Dear Ron Stephens
Dear brother
I do not know you at all so anything I write is in a deep sense addressed to
my own humble self but you have been the stimulus. Your letter has been the
stimulus. The letter dated
http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist/m43098.html
Let me put my points as numbers
In the Faith of Baha'u'llah daily we have the Obligatory Prayers. There is a
prayer associated there which is while one washes one's face and hands.
In fact those two prayers are the answer to everything in your letter above
*****Strengthen my hand, O my God, that it may take hold of Thy Book with
such steadfastness that the hosts of the world shall have no power over it.
GUARD IT, THEN, FROM MEDDLING WITH WHATSOEVER DOTH NOT BELONG UNTO IT. Thou
art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.
And while washing his face, let him say:
I have turned my face unto Thee, O my Lord! Illumine it with the light
of Thy countenance. PROTECT IT, THEN, FROM TURNING TO ANYONE BUT THEE.
(Baha'u'llah: Aqdas: Other Sections, Pages: 98-99)****
I swear in fifty years of life every day that I think of what these two
prayers mean I am led to re-orient my whole existence again and again
2] There is next the notion of clinging to a cord [which in the Iqan is also
called the 'Urwatul Wuthqaa]
***Thou seest me turning toward Thee, and rid of all attachment to anyone
save Thee, and clinging to THY CORD.
(Baha'u'llah: Aqdas: Other Sections, Page: 93)***
This Cord is certitude. This cord is the Covenant. This Cord is faithfulness
and loyalty.
Cling thou to the hem of the Robe of God, and take thou firm hold on His
Cord, A CORD WHICH NONE CAN SEVER. Beware that the clamor of them that have
repudiated this Most Great Announcement shall not deter thee from achieving
thy purpose. Proclaim what hath been prescribed unto thee in this Tablet,
though all the peoples arise and oppose thee. Thy Lord is, verily, the
All-Compelling, the Unfailing Protector.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Page: 308)
3] The third point is the need for attraction and enkindlement
The Word of God hath set the heart of the world afire; HOW REGRETTABLE IF YE
FAIL TO BE ENKINDLED WITH ITS FLAME!
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Page: 316)
All praise be to Thee, O Lord, my God! How mysterious the Fire which Thou
hast enkindled within my heart! My very limbs testify to the intensity of
its heat, and evince the consuming power of its flame
(Baha'u'llah: Prayers and Meditations, Page: 214)
For love of God and spiritual attraction do cleanse and purify the human
heart and dress and adorn it with the spotless garment of holiness; and once
the heart is entirely attached to the Lord, and bound over to the Blessed
Perfection, then will the grace of God be revealed.
This love is not of the body but completely of the soul. And those
souls whose inner being is lit by the love of God are even as spreading rays
of light, and they shine out like stars of holiness in a pure and
crystalline sky. For true love, real love, is the love for God, and this is
sanctified beyond the notions and imaginings of men.
Let God's beloved, each and every one, be the essence of purity, the
very life of holiness, so that in every country they may become famed for
their sanctity, independence of spirit, and meekness. Let them be cheered
by draughts from the eternal cup of love for God, and make merry as they
drink from the wine-vaults of Heaven. LET THEM BEHOLD THE BLESSED BEAUTY,
AND FEEL THE FLAME AND RAPTURE OF THAT MEETING, AND BE STRUCK DUMB WITH AWE
AND WONDER. THIS IS THE STATION OF THE SINCERE; THIS IS THE WAY OF THE
LOYAL; THIS IS THE BRIGHTNESS THAT SHINETH ON THE FACES OF THOSE NIGH UNTO
GOD.
Wherefore must the friends of God, with utter sanctity, with one
accord, rise up in the spirit, in unity with one another, to such a degree
that they will become even as one being and one soul. On such a plane as
this, physical bodies play no part, rather doth the spirit take over and
rule;
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, Pages: 202-203)
May Maxwell was attracted and enkindled. Martha Root was attracted and
enkindled. 'Abdu'l-Baha attracts and enkindles. The Guardian attracted and
enkindled. The Universal House of Justice attracts and enkindles if we but
turn to Them with love, loyalty, and longing to serve.
All the above I say to myself [but your letter was the stimulus. Please look
at me with a forgiving eye. You and Brent both...khazeh
Rumi wrote:
Stay in the company of lovers.
Those other kinds of people, they each
want to show you something.
A crow will lead you to an empty barn,
a parrot to sugar.
This is advice worth heeding: Look at the dwelling-place of whoever's
advice you are considering.
The counsel of the House was not to "disfellowship" anyone, but to "leave to
their own devices" those "former Baha'is" whose actions are "seriously
destructive." It is a different way of saying what Rumi said, and is in the
same spirit as Baha'u'llah's counsel in the Iqan. Take it or not, your
choice. It's advice that is in the Iqan for a reason.
I am very sorry to see you dragging two wonderful souls' names through the
mud. Moojan Momen and Terry Culhane are devoted Baha'is and their books are
well worth reading. I would greatly enjoy their company, and wish I had
occasion to see them more. I purchased one of Moojan's books for my wife
recently, to use for a book report, and purchased the same book for a local
university professor who is teaching a course on comparative religion.
Terry Culhane's book addresses a subject that is well worth exploring, the
mystic side of the Faith, and is written very sincerely.
I urge you in all sincerity to try to get ahold of yourself, Ron. The mind
is a fine servant and a terrible master. It requires training and guidance,
and not letting it run away with itself and vain musings. Your comments
were way out of line.
The list I drew from the Iqan was not an exhaustive list. Every other word
in that Book is a counsel to certitude. The certitude one feels in the
former Revelations is, by comparison, incomplete. For one thing,
Christianity is solely focused on oneself, on winning eternal grace. The
worldwide scope of Baha'u'llah's Revelation, and the Covenant He left us,
are all wrapped up with the certitude available to us as adherents of this
new Revelation.
It is very difficult to have a spiritual conversation over the Internet.
Misunderstandings easily arise. More importantly, knowledge is not easily
transmitted through letters over a keyboard.
I don't think I'm going to say much more now. I might push you away more
than attract you.
Good luck
Brent
Brent Poirier writes:
As to the ways Baha'u'llah aids us in the Iqan to recognize the
Manifestation, and whether logic is involved.
In my personal view, one needs to approach the Iqan without preconceptions
as to what Baha'u'llah will offer as proofs. Instead, to see what He
actually presents as proofs and arguments.
There are many such ways He presents of recognizing the Manifestation, or
tools to recognize Him:
p. 6 Observe the character of the denials of those who oppose the
Manifestation, this will increase our faith
p. 13 the prophecies of the former Manifestations foretelling one another
p. 14 Sanctifying our eyes, ears and hearts from whatever they have seen,
heard and felt
p. 17 reading the authorized interpreters views of the Word of God
p 28 Listening with a humble mind to the Prophets' explanations of the Holy
Books
p 42 understanding the symbolic meanings of the terms darkening of the sun
and the moon, to see that the prophecies of the New Manifestation have been
fulfilled
p. 49 observing that the Manifestation removes the veils of mystery from the
words of God
p 52 pondering the Word of God
p 53 meditating on the lives of the Prophets
p 58 evaluating the claims of the Prophets with fair-mindedness and justice
p 66 signs in the visible sky
72 overcoming the "clouds" which block the vision, including the appearance
of the Manifestations with human limitations
73 overcoming the objection that the Manifestations change the divine laws
in every age
75 Recognizing the Manifestation by His own self
79 Realizing that those who have cleansed themselves of all human traits and
limitations and adorned themselves with the divine qualities are a means by
which truth is recognized and established
82-83 realizing that leaders of religion are not good guides to recognition
of the new Manifestation due to their literal interpretation of the divine
verses according to their own limited understanding
p 110 the spiritual sovereignty each Manifestation demonstrates is a sign of
His Prophethood
112 observing the binding force that unites the followers of the
Manifestation, and the dividing power that separates His opponents
120 possessing a pure heart
134 realizing that the Manifestation has the power to forgive sins
146 seeing that the learned have fallen and the ignorant have been raised up
147-148 reading the Qur'an to see what prevented the people from recognizing
the Prophet Muhammad, and comparing those things to this Day, and what
prevents the people from recognizing the Bab
156-7 observing the transforming impact of the Revelation on people's lives
160 observing that just as the companions of the Prophet Muhammad were
willing to lay down their lives at His feet, the followers of the Bab were
willing to do the same
162-171 not being prevented from recognizing the Manifestation by such terms
as "first," "last," and "seal".
164-5 seeing with one's own eyes instead of through the eyes of the clergy
174 ponder the verses of the Holy Books with no desire other than to please
God
177-182 recognizing the Manifestation, whatever titles He claims, whether
Prophet, Messenger, Servant, Guardian, or Divinity.
187-190 being cleansed from the obscure knowledge that pretenders to
knowledge claim
191-199 studying the Word of God with the qualities of a true seeker and not
with human learning
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