Testing, Testing...

We love to test people.

There seems to be something in the human makeup that just loves to put things and people to the test, to see whether or not they will satisfy our own criteria, whatever that may be. One of my favorite passages in the book Illusions is when the author is told to see if there is a God, or if the universe is somehow responding to him. He decides to test it by asking for a blue feather. "If there is a God", he seems to say, "then let Him put a blue feather in my path." Shortly after that a truck drives by with a blue feather for its logo. He argues "That doesn't count", but the main character, who told him to try this, says, "But it's a blue feather. You didn't specify that it had to be an actual feather from a real bird."

For some reason, this stuck with me, and I see that sort of "argument" all the time. "Well sure, but that answer doesn't really count." And instead of accepting the answer, recognizing that not all answers come as we may expect, they go on, in this unending loop, to continue to test and try God, or whatever.

A similar thing happened to the Bab. Many people wanted to test or try Him. One example is the man who said that he thought that if the Bab was a true Manifestation, He would look at him. And as soon as he thought that, the Bab did. Then there were those who decided to keep a question hidden to see if the Bab would answer it. Time and again the Bab "passed" these tests, and many became Babis just because of that. Others, however, tested Him but not declare their faith.

One example is the prince who was the governor of Urumiyyih. Now, to be fair, he wasn't really testing to see if the Bab was a Manifestation, he was only testing His courage. But still.

This Prince knew that the Bab was going to go to the public baths while He was staying in that city. And so, being "generous", he offered to let the Bab ride one of his horses to the bath. Now this particular horse was wild and dangerous. Nobody had yet been able to tame it or ride it. In fact, even trying to get on this horse could be a dangerous thing.

The Prince's groom was concerned, and warned the Bab not to ride it. The Bab, however, merely told him, "Fear not. Do as you have been bidden and commit Us to the care of the Almighty." This, of course, was His standard reply. Don't worry about Me, He would always say. I'm in God's hands.

And so the Bab walked through the crowded square, in full view of the throngs who knew of the Prince's plans and wanted to see what would happen. As He approached the horse, He took hold of the bridle and gently caressed it. The horse, to everyone's surprise, stood perfectly still as the Bab mounted him. He then took the Bab calmly to the baths, while the Prince walked beside them.

The crowd of people ran towards Him in order to kiss both the horse and the stirrups, and had to be held back. Later, they also charged the baths to carry away the precious bathwater that this Holy Man had used. And on the way back, the Prince, himself, again walked on foot beside the Bab's horse. Clearly, the Bab had passed this test.

Today, I read this story and think about it, and realize how superficial our meager "tests" can be. It is as the Bab said to Mulla Husayn on the night of His declaration. "It is for God to test His servants, and not for His servants to judge Him in accordance with their deficient standards." The real test, to me, is not about whether or not the Bab, or Baha'u'llah, or God, or Whoever, can satisfy our perplexities, but rather how we respond when They do.