"O Living Temple! Arise by the power of Thy Self in such wise that all created things will be moved to arise with Thee. Aid, then, Thy Lord through such ascendancy and might as We have bestowed upon Thee. Take heed lest Thou falter on that Day when all created things are filled with dismay; rather be Thou the revealer of My name, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Assist Thy Lord to the utmost of Thine ability, and pay no heed to the peoples of the world, for that which their mouths utter is like unto the droning of a gnat in an endless valley. Quaff the water of life in My name, the All-Merciful, and proffer unto the near ones amongst the inmates of this lofty station that which shall cause them to become detached from all names and enter beneath this blessed and all-encompassing shadow."
Comments:
• Let’s attempt to clarify, to the extent possible, our understanding about the Entity that addresses the “Living Temple” (meaning Baha’u’llah) in this paragraph. There is a very interesting explanation about this in volume 3 of Adib Taherzadeh’s Revelation of Baha’u’llah: “Throughout the Tablet, the Pen of the Most High addresses the Haykal (Temple) and reveals the glory and majesty with which it is invested. In answer to a question, Bahá'u'lláh has stated that the Haykal which is addressed in this Surih is the Person of Bahá'u'lláh, and so is the voice which addresses the Haykal. It is fascinating to know that the One Who speaks with the voice of God in this Tablet is identical with the One spoken to. (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 3, p. 133). In other words, as we explored in relation to Paragraph 1.7, it is the Primal Will of God that is speaking to Baha’u’llah through Baha’u’llah!
• In this paragraph we become further educated about the incredible “power” of the Manifestations of God and Their “ascendancy and might". For example, the fact that the Manifestation of God, could, if He wished, use His “power” to cause “all created things” (not just humans) to be “moved to arise with” Him. For example, with respect to human beings, this action of being “moved to arise” could mean something like them acknowledging spontaneity the Message that is brought to them by Baha’u’llah.
• Baha’u’llah is called upon to be “the revealer of” God’s attributes of “the Help in Peril” and “the Self-Subsisting” on “that Day when all created things are filled with dismay ..” Is that when Baha’u’llah declared His Mission? Or, is this a reference to sometime in future? Notice the reference to “all created things” – it seems nothing and no one is excluded!
• We should take a moment and reflect on the metaphors used in this paragraph with respect to the responses from the “peoples of the world” and the mandate of the Manifestation of God to “Assist Thy Lord to the utmost of Thine ability”. It reminds one, among other things, about the virtue of detachment that we, as His followers, need to further practice when we try to assist Him by serving His Cause.
• The paragraph ends with a tender note, encouraging Baha’u’llah to nurture “the near ones amongst the inmates of this lofty station” by offering them “the water of life” in God’s name, the All-Merciful, so that they “become detached from all names and enter beneath this blessed and all-encompassing shadow” of the latest Manifestation of God. Once again a reminder for us as His followers to strive to practice detachment – detachment from “all names”!
