Re: For the sake of clarity

My thesis is based simply on the facts Carl.
Facts such as: Baha'u'llah was far from being the only enlightened
mind of his day and age.

It is axiomatic that thesis's based on faulty "facts" will
be faulty as well. There is no denial within the Bahá'í Faith that
there have been and are presently in the world many "enlightened"
human beings. In fact, it is the goal of the Bahá'í Faith that
everyone in the world, all six and a half billion of us, become
"enlightened," i.e., achieve "the realization of a spiritual or
religious understanding."

If Bahá'u'lláh were simply one of those "enlightened"
individuals then we would not be in disagreement, but as you know
Bahá'u'lláh has claimed to be more than just an "enlightened"
human being. He has claimed to be a "Manifestation of God." I
gather from your posts that you don't believe that such beings even
exist. That is your prerogative, but since you have logged on to a
Bahá'í discussion group and are attempting to explain why
Bahá'u'lláh's claim is a false, it does not seem out of line to
defend this particular belief.

You pose an important question though, one which every individual
faces. Since there are so many "enlightened" individuals in the
world, many of whom claim to speak for God, how does one know which one
is the real Manifestation of God? It is not unlike the old TV game
show "To Tell the Truth." The host asks the question "Will the
real . . . stand up?" and everyone on the panel stands up!

One could, of course, conclude as you have that such beings
don't even exist, which would render the question moot. For the sake
of argument though let's say that Bahá'u'lláh was telling the
truth when He spoke of such Beings. How does one recognize the true
Manifestation of God from among the many enlightened individuals that
you have named in your posts?

The first thing to realize is that everyone has the capacity to
perform this task. Bahá'u'lláh said, "He hath endowed every soul
with the capacity to recognize the signs of God. How could He,
otherwise, have fulfilled His testimony unto men, if ye be of them that
ponder His Cause in their hearts." Gleanings pp. 105-106

Now, "capacity" does not mean guarantee. Simply because
everyone has the "capacity" to recognize the true Prophet is no
guarantee that everyone will. Bahá'u'lláh, in fact, named some
of the factors that subvert this capacity-pride, attachment to the
material world, clinging to tradition and so forth. He also specified
quite clearly what one must do to turn capacity into realization.

He wrote: "O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take
the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the
Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is
the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the
obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the
embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the
sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and
sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all
shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no
remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love
blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the
truth. Even as thou dost witness in this Day how most of the people,
because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have
strayed far from the Embodiments of the Divine mysteries, and,
shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and
error."
Gleanings, page: 265

Let's list these actions one at a time so that they are clearer
to see.

1) Cleanse the heart of all acquired knowledge and allusions.
2) Purge the breast of every defilement.
3) Sanctify the soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay.
4) Sanctify the soul from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments.
5) Cleanse the heart of every remnant of love and hate.

These are internal actions which, when performed by the individual
seeker, turn capacity into achievement. These internal actions have
the effect of opening the inner eye, which discerns truth from error.
These internal actions lead one along the "path leading unto the
knowledge of the Ancient of Days."

Carl Brehmer


.

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