Chinvat

May 26, 2007

Love Directed by Will. Man's Sacred Power

"In that Day, the Root of Jesse [King David's Father] shall stand for an ensign to the peoples; Him shall the nations seek and his dwellings shall be glorious [Baha'i]." (Is.11:11, RSV)

In Genesis (Gen 1:26; 3:22) God desires man to made in the image of God, that is, to be like God Himself, take on His likeness and spiritual image. This God is an intangible essence – infinite, unknowable in essence – a spirit, intelligent, independent, free thinking, creative, active, alive, real, and dynamic – a divine spiritual Being – the I AM - radiating spiritual qualities and attributes, such as love, mercy, harmony, justice, concord, fidelity, generosity – The living active consciousness moving behind the universe and everything it – the primal will and motivating source of all forces comprehensible and incomprehensible to man.

Through the breaths of the Holy Spirit, reality pulsates and the divine fragrances are breathed from the Creator even unto man, the chosen of God to receive the love, knowledge and bounty of the Source directly from the Source. This is the purpose of sending the "Us" and the "Our" (Gen. 1:26) the Supreme Manifestations of God into this world, to uplift man individualistically, powerful, aware, self-determined and free, abiding of grace and power – in other words: like God – with the very imprint of God upon him – "The Greatest Talisman" – who then can freely say "yeah" or "nay" to the very Power and Divine Reality which called him into existence.

How any soul, could reject the Beauty of Divinity, turn their back on the luminosity of the radiant gift, shirk at the Divine bestowal, abandon the charismatic grace of on high: is an unfathomable mystery, and baffling conundrum, a "mysterious grievous affliction" unknown and incomprehensible to the loving thralls captivated at the threshold of communion with the Divine. Through the power of the point of manifestation, a mingling of stations takes place, and whereas on the one hand – the Thought of God emanates from the mind of God, on the other hand, the Thought of God enters and is contemplated by the mind of man. Thus as two men can share the same thought and be of one mind, so "wheresoever two or three are gathered together there I shall be," says God, "in the midst". So the thought of God entered the mind of the perfect man, and through him the minds of all men, and all mankind become as one, so God could be all in all to everyone.

Thus these two share one commonality: the same power of the same thought, that is the Thought of God born out of the actual mind of God dwells bodily and completely – whole, that is wholly/Holy – alive and animated within the mind of man. "In the ocean he findeth a drop, in a drop he beholdeth the secrets of the sea." "Neither doth My earth nor My heaven contain Me, but the minds-heart of My faithful servant containeth Me."

Thus God, the thought, and the mind of man exist in three different planes – yet through man's love and desire to comprehend God, this thought of God enters his own mind from the living mind of God – like spark to flame, we have a commingling of station, in which the soul of man is uplifted out of physical creation, and set free to soar in the heaven of the Divine Will in a state of spiritual communion, man comes into the Presence of God where he can freely choose to evermore remain.

"O My Servant! Obey Me and I shall make thee like unto Myself. I say `Be,' and it is, and thou shalt say `Be,' and it shall be."

"O Son of Adam! Seek fellowship with none until thou hast found Me, and whenever thou shalt long for Me, thou shalt find Me close to thee."

Why some have turned away from the Lord of Covenant, violated His Testament, forsaken the provisions of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Baha – none can say. Our role – one of the greatest and most fundamental principles of the Cause of God – is to shun negativity, and to avoid disaster – by continuously sending out universal love, the light of God directed by our will through the psychromes, and be as we shall be, mirrors of the divine light, as we go forward with the teaching effort constructing the international Mashriqu'l-Azkar out of living stones hewn from the white quarry of God's iridescent decree set down long before the foundation of the world.

Thus Jesus loved all mankind and God above all else. And God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son – and this son, out of love, knowingly directed by Will, overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple (Mk. 11:15); denounced the members of the clergy and sects of Judaism (Matt. Ch. 25) as "hypocrites" and "vipers"; cracked a whip (Jn. 2:15); armed his apostles with two swords each (Lk. 22:38); and took the temple by force in a military coup (Jn. 2:13-25), saying: "Not my Will O Lord, but thine." Thus, this is God's power to man – motivated by the love of God, united with the knowledge of God, directed by the Will of God. And the people identified him – Jesus – as "Beelzebub", the Devil and Satan (Matt. 10:25) and to his true followers firm in the Covenant, have they imputed much worse?

Freedom of religion thus means our acceptance of everyone's right to worship God in their own way – even if for them that means violating the Covenant – and for our own selves: picking up our cross and following Jesus – denouncing violation and violators, while at the same time embracing their right to do what they will do and our right to say what we will say, not by our might or our power, but by Authority – the provisions of the Will and Testament – by God's might and God's power, which alone can, heal, exempt and redeem. They have their religion and we have ours. There is no need to give "proof" or "evidences" for our religion or for the truth of God for those who are already chosen darkness – but ours is to refute the darkness, shine the light, that fellow lovers may be guided to these crimsons shores, and find their reunion and safe haven in the banquet hall of God.

"They say: `Where is Paradise, and where is Hell?' Say: `The one is reunion with Me; the other thine own self" –Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 118.

These proofs and evidences, therefore, are that beacon of light – prophecy fulfilled – criteria of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l- Baha to recognize the true UHJ of Baha'u'llah established – the one with the living aghsan – the Davidic King as its president for life of that body (W&T, p. 14, 15) – that bright beacon of shining light that the true seekers seek that shines throughout all the world. A light which drives away the mole and bat, an endless fire of love that devours fruitless tress and consumes honeyless bees. All the world is powerless to resist its might, for it is the power of the love of God united with the knowledge of God, in which our will is aligned with His Will, and through our focus, direction and channeling of that power of the love of God united by our will in the knowledge of God, `Abdu'l-Baha and Baha'u'llah tell us, all the forces in the universe are at our command: "I say `Be,' and it is, and thou shalt say `Be,' and it shall be."

On behalf of the Council,
Your servant,
Neal.

WISDOM OF `ABDU'L-BAHA

I. MAN'S SACRED POWER: THE LOVE-POWER OF REALITY

"Man has a sacred power beyond the confines of the senses. The power of the rational mind is the power of the soul over the senses. This cycle is radiating love and the bestowals of God are descending like unto rain…"

"The greatest gift of man is universal love — that magnet which renders existence eternal. It attracts realities and diffuses life with infinite joy. If this love penetrate the heart of man, all the forces of the universe will be realized in him, for it is a divine power which transports him to a divine station and he will make no progress until he is illumined thereby. Strive to increase the love-power of reality, to make your hearts greater centers of attraction and to create new ideals and relationships.

"First of all, be ready to sacrifice your lives for one another, to prefer the general well-being to your personal well-being. Create relationships that nothing can shake; form an assembly that nothing can break up; have a mind that never ceases acquiring riches that nothing can destroy. If love did not exist, what of reality would remain? It is the fire of the love of God which renders man superior to the animal. Strengthen this superior force through which is attained all the progress in the world.

"May the light of divine advancement shine upon you. This is the glory and progress of man. This is eternal life."

II. WORLD PATRIOTISM

"In this age the college or school which is run in a denominational spirit of division is an anomaly. Such an institution is engaged in a losing fight, for it cannot long withstand the holistic forces of liberalism in education. The universities and colleges of the world must hold fast to three principles:

"First: SERVICE TO THE PRINCIPLE OF EDUCATION, which is the unfolding of the mysteries of nature; the existence of the boundaries of pure science; the elimination of the causes of ignorance and of social evils; the standardization of a Universal System of Instruction and the diffusion of the lights of knowledge and reality.

"Second: SERVICE TO THE PRINCIPLE OF MORALITY, which is the raising of the moral tone of the students; the inspiring of them with the highest ideals of ethical requirement; the instructing of them with altruism; the inculcation in their lives of the beauty of sanctity
and of the existence of virtue, and the animating of them with the SPIRIT of the religion of God.

"Third: SERVICE TO THE PRINCIPLE OF THE ONENESS OF THE WORLD OF HUMANITY, which is the bringing home to the students of the fact that all are brothers, irrespective of religion or race; and the setting up before them of the ideal of Universal peace, so that they may become soldiers in the army of peace and servants of the body politic—the World."

"The doors of colleges and universities must be kept wide open to the youth of all nationalities and the adherents of all religions, so that men and women, from widely scattered countries, meeting therein and becoming acquainted with one another's customs and thoughts, may discard their baseless prejudices. In this manner young people will acquire the ideal of WORLD PATRIOTISM."

In this luminous way will the Covenant-breakers be degraded and dispersed.

III. RUNNING AWAY

In Gospel accounts of the East it is related:

One day, Jesus was seen striding with great rapidity down the road, and the people, amazed at his unusual demeanor, followed after him crying out: "Master! Master! Why this haste? Whom are you escaping from?" Jesus ignored them, continuing on his way. But they insisted: "There are no wild beasts in this vicinity, no lions, panthers or wolves. What has put you to this precipitous flight?"

The Jesus answered: "I am flying from the fool."

"But are you not the Christ! With the power of the Holy Spirit, you can blow upon this man and will become wise."

Jesus said: "I blew a breath of the Holy Spirit upon the ignorant, and he became learned: I blew a breath upon the blind, and he gained his sight; I blew a breath upon the dead and he was quickened into life; but I blew a thousand breaths upon the fool, and remain a fool. Consequently, I am running away from him."

IV. WILL POWER

"Will power exists in the animal and in man. The animal enjoys physical will power, which has a limited sphere of activity; while man possesses both the circumscribed physical will power and the transcendent spiritual will power. The bird may soar high in the heavens, but there is a limit beyond which it cannot rise. It must return to earth. Man may spur his physical will power to the point of walking ten miles instead of two, but he finally is overpowered by exhaustion. On the other hand, the Creator has deposited in the human mind the seed of a will power that is not satisfied with ANYTHING. The one who has developed this will power knows NO LIMIT in his flight. His thirst is never allayed. This is a sign of the signs of God.

"How can we develop this will power? Through "divine unrest." Inventions and colossal undertakings have been carried through by will power exercising in the proper channels. Jesus said; "Thy will be done and not mine;" because our longings and hopes are realized through the appearance of the Will of the Father.

"Strive ever that your will power may be expended in philanthropic ways. Except the aims be humanitarian, nothing is productive of lasting result. The sovereign dynasties of the world have been established through the intense exercise of will power; but as the initiators were not disinterested people, these dynasties are tottering to the ground. At the same time, those souls which arose to serve the Cause had no will except the divine Will; consequently, their willpower became the will power of God, and their traces are the traces of God.

"Why is so much tyranny apparent today? Why so much discord and bloodshed? Because the people do not live in accordance with the Will of God.

"In the world of existence there is nothing more productive that the coordination of the will power of man. The coordinated will power of two men brings greater results than can the will power of one man. Therefore, if the nations were to coordinate their will power, for international amity and unification, the happiness of all humanity would result. Love directed by Will. Man's sacred power." – Abdu'l- Baha Abbas.

your servant,
Neal Chase,
Guardian.
5/26/07