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26/12/16 1 Sources – Shoghi Effendi in par6cular God Passes By – Epistle to the Son of the Wolf – John Hatcher; The Ark of Ascent and The Ocean of His Words – A Taherzadeh
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Sources – Shoghi Effendi in par6cular God Passes By – Epistle to the Son of the Wolf – John Hatcher; The Ark of Ascent and The Ocean of His Words
– A Taherzadeh
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The Word Ins6lls New Life Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can ins6ll new life into every human frame… All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the opera6on of His supreme and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose…. No sooner is this resplendent word uRered, than its anima6ng energies, s6rring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected…. Every single leRer proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother leRer, and every word uRered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revela6on is a mother word…
Baha’u’llah, Gleanings
Without the Word, there would be no true life
“The enlightenment of the world of thought comes from these centres of light and sources of mysteries. Without the bounty of the splendour and the instruc6ons of these Holy Beings the world of souls and thoughts would be opaque darkness. Without the irrefutable teachings of those sources of mysteries the human world would become the pasture of animal appe6tes and quali6es, the existence of everything would be unreal, and there would be no true life. That is why it is said in the Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word,” meaning that it became the cause of all life.”
Abdul-‐Baha, Some Answered Ques6ons
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“Verity Our Word is abstruse,
bewilderingly abstruse”
“Not one single Manifesta6on of Holiness hath appeared but He was afflicted by the denials, the repudia6on, and the vehement opposi6on of the people around Him.”
Bahaullah, Kitab-‐i-‐Iqan
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• Revela/on as one collec/on • Historical Context
• Style adopted by Baha’u’llah
• Narra/ve Point of view • Tone of the Wri/ngs
The Hidden Words
1858
153 poe6c statements of spiritual truth
Synthesize all the spiritual teachings of previous revela6ons
The Kitab-‐i-‐Iqan
1862
Text book on the process of divine revela6on & educa6on
The Seven & The Four Valleys
Epistles & LeRers
Adrianople: Announces to the world -‐ world’s religious and poli6cal leaders.
Suriy-‐i-‐Muluk
Kitab-‐i-‐Badi
Tablet to Napoleon
Lawh-‐i-‐Sultan
Suriy-‐i-‐Rais
Other tablets
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
1891
Last outstanding tablet: Summaries the Ministry of the Baha’u’llah.
Revelation of Baha’u’llah
Kitab-‐i-‐ ‘Ahd
The Book of Covenant. Baha’u’llah’s Will and Testament. Link between Baha’u’llah and the Ministry of Abdul-‐Baha.
Kitab-‐i-‐Aqdas
1873
The zenith of the Magnum Opus.
Encapsulates the Covenant of Baha’u’llah.
Tablets Ajer Kitab-‐i-‐Aqdas
Elaborate on laws and principles.
Bisharat, Tarazart, Tajalliyat Ishraqat…
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Tempestuous winds of the birth Wintry desola/on
Vernal years of His Mission Plenitude of its summer glory
Maturing and Ripening
“… in this Dispensa6on the verses of God has
been revealed in nine different styles.” Baha’u’llah
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Nine (9) Styles of Revela6on Jinab-‐i-‐Fadil-‐i-‐Mazindarani
1. Command and authority, Tablets with the tone of 2. Servitude, meekness and supplica6on, Tablets with the tone of 3. Interpreta6on of the old scriptures, religious beliefs and doctrine
of the past, Wri6ngs dealing with 4. Laws and ordinances for this age and abroga6on of pat laws,
Wri6ng related to 5. Mys6cal Wri6ngs 6. Government and world order and those addressed to the kings,
Tablets concering maRer of 7. Subjects of learning and knowledge , divine philosophy, mysteries
of crea6on, medicines, alchemy, etc, Tablets dealing with 8. Exhorta6ons to educa6on, goodly character and divine virtues,
Tablets 9. Social teachings, Tablets dealing with
Nine (9) Styles of Revela6on John Hatcher
1. The Lyric Mode 2. The Mys6cal Trea6se 3. Allegory 4. The Doctrinal or Philosophical Essay 5. Gnomic Verse 6. Epistolary 7. Supplica6ons and Medita6ons 8. Homile6c and Ora6onal Work 9. Documents of the Covenant
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Narra6ve Point of View Who is speaking to us?
“At one 6me We spoke in the language of the lawgiver, at another in that of the truth-‐seeker
and the mys6c…”
Baha’u’llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Hidden Words of Bahaullah John Hatcher
• Style – Lyric Mode • Narra6ve Point – First Person • Historical Context – First Major Work • Tone
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The Hidden Words
1858
153 poe6c statements of spiritual truth
Synthesize all the spiritual teachings of previous revela6ons
The Kitab-‐i-‐Iqan
1862
Text book on the process of divine revela6on & educa6on
The Seven & The Four Valleys
Epistles & LeRers
Adrianople: Announces to the world -‐ world’s religious and poli6cal leaders.
Suriy-‐i-‐Muluk
Kitab-‐i-‐Badi
Tablet to Napoleon
Lawh-‐i-‐Sultan
Suriy-‐i-‐Rais
Other tablets
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
1891
Last outstanding tablet: Summaries the Ministry of the Baha’u’llah.
Revelation of Baha’u’llah
Kitab-‐i-‐ ‘Ahd
The Book of Covenant. Baha’u’llah’s Will and Testament. Link between Baha’u’llah and the Ministry of Abdul-‐Baha.
Kitab-‐i-‐Aqdas
1873
The zenith of the Magnum Opus.
Encapsulates the Covenant of Baha’u’llah.
Tablets Ajer Kitab-‐i-‐Aqdas
Elaborate on laws and principles.
Bisharat, Tarazart, Tajalliyat Ishraqat…
“This is that which hath descended from the Realm of Glory, uRered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfil in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue.”
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Hidden Words of Bahaullah John Hatcher
• Style – Lyric Mode • Narra6ve Point – First Person • Historical Context – First Major Work • Tone
Group Work
• What is the narra6ve point of view? • Who is being addressed? • What is the tone? • Do you see the difference in tones? • Discuss the allegories and symbolisms.
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Nine (9) Styles of Revela6on John Hatcher
1. The Lyric Mode 2. The Mys/cal Trea/se 3. Allegory 4. The Doctrinal or Philosophical Essay 5. Gnomic Verse 6. Epistolary 7. Supplica6ons and Medita6ons 8. Homile6c and Ora6onal Work 9. Documents of the Covenant
• Parable in the Valley of Search • Parable in the Valley of Knowledge
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Nine (9) Styles of Revela6on John Hatcher
1. The Lyric Mode 2. The Mys6cal Trea6se 3. Allegory 4. The Doctrinal or Philosophical Essay 5. Gnomic Verse 6. Epistolary 7. Supplica6ons and Medita6ons 8. Homile6c and Ora6onal Work 9. Documents of the Covenant
Tablet of Carmel
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Tablet of the Holy Mariner
• Revela/on as one collec/on
• Narra/ve Point of View • Style adopted by Baha’u’llah • Historical Context
• Tone of the Wri/ngs
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Four stages of Bahaullah’s life
• Twenty-‐seven years: – Characterized by the enjoyment of the advantages conferred by high birth and riches, and an unfailing solicitude for the interests of the poor, the sick and the down-‐trodden
• Nine years:
– Ac/ve and exemplary discipleship in the service of the Bab
• Four months: – Imprisonment in the Siyyah-‐Chal of Tehran. Agonizing sorrows. Soul-‐revolu/onizing Revela/on
• Forty Years:
– Banishment to the Turkish Territory
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Bahaullah Prophe/c Ministry
• Tempestuous winds of the birth • Wintry desola6on • Vernal years • Plenitude of its summer glory • Maturing and Ripening choicest fruits of that Mission
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“… of a style at once original, chaste and vigorous, and remarkably lucid, both cogent in argument and matchless in its irresis6ble eloquence, this Book, sesng forth in outline the Grand Redemp6ve Scheme of God, occupies a posi6on unequalled by any work in the en6re range of Bahai literature, except the Kitab-‐i-‐Aqdas, Bahaullah’s Most Holy Book.”
Kitab-‐i-‐Iqan “One day, a well-‐known divine came to visit Us. While We were conversing with him, he referred to the above-‐quoted tradi6on. He said: “Inasmuch as fas6ng causeth the heat of the body to increase, it hath therefore been likened unto the light of the sun; and as the prayer of the night-‐season refresheth man, it hath been compared unto the radiance of the moon.” Thereupon We realized that that poor man had not been favoured with a single drop of the ocean of true understanding, and had strayed far from the burning Bush of divine wisdom. We then politely observed to him saying: “The interpreta6on your honour hath given to this tradi6on is the one current amongst the people. Could it not be interpreted differently?”
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“We, verily have not fallen short of Our duty to exhort men, and to deliver that whereunto I was bidden by God, the Almighty, the All-‐Praised. “Is there any excuse, leV for any one in this Revela/on? No, by God, the Lord of the Mighty Throne! My signs have encompassed the earth, and my power enveloped all mankind.”
Baha’u’llah
