Words ( Kalimat) is the standard for the Bahá'í month we are currently honoring, from July 13 until August 1, when the month of Perfection (Kamal) gets the spotlight. Until then, there are a number of things that we may do as Bahá'ís to honor The Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá, and the three Guardians who have all worked so diligently and fearlessly for the propagation of this Most Great Revelation.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” -- Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, John 1:1 page 103 --
One may interpret that as saying that the Word was the beginning of all this, this planet, the several continents, the history of humans with all their false starts and small victories. Words, words, words are in the forefront in this day. We have words flowing incessantly on the Internet, along with Instant Messaging ruling our lives. Words form the bulk of what we are told by the News Media every second of every day. Words, words, words. Perhaps an overload of words is what we see around us. For better or worse, words dominate.
Words are our primary means of expressing ourselves, guided by our individual egos, cultural upbringing, parental images, and education from the school of hard knocks. Words can be the source of goodness or evil. Ever since the failings of Adam and Eve introduced, according to Biblical tradition, the element of evil into the world, humans have been on a limited spiritual quest to overcome the evil and replace it with the goodness that God has reflected toward us through His several Manifestations during the Adamic Cycle. We are now in the Bahá'í Cycle and have been given instructions through the twin Manifestations of The Báb and Bahá'u'lláh that will eventually lead us away from the human tendency to elevate ourselves above each other, and attain the peace foretold of old.
Words have assisted us to justify the battles that have occurred from the very beginnings of the human paths on earth. The Badi calendar contains among its nineteen months that of Words, one of the signals that we are in the Bahá'í Cycle. The only problem with that is that most humans are not aware that we are in the transition of the two Holy Cycles, and most continue to operate within the bounds of the “old” rules. As Orthodox Baha’is we have the responsibility to attempt to live by the new rules that God knows are now in effect, and assist Him in the transformation of this earth.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” -- Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, John 1:1 page 103 --
One may interpret that as saying that the Word was the beginning of all this, this planet, the several continents, the history of humans with all their false starts and small victories. Words, words, words are in the forefront in this day. We have words flowing incessantly on the Internet, along with Instant Messaging ruling our lives. Words form the bulk of what we are told by the News Media every second of every day. Words, words, words. Perhaps an overload of words is what we see around us. For better or worse, words dominate.
Words are our primary means of expressing ourselves, guided by our individual egos, cultural upbringing, parental images, and education from the school of hard knocks. Words can be the source of goodness or evil. Ever since the failings of Adam and Eve introduced, according to Biblical tradition, the element of evil into the world, humans have been on a limited spiritual quest to overcome the evil and replace it with the goodness that God has reflected toward us through His several Manifestations during the Adamic Cycle. We are now in the Bahá'í Cycle and have been given instructions through the twin Manifestations of The Báb and Bahá'u'lláh that will eventually lead us away from the human tendency to elevate ourselves above each other, and attain the peace foretold of old.
Words have assisted us to justify the battles that have occurred from the very beginnings of the human paths on earth. The Badi calendar contains among its nineteen months that of Words, one of the signals that we are in the Bahá'í Cycle. The only problem with that is that most humans are not aware that we are in the transition of the two Holy Cycles, and most continue to operate within the bounds of the “old” rules. As Orthodox Baha’is we have the responsibility to attempt to live by the new rules that God knows are now in effect, and assist Him in the transformation of this earth.
Words are what were used against Bahá'u'lláh and His family by even members of His own family to cause the ruling officials to banish them on many occasions to imprisonment in unspeakable dungeons, that were supposed to extinguish the flame of the Holy Words uttered and written by Him. “The Chosen Highway” chronicles the atrocities directed toward them all, from the perspective of the Holy women involved. The reader is brought to the point of tears when partaking of that the contents of that book. Yet, through it all, the flame of Bahá'u'lláhs Message prevailed.
By Hand of the Cause of God David Maxwell
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