THE MONTH OF 'ALA' LOFTINESS

The last month of the Bahá'í calendar, that of ‘Ala” (Loftiness), is the nineteen day period from March 2 to March 20. According to J.E. Esslemont in Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era…“The Bahá'í year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e. 361 days), with the addition of certain "Intercalary Days" (four in ordinary and five in leap years) between the eighteenth and nineteenth months in order to adjust the calendar to the solar year. The Báb named the months after the attributes of God. The Bahá'í New Year, like the ancient Persian New Year, is astronomically fixed, commencing at the March equinox (usually March 21), and the Bahá'í era commenced with the year of the Báb's declaration, 1844.

“In the Book of Isaiah it is written: "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty."  No man that meditateth upon this verse can fail to recognize the greatness of this Cause, or doubt the exalted character of this Day--the Day of God Himself. This same verse is followed by these words: "And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day."  This is the Day which the Pen of the Most High hath glorified in all the holy Scriptures. There is no verse in them that doth not declare the glory of His holy Name, and no Book that doth not testify unto the loftiness of this most exalted theme. Were We to make mention of all that hath been revealed in these heavenly Books and holy Scriptures concerning this Revelation, this Tablet would assume impossible dimensions. It is incumbent in this Day, upon every man to place his whole trust in the manifold bounties of God, and arise to disseminate, with the utmost wisdom, the verities of His Cause. Then, and only then, will the whole earth be enveloped with the morning light of His Revelation.”

-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 13-14

How appropriate that the last month of the Bahá'í calendar year is named Loftiness. That allows us a period of time preceding the Bahá'í New Year to ponder our thoughts on God’s loftiness. Could that His most mysterious attribute? After all, human conscience often equates the realm of God to be somewhere out there in the great beyond. Although we are feebly inept to understand His realm, we, nevertheless, have no other metaphor to cling to than the sky above. And that it is so completely lacking in apparent sensory dimension merely adds to its mystery. Scientists comprehend the elements of matter that compose the sky, and the common man generally understands that the physics of the atmosphere allows the flight of birds and the man-made vehicles of flight, yet does any human really understand its majesty and loftiness?

As we mature in our general understanding about the universe, we are given snippets of the wonders of new planets, the probability of life on them, and the millions of light-years between them. This is only the tip of the iceberg. New discoveries overwhelm us with their imaginable-beyond-comprehension dimensions rather than bringing a closure to what we already know. It seems that with each new facet of knowledge we gain, the vastness and complexity of the universe grows exponentially. At the other end of the spectrum we have the newer technology of the smallest of the small, the nano science where dimensions may be measured only with the most highly calibrated instruments. It would seem that with the more we learn, the further away the ultimate target becomes.

When we think of God and His Kingdom, an even larger conundrum appears. We know that down through the ages various Manifestations and Prophets have pretty much convinced most of us that there is a life beyond this life out there somewhere. Angels and other holy beings are thought to be residing above us in the air due in part to their traditional appendages of wings. Yet, do the holy writings discuss the physical addition of actual wings to the deceased? Is there a moment in time when wings are added?

I think not. The Holy Writings of most religions speak multitudes about the spirit and souls of mankind. Baha’is are taught that our spirit lives beyond this world in the form of a soul, a soul that is attached to each of our embryos at the moment of conception and is a part of us forever. Our thoughts of God’s love for the souls of His human creations are usually connected in some manner with the firmament above. ‘Abdu’l-Baha taught us that the soul is of a substance not of this world. It is the only part of us that makes the journey into the world beyond, and its composition apparently thrives in that atmosphere.

Thus it may be opined that the dimension beyond, the loftiness of God, may be measured and understood within a scientific system unknown to any of us on this plane. And rightly so. How could our God actually be the God of the universe and of the worlds beyond this world if He were not of some other dimension than that understood by we mortals? On a scientific basis, we may eventually learn much more about the physical qualities of God and the universe than we know now, but not from the perspective of this world.

Yet, even that will be of little use to us if our spirit or soul is lacking in some manner. The only nourishment for the soul that has ever been discussed in any of the holy writings comes through our faith and trust in God’s Message. His message of complete love for us provides the avenue to all the nourishment we need both in this world and in the next.  

“…It is incumbent in this Day, upon every man to place his whole trust in the manifold bounties of God, and arise to disseminate, with the utmost wisdom, the verities of His Cause. Then, and only then, will the whole earth be enveloped with the morning light of His Revelation.”

Hand of the Cause of God David Maxwell