"O Living Temple! Stretch forth Thy hand over all who are in heaven and on earth, and seize within the grasp of Thy Will the reins of command. We have, verily, placed in Thy right hand the empire of all things. Do as Thou willest, and fear not the ignorant. Reach out to the Tablet that hath dawned above the horizon of the pen of Thy Lord, and take hold of it with such strength that, through Thee, the hands of all who inhabit the earth may be enabled to lay fast hold upon it. This, in truth, is that which becometh Thee, if Thou be of those who understand. Through the upraising of Thy hand to the heaven of My grace, the hands of all created things shall be lifted up to their Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Gracious. Erelong shall We raise up, through the aid of Thy hand, other hands endued with power, with strength and might, and shall establish through them Our dominion over all that dwell in the realms of revelation and creation. Thus will the servants of God recognize the truth that there is none other God beside Me, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. With these hands, moreover, We shall both bestow and withhold, though none can understand this save those who see with the eye of the spirit."
Comments:
• It will be helpful if we took a minute and reminded ourselves about the Entity that speaks with the voice of God in this paragraph. It was explained with respect to Paragraph 1.17 that 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!
• Paragraph 1.31 educates us about the power and authority of the Manifestation of God.:
o Their “hand” is “over all who are in heaven and on earth”;
o “the reins of command” is seize[d] within the grasp of .. [Their] Will”;
o “in .. [Their] right hand” is “placed … the empire of all things”; and
o They can “Do” as they “will”!
It’s amazing, isn’t it!
• We also notice that Baha’u’llah is being advised not to “fear … the ignorant”. Let’s explore this point a bit by first posing a question: who is defined as being “ignorant” and then why should the Manifestation of God be told not to fear him. Knowing the fact that all we could do, in the words of the Universal House of Justice, is to arrive at a “partial and imperfect understanding” (The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 389), of the issues involved, let’s consult the Writings on these two points.
• Who in the Writings is defined as being “ignorant”? A cursory examination of some references from the Writings show that there are two broad categories related to “ignorant”. One, referred below as Positive, are those individuals and conditions where one becomes aware of his own ignorance in relation to the majestic Teachings of the Manifestation of God. The other category, referred to as Negative below, pertain to those individuals who follow their own “idle imaginings”, are bereft of spiritual understanding, exalting themselves above the Manifestation of God, and some of whom even rise in vehement opposition to Him.
o Positive Aspects/Conditions:
The one who is “seeking the ocean of Thy [God’s] knowledge” (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 3)
Each human being, constitutionally is ignorant since he “is prone to err, and is ignorant of the mysteries that lie enfolded within him.” (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 186)
The one who is “ignorant of all things except what God hath, through His bountiful favor, been pleased to teach” him through His Manifestation. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 122)
The one who allowed to become “enlightened” through God’s “names” (Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 236)
Those who set their “faces toward the ocean of Thy [God’s] wisdom. (Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 245)
Baha’u’llah tells us to “strive … to attain that which ye have been promised in the Books of God, and walk not in the way of the ignorant.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 11).
That “blessed” soul who “seeketh the fountain of My [Baha’u’llah’s] knowledge..” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 16)
When training “the children in the principles of religion” we should do it “in such a measure that it may not injure the children by resulting in ignorant fanaticism and bigotry.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 68)
“The people are ignorant, and they stand in need of those who will expound the truth.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 170)
“Take ye hold of the precepts of God with all your strength and power, and abandon the ways of the ignorant. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 41)
In a prayer we say: “We are ignorant; make us wise. We are dead; make us alive. We are material; endow us with spirit.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Baha'i Prayers, p. 110)
“Fear God, and be not of those who are ignorant.” (Baha’u’llah, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 107)
“While the human world is helping the animal and developing the vegetable kingdoms, these kingdoms are unconscious of it. Similarly, the human world cannot comprehend the world of the Kingdom; it is absolutely ignorant of the Kingdom, while the heavenly spirits have influence in the human world.” (Abdu’l-Baha, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 442)
“No doubt we will find in the human world souls who are ignorant; we must make them knowing.” (Abdu’l-Baha, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 348)
o Negative Aspects:
Those individuals “who gave full rein to their personal desires”. (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 62)
The one “that hath been shut out as by a veil from God” (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 102)
Those who would “fail to attain unto even a sprinkling of the oceans of divine knowledge or the crystal streams of divine power” (Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 16)
“Those who are ignorant or heedless of the motivating purpose of the Cause of God have rebelled against Him. Such men are the foreboders of evil, whom God hath mentioned in His Book and Tablets and against whose influence, clamour and deception He hath warned His people.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 123)
Those “who fondly imagine that Wisdom is to give vent to one's idle imaginings and to repudiate God, the Lord of all men”. (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 150)
Those who in “these days … have debarred themselves from the effusions of divine grace by following in the footsteps of every ignorant one that hath gone astray. They have cast the Ocean of divine knowledge behind their backs and fixed their eyes upon such foolish men as claim to be well versed in learning without being supported by any evidence from God, the Lord of mankind.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 251)
Those people who though “have no portion of the radiance of Divine Beauty, make certain claims, and in every age and cycle inflict on the people of the sea of oneness what they themselves deserve.” (Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 21)
"Knowledge is a single point, but the ignorant have multiplied it." (An Islamic Hadith quoted by Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 24)
“The actions and deeds will be accepted after coming (to the truth), and the one who turneth away from it, is indeed of those who are the most ignorant; thus hath it been decreed on the part of the powerful, the able.” (Baha’u’llah, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 112)
• There also appears to be those ignorant individuals who were not only “heedless” towards the Message that was brought forth by Baha’u’llah but were “rebellious” and not “content with opposition” only. Speaking of them Baha’u’llah says that “all times they are plotting to cut down the sacred Lote-Tree. Since the dawn of this Revelation the embodiments of selfishness have, by resorting to cruelty and oppression, striven to extinguish the Light of divine manifestation. But God, having stayed their hands, revealed this Light through His sovereign authority and protected it through the power of His might until earth and heaven were illumined by its radiance and brightness.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 33). Speaking of those ignorant individuals who while “heedless of the motivating purpose of the Cause of God” nevertheless they “rebelled against Him”, Baha’u’llah compares them to “the foreboders of evil, whom God hath mentioned in His Book and Tablets and against whose influence, clamour and deception He hath warned His people.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 123)
• The history of the Faith provides ample examples of how the early believers were not afraid of those who were vehemently opposing the Faith -- they learned how to teach the Faith with wisdom so they would not excite or antagonize the ignorant religious authorities.
• “Throughout His ministry Bahá'u'lláh exhorted His followers to teach the Cause of God with great wisdom. He did not approve of teaching the public indiscriminately. He repeatedly advised the believers in Persia, especially after the martyrdom of Badi', that for their own safety and the protection of the Cause they should exercise care and prudence in their approach to people and not excite or antagonize them. In one of His Tablets Bahá'u'lláh counsels His followers:
“In this Day, We can neither approve the conduct of the fearful that seeketh to dissemble his faith, nor sanction the behaviour of the avowed believer that clamorously asserteth his allegiance to this Cause. Both should observe the dictates of wisdom, and strive diligently to serve the best interests of the Faith.” (Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 343)
“The great majority of Bahá'í teachers in Persia followed this advice. They taught the Faith to those who were earnest seekers, not to fanatics and trouble-makers. A few, who were unable to withhold themselves from mentioning the Faith in public, often brought untold suffering and even martyrdom upon themselves and the rest of the community. A notable example is Mulla Muhammad-Rida of Muhammad-Abad, who spoke in public openly and with unbounded enthusiasm about the Faith. By so doing, however, he antagonized the fanatical populace who as a result created great trouble for the friends and inflicted many persecutions upon them. Bahá'u'lláh, in one of His Tablets, affirms that Mulla Muhammad-Rida had acted unwisely, but forgives him through His loving-kindness and mercy.” (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 2, p. 97)
“To cite an example of wisdom in teaching, there is a Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh in which Faris (the Christian Syrian who embraced the Faith in Alexandria)is exhorted to teach with wisdom. Bahá'u'lláh counsels him not to disclose to people everything about the Cause at first but rather to teach them little by little until they are ready to absorb more. He likens this process to feeding infants who need to be given a little milk at a time until they grow in strength and are able to digest other food. This exhortation of Bahá'u'lláh is the basis of teaching the Cause of God. The principles involved are very similar to those employed by a schoolteacher in teaching his pupils. Before teaching the Cause to any person, it is important to know his background and capacity. The most successful teachers are those who, after familiarizing themselves with the beliefs and ideas of an individual, reveal the truths of the Faith gradually to him. What little they impart is the correct remedy and is so potent as to influence and stimulate the soul and enable it to take a step forward and become ready to absorb more.” (Adib Taherzadeh, The Child of the Covenant, p. 250)
• This paragraph also contains many amazing and powerful metaphors and imageries:
o Baha’u’llah reaching “ out to the Tablet that hath dawned above the horizon of the pen of Thy Lord”;
o Baha’u’llah holding unto this Tablet “with such strength that, through Thee, the hands of all who inhabit the earth may be enabled to lay fast hold upon it”; and that
o By Baha’u’llah “upraising .. [His] hand to the heaven of My grace, the hands of all created things shall be lifted up to their Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Gracious.”
• We read the promise that the Primal Will of God Entity speaking through Baha’u’llah promises Him that “Erelong shall We raise up, through the aid of Thy hand, other hands endued with power, with strength and might, and shall establish through them Our dominion over all that dwell in the realms of revelation and creation.” Isn’t that amazing!? So, these “hands” that are going to be raised up “through the aid of .. [Baha’u’llah’s] hand are “endued with power, with strength and might” and “through them” God’s “dominion over all that dwell in the realms of revelation and creation” shall be established! Incredible! As we know the realm of revelation belongs to the Manifestation of God and His Prophets. This gives us a glimpse of Baha’u’llah’s stupendous station!
• Another amazing point about these “hands” is that with them the Manifestation of God “shall both bestow and withhold”. Something that requires further reflection to understand provided we “see with the eye of the spirit”.
