A kindly tongue is
the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth
the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and
understanding.
(Baha'u'llah,
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf: 15)
The
act of speaking, whether divine or human speech, is the most potent creative
force in the universe. The divine Word
“calls into being” the reality of all things, while human speech brings forth
the essence of the human reality. Baha’u’llah reminds us that: “No man of wisdom can demonstrate his
knowledge save by means of words. This showeth the significance of the Word as
is affirmed in all the Scriptures, whether of former times or more recently. For
it is through its potency and animating spirit that the people of the world
have attained so eminent a position.” (Tablets
of Baha'u'llah: 172) But some speech
is better than others. No speech is more
potent and meaningful than kindly talk.
But, in its greatest manifestation, it is not so much powerful as
empowering.
The
Master, for example, advises that a teacher: “should not see in himself any
superiority; he should speak with the utmost kindliness, lowliness and
humility, for such speech exerteth influence and educateth the souls.” (Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha:
30) And the words of Baha’u’llah leading
into the opening quote are: “Consort with all men, O people of Baha, in a
spirit of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye
possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language
of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil its
purpose, your object is attained. If anyone should refuse it, leave him unto
himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah: 289) What is the power
of kindly speech, remembering that the Bible describes the greatest manifestation
of the power of God not as “a great and strong wind”, nor “an earthquake”, nor
“a fire”, but “a still small voice”? (King
James Bible, 3 Kings 19:11)
A
kindly tongue, Baha’u’llah explains above, attracts hearts, feeds the spiritual
hunger of the soul, clothes the words with meaning, is the fountain of light of
wisdom and understanding,. Quite the
opposite of the loud clamor and roar that many believe is necessary to “get their message across”. But the spiritual is often opposite, which is
not to say in opposition, to the organic and material. It is yet another union of the B and the E.
Now,
of course, the whole endeavor of communication is a seamless cloth, conveying
the whole person, though, like the proverbial iceberg, most of that person is
submerged beneath the surface. But that
hidden part, as the captain of the Titanic discovered too late, can be the
lethal part, as we read last post. That
is why we must moderate not only our speech, but our being, for all excess
whether of speech, of civilization, or of personal being, in the name of some
sovereign right to self-expression or brutal honesty, exercises a pernicious
influence.
Nonetheless,
we have read that human utterance is an essence that seeks to exert its
influence and needeth moderation. (This
statement from The Tablet of Wisdom (Tablets
of Baha’u’llah:143) is obviously an important one in Baha’u’llah’s mind as
He requotes it twice again—See Tablets of
Baha’u’llah: 172, 198) Baha’u’llah explains how to speak to have the best
influence and how to moderate utterance: “As to its influence, this is
conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are
detached and pure. As to its moderation, this hath to be combined with tact and
wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets.” (Tablets of Baha’u’llah: 143)
Baha’u’llah here names four
qualities: refinement, detachment, tact, and wisdom. But there are others.
He
goes on in another place: “Moreover words and utterances should be both
impressive and penetrating. However, no word will be infused with these two
qualities unless it be uttered wholly for the sake of God and with due regard
unto the exigencies of the occasion and the people.” (Tablets
of Baha’u’llah: 172) When these divine
qualities are conditioning the speech of the speaker the divine aspect of the
human reality is called forth from the hearer.
But there is a final condition.
Human
language when infused with divine Revelation brings with it certitude of
apprehension. “From the texts of the
wondrous, heavenly Scriptures they should memorize phrases and passages bearing
on various instances, so that in the course of their speech they may recite
divine verses whenever the occasion demandeth it, inasmuch as these holy verses
are the most potent elixir, the greatest and mightiest talisman. So potent is
their influence that the hearer will have no cause for vacillation.”
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah:
200)
In
light of these reflections, let us look at another statement from Baha’u’llah
that weaves together utterance, its influence, its moderation, and the
transformative power of effective speech. “Utterance must needs possess penetrating power. For if bereft of this
quality it would fail to exert influence. And this penetrating influence
dependeth on the spirit being pure and the heart stainless. Likewise it needeth
moderation, without which the hearer would be unable to bear it, rather he
would manifest opposition from the very outset. And moderation will be obtained
by blending utterance with the tokens of divine wisdom which are recorded in
the sacred Books and Tablets. Thus when the essence of one’s utterance is
endowed with these two requisites it will prove highly effective and will be
the prime factor in transforming the souls of men. This is the station of
supreme victory and celestial dominion. Whoso attaineth thereto is invested
with the power to teach the Cause of God and to prevail over the hearts and
minds of men.” (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas: 198-199)
Words
spoken under these conditions are children of the Word—i.e. transforming powers
that evoke
structures in reality by calling them forth and naming them. The Word calls forth the essential existence and reality of
every created thing when the divine command calls its name. The human word with the proper qualities can
evoke latent existential realities. I have named this discourse the kerygmatic,
or proclamation mode of language. I have
called it revelatory, in the sense of a revelation of God in our speech, and
have said that its revealing of God is also a call to God to assist in that
work. Baha’u’llah affirms: “Should anyone perceive the sweetness of the
following passage in the Tablet revealed in honour of Nabil of Qa'in, he would
readily comprehend the significance of assistance.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 198) The passage
He refers to is the one starting “Human utterance is an essence…”
In
the following paragraphs I will make several distinctions, for part of the new
mode of language is to use old words in new ways or redefine their relations
and meanings.
The
kerygmatic is language addressed to the interior, spiritual self. But this interior self is not the inner subjective
self, named ego, which is an associate of, even a creation of, the conceptualizing
movement of language. Rather, the
spiritual self is the true self, the divine image, the human reality’s higher
and spiritual aspect that is housed in the heart. Let's recall the admonition that if speech is to have influence and penetrate to and move the heart it should be "uttered wholly for the sake of God
Also,
by spiritual I mean not just the highest form of consciousness, but also the
greatest intensity of human consciousness, the most complete union of mind and
heart. It is the condition where and
when the relation of the Divine and human becomes truly reciprocal, which is
not also to say between equals.
The
interior, spiritual self alone can internalize the Word of God, build up the
divine self, and liberate the human reality from the merely human condition. “O friends of God! Incline your inner ears to
the voice of the peerless and self-subsisting Lord, that He may deliver you
from the bonds of entanglement and the depths of darkness and enable you to
attain the eternal light.” (Baha'u'llah, The
Tabernacle of Unity: 71) He laments
in another place: “Had their inner ears been attentive to the Divine counsels
which have shone forth from the Day Spring of the Pen of the All-Merciful, and
hearkened unto His Voice, most of the peoples of the earth would have by now
been adorned with the ornament of His guidance.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 240-241)
Another
sharp distinction: the internalized self is also distinguished from the mere
subjective self by the fact that, as Northrop Frye states: “The subjective is
still a chaos of moods and emotions; the internalized is a creation, and as
such it is a part of the totality of human creative efforts.” (Words with Power: 120)
We started this discussion three posts ago with
this statement from Baha’u’llah: “A different Cause, however, hath appeared
in this day and a different discourse is required.” (Tabernacle of Unity: 113-114)
Kerygmatic language which is the language of
utmost kindliness and empowerment, is the language of our divine aspect, as the
poetic and conceptual were of the main stages of the human. It is addressed to what Saiedi calls,
following the terminology of the Bab, the “sanctuary of the heart” (See The Gate of the Heart) wherein all is
unified. A kindly tongue is “the
lodestone of the hearts.” As the Word
divides creation, both expiring and inspiring, kerygmatic language bridges the
great divide between subject and object characteristic of the fixed relations
of conceptual language, because it focuses not upon them but on the creative, relational
tension between them, the union and unity of complementary opposites where “these two are the same, yet they are
different.”
It is also the language of divine philosophy,
for it “clotheth the words with meaning”.
The kerygmatic emphasizes the dynamic and changing relations between
levels and contexts of being, of inner and outer, of eternal and temporal, the
changeless and the mutable, of the individual and the race, as a unity composed
of discontinuities working toward reunion.
It presents the parallels, the complements and contradictions, and their
resonant, vibratory connections and divisions.
It speaks of dual responsibilities to recognize and obey, neither being
acceptable without the other; of dual moral responsibilities for individual and
social transformation, neither being complete without the other. It separates the essential unity of creation to
reveal the complex relations between the lower and higher aspect of the human
reality. Further, it declares the Manifestation
of God’s two stations; hence all creation has two stations, one natural, one
spiritual, one actual, one latent, and spirituality is to move from the natural
to the spiritual, and proper speech is the most powerful transformative power.
When the true seeker truly hears the herald
bearing the kerygma, the listener is reborn and given new life, is imbued with
new knowledge, spiritual perception, and makes revolutionary discoveries. “At
that hour will the mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit,
shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through the
trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit
from the slumber of negligence. Then will the manifold favours and outpouring
grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker
that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a
new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will
penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will
perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute
certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of divine Revelation
and the evidences of an everlasting manifestation.” (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan: 196)
These
are spiritually objective states awakening within the heart of the human soul,
wherein resides the divine image, the mirror of the Divine. For the long journey
toward mature spirituality, whether individually or collectively, is inward
toward the supreme or mid-most center, yet its stages are manifest outwardly and
described poetically as the climb upward toward the highest or ultimate
attainment of the human spirit: “For were they to reach the ultimate object of
their quest for God and their attainment unto Him, they would have but reached
that abode which hath been raised up within their own hearts. How then could
they ever hope to ascend unto such realms as have not been ordained for them or
created for their station? Nay, though they journey from everlasting to
everlasting, they will never attain unto Him Who is the midmost Heart of
existence and the Axis of the entire creation.’ (Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries: 85)
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