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| From The Hidden Wards, Arabic, no. 19. © Bahá’í International Community. Used in accordance with BIC terms. AI Art © Glenn Franco Simmons. CC BY-NC-ND. Please feel free to download and/or share. Thank you, kindly. |
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| Photo taken at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This picturesque scene no longer looks like this after a lightning-caused fire in 2020. © Glenn Franco Simmons. Please share, if so inclined. |
Fundamental to the Faith’s concepts of justice and equality is the belief that all humans are noble creations of God.
Bahá’u’lláh speaks to humanity in The Hidden Words, from The Arabic: “O Son of Spirit! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.”
Why is recognizing each person’s nobility important? William E. Davis explains why in his recently published book, titled In Service to Justice: Striving to Bring Forth Our Nobility, which is the inspiration for this brief post.
“Only if you perceive honor and nobility in every human being … will you be able to champion the cause of justice,” stated The Universal House of Justice as cited by Davis in his book.
The importance of justice in the Bahá’í Faith is explained by Bahá’u’lláh in The Hidden Words, from The Arabic: “O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.”
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| AI art: CC BY-NC-SA/© Bahá’í Writings As Art. Excerpt © Bahá’í International Community. Used with permission and in accordance with BIC terms. |
`Abdu’l-Bahá explains further.
“Some are full of intelligence, others have an ordinary amount of it, and others again are devoid of intellect,” He said in Paris Talks. “In these three classes of men there is order but not equality. How could it be possible that wisdom and stupidity should be equal? Humanity, like a great army, requires a general, captains, under-officers in their degree, and soldiers, each with their own appointed duties. Degrees are absolutely necessary to ensure an orderly organization. An army could not be composed of generals alone, or of captains only, or of nothing but soldiers without one in authority. The certain result of such a plan would be that disorder and demoralization would overtake the whole army.”
In terms of the equality opportunity of men and women, `Abdu’l-Bahá in Selections from the Writings of `Abdu’l-Bahá, states, “Yet another of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is the equality of men and women and their equal sharing in all rights. … Ye who are servants of the human race, strive ye with all your heart to deliver mankind out of this darkness and these prejudices that belong to the human condition and the world of nature, so that humanity may find its way into the light of the world of God.”
The Faith is clear with regard to equality before the law.
“The seventh principle of Bahá’u’lláh is: The Equality of Men — equality before the Law,” states `Abdu’l-Bahá in Paris Talks. “The Law must reign, and not the individual; thus, will the world become a place of beauty and true brotherhood will be realized. Having attained solidarity, men will have found truth.”
In Paris Talks, `Abdu’l-Bahá addresses the Bahá’í social-justice concept of eliminating poverty: “The sixth principle of Bahá’u’lláh is: Equal opportunity of the means of Existence. Every human being has the right to live; they have a right to rest, and to a certain amount of well-being. As a rich man is able to live in his palace surrounded by luxury and the greatest comfort, so should a poor man be able to have the necessaries of life. Nobody should die of hunger; everybody should have sufficient clothing; one man should not live in excess while another has no possible means of existence.
“Let us try with all the strength we have to bring about happier conditions, so that no single soul may be destitute.”
“Joy gives us wings!” He said. “In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us we become weak, our strength leaves us, our comprehension is dim and our intelligence veiled. The actualities of life seem to elude our grasp, the eyes of our spirits fail to discover the sacred mysteries, and we become even as dead beings.”
Does that sound familiar? It should, because `Abdu’l-Bahá said, “There is no human being untouched by these two influences; but all the sorrow and the grief that exist come from the world of matter—the spiritual world bestows only the joy!”
Where does suffering come from and is it something that will be a reality on the next realm of existence?
“All these examples are to show you that the trials which beset our every step, all our sorrow, pain, shame and grief, are born in the world of matter; whereas the spiritual Kingdom never causes sadness. A man living with his thoughts in this Kingdom knows perpetual joy. The ills all flesh is heir to do not pass him by, but they only touch the surface of his life; the depths are calm and serene.”
Today, as when `Abdu’l-Bahá gave this talk, “… {H}umanity is bowed down with trouble, sorrow and grief, no one escapes; the world is wet with tears; but, thank God, the remedy is at our doors,”
There is immediate Divine assistance, but one’s heart has to be open, akin to a fertile field is to sown seeds.
Impediments to prayer may come from within.
“When our thoughts are filled with the bitterness of this world, let us turn our eyes to the sweetness of God’s compassion and He will send us heavenly calm!” He said. “If we are imprisoned in the material world, our spirit can soar into the Heavens and we shall be free indeed!
“When our days are drawing to a close, let us think of the eternal worlds, and we shall be full of joy!”
Have you ever bought something or gone shopping and expected the experience and/or purchase to elevate your mood? Perhaps it did help your mood, but then there is an emptiness that follows.
“Thank God that you in this assembly have this knowledge, for in all the sorrows of life you can obtain supreme consolation. If your days on earth are numbered, you know that everlasting life awaits you. If material anxiety envelops you in a dark cloud, spiritual radiance lightens your path. Verily, those whose minds are illumined by the Spirit of the Most High have supreme consolation.”
`Abdu’l-Bahá, Who suffered greatly, is the Exemplar of the Bahá’í Faith, putting into practice the guidance in the Writings.
“I myself was in prison forty years — one year alone would have been impossible to bear — nobody survived that imprisonment more than a year!” He said. “But thank God, during all those forty years I was supremely happy! Every day, on waking, it was like hearing good tidings, and every night infinite joy was mine. Spirituality was my comfort, and turning to God was my greatest joy. If this had not been so, do you think it possible that I could have lived through those forty years in prison?
“Thus, spirituality is the greatest of God’s gifts, and ‘Life Everlasting’ means ‘Turning to God.’ May you, one and all, increase daily in spirituality, may you be strengthened in all goodness, may you be helped more and more by the Divine consolation, be made free by the Holy Spirit of God, and may the power of the Heavenly Kingdom live and work among you. This is my earnest desire, and I pray to God to grant you this favor.”
Should the fire of the love of God be kindled in Greenland, all the ice of that country will be melted, and its cold weather become temperate ~ that is, if the hearts be touched with the heat of the love of God, that territory will become a divine rose garden and a heavenly paradise, and the souls, even as fruitful trees, will acquire the utmost freshness and beauty. ... ~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Source: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Divine Plan #5: To the Bahá’ís of Canada and Greenland. (Ocean)
