In the Name of the Lord of Utterance, The Mighty.
1. O YE PEOPLE THAT HAVE MINDS TO KNOW AND EARS TO HEAR!
The first call of the Beloved is this: O mystic nightingale! Abide
not but in the
rose-garden of the spirit. O messenger of the Solomon of love! Seek
thou no
shelter except in the Sheba of the well-beloved, and O immortal phoenix!
dwell
not save on the mount of faithfulness. Therein is thy habitation, if
on the wings
of thy soul thou soarest to the realm of the infinite and seekest to
attain thy
goal.
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| 2. O SON OF SPIRIT!
The bird seeketh its nest; the nightingale the charm of the rose;
whilst those
birds, the hearts of men, content with transient dust, have strayed
far from
their eternal nest, and with eyes turned towards the slough of heedlessness
are bereft of the glory of the divine presence. Alas! How strange and
pitiful; for
a mere cupful, they have turned away from the billowing seas of the
Most
High, and remained far from the most effulgent horizon.
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| 3. O FRIEND!
In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love, and
from the
nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy hold. Treasure the
companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly.
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| 4. O SON OF JUSTICE!
Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? and what seeker
findeth
rest away from his heart's desire? To the true lover reunion is life,
and
separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart hath
no
peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten to the abode of his
beloved.
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| 5. O SON OF DUST!
Verily I say unto thee: Of all men the most negligent is he that disputeth
idly
and seeketh to advance himself over his brother. Say, O brethren! Let
deeds,
not words, be your adorning.
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| 6. O SON OF EARTH!
Know, verily, the heart wherein the least remnant of envy yet lingers,
shall
never attain My everlasting dominion, nor inhale the sweet savors of
holiness
breathing from My kingdom of sanctity.
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| 7. O SON OF LOVE!
Thou art but one step away from the glorious heights above and from
the
celestial tree of love. Take thou one pace and with the next advance
into the
immortal realm and enter the pavilion of eternity. Give ear then to
that which
hath been revealed by the pen of glory.
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| 8. O SON OF GLORY!
Be swift in the path of holiness, and enter the heaven of communion
with Me.
Cleanse thy heart with the burnish of the spirit, and hasten to the
court of the
Most High.
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| 9. O FLEETING SHADOW!
Pass beyond the baser stages of doubt and rise to the exalted heights
of
certainty. Open the eye of truth, that thou mayest behold the veilless
Beauty
and exclaim: Hallowed be the Lord, the most excellent of all creators!
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| 10. O SON OF DESIRE!
Give ear unto this: Never shall mortal eye recognize the everlasting
Beauty,
nor the lifeless heart delight in aught but in the withered bloom. For
like
seeketh like, and taketh pleasure in the company of its kind.
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| 11. O SON OF DUST!
Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears,
that
thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself
of all
learning, that thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and sanctify thyself
from
riches, that thou mayest obtain a lasting share from the ocean of My
eternal
wealth. Blind thine eyes, that is, to all save My beauty; stop thine
ears to all
save My word; empty thyself of all learning save the knowledge of Me;
that
with a clear vision, a pure heart and an attentive ear thou mayest enter
the
court of My holiness.
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| 12. O MAN OF TWO VISIONS!
Close one eye and open the other. Close one to the world and all that
is
therein, and open the other to the hallowed beauty of the Beloved.
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| 13. O MY CHILDREN!
I fear lest, bereft of the melody of the dove of heaven, ye will sink
back to the
shades of utter loss, and, never having gazed upon the beauty of the
rose,
return to water and clay.
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| 14. O FRIENDS!
Abandon not the everlasting beauty for a beauty that must die, and
set not
your affections on this mortal world of dust.
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| 15. O SON OF SPIRIT!
The time cometh, when the nightingale of holiness will no longer unfold
the
inner mysteries and ye will all be bereft of the celestial melody and
of the
voice from on high.
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| 16. O ESSENCE OF NEGLIGENCE!
Myriads of mystic tongues find utterance in one speech, and myriads
of
hidden mysteries are revealed in a single melody; yet, alas, there is
no ear to
hear, nor heart to understand.
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| 17. O COMRADES!
The gates that open on the Placeless stand wide and the habitation
of the
loved one is adorned with the lovers' blood, yet all but a few remain
bereft of
this celestial city, and even of these few, none but the smallest handful
hath
been found with a pure heart and sanctified spirit.
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| 18. O YE DWELLERS IN THE HIGHEST PARADISE!
Proclaim unto the children of assurance that within the realms of
holiness,
nigh unto the celestial paradise, a new garden hath appeared, round
which
circle the denizens of the realm on high and the immortal dwellers of
the
exalted paradise. Strive, then, that ye may attain that station, that
ye may
unravel the mysteries of love from its wind-flowers and learn the secret
of
divine and consummate wisdom from its eternal fruits. Solaced are the
eyes
of them that enter and abide therein!
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| 19. O MY FRIENDS!
Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed
and
blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the
shade
of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise?
Awe-struck ye
listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends!
Prefer
not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for
you, and
approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and
cravings.
Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall
that
place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be
made
evident unto all of you.
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In the eighth of the most holy lines, in the fifth Tablet of Paradise,
He saith:
20. O YE THAT ARE LYING AS DEAD ON THE COUCH OF
HEEDLESSNESS!
Ages have passed and your precious lives are well-nigh ended, yet
not a
single breath of purity hath reached Our court of holiness from you.
Though
immersed in the ocean of misbelief, yet with your lips ye profess the
one true
faith of God. Him whom I abhor ye have loved, and of My foe ye have
made a
friend. Notwithstanding, ye walk on My earth complacent and self-satisfied,
heedless that My earth is weary of you and everything within it shunneth
you.
Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would, in truth, prefer a myriad griefs
unto
this joy, and would count death itself better than this life.
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