O Friends of the Pure and Omnipotent God! To be pure and
holy in all things is an attribute of the consecrated soul and a necessary
characteristic of the unenslaved mind. The best of perfections is immaculacy
and the freeing of oneself from every defect. Once the individual is, in every
respect, cleansed and purified, then will he become a focal centre reflecting
the Manifest Light.
First in a human being’s way of life must be purity, then
freshness, cleanliness, and independence of spirit. First must the stream bed
be cleansed, then may the sweet river waters be led into it. Chaste eyes enjoy
the beatific vision of the Lord and know what this encounter meaneth; a pure
sense inhaleth the fragrances that blow from the rose gardens of His grace; a
burnished heart will mirror forth the comely face of truth.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
