I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me. The sword
of thy rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto
thee, but thou art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee,
yet boundless shame thou hast chosen for thyself. While there is yet time,
return, and lose not thy chance.

The learned and the wise have for long years striven and failed to attain the
presence of the All-Glorious; they have spent their lives in search of Him, yet
did not behold the beauty of His countenance. Thou without the least effort
didst attain thy goal, and without search hast obtained the object of thy quest.
Yet, notwithstanding, thou didst remain so wrapt in the veil of self, that thine
eyes beheld not the beauty of the Beloved, nor did thy hand touch the hem of
His robe. Ye that have eyes, behold and wonder.

Mortal blasts have beset the everlasting candle, and the beauty of the
celestial Youth is veiled in the darkness of dust. The chief of the monarchs of
love is wronged by the people of tyranny and the dove of holiness lies
prisoned in the talons of owls. The dwellers in the pavilion of glory and the
celestial concourse bewail and lament, while ye repose in the realm of
negligence, and esteem yourselves as of the true friends. How vain are your
imaginings!

Ye are like clear but bitter water, which to outward seeming is crystal pure but
of which, when tested by the divine Assayer, not a drop is accepted. Yea, the
sun beam falls alike upon the dust and the mirror, yet differ they in reflection
even as doth the star from the earth: nay, immeasurable is the difference!

Ponder awhile. Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one
heart? Cast out then the stranger, that the Friend may enter His home.

All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human
heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst
give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the
manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He
there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved.
Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame.

At many a dawn have I turned from the realms of the Placeless unto thine
abode, and found thee on the bed of ease busied with others than Myself.
Thereupon, even as the flash of the spirit, I returned to the realms of celestial
glory and breathed it not in My retreats above unto the hosts of holiness.

Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee
to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the
essence of all created things. Thus, ere thou didst issue from thy mother's
womb, I destined for thee two founts of gleaming milk, eyes to watch over
thee, and hearts to love thee. Out of My loving-kindness, 'neath the shade of
My mercy I nurtured thee, and guarded thee by the essence of My grace and
favor. And My purpose in all this was that thou mightest attain My everlasting
dominion and become worthy of My invisible bestowals. And yet heedless
thou didst remain, and when fully grown, thou didst neglect all My bounties
and occupied thyself with thine idle imaginings, in such wise that thou didst
become wholly forgetful, and, turning away from the portals of the Friend didst
abide within the courts of My enemy.

Many a dawn hath the breeze of My loving-kindness wafted over thee and
found thee upon the bed of heedlessness fast asleep. Bewailing then thy
plight it returned whence it came.

Wouldst thou have Me, seek none other than Me; and wouldst thou gaze
upon My beauty, close thine eyes to the world and all that is therein; for My
will and the will of another than Me, even as fire and water, cannot dwell
together in one heart.

The candle of thine heart is lighted by the hand of My power, quench it not
with the contrary winds of self and passion. The healer of all thine ills is
remembrance of Me, forget it not. Make My love thy treasure and cherish it
even as thy very sight and life.

Hearken to the delightsome words of My honeyed tongue, and quaff the
stream of mystic holiness from My sugar-shedding lips. Sow the seeds of My
divine wisdom in the pure soil of thy heart, and water them with the water of
certitude, that the hyacinths of My knowledge and wisdom may spring up
fresh and green in the sacred city of thy heart.

With the hands of loving-kindness I have planted in the holy garden of
paradise the young tree of your love and friendship, and have watered it with
the goodly showers of My tender grace; now that the hour of its fruiting is
come, strive that it may be protected, and be not consumed with the flame of
desire and passion.

Quench ye the lamp of error, and kindle within your hearts the everlasting
torch of divine guidance. For ere long the assayers of mankind shall, in the
holy presence of the Adored, accept naught but purest virtue and deeds of
stainless holiness.

The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing, even as the
cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth a seeker, and the lover
who crieth not out from the depths of his heart until he gazeth upon the
beauty of his beloved. Wherefore sow the seeds of wisdom and knowledge in
the pure soil of the heart, and keep them hidden, till the hyacinths of divine
wisdom spring from the heart and not from mire and clay.

37. O MY SERVANT!

Abandon not for that which perisheth an everlasting dominion, and cast not
away celestial sovereignty for a worldly desire. This is the river of everlasting
life that hath flowed from the well-spring of the pen of the merciful; well is it
with them that drink!

Burst thy cage asunder, and even as the phoenix of love soar into the
firmament of holiness. Renounce thyself and, filled with the spirit of mercy,
abide in the realm of celestial sanctity.

Be not content with the ease of a passing day, and deprive not thyself of
everlasting rest. Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a
mortal world. Up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and
from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless.

Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison of
self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more.