Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee (Israel) are inscribed ...
The
Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee are inscribed for the
testimony they provide to the Bahá’i’s strong tradition of pilgrimage
and for their profound meaning for the faith. The property numbers 26
buildings, monuments and sites at 11 locations in Acre and Haifa,
associated with the founders of the faith, among them the Shrine of the
Bahá’u’lláh in Acre and the Mausoleum of the Báb in Haifa. It also
includes houses, gardens, a cemetery and a large group of modern
buildings in the neoclassical style that serve for administration,
archives and a research centre. As a Bahai I am very glad for this great News.I hope it gladdens you too. Above you see the Building of the Universal House of Justice, the highest administrative body of the Bahai Faith. See the beautiful buildings and gardens at www.Bahai.org. (I couldn't manage to transfer the beautiful photoes from there) Remember what Isaiah 35 says: The wilderness... shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it; the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall se the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of God" Hosea proclaims that in that The Valley of Achor will be a door of hope to the people. See Hosea 2:15. See also 18,19,23. St John: Behold I make all things new.
At the request of the Israelis themselves the Bahai Holy Places are now safe guarded. And now about God:
Extolling God's act of creation, Bahá'u'lláh said:
All-praise to the unity of God, and all-honor to Him, the sovereign
Lord, the incomparable and all-glorious Ruler of the universe, Who, out
of utter nothingness, hath created the reality of all things, Who, from
naught, hath brought into being the most refined and subtle elements of
His creation, and Who, rescuing His creatures from the abasement of
remoteness and the perils of ultimate extinction, hath received them
into His kingdom of incorruptible glory. Nothing short of His
all-encompassing grace, His all-pervading mercy, could have possibly
achieved it.
How wondrous is the unity of the Living, the
Ever-Abiding God--a unity which is exalted
above all limitations, that transcendeth the
comprehension of all created things.... How
lofty hath been His incorruptible Essence,
how completely independent of the knowledge of all created things, and how immensely
exalted will it remain above the praise of
all the inhabitants of the heavens and the
earth!
According to Bahá'í teachings, God is so far beyond His creation that,
throughout all eternity, human beings will never be able to formulate any clear image of
Him or attain to anything but the most remote appreciation of His superior
nature. Even if we say that God is the All-Powerful, the All-Loving, the
Infinitely Just, such terms are derived from a very limited human experience of
power, love, or justice. Indeed, our knowledge of anything is limited to our
knowledge of those attributes or qualities perceptible to us:
Know that there are two kinds of knowledge: the knowledge of the essence
of a thing and the knowledge of its qualities. The essence of a thing
is known through its qualities; otherwise, it is unknown and hidden. As our knowledge of things, even of created and limited things, is
knowledge of their qualities and not of their essence, how is it possible to
comprehend in its essence the Divine Reality, which is unlimited? ...
Knowing God, therefore, means the comprehension and the knowledge
of His attributes, and not of His Reality. This knowledge of the attributes
is also proportioned to the capacity and power of man; it is not
absolute. Thus for human beings the knowledge of God means the knowledge of the
attributes and qualities of God, not a direct knowledge of His essence. But
how are we to attain the knowledge of the attributes of God? Bahá'u'lláh wrote
that everything in creation is God's handiwork and therefore reflects something
of His attributes. For example, even in the intimate structure of a rock or a
crystal can be seen the order of God's creation. However, the more refined the
object, the more completely is it capable of reflecting God's attributes.
Since the Messenger of God or Manifestation of
God is the highest form of
creation known to us, the Manifestation affords the most complete knowledge of
God available to us:
Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is a direct
evidence of the revelation within it of the attributes and names of
God, inasmuch as within every atom are enshrined the signs that bear
eloquent testimony to the revelation of that Most Great Light.... To a
supreme degree is this true of man.... For in him are potentially
revealed all the attributes and names of God to a degree that no other
created being hath excelled or surpasssed.... And of all men, the most
accomplished, the most distinguished, and the most excellent are the
Manifestations of the Sun of Truth. Nay, all else besides these
Manifestations, live by the operation of their Will, and move and have
their being through the outpourings of their grace.
And the Manifestation of God for this Age is Bahaullah the Glory of God.
Bye for now Laila
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