Actually, Abdu'l-Baha deliberately stated that he was NOT a Prophet (Manifestation of God). I'll post quotes when I have more time - soon...
Actually I was saying that He didn't refer Himself as a Revealer. I find this passage interesting, however:
That Abdu'l-Baha is not a Manifestation of God, that He gets His light, His inspiration and sustenance direct from the Fountain-head of the Baha'i Revelation; that He reflects even as a clear and perfect Mirror the rays of Baha'u'llah's glory, and does not inherently possess that indefinable yet all-pervading reality the exclusive possession of which is the hallmark of Prophethood
(Shoghi Effendi: World Order of Baha'u'llah, Page: 139)
Surely by this logic a Baha'i definition of 'Manifestation' would include being a Perfect Mirror of the attributes of God, but such would not be a conclusive test. If it is a conclusive test then wouldn't 'Abdu'l-Baha be a Manifestation? Or is being a perfect reflection of Baha'u'llah's glory something different to being a perfect reflection of God's glory? As I see it, to be a reflection of Baha'u'llah's glory is to be a reflection of God's glory, which would, in a sense, make 'Abdu'l-Baha "the glory of God," or Baha'u'llah. Perhaps that's why on one occasion (in pilgrim's notes in the Baha'i library) Baha'u'llah said that 'Abdu'l-Baha was Him (Baha'u'llah). Maybe that's also why that girl, when she saw 'Abdu'l-Baha, identified Him as Jesus. Or did Shoghi Effendi think she was way off in her designation, yet decide to include the story in God Passes By anyway? In an earlier discussing it was suggested that 'Abdu'l-Baha might be a minor Prophet, His description sounding like a minor Prophet. Frankly I am quite certain that Shoghi Effendi did not at all want Baha'is believing that 'Abdu'l-Baha was any type of Prophet, and to assume that he might have believed 'Abdu'l-Baha was a minor Prophet requires the unlikely assumption that Shoghi Effendi here meant to refer to major Prophets. I think He meant to refer to all Prophets. I guess it's difficult to understand how 'Abdu'l-Baha couldn't be a Manifestation. He apparently doesn't possess some all-pervading reality required for Prophethood. I'm not sure how a bystander might be able to tell from observation whether He had this or not, though perhaps it's only if one has already met a Manifestation before this. I hear stories about Baha'u'llah having such a power that many found it difficult to look Him in the eye, but I'm not sure if people who had this experience around Baha'u'llah had quite the same experience around 'Abdu'l-Baha. I've never heard about anyone that had difficulty looking at 'Abdu'l-Baha, so perhaps He had less power. I guess what we can say is that He is the Mystery of God, so He can somehow be like a Manifestation yet be without some sort of reality that would otherwise make Him a Manifestation. I'm not sure how God accomplished that, but He is God, I suppose.
BTW, I don't know if it's something in your settings, but yet again I found that I just sent a message to you, only to realize after that the reply was sent to your personal account, not the list. I wonder if others are having the same problem.
Regards,
David
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