Re: We don't want to see God with our own eyes, or hear his melody with our own ears


On 5/11/07, Kent Johnson <kent@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Larry,

Oh well, Rebequa Murphy has a different understanding of the Baha'i Faith
than you do.

Is that really something that flabbergasts you so?

I would venture to say that no two people understand the Baha'i Faith the
same. Do you disagree?

--Kent


Dear Kent,

I doubt very seriously if the Counsellor intended to give the
impression that Baha'is need not follow the principle of the
independent investigation of truth. She probably had in mind
statements from the Will and Testament like this:

"The sacred and youthful branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as
well as the Universal House of Justice to be universally elected and
established, are both under the care and protection of the Abha
Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One
(may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is
of God. Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, hath not obeyed
God; whoso rebelleth against him and against them hath rebelled
against God; whoso opposeth him hath opposed God; whoso contendeth
with them hath contended with God; whoso disputeth with him hath
disputed with God; whoso denieth him hath denied God; whoso
disbelieveth in him hath disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth,
separateth himself and turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated,
separated himself and turned aside from God."

(Abdu'l-Baha, The Will and Testament, p. 11)

Now if one is looking for contradiction one will likely see the
principle of the independent investigation of truth and firmness in
the Covenant as contradictory. But as the House of Justice wrote me:

"A Baha'i's duty to pursue an unfettered search after truth should
lead him to understand the Teachings as an organic, logically coherent
whole, should cause him to examine his own ideas and motives, and
should enable him to see that adherence to the Covenant, to which he
is a party, is not blind imitation but conscious choice, freely made
and freely followed."

Baha'u'llah Himself wrote of the principle of Justice which I'm sure
we all remember is the Best Beloved of all things:

"The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for
man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the
eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a
searching eye."

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)

Note that what Baha'u'llah urges us to look for 'oneness' with a
searching eye, not discrepancies. (Okay, I'm the worst offender when
it comes to that. But Ismael Velasco recently wrote a magnificent post
in Spanish which has given me a lot to think about. This post owes a
lot to him.) Baha'u'llah also urges us:

"Warn, O Salman, the beloved of the one true God, not to view with too
critical an eye the sayings and writings of men. Let them rather
approach such sayings and writings in a spirit of open-mindedness and
loving sympathy"

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 329)

The above, of course, would apply to words of people like Counsellor
Murphy. But when one fails to examine things with the 'eye of oneness'
one is likely to see contradictions even in the Writings. For
instance, we all know that Baha'u'llah calls upon us to see with our
own eyes and not through the eyes of another. At the same time, He
says:

"Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears,
that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My voice; empty
thyself of all learning, that thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and
sanctify thyself from riches, that thou mayest obtain a lasting share
from the ocean of My eternal wealth." (Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden
Words)

Or this one:

"If it be your wish, O people, to know God and to discover the
greatness of His might, look, then, upon Me with Mine own eyes, and
not with the eyes of any one besides Me. Ye will, otherwise, be never
capable of recognizing Me, though ye ponder My Cause as long as My
Kingdom endureth, and meditate upon all created things throughout the
eternity of God, the Sovereign Lord of all, the Omnipotent, the
Ever-Abiding, the All-Wise. Thus have We manifested the truth of Our
Revelation, that haply the people may be roused from their
heedlessness, and be of them that understand."

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 272)

Or this passage which the Guardian quotes in the Advent of Divine
Justice:

"Verily I say! No one hath apprehended the root of this Cause. It is
incumbent upon everyone, in this day, to perceive with the eye of God,
and to hearken with His ear. Whoso beholdeth Me with an eye besides
Mine own will never be able to know Me."

(Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 77)

Or this one from the Iqan:

"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."

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 16)

and:

"Gazing with the eye of God, he will perceive within every atom a door
that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude."
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 195)

and:

"loftiness and sublimity are themselves the creations of His Word, if
ye choose to see with My sight not with yours."

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 73)

Further:

"In this station he pierceth the veils of plurality, fleeth from the
worlds of the flesh, and ascendeth into the heaven of singleness. With
the ear of God he heareth, with the eye of God he beholdeth the
mysteries of divine creation."

(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 17)


Now we can do what Larry does, picking and choosing between which of
Baha'u'llah's Writings we will accept or reject, or we can follow the
Guardian's advice:

"He feels that many of the perplexities that arise in your mind could
be dissipated if you always conceived of the teachings as one great
whole with many facets. Truth may, in covering different subjects,
appear to be contradictory, and yet it is all one if you carry the
thought through to the end, For instance the statement on life after
death and the condition of believers and non- believers; you might say
that a wonderful believer is like a diamond blazing in the sun, an
unawakened soul like one in a dark room. But we must couple this
concept with the other part of the teachings, that God's mercy exceeds
His justice, and that soul can progress in the world beyond; the
unillumined soul can become brilliant."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer, February 24, 1947)

In another letter written on his behalf the Guardian indicates:

"One might liken Bahá'u'lláh's teachings to a sphere; there are points
poles apart, and in between the thoughts and doctrines that unite
them..."

(Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 228)

I mentioned early a Spanish post which Ismael Velasco had put up on
another list. Let me provide a loose translation of what he said after
providing quotes from the Writings such as this:

"A review, however brief, of the afore-mentioned texts, makes it very
clear that the instruction to see with our own eyes is something that
applies in relation to merely human eyes. In other words do not take
what others say or think as having any more interpretative authority
that you yourself have. You have to reach your own conclusions and
judges by your own criteria. That does not have to mean that you
relate to the opinions of others, ( even Counsellors! ; -), with an
excessively critical eye because, as I believe I outlined earlier in
this same discussion, far from opening ones mind to the truth, that
closes it to new possibilities. Rather, seeing with our own eyes must
be alert and directed by an attitude of open and loving sympathy to
other people's opinions, which makes humility and the respect easier
as well as the search for truth.

Now these passages which refer to our seeing with our own eyes in
relationship to our equals are complemented by those which call us to
subordinate our personal vision to the Divine vision, acquire their
greatest and clearest expression in the voice of the Manifestation of
God and the channels of His infallible guidance. From the perspective
of what emanates from this divine infallibility, our personal vision
fades so much so that before the divine guidance we find our own,
"therefore, if those who have come to the sea of His presence are
found to possess none of the limited things of this perishable world,
whether it be outer wealth or personal opinions, it mattereth not. For
whatever the creatures have is limited by their own limits, and
whatever the True One hath is sanctified therefrom; this utterance
must be deeply pondered that its purport may be clear. [Baha'u'llah,
The Seven Valleys, p. 36]

Perhaps by applying this rule from the Tablet of Ahmad and seeing with
our own eyes without disqualifying other people's opinions, but
rather reconciling them with our own, we arrive at sufficient clarity
to see the process of the Divine Plan for ourselves, not simply the
limitations of our our circumscribed vision, but rather through the
divine lens which within its area of jurisdiction speaks to us
through the Universal House of Justice."

Now if I can speak with my own voice for a moment and not through the
voice of another I would add that when it comes to recognizing who is
and who is not a Manifestation, what are and what are not the voices
of Divine Authority, we must rely on our own eyes and our own
knowledge, while at the same time recognizing their ultimate
insufficiency and trusting in God's guidance to provide the rest. But
Baha'is are those who have already recognized Baha'u'llah and His
Covenant which provide the sources of continuing guidance. Does that
mean we forsake the independent investigation of truth when we become
Baha'is? Of course not! It is still us that has to recognize the
truth, it is still us who has to understand it, it is still us who has
to decide to obey it, it is still us who decide how best to obey. It
may even be us who may at times have to reasss whether our recognition
and subsequent obedience have been well-placed. But unless we
recognize an authority outside of ourselves we can never become
anything more than what we are in the immediate present. This happens
to a lot of Baha'is and may be one of the reasons they eventually
leave the Faith.

Ian Semple once gave a talk on obedience in which he describes what
sometimes happens in this way:

"Take, for example, someone who is afire for social justice and who,
from his own experience in life and from ideas that he has drawn from
others, has evolved a philosophy of social reform that is very close
to the teachings of Baha'u'llah. When he meets the Faith, he finds a
whole community of people with similar ideas. He declares himself a
Baha'i and is registered as a member of the community. If his
attraction does not develop into true understanding of the teachings
and into obedience to Baha'u'llah, he sooner or later meets with
Baha'i teachings which do not fit into his own philosophy, so he
challenges them and tries to change the Faith to be closer to his own
ideals. He does not succeed, so, in disillusionment, he leaves the
Faith and drifts off to link up with others of like mind with whom, in
due course, he comes again to disagree. Because he is self-centred he
remains alone, in a sense, throughout his life. He may connect with
some people but then break up again."

At its very essence the Covenant means that when the words "Am I not
your Lord?" are uttered, we answer "Yes." Where independent
investigation of truth is thought to mean we accept no authority
outside of ourselves then there is no Covenant and consequently no
relationship with God.

warmest, Susan



.

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