The spirit of faith: light that changes a life

But the human spirit, unless it be assisted by the spirit of faith, cannot become acquainted with the divine mysteries and the heavenly realities. It is like a mirror which, although clear, bright, and polished, is still in need of light. Not until a sunbeam falls upon it can it discover the divine mysteries.

O thou who hath believed in God! When the lamp of faith is kindled in the glass of heart and soul, its bright rays strike the pillars of being. When this brilliant light shines forth from the window of the tongue, it becomes speech and utterance. When its beams fall upon sight, it becomes insight and vision. When it strikes the ear, it becomes the hearkening ear. When it strikes the mind, it becomes recognition of the Merciful One. When it strikes the limbs, it becomes purity and worship of God.

This spiritual nature, which has come to exist through the grace of the divine Reality, is the sum of all perfections and proceeds from the breath of the Holy Spirit. It is the divine perfections; it is light, spirituality, guidance, exaltation, high-mindedness, justice, love, generosity, kindness to all, and charitable deeds: it is life upon life. This spiritual nature is an effulgence of the splendours of the Sun of Truth.

For faith, certitude and steadfastness in the Covenant depend on illumination of heart and soul, spiritual character and goodly deeds.

As to the fourth degree of spirit, it is the heavenly spirit, which is the spirit of faith and the outpouring grace of the All-Merciful. This spirit proceeds from the breath of the Holy Spirit, and through a power born of God it becomes the cause of everlasting life. It is that power which makes the earthly soul heavenly and the imperfect man perfect. It cleanses the impure, unlooses the tongue of the silent, sanctifies the bondslaves of passion and desire, and confers knowledge upon the ignorant.

But the Spirit of Faith which is of the Kingdom (of God) consists of the all-comprehending Grace and the perfect attainment (or salvation, fruition, achievement) and the power of sanctity and the divine effulgence from the Sun of Truth on luminous light-seeking essences from the presence of the divine Unity. And by this Spirit is the life of the spirit of man, when it is fortified thereby, as Christ saith: "That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." And this Spirit hath both restitution and return, inasmuch as it consists of the Light of God and the unconditioned Grace.

This human spirit, which is the rational soul, encompasses all things, discovers all things, and comprehends all things.

… But when spiritual people speak of the spirit, they do not mean this spirit. They mean that eternal spirit, that life of faith, that spirit of which Christ says man must be baptized with it, and until he is baptized with that spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Likewise in the Gospel He says that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. He also says let the dead bury their dead, for those souls who are not believers in God, though they possess the human spirit, are deprived of the true spirit of faith and are therefore counted as dead.

There is still another power which is differentiated from that of the soul and mind. This third power is the spirit which is an emanation from the divine bestower; it is the effulgence of the sun of reality, the radiation of the celestial world, the spirit of faith, the spirit His Holiness the Christ refers to when he says, "Those that are born of the flesh are flesh, and those that are born of the spirit are spirit."

… This spirit of faith is the flame of reality, the life of humanity and the cause of eternal illumination. It inspires man to attain the virtues and perfections of the divine world.

The human spirit refers to the rational soul by which humans are distinguished from animals.

… The divine spirit which is from God's command refers to the holy power, divine confirmations, eternal assistance, divine knowledge and heavenly sciences with which God aids whomever He wishes among His righteous servants. Through it they attain spiritual unveilings and certain visions, and they achieve complete, precedent mercy and abundant grace.

The spiritual power associated with the world of nature is the power of investigation, and it is through investigation that it discovers the realities and properties of things. But the heavenly intellectual power, which is beyond nature, encompasses, knows and comprehends all things, is aware of the divine mysteries, truths and inner meanings, and discovers the hidden verities of the Kingdom. This divine intellectual power is confined to the holy Manifestations and the Daysprings of prophethood. A ray of this light falls upon the mirrors of the hearts of the righteous, that they may also receive, through the holy Manifestations, a share and benefit of this power.

There is, however, a third reality in man, that is the spiritual reality. Through that medium come spiritual revelations. This is a celestial power which is infinite as regards the intellectual as well as the physical realms. This power is conferred upon man through the breath of the Holy Spirit.

When man allows the spirit, through his soul, to enlighten his understanding, then does he contain all Creation; because man, being the culmination of all that went before and thus superior to all previous evolutions, contains all the lower world within himself. Illumined by the spirit through the instrumentality of the soul, man's radiant intelligence makes him the crowning-point of Creation.

The divine aspect or spiritual nature consists of the breaths of the Holy Spirit. The second birth of which Jesus has spoken refers to the appearance of this heavenly nature in man. It is expressed in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and he who is baptized by the Holy Spirit is a veritable manifestation of divine mercy to mankind.

Therefore, by spirit is meant divine grace; by water, knowledge and life; and by fire, the love of God. For material water cleanses not the heart of man but his body. Rather, the heavenly water and spirit, which are knowledge and life, cleanse and purify the heart of man. In other words, the heart that partakes of the outpouring grace of the Holy Spirit and becomes sanctified is made goodly and pure.

There is, however, another Spirit, which may be termed the Divine, to which Jesus Christ refers when He declares that man must be born of its quickening and baptized with its living fire. Souls deprived of that Spirit are accounted as dead, though they are possessed of the human spirit.

… This quickening spirit emanates spontaneously from the Sun of Truth, from the reality of Divinity, and is not a revelation or a manifestation. It is like the rays of the sun.

Again His Holiness Christ says, "Whosoever has not received a portion of the spirit is as dead. Let the dead bury their dead." In another place Christ says, "You must be baptized with the spirit." This Spirit is the life of the world of humanity; the cause of eternal illumination. It inspires man to attain to the virtues and perfections of the divine world.

Spirit in man is the perceiving soul, able to understand the realities of things and predominating over all things else. The spirit of faith endows man with the capacity to love God and to know God. If the spirit of man, his perceiving soul, be confirmed by the spirit of faith so that it loves and knows God, and if it be guided by the guidance of God, and if the divine attributes be manifested in it, then there is a living soul which attains to eternal life. Otherwise it may be considered to be dead.

He added - "There is a human and a divine spirit, the latter coming through knowledge of and belief in God.

Spirit is the highest and supreme development of the soul. Soul is the material or outer self--the Mind. is the action of the Soul's powers. The Body is the physical covering or medium in which Mind acts and functions. At death everything but Spirit is destroyed and becomes extinct.

It is the reality of faith, the spirit of faith, which becomes the cause of this connection and the intercessor of the reception of this grace.

O true divine loved ones! On that dawn when the Sun of Reality shone forth from the horizon of the world upon the temples of nations, its brilliant rays illumined and enlightened East and West, and the spirit of life was breathed into the bodies of all things. Some people grew and developed with plant life, some groups became alive and animated with animal life, some communities were raised up with human spirit, some became living and vital through the spirit of faith, and some souls were resurrected through the divine spirit. These differences in degrees of life result from differences and variations in reality, capacity and aptitude - otherwise the effulgence is one effulgence, the manifestation one manifestation, and the ray is one ray. In a flower garden it produces flowers and fragrant herbs, while in a waste place it brings forth thorns and poisonous weeds. "As for the good land, its vegetation comes forth by permission of its Lord, while that which is bad yields only hardship."

The vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, and the human spirit---the rational soul, that is---do not return after death to this world of the "first creation". [Q56:62] As for that spirit of faith by which is meant the light of guidance, and that Holy Spirit, the reality of divine revelation, these both return, in every dispensation and cycle, to this the realm of the "first creation".

Do thou ponder these momentous happenings in thy heart, so that thou mayest apprehend the greatness of this Revelation, and perceive its stupendous glory. Then shall the spirit of faith, through the grace of the Merciful, be breathed into thy being, and thou shalt be established and abide upon the seat of certitude.

The divine spirit, which is of God's command, represents the holy power, divine confirmations, heavenly assistance, divine knowledge, and celestial sciences with which God aids whomsoever He willeth among His righteous servants. Through it they attain mystic revelations and undoubted visions, win the complete preceding mercy and abundant grace, enter the garden of oneness and the divine paradise, and rejoice and delight in what God hath given them of His bounty, thanking Him for His favors and blessings.

As to the soul which is intended, in truth it hath been called forth by the Word of God and is such that, if it be kindled with the fire of the love of its Lord, neither the waters of opposition nor the oceans of the world can quench its flame. That soul is indeed a fire ablaze in the tree of man which proclaimeth: "No God is there but Him!" Whosoever hearkeneth unto its call is verily of those who have attained unto Him.

Verily bodies were moved by the breezes of revelation while forms remained still, being deprived of the spirit.

O ye believers! Faith is like unto a brilliant lamp, and when it is kindled in the glass of the heart, its rays illuminate all the pillars thereof.

The spirit of man must acquire its bounties from the Kingdom of God in order that it may become the mirror and manifestation of lights and the dawning point of divine traces, because the human reality is like the soil. … Similarly, the human spirit or reality of man, unless it becomes the recipient of the lights of the Kingdom, develops divine susceptibilities and consciously reflects the effulgence of God, will not be the manifestation of ideal bounties, for only the reality of man can become the mirror wherein the lights of God are revealed.

Question: "Is this Bounty universal, that is, is every soul endowed with it?"

Answer: "Certainly, yes. But it is as follows: The bounty is dormant or latent in the hearts. Belief and faith make it appear, and become manifest.

For instance, a person may be apparently unsuited to receive the understanding; therefore the Spirit of Faith will be a Gift which GOD bestows upon whom He chooses.

Your faith comes like rain; the first drops are far between, but soon it will pour in torrents. Your faith is also like a seed that will bear its fruit.

Faith is absolutely essential. We must believe or we will never move. Doubt and unbelief end in stagnation and death. Positive belief even if mixed with error leads by degrees towards Truth.

One of the bounties of religion and faith is the attainment of peace of heart and soul and the joy of spirit and conscience. This station can only be gained through faith and understanding.

Faith is the centre of human virtues. Through the light of Faith justice is established. For if one has one grain of Faith in his heart, if they oblige him with the point of bayonet to act unjustly toward another he will not do it.

Faith is the highest station of the world of humanity and conducive to eternal prosperity and success.

By My life! This is the crown of all deeds in the sight of the Self-Sufficient, the Most High.

This station is the greatest of all stations, for this connection of the spirit of man with God is like unto a mirror and the sun of reality is reflected in it. Thus it becomes the collective center of all the virtues; its emanation is the bestowal of the king of bestowers; its radiations are the manifold splendors of the infinite luminary; its sanctity is from the highest summit of divine essence.

Catalogue reference: ABU0085 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

As to the spirit of the kingdom, it is a splendor of the light of the Sun of Reality and an effulgence of the effulgences of Divinity in the mortal world, a bounty of the eternal bounties and eternal life. It is a sign of the glorious signs, one of the rays of the All-Merciful.

Catalogue reference: AB00709 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

Concerning the unity of soul (nafs) and spirit (ruh): when the soul is affected by the breath of the Holy Spirit, it will be united with the spirit, like the unity of the mirror and the sun. Its brilliant luminosity will reflect in this pure mirror.

Catalogue reference: AB00745 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

The Spirit of Faith is the Bounty of God - it is the breath/breeze of the Holy Spirit. This is the spiritual power which will be the means of Eternal Life, this is the power which will make the material man holy...

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified

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The spirit in the soul is the very essence of life.

Catalogue reference: ABU0114 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

Although a person of good deeds is acceptable at the Threshold of the Almighty, yet it is first 'to know', and then 'to do.'... By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge (danistan), and second, the practice of good deeds.

Catalogue reference: AB01398 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

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