A Seed of Justice

It is said by some that everything in the Baha'i teachings is found in its seed form in the Hidden Words.

Well, that sounds kind of neat, but I wonder if it's true. After all, the preamble begins: "This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old."

He doesn't say that it's the beginning of what's to come, but instead that which was given to those "Prophets of old".

Ok. Fair enough. But given that I have read in so many other places that the Hidden Words contain the nascent beginnings of all the teachings of the Faith, I've decided to look into it for myself. The easy way to do this, of course, is to look at some teaching and then see if I can find a Hidden Word that begins to discuss it. Well, not too difficult, that. Most of the teachings I've done this with have proven this to be true so far.

But just the other day I decided to try this in reverse.

I was reading the Hidden Words, as I am wont to do, and decided to ask myself, "Self", I said, "what teaching arises from this particular Hidden Word?"

You see, rather than working backwards to try and find some starting point, I decided to look at the starting point and work forwards. It was an interesting exercise.

The Hidden Word that I was reading that particular morning was the second one in the Arabic: "O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes."

As I was reading, the thought just occurred to me, what if I read it as if He were talking about the Universal House of Justice?

And this is what came out:

O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is the Universal House of Justice. Don't turn away from them if you desire Me. And do not neglect it, so that I may confide in you.

By the aid of the Universal House of Justice, you will see with your own eyes, and not through anyone elses. With their aid, you will be able to know through your own knowledge, and not settle for those things that your neighbours believe.

Ponder this in your heart, and think about your own responsibilities in life. Really think about it, deeply. This is your responsibility.

Verily, the Universal House of Justice is My gift to you. They are the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it before your eyes.