Some say we don't especially need the Bahá'í teachings because other groups work for some of the same ideas and ideals. We say that at the time they were first promulgated by Bahá'u'lláh they were new. He is the source of their (these other groups) inspiration whether the people know it consciously or not. Even if you do find various groups, each one working for one or two of these Bahá'í ideals, they are outside the "system" of principles which combine to form an organic whole. In a sense these ideals (or teachings) presuppose each other so that in isolation they almost ineffectual and often lose their relevance. None of these principles alone (or working separately) will have the power to remake the world. Many of them must be put into effect simultaneously--or be in operation at the same time. The effect of their combination is more than synergy. More than a mere decalogue of truths, these mighty principles, these weighty laws and commands combine to form a "wondrous system" -- a cosmology in operation, if you will. The Bahá'í community itself--with its administrative order--is part of this system; and thus, "principles" have become alive, self-organizing and self-referencing. The system now has the inherent capability of authenticated self-correction.
In a sense, every Messenger of God brings a new cosmology -- a new world-view, or set of constructs to better explain or interpret reality. And in the same way Einstein's cosmology did not destroy the laws of physics which Newton described as governing the motions of the planets, etc., every Messenger comes to build on the past. Each new Revelation accounts for more of what we can know.
'Abdu'l-Bahá explains (BWF, p.364) that in every dispensation there is an "unconscious obedience" or "subjective faith" (as contrasted with objective faith) which operates outside the followers of the new religious teachings. Other groups have merely caught the spirit of the new dispensation--these ideas have filtered into their consciousness. They work for the same ideals not knowing the source of their thoughts. The Holy Spirit released through its Cynosure is their inspiration. I like to think of Bahá'u'lláh as a tuning fork which released those energies through its perfect tuning, or resonation. He was the focal point, the articulator of the vibration into the sound called "Words" which were written down and constitute Bahá'í scripture.
Without that Mouthpiece or instrument--perfectly tuned to those energies--no sound would have been heard. At the same time, He was the channel through which those energies were released into the world. Consider the Bible verse proclaiming His station as "the Word," proclaiming this principle: "In the beginning was the Word. . . . all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made." (Gospel of St. John 1:3.) We must not think of the Instrument, but its Player. There are different Instruments (different Manifestations), but only one Maker which uses the Instrument to fashion the world. Again this is my understanding of the metaphor or analogy.
The release of these energies is something
akin to what people call "the spirit of the age" in which we are living.
The new age is referred to by various names: The Industrial Revolution,
the Age of Enlightenment, the New Age, the Age of Aquarius, the Atomic
Age, the Twentieth Century. By whatever name you wish to call the
new age, it is evident to all that we have entered it. Some have
said that 90% of all scientific inventions have been invented in this century,
and 90% of all scientists who have ever lived are still living. What
power has been released into the world? (Perhaps it is easy to see
this now, but at the time Bahá'u'lláh announced the beginning
of the new era, it was visionary as were His other prophesies.)
In different passages--in different works--we
find that the pen of Bahá'u'lláh has expressed this theme
in different ways:
"This is the Day in which God's most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests. . . Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen. . ." (Gleanings..., p. 6-7.)
"The potency infused into all created things is the direct consequence of the revelation..." (78)
". . .a fresh capacity was infused into all created things."(79)
". . . Justice is in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every world a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration. This is the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by the pen of this wronged One to mankind. Wherefore fear ye, O My well-beloved ones! . . ." (80)
". . . The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System--the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed . . ." (81)
Finally, referring to His own station (as the "mouthpiece of God"), we find the following in one of His revealed prayers:
". . .I testify that no sooner had the First
Word proceeded, through the potency of Thy will and purpose, out of His
mouth, and the First Call gone forth from His lips than the whole creation
was revolutionized, and all that are in the heavens and all that are on
earth were stirred to the depths. Through that Word the realities
of all created things were shaken, were divided, separated, scattered,
combined and reunited, disclosing, in both the contingent world and the
heavenly kingdom, entities of a new creation, and revealing, in the unseen
realms, the signs and tokens of Thy unity and oneness. Through that
Call Thou didst announce unto all Thy servants the advent of Thy most great
Revelation and the appearance of Thy most perfect Cause."
"No sooner had that Revelation been unveiled
to men's eyes than the signs of universal discord appeared among the peoples
of the world, and commotion seized the dwellers of earth and heaven, and
the foundations of all things were shaken. The forces of dissension
were released, the meaning of the Word was unfolded, and every several
atom in all created things acquired its own distinct and separate character.
Hell was made to blaze, and the delights of Paradise were uncovered to
men's eyes. . ."(82)
EDITOR'S REFERENCES:
(77) He did not learn them in any school. He never studied in any school. His knowledge was innate. Because the history of His life was relatively recent this has been well-documented by testimonies from the townspeople of His village. Most of His writings come to us from Him while He was in prison--from 1863 until 1892.
(78) Ibid., p. 189.
(79) Ibid., p. 85.
(80) Ibid., p. 93.
(81) Ibid., p. 136.
(82) Prayers and Meditations of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
295
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