In the eighth of the most holy lines, in the fifth Tablet of Paradise, He
saith:
20. O YE THAT ARE LYING AS DEAD ON THE COUCH OF HEEDLESSNESS!
Ages have passed and your precious lives are well-nigh ended, yet not a
single breath of purity hath reached Our court of holiness from you. Though
immersed in the ocean of misbelief, yet with your lips ye profess the one
true faith of God. Him whom I abhor ye have loved, and of My foe ye have made
a friend. Notwithstanding, ye walk on My earth complacent and self-satisfied,
heedless that My earth is weary of you and everything within it shunneth you.
Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would, in truth prefer a myriad griefs unto
this joy, and would count death itself better than this life.
21. O MOVING FORM OF DUST!
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.
22. O SON OF DESIRE!
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.
23. O DWELLERS IN THE CITY OF LOVE!
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!
24. O YE THAT ARE FOOLISH, YET HAVE A NAME TO BE WISE!
Wherefore do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when inwardly ye have become
wolves, intent upon My flock? Ye are even as the star, which riseth ere the
dawn, and which, though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the wayfarers
of My city astray into the paths of perdition.
25. O YE SEEMING FAIR YET INWARDLY FOUL!
Ye are 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
sunbeam falls alike upon the dust and the mirror, yet differ thy in
reflection even as doth the star from the earth: nay, immeasurable is the
difference!
26. O MY FRIEND IN WORD!
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.
27. O SON OF DUST!
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 desire not thy shame.
28. O ESSENCE OF DESIRE!
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 spirt, I returned to the realms of
celestial glory and breathed it not in My retreats above unto the hosts of
holiness.
29. O SON OF BOUNTY!
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 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
favour. 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.
30. O BOND SLAVE OF THE WORLD!
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.
31. O SON OF EARTH!
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.
32. O BEFRIENDED STRANGER!
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.
33. O MY BROTHER!
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.
34. O DWELLERS OF MY PARADISE!
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.
35. O MY FRIENDS!
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 the purest virtue and deeds of
stainless holiness.
36. O SON OF DUST!
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.
In the first line of the Tablet is recorded and written, and within the
sanctuary of the tabernacle of God is hidden:
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!
38. O SON OF SPRIT!
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.
39. O OFFSPRING OF DUST!
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.
40. O MY SERVANT!
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.
41. O SON OF MY HANDMAID!
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.
42. O MY FRIENDS!
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 friends, and in no wise seek an
advantage over him. Ponder this, ye that have insight!
44. O COMPANION OF MY THRONE!
Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh nor weep.
Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not
the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not
the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. Live then
the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting moment, with thy mind
stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified,
so that, free and content thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair
unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom for evermore.
45. ALAS! ALAS! O LOVERS OF WORLDLY DESIRE!
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
imaginings, 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.
46. O BRETHREN IN THE PATH!
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 savours 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!
47. O CHILDREN OF DESIRE!
Put away the garment of vainglory, and divest yourselves of the attire of
haughtiness.
In the third of the most holy lines writ and recorded in the Ruby Tablet by
the pen of the unseen this is revealed:
48. O BRETHREN!
Be forbearing one with another and set not your affection 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.
49. O CHILDREN OF DUST!
Tell the rich of the midnight sighings 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
adornest himself with My virtues.
50. O QUINTESSENCE OF PASSION!
Put away all covetousness and seek contentment; for the covetous hath ever
been deprived, and the contented hath ever been loved and praised.
51. O SON OF MY HANDMAID!
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.
52. O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE AND PASSION!
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 has
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 day-star 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 yea may hearken unto the word of God, the Help in peril, the
Self-existent.
53. O YE THAT PRIDE YOURSELVES ON MORTAL RICHES!
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 now wise
attain the court of His presence not 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 splendour of such a wealthy man shall
illuminate the dwellers of heaven, even as the sun enlightens the people of
the earth!
54. O YE RICH ONES ON EARTH!
The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent
only on your own ease.
55. O SON OF PASSION!
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.
56. O MY SON!
The company of the ungodly increaseth sorrow, whilst fellowship with the
righteous cleaneth 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.
57. O SON OF DUST!
Beware! Walk not with the ungodly and seek not fellowship with him, for such
companionship turneth the radiance of the heart into infernal fire.
58. O SON OF MY HANDMAID!
Wouldst thou seek the grace of the holy spirit, enter into fellowship with
the righteous, for he hat 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.
59. O HEEDLESS ONES!
Think not the secrets of hearts are hidden, nay, know ye of a certainty that
in clear characters they are engraved and openly manifest in the holy
Presence.
60. O FRIENDS!
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 favour,
and not of your deserving.
61. O SON OF MAN!
A dewdrop out of the fathomless ocean of My mercy I have shed upon the
peoples of the world, yet found none turn thereunto, inasmuch as everyone
hath turned away from the celestial wine of unity unto the foul dregs of
impurity, and, content with mortal cup, hath put away the chalice of immortal
beauty. Vile is that wherewith he is contended.
62. O SON OF DUST!
Turn not away thine eyes from the matchless wine of immortal Beloved, and
open them not to foul and mortal dregs. Take from the hands of the divine
Cup-bearer the chalice of immortal life, that all wisdom may be thine, and
that thou mayest hearken unto the mystic voice calling from the realm of the
invisible. Cry aloud, ye that are of low aim! Wherefore have ye turned away
from My holy and immortal wine unto evanescent water?
63. O YE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD!
Know verily that an unforeseen calamity is following you and that grievous
retribution awaiteth you. Think not the deeds ye have committed have been
blotted from My sight. By My beauty! All your doings hath My pen graven with
open characters upon tablets of chrysolite.
64. O OPPRESSORS OF EARTH!
Withdraw your hands from tyranny, for I have pledged Myself not to forgive
any man's injustice. This is My covenant which I have irrevocably decreed in
the preserved tablet and sealed it with My seal of glory.
65. O REBELLIOUS ONES!
My forbearance hath emboldened you and My long-suffering hath made you
negligent, in such wise that you have spurred on the fiery charger of passion
into perilous ways that lead unto destruction. Have ye thought Me heedless or
that I was unaware?
66. O EMIGRANTS!
The tongue I have designed for the mention of Me, defile it not with
detraction. If the fire of self overcome you, remember your own faults and
not the faults of My creatures, inasmuch as everyone of you knoweth his own
self better than he knoweth others.
67. O CHILDREN OF FANCY!
Know verily, that while the radiant dawn breaketh above the horizon of
eternal holiness, the satanic secrets and deeds done in the gloom of might
shall be laid bare and manifest before the peoples of the world.
68. O WEED THAT SPRINGETH OUT OF DUST!
Wherefore have not these soiled hands of thine touched first thine own
garment, and why with thine heart defiled with desire and passion dost thou
seek to commune with Me and to enter My sacred realm? Far, far are ye from
that which ye desire.
69. O CHILDREN OF ADAM!
Holy words and pure and goodly deeds ascend unto the heaven of celestial
glory. Strive that your deeds may be cleansed from the dust of self and
hypocrisy and find favour at the court of glory; for ere long the assayers of
mankind shall, in the holy presence of the Adored one, accept naught but
absolute virtue and deeds of stainless purity. This is the day-star of wisdom
and of divine mystery that hath shone above the horizon of the divine will.
Blessed are thy that turn thereunto.
70. O SON OF WORLDLINESS!
Pleasant is the realm of being, wert thou to attain thereto; glorious is the
domain of eternity, shouldst thou pass beyond the world of mortality; sweet
is the holy ecstasy if thou drinkest of the mystic chalice from the hands of
the celestial Youth. Shouldst thou attain this station, thou wouldst be freed
from destruction and death, from toil and sin.
71. O MY FRIENDS!
Call ye to mind that covenant ye have entered into with Me upon Mount Paran,
situate within the hallowed precincts of Zaman. I have taken to witness the
concourse on high and the dwellers in the city of eternity, yet now none do I
find faithful unto the covenant. Of a certainty pride and rebellion have
effaced it from the hearts, in such wise that no trace thereof remaineth. Yet
knowing this, I waited and disclosed it not.
72. O MY SERVANT!
Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its
sheath and its value hidden from the artificer's knowledge. Wherefore come
forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made
resplendent and manifest unto all the world.
73. O MY FRIEND!
Thou art the day-star of the heavens of My holiness, let not the defilement
of the world eclipse thy splendour. Rend asunder the veil of heedlessness,
that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge resplendent and array all
things with the apparel of life.
74. O CHILDREN OF VAINGLORY!
For a fleeting sovereignty ye have abandoned My imperishable dominion, and
have adorned yourselves with the gay livery of the world and made of it your
boast. By My beauty! All will I gather beneath the one-coloured covering of
the dust and efface all these diverse colours save them that choose My own,
and that is purging from every colour.
75. O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE!
Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty and rejoice not therein. Ye are
even as the unwary bird that with full confidence warbleth upon the bough;
till of a sudden the fowler Death throws it upon the dust, and the melody,
the form and the colour are gone, leaving not a trace. Wherefore take heed, O
bondslaves of desire!
76. O SON OF MY HANDMAID!
Guidance hath ever been given by words, and now it is given by deeds. Every
one must show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for words are the property
of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones.
Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds. In
this wise We counsel you in this holy and resplendent tablet.
77. O SON OF JUSTICE!
In the night-season the beauty of the immortal Being hath repaired from the
emerald height of fidelity unto the Sadratu'l-Muntaha, and wept with such a
weeping that the concourse on high and the dwellers of the realms above
wailed at His lamenting. Whereupon there was asked, Why the wailing and
weeping? He made reply: As bidden I waited expectant upon the hill of
faithfulness, yet inhaled not from them that dwell on earth the fragrance of
fidelity. Then summoned to return I beheld, and lo! certain doves of holiness
were sore tried within the claws of the dogs of the earth. Thereupon the Maid
of heaven hastened forth unveiled and resplendent from Her mystic mansion,
and asked of their names, and all were told but one. And when urged, the
first letter thereof was uttered, whereupon the dwellers of the celestial
chambers rushed forth out of their habitation of glory. And whilst the second
letter was pronounced they fell down, one and all, upon the dust. At that
moment a voice was heard from the inmost shrine: "Thus far and no farther."
Verily we bear witness to that which they have done and are now doing.
78. O SON OF MY HANDMAID!
Quaff from the tongue of the merciful the stream of divine mystery, and
behold from the dayspring of divine utterance the unveiled splendour of the
day-star of wisdom. Sow the seeds of My divine wisdom in the pure soil of the
heart, and water them with the waters of certitude, that the hyacinths of
knowledge and wisdom may spring up fresh and green from the holy city of the
heart.
79. O SON OF DESIRE!
How long wilt thou soar in the realms of desire? Wings have I bestowed upon
thee, that thou mayest fly to the realms of mystic holiness and not the
regions of satanic fancy. The comb, too, have I given thee that thou mayest
dress My raven locks, and not lacerate My throat.
80. O MY SERVANTS!
Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits,
that ye yourselves and others may profit therefrom. Thus it is incumbent on
every one to engage in crafts and professions, for therein lies the secret of
wealth, O men of understanding! For results depend upon means, and the grace
of God shall be all sufficient unto you. Trees that yield no fruit have been
and will ever be for the fire.
81. O MY SERVANT!
The basest of men are they that yield no fruit on earth. Such men are verily
counted as among the dead, nay better are the dead in the sight of God than
those idle and worthless souls.
82. O MY SERVANT!
The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend
upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all
words.
Thy mystic and wondrous Bride, hidden ere this beneath the veiling of
utterance, hath now, by the grace of God and His divine favour, been made
manifest even as the resplendent light shed by the beauty of the Beloved. I
bear witness, O friends! that the favour is complete, the argument is
fulfilled, the proof manifest and the evidence established. Let it now be
seen what your endeavours in the path of detachment will reveal. In this wise
hath the divine favour been fully vouchsafed unto them that are in heaven and
on earth. All praise to God, the Lord of all Worlds.
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Glen Little glittle@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca http://www.fic.gov.bc.ca/users/glittle
Vancouver, BC Canada *** I speak only for myself, not my employer! ***
No longer "fishers of men" but "quickeners of mankind".