Will

As usual, all opinions here are my own and do not represent the thoughts of Bahá'ís in general. I am simply stating my own in thoughts in hopes that others read them and offer their own thoughts so that I may learn from them. It is so beautiful that we all have this power of speech and intellect in order to discuss with one another and learn from one another. Too often is this bounty neglected.

What is will? Desire? Wanting? It is so much more than that alone. Desire and wanting denote weakness and limitation. One can desire something or want something, but this does not imply that it shall be. Whereas one can will something, and it is.

This is the power of will. It takes the desire and longing and implies action occurs.

In the Writings, we never see phrases such as, "God wanted" or "God desired." No. Once again, we cannot simply limit the Limitless. The Writings (and not only Bahá'í, but near all Sacred Scripture) has this same idea of the Will of God. There is a catch however that we need to be wary of:

Whatever God willed, happened.
Does this make sense? Certainly it may seem so. God, the omnipotent, wills something. Whatever He wills, must happen, right? True, but in this scenario we are limiting the Creator. It implies that something must be desired by God before it occurs. This is not so. Let us look at the next scenario.

Whatever happened, is God's Will.
Does this make more sense? I think so. What we need to understand here again, and this is something I think really needs to be emphasized, is that God is limitless. We are all under the Guidance of the Primal Will, Logos so to speak. Under such Guidance, we were created ("I loved they creation, hence I created Thee..." -Arabic Hidden Words). It is the "B and E joined and knit together." It is the Manifestations of God offering the Bounties of God and allowing us as a human race to progress and mature.

I have a tendency to go to various blogs and other opinionated websites to see what people are saying. Religion is looked down upon by many people. One famous claim states, "If your God is kind and loves everybody, why does He allow for people to suffer?" The person makes a valid point. Is it God's Will for people to suffer? Sure, we are offered tests to allow us to grow and prosper and we are not tested beyond our capacity. But then, why is it that people are born into suffering and starvation? Why are children forced into slavery in the sex trade or as child soldiers? Why are women raped and husbands killed? Is this really what God willed?

Yes. This is what God willed. We as humanity are maturing, but we are also confused. We are beginning to learn the power of free-will but we do not know how to control it properly. Education systems have not been put in place to allow us to near eliminate such suffering. These pains people are suffering are necessary. They are not fair. No, by no means is it fair. But God, the Most-Just will shower His Bounty upon them. These people are meant to serve as examples as to what we are becoming as a human race. The atrocities which they face are a symbol of what we wish to eliminate. We will need to work to improve our planet. This is God's Will.

Now how to carry this forward:
"The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct." This quote has been used over and over in this blog, and will continue to be used. We have all been created from the same dust, in God's image. We all possess the various virtues and qualities of God to varying degrees depending on our capacities. However, it is useless until put into action. By purely, with no ulterior motive, putting these deeds into action, we can bring about the betterment of the world and assist to alleviate this ailing planet from the disease of warfare and injustice which is currently plaguing it's denizens.

This is not an easy task. This is not an overnight task. But, this task is what God has willed upon it. Do we not, as His creation, have an obligation to carry out His Will? What greater bounty do we have than to serve our fellow man and bring about the betterment of the world?

How do you plan to do it?

Me? I am currently a University student in the field of science. Personally, right now, my service is twofold. First is the short-term, where I can converse with others and see who would like to join and bring about the betterment of the world (for how, see the entry on July 23, 2010 for an example). Long-term... This is the difficult part for me. I need to study to make sure I do the best I can to reach a capacity where I can serve my brothers and sisters through my occupation directly. Whether it be through research, medicine, public health, or something completely unrelated to science, I do not know. All I know is that through action, Divine Confirmation will assist me.

Again, how do you plan to bring about the betterment of the world?

"Translating That Which Hath Been Written Into Reality And Action"

One month ago on this very day, we embarked on a journey to begin understanding the Seven Valleys. Though we have hardly touched the tip of the iceberg, we made some progress into its core. Through each Valley, we detach ourselves of one part of our life-physical and spiritual-and finally end with nothing but our free will which we offer to God, thus making our will the Will of God.

Before ending this basic and novice study, we will cover six more quotations which will assist us in understanding what we have to do in order to achieve the Final Valley. Last time, I mentioned the use of the Hidden Words and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as tools and resources. For this reason, we will be covering passages from these two Works. Remember, we are on a journey to the Friend, God. He has given us guidelines on how to reach His Presence, thus the Seventh Valley. In this journey, we assume that we are not going to give up and that we will finish our task. We will use the tools given by God to reach the end. Here are our primary tools.



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. -Kitáb-i-Aqdas ¶1

This is the first duty. A duty is a task that must be carried out, otherwise the end is a failure. There are two parts to this duty. The first is to recognize Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation... This means that we must follow the Manifestation of God for the current day. Bahá'ís believe this to be Bahá'u'lláh. Remember, God will send new Manifestations of Himself in the future. It is a progressive cycle. The Bahá'í Faith is not going to be the last. It is simply the beginning of a new era. The second part of the duty is to observe the ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. We must obey the laws given by the Manifestation of God for this day. It is then fitting that this be in the first paragraph of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as it is the Bahá'í Book of Laws.

As wayfarers moving towards God, we need both duties to be successful. If we miss one, then there is no purpose. If we believe in Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation of God for this day but do not follow His Laws and Commandments, why should we be considered a Bahá'í? We would simply be carrying around a title. On the other hand, if we follow the Laws of Bahá'u'lláh but do not accept Him as the Manifestation, then we are missing the other aspect and that is the Faith and the spirit which comes from God. The laws are wonderful even without being a Bahá'í, but if we follow them purposelessly without journeying towards the Friend, we lose out on the final destination of our journey. Thus it hath been Written, "Whoso achieved this duty hath attained unto all good."



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. -Arabic Hidden Word #1

Unlike a duty, which is more urgent and forceful, a counsel is just a piece of advice that is wise to be heeded. The purpose of the Hidden Words is to draw us nearer unto God. Within each are multiple pieces of advice, which, if we abide by, will make the journey to the Friend easier. Because there are so many Hidden Words, we will only look at two of them.

It makes complete sense that this should be the first of the Hidden Words. People are attracted to those who are kind and radiant in spirit. It means we are pure and able to progress to further levels after purity in our journey to the Friend. The purity of heart is immortal (unless we rid ourselves of it) and for this reason, we shall be imperishable and everlasting. Also, it refers back to the Seventh Valley, where we become of God and His Will.



O YE PEOPLE THAT HAVE MINDS TO KNOW AND EARS TO HEAR! The first call of the Beloved is this: O mystic nightingale! Abide not but in the rose-garden of the spirit. O messenger of the Solomon of love! Seek thou no shelter except in the Sheba of the well-beloved, and O immortal phoenix! dwell not save on the mount of faithfulness. Therein is thy habitation, if on the wings of thy soul thou soarest to the realm of the infinite and seekest to attain thy goal. -Persian Hidden Word #1


A counsel is a guidance-thus our first guidance is to have a pure heart. A duty is a necessity, and our first duty as humans is to follow the Covenant-meaning accept Bahá'u'lláh and follow His laws. Now in the current Hidden Word, we have a call. This is what we are asked to do-this way we reach our goal, the Friend.

We can assume that we are the mystic nightingale that is following the hoopoe bird to Seemorgh. The hoopoe bird would then be either God or His Manifestation.

A rose-garden is a place of beauty to all the senses (except touch to touch. Thorns are never fun...). The fragrances, the nightingales singing, the radiant colors-all are so pleasing. Thus we must reside in a place which is pleasing to the spirit.

Solomon (Sulaymon in the Qúran) was a great king with much power-but his sin caused his entire kingdom to be split in two. The reference in the Hidden Word I believe, however, unlike most of other works of Bahá'u'lláh, focuses on the Biblical rather than the Quranic interpretation of the story (mostly because of the mention of Sheba). Sheba is a place of great wealth and extreme prosperity. The messenger of Solomon was hoopoe bird (this same bird is the leader who leads thirty birds to the land of Seemorgh (described to be like a phoenix)). The hoopoe bird left Solomon because it was looking for a better place to live. Thus we are told to be like the hoopoe bird (by Bahá'u'lláh) and find this spiritual prosperity.

The last part is to be a phoenix of faithfulness. I am not sure exactly what this means, but I will make a guess here. As mentioned earlier, Seemorgh was a phoenix like bird. In Attár's epic poem, the hoopoe bird leads many birds to the land of Seemorgh, many of whom fall away. Finally, only thirty remain. These thirty are told to look in a lake for Seemorgh-and they only see themselves. It is interesting because Seemorgh translates into "thirty birds" a play on words by Attár. These thirty, being a metaphor of Seemorgh-the phoenix, are the most faithful, and follow the guidance of the hoopoe bird. In likewise, we must follow the guidance of Bahá'u'lláh.

So let us put the entire Hidden Word together. We are told by God to listen to the following: Be in a place pleasing to your being, find shelter only in the Kingdom of God and be steadfast in your following of His Teachings. In this way we will reach our ultimate goal-being near unto God.




So what is it that we need to do? We need to follow the Manifestation of God for this day, follow His laws, have a pure heart and be steadfast in our Faith to God. These four tasks together allow us to begin the journey.

Remember, from the first paragraph of the Kitáb-i-Íqán, "No man shall attain the shores of the ocean of true understanding except he be detached from all that is in heaven and on earth. Sanctify your souls, O ye peoples of the world, that haply ye may attain that station which God hath destined for you and enter thus the tabernacle which, according to the dispensations of Providence, hath been raised in the firmament of the Bayán."

Thus without detachment from all things, we may never reach true understanding and true understanding is found within each level of the Seven Valleys as we progress in the various stages of detachment. The station which God hath destined for you may be achieving our full potential (recall the Valley of Unity) and enter the shelter of God's Grace.

Also, we need to remember the Words from the Short Obligatory Prayer:

I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast 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. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

We were created to know and to worship God. How do we do this? By prayer and service. These are simply more tools to guide us through the journey of the Seven Valleys. They assist us to attain the purity of heart and steadfastness in faith. And what is the greatest form of service?

'Abdu'l-Bahá writes this, "Of all the gifts of God the greatest is the gift of Teaching. It draweth unto us the Grace of God and is our first obligation. Of such a gift how can we deprive ourselves? Nay, our lives, our goods, our comforts, our rest, we offer them all as a sacrifice for the Abhá Beauty and teach the Cause of God." -page 25, Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

People say our life is the greatest of God's gifts to us. But it is in fact Teaching. The reason for this comes from the idea that our lives are physical, thus temporary and mortal. Teaching on the other hand is immortal. You are drawing people into the journey of the Seven Valleys. You are offering them the idea of unity in the world and the ability to assist with the progress of humanity. What gift is more incredible than this?


The Words of Bahá'u'lláh are then clear. "It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action." We cannot just sit and lounge on our couches and try to understand the Writings of God. We also need to go into the world and assist in bringing in the New World Order.

Our study is now complete, but the journey is only in its first step.