This morning we were reading Hour of Dawn, by Mary Perkins, and we are at the point where the Bab has just arrived in Tabriz for the first time. He is staying in a house with two guards stationed outside to keep everybody away. Nevertheless, despite being told that they would forfeit all their possessions, as well as be imprisoned for the rest of their lives, there are still some Babis who chose to try and meet Him. One of them was Haji Ali-Askar.
He and another Babi went to the house where the Bab was staying, and the guards promptly moved forward to arrest them. At that moment, though, Siyyid Hasan, one of the Bab's companions, came out and said that the Bab had the following message: "Suffer these visitors to enter, inasmuch as I Myself have invited them to meet Me."
When they went inside the Bab told them, "These miserable wretches who watch at the gate of My house have been destined by Me as a protection against the inrush of the multitude who throng around the house. They are powerless to prevent those whom I desire to meet from attaining My presence."
When I asked my son what stood out to him from the story this morning, it was this small part. We had read about 10 pages, but it was this part, in particular, that caught his attention.
"Why?" I wondered.
"I am just amazed," he said, "that despite the warnings and threats, so many people wanted to see Him."
And so, while we awaited his school bus, we talked about this.
Why did the people want to see the Bab? And why was He so eager to keep them away?
We were only able to come up with three reasons why people wanted to see Him. First, there were the Babis who recognized Him as the Promised One and would do or risk anything to be in His presence. Second, there were the sight-seers. These are the ones who merely wanted to see what the big deal was. The third group would be those who were investigating His claims.
When we divided the people into these three categories, the need for guards suddenly made more sense.
The first group, He would be happy to see, but possibly only if they made the effort. Otherwise, they had already recognized. They could be satisfied with His writings and go out and teach.
The second group He would probably have no desire to see. After all, they would likely be just as interested in seeing a two-headed chicken. And given the probable numbers in that group, it is no wonder that He had guards to keep them away.
As for the third group, if they truly wanted to investigate His claims, they would do better to start by asking His followers or read His writings. They should do the research instead of bothering Him.
And it is because of this third group that we saw relevance to our lives today.
When we have questions, we should do the groundwork first.
As Baha'is, we have the right to ask whatever we want of the Universal House of Justice. But does that mean we should? Of course not. We should begin by researching the question ourselves. Part of that research could include asking other Baha'is, or perhaps even asking for guidance from our local Assembly or an auxiliary Board member. If we do not find satisfaction, perhaps we may go to either the regional level, or even ask our National Assembly. Only when we have exhausted all other avenues of research, and if we feel that the question is important enough, should we even begin to think about taking the time of the Universal House of Justice. Now, of course, this is only my own personal opinion, but when I think of all that they have to do, I would not want to waste a single moment of their precious time.
There have been many times in my life where I have had questions about the Faith. I have looked in the writings. I have asked people. And when I post a question on-line, I am often astonished at how quickly and readily people suggest writing the House of Justice.
As my son and I talked about this today, I could see his puzzlement as to why this would be so quick a response. He, too, seems to have an inkling as to the amount of work they do.
And after we talked about it, he said he could now understand why the Bab had allowed the guards to be outside His door. And why some few were still allowed to see Him anyways.
Hi Mead!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your thoughtful discussion of possible applications to the readings with your son.
You may be interested in the quotes at https://bahai9.com/wiki/Communication#Communicating_with_the_institutions which I think agree with your interpretation of preferred channels of communication within the Bahá'í Administration today.
Regarding a hesitancy to contact the institutions, as per the first quote there (par. 53 of the Aqdas), Bahá'u'lláh Himself did mention to refer to (the representative authority of) God upon differences arising in any matter, so in the case of differences at least, it seems actually incumbent on us to bring the question to their attention. However, as you suggest, it is asked to be through the proper channels which suggest first checking with the writings, other knowledgeable believers, and then going through the Local Assembly or possibly the Convention delegate).
Perhaps you may also be interested in some quotes calling for moderation in not bothering the Manifestations with unnecessary questions: https://bahai9.com/wiki/Respect_or_preference_to_the_Manifestations_of_God mentions a need . Given your study coming out of a study of the history, the latter also may be of interest given its listing of Qur'anic references speaking to not disturbing the Prophet with idle talk...
While there were streams of visitors to Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, often to the point of exhaustion, as I recall reading, there are instances of Their refusing an audience with some officials or other who were known to have nefarious motives.
This is a wonderfully intriguing line of thought, and one which, even on the face of it, is not trivial by any means ... for each situation an individual faces when a question arises, a conundrum develops, or an idea or thought is incomplete, there are a plethora of resources, written, human, and institutional, to which we all can turn for an answer, a resolution or an elucidation, before even considering a communication directly with the Universal House of Justice. I would also suggest referring to "The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice" and "The Institution of the Counsellors", both of which are extremely illuminating, especially for those who have yet to peruse them, and to learn more about the "rulers" and the "learned."
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