. In the same way man has reasonable sustenance and plea sure, for God's Bounties of Love are in man. God wishes that man should enjoy these Bounties, but while doing so, fly into the upper regions of the Spirit. There is one Standard, One Who is perfect, One, the Manifestation of God. He is infallible; others are not. Absolute obedience to Him is necessary. The Judgment of God is His Manifestation. The soul must be as a perfect reed so that the Breath of the Spirit may blow through it pure and free. Truth is like a lake of pure, living water. Our thirst for it should be conscious of nothing but that water. The greatness of a man depends upon his soul development, upon his drinking from the Waters of Truth. The Manifestation, the Blessed Perfection is a lake. He is Truth.” “The earth said to the sea, 'I am more excellent than you!' The sea replied, 'In what respect art thou more excellent?' The earth answered, 'Because the Blessed Perfection lived and walked upon me!' Who can understand this? None but those in whom the Eye of the Spirit is opened. In a Tablet, Bahá‘u'lláh says that He understood the language of the waves, trees, birds, and all living things. How much happier are we who understand the Blessed Perfection than those who do not. He knew the Secrets of all living things, looked within their mysteries and perfections. In the Day of the Resurrection all of the prophets speak, and this is the language of the Spirit. Only those who are awakened by the Divine Trumpet can hear and understand. To those who are not awakened there is no Resurrection. When we go to sleep, we close our windows and lapse into unconsciousness. The morning brings a new day. We awaken, return to consciousness, and open our windows. Then the light and illumination enter. When a man is really asleep and his soul inactive, we may say the tenant of the house is not occupying the house and that the soul is not living there. But an active soul is awake and occupying its house. The Universe is a vast House, and He Who lives in it is God. Before the Appearance of the Blessed Perfection it was as if the Owner of the Universe was asleep. When Bahá‘u'lláh came, He opened the windows of the Universal Spirit; a New Day dawned, and Light poured down upon us from Heaven. All things reflected this New Light of the Morning. Arts, Sciences, and all human intelligence was filled with new illumination. The power of the Sun produced new Life everywhere. The earth thus awakened was vivified and filled with new energy. This is the Light which appears in the human lamp at the time of the Coming of a Manifestation. Progress, development, and civilization must inevitably follow, just as all mankind receives benefit from a new invention or discovery. That is to say all the world awakened when He awakes. When a man is asleep, They awake with him. Many people of the world have been awakened by the New Daylight, but they do not know from whence it came, nor can they tell you what they are in search of. They simply know that a Light has come and disturbed their slumber. So they are filled with uncertainty and unhappiness while seeking. When they meet the Light of the New Day of God, it is like a man having thoughts and hearing statements he does not understand the meaning of. You from America have been awakened by the New Day; you have heard the Call of God. You are alive and the Spirit vibrates within you. To give you a more homely illustration: When dinner is served, all in the house will gather in one room to partake of and enjoy the food. A bell is rung to summon us. The Voice of Bahá‘u'lláh is a Bell in the center of the Universe, sounding the Divine Call to the Heavenly Table where the Feast is spread. Knowledge of these things is like collecting precious stones. After you have secured them, do not throw them away but preserve them in your Heavenly Crown.” “Do the Manifestations retain their individuality in the next world?” “Man is composed of three elemental conditions—the physical, the mental or rational, and the spiritual or potential. The physical begins and ends here, the mental or rational begins here, and in our true development has no ending. The Spiritual or potential depends upon our will to know God. When we become quickened with the Knowledge of the Will of God, we can say we have always existed and will never cease to exist because His Will is from everlasting to everlasting. These three conditions of man are from the Bounty of God and His Gift. All Life is from the Word, which is from the Manifestation of His Will. Spirit is born and unifies with Spirit by the power of the Word. Spirit is the perfected man and is eternal. The Manifestations are Spirit. Christ is in Moses. All the Manifestations have their own mental identity; but all are one in the Spiritual. Therefore, as the mental in man's true development has no ending, and as the Spiritual which is the Will of God is eternal, the identity of the Manifestations must continue in the Supreme Horizon. They exist in their own stations forever and eternal.” “The Blessed Perfection may be likened to a Lamp which illuminates the Universe. For instance, suppose three people are in a room, each seeking an answer to a different question. Although these questions involve different points, the Light of the Blessed Perfection will illumine all of them and reveal the answers. So from Him we enjoy the fruit which ripens and grows because the rain has come down upon the earth. Therefore, we see by the Light which shines from the Mirror of the Blessed Perfection. He reflects the Light to the soul, and the soul forthwith has vision. Through Him also we grow to understand each other and to know what is in the minds around us. All souls have some oil which will produce illumination. All souls will bear fruit. We must strive to understand them and recognize what they possess. By studying the Word of God and teaching it, we will develop this power of penetrating other souls. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá does not ask questions. Each of us in His presence may have a different thought or idea upon the subject He is explaining, but before He finishes, all our ideas will be met, all our questions answered. When a soul displays evil qualities, we are depressed, disappointed, and wish to turn away immediately. On the other hand, we seek to associate with one who manifests good qualities. The Coming of the Blessed Perfection was to teach us to absorb His knowledge and show forth His Bounty, in order that we may be joined together in Unity and Love by becoming like Him. His Word is Unity. His Perfection is Oneness. This is our goal. This is our standard of perfect attainment. The Blessed Perfection revealed a Tablet in which it is said, ‘A wicked man asked, ‘What is Paradise?' We answered, ‘Paradise is where I live; Hell is where you abide amid disease and horror.' 'The effect of a Manifestation is to drive out all that is evil in the soul and replace the natural growth of virtues, just as Jesus went about casting out devils. An evil soul is like a stony field in which the seeds of beautiful flowers have been planted but no growth has followed. God created man perfect in powers and possibilities. Therefore, by reflecting the good qualities of God the soul will witness this heavenly growth in itself and find rest and peace in the knowledge of His Will concerning us. A good man manifests the qualities of Heaven, a bad man those of Hell. Heaven is upon the earth because these good qualities are witnessed here and now in our lives, Heaven is not above us overhead. The condition of perfect happiness is found when we are beside ‘Abdu'l-Bahá. There you are in Heaven. When the heart is pure you cannot help being happy. A good soul is like a beautiful rose. Not only do you enjoy its beauty but inhale its fragrance and are delighted with every good quality it manifests.” “In each Word of God there are many meanings, many interpretations. These interpretations vary according to the spiritual vision of the teacher. The interpretation of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá is always the greatest and most complete. Why? Because His Knowledge has descended from the Invisible Source of Knowledge, and the Holy Spirit is speaking through Him. Therefore, He has all the meanings. When a teacher wishes to explain the Word of God, he does not confine himself to one kind of demonstration but uses many according to the capacity of the listener. The interpretation of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá is always the true form and the best example to follow. He often gives us a spiritual meaning and then follows with a material one showing the harmony which exists in the application of the Truth of God. For instance, we go into a factory. One goes this way, and another that way among the machinery, and when we come out we have various explanations and viewpoints to describe what we have seen. Again—for instance, in the seed, there are many potentialities hidden, and we may speak of whichever one we please. The rain and sunshine produce many beautiful colors and fragrances in the flowers. So the Teachings of God and the Love of God produce spiritual flowers of all kinds within us according to our potentialities. The eye sees the rose; the nose smells its fragrance. There are many ways of sensing the same object. Similarly, we can spiritually enjoy the beauty and fragrance of the heavenly growth in our own souls and in the souls of others. The senses act in harmony, all wishing to express to us in their own way and language the beauty of the rose. Everything has speech; everything has a language of eloquence and expression. I come into your room. You greet me by word and look. I read the same greeting in this vase of flowers upon your table. My ears listen to the greeting, my eyes witness it, my nose inhales it. The tongue explains. The real speaker is the tongue. For when I enter the room, I have something beautiful to tell you—something the ears never listened to before. Man is the real tongue of the universe, intended by the Creator to express God and set forth His Beauty and Love. The Blessed Perfection embodied all the language of existence. All the Knowledge was poured into that one Cup from which ‘Abdu'l-Bahá drank. The Prophets of God had veiled this Knowledge, sealed the Wine of Inner Significances. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá drained this Cup. We must drink from His Teachings. The Blessed Perfection said that the ocean spoke in its own language, saying, 'O God! O God! My Beloved!' The Blessed Perfection understood the language of the ocean. He heard heaven and earth telling the Glory of God. To know as He knew we must understand this Language of the Spirit. The Prophets, knowing it, were able to speak to all people in their own language, no matter if Jews, Muhammadans, or Christians.” Mírzá Asadu'lláh came to see us again in the afternoon. We mentioned the red anemone which carpets the mountains and fields of Palestine at this season of the year. He said, ‘Little by little the flowers will be coming. The red anemone, called 'shaqáyiq' and pronounced 'shaqa-yeq' by the Persians, is the forerunner of spring. The Lebanons east of Akká, where the Blessed Perfection frequently walked, are covered with these beautiful, crimson-hearted flowers.” “The more you see of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, the more you will realize the inexhaustible fountain of Knowledge within Him. He is the 'Bazaar' of God, where everything humanity needs may be found without money and without price. In Him there is always something new to learn and possess, always some new thought in His words and explanations. What you receive from Him is measured by your capacity. The possessions of God are limitless, whereas man's possessions are limited even though they be vast and many in number. So man must always fall back upon human treasures which are old and mostly worn out. Creation never repeats itself. Truth is one, yet its expressions are innumerable; and no two things are alike in the Kingdom of God. The Prophets are representations or Manifestations of Truth. Truth is fixed, unalterable, whereas everything human is changing and unstable. From death to life and from life to death, man comes, man goes, never fixed, never permanent. Human life is a point in a circle. If you whirl a burning stick around, it makes a circle of fire. Man is a point in the circle of life. He always comes back to the starting point in a process which is perpetual. Every day he is born anew; every day he dies. The past never returns. The future comes toward us inevitably. Childhood cannot continue; youth cannot be ours again. The Law of Time is inexorable. With God there is but One Reality. There is but One Primal Truth. Teachings may differ, but the meaning remains fixed, everlasting. The Prophets renew the Word of God, which has been defiled by human interpretation. God has a new splendor every day. We see evidence of this in ‘Abdu'l-Bahá. No one can understand the real Essence of Truth. When we look at a rose, we can understand its form and color but cannot penetrate the Essence of Truth which lies back of its creation. Who can surround and know God? This is a proof that the Prophets cannot be known in their fullness and completeness, for they come to express God to us. How can a human mind encircle God and His Knowledge? When we look into a mirror, we see only a part or representation of the Reality Itself. The Blessed Perfection has often said in His Tablets that no matter how high the mind may soar it cannot comprehend God. That which is in a lower station cannot understand the station above it. For instance, the vegetable kingdom cannot comprehend the station of the animal; the animal cannot know man; and so on. Man progresses perpetually toward the Kingdom of Spirit, which is God and which is everlasting. Therefore, as the human mind cannot encircle a Kingdom which is everlasting, we cannot completely know the Prophets who appear from that Kingdom. They have infinite Knowledge, for like the tides of the sea there is limitless volume and force back of them. Therefore, we recognize the Manifestations by their perfections and Divine qualities, but we cannot know them unless we rise to their Station.” “All human accomplishment is mortal; the Divine Will alone is immortal. Man is composed of a mortal body and an indestructible Spirit. Good qualities are Divine perfections reflected in man. The Prophets come to this world to show us the way to Immortality. Good qualities evidence their light; bad qualities are as darkness. When man feels the Divine Spark within him, these godly graces appear as light in his actions. God is eternal. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's Teachings aim to develop these heavenly qualities in us so that we may become eternal and immortal. The soil of the soul must be made ready for the seed and its development; then the fruit appears. As the seed increases tenfold, so both good and bad qualities bring forth a corresponding increase. The Reality of Spirit cannot be completely understood. We can simply know It through Its attributes and good qualities.” “The Prophets each had an individual mode of expression. In the outer language of their teaching we must understand their terminology in order to comprehend their utterance. Moses had His characteristic mode of expression; Jesus spoke in parables; Muhammad spoke as if God were speaking. The Prophets are like clouds; the Word of God in them is the rain which brings forth fruit from a parched and thirsty world. All the Prophets are alike in essence and meaning, and all of them are the children of the Blessed Perfection.”

Source: Julia M. Grundy, Ten Days in the Light of Akka (1907). Available at bahai-library.com.

Grundy, J. M.. (1907). *Ten Days in the Light of Akka*. https://bahai-library.com/grundy_ten_days_akka