Reflection

The world mirrors our own souls.

We see ourselves reflected in others

That is why it is often said;

“I see something in you that I don’t like about myself.”

Economic Crisis

XCIX. The vitality of men's belief in God is dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine can ever restore it. The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society; what else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can cleanse and revive it? Is it within human power, O Hakim, to effect in the constituent elements of any of the minute and indivisible particles of matter so complete a transformation as to transmute it into purest gold? Perplexing and difficult as this may appear, the still greater task of converting satanic strength into heavenly power is one that We have been empowered to accomplish. The Force capable of such a transformation transcendeth the potency of the Elixir itself. The Word of God, alone, can claim the distinction of being endowed with the capacity required for so great and far-reaching a change.

                (Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 198)

A Humble Little Candle

The people aforetime joined partners with God, though they professed belief in His unity; and although they were the most ignorant amongst men, they considered themselves the most accomplished. But, as a token of divine retribution upon those heedless ones, their erroneous beliefs and pursuits have, in this Day of Judgement, been made clear and evident to every man of discernment and understanding.

                (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 124, from ISHRAQAT (Splendours))

 

Once we know everything we become very stupid. A person who knows it all has no need to acquire new knowledge. Being thus cut off from knowledge we soon become very stupid. There is, however, a bit of bliss, because we are completely unaware of our ignorance and sincerely believe we have all the answers.

It is easy to point fingers and recognize such traits in others but very difficult to see such faults in ourselves. “Those you think they know it all are a great irritant to those of us who do,” is often said in jest, but we must beware if we think it is true. It seems that God loves the humble seeker.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

  (Matthew 18:4)

Once we become too sure of ourselves we soon fall. We must turn to God as a child turns to a parent. God, like a loving parent, allows us to help. There is nothing He can’t do, so He can do quite well without us, but He wants us to learn and be nurtured by our experiences, so He give us the duty to teach His Cause. He watches lovingly as we struggle to get it right. He wants to see his children cooperate and work together so he gives each of us a piece of the puzzle and together we can put it all together. If one refuses to help, our puzzle will have a missing piece.

We come together at feasts and holy days, at devotionals and study circles, at firesides and social gathering, and we rejoice in each other’s presence. How difficult it would be to keep true lovers apart, and since we are a community of lovers we cannot wait until our next chance to get together. We find ourselves sending emails, calling on the phone and dropping in for visits. The children and youth love to talk to the adults and seniors and the older members are amazed at the talents and dedication of our younger members.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” ^{(John 13:34,35)}

Every Christian and all men will be forced to see us as disciples of the returned Christ when they recognize this type of love amongst us. Christ loved without limit and not even death could stop His love, so when we love beyond the point where we are willing to sacrifice our lives for each other, all men will recognize that we are the disciples of God’s Holy Messenger. This was prophesied by Christ 2,000 years ago. We have the loving example in Iran today were our friends are sacrificing their belongings, their freedom and even their lives for love of us. Let us be bold in our efforts, yet humble in our approach, as we tell the world of this great love that will conquer the whole planet. Love is light while evil is darkness. When we shine brightly darkness has no hold over us. As candles, we will sacrifice our very existence to give our light.

It is now time to try Peace

It is now time to try Peace

XXV. It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is divinely ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that have preceded it. The designation "Seal of the Prophets" fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath, verily, ended. The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted up the Ensign of Power, and is now shedding upon the world the unclouded splendor of His Revelation.

                (Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 60)

 

In the past, prophets  have foretold the coming of a great and glorious age; a day when God would rule the earth. This is the day when God's will is done on Earth as it is in Heaven as promised in the Lord's Prayer. This is the day of the fulfillment of prophesy, and therefore prophesy is no longer necessary.

Thus Mohammad, the Seal of the Prophets, was the last Manifestation of God to prophesy the coming of the Eternal Truth because Baha'u'llah, The Spirit of Truth who will lead us to all truth, has come.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

                (John16:13)

There is only one God, so therefore there is only one religion of God. That religion has been called by different names during different eras, much like we designate special names for various days, although the same sun rises each day.

Just as the physical Sun sheds light on the world, the Manifestations of God are the rays of the Spiritual Sun who flood the world with Spiritual Light. We cannot approach the sun. We only know it by its rays, and the Spiritual Sun, God, is only known through the Manifestations He sends. He has made knowledge of the messenger equal to knowledge of Himself. Thus Christ stated, "he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." ^{(John 14:9)}

When we are in a forest, all we see is trees. We need to view the forest from a distance to see a forest. We are now living in this glorious age, but is will take historians looking back on it to get a glimmer of its significance. The revelation of God is transforming the World and the evidence of that will be realized in the future.

When a mother gives birth, there is pain and turmoil, but when the baby is placed in her arms it is all forgotten.

LXI. The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed   hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then, and only then, will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.

(Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 118, 119)

 

Soon a new world will be born, but the new and old cannot coexist, so the old world order will die. We see evidence now as we watch the decay of the political system. At one time a King ruled and none dared to question his authority. Now the political leaders are questioned and doubted at every turn. The element of trust was at one time taken for granted, now trust is at its lowest level. Bahá'u'lláh teaches us that we must be obedient to those in authority. Without respect and obedience the political system will degrade to a state of anarchy.

THE one true God, exalted be His glory, hath ever regarded, and will continue to regard, the hearts of men as His own, His exclusive possession. All else, whether pertaining to land or sea, whether riches or glory, He hath bequeathed unto the kings and rulers of the earth. From the beginning that hath no beginning the ensign proclaiming the words 'He doeth whatsoever He willeth' hath been unfurled in all its splendour before His Manifestation. What mankind needeth in this day is obedience unto them that are in authority, and a faithful adherence to the cord of wisdom. The instruments which are essential to the immediate protection, the security and assurance of the human race have been entrusted to the hands, and lie in the grasp, of the governors of human society. This is the wish of God and His decree....

                (Bahá'u'lláh, The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 13, 14)

For 6,000 years man has tried to do things his own way, and there have been wars and rumors of war. Each person has an opinion and a belief and each is willing to kill to eliminate those who disagree. Peace by force has not worked. The war to end all wars only led to more war. It is time to try God's way.  It is time to try peace.

I would love to hear your opinion. Please leave a comment.

He that is not against us is for us

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

               (John 10:16)

I was just watching a very painful addition of a talk show on Baha’i vs. Christianity. I thought that I would leave some comments when I was finished, but there was a note that comments had been closed for this video. Apparently someone does not want the truth to get out.

It reminded me of accounts I had read about the days of Jesus. He would bring forth proofs and arguments to the learned scholars of the day, and they would reject everything He said because it was not in agreement with their knowledge. Yet the principles of Jesus were so simple that an uneducated fisherman could immediately pick them up.

When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

               (Mark 2:17)

Many will tell me that self righteous is what is inferred by the above passage, but if I think I am righteous, is that not being self righteous? And so it is with those who believe they are righteous. No amount of proof can make them change their view. And since they are right everyone else must be wrong.

When confronted with the fact that not all Christians were in agreement with the Christian scholar on the talk show he would brush it off with, “We don’t consider them Christians.” When you are right, you are right and if Jesus Himself comes to you with evidence to the contrary, you will not change. That is why I don’t want to be right. I prefer to learn the Truth.

I find with many devout believers in any sect or religion that it is more important for them to be right than it is for them to know the Truth. They will get angry, deny, and refute any argument that is contrary to their beliefs even to the point that they will crucify One that goes against what they believe.

So how does the ordinary person decide which way to follow? Do we accept a view were only scholars can interpret the Word of God for us? Or do we simply hear His voice and follow Him into the one unified fold?

Those who want division will try to prevent the coming together of the sheep. They will raise all kinds of arguments so that they themselves become the shepherd of a few. Many are these wolves in sheep’s clothing who try to cause division and hatred. They want all others to be destroyed. This is their belief in Unity. Death to all who disagree.

But this is not the Way of God for this day. Today we turn the other cheek. Today we are tolerant and understanding. Today we realize that we do not have all the answers and that we can learn much from entertaining the views of others.

And Jesus said unto him, “Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.”

(Luke 9:50)

Just because someone doesn’t follow in the same way I do does not make them wrong. If they are doing good works and following the One True God, it is not for me to forbid them or tell them that they are wrong. The straight and narrow path leads from each of us straight to salvation. The route that path takes depends on the starting point, which is the point we are at now. When I fix my gaze on my destination and progress toward the light, I do not have time to veer off and try to guide you. I only urge you to focus on your goal and tread your strait path. I don’t know what obstacles or distractions you will encounter, because as soon as I focus on you I have lost my own focus and I veer off the strait and narrow path.

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

(Matthew 7:14)

Many are the distracters.  They will dispute with us and try to get us angry. They are looking for a fight and, if we give in to their devises we have already lost. I think we all know that the purpose of these talk shows is to try to get a fight going because that is considered entertainment. I am not sure of the wisdom of Baha’is going on such shows, but I have to admit that the two Baha’is on the show I saw exercised a lot of self control. I am not providing a link to it because I feel it is one sided and not conducive to unity and peace. However, if you do come across such a show, be aware that even Christ could not change the mind of the religious leaders of His day, nor was Bahá’u’lláh successful in influencing the majority of the leaders of Islam. It is not our goal to change the minds of the righteous. Let us be content to humbly show the sinners the True Path. No, we will not even lead them there. We will simply introduce them to the Shepherd and He will be their guide. When they fall we will help them get back up. Perhaps when we fall they will do the same for us. We will teach them about the Source of Knowledge and He will give them True Knowledge. We are all progressing to the same point and all have similar challenges. Perhaps together we can make it. Not one insisting his way is correct and attempting to bully everyone else into following himself. No. We all follow the same Way and help each other overcome the obstacles that get in our way.

My Heroes

Far, far from Thy glory be what mortal man can affirm of Thee, or attribute unto Thee, or the praise with which he can glorify Thee! Whatever duty Thou hast prescribed unto Thy servants of extolling to the utmost Thy majesty and glory is but a token of Thy grace unto them, that they may be enabled to ascend unto the station conferred upon their own inmost being, the station of the knowledge of their own selves.

      (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 4, 5)

As I Struggle to know my own self, I am reminded to the heroes amongst us. These are the ones that do ordinary things that make a difference to others.

Since my wife is a minister at a local church, I am often engaged in some work about the church. While I was cutting grass and doing yard work, one of the volunteers approached me. We noticed a dead skunk lying on the road in front of the house next to the church properly. “So that is why the scent of skunk had drifted into my bedroom window this morning,” I stated. “I guess we should dig a hole in the back yard and bury it,” I suggested. Right away he volunteered to do the dirty job. Later I relayed to him, “While others are driving over the skunk and complaining about the smell, a true servant of God buries the skunk.” He is one of my local heroes.

Now, although I would never liken their job to that of burying a skunk, my attention turns to our wonderful Baha'i Local Spiritual Assembly. What an excellent job they are doing at directing the affairs of our community. They have to deal with all the problems of daily living like the rest of us, yet they take the time to meet and discuss the affairs of our city. Not only are they guidance to the Baha’is of London, they are also instrumental in shaping a future world society. Although its membership is made up of individuals not unlike ourselves, when they meet there is a kind of magic. I new entity comes into being which is completely subservient unto our Creator and enacts His will. Yet their role is to provide the framework and guidance to accomplish this work. It takes an arising of individuals to carry out their plans.

From there the list of heroes blooms out and has many a flower laden branch. There is the branch of the Ruhi Class tutors. These self sacrificing individuals have busy lives and some can scarcely find time to look after their own personal needs, yet they book time off their important work, travel for miles and use their precious time to tutor a Ruhi class, often of less than five students. If only we could fill these classes with committed sincere students who desire to serve the Cause of God to the best of their abilities, we would have a more efficient use of their time.

There are so many examples of heroes among our committees and co-ordinators who keep things running smoothly, who faithfully hold reflection meetings and study sessions which are often sparsely attended, but their faith and longing to serve the Cause of God is not diminished. If one person shows up at a meeting it is deemed a success, and the work of the Faith continues. These are my Heroes who are working toward the betterment of the human race.

I cannot make mention of heroes without reference to our youth. How many meetings they have blessed us with their talents? How often they have inspired us to be better Baha’is? These young people, with all the temptations and peer pressure we faced when we were youth, are overcoming and gaining hero status at rates that are overwhelming and mind boggling. God’s will is being accomplished and He continues to raise up generations that exceed the expectations of the generations that went before it.

Our heroes are all around us. It seems I cannot look to the left or the right without seeing at least one of them. And that is only the ones I know about. I’m sure that if I took the time to get to know you and find out what you have accomplished, you too would be my hero.

http://www.sowingpeace.ca/

Think Peace and we will have peace.

Think Peace and we will have peace.  We must not allow thoughts of hatred to enter our minds. War is proceeded by a thought of war. Thoughts of hatred lead to thoughts of war. A peaceful world begins with thoughts of peace, love and unity. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá  puts it this way.

“I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.

Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness.

When soldiers of the world draw their swords to kill, soldiers of God clasp each other's hands! So may all the savagery of man disappear by the Mercy of God, working through the pure in heart and the sincere of soul. Do not think the peace of the world an ideal impossible to attain!

Nothing is impossible to the Divine Benevolence of God.

If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men.”

               (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 29, 30)

Sowing seeds of peace

Sowing seeds of peace

If I can sow a seed of peace in your heart, it may grow and its seed my spread to other hearts. This is my goal. I believe that world peace is best achieved by having peace in the hearts of all mankind. How can we every hope to stop world conflict if there is conflict within families and how can we prevent conflict within families if we are not at peace within ourselves?

This is where I start; in my own soul. I must be at peace within myself. I cannot allow myself to commit any deed or entertain any thought that would cause conflict within my own being. From there I fit myself into my family setting and live at peace with my brothers and sisters, my parents and all my relatives. Now I expand to my community, to those I do business with and those I work with. All my actions, thoughts and speech must exude peace.

As I travel I come in contact with more and more people. I deal with each one in an attitude of peace and in the process I may sow a seed of peace within them or cultivate the peace that is already growing there. As I do this, the peace within me grows and blossoms and produces fruit that I offer to others. If it is accepted and consumed, its seed will begin to grow until it blossoms and produces more fruit to be passed on. Soon peace will envelop the whole earth. We need to first desire peace, and then it will grow in us and spread to others.

The process may be difficult at times. The weeds of envy, hate, greed and lust will have to be uprooted to make room for peace, and sometimes they are well rooted and difficult to dislodge. Yet, as we become the gardeners of our own souls it is up to us what we will allow to grow there. If we are diligent and seek divine guidance we will see this tree of peace grow within us. It will bear fruit and spread to others who, once they taste of its sweetness, will want it in the gardens their own souls.

It is my desire that you will eat of this fruit and pass it on. It is so sweet and desirable to all. Just give it a try, if you don’t like it you can always go back to the old ways of hatred and war, but at least lets at least try it.

'During these six thousand years there has been constant war, strife, bloodshed. We can see at a glance the results. Have we not a sufficient standard of experience in this direction? Let us now try peace for a while. If good results follow, let us adhere to it. If not let us throw it away and fight again. Nothing will be lost by the experiment.'

    (‘Abdu’l-Bahá  quoted by Marzieh Gail, Dawn Over Mount Hira, p. 189)

Man is the supreme Talisman. Lack of a proper education hath, however, deprived him of that which he doth inherently possess. Through a word proceeding out of the mouth of God he was called into being; by one word more he was guided to recognize the Source of his education; by yet another word his station and destiny were safeguarded. The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. If any man were to meditate on that which the Scriptures, sent down from the heaven of God's holy Will, have revealed, he would readily recognize that their purpose is that all men shall be regarded as one soul, so that the seal bearing the words "The Kingdom shall be God's" may be stamped on every heart, and the light of Divine bounty, of grace, and mercy may envelop all mankind.

    (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 259 - 260)

The Fundamental Principles of Religion

In thine esteemed letter thou hadst inquired which of the Prophets of God should be regarded as superior to others. Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith: There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message. They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret. To prefer one in honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone before Him. If any man, therefore, should fail to comprehend this truth, and should consequently indulge in vain and unseemly language, no one whose sight is keen and whose understanding is enlightened would ever allow such idle talk to cause him to waver in his belief. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 78, 79)

A few days ago I heard a pastor on the radio talk about the nature of religion. He said there was a belief that all religions were fundamentally the same but superficially different. He disagreed. In his estimation, all religions are superficially the same but fundamentally different. He went on to explain that there were some who did not accept the physical crucifixion of Jesus. This he held to be a fundamental principle. At this point I stopped listening but went on analysing and it struck me that this was the reason for war.

You see that although all religions teach love for God and love for one another, according to this pastor that is only a superficial belief and can be ignored, but the physical nature of Jesus must be believed one hundred percent because that was a fundamental principal of his religion. So if he were to meet someone that accepted every teaching of Christ, believed that Christ was the Manifestation of God and that we must adhere to every principal that Christ proclaimed, but that person did not agree with him as to the smallest detail of the physical nature of Jesus, this person should be regarded as an enemy and an infidel and therefore we should hate him, war with him and even kill him. This even though Christ said; “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

My belief is that religion is fundamentally spiritual and in the spiritual aspects all true religion is the same. I believe that God, who is All Powerful, has sent Messengers to us throughout history. These messengers were Manifestations of Himself in much the same way as the sun becomes manifest in the mirror that is directed towards it. These pure and sanctified Mirrors revealed God to us to the extent that we were capable of understanding. As our understanding grows, He sends New Messengers that reveal more to us. The only problem with my belief is that it leaves no excuse for war, so no war mongering hateful person could accept what I believe.

Jesus taught Love. He said; “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35) You judge if this is a fundamental principle of Christ or if it should be treated as superficial.

John questions Jesus; “Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.” (Luke 9:49)

Jesus answered; “Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.” (Luke 9: 50)

Does this sound like we should hate everyone who doesn’t follow what we believe. Throughout the New Testament the boastful self righteous are rebuked while the humble sinner is forgiven and praised.

Here is an account of a parable told by Jesus:

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18: 9-14)

It is extremely important that we seek truth for ourselves. Many will twist the truth so they can persuade you toward their own believe. Some well meaning souls may not even be aware they are doing it, but even the Devil quoted scripture when he tried to temp Jesus.

O SON OF BEING!

Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds. (Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #31)

Yes we must always be on guard that we do not fall victim to our own lusts and desires. What are our motivations for what we do? I must internalize this even more and say, “I must always be on guard,” for if I point a finger at you I find I have three pointed back at me and anything I urge you to do I must put three times the effort into urging myself. We live in a wonderfully glorious new day and although it is such an honour to be chosen to live in this day, it is also very humbling. We see the magnificence of God’s power, His grace and His forgiveness. We seem so small and insignificant, yet we are called upon to do a great work. How can we accomplish this? Surely not by our own efforts, but only by allowing ourselves to be selfless channels through which God’s power can flow.

This is where I get stuck. How do I do this? How do I get my ego out of the way so God can work through me? I must bounce my ideas off of others. I must study with them and discover with them the ways of God. In this way we can help others as we help ourselves grow ever closer to God.

Naturally your comments are welcome. I have only presented my own personal view, as imperfect as it is, and I welcome your thoughts and ideas which will make it more complete.

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Discussion on peace continues.

We gather at DR Discount & Wholesale, 639 Nelson St. London, Ontario Every Tuesday at 7:30 PM (store will be closed for the day) for a discussion on peace. If you would like to join us, call 519-850-6651 or email peace@drdiscount.ca for more information. If you have ideas on how we can live peaceably with our fellow word citizens you are welcome to come and share. If you have run into challenges in your struggle to remain at peace you are welcome to share that as well. Perhaps others have had similar experiences and can help to find solutions.

This is strictly a sharing forum. No one has the answers, but together we can learn from each other. World peace begins with individuals like you and me. We must be at peace with ourselves and those we come into contact with if we want to see a peaceful world. We want to avoid all prejudice of every sort, whether racial, patriotic, economic or religious, so all are welcome regardless of where one stands.