The Baha'i Studies Listserv Thank you for pointing us to the angel Gabriel. I've always loved that name: such a perfect name for a boy, I've always thought. When he grows up to be a master cellist, he is Gabriel, and when he grows up to play shortstop for the New York Yankees, he's Gabe.
Alas, I've spent so much more time with the Torah than the later Books of the Prophets. From the Book of Daniel: 8,13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spoke: 'How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that causes appalment, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?' 8,14 And he said unto me: 'Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be victorious.' 8,15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 8,16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, who called, and said: 'Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.' 8,17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was terrified, and fell upon my face; but he said unto me: 'Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end.' Beyond reading a bit of the Book of Daniel and contemplating what all this might have meant for my ancestors during the centuries when we were in anticipation for a Redeemer, for a Christ, Whom some recognized but Whom many in my family line could not for almost two millennia when my father married a Christian woman and raised his children Christian . . . this then led me to contemplate angels. O Breakwell, O my dear one! Thou art become a star in the supernal sky, and a lamp amid the angels of high Heaven; a living spirit in the most exalted Kingdom, throned in eternity. (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 189) So we here are to be like Breakwell and become angels. This can be symbolic, certainly a spiritual condition; clearly we do not become literal/physical stars in heaven. What does it mean for there to be stars in heaven? I beg of God that ye will be bringers of joy, even as are the angels in Heaven. (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 203) Now, 'Abdu'l-Baha talks about angels being in Heaven. Well, if we can become angels here . . . and we do die and go on to the next world, so if someone can be an angel here, presumably they can be an angel in heaven. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 295) This passage is in part of our Ruhi materials. I, like Sen, have read the references to angels symbolically, but during one study circle, my husband who is Catholic, commented on the angels that come and scatter the fragrances of holy words. I was pulled up in my interpretive tracks . . . ANGELS?! . . . with actual power in worlds beyond this material world? And now, concerning His words: "And He shall send His angels...." By "angels" is meant those who, reinforced by the power of the spirit, have consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and limitations, and have clothed themselves with the attributes of the most exalted Beings and of the Cherubim. That holy man, Sadiq,[1] in his eulogy of the Cherubim, saith: "There stand a company of our fellow-Shi'ihs behind the Throne." Divers and manifold are the interpretations of the words "behind the Throne." In one sense, they indicate that no true Shi'ihs exist. Even as he hath said in another passage: "A true believer is likened unto the philosopher's stone." Addressing subsequently his listener, he saith: "Hast thou ever seen the philosopher's stone?" Reflect, how this symbolic language, more eloquent than any speech, however direct, testifieth to the non-existence of a true believer. Such is the testimony of Sadiq. And now consider, how unfair and numerous are those who, although they themselves have failed to inhale the fragrance of belief, have condemned as infidels those by whose word belief itself is recognized and established. [1 The sixth Imam of the Shi'ihs.] And now, inasmuch as these holy beings have sanctified themselves from every human limitation, have become endowed with the attributes of the spiritual, and have been adorned with the noble traits of the blessed, they therefore have been designated as "angels." Such is the meaning of these verses, every word of which hath been expounded by the aid of the most lucid texts, the most convincing arguments, and the best established evidences. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 78-80) We are all to strive day by day to become angels in this world and the next. What a blessing for Daniel to have been able to see (whether in dream or in wakefulness) angels. I am comfortable believing that he REALLY did see angels from the next world. Some have powerful and magical visions; for some their dreams are mystically magical. Tahereh received some of the Book of God revealed to her in a dream. These remarkable experiences are precious gifts that we really cannot explain nor understand in terms of ratiocinative thought. So much for my ruminations of the day. My best to you all, Susan _______________________________________ Susan Berry Brill de Ramirez, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.A., B.A. Caterpillar Inc. Professor of English Department of English Bradley University 1501 W. Bradley Avenue Peoria, IL 61625 U.S.A. (309) 677-3888 (309) 677-4560 (fax) [email protected] http://www.bradley.edu/las/eng/faculty/bios/ramirez.shtml http://www.bradley.edu/academic/galleryofexcellence/cp-brill.shtml __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[email protected] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [email protected] Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
