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THE MESSENGERS OF GOD
From the beginning that has no beginning God
has manifested Himself through His Messengers.
Through them He causes man to know Him and to
love Him; through them He breathes fresh life into
creation. They are the Educators of humanity, the
Source of progress, the Founders of religion. Alone
and unaided, opposed by the powers of the world,
each one has triumphed over adversity, unfurled
the banner of His Faith and established His
sovereignty over the hearts of men. Such
achievements are not possible for created beings;
only Manifestations of God can do these things.
In former ages the Manifestations did not
explain clearly Their station. Sometimes they spoke
as though They were God Himself; at others They
would admit themselves human. Their immediate
companions perhaps understood the hidden
references to Their true station, but later followers
were confused. These either worshipped them as
God or regarded them only as inspired men.
Doctrines such as the Trinity were evolved to try to
explain the seeming contradiction of their station.
We, in this glorious age, are more fortunate.
Bahá’u’lláh
has revealed to us the true meaning of
the paradox in words that are deep, yet crystal
clear. God in His Essence, He explains, is beyond
the understanding of man:
“The door of the knowledge of the Ancient
Being hath ever been, and will continue for ever
to be, closed in the face of men. No man’s
understanding shall ever gain access unto His
holy court.”
(9)
Therefore He sends His Messengers to mediate
between His Essence and mankind:
“As a token of His mercy, however, and as
a proof of His loving-kindness, He hath
manifested unto men the Day-Stars of
His divine
guidance, the Symbols of
His divine unity, and
hath ordained the knowledge of
these
sanctified
Beings to be identical with the knowledge of
His
own Self. ”
(10)
These Day-Stars of divine guidance owe their
great station to the Holy Spirit with which God has
endowed Them. Because of it they have direct
intercourse with God and act as channels for the
outpouring of His grace. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
in
explaining how They mediate between God and
man, likens God to the sun and the Holy Spirit to
the rays of the sun bringing light and life and heat
to the earth:
"As the rays of the sun bring the light and
warmth of the sun to the earth, giving life
to all
created beings, so do the Manifestations bring
the power of
the Holy Spirit
from the Divine Sun
of
Reality to give light and life to the
souls of
men.
Behold, there is an intermediary necessary
between the sun and the
earth; the sun does not
descend to the earth, neither does the earth
ascend to the sun. This contact is made by the
rays of the sun which bring light and warmth
and heat.
The Holy Spirit is the Light from the Sun of
Truth bringing, by its infinite power, life and
illumination to all
mankind, flooding all souls
with Divine radiance, conveying the blessings of
God’s Mercy to the whole world. The earth,
without the medium of the warmth and light of
the rays
of
the sun, could receive no benefits
from the sun.
Likewise the Holy Spirit is the very cause
of
the life
of
man;
. . .”
(11)
In
another passage He likens the Holy Spirit to a
mirror held to the Face of God, reflecting it for the
eyes of man. To gaze directly on the Face of God is
beyond man’s power, but by turning towards the
Holy Spirit he can see the light of the sun reflected
as in a clear mirror. Therefore Bahá’u’lláh
says:
“Whoso recogniseth them hath recognised
God. Whoso hearkeneth to
their call, hath
hearkened to the Voice
of
God, and whoso
testifieth to the truth of their Revelation, hath
testified to the truth of God Himself.
Whoso
tumeth away
from them, has turned away
from
God, and whoso disbelieveth in them, hath
disbelieved in God. Every one
of
them is the
Way of
God that connecteth this world with the
realms above, and the Standard
of
His Truth
unto everyone in the kingdoms
of
earth and
heaven. They are the Manifestations
of
God
amidst men, the
evidences of His Truth, and the
signs
of
His glory. ”
(12)
These Mirrors are perfect Beings, who live
perfect lives and give perfect teaching. There have
been many of Them; Muhammad, Buddha, Moses,
Jesus, Krishna, Noah, Zoroaster, Abraham, are
examples. Of most we have now no record, even
Their names are lost to us; but the glory which surrounds the names of
those we know is itself a
proof of Their divine station.
Divine, but not to be identified with the Essence
of God, for that is exalted above place and time;
the sun does not come down into the mirror, nor is
the light of the sun the same as the sun itself. The
manifestations are exalted above men, but they
partake of humanity. Although possessed of the
Holy Spirit, They have also a human body and a
human soul. This is Their dual station, which
mankind has in past ages found so confusing.
The human station of these Day-Stars of divine
guidance has always been a severe test for
mankind. It causes them to need food and sleep
like other men, to be subject to the ills and chances
of this world and to appear outwardly like ordinary
human beings.
Bahá’u’lláh
has written:
“As these holy Persons were subject to such
needs and wants, the
people were, consequently,
lost in the wilds
of
misgivings and doubts, and
were afflicted with bewilderment and perplexity.
How, they wondered,
could such a person be
sent down from God, assert His ascendancy over
all the peoples and kindreds
of
the earth, and
claim Himself to be the goal
of
all creation
--
.
. . and
yet be
subject to
such trivial
things?”
(13)
Sometimes the Manifestations speak in Their
divine station as through with the voice of God. At
others Their words stem from Their human station.
Jesus spoke thus when He said: “Why callest thou
me good? there is none
good but one, that is,
God.”
(14)
The parable of Satan tempting Jesus has
been explained by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to refer to the
tempting of the Holy Spirit in Jesus by His human
impulses.
The distinctions and differences between the
Messengers of God originate in Their human
station. In Their divine station these Great Beings
are one -- one in Their perfection and one in Their
Message. Bahá’u’lláh
describes this unity in words
of great beauty:
“lf
thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes,
thou wilt behold them
all abiding in the same
tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated
upon the same throne, uttering the same speech,
and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the
unity of those Essences of Being, those
Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable
splendour!”
(15)
In another place He puts more strongly the need
to recognise Their unity:
“Beware,
O
believers in the Unity
of
God, lest
ye be tempted to make
any distinction between
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, . . . ”
(16)
The word of Jesus is one with the word of Moses
and the word of Buddha with the word of Muhammad. Eyes directed to the
perfection They
share can detect no difference between these
Essences of Being. They may truly claim in this
station to be but one Essence speaking with but one
voice. In contrast, in Their human station They are
subject to the limitations of the world of creation.
All created things have their own individuality and
are separated one from another. Therefore
Bahá’u’lláh
writes:
“In this respect, each Manifestation of
God
hath a distinct individuality, a definitely
prescribed mission, a predestined revelation,
and specially designated limitations. Each one
of them is known by a different name,
is
characterised by a special attribute,
fulfils a
definite mission, and is entrusted with
a
particular Revelation. ”
(17)
Eyes directed to differences and to the human
personality of the Manifestations of God must
inevitably fail to see Their inner oneness.
Failing in this, men scorn and persecute Them;
so have they always treated God’s Messengers.
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