Paragraph 20

Every discerning observer will recognize that in the Dispensation of the Qur'án both the Book and the Cause of Jesus were confirmed. As to the matter of names, Muhammad, Himself, declared: "I am Jesus." He recognized the truth of the signs, prophecies, and words of Jesus, and testified that they were all of God. In this sense, neither the person of Jesus nor His writings hath differed from that of Muhammad and of His holy Book, inasmuch as both have championed the Cause of God, uttered His praise, and revealed His commandments. Thus it is that Jesus, Himself, declared: "I go away and come again unto you." Consider the sun. Were it to say now, "I am the sun of yesterday," it would speak the truth. And should it, bearing the sequence of time in mind, claim to be other than that sun, it still would speak the truth. In like manner, if it be said that all the days are but one and the same, it is correct and true. And if it be said, with respect to their particular names and designations, that they differ, that again is true. For though they are the same, yet one doth recognize in each a separate designation, a specific attribute, a particular character. Conceive accordingly the distinction, variation, and unity characteristic of the various Manifestations of holiness, that thou mayest comprehend the allusions made by the creator of all names and attributes to the mysteries of distinction and unity, and discover the answer to thy question as to why that everlasting Beauty should have, at sundry times, called Himself by different names and titles.

We see this paragraph as being in two parts. In the first part, Baha'u'llah shows by quoting Them, that Muhammad and Jesus are both Messengers of God, and that They both proclaimed God's message. In the second part, beginning with the sentence, "Consider the sun", He then gives us a metaphor by which we can better understand this truth of Their unity.

As we have alluded to earlier, the reader, in this case the uncle of the Bab, recognized that the prophecies of Jesus were fulfilled in Muhammad. Throughout the previous paragraphs in this book, Baha'u'llah has consistently shown us what the Messengers all have in common. Now, for the first time, He is beginning to explain why we see Them as different.

Then He does something even more wonderful: He gives us an analogy of this truth that we can easily understand and share with others. This is the point that will stick with the reader for the rest of the book. Whenever we get a bit confused about where this is all going, we can easily recall this metaphor.

In our teaching work, for this book is supposed to be a guide for how we are to teach, we can remember the importance of giving simple analogies, usually based on nature, that are easy to understand and accept. This is something that the Master continually did. It is interesting to observe, when reading books like Promulgation of Universal Peace, how often 'Abdu'l-Baha would refer to a physical object in the room that His audience could look at. "This flower, so beautiful, fresh, fragrant and delicately scented", or "The incandescent lamps here are many, yet the light is one."

Looking at this metaphor again, there is an interesting aspect of perspective here. If we consider the viewpoint of the sun, the whole concept of days would just be absurd. The rotation of the earth has absolutely no effect whatsoever on the sun. The sun just shines. From the point of view of those of us on the earth, however, there are times when we don't even see the shining of the sun. There are times when its light cannot reach us.

Paragraph 19

To them that are endowed with understanding, it is clear and manifest that when the fire of the love of Jesus consumed the veils of Jewish limitations, and His authority was made apparent and partially enforced, He the Revealer of the unseen Beauty, addressing one day His disciples, referred unto His passing, and, kindling in their hearts the fire of bereavement, said unto them: "I go away and come again unto you." And in another place He said: "I go and another will come Who will tell you all that I have not told you, and will fulfill all that I have said." Both these sayings have but one meaning, were you to ponder upon the Manifestations of the Unity of God with divine insight.

With this paragraph, Baha'u'llah is really moving into His main argument in Part One of this Book. He has already established the lineage of Messengers we acknowledge, and shown us what They have in common.

Now He is beginning to show another common point They have, which the reader will already acknowledge, namely that They have promised another Messenger to come. At the same time, He reminds us that we are "endowed with understanding", and that this is praiseworthy. Endowed, just to remind us, means to furnish or to bestow with talent. This, obviously, comes from God.

Also, if this is the model by which we are to teach the Faith, then we feel there is a lesson here. At no point does Baha'u'llah hint that what the reader believes is wrong. He shows the reader what he already knows, agreeing all the way. Step by step He carefully strips away any veils and shows what is truly important. He puts it all into a logical order so that each step makes a clear sense.

Just what is it He is pointing out? He is reminding us that all the Messengers have promised another Messenger to follow. But in doing so, Baha'u'llah also shows us more about Jesus and His life. He first points out that it was the "fire of the love of Jesus" that burned away the veils. It was neither His teachings nor His arguments. It was His love.

It reminds us of the story of 'Abdu'l-Baha in which the first pilgrims from the West were with Him, and they were to go to Mount Carmel for a meeting. But, unfortunately, May Maxwell was ill, and 'Abdu'l-Baha said that they would not have the meeting that day. He said that they could not leave behind one of the beloved of the Lord, for "We could none of us be happy unless all the beloved were happy." This concern, this love for each one of them was so characteristic of Him. As May writes, "It was so contrary to all ordinary habits of thought and action, so different from the life of the world where daily events and material circumstances are supreme in importance that it gave us a genuine shock of surprise, and in the shock the foundations of the old order began to totter and fall." This was one instance in which the Master gave the friends a vision "of that infinite world whose only law is love".

Getting back to Jesus, once that was done and His station, or authority, was proven, Jesus then began the work of preparing His disciples for His passing. It makes sense, of course, for if His station were not established then the "fire of bereavement" would not be as intense.

There is such a close tie between this fire of love and the fire of bereavement that we felt it worth mentioning. The greater the love, the greater the grief. It is like when Baha'u'llah says in The Seven Valleys that the steed of the Valley of Love is pain.

But here, in this paragraph, the two quotes that Baha'u'llah put here are well-known to the reader, and the Uncle of the Bab, to whom this was addressed, no doubt recognized them as referring to Muhammad. But remember, Baha'u'llah has already been demonstrating the similarities between the Messengers. Jesus' promises fulfilled in Muhammad becomes the template by which the Bab fulfills the promises of Muhammad.

We find it interesting that Baha'u'llah uses the term "the Revealer of the unseen Beauty" when referring to Jesus. Why? What does this term mean? As usual, we're not sure, but we think of it in a couple of different ways. First, Baha'u'llah mentions that the the fire of Jesus' love burned away some veils. Veils obscure our vision. By burning away these veils, we were better able to see God and the world around us. Jesus revealed this beauty to our eyes. He also revealed the beauty of His own Self.

Paragraph 18

In unfolding these mysteries, We have, in Our former Tablets which were addressed to a friend in the melodious language of Hijaz, cited a few of the verses revealed unto the Prophets of old. And now, responding to your request, We again shall cite, in these pages, those same verses, uttered this time in the wondrous accents of Iraq, that haply the sore athirst in the wilds of remoteness may attain unto the ocean of the divine presence, and they that languish in the wastes of separation be led unto the home of eternal reunion. Thus the mists of error may be dispelled, and the all-resplendent light of divine guidance dawn forth above the horizon of human hearts. In God We put Our trust, and to Him We cry for help, that haply there may flow from this pen that which shall quicken the souls of men, that they may all arise from their beds of heedlessness and hearken unto the rustling of the leaves of Paradise, from the tree which the hand of divine power hath, by the permission of God, planted in the Ridvan of the All-Glorious.

This is a transitional paragraph, leading us into the whole idea of the Eternal Covenant.

He begins, as you can tell, by referring to Gems of Divine Mysteries, and what He wrote there. That book, in our own opinon, is sort of like a spiritual cross between The Seven Valleys and this Book. Here, in the Iqan, He has taken some of the themes he introduced in Gems and expounds further upon them here.

But there seems to be another aspect to this, too. He is taking what was revealed in Gems in Arabic and is now reiterating them here in Persian. Why do you think this would be?

We feel that this is a reminder of the importance of our mother tongue. When we hear the Words of God in our mother tongue, it seems to touch our heart even deeper than if we hear it in a language we learned later in life, or one that we don't even speak. Perhaps Baha'u'llah is offering a model of behaviour for us. We need to be ever-mindful of the importance of touching people's hearts in any we can.

It also seems as if, up to this point, one could argue that every Messenger came for a particular people. But here, Baha'u'llah is far more inclusive. He doesn't just reveal the verses in a single language, but goes out of His way to include many tongues.

As we were talking about this, it reminded us of how each language offers a different perspective on the world, in a similar way that different musical instruments can offer a different perspective on a piece of music. If you have ever heard a full symphonic version of "Ode to Joy", and then heard someone play it on the guitar, you will know what we mean. While it is not necessarily the case that one version is better, they are still very different and each offer something new to the listener. And then, if you are familiar with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, you will really understand what we mean when you hear it played on the ukelele. Wow. Talk about a different perspective that is still quite wonderful. (Oh, and we linked both of those references to videos, just in case you're interested.)

In this paragraph, Baha'u'llah, once again, gives us some marvellous imagery to really sink our spiritual teeth into (hmm, that seems too violent a metaphor, but you know what we mean).

In the first couplet, "the wilds of remoteness" and "the ocean of divine presence", we are reminded of the very first paragraph. But you knew we were going to mention that, didn't you? It seems that we now have a bit of an image of where we were before we actually got down to "the shores of the ocean of true understanding". Before we got to those marvelous shores, we were in the wilds of remoteness.

He also gives us this image of moving from the "wastes of separation" to the "home of eternal reunion". This is so comforting. We all can relate to the idea of being lost in a dessert, distant from that we which we love. And here, Baha'u'llah is warmly welcoming us back home.

In the third, He seems to indicate how this is done. We have been wandering in the "mists of error" and He has shone the "light of divine guidance". We all know how easy it is to get lost when the mists are out, and what a relief it is when we see the light guiding us home again.

This reminds us of the story of Aqa Rida, who was one of Baha'u'llah's companions in His exiles. When they were on their way to Baghdad, Aqa Rida lost his way one night. He had fallen asleep and not woken in time to see where the caravan had gone. Anxious and afraid, he wandered around looking for some sign of His Lord. Suddenly, in the distance, he saw a glowing light and rushed towards it. It was the fire in the brazier of the tea-maker, Aqa Muahmmad-Baqir. It was this light that had led him back to Baha'u'llah.

Like Aqa Rida, we, too, are fast asleep, but we are on our "beds of heedlessness". And, like Aqa Rida, we require other people to show us the light and lead us on our way.

We know that the "mists of error" have arisen from human misunderstandings, and that these mists, like the mists over the ocean, dissipate with the warmth of the morning sun. For us, today, we have the duty to be those human hearts on the horizon who are showing the light to others, and turning their attention to the "rustling of the leaves of Paradise", which grow on the tree "planted in the Ridvan of the All-Glorious". And with this Book, Baha'u'llah is giving us an example of how we can show this light to others, without blinding them.

(You'll note that we even refrained from mentioning that "haply" is mentioned twice in this paragraph. Wasn't that good of us?)

Paragraph 17

And when the days of Moses were ended, and the light of Jesus, shining forth from the dayspring of the Spirit, encompassed the world, all the people of Israel arose in protest against Him. They clamoured that He Whose advent the Bible had foretold must needs promulgate and fulfil the laws of Moses, whereas this youthful Nazarene, who laid claim to the station of the divine Messiah, had annulled the law of divorce and of the sabbath day -- the most weighty of all the laws of Moses. Moreover, what of the signs of the Manifestation yet to come? These people of Israel are even unto the present day still expecting that Manifestation which the Bible hath foretold! How many Manifestations of Holiness, how many Revealers of the light everlasting, have appeared since the time of Moses, and yet Israel, wrapt in the densest veils of satanic fancy and false imaginings, is still expectant that the idol of her own handiwork will appear with such signs as she herself hath conceived! Thus hath God laid hold of them for their sins, hath extinguished in them the spirit of faith, and tormented them with the flames of the nethermost fire. And this for no other reason except that Israel refused to apprehend the meaning of such words as have been revealed in the Bible concerning the signs of the coming Revelation. As she never grasped their true significance, and, to outward seeming, such events never came to pass, she, therefore, remained deprived of recognizing the beauty of Jesus and of beholding the face of God. And they still await His coming! From time immemorial even unto this day, all the kindreds and peoples of the earth have clung to such fanciful and unseemly thoughts, and thus have deprived themselves of the clear waters streaming from the springs of purity and holiness.

Now He turns His attention from Moses to Jesus, and His advent. As this is the last step, if you will, before Muhammad, it makes sense that Baha'u'llah would spend a significant portion of this book looking at His prophecies. Of course, by doing so, He also shows how the same pattern applies to the Bab, but that's for later. Right now, He is still pointing out the pattern of how people react to the Manifestation of God.

Once again, He demonstrates that the persecutions were even greater than before. "All the people of Israel arose", not just the leaders. If you're curious why this would be, we just need to look back at paragraph 14 for an explanation.

But here, for us, there are only a few points that we want to look at, and we'll do them one at a time.
First, there is the reference to the law of the Sabbath. It's interesting, for while Jesus seemed to annul it, what he actually did was shift the focus from the literal, and possibly stifling, interpretation of "don't work" to the more important aspect of "keep holy". This was at a time when there were many kinds of work that were forbidden, all based on some scholars' interpretation of what constituted work. This included things like lighting a fire and helping your neighbour in an emergency. And the penalty for violating this interpretation was death. Pretty stiff, if you ask us.

The second point is regarding the phrase "How many Manifestations... have appeared since the time of Moses..." It seems to be a rhetorical question, but the tendency would have been to answer two, and yet there was at least a third. Could this be another glimmer of a hint of moving the reader towards recognizing the Bab? We're just curious.

The third point concerns the idol, which is referred to as a manifestation of their own pride. 'Abdu'l-Baha goes on at length about this in many of His talks and writings, so we don't feel we need to. If you want to read more about this, you can just look at Selections From the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, pages 44 - 46.

The fourth point we find a bit more significant, or of more depth that we can grasp. It is interesting that God "extinguished in them the spirit of faith... for no other reason than that (they) refused to apprehend the meaning" of the words. They didn't merely "not apprehend" (hmm, the odd use of a double negative here sure seems to read weird, but we're sure you know what we mean); they "refused to apprehend". This is self-imposed ignorance, and that may be why they were punished. It was their conscious choice. This could be, we think, a cautious warning to the seeker, but we're not really sure.

The fifth point concerns the phrase "the flames of the nethermost fire", and the obvious reference to Hell. But we're not going to talk it about yet, as it becomes more relevant in paragraph 19.

Finally, we were struck by the last sentence. "From time immemorial even unto this day..." This is the same pattern that all people are following. It is as if it has spread from a small group to all humanity. It seems to be contagious.

Paragraph 16

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.

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.

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.