Alliance Spiritualise of Paris
November 9, 1911
I am very grateful for the words and sentiments expressed by the general secretary. I give thanks to God to find myself in Paris in such a spiritual assembly.
If we look at the atmosphere of this meeting, we see that the spirit floats in it, the bounties of God descend, the aid of the Holy Spirit is seen. Thanks to God, these hearts are endowed with spiritual sentiments; the vibrations of the soul make themselves felt.
The spirit is like the sea, this assembly like the waves -- though they are numerous, they all come from the same sea; though they apparently have different forms and aspects, the unity of the spirit is manifest.
All the prophets and Divine Manifestations have come to educate men, in order that the unity of the human world may shine clearly and distinctly, so that there remain no authority to the waves; that the authority be peculiar to the sea, for the spirit is like the sea and the bodies are like the waves.
It is said in the Gospels, “Jerusalem will come down out of heaven from God." This heavenly Jerusalem is not made of stone, of lime and of clay, but it is made of the divine teachings which shine among men by the power of the spirit. For a long time, the divine teachings had been forgotten, no trace remained of the light of the heavenl Jerusalem. When Baha’u’llah manifested Himself from the Orient, the light of His divine teachings shone forth in Persia unto otherer parts of the world. This divine teaching is the heavenly Jerusalem which has again “come down out of heaven." Although that edifice had fallen to pieces, it is founded anew. The corporal and material forces ruled over the Orient; now the spiritual forces have taken their place.
Thanks to God, I see at Paris a respectable assembly which lives by the breath of the soul. Man is not man by the body, he is man by the spirit, for by the body he is the associate of the animal; that which distinguishes him is the spirit. As the sun illumines the earth, so the spirit illumines the body. It renders man celestial; gives him kindness by the breath of the Holy Spirit; makes him understand the reality of things; discovers all sciences; offers eternal life; unites the nations; joins the Orient and the Occident, and changes the human world into a divine world. Consequently, those who receive the bounties of the Spirit give life to others.
Now, you who are spiritual ought to be glad and joyful for the teachings of Baha’u’llah, who is the founder of spirituality in this age. The teachings of Baha’u’llah are only spiritual. One should seek the Truth, which is the cause of the manifestations of the spirit, for the spirit will not make itself felt by the senses, but it will manifest itself by the hidden faculties. Though the human body is sensitive, its spirit is hidden; it is the spirit which commands the body.
The spirit acts in two ways: One way is by instruments; that is, it sees with the eyes, it hears with the ears and speaks with the tongue. These instruments work by the spirit, which is their motor; though its senses are manifested by the body, they come from the faculty of the spirit. The other way is that of being and acting without instruments as in dreams and visions, it sees without eyes, hears without ears, speaks without the tongue, walks without feet. All the faculties of the spirit are clear and distinct in the world of visions. Hence it is evident that the spirit acts in two ways: First, by the instruments of the body; second, without the instruments of the body.
Thus it is that one's body may be in the Occident and the spirit finds out the situation in the Orient, and it directs and conducts the affairs there. Therefore it is evident that the spirit is powerful and the body weak.
The body is like the crystal and the spirit is like the light. Though the crystal be extremely transparent, its brilliancy and splendor belong to the brightness of the light. To be luminous, the light does not need the crystal, but the crystal to be bright needs the light. Even so the spirit does not live by the body, but the body lives by the spirit.
If the body is mutilated, the spirit conserves always its greatness and power. For example: If the hand of a man is cut off, the spirit keeps its authority and sovereignty; if the eye becomes blind, the spirit remains clear sighted; but if the attributes of the spirit leave the body, immediately the body becomes nothing. Thus it is affirmed that man is man only by the spirit and not by the body.
This spirit is one of the divine bounties, a manifestation of the Sun of Truth; but if the human spirit receive the breath of the Holy Spirit, then itis a pure spirit. The breath of the Holy Spirit is the divine teaching; in it the spirit finds eternal life. It is the heavenly light and illumines the human world by the divine qualities. Hence we must endeavor to act according to the teachings of Baha’u’llah.
Let us endeavor from day to day to become more spiritual, to bring about the unity of the human world, to practice human equality, to diffuse the divine mercy, to show the love of God to all those who are on the earth, so that the spiritual faculties may shine in all their splendor; that no authority remain to the body, so that the spirit, which sustains and rules the human world, may form one being, one person. Differences and disputes will exist no longer. The divine Jerusalem will be founded universally. All men will be the inhabitants of the same kingdom and they will take their part in the divine bounties.
I thank God to find myself in your assembly and I am grateful for your spiritual sentiments. I pray God to increase your sentiments each day; to strengthen this union and accord, so that the prophecies of the Holy Scripture become visible, for this epoch will be great, this century will be divine; the traces of all the scriptures will be seen; the signs given by Christ will become manifest. It will be the great day of the Lord. Divine justice will shine. It will be the time of peace, of justice, of union and of happiness. I hope that at this epoch the corporal world will become the reflection and echo of the divine world. Such is our hope, and, thanks to God, we agree in this desire.
I ask God that you may live by the breath of the Holy Spirit, that you be united, that all the hearts be filled with the love of God, that your tongue pronounce often the Name of God, that your actions be spiritual, that your sentiments be like those of the inhabitants of the Kingdom, in order that the human light, which is the image of God, may shine brilliantly.
O God! Kind, generous, merciful; illumine this assembly with the light of Thy love; vivify these souls with the breath of the Holy Spirit, offer the heavenly lights and the great bounties, give us Thy help, show us spirituality, give us the light of a good conduct, give to the spirits infinite bounties and generosity.
O Creator! We are poor, give us of the treasure of the Kingdom; we are humble, glorify us in Thy Kingdom; we are homeless, protect us, shelter us; we are seekers, lead us by Thy limitless favors; we are silent, give us an eloquent tongue; we are weak, give us the strength of the Kingdom.
O Creator! He who pardons! Pardon our faults; grant us bounties; forgive us our sins, teach us divine politeness. Thou art the One who gives; Thou art the One who offers; Thou art kind!
(Star of the West, vol, 2, no. 17, January 9, 1912)
