contents it was known that, praise be to God, your hearts are in the
utmost purity and your souls rejoice in the glad tidings of God. The mass
of the people are occupied with self and worldly desire, are immersed in
the ocean of the nether world and are captives of the world of nature,
save those souls who have been freed from the chains and fetters of the
material world and, like unto swift-flying birds, are soaring in this
unbounded realm. They are awake and vigilant, they shun the obscurity of
the world of nature, their highest wish centereth on the eradication from
among men of the struggle for existence, the shining forth of the
spirituality and the love of the realm on high, the exercise of utmost
kindness among peoples, the realization of an intimate and close
connection between religions and the practice of the ideal of
self-sacrifice. Then will the world of humanity be transformed into the
Kingdom of God.

O ye friends, exert ye an effort! Every expenditure is in need of an
income. This day, in the world of humanity, men are all the time
expending, for war is nothing but the consumption of men and of wealth. At
least engage ye in a deed of profit to the world of humanity that ye may
partially compensate for that loss. Perchance, through the divine
confirmations, ye may be assisted in promulgating amity and concord among
men, in substituting love for enmity, in causing universal peace to result
from universal war and in converting loss and rancour into profit and
love. This wish will be realized through the power of the Kingdom.

224: O THOU SERVANT OF GOD! THY LETTER WAS RECEIVED. ...

O thou servant of God! Thy letter was received. Its contents were lofty
and sublime, and its aim high and far-reaching. The world of humanity is
in need of great improvement, for it is a material jungle wherein trees
without fruit flourish and useless weeds abound. If at all there is a tree
that beareth fruit it is overshadowed by the fruitless ones, and if a
flower groweth in this jungle it is hidden and concealed. The world of
mankind is in need of expert gardeners who may convert these forests into
delectable rose gardens, may substitute for these barren trees ones that
yield fruit, and may replace these useless weeds with roses and fragrant
herbs. Thus active souls and vigilant people rest neither by day nor by
night; they strive to be closely linked to the divine Kingdom and thereby
become the manifestations of