> The Baha'i World Center has released the first official English
> translation of an epistle of Baha'u'llah entitled the "Most Pure
> Tablet" [excerpt appended to this article]. This significant work,
> believed to have been revealed in the 1870's during Baha'u'llah's
> confinement in the prison-city of Akka and addressed to a pilgrim,
> contains profound observations on the importance of cleanliness and
> purity, both physical and spiritual.
>
> "At a time when the average person did not bathe regularly,
> Baha'u'llah had the prophetic insight to admonish the people in the
> name of God to take regular baths and use cleansing products such as
> soap," said Dr. Ahmaq Al-Kabir, Baha'i spokesperson. "This is a clear
> and unquestionable example of how the revelations of the Lord
> descended upon the Founder of the Baha'i Faith and enabled Him to
> supernaturally transform the world," he said, pointing out that since
> this tablet was revealed the frequency of bathing and showering has
> dramatically increased in most countries and regions.
>
> Dr. Ahmaq Al-Kabir also explained that the Most Pure Tablet addresses
> the important issue of spiritual purity, specifically, the necessity
> of shunning those who protest against the revelations of God and rebel
> against His Manifestation. "In this lucid and ever-relevant emanation
> from His pen, Baha'u'llah lovingly admonished his followers to cleanse
> themselves of the influences of the Covenant-breakers, led by his
> nefarious half-brother Mirza Yahya, in the same manner as one would
> wash dirt off of their bodies," said Dr. Al-Kabir. Baha'u'llah refers
> to the Flood in the time of Noah as the "Most Great Bath" and compares
> Mirza Yahya and his supporters to the wicked people who disbelieved in
> Noah's prophetic authority and were wiped off the face of the earth,
> "that the body of all creation may be cleansed." This may be regarded
> as a prophecy of Baha'u'llah that His Cause shall triumph and all
> opposition shall be destroyed by the righteous judgment of God.
>
> The Baha'i Faith is a modern, progressive spiritual path emphasizing
> the unity of all people and the oneness of all religions. The Most
> Pure Tablet, one of many hundreds of volumes of world-transforming
> spiritual wisdom revealed by Baha'u'llah, will soon be published as
> part of a new English collection of writings from Baha'u'llah's later
> years, during which He turned His focus toward developing plans for a
> future state of civilization. This collection of tablets and epistles
> will be titled "Surgings of the Pen of Creation" and will include
> newly translated writings detailing Baha'u'llah's vision for a
> theocratic Baha'i world order that God has ordained must last at least
> a thousand years and reign over all nations of the world. One
> significant tablet included in this book is the "Tablet of the Mark of
> Justice," in which Baha'u'llah expounds upon His command, first
> revealed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, that thieves must receive a mark upon
> their forehead so that they "may not be accepted in the cities of God
> and His countries."
>
> "We believe the world is ready for a faith that emphasizes a new
> vision of social justice, peace, tolerance, unity, and all-inclusive
> spirituality for the future, and we invite all seekers to investigate
> the Baha'i Faith and join this Most Great Cause of God," said Dr.
> Ahmaq Al-Kabir. Persons interested in the Baha'i Faith may learn more
> about it's history and teachings at
http://www.bahai-faith.com .
>
> Excerpt from the Most Pure Tablet, soon to be published in full:
>
> "Verily, it hath been commanded aforetime and presently that all the
> servants of God and His handmaidens should adorn their temples with
> the ornament of cleanliness. Thy Lord hath ever been pleased with
> those among the peoples of the world who purge themselves of the
> accumulated dust of this earthly plane, who wash themselves in the
> sweet waters of His ever-flowing bounties which have emanated from the
> Kawthar of My Beauty, who perfume themselves with the scent of
> faithfulness and obedience to Our laws -- a fragrance that hath wafted
> from the bowers of Paradise upon all who turn unto this Eternal Youth
> and turn away from those who would sully His Most Great Name in the
> mud of heedlessness.
>
> "Truly the condition of the outer temple reflecteth the inner
> condition of the spirit, and thus must the faithful servant abide by
> this beneficent command that hath descended from Him Who is the Most
> Pure, the Most Splendid, the Magnificent: Bathe ye your bodies each
> day, taking heed that all your limbs and members -- which have been
> created for the glorification of God, the Most Glorious Creator -- are
> immersed in water which hath either been drawn or is sprinkled upon
> them, removing all traces of dirt and dross from their surface.
>
> "Use ye a substance to assist in the process of cleansing your bodies,
> that no dirt may yet cling and prevent your prayers from ascending to
> the court of the Most High. All manner of soaps, oils, and perfumes
> are regarded as permissible in His sight; but take heed lest thou
> overstep the bounds of moderation, for thy Lord regardeth moderation
> as preferable in all things.
>
> "It is permissible for the servants and handmaidens of God to bathe in
> either the morning, the midday, or the nightseason, that all may avail
> themselves of this bounty -- a bounteous blessing that hath descended
> from heaven for the advancement of the peoples of the world, that the
> stench of the secretions of the flesh may no longer prevent them from
> associating with one another in a spirit of friendliness and
> fellowship. Thus hath this Servant commanded; thus hath the Word of
> the Lord descended from the Kingdom of Heaven, proceeding forth from
> the Realm of the Ancient Beauty and from the innermost precincts of
> His eternal and unknowable Presence.
>
> "Obey ye these words that have showered forth from the lips of this
> Wronged One -- One Who hath all too frequently been denied the comfort
> of fresh water wherein to bathe His Most Great Temple. Oh! How the
> manifestations of the Evil One have filled this Servant with misery in
> His days, a torment that hath been endured with a patience far beyond
> even the patience of Job. By My life! It is better for you to cleave
> unto one word that hath passed from these honeyed lips than to peruse
> all the books of the world, did ye but know it. Even the louse that
> crawleth upon the head of this Wronged One is of greater value in
> God's sight than the lives of all those who cavail against His command
> and turn away from the Manifestation of Holiness, the Most Pure, the
> All-Glorious, the One upon whose noble crown hath rained the invisible
> waters of revelation in this Day."
