Make Thy Beauty...

I've been thinking a lot about this concept of prayer shaping our perception. In fact, it originally arose from my studies on the Iqan, where I am more and more convinced that the real importance of the book is not just His explanations of Baha'i theology, which He explains at greater length in other Writings, but the way that He transforms our perception. Through the Iqan He gently leads the reader to a state of perception that not only allows for the recognition of both the Bab and Himself, if we let it, it moves us to the point where there is essentially no other option but recognition.

That's a very different way of reading the book for me.

But now that thought, the idea that His chief concern is changing how we perceive the world around us, has seeped over into my prayers. How, I've begun to wonder, do the prayers shape our perception of the world?

This afternoon I was reading that wonderful prayer:

O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action, and remembrance of Thee my companion, and the power of Thy sovereignty my succorer, and Thy habitation my home, and my dwelling-place the seat Thou hast sanctified from the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee.

Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.

 

Now, I've looked at this prayer many times, but this time, looking at it through the lens of perception transformation has helped me see it in a very different light. Which is good, right? After all, it's sacred Text. We should always get something new out of it.

Obviously it begins by addressing God, immediately shifting our view upwards toward the Divine. Nothing terribly new there.

Then it shifts into what seems like a request for of prayer. Again, nothing new.

And like I have in many other analyses, I like to split lists into columns. So here goes:

• Beauty - Food
• Presence - Drink
• Pleasure - Hope
• Praise - Action
• Remembrance - Companion
• Power of Thy sovereignty - Succorer
• Habitation - Home
• Dwelling-place - the seat Thou hast sanctified from the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee

And then it closes with another look towards God.

So, how does this work in terms of helping change our perceptions?

Well, looking at the second half, food and drink are the basic essentials for life. Drink more than food, as we can live for weeks without food, but only a few days without water.

Once we get past the basic needs, we come to our more emotional desires: hope, action, companionship, and succor.

Ok, maybe that is not quite as obvious, so let's check it out. Hope is an element in our life that keeps us motivated. What are we motivated to do? Action, for any "doing" is action, by its very definition. But most of us don't want to work by ourselves. We prefer community, companionship.

In addition, once we begin working with we often find we need someone to succor us, someone to help us out. It is as if we have moved from our desires to our actual source of strength. We can do some things on our own, but we can accomplish so much more when working with others.

This seems to lead us very naturally into our source of identity, our home, the place in which we dwell, whether it is a country, a city, or the very house in which we live.

But looking at the first column, this prayer changes the way in which we perceive these very natural aspects of our life.

We are not asking for material food. We are asking that the sustaining element of our being be transformed. While we may be physically sustained by food, most people are emotionally sustained by praise, success, or approval. Here we are asking that this be turned to something more worthwhile, namely our ability to perceive the beauty of God. It's not just asking that we occasionally see it, but that it becomes the sustaining force of our life.

And while food sustains us in the long-term, water takes care of our immediate thirst. It is as if we are asking that this immediate need be quenched with God's presence, not mere distractions. For to be honest, I know that I often look to satiate that need with something more distracting. I am asking that I turn to the recognition of God in my life, His immediate presence, to allay that need.

But what about that third part? "Thy pleasure my hope"? I think that most things we hope for are self-centred, like health or comfort, or maybe success in our work. Things that give us our own pleasure. Here we are asking for God's pleasure to be what we most hope for. We are now turning from a self-centred life to a more God-centred one.

Hmm. That seems like a beautiful step in this prayer.

"Praise of Thee my action". Food, drink, and hope all feel like they're internal. Action is where is moves outward, more external. Now that we have been nourished, sustained, and even given hope by God's presence in our life, it's time to do something with it. Now is the time to put it into action, by praising God. Of course, praise doesn't just mean a vocalizing of it. The best way to praise God is to serve humanity.

This is the "remembrance of Thee" that becomes "my companion". As we serve others, we are walking beside God. And this isn't just a temporary thing, either. A companion is always with us. We are asking that this remembrance be a continual presence in our life. It is through action, through serving others that we will discover it there, always.

But as I said above, as we do this, we will find that we can't do it alone. We need help. This is where the "power of Thy sovereignty" comes in handy. It reminds us to rely on God, to trust that He will be there helping us.

Following this, we now ask God for a new home, a new place of comfort and refuge, for the old one does not suffice. We are asking for His assistance to move from this world to His. It is, perhaps, a spiritual migration, a continual moving toward God.

And then, that last piece in this particular journey, we ask God to make "my dwelling-place the seat Thou hast sanctified from the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee".  We've moved beyond food, drink, hope, action, companionship, support, and even home. We are now asking to live in that spiritual state of being where we are always aware of the true unity of the world, conscious of nearness, instead of separation.

This prayer is not asking for any particular thing. It is asking for assistance in transforming our very way of being.

Just as my cat is now asking, or more like demanding, assistance in going outside.