Was Baha'u'llah a Saint ?

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If this New Revelation from God is so important, why are they so unclear ?

Example :

O Son of Justice! In the night season the beauty of the immortal Being hath repaired from the emerald height of fidelity unto the Sadratu’l-Muntahá, and wept with such a weeping that the Concourse on high and the dwellers of the realms above wailed at His lamenting. Whereupon there was asked, Why the wailing and weeping? He made reply: As bidden I waited expectant upon the hill of faithfulness, yet inhaled not from them that dwell on earth the fragrance of fidelity. Then summoned to return I beheld, and lo! certain doves of holiness were sore tried within the claws of the dogs of earth. Thereupon the Maid of Heaven hastened forth unveiled and resplendent from Her mystic mansion, and asked of their names, and all were told but one. And when urged, the first letter thereof was uttered, whereupon the dwellers of the celestial chambers rushed forth out of their habitation of glory. And whilst the second letter was pronounced they fell down, one and all, upon the dust. At that moment a voice was heard from the inmost shrine: “Thus far and no farther.” Verily, We bear witness unto that which they have done, and now are doing. reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-42.html
 
Guy next door…

Thanks aagain for your post…

I was glad you shared how you searched and found for yourself Theravada Buddhism and later Catholicism… We Baha’is are also encouraged to independently investigate reality or truth… Children of Baha’is are also encouraged to search and discover for themselves and not simply follow what their parents or family says…At around the age of fifteen a youth is considered to be mature in reason and should be responsible for themselves spiritually…

As to the issue you raised about Buddhism and the Baha’i Faith let me emphasize that we do not place a greater stress on Theravadin or Mahayana Buddhism. I would like though to draw your attention to the essay by Momen which I thought I had referenced earlier at

bahai-library.com/momen_encyclopedia_buddhism

In that essay he writes the following:

*When we come to metaphysical teachings, there are more problems in correlating the Buddhist and Bahá’í viewpoints, mainly caused by the differences between ancient South Asian and nineteenth-century West Asian thought and terminology. Yet even here some similarities can be discerned. When the Buddha was asked about metaphysics, he refused to be drawn into theorizing about it. No statements about such questions can adequately convey the reality. For example, the Buddha says of the one who has achieved the goal of nirvana that “there is no means of knowing him . . . That by which one could define him, that is not for him. When all phenomena (dhamma) are removed, then all means of description are also removed” (Sutta-Nipata 1076). Therefore the Buddha discouraged his followers from concentrating on such matters and relegated them to the realm of the avyakatas, the inexpressibles.

On one occasion, Malunkyaputta asked the Buddha a number of questions: whether or not the world is eternal; whether the world is finite or infinite; whether or not the soul and the body are identical; and about the existence of the saint after death. He received no direct reply. Instead the Buddha related a parable: “It is as if a man is hit by a poison arrow. His friends hasten to the doctor. The latter is about to draw the arrow out of the wound. The wounded man however cries: `Stop, I will not have the arrow drawn out until I know who shot it. Whether a warrior or a Brahmin, or belonging to the agricultural or menial castes . . . his name and to which family he belonged . . . of what species and description the arrow is.’” In seeking to attain absolute knowledge of all of the circumstances of the shooting, the man neglected the practical matter of removing the arrow and would certainly die. Similarly, the Buddha asserts that were he to try to elucidate the answer to the questions that Malunkyaputta had put to him, “that person would die before the Tathagata had ever elucidated this to him” (MN [1:426] 2:2:63, v. 43; tr. Horner 2:99; Warren 120).*

Finally a definition of Apophetic theology may be of interest here…

*In brief, negative theology is an attempt to clarify religious experience and language about the Divine Good through discernment, gaining knowledge of what God is not (apophasis), rather than by describing what God is. *

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology

May this season bring you peace…
  • Art
 
Techno2000 said:
If this New Revelation from God is so important, why are they so unclear ?

Example :

O Son of Justice! In the night season the beauty of the immortal Being hath repaired from the emerald height of fidelity unto the Sadratu’l-Muntahá, and wept with such a weeping that the Concourse on high and the dwellers of the realms above wailed at His lamenting. Whereupon there was asked, Why the wailing and weeping? He made reply: As bidden I waited expectant upon the hill of faithfulness, yet inhaled not from them that dwell on earth the fragrance of fidelity. Then summoned to return I beheld, and lo! certain doves of holiness were sore tried within the claws of the dogs of earth. Thereupon the Maid of Heaven hastened forth unveiled and resplendent from Her mystic mansion, and asked of their names, and all were told but one. And when urged, the first letter thereof was uttered, whereupon the dwellers of the celestial chambers rushed forth out of their habitation of glory. And whilst the second letter was pronounced they fell down, one and all, upon the dust. At that moment a voice was heard from the inmost shrine: “Thus far and no farther.” Verily, We bear witness unto that which they have done, and now are doing. reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-42.html
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Tech,

Thanks so much for sharing an excerpt from the Hidden Words! The Sadratul Muntaha is the tree beyond which there is no passing…

Sidrat al-Muntahā (Arabic: سدرة المنتهى‎) is a Lote tree[1] that marks the end of the seventh heaven, the boundary where no creation can pass, according to Islamic beliefs.
  • wikipedia
It is also symbolic for us of the Manifestation and so referenced is the “Maid of Heaven”. I’d suggest taking this Hidden Word slowly and contemplate it.

The Hidden Words were revealed by Baha’u’llah as He walked along the Tigris River while in exile in Baghdad… The Hidden Words are believed to be the essence of the wisdom of past dispensations as well as supposed to have been the “hidden book” that comforted Fatima on the passing of her Father Prophet Muhammad.

Hidden Words are online:

reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/HW/
  • Art
 
Techno2000 said:
If this New Revelation from God is so important, why are they so unclear?
Click to expand...
Techno, here are a few of the ‘Hidden Words’ of God, revealed through Baha’u’llah; see if you find them clear.

“O SON OF SPIRIT! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.”

“O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.”

“O SON OF MAN! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.”

“O SON OF BEING! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.”

“O SON OF SPIRIT! There is no peace for thee save by renouncing thyself and turning unto Me; for it behooveth thee to glory in My name, not in thine own; to put thy trust in Me and not in thyself, since I desire to be loved alone and above all that is.”
 
arthra said:
Tech,

Thanks so much for sharing an excerpt from the Hidden Words! The Sadratul Muntaha is the tree beyond which there is no passing…

Sidrat al-Muntahā (Arabic: سدرة المنتهى‎) is a Lote tree[1] that marks the end of the seventh heaven, the boundary where no creation can pass, according to Islamic beliefs.
  • wikipedia
It is also symbolic for us of the Manifestation and so referenced is the “Maid of Heaven”. I’d suggest taking this Hidden Word slowly and contemplate it.

The Hidden Words were revealed by Baha’u’llah as He walked along the Tigris River while in exile in Baghdad… The Hidden Words are believed to be the essence of the wisdom of past dispensations as well as supposed to have been the “hidden book” that comforted Fatima on the passing of her Father Prophet Muhammad.

Hidden Words are online:

reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/HW/
  • Art
Click to expand...
I guess we are supposed to be in awe of the Mysterious words of The Baha’u’llah… I’m not.I bet if I asked 1000 Baha’i people for an interpretation of just this one passage I would get 1000 different interpretations, are you ready to go line by line with me ?
 
Nick44 said:
Techno, here are a few of the ‘Hidden Words’ of God, revealed through Baha’u’llah; see if you find them clear.

“O SON OF SPIRIT! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.”

“O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.”

“O SON OF MAN! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.”

“O SON OF BEING! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.”

“O SON OF SPIRIT! There is no peace for thee save by renouncing thyself and turning unto Me; for it behooveth thee to glory in My name, not in thine own; to put thy trust in Me and not in thyself, since I desire to be loved alone and above all that is.”
Click to expand...
I don’t want to know about the clear , I want to know about the unclear .
 
Beware, O believers in the Unity of God, lest ye be tempted to make any distinction between any of the Manifestations of His Cause, or to discriminate against the signs that have accompanied and proclaimed their Revelation. This indeed is the true meaning of Divine Unity, if ye be of them that apprehend and believe this truth. Be ye assured, moreover, that the works and acts of each and every one of these Manifestations of God, nay whatever pertaineth unto them, and whatsoever they may manifest in the future, are all ordained by God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose.** Whoso maketh the slightest possible difference between their persons, their words, their messages, their acts and manners, hath indeed disbelieved in God,** hath repudiated His signs, and betrayed the Cause of His Messengers.

So if the God of Baha’u’llah tells us the sky is Pink, we must believe that the sky is Pink ?
 
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