Thank you thank you dearest Mark for your thread
Your poor lowly brother khazeh
Although Baha'u'llah was solitary, secluded and unknown in His retirement,
the report spread throughout Kurdistan that this was a most remarkable and
learned Personage, gifted with a wonderful power of attraction. In a short
time Kurdistan was magnetized with His love. During this period Baha'u'llah
lived in poverty. His garments were those of the poor and needy. His food
was that of the indigent and lowly. An atmosphere of majesty haloed Him as
the sun at midday.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace*, Page: 26)
Tonight I am very happy, for I have come here to meet my friends. I
consider you my relatives, my companions; and I am your comrade.
You must be thankful to God that you are poor, for Jesus Christ has
said, "Blessed are the poor." He never said, "Blessed are the rich." He
said, too, that the Kingdom is for the poor and that it is easier for a
camel to enter a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter God's Kingdom.
Therefore, you must be thankful to God that although in this world you are
indigent, yet the treasures of God are within your reach; and although in
the material realm you are poor, yet in the Kingdom of God you are precious.
Jesus Himself was poor. He did not belong to the rich. He passed His time
in the desert, travelling among the poor, and lived upon the herbs of the
field. He had no place to lay His head, no home. He was exposed in the
open to heat, cold and frost - to inclement weather of all kinds - yet He
chose this rather than riches. If riches were considered a glory, the
Prophet Moses would have chosen them; Jesus would have been a rich man.
When Jesus Christ appeared, it was the poor who first accepted Him, not the
rich. Therefore, you are the disciples of Jesus Christ; you are His
comrades, for He outwardly was poor, not rich. Even this earth's happiness
does not depend upon wealth. You will find many of the wealthy exposed to
dangers and troubled by difficulties, and in their last moments upon the bed
of death there remains the regret that they must be separated from that to
which their hearts are so attached. They come into this world naked, and
they must go from it naked. All they possess they must leave behind and
pass away solitary, alone. Often at the time of death their souls are filled
with remorse; and worst of all, their hope in the mercy of God is less than
ours. Praise be to God! Our hope is in the mercy of God, and there is no
doubt that the divine compassion is bestowed upon the poor. Jesus Christ
said so; Baha'u'llah said so. While Baha'u'llah was in Baghdad, still in
possession of great wealth, He left all He had and went alone from the city,
living two years among the poor. They were His comrades. He ate with them,
slept with them and gloried in being one of them. He chose for one of His
names the title of The Poor One and often in His Writings refers to Himself
as Darvish, which in Persian means poor; and of this title He was very
proud. He admonished all that we must be the servants of the poor, helpers
of the poor, remember the sorrows of the poor, associate with them; for
thereby we may inherit the Kingdom of heaven. God has not said that there
are mansions prepared for us if we pass our time associating with the rich,
but He has said there are many mansions prepared for the servants of the
poor, for the poor are very dear to God. The mercies and bounties of God
are with them. The rich are mostly negligent, inattentive, steeped in
worldliness, depending upon their means, whereas the poor are dependent upon
God, and their reliance is upon Him, not upon themselves. Therefore, the
poor are nearer the threshold of God and His throne.
Jesus was a poor man. One night when He was out in the fields, the
rain began to fall. He had no place to go for shelter so He lifted His eyes
toward heaven, saying, "O Father! For the birds of the air Thou hast
created nests, for the sheep a fold, for the animals dens, for the fish
places of refuge, but for Me Thou hast provided no shelter. There is no
place where I may lay My head. My bed consists of the cold ground; My lamps
at night are the stars, and My food is the grass of the field. Yet who upon
earth is richer than I? For the greatest blessing Thou hast not given to the
rich and mighty but unto Me, for Thou hast given Me the poor. To me Thou
hast granted this blessing. They are Mine. Therefore am I the richest man
on earth."
So, my comrades, you are following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
Your lives are similar to His life; your attitude is like unto His; you
resemble Him more than the rich do. Therefore, we will thank God that we
have been so blessed with real riches. And in conclusion, I ask you to
accept Abdu'l-Baha as your servant.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace*, Pages: 32-34)
The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto ("e-mail")
is sent by the Johnson County Community College ("JCCC") and is intended to be
confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The
information may be protected by federal and state privacy and disclosures acts
or other legal rules. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or
copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail
in error please immediately notify JCCC by email reply and immediately and
permanently delete this e-mail message and any attachments thereto. Thank you.
__________________________________________________
You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com
Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st
Baha'i Studies is available through the following:
Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st
News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st
Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist
Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net
New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
