With fixed and steady gaze, born of the unerring eye of God, scan for a while the horizon of divine knowledge, and contemplate those words of perfection which the Eternal hath revealed, that haply the mysteries of divine wisdom, hidden ere now beneath the veil of glory and treasured within the tabernacle of His grace, may be made manifest unto you. The denials and protestations of these leaders of religion have, in the main, been due to their lack of knowledge and understanding. Those words uttered by the Revealers of the beauty of the one true God, setting forth the signs that should herald the advent of the Manifestation to come, they never understood nor fathomed. Hence they raised the standard of revolt, and stirred up mischief and sedition. It is obvious and manifest that the true meaning of the utterances of the Birds of Eternity is revealed to none except those that manifest the Eternal Being, and the melodies of the Nightingale of Holiness can reach no ear save that of the denizens of the everlasting realm. The Copt of tyranny can never partake of the cup touched by the lips of the Sept of justice, and the Pharaoh of unbelief can never hope to recognize the hand of the Moses of truth. Even as He saith: "None knoweth the meaning thereof except God and them that are well-grounded in knowledge."[Qur'án 3:7] And yet, they have sought the interpretation of the Book from those that are wrapt in veils, and have refused to seek enlightenment from the fountain-head of knowledge.
This is the last of four paragraphs that lead us to consider some of the reasons for the denials, contention, conflict and all of the other myriad problems that the Messengers of God faced. In the first paragraph (13), Baha'u'llah pointed out that all of Them suffered the same pattern, and They also gave signs for the next Messenger's appearance. In the second paragraph (14), He gave us some of the reasons for the people denying Them, including being led astray by the leaders of religion. In the third one (paragraph 15), He drew our attention to the motives of the clergy, saying it was due to lust of leadership, as well as ignorance. Now He tells us, quite plainly, that it is their "lack of knowledge and understanding" that is the main reason for all these problems. And so we think that this whole paragraph can be understood in terms of this point. But, once again, we are not going to go there. Baha'u'llah already did, and He did it far better than we can. Instead, as is becoming our new norm, we're going to look at few tangental points, after taking a brief glance at one of the phrases we find interesting.
"Scan... the horizon" - isn't this like watching the horizon for the sun to rise during the early morning dawn? But then He mentions the tabernacle, so it is a tent, the holy tent, that is there somewhere on the horizon. And then the leaders of religion raise the standard of revolt against this sacred tent. But all this only means that these leaders are looking with their own eyes, and not the eye of God. We should look with an eye of humility, not with pride in our own knowledge and understanding.
We often say that the Jews wandered in the desert, lost, for forty years, but this is not really the case. As long as they knew where the tabernacle was, they were not lost. That was their centre. You are only lost if you cannot find that which you are seeking. After all, as Baha'u'llah says in the Hidden Words, "Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved?"
But here, the focus of the leaders of the religion is a bit off. They are not focused on the tabernacle. They are, instead, looking at their own learning and understanding. The leaders have contemplated the Writings, for that was the basis of their studies, but they haven't seen the mysteries within them. They are still ignorant of the spiritual truths of their faith, even though they are very familiar with the hermeneutics and theology (wow, pretty big words for us). These mysteries are often missed by those who study their faith from a purely intellectual perspective. They often forget that religion is fundamentally mystical at its core. They have missed the spiritual truths, and are not living according to the principles of their religion. They are obeying the letter of the law, but not its spirit. Why would this be? Well, early on, in paragraph 2, we are given the conditions our heart must manifest.
Because they haven't understood "the signs that should herald the advent of the Manifestation to come," and thought they had, they actually ended up raising the standard of revolt.
Now, rather than analyzing and repeating what is said here, we would like to look at something else Baha'u'llah is doing (or at least seems to be doing, in our own unofficial opinion). You have no doubt noticed that Baha'u'llah is constantly quoting the Qur'an. If this is supposed to be a model for how we are to effectively teach the Faith, then doesn't this imply that we should also ground our arguments in the Word of God that is recognized by the listener?
"...(S)can for a while the horizon of divine knowledge, and contemplate those words of perfection which the Eternal hath revealed"? Doesn't this seem to imply looking at all of the sacred Texts that have been revealed?
This is something that most people tend not to do. They generally only quote their own sacred texts, but not the sacred texts of others. How often have we, as Baha'is, tried to quote Baha'u'llah to "prove" our point? This isn't very effective if the person we're talking to doesn't recognize Baha'u'llah. We need to show the proofs in their sacred text. Jesus, for example, always answered the religious leaders of His day with quotes from their texts, the Tanakh (or the Old Testament, if you must), and not from His own parables. He used those to unveil to His followers new truths.
Here, Baha'u'llah isn't quoting the Writings of the Bab. He is quoting the holy Qur'an.
To us, this implies a need for a deeper understanding of the importance of interfaith work. As we dive into the sacred texts of other faiths, we find that we come to a greater appreciation of those works and can share in the love of that faith with its followers. We also find that, as we look at these texts through the lens of Baha'u'llah's teachings, we have a greater understanding of those books than we did before we were Baha'i. They just seem to make more sense.
It is also interesting to note that as we speak, with love and reverence, about these sacred texts, and try to discover some of the truths hidden within them, other people generally begin to see the widsom of the simple explanations that we offer. It is this simple look at the spirit of what is there within those texts that wins over the minds of these people. But it is our love and respect that wins over their hearts.
Only the Messengers can truly be said to understand the Word of God. Those who dwell in the everlasting realm are also privy to those same melodies, but we, who are so far from there, can only try to pass on those few phrases that we hear. It is like a song that can only be heard in the town square. We can try to offer some of that divine melody to others, in our own imperfect manner. We can train ourselves to better convey its melody, or meaning, but we must recognize that it is truly only the Messengers that can be said to understand it in its fullness.
These words are a gift. And as was said way back at the beginning of this book, it is only by purifying our heart that we even stand a chance of understanding even a bit of it.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Paragraph 15
Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and winged His flight unto the heights of glory. What unspeakable cruelties they that have occupied the seats of authority and learning have inflicted upon the true Monarchs of the world, those Gems of divine virtue! Content with a transitory dominion, they have deprived themselves of an everlasting sovereignty. Thus, their eyes beheld not the light of the countenance of the Well-Beloved, nor did their ears hearken unto the sweet melodies of the Bird of Desire. For this reason, in all sacred books mention hath been made of the divines of every age. Thus He saith: "O people of the Book! Why disbelieve the signs of God to which ye yourselves have been witnesses?"[Qur'án 3:70] And also He saith: "O people of the Book! Why clothe ye the truth with falsehood? Why wittingly hide the truth?"[Qur'án 3:71] Again, He saith: "Say, O people of the Book! Why repel believers from the way of God?"[Qur'án 3:99] It is evident that by the "people of the Book," who have repelled their fellow-men from the straight path of God, is meant none other than the divines of that age, whose names and character have been revealed in the sacred books, and alluded to in the verses and traditions recorded therein, were you to observe with the eye of God.
As you can tell, this is the third of those four paragraphs that help us consider today's events in light of the past. He obviously draws our attention to that last part of paragraph 14, and gets us to focus on the leaders of religion. But we're not going to go there. Baha'u'llah did. And we don't need to repeat what He says so well.
By now, you know that we would normally point out the reference to the shores and draw your attention back to paragraph 1, or that we would identify the dual problems of lust of leadership and ignorance, or even the recurring theme of the bird. We would even look at the pattern of the three quotes from the Qu'ran, moving from disbelief to knowingly hiding the truth (probably due to lust for power) and therefore repelling people from the true Path.
Rather than looking at what is no more than a summary of this, we, instead, want to now look at why the Guardian says, "The friends, and particularly those who wish to become competent and useful teachers, should indeed consider it to be their first duty to acquaint themselves, as thoroughly as they can, with each and every detail contained in this Holy Book..."
The more we study this Book, and the more we look at the minute details of how Baha'u'llah presents His case, the more we feel we can learn. It is truly an example of that humble truth, "The more we learn, the more we realize how little we know."
What have we learned here, in this Book, about how Baha'u'llah would guide someone to the Faith?
The first thing that we think we have picked up is the gentle and careful approach He seems to take. As we have noticed in the past, Baha'u'llah begins His whole approach here by first reminding the reader of what has always been required in one's search for truth. This is nothing new, and the follower of any faith tradition, or no faith, would already recognize the truth of it. If you go in with your own preconceptions, then you are not open to hearing what might actually be true.
Once this is established, after the first half dozen paragraphs, He then goes on to talk about what they both already agree upon. The above paragraph, number 15, is in the middle of all of this. His audience is Muslim, and so He speaks about those Prophets that they already recognize: Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. He does so simply and systematically.
As we have tried to point out, He slowly unfolds a new understanding of each of these Messengers, showing the similarities between Their stories. He gradually moves the reader through religious history, leading them towards the unmistakable conclusion that God never withholds His bounty and will always send a new Messenger to guide us onwards.
By this point, after taking so much time to get to this early paragraph, we have already changed our own personal teaching styles. We now recognize more clearly then ever that while we need to proclaim the Most Great Name, proclamation is not the same as personal and individual teaching. This is far more intimate and requires a greater capacity to listen closely to the one we are hoping "to bring into the fold" of the Faith. This "readiness to listen, with heightened spiritual perception" is what allows us to decide the "suitability of either the direct or indirect method of teaching". It is what enables us to better gauge how long we need to take in unfolding these truths.
Of course, we also recognize that this does not take years, even with the indirect method. By this point in the book, Baha'u'llah is already beginning to allude to the station of the Bab, through inferences and subtle hints. By this point in the book, He is ready to launch His incontrovertible argument, and goes into it in just a few more paragraphs.
Everything up to this point has been, in a sense, history. It has been a reframing of the historical understanding, to be sure, but history, nonetheless.
Now, as we move towards paragraph 24, things begin to shift. This is the time when we need to start buckling our spiritual seat belt, for He is getting ready to put the car into overdrive.
As you can tell, this is the third of those four paragraphs that help us consider today's events in light of the past. He obviously draws our attention to that last part of paragraph 14, and gets us to focus on the leaders of religion. But we're not going to go there. Baha'u'llah did. And we don't need to repeat what He says so well.
By now, you know that we would normally point out the reference to the shores and draw your attention back to paragraph 1, or that we would identify the dual problems of lust of leadership and ignorance, or even the recurring theme of the bird. We would even look at the pattern of the three quotes from the Qu'ran, moving from disbelief to knowingly hiding the truth (probably due to lust for power) and therefore repelling people from the true Path.
Rather than looking at what is no more than a summary of this, we, instead, want to now look at why the Guardian says, "The friends, and particularly those who wish to become competent and useful teachers, should indeed consider it to be their first duty to acquaint themselves, as thoroughly as they can, with each and every detail contained in this Holy Book..."
The more we study this Book, and the more we look at the minute details of how Baha'u'llah presents His case, the more we feel we can learn. It is truly an example of that humble truth, "The more we learn, the more we realize how little we know."
What have we learned here, in this Book, about how Baha'u'llah would guide someone to the Faith?
The first thing that we think we have picked up is the gentle and careful approach He seems to take. As we have noticed in the past, Baha'u'llah begins His whole approach here by first reminding the reader of what has always been required in one's search for truth. This is nothing new, and the follower of any faith tradition, or no faith, would already recognize the truth of it. If you go in with your own preconceptions, then you are not open to hearing what might actually be true.
Once this is established, after the first half dozen paragraphs, He then goes on to talk about what they both already agree upon. The above paragraph, number 15, is in the middle of all of this. His audience is Muslim, and so He speaks about those Prophets that they already recognize: Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. He does so simply and systematically.
As we have tried to point out, He slowly unfolds a new understanding of each of these Messengers, showing the similarities between Their stories. He gradually moves the reader through religious history, leading them towards the unmistakable conclusion that God never withholds His bounty and will always send a new Messenger to guide us onwards.
By this point, after taking so much time to get to this early paragraph, we have already changed our own personal teaching styles. We now recognize more clearly then ever that while we need to proclaim the Most Great Name, proclamation is not the same as personal and individual teaching. This is far more intimate and requires a greater capacity to listen closely to the one we are hoping "to bring into the fold" of the Faith. This "readiness to listen, with heightened spiritual perception" is what allows us to decide the "suitability of either the direct or indirect method of teaching". It is what enables us to better gauge how long we need to take in unfolding these truths.
Of course, we also recognize that this does not take years, even with the indirect method. By this point in the book, Baha'u'llah is already beginning to allude to the station of the Bab, through inferences and subtle hints. By this point in the book, He is ready to launch His incontrovertible argument, and goes into it in just a few more paragraphs.
Everything up to this point has been, in a sense, history. It has been a reframing of the historical understanding, to be sure, but history, nonetheless.
Now, as we move towards paragraph 24, things begin to shift. This is the time when we need to start buckling our spiritual seat belt, for He is getting ready to put the car into overdrive.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Paragraph 14
Reflect, what could have been the motive for such deeds? What could have prompted such behaviour towards the Revealers of the beauty of the All-Glorious? Whatever in days gone by hath been the cause of the denial and opposition of those people hath now led to the perversity of the people of this age. To maintain that the testimony of Providence was incomplete, that it hath therefore been the cause of the denial of the people, is but open blasphemy. How far from the grace of the All-Bountiful and from His loving providence and tender mercies it is to single out a soul from amongst all men for the guidance of His creatures, and, on one hand, to withhold from Him the full measure of His divine testimony, and, on the other, inflict severe retribution on His people for having turned away from His chosen One! Nay, the manifold bounties of the Lord of all beings have, at all times, through the Manifestations of His divine Essence, encompassed the earth and all that dwell therein. Not for a moment hath His grace been withheld, nor have the showers of His loving-kindness ceased to rain upon mankind. Consequently, such behaviour can be attributed to naught save the petty-mindedness of such souls as tread the valley of arrogance and pride, are lost in the wilds of remoteness, walk in the ways of their idle fancy, and follow the dictates of the leaders of their faith. Their chief concern is mere opposition; their sole desire is to ignore the truth. Unto every discerning observer it is evident and manifest that had these people in the days of each of the Manifestations of the Sun of Truth sanctified their eyes, their ears, and their hearts from whatever they had seen, heard, and felt, they surely would not have been deprived of beholding the beauty of God, nor strayed far from the habitations of glory. But having weighed the testimony of God by the standard of their own knowledge, gleaned from the teachings of the leaders of their faith, and found it at variance with their limited understanding, they arose to perpetrate such unseemly acts.
This is the second of four paragraphs that lead us to consider some of the reasons for the denials, contention, conflict and all of the other myriad problems that the Messengers of God faced. In the first paragraph, Baha'u'llah pointed out that all of Them suffered from the same pattern, and They also gave signs for the next Messenger's appearance. In this paragraph, He gives us some of the reasons for the people denying Them.
To start, He asks us to reflect on these motives. Reflecting is only a bit different from pondering. When you ponder, you consider something deeply within your heart. When you reflect on it, you turn your thoughts back to it. When you ponder, it may be the first time you are considering something. When you reflect, it has to be at least the second time.
Baha'u'llah is asking us to go back to what we already know and think about it again. We know these stories from the past. They are a part of our history, and we are very familiar with them. The questions, while rhetorical, do ask us to consider those circumstances in light of today's issues. He is asking us to discover the pattern, and make sure that we do not fall into the same one.
What were the motives in the past? What prompted such behaviour? Are they the same as the motives and promptings that we are seeing today?
But then, just as He asks these questions, He anticipates a response. He knows full well that many of the people at that time, in that culture, were told that the full teachings of Jesus were not available to the Christians. They were told that the "testimony of Providence was incomplete".
And what is Baha'u'llah's answer to that? Hogwash. Bull puckies. No way, no how. Ain't possible. Gimme a break. God is All-Bountiful, and if the testimony was incomplete, His bounty would be limited. In fact, He is saying that we cannot place the blame on God. If that were the case, how could the people be held responsible for their actions?
If this is not the reason, then the only other reason, He states, was the petty-mindedness of those who "tread the valley of arrogance and pride, are lost in the wilds of remoteness, walk in the ways of idle fancy, and follow the dictates of the leaders of their faith".
Let's take a look at the order of these. First is petty-mindedness. In other words, they spend a lot of their time thinking about insignificant things. When we concentrate on things that are insignificant, then we feel, by comparison, significant. This is in opposition to thinking about significant things, in which case, by comparison, our sense of humility is nurtured.
From this, comes arrogance and pride. This leads to being remote from God, for how can you be arrogant or proud when in the midst of the Almighty? From there, they have no choice but to follow their idle fancies, which allows them to be easily manipulated by the leaders of their faith.
He then goes on to say that these people only want to oppose whatever comes up. They want to ignore the truth. Why? Perhaps because it is a source of pride for some to be able to tear down whatever anyone else puts forth. It is sort of like debating, or those politicians who only oppose whatever the other party says, no matter what its merit. "See how smart I am? I can find the flaw in whatever you say." Of course they can, for nothing is perfect, save God. We should note that this is different from consultation, which is supremely concerned with the truth. There is no opposition, but there can be the clash of differing opinions, as both parties seek out the truth.
But how do we avoid falling into these traps? We sanctify our eyes, our ears and our heart, which is very similar to what was said in paragraph 2, and throughout this Book.
Finally, there is the reminder that these people judged the Messenger by their own deficient standard, and not the standard in the Book. Or, to put it in a way that is meaningful to us, we should not judge the Message by our own standards, but, instead, look to God's standard. This is very important today, when many of the values expressed in the media go against the standards set forth in the Writings.
This is the second of four paragraphs that lead us to consider some of the reasons for the denials, contention, conflict and all of the other myriad problems that the Messengers of God faced. In the first paragraph, Baha'u'llah pointed out that all of Them suffered from the same pattern, and They also gave signs for the next Messenger's appearance. In this paragraph, He gives us some of the reasons for the people denying Them.
To start, He asks us to reflect on these motives. Reflecting is only a bit different from pondering. When you ponder, you consider something deeply within your heart. When you reflect on it, you turn your thoughts back to it. When you ponder, it may be the first time you are considering something. When you reflect, it has to be at least the second time.
Baha'u'llah is asking us to go back to what we already know and think about it again. We know these stories from the past. They are a part of our history, and we are very familiar with them. The questions, while rhetorical, do ask us to consider those circumstances in light of today's issues. He is asking us to discover the pattern, and make sure that we do not fall into the same one.
What were the motives in the past? What prompted such behaviour? Are they the same as the motives and promptings that we are seeing today?
But then, just as He asks these questions, He anticipates a response. He knows full well that many of the people at that time, in that culture, were told that the full teachings of Jesus were not available to the Christians. They were told that the "testimony of Providence was incomplete".
And what is Baha'u'llah's answer to that? Hogwash. Bull puckies. No way, no how. Ain't possible. Gimme a break. God is All-Bountiful, and if the testimony was incomplete, His bounty would be limited. In fact, He is saying that we cannot place the blame on God. If that were the case, how could the people be held responsible for their actions?
If this is not the reason, then the only other reason, He states, was the petty-mindedness of those who "tread the valley of arrogance and pride, are lost in the wilds of remoteness, walk in the ways of idle fancy, and follow the dictates of the leaders of their faith".
Let's take a look at the order of these. First is petty-mindedness. In other words, they spend a lot of their time thinking about insignificant things. When we concentrate on things that are insignificant, then we feel, by comparison, significant. This is in opposition to thinking about significant things, in which case, by comparison, our sense of humility is nurtured.
From this, comes arrogance and pride. This leads to being remote from God, for how can you be arrogant or proud when in the midst of the Almighty? From there, they have no choice but to follow their idle fancies, which allows them to be easily manipulated by the leaders of their faith.
He then goes on to say that these people only want to oppose whatever comes up. They want to ignore the truth. Why? Perhaps because it is a source of pride for some to be able to tear down whatever anyone else puts forth. It is sort of like debating, or those politicians who only oppose whatever the other party says, no matter what its merit. "See how smart I am? I can find the flaw in whatever you say." Of course they can, for nothing is perfect, save God. We should note that this is different from consultation, which is supremely concerned with the truth. There is no opposition, but there can be the clash of differing opinions, as both parties seek out the truth.
But how do we avoid falling into these traps? We sanctify our eyes, our ears and our heart, which is very similar to what was said in paragraph 2, and throughout this Book.
Finally, there is the reminder that these people judged the Messenger by their own deficient standard, and not the standard in the Book. Or, to put it in a way that is meaningful to us, we should not judge the Message by our own standards, but, instead, look to God's standard. This is very important today, when many of the values expressed in the media go against the standards set forth in the Writings.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Paragraph 13
And now, ponder upon these things. What could have caused such contention and conflict? Why is it that the advent of every true Manifestation of God hath been accompanied by such strife and tumult, by such tyranny and upheaval? This notwithstanding the fact that all the Prophets of God, whenever made manifest unto the peoples of the world, have invariably foretold the coming of yet another Prophet after them, and have established such signs as would herald the advent of the future Dispensation. To this the records of all sacred books bear witness. Why then is it that despite the expectation of men in their quest of the Manifestations of Holiness, and in spite of the signs recorded in the sacred books, such acts of violence, of oppression and cruelty, should have been perpetrated in every age and cycle against all the Prophets and chosen Ones of God? Even as He hath revealed: "As oft as an Apostle cometh unto you with that which your souls desire not, ye swell with pride, accusing some of being impostors and slaying others."[Qur'án 2:87.]
This is the first of four paragraphs that lead us to consider some of the reasons for the denials, contention, conflict, and all the other problems that the Messengers faced. It comes in the middle of the sections about some of the Messengers of God, from Noah through Moses, and just before Baha'u'llah talks about Jesus.
And now (brace yourselves, thrill seekers) Baha'u'llah diverts us for a moment from this history and asks us to reflect, once again. "Consider the past", as He said earlier. But now, instead of just considering the past, He wants us to ponder on one specific facet of the past: the cause of "such contention and conflict".
He points out what should be obvious to us all by now, namely that there is a pattern at work here. In fact, there are a couple of patterns. Whenever a Manifestation or chosen One appears, there is also "strife and tumult", "tyranny and upheaval". In addition to this, They also promise another Messenger of God will come, and give signs for Their advent. Though Their coming is greatly expected, They are still vilified.
It is this first point that we are to consider deeply and meditate upon. We should also remember that pondering is kind of like meditating. It takes time, and cannot be rushed. The more we ponder the more we discover. (You can even stroke your chin, if that helps.)
So important is it that Baha'u'llah actually pauses for four paragraphs, leaving His theme behind for a moment, allowing us to catch up (or at least catch our breath).
At this point, Baha'u'llah could "spew hellfire and brimstone", harshly telling us never to do such things again, but He doesn't. Instead, He simply and reasonably states the facts: that contention and conflict have arisen with every advent of a Messenger of God. He is treating us as if we are spiritually mature, as opposed to being like little children. Baha'u'llah is also asking more from us that just a simple recognition of this pattern of behaviour. He wants us to understand for ourselves why this has happened. And the best way we can do this is through pondering, or meditating, upon this.
But do we really like to ponder? Is this something we naturally do? Is it one of our spiritual habits? It seems as if He is encouraging us along this path.
So here, in this paragraph, we are asked to consider two things that appear to be at odds with each other. The first is that the people opposed the Messengers of God, as well as some who just came to Their defense (remember paragraph 12? The man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith?). The second is that they did this despite the fact that those same Messengers gave them clear signs for the coming of the next Messenger.
There are no answers here. Baha'u'llah shares some of those with us later. Here He is allowing us to come to some ideas on our own. Rather than intruding upon your own reflection on this point, we're going to look at another aspect here.
It is interesting to note the words Baha'u'llah uses here: contention, conflict, strife, tumult, tyranny and upheaval. Could there be yet another path that He is helping us to see?
Baha'u'llah reminds us that He is not making this up. It is the pattern that we find in all of the sacred books. Now we can either go back and double-check, or just confirm it from our own memory.
Finally, He gives us a hint about what we might discover on our own: These denials, contention and conflict all begin with pride.
This is the first of four paragraphs that lead us to consider some of the reasons for the denials, contention, conflict, and all the other problems that the Messengers faced. It comes in the middle of the sections about some of the Messengers of God, from Noah through Moses, and just before Baha'u'llah talks about Jesus.
And now (brace yourselves, thrill seekers) Baha'u'llah diverts us for a moment from this history and asks us to reflect, once again. "Consider the past", as He said earlier. But now, instead of just considering the past, He wants us to ponder on one specific facet of the past: the cause of "such contention and conflict".
He points out what should be obvious to us all by now, namely that there is a pattern at work here. In fact, there are a couple of patterns. Whenever a Manifestation or chosen One appears, there is also "strife and tumult", "tyranny and upheaval". In addition to this, They also promise another Messenger of God will come, and give signs for Their advent. Though Their coming is greatly expected, They are still vilified.
It is this first point that we are to consider deeply and meditate upon. We should also remember that pondering is kind of like meditating. It takes time, and cannot be rushed. The more we ponder the more we discover. (You can even stroke your chin, if that helps.)
So important is it that Baha'u'llah actually pauses for four paragraphs, leaving His theme behind for a moment, allowing us to catch up (or at least catch our breath).
At this point, Baha'u'llah could "spew hellfire and brimstone", harshly telling us never to do such things again, but He doesn't. Instead, He simply and reasonably states the facts: that contention and conflict have arisen with every advent of a Messenger of God. He is treating us as if we are spiritually mature, as opposed to being like little children. Baha'u'llah is also asking more from us that just a simple recognition of this pattern of behaviour. He wants us to understand for ourselves why this has happened. And the best way we can do this is through pondering, or meditating, upon this.
But do we really like to ponder? Is this something we naturally do? Is it one of our spiritual habits? It seems as if He is encouraging us along this path.
So here, in this paragraph, we are asked to consider two things that appear to be at odds with each other. The first is that the people opposed the Messengers of God, as well as some who just came to Their defense (remember paragraph 12? The man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith?). The second is that they did this despite the fact that those same Messengers gave them clear signs for the coming of the next Messenger.
There are no answers here. Baha'u'llah shares some of those with us later. Here He is allowing us to come to some ideas on our own. Rather than intruding upon your own reflection on this point, we're going to look at another aspect here.
It is interesting to note the words Baha'u'llah uses here: contention, conflict, strife, tumult, tyranny and upheaval. Could there be yet another path that He is helping us to see?
- Contention means to struggle with, or to be in competition against.
- Conflict is a bit more aggressive. It means to fight or do battle.
- Strife is a bitter conflict, so it is even stronger yet.
- Tumult now takes this and makes it more widespread. It is a violent or noisy outbreak; a riot.
- But then comes tyranny, an arbitrary exercise of power and authority. It is as if Baha'u'llah is showing us that this path of denial all begins in one person's heart, growing in strength and spreading, but still headed by that one individual: the tyrant.
- What comes next? Upheaval: a strong and violent rise, a change or disturbance in society in which that which was below moves to the top, and the top moves to the bottom. "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first." In other words, He may be pointing out to us that if we try and contend with the Messenger of God, we know what will happen in the end. We will end up on the bottom, no matter how much strength and power we may appear to have at any given time. Not only is this a caution for us to be aware of that particular path, but also a reminder that others may be treading it and not to follow them.
Baha'u'llah reminds us that He is not making this up. It is the pattern that we find in all of the sacred books. Now we can either go back and double-check, or just confirm it from our own memory.
Finally, He gives us a hint about what we might discover on our own: These denials, contention and conflict all begin with pride.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Paragraph 12
And when His day was ended, there came the turn of Moses. Armed with the rod of celestial dominion, adorned with the white hand of divine knowledge, and proceeding from the Paran of the love of God, and wielding the serpent of power and everlasting majesty, He shone forth from the Sinai of light upon the world. He summoned all the peoples and kindreds of the earth to the kingdom of eternity, and invited them to partake of the fruit of the tree of faithfulness. Surely you are aware of the fierce opposition of Pharaoh and his people, and of the stones of idle fancy which the hands of infidels cast upon that blessed Tree. So much so that Pharaoh and his people finally arose and exerted their utmost endeavor to extinguish with the waters of falsehood and denial the fire of that sacred Tree, oblivious of the truth that no earthly water can quench the flame of divine wisdom, nor mortal blasts extinguish the lamp of everlasting dominion. Nay, rather, such water cannot but intensify the burning of the flame, and such blasts cannot but ensure the preservation of the lamp, were ye to observe with the eye of discernment, and walk in the way of God's holy will and pleasure. How well hath a believer of the kindred of Pharaoh, whose story is recounted by the All-Glorious in His Book revealed unto His beloved One, observed: "And a man of the family of Pharaoh who was a believer and concealed his faith said: 'Will ye slay a man because he saith my Lord is God, when He hath already come to you with signs from your Lord? If he be a liar, on him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth, part of what he threateneth will fall upon you. In truth God guideth not him who is a transgressor, a liar.'"[Qur'án 40:28] Finally, so great was their iniquity that this self-same believer was put to a shameful death. "The curse of God be upon the people of tyranny."[Qur'án 11:21]
First Noah, then Hud, Salih, and then Abraham. Now we move on to Moses. From here, if you remember from our outline, Baha'u'llah will ask us to consider the reasons for the denial of all the Messengers of God He's mentioned so far. Then He will turn our attention to Jesus. From there, He will look at the Eternal Covenant and finish off with His incredible analysis of the prophecy in Matthew 24 (which is, coincidentally, in paragraph 24, and on page 24). This will take us to the end of Part One. Then He will apply all of this to the case of the Bab in Part Two. Why? Presumably to make sure that we are all filled with certainty when it comes to our faith.
But going back to Moses now, Baha'u'llah begins by looking at some particular descriptions. He outlines, in a sense, the story of Moses' encounter with Pharoah after He returns to Egypt. He describes Moses as being "Armed with the rod of celestial dominion, adorned with the white hand of divine knowledge, and proceeding from the Paran of the love of God, and wielding the serpent of power and everlasting majesty".
Why? Don't we already know this well enough from our religious traditions? He seems to be stating the obvious, and yet He isn't. Perhaps He is reminding us of the station of Moses. He is telling us that a Messenger of God comes armed, adorned, and proceeds from a place of love wielding power and authority.
But another thing, isn't it out of order? If He were merely trying to retell the story, then the chronological order would be the rod, the white hand, the serpent and then Paran. For remember, He visits Pharoah and shows the rod, His staff, His only companion. Then He puts His hand to His chest and shows how His hand is now glowing white, symbolic of purity and power. After this, He turns His staff into a serpent, which devours the other snakes, those symbols of idolatry. Finally He leads His people into the desert, Paran.
But here the order is different.
Perhaps instead of telling a chronological story, Baha'u'llah may be alluding to the importance of each event. Moses is alone, symbolized by the rod. He draws His power and authority from God, symbolized by the heart, from which His hand becomes white. He leads His people to the Promised Land, symbolized by their wandering through the desert. But most importantly, He cleanses the people of their idle fancies, ensuring that they worship God, and not a set of idols.
A second aspect of this is how Baha'u'llah describes each component: "celestial dominion", "divine knowledge", "the love of God", "and power and everlasting majesty". It seems to show that God rules over all, and because He rules over all, He knows all. Due to this knowledge, He loves all. And it is this love that culminates in the power and everlasting majesty. Perhaps this can also be applied to us, in our own lives. We begin by ruling over ourselves, controlling ourself and our desires. Then we get to truly know ourselves. From there, our love grows, our love for ourself, for God and for others. And it is through this love that we can best exert a positive influence upon the world.
Combining this little insight with the story, we realize that it begins with Moses alone, as it also begins with us alone, or more accurately, relying only on God. To even step on this path, we have to be "detached from all that is in heaven and on earth." At the same time, Baha'u'llah's first counsel to us is to "possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart", and this will aid us in being more detached. You see, as we all know, it is not about waiting for the first step to be perfected, but it is about simultaneously being and doing. As we learn about ourselves, we become more detached and are able to learn even more. From there, we learn more about the world and other people, and if we begin to love, unconditionally and wholeheartedly, then we will have a greater effect on bettering the world around us.
A third aspect of this sentence is the use of verbs. Moses comes "armed" and "adorned". Then He is "proceeding" forward and "wielding". Maybe it's just us, but we see that as a warrior. First he is armed, and then someone comes up and places his cape, or perhaps a medal, or some other insignia denoting his rank, on him. Then he goes forth into the battle and wields his weapon with deadly accuracy. Sort of like a Messenger of God fighting the forces of darkness. But this image is probably just due to watching too many fantasy movies.
Now Baha'u'llah continues on to what we see as the second of four parts of this paragraph: "He summoned all the peoples and kindreds of the earth to the kingdom of eternity, and invited them to partake of the fruit of the tree of faithfulness."
This is interesting, for we often think of Moses as coming only for the Jewish peoples, but here Baha'u'llah says that He summoned everyone. Like the previous Messengers mentioned in this Book, He also called the people to God. Baha'u'llah also makes a reference to a fruit of a tree. This, obviously, reminds us of the story of Eden, but instead of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is "the fruit of the tree of faithfulness".
Now we come to the third of four parts in this paragraph: "Surely you are aware of the fierce opposition of Pharaoh and his people, and of the stones of idle fancy which the hands of infidels cast upon that blessed Tree. So much so that Pharaoh and his people finally arose and exerted their utmost endeavor to extinguish with the waters of falsehood and denial the fire of that sacred Tree, oblivious of the truth that no earthly water can quench the flame of divine wisdom, nor mortal blasts extinguish the lamp of everlasting dominion. Nay, rather, such water cannot but intensify the burning of the flame, and such blasts cannot but ensure the preservation of the lamp, were ye to observe with the eye of discernment, and walk in the way of God's holy will and pleasure."
This is a story that we all are very familiar with, and while, on the surface, it doesn't appear that Baha'u'llah is telling us anything new, His focus is just a bit different. Instead of only referring to Pharaoh's opposition, He also mentions the opposition of the people. In other words, the King and his people fought the divine Messenger, and did all they could to stop His faith. They tried to put out that sacred fire, which itself is reminiscent of the burning bush, with water, unaware that their opposition did nothing but spread the fire further. Doesn't this sound like Nasiri'd-Din Shah and people trying to stop the Bab?
We could look a bit at the imagery of the fire, water and the tree, but we're not sure what else we could add here. Normally water is what helps a tree grow, but in this case, with the reference to the burning bush, it seems that it is the fire that helps it to grow. And obviously the Tree is a reference is to the Messenger of God, in this case. This image will also come up again and again. But really, Baha'u'llah seems to have said it all.
He concludes this paragraph about Moses with a story that further shows how the effects of the Messengers has grown: "How well hath a believer of the kindred of Pharaoh, whose story is recounted by the All-Glorious in His Book revealed unto His beloved One, observed: 'And a man of the family of Pharaoh who was a believer and concealed his faith said: "Will ye slay a man because he saith my Lord is God, when He hath already come to you with signs from your Lord? If he be a liar, on him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth, part of what he threateneth will fall upon you. In truth God guideth not him who is a transgressor, a liar."'[Qur'án 40:28] Finally, so great was their iniquity that this self-same believer was put to a shameful death. 'The curse of God be upon the people of tyranny.'[Qur'án 11:21]"
This seems to be the first time that someone who is not known to be a believer is put to death for speaking the truth about a Messenger. The attacks are no longer directed only against the Manifestation, or even Him and His followers, but now includes any who stand up for them. How much more would he have suffered had be known to be a follower of Moses? Again, this seems to be yet another reference to the forces at play when this Book was written. The uncle of the Bab, to whom this was written, was no doubt aware of the many deaths suffered by the Babis, or even those accused of being Babi. Perhaps this was a gentle way in which Baha'u'llah was slowly showing the greatness of the Bab's Revelation. If you follow the vector, you can see how the greatness of each subsequent Revelation surpassed that of the previous.
First Noah, then Hud, Salih, and then Abraham. Now we move on to Moses. From here, if you remember from our outline, Baha'u'llah will ask us to consider the reasons for the denial of all the Messengers of God He's mentioned so far. Then He will turn our attention to Jesus. From there, He will look at the Eternal Covenant and finish off with His incredible analysis of the prophecy in Matthew 24 (which is, coincidentally, in paragraph 24, and on page 24). This will take us to the end of Part One. Then He will apply all of this to the case of the Bab in Part Two. Why? Presumably to make sure that we are all filled with certainty when it comes to our faith.
But going back to Moses now, Baha'u'llah begins by looking at some particular descriptions. He outlines, in a sense, the story of Moses' encounter with Pharoah after He returns to Egypt. He describes Moses as being "Armed with the rod of celestial dominion, adorned with the white hand of divine knowledge, and proceeding from the Paran of the love of God, and wielding the serpent of power and everlasting majesty".
Why? Don't we already know this well enough from our religious traditions? He seems to be stating the obvious, and yet He isn't. Perhaps He is reminding us of the station of Moses. He is telling us that a Messenger of God comes armed, adorned, and proceeds from a place of love wielding power and authority.
But another thing, isn't it out of order? If He were merely trying to retell the story, then the chronological order would be the rod, the white hand, the serpent and then Paran. For remember, He visits Pharoah and shows the rod, His staff, His only companion. Then He puts His hand to His chest and shows how His hand is now glowing white, symbolic of purity and power. After this, He turns His staff into a serpent, which devours the other snakes, those symbols of idolatry. Finally He leads His people into the desert, Paran.
But here the order is different.
Perhaps instead of telling a chronological story, Baha'u'llah may be alluding to the importance of each event. Moses is alone, symbolized by the rod. He draws His power and authority from God, symbolized by the heart, from which His hand becomes white. He leads His people to the Promised Land, symbolized by their wandering through the desert. But most importantly, He cleanses the people of their idle fancies, ensuring that they worship God, and not a set of idols.
A second aspect of this is how Baha'u'llah describes each component: "celestial dominion", "divine knowledge", "the love of God", "and power and everlasting majesty". It seems to show that God rules over all, and because He rules over all, He knows all. Due to this knowledge, He loves all. And it is this love that culminates in the power and everlasting majesty. Perhaps this can also be applied to us, in our own lives. We begin by ruling over ourselves, controlling ourself and our desires. Then we get to truly know ourselves. From there, our love grows, our love for ourself, for God and for others. And it is through this love that we can best exert a positive influence upon the world.
Combining this little insight with the story, we realize that it begins with Moses alone, as it also begins with us alone, or more accurately, relying only on God. To even step on this path, we have to be "detached from all that is in heaven and on earth." At the same time, Baha'u'llah's first counsel to us is to "possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart", and this will aid us in being more detached. You see, as we all know, it is not about waiting for the first step to be perfected, but it is about simultaneously being and doing. As we learn about ourselves, we become more detached and are able to learn even more. From there, we learn more about the world and other people, and if we begin to love, unconditionally and wholeheartedly, then we will have a greater effect on bettering the world around us.
A third aspect of this sentence is the use of verbs. Moses comes "armed" and "adorned". Then He is "proceeding" forward and "wielding". Maybe it's just us, but we see that as a warrior. First he is armed, and then someone comes up and places his cape, or perhaps a medal, or some other insignia denoting his rank, on him. Then he goes forth into the battle and wields his weapon with deadly accuracy. Sort of like a Messenger of God fighting the forces of darkness. But this image is probably just due to watching too many fantasy movies.
Now Baha'u'llah continues on to what we see as the second of four parts of this paragraph: "He summoned all the peoples and kindreds of the earth to the kingdom of eternity, and invited them to partake of the fruit of the tree of faithfulness."
This is interesting, for we often think of Moses as coming only for the Jewish peoples, but here Baha'u'llah says that He summoned everyone. Like the previous Messengers mentioned in this Book, He also called the people to God. Baha'u'llah also makes a reference to a fruit of a tree. This, obviously, reminds us of the story of Eden, but instead of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is "the fruit of the tree of faithfulness".
Now we come to the third of four parts in this paragraph: "Surely you are aware of the fierce opposition of Pharaoh and his people, and of the stones of idle fancy which the hands of infidels cast upon that blessed Tree. So much so that Pharaoh and his people finally arose and exerted their utmost endeavor to extinguish with the waters of falsehood and denial the fire of that sacred Tree, oblivious of the truth that no earthly water can quench the flame of divine wisdom, nor mortal blasts extinguish the lamp of everlasting dominion. Nay, rather, such water cannot but intensify the burning of the flame, and such blasts cannot but ensure the preservation of the lamp, were ye to observe with the eye of discernment, and walk in the way of God's holy will and pleasure."
This is a story that we all are very familiar with, and while, on the surface, it doesn't appear that Baha'u'llah is telling us anything new, His focus is just a bit different. Instead of only referring to Pharaoh's opposition, He also mentions the opposition of the people. In other words, the King and his people fought the divine Messenger, and did all they could to stop His faith. They tried to put out that sacred fire, which itself is reminiscent of the burning bush, with water, unaware that their opposition did nothing but spread the fire further. Doesn't this sound like Nasiri'd-Din Shah and people trying to stop the Bab?
We could look a bit at the imagery of the fire, water and the tree, but we're not sure what else we could add here. Normally water is what helps a tree grow, but in this case, with the reference to the burning bush, it seems that it is the fire that helps it to grow. And obviously the Tree is a reference is to the Messenger of God, in this case. This image will also come up again and again. But really, Baha'u'llah seems to have said it all.
He concludes this paragraph about Moses with a story that further shows how the effects of the Messengers has grown: "How well hath a believer of the kindred of Pharaoh, whose story is recounted by the All-Glorious in His Book revealed unto His beloved One, observed: 'And a man of the family of Pharaoh who was a believer and concealed his faith said: "Will ye slay a man because he saith my Lord is God, when He hath already come to you with signs from your Lord? If he be a liar, on him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth, part of what he threateneth will fall upon you. In truth God guideth not him who is a transgressor, a liar."'[Qur'án 40:28] Finally, so great was their iniquity that this self-same believer was put to a shameful death. 'The curse of God be upon the people of tyranny.'[Qur'án 11:21]"
This seems to be the first time that someone who is not known to be a believer is put to death for speaking the truth about a Messenger. The attacks are no longer directed only against the Manifestation, or even Him and His followers, but now includes any who stand up for them. How much more would he have suffered had be known to be a follower of Moses? Again, this seems to be yet another reference to the forces at play when this Book was written. The uncle of the Bab, to whom this was written, was no doubt aware of the many deaths suffered by the Babis, or even those accused of being Babi. Perhaps this was a gentle way in which Baha'u'llah was slowly showing the greatness of the Bab's Revelation. If you follow the vector, you can see how the greatness of each subsequent Revelation surpassed that of the previous.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Paragraph 11
Later, the beauty of the countenance of the Friend of God (Abraham) appeared from behind the veil, and another standard of divine guidance was hoisted. He invited the people of the earth to the light of righteousness. The more passionately He exhorted them, the fiercer waxed the envy and waywardness of the people, except those who wholly detached themselves from all save God, and ascended on the wings of certainty to the station which God hath exalted beyond the comprehension of men. It is well known what a host of enemies besieged Him, until at last the fires of envy and rebellion were kindled against Him. And after the episode of the fire came to pass, He, the lamp of God amongst men, was, as recorded in all books and chronicles, expelled from His city.
First Noah, then Hud, Salih, and now Abraham. Here we were back on familiar ground, for neither of us grew up Muslim, and so we weren't exactly familiar with the previous two.
Baha'u'llah is pointing out, once again, that the Manifestations are veiled before Their declaration. He also, interestingly enough, refers to Abraham as the "Friend of God", a title that is His alone.
It is also here that we begin to get a better glimpse of what we, the bloggers, like to refer to as "Newton's Third Law". Ok. It's not original, but it fits. "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." The more that Abraham tried to help them follow the path of God, the greater their resistance. It's not just a simple, but strong, rejection, like it may have appeared in the earlier examples, but directly related to the degree to which Abraham "exhorted them".
We also see a new result this time: envy. People are beginning to feel discontent with Abraham's power and authority, and wish that they had it for themselves.
Why is it that Baha'u'llah seems to dwell on the problems that have arisen? Why does He only talk about the rebelliousness and discontent and envy? Perhaps because "...the more closely you observe the denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the firmer will be your faith in the Cause of God."
Now the scale to which we referred earlier is becoming clearer. With Noah, the flood wiped everything out. Hud saw the fruit of rebellion and blindness. Salih saw no fruit, which seems fairly neutral. And with Abraham, we know that some made it. The Arabs and the Jews are both His descendants, and they also have been given great promises. Baha'u'llah doesn't need to tell us this, for we already know it.
Oh, another thing we noticed, and we're sure you did, too, is how Baha'u'llah refers to the believers. He begins by pointing out how they were detached from all save God, which is almost exactly what He says in the very first sentence of this Book: "No man shall attain the shores of the ocean of true understanding except he be detached from all that is in heaven and on earth." Then He describes these followers as ascending on the "wings of certainty", and this is the Book of Certitude, so we seem to be at this step. Then He refers to them as having attained a "station which God hath exalted beyond the comprehension of men". This gives us a hint of what lies ahead. He may be referring to Abraham's followers here, but it also refers to us, by default.
Finally, the episode of fire? We weren't sure what that was, and had to look it up.
First is a metaphorical fire and then a literal one. The metaphorical one refers to the "fires of envy and rebellion". It is this fire that burns in the heart that leads to the persecutions that follow.
The literal one refers to a story from the Qur'an, and we like the way one scholar retold it: "Then Nimrod grew angry. He had a great fire built, and he ordered Abraham to be tied up and thrown into it. But the fire only burnt away the ropes, and they saw Abraham sitting peacefully among the flames. Beside him was an angel in Abraham’s likeness, comforting and protecting him."
So now we begin to see a spiritual interpretation laid over a historical story. This, too, lays the groundwork for much that is to follow.
One last point that has caught our attention is how Baha'u'llah masterfully alludes to the events of His day. The reference to Abraham "sitting peacefully among the flames" reminds us of the story of the martyrdom of the Bab. After the failed attempt at His execution, the Bab was found back in His cell, sitting peacefully, finishing His conversation. The second half of this point is the very last reference to Abraham's exile, which clearly alludes to Baha'u'llah's exile to Baghdad, where this Book was written.
First Noah, then Hud, Salih, and now Abraham. Here we were back on familiar ground, for neither of us grew up Muslim, and so we weren't exactly familiar with the previous two.
Baha'u'llah is pointing out, once again, that the Manifestations are veiled before Their declaration. He also, interestingly enough, refers to Abraham as the "Friend of God", a title that is His alone.
It is also here that we begin to get a better glimpse of what we, the bloggers, like to refer to as "Newton's Third Law". Ok. It's not original, but it fits. "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." The more that Abraham tried to help them follow the path of God, the greater their resistance. It's not just a simple, but strong, rejection, like it may have appeared in the earlier examples, but directly related to the degree to which Abraham "exhorted them".
We also see a new result this time: envy. People are beginning to feel discontent with Abraham's power and authority, and wish that they had it for themselves.
Why is it that Baha'u'llah seems to dwell on the problems that have arisen? Why does He only talk about the rebelliousness and discontent and envy? Perhaps because "...the more closely you observe the denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the firmer will be your faith in the Cause of God."
Now the scale to which we referred earlier is becoming clearer. With Noah, the flood wiped everything out. Hud saw the fruit of rebellion and blindness. Salih saw no fruit, which seems fairly neutral. And with Abraham, we know that some made it. The Arabs and the Jews are both His descendants, and they also have been given great promises. Baha'u'llah doesn't need to tell us this, for we already know it.
Oh, another thing we noticed, and we're sure you did, too, is how Baha'u'llah refers to the believers. He begins by pointing out how they were detached from all save God, which is almost exactly what He says in the very first sentence of this Book: "No man shall attain the shores of the ocean of true understanding except he be detached from all that is in heaven and on earth." Then He describes these followers as ascending on the "wings of certainty", and this is the Book of Certitude, so we seem to be at this step. Then He refers to them as having attained a "station which God hath exalted beyond the comprehension of men". This gives us a hint of what lies ahead. He may be referring to Abraham's followers here, but it also refers to us, by default.
Finally, the episode of fire? We weren't sure what that was, and had to look it up.
First is a metaphorical fire and then a literal one. The metaphorical one refers to the "fires of envy and rebellion". It is this fire that burns in the heart that leads to the persecutions that follow.
The literal one refers to a story from the Qur'an, and we like the way one scholar retold it: "Then Nimrod grew angry. He had a great fire built, and he ordered Abraham to be tied up and thrown into it. But the fire only burnt away the ropes, and they saw Abraham sitting peacefully among the flames. Beside him was an angel in Abraham’s likeness, comforting and protecting him."
So now we begin to see a spiritual interpretation laid over a historical story. This, too, lays the groundwork for much that is to follow.
One last point that has caught our attention is how Baha'u'llah masterfully alludes to the events of His day. The reference to Abraham "sitting peacefully among the flames" reminds us of the story of the martyrdom of the Bab. After the failed attempt at His execution, the Bab was found back in His cell, sitting peacefully, finishing His conversation. The second half of this point is the very last reference to Abraham's exile, which clearly alludes to Baha'u'llah's exile to Baghdad, where this Book was written.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Paragraph 10
And after Him there appeared from the Ridvan of the Eternal, the Invisible, the holy person of Salih, Who again summoned the people to the river of everlasting life. For over a hundred years He admonished them to hold fast unto the commandments of God and eschew that which is forbidden. His admonitions, however, yielded no fruit, and His pleading proved of no avail. Several times He retired and lived in seclusion. All this, although that eternal Beauty was summoning the people to no other than the city of God. Even as it is revealed: "And unto the tribe of Thamud We sent their brother Salih. 'O my people,' said He, 'Worship God, ye have none other God beside Him....' They made reply: 'O Salih, our hopes were fixed on thee until now; forbiddest thou us to worship that which our fathers worshipped? Truly we misdoubt that whereunto thou callest us as suspicious.'" [Qur'án 11:61, 62] All this proved fruitless, until at last there went up a great cry, and all fell into utter perdition.
First Noah, then Hud, now Salih. He is another of the Messengers we knew nothing about before reading this Book (oh, we heard of Noah, but not Hud).
At this point in our study, we found it (our study, not the Iqan) fairly dry, and had to wonder why. It's because this is all about rote history, which we generally find dry (except for the Dawn Breakers, which is just so cool). We had read this Book many times before, so we were well of aware of the amazing stuff coming up, but when we began to really pull it apart and look at it, we found ourselves beginning to get stuck at this point.
And we fear that may be the same for you, dear Reader, when reading our blog. All we can say is, "Take heart. We're with you, there." It was only on this latest reading (and in fact, even after the latest reading and during our consultation on writing this blog) that we began to see a greater pattern at play here. We would have mentioned it earlier, but two steps is a bit difficult to show a pattern. Here on the third, it's a bit more obvious. We're working our way patiently towards paragraph 24, as that seems to be when everything really starts moving.
But we get ahead of ourselves. Let's go back to the Text and take this in order.
The first thing that caught our attention was the references to rivers in the first sentence. He speaks of Him coming from "the Ridvan of the Eternal". From later in Baha'i history, we can see the loose connection to the Garden of Ridvan, which was on an island in the middle of the river. Right after that, Baha'u'llah speaks of "the river of everlasting life".
These two references to rivers reminded us that rivers, like the ocean, are made up of water. One is fresh, the other salty, but both are water and they are teeming with life. The river, also, flows down into the ocean and lends it its strength. Could this be another allusion to attaining "the shores of the ocean of true understanding"? Perhaps we can get to the ocean by sailing down the river, so to speak, instead of walking to the beach.
Following this, we noticed that what Salih did was basically the same as both Noah and Hud: He tried to get the people to live good and noble lives.
But, similar to Hud, His work "yielded no fruit".
And it was here that we began to notice this pattern we spoke of earlier. The fruit of Noah was, in a sense, the flood. Aside from His followers, not a single dweller was left upon the land (to paraphrase what Baha'u'llah wrote, only because it was too difficult for us to figure out how to quote that and still have it make sense gramatically).
The fruit of Hud was "increased rebelliousness" and "the willful blindness of His people". Not good, but at least they were still alive (except for those who died during the storm).
Salih's teachings "yielded no fruit", which, in a way, is an improvement over the fruit of rebelliousness and blindness.
Can you see how this is beginning to show some sort of a progressive pattern? An improvement? If not, don't worry. This pattern will only become more obvious in the next few paragraphs (oh, the joy of knowing what comes next).
Now that this pattern is briefly (or barely) hinted at, Baha'u'llah immediately mentions Salih's retirement and seclusion. No matter which Messenger we follow, we know They did this, too. Whether it is Moses' or Jesus' retirement in the desert, or Muhammad on the mountain, or even Baha'u'llah in Sulaymaniyyih, we recognize that going away for a little while to commune with God privately is something that the Manifestations just seem to do. And so we see another thing that They all have in common, which can help us recognize a Messenger of God.
Finally, Baha'u'llah tells us the reason why they denied Salih. First, they acknowledged His greatness, by saying that their hopes were being set upon Him. But then the unbelievers cried out, "...forbiddest thou us to worship that which our fathers worshipped?" This is where they denied Him. He asked them to turn away from the idols they had been worshipping for generations, and instead turn towards God. Even though they really held Him in high esteem, they were not willing listen to Him and turn away from tradition.
This is the first hint of Baha'u'llah's condemnation of blind followers. Much later, in paragraph 81 (how's this for foreshadowing), Baha'u'llah says that it is these people who blindly imitate their fathers who "become so veiled that without the least question, they pronounce the Manifestation of God an infidel, and sentence Him to death."
First Noah, then Hud, now Salih. He is another of the Messengers we knew nothing about before reading this Book (oh, we heard of Noah, but not Hud).
At this point in our study, we found it (our study, not the Iqan) fairly dry, and had to wonder why. It's because this is all about rote history, which we generally find dry (except for the Dawn Breakers, which is just so cool). We had read this Book many times before, so we were well of aware of the amazing stuff coming up, but when we began to really pull it apart and look at it, we found ourselves beginning to get stuck at this point.
And we fear that may be the same for you, dear Reader, when reading our blog. All we can say is, "Take heart. We're with you, there." It was only on this latest reading (and in fact, even after the latest reading and during our consultation on writing this blog) that we began to see a greater pattern at play here. We would have mentioned it earlier, but two steps is a bit difficult to show a pattern. Here on the third, it's a bit more obvious. We're working our way patiently towards paragraph 24, as that seems to be when everything really starts moving.
But we get ahead of ourselves. Let's go back to the Text and take this in order.
The first thing that caught our attention was the references to rivers in the first sentence. He speaks of Him coming from "the Ridvan of the Eternal". From later in Baha'i history, we can see the loose connection to the Garden of Ridvan, which was on an island in the middle of the river. Right after that, Baha'u'llah speaks of "the river of everlasting life".
These two references to rivers reminded us that rivers, like the ocean, are made up of water. One is fresh, the other salty, but both are water and they are teeming with life. The river, also, flows down into the ocean and lends it its strength. Could this be another allusion to attaining "the shores of the ocean of true understanding"? Perhaps we can get to the ocean by sailing down the river, so to speak, instead of walking to the beach.
Following this, we noticed that what Salih did was basically the same as both Noah and Hud: He tried to get the people to live good and noble lives.
But, similar to Hud, His work "yielded no fruit".
And it was here that we began to notice this pattern we spoke of earlier. The fruit of Noah was, in a sense, the flood. Aside from His followers, not a single dweller was left upon the land (to paraphrase what Baha'u'llah wrote, only because it was too difficult for us to figure out how to quote that and still have it make sense gramatically).
The fruit of Hud was "increased rebelliousness" and "the willful blindness of His people". Not good, but at least they were still alive (except for those who died during the storm).
Salih's teachings "yielded no fruit", which, in a way, is an improvement over the fruit of rebelliousness and blindness.
Can you see how this is beginning to show some sort of a progressive pattern? An improvement? If not, don't worry. This pattern will only become more obvious in the next few paragraphs (oh, the joy of knowing what comes next).
Now that this pattern is briefly (or barely) hinted at, Baha'u'llah immediately mentions Salih's retirement and seclusion. No matter which Messenger we follow, we know They did this, too. Whether it is Moses' or Jesus' retirement in the desert, or Muhammad on the mountain, or even Baha'u'llah in Sulaymaniyyih, we recognize that going away for a little while to commune with God privately is something that the Manifestations just seem to do. And so we see another thing that They all have in common, which can help us recognize a Messenger of God.
Finally, Baha'u'llah tells us the reason why they denied Salih. First, they acknowledged His greatness, by saying that their hopes were being set upon Him. But then the unbelievers cried out, "...forbiddest thou us to worship that which our fathers worshipped?" This is where they denied Him. He asked them to turn away from the idols they had been worshipping for generations, and instead turn towards God. Even though they really held Him in high esteem, they were not willing listen to Him and turn away from tradition.
This is the first hint of Baha'u'llah's condemnation of blind followers. Much later, in paragraph 81 (how's this for foreshadowing), Baha'u'llah says that it is these people who blindly imitate their fathers who "become so veiled that without the least question, they pronounce the Manifestation of God an infidel, and sentence Him to death."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
