Chapter C95
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Compilation on the qualities needed to understand the Holy Writings and their inner meanings.
1)
The understanding of His words and the comprehension of the utterances
of the Birds of Heaven are in no wise dependent upon human learning.
They depend solely upon purity of heart, chastity of soul, and freedom
of spirit. This is evidenced by those who, today, though without a
single letter of the accepted standards of learning, are occupying the
loftiest seats of knowledge; and the garden of their hearts is adorned,
through the showers of divine grace, with the roses of wisdom and the
tulips of understanding. Well is it with the sincere in heart for their
share of the light of a mighty Day!
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 211
2)
It beseemeth you to fix your gaze under all conditions upon justice and
fairness. In The Hidden Words this exalted utterance hath been revealed
from Our Most August Pen:
'O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is
Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it
not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine
own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine
own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour. Ponder
this in thy heart; how it behoveth thee to be. Verily justice is My
gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before
thine eyes.'
They that are just and fair-minded in their judgement occupy a sublime
station and hold an exalted rank. The light of piety and uprightness
shineth resplendent from these souls. We earnestly hope that the
peoples and countries of the world may not be deprived of the
splendours of these two luminaries.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 36
Say: O people, act not as did the people of the Qur'án, and never
surrender the reins of your insight into the hands of anyone else.
Seize upon the grace proffered you in these days, and see with your own eyes.
Turn not upon your heels when the verses of your Lord are recited, nor
be of those who reject the signs of God and hurl derision from where
they sit.
-- Provisional Translations, Suratu'dh-Dhibh
3)
Meditate upon that which hath streamed forth from the heaven of the
Will of thy Lord, He Who is the Source of all grace, that thou mayest
grasp the intended meaning which is enshrined in the sacred depths of
the Holy Writings.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 143
Meditate profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed
unto you, that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and
imperishable fragrance, and that you may acknowledge the truth that
from time immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried, and
will continue to try, His servants, so that light may be distinguished
from darkness, truth from falsehood, right from wrong, guidance from
error, happiness from misery, and roses from thorns. Even as He hath
revealed: "Do men think when they say 'We believe' they shall be let
alone and not be put to proof?"[1]
[1 Qur'án 29:2.]
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 7
4)
This sign of the revelation of the Divine Being in them that have
joined partners with Him may, in a sense, be regarded as a reflection
of the glory with which the faithful are illumined. None, however, can
comprehend this truth save men endued with understanding. They that
have truly recognized the Unity of God should be regarded as the
primary manifestations of this Name. It is they who have quaffed the
wine of Divine Unity from the cup which the hand of God hath proffered
unto them, and who have turned their faces towards Him. How vast the
distance that separateth these sanctified beings from those men that
are so far away from God!...
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 191
5)
SAY, ye will be unable to recognize the One True God or to discern
clearly the words of divine guidance, inasmuch as ye seek and tread a
path other than His. Whenever ye learn that a new Cause hath appeared,
ye must seek the presence of its author and must delve into his
writings that haply ye may not be debarred from attaining unto Him Whom
God shall make manifest at the hour of His manifestation. Wert thou to
walk in the way of truth as handed down by them that are endowed with
the knowledge of the inmost reality, God, thy Lord, will surely redeem
thee on the Day of Resurrection.
--The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 144
O YE peoples of the earth! During the time of My absence I sent down
the Gates unto you. However the believers, except for a handful, obeyed
them not. Formerly I sent forth unto you Ahmad and more recently Kazim,
but apart from the pure
in heart amongst you no one followed them. What hath befallen you, O
people of the Book? Will ye not fear the One true God, He Who is your
Lord, the Ancient of Days?... O ye who profess belief in God! I adjure
you by Him Who is the Eternal Truth, have ye discerned among the
precepts of these Gates anything inconsistent with the commandments of
God as set forth in this Book? Hath your learning deluded you by reason
of your impiety?
-- The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 50
6)
AT the time of the manifestation of Him Whom God shall make manifest [Bahá'u'lláh]
everyone should be well trained in the teachings of the Bayan, so that
none of the followers may outwardly cling to the Bayan and thus forfeit
their allegiance unto Him. If anyone does so, the verdict of
'disbeliever in God' shall be passed upon him.
--The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 85
7)
Twelve hundred and eighty years have passed since the dawn of the
Muhammadan Dispensation, and with every break of day, these blind and
ignoble people have recited their Qur'án, and yet have failed to grasp
one letter of that Book! Again and again they read those verses which
clearly testify to the reality of these holy themes, and bear witness
to the truth of the Manifestations of eternal Glory, and still
apprehend not their purpose. They have even failed to realize, all this
time, that, in every age, the
reading of the scriptures and holy books is for no other purpose except
to enable the reader to apprehend their meaning and unravel their
innermost mysteries. Otherwise reading, without understanding, is of no
abiding profit unto man.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 172
8)
The heart must needs therefore be cleansed from the idle sayings of
men, and sanctified from every earthly affection, so that it may
discover the hidden meaning of divine inspiration, and become the
treasury of the mysteries of divine knowledge. Thus hath it been said:
"He that treadeth the snow-white Path, and followeth in the footsteps
of the Crimson Pillar, shall never attain unto his abode unless his
hands are empty of those worldly things cherished by men." This is the
prime requisite of whosoever treadeth this path. Ponder thereon, that,
with eyes unveiled, thou mayest perceive the truth of these words.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 70
O children of understanding! If the eyelid, however delicate, can
deprive man's outer eye from beholding the world and all that is
therein, consider then what would be wrought if the veil of
covetousness were to descend upon his inner eye. Say: O people! The
darkness of greed and envy becloudeth the radiance of the soul even as
the clouds obstruct the light of the sun. Should anyone hearken unto
this utterance with a discerning ear, he will unfurl the wings of
detachment and soar effortlessly in the atmosphere of true
understanding.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle of Unity
9)
The attainment of the most great guidance is dependent upon knowledge
and wisdom, and on being informed as to the mysteries of the Holy
Words. Wherefore must the loved ones of God, be they young or old, be
they men or women, each one according to his capabilities, strive to
acquire the various branches of knowledge, and to increase his
understanding of the mysteries of the Holy Books, and his skill in
marshalling the divine proofs and evidences.
-- Compilation, Bahá'í Education, Abdu'l-Bahá
Shouldst thou come with the whole of thy being to God and be attracted
to the lights of the Kingdom of God and be enkindled by the fire of the
love of God, then wilt thou see that which thou canst not see today,
wilt comprehend the inner significance of the Word of God and
thoroughly understand the mysteries contained in the holy Books.
But as to the Jewish doctors, Christian priests and monks who read
those Books, verily, they know the letter only and they utter the
words, as parrots, without understanding their inner meanings. They
comprehend them not, because they are engrossed in worldly desires and
lusts and their hearts are attached to mundane allurements. Verily, are
they not heedless of God and understand nothing and find not the right
path?
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 390
10)
O servant! Warn thou the servants of God not to reject that which they
do not comprehend. Say, implore God to open to your hearts the portals
of true understanding that ye may be apprised of that of which no one
is apprised. Verily, He is the Giver, the Forgiving, the Compassionate.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 188
11)
Blessed is the one who discovereth the fragrance of inner meanings from
the traces of this Pen through whose movement the breezes of God are
wafted over the entire creation, and through whose stillness the very
essence of tranquillity appeareth in the realm of being. Glorified be
the All-Merciful, the Revealer of so inestimable a bounty. Say: Because
He bore injustice, justice hath appeared on earth, and because He
accepted abasement, the majesty of God hath shone forth amidst mankind.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 76
12)
Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its
secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its
depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to
embrace the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the
potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His
sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto
Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal
in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that hath
refused to seek it--verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of
His creatures.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 118
13)
But since all do not possess the same degree of spiritual
understanding, certain statements will inevitably be made, and there
shall arise, as a consequence, as many differing opinions as there are
human minds, and as many divergent beliefs as there are created things.
This is certain and settled, and can in no wise be averted. Now, it is
clear that some are virtuous, others are sinful, and still others are
rebellious. One must call the people to love and faithfulness, to zeal
and contentment, that the sinful may be admonished and the ranks of the
virtuous may swell. Nor is it possible that there be no sinners: So
long as the name “the Ever-Forgiving” shineth resplendent above the
horizon of existence, there will be sinners in the world of creation,
for the latter cannot appear without the former and the former cannot
exist without the latter.
Our aim is that thou shouldst urge all the believers to show forth
kindness and mercy and to overlook certain shortcomings among them,
that differences may be dispelled; true harmony be established; and the
censure and reproach, the hatred and dissension, seen among the peoples
of former times may not arise anew. Perchance they may be educated and,
in the latter Resurrection, inflict not upon that cherished Spirit and
Essence of existence, that exalted and subtle Reality, the least of
that which the Point of the Bayán was made to suffer.
-- Bahá'u'lláh
Full text at: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/call-divine-beloved/5#117574345
14)
These are effectual and sufficient proofs that the conscience of man is
sacred and to be respected; and that liberty thereof produces widening
of ideas, amendment of morals, improvement of conduct, disclosure of
the secrets of creation, and manifestation of the hidden verities of
the contingent world. Moreover, if interrogation of conscience, which
is one of the private possessions of the heart and the soul, take place
in this world, what further recompense remains for man in the court of
divine justice at the day of general resurrection?
Convictions and ideas are within the scope of the comprehension of the
King of kings, not of kings; and soul and conscience are between the
fingers of control of the Lord of hearts, not of [His] servants. So in
the world of existence two persons unanimous in all grades [of thought]
and all beliefs cannot be found.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, A Traveller's Narrative, p. 91
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