"O Pen! Send down out of the clouds of Thy generosity that which shall enrich all created things, and withhold not Thy favours from the world of being. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful in the heaven of Thine eternity, and the Lord of infinite grace unto all who inhabit the kingdom of names. Look not upon the people and the things they possess; look rather upon the wonders of Thy gifts and favours. Gather then Thy servants beneath Thy shade that shadoweth all mankind. Stretch forth the hand of bounty over all creation, and the fingers of bestowal over all existence. This, verily, is that which beseemeth Thee, though the people understand it not. Whosoever turneth his face towards Thee doeth so by Thy grace, and as to him who turneth away, Thy Lord, in truth, is independent of all created things. Unto this bear witness His true and devoted servants."
Comments:
• From the comments associated with Paragraph 1.12 we understand that the House of Justice has explained that such references to the “Pen” in Baha’u’llah’s Writings are mainly with respect to Bahá'u'lláh Himself, “illustrating His function as Revealer of the Word of God.” With this background let’s attempt to highlight what Baha’u’llah, as the Manifestation of God, is being directed to do by God:
o To “Send down out of the clouds of Thy generosity that which shall enrich all created things”;
o To “withhold not Thy favours from the world of being;
o To “… not [look] upon the people and the things they possess;”, but to “look rather upon the wonders of Thy gifts and favours”;
o To “Gather then Thy servants beneath Thy shade that shadoweth all mankind”; and
o To “Stretch forth the hand of bounty over all creation, and the fingers of bestowal over all existence.”
• Each one of these points, we surmise, require further reflection and study so we become more spiritually aware of the incredible station of the Manifestation of God and the privilege of recognizing Him through our own volition and being willing to implement His Teachings in our lives.
• Another insight we glean from this paragraph is with respect to this line: “Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful in the heaven of Thine eternity, and the Lord of infinite grace unto all who inhabit the kingdom of names.” Here we notice that the Manifestation of God, for our Age, Baha’u’llah, is:
o “the All-Bountiful in the heaven of Thine eternity”; and
o “the Lord of infinite grace unto all who inhabit the kingdom of names.”
Let’s explore these points slightly. In the first reference we become aware that, Baha’u’llah, as the Manifestation of God, reflects the attribute of “the All-Bountiful” in “the heaven of Thine [Baha’u’llah’s] eternity”. What is this heaven of eternity that belongs to the Manifestation of God? Maybe the following reference from the Prayers and Meditations will help us to get a feel for it:
“Thy glory is my witness! At each daybreak they who love Thee wake to find the cup of woe set before their faces, because they have believed in Thee and acknowledged Thy signs. Though I firmly believe that Thou hast a greater compassion on them than they have on their own selves, though I recognize that Thou hast afflicted them for no other purpose except to proclaim Thy Cause, and to enable them to ascend into the heaven of Thine eternity and the precincts of Thy court, yet Thou knowest full well the frailty of some of them, and art aware of their impatience in their sufferings.” (Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 158)
• The other point that we need to reflect on is with respect to Baha’u’llah’s reference to being the “Lord of infinite grace unto all who inhabit the kingdom of names.” What is the “kingdom of names”? Adib Taherzadeh explains it very beautifully in one of his books, ‘The Covenant of Baha'u'llah’:
“There are many references in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh to the 'Kingdom of Names'. God, in His own essence, is exalted above attributes. However, in all His dominions and within each of His worlds, both spiritual and physical, He reveals the kingdom of His attributes. Every created thing manifests the names and attributes of God. In the spiritual world, these attributes are manifest with such intensity that man will never be able to comprehend them in this life. In the human world, however, these attributes appear within the 'Kingdom of Names' and man often becomes attached to these names."
"In many of His Tablets Bahá'u'lláh exhorts His followers not to become the bond-slaves of the Kingdom of Names. The well-known Islamic saying, 'The Names come down from heaven', has many meanings. In this world every one of God's attributes is clad with a name, and every such name reveals the characteristics of that attribute. For instance, generosity is an attribute of God, and it manifests itself in human beings. However, a person who has this attribute often becomes proud of it and loves to be referred to as generous. When his generosity is acknowledged by other people, he becomes happy, and when it is ignored, he is unhappy. This is one form of attachment to the Kingdom of Names. Although this example concerns the name 'generosity', the same is true of all the names and attributes of God manifested within the individual. Usually man ascribes these attributes to his own person rather than to God and employs them to boost his own ego. For instance, a learned man uses the attribute of knowledge to become famous and feels gratified and uplifted when his name is publicized far and wide. Or there is the individual whose heart leaps with feelings of pride and satisfaction when he hears his name mentioned and finds himself admired. These are examples of attachment to the Kingdom of Names."
"Human society at present exerts a pernicious influence upon the soul of man. Instead of allowing him to live a life of service and sacrifice, it is highly competitive and teaches him to pride himself on his accomplishments. From early childhood he is trained to develop his ego and to seek to exalt himself above others, in the ultimate aim of achieving self-importance, success and power."
"The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh aims to reverse this process. The soul of man needs to be adorned with the virtues of humility and self-effacement so that it may become detached from the Kingdom of Names."
"'Abdu'l-Bahá, the true Exemplar of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, demonstrated this form of detachment by His actions. He never in the course of His life wished to exalt His name, nor did He seek publicity for Himself. For instance, He had an immense dislike of being photographed. He said, '...to have a picture of oneself is to emphasize the personality...'. During the first few days of His visit to London, He refused to be photographed. However, as a result of much pressure by the newspaper reporters, and persistent pleas by the friends to be allowed to take His photograph, 'Abdu'l-Bahá acquiesced in order to make them happy."
"The exalted titles conferred upon Him by Bahá'u'lláh are indicative of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's lofty station. Yet 'Abdu'l-Bahá never applied them to Himself. Instead, after the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, He took the title of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Servant of Baha) and urged the believers to call Him only by this name. True servitude at the threshold of Bahá'u'lláh was all He prized. …"
"One of the distinguishing features of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic world order is that it does not harbour egotistical personalities. Bahá'u'lláh has conferred authority on its institutions, whether local, national or international, but the individuals who are privileged to serve on them are devoid of any authority. Unlike men who wield power in the world today and seek to acquire fame and popularity, members of Bahá'í institutions cannot but manifest humility and self-effacement if they are to remain faithful to Bahá'u'lláh. Those who do not succeed, through immaturity or lack of faith, in living up to these standards are indeed attached to the Kingdom of Names and become deprived of the bounties of God in this age."
"To sever oneself from the Kingdom of Names may prove to be the most difficult task for a Bahá'í, and the struggle may indeed last a lifetime. If a man can only realize that his virtues are not intrinsically his own, but rather are manifestations of the attributes of God, then he is freed from the Kingdom of Names and becomes truly humble. Such a man will bestow divine perfections upon the world of humanity. This is the loftiest station that God has destined for man. To the extent that a believer succeeds in severing himself from these three forms of attachment, will he be fulfilling his part in the Covenant of God."
"To achieve this exalted goal man needs to recognize the station of Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation of God for this age and then observe His commandments with clear vision, mature reflection and a prayerful attitude. This can be achieved through deepening one's knowledge of the Faith and in serving His Cause. It is then that the heart will become the recipient of the knowledge of God, and will attain certitude in its faith. It is then that obedience to the teachings of the Faith becomes wholehearted, as the individual grasps the significance of God's commandments, and comes to understand their wisdom, their excellence and their necessity. It is then that his thoughts, his vision, his aspirations, his words, and his deeds will all be in harmony with the Covenant of God. And it is then that his soul will acquire spiritual qualities and virtues. This is the ultimate outcome of obedience to the Covenant, which will enable the soul to progress in the spiritual worlds of God.” (Adib Taherzadeh, The Covenant of Baha'u'llah, p. 24)
• Lastly, there are two other points that we could derive from this paragraph: (1) a confirmation by Baha’u’llah that majority of people do not “understand” the spiritual realities that He has brought to humanity’s attention; and (2) that “Whosoever turneth his face towards Thee [Baha’u’llah] doeth so by Thy [Baha’u’llah’s] grace …”, a very important principle to keep in mind when we encounter seekers and those who have aspirations in line with the Teachings of Baha’u’llah.
