follow him and adore his mention. All these are limited in scope
and requirement whereas the Reality of Christ is an unlimited essence. The
infinite and unlimited Reality cannot be bounded by any limitation. Nay,
rather His Holiness Christ appeared in order to illumine the world of
humanity, to render the earthly world celestial, to make the human kingdom
a realm of angels, to unite the hearts, to enkindle the light of love in
human souls, so that such souls might become independent, attaining
complete unity and fellowship, turning to God, entering into the divine
Kingdom, receiving the bounties and bestowals of God and partaking of the
manna from heaven. Through Christ they were intended to be baptized by the
Holy Spirit, attain a new spirit and realize the life everlasting. All the
holy precepts and the announcements of prophetic laws were for these
various and heavenly purposes. Therefore we offer thanks to God that
although no earthly relation obtains among us, yet--Praise be to God!--ideal
and divine bonds blend us together. We have gathered here in this meeting,
eagerly anticipating the showing forth of the divine bestowals.

In past centuries the nations of the world have imagined that the law of
God demanded blind imitation of ancestral forms of belief and worship. For
example the Jews were captives of hereditary racial religious observances.
The Mohammedans likewise have been held in the bondage of traditionary
forms and ceremonials. The Christians also have been implicit followers of
ancient tradition and hereditary teaching. At the same time the basic
foundation of the religion of God which was ever the principle of love,
unity and the fellowship of humanity has been forsaken and cast aside,
each religious system holding tenaciously to imitations of ancestral forms
as the supreme essential. Therefore hatred and hostility have appeared in
the world instead of the divine fruitage of unity and love. By reason of
this it has been impossible for the followers of religion to meet together
in fellowship and agreement. Even contact and communication have been
considered contaminating and the outcome has been a condition of complete
alienation and mutual bigotry. There has been no investigation of the
essential underlying basis of reality. One whose father was a Jew,
invariably proved to be a Jew; a Mohammedan was born of a Mohammedan; a
Buddhist was a Buddhist because of the faith of his father before him; and
so on. I