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Dear friends and readers!
Happy Easter I wish to you. I also hope you are having a good and relaxing holiday.
Today I will let Abdu'l-Baha speak again.
As always He is very critical when it comes to traditional kinds of belief, always urging us to think with our own brains:
"Those who are uninformed of the world of reality, ...who possess only a superficial idea of universal life..." believing "only what they have heard from their fathers and ancestors. Of themselves they have no hearing, no sight, no reason, no intellect...Such persons imagine that the dominion of God is an accidental dominion or kingdom.
For instance they believe that this world of existence was created six or seven thousand years ago; as if God did not reign before that time and had no creation before that period. They think that divinity is accidental, for to them divinity is dependent upon existing things whereas in reality as long as there has been a God there has been a creation. As long as there has been light, there have been recipients of that light, for light cannot become manifest unless those things which perceive and appreciate it exist. The world of divinity presupposes creation, presupposes creation, presupposes recipients of bounty, presupposes the existence of worlds. No divinity can be conceived as separate from creation, for otherwise it would be like imagining an empire without a people. A king must needs have a kingdom, must needs have an army and subjects. Is it possible to be a king and have no country...? This is an absurdity. If we say that there was a time when there was no country, no army and no subjects, how then could there have been a king and ruler?
Consequently just as the reality of divinity never had a beginning, - that is, God has ever been a creator, God has ever been a provider, God has ever been a quickener, God has ever been a bestower, - so there never has been a time when the attributes of God have not had expression. The sun is the sun because of its rays, because of its heat. Were we to conceive of a time when there was a sun without heat and light, it would imply that there had been no sun at all and that it became the sun afterward. So likewise if we say there was a time when God had no creation or created things, a time when there were no recipients of His bounties and that His names and attributes had not been manifersted, this would be equivalent to a complete denial of divinity, for it would mean that divinity was accidental.
...more clearly, if we think that fifty thousand years ago or one hundred thousand years ago there was no creation, that there were no worlds, no human beings, no animals, this thought of ours would mean that previous to that period there was no divinity. If we should say that there was a time when there was a king but there were no subjects, ...for him to rule over, it would really be asserting that there was time when no king existed and that the king was accidental.
It is therefore evident that inasmuch as the reality of divinity is without a beginning, creation is also without a beginning. This is as clear as the sun. When we contemplate this vast mashinery of omnipresent power, perceive this illimitable space and its innumerable worlds it will become evident to us that the lifetime of this infinite creation is more than six thousand years; nay, it is very, very ancient.
Nothwithstanding this , we read in Genesis in the Old testament that the lifetime of creation is but six thousand years. THIS HAS AN INNER MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE; it is not to be taken literally. For instance it is said in the Old Testament that certain things were created on the first day. The narrative shows that at that time the sun was not yet created. How could we conceive of a day if no sun existed in the heavens; for the day depends upon the light of the sun?...Therefore these statements have significances other than literal.
To be brief; our purpose is to show that the divine sovereignty, the Kingdom of God, is an ancient sovereignty; that it is not an accidental sovereignty....the divine bounty is ever flowing and the rays of the Sun of Truth are continously shining.
Thus there have been many holy Manifestations of God. One thousand years ago, twohundred thousand years ago, one million years ago the bounty of God was flowing, the radiance of God shining, the dominion of God was existing."
Now, while speaking about ages ,I will furthermore let Abdu'l-Baha speak about the "thousand years "mentioned in the Book of Revelation, + the extent of the Bahai Era, now its years are 165) )hoping that you have become a little used to imagining huge epochs:
"the one thousand years...signifies the beginning of this Manifestation (Bahaullahs) until the end of its predominance through out the contingent world; because this Cause is great, its powers are growing and its signs are dazzling. It shall continue in elevation, exaltation, growth, promulgation and promotion until it shall reach the apex of its glory in one thousand years - as the day of this Manifestation is one thousand years"". In addition, Abdu'l-Baha states that, - the Revelation proclaimed by Bahaullah ushers in a "cycle that must extend over a period of at least five hundred thousand years.".-( World Order of Bahaullah, p 102)
This is an astronomical cycle. The Adamic cycle lasted six thousand years - the Bahai Grand Cycle will last five hundred thousand years"(New Keys to the Book of Revelation).
"I testify before God," proclaims Bahaullah, "to the greatness, the inconceivable greatness of this Revelation. Again and again have We in most of Our Tablets borne witness to this truth, that mankind may be roused from its heedlessness,"" "In this most mighty Revelation", He unequivocally announces, "all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, theirt final consummation." "That which hath been made manifest in this preeminent, this most exalted Revelation, stands unparallelled in the annals of the past, nor will future ages witness its like." (W.O.B. ,pp 102,103)
I have hesitated to tell you about this Grand Cycle. Because it is not so easy to conceive of. It is a completely new "concept"in religious writings . It is such a great thing that it was not possible to even hint at it in ages gone by. How could Jesus tell His disciples about such an astronomical era. He just had to say: I have yet more things to tell you. They had to be satisfied with that. I think t is a good idea to first contemplate upon the Adamic cycle as a cycle of prophecizing, because this is exactly what its holy Writings all contain, prophecies, about a very great period to come, a paradisic age, an epoch of peace. With Divine Institutions to guard that.This is exactly what the the Bahai Institutions are for - also a gift to mankind, and a" last citadel of a tottering world." (Shoghi Effendi, Advent of Divine Justice)) Its strength will be shown very clearly in the US. Why?, because the Divine Physician follows the pattern of first going to the most ailing patients. Because in the US there is as much political impropriety (sorry, do not take it personally)as there was priestly in the cradle of its birth, Iran.
Bahaullah said something (not quite exactly)like this: I can cause "the Sun to get up in the West" The rise of the divinely designed institutions in the US are to be included into this "Sun of Truth dawning" of the West. This is all wonderful, I think. And this way the respect of the great US will be regained and will stay.
O Yes! In due time this will come to pass. Did you think the Bahai Faith was without prophecies?. I assure you, it certainly is not.
Also many other just wonderful things are said about the US by Abdu'l-Baha.
This is a wonderful thing to meditate upon. Let yourself relax for a while, now during Eastern and ponder upon this. Do not worry, we have at last reached the beginnings of the Age of Maturity of mankind.
And we have reached it without having to imagine of figments of the imagination as religious artists are so fond of. We have reached this age without loosing the many times hard won grasp of science, understanding and intellectual clarity. We can let go of superficial, superstitious imagery and just see that the sun has got up as usual like in the time of Jesus, the power of gravitation is still functioning and the mists do still come up from the earth, not down, and we can be endowed with new honeyhearts like the disciples of old.
I invite you tomeditate on this. And to return to this meditation.
Bye for now
Kind reagrds
from
Laila
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