The Divine Springtime Is Come O Most Exalted

Sources: Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llah

The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the

All-Merciful is fast approaching. Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the

entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise

that all created things may be regenerated and made new. Speak, and hold

not thy peace. The day star of blissfulness shineth above the horizon of

Our name, the Blissful, inasmuch as the kingdom of the name of God ath

been adorned with the ornament of the name of thy Lord, the Creator of the

heavens. Arise before the nations of the earth, and arm thyself with the

power of this Most Great Name, and be not of those who tarry.



Methinks that thou hast halted and movest not upon My Tablet. Could the

brightness of the Divine Countenance have bewildered thee, or the idle

talk of the froward filled thee with grief and paralyzed thy movement?

Take heed lest anything deter thee from extolling the greatness of this

Day--the Day whereon the Finger of majesty and power hath opened the seal

of the Wine of Reunion, and called all who are in the heavens and all who

are on the earth. Preferrest thou to tarry when the breeze announcing the

Day of God hath already breathed over thee, or art thou of them that are

shut out as by a veil from Him?



No veil whatever have I allowed, O Lord of all names and Creator of the

heavens, to shut me from the recognition of the glories of Thy Day--the Day

which is the lamp of guidance unto the whole world, and the sign of the

Ancient of Days unto all them that dwell therein. My silence is by reason

of the veils that have blinded Thy creatures' eyes to Thee, and my

muteness is because of the impediments that have hindered Thy people from

recognizing Thy truth. Thou knowest what is in me, but I know not what is

in Thee. Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. By Thy name that

excelleth all other names! If Thy overruling and all-compelling behest

should ever reach me, it would empower me to revive the souls of all men,

through Thy most exalted Word, which I have heard uttered by Thy Tongue of

power in Thy Kingdom of glory. It would enable me to announce the

revelation of Thy effulgent countenance wherethrough that which lay hidden

from the eyes of men hath been manifested in Thy name, the Perspicuous,

the sovereign Protector, the Self-Subsisting.



Canst thou discover any one but Me, O Pen, in this Day? What hath become

of the creation and the manifestations thereof? What of the names and

their kingdom? Whither are gone all created things, whether seen or

unseen? What of the hidden secrets of the universe and its revelations?

Lo, the entire creation hath passed away! Nothing remaineth except My

Face, the Ever-Abiding, the Resplendent, the All-Glorious.



This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except the splendors of the

Light that shineth from the face of Thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most

Bountiful. Verily, We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of Our

irresistible and all-subduing sovereignty. We have, then, called into

being a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men. I am, verily, the

All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.



This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out: "Great is thy

blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the foot-stool of thy God,

and been chosen as the seat of His mighty throne." The realm of glory

exclaimeth: "Would that my life could be sacrificed for thee, for He Who

is the Beloved of the All-Merciful hath established His sovereignty upon

thee, through the power of His Name that hath been promised unto all

things, whether of the past or of the future." This is the Day whereon

every sweet smelling thing hath derived its fragrance from the smell of My

garment--a garment that hath shed its perfume upon the whole of creation.

This is the Day whereon the rushing waters of everlasting life have gushed

out of the Will of the All-Merciful. Haste ye, with your hearts and souls,

and quaff your fill, O Concourse of the realms above!



Say: He it is Who is the Manifestation of Him Who is the Unknowable, the

Invisible of the Invisibles, could ye but perceive it. He it is Who hath

laid bare before you the hidden and treasured Gem, were ye to seek it. He

it is Who is the one Beloved of all things, whether of the past or of the

future. Would that ye might set your hearts and hopes upon Him!



We have heard the voice of thy pleading, O Pen, and excuse thy silence.

What is it that hath so sorely bewildered thee?



The inebriation of Thy presence, O Well-Beloved of all worlds, hath seized

and possessed me.



Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the tidings that He Who is

the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the Ridvan and entered

it. Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath made

the Throne of His Paradise. We have chosen thee to be our most mighty

Trumpet, whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all mankind.



Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine of utterance hath

imprinted the testimony: "He that was hidden from the eyes of men is

revealed, girded with sovereignty and power!" This is the Paradise, the

rustling of whose leaves proclaims: "O ye that inhabit the heavens and the

earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He Who,

from everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of creation is now

come." From the whispering breeze that wafteth amidst its branches there

cometh the cry: "He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is made manifest. The

Kingdom is God's," while from its streaming waters can be heard the

murmur: "All eyes are gladdened, for He Whom none hath beheld, Whose

secret no one hath discovered, hath lifted the veil of glory, and

uncovered the countenance of Beauty."



Within this Paradise, and from the heights of its loftiest chambers, the

Maids of Heaven have cried out and shouted: "Rejoice, ye dwellers of the

realms above, for the fingers of Him Who is the Ancient of Days are

ringing, in the name of the All-Glorious, the Most Great Bell, in the

midmost heart of the heavens. The hands of bounty have borne round the cup

of everlasting life. Approach, and quaff your fill. Drink with healthy

relish, O ye that are the very incarnations of longing, ye who are the

embodiments of vehement desire!"



This is the Day whereon He Who is the Revealer of the names of God hath

stepped out of the Tabernacle of glory, and proclaimed unto all who are in

the heavens and all who are on the earth: "Put away the cups of Paradise

and all the life-giving waters they contain, for lo, the people of Baha

have entered the blissful abode of the Divine Presence, and quaffed the

wine of reunion, from the chalice of the beauty of their Lord, the

All-Possessing, the Most High."



Forget the world of creation, O Pen, and turn thou towards the face of thy

Lord, the Lord of all names. Adorn, then, the world with the ornament of

the favors of thy Lord, the King of everlasting days. For We perceive the

fragrance of the Day whereon He Who is the Desire of all nations hath shed

upon the kingdoms of the unseen and of the seen the splendor of the light

of His most excellent names, and enveloped them with the radiance of the

luminaries of His most gracious favors--favors which none can reckon except

Him, Who is the omnipotent Protector of the entire creation.



Look not upon the creatures of God except with the eye of kindliness and

of mercy, for Our loving providence hath pervaded all created things, and

Our grace encompassed the earth and the heavens. This is the Day whereon

the true servants of God partake of the life-giving waters of reunion, the

Day whereon those that are nigh unto Him are able to drink of the

soft-flowing river of immortality, and they who believe in His unity, the

wine of His Presence, through their recognition of Him Who is the Highest

and Last End of all, in Whom the Tongue of Majesty and Glory voiceth the

call: "The Kingdom is Mine. I, Myself, am, of Mine own right, its Ruler."



Attract the hearts of men, through the call of Him, the one alone Beloved.

Say: This is the Voice of God, if ye do but hearken. This is the Day

Spring of the Revelation of God, did ye but know it. This is the

Dawning-Place of the Cause of God, were ye to recognize it. This is the

Source of the commandment of God, did ye but judge it fairly. This is the

manifest and hidden Secret; would that ye might perceive it. O peoples of

the world! Cast away, in My name that transcendeth all other names, the

things ye possess, and immerse yourselves in this Ocean in whose depths

lay hidden the pearls of wisdom and of utterance, an ocean that surgeth in

My name, the All-Merciful. Thus instructeth you He with Whom is the Mother

Book.



The Best-Beloved is come. In His right hand is the sealed Wine of His

name. Happy is the man that turneth unto Him, and drinketh his fill, and

exclaimeth: "Praise be to Thee, O Revealer of the signs of God!" By the

righteousness of the Almighty! Every hidden thing hath been manifested

through the power of truth. All the favors of God have been sent down, as

a token of His grace. The waters of everlasting life have, in their

fullness, been proffered unto men. Every single cup hath been borne round

by the hand of the Well-Beloved. Draw near, and tarry not, though it be

for one short moment.



Blessed are they that have soared on the wings of detachment and attained

the station which, as ordained by God, overshadoweth the entire creation,

whom neither the vain imaginations of the learned, nor the multitude of

the hosts of the earth have succeeded in deflecting from His Cause. Who is

there among you, O people, who will renounce the world, and draw nigh unto

God, the Lord of all names? Where is he to be found who, through the power

of My name that transcendeth all created things, will cast away the things

that men possess, and cling, with all his might, to the things which God,

the Knower of the unseen and of the seen, hath bidden him observe? Thus

hath His bounty been sent down unto men, His testimony fulfilled, and His

proof shone forth above the Horizon of mercy. Rich is the prize that shall

be won by him who hath believed and exclaimed: "Lauded art Thou, O Beloved

of all worlds! Magnified be Thy name, O Thou the Desire of every

understanding heart!"



Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Baha, as ye call to

remembrance the Day of supreme felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of the

Ancient of Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House, proceeding to

the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of

His name, the All-Merciful. God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the

hidden secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on earth and in the

heavens would swoon away and die, except such as will be preserved by God,

the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.



Such is the inebriating effect of the words of God upon Him Who is the

Revealer of His undoubted proofs, that His Pen can move no longer. With

these words He concludeth His Tablet: "No God is there but Me, the Most

Exalted, the Most Powerful, the Most Excellent, the All-Knowing."