July 7, 2010

Paragraph 1.45

"Beware lest ye speak of duality in regard to My Self, for all the atoms of the earth proclaim that there is none other God but Him, the One, the Single, the Mighty, the Loving. From the beginning that hath no beginning I have proclaimed, from the realm of eternity, that I am God, none other God is there save Me, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting; and unto the end that hath no end I shall proclaim, amidst the kingdom of names, that I am God, none other God is there beside Me, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Say: Lordship is My Name, whereof I have created manifestations in the world of being, while We Ourself remain sanctified above them, would ye but ponder this truth. And Godhead is My Name, whereof We have created exponents whose power shall encompass the people of the earth and make them true worshippers of God, could ye but recognize it. Thus should ye regard all Our Names, if ye be endued with insight."

Comments:

• In this paragraph, Baha’u’llah further educates us concerning Divinity and Its Manifestations in this physical world. Acknowledging the fact that, “the Essence of God”, as explained by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, “is incomprehensible to the human mind, for the finite understanding cannot be applied to this infinite Mystery”, and that since “God contains all, He [therefore] cannot be contained,” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 23) and furthermore, reminding ourselves that “That which contains is superior to that which is contained,” we find ourselves in need of receiving divine explanations by His Manifestation – such as this Paragraph—to get some insights into such very lofty themes.

• Another point that we need to be humbly cognizant of is the principle that “in Divinity there is no duality. All adjectives, nouns and pronouns in that court of sanctity are one; there is neither multiplicity nor division.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 155)

• With these backgrounds, let’s explore Paragraph 1.45. But before we do that, let’s remind ourselves that, as was explained in the Comments portions associated with a number of previous Paragraphs (such as Paragraph 1.17), that the “the One Who speaks with the voice of God in this Tablet is identical with the One spoken to” -- both being Baha’u’llah. (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 3, p. 133).

• We become aware in this Paragraph that we should guard ourselves against any tendency to imply the notion of “duality” with respect to the Entity of the Manifestation of God and Its relationship to God. To further explore and understand this very important point let’s turn to the Writings. Below are two references, from Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha: