"Blessed is He Who hath caused to rain down upon His Servant from the clouds of enmity, and at the hands of the people of denial, the shafts of tribulation and trial; and yet seeth Our heart filled with gratitude. Blessed is He Who hath laid upon the shoulders of His Servant the burden of the heavens and of the earth -- a burden for which We yield Him every praise, though none may grasp this save them that are endued with understanding. Glorified is He Who hath surrendered the embodiment of His Beauty to the clutches of the envious and the wicked -- a fate unto which We are fully resigned, though none may perceive this save those who are endued with insight. Glorified is He Who hath left Husayn to make His dwelling amidst the hosts of His enemies, and exposed His body with every breath to the spears of hatred and anger; yet do We yield Him thanks for all that He hath destined to befall His Servant Who repaireth unto Him in His affliction and grief."
Comments:
This paragraph makes one reflect about the extreme difficulties that Baha’u’llah and His companions experienced from the established religious clerics. Baha’u’llah compares these difficulties to:
· “rain” coming down from the “clouds of enmity”; and
· “shafts of tribulation and trial” from the “hands of the people of denial.”
Notwithstanding all that, Baha’u’llah, in His Station of Servitude, expresses gratitude to God for causing these things to happen. This is rather hard to understand – why would God “cause” these things to happen? Maybe it goes back to the concept of free will and the fact that God allows this entity of free will on the part of man to play its part – maybe this is one explanation of God “causing” these things to happen?
Another insight we get from this paragraph is Baha’u’llah’s acknowledgement that God has placed on the shoulders of His Manifestation “the burden of heaven and the earth”, a burden that Baha’u’llah praises God for it. We could surmise from this that we as His followers also need to accept and welcome more opportunities to shoulder responsibility for assisting Him with the affairs of His Cause and the promotion of His Teachings.
To view the Manifestation of God as the “embodiment of His [God’s] Beauty” is an attractive concept! And yet we become reminded that this “Beauty” “surrendered” and “resigned” Itself to the “clutches of the envious and the wicked”, lived among the “hosts of His enemies” and with “every breadth” allowed His body to be exposed to “the spears of hatred and anger.” How sad! How very sad! We need to be cognizant of these things and welcome more our interactions with the very rich history of our Faith so that we will have a better feel for Baha’u’llah’s sufferings. After all, in the Tablet of Ahmad, Baha’u’llah Himself reminds us to “remember My Days during thy days”! There must be a wisdom in this, don’t you think?!
Comments:
This paragraph makes one reflect about the extreme difficulties that Baha’u’llah and His companions experienced from the established religious clerics. Baha’u’llah compares these difficulties to:
· “rain” coming down from the “clouds of enmity”; and
· “shafts of tribulation and trial” from the “hands of the people of denial.”
Notwithstanding all that, Baha’u’llah, in His Station of Servitude, expresses gratitude to God for causing these things to happen. This is rather hard to understand – why would God “cause” these things to happen? Maybe it goes back to the concept of free will and the fact that God allows this entity of free will on the part of man to play its part – maybe this is one explanation of God “causing” these things to happen?
Another insight we get from this paragraph is Baha’u’llah’s acknowledgement that God has placed on the shoulders of His Manifestation “the burden of heaven and the earth”, a burden that Baha’u’llah praises God for it. We could surmise from this that we as His followers also need to accept and welcome more opportunities to shoulder responsibility for assisting Him with the affairs of His Cause and the promotion of His Teachings.
To view the Manifestation of God as the “embodiment of His [God’s] Beauty” is an attractive concept! And yet we become reminded that this “Beauty” “surrendered” and “resigned” Itself to the “clutches of the envious and the wicked”, lived among the “hosts of His enemies” and with “every breadth” allowed His body to be exposed to “the spears of hatred and anger.” How sad! How very sad! We need to be cognizant of these things and welcome more our interactions with the very rich history of our Faith so that we will have a better feel for Baha’u’llah’s sufferings. After all, in the Tablet of Ahmad, Baha’u’llah Himself reminds us to “remember My Days during thy days”! There must be a wisdom in this, don’t you think?!
