the crown of achievement. I, the Almighty God who, by taking thought can create ten thousand worlds, say this”.
“Men have said, as they will say throughout the ages, “Why, if God be almighty, can He not create perfection immediately? Why does He not create beings having the knowledge of divine love forthwith? Why have Earth with all its trials and tribulations?” Know this, what appears to you as ages in time is, to me, but a flash of thought in a moment of eternity. I breathed in, the hosts of earths and the spheres were not. I breathed out and the hosts of earths and spheres were. I breathe in and they are no more. All things exist within the Eternal One and that which men know as the span of time is the act of creation”.
“Mark the flight of an arrow from the hands of a bowman. It flies from the bent bow, time passes, then it finds its mark. But to Me the arrow leaves the bow, and strikes the mark together. Distance, time and change are not with Me. Once I, your God, was not apart from man, My offspring. Now I am veiled from his sight, not because I have willed it so but because man has chosen to bring this about. The barrier between us grows ever more dense, as man wantonly spurns his birthright; henceforth, it may be penetrated only by long and arduous preparations, and even then those who would do so must know the key. I come to you, not because of your preparations but because your God is ever ready to incline towards men. Though there is this barrier between us, it is not impervious to the sincere prayers of a pure heart. This, men should know. As for you your days are numbered, you are now no more than the basket holding the seeds which will be strewn and sown by another hand. Many things of which I have spoken are not for the ears of men, for such knowledge, freely bestowed, would not benefit them. Other things are beyond their present understanding, let these, therefore, be recorded unto the generations of men yet unborn. Men are now as children and must learn again as children, being taught childish tales”.
“Therefore, go hence, go to Ancheti and tell him of these things. Say also that his God, I Who Am, chooses him as the sower of seeds. Let him know that I Who Am will guide his steps and will open a door in the barrier, that he may hear my voice. Let your eyes now see again and, behold, I Am Who I Am”.
Then Hurmanetar left the place where he had seen the face of the Father of Gods, returning to the encampment of his people which had been set up in the midst of pastureland. When he drew nigh he saw cattle lying beside the running waters and men were moving among them. The cattle were dead and their bellies swollen. Men came up to Hurmanetar and cried, “Behold, the sustenance of our children is taken from their mouths. The cattle have eaten a herb that burns as fire in their bellies so they crave water, drinking until they become overfilled and their bellies burst from within, therefore they die. Who is this whom you call Father of the Gods? Perchance the gods do have a father, but where is the god who protects men? Where is the god who is the Father of Men? While you leave us to pay homage to the Exalted One, who may concern Himself with the affairs of the gods but has no concern for the welfare of men, our cattle die. Because of your words we have neglected to build an altar to Shemakin or to pay homage to Yahana; truly we are men who have been deceived and led astray. We are men who have walked with their eyes turned upward and fallen into a quicksand. Tell us then, O wise one, who are the gods of men and of cattle?”
This filled the heart of Hurmanetar with ire and he cried out to the wrathful people, “Wherefore do you cry out to me and seek some god to come to your aid? There is but one God and these that you call gods are but manifestations of His members. Why do you seek to cast blame on God for your own neglect? Has He not relinquished His hold on all creatures that serve man and given them into your hands? Behold the beasts of the forest and wilderness, do they eat of the herb that poisons? Are they not able to know the herb that is harmful and the herb that nourishes? The herb that heals in sickness and the herb that brings death? Who taught them this wisdom? There are creatures under the care of God which know not the slothful care of man, therefore they are safe from the deadly herb and pass it by. But you, having taken these poor beasts to benefit from them, are solely responsible for their wellbeing. They are your responsibility”.
“The Father of the Gods made cattle as He made all creatures, and while He ruled their ways they were protected from the deadly herbs. Then men took them unto themselves so they might serve them. They yielded milk and cheese to nourish them and firm meat to sustain them, their hides covered them warmly as they slept. These things the cattle gave, not unto God but unto man. Therefore, who should protect and care for them, he who benefits or He who does not? Do you expect God to herd your cattle? To keep them from the deadly herb while you slumber in the shade? Is this not a just reward for your slothfulness? You know that the herb is deadly, but these cattle, the dumb servants of man, know it not, for they are delivered into your care. Would you take all they give while denying them the diligence of your protection? What kind of men are you who cry, “Woe unto us whom God has forsaken”. Who wring their hands, saying, “What god shall we seek to aid us in our self-wrought calamity? Arise like men, to shoulder the burden of your own slothfulness and lack of diligence. Never fear that God will fail man, for if man does the duties of man God will do the duties of God, for it is man who falls short. It is man who seeks to take more than he gives. Surely whatever man takes for his benefit, also becomes his responsibility. God decrees that man may take whatever he will for his own use, but in so doing he must also assume responsibility for its care and rightful use. Is this unjust?” The men said no more.
Hurmanetar then made the men draw the cattle up out of the water and some which had eaten of the deadly herb were saved. He then divided the pastures and sent men to seek out the places of the deadly herb and cut it from the soil.
One day, Hurmanetar was going about the encampment and he came upon a man burying bis newly born daughter, and Hurmanetar was wrathful at the man for such a deed. It was an abomination performed by the sand wanderers and the wild men who dwelt in the wilderness. Taking the child, Hurmanetar brought it to the wife of Ancheti who saved it so it lived. It was named Mahat, meaning pure of heart, but because of the sand which had filled her eyes she was blind.
The strangers about the encampment became enraged against Hurmanetar because of what he had done. Also, because he had struck the father of the child so he bled they demanded that the blood be requited. They said, “This is an unjust deed, for he who buries a daughter because he lacks sustenance for her does no wrong in our eyes. Is it not better that she be buried in the ground out of sight than kept with disgrace? Is it not for the father to decide whether a daughter should live? Has a woman a soul of her own? Is she not no more than the maker of the body, while the soul is given into her keeping by man?”
The strangers about the encampment were not so many, while those with Hurmanetar were many and strong, but he dealt justly with those claiming payment for the blood. They were given a piece of silver and a calf that was ready for the slaughter. Thus Mahat came into the household of Ancheti.
Hurmanetar was sitting with Ancheti and said to him, “I have spoken to you of the happening while I sat beneath a tree in a place of solitude, and of matters which you should know in order to be wise. Into your keeping have been given the treasures I have wrought by my own hands, and you are well instructed in the Sacred Things and the Mysteries. You have a destiny upon you which may not be fulfilled in this place, while the sustenance obtainable here declines day by day. Therefore, let us depart and go along journey by way of the bitter waters, for should we go by way of the forest or through the great wilderness, we may not live. Our flocks and herds can be driven before us, for the road is wide and well watered. Let us not delay in this place, for already there is a restlessness among the people here”.