Paragraph 132

This is but one of the meanings of the spiritual sovereignty which We have set forth in accordance with the capacity and receptiveness of the people. For He, the Mover of all beings, that glorified Countenance, is the source of such potencies as neither this wronged One can reveal, nor this unworthy people comprehend. Immensely exalted is He above men’s praise of His sovereignty; glorified is He beyond that which they attribute unto Him!

The first question we have is "What is one of the meanings?" Well, if we look back at the previous paragraph, He has said that the sovereignty alluded to here is the power of the Word of God. This is so much more powerful than any earthly sovereignty, which is what the uncle of the Bab was wondering about.

The next point that catches our attention is the fact that this is only "one of the meanings". We are reminded of Part 1, in which Baha'u'llah spent so much time discussing the myriad meanings in Matthew 24. Obviously, He could do the same here. He can give us meaning upon meaning, writing many volumes all on the meaning and interpretation of this single word, sovereignty.

But that leads us to the next point: He is only going as far as is "in accordance with the capacity and receptiveness of the people". This reminds us very much of what He just said in paragraph 114, that the sacred Word "revealeth itself to the world in direct proportion to its capacity and spiritual receptiveness". That is, it is only revealed as much as we are able to bear it. This also brings us back to Jesus, in John 16:12, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."

Perhaps that is part of the joys of trying to study the infinite: you can never get it all. No matter how much we praise Him, no matter how exalted we think He is, we are guaranteed to fall short.

By the way, it is also interesting to note that this concept of sovereignty is alluded to in the very beginning of the book, in the introductory invocation: "In the Name of our Lord, the Exalted, the Most High". The very title, "Lord", is an allusion to that absolute sovereignty, while even the attributes of exalted and most high are doomed to fall short of His true exaltation and... high-ness? Sure. We'll go with that.

Given that any attempt at a description is destined to fall short, that He is so far beyond anything that we can attribute to Him, how can we even begin to approach any study of Him? If we look back at the very beginning of the book, we will see that a posture of humility is key. We must be detached from anything we know, not forget it, but not be so attached that we are not willing to hear a new perspective. With this stance, we allow ourselves to be open to this new perspective given to us by the Manifestation.

And you know what? It also works in our daily life. As soon as we close ourselves off to a new perspective, we are no longer able to learn. When we no longer are learning, we are moving backwards, for nothing in the world remains in stasis. So this concept of detachment, so pivotal in Part 1, really does come into play here, too.

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As we look at this paragraph again, another point comes to mind.

We imagine a town in which the messenger of the King arrives. He proclaims the new message from the King, and reads out the new law that is to take effect. Although the law takes effect immediately, it still takes time for it to spread throughout the town. It takes even longer for it to be understood, and for the people to act upon it. Even though the law is there, there is a mercy from the just sovereign for the first little while, allowing the people to become used to this new law. They will likely have their guards issue warnings for the first little while, and work towards educating the people to this new law. But over time, it will become a routine part of their life.

Similarly, the Messenger of God arrives and proclaims the new Law to the people. In the epochal history with which we are dealing, it likely takes a few hundred years for this gradual effect, the education of the people, to become apparent. But in the end, the new law will become infused within the life of the community.