Mysteries
Of
particular importance to Bahá’ís, there are other realities which cannot be
fully comprehended: the tremendous Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh,
the significance of the Ridvan, the days of His Mission, the love between the Báb
and Bahá’u’lláh,
the sufferings of Them and Their followers, the Obligatory Prayer and the Fast,
the World Order and the Universal House of Justice, the relationship of God to
the Holy Places, and even the relationship of Shoghi Effendi to the Greatest
Holy Leaf. When we consider how this encompasses everything, we’re nothing but
humbled! There is hope. Love, meditation and study of the Hidden Words, which
is about divine Love, can teach us about these mysteries.-compiler
QUESTION: What is meant by “mysteries” in the blessed Tablets?
Answer: By
“mysteries” is meant such matters and questions as are remote and hidden from
the minds and understandings of the people, but which can later be grasped by
fair-minded souls if a perfect Individual unravels and explains them. Thus, the
reality of the advent of Christ was one of God’s mysteries in the Mosaic
Dispensation, which was later disclosed and witnessed through the manifestation
of Christ. ~‘Abdu'l-Bahá the Báb BAHÁ’U’LLÁH
Bahá’u’lláh 'Abdu'l-Bahá
El-Abhá Bahá’ís
"O My
beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have
been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. (The Bab,
quoted in The Dawn-Breakers, p. 92)
"I pray that your inner sight may become
clear, that you may be able to perceive things the heedless do not see, that
you may understand the infinite worlds of God. A man who has no knowledge of
the heavenly universe has missed a portion of his heritage and is like unto a
stone which knows nothing of humanity."
"May God
open your inner sight, so that you may know His secrets, attain to the highest
degree of existence, become manifestors of a spiritual humanity and have your
share of the heavenly wisdom that Baha'u'llah bestows. "These divine
effulgences have enveloped the Orient and Occident, but the eyes know not how
to perceive, the intelligences are weak and so men are deprived and in manifest
loss. I commend you to turn towards the Kingdom of El-Abhá, so that the
divine mysteries may be revealed." (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy,
;orig. p.118-19)
“…no lower
degree can understand a higher.”
('Abdu’l-Baha,
SWA
#21)
…But the human
spirit, unless it is assisted by the spirit of faith,
cannot become
acquainted with the divine mysteries and the heavenly realities.
(Abdul Baha, Some
Answered Questions, #55)
"If
thou be a man of communion and prayer,
soar up on
the wings of assistance from Holy Souls,
that thou
mayest behold the mysteries of the Friend
and attain
to the lights of the Beloved.
“Verily,
we are from God and to Him shall we return.”
(Bahá’u’lláh, The Seven
Valleys, The Valley of Knowledge)
“The
Bahá’í Faith, like all other Divine Religions, is thus fundamentally mystic in
character”. (Directives
from the Guardian, C of C, vol II, p. 238)
Meditation
is the key for opening the doors of mysteries.
('Abdu'l-Baha, Paris
Talks)
Recite the Greatest Name at every morn, and turn thou unto
the Kingdom of Abhá, until thou mayest apprehend my mysteries. (Tablets of
Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 674)
Love revealeth with unfailing and limitless power the
mysteries latent in the universe… ('Abdu’l-Baha,
SWA #12)
The Hidden
Words is a treasury of divine mysteries. When thou ponderest its contents, the
doors of the mysteries will open. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, From a Tablet - translated from
the Persian, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 196)
O Son of Man! Magnify
My Cause that I may reveal unto thee the mysteries of My greatness and shine
upon thee with the light of eternity.(Bahá’u’lláh, AHW #41)
"Walk
thou high above the world of being through the power of the Most Great Name,
that thou mayest become aware of the immemorial mysteries and be acquainted with that wherewith no one is acquainted. Verily, thy Lord
is the Helper, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Be thou as a throbbing
artery, pulsating in the body of the entire creation, that through the heat
generated by this motion there may appear that which will quicken the hearts of
those who hesitate." (Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
Lawh-i-Hikmat, Tablet of Wisdom)
“Were the
mysteries, that are known to none except God, to be unraveled, the whole of
mankind would witness the evidences of perfect and consummate justice. With a
certitude that none can question, all men would cleave to His commandments, and
would scrupulously observe them.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 117)
"You
must endeavor to understand the mysteries of God, attain the ideal knowledge
and arrive at the station of vision, acquiring directly from the Sun of Reality
and receiving a destined portion from the ancient bestowal of God." (Abdu'l-Baha, Promulgation of Universal Peace,
p.263
The
Unknowable Essence of God
"O CHILDREN OF THE DIVINE AND INVISIBLE ESSENCE! Ye
shall be hindered from loving Me and souls shall be perturbed as they make
mention of Me. For minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts contain Me." (Baha'u'llah, The
Arabic Hidden Words #66)
"How wondrous is the unity of the Living, the
Ever-Abiding God -- a unity which is exalted above all limitations, that
transcendeth the comprehension of all created things!" (Baha'u'llah, GWB
CXXIV)
No man's understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy
court. (Baha'u'llah,
GWB XXI)
To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that
God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond
every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress
and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately
recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery. (GWB XIX)
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 His own Self,
hath called into being. Immeasurably exalted is He above the strivings of human
mind to grasp His Essence, of human tongue to describe His mystery… 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. GWB CXLVIII
Know thou of a certainty
that the Unseen can in no wise incarnate His Essence and reveal it unto men. He
is, and hath ever been, immensely exalted beyond all that can either be
recounted or perceived…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. GWB XX
Exalted, immeasurably exalted, art Thou above the strivings
of mortal man to unravel Thy mystery, to describe Thy glory, or even hint at
the nature of Thine Essence. GWB I
O Children of the Divine and Invisible
Essence! Ye shall be hindered
from loving Me and souls shall be perturbed as they make mention of Me. For
minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts contain Me. Baha’u’llah, Arabic Hidden Words, #66
Exalted art Thou above the description of anyone save
Thyself, and the comprehension of aught else except Thee. (Baha’u’llah, Long
Obligatory Daily Prayer)
Consider a goldsmith;
verily, he makes a ring, and although he is the maker, yet he adorns his finger
with it. Likewise God the Exalted, appears in the clothing of His creatures.
This is through His favor, so that His servants may not flee from Him, but that
they may approach Him and rest in His Presence, hear His wonderful melodies and
be benefitted by that which proceeds from His mouth, and by that which He
reveals unto them from the Heaven of His Will. There is wisdom in this. Wert
thou to reflect upon it with the duration of God, thou wouldst discover at
every moment that which thou hadst not found before. Verily, were God the Exalted to appear in His (proper) grade and form,
and in a manner befitting His Station, no one could ever approach Him or endure
to be near Him.(‘Abdu’l-Baha, Lawh-i-Zuhúr, Tablet of the Manifestation)
Divinity cannot by 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. Although the mineral, vegetable, animal and
man all have actual being, yet the mineral has no knowledge of the vegetable.
It cannot apprehend it. It cannot imagine nor understand it. (‘Abdu'l-Baha in
London, p. 22)
"No created thing comprehendeth Him, while He
in truth comprehendeth all things." (Selections from the Writings
of the Bab, #3:39:2)
"True knowledge, therefore, is the knowledge of God,
and this is none other than the recognition of His Manifestation in each
Dispensation." (Selections
from the Writings of the Bab, #3:15:3)
The
Manifestations of God Themselves cannot fully comprehend God’s Essence
Immeasurably high are the Prophets of God exalted above the
comprehension of men, who can never know them except by their own Selves. Far
be it from His glory that His chosen Ones should be magnified by any other than
their own persons. Glorified are they above the praise of men; exalted are they
above human understanding! (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 34)
He Who is the
All-Sufficing proclaimeth aloud: “The
realm of joy hath been ushered in; be not sorrowful! The hidden mystery hath
been made manifest; be not disheartened!” (Baha’u’llah, from The Tabernacle
of Unity and Two Other Tablets)
"Say:
O people! The Tree of Life hath verily been planted in the heart of the
heavenly paradise and bestoweth life in every direction. How can ye fail to
perceive and recognize it? It will in truth aid thee to grasp all that this
well-assured Soul hath disclosed unto thee of the essence of the divine
mysteries." (Baha'u'llah,
Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 51)
The Prophets know
God, but how is more than our human minds can grasp. We believe we may attain
in the next world to seeing the Prophets. There is certainly a future life. (SE, LOG)
Whoso hath recognized them hath recognized God, Whoso
hearkeneth to their call, hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso
testifieth to the truth of their Revelation, hath testified to the truth of God
Himself. Whoso turneth away from them, hath turned away from God, and whoso
disbelieveth in them, hath disbelieved in God… They are the Manifestations of
God amidst men, the evidences of His Truth, and the signs of His glory. GWB XXI
Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are thunderstruck upon
the Sinai of their search at His forbidding voice, “Thou shalt never behold
Me!” whilst a myriad Messengers, each as great as Jesus, stand dismayed upon
their heavenly thrones by the interdiction, “Mine Essence thou shalt never
apprehend!”
GWB XXVI
All the Embodiments of His Names wander in the wilderness of
search, athirst and eager to discover His Essence, and all the Manifestations
of His Attributes implore Him from the Sinai of The Unknowable Essence of God.
To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God, the
unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human
attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress.
Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately recount His
praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery. GWB XIX
The
Perfections of the Manifestations cannot be fully comprehended
I testify, moreover, that Thou hast decreed that none on the
face of the earth should equal Them, and none of Thy creatures be able to be
compared with any of Them, in order that Thine own singleness and peerlessness
might be recognized and established. P & M XXXVIII
I testify that Thou hast been sanctified above all
attributes and holy above all names. No God is there but Thee, the Most
Exalted, the All-Glorious. (laillahaila ant al
Aliyyul Abha)
I testify unto that whereunto have testified all created
things, and the Concourse on high, and the inmates of the all-highest Paradise,
and beyond them the Tongue of Grandeur itself from the all-highest Horizon,
that Thou art God, that there is no God but Thee, and that He Who hath been
manifested is the Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol, through Whom the
letters B and E have been joined and knit together… (from the long
obligatory prayer)
Know thou,
moreover, that the Word of
God—exalted
be His glory—is higher and far superior to that which the senses can perceive,
for it is sanctified from any property or substance. It transcendeth the
limitations of known elements and is exalted above all the essential and
recognized substances. It became manifest without any syllable or sound and is
none but the Command of God
which pervadeth all created things. It hath never been withheld from the world
of being. It is God’s
all-pervasive grace, from which all grace doth emanate. It is an Entity far removed above
all that hath been and shall be. (Baha’u’llah, Lawh-i-Hikmat)
Say: The grace of God can never be adequately
understood; how much less can His own Self, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting be comprehended. SH
No man can ever claim to have comprehended the nature of the
hidden and manifold grace of God; none can fathom His all-embracing mercy. GWB XXXII
If the mystic knowers be of those who have reached to the
beauty of the Beloved One (Mahbúb), this
station is the apex of consciousness and the secret of divine guidance. This is
the center of the mystery: “He doth what
He willeth, ordaineth what He pleaseth.” Were all the denizens of earth and
heaven to unravel this shining allusion, this darksome riddle, until the Day
when the Trumpet soundeth, yet would they fail to comprehend even a letter
thereof, for this is the station of God’s immutable decree, His
foreordained mystery. …Whoso knoweth this secret will assuredly hide it, and
were he to reveal but its faintest trace they would nail him to the cross. Yet,
by the Living God, were there any true seeker, I would divulge it to him; for
they have said: “Love is a light that
never dwelleth in a heart possessed by fear.” Four Valleys
"No eye," He in another passage affirms, "hath beheld so great an outpouring of
bounty, nor hath any ear heard of such a Revelation of loving-kindness... The
Prophets 'endowed with constancy,' whose loftiness and glory shine as
the sun, were each honored with a Book which all have seen, and the verses of
which have been duly ascertained. Whereas the verses which have rained from
this Cloud of divine mercy have been so abundant that none hath yet been able
to estimate their number... How can they belittle this Revelation? Hath any age
witnessed such momentous happenings?" (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order
of Baha'u'llah, p. 123)
No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach
the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician have
attained.
GWB XXXIV
No understanding can grasp the nature of His Revelation, nor
can any knowledge comprehend the full measure of His Faith. All sayings are
dependent upon His sanction, and all things stand in need of His Cause. Kitab-i-Iqan
No man can ever claim to have comprehended the nature of the
hidden and manifold grace of God; none can fathom His all-embracing mercy. GWB XXXII
No one hath ever escaped Them, neither are They to be
hindered from achieving Their purpose. These Mirrors will everlastingly succeed
each other, and will continue to reflect the light of the Ancient of Days. GWB XXX
How then can the phenomenal reality comprehend the
Pre-Existent Reality? Knowing God, therefore, means the comprehension of the
knowledge of His attributes, and not His Reality… BWF 449
"And of all men, the most accomplished, the most distinguished
and the most excellent are the Manifestations of the Sun of Truth. Nay, all
else besides these Manifestations, live by the operation of their Will, and
move and have their being through the outpourings of their grace. "But for Thee, I would have not created
the heavens."
Nay, all in their holy presence fade into utter nothingness, and are a thing forgotten. Human tongue can never befittingly sing their praise, and human speech can never unfold their mystery. These Tabernacles of holiness, these primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles.
By the revelation of these gems of divine virtue all the names and attributes of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty and grace, are made manifest." (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 103)
Nay, all in their holy presence fade into utter nothingness, and are a thing forgotten. Human tongue can never befittingly sing their praise, and human speech can never unfold their mystery. These Tabernacles of holiness, these primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles.
By the revelation of these gems of divine virtue all the names and attributes of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty and grace, are made manifest." (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 103)
Was it not He—the Bearer of a Revelation, Whose day “every Prophet hath announced,” for
which “the soul of every Divine
Messenger hath thirsted,” and in which “God hath proved the hearts of the entire company of His Messengers
and Prophets”—was not the Bearer of such a Revelation, at the
instigation of Shí‘ih ecclesiastics and by order of the Sháh
himself forced, for no less than four months, to breathe, in utter darkness,
whilst in the company of the vilest criminals and freighted down with galling
chains, the pestilential air of the vermin-infested subterranean dungeon of Ṭihrán—a place which, as
He Himself subsequently declared, was mysteriously
converted into the very scene of the annunciation made to Him
by God of His Prophethood? (Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, p.9)
Man, the noblest and
most perfect of all created things, excelleth them all in the intensity of this
revelation, and is a fuller expression of its glory. And of all men, the most accomplished, the most distinguished and the
most excellent are the Manifestations of the Sun of Truth. Nay, all else
besides these Manifestations live by the operation of their Will, and move and
have their being through the outpourings of their grace. (Baha’u’llah,
Kitab-i-Iqan, GWB XC)
Immeasurably high are the Prophets of God exalted above the
comprehension of men, who can never know them except by their own Selves. Far
be it from His glory that His chosen Ones should be magnified by any other than
their own persons. Glorified are they above the praise of men; exalted are they
above human understanding! (Baha’u’llah, Kiitab-i-Iqan)
The
Revelation of the Bab cannot be fully comprehended
No
understanding can grasp the nature of His Revelation, nor can any knowledge
comprehend the full measure of His Faith. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 242)
The
Revelation of Baha’u’llah cannot be fully comprehended
Deliver yourselves from your evil and corrupt affections,
and hasten to embrace the light of the undying Fire that gloweth on the Sinai
of this mysterious and transcendent Revelation. Corrupt not the holy, the
all-embracing, and primal Word of God, and seek not to profane its sanctity or
to debase its exalted character. (Bahá'u'lláh, GWB, p. 325)
To strive to obtain a
more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous
Revelation must, it is my unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation
and the object of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so
vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious
reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and
it is our bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance
as we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of
the truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based. (Shoghi
Effendi, Dispensation of Baha’u’llah)
“Verily I say! No one hath apprehended the root of this
Cause. It is incumbent upon everyone, in this day, to perceive with the
eye of God, and to hearken with His ear. Whoso beholdethMe with an eye besides
Mine own will never be able to know Me.
None among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath ever
completely apprehended the nature of this Revelation.” (Baha’u’llah, quoted
in Advent of Divine Justice)
“I testify before God, to the greatness, the inconceivable
greatness of this Revelation. Again and again have We in most of Our Tablets
borne witness to this truth, that mankind may be roused from its heedlessness.” (Baha’u’llah, quoted in
Dispensation of Baha’u’llah)
No understanding can grasp the nature of His Revelation, nor
can any knowledge comprehend the full measure of His Faith. All sayings are
dependent upon His sanction, and all things stand in need of His Cause. (Baha’u’llah,
Kitab-i-Iqan)
No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach
the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician
have attained.
(Baha’u’llah, GWB XXXIV)
No one hath ever escaped them, neither are they to be
hindered from achieving their purpose. These Mirrors will everlastingly succeed
each other, and will continue to reflect the light of the Ancient of Days. (Baha’u’llah, GWB XXX)
“This
is a Power unsurpassed from all eternity to all eternity, could ye but
know it, O concourse of the Spirit, and this is a Beauty unrivalled from
the beginning that hath no beginning, could ye but perceive it. Say: Whoso
conceiveth the least design to confront this Pen, to presume partnership with
it, to gain intimate access unto it, or to fully grasp that which emanateth
from it, be assured that the Evil One doth whisper within his breast. Thus hath
the Divine Command been issued, could ye but understand. Say: By God! None hath
ever been, nor shall ever be, able to rival Me amidst all creation”.
(Baha’u’llah, DOR 23:3)
"A Praise which is exalted
above every mention or description beseemeth the Adored One, the Possessor of
all things visible and invisible, Who hath enabled the Primal Point to reveal
countless Books and Epistles and Who, through the potency of His sublime Word,
hath called into being the entire creation, whether of the former or more
recent generations. Moreover He hath in every age and cycle, in conformity with
His transcendent wisdom, sent forth a divine Messenger to revive the dispirited
and despondent souls with the living waters of His utterance, One Who is indeed
the Expounder, the true Interpreter, inasmuch as man is unable to comprehend
that which hath streamed forth from the Pen of Glory and is recorded in His
heavenly Books. Men at all times and under all conditions stand in need of one
to exhort them, guide them and to instruct and teach them.
Therefore He hath sent forth His
Messengers, His Prophets and chosen ones that they might acquaint the people
with the divine purpose underlying the revelation of Books and the raising up
of Messengers, and that everyone may become aware of the trust of God which is
latent in the reality of every soul." (Lawh-i-Maqsud, Tablets of
Baha'u'llah, p. 159)
“O people of loyalty, O
people of faithfulness, O people who are awakened by the Breath of God, O
people who are inhaling the scent of life from the Spirit of God! The path hath
become smooth, the way straightened, the carpet of the Kingdom is spread, the
Tabernacle hath been elevated upon the Hill of Might, the powers of heaven have
been shaken, the corners of the earth have quaked, the sun has been darkened,
the moon ceased to give light, the stars have fallen, the nations of the earth have lamented, and the Son of Man hath
come upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and He hath sent His
angels with the sound of the great trumpet, and no one knows the meaning of these emblems save the wise and informed.” ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Baha’I World Faith)
“That so brief a span,”
Bahá’u’lláh
Himself explains, “should have separated this most mighty and
wondrous Revelation from Mine own previous Manifestation, is a secret that no
man can unravel and a mystery such as no mind can fathom. Its duration had been
foreordained, and no man shall ever discover its reason unless and until he be
informed of the contents of My Hidden Book.” (Baha’u’llah,
quoted in Shoghi Effendi’s The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 123)
The
Breathings of the Divine Spirit awoke Him, and bade Him arise and proclaim His
Revelation. No sooner was He roused from His slumber than He lifted up His
voice and summoned the whole of mankind unto God, the Lord of all worlds. We
have been moved to reveal these words in consideration of the weakness and
frailty of men; otherwise, the Cause We
have proclaimed is such as no pen can ever describe, nor any mind conceive its
greatness.(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, XLIV)
The Word of God
cannot be fully comprehended
"Know thou, moreover, that the
Word of God -- exalted be His glory --is higher and far superior to that which
the senses can perceive, for it is sanctified from any property or substance.
It transcendeth the limitations of known elements and is exalted above all the
essential and recognized substances. It became manifest without any syllable or
sound and is none but the Command of God which pervadeth all created things. It
hath never been withheld from the world of being. It is God's all-pervasive
grace, from which all grace doth emanate. It is an Entity far removed above all
that hath been and shall be." (Lawh-i-Hikmat [Tablet of Wisdom],
Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 140)
The Faith of
Baha'u'llah cannot be fully comprehended
"No understanding can grasp the nature of His Revelation, nor
can any knowledge comprehend the full measure of His Faith. All sayings are dependent upon His
sanction, and all things stand in need of His Cause. All else save Him are
created by His command, and move and have their being through His law. He is
the Revealer of the divine mysteries, and the Expounder of the hidden and
ancient wisdom." (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 242)
The Ridvan cannot be comprehended
“Should all the people of the world resolve, one and all, to
extol the days that We passed in the garden of Najib Pasha, which hath been
designated as the garden of Ridvan, they would find themselves utterly
incapable thereof and would confess to their powerlessness... Verily, the eye
of creation hath never beheld the light of those days, nor hath the gaze of
humankind ever witnessed their like. The approach of Him Who is the Desire of
the world, His entrance into that garden, His ascent upon the throne of
utterance, and the words that streamed forth from the mouth of His will at that
moment shall forever transcend every earthly mention. Any attribute that might
be ascribed unto them, any praise wherewith they might be extolled will fail to
do justice to the dust that hath been ennobled by His footsteps, how much less
to His mighty throne, His manifest establishment thereon, and His pervasive and
all-embracing utterance. Indeed, the splendours of that Day elude the
understanding and comprehension of the peoples of the world. (Baha’u’llah, Days
of Remembrance, #25:1-2)
The Days of
Baha’u’llah’s Mission cannot be comprehended
There
can be no doubt whatever that, in consequence of the efforts which every man
may consciously exert and as a result of the exertion of his own spiritual
faculties, this mirror can be so cleansed from the dross of earthly defilements
and purged from satanic fancies as to be able to draw nigh unto the meads of
eternal holiness and attain the courts of everlasting fellowship. In pursuance,
however, of the principle that for every thing a time hath been fixed, and for
every fruit a season hath been ordained, the latent energies of such a bounty
can best be released, and the vernal glory of such a gift can only be
manifested, in the Days of God. Invested
though each day may be with its pre-ordained share of God's wondrous grace,
the Days immediately associated with the
Manifestation of God possess a unique distinction and occupy a station which no
mind can ever comprehend. (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
262)
Some
Earlier Manifestations were not informed of the Báb’s Manifestation
A Revelation, of which
the Prophets of God, His saints and chosen ones, have either not been informed,
or which, in pursuance of God’s inscrutable Decree, they have not disclosed
–such a Revelation these mean and depraved people have sought to measure with
their own deficient minds. (Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Iqan, WOB 61-63)
The
Love Between the Bab and Baha’u’llah cannot be fully comprehended
"If all the branches of every tree were turned into
pens, and all the seas into ink, and earth and heaven rolled into one parchment,
the immensity of that love would still remain unexplored, and the depth of that
devotion unfathomed."(William Sears, Release the Sun, p.165)
The
Sufferings of Baha’u’llah & His followers cannot be fully comprehended
By the righteousness of
the Almighty! Were I to recount to thee
the tale of the things that have befallen Me, the souls and minds of men would
be incapable of sustaining its weight. God Himself beareth Me witness. (Baha’u’llah,
Days of Remembrance #34:9)
All laud and honour to
Thee, O my God! Thou well knowest the things which, for a score of years, (1260
to 1280 AH) have happened in Thy days and have continued to happen until this
hour. No man can reckon, nor can any
tongue tell, what hath befallen Thy chosen ones during all this time. They
could obtain no shelter, nor find any refuge in which they could abide in
safety. (DOR 22:16, PMB)
Render thanks unto God that thou art not fully acquainted
with the condition of Him Who is the Eternal King and that which He hath been made to suffer. (Baha'u'llah, DOR
#30:6)
The
Infinite Universe cannot be fully comprehended
Creation
hath neither beginning nor end, and none hath ever unraveled its mystery. (Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle of Unity)
So perfect and comprehensive is His creation that no mind
nor heart, however keen or pure, can ever grasp the nature of the most
insignificant of His creatures; much less fathom the mystery of Him Who is the
Day-Star of Truth, Who is the invisible and unknowable Essence. (Baha’u’llah, GWB XXVI)
None can grasp the reality of the origin of creation save
God, exalted be His glory, Whose knowledge embraceth all things both before and
after they come into being. Creation hath neither beginning nor end, and none hath ever
unraveled its mystery. Its knowledge hath ever been, and shall remain, hidden
and preserved with those Who are the repositories of divine knowledge. The
world of existence is contingent, inasmuch as it is preceded by a cause, while
essential pre-existence hath ever been, and shall remain, confined to God,
magnified be His glory. This statement is being made lest one be inclined to
conclude from the earlier assertion, namely, that creation hath no beginning
and no end, that it is pre-existent. True and essential pre-existence is
exclusively reserved to God, while the pre-existence of the world is secondary
and relative. (Baha’u’llah, The Tablernacle of Unity, 2:48-9)
Shouldst thou ponder this in thine heart, thou wouldst
realize that His handiwork knoweth neither beginning nor end. The domain of His
decree is too vast for the tongue of mortals to describe, or for the bird of
the human mind to traverse; and the dispensations of His providence are too
mysterious for the mind of man to comprehend. (Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Iqan)
Glory be unto Thee, O my God, indeed no mind or vision,
however keen or discriminating, can ever grasp the nature of the most
insignificant of Thy signs… nor can Thine attributes ever be fathomed by anyone
other than Thyself.
(from a prayer of the Bab, Baha’i Prayers)
Thou hast, moreover, asked Me concerning the nature of the
celestial spheres. To comprehend their nature, it would be necessary to inquire
into the meaning of the allusions that have been made in the Books of old to
the celestial spheres and the heavens, and to discover the character of their
relationship to this physical world, and the influence which they exert upon
it. Every heart is filled with wonder at so bewildering a theme, and every mind
is perplexed by its mystery. God, alone, can fathom its import. The learned
men, that have fixed at several thousand years the life of this earth, have
failed, throughout the long period of their observation, to consider either the
number or the age of the other planets. Consider, moreover, the manifold
divergencies that have resulted from the theories propounded by these men. Know
thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own
creatures, whose number no man can compute. (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, 1817-1892, LXXXII)
Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in
their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them
except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. (Baha’u’llah, TB, Vafa)
"Extend your vision
beyond the fixed stars and again you shall behold many spheres of light. In
brief, the creation of the Almighty is beyond the grasp of the human intellect.
When this objective creation is unlimited and not subject to suspension, is not
the subjective creation of His Majesty the Almighty limitless? When the
reflection or physical creation is infinite, how is it possible to circumscribe
the reality which is the basis of divine creation? The spiritual world is
so much greater than the physical that in comparison with it the physical world
is non-existent." (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine
Philosophy, p. 168)
"Know then that the all-embracing framework that
governs existence includes within its compass every existent being --
particular or universal -- whether
outwardly or inwardly, secretly or openly. Just as particulars are infinite in
number, so also the vast universals and the great realities of the universe are
without number and beyond computation. The Dawning-Places of Unity, the
Daysprings of Singleness and the Suns of Holiness are also sanctified beyond
the bounds of number, and the luminous spiritual worlds are exalted above
limits and restrictions. In like manner the worlds of bodily existence the mind
of no man can reckon nor the understanding of the learned comprehend." (Abdu'l-Baha - Tablet of
the Universe, p. 2)
The
Obligatory prayer cannot be fully comprehended
Know thou that in every word (and) movement of the
obligatory prayer there are allusions, mysteries and a wisdom that man is
unable to comprehend, and letters and scrolls cannot contain. (Tablets of
Abdu’l-Baha,vol. 1, p.85)
The Virtue
of the Fast cannot be fully comprehended
Thou hast endowed every hour of these days with a special
virtue, inscrutable to all except Thee, Whose knowledge enbraceth all created
things.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Prayer for the Fast)
The
Nature of the Soul cannot be fully comprehended
Know,
verily, that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most
learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute,
can ever hope to unravel. It is the first among all created things to declare
the excellence of its Creator, the first to recognize His glory, to cleave to
His truth, and to bow down in adoration before Him. (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, LXXXII)
Verily, I say, the human soul is, in its essence, one of the
signs of God, a mystery among His mysteries. It
is one of the mighty signs of the Almighty, the harbinger that proclaimeth the
reality of all the worlds of God. Within it lieth concealed that which the
world is now utterly incapable of apprehending…. Consider how strange is
the mystery of the world that appeareth to thee in thy dream. Ponder in thine
heart upon the unsearchable wisdom of God, and meditate on its manifold
revelations… (Baha’u’llah, GWB LXXXII)
Although man shares the same outward powers and senses in
common with the animal, there exists in him an extraordinary power of which the
animal is deprived.
All sciences, arts, inventions, crafts, and discoveries of realities proceed
from this singular power. This is a power that encompasses all created things,
comprehends their realities, unravels their hidden mysteries, and brings them
under its control. It even understands things that have no outward existence,
that is, intelligible, imperceptible, and unseen realities such as the mind,
the spirit, human attributes and qualities, love and sorrow—all of which are
intelligible realities. Moreover, all the existing sciences and crafts, all the
great undertakings and myriad discoveries of man were at one time hidden and
concealed mysteries, and it is that all-encompassing human power that has
discovered them and brought them forth from the invisible into the visible
realm. So the telegraph, the photograph,
the phonograph—all such great inventions and crafts were once hidden mysteries
which that human reality discovered and brought forth from the invisible to the
visible realm. There was even a time when this piece of iron before you,
and indeed every mineral, was a hidden mystery. The humanreality discovered
this mineral and wrought its metal into this finished form. The same holds true
for all the other discoveries and inventions of man, which are innumerable.
This matter is irrefutable and there is no point in denying it. (‘Abdu’l-Baha,
Some Answered Questions, 2014 edition, #48)
As you know, the human soul is “a heavenly gem …whose
mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel,” “one of the signs of
God, a mystery among His mysteries.” If even the soul of man is so ineffable a
reality, how can a human being claim to understand or to set forth the nature
of the Manifestation of God, of the relationships between Them, or of Their
relationship to God, let alone… (Universal House of Justice to an individual,
15 October, 1992)
The
After Life cannot be fully comprehended
The mysteries of man’s physical death and of his return have
not been divulged, and still remain unread. By the righteousness of God! Were they
to be revealed, they would evoke such fear and sorrow that some would perish,
while others would be so filled with gladness as to wish for death, and
beseech, with unceasing longing, the one true God –exalted be His glory –to
hasten their end. Death proffereth unto every confident believer the sup that
is life indeed. (Baha’u’llah, GWB CLXV)
"O
SON OF MY HANDMAID! Didst thou behold immortal sovereignty, thou wouldst strive
to pass from this fleeting world. But to conceal the one from thee and to
reveal the other is a mystery which none but the pure in heart can comprehend. (Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden
Words #41)
Know then that the Lord God possesseth invisible realms
which the human intellect can never hope to fathom nor the mind of man
conceive. When once thou hast cleansed the channel of thy spiritual sense from
the pollution of this worldly life, then wilt thou breathe in the sweet scents
of Holiness that blow from the blissful bowers of that heavenly land. (SWA, p.18)
This
is the Light through which God hath created worlds that have neither beginning
nor end, worlds whereof none hath the slightest intimation save those whom
their Lord hath willed. Thus do We disclose unto you the hidden mysteries, that
haply ye may ponder the signs of God. Say: This, verily, is the Light
before whose effulgence every head hath bowed down in lowliness, and before
whose manifestation the hearts of the well-favoured of God, and the souls of
His holy ones, and the inmost realities of His true worshippers, and beyond
them His honoured servants, have prostrated themselves in adoration. (Baha’u’llah, DOR 23:6 & 7)
…Enable us, then, O my God, to live in remembrance of Thee
and to die in love of Thee, and supply us with the gift of Thy presence in Thy
worlds hereafter –worlds which are inscrutable to all except thee. (Bahá’u’lláh, Prayer
for the Fast)
O Son of My Handmaid! Didst thou behold immortal
sovereignty, thou wouldst strive to pass from this fleeting world. But to
conceal the one from thee and to reveal the other is a mystery which none but
the pure in heart can comprehend. (PHW #41)
…none knoweth what his own end shall be. How often hath a
sinner attained, at the hour of death, to the essence of faith, and, quaffing
the immortal draught, hath taken his flight unto the Concourse on high! And how
often hath a devout believer, at the hour of his soul’s ascension, been so
changed as to fall into the nethermost fire!(Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Iqan)
The consummation of this
limitless universe with all its grandeur and glory hath been man himself, who
in this world of being toileth and suffereth for a time, with divers ills and
pains, and ultimately disintegrates, leaving no trace and no fruit after him.
Were it so, there is no doubt that this infinite universe with all its
perfections has ended in sham and delusion with no result, no fruit, no
permanence and no effect. It would be utterly without meaning …
That still another life should exist is thus certain, and, just as the
vegetable kingdom is unaware of the world of man, so we, too, know not of the
Great Life hereafter that followeth the life of man here below. Our
non-comprehension of that life, however, is no proof of its non-existence.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. AugusteForel)
Man is the microcosm;
and the infinite universe, the macrocosm. The mysteries of the greater world,
or macrocosm, are expressed or revealed in the lesser world, the microcosm…
Man is not man simply
because of bodily attributes. The standard of divine measure and judgment is
his intelligence and spirit. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, PUP #29)
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
cannot be fully comprehended
That one indeed is a man who dedicateth himself to the
service of the entire human race.
(Baha’u’llah, TB, Maqsud, WOB, GWB CXVII)
Thralldom to the Blessed Perfection is my glorious and
refulgent diadem; and servitude to all the human race is my perpetual religion. (Tablets of
’Abdu’l-Bahá)
“Man is My mystery
and I am his mystery”
(Bahá’u’lláh, quoting a tradition, Kitab-i-Iqan,GWB XC)
He (‘Abdu’l-Bahá) is, above and beyond these appellations,
the “Mystery of God”
–an expression by which Bahá’u’lláh Himself has chosen to designate Him, and
which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign to Him the station
of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the incompatible
characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have
been blended and are completely harmonized...
Whether in the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the most weighty and sacred of all the works of Bahá’u’lláh, or
in the Kitáb-i-‘Ahd, the Book of His Covenant, or in the Súriy-i-Ghusn
(Tablet of the Branch), such references as have been recorded by the pen of
Bahá’u’lláh—references which the Tablets of His Father addressed to Him
mightily reinforce—invest ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with a power, and surround Him with a
halo, which the present generation can never adequately appreciate. (Shoghi
Effendi, WOB)
The relation of faith to
sacred objects cannot be fully comprehended
"Consider
the Black Stone, which God hath made a point whereunto all men turn in
adoration. Hath this bounty been conferred upon it by virtue of its innate
excellence? Nay, by Mine own Self! Or doth such distinction stem from its
intrinsic worth? Nay, by Mine own Being, Whose Essence even the wisest and most
discerning of men have failed to grasp!Again, consider the Mosque of Aqsa and
the other places which We have made sanctuaries unto the people in every land
and region. The honor and distinction they enjoy is in no wise due to their own
merit, but stemmeth from their relation to Our Manifestations, Whom We have
appointed as the Daysprings of Our Revelation amidst mankind, if ye be of them
that understand. In this there lieth a wisdom inscrutable to all save
God." (Baha'u'llah,
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 48)
The Bahá’í
World Order cannot be fully comprehended
Already in the space of less than a century the operation of
the mysterious processes generated by its creative spirit has provoked a tumult
in human society such as no mind can fathom. (God Passes By, Forward)
The
Universal House of Justice cannot be fully comprehended
"God
will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth, and He, verily, is the
Provider, the Omniscient." (Baha'u'llah, Tablets
of Baha'u'llah, p.68)
"No one can
comprehend the workings of the divine forces involved, or how God acts to
direct the House of Justice. 'It is 'under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and
unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One.' " ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Will and Testament, p.11)
"It is 'the last
refuge of a tottering civilization.' " (Shoghi
Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah)
"It is 'the source of all good, and free from all error.'" (Abdu'l-Baha, Will and Testament, p.14)
"It is 'the source of all good, and free from all error.'" (Abdu'l-Baha, Will and Testament, p.14)
O Essence of Negligence! Myriads of mystic tongues
find utterance in one speech, and myriads of hidden mysteries are revealed in a
single melody; yet, alas, there is no ear to hear, nor heart to understand. (Bahá’u’lláh, PHW #16)
O ESSENCE OF NEGLIGENCE! Myriads of mystic tongues find utterance
in one speech, and myriads of hidden mysteries are revealed in a single melody;
yet, alas, there is no ear tohear, nor heart to understand.(Bahá'u'lláh, PHW, #16)
"The light of men is Justice. Quench it not with the
contrary winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the
appearance of unity among men. The ocean of divine wisdom surgeth within this
exalted word, while the books of the world cannot contain its inner
significance. Were mankind to be adorned with this raiment, they would behold
the day-star of the utterance, 'On that
day God will satisfy everyone out of His abundance,' [Qur'án
4:129.] (Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 66)
The
relationship of holy places to God cannot be fully comprehended
“…consider the Mosque of Aqṣá and the other places which We have made sanctuaries unto
the people in every land and region. The honour and distinction they enjoy is
in no wise due to their own merit, but stemmeth from their relation to Our
Manifestations, Whom We have appointed as the Daysprings of Our Revelation
amidst mankind, if ye be of them that understand. In this there lieth a wisdom inscrutable
to all save God." (Baha'u'llah, Surah of the Temple)
The
relationship between the Guardian and the Greatest Holy Leaf cannot be fully
comprehended. See Prophet’s Daughter
The
possible station ordained for the Czar cannot be comprehended
"Whilst I lay chained and fettered in the prison, one
of thy ministers extended Me his aid. Wherefore hath God ordained for thee a
station which the knowledge of none can comprehend except His knowledge. Beware
lest thou barter away this sublime station. (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of
Hosts, p. 83)
The
Benefit of Huquq cannot be fully comprehended
Should anyone acquire
one hundred mithqals of gold, nineteen mithqals thereof are God's and to be
rendered unto Him, the Fashioner of earth and heaven. Take heed, O people, lest
ye deprive yourselves of so great a bounty. This We have commanded you, though
We are well able to dispense with you and with all who are in the heavens and
on earth; in it there are benefits and wisdoms beyond the ken of anyone but
God, the Omniscient, the All-Informed. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, #97)
How can
mine eye, which hath no faculty to perceive itself, claim to have discerned
Thine Essence, and how can mine heart, already powerless to apprehend the
significance of its own potentialities, pretend to have comprehended Thy
nature? How can I claim to have known Thee, when the entire creation is
bewildered by Thy mystery, and how can I confess not to have known Thee, when,
lo, the whole universe proclaimeth Thy Presence and testifieth to Thy truth? (Baha’u’llah, GWB XXVI)
"Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature.
And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and
therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve." -Max Planck
It is true many mysteries
exist. Faith is the key. Our souls were created to apprehend these truths, and
hang our faith on them. But we cannot really COMPREHEND God or the Manifestations
of God. Even these Manifestations cannot comprehend the Unknowable Essence, but
prostrate Themselves to It. Mere humans cannot even fully comprehend the
Revelation of Christ or Baha'u'llah, Their sufferings, the full nature of God's
Faith, the significance of the Ridvan Declaration, the Word of God, the Cause
itself, the Perfections, or even the days associated with the Manifestation’s
Mission!
Neither can we grasp the
nature and scope of the Universe, or even the most insignificant of its creatures,
or the connection between God and the least atom! Likewise, we cannot
comprehend the nature of our own souls, or the after-life.
Baha'is themselves cannot
comprehend the far-reaching ramifications of the Obligatory Prayer! Moreover,
the station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, the Fast, the Universal House of Justice and the
World Order of Baha’u’llah cannot be fully comprehended. Even the relationship
of God to the holy places, or the relationship between the Guardian and the
Greatest Holy Leaf cannot be fully comprehended. This is why FAITH is
important, and this is what we should tell people struggling with pantheism and
atheism. Reliance upon the Manifestation of God and obedience to Him is the
Sure Handle (Urvat’ul-Vuthqa).
That which we imagine, is not the Reality of God; He, the
Unknowable, the Unthinkable, is far beyond the highest conception of man. (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 24)
How can man, the created, understand the reality of the pure
Essence of the Creator? This plane is unapproachable by the understanding; no
explanation is sufficient for its comprehension, and there is no power to
indicate it. What has an atom of dust to do with the pure world, and what
relation is there between the limited mind and the infinite world? Minds are
powerless to comprehend God, and the souls become bewildered in explaining Him.
"The eyes see Him not, but He seeth
the eyes. He is the Omniscient, the Knower." [Qur'án 6:104.]
(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 146)
"No eye has seen, no ear has
heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love
Him." 1 Corinthians
2:9
JUST HAVE FAITH!
IT’S ALL A MYSTERY!!
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