The Baha'i Studies Listserv On Feb 21, 2012, at 7:53 08PM, David Regal wrote:
> I am a rare Baha'i who is generally skeptical of Baha'i dreams, i.e., whether > they are from God. Many assume that if you have a Baha'i dream, like about > the Central Figures, it has to be sent from God. > > I find this to be nonsense. People have dreams about people they think of a > lot. Would it not be natural to expect we would sometimes have dreams > featuring the Central Figures? The claim that the dreams must be from God > carries the assumption that God would intervene so as not to allow someone to > have a dream of the Central Figures unless it was from God. I don't see God > as so interventionist. Furthermore, Shoghi Effendi said we can't be sure > these dreams are from God. > > It tends to take quite a bit to convince me the dream is likely from God, > such as the dream containing profound wisdom. I would generally agree. I likewise do not believe that God micro-manages creation. But I have had visions, some of which occurred when I was sleeping, one of which was very prophetic. Interestingly, with a couple exceptions, they all occurred before I became a Baha'i, but had more meaning once I became a Baha'i. The very prophetic one, btw, was nearly 20 years ago, and nearly 30 years since my last previous "vision". It, and most of the others, was very disturbing. It provided a perspective on things over which I would have no control. Below are two statements by Shoghi Effendi on dreams. Don C ==================== "...That truth is often imparted through dreams no one who is familiar with [515] history, especially religious history, can doubt. At the same time dreams and vision are always coloured and influenced more or less by the mind of the dreamer and we must beware of attaching too much importance to them. The purer and more free from prejudice and desire our hearts and minds become, the more likely is it that our dreams will convey reliable truth, but if we have strong prejudices, personal likings and aversions, bad feelings or evil motives, these will warp and distort any inspirational impression that comes to us.... In many cases dreams have been the means of bringing people to the truth or of confirming them in the Faith. We must strive to become pure in heart and 'free from all save God'. Then our dreams as well as our waking thoughts will become pure and true. We should test impressions we get through dreams, visions or inspirations, by comparing them with the revealed Word and seeing whether they are in full harmony therewith." (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, May 16, 1925: Extracts from the Guardian's letters on Spiritualism, Reincarnation and Related Subjects, February 1970) "...The Guardian would suggest that you study very carefully the statement of 'Abdu'l-Baha in connection with the question of visions, dreams, etc., as 'Abdu'l-Baha has very fully explained this delicate subject. You will find references to this in 'Baha'u'llah and the New Era,' 'Some Answered Questions' and the Books of Tablets. The Guardian likewise has commented on this matter. "Briefly, there is no question that visions occasionally do come to individuals, which are true and have significance. On the other hand, this comes to an individual through the grace of God, and not through the exercise of any of the human faculties. It is not a thing which a person should try to develop. When a person endeavors to develop faculties so that they might enjoy visions, dreams etc., actually what they are doing is weakening certain of their spiritual capacities; and thus under such circumstances, dreams and visions have no reality, and ultimately lead to the destruction of the character of the person." (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated May 6, 1952, to an individual believer: Ibid ------------- Understood properly, all man's problems are essentially spiritual in nature. __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:leave-634444-27401.54f46e81b66496c9909bcdc2f7987...@list.jccc.edu 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]
