Didst thou behold immortal sovereignty, thou wouldst strive to pass from this
fleeting world. But to conceal the one from thee and to reveal the other is a
mystery which none but the pure in heart can comprehend.

Purge thy heart from malice and, innocent of envy, enter the divine court of
holiness.

Walk ye in the ways of the good pleasure of the Friend, and know that His
pleasure is in the pleasure of His creatures. That is: no man should enter the
house of his friend save at his friend's pleasure, nor lay hands upon his
treasures nor prefer his own will to his friend's, and in no wise seek an
advantage over him. Ponder this, ye that have insight!

Even as the swiftness of lightning ye have passed by the Beloved One, and
have set your hearts on satanic fancies. Ye bow the knee before your vain
imagining, and call it truth. Ye turn your eyes towards the thorn, and name it
a flower. Not a pure breath have ye breathed, nor hath the breeze of
detachment been wafted from the meadows of your hearts. Ye have cast to
the winds the loving counsels of the Beloved and have effaced them utterly
from the tablet of your hearts, and even as the beasts of the field, ye move
and have your being within the pastures of desire and passion.

Wherefore have ye neglected the mention of the Loved One, and kept remote
from His holy presence? The essence of beauty is within the peerless
pavilion, set upon the throne of glory, whilst ye busy yourselves with idle
contentions. The sweet savors of holiness are breathing and the breath of
bounty is wafted, yet ye are all sorely afflicted and deprived thereof. Alas for
you and for them that walk in your ways and follow in your footsteps!

Put away the garment of vainglory, and divest yourselves of the attire of
haughtiness.

48. O BRETHREN!

Be forbearing one with another and set not your affections on things below.
Pride not yourselves in your glory, and be not ashamed of abasement. By My
beauty! I have created all things from dust, and to dust will I return them
again.

Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them
into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth. To give
and to be generous are attributes of Mine; well is it with him that adorneth
himself with My virtues.

Put away all covetousness and seek contentment; for the covetous hath ever
been deprived, and the contented hath ever been loved and praised.

Be not troubled in poverty nor confident in riches, for poverty is followed by
riches, and riches are followed by poverty. Yet to be poor in all save God is a
wondrous gift, belittle not the value thereof, for in the end it will make thee rich
in God, and thus thou shalt know the meaning of the utterance, "In truth ye
are the poor," and the holy words, "God is the all-possessing," shall even as
the true morn break forth gloriously resplendent upon the horizon of the lover's
heart, and abide secure on the throne of wealth.

Ye have suffered My enemy to enter My house and have cast out My friend,
for ye have enshrined the love of another than Me in your hearts. Give ear to
the sayings of the Friend and turn towards His paradise. Worldly friends,
seeking their own good, appear to love one the other, whereas the true Friend
hath loved and doth love you for your own sakes; indeed He hath suffered for
your guidance countless afflictions. Be not disloyal to such a Friend, nay
rather hasten unto Him. Such is the daystar of the word of truth and
faithfulness, that hath dawned above the horizon of the pen of the Lord of all
names. Open your ears that ye may hearken unto the word of God, the Help
in peril, the Self-existent.

Know ye in truth that wealth is a mighty barrier between the seeker and his
desire, the lover and his beloved. The rich, but for a few, shall in no wise attain
the court of His presence nor enter the city of content and resignation. Well is
it then with him, who, being rich, is not hindered by his riches from the eternal
kingdom, nor deprived by them of imperishable dominion. By the Most Great
Name! The splendor of such a wealthy man shall illuminate the dwellers of
heaven even as the sun enlightens the people of the earth!

The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only
on your own ease.

Cleanse thyself from the defilement of riches and in perfect peace advance
into the realm of poverty; that from the well-spring of detachment thou mayest
quaff the wine of immortal life.

The company of the ungodly increaseth sorrow, whilst fellowship with the
righteous cleanseth the rust from off the heart. He that seeketh to commune
with God, let him betake himself to the companionship of His loved ones; and
he that desireth to hearken unto the word of God, let him give ear to the words
of His chosen ones.

Beware! Walk not with the ungodly and seek not fellowship with him, for such
companionship turneth the radiance of the heart into infernal fire.

Wouldst thou seek the grace of the Holy Spirit, enter into fellowship with the
righteous, for he hath drunk the cup of eternal life at the hands of the immortal
Cup-bearer and even as the true morn doth quicken and illumine the hearts of
the dead.

Think not the secrets of hearts are hidden, nay, know ye of a certainty that in
clear characters they are engraved and are openly manifest in the holy
Presence.

Verily I say, whatsoever ye have concealed within your hearts is to Us open
and manifest as the day; but that it is hidden is of Our grace and favor, and
not of your deserving.