My dear David Friedman of New Zealand
This servant would beg you to read this Passage with the balance of looking
at other Passages from the same Pen.
You place yourself sometimes in a position of difficulty and logical
incoherence because perhaps you do not look at all the relevant passages. Or
so it appears. Or maybe you do so to stimulate discussion which may be good
thing. God alone knoweth.
Please recall
Firstly that the same Pen wrote:
****
O ye lovers of this wronged one! Cleanse ye your eyes, so that ye behold no
man as different from yourselves. See ye no strangers; rather see all men
as friends, for love and unity come hard when ye fix your gaze on otherness.
And in this new and wondrous age, the Holy Writings say that we must be at
one with every people; that we must see neither harshness nor injustice,
neither malevolence, nor hostility, nor hate, but rather turn our eyes
toward the heaven of ancient glory. For each of the creatures is a sign of
God, and it was by the grace of the Lord and His power that each did step
into the world; therefore they are not strangers, but in the family; not
aliens, but friends, and to be treated as such.
Wherefore must the loved ones of God associate in affectionate
fellowship with stranger and friend alike, showing forth to all the utmost
loving-kindness, disregarding the degree of their capacity, never asking
whether they deserve to be loved. In every instance let the friends be
considerate and infinitely kind. Let them never be defeated by the malice
of the people, by their aggression and their hate, no matter how intense.
If others hurl their darts against you, offer them milk and honey in return;
if they poison your lives, sweeten their souls; if they injure you, teach
them how to be comforted; if they inflict a wound upon you, be a balm to
their sores; if they sting you, hold to their lips a refreshing cup.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, Page: 24)
Let them never be defeated by the malice of the people, by their aggression
and their hate, no matter how intense
Wherefore must the loved ones of God associate in affectionate fellowship
with stranger and friend alike, showing forth to all the utmost
loving-kindness, disregarding the degree of their capacity, never asking
whether they deserve to be loved
and secondly the RULE TO GUIDE BAHAI LIFE
Thy letter hath been received and its contents noted. Thou didst ask for a
rule whereby to guide thy life.
Believe thou in God, and keep thine eyes fixed upon the exalted
Kingdom; be thou enamoured of the Abha Beauty; stand thou firm in the
Covenant; yearn thou to ascend into the Heaven of the Universal Light. Be
thou severed from this world, and reborn through the sweet scents of
holiness that blow from the realm of the All-Highest. Be thou a summoner to
love, and be thou kind to all the human race. Love thou the children of men
and share in their sorrows. Be thou of those who foster peace. Offer thy
friendship, be worthy of trust. Be thou a balm to every sore, be thou a
medicine for every ill. Bind thou the souls together. Recite thou the
verses of guidance. Be engaged in the worship of thy Lord, and rise up to
lead the people aright. Loose thy tongue and teach, and let thy face be
bright with the fire of God's love. Rest thou not for a moment, seek thou
to draw no easeful breath. Thus mayest thou become a sign and symbol of
God's love, and a banner of His grace.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, Pages: 26-27)
But by the same token there were those who knew the truth of the Covenant
and YET they rose to hurt the Centre of the Covenant.
NOTICE THE EMPHASIS **IT IS NOT THAT THEY KNOW NOT**
Praise be to God, all such doors are closed in the Cause of Baha'u'llah
for a special authoritative Centre hath been appointed - a Centre that
solveth all difficulties and wardeth off all differences. The Universal
House of Justice, likewise, wardeth off all differences and whatever it
prescribeth must be accepted and he who transgresseth is rejected. But this
Universal House of Justice which is the Legislature hath not yet been
instituted.
Thus it is seen that no means for dissension hath been left, but carnal
desires are the cause of difference as it is the case with the violators.
These do not doubt the validity of the Covenant but selfish motives have
dragged them to this condition. ***It is not that they do not know what
they do - they are perfectly aware and still they exhibit opposition. ***
In short, the ocean of the Covenant is tumultuous and wide.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, Pages: 215-216)
As we say in England idiomatically [hopefully in New Zealand too] this is a
different kettle and different fish.
Again the Writings say:
***...Covenant Breaking is truly a Spiritual disease, and the whole
view-point and attitude of a Covenant Breaker is so poisonous that the
Master likened it to leprosy, and warned the friends to breathe the same air
was dangerous. This should not be taken literally; He meant when you are
close enough to breathe the same air you are close enough to contact their
corrupting influence....***
****"It is better not to read books by Covenant-breakers because they are
haters of the Light, sufferers from a spiritual leprosy, so to speak. But
books by well meaning yet unenlightened enemies of the Cause can be read so
as to refute their charges."
****
And again I beg you to re-read the Priceless Pearl [although I have a
feeling you know everything I quote. Nonetheless it is good to re-read as I
always do...
This has nothing to do with Teaching and befriending Moslems and Christians
and Jews.
[Tahirih lived also in extraordinary times]
***Faith and obedience are the most important factors in one's relation to
God, to His Manifestation, to the Head of the Faith. One must believe even
if one does not see, and even if one does not believe one must obey. The
Covenant-breaking inside the family of Bahá'u'lláh was like a vine, it
entwined the tree and strangled it; wherever its tendrils reached out it
plucked up what it would itself about and destroyed that too. This is why so
many of the minor relatives, the secretaries, the members of the community
surrounding the Centre of the Cause, became involved in the periodic
disaffections of various members of the family and every time one of these
diseased members was lopped off, some blinded sympathizers went too.
It looks simple on paper. But when year after year a house is torn by
heart-breaking emotions, shaken by scenes that leave one's brain numb, one's
nerves decimated and one's feelings in a turmoil, it is not simple, it is
just plain hell. Before a patient lies on the operating table and the
offending part is removed there is a long process of delay, of therapeutic
effort to remedy the disease, of hope for recovery. So it is with
Covenant-breaking; the taint is detected; warning, remonstrance, advice
follow; it seems better; it breaks out again, worse than before; convulsive
situations arise - repentance, forgiveness follow - and then all over again,
the same thing, worse than before, recommences. With infinite variations
this is what took place in the lifetimes of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and
Shoghi Effendi.
It is all history now and there is no use recapitulating it case by case.
But I believe one thing should be made clear. Whereas we ordinary human
beings react in one way, these extraordinary human beings react in an
entirely different way. They are, in such matters - however great the
difference in their own stations - entirely different from us. I used to
wonder, in the early years of my life with the Guardian, why he go so
terribly upset by these happenings, why he reacted so violently to them, why
he would be prostrated from evidences of Covenant-breaking. Gradually I came
to understand that such beings, so different from us, have some sort of
mysterious built-in scales in their very souls; automatically they register
the spiritual state of others, just as one side of a scale goes down
instantly if you put something in it because of the imbalance this creates.
We individual Bahá'ís are like the fish in the sea of the Cause, but these
beings are like the sea itself, any alien element in the sea of the Cause,
so to speak, with which, because of their nature, they are wholly
identified, produces an automatic reaction on their part; the sea casts out
its dead.
(Ruhiyyih Khanum, The Priceless Pearl, p. 122)
a mere nothing
khazeh fananapazir
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Friedman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: 01 January 2004 02:51
Subject: Firmness in the Covenant
> In short, from these Holy Utterances and those of His Holiness Christ, it
> becomes clear, evident and proved, that man should associate with people
who
> are firm in the Covenant and Testament, and befriend the pure ones;
because
> bad associates bring about infection of bad qualities. It is like
leprosy;
> it is impossible for a man to associate and befriend a leper and not be
> infected. This command is for the sake of protection and to safeguard.
> Consider this text of the New Testament: the brothers of His
Holiness
> Christ, came to Him and they said: "These are your brothers." He
answered
> that His brothers were those who believed in God, and refused to associate
> with His own brothers.
> Likewise Qurratu'l-'Ayn, who is celebrated in all the world, when she
> believed in God and was attracted to the Divine Breaths, she forsook her
two
> eldest sons, although they were her two oldest children, because they did
> not become believers, and thereafter did not meet them. She said: "All
the
> friends of God are my children, but these two are not. I will have
nothing
> to do with them."
> (`Abdu'l-Baha: Baha'i World Faith*, Pages: 437-438)
>
> I find this passage puzzling, as it seems to run counter to the rest of
the
> teachings. The passage indicates that those who are firm in the Covenant,
> the pure ones, are believers in the new Revelation. So at the time of
> Tahirih that would be the Babi's and now it would be Baha'is. When it
talks
> about belief in God it clearly is not talking about atheism vs theism, as
> the brothers of Jesus believed in God all along, as did Tahirih's sons.
The
> problem of this passage is that it would indicate that non-Baha'is are
"bad
> associates" or "lepers," whom we should not associate with. Jesus'
brothers
> and Tahirih's sons were not bad people (I don't think), but 'Abdu'l-Baha
is
> clearly implying that Jesus and Tahirih's avoidance of them due to their
> failure to recognize the new Revelation was a GOOD thing, something God
> would want. Folllowing the logic in this passage it would seem I would be
> supposed to cut off all contact with just about all my relatives, and
break
> off some of my social contacts as well. Otherwise, according to this
> passage, I will definitely be infected by spiritual leprosy. In fact, I
> would surely already have it. How is this passage to be reconciled with
the
> teaching to consort with the followers of all religions? Muslims are not
> considered Covenant-breakers by Baha'is, but here 'Abdu'l-Baha endorses
> Tahirih for treating them like we treat Covenant-breakers. Is hanging out
> with non-believers good or not? Are no non-believers 'friends of God'?
Are
> Baha'is to follow the example of Tahirih? Has this passage been correctly
> translated?
>
> Regards,
>
> David
>
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