November 10, 2009

Paragraph 1.15

"These are they who circle round the Cause of God even as the shadow doth revolve around the sun. Open, then, your eyes, O people of the Bayan, that haply ye may behold them! It is by virtue of their movement that all things are set in motion, and by reason of their stillness all things are brought to rest, would that ye might be assured thereof! Through them the believers in the Divine Unity have turned towards Him Who is the Object of the adoration of the entire creation, and by them the hearts of the righteous have found rest and composure, could ye but know it! Through them the earth hath been established, the clouds have rained down their bounty, and the bread of knowledge hath descended from the heaven of grace, could ye but perceive it!"

Comments:

• We can glean very interesting insights from this paragraph concerning those “blissful” souls that Baha’u’llah refers to in Paragraph 1.13 and their effect on many things. Bliss is defined as “extreme happiness, ecstasy, the ecstasy of salvation, spiritual joy.”

• We notice that Baha’u’llah is telling the “people of Bayan”, meaning those Babis that didn’t accept Him as the Promised One of the Bab, to open their eyes and “behold” these “blissful” souls. This leads one to understand that such “blissful” souls were in their midst at the time!

• It’s also fascinating to know that such souls can affect a number of things, such as:
   • “It is by virtue of their movement that all things are set in motion”;
   • It is “by reason of their stillness all things are brought to rest”;
   • “Through them the believers in the Divine Unity have turned towards Him Who is the Object of the adoration of the entire creation”;
   • “by them the hearts of the righteous have found rest and composure”;
   • “Through them the earth hath been established”;
   • “Through them … the clouds have rained down their bounty”; and
   • “Through them … the bread of knowledge hath descended from the heaven of grace”.

It’s amazing to what degree we owe our very existence and the Faith to these very special believers!