|
A dynamic process, divinely propelled, possessed of undreamt- of potentialities, world- embracing in scope, world- transforming in its ultimate consequences, had been set in motion on that memorable night when the Bab communicated the purpose of His mission to Mulla Husayn in an obscure corner of Shiraz. It acquired a tremendous momentum with the first intimations of Baha'u'llah's dawning Revelation amidst the darkness of the Siyah- Chal of Tihran. It was further accelerated by the Declaration of His mission on the eve of His banishment from Baghdad. It moved to a climax with the proclamation of that same mission during the tempestuous years of His exile in Adrianople. Its full significance was disclosed when the Author of that Mission issued His historic summonses, appeals and warnings to the kings of the earth and the world's ecclesiastical leaders. It was finally consummated by the laws and ordinances which He formulated, by the principles which He enunciated and by the institutions which He ordained during the concluding years of His ministry in the prison- city of Akka. (237:2) To direct and canalize these forces let loose by this Heaven- sent process, and to insure their harmonious and continuous operation after His ascension, an instrument divinely ordained, invested with indisputable authority, organically linked with the Author of the Revelation Himself, was clearly indispensable. That instrument Baha'u'llah had expressly provided through the institution of the Covenant, an institution which He had firmly established prior to His ascension. This same Covenant He had anticipated in His Kitab- i- Aqdas, had alluded to it as He bade His last farewell to the members of His family, who had been summoned to His bed- side, in the days immediately preceding His ascension, and had incorporated it in a special document which He designated as "the Book of My Covenant," and which He entrusted, during His last illness, to His eldest son Abdu'l- Baha.
(237:3)
|