April 29, 2010

Paragraph 1.41

"Erelong shall God raise up, through Thee, those with hands of indomitable strength and arms of invincible might, who will come forth from behind the veils, will render the All-Merciful victorious amongst the peoples of the world, and will raise so mighty a cry as to cause all hearts to tremble with fear. Thus hath it been decreed in a Written Tablet. Such shall be the ascendancy which these souls will evince that consternation and dismay will seize all the dwellers of the earth."

Comments:

• As we attempt to gain an inkling of understanding with respect to these powerful pronouncements made by our Lord in this paragraph, we should remind ourselves that they follow the last two earlier paragraphs dealing with the “Third Letter” of the “Temple” of the Manifestation of God, which Baha’u’llah explains is synonoumous with the Creator’s attribute of “the All-Bountiful”.

• As noted in other paragraphs that we have reviewed, Baha’u’llah, through His grace, makes known to us the many entities associated with the operation of God’s Will on earth, through His Manifestations. As we try to reflect and ponder on His weighty Words – as an example in this paragraph -- let’s take a moment and remind ourselves that we are dealing with concepts so lofty, so powerful and containing that it’s almost impossible for us human beings (who are contained in them) to get a proper understanding of their scope and workings. In our attempts to strive to get some partial understanding, we need to search for any related interpretations, explanations, elucidations by the beloved Master and the Guardian, as well as any additional clarifications and explanations by the Universal House of Justice.

• Realizing our human limitations in understanding the physical realities that are all around as well as within us is very humbling – how much more we need to bow our heads concerning our inability to understand the very lofty and abstract spiritual realities that the Manifestation of God brings to our attention! To cite an example with respect to our physical limitations, let’s explore our ability to “see” light. We know scientifically that the “visible light” is a small portion of light waves. The light waves, themselves are a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum: – that broad range of electro-magnetic radiation wavelengths that travel in straight lines and are characterized by a wave motion. This spectrum contains cosmic rays, gamma rays, x-rays, light waves, radar waves, microwaves and radio and TV waves. The form of electromagnetic radiation that our eyes can detect is called ``visible'' or ``optical''. Visible light, being just one of many types of electro-magnetic radiation, occupies a very small range of the overall electromagnetic spectrum. Just immediately above and below our ‘visible’ range are the Ultraviolet and Infrared light waves that we can’t see with naked eyes. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation or light such as x-rays, gamma rays, cosmic rays – on the higher frequencies – and radar and radio/TV waves on the lower frequencies, are there too but once again our naked eyes can’t see them. So the phrase “I see”, logically and scientifically needs to be qualified and at times we need to remind ourselves that there are many physical entities right near us that we couldn’t see them.

April 12, 2010

Paragraph 1.40

"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.