What is the purpose of life?
[Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra) said]:
“Sisters and brothers, God has created us so that we may become manifestations of His glory and absorb His attributes in our own persons. Until we have attained this object, we cannot be called successful.
“Of what significance is our worldly advancement? It has no greater value than a mere pastime. Of what use can all this advancement be to us if we displease our God and shut upon us the door of eternal advancement?
Why material progress is not enough
“Even if we are great inventors in the sphere of this material world, but if we do not turn our attention to that knowledge by means of which we may attain to light in our eternal life, our case is like that of a schoolboy who plays the whole day long and is pleased with the idea that he has overcome his adversary in a play competition but pays no heed to that contest which will reform his whole life.
True life, knowledge and pleasure
“Real life is that which knows no end and real pleasure is that which is never destroyed and real knowledge is that which is always increasing.
“So, turn to eternal life, everlasting pleasure and real knowledge, so that you may enjoy the peace of both the worlds and may please God just as you seek to please the people of the world.
Step into the door of God’s mercy
“Sisters and brothers, seeing you in perplexity and distress, God has thrown open for you the door of His Mercy and has Himself come to call you.
“So, prize this favour and this love of His and reject not His blessings and look not down upon His favours and turn not away from them, for He is the Creator and the Master and the pride of any conceited person avails not before Him.
“Come forward and enter the door of His grace so that His mercy may take you in its embrace and the mantle of His grace may wrap you in its folds.
O people of England!
“O people of England, God has bestowed honour upon you in this world but with this honour your responsibility has increased, for everyone who is under a greater obligation has greater responsibilities. Through the grace of God, you have ruled the oceans for hundreds of years, and your country is styled the Queen of the oceans, but did you ever turn your attention to that King Who is the Fountainhead of all honours and a glance of Whose favour has raised you to this dignity? Did you ever seek the ocean of divine knowledge which rolls in the heart of him who seeks it.
“Ah! you went to the North and you went to the South, and you examined every cubit of water that is on the face of the Earth and you have discovered all depths, but alas! you have never dived to sound the depths of the ocean of spiritual knowledge, nor did you send out expeditions for its discovery. You have traversed every span of Earth in search of islands and in the exploration of lands, and your fleets have steered in all directions, but you never went forth in search of the Beloved One who is the Creator of all these lands and the Maker of all these islands. Is it wise to collect the dry leaves that drop from a tree and to abandon its fruit?
“Sisters and brothers, I convey to you the glad tidings that the Mercy of God has now been excited just as it was excited hundreds of years ago, just as it was excited in the days of Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, just as it was excited in the days of Jesus of Nazareth, just as it was excited in the days of Moses, just as it was excited in the days of Isaac, just as it was excited in the days of Abraham, just as it was excited in the days of Noah, [peace be upon them all].
“The Sun of His knowledge has today risen in the same way just as it used to arise in the time of the previous prophets. So come forth and instead of the close air of the rooms inhale the cool and refreshing air of Divine Mercy in the vast regions of the spiritual world, and brighten your eyes with the pleasant light and glamour of the Sun of Divine Knowledge, for such suns do not rise every day.
“I say to you and to all these peoples who are leading a life of peace under the banner of the British government: See! God has laid the hand of His blessings on your head, so respectfully bend your knees before Him.
O people of Wales!
“I say to the people of Wales: O Wales! look at thy industry and labour and see how much of thy labour is for God.
O people of Scotland!
“O Scotland! thou art proud of thy freedom and liberty, but hast thou displayed the same liberty in understanding and accepting the words of God as in other matters?
O people of Ireland!
“O people of Ireland! your patriotism and zeal are proverbial but have you set apart any portion of this love for God also? Have you displayed the same zeal for finding God as you have done for the attainment of home rule?
O people of Colonies!
“O people of the colonies, you possess the aptitude for establishing new colonies and eagerly colonise new lands, but why are you indifferent to the colonisation of that island of Divine Wisdom which has made its appearance in the ocean of knowledge?
“I again say to you all: See! God has laid the hand of His blessings on your heads. So respectfully bend your knees before Him, for He is the King of kings and the Emperor of emperors. Bend your heads before Him so that He may anoint them with the blessings of Faith just as He has anointed them with the blessings of this world.
“The blessings of God are unlimited. He is the God of every country and every people, and His true worshipper also does not like to be bound by limitations and forms. Indeed, he is a well-wisher of his country and of his nation but the range of his sympathy extends far beyond his own country and his own people. He is far above such limitations. He is a well-wisher of all mankind and he sees in all men the signs of that brotherhood which are to be found in them as being the creation of God Who is the Lord of the Worlds.
“The black and the white, the Western and the Eastern people, members of his own nation and the foreigners are alike in his eyes as human beings. Sympathy for everyone of them is deeply rooted in his mind and love of all men swells in his breast. He is in reality a true manifestation of the Lord of the worlds.
“So, I do not confine my address to any particular nation or to any particular country. But I invite all nations of the earth to the message of that God Who has not been niggardly towards any nation in the distribution of His boons, Who has kept open the doors of His mercy for the people of all countries alike.
A universal call to all nations
“And I say: O people of America and Europe! O inhabitants of Australasia and Africa! and O residents of Asia! Wake up from your sleep of indifference and open your eyes, for the Sun of the love of God has arisen from the unknown land of Qadian, so that it may remind everyone of the Love of the eternal King which He bears towards His servants, that the darkness of doubt and suspicion may be dispelled, that the coolness of indifference and carelessness may be removed, that the highwaymen of vice, wickedness, oppression, murder, disturbance and all sorts of evils who are always lying in ambush to rob man of the wealth of his faith and peace, may run away and hide themselves in dark caves which are their real abode, that pure-minded and holy men who are like angels on this earth may, in the light of this Sun, bruise the head of the serpent which had bitten the heels of Adam and Eve, and may break the poisonous fangs of Satan to deliver the world from his mischief.
“O ye that dwell in the lands of East and West, cheer up and banish dejection from your minds, for at last the bridegroom has come whose advent you awaited. It does not behove you today to feel sad and sorrowful. Now is not the time of grief and sorrow but it is the time of rejoicing and exultation. Now it is not the time of despair but of hopefulness and aspirations. So, deck yourselves with the garland of holiness and adorn yourselves with the ornaments of purity, for your old desires have been fulfilled and that for which you have been longing for centuries has come to pass.
Unity of humanity under One God
“Your Lord has Himself come to your homes, and your Master Himself seeks to please you. Come, come, so that having forgotten our petty disputes, we may all be united on the hands of the blessed Messenger [as] of God, may sing the songs of His praise and chant the hymns of His adoration, and may lay such a firm hold of His skirts that that Beloved One may never again be separated from us. Amin!
“And our last words are that all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” – Khalifatul Masih II
(Transcribed and edited by Al Hakam from the original English, published in the April 1926 issue of The Review of Religions)
