the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written
of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee--the death of thy respected
husband. That honourable man hath been so subjected to the stress and
strain of this world that his greatest wish was for deliverance from it.
Such is this mortal abode: a storehouse of afflictions and suffering. It
is ignorance that binds man to it, for no comfort can be secured by any
soul in this world, from monarch down to the most humble commoner. If once
this life should offer a man a sweet cup, a hundred bitter ones will
follow; such is the condition of this world. The wise man, therefore, doth
not attach himself to this mortal life and doth not depend upon it; at
some moments, even, he eagerly wisheth for death that he may thereby be
freed from these sorrows and afflictions. Thus it is seen that some, under
extreme pressure of anguish, have committed suicide.

As to thy husband, rest assured. He will be immersed in the ocean of
pardon and forgiveness and will become the recipient of bounty and favour.
Strive thine utmost to give his child a Baha'i training so that when he
attaineth maturity he may be merciful, illumined and heavenly.

171: O THOU BELOVED MAIDSERVANT OF GOD, ALTHOUGH ...

O thou beloved maidservant of God, although the loss of a son is indeed
heart-breaking and beyond the limits of human endurance, yet one who
knoweth and understandeth is assured that the son hath not been lost but,
rather, hath stepped from this world into another, and she will find him
in the divine realm. That reunion shall be for eternity, while in this
world separation is inevitable and bringeth with it a burning grief.

Praise be unto God that thou hast faith, art turning thy face toward the
everlasting Kingdom and believest in the existence of a heavenly world.
Therefore be thou not disconsolate, do not languish, do not sigh, neither
wail nor weep; for agitation and mourning deeply affect his soul in the
divine realm.

That beloved child addresseth thee from the hidden world: 'O thou kind
Mother, thank divine Providence that I have been freed from a small and
gloomy cage and, like the birds of the meadows, have soared to the divine
world--a world which is spacious, illumined, and ever gay and jubilant.
Therefore, lament not, O Mother, and be not grieved; I am not of the lost,
nor have I been obliterated and destroyed. I have shaken off the mortal
form and have raised my banner in t