A Pennsylvania-based Baha'i website that explores God's latest Revelation to all humanity
O SON OF MAN! Wert thou to speed through the immensity of space and traverse the expanse of heaven, yet thou wouldst find no rest save in submission to Our command and humbleness before Our Face. (Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah)
Music by Paul Parrish on ladderforyoursoul.com. Photo by Bryan Goff on Unsplash
O BOND SLAVE OF THE WORLD! Many a dawn hath the breeze of My loving-kindness wafted over thee and found thee upon the bed of heedlessness fast asleep. Bewailing then thy plight it returned whence it came. (Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah)
Photo by Angel Felix Nieto Quilon on Unsplash. Music by Paul Parrish, available at ladderforyoursoul.com
Unless the season of winter appear, thunder roll, lightning flash, snow and rain fall, hail and frost descend and the intensity of cold execute its command, the season of the soul-refreshing spring would not come, the fragrant breeze would not waft, the moderation of temperature would not be realized, the roses and hyacinths would not grow, the surface of the earth would not become a delectable paradise, the trees would not bloom, neither would they bring forth fruits and leaves. That fierce inclemency of cold, snow, frost and tempest was the beginning of the manifestation of these roses, hyacinths, buds, blossoms and fruits. (‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
Many thanks to Sara Forouhi and Baha’i Blog for beautiful song. Photo by Ed Leszczynskl on Unsplash
We’ve spent more time highlighting one of the greatest figures of Islam- Ali Ibn Abu Talib- because of how Islam is often portrayed in the West and the confusion about it generally. When we study other people’s faiths, we often recognize that they believe their faiths for the same reason we believe ours- they are attracted to something noble and true. The writings and teachings of Ali were centuries ahead of their time, and presaged many of the features that characterize the revival of western civilization in the Enlightenment and subsequent developments. He continued along these lines, but unfortunately developed enemies, as he tried to institute reforms that were against the vested interests of others. We conclude the highlights of his life by presenting the story of his death as well as that of his wife, Fatimih, herself deeply honored by Muslims as the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
Fatimih was mortally wounded in an attack on their house when their children were still quite small. The house was burned but they were able to escape, but Fatimih’s wounds would lead her to pass away some time later. The description of her death is so intimate that one cannot be struck by how it affects our common humanity.
“She told the household that she was feeling better, that the pain in her ribs and in her hand was not so severe and that her fever had come down. Then she started bathing the children. Immediately, Ali and Fizza came to her assistance. She got the children bathed, dressed and fed, and then sent them away to her cousin. The she called Ali to her side and said “Ali, my dear husband, you known very well why I did all that. Please excuse my fussiness, but they have suffered so much with me during my illness that I want to see them happy on the last da of my life. Yes, Ali, you know also that this is the last day of my life. I am happy and also sad. Happy the my troubles will shortly be over and I shall meet my Father, and sorry that I am to part with you. Please Ali, make note of what I wish you to do….After me, you may marry anyone you like but you must marry my cousin Yamama. She loves my children and Hussain (their youngest son) is very much attached to her. Let Fizza remain with you after your marriage, if she so desires, she was more than just a servant to me. I loved her like my daughter…I know you love my children but be very careful of Hussain. He loves me dearly and will miss me sadly, so be a mother to him….Do not weep Ali, I know with a rough outward appearance what a tender heart you possess. You have already borne too much and will have to bear more. Farewell my lord, farewell my dear husband, farewell Ali”.
Ali himself would live several years longer but himself fell victim to an attack. He was praying in the mosque when he was struck from behind by a poisoned sword. “Ali finished his prostrations and then reeled into the hands of his sons, Hassan and Hussein…The attacker was caught and brought before Ali. Ali saw that the ropes were cutting into the flesh of the murderer. He ordered that they loosen the ropes on his hands so that he was treated more humanely. The kindness touched the heart of the murderer and he began weeping.’
A French philosopher would later extol the virtues of Ali in this manner- “But for his assassination, the Muslim world might have witness the realization of the Prophet’s teaching, in actual amalgamation of the first principles of true philosophy into positive action. The same passionate devotion to knowledge and learning which distinguished the Prophet Muhammad breathed in every word of Ali. With liberality of mind- far beyond the age in which he lived- was joined with a severe devotion of spirit and earnestness of faith. His sermons, his psalms, his litanies portray a devout uploading towards the source of All Good, and an unbounded faith in humanity.”
And we will conclude with a passage from a sermon: “By God, even if I am given all the domains of the seven stars with all that exists under the skies in order that I may disobey God to the extent of snatching one grain of barley from an ant, I would not do it. For me, your world is lighter than the leaf in the mouth of a locust that is chewing it. What has Ali to do with bounties that will pass away and pleasures that will not last? We seek protection from God from the slip of wisdom and the evils of error, and from Him do we seek succor.”
(Passages summarized from Peak of Eloquence (Nahjul Balagha), translated by Sayed Ali Reza and published by Thrice Tarsile Quran, Inc. Sixth Edition 1996)
O SON OF MAN! For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.
Tonight’s passage continues our “Profile in Spirituality” of Ali Ibn Abu Talib.
In the midst of one of the early battles against the Muslim community, Ali’s servant brought him some sweet syrup to drink, stating “my lord, the sun is very hot and you have been fighting, have a glass of this cold drink.”. Ali looked around himself and replied “shall I refresh myself when hundreds of people around me are lying wounded and dying of thirst and wounds? Instead of bringing sweet syrup for me, take a few men and give each of these wounded men a cool drink.” The servant said “but my lord, these are your enemies”. Ali said “they may be but they are human beings and attend to them.”
Another story is told of a situation in which Ali’s army was kept from refreshing themselves in a river, as it was presided over by the commander of the enemy. They requested but were denied the ability to refresh themselves. Soon after, Ali’s army attacked and were able to take the river. The enemy now sent men to Ali, asking if they could access the river for themselves and their horses. Ali told them to take as much water as they like and as often as they need. When his officers remarked to him that these were the very people who had refused them access to the river, he replied “they are human beings and, though they have acted inhumanly, yet I cannot follow their example and cannot refuse a man food and drink because he happens to be my enemy”.
After the death of the Prophet, Ali assumed no formal political role initially, spending time delivering sermons on the nature of Islam. He had a deep commitment to learning and protected the library of Alexandria from being harmed after it was taken by the Muslims, stating that none of the learning in it could possibly be against the Quran. When he did accede to leadership, he initiated reforms and systematically promoted education and literacy.
Ali was particularly concerned about the differences between the new Muslim community and the Arab tribal structure it was replacing. There was a constant tension, as there is in the modern day, between various groups who wanted to jockey for resources and power against other tribes and racial groups. Ali taught about the equal distribution of public wealth, even to slaves, and centered much of his attention on the poor and downtrodden. In order to demonstrate this, he sought to reflect these values in his own life, eating humble food and dressing in clothing that was similar to the poorest Muslims.
One man described an encounter with Ali in this way- “One day I went to see Ali in the Government House. It was the time of breakfast and before him there was a cup of milk and some barley bread. The bread was dry, stale, hard, and did not contain any butter or oil. It could not be easily broken into pieces…I turned towards his servant and said “FIzza! Have you no pity upon your old master and cannot give him softer bread and add some butter and oil to it?” She replied “why should I pity him when he doesn’t pity himself? He has strict orders that nothing it to be added to his bread and even the chaff and husks are not to be separated. We are his servants and we eat much better food than him”…. Ali was asked why he ate in this way and he replied- “I want the eat the kind of food which the poorest of this realm can afford at least once a day. I shall improve it after I have improved their standards of life. I want to live, feel, and suffer like them”.
One time, Ali came out of his house and there were patches sown onto his dress and was teased for looking so shabby. He said “Let go, what you you to find objection in my dress. It is the kind our masses can afford. Why can you not think of their lives and dress? I shall improve my standard after I have succeeded in improving theirs. I shall continue to live like them. Such kind of dress makes one feel humble and meek and give up vanity, haughtiness, and arrogance.”
Ali instituted progressive taxation and refused to accept gifts that were over and above the normal taxes. He insisted on the equal distribution of the public taxes, stating that the income of the ruler (from public wealth) must be no more than a commoner. The development of agricultures was more important than taxation stating “so far as the collection of land revenue is concerned, you must always keep in view the welfare of the tax-payer, which is more important than the taxes themselves…, as actual taxable capacity of people rests on the fertility of the land, therefore more attention should be paid to the fertility of the land and prosperity of the subjects than to the collection of revenues.” He also demonstrated benign governance. He laid down rules of war that supported only wars of defense, saying never to attack someone who is wounded or someone who is running away, and never to harm women, children, or the elderly.
In doing all these reforms, he made some natural enemies, particularly from those who wanted to control public wealth in a non-equal way. One of his companions pointed this out to him by saying, “Look my lord, these are the reasons influential people and rich Arabs are deserting you….Of what use are these poor persons, disabled people, aged widows and Negro slaves to you? How can they help and serve you?”. He replied “I cannot allow rich and influential persons to exploit the society of this Muslim state and run an inequitable and unjust system of distribution of wealth and opportunities. I cannot for a moment tolerate this. This is public wealth. It comes from the masses and must go back to them…So far as the usefulness or services of these disabled persons and have-nots is concerned, remember that I am not helping them to secure their services. I fully well know that they are not able to serve me. I help them because they cannot help themselves and they are as much human beings as you and I. May God help me to do my duty as He wishes me to do.”
In addition to being a great statesman, Ali is most known as the center of Islamic metaphysics and his commitment to reason and knowledge. His description of God is illuminating-
“God is not like any object that the human mind can conceive. No attribute can be ascribed to Him which bears the least resemblance to any quality of which human beings have perception from their knowledge of material objects…He is with every object, not from resemblance or nearness. He is outside everything but not from separation or indifference towards His creatures. He works and creates but not in the meaning of motions or actions….He has no relation to matter, time and space. God is omnipotent because knowledge is His Essence, Loving because love is His Essence, Might because power is His Essence, Forgiveness because forgiveness is His Essence, and not because these are attributes apart from His Essence.”
(Passages summarized from Peak of Eloquence (Nahjul Balagha), translated by Sayed Ali Reza and published by Thrice Tarsile Quran, Inc. Sixth Edition 1996)
O SON OF SPIRIT! With the joyful tidings of light I hail thee: rejoice! To the court of holiness I summon thee; abide therein that thou mayest live in peace for evermore
Photo courtesy of Morteza-Bach on unsplash
Music from Paul Parrish, available at ladderforyoursoul.com
Thank you for joining us on this! We hope you find it spiritually refreshing and enlivening. We’re going to take a very unique approach in the next 19 days and draw on the scriptures of three great religions- Christianity, Islam, and the Baha’i Faith- to try and grow spiritually and as people. As this is a program inspired by the Baha’i teachings, we are going to view these religions as Baha’is view them- not as separate “religions”- but as part of One Religion- the “changeless Faith of God”- as Baha’u’llah referred to it. This is therefore not an “inter-religious” program, but one that views each of these great revelations as part of one continuous whole. It’s a unique perspective, and takes a little getting used to, but it is extraordinarily enriching once you get your mind and heart around it.
We should note that there is no intention to exclude the other great revelations from God, and Baha’is accept that there were many others. We could have equally used passages from the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Bhagavad Gita, or others, but we wanted to keep it simple.
Our other focus is on this concept of the “voice of God”- that there is an inner melody to the diverse forms of language and concepts in these scriptures- a “voice” that you learn to recognize when you listen to them with your heart. That “voice” is humanity’s true Beloved, one that these scriptures all tell use we need to learn to recognize and follow. It’s a “spiritual thing”, but you’ll know it when you feel it. Some have compared it to the voice of their mother or father. Your mother spoke to you in different ways- sometimes gently, sometimes forcefully- and said many things, but it was still your mother’s voice and you knew it when you heard it. Same idea here.
The theme of this year’s challenge is “Finding your Beloved”. Even the title betokens a more intimate idea of God than many people may be used to, but it is at the center of what people feel in their heart when they develop a “personal relationship with God”. Your first “assignment” is to reflect on this beautiful quote from the Bab, that expresses a sense of spiritual intimacy-
“Behold with the eye of thy heart. Verily thy truth, the truth of thy being, is the divinity of thy Lord revealed unto thee and through thee. Thou art He Himself, and He is thou thyself, except that indeed thou art that thou art, and He is that He is…Verily, God ceaselessly sheddeth His effulgence, gazeth upon thee through thee, and embraceth thee through thee. This station is thine uttermost paradise and ultimate goal.”
Even if our minds may be cluttered with all kinds of different ideas about God- different impressions, some positive, some not so much- we can all feel the beauty of this way of thinking about God. It’s universal and that’s why we wanted to take this perspective for the Challenge.
Each morning, you will be presented with short passages to read and absorb. We highly encourage you to try and memorize them, at least the portions of them that you find significant. It helps to internalize them and you’ll be surprised when you find yourself thinking about their words while waiting in line at the supermarket or some other down moment. Those moments of reflection in real life can be the most enriching moments.
We will also supply music of the same passages we present when available, as music is a “ladder for our souls” and illuminates spiritual ideas. This is easier for Baha’i scriptures- particularly the Hidden Words- as Baha’is commonly put their scriptures to music. It is not as easy for Christian scripture, as Christians did not typically put the actual words of Jesus to music, and it is not possible to find music expressing words from the Quran in English.
The Challenge will follow an order from “inside” to “outside”- meaning we will start with trying to develop that sense of inner spirituality and how to nurture it, then move towards expressing that in the world through our actions. So, we’ll be pretty mystical at first, more practical later, but the whole idea of religion is to transform our insides and then express that in the world, so this is the perspective we took.
In the evening, you will be presented with longer passages and alternatively “Profiles of Spirituality”- stories of some of the beloved figures of history who have truly expressed genuine spirituality in action. Some of them will be familiar to you, others likely not, but they all exhibited amazing virtues that showed us what religion is really supposed to be about.
Our website does not allow comments but our Facebook and Twitter pages do, so please feel free to post any thoughts or comments on those pages for others who may be doing the Challenge. If you know of something inspiring related to something we post, please share it so others can benefit as well. And of course, feel free to share any of the content with other friends.
Thank you again for joining us! We hope you enjoy the Challenge!
The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, God’s revelation for our time in history, consists of the words of Baha’u’llah but also those of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’- the appointed interpreter of His teachings. ‘Abdu’l-Baha exemplified the ideals of Baha’u’llah- selflessness, purity of heart, keenness of mind, embrace of progress and science, and love of all people. The post below describes the life of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ and posts that highlight his life or writings are catgeorized and can be found off the link on the main page. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ is incredibly inspiring and illuminating! Please do take the time to read about him and explore his writings,. You will be very happy that you did!
For Baha’is, two extraordinarily significant things happened on the evening of May 23, 1844. The first was the Báb was announcing his revelation to the first believer, and the other was the birth of Baha’u’llah’s son, `Abdu’l-Bahá. It is remarkable that they occurred simultaneously. Some conjecture that, just as the revelation of God for today was being created, a human who could accept it on behalf of all humanity was also being created. Such mystical things we will never know, but we can say that `Abdu’l-Bahá was an extraordinary human by any measure.
Born with the given name of Abbas, the man we know as `Abdu’l-Bahá was a young child of 9 years of age when His father and family were exiled from their native Persia. He was 19 when His Father formally declared His mission to humanity. During His Father’s lifetime, `Abdu’l-Bahá increasingly represented the community to the outer world, allowing Baha’u’llah to carry out the work of His mission. Made an exile at the age of 9, `Abdu’l-Bahá remained a prisoner until he was 64 years old, with all the “good years’ of his life being spent in the harsh imprisonment of Akka- his only crime being that he was the son of a Prophet of God. When Baha’u’llah passed away in 1892, he made `Abdu’l-Bahá the center of His faith, describing him as the “Mystery of God” and stating “Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His footsteps have trodden, .. the heart that hath tasted the sweetness of His love, the breast that hath dilated through His remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the scroll that hath borne the testimony of His writings”.
After being released from prison by the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire, `Abdu’l-Bahá then traveled to the US and Europe in 1912 to promote his Father’s teachings. He had no formal education, had never spoken in public, and had been a prisoner all his life, but his presentations captivated people across America and Europe as he unfolded to them a vision of universal peace and justice. His visit encompassed dozens of stops and a variety of venues including talks at Columbia and Stanford Universities. Admired from afar by the founder to Temple University, Dr Russell Conwell, he was invited to speak in Philadelphia at the Baptist Temple on campus where he declared that “an equal standard of human rights must be recognized and adopted”, foreshadowing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was signed by all nations after the founding of the United Nations in 1945. Throughout these trips, `Abdu’l-Bahá declared the oneness of humanity, promoted the equality of men and women, proclaimed the fundamental unity between science and revelation, and exemplified how religion could be a source of goodness and truth. He had a remarkable mind, a gentle spirit, and an equally remarkable ability to explain spiritual ideas in accessible terms. The clarity, sweetness, and poetry of his language is unlike anything ever seen in the religious history of humankind.
In `Abdu’l-Baha’s travels, he spoke to western audiences and used language and examples that were familiar to those audiences. For that reason, many people find his writings to be very understandable and accessible, particularly if the Baha’i Faith is new to you. His talks in America are compiled in a book called “The Promulgation of Universal Peace”, while those in Europe may be found in “Paris Talks” among other compilations. “Selections of the Writings of `Abdu’l-Bahá” presents a selection of his vast correspondence to the Baha’is of the West and the larger Persian communities that he shepherded. The truths he expressed in these talks and letters, originally spoken and written 100 years ago, feel like they were from just yesterday.
Generations of Baha’i children from around the globe have memorized prayers and passages of `Abdu’l-Bahá- prayers such as ‘O God, refresh and gladden my spirit, purify my heart, illumine my powers”, and passages that teach children to see all humanity as a garden, with different colored flowers whose diversity contribute to the beauty of the whole.
Wherever he went and whatever he did, his sole desire was to demonstrate the truth of his Father’s revelation through word and deed. His public life was only about 20 years, but he left a wellspring of words and stories that will be guide to human civilization for centuries.
‘Abdu’l-Baha’s writings and talks can be found in several publications. “The Promulgation of Universal Peace” is a collection of his talks in America. “Paris Talks” collects his talks given in Paris. “‘Abdu’l-Baha in London” chronicles his visit to the UK. “Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha'” is a compilation of letters he wrote to Baha’is around the world. “Some Answered Questions” addresses various topics that were asked of him in a series of table conversations with Laura Clifford Barney, an educated woman from New York who had become a Baha’i in the early 20th century.
All of these are worth putting on your bedside table!
Photo is of `Abdu’l-Bahá (center) surrounded by a diverse group on one of his stops in America
Baha’u’llah was born in 1817 in Persia to a prominent and wealthy family. He was raised in Tehran and a rural provincial village, known as Nur, where he spent much of his childhood- learning horseback riding, calligraphy, and other skills considered appropriate for those of noble birth. He was not taught Arabic, and similar to Jesus, Muhammad, and the Báb, He was not trained in religion in any formal way. When he was in his late teens, his father died and Baha’u’llah assumed control of the family’s affairs. He soon freed all the family’s slaves, stating later in His revelation that “it was not for him who is himself a servant to own another of God’s servants”. His talents and capacity were well recognized and he was offered a position in the royal court, which he declined, choosing instead to serve the poor in the area around his rural home . He and his young wife turned a portion of their house into a children’s hospital for the province.
When Baha’u’llah was 27 years old, the Báb’s first and most prominent disciple communicated a message to Him through an intermediary, a message that included a Tablet from the Báb himself. Baha’u’llah opened the Tablet, read a few lines, and stated to his brother- who was standing with him at the time- that these were the words of God. Baha’u’llah remained as a background figure while the Báb’s religion played out and they never met in person, always separated by hundreds of miles.
After the execution of the Báb, a young man, disconsolate over the loss of the Báb, took it upon himself to revenge his death and attempted but failed to shoot the Shah. The event raised the ire of the royalty, who went on a rampage of mass imprisonment and execution of the Báb’s followers, of which Baha’u’llah was now one of the most prominent members. He was taken from His home and thrown into a dungeon known as the “Black Pit”. With two heavy chains around His neck and death an imminent possibility, Baha’u’llah’s revelation began. The Gospels describe the holy spirit alighting on Jesus like a “Dove” and Muhammad referred to the Voice of His revelation as the “Angel Gabriel”. Baha’u’llah described a “Maid of Heaven” appearing to Him in the Black Pit and confirming His station as the one chosen to reveal God’s will to humanity.
Baha’u’llah was then exiled from Persia to the provincial capital of the Ottoman Empire, Baghdad, where he was able to move freely about the city for the next 10 years. He gradually assumed greater leadership of the followers of the Báb, and attracted interest by a wide range of peoples who came through the city. In this broader cultural climate, Baha’u’llah continued the conversation with humanity started by the Báb, teaching the ideas of the progressive revelation of religious truth to different audiences using different genres. In the Seven Valleys, he explained the truths in the poetic language of a mystic. In the Book of Certitude, he addressed traditional theological challenges from the perspective of Christian and Muslim scripture. In 1863, in a garden that has come to be known as the “Garden of Ridvan (Paradise)”, Baha’u’llah formally declared openly His mission as the one the Bab had foretold and the fulfillment of the promises of all previous revelations.
With His revelation, Baha’u’llah declared that the standard God expected from humanity had changed. No longer was it acceptable before God to promote exclusiveness and division. The beloved of God in this Day were those who were lovers of the entire human race and worked for the benefit of all. He instructed us to have a “world-embracing vision”, to “make each day better than its yesterday” and to be “worthy of the trust of your neighbor and look upon him with a bright and friendly face”, stating that His first “counsel” was for humans to have a “pure, kindly and radiant heart”. He wanted us to open our minds as well as our hearts, to be just and fair-minded, and “look into all things with a searching eye”. He promoted scientific thinking as an expression of humanity’s God-given and fundamentally spiritual rational mind and said that humans possessed spiritual capacities that were utterly untapped. He saw gems in the hearts of human beings and His religion is meant to mine them.
As Baha’u’llah’s influence grew, the Persian and Ottoman authorities decided to suppress His impact by exiling him further away, eventually to the Crusade fortress of Akka in the Holy Land, just 100 miles from Jerusalem. From this desolate prison, Baha’u’llah revealed the major Tablets of His Revelation, including some of the Tablets to the Kings and other calls for the unity of the human race.
After the declaration of His mission, Baha’u’llah spoke with the Voice of God in all His Tablets and letters, with a power and majesty that is extraordinarily compelling. It is impossible in a single post- or a lifetime of posts- to fully capture the range and majesty of Baha’u’llah’s words. He himself described it as an “ocean inexhaustible in its riches” and invited humanity to “discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hidden in its depths”.
Photo is of the Shrine of Baha’u’llah in the Holy Land. Courtesy of Baha’i Media Bank.
