> Are there any other Mount Carmel's I > should know about? As has been quoted, the Master compared the vegetation in California to that of the Holy Land, and then prayed that a spiritual similarity would develop as well. I recall reading a pilgrim's note where the Master referred to California as the "Holy Land of the West."
The city of Santa Cruz, California is at the north end of Monterey Bay, and the town of Carmel is at the south end. The curvature of the bay, the sandy beach in between, and apparently a hill in Carmel that strongly resembles Mount Carmel in the Holy Land, were all apparent during the approach by sea into Haifa Bay. I was told that the Christian missionaries who named the California town of Carmel, and apparently nearby Mount Carmel, were struck by the similarity of sailing into the Bay of Haifa. Have never checked it out, and wouldn't know how to, other than asking the local historians in Carmel. the "Holy Land of the West." The thing is, that the appearance of the Prophets in the Holy Land, may have something to do with the holiness the earlier prophets bestowed on that land, and may also have to do with the spiritual condition of the people there. As Baha'u'llah wrote: "This is the promised Land in which He Who is the Revelation of God was destined to be made manifest. This is the Vale of God's unsearchable decree, the snow-white Spot, the Land of unfading splendor... These same Scriptures, however, unanimously condemn the people that inhabit this land." (Gleanings 344-345) As has been pointed out, the Guardian wrote that the Manifestation appears in the part of the world where the state of society has declined the most (ADJ 17). Likewise, he wrote, America has been divinely chosen as the "standard-bearer of the New World Order" not because of its inherent excellence, but because of its degradation -- because of how far it has to travel, and when Americans, after being influenced by the Revelation, are freed from the prejudice, corruption, and materialism which affects the society, then it will be a proof of the truth of the Faith. The Master says the same thing about the original peoples of Arabia and of America in the Tablets of the Divine Plan -- that as the light of the Revelation of Muhammad illumined the tribes of Arabia who had been in a state of degradation, they proved the mission of Muhammad, and in like manner when the Indians of the Americas are illumined by the light of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, "the whole earth will be illumined" (TDP 32) Likewise, in a passage I can't find at the moment, the Guardian said, not long after the Nazi phenomenon, that Germany was the spiritual heart of Germany. Likewise, he told a pilgrim that New York City was chosen as the City of the Covenant because it was the most corrupt city on earth. Reading these passages shows that while there are spiritual potentialities in the peoples of these regions, it is primarily because of the distance they -- we-- have to travel. So. The next Manifestation is likely to appear in ... actually, California's not a bad guess ! Brent ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
