Light of the World, 2

Ok, I'm sorry. You might be expecting more on the first passage from 'Abdu'l-Baha's volume, Light of the World, and I'm sorry. I was reading ahead, and looked at the second passage. Besides, after re-reading what I wrote on it, I couldn't really think of much else to add. I already began to look at the corresponding 1s, 2, 3s, and 4s. So I thought, this morning, I'd go on to the second passage. Let me know if you want me to write more about the first one. I'm sure I could find something to say.

Anyways, here's the second passage from that wonderful book. It's 3 paragraphs, after an invocation. I'm going to paste the whole thing, italicize the text, and then insert my comments after each paragraph. We'll see how that works.

He is God.

I was listening to a talk on youtube recently, and the speaker made the comment that many of 'Abdu'l-Baha's tablets begin this way. In fact, he said, it is like an announcement that it was written by Him. According to the speaker, which is my way of saying I haven't read it for myself, somebody wrote Him and asked why He started so many Tablets this way. The response, he said, was that it was indicative of the station of Baha'u'llah. "He is God." And it's not that Baha'u'llah is God Himself, but rather that from our perspective they are indistinguishable. I could go on more about this, but let's just move on for now.

 

1 O thou seeker after truth! Behold the power and greatness of Bahá’u’lláh! Within a short span of time, He hath stirred up the East and the West, and raised aloft, in the midmost heart of the world, the banner of love and harmony, of unity and peace, of fellowship and conciliation, of truthfulness and rectitude. He hath freed from enmity and strife a great multitude of souls belonging to divers and opposing nations, to disparate and contending religions, and hath brought them under the sheltering canopy of fellowship, love, and unity.

First, the "1" is not part of the text. That's just what happens when you cut and paste from the bahai.org website. I could get rid of it, but it's nice to have that little marker telling us where we are in the text, so I'm keeping it in there.

I love how He begins. "O thou seeker after truth!" What a great encouragement. It's like He's telling us we're on the right track. "Keep going!" I feel like He's spurring me on, sort of like a loving family member at the side of the road encouraging the marathon runner.

Then, after telling us we're going in the right direction, He specifically directs our gaze to the "power and greatness of Baha'u'llah". He points out to us unmistakable signs: this stirring up, and the raising of a banner.

But what is a banner? What's its purpose? While it historically has the sign of the legion to which the soldiers belong, and can act as a rallying point, it also helps those that are lost in the crowd to find their way back to camp. Oftentimes it has a symbol of great meaning, or an important message for those around to see. This particular banner bears the message of "love and harmony, of unity and peace, of fellowship and conciliation, of truthfulness and rectitude".

As I re-read those attributes, it's interesting to see that they are couplets. It's almost like He's telling how to act towards each other. We must first love each other and act in harmony with those we love. We have to be in unity with each other, which implies that we are diverse, for without diversity all we can achieve is uniformity. This diversity, however, can be difficult, and often leads to conflict, even with those we love. So peace must be coupled with this unity.

Fellowship is interesting to me. It implies a closeness that the other words don't. I mean, it's possible to love someone without actually liking them. Fellowship, though, has within it a sense of belonging, a shared purpose. Conciliation, however, means a bringing about of peaceful relations, It implies that there was strife that has now been overcome.

Truthfulness is that which accords with reality. This is important, because if our actions are not truthful, what good are they? Rectitude means upright and honourable behaviour. You can be truthful and still hurt people with your truth. ("That dress looks horrible on you." "This is the worst food I've ever tasted.") Honourable behaviour is when you act with honesty and fairness, and those actions are worthy of respect.

By the way, you may think these redundant, truthful and honest, but they are not. Truthfulness has nothing to do with you. It is what is real, no matter what you may believe. Honesty is when you speak or act in a manner that is in accordance with your beliefs. If you actually believe something that is false, you can be honest without being truthful. Of course, if you believe something false, and jokingly say something true by accident, then you can be truthful without being honest, so there is that.

Anyways, it's a fascinating list. These are the virtues on the banner that Baha'u'llah has hoisted. This is what we are all being called to.

After this list, 'Abdu'l-Baha points out that Baha'u'llah has "freed from enmity and strife" so many people from such diverse backgrounds. When we look at the Baha'i world today, this is even more true now than it was just over a century ago.

As trials and tribulations rain down upon us from so many directions, we can find shelter under that canopy raised by Him, that "canopy of fellowship, love, and unity". You will note, of course, that those are also the first half of three of those couplets. This time, though, they are in a different order. It is like we enter that canopy because of our fellowship and meet complete strangers there. Once we meet them, get to know them, our love increases until we achieve unity.

Now we are ready to move onto the next paragraph.

 

2 What power this is, and what strength! What greater proof couldst thou desire? He hath brought East and West into close embrace. Singly and alone, He hath withstood the world and uplifted His mighty Cause in the Most Great Prison. Though subjected to utter abasement, He hath crowned His loved ones with the diadem of everlasting glory. Were one to gaze with the eye of justice, this would be sufficient proof.

If we were ever concerned about power or strength, this is where we find it, through this true fellowship, love, and unity. By bringing the world together, what other power can overcome that? Are we concerned about a single ruler, or one little nation? One measly country? There is no possible way they can stand up to the collective might of a united planet. A strong union will always prevail.

And who was it that did this? Who raised this great standard? One Prisoner. Alone. By Himself, with the might of God helping, of course.

In the midst of your troubles and despairs, don't forget that Baha'u'llah was "subjected to utter abasement". "Remember My days", He says in the Tablet of Ahmad, "during thy days..." And yet even then, despite these torments, He still "crowned His loved ones with the diadem of everlasting glory".

Wow.

If you are seeking the truth, look no further than His Cause, for surely you will find it there.

3 Thou hast written concerning the cost of postage. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hath offered up his life for thee, how much more his earthly possessions! Upon thee be greetings and praise.

Wait. What? "The cost of postage"?

As in, "How much is a stamp?"

I feel like the Master is saying, "Don't worry. I got it. I'll pay for the stamp."

I can just imagine His smile as He wrote that last bit.

Light of the World

I love reading the Writings. And I especially love reading them with my wife.

Today, in the middle of the Fast, we decided to crawl into bed and warm up under our blankets and read a bit of 'Abdu'l-Baha's writings. Today we chose the relatively new volume, Light of the World. And specifically, we chose the first selection:

He is the All-Glorious.

O friends! How blessed, how favoured, how fortunate are ye to have been born in such a cycle and dispensation and to live in such an age and century, to have come upon such a wellspring and bowed down before such a threshold, to have taken shelter beneath the shade of such a tree and partaken of such a fruit. The cycle is the Cycle of the Ancient Beauty, and the century that of the Greatest Name. The wellspring is the stream of the Law of God, and the threshold that of the Abhá Beauty. The tree is the Tree of Life, and the fruit that of the Divine Lote-Tree. Blessed are they that attain thereunto! Fortunate are they that enter therein! Gladdened are they that draw nigh unto it! And happy are they that abide under its shade! All praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds. Convey my warmest Abhá greetings to all the friends….

After we had read it, we noticed how it seemed to follow a pattern, like a traditional medicine wheel in North American Indigenous teachings.

What I mean is that we can divide the text into... Well, let me show you.

By cutting and pasting, and moving things around a little bit, I've been able to re-work this so that the themes seem a bit clearer to me. You will note that I have not changed any of the text, but rather just rearranged it a bit so that I can see the progression more clearly. This is what I came up with, and of course it can be done differently if you wish. This is just how I did it. Nothing official, just my own peculiar way of looking at the Writings.

1 How blessed

2 how favoured

3 how fortunate are ye 

4a to have been born in such a cycle and dispensation - The cycle is the Cycle of the Ancient Beauty

4b to live in such an age and century - the century that of the Greatest Name

1 to have come upon such a wellspring - stream of the Law of God

2 bowed down before such a threshold - that of the Abhá Beauty

3 to have taken shelter beneath the shade of such a tree - Tree of Life

4 partaken of such a fruit - that of the Divine Lote-Tree

1 Blessed are they that attain thereunto

2 Fortunate are they that enter therein

3 Gladdened are they that draw nigh unto it

4 happy are they that abide under its shade

From here, my next step is to look at each quatrain on its own, and then to compare all the 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s. Why? Just to see what I can uncover. This is one of the tools I like to use when exploring the "billows of the Most Great Ocean".

So, this first quatrain

    1 How blessed

    2 how favoured

    3 how fortunate are ye 

    4a to have been born in such a cycle and dispensation - The cycle is the Cycle of     the Ancient Beauty

    4b to live in such an age and century - the century that of the Greatest Name

Yes, I know it can be seen as five, but it seemed to me that the last two were actually part of the same action, if you will. We are born and live. Besides, by doing it this way, it fit more nicely into the quatrain scheme, which I'm not opposed to.

Time to look up some words. Blessed means "made holy". At least, I'm presuming it's not meant in the negative (such as "I can't see a blessed thing"). Favoured is defined as being preferred over others. Fortunate is literally having good luck. The last two seem to be more of a time indicator, as in "now as opposed to some time in the past".

What I find fascinating is that it really does seem to be a bit of a journey. First, we are all holy, created in the image of our divine Creator. Every single one of us. No exceptions. However, we all live differently, believe differently, act differently. As living a good and holy life seems to be preferred by God, well, I have no problem seeing some as favoured. Those that live good lives and strive to serve humanity are probably favoured, distinguishing themselves from those that don't.

But what about the fortunate? I find my answer to that in the beginning of the Kitab-i-Iqan, "Sanctify your souls, O ye peoples of the world, that haply ye may attain that station which God hath destined for you..." By sanctifying our soul, striving to live according to the divine teachings of our faith, praying and meditating and fasting and so forth, we have taken that first step. Then there is that little word, "haply". Some have told me they think it means with gladness, but that would be "happily". "Haply", on the other hand, means "with luck", as in "happenstance" or "haphazardly". The way I see it is that out of all of us who are striving to live good lives and search for truth, it is only with luck that God chooses us to recognize Baha'u'llah, or any other Messenger for that matter.

Now we have all of humanity, those that actually bother to search, and those that find. Smaller and smaller circles, all concentric.

This leads me to the fourth step. We are not just lucky to be allowed to find the Messenger, we are even more fortunate to be born and live at this time, in this age, when we even have the chance to find Baha'u'llah.

It seems we're now ready to move to the second quatrain:

1 to have come upon such a wellspring - stream of the Law of God

2 bowed down before such a threshold - that of the Abhá Beauty

3 to have taken shelter beneath the shade of such a tree - Tree of Life

4 partaken of such a fruit - that of the Divine Lote-Tree

You will note, of course, that I've taken the clarifications 'Abdu'l-Baha gave us and just inserted them where appropriate.

Here I want to begin with the wellspring, threshold, tree, and fruit. I feel like I'm outside Baha'u'llah's home, maybe not Bahji, but some other home. One that has a wellspring, a source of water just outside. Perhaps I've gone to search for water and found it. And right near it is the threshold, the bottom of the doorway I must cross to enter. Once I enter, I'm in the inner courtyard with the tree growing there. And on the tree is some fresh fruit, just waiting for the picking. So refreshing, so welcoming. That's what I feel when I read this.

The second half of this quatrain is the Law of God that is found in all religions. Obedience to this law, and not allowing the clouds or veils of interpretation to get in our way, leads us to the next Revelation, continually onwards, eventually to the Abhá Beauty. Interestingly enough, the great epochal Cycle which we just finished, the Adamic Cycle, began with our eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and we were kicked out of Eden so that we could not parttake of the fruit of the Tree of Life. We weren't ready for it yet. Now, though, after these many thousands of years, and after all these Messengers have guided us throughout the ages, we are being given that latter fruit, the fruit of the Tree of Life. Oh, but this is not the end. Oh, no, no, no. There is still far more for those of us born of humanity. Way in the distance is the Sadratu’l-Muntahá, the furthestmost Lote Tree, that tree beyond which there is no passing. This is not the end. It is not some final revelation. We still have a long way to go.

Looking at them together, we have come upon this Law, bowed down before the Abhá Beauty, taken shelter beneath the Tree of Life, and partaken of the fruit of the divine Lote Tree. For me, this is such a powerful blending of those last two paragraphs.

Looking at that last quatrain gives us even more insight into this beautiful little Tablet.

1 Blessed are they that attain thereunto

2 Fortunate are they that enter therein

3 Gladdened are they that draw nigh unto it

4 happy are they that abide under its shade

While it would be easy to presume that the first step refers to the Tree, I think of it more as referring to that wellspring. We are blessed, again, to attain it. And honestly, like that first blessing, being made holy, we have all attained unto it. We are told that every culture on this planet has had its Messenger, some universal in nature, like Jesus or Baha'u'llah, some more regional or local, perhaps like some of the Indigenous Teachers throughout history, like White Buffalo Calf woman or Glooscap, whose teachings shaped cultures in North America for many generations. But like that well, not all will choose to drink from it.

From that well, there are some who will notice that house I mentioned earlier. There is some luck to it. And those that notice? Well, they are truly fortunate to be able to enter therein, both in the sense of luck and wealth.

Perhaps after their long journey, after being allowed to slake their thirst, maybe they're a bit hungry? They would be gladdened to find a fruit tree in full fruit. Then, after they've eaten their fill, I'm sure they would be happy to rest under its shade, especially after such a long and difficult journey.

Whew.

Speaking of a long and difficult journey, I know I said I would look at all the 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s, and I did a bit in that last section, but you've been so patient reading all of this so far. I wouldn't want to weary you, especially during the Fast. Maybe I'll do the rest another time.

Oh, one last thing.

My wife noticed something unusual at the very end: "Convey my warmest Abhá greetings to all the friends…."

After we had discussed our thoughts on this beautiful Tablet, she turned to me and asked, "Why the ellipses? Isn't that the end of the Tablet? It sure reads like the end. Maybe there was something personal after that?"

And I replied, "Or maybe He said, '...and convey my lukewarm greetings to the idiots out there'?"

It's not often my wife hits me, but hit me she did. On my arm. In the exact spot I had gotten a shingles vaccine a couple of days earlier. Which still was sore.

Karma can be such a pain, but, yeah, I did deserve that one.