and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn
your faces towards Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this
Ancient Root." And again:--" ... refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in
the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty Stock." 'Abdu'l-Baha
Himself wrote the following:--"In accordance with the explicit text of the
Kitab-i-Aqdas Baha'u'llah hath made the Center of the Covenant the
Interpreter of His Word--a Covenant so firm and mighty that from the
beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath
produced its like."

The very completeness of the servitude with which 'Abdu'l-Baha promulgated
the Faith of Baha'u'llah in East and West resulted at times in a confusion
of belief concerning His station on the part of believers. Realizing the
purity of the spirit animating His word and deed, surrounded by religious
influences marking the breakdown of their traditional doctrines, a number
of Baha'is felt that they honored 'Abdu'l-Baha by likening Him to a
Manifestation, or hailing Him as the "return of Christ." Nothing caused
Him such intense grief as this failure to perceive that His capacity to
serve Baha'u'llah proceeded from the purity of the mirror turned to the
Sun of Truth, and not from the Sun itself.

Moreover, unlike previous Dispensations, the Faith of Baha'u'llah had
within it the potency of a universal human society. During 'Abdu'l-Baha's
mission covering the period 1892 to 1921, the Faith evolved through
successive stages of development in the direction of a true world order,
Its development required continuous direction and specific instruction
from 'Abdu'l-Baha, Who alone knew the fullness of that new potent
inspiration brought to earth in this age. Until His own Will and Testament
was revealed after 'Abdu'l-Baha's departure from the flesh, and its
significance was expounded by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith,
the Baha'is almost inevitably attributed their beloved Master's guidance a
degree of spiritual authority equaling that of the Manifestation.

The effects of such naive enthusiasm are no longer felt within the Baha'i
community, but with a sounder realization of the mystery of that
incomparably devotion and servitude, the Baha'is can today all the more
consciously appreciate the unique character of the mission which
'Abdu'l-Baha fulfilled. The Faith which in 1892 seemed so weak and
helpless in the physical exile and imprisonment of its Exemplar and
In