London, October 1911
O noble friends and seekers for the Kingdom of God! God be praised!
We see the light of love is shining in the East and the
West; and the tent of intercourse is raised in the centre of the world for the
drawing together of hearts and souls. The call of the Kingdom has gone all over
the world. The annunciation of the world's Universal Peace has enlightened the
world's conscience. My hope is that by the zeal and ardour of the pure-hearted,
the darkness of hatred and differences will be entirely abolished, and the
light of love and unity will shine more brightly. This world shall become a new world. Things
material will become the mirror of the Kingdom. Human hearts will meet and
embrace each other. The whole world shall become as a man's native country; and
different races shall be counted as one race. Then disputes and differences
will vanish, and the Divine Beloved will be revealed in the society of mankind.
It is because the East and the West are illumined by the One Sun, all races,
nations, and creeds are the servants of the One God. The whole earth is one
home, and all peoples are bathed in the ocean of God's mercy. God created all.
He gives sustenance to all. He guides and trains all under the shadow of his
bounty. We must follow the example God himself gives us, and do away with all
these differences and quarrels. Praise be to God! the signs of friendship are
appearing, and a proof of this is that today I - an Easterner - in the London
of the West have received extreme kindness, regard, and love, and I am deeply
thankful and happy. I shall never forget this time I have spent with you. I
leave you with extreme regret, and with prayers for you, that all the beauty of
the Kingdom may be yours.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of 'Abdu'l-Baha, from a talk, Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 13, November 4, 1911;
reprinted from Christian Commonwealth, October 4, 1911)
