Bahá'u'lláh:
Manifestation of God
"The face of him on whom I gazed I can never forget,
though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul;
power and authority sat on that ample brow.... No need to ask in whose presence
I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love
which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain!"
Bahá'u'lláh was thus described by the well-known Cambridge University
Orientals Edward Granville Browne in 1890. Bahá'u'lláh had, at that time, been a
prisoner and an exile for almost 40 years and His teachings were shrouded in
obscurity; today He is recognized by millions of followers around the world as
the Manifestation of God or Divine Teacher for this age. According to Bahá'í
belief, Manifestations of God, including Moses, Abraham, Christ, Muhammad,
Krishna, and Buddha, have appeared at intervals throughout history to found the
world's great religious systems. They have been sent by a loving Creator to
enable us to know and to worship Him and to bring human civilization to ever
higher levels of achievement.
The station of these Manifestations is unique in creation. Their essential
nature is twofold: they are at once human and divine. But they are not identical
with God , the Creator,
Who is Unknowable. Of God, Bahá'u'lláh has written,
He, in truth, hath, throughout eternity, been one in His Essence, one
in His attributes, one in His works. Any and every comparison is applicable
only to His creatures, and all conceptions of association are conceptions that
belong solely to those that serve Him. Immeasurably exalted is His Essence
above the descriptions of His creatures. He, alone, occupieth the Seat of
transcendent majesty, of supreme and inaccessible glory. The birds of men's
hearts, however high they soar, can never hope to attain the heights of His
unknowable Essence. It is He Who hath called into being the whole of creation,
Who hath caused every created thing to spring forth at His behest.
Furthermore, Bahá'u'lláh, addressing God in a prayer, says:
Exalted, immeasurably exalted art Thou above any attempt to measure the
greatness of Thy Cause, above any comparison that one may seek to make, above
the efforts of the human tongue to utter its import! From everlasting Thou
hast existed, alone with no one else beside Thee, and wilt, to everlasting,
continue to remain the same, in the sublimity of Thine essence and the
inaccessible heights of Thy glory.
And when Thou didst purpose to make Thyself known unto men, Thou didst
successively reveal the Manifestations of Thy Cause, and ordained each to be a
sign of Thy Revelation among Thy people, and the Day-Spring of Thine invisible
Self amidst Thy creatures...
Describing the relationship between the Manifestations of God and Their
Creator, Bahá'u'lláh used the analogy of the mirror: God is as the Sun, and the
Manifestations are as Mirrors that reflect that divine light -- but they are in
no way to be considered as identical to that Sun:
These sanctified Mirrors...are, one and all, the Exponents on earth of
Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose.
From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their
sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image,
and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory.
Bahá'u'lláh's central message for humanity in this day is one of unity and
justice. "The best beloved of all things in My sight is justice,"
He wrote, and "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens"
in two often-quoted passages. He also stated, "The well-being of mankind,
its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly
established." This is the prescription of God,
the divine and all-knowing Physician, for our ailing world.
While such statements have become part of mainstream thinking in the
contemporary world, we can only imagine the startling effect they would have had
on someone like E.G. Browne, to whom Bahá'u'lláh uttered the following
remarkable statement:
Thou hast come to see a prisoner and an exile.... We desire but the
good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem us a
stirrer-up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment.... That
all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds
of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that
diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled --
what harm is there in this? ...Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes,
these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace' shall come...
Born into a noble family in nineteenth century Persia, Bahá'u'lláh's destiny
would seem to have been one of wealth and ease. Yet, from an early age He showed
little interest in following in His father's footsteps at the Shah's court,
preferring to spend His time and resources in ministering to the poor. Later,
His recognition of the religion of the , which arose in
1844 in Persia and was destined to fulfill the prophecies of Islam, caused Him to
be cast into prison and subsequently exiled.
In His writings, the Báb alluded to the imminent coming of the Promised One
foretold in all the world's religions -- a role claimed by Bahá'u'lláh.
"This is the King of Days," Bahá'u'lláh thus extols the age that has
witnessed the advent of His Revelation, "the Day that hath seen the coming
of the Best-beloved, Him Who through all eternity hath been acclaimed the Desire
of the World.". "I am the One," He in
another connection affirms, "Whom the tongue of Isaiah hath extolled, the
One with Whose name both the Torah and the Evangel were adorned."
Of Himself, He wrote: "Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple of God,
and in My beauty but His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in My self
but His Self, and in My movement but His Movement, and in My acquiescence but
His Acquiescence, and in My pen but His Pen, the Mighty, the All-Praised. There
hath not been in My soul but the Truth, and in Myself naught could be seen but
God." And of His mission, He said:
And when the entire creation was stirred up, and the whole earth was
convulsed, and the sweet savors of Thy name, the All-Praised, had almost
ceased to breathe over Thy realms, and the winds of Thy mercy had well-nigh
been stilled throughout Thy dominions, Thou didst, through the power of Thy
might, raise me up among Thy servants, and bid me to show forth Thy
sovereignty amidst Thy people. Thereupon I arose before all Thy creatures,
strengthened by Thy help and Thy power, and summoned all the multitudes unto
Thee, and announced unto all Thy servants Thy favors and Thy gifts, and
invited them to turn towards this Ocean, every drop of the waters of which
crieth out, proclaiming unto all that are in heaven and on earth that He is,
in truth, the Fountain of all life, and the Quickened of the entire creation,
and the Object of the adoration of all worlds, and the Best-Beloved of every
understanding heart, and the Desire of all them that are nigh unto Thee.
It was during His initial imprisonment that Bahá'u'lláh first experienced
divine revelation. Of it, He wrote:
During the days I lay in the prison of Tihrán, though the galling
weight of the chains and the stench-filled air allowed Me but little sleep,
still in those infrequent moments of slumber I felt as if something flowed
from the crown of My head over My breast, even as a mighty torrent that
precipitateth itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every
limb of My body would, as a result, be set afire. At such moments My tongue
recited what no man could bear to hear.
Throughout the long years of exile He endured, Bahá'u'lláh revealed divinely
inspired passages equivalent to over 100 volumes. This revelation comprises mystical writings ,
social and ethical teachings
, laws and ordinances, and a fearless proclamation of His message to the kings
and rulers of the world, including Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Pope Pius IX,
the Shah of Persia, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, the Emperor Franz Joseph of
Austria, and others.
The conception of human nature found in Bahá'u'lláh's revelation is one of
dignity and essential nobility. In one passage, He writes, with the voice of
God, "O Son of Spirit! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased
thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created."
Elsewhere, He states, "Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable
value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable
mankind to benefit therefrom." Every person,
He asserts, is capable of recognizing God; all that is needed is a degree of
detachment:
When the channel of the human soul is cleansed of all worldly and
impeding attachments, it will unfailingly perceive the breath of the Beloved
across immeasurable distances, and will, led by its perfume, attain and enter
the City of Certitude.
...That city is none other than the Word of God revealed in every age and
dispensation.... All the guidance, the blessings, the learning, the
understanding, the faith, and certitude, conferred upon all that is in heaven
and on earth, are hidden and treasured within these Cities.
Bahá'u'lláh's Son, `Abdu'l-Bahá, who was appointed by Him as His successor,
described the mission of His Father in these words:
He bore these ordeals, suffered these calamities and difficulties in
order that a manifestation of selflessness and service might become apparent
in the world of humanity; that the Most Great Peace should become a reality;
that human souls might appear as the angels of heaven; that heavenly miracles
would be wrought among men; that human faith should be strengthened and
perfected; that the precious, priceless bestowal of God, the human mind, might
be developed to its fullest capacity in the temple of the body; and man become
the reflection and likeness of God, even as it hath been revealed in the
Bible: `We shall create man in Our own image.'
Briefly, the Blessed Perfection [Bahá'u'lláh] bore all these ordeals and
calamities in order that our hearts might become enkindled and radiant, our
spirits be glorified, our faults become virtues, our ignorance transformed
into knowledge; in order that we might attain the real fruits of humanity and
acquire heavenly graces; although pilgrims upon earth we should travel the
road of the heavenly kingdom; although needy and poor we might receive the
treasures of life eternal. For this has He borne these difficulties and
sorrows."
Bahá'u'lláh passed from this earthly world in 1892, still nominally a
prisoner in Palestine. One hundred years later, in 1992, the Bahá'í
international community observed a Holy Year to commemorate the centenary of His
ascension. In May of that year, a delegation of several thousand Bahá'ís from
over 200 countries and territories gathered at His shrine in the Holy Land to
pay homage to Him. And the following November a congress of some 27,000
followers assembled in New York City in an atmosphere of reverence and joy to
celebrate the inauguration of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant which has
preserved the unity of His Faith since its inception. A statement written to
acquaint people everywhere with the details of Bahá'u'lláh's life and mission
was also released during this special year.
We invite you to learn more about Bahá'u'lláh's life and mission; to study
the prayers and sacred
writings revealed by Him; and to investigate His astounding claim to be "the Promised One of
All Ages" and His promise of a future when "these fruitless strifes,
these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace' shall come."
از
ادرنه سپس از عکّا حضرت بـهاءالله نامههاى متعدّدى خطاب به ملوک و سلاطين زمان
خويش صادر فرمود. اين الواح در تاريخ اديان بىنظير و از اسناد بسيار مهمّ و
پرعظمتى است که در آن حضرت بـهاءالله اعـلان فرمود که تمدّنى جهانى در شرف
تکوين است و زمانش فرارسيده که اهل عالم بسراپرده وحدت و يگانگی درآيند و به
شاهان و امپراطورها و روساى جمهور در قرن نوزدهم نصيحت کرد که از اختـﻻفات خويش
دست بردارند و تسليحات خويش را بحدّ اقل رسانند و در عوض کوشش و امکانات خويش
را صرف ايجاد صلح عمومى نمايند.