Baha'u'llah to mankind. Immeasurably exalted is the station
conferred upon Him by the Supreme Pen above and beyond the implications of
these, His own written statements. Whether in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the most
weighty and sacred of all the works of Baha'u'llah, or in the
Kitab-i-'Ahd, the Book of His Covenant, or in the Suriy-i-_Gh_usn (Tablet
of the Branch), such references as have been recorded by the pen of
Baha'u'llah--references which the Tablets of His Father addressed to Him
mightily reinforce--invest 'Abdu'l-Baha with a power, and surround Him with
a halo, which the present generation can never adequately appreciate.

He is, and should for all time be regarded, first and foremost, as the
Center and Pivot of Baha'u'llah's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant, His
most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect
Exemplar of His teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, the
embodiment of every Baha'i ideal, the incarnation of every Baha'i virtue,
the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root, the Limb of the Law
of God, the Being "round Whom all names revolve," the Mainspring of the
Oneness of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of the
Central Orb of this most holy Dispensation--styles and titles that are
implicit and find their truest, their highest and fairest expression in
the magic name 'Abdu'l-Baha. He is, above and beyond these appellations,
the "Mystery of God"--an expression by which Baha'u'llah Himself has chosen
to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to
assign to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of
'Abdu'l-Baha the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and
superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely
harmonized.

"When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is
ended," proclaims the Kitab-i-Aqdas, "turn your faces towards Him Whom God
hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root." And again, "When
the Mystic Dove will have winged its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise
and sought its far-off goal, its hidden habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye
understand not in the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty
Stock."

In the Kitab-i-'Ahd, moreover, Baha'u'llah solemnly and explicitly
declares: "It is incumbent upon the A_gh_san, the Afnan and My kindred to
turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch. Co