March 30, 2010

Paragraph 1.39

"O Third Letter of this Temple, betokening My name, the All-Bountiful! We have made thee the dawning-place of Our bounty amidst Our creatures and the fountainhead of Our generosity amidst Our people. Powerful am I in My dominion. Nothing whatsoever of all that hath been created in the heavens or on the earth can escape My knowledge, and I am the True One, the Knower of things unseen."

Comments:

• As was explained in the comments associated with Paragraph 1.37, the third Arabic letter of the word Haykal (Temple) is the letter ‘Kaf’ which according to Baha’u’llah is representative of the attribute of ‘ the All-Bountiful’ with respect to the Manifestation of God.

• It is such a comforting thought to know that one of the names of the Manifestation of God is ‘the All-Bountiful’! Judging by the meaning of the word ‘bountiful’ in the dictionary as ‘giving freely and graciously; generous’, one becomes aware that when this quality is attributed to the Manifestation of God it takes on many meanings. We will explore these later in the context of the themes elaborated by Baha’u’llah in the next six Paragraphs of this powerful Tablet.

• The phrase the “dawning-place” normally reminds one of the daily cycles of the earth orbiting the sun resulting in sunrise and sunset. So, just like the physical sun that keeps our solar system together and is the very source of life on our planet, we should remind ourselves that, metaphorically speaking, the third Letter of the word Haykal (namely the letter ‘k’) is a spiritual Sun that the Manifestation of God has created as a symbol of His “bounty amidst … [His] creatures and the fountainhead of …[His] generosity] amidst .. [His] people.” Mind boggling, isn’t it!? It really makes us feel small and dependent!

• The phrase “Powerful am I in My dominion”, is, once again, a reminder of the incredible power that God has bestowed upon His Manifestation. It is after all His “domain”, anyway! In the words of the beloved Master:

"O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious. Ask whatsoever thou wishest of Him alone; seek whatsoever thou seekest from Him alone. With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief. He doeth as He doeth, and what recourse have we? He carrieth out His Will, He ordaineth what He pleaseth. Then better for thee to bow down thy head in submission, and put thy trust in the All-Merciful Lord." (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 51)

• Another point to keep in mind is Baha’u’llah’s injunction that “Nothing whatsoever of all that hath been created in the heavens or on the earth can escape My knowledge, and I am the True One, the Knower of things unseen.” This is another mind boggling concept that is almost impossible for us human beings to fully comprehend, especially when we think of the existence of many billions of people on our planet alone. But, once again, we should help our souls to intelligently and whole-heartedly embrace this principle. Sometimes such awareness of Baha’u’llah’s all-embracing knowledge brings also the fear of God to one’s heart especially when one thinks of their shortcomings and inadequacies. But aside from the fact we often find ourselves inadequately informed of the pertinent Teachings about the fear of God, we should also remind ourselves that, as we explored earlier, He also has the attribute of “the All-Bountiful” and that we are told that “His mercy exceeds His justice!” (From a letter dated 26 July 1946 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 306)