Seeing God. Bahá í Devotional Readings

Transcription

1 Seeing God Bahá í Devotional Readings 1

2 O SON OF MAN! Sorrow not save that thou art far from Us. Rejoice not save that thou art drawing near and returning unto Us. (Baha u llah, The Arabic Hidden Words) O SON OF EARTH! Wouldst thou have Me, seek none other than Me; and wouldst thou gaze upon My beauty, close thine eyes to the world and all that is therein; for My will and the will of another than Me, even as fire and water, cannot dwell together in one heart. (Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words) Strive day and night that animosity and contention may pass away from the hearts of men, that all religions shall become reconciled and the nations love each other, so that no racial, religious or political prejudice may remain and the world of humanity behold God as the beginning and end of all existence. (Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 73) Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord... (King James Bible, Hebrews) 2

3 ... we must not consider our ability and capacity, nay, rather, we must fix our gaze upon the favors and bounties of God, in these days, Who has made of the drop a sea, and of the atom a sun. (Abdu l-baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 7) O SON OF SPIRIT! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting. (Baha u llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)... if... thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. (King James Bible, Deuteronomy) O My servants! Were ye to discover the hidden, the shoreless oceans of My incorruptible wealth, ye would, of a certainty, esteem as nothing the world, nay, the entire creation. Let the flame of search burn with such fierceness within your hearts as to enable you to attain your supreme and most exalted goal the station at which ye can draw nigh unto, and be united with, your Best-Beloved... (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha u llah, p. 323) 3

4 And whoso maketh efforts for us, in our ways will we guide them... (The Qur an (Rodwell tr), Sura 29 ) Arise, therefore, and, with the whole enthusiasm of your hearts, with all the eagerness of your souls, the full fervor of your will, and the concentrated efforts of your entire being, strive to attain the paradise of His presence, and endeavor to inhale the fragrance of the incorruptible Flower, to breathe the sweet savors of holiness, and to obtain a portion of this perfume of celestial glory. Whoso followeth this counsel will break his chains asunder, will taste the abandonment of enraptured love, will attain unto his heart s desire, and will surrender his soul into the hands of his Beloved. Bursting through his cage, he will, even as the bird of the spirit, wing his flight to his holy and everlasting nest. (Baha u llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha u llah, p. 320) Draw nigh unto God and persevere in communion with thy Lord, so that the fire of God s love may glow more luminously in the heart, its heat grow stronger and give warmth... and its sound reach the Supreme Concourse. (Tablets of Abdu l-baha v3, p. 639) Rely upon God, thy God and the Lord of thy fathers. For the people are wandering in the paths of delusion, bereft of discernment to see God with their own eyes, or hear His Melody with their own ears. Thus have We found them, as thou also dost witness. (Baha u llah, Tablet of Ahmad) 4

5 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (King James Bible, John) O SON OF DESIRE! Give ear unto this: Never shall mortal eye recognize the everlasting Beauty, nor the lifeless heart delight in aught but in the withered bloom. For like seeketh like, and taketh pleasure in the company of its kind. (Baha u llah, The Persian Hidden Words) 5

6 The likeness of that glory of Thy Form Wholly revealed. O Thou Divinest One! If this can be, if I may bear the sight, Make Thyself visible, Lord of all prayers! Show me Thy very self, the Eternal God! Gaze, then... I manifest for thee Those hundred thousand thousand shapes that clothe my Mystery: I show thee all my semblances, infinite, rich, divine, My changeful hues, my countless forms. See! in this face of mine... Behold! this is the Universe!- Look! what is live and dead I gather all in one- in Me! Gaze, as thy lips have said On GOD, ETERNAL, VERY GOD! See ME! what thou prayest! Thou canst not!- nor, with human eyes, Arjuna! ever mayest! Therefore I give thee sense divine. Have other eyes, new light! And, look! This is My glory, unveiled to mortal sight! (Hindu, Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr)) O MAN OF TWO VISIONS! Close one eye and open the other. Close one to the world and all that is therein, and open the other to the hallowed beauty of the Beloved. (Baha u llah, The Persian Hidden Words) For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face. (The Bible, American Standard Version: Psalm 11:7) 6

7 The people of the Lord dwell with the Lord. They dedicate their minds and bodies to Him; they dedicate everything to Him. They are intoxicated with the celestial melody of intuitive ecstasy. Gazing upon the Blessed Vision... they are cleansed of corruption. They obtain absolutely everything. They have nothing to do with anything else; they gaze on the beauteous Face of God. (Sikh: Shri Guru Granth Sahib, Section 30 - Raag Saarang) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (King James Bible, Matthew) 7

8 O thou who art advancing unto the Face of God! These Prophets and chosen Ones of God are the recipients and revealers of all the unchangeable attributes and names of God. They are the mirrors that truly and faithfully reflect the light of God. Whatsoever is applicable to them is in reality applicable to God, Himself, Who is both the Visible and the Invisible. The knowledge of Him, Who is the Origin of all things, and attainment unto Him, are impossible save through knowledge of, and attainment unto, these luminous Beings who proceed from the Sun of Truth. By attaining, therefore, to the presence of these holy Luminaries, the Presence of God Himself is attained. From their knowledge, the knowledge of God is revealed, and from the light of their countenance, the splendour of the Face of God is made manifest. (Baha u llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 142) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father... (King James Bible, John) The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (King James Bible, Numbers) And may we see Thee, and may we, approaching, come around about Thee, and attain to entire companionship with Thee! (Zoroasterianism, Avesta-Kohrda Avesta Part 1) 8

9 I entreat Thee by Thy footsteps in this wilderness, and by the words "Here am I. Here am I" which Thy chosen Ones have uttered in this immensity, and by the breaths of Thy Revelation, and the gentle winds of the Dawn of Thy Manifestation, to ordain that I may gaze on Thy beauty and observe whatsoever is in Thy Book. (Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 321) But whoso setteth his face toward God with self-surrender, and is a doer of that which is good, hath laid hold on a sure handle; for unto God is the issue of all things. (The Qur an (Rodwell tr), Sura 31) Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. (King James Bible, Psalms) 9

10 Yea! thou hast seen, Arjuna! because I loved thee well, The secret countenance of Me, revealed by mystic spell, Shining, and wonderful, and majestic, manifold, Which none save thou in all the years had favour to behold; For not by Vedas cometh this, nor sacrifice, nor alms, Nor works well-done, nor penance long, nor prayers, nor chanted psalms, That mortal eyes should bear to view the Immortal Soul unclad, Prince of the Kurus! This was kept for thee alone! Be glad! Let no more trouble shake thy heart, because thine eyes have seen My terror with My glory. As I before have been So will I be again for thee; with lightened heart behold! Once more I am thy Krishna, the form thou knew st of old! Back again the semblance dear Of the well-loved charioteer; Peace and joy it did restore When the Prince beheld once more Mighty BRAHMA S form and face Clothed in Krishna s gentle grace. (Hindu, Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr)) The East and the West is God's: therefore, whichever way ye turn, there is the face of God... (The Qur an (Rodwell tr), Sura 2 ) 10

11 the Name of the Lord, abides deep within the hearts of those who see the Lord themselves, and inspire others to see Him as well. (Sikh: Shri Guru Granth Sahib, Section 6 - Raag Maajh)... for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God... (King James Bible, Genesis) O SON OF MAN! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me. (Baha u llah, The Arabic Hidden Words) 11