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Sva hvala i slava Bogu Koji je, kroz snagu Svoje moći, oslobodio Svoje stvaranje od golotinje nepostojanja, i zaodjenuo je plaštom života. Između svih stvorenja izdvojio je za Svoju posebnu naklonost čistu, dragulju sličnu stvarnost čovjeka, i obdario je jedinstvenom sposobnošću spoznaje Njega i odražavanja veličine Njegove slave. Ova dvostruka distinkcija dodijeljena mu očistila je iz njegova srca hrđu svake isprazne želje, i učinila ga dostojnim odore kojom je njegov Stvoritelj blagoizvolio odjenuti ga. Ona je poslužila za spas njegove duše iz bijede neznanja. |
All praise and glory be to God Who, through the power of His might, hath delivered His creation from the nakedness of nonexistence, and clothed it with the mantle of life. From among all created things He hath singled out for His special favor the pure, the gem-like reality of man, and invested it with a unique capacity of knowing Him and of reflecting the greatness of His glory. This twofold distinction conferred upon him hath cleansed away from his heart the rust of every vain desire, and made him worthy of the vesture with which his Creator hath deigned to clothe him. It hath served to rescue his soul from the wretchedness of ignorance. |
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Ova odora kojom su tijelo i duša čovjeka bili urešeni istinski je temelj njegova blagostanja i razvitka. O, kako je blagoslovljen dan kad će se, potpomognut milošću i snagom jedinoga pravoga Boga, čovjek osloboditi od ropstva i pokvarenosti svijeta i svega što je u njemu, i dosegnuti istinski i vječni spokoj u sjeni Stabla Spoznanja! |
This robe with which the body and soul of man hath been adorned is the very foundation of his well-being and development. Oh, how blessed the day when, aided by the grace and might of the one true God, man will have freed himself from the bondage and corruption of the world and all that is therein, and will have attained unto true and abiding rest beneath the shadow of the Tree of Knowledge! |
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Pjesme koje je ptica tvoga srca izrekla u svojoj velikoj ljubavi za svoje prijatelje dosegla je njihove uši, i navela Me da odgovorim na tvoja pitanja, i objavim tebi takve tajne kakve Mi je dopušteno otkriti. U tvom cijenjenom pismu ti si upitao kojega od Proroka Božjih valja smatrati superiornim drugima. Znaj sigurno da je bit svih Proroka Božjih jedna te ista. Njihovo jedinstvo je apsolutno. Bog Stvoritelj kaže: Nema nikakve razlike između Nosilaca Moje Poruke. Oni svi imaju samo jedan cilj; njihova je tajna ista tajna. Više štovati jednoga nego drugoga, uzvisivati određene iznad ostalih nikako ne smije biti dopušteno. Svaki pravi Prorok smatrao je Svoju Poruku u osnovi identičnom Objavi svakog drugog Proroka koji je bio prije Njega. Ako bilo koji čovjek, stoga, ne bi uspio razumjeti ovu istinu, pa bi se, dakle, poslužio ispraznim i nedoličnim jezikom, nitko oštra vida i prosvijetljena uvida ne bi ikada dopustio da ga takav isprazan govor poljulja u njegovu vjerovanju. |
The songs which the bird of thine heart had uttered in its great love for its friends have reached their ears, and moved Me to answer thy questions, and reveal to thee such secrets as I am allowed to unfold. In thine esteemed letter thou hadst inquired which of the Prophets of God should be regarded as superior to others. Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith: There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message. They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret. To prefer one in honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone before Him. If any man, therefore, should fail to comprehend this truth, and should consequently indulge in vain and unseemly language, no one whose sight is keen and whose understanding is enlightened would ever allow such idle talk to cause him to waver in his belief. |
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Veličina objave Proroka Božjih na ovom svijetu, međutim, mora varirati. Svaki pojedini od njih bio je Nosilac različite Poruke, i bilo mu je naloženo da objavi Sebe kroz posebna djela. Zboga toga izgleda da se razlikuju po veličini. Njihova objava može se usporediti sa svjetlom mjeseca koji izlijeva svoj sjaj na zemlju. Premda svaki put kad se pojavi, on objavi novu količinu svojega svjetla, ipak se njegov osnovni sjaj nikada ne može smanjiti, niti njegovo svjetlo ugasiti.
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The measure of the revelation of the Prophets of God in this world, however, must differ. Each and every one of them hath been the Bearer of a distinct Message, and hath been commissioned to reveal Himself through specific acts. It is for this reason that they appear to vary in their greatness. Their Revelation may be likened unto the light of the moon that sheddeth its radiance upon the earth. Though every time it appeareth, it revealeth a fresh measure of its brightness, yet its inherent splendor can never diminish, nor can its light suffer extinction. |
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Jasno je i očigledno, stoga, da bilo kakva prividna promjena u jačini njihova svjetla ne pripada samomu svjetlu, već je prije valja pripisati različitoj osjetljivosti promjenljivoga svijeta. Svakom Proroku Kojega je Svemogući Stvoritelj Kojemu nema premca namijenio poslati narodima svijeta bila je povjerena Poruka, i naloženo Mu je bilo djelovati na način koji će najbolje zadovoljiti potrebe doba u kojem Se pojavio. Božja namjera u slanju Svojih Proroka ljudima jest dvostruka. Prva je osloboditi djecu ljudi od tame neznanja, i povesti ih k svjetlu pravoga razumijevanja. Druga je osigurati mir i spokoj čovječanstva, te omogućiti sva sredstva kojima se oni mogu postići. |
It is clear and evident, therefore, that any apparent variation in the intensity of their light is not inherent in the light itself, but should rather be attributed to the varying receptivity of an ever-changing world. Every Prophet Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath purposed to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted with a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would best meet the requirements of the age in which He appeared. God’s purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.
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Proroke Božje valja promatrati kao liječnike čija je zadaća pospješiti blagostanje svijeta i njegovih naroda, da bi, zahvaljujući duhu jednosti izliječili bolest podijeljenosti čovječanstva. Nitko nema prava ispitivati njihove riječi niti omalovažavati njihovo ponašanje, jer samo oni smiju tvrditi da razumiju pacijenta i da su ispravno uspostavili dijagnozu njegovih bolesti. Nijedan čovjek, ma kako pronicljiva zapažanja bio, ne može se ikada ponadati da će doseći vrhunce koje su dosegli mudrost i razumijevanje Božanskog Vidara. Stoga se ne vrijedi čuditi ako se terapija koju je liječnik danas propisao razlikuje od one koju je propisao prije. Zar može biti drugačije, kad zla koja napadaju nevoljnika u svakom stadiju bolesti zahtijevaju poseban lijek? Slično tome, svaki put kad su Proroci Božji obasjali svijet blistavim sjajem Sunca Božanskog znanja, uvijek su pozvali narode da prigrle svjetlost Božju na način koji je najbolje odgovarao potrebama doba u kojem su se pojavili. Tako su mogli raspršiti tamu neznanja i na svijet izliti sjaj svojega znanja. Stoga se oko svakog razboritoga čovjeka mora upraviti prema unutarnjoj biti tih Proroka, jer je njihov jedan i jedini cilj uvijek bio voditi zalutale i podariti spokoj nevoljnima. Ovo nije vrijeme napretka i pobjede. Čitava je ljudska vrsta u vlasti mnogostrukih zala. Nastojte stoga spasiti joj život iscjeljujućim lijekom koji je pripravila svemoguća ruka nepogrešivoga Vidara. |
The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the right to question their words or disparage their conduct, for they are the only ones who can claim to have understood the patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ailments. No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician have attained. Little wonder, then, if the treatment prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his sickness a special remedy? In like manner, every time the Prophets of God have illumined the world with the resplendent radiance of the Daystar of Divine knowledge, they have invariably summoned its peoples to embrace the light of God through such means as best befitted the exigencies of the age in which they appeared. They were thus able to scatter the darkness of ignorance, and to shed upon the world the glory of their own knowledge. It is towards the inmost essence of these Prophets, therefore, that the eye of every man of discernment must be directed, inasmuch as their one and only purpose hath always been to guide the erring, and give peace to the afflicted.… These are not days of prosperity and triumph. The whole of mankind is in the grip of manifold ills. Strive, therefore, to save its life through the wholesome medicine which the almighty hand of the unerring Physician hath prepared. |
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A sada što se tiče tvojeg pitanja o prirodi religije. Znaj da oni koji su uistinu mudri usporedili su svijet s ljudskim hramom. kao što tijelo čovjeka treba odjeću da se pokrije, isto tako tijelo čovječanstva treba plašt pravde i mudrosti da se njim uresi. To je odora koju mu je Bog dodijelio Objavom. Kad god ta odora ispuni svoju svrhu, Bog će je zasigurno obnoviti. Jer svako doba zahtijeva svježu količinu svjetlosti Božje. Svaka Božanska Objava bila je poslana dolje na način koji je najbolje odgovarao uvjetima razdoblja u kojem se pojavila. |
And now concerning thy question regarding the nature of religion. Know thou that they who are truly wise have likened the world unto the human temple. As the body of man needeth a garment to clothe it, so the body of mankind must needs be adorned with the mantle of justice and wisdom. Its robe is the Revelation vouchsafed unto it by God. Whenever this robe hath fulfilled its purpose, the Almighty will assuredly renew it. For every age requireth a fresh measure of the light of God. Every Divine Revelation hath been sent down in a manner that befitted the circumstances of the age in which it hath appeared. |
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Glede tvojega pitanja o izrekama vođa prošlih religija. Svaki mudar i hvale vrijedan čovjek bez sumnje će izbjegavati takav uzaludan i beskoristan govor. Neusporedivi Stvoritelj stvorio je sve ljude iz jedne te iste tvari, i uzvisio njihovu stvarnost iznad ostalih Njegovih stvorenja. Uspjeh ili neuspjeh, dobitak ili gubitak moraju, stoga, ovisiti o čovjekovim vlastitim naporima. Što više on nastoji, to će veći biti njegov napredak. Rado bismo se nadali da će proljetne kiše darova Božjih pozvati cvjetove istinskoga razumijevanja da izniknu iz tla ljudskih srdaca, oprati ih od svakog zemaljskoga kala. |
As to thy question regarding the sayings of the leaders of past religions. Every wise and praiseworthy man will no doubt eschew such vain and profitless talk. The incomparable Creator hath created all men from one same substance, and hath exalted their reality above the rest of His creatures. Success or failure, gain or loss, must, therefore, depend upon man’s own exertions. The more he striveth, the greater will be his progress. We fain would hope that the vernal showers of the bounty of God may cause the flowers of true understanding to spring from the soil of men’s hearts, and may wash them from all earthly defilements. |
