In the famous children’s book by Dr Seuss known as the Lorax, all the trees are being cut down to feed a factory until the Lorax arrives to protest, stating that he “speaks for the trees” because they have no voice.  I often think of Baha’u’llah as being like the Lorax, and that line “I speak for the trees” reverberates. Like the Lorax, Baha’u’llah only had His Pen as a tool, as His Voice.  He was up against the imperialist and sovereign rules of the earth, the inveterate clergy whose authority he challenged, and a largely neglectful humanity who was engrossed in its material preoccupations. Baha’u’llah speaks with a challenging Voice, but he needed to in order to break through the walls that had built up between people and their own potential. 

By the righteousness of God, my Well-Beloved! I have never aspired after worldly leadership. My sole purpose hath been to hand down unto men that which I was bidden to deliver by God, the Gracious, the Incomparable, that it may detach them from all that pertaineth to this world, and cause them to attain such heights as neither the ungodly can conceive, nor the froward imagine.

Baha’u’llah not only speaks for the trees, He speaks for us, for the people. His teachings are for us. We are the ones who ultimately benefit.  “The one true God, exalted be His glory, hath wished nothing for Himself. The allegiance of mankind profiteth Him not, neither doth its perversity harm Him. The Bird of the Realm of Utterance voiceth continually this call: “All things have I willed for thee, and thee, too, for thine own sake.”

In His Tablets to the Kings, Baha’u’llah describes the importance of the people- who He describes as the “treasures of the earth”- and also the land and the earth through which they harvest their wealth. He warns the leaders not to neglect their true treasure-

If ye stay not the hand of the oppressor, if ye fail to safeguard the rights of the down-trodden, what right have ye then to vaunt yourselves among men? What is it of which ye can rightly boast? Is it on your food and your drink that ye pride yourselves, on the riches ye lay up in your treasuries, on the diversity and the cost of the ornaments with which ye deck yourselves? If true glory were to consist in the possession of such perishable things, then the earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you, because it supplieth you, and bestoweth upon you, these very things, by the decree of the Almighty. In its bowels are contained, according to what God hath ordained, all that ye possess. From it, as a sign of His mercy, ye derive your riches. Behold then your state, the thing in which ye glory! Would that ye could perceive it! Nay, By Him Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of the entire creation! Nowhere doth your true and abiding glory reside except in your firm adherence unto the precepts of God, your wholehearted observance of His laws, your resolution to see that they do not remain unenforced, and to pursue steadfastly the right course…

We now live in a world where people, not just the earth and the land, are considered “consumers”, “human capital”, and minds and hearts to be manipulated for their own ends. Even information is now “spun” to achieve the greatest effect, enriching someone’s “portfolio” or enhancing some selfish interest. Materialist scientists and other “public intellectuals” tell humans that they are nothing more than the result of mindless matter rearranging itself through chance and necessity to produce a biological machine without any soul, without any purpose. 

Baha’u’llah’s vision bring coherence back to the reality of our world. The religions of the world are not some gobbleygook of incoherent nonsense- as they sometimes appear- but steps in the evolution of humanity’s spiritual education. If they appear outworn, outmoded, or just plain old, it is partly because we have evolved beyond the messages and world view of those traditional religions. At the same time, all of them are true within their own station, and deserve our respect and honor. Nothing Baha’u’llah ever said even remotely suggested that we have to abandon the profound truth and beauty of the Revelations of the past. 

For many people, traditional religions have already been replaced by materialism. People are attracted to materialism as the intellectual theme of our time, but the nature of creation cannot simply be only matter. It simply can’t. You end up having to deny things we know exist- like human free will and even subjective consciousness itself.  Such a view is ultimately as incoherent as some of the teachings of traditional religion.  But we need a new framework through which to think about the world.

Baha’u’llah’s teachings are the way out of the trap, the gift we have been given to find our real humanity again.  In a remarkable and beautiful passage, He describes His commandments-

O ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness…Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witness that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed. Meditate upon this, O men of insight!

We have reviewed some of these “commandments” in this series of essays- teachings about the oneness of humanity, the education of women, the independent investigation of truth, avoidance of all forms of prejudice, and the need for religion to “make sense” and to be consistent with our findings in the scientific realm. There are many other critical ideas we could have discussed- and will highlight in future posts on Sifter of Dust- such as the importance of consultation in human decision making and the elimination of the extremes of wealth and poverty that exist in our world. All of these are ideals that Baha’is act with others to try and make into a reality world-wide.  We believe that a comprehensive approach is needed to tackle the range of challenges that afflict humanity world-wide. 

Beyond the social teachings however, there is a profound message in Baha’u’llah’s words to each one of us, to our innermost hearts.  The massive changes in our world in the last three centuries and the overturning of previous beliefs that rooted people in our own lives have left us vulnerable on the inside. We no longer trust ourselves.  We no longer trust our natural spiritual instincts that our lives have purpose and meaning and that we are built for something greater than ourselves. We are caught in a narrative about ourselves that we are material things built for material purposes only- and that is what we seek. Our inner spirituality has withered.

In one passage, Baha’u’llah states that “the beginning of religion is love for God…, and its end is to manifest that love to His servants”.  The core of the message Baha’u’llah brought into the world is spiritual transformation, to revive the love of God in our hearts.  He seeks to transform the world by transforming our inner reality.  But it’s not something we do alone. We do it in communities where we work with others to not only fuel the engine of our spirituality, but express that faith in lines of action that Baha’u’llah has outlined, the essence of which is “love to His servants”. 

In a beautiful passage, Baha’u’llah says that, in the past, humans would search their whole lives to find their inner beloved, but, in this Day, it is the Beloved Himself who is searching for his lovers-

For whereas in days past every lover besought and searched after his Beloved, it is the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers and is inviting them to attain His presence. Take heed lest ye forfeit so precious a favor; beware lest ye belittle so remarkable a token of His grace. Abandon not the incorruptible benefits, and be not content with that which perisheth. Lift up the veil that obscureth your vision, and dispel the darkness with which it is enveloped, that ye may gaze on the naked beauty of the Beloved’s face, may behold that which no eye hath beheld, and hear that which no ear hath heard.

With that, we invite you to explore the beauty of Baha’u’llah’s Faith and the Revelation of God for our time in history.  There’s no rush, no pressure.  We all come to religion with all different perspectives and different histories that need to be worked through.  The kind of transformation we are engaged in is not one that can be rushed or forced.  We simply invite you to join us on the journey of exploration.