Paragraph 182

And yet, through the mystery of the former verse, they have turned away from the grace promised by the latter, despite the fact that “attainment unto the divine Presence” in the “Day of Resurrection” is explicitly stated in the Book. It hath been demonstrated and definitely established, through clear evidences, that by “Resurrection” is meant the rise of the Manifestation of God to proclaim His Cause, and by “attainment unto the divine Presence” is meant attainment unto the presence of His Beauty in the person of His Manifestation. For verily, “No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision.” Notwithstanding all these indubitable facts and lucid statements, they have foolishly clung to the term “seal,” and remained utterly deprived of the recognition of Him Who is the Revealer of both the Seal and the Beginning, in the day of His presence. “If God should chastise men for their perverse doings, He would not leave upon the earth a moving thing! But to an appointed time doth He respite them.” But apart from all these things, had this people attained unto a drop of the crystal streams flowing from the words: “God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth,” they would not have raised any unseemly cavils, such as these, against the focal Center of His Revelation. The Cause of God, all deeds and words, are held within the grasp of His power. “All things lie imprisoned within the hollow of His mighty Hand; all things are easy and possible unto Him.” He accomplisheth whatsoever He willeth, and doeth all that He desireth. “Whoso sayeth ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’ hath spoken blasphemy!” Were these people to shake off the slumber of negligence and realize that which their hands have wrought, they would surely perish, and would of their own accord cast themselves into fire—their end and real abode. Have they not heard that which He hath revealed: “He shall not be asked of His doings”? In the light of these utterances, how can man be so bold as to question Him, and busy himself with idle sayings?

 

Paragraph 22 of the thirty paragraphs that look at the station of "pure abstraction and essential unity", the first of the two stations of the Manifestations of God. You probably notice by now that we are repeating at the beginning of each article where we are. We find that this constant reminder really helps us keep track of where Baha'u'llah is in His argument.

Baha'u'llah does this, too, in a sense. He regularly reminds the uncle of what He has previously said, showing the major plot points, if you will, so that the uncle does not get lost in his journey toward certitude.

If we are to try and follow His methods in teaching the Faith to others, this is surely a great lesson for us.

To summarize the paragraph, He begins by referencing the quotes He just used. The "former verse"? The one referring to "the Seal of the Prophets", and the mystery contained therein. The "latter" verse? "Attainment unto the divine Presence". He then reminds us, through the uncle, that He's already given us an explanation of "Resurrection", and how this "divine Presence" refers to meeting the Manifestation of God, mainly because God is just way too big, too grand, too whatever. But, of course, people cling to what they know, and He refers to them as foolish for not going further. But just in case we want to judge them harshly for this, He reminds us we've made foolish mistakes, too. So don't go climbing on any high horse.

There is a question, though, for us. This "attainment unto the divine Presence"? What exactly does that mean? Of course it means the actual physical presence, we know that. He told us so many times. But does that mean that grumpy, old uncle Joe who happened to pass Him on the street received this incredible "grace"? We don't think so. Seeing Him was likely not enough. We think it is conditional upon recognition. How often have we dreamed of living in the time of the Manifestation we follow? How often have we heard people claim that of course they would recognize Him? The truth is if we were honest with ourselves, we likely would not have recognized Him in His lifetime. That is a bounty accorded very few. But if we were to be granted that bounty, then can we even begin to imagine being in His presence? Can we even begin to imagine the awe and wonder we might feel? How many of us spontaneously fell to our knees on Pilgrimage, either at His Shrine or before His photograph? How much more would we react in His actual presence?

Ok, that aside, He now gets to the heart of this matter: "God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth". We first see this back at the very beginning of Part 2, and only now, nearly 80 paragraphs later, does He expound on it. We've seen hints of it previously, starting at the very beginning of the book when we are told to be "detached from all that is in heaven and on earth", and put our "trust in God, and, holding fast unto Him, follow in His way."

Remember when suggested to go back to the beginning of this book and re-read it looking for indications of the essential oneness and absolute unity of the Messengers? You can do the same with this quote and you will discover that it reads very differently when you begin looking for those signs that He does what He wants.

But let's be honest. This is what people don't seem to understand. They want God to do what they want, rather than following what He wants. If they understood this, they would not have raised their voices in protest.

It is important to note, though, in the statement about “Whoso sayeth ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’ hath spoken blasphemy!”, the "why" is asked in protest, as in "Why did you do that? It's not what I want." This is not the same as asking "why" to gain a better understanding. The former is childish and treats God as subservient, while the latter is asking in a state of search. Even in so great a book as the Kitab-i-Aqdas, He says we are "free to ask what you need to ask, but not such idle questions as those on which the men of former times were wont to dwell."

Finally, at least for this paragraph, we have one last point to consider. You have likely noticed how often Baha'u'llah tells us to ponder, meditate, or consider. You probably are aware of how many times He gives us seemingly rhetorical questions to think about. As long as we are going back to the beginning of the book to look for these different trends, such as the essential unity or how He does what He wants, try answering every one of the questions with that latter concept.

"What could have been the reason", He asks in paragraph 8, "for such denial and avoidance on their part?" Because God does what He wants, and we generally don't like that.

"What could have induced them", He continues, "to refuse to put off the garment of denial, and to adorn themselves with the robe of acceptance?" Because God does what He wants, and we generally don't like that.

This quote, this concept, seems to be the answer to almost all of the questions He has asked.

In addition, this quote, "God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth,” has been referred to as the greatest challenge in any dispensation.