Hands of the Bahá'í Faith

Contemplating God’s will

The Bahá'í month of Mashiyyat (Will) is observed from September 27 to October 15. In thinking of God’s will, the phrase “…the will of God…” or “…God willing…“ has become something heard daily in the English language. Those words are frequently used by the news media, particularly in the event of tragedy, or in the suppositions of future events. Even those who don’t seem to spend much time in some sort of worship use them freely.

The Bahá'í Faith’s advent into the world some 160 years ago has caused great change in all human activity. Its parameters have forced the world into a mode of transition. Although its fragrances are ready and waiting for all of us, humans are generally unaware of its existence. As a result, the world is now jousting between the influences of the religions of the past, and “…this new world Order, the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed…”

Christians evoke God’s will comfortably through their almost ritual-like use of the Lord’s Prayer over and over again. Its phrase “…Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” provides them much comfort. Perhaps most believe that when His Kingdom comes, universal peace and harmony will happen with little to no effort required of them. As Baha’is, we understand that magical moments such as that occur only in myth. We know that the heavenly Kingdom, through God’s will, arrived in 1844 with the advent of the Báb. The world has been in warfare and struggle both before and since. The Kingdom will eventually be apparent, but only after the human race accepts God’s will and His terms.

In contemplating God’s will, the guiding force that motivates the direction for most human accomplishments and conclusions in this life, a portion of the Bahá'í Marriage Tablet provides an example of a major difference between the old and new world orders. It is not my intention to discuss or highlight the institution of marriage, but to provide a concrete example concerning the old and the new, particularly since God‘s will is mentioned.

“…they must show forth the utmost attention and become informed of one another’s character and the firm covenant made between each other must become an eternal binding, and their intentions must be everlasting affinity, friendship, unity and love, The bridegroom must, before the bridesman and a few others, say: “Verily, we are content with the will of God.“ And the bride must rejoin: “Verily, we are satisfied with the desire of God.“ This is Bahá'í matrimony…“

Marriage Tablet, Bahá'í World Faith, p.372, 1943 edition

Since Western cultures have for centuries used some form of ritualistic Christian-derived ceremony for the marriage contract, the simplicity of the Marriage Tablet and the lack of the affirmations of the two parties will take some getting used to. But look more closely at its terms; the two parties are enjoined to become aware of each other’s character before proceeding, (and there is also a provision of parental acceptance of the union.) The only spoken requirement of the bridegroom is “…we are content with the will of God…”; the bride must rejoin “…we are satisfied with the desire of God.” That’s it. And something else is significant. Whereas the Christian vows determine the union to last until “death do we part,” the Bahá'í ceremony relates that the marriage contract is an eternal binding. A major difference. As societies mature within the new Bahá'í world, I wonder if the act of marriage will itself force humans to ponder more deeply on the will of God? I would hope so, since marriage is perhaps the most significant and binding activity that is undertaken by humans. The union itself provides daily activity of continual thinking of another person’s needs rather than concentrating only on oneself. And wasn’t it `Abdu'l-Bahá who enjoined us to “…marry as an assistance to yourselves…?”

In today’s world, it is apparent that everyone of us has some concept of God being present in our activities, and usually the rationalization of an individual’s activities depends upon God’s will being involved. They sleep better at night because they have followed God’s will. But, what is the definition of God’s will? What truly determines God’s will in today‘s world? Does it come from life lessons learned from mommies and daddies? Of course it does, since the personality of the child is influenced largely by what she sees at home. And where did the parents learn of God’s will? Right. It becomes a never-ending chain to the past. We are all influenced greatly by the activities of our fore fathers and theirs.

I submit that the new world order will determine its definitions of God’s will from the meditative forces of one’s own understanding of the Bahá'í Teachings. And the Teachings themselves are structured so that prejudices of the past will disappear, and be displaced by a unique and wondrous system, the likes of which mortal eyes have never witnessed. The example learned from the Marriage Tablet will play a large part in the thought process since it speaks of an eternal bond between two individuals, and requires them to live their lives within an aura of God’s will and His desires for them.

A transformation of our world for the better will occur through an understanding of, and a love for, the Bahá'í Teachings.

Hand of the Cause of God David Maxwell

Thoughts for the Month of Might

Might honors the tenth of the nineteen months of the Bahá'í calendar. It is observed from September 8 until September 27. When thinking of Might an overwhelming feeling may occur as one wonders how it may be possible to distil from Bahá'u'lláh’s mighty Writings any one segment, to the exclusion of the thousands of references to any one attribute.

And then His “Hidden Words” comes to mind, that gem of simplicity that Shoghi Effendi declared was identified with the “Hidden Book of Fatimah,” believed to have been revealed by the Angel Gabriel through the Imam Ali for consolation of Muhammad’s daughter after His death. It had remained hidden from the world until Shoghi Effendi released it. As an aside, the 1954 edition contains a beautiful Introduction by George Townshend, which is absent in later versions, including a splendid discussion of ego.

Among the verses in “Hidden Words” are the following which mention Might:

"HE IS THE GLORY OF GLORIES

"This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue.”  -- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 3 --

"24. O SON OF MAN!
“Transgress not thy limits, nor claim that which beseemeth thee not. Prostrate thyself before the countenance of thy God, the Lord of might and power.” -- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 9 --

"67. O SON OF BEAUTY!
“By My spirit and by My favor! By My mercy and by My beauty! All that I have revealed unto thee with the tongue of power, and have written for thee with the pen of might, hath been in accordance with thy capacity and understanding, not with My state and the melody of My voice.” -- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 19, 20 --

In considering the concept of might, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of modern times which celebrate victories of one over another, whether on the athletic field or in the boardroom. We are a society of winners and losers. Even children playing together are conditioned to learn the feelings of pride to be gained through being better than another in many of their activities; my (whatever) is better than your (whatever.) This is not to say that each of us should not do the very best we can in all our daily activities. But do all our accomplishments need to come at the expense of another? Why do we not perform our very best in order to experience the satisfaction of knowing that we did the best we could, and then celebrate the accomplishments of our peers? Why not surround our activities in the aura of love as demonstrated by our Creator?

Consider God’s love for humanity. Even though He is the Most Mighty of the Most Mighty, He does not bully into our lives in the manner of a despot. He, in fact, goes overboard to not interfere in our activities if we do not want His love. In reflecting on the aforementioned verses, it seems that an unmentioned aspect of His Might is absent. And that is God’s love for us. Within His Might, he tempers his release of knowledge to us in a manner that we may easily understand, regardless of our capacity or station in life. He does not burden us with His boasting of his Might, nor does He overpower us by forcing us to accept that which we are not capable of understanding. Could a loving parent do more than that?

Think about it. His Might has released tempered bits of Knowledge from the beginnings of recorded history. A series of Manifestations have brought spiritual instruction in doses that fit the times, assuring material advancement, all the while providing guidance for the social conditions humans will live within during that period. Eventually and on schedule, He repeats the process in order that we will have updated information applicable to that Age. And the mantle of all of those instructions contains an aura of love.

Through nine Manifestations, the unifying theme to love our neighbors as ourselves is ever present. Love permeates all His activities. While some of the Love may appear at times to be “tough love,” reflection will provide the conclusion that the “tough love” we accept can create within us a degree of spiritual strength we lacked before. Rather than forcing His Might upon us, he allows us to grow through the process of accepting His love.

His Might is so beyond the scope of our capabilities that mortals will never fully understand its fullness. However, in the meantime, through His love for us He will continue doling out His Attributes in a fashion that is always within our comprehension.

The world’s progress will continue to develop as humans accept His Love as best they can, while growing spiritually in a continuum brought by each of the Manifestations, in orderly fashion.

Let us reflect upon His Might, eternally conditioned with His Love as our beacon during the Feast of Might, and the month beyond.

Hand of the Cause of God David Maxwell