According to Abdu’l-Baha, true
spiritual awakening starts with the knowledge of God. How does one understand a
Being so exalted, Whom no one has seen with the naked eye, yet Whose knowledge
is spread out like the most beautiful tapestry throughout His creation? We do
not learn about God the way we normally learn in class, through textbooks or
lectures. Furthermore, there are at least four channels open any soul,
regardless of one’s beliefs, to gain access to God. Let’s first say prayers to
quiet the mind and open the soul to higher understanding.
Devotion
The Divine Messengers have been sent down, and their Books were revealed, for the purpose of promoting the knowledge of God, and of furthering unity and fellowship amongst men. (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 12) |
In the treasuries of the knowledge of God there lieth concealed a knowledge which, when applied, will largely, though not wholly, eliminate fear. This knowledge, however, should be taught from childhood, as it will greatly aid in its elimination. Whatever decreaseth fear increaseth courage. (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 32) |
Deeper Learning
As seen mentioned previously one
of the ways to receive the “merciful gifts and powers” of God is through knowing
Him. According to Baha’u’llah, knowledge of God spans the entire creation, just
like the sense of touch covers the whole body. Every object, seen or unseen, large
or small, reflects one or more of God’s attributes.
He said,
“From the exalted
source, and out of the essence of His favor and bounty He hath entrusted every
created thing with a sign of His knowledge...” (Baha'u'llah,
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 261)
To speak about a subject so vast
is taking a droplet from an ocean. The first and foremost step of an
everlasting journey starts with knowing our Creator.
Learning is the gateway to knowledge,
which happens through the faculty of understanding. One of the first lessons a
newborn learns is how to take milk from his mother’s breast. After this crucial
moment, life continues as our appetite to understand translates into an endless
discovery of this world. Recall how a two-year old can’t stop asking questions,
sometimes driving their parents crazy. This shows how gaining knowledge is an
essential part of a human development; without it we face many challenges, some
of them big enough to make living unbearably difficult.
Of all knowledge, discovering the
purpose of life has been an age-old human quest. The answer is found in the short
Baha’i obligatory prayer. It goes like this: “I bear witness, O my God, that
Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee.” In the first part of
this prayer, one testifies to God’s existence, which is an awareness springing
forth after a spiritual birth. When one recites the second part (“Thou hast
created me to know Thee”) of this prayer one accepts that knowing God is one’s
prime purpose of coming into being.
This answer to an age-old question
may not necessarily sit well with some thinkers of our time, as they cannot accept
a Creator Whom no one has seen with their naked eye. Many of them are
intelligent professionals with superb credentials and awesome capacities to
probe the workings of the universe, yet they have not witnessed the presence of
God. At the same time billions others attest to the existence of a Divine
Being. How come some “see” an invisible God, and others don’t. Where is the
missing link?
Another question to ask is: what
leads some to acknowledge God’s existence? The gift of understanding is given to
everyone, regardless of one’s belief system. This gift “is none other except to enable His
creature to know and recognize the one true God.” Why then, does one with great
intellectual capacity refuse to accept God? It has to do with the approach
taken. There are two kinds of understanding: firstly, through the mind we
acquire the knowledge of the material world, but to probe into the invisible—God’s
realm—the heart is the only instrument that works. God’s message to a soul is: “Thy
heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent.” The human heart, once cleansed,
will be led to the Kingdom of God.
In addition to the knowledge of the
purpose of creation is the knowledge of our true nature. According to the Bible,
"God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his
own." In The Old Testament, God has
said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." The same
idea is reiterated in many of Baha'u'llah’s writings. However in regard
to the idea of a human being engraved with God’s image, many views, some
controversial, have emerged. I want to touch upon four ideas that relay the Baha’i
perspective:
1. The spheres in which God and
humanity exist are distinct and separate. God the Creator cannot be part of His
own creation. For example, an artist is distinctly separate from her artwork. Though
paintings reflect many of the painter’s attributes, they never live in each
other’s domain. A portrait will never become its painter.
2. Though we are created in God’s
image, one should not conclude that God has a physical form like humans. It is
our spirit that is made in God's image. Our powers are limited yet God is
beyond any constraint.
3. When born, the goodness we
inherit is in potential, just as a mighty tree is latent in a seed. We are
noble beings: within us is enshrined the capacity and responsibility to reflect
the beauty of God. This does not happen automatically, as we all know too
well. The right education and
environment is required, as well as a constant effort, for one to blossom into
a beautiful spirit: a goal within the reach of everyone.
4. Each of us is endowed with
free will. The
choices we make can sometimes take us astray from God’s plan to know and
worship Him. Some commit
crimes, murders, and other atrocious acts. When examining these sinful individuals,
it is
important to remember
that the image of
God will never disappear from their beings. For them there is always hope to
change, according to their own will power. Free will holds us accountable for our
actions.
What are ways we can increase our
knowledge of God? The first is through the portal of self. As mentioned before,
right from our first day of life we must grow in order to cope with life. Growth
never stops. Our physical, intellectual, emotional as well as the spiritual well-being
depends on a never-ending journey of discoveries.
Reflection
Reflect on all the virtues within you and come up with three lists:
Tier one: In this category you put all your best qualities, the ones
in which you are the strongest. Some examples would be kindness, intelligence,
or generosity. These are your very best, the ones by which your friends and
family identify you.
Tier two: List the qualities you have problems with. For me, patience
is always a problem, which can cause friction within me and with my
relationships with others, including God.
Tier three: The wish list. Qualities that you would like to work on.
Deeds (path of service)
You must become
the means of lighting the world of humanity. This is the infallible proof and
sign. Every progress depends on two things, knowledge and practice. First
acquire knowledge, and, when conviction is reached, put it into practice.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 108)
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Excellent Post :-)
ReplyDeleteAlex: thanks.
ReplyDelete