Wanderings

Another Monday Night Devotions finished and this time we explored the word ‘innocence’. I chose the topic because of the date December 28 being a commemoration of when King Herod killed all of the baby boys in Bethlehem so that the new King, whom he had heard to have born there, could not grow up to challenge his power.

We started with the three questions:

1. What is innocence?, What is it not?
2. Are we born innocent?
3. Can we become/stay innocent?, How?

This progressed nicely, and the discussion centered around how we define innocence and what it is that takes it away from us. We eventually moved on to the concept of ‘Original Sin‘ and the idea that we are all born not only with the desire to do things that would be an affront to God, but that we carry with us the burden of all of the sin that was committed before we were alive. That would hardly make us innocent. However, Christians believe that Jesus dies for our sins, which does raise the concern over whether or not we need to be careful about not sinning, or if it is okay because we will be forgiven anyway.

In the end, we came around to look at how we have allowed our differences such as whether or not a baby is born carrying the sins of his ancestors all the way back to Adam & Eve, who a piece of land belongs to, or who has the right to wear a scarf on her head and where she is allowed to do so. These are all differences created by man and may represent the true lack of innocence. However, all we truly need to do to receive God’s love is to love Him back.

The earth has one surface. God has not divided this surface by boundaries and barriers to separate races and peoples. Man has set up and established these imaginary lines, giving to each restricted area a name and the limitation of a native land or nationhood. By this division and separation into groups and branches of mankind, prejudice is engendered which becomes a fruitful source of war and strife. Impelled by this prejudice, races and nations declare war against each other; the blood of the innocent is poured out, and the earth torn by violence. Therefore, it has been decreed by God in this day that these prejudices and differences shall be laid aside.

Abdu’l-Baha : The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 316

Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.

Baha’u'llah : The Persian Hidden Words #5

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The, Promulgation of Universal Peace, The, Reflections innocence, Jesus, Monday Night Devotions

O SON OF BEING!
Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #55

I recently used this quote in some devotions that I hosted focused on the topic of fire.  In particular with this quote, we contemplated using fire to test the purity of gold and in turn using gold as a temptation to test the loyalty and honesty of servants.  Upon further viewing of this passage I noticed something I missed the first time around though – the way that ‘We’ begins with a capital letter signifying that perhaps it is referring to God and and us alike.  Could humanity be like the gold that God is referring to being tested by the fires of hard experiences in our lives, while also being the servants of God and tested by the trappings of materialism?  Detachment is often associated with this quote and can be seen in the beginning words where we urged not to pay too much attention to the mundane things of this world, but to focus on the spiritual world.

Photo credit: Baha’i Media Bank: Award-winning fire dancer, Hogan Toomalatai, performing at the Baha’i jubilee festivities in Samoa.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The detachment, devotions, human capacity, materialism, temptation, tests

Today is the Feast of ‘Izzat, which means Might.  Every 19 days Baha’is gather for a spiritual, administrative and social gathering.

In every age and cycle He hath, through the splendorous light shed by the Manifestations of His wondrous Essence, recreated all things, so that whatsoever reflecteth in the heavens and on the earth the signs of His glory may not be deprived of the outpourings of His mercy, nor despair of the showers of His favors. How all-encompassing are the wonders of His boundless grace! Behold how they have pervaded the whole of creation. Such is their virtue that not a single atom in the entire universe can be found which doth not declare the evidences of His might, which doth not glorify His holy Name, or is not expressive of the effulgent light of His unity.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 61

TeacherJay Gleanings Feast, glory, virtues

O SON OF SPIRIT!
Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #22

We spend so much time and energy doing things that degrade our position in this world.  Instead, we should funnel those efforts into the service of God—the purpose for which we were created.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The mankind, service

Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! I entreat Thee by Thy Name through which the Hour hath struck, and the Resurrection came to pass, and fear and trembling seized all that are in heaven and all that are on earth, to rain down, out of the heaven of Thy mercy and the clouds of Thy tender compassion, what will gladden the hearts of Thy servants, who have turned towards Thee and helped Thy Cause.

Keep safe Thy servants and Thy handmaidens, O my Lord, from the darts of idle fancy and vain imaginings, and give them from the hands of thy grace a draught of the soft-flowing waters of Thy knowledge.

Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

~ Bahá’u'lláh, Baha’i Prayer

This prayer for protection is more about protecting us from some of the hidden and intangible dangers of this world than the more obvious threats to our safety and health.  Perhaps prayers like this are even more important as they emphasize the dangers of the things which we may overlook in our lives, such as materialism, greed, jealousy and prejudice.

TeacherJay Baha'u'llah, Prayers materialism, prayer, prejudice

Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 259

This is one of my favorite quotes because it tells us that not only are their hidden treasures within all of us, but the only way that we can see them is to first educate.  By doing so, these treasures will be made available not just to the one who holds them, but to all of mankind.

TeacherJay Gleanings education, independent investigation of truth, mankind

O SON OF EARTH!
Wouldst thou have Me, seek none other than Me; and wouldst thou gaze upon My beauty, close thine eyes to the world and all that is therein; for My will and the will of another than Me, even as fire and water, cannot dwell together in one heart.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words #31

Having God in our lives and placing nothing else but Him at such a high station is both a challenge and a reward.  It is not possible for both the supreme goodness of God to coexist alongside the darkness and evil of temptations of other facets of our earthly lives.  Once again, this impossible duality makes it difficult for us to not only choose one or the other, but to fully commit to it, though once we have have chosen God, it is what will keep us on a spiritual path.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The decisions, spiritual journey, temptation

With fixed and steady gaze, born of the unerring eye of God, scan for a while the horizon of divine knowledge, and contemplate those words of perfection which the Eternal hath revealed, that haply the mysteries of divine wisdom, hidden ere now beneath the veil of glory and treasured within the tabernacle of His grace, may be made manifest unto you. The denials and protestations of these leaders of religion have, in the main, been due to their lack of knowledge and understanding. Those words uttered by the Revealers of the beauty of the one true God, setting forth the signs that should herald the advent of the Manifestation to come, they never understood nor fathomed.

~ Bahá’u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, pp. 16-17

Today is the Feast of Kalimat, which means ‘words’.

TeacherJay Kitab-i-Iqan Feast, knowledge, manifestations, spiritual maturation

Beautify your tongues, O people, with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the ornament of honesty.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 297

In so many of the writings, the poetry of the words hits me just as hard as the message.  The imagery of making one’s tongue more beautiful through adorning with an ornament of honesty is magical.  I can almost picture little ornaments made of honesty and truthfulness that could be hung upon the soul.

TeacherJay Gleanings honesty, truth

O SON OF SPIRIT!
My claim on thee is great, it cannot be forgotten. My grace to thee is plenteous, it cannot be veiled. My love has made in thee its home, it cannot be concealed. My light is manifest to thee, it cannot be obscured.

~ Baha’u'llah, Arabic Hidden Words #20

So great and powerful is God that His effect and influence on us cannot be ignored, hidden, avoided, nor denied.  He is not just there for us when we need Him—He is in us.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The faith, God's Love, manifestations

With the utmost friendliness and in a spirit of perfect fellowship take ye counsel together, and dedicate the precious days of your lives to the betterment of the world and the promotion of the Cause of Him Who is the Ancient and Sovereign Lord of all. He, verily, enjoineth upon all men what is right, and forbiddeth whatsoever degradeth their station.

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 183 (XCII para. 3)

Together, with dedication, we can make a difference in the world.  Imagine if we coordinated the efforts of humanitarian aid missions around the world—if they would share information, resources, and human energy—that dedication and fellowship could better the world and promote even more unity.

TeacherJay Gleanings friends, progress, society, unity

O MY CHILDREN!
I fear lest, bereft of the melody of the dove of heaven, ye will sink back to the shades of utter loss, and, never having gazed upon the beauty of the rose, return to water and clay.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words #13

I had to read this one through several times… the images that stand out to me are the ‘dove of heaven’ and to ‘sink back to the shades of utter loss’.  I can see in this the sadness and disappointment if we were to never see the beauty of God, or to hear that wonderful ‘melody of the dove of heaven’.  If we were never to do those things, it would seem that we would even cease to be human and return to our elemental materials.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The worship

The sinner should, between himself and God, implore mercy from the Ocean of mercy, beg forgiveness from the Heaven of generosity

~ Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, Tablet of Bisharat (Glad-Tidings), p. 24

Today is the Feast of Rahmat, which mean mercy.  Having mercy conjures many different images, but one very clear one is that of forgiveness of our sins when we have done something wrong.  God has provide with a list of rules and guiding principles.  They should not be that hard to follow, but yet they are, and we give in to our temptations.  It is only through his mercy that we are able to go on.

TeacherJay Tablets of Baha'u'llah Feast, forgiveness, mercy, sin

Unto every father hath been enjoined the instruction of his son and daughter in the art of reading and writing and in all that hath been laid down in the Holy Tablet.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, paragraph 45 (p. 37)

I have learned a great many things from my father during my lifetime.  Perhaps, the most profound of them is simply the love of reading.  Reading for entertainment, discovery, knowledge, broadening my own horizons.  He set that example for me and that gave me the skill and know-how to discern my own way in life – to read new texts and to make sense of them as I investigated what was true and what was real in this world.  Thank you, dad.

TeacherJay Kitab-i-Aqdas education, family, independent investigation of truth

O SON OF SPIRIT!
Ask not of Me that which We desire not for thee, then be content with what We have ordained for thy sake, for this is that which profiteth thee, if therewith thou dost content thyself.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words

Trusting in what God has provided for us and not asking for things that are either unnecessary in life, or that are merely to fulfill are wanton desires goes against God’s teachings.  We can be content and fulfilled with what we have.  God shall provide no more nor no less than we need to carry out His will.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The desires, faith, God's Love, materialism

I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

~ Baha’u'llah, Baha’i Prayer

The above prayer is one of three prayers that Baha’is can choose from to recite every day.  It is an obligation that we carry out dutifully.  This is the shortest of them and the obligation is to say it just once daily, between noon and sunset.  As with many things, I appreciate both its simplicity and its depth.

TeacherJay Baha'u'llah, Prayers prayer

O FRIEND!
In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love, and from the nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy hold. Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words

I like the concept of planting a rose in one’s heart–especially when that rose is the rose of love.  I have made wonderful friends in this world that are good people who wish to be close to God.  I treasure their friendship more than anything else in this world.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The friends, love

O members of parliaments throughout the world!  Select ye a single language for the use of all on earth, and adopt ye likewise a common script.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, paragraph 189

One of the tenets of the Baha’i Faith is the establishment of what we refer to as a “universal auxiliary language” and in a post of that same title, I mentioned the propensity for Baha’is to be polyglots.  There is no direction as to which language should be adopted, but it is made clear that it should be a second language and used in business and education.  In this way, it does not have to take away from a person’s native language.

As a student of linguistics and how language affects a person’s culture and thoughts, I would never want to see the removal of languages from our society as they do so much to enhance diversity, but can unfortunately also lead to divisions amongst us as well.  Several people have made comments on previous posts regarding the use of Esperanto.  What I find to be the most promising aspect of this language came from one of their websites, and it is the idea that because nobody is a native speaker of Esperanto, everybody will be at the same disadvantage.  While traveling in India I noticed some elements of this.  English was the common language for many Indians who spoke different dialects of other languages.

While I do see the merits of having a second language that was common to all, I have reservations as well.  It seems like such an overwhelming task.  Some people will resist.  Those that begrudgingly accept a second language may only speak it minimally rendering its use to only the most basic functions.  If people do not make a whole-hearted attempt at it, they will become frustrated, and feel that it is not working.  However, I do wish the world would try.  In my experiences, and travels, the first step to forging a true relationship and understanding something about each other was to… understand each other.

TeacherJay Kitab-i-Aqdas globalism, language, unity, world citizen

O SON OF BEING!
How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others? Whoso doeth this is accursed of Me.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words

I must admit that I am occasionally guilty of this myself.  All too often we spend our energies looking for the faults of others, or letting them define the relationships we will have another.  This problem is twofold—first, we begin to obsess on the negative aspects of life and not on the positives, and second we ignore the faults we have ourselves and thereby prevent ourselves from working on them, or even using them to our advantage to find common ground with others.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The reflection, unity