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.

Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

~ Baha’u'llah, Baha’i Prayer

Whenever I feel sick, or even just distant from God and in need of some healing, I like to say this prayer and remind myself that the best remedy for anything in life is nearness to God.

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.

O Thou kind Lord! These lovely children are the handiwork of the fingers of Thy might and the wondrous signs of Thy greatness. O God! Protect these children, graciously assist them to be educated and enable them to render service to the world of humanity. O God! These children are pearls, cause them to be nurtured within the shell of Thy loving-kindness.

Thou art the Bountiful, the All-Loving.

~ Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i Prayer

Today I return to a children’s class within my local community.  I try to pray this prayer whenever I come into that class.  There is something about that always makes me smile.  The imagery in a lot of Baha’i writings I find to be quite vivid, and the the analogy of God’s children being His handiwork wrought by His might is a nice one.  This prayer not only emphasizes their education, but also their ability to serve humanity, in addition to their protection.  Every time I say it, I stop to consider if I am saying it for their benefit, or for my own.

O SON OF MAN!
Rejoice in the gladness of thine heart, that thou mayest be worthy to meet Me and to mirror forth My beauty.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #36

I love the imagery of the mirror… it comes up frequently in Baha’i writings.  There is something special about becoming worthy of reflecting the illimitable radiance of God’s love.  Worthy is a word that I wanted to focus on though.  It is an awesome gift and privilege to be permitted to carry on God’s grace, but also one that comes with responsibility.  The Hidden Words, are just that… they have so many hidden meanings.  The more I look at writings such as this, the more I see.  For example, could the word ‘mayest’ be taken to mean that the gladness is in the reader’s heart and s/he will mirror forth Baha’u’llah’s beauty, or is there a test that must be passed?  What is meant by the word ‘meet’?  Should that be taken as a literal meaning, or is that just figurative that we will meet in a more spiritual connection.  I don’t have answers to these questions, and never well, but it is these daily readings that keep me interested and asking questions in my own quest to make sense out of the world.

Be in perfect unity. Never become angry with one another. … Humanity is not perfect. There are imperfections in every human being, and you will always become unhappy if you look toward the people themselves. But if you look toward God, you will love them and be kind to them, for the world of God is the world of perfection and complete mercy. Therefore, do not look at the shortcomings of anybody; see with the sight of forgiveness. The imperfect eye beholds imperfections. … You must love and be kind to everybody, care for the poor, protect the weak, heal the sick, teach and educate the ignorant.

~ Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 92

This is one of my favorite passages.  I often find myself referring it.  There is a person that I find myself becoming angry with a lot lately.  I do not believe she is doing anything intentional or even aware of the problem.  Every time this occurs, I find myself looking for this passage and reminding myself that the shortcomings I see in her are some of the same ones that other people see in me.

Of particular importance to me is the direct statement that “humanity is not perfect” and the directive that we “must love and be kind to everybody, care for the poor, protect the weak, heal the sick, teach and educate the ignorant.”  I think remembering these two things as we go through our day could help bring the world a little bit closer, to make us more forgiving of each other and to reduce our anger and stress.

Whenever I see this I am reminded of people in relationships such as a marriage, a parent and teenager or even close friends.  When one person feels vulnerable, confused, alone or hurt, some terrible things can be said.  It is illogical that we would be so callous to one of the people who is the most dedicated to us in the world—one of the few who actually cares very deeply about us personally and will love us unconditionally.

Unfortunately, it seems to be human nature to take out our aggressions and make external all of our negative feelings and unleash them upon this person who loves us so much.  Perhaps, this is not entirely self-defeating… I have a theory that our sub-conscious minds select the people to be the recipients of our grief who are able to take it on and still love us for who we are because of who they are.  Are we, perhaps, able to know who can absorb our anger and turn it into love, and therefore, feel safe lashing out at this person this way?

I have a feeling that many people are doing the same things when they turn away from God.  The comments that a just God cannot exist if such a tragedy should befall them, are hurtful to God and akin to the teenager daughter telling her mother she hates her, or of the husband frustrated at not getting a promotion at work berating his wife, or even the woman who was just dumped by her boyfriend and starts an argument with her best friend.  Every time we question His authority, whether or not He is working our lives, or why He has done what he has, we are lashing out at God.

Why do we lash out at God?  Why do we lash out at the one who loves us the most?

NOTE: Although the saying “lashing out at the one who loves us the most” has been heard before, it was hearing it in a song by Rich Mullins, who was a wonderfully talented Christian musician, that first inspired this post.

The Spirit breathing through the Holy Scriptures is food for all who hunger. God Who has given the revelation to His Prophets will surely give of His abundance daily bread to all those who ask Him faithfully.

~ Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 57

Hunger is a natural feeling that we have all experienced.  It is how our body tells us we must find some food for sustenance we cannot live without.  Our souls, too, can have hunger—a hunger for truth, wisdom and a purpose in life.  The scripture can fulfill those needs and God has provided it for us.  All we must do is ask to partake of it; to read, to investigate on our own, is how we fulfill that hunger.  Just as it is necessary to eat daily, Baha’is are instructed to read of the scriptures every day, thus, our daily bread.

Jesus Christ also made allusions to bread by telling his disciples at the Last Supper, that it represented his body and to eat it in remembrance of him.  Perhaps the most popular Christian prayer is the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster), which contains the line:

Give us this day our daily bread.

~ Matthew 6:11 (KJV)

In the Gospel of John (6:1-15) Jesus fed 5,000 men (no record of how many women and children were also present) with just two loaves of bread and two fish.  Everyone took as much as he (or she) wanted and was satisfied and fed.  It is my belief that these both serve as analogies to the spiritual bread that is provided to us, if only we would partake of it.

Luke told me his inspiration for the song came from the Tablet of NÁṢIRI’D-DÍN SHÁH in which Baha’u’llah was speaking to the Shah of Iran and told him,

They that surround thee love thee for their own sakes, whereas this Youth loveth thee for thine own sake, and hath had no desire except to draw thee nigh unto the seat of grace, and to turn thee toward the right-hand of justice. Thy Lord beareth witness unto that which I declare.

His statement shows that Baha’u’llah was the deliverer of God’s message for all of us, and that he was imbued with the knowledge and the power and the wisdom to echo God’s love.

“I Love You For Your Sake” is the shortest track on the disc at only about a minute and half, but its message is profound.  Most of the song is made up of a simple rhythm with a melody that becomes increasingly layered.  Just after the one minute mark, there is a stillness—almost a pause—and the basic rhythm becomes more complex, with much more of an interplay between the two parts.  This continues for about 20 seconds with the last 10-15 seconds of the track sustaining the final chords.

Listening to the song, I could hear God’s love at work through the notes.  The steady rhythm for the first two-thirds of the composition could represent a person who is ignoring God’s work in his life.  God’s response is to continually create something more fanciful in order to get his attention.  Eventually, it has the desired effect and we hear this in the pause and near-reversal of roles as the person who has discovered the wonders of God now echoes them to others.

The song, "I Love You For Your Sake” comes from the disc, Don’t Go Back To Sleep – Music for Solo Piano Vol. 1 and includes 10 original piano solos inspired by the writings of Baha’u’llah.  This debut album is due very soon (I was able to get my hands on a demo).  Recently, Slott did a give away on his website, and before it ended he sent out 1,000 CDs all over the world so someone near you may already have recordings of his work (wink, wink).

You can listen to some of Luke Slott’s music at his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/lukeslott

And also visit the Official Luke Slott Website: http://www.lukeslott.com/ – this is the only place where you will you will be able to buy Don’t Go Back to Sleep when it is released!

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.

But there is need of a superior power to overcome human prejudices, a power which nothing in the world of mankind can withstand and which will overshadow the effect of all other forces at work in human conditions. That irresistible power is the love of God. It is my hope and prayer that it may destroy the prejudice of this one point of distinction between you and unite you all permanently under its hallowed protection. Bahá’u'lláh has proclaimed the oneness of the world of humanity. He has caused various nations and divergent creeds to unite. He has declared that difference of race and color is like the variegated beauty of flowers in a garden. If you enter a garden, you will see yellow, white, blue, red flowers in profusion and beauty — each radiant within itself and although different from the others, lending its own charm to them. Racial difference in the human kingdom is similar. If all the flowers in a garden were of the same color, the effect would be monotonous and wearying to the eye.

Therefore, Bahá’u'lláh hath said that the various races of humankind lend a composite harmony and beauty of color to the whole. Let all associate, therefore, in this great human garden even as flowers grow and blend together side by side without discord or disagreement between them.

~ Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 68

The elimination of prejudices is one of the core beliefs of the Baha’i Faith.  We are not expected to do this on our own, as mentioned in this quote.  Abdu’l-Baha confirms that this endeavor is so great that we require the love of God in order to accomplish it.

A beautiful analogy follows—the variegated skin colors of humans as different types of flowers.  Different, yes, but all equal and all contributing to one great mosaic.  In this way, our diversity can lead to our unity.

O SON OF SPIRIT!
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.

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

I love the first two questions posed here, and the analogies that lie within them.  Surely we were not all born as wealthy royalty.  On the other hand, we are provided with all of the things we need to live a healthy, and rewarding life.  But, we have a tendency to turn away from those gifts from God.  We become confused by the trappings of this world and begin to think that riches are equal to money and goods. consequently we begin to focus on comparing ourselves to others, and trying to fill voids with things we now perceive to lack.  However, Baha’u’llah tells us here that if we stay focused on those wonderful abilities, talents and wonders that have bestowed upon each of us by God, we will see how wonderful they are, and, in turn, see God working with us.

O SON OF BEING!
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 Arabic Hidden Words, #5

God’s love is there for us, but we must be ready to receive it.  I recall being asked many times why we should worship God.  If He loves us so much and wants the best things for us anyhow, why is it necessary for us to do anything?  This short quote provides the answer to that question.

Love must go in both directions.  Not only does it need to be given, but it must be received.  Although God will always love us, if we do not also return the emotion then it has no impact.