The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah Part 6

O YE divines of the City! We came to you with the truth, whilst ye were heedless of it. Methinks ye are as dead, wrapt in the coverings of your own selves. Ye sought not Our presence, when so to do would have been better for you than all your doings.... Know ye, that had your leaders, to whom ye owe allegiance, and on whom ye pride yourselves, and whom ye mention by day and by night, and from whose traces ye seek guidance-had they lived in these days, they would have circled around Me, and would not have separated themselves from Me, whether at eventide or at morn. Ye, however, did not turn your faces towards My face, for even less than a moment, and waxed proud, and were careless of this Wronged One, Who hath been so afflicted by men that they dealt with Him as they pleased. Ye failed to inquire about My condition, nor did ye inform yourselves of the things which befell Me. Thereby have ye withheld from yourselves the winds of holiness, and the breezes of bounty, that blow from this luminous and perspicuous Spot. Methinks ye have clung to outward things, and forgotten the inner things, and say that which ye do not. Ye are lovers of names, and appear to have given yourselves up to them. For this reason make ye mention of the names of your leaders. And should any one like them, or superior unto them, come unto you, ye would flee him. Through their names ye have exalted yourselves, and have secured your positions, and live and prosper. And were your leaders to reappear, ye would not renounce your leaders.h.i.+p, nor would ye turn in their direction, nor set your faces towards them. We found you, as We found most men, wors.h.i.+pping names which they mention during the days of their life, and with which they occupy themselves. No sooner do the Bearers of these names appear, however, than they repudiate them, and turn upon their heels.... Know ye that G.o.d will not, in this day, accept your thoughts, nor your remembrance of Him, nor your turning towards Him, nor your devotions, nor your vigilance, unless ye be made new in the estimation of this Servant, could ye but perceive it.

"BECAUSE of you the Apostle (Mu?ammad) lamented,..."

BECAUSE of you the Apostle (Mu?ammad) lamented, and the Chaste One (Fatimihs) cried out, and the countries were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all regions. O concourse of divines! Because of you the people were abased, and the banner of Islam was hauled down, and its mighty throne subverted. Every time a man of discernment hath sought to hold fast unto that which would exalt Islam, you raised a clamour, and thereby was He deterred from achieving His purpose, while the land remained fallen in clear ruin.

"OF all the peoples of the world, they that have suffered..."

OF all the peoples of the world, they that have suffered the greatest loss have been, and are still, the people of Persia. I swear by the Day Star of Utterance which s.h.i.+neth upon the world in its meridian glory! The lamentations of the pulpits, in that country, are being raised continually. In the early days such lamentations were heard in the Land of Ta (?ihran), for pulpits, erected for the purpose of remembering the True One-exalted be His glory-have now, in Persia, become places wherefrom blasphemies are uttered against Him Who is the Desire of the worlds.

"IN this day the world is redolent with the fragrances of the..."

IN this day the world is redolent with the fragrances of the robe of the Revelation of the Ancient King ... and yet, they (divines) have gathered together, and established themselves upon their seats, and have spoken that which would put an animal to shame, how much more man himself! Were they to become aware of one of their acts, and perceive the mischief it hath wrought, they would, with their own hands, dispatch themselves to their final abode.

"O CONCOURSE of divines!... Lay aside that which ye..."

O CONCOURSE of divines!... Lay aside that which ye possess, and hold your peace, and give ear, then, unto that which the Tongue of Grandeur and Majesty speaketh. How many the veiled handmaidens who turned unto Me, and believed, and how numerous the wearers of the turban who were debarred from Me, and followed in the footsteps of bygone generations!

"O HIGH priests! Ears have been given you that they may..."

O HIGH priests! Ears have been given you that they may hearken unto the mystery of Him Who is the Self-Dependent, and eyes that they may behold Him. Wherefore flee ye? The Incomparable Friend is manifest. He speaketh that wherein lieth salvation. Were ye, O high priests, to discover the perfume of the rose-garden of understanding, ye would seek none other but Him, and would recognize, in His new vesture, the All-Wise and Peerless One, and would turn your eyes from the world and all who seek it, and would arise to help Him.

"WHATSOEVER hath been announced in the Books hath..."

WHATSOEVER hath been announced in the Books hath been revealed and made clear. From every direction the signs have been manifested. The Omnipotent One is calling, in this Day, and announcing the appearance of the Supreme Heaven.

"THIS is not the day whereon the high priests can command..."

THIS is not the day whereon the high priests can command and exercise their authority. In your Book it is stated that the high priests will, on that Day, lead men far astray, and will prevent them from drawing nigh unto Him. He indeed is a high priest who hath seen the light and hastened unto the way leading to the Beloved.

"O HIGH priests! The Hand of Omnipotence is stretched..."

O HIGH priests! The Hand of Omnipotence is stretched forth from behind the clouds; behold ye it with new eyes. The tokens of His majesty and greatness are unveiled; gaze ye on them with pure eyes.... Say, O high priests! Ye are held in reverence because of My Name, and yet ye flee Me!

Ye are the high priests of the Temple. Had ye been the high priests of the Omnipotent One, ye would have been united with Him, and would have recognized Him.... Say, O high priests! No man's acts shall be acceptable, in this Day, unless he forsaketh mankind and all that men possess, and setteth his face towards the Omnipotent One.

THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MANKIND

"THE time fore-ordained unto the peoples and..."

THE time fore-ordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of G.o.d, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of G.o.d, and Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation. Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of G.o.d, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

Meditate upon this, O ye beloved of G.o.d, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, so that ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His Cause.

"VERILY I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold..."

VERILY I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. The Call of G.o.d hath been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men. It behoveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory.

Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred Scriptures as the Day of G.o.d attest its greatness. The soul of every Prophet of G.o.d, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it. No sooner, however, had the Day Star of His Revelation manifested itself in the heaven of G.o.d's Will, than all, except those whom the Almighty was pleased to guide, were found dumbfounded and heedless.

O thou that hast remembered Me! The most grievous veil hath shut out the peoples of the earth from His glory, and hindered them from hearkening to His call. G.o.d grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and that the seal, 'the Kingdom is G.o.d's', may be stamped upon the brow of all its peoples.

"O YE children of men! The fundamental purpose animating..."