The quote above is from one of the Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed while He was a prisoner in Akka- the “Tablet of Wisdom”. The Tablet was addressed to a man named Nabil, who was a very learned man of his time and an expert on Greek philosophy. Characteristic of many of the Blessed Beauty’s Tablets, Baha’u’llah addresses all of humanity in answering Nabil’s questions. The Tablet of Wisdom is known for its attention to core issues in philosophy and science, like the origin of creation and other related questions. This one also begins with an exhortation that elevates our sense of virtue and emphasizes the critical ethical aspect of His Revelation- the love for all humanity.
Category: Inspirational
This quote, taken from one of the Tablets of Baha’u’llah expresses what you feel when you connect spiritually with a Revelation from God. You just want to tell people about it! In truth, a Revelation is a magnificent thing- possibly the most significant thing that exists, when you consider that it is God speaking to His creation. Baha’u’llah taught that it always must be spread with wisdom and understanding, and always in a manner that befits the dignity of the message. He forbade conflict and contention in religion, and it must be shared in the spirit of the “utmost kindness and goodwill”. Bahai’s often say that it should be as if you are presenting a gift to a king!
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For all those going back to school this weekend, in schools, colleges and universities throughout the country, this post is a tribute to you!! Good luck!
In addition to the quote from Baha’u’llah, below you will find a short and impromptu talk ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ gave at Clark University in NY, when he was visiting America. It demonstrates his commitment to science and learning, and how we should labor for it’s promotion all around the world. Indeed, he regarded it as a spiritual pursuit. Enjoy!
Blessed audience, I am overjoyed to be with you here today. It had been my hope to visit this University, and now that hope has been fulfilled. This University will be the source of great things, for science is the special merit of human beings, and is that which distinguishes man and gives him superiority over the other creatures of God. Through the knowledge bestowed by science, human beings can discover the secrets of the Universe. With science alone can man unlock the secrets of the past and accurately forecast the shape of future events. With science he can explain the processes of nature, and can comprehend the movements of the heavenly bodies. Science glorifies man forever; it is his means of achieving honor and dignity in the world. Science can also unlock the secrets of the Holy Books: It un covers the secret of reality. Science serves the world of reality: It can save man from the superstition of the religions of the past, revealing to him the reality of the religions of God. Science can set man free from the captivity of nature, and diminish the power of nature’s negative forces. For nature, indeed, holds all things in the Universe in captivity: The earth, with its stones, trees and animals, the sun itself in all its glory–none can make the slightest departure from nature’s laws.
But man–man with the aid of science can rend asunder nature’s laws and produce a new law for nature itself to follow. Science takes the sword from the hand of nature and uses it against nature in the service of man. Solid objects are made to fly through the air at man’s command, or to float on or beneath the surface of the water. The power of electricity is trapped in a glass bulb; the spoken word is held and preserved; airwaves become the carriers of messages; ships sail on land; deserts become oceans; mountains are rent asunder. North is brought closer to South; West is joined to East. And although these occurrences stand outside the realm of the law of nature, man through science achieves them, bringing art and industry out of obscurity and into the light. Unless man is free, then all the Universe is in bondage to nature’s laws. Man alone has the capacity for freedom, and it is science that is the implement of his freedom. Thus, science is the highest merit of humanity: It’s glory endures; it has an eternal lifetime. The role of the King is temporary; that of the scientist has enduring glory. A man, though weak physically, if wise with the power of science can discover the secret truths of the Universe and win undying fame. For the mass of men are like those drugged in sleep, and the man of science is he who is awake; the mass of men are unknown to fame, and the man of science is renowned: Science is like a candle, and the learned man like a lantern.
And so it is that I am in utmost joy to be here at this center of learning. My hope is that this University will grow and disseminate the light of science which can illuminate the whole world, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and life to those who are as dead. For as the Bible says: “… Because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” And Christ in the Holy Book says: I will heal them. And so it is proven that the ignorant is dead where the scholar lives, the ignorant blind where the scholar is sighted, the ignorant deaf but the scholar endowed with hearing–and the noblest of all things is science. In this country, science is established in the schools and universities.
My wish is that other countries may follow your example, raising the standard of science in the cause of overthrowing superstition. The imitation of useless forms that only divide people must be rejected; prejudice must be changed to cooperation; the banner of peace for all mankind must be raised, and all the continents of the world be shaded by the pavilion of universal peace. Science shall unite all people, making of all the nations one country, and of all the earth one homeland. All the religions shall be one, and science can reveal this reality. For all the religions come from God, and they are reality. But now mankind is shadowed by worthless superstitions, which darken the light of the sun of reality. These clouds must be dispersed, that the reality of all religions having their source in the One God may be revealed. There is only this one reality, and all of the religions must join together, banishing prejudice and enmity. Thus will the unity of the world be realized.
Therefore, since science casts out fear and reveals the Kingdom of Heaven, I ask God to raise the banner of science higher each day, to make its star shine ever brighter, until all the populations of the world attain to understanding. Let minds advance, inventions increase, let hearts expand and understanding deepen. Let mankind make progress in all his goodly endeavors, and under the shadow of Almighty God, let the utmost happiness be realized by all mankind. For all of these things are present potentially in the world of reality, and the gift of God for unleashing this potential is science. I have come from a remote land. I have seen here gatherings of honorable men of science, who have established systems for the spreading of knowledge. I will tell of these things when I return, urging all to learn the useful arts of science and technology. And my hope is that you will welcome the people of the East–from India, China, Japan, Arabia, Armenia–that upon returning to their native soil they will propagate this innovative knowledge, until the East can equal the West in science and technology. They have the aptitude, but have no means for a formal, disciplined education. Thus it is my hope that science will flourish all the more, here in the West, that all the nations of the world may thereby be enlightened, that true communication may thereby be established, and that the potential happiness of the world of humanity may thereby be revealed. May the science of the knowledge of God flourish too in East and West, that human rights and dignities may be protected, human virtues be encouraged, and that the utmost unity and harmony may prevail. This is my utmost desire. This is my purpose in visiting America.
Student at King’s College, Cambride in the UK. Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash
Baha’u’llah always encouraged us to have a “world-embracing” vision and called upon the leaders of the world’s governments to “promote the highest interests of the whole of humanity”, instead of focusing only on their own national interests. Our problems in the 21st century can only be solved in this manner.
Houses of worship- churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples- dot the landscape of every region of the world. Often, they are the center of a major city, and the first community building people built when people settled an area. They all attest to an underlying reality- humans are spiritual beings who desire for spiritual relationships and community with others. Baha’is host devotional gatherings all over the world that are open to all peoples, and all the Baha’i Houses of Worship are open to everyone. They cause people to be “filled with light”.
The Revelations of God have often used light as a symbol for our inner spirituality and the Word of God that helps us grow. In our world, physical light is the source of life and nothing could exist without it. Spiritual light causes our spirituality to grow and finding the light within us and reflecting that to others can be seen as the purpose of our lives. For the next several posts, we will draw on the Gospels, the Quran and the Revelation of Baha’u’llah to highlight passages that reflect this theme.
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One of the beautiful truths expressed in Baha’u’llah’s Revelation is the majesty of creation, and how we are only a small part of its nearly infinite range. Despite being that small part, our lives have meaning through our relationship to the ultimate Source of that creation.
“A drop of the billowing ocean of His endless mercy hath adorned all creation with the ornament of existence, and a breath wafted from His peerless Paradise hath invested all beings with the robe of His sanctity and glory. A sprinkling from the unfathomed deep of His sovereign and all-pervasive Will hath, out of utter nothingness, called into being a creation which is infinite in its range and deathless in its duration. The wonders of His bounty can never cease, and the stream of His merciful grace can never be arrested. The process of His creation hath had no beginning, and can have no end.” -Baha’u’llah
A quote from Baha’u’llah-
“Beautify your tongues, O people, with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye deal not treacherously with anyone. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His creatures, and the emblems of His generosity amidst His people….Strive, O people, that your eyes may be directed towards the mercy of God, that your hearts may be attuned to His wondrous remembrance, that your souls may rest confidently upon His grace and bounty, that your feet may tread the path of His good-pleasure.”
Photo by Kevin Lanceplaine on Unsplash
If you ask a Baha’i why they have come to accept Baha’u’llah’s Revelation, you may get many answers. But if you drill down on all of them, at the root is a spiritual response to a “Voice” that is transcendent and sublime. It was that same Voice, spoken through Christ, that stirred Christians to their depths, and later was spoken by Muhammad and raised the civilization of Islam. That Voice has spoken again, and it stirs you to your bones.