Wanderings

I recently hosted a devotional meeting on the concept of “Spiritual Warriors: in my usual, nonconventional manner.  We explored the concept of going out into battle every day that we face injustice in the world.  Of course, we do not fight with weapons designed to injure and kill, but rather we arms ourselves with spiritual qualities, we protect ourselves with our prayers, and we must decide what it is we fight for and we do that fighting.  To help us to illustrate this point, we decorated a warrior and recorded what we use as a sword, a shield, our battlecry and our opponents.  Below is mine:

I got this idea from listening to the song, Spiritual Warriors by Dawnbreaker Collective.

TeacherJay Reflections Monday Night Devotions, music, society, spiritual journey

The principles of the Teachings of Bahá’u'lláh should be carefully studied, one by one, until they are realized and understood by mind and heart

~ Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 22

I LOVE this quote.  There is something very special to me about the way that we are encouraged to slow down and focus on the meaning of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings—not to rush through, but to reflect.  However, there is encouragement that we can actually understood them by mind and heart by doing so.

TeacherJay Paris Talks reflection, spiritual journey

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

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

O MY SERVANT!
Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words

This world we live in has many chains that bind us to it, keep us a prisoner and shackle us to materialistic ways. We have the power to fight it, to free ourselves, but we must make an effort to do so. If we do not, we will forever be caught up in attempts to become better than one another, but make no real progress towards anything.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The materialism, progress, reflection, spiritual journey

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

Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. It is not rude. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs.

Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up.

Love never fails. But prophecy will pass away. Speaking in languages that had not been known before will end. And knowledge will pass away.

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

I have chosen today’s post not only because of its beautiful message, but to let everyone know that Elika Mahony (whom I have previously mentioned), is allowing people to download a song from her new album.  A Baha’i artist, Mahony has set the above quote from the New Testament to music.  It is a beautiful adaptation and I encourage everyone to give it a listen by clicking here.

Seeing this quote in context is also important though.  It was written by St. Paul (of Tarsus).  In the 13th chapter he is discussing how to worship God when he turns to the topic of love and opens the chapter his way:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)

Following the first quote on this page is another well-known verse:

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

~ 1 Corinthians 13:11-12 (NIV)

This always give me a sense that Paul understood the way that we are able to mature in our thoughts and spirituality just as we mature physically.  The Baha’is believe that humankind has been undergoing our own spiritual maturation over millennia and each successive manifestation of God was able to reveal more and more of God’s message to us.

TeacherJay Christianity independent investigation of truth, love, music, spiritual journey, spiritual maturation

O SON OF MAN!
If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #7

This short writing from the Hidden Words reminds me that in order to truly love God, His creations and the rest of humanity, I must look not towards myself and my desires, but must focus my energies, my thoughts, my talents, and my life on Him.

TeacherJay Hidden Words, The detachment, prayer, reflection, service, spiritual journey

All praise, O my God, be to Thee Who art the Source of all glory and majesty, of greatness and honor, of sovereignty and dominion, of loftiness and grace, of awe and power. Whomsoever Thou willest Thou causest to draw nigh unto the Most Great Ocean, and on whomsoever Thou desirest Thou conferrest the honor of recognizing Thy Most Ancient Name. Of all who are in heaven and on earth, none can withstand the operation of Thy sovereign Will.  From all eternity Thou didst rule the entire creation, and Thou wilt continue for evermore to exercise Thy dominion over all created things. There is none other God but Thee, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.

Illumine, O Lord, the faces of Thy servants, that they may behold Thee; and cleanse their hearts that they may turn unto the court of Thy heavenly favors, and recognize Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy Self and the Day-Spring of Thine Essence. Verily, Thou art the Lord of all worlds. There is no God but Thee, the Unconstrained, the All-Subduing.

~ Baha’u'llah

This prayer is the first in the “Praise and Gratitude” section of my prayer book – the one I use is a very popular edition that can be found in many Baha’i homes.  The first paragraph contains some words of praise and statements of the power of God to draw people close to Him such that no one would be able to resist nearness to Him if it were His will.  Rather than commanding this closeness, however, God loves the disbeliever first in an effort to make this person realize what they have missed and to recognize the manifestation that has appeared on Earth to instruct them in God’s message.

I believe strongly that these prayers were written not just for praise of God, but were intended just as much for what they remind us to do and who to be.  When the person reciting this prayer requests of God to illumine the faces and cleanse the hearts of His servants in order that they recognize the manifestation of God for this age, it is a personal request as well because every Baha’i is one of those servants.  When we say this prayer, we are not just praising God in our gratitude for the wonders he has bestowed upon us, but also asking Him and telling ourselves to continue in this path.  Just because we have declared ourselves as Baha’is, does not mean that we are no longer part of the un-illumined, but rather that we are just one step further on the journey.

TeacherJay Baha'u'llah, Prayers grace, manifestations, reflection, spiritual journey