User:David/Topic/How to gain spiritual insights from the Bahá’í Writings

Bahá’u’lláh has said:

“ 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. ” — Kitáb-i-Aqdas

There are statements that prove to me the truth of Bahá’u’lláh and His message. Those statements, like the one above, promise something will happen as a result of some action we take. And Bahá’u’lláh in the Tablet of Ahmad: "Should one who is in affliction or grief read this Tablet with absolute sincerity, God will dispel his sadness, solve his difficulties and remove his afflictions." I have, during times of meditation or times of need, found both statements to be absolutely true. The Writings are like a door, at first they may seem unassuming, but once opened a garden of unimaginable beauty is revealed. The purpose of this page is to talk about how to open that door.

Let's walk this spiritual road with practical feet, and dive right into the words of Bahá’u’lláh.

O Son of Spirit!

My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.

This is the first Hidden Word and I chose it because our first step towards gaining spiritual insight is comprehension. From 'Possess' to 'everlasting' there are 9 weighty words and we need to have an understanding of their meaning.

Possess: To have and hold, own

Pure: Free from moral fault or guilt; marked by chastity

Kindly: Of a sympathetic or generous nature

Radiant: Sending out light, or glowing brightly

Heart: One's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations

Sovereignty: Supreme power or authority

Ancient: Having the qualities of age or long existence

Imperishable: Not subject to decay

Everlasting: Lasting or enduring through all time

After we have reviewed the meanings of these words we can read the quote again, once or a few times, and sit for a moment and think. What thoughts come to your mind? If we are told to posses something, I think a natural question becomes, how do we go about possessing it? The normal way to come into possession of something is to purchase it, to be loaned it, or gifted it. In what way can we come to possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart? We can't purchase these qualities from anyone, neither could they be lent. That just leaves a gift. Is it possible God gives these qualities to us as a gift? The latter half of the quote beginning with sovereignty are certainly discussing things which characterize God: Ancient, Imperishable, Everlasting. The only way to possess those attributes would be to receive them as a gift. If we possess attributes of God now like love or kindliness, is it saying we will possess them forever? Through those attributes will we find eternal life? If these attributes are gifts, what is the role of struggle and hard work? Or are they the rewards of hard work in the path of God?

The previous paragraph is almost stream-of-consciousness, and not meant to be anything but an example of how I would go about thinking about this quote. I would from there take these ideas and use them as the basis for further study of different Writings. Let's go on to the next Hidden Word:

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 neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.

As before we ask, do we understand all the words? Understanding all the words, we can begin by looking phrase by phrase, or sentence by sentence. What are your thoughts when breaking down the quote into smaller sections? Here are some first thoughts of mine:

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice: The statement seems to say God values Justice above all other things

turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me: This statement seems to imply that if we turn away from Justice we are turning away from God

and neglect it not that I may confide in thee: That we must hold to Justice if we want a relationship with God

By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others...: Justice is a necessary part of independent investigation of Truth.

Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness: Justice is referred to as a gift of God. This happens to remind me of the thoughts I was having about the previous Hidden Word.

Set it then before thine eyes.: This seems to be an action statement. We have to do something to receive this gift.

Taking these two Hidden Words together my thoughts are the attributes of God are His gifts to us, that we must through our own action work for them. That upon receiving these gifts we gain eternal and everlasting life.

Up to this point, I have limited my thoughts to what can be gleaned directly from these passages, as a broad, deep understanding of everything Bahá’u’lláh has said is not necessary to begin gaining spiritual insights from His Writings. With that in mind, being able to connect these ideas to others is deeply meaningful as well. Consider the following quote from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

“ God has created us, one and all—why do we act in opposition to His wishes, when we are all His children, and love the same Father? All these divisions we see on all sides, all these disputes and opposition, are caused because men cling to ritual and outward observances, and forget the simple, underlying truth. It is the outward practices of religion that are so different, and it is they that cause disputes and enmity—while the reality is always the same, and one. The Reality is the Truth, and truth has no division. Truth is God’s guidance, it is the light of the world, it is love, it is mercy. These attributes of truth are also human virtues inspired by the Holy Spirit. ” — Paris Talks

One of the definitions of Justice is conformity to truth, fact, or reason: correctness. Consider how in the above passage ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said The Reality [God] is the Truth, and truth has no division and Bahá’u’lláh has said The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice. Can we then say, conformity to truth is conformity to God? Is that why it is the best beloved of all things in God's sight? Another definition of Justice is conformity with what is morally upright or good. Justice seems to contain, at a foundational level, all other attributes.

But even as I present some ideas that may represent truth, or as you come to understand something you feel reflects truth, neither of us should think that we have uncovered all truth. Consider how a judge reading The best beloved of all things in my sight is Justice may understand that in the context of his or her job. They are one who must deliver justice upon others. They would be wise to hold fast to the principles of Justice considering how highly God views it.

Next

In the next section some questions will be considered that do not have clear and specific answers in the Bahá’í Writings, and can cause concern or confusion.