Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant - India

The universe is pregnant with these manifold bounties, awaiting the hour when the effects of Its unseen gifts will be made manifest in this world, when the languishing and sore athirst will attain the living Kawthar* of their Well-Beloved, and the erring wanderer, lost in the wilds of remoteness and nothingness, will enter the tabernacle of life, and attain reunion with his heart’s desire.  In the soil of whose heart will these holy seeds germinate?  From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth?  Verily, I say, so fierce is the blaze of the Bush of love, burning in the Sinai** of the heart, that the streaming waters of holy utterance can never quench its flame.  Oceans can never allay this Leviathan’s burning thirst, and this Phoenix*** of the undying fire can abide nowhere save in the glow of the countenance of the Well-Beloved.  Therefore, O brother! kindle with the oil of wisdom the lamp of the spirit within the innermost chamber of thy heart, and guard it with the globe of understanding, that the breath of the infidel may extinguish not its flame nor dim its brightness.  Thus have We illuminated the heavens of utterance with the splendours of the Sun of divine wisdom and understanding, that thy heart may find peace, that thou mayest be of those who, on the wings of certitude, have soared unto the heaven of the love of their Lord, the All-Merciful.

Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Iqan/Book of Certitude


*Kawthar: A river of Paradise from which all the others flow.  Part of its waters are led into a great lake on the shores of which the souls of the faithful rest when they have crossed the terrible bridge which is laid over the midst of Hell.

**Sinai: the mountain where God gave the Law to Moses.  (Qur’án, súrih 7:139 and Exodus 19).

***Phoenix: A bird fabled to exist single, to be consumed by fire by its own act, and to rise again from its ashes.

63. O SON OF MAN!

The light hath shone on thee from the horizon of the sacred Mount and the spirit of enlightenment hath breathed in the Sinai of thy heart. Wherefore, free thyself from the veils of idle fancies and enter into My court, that thou mayest be fit for everlasting life and worthy to meet Me. Thus may death not come upon thee, neither weariness nor trouble.

Baha’u’llah, Hidden Words.

Baha’i Sabbath: Kamal 11, 174 B.E. (8/11/2017)

All the people have formed a god in the world of thought, and that form of their own imagination they worship; when the fact is that the imagined form is finite and the human mind is infinite.1 Surely the infinite is greater than the finite, for imagination is accidental (or non-essential) while the mind is essential; surely the essential is greater than the accidental.

Therefore consider: All the sects and peoples worship their own thought; they create a god in their own minds and acknowledge him to be the creator of all things, when that form is superstition—thus people adore and worship imagination (or illusion).
That Essence of the Divine Entity and the Unseen of the unseen is holy above imagination and is beyond thought. Consciousness doth not reach It. Within the capacity of comprehension of a produced (or created) reality that Ancient Reality cannot be contained. It is a different world; from it there is no information; arrival thereat is impossible; attainment thereto is prohibited and inaccessible. This much is known: It exists and Its existence is certain and proven—but the condition is unknown.

All the philosophers and the doctors knew that It is, but they were perplexed in the comprehension of Its existence and were at last discouraged, and in great despair they left this world. For the comprehension of the condition and mysteries of that Reality of realities and Mystery of mysteries there is need for another power and another sense. That power and sense is not possessed by mankind, therefore they have not found any information. For example: If a man possess the power of hearing, the power of tasting, the power of smelling and the power of feeling, but no power of seeing, he cannot see. Hence, through the powers and senses present in man the realization of the Unseen Reality, which is pure and holy above the reach of doubts, is impossible. Other powers are needed and other senses required. If those powers and senses are obtained, then information can be had; otherwise, not.

1. Infinite in regard to imagination, for without the mind there would be no imagination. Another translation of this paragraph is as follows: “All the people have formed a god in the world of thought and they worship that form of their own imagination, while the fact is that the imagined concept is comprehended by the mind which is comprehensive. Surely that which comprehends is greater than the comprehended, for imagination is accidental (non-essential), while the mind is essential. Surely the essential is greater than the accidental.”

Abdu’l-Baha’, Tablets vol. III pp 561-563

Creation is the expression of motion. Motion is life. A moving object is a living object, whereas that which is motionless and inert is as dead. All created forms are progressive in their planes, or kingdoms of existence, under the stimulus of the power or spirit of life. The universal energy is dynamic. Nothing is stationary in the material world of outer phenomena or in the inner world of intellect and consciousness.



Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality. Therefore, it must be living, vitalized, moving and progressive. If it be without motion and non progressive, it is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine institutes are continuously active and evolutionary; therefore, the revelation of them must be progressive and continuous. All things are subject to reformation. This is a century of life and renewal. Sciences and arts, industry and invention have been reformed. Law and ethics have been reconstituted, reorganized. The world of thought has been regenerated. Sciences of former ages and philosophies of the past are useless today. Present exigencies demand new methods of solution; world problems are without precedent. Old ideas and modes of thought are fast becoming obsolete. Ancient laws and archaic ethical systems will not meet the requirements of modern conditions, for this is clearly the century of a new life, the century of the revelation of reality and, therefore, the greatest of all centuries. Consider how the scientific developments of fifty years have surpassed and eclipsed the knowledge and achievements of all the former ages combined. Would the announcements and theories of ancient astronomers explain our present knowledge of the suns and planetary systems? Would the mask of obscurity which beclouded medieval centuries meet the demand for clear-eyed vision and understanding which characterizes the world today? Will the despotism of former governments answer the call for freedom which has risen from the heart of humanity in this cycle of illumination? It is evident that no vital results are now forthcoming from the customs, institutions and standpoints of the past. In view of this, shall blind imitations of ancestral forms and theological interpretations continue to guide and control the religious life and spiritual development of humanity today? Shall man, gifted with the power of reason, unthinkingly follow and adhere to dogma, creeds and hereditary beliefs which will not bear the analysis of reason in this century of effulgent reality? Unquestionably this will not satisfy men of science, for when they find premise or conclusion contrary to present standards of proof and without real foundation, they reject that which has been formerly accepted as standard and correct and move forward from new foundations.

The divine Prophets have revealed and founded religion. They have laid down certain laws and heavenly principles for the guidance of mankind. They have taught and promulgated the knowledge of God, established praiseworthy ethical ideals and inculcated the highest standards of virtues in the human world. Gradually these heavenly teachings and foundations of reality have been beclouded by human interpretations and dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs. The essential realities, which the Prophets labored so hard to establish in human hearts and minds while undergoing ordeals and suffering tortures of persecution, have now well nigh vanished. Some of these heavenly Messengers have been killed, some imprisoned, all of Them despised and rejected while proclaiming the reality of Divinity. Soon after Their departure from this world, the essential truth of Their teachings was lost sight of and dogmatic imitations adhered to.

In as much as human interpretations and blind imitations differ widely, religious strife and disagreement have arisen among mankind, the light of true religion has been extinguished and the unity of the world of humanity destroyed. The Prophets of God voiced the spirit of unity and agreement. They have been the Founders of divine reality. Therefore, if the nations of the world forsake imitations and investigate the reality underlying the revealed Word of God, they will agree and become reconciled. For reality is one and not multiple.

The nations and religions are steeped in blind and bigoted imitations. A man is a Jew because his father was a Jew. The Muslim follows implicitly the footsteps of his ancestors in belief and observance. The Buddhist is true to his heredity as a Buddhist. That is to say, they profess religious belief blindly and without investigation, making unity and agreement impossible. It is evident, therefore, that this condition will not be remedied without a reformation in the world of religion. In other words, the fundamental reality of the divine religions must be renewed, reformed, revoiced to mankind.

From the seed of reality religion has grown into a tree which has put forth leaves and branches, blossoms and fruit. After a time this tree has fallen into a condition of decay. The leaves and blossoms have withered and perished; the tree has become stricken and fruitless. It is not reasonable that man should hold to the old tree, claiming that its life forces are undiminished, its fruit unequaled, its existence eternal. The seed of reality must be sown again in human hearts in order that a new tree may grow therefrom and new divine fruits refresh the world. By this means the nations and peoples now divergent in religion will be brought into unity, imitations will be forsaken, and a universal brotherhood in reality itself will be established. Warfare and strife will cease among mankind; all will be reconciled as servants of God. For all are sheltered beneath the tree of His providence and mercy. God is kind to all; He is the giver of bounty to all alike, even as Jesus Christ has declared that God “sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust”—that is to say, the mercy of God is universal. All humanity is under the protection of His love and favor, and unto all He has pointed the way of guidance and progress. Progress is of two kinds: material and spiritual. The former is attained through observation of the surrounding existence and constitutes the foundation of civilization. Spiritual progress is through the breaths of the Holy Spirit and is the awakening of the conscious soul of man to perceive the reality of Divinity. Material progress ensures the happiness of the human world. Spiritual progress ensures the happiness and eternal continuance of the soul. The Prophets of God have founded the laws of divine civilization. They have been the root and fundamental source of all knowledge. They have established the principles of human brotherhood, of fraternity, which is of various kinds—such as the fraternity of family, of race, of nation and of ethical motives. These forms of fraternity, these bonds of brotherhood, are merely temporal and transient in association. They do not ensure harmony and are usually productive of disagreement. They do not prevent warfare and strife; on the contrary, they are selfish, restricted and fruitful causes of enmity and hatred among mankind. The spiritual brotherhood which is enkindled and established through the breaths of the Holy Spirit unites nations and removes the cause of warfare and strife. It transforms mankind into one great family and establishes the foundations of the oneness of humanity. It promulgates the spirit of international agreement and ensures universal peace. Therefore, we must investigate the foundation of this heavenly fraternity. We must forsake all imitations and promote the reality of the divine teachings. In accordance with these principles and actions and by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, both material and spiritual happiness shall become realized. Until all nations and peoples become united by the bonds of the Holy Spirit in this real fraternity, until national and international prejudices are effaced in the reality of this spiritual brotherhood, true progress, prosperity and lasting happiness will not be attained by man. This is the century of new and universal nationhood. Sciences have advanced; industries have progressed; politics have been reformed; liberty has been proclaimed; justice is awakening. This is the century of motion, divine stimulus and accomplishment, the century of human solidarity and altruistic service, the century of universal peace and the reality of the divine Kingdom.


--Abdu’l-Baha’-The Promulgation Of Universal Peace
TALK AT THE TREMONT TEMPLE AT THE UNITARIAN CONFERENCEBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, May 22, 1912

Introduction

 “Until the heavenly civilization is founded, no result will be forthcoming from material civilization, even as you observe. See what catastrophes overwhelm mankind. Consider the wars which disturb the world. Consider the enmity and hatred. The existence of these wars and conditions indicates and proves that the heavenly civilization has not yet been established. If the civilization of the Kingdom be spread to all the nations, this dust of disagreement will be dispelled, these clouds will pass away, and the Sun of Reality in its greatest effulgence and glory will shine upon mankind.” –Abdu’l-Baha, Chicago, May 5^th, 1912

These words, spoken more than a century ago by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, son of Baha’u’llah, highlight the professed reality that unless and until the principles and values of the Oneness of Humanity and Unity in Diversity, based on a foundation of Justice for All, are embraced and infused into human society, we will not successfully enter into a progressive form of internationalism and globalism, but will instead find ourselves hindered and stunted from achieving our true potential.

“Today people fear or resent “new world-order” takeover schemes of those such as announced by Bush Sr. on September 11, 1991. Thinking people see a pattern in these global events. In reality this pattern is based in the underlying Pattern of Prophecy. The Bible warns us against “world-orders” as the “kingdom of this world” (Rev. 11:15 RSV) and contains astonishing prophetical imagery such as that of the coming of the Beast, the False Prophet, the Antichrist and the Battle of Armageddon 

But the Bible is not against all forms of world order. In fact it supports one. This is the coming of the world order of the Kingdom of God upon the earth as it is in heaven – as Jesus stated in the Lord’s prayer. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy Name. They Kingdom come, It will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Kingdom of God is a real Kingdom with laws subjects and a king. It is the government of God ruling from the throne of King David (Is. 9:6-7) that is the executive branch of the “House of the Lord” (Is. 2:2) to which “all nations shall flow” (Is. 2:2); thus international 

The “throne of King David” (Is. 9:6-7; Psalms 89, etc.) and that living one seated upon that throne is therefore the “sign of God” so that we can recognize the true Kingdom of God from fakes, frauds, and imitations – false “new world-orders” like those of Bush Sr.; false religious outfits; evil man-made “theocracies”; preistcraftisms; and phony organizations that have no authenticity and are in opposition to the person of the living Davidic King dwelling amongst us who is alive in the world today.” –Neal Chase, from the Foreword of Child of the East
In a time of “alternative facts” and “fake news”, and through the social static of materialism run rampant, Baha’u’llah has yet to be seen and recognized for who He is – that great descendant of King David that the whole Bible is talking about – the Messiah ben David, and the second coming of Christ seated upon the throne of David, with a Revelation in the potency of the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6-7). Baha’u’llah fulfills detailed prophecies from the books and writings of Christians, Jews, and Muslims, as well as from the Eastern religions, and Native American Tribes, including the Hopi, Paiute, and Lakota. The Revelation of Baha’u’llah is a vast ocean of knowledge, comprised of many books, tablets, and letters, but can be summed up into 12 basic Baha’i principles:

1. The Oneness of Humanity
2. Independent, Unfettered Investigation of the Truth
3. Religion is Progressive, All Having a Common Foundation
4. Religion Must Be the Source of Unity
5. True Science and True Religion Must Correspond
6. The Equality of Men and Women
7. Removal of All Prejudice
8. Universal Peace Upheld by a Spiritual World Government
9. Universal Compulsory Education
10. A Spiritual Solution to the Economic Problem
11. A Universal Auxiliary Language
12. Universal House of Justice with a descendant of King David
    through Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha, at its head.

A Time of Entrenched Nationalism

In the seventh chapter of his book, the Hebrew prophet Daniel envisions a scenario where a man he refers to as the “Little Horn” rises to power, boasting arrogantly, speaking “GREAT” things, and making audacious claims. He speaks against, oppresses, and tries to wear down spiritual and religious groups, and in so doing is speaking against God. He intends to change the law and alter the times, culminating in court rulings against him. Through the course of a timeline of events, his dominion is eventually taken away, consumed, annihilated and destroyed. On the other side of a fiery ordeal, the oppressed people at last receive and come into the golden age of civilization, referred to by Daniel as the Kingdom. So at least there’s a happy ending.

In explaining the nature of the prophetic and “living word”, Baha’u’llah, who fulfills prophecy as the second coming of Christ, says “We speak one word, and by it we intend one and seventy meanings; each one of these meanings we can explain.” Authentic prophecy is always fulfilled, though people’s expectations often aren’t fulfilled – and that includes mine. The following hypotheses are some thoughts and meditations on Daniel’s prophetic vision in the seventh chapter of his book, relating to current events, as one potential meaning of the vision.

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All those who break the Covenant suffer terrible deaths. ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes in the Will and Testament:

“Were he to incline a hair’s breadth to the right or to the left, his deviation would be established and his utter nothingness made manifest. And now ye are witnessing how the wrath of God hath from all sides afflicted him and how he is speeding towards destruction. Ere long will ye behold him and his associates, outwardly and inwardly, condemned to utter ruin.” (W&T, p. 6.)

Hasan Balyuzi suffered terrible guilt and remorse for his violation and his part in instigating the Persian Hands to say Bada. Here seen through the eyes of his son is the terrible demise that he sank into until his death in 1980. Tormented by guilt and self incrimination he was “Punished” (as his son puts it) “by illness of the body and near mental breakdown” until his gruesome end.

“I can still recall vividly that day of November 1957 when, as a child of thirteen, I stood on the graveside as Shoghi Effendi’s coffin was lowered into the ground. In that charged moment I can remember looking up at my father [Hasan Balyuzi] and marking how rigid and motionless he stood, his face almost devoid of expression. When he came to speak the final prayer, the one of Baha’u’llah’s which begins “Glory be to Thee, O God, for Thy manifestation of love to Mankind!” he did so almost in monotone, his voice sounding to me drained of emotion. I could not properly understand then, but believe now, in the knowledge of all that happened after, that at that moment his heart was broken. The depth of his grieving was such that he was in a state of profound shock in which his feelings were numbed so that emotion could find little outlet. For six years after that he kept going, borne along by the force of events during a time of great crisis and momentous decisions, when the duties imposed upon by his station as a hand of the Cause had to be met. But after the culminating events of this period, the election of the first Universal House of Justice and the Baha’i World Congress in London in 1963, the increasingly fragile prop of physical health finally collapsed and he [Balyuzi] plunged into a dark and despairing retreat punished by illness of the body and near mental breakdown. In her memorial article Mrs. Hoffman has written of how his mind was filled with the ‘foreboding of guilt for his wasted days and abdication of his responsibilities as a Hand.” (Balyuzi, Eminent Baha’is, p. xiii.)

Balyuzi must have felt like Judas after he betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver, but unlike Judas that hung himself in despair, Balyuzi feared death, he was afraid that when he closed his eyes for the last time to this world and opened them to the next he realized the great punishment that awaited him, for he had committed the most great sin which was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit--he knew the truth and went against it--which is not forgiven in this world or the next. Like Christ on the cross said “Father please forgive them for they know not what they do.” He didn’t include Judas in this, for Judas knew what he did.

Note from what Balyuzi’s son said above that after: “the election of the first Universal House of Justice...the increasingly fragile prop of physical health finally collapsed and he [Balyuzi] plunged into a dark and despairing retreat punished by illness of the body and near mental breakdown.” Balyuzi knew that House of Justice was not the Baha’i House of Justice, but a headless monster that he and Ruhiyyih had created.

This conspiracy between Ruhiyyih and Hasan M. Balyuzi resulted in the “Hands” becoming the deciding body of the faith in place of the IBC/UHJ after the passing of Shoghi Effendi. This resulted in the Guardianship being declared ended and the Baha’is becoming oppressed, with the threat of expulsion for even discussing the matter among themselves much less from searching independently the truth for themselves. What is wrong with all of this? On the very last page of the W&T ‘Abdu’l-Baha states:

“To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular convictions. All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause [Shoghi Effendi] and the House of Justice [IBC/UHJ:head and body both] And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.” (W&T, p. 26)

Baha’u’llah is the “prince of this world” spoken of in the Bible, which the Christian clergy say is Satan and the Antichrist. The “prince of this world” actually refers to the prophesied Prince of Peace and Return of Christ spoken of all throughout the Bible, who comes seated upon the throne of King David and Who brings God’s government on earth, the Christ promised Kingdom of God.