Paragraph 166

Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant, cause the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will traverse the seventy-year stages in a single moment. Could this gold be called copper? Could it be claimed that it hath not attained the state of gold, whilst the touchstone is at hand to assay it and distinguish it from copper?

 

This is the sixth of thirty paragraphs looking at the first of the two stations of the Manifestations of God, that of "pure abstraction and essential unity", and the third of four paragraphs that talk about that miraculous elixir.

We begin, of course, with the reminder of the previous paragraph. We don't think He is talking about the alchemical transformation of stones from one substance to another, but rather that He is referring to the transformation of the soul that occurs when one encounters the divine. He does, after all, refer back to this "seventy-year" concept, which is the average life of a person. So we can imagine the wisdom that can come with age, and understand how a spiritual encounter of this nature could lead us quickly to this same wisdom.

But there is also the question of what is a touchstone? Fortunately one of us has experience as a jeweler. A touchstone is a piece of fine-grained dark stone formerly used for testing alloys of gold by observing the color of the mark which they made on it. Today, though, it is a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized. In other words, the touchstone is the ultimate test by which we judge something.

Baha'u'llah, in this paragraph, asks the question, "Could this gold be called copper?"  While it seems like it might be a rhetorical question, is it? We don't think so. In fact, it seems to be a reminder that people can change.  After all, if the copper is tested and found to be gold, then it is gold. There really isn't a question about it. If the test has been done to verify its composition, then the reality is that it is now gold.

Looking at the concept of understanding this as people, we can look at St Paul. He was a really unlikable person who was persecuting Christians at the time. Then he had this encounter with the Spirit of Jesus on the road to Damascus and was transformed from this awful individual to one who was later recognized as a saint. He had, in a sense, gone from copper to gold. The challenge, of course, was for the early Christians who knew him as their persecutor to recognize him for who he had become. Could he still be called copper? No, for the tests of the day proved him to be golden in character.

But what are these tests? What is the touchstone for character? For that we need to go back to paragraph 89:

"Our Cause is sorely trying, highly perplexing; none can bear it except a favorite of heaven, or an inspired Prophet, or he whose faith God hath tested.” These leaders of religion admit that none of these three specified conditions is applicable to them. The first two conditions are manifestly beyond their reach; as to the third, it is evident that at no time have they been proof against those tests that have been sent by God, and that when the divine Touchstone appeared, they have shown themselves to be naught but dross.

He seems to be saying that the Messenger Himself is the touchstone. But if we look way back to paragraph 8, where He asks for what reason the promises of Noah were not fulfilled, we find the following:

Meditate profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed unto you, that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and imperishable fragrance, and that you may acknowledge the truth that from time immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried, and will continue to try, His servants, so that light may be distinguished from darkness, truth from falsehood, right from wrong, guidance from error, happiness from misery, and roses from thorns.

In fact, all throughout Part 1 we see constant reference to the various tests that the followers of different faiths underwent. Whether it was the fact of Moses committing murder, or Muhammad changing the direction of the Qiblih, it was always done to test the people for their sincerity of belief.

In other words, were they actually turned into gold, or were they still copper.