Paragraph 196

Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: “I am God!” He, verily, speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His name and His attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed: “Those shafts were God’s, not Thine!” And also He saith: “In truth, they who plighted fealty unto thee, really plighted that fealty unto God.” And were any of them to voice the utterance: “I am the Messenger of God,” He also speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth. Even as He saith: “Muḥammad is not the father of any man among you, but He is the Messenger of God.” Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim: “I am the Seal of the Prophets,” they verily utter but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the “Beginning” and the “End,” the “First” and the “Last,” the “Seen” and “Hidden”—all of which pertain to Him Who is the innermost Spirit of Spirits and eternal Essence of Essences. And were they to say: “We are the servants of God,” this also is a manifest and indisputable fact. For they have been made manifest in the uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly attain. Thus in moments in which these Essences of being were deeply immersed beneath the oceans of ancient and everlasting holiness, or when they soared to the loftiest summits of divine mysteries, they claimed their utterance to be the Voice of divinity, the Call of God Himself. Were the eye of discernment to be opened, it would recognize that in this very state, they have considered themselves utterly effaced and nonexistent in the face of Him Who is the All-Pervading, the Incorruptible. Methinks they have regarded themselves as utter nothingness, and deemed their mention in that Court an act of blasphemy. For the slightest whispering of self, within such a Court, is an evidence of self-assertion and independent existence. In the eyes of them that have attained unto that Court, such a suggestion is itself a grievous transgression. How much more grievous would it be, were aught else to be mentioned in that Presence, were man’s heart, his tongue, his mind, or his soul, to be busied with anyone but the Well-Beloved, were his eyes to behold any countenance other than His beauty, were his ear to be inclined to any melody but His voice, and were his feet to tread any way but His way.

We are at paragraph six of twenty-two looking at the two stations the Manifestations of God occupy. Of course, there are many ways to look at this book, and even this little section of it. We have just chosen to see it as twenty-two paragraphs here for our own convenience. Nothing more. It helps us get a better understanding of how Baha'u'llah is approaching His teaching of the uncle of the Bab.

While at first this paragraph may seem a bit overwhelming due to its length, we find that it is very simple in its outline. It moves from one statement by the Manifestations to the next, from the broadest statement to the most concise, each one receiving a few lines describing it. Those four statements are:

• “I am God!”
• “I am the Messenger of God”
• "I am the Seal of the Prophets”
• “We are the servants of God”

It goes from the highest statement of "I am God Himself" to "I am the Messenger of that great King of Creation" to "I am the last of those Messengers", as that phrase is commonly understood, to "I am but a servant".

Imaging if someone were to say the following:

• I am the King
• I am the messenger of the King
• I am the last in my dynasty
• I am the King's servant

Anyone who would make all of those statements would be seen as either crazy or lying. So how are we to understand this? How can we make any sense of the Manifestations being able to make all those statements truthfully? It is no wonder that people are confused about all of this.

In many ways, it's more appropriate to see how one individual could be referred to in a number of different ways. For example, as a parent they might say "I am your father." As a manager at work, they might say, "I am your boss." To the owner of the company, they might say, "I work for you." We all fulfill many different roles in our life, and every statement will be exactly true in its circumstance. Those last two may seem contradictory, but in reality they are not.

After he has briefly expounded on each of these four statements, He then mentions the circumstances in which these statements are made. Beginning with the phrase, "Thus in moments in which these Essences of being were deeply immersed", He talks about how they all stated that their words were not from themselves, but from God. Over and over, in all the different religions, we see this concept. We may think of it as a form of humility, but it is a humility the likes of which we have never seen. He says that "they have regarded themselves as utter nothingness" and even think of "their mention in that Court an act of blasphemy". They are so effaced before God that "the slightest whispering of self" is abhorrent to them.

Can we even begin to imagine such humility?

And yet, is it not related to the detachment that we are asked to show at the very beginning of this book? Did He not say that those who want to walk on this path of faith must "cleanse themselves of all that is earthly—their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth"? To pay attention to anything other than God, while walking this path, will lead us to nothing but error. After all, "were man’s heart, his tongue, his mind, or his soul, to be busied with anyone but the Well-Beloved, were his eyes to behold any countenance other than His beauty, were his ear to be inclined to any melody but His voice, and were his feet to tread any way but His way", where else could that lead?

Again, it is not that we are to ignore the world around us, but that we should not "busy" ourselves with it. In another passage He says that we need to be "anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in", so we do need to be aware. But our heart should be focused on God. We should focus our conversation on God. We should constantly be thinking about God. Our soul should be centred on God. Even when we look at another person, we should be sure to see that spark of the divine within them, hear the divine truths in what they say, no matter how obscured it may be. But most of all, we should be certain to continually walk in His way and be steadfast in the Faith of God.