Wanderings

I wanted to devote today’s post to simply a link to a post on Elika Mahony’s blog.  She has included a free download of her song ‘Persecution’ along with a video regarding the persecution that Baha’is have faced in Iran for more than 150 years.  This is most poignant during recent events with 7 Baha’i leaders who are currently imprisoned and whose trial has repeatedly been delayed despite urgings from nations all over the world to free them.

http://www.elikamahony.com/2009/07/11/persecution-video-for-bahai-human-rights-day/

TeacherJay Reflections faith, music

With dedication and will power you can rise to great heights!

~ Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 87

I believe that people can accomplish anything.  What is necessary, however, is the utter devotion to a mission as well as concentration and focus on a particular goal.  With that, anything can be accomplished.

TeacherJay Shoghi Effendi faith, service

There is no paradise more wondrous for any soul than to be exposed to God’s Manifestation in His Day, to hear His verses and believe in them, to attain His presence, which is naught but the presence of God, to sail upon the sea of the heavenly kingdom of His good-pleasure, and to partake of the choice fruits of the paradise of His divine Oneness.

~ The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 77

Today is a Baha’i holiday commemorating the day in which the Báb was executed for his beliefs.  It always reminds me of one of his young followers, known as Anís, who threw himself at the feet of the Báb and begged to be killed alongside him the night before his execution.  Consequently, Anís was arrested, jailed and sent to the firing squad alongside the Báb.  This story always makes me wonder if I would have such faith.

On the Dawnbreaker Collective CD Arise, Tara Ellis sings a beautiful song about Anis.

TeacherJay Báb, The faith, holiday, sacrifice

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

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

We know the Truth when the heart is True,
And we cleanse our body of Falsehood and make it Pure.

We know the Truth, when we love the Truth.
And, if hearing the Lord’s Name our Mind is Pleased, we Attain to the
Door of Deliverance.

We know the Truth, when our Soul knows the Way;
And cultivating our bodies, we sow the seed of God.

We know the Truth, if we receive the true Instruction (of the Guru).

~ Asa di Var 10.2 p. 468

Like the Sikhs, Baha’is believe strongly in a search for truth.  This passage is an example of looking for truth and what it means to attain it.  To me, the “independent investigation of truth”, as the Baha’is refer to it, meant preparing myself to challenge any belief that I had already formed and look at things from an outside perspective.  I was able to look at things analytically and discern whether or not these messages from different prophets of God were the same, and whether or not they made good sense, were the right things to do and were applicable to my life.  I have always appreciated this concept of the Baha’i Faith – that we are not able to follow blindly the pronouncement of a clergy member who has interpreted the word of God for us, rather we are obligated to do so for ourselves.  This makes our personal faith in God much more intimate.

TeacherJay Sikhism faith, independent investigation of truth

I remember a praise song from years ago while working with Christian youth groups and summer camps.  The refrain was “what if what they say is true”.  It was written from the point of view of a doubter of Jesus and the Christian faith, who begins to wonder if the “miracles” of Jesus Christ are real.  The music is beautiful, and comes together with a very soft chorale.  I recall sitting in rooms with my eyes closed, humming along (my singing voice is awful) and feeling the spirit of God.

What always bothered me about the song, however, was the way that it uses a fear tactic.  The song suggests that something bad would happen if a person did not accept the Christian Faith; in other words, “what if I was wrong to not be a Christian”, or “I have been ignoring the truth that these Christians know”.  I never did like the way that it was trying to lead people into a belief in God not through the wonderment and majesty of God, but for the fear of being wrong.  What’s more, the song was being used with teenagers and young adults to pull them into the faith.

In Bill Maher’s recent documentary, Religulous he also encounters people who seem to cling to their faith in Christianity not because of how beautiful religion it is (and even as a Baha’i I must admit that is a beautiful religion), but out of fear of what would happen if they did not.

This concept was one of the things that led me away from Christianity.  I did not like being told, and being expected to tell others that the only way to God was through Jesus Christ and the Christian Church.  As a Baha’i, while I do believe that Baha’u’llah was the messenger of God for this age and that people should know about Him, I know that declaring oneself as a Baha’i is not the only way to God.  There are many beautiful religions on this Earth, and I believe they all come from the same God.  It is a shame that some have used religion as a method of dividing rather than uniting the human race.

TeacherJay Reflections faith, music

The fourth of June was my grandfather’s birthday.  He passed away two years ago (two days after his birthday) and I am still mourning the loss.  There were times in my life that we were close, and others where we were not, but I always knew he was there.  For me, it was the first time I had ever lost someone whom I had really known.  There is nobody that can fill that void because we knew each other in a way that was unique to us.  The intricacies of our own personalities are what formed the relationship.

He was a missionary earlier in life – traveling the world doing good deeds, serving humanity and teaching people about Jesus Christ.  But by the time I was born he was the pastor of the large suburban where we lived.  My grandmother used to take me to church with her on Sundays so we could hear Grandpa preach.  By the time I had declared myself as a member of the Baha’i Faith, he did not have the energy to have serious discussions with me.  I would like to think that he was proud of the journey that I had made as I continue to wander down the path of life.  His was one of the few opinions that I always took to heart.

TeacherJay Reflections faith, family, relationships, spiritual journey

It was while Abdul Baha was in Paris that a group composed of different sects awaited an audience to argue their various faiths. Suddenly this divine teacher of men swept into the room and pointing out of the window, exclaimed: "The sun of truth rises in each season from a different point of the horizon — to-day it is here, yesterday it was there, and to-morrow it will appear from another direction. Why do you keep your eyes eternally fixed on the same point? Why do you call yourselves Christians, Buddhists, Mohammedans, Bahais? You must learn to distinguish the sun of truth from whichever point of the horizon it is shining! People think religion is confined in an edifice, to be worshipped at an altar. In reality it is an attitude toward divinity which is reflected through life.

"This movement eludes organization — it is the realization of a new spirit. The foundation of that spirit is the love of God; and its method, the love and service of mankind. Many who have never heard of this revelation teach its laws and spiritual truths.

~ Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 14

This description of Abdu’l-Baha is stunning.  A major reason that I became a Baha’i is that I had already come to believe in all of the principles of the Faith before ever learning the name of Baha’u’llah.  Accepting that he was the latest manifestation of God was easy for me at that point.  I have heard this similar story echoed from numerous others as well.  To me, the concepts of unity, world peace, harmony of science and religion, equality of men and women, the establishment of a universal auxiliary language, providing education for all, and that all religions are worshipping the same God were what made me a Baha’i.  Anyone who deigns to serve mankind and promote these truths is showing the love of God.

TeacherJay Divine Philosophy faith, independent investigation of truth, service, unity, world peace, worship

Let deeds, not words, testify to thy faith, if thou art a man of true learning.

~ Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 286

Shoghi Effendi reminds us here that it is what we do, and not we say, that matters most.  Although a person can claim to be very wise, to have read all of the sacred texts, and even to be a great leader, there is nothing that provides evidence of his faith like the acts that he commits.  Rather than being someone who tells others to “do as I say, and not as I say”, Baha’is are encouraged to let our actions teach others what the love of God is.

TeacherJay Shoghi Effendi action, faith, reflection, service

The title of this post comes from the song “Hard to Get” by one of my favorite Christian artists, Rich Mullins.  The line has stuck in my head for years, because I always found a dual meaning in it.  The terms “lost” and “found” are often used to refer to the stations in life and the search for a deeper meaning in life—the gospel song “Amazing Grace” comes to mind.

These lines are the very end of the song and were originally worded as:

I can’t see how you’re leading me unless you’ve led me here
Where I’m lost enough to let myself be led
And so you’ve been here all along I guess
It’s just your way and you are just plain hard to get

I see these four lines as a depiction of someone realizing, perhaps for the first time, that the troubles of life may have been the journey that God had planned for him.  It is both humbling, but uplifting to learn that the whole time through all of those hardships that God was not making him suffer, but actually there to serve as the guide to lead him through.  The man was not able to understand what God had in store, or what His intentions were, or even that God was the one leading him.  He must have thought that God had abandoned him.  But, then he realized that would not happen, and as confusing it may seem, this was just God’s way.

The Baha’i Faith teaches us that we are not yet ready to comprehend many things in God’s kingdom.  As each generation passes we learn more, and throughout our development, different manifestations have come to explain more of it to us.  Jesus Christ was one of those manifestations and His message is that of God.  Baha’u’llah was the latest of those manifestations and His message is that of God.

I saw something more in these lines though… I love the idea that before we can be led, we must first be lost.  Many times in life, I felt that I was strong, capable, independent and needed no leadership from anyone—that I was a leader.   I believed that I knew who I was and where I was going in life—that I was the one responsible for my successes and even my failures.  Some hard times came, and I will not pretend that I always had faith—I doubted, I tested, I did things I am not proud of.  There was never one cathartic event in my life that made me think that I had hit bottom, or in which I became a new person, but believe me when I tell you I wandered for a long time… and still am wandering.

Not until I had lived enough of life and lost my direction to the point that I was ready to follow and not to lead all of the time did I find and accept the Baha’i Faith.  In other words, I had to lose myself enough to be led.

(Incidentally, this line comes from the same song as the line, “Only lashing at the one who loves me the most”, which I have already written about here.)

TeacherJay Reflections difficulties, faith, independent investigation of truth, spiritual journey, spiritual maturation, tests

Whoso ariseth among you to teach the Cause of his Lord, let him, before all else, teach his own self, that his speech may attract the hearts of them that hear him. Unless he teacheth his own self, the words of his mouth will not influence the heart of the seeker. Take heed, O people, lest ye be of them that give good counsel to others but forget to follow it themselves

~ Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 277

Baha’is use the term teach to refer to any time we are letting someone know about the Faith, whether it be through our words or our actions.  Before teaching others though, it is important that we first teach ourselves what having faith, and devotion to leading a spiritual life is all about.  For if we fail to do so, we can cause more harm than good by providing a poor example.  We likely have all seen false prophets and those who would follow a “do as I say, not as I do” approach to spiritual teachings.  It is my hope that Baha’is will take the high ground and become living examples of the spiritual teachings of Baha’u’llah.

TeacherJay Gleanings faith, morals

I heard this song on Elika Mahony’s CD “Fire and Gold” (which I have mentioned several times before on this blog), and I immediately fell in love with the lyrics, but I knew not where they came from.  The other night, I happened upon a site that I had found over a year ago and forgot to bookmark so I lost it.  Miraculously, while searching for something completely unrelated even to the Baha’i Faith, I found it again.  Baha’i Tube has a repository full of Baha’i-themed videos and I also happened upon a video for the song This is Faith.  The description also answered my other question of the source of the lyrics (I probably could have just Elika myself, but it’s so much more fun to investigate the truth myself!).  “This is Faith” is a poem written by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum…

You can see the full text of the poem here.  Unfortunately, the sound quality is not great in this video, but it is wonderful on the CD, which you can purchase here.

TeacherJay Reflections, Secondary Sources faith, music, tests

I asked the Prophet, “What is the greatest sin in the Sight of Allah?” He said, “That you set up a rival unto Allah though He Alone created you.” I said, “That is indeed a great sin.”

~ Hadith, Bukhari Vol 6, Book 60, Number 4

Baha’is believe that all of the world’s religions really are just one; that there is no one way to get to God; that one religion is not better than the other; that the world religions are not, and should not, be rivals with one another.  Baha’is believe there is only one God; that all of the world’s religions are actually worshiping the same God.  It is our human interventions that make these different dispensations of God’s message to be rivals with one another.

TeacherJay Islam Allah, faith, manifestations, Mohamed, oneness of God, progressive revelation, prophets, unity, worship

At two hours before sunset today will begin the 12-day Festival of Ridvan.  This is a time commemorating the 12 days in 1863 that Baha’u’llah revealed that he ws a manifestation of God and the Baha’i Faith began.

Verily, all created things were immersed in the sea of purification when, on that first day of Ridvan, We shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of Our most excellent Names and Our most exalted Attributes.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 47

On this day (along with the 9th and 12th days of Ridvan), Baha’is will abstain from work and school and celebrate through community gatherings, prayers, and in some places, the election of the Local Spiritual Assembly—the local administrative council.

TeacherJay Kitab-i-Aqdas administration, declaration, faith, holiday, manifestations, prophets, worship

There are certain pillars which have been established as the unshakeable supports of the Faith of God. The mightiest of these is learning and the use of the mind, the expansion of consciousness, and insight into the realities of the universe and the hidden mysteries of Almighty God.

To promote knowledge is thus an inescapable duty imposed on every one of the friends of God.

~ Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 126

Education is a very important concept in the Baha’i Faith.  Through formal training and learning to use one’s mind effectively, the secrets and mysteries can be revealed.  Not only are we responsible to learn for ourselves, and for the benefit of our direct offspring, but to support and promote education for boys and girls all over the world.  Ensuring the access to education so that all children can learn and embark on their own journeys through the world’s knowledge and to interpret it for themselves is a core belief of the Baha’i Faith.

TeacherJay Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha children, education, faith, independent investigation of truth

Our purpose is to show how true religion promotes the civilization and honor, the prosperity and prestige, the learning and advancement of a people once abject, enslaved and ignorant, and how, when it falls into the hands of religious leaders who are foolish and fanatical, it is diverted to the wrong ends, until this greatest of splendors turns into blackest night.

~ Abdu’l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 78

I often hear the comment from people that they are uninterested in “organized religion,” and when I ask why, or what it was that turned them away it is normally something related to the practices of the religious institution, the admonishments from other parishioners on the adherence to religious laws, a disagreement in interpretation of scripture, or something of this type.  Rarely is their repulsion from spirituality related to disbelief in God, but to the wrongs of man and how the original message of the particular manifestation, whether it be Abraham, Jesus or Mohamed has been perverted.

For years I felt this way as well and shunned the Church.  I was fond of saying that I did not have a problem with Christianity, but I did have a problem with my fellow Christians.  It took me years to realize that I was harming myself by not seeing through those forces that were darkening the brilliance of God’s message.  When I began searching I found a deeper spiritual truth.

TeacherJay Secret of Divine Civilization, The Abraham, faith, Jesus, manifestations, Mohamed, rituals, unity

Today is the day that most Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  To me, this should be viewed as the central holiday of the faith as it commemorates the return of the “Son of God”.  In fact, the Apostle Paul (St. Paul, Paul of Tarsus) in his letter to the Romans (which was dictated just prior to his first trip to Rome to teach the gospel) described it this way:

And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit.

~ Romans 1:4 NLT

At the end of this post, I have included three narratives of the Resurrection from the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Luke and Mark).  I intentionally have omitted the verses from the Gospel of John because I have always felt the theology in this book differs from the rest—it reads as heavily evangelistic and therefore loses its neutrality and accuracy as an historical record.

I believe that the resurrection was a metaphor for the realization by the followers of Jesus Christ that he was a manifestation of God, and not just a charismatic spiritual leader.  After he had died, they felt his presence and guidance again – it was his spirit that appeared to them, not his body clad in white robes.  As can be seen from the excerpts below, the apparition was not recognized for what the modern-day church interprets as being either.  I could provide much supporting evidence for my viewpoint, but that is not my intention in this post.

Rather, I would like to remind people that this is a day to celebrate and to remember that it was on Easter Sunday when Jesus was recognized as a messenger from God that truly founded Christianity and enabled its beautiful message to be sent throughout the world.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

~ Matthew 28:1-10, NIV

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

~ Mark 16:1-8, NIV

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

~ Luke 24:1-12

TeacherJay Christianity faith, Gospels, Jesus, manifestations, New Testament

A friend and his fiancée recently lost their child due to a medical condition just minutes after she was born prematurely.  Having never been close to marriage or awaiting the birth of a child, I cannot imagine how difficult this must have been.  Losing a child is the kind of tragic event that can cause a person to question his faith in God, or even the existence of a Supreme Being altogether—it can be difficult to see a purpose in it.  Rather than pulling away from God, however, we can interpret these events to know that God is using those experiences to work through us.  Years ago, I recall a Christian friend of mine telling me she was able to face every adversity in life because she had complete faith that God would not give her anything she was not strong enough to handle.  This provided her with some solace in those desperate times.

There are events that happen to all of us that seem a mystery.  They are God’s mysteries and not meant for us to understand.  What is important to take away is that even if little Fiona lived for only a few minutes, she lived.  Considering the shortness of her life, the impact she had on others was infinitely more than other people who lived for decades.  As painful as the experiences can be, we never come away from them the same.  As was also mentioned in yesterday’s post, as mortal beings we do not have the capacity to understand all of God’s plan for us, but that does not mean that He is not there with a plan.  It is because of God’s love for us that we experiences both the joys and hardships and joys of life, and it should be out of love for Him that we accept the good with the bad and have faith and trust in his wisdom.

TeacherJay Reflections faith, God's Love, independent investigation of truth, meditation, perspective, reflection