That seeker should also regard backbiting as grievous error, and keep himself aloof from its dominion, inasmuch as backbiting quencheth the light of the heart, and extinguisheth the life of the soul. He should be content with little, and be freed from all inordinate desire. He should treasure the companionship of those that have renounced the world, and regard avoidance of boastful and worldly people a precious benefit. At the dawn of every day he should commune with God, and with all his soul persevere in the quest of his Beloved. He should consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention, and, with the swiftness of lightning, pass by all else save Him. He should succor the dispossessed, and never withhold his favor from the destitute. He should show kindness to animals, how much more unto his fellowman, to him who is endowed with the power of utterance. He should not hesitate to offer up his life for his Beloved, nor allow the censure of the people to turn him away from the Truth. He should not wish for others that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth not fulfill. With all his heart should the seeker avoid fellowship with evildoers, and pray for the remission of their sins. He should forgive the sinful, and never despise his low estate, for none knoweth what his own end shall be. How often hath a sinner, at the hour of death, attained to the essence of faith, and, quaffing the immortal draft, hath taken his flight unto the celestial Concourse. And how often hath a devout believer, at the hour of his soul’s ascension, been so changed as to fall into the nethermost fire. Our purpose in revealing these convincing and weighty utterances is to impress upon the seeker that he should regard all else beside God as transient, and count all things save Him, Who is the Object of all adoration, as utter nothingness.
Now that Baha'u'llah has given us the guidelines for the internal state, He moves on to the second of the seven paragraphs dedicated to the theme of the true seeker in which He tells us what their external behaviour would look like.
It is almost as if He is following a similar theme to the Seven Valleys, written around the same time. It begins with the perspective necessary for search. Now He is talking about our behaviour when we love something, especially when we love all of creation.
Like the previous paragraph, this one can also be read as a list. And like before, we're going to pull out the specific points on the list for ease of study:
- regard backbiting as grievous error
- be content with little
- be freed from all inordinate desire
- treasure the companionship of those that have renounced the world
- regard avoidance of boastful and worldly people a precious benefit
- At the dawn of every day... commune with God
- persevere in the quest of (the) Beloved
- consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention
- pass by all else save Him
- succor the dispossessed,
- never withhold... favor from the destitute
- show kindness to animals, how much more unto his fellowman
- should not hesitate to offer up his life for his Beloved
- nor allow the censure of the people to turn him away from the Truth
- not wish for others that which he doth not wish for himself
- nor promise that which he doth not fulfill
- avoid fellowship with evildoers
- pray for the remission of their sins
- forgive the sinful
- never despise his low estate
- regard all else beside God as transient, and.. as utter nothingness.
Taking these items one at a time, and looking at the unabridged quote, let's get right into it. So get comfortable, because this could be a long post.
That seeker should also regard backbiting as grievous error, and keep himself aloof from its dominion, inasmuch as backbiting quencheth the light of the heart, and extinguisheth the life of the soul.
The very first point here is the avoidance of backbiting. It seems strange that, of all things, He would put this first. But let's consider it a bit more closely.
In the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah says we "have been forbidden to commit murder or adultery, or to engage in backbiting or calumny". Again, strange. The order appears to be something of a decrescendo, except the last two seem to be backwards, for while backbiting implies the truth, calumny is the same but based on a deliberate lie. We are so used to thinking of murder as the worst thing of all, but is that the case? Is Baha'u'llah showing us something with the order in which He places these four?
Murder is the killing of an individual. Horrible as that is, adultery is the killing of a family. Isn't that even worse? But what about backbiting?
'Abdu'l-Baha says, "The worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting..." and "...backbiting is the cause of Divine Wrath".
If we think about it, backbiting destroys the bonds of trust within a community. It is, in a way, the killing of that community, for without trust, how can it survive?
It quenches the light of the heart and extinguishes the life of the soul? It is so easy to skip this part of the quote, never considering that the idle gossip we engage in can be so destructive. But this is the very first point He mentions here, and in the Aqdas He actually ties it together with murder and adultery. It really is that serious, so perhaps we better pay more attention to ridding ourselves and our communities of it.
He should be content with little, and be freed from all inordinate desire.
This is a common theme in all the world's religions, and while we could write all sorts of things about it, let's just say it's important. And there really isn't much else we could add here that doesn't repeat what we all already know.
He should treasure the companionship of those that have renounced the world, and regard avoidance of boastful and worldly people a precious benefit.
Like the previous point, there are actually two things here, but we are going to treat them as one.
The Oxford dictionary defines the verb form of treasure as "keep carefully", "to cherish".
It seems as if He is saying that while we may have friends, our friendship with "those that have renounced the world" is even more precious. Of course, Baha'u'llah does not tie this in with their beliefs or background. It is based on their perspective.
It reminds us of that other command of His, "Consort with the followers of all religions..." And while some may think this means to be friends with or hang out with, it actually means to "habitually associate with, typically with the disapproval of others".
So here, with the contrast of the second half, He is really encouraging us to remove all barriers and look at every individual with pure eyes.
At the dawn of every day he should commune with God, and with all his soul persevere in the quest of his Beloved.
The first part speaks to how we should begin our day, the attitude with which we should greet the world in front of us.
The second part talks to what we should be doing during that day.
As we have said before, the "quest" to know God is not a journey we can ever complete. We can only know God more and more. Just as the trees reach up towards the sun, but can never reach it, we, too, can reach up towards our Creator, but can never attain Him.
Baha'u'llah began this section about the true seeker by referring to it as "the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days", and the fact that He refers to it now as a quest implies that it is a long and arduous search. Perseverance is critical in any "quest", as the knights of the Round Table were well aware.
He should consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention, and, with the swiftness of lightning, pass by all else save Him.
Now that we have embarked upon our day, He gives us this further guidance.
Throughout our day, we will certainly have thoughts that are distracting, difficult to control or predict. No problem. It's part of our being. So what can we do about it? Mention God. Bring our thoughts back to Him.
Our thoughts are what tend to lead us, so if our very thoughts are distracting, then our movement will be fairly random. Thoughts and knowledge are intertwined, and both are likened to veils. Earlier, in paragraph 205, He cites Muhammad: "The most grievous of all veils is the veil of knowledge." And what burns away that veil? "...(T)he fire of the love of the Beloved..." Similarly, our thoughts can be a like a veil, preventing us from seeing or noticing God in our life. But "His loving mention" can be the flame that burns away that veil.
We will see so many things in the world that can distract us, but we should just pass them, ignoring them. Baha'u'llah later described His true follower as someone who, "if he come to a valley of pure gold, will pass straight through it aloof as a cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause." Once again, this ties together the true seeker with a true follower.
He should succor the dispossessed, and never withhold his favor from the destitute.
Here we found it interesting to note the difference between the two terms. "Dispossessed" implies that you once had these possessions or rights, and they were taken away. "Destitute" implies that the state of poverty is on-going. In other words, the former had wealth and rights while the latter never did. Orphans and widows are a prime example of the "dispossessed", for they lost their family members, and perhaps that is why there is so much importance given to aiding them. Those who are poor are an example of the latter.
Once again, Baha'u'llah is asking us to make no distinction. If someone needs help, we should always offer it, no matter their current or previous station.
He should show kindness to animals, how much more unto his fellowman, to him who is endowed with the power of utterance.
Staying with the theme of helping those less fortunate than ourselves, He reminds us that this also applies to the rest of creation. 'Abdu'l-Baha often described creation in terms of "kingdoms", beginning with the mineral kingdom and moving upwards to the vegetable kingdom. From there we move from that kingdom of growth to the animal kingdom, with its powers of the senses. Continuing onward, we get to the human kingdom with its additional powers of reason and comprehension, and then on to the spiritual kingdom. As the denizens of the "lower" kingdoms cannot comprehend the "higher" ones, it is up to those in the higher realms to aid and assist those in the lower.
And this is not just about being kind to people because they can say something if we are not. It is about the principle of always being of aid and service in whatever way we can.
Showing kindness to animals can occur in many ways. Adopting an animal into our family. Volunteering at a pet shelter. Feeding a stray dog or cat. We could even get a degree in zoology or conduct research on animals in an ethical manner. It is all wonderful.
When we help children learn to be kind to animals, and set the example of this kindness, we are helping them learn to be kind to people, too. And that makes the world a better place.
He should not hesitate to offer up his life for his Beloved, nor allow the censure of the people to turn him away from the Truth.
This is an interesting one, following as it does on the heels of kindness. At the time this book was written, many thousands of Babis had been executed for their Faith. And in most cases, they were asked to renounce their faith first.
We can only imagine that if we were in such a position, being loudly criticized for our belief and tormented by the populace, we would probably be pretty angry at them. But Baha'u'llah just told us to show kindness. In such circumstances, that kindness makes quite the impact on those witnessing it. It is, in a very real way, the ultimate test of the truth of your feelings. Unconditional love is what is necessary under such circumstances, and it is that to which we are being called.
He should not wish for others that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth not fulfill.
Help those in need. Be kind to all. And now He adds in the Golden Rule, a rule found in all religions.
As He just referenced our possible martyrdom, He reminds us that wishing ill upon our abusers goes against the very concept of the Golden Rule. By reminding us of it again, He is reinforcing the importance of forgiving our oppressors.
Then He throws in a bit of a twist: Keep your promises. Be true to your word. Of course, this is not new, either, but the two are not usually put together. So why are they joined here?
It is one thing to wish well for another, but it is another thing altogether to promise aid. When things are difficult, it is nice to hear someone wish you well. It uplifts the spirit at a desperate time. To have them promise aid? That is even more incredible. It relieves a concern, eases a burden. But then to have them fail to fulfill that promise? That crushes you even more than if they just wished you well.
It also speaks to trustworthiness, which Baha'u'llah calls "The goodliest vesture in the sight of God". He says "it is the door of security for all that dwell on earth..." It "is the greatest portal leading unto the tranquility and security of the people. In truth the stability of every affair hath depended and doth depend upon it."
If we truly want to help make the world a better place, being trustworthy goes a long way.
He should forgive the sinful, and never despise his low estate, for none knoweth what his own end shall be.
This follows so well upon the previous sentences. There are probably few who are more sinful than those who are the cause of martyrdom. But remember what we said about the corrosive effects of backbiting? That probably applies here, too. It is so easy to judge someone for killing another, but we must not forget that we have probably engaged in backbiting, either knowingly or inadvertently.
How often hath a sinner, at the hour of death, attained to the essence of faith, and, quaffing the immortal draft, hath taken his flight unto the celestial Concourse. And how often hath a devout believer, at the hour of his soul’s ascension, been so changed as to fall into the nethermost fire.
We are not perfect, and neither are those we encounter. By forgiving others, we will find ourselves being forgiven. And who knows? We may find ourselves at the very end of our own life and making a tragic decision at that time. Perhaps God will be more forgiving if we were more understanding.
Our purpose in revealing these convincing and weighty utterances is to impress upon the seeker that he should regard all else beside God as transient, and count all things save Him, Who is the Object of all adoration, as utter nothingness.
This pretty much sums it up. "Regard all else beside God as transient." "Count all things save Him... as utter nothingness."
What more can we say? If we can keep those two points in mind, our actions will follow the path outlined above.
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