Manifestations of God

God's Messengers to Humanity have been called The Word of God, Prophets, and Manifestations.

The key cause of religious disunity is that people believe a particular Manifestation is "better" or "more God-like" or "stronger" or "more loving" or "________".

If we look closely at what these Manifestations have told us, we'll see Their Absolute Unity of Purpose:

"He Who is everlastingly hidden from the eyes of men can never be known except through His Manifestation, and His Manifestation can adduce no greater proof of the truth of His Mission than the proof of His own Person."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection XX, p. 49

"Beware, O believers in the Unity of God, lest ye be tempted to make any distinction between any of the Manifestations of His Cause, or to discriminate against the signs that have accompanied and proclaimed their Revelation. This indeed is the true meaning of Divine Unity, if ye be of them that apprehend and believe this truth.

"Be ye assured, moreover, that the works and acts of each and every one of these Manifestations of God, nay whatever pertaineth unto them, and whatsoever they may manifest in the future, are all ordained by God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose.

"Whoso maketh the slightest possible difference between their persons, their words, their messages, their acts and manners, hath indeed disbelieved in God, hath repudiated His signs, and betrayed the Cause of His Messengers."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection XXIV, pp. 59-60

What Is The Word of God ?

No matter what Faith you claim, you have available to you a "Word of God".

If you are more open-minded than most people, you have available the Word of God from all religious persuations.

Various Writings spell out the idea that the Real "Word of God" is the living expression of the Manifestation of God.

There have been a number of Manifestations over the centuries and, contrary to the members of their various expressions of Faith, They never claimed special distinction over the other Manifestations...

"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, Selection XCIX, p. 200

"The beginning of all things is the knowledge of God..."

Back on the 27th of October I posted, "Let's Not Kid Ourselves . . .", which explored the conception of God, The Creator.

That post contained these words:

"Immeasurably exalted is He above the strivings of human mind to grasp His Essence, or of human tongue to describe His mystery. No tie of direct intercourse can ever bind Him to the things He hath created, nor can the most abstruse and most remote allusions of His creatures do justice to His being."

Being a man living in the U.S.A. in the 21st Century causes no end of emotional pain. I mean, I might be a man but I'm very sensitive. Plus, when we have to bear not only the insane acts of Godlessness stalking this Globe but also the demeaning escapades of "spiritual" people who are trying to drag God down to their level so they can, well, make their materialistic way in the world, the situation becomes positively Oppressive !

So, once again, I urge us to "Not Kid Ourselves" and humbly attempt to understand and live out ideas like these:

"The beginning of all things is the knowledge of God, and the end of all things is strict observance of whatsoever hath been sent down from the empyrean of the Divine Will that pervadeth all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection II, p. 5

"None can escape the snares He setteth, and no soul can find release except through submission to His will."

Bahá’u’lláh: The Kitáb-i-Íqán, paragraph 278, p. 231

"The purpose of the one true God in manifesting Himself is to summon all mankind to truthfulness and sincerity, to piety and trustworthiness, to resignation and submissiveness to the Will of God, to forbearance and kindliness, to uprightness and wisdom."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection CXXXVII, p. 299

"The source of all good is trust in God, submission unto His command, and contentment with His holy will and pleasure."

Bahá’u’lláh: Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, "Asl-i-Kullu’l-Khayr" or "Words of Wisdom", p. 155

"The essence of understanding is to testify to one’s poverty, and submit to the Will of the Lord, the Sovereign, the Gracious, the
All-Powerful."

Bahá’u’lláh: Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, "Asl-i-Kullu’l-Khayr" or "Words of Wisdom", pp. 155-156

A Breath of Wisdom

We so often ignore the potential for harm or healing in the words we utter.

From the Indian's gaining power over an animal when they discover its true name to all the varieties of Positive Thinking, people have found ways to tap into the tremendous influence of Speech.

"Utterance must needs possess penetrating power. For if bereft of this quality it would fail to exert influence.

"And this penetrating influence dependeth on the spirit being pure and the heart stainless.

"Likewise it needeth moderation, without which the hearer would be unable to bear it, rather he would manifest opposition from the very outset.

"And moderation will be obtained by blending utterance with the tokens of divine wisdom which are recorded in the sacred Books and Tablets.

"Thus when the essence of one’s utterance is endowed with these two requisites it will prove highly effective and will be the prime factor in transforming the souls of men. This is the station of supreme victory and celestial dominion. Whoso attaineth thereto is invested with the power to teach the Cause of God and to prevail over the hearts and minds of men."

Bahá’u’lláh: Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, "Tablet to Siyyid-i-Mihdíy-i-Dahají", pp. 198-199

What is Divinity ?

It always surprises me the way so many folk try to drag God down to the human level.

I guess the simplest way I can put it is: the creatures are never as exalted as their Creator and cannot fully understand Him.

Even that word "Him" is a poor human excuse for representing God's true Nature...

"The pictures of Divinity that come to our mind are the product of our fancy; they exist in the realm of our imagination. They are not adequate to the Truth; truth in its essence cannot be put into words.

"Divinity cannot be comprehended because it is comprehending. Man, who has also a real existence, is comprehended by God; therefore, the Divinity which man can understand is partial; it is not complete.

"Divinity is actual Truth and real existence, and not any representation of it.

"Divinity itself contains All, and is not contained."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, "Discourse of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at St. John’s, Westminster. September 17th, 1911", p. 22

"In the Beginning"?

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

King James Bible, Genesis

This statement from the Bible is true within the context of its Revelation: the book of Genesis was composed between 950 and 750 B.C.

According to our Age and the Gift of Knowledge that God gives us through Science, we could say that the Universe has existed forever [the Big Bang is not the last word in Science's Book . . .]; yet, our Earth and its Heaven or Sky were created within the infinite expanses of Universal Time.

"Know that it is one of the most abstruse spiritual truths that the world of existence — that is to say, this endless universe — has no beginning."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Some Answered Questions, Chapter 47: "The Universe is Without Beginning; The Origin of Man", p. 180

"Know assuredly that God’s creation hath existed from eternity, and will continue to exist forever. Its beginning hath had no beginning, and its end knoweth no end. His name, the Creator, presupposeth a creation, even as His title, the Lord of Men, must involve the existence of a servant."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection LXXVIII, p. 150

"The process of His creation hath had no beginning, and can have no end.

"In every age and cycle He hath, through the splendorous light shed by the Manifestations of His wondrous Essence, recreated all things, so that whatsoever reflecteth in the heavens and on the earth the signs of His glory may not be deprived of the outpourings of His mercy, nor despair of the showers of His favors."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection XXVI, pp. 61-62

Let's Not Kid Ourselves . . .

If I can exaggerate just a bit for effect: there are as many conceptions of God as there are stars in the sky.

All the way from a friendly Grandpa to a Power that goes beyond anything we creatures can imagine:

"All that the sages and mystics have said or written have never exceeded, nor can they ever hope to exceed, the limitations to which man’s finite mind hath been strictly subjected.

"To whatever heights the mind of the most exalted of men may soar, however great the depths which the detached and understanding heart can penetrate, such mind and heart can never transcend that which is the creature of their own conceptions and the product of their own thoughts.

"The meditations of the profoundest thinker, the devotions of the holiest of saints, the highest expressions of praise from either human pen or tongue, are but a reflection of that which hath been created within themselves, through the revelation of the Lord, their God.

"Whoever pondereth this truth in his heart will readily admit that there are certain limits which no human being can possibly transgress. Every attempt which, from the beginning that hath no beginning, hath been made to visualize and know God is limited by the exigencies of His own creation—a creation which He, through the operation of His own Will and for the purposes of none other but His own Self, hath called into being.

"Immeasurably exalted is He above the strivings of human mind to grasp His Essence, or of human tongue to describe His mystery. No tie of direct intercourse can ever bind Him to the things He hath created, nor can the most abstruse and most remote allusions of His creatures do justice to His being.

"Through His world-pervading Will He hath brought into being all created things. He is and hath ever been veiled in the ancient eternity of His own exalted and indivisible Essence, and will everlastingly continue to remain concealed in His inaccessible majesty and glory. All that is in heaven and all that is in the earth have come to exist at His bidding, and by His Will all have stepped out of utter nothingness into the realm of being.

"How can, therefore, the creature which the Word of God hath fashioned comprehend the nature of Him Who is the Ancient of Days?"

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection CXLVIII, pp. 317-318

Through the Eyes of God . . .

Science has shown that we see from the inside out.

We aren't merely passive acceptors of exterior information.

Unless we believe strongly that sight happens from the outside, in.

Then, we become materialists: "If I can't see it, I don't believe it."

Today's quotes are all about Believing and having that improve our Vision !

"Open Thou, O my Lord, mine eyes and the eyes of all them that have sought Thee, that we may recognize Thee with Thine own eyes."

Bahá’u’lláh: Prayers and Meditations, Selection LVI, pp. 80-81

"Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker’s heart, and the breeze of His lovingkindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will the Mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of heedlessness. Then will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of Divine Revelation, and the evidences of an everlasting Manifestation."

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Selection CXXV, p. 267

Independent Investigation

If we are to be spiritually just, fair, and equitable, we must objectively, independently search out the Truth.

Sometimes, the harder task is to take the portion of Truth we've uncovered and Act On It . . .

"Among these teachings was the independent investigation of reality so that the world of humanity may be saved from the darkness of imitation and attain to the truth; may tear off and cast away this ragged and outgrown garment of a thousand years ago and may put on the robe woven in the utmost purity and holiness in the loom of reality."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selection #227, p. 298

"The people, therefore, must be set completely free from their old patterns of thought, that all their attention may be focused upon these new principles, for these are the light of this time and the very spirit of this age.

"Unless these Teachings are effectively spread among the people, until the old ways, the old concepts, are gone and forgotten, this world of being will find no peace, nor will it reflect the perfections of the Heavenly Kingdom.

"Strive ye with all your hearts to make the heedless conscious, to waken those who sleep, to bring knowledge to the ignorant, to make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and restore the dead to life."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selection #205, pp. 252-253