The Covenant of Baha'u'llah
by Adib Taherzadeh
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chapter 22 | start page | single page | chapter 24 |  |
Chapter 23
Fostering Steadfastness in the Covenant
One of the most important teachings of Bahá'u'lláh is the unfettered search after truth. By this is meant that the individual is duty bound to search after truth prayerfully and without prejudice until, it is hoped, he is enabled to recognize Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation of God for this age, and to embrace His Cause. There is nothing more precious and more vital for a Bahá'à than his faith in Bahá'u'lláh. But faith is a relative term. Its intensity varies in individuals and is dependent upon the extent to which one has recognised the station of Bahá'u'lláh as the Supreme Manifestation of God.Once a believer embraces the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, he will have unlimited scope in the investigation of the many truths enshrined in the Revelation; this path of exploration in the teachings can continue until the end of one's life. Shoghi Effendi has made it 'the first obligation' of a believer to deepen his understanding of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. These are his words:
"To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá'u'lláh's stupendous Revelation must, it is my unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavour of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and it is our bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance as we labour for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of the truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based." [23-1]
When the individual recognizes Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation of God, a spark of faith is ignited in his heart. At first a faint glimmer of light, this spark must be allowed to become a fire of ever-growing intensity, for it is then that the believer will fall in love with Bahá'u'lláh. But how can a person who has just embraced this belief draw closer to Bahá'u'lláh, fan into flame the spark of his faith and increase his love for Him day by day?
It is stated in Islam, and Bahá'u'lláh confirms and reiterates this, that 'Knowledge is a light which God casteth into the heart of whomsoever He willeth.' The statement that the heart is the dawning-place of the knowledge of God may sound strange to some, because it is commonly thought that the mind is the vehicle for acquiring knowledge and not the heart. But faith and knowledge of God, like seeds, are planted first in the heart. It is only afterwards that the mind grasps the truth and begins to understand it. In the end it is the interaction of the two — the heart and the mind — which brings confirmation and certitude to the soul.
Although in some cases a believer's faith in Bahá'u'lláh may come to him through an intellectual approach, its intensification and growth day by day cannot continue purely by intellectual pursuits. And if a person's faith does not increase with the passage of time it is like a child which is born but fails to grow. Such a person is very likely to feel a measure of doubt in his innermost heart concerning the Faith, and may experience great conflicts in his mind, especially when he goes through tests. Although intellectually he may accept Bahá'u'lláh as a Manifestation of God and may even be well versed in His Writings, he will not be able to have that absolute certitude which endows a human being with spiritual qualities and confers upon him perpetual contentment, assurance and happiness.
The heart is the focal point of warmth and love. It is characteristic of the heart to fall in love with another party, but it is the individual who finds and chooses that party. If he turns his affections to the material world, his heart will very easily become attached to material things. But if he turns to God and spiritual things, then his heart can fall in love with his Creator, provided he fulfils one condition stated by Bahá'u'lláh:
"O Son of Being!
"Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for my Manifestation." [23-2]
How can one sanctify the heart? In another passage, Bahá'u'lláh explains:
"O Son of Dust!
"All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved..." [23-3]
And again:
"O My Friend in Word!
"Ponder a while. Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one heart? Cast out then the stranger, that the Friend may enter His home." [23-4]
To acquire faith, then, and enable the revelation of God to shine within the heart, one must cast out the 'stranger'. This 'stranger' is man's attachment to this world. The most formidable type of attachment, and the most harmful, is attachment to one's own self. It manifests itself mainly in the form of pride in one's own knowledge and in other accomplishments such as rank and position. It is the love of one's own self that renders the individual opinionated, self-centred, proud and egotistical, and in fact denudes him of spiritual qualities. Such a person has indeed harboured within his heart a great enemy, namely, the 'stranger', referred to by Bahá'u'lláh. Even if he becomes a Bahá'Ã, he will find it difficult to derive spiritual upliftment from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh because attachment to his own self has become a barrier between him and God.
To read the Writings purely with the eye of intellect, while proudly regarding oneself as a being endowed with great qualities and accomplishments, undoubtedly closes the door to the bounties and confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh, and His words therefore cannot influence the heart. Of course when a person truly recognises Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation of God he becomes humble before Him, and this is one of the main prerequisites for driving the 'stranger', step by step, out of one's heart. 'Humble thyself before Me, that I may graciously visit thee ...' is Bahá'u'lláh's clear admonition to man.
"Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears, that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself of all learning, that thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and sanctify thyself from riches, that thou mayest obtain a lasting share from the ocean of My eternal wealth..." [23-5]
There is a beautiful Persian story in verse which elucidates this point quite vividly. It concerns a drop of rain falling down from the clouds. The drop knew itself to be the water of life, the most precious element that God had created, and so it was proud of itself. Boasting all the way down it suddenly saw that it was falling into an ocean beneath. Suddenly it recognised its own insignificance and exclaimed: 'If this exists then what am l?!' When the ocean heard this expression of humility it attracted the drop to itself and, as a reward, made it a companion of the pearl.
The following is part of one of the obligatory prayers by Bahá'u'lláh. Though very brief, it is reminiscent of the story of the drop and the ocean, and serves as a perfect confession of who we are:
"I bear witness, O my God, that Thou has created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth..." [23-6]
The daily recital of any of the three obligatory prayers can act as a mighty weapon in the spiritual battle against one's own self, a battle that every believer must fight in order to subdue his greatest enemy and drive the 'stranger' away. The recital of the obligatory prayer, which is enjoined upon every believer by Bahá'u'lláh and constitutes one of the most sacred rites of the Faith, is a major factor in enabling a soul to recognise its own importance in relation to its Creator and to acknowledge its own shortcomings.
The saying of obligatory prayers, coupled with the daily reciting of the Holy Writings as ordained by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, and a deeper study of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, will enable the believer to gain a glimpse of the majesty and grandeur of the Blessed Beauty. Like the drop when it saw the ocean, he will become humble and self-effacing. The 'stranger' will be driven out and the heart filled with the spirit of God's Faith. It is at this stage that the believer will be tested.
Tests are an integral part of life. Even in the physical world there are tests: for example, we note that when there is movement there is also resistance; the faster one moves, the greater the resistance. Therefore, a fast-moving object meets enormous resistance from the air because of its sheer speed.
This is true in a spiritual sense too. When the individual recognizes the station of Bahá'u'lláh and embraces His Cause, he is tested in many ways, often without realizing it. Each time he is successful in passing a test, he will acquire greater spiritual insight and grow stronger in faith. He will then come closer to God and will be elevated to a higher level of service; next time his tests will be more difficult. We are not always able to pass a test, but God in His mercy will provide the opportunity to overcome the barriers on another occasion. But if through attachment to this world the ego dominates, one's faith will be weakened and one may even lose it altogether.
For no matter how strongly an individual may believe in Bahá'u'lláh, and however intense may be his love for Him, his faith will depend upon the extent to which he is willing and eager to obey His laws, teachings and commandments. Indeed, man's part in the Covenant is to first recognize and then wholeheartedly obey the Manifestation of God in every respect.
Many people today frown upon the word 'obedience'. In present-day society, in which all moral and spiritual values are declining, the concept of obedience is usually associated with dictatorship, tyranny, religious fanaticism and narrow-mindedness. Often this view is held by educated men and women who are otherwise open-minded and intelligent. These people come from all walks of life; some belong to religious movements with liberal leanings, others may be humanist, agnostic or atheists. They have keenly observed the terrible consequences which blind obedience to various political regimes or religious hierarchies has engendered, and they are fearful of any movement, whether religious or secular, which demands absolute obedience to its commandments.
Bahá'Ãs consider these people to be worthy of praise and admiration, fully sympathize with their views and appreciate their apprehension. They are not to be blamed for their attitude towards the subject. The fault lies within religious and political institutions; even a cursory study of the old established religions, now broken up into so many differing sects, indicates that their leaders have strayed far from the path which their Founders originally laid down for them. Many of these leaders have misrepresented the true religion of God, misunderstood its purpose, misinterpreted its teachings, adulterated its verities, compromised its principles, fabricated its dogmas, and, for expediency and selfish benefit, paid only lip service to its spiritual truths. There are today millions of people, followers of the world's major religions, who have fallen into the trap of outdated religious doctrines which they do not comprehend, but who blindly accept and follow their leaders.
No wonder that Bahá'u'lláh has condemned religious leaders in such strong terms as these:
"The source and origin of tyranny have been the divines. Through the sentences pronounced by these haughty and wayward souls the rulers of the earth have wrought that which ye have heard... The reins of the heedless masses have been, and are, in the hands of the exponents of idle fancies and vain imaginings. Those decree what they please." [23-7]
In the Kitab-i-Iqan, He states:
"Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people." [23-8]
In another passage in the same book He deplores the state of those who blindly follow their religious leaders:
"And the people also, utterly ignoring God and taking them for their masters, have placed themselves unreservedly under the authority of these pompous and hypocritical leaders, for they have no sight, no hearing, no heart of their own to distinguish truth from falsehood." [23-9]
The new spirit of the age breathing into the minds and hearts of men in this century has awakened many of them to this tragedy. Religious leaders have so distorted the truth of their religions that their voices, which in olden days inspired multitudes, are now heard by these people with various degrees of indifference or hostility. Consequently, a great many people today have broken the shackles which religious leaders had placed on their minds and succeeded in freeing themselves from this bondage. Many are disillusioned with religion altogether, some are lukewarm followers, while others have swelled the ranks of agnostics and atheists. Most of these people are honest thinkers who have come as a result of their bitter experience to denounce the doctrine of obedience to the teachings of a religion.
It is not only the leaders of the established religions who, by misrepresenting the teachings of their Faiths, have alienated the people. We also come across many a 'false prophet' who, out of love for leadership and personal gain, has appeared in the guise of a 'holy man', announcing himself as a saviour of men and founder of a religious sect, advocating some sensational or corrupt and immoral practice. He then attracts simple-minded or ignorant persons to his cause, exploits them for his own benefit, holds them tight in the clutches of his authority and rules over their minds and souls. It is this kind of blind obedience which is abhorred by every discerning person.
On the other hand, man in his daily life wholeheartedly obeys the directive of individuals or institutions that speak with the voice of truth. He is willing to accept authority which is credible and trustworthy in his view. For instance, a motorist will unhesitatingly follow the sign-post on a road until he reaches his destination. This blind following is due to his faith in the authority of the body which has set up the signposts. Similarly, a patient will willingly allow a surgeon to operate on a cancerous growth because he has faith in his diagnosis.
There will be a similar response if one recognizes the truth of the Cause of God. Once recognized as credible, obedience to the teachings will not be difficult to achieve. Since man's part in the Covenant of God is obedience to His teachings, it is clear that he cannot fulfil his obligation unless he recognizes the truth of His Revelation. It is highly significant that the first subject which Bahá'u'lláh has chosen to expound in the Kitab-i-Aqdas is the part man has to play in this Covenant with his Creator. The following is the opening paragraph of the Most Holy Book:
"The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof, hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Source of Divine inspiration." [23-10]
So we see that what is required of man in this Covenant is two-fold: to recognize the Manifestation of God as the source of all good and then to follow His commandments.
As has already been stated, one of the most important commandments of Bahá'u'lláh is to turn to the Centre of His Covenant after Him. This injunction has been revealed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the Kitab-i-'Ahd, and other Tablets. In the Suriy-i-Ghusn Bahá'u'lláh refers to Abdu'l-Bahá in these words:
"Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favoured servants... We have sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable, His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch, are lost in the wilderness of error, are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly perish." [23-11]
Therefore, to a true Bahá'à who is steadfast in the Covenant, obedience to the utterances of Abdu'l-Bahá is obedience to God. Recognition of the station of Bahá'u'lláh and believing in Him, important as they are, will not be a sufficient guarantee of one's faith unless one remains loyal and steadfast in His Covenant. One of the distinguishing features of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh is that He has not abandoned His followers to their own devices. He has left in their midst a source of divine guidance to which they can turn. He conferred His divine powers and authority upon Abdu'l-Bahá and made a firm covenant with the believers to follow and obey Him with absolute devotion and love. This covenant was extended to include Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice. Therefore faith in Bahá'u'lláh is not a mere acknowledgement of His divine message, but involves, in addition, obedience and faithfulness to those upon whom He has conferred the mantle of infallibility.
It is natural for a human being to accept and follow those teachings with which he is already in agreement. The measure of man's steadfastness in the Covenant, however, may be determined by the individual's response to teachings or statements in Bahá'à Holy Writings which may be contrary to his way of thinking. Should a believer who comes across such a teaching, unhesitatingly and at once acknowledge that he must be wrong in his understanding of the subject, and that the words of Bahá'u'lláh and His teachings are the truth born of the Revelation of God for this age, such a soul is truly firm in the Covenant. Of course, the individual may go through conflicts in his mind resulting from his inability to understand the wisdom of a particular statement; he should not despair, for through prayer and action he may in time recognise the truth of the point that caused him such a problem earlier.
By the time the Ministry of Abdu'l-Bahá was drawing to a close,
the communities of the East and the West had grown steadily and the
believers had been deepened in the subject of the Covenant. Firmness
in the Covenant was the most commonly discussed topic among the
friends in those days. Indeed, Abdu'l-Bahá had bestowed upon them
a most precious heritage: a wealth of knowledge and understanding
of the Covenant, its significance and its vital link with the faith of the
believer.
Those who have reached the pinnacle of faith and recognize the station of Bahá'u'lláh with absolute certitude — that He and no one else is God's Viceregent on earth — cannot but render instant and exact obedience to every one of His commandments. In a spirit of love and devotion, they will also show the same measure of obedience and submissiveness to the words of Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, and to the directives of the Universal House of Justice. The following words of Bahá'u'lláh revealed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas establish for all time the criterion for constancy and firmness in His Covenant:
"Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time immemorial
had been forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been
regarded as lawful, to none is given the right to question His authority.
Whoso will hesitate, though it be for less than a moment, should be
regarded as a transgressor." [23-12]
Steadfastness in the Covenant is a relative term, and its intensity varies in each individual. The measure of a believer's firmness in the Covenant depends upon the extent to which he will readily acknowledge the truth of the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh or of those upon whom He has conferred infallibility.
Dr Yunis Khan, that trusted secretary of the Master who was immortalized by the designation 'herald of the Covenant', has, in his precious memoirs, left for posterity some examples of firmness in the Covenant. The following is a summary translation of a story which describes the aftermath of the defection of Mirza Aqa Jan to the Covenant-breakers, when a great many of his defamatory letters fell into the hands of Abdu'l-Bahá.[1] It is a story which demonstrates the intensity of Dr Yunis Khan's faith in the Master and his utter submission to His word.
[1 See above, pp. 187-9.]
"After the rebellion of Mirza Aqa Jan, his many letters written in denunciation of the Covenant were scattered all over a table in the reception room of Abdu'l-Bahá, and the friends used to read some of them and become aware of the machinations and plots of the troublemakers and stirrers of mischief... In those days when He visited the reception room, Abdu'l-Bahá would often say something about these letters. One day, as He was looking at them, His attention was drawn to a certain letter which He picked up and read aloud; He showed its seal and signature to the friends who were present. As I was standing at the far end of the room, He called me to come forward and see the signature for myself. As a gesture of humility I bowed and went a little forward. He again called me to come close and see it. I took one step forward and bowed, meaning that it was not necessary for me to see as I believed that the words of the Master were true. Thereupon for the third time He emphatically ordered me to go forward and see the signature with my own eyes. This time I complied with His command.
"After this experience my mind was troubled and I became very concerned. I wanted to know what was the wisdom of the Master in insisting that I must see the signature with my own eyes, because I did not believe in my eyes as much as I believed in the words of the Master. My vision might make mistakes but His words were the truth of God's Revelation. For a long time I was worried that perhaps I did not have enough faith. I used to pray about this, until years later the wisdom of it became clear to me..." [23-13]
Dr Yunis Khan explains that some time later when he returned to Tihran he became aware that some of the believers were confused about Mirza Aqa Jan. One day Dr Yunis Khan met a certain Prince who was a believer of wide repute, but who could not understand that Mirza Aqa Jan had been unfaithful and had written many defamatory letters addressed to various Bahá'Ãs. Dr Yunis Khan continues the story:
"I said to the Prince that I had seen the letters myself, indeed I was ordered by the Master to examine Mirza Aqa Jan's signature and seal. He said 'Did you really see it with your own eyes?' When I answered in the affirmative, he said: 'I trust in your words; you have dispelled my doubts. I am so relieved.' I said to him: 'You don't know how relieved I am!' Then I told him the story of the anguish of my heart." [23-14]
Dr Yunis Khan then realized that the Master's insistence that he see the signature with his own eyes had not meant that he was not firm in the Covenant, but was rather necessary in order to strengthen the faith of this other believer.
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