THE OMNISCIENT FASHIONER

O SON OF BOUNTY! Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things.

(Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words #29)

To start again by recapping:  One way to view creation is to see it as comprising three levels: a material universe; an intellectual cosmos; the divine qualities or attributes.  The first two are creation, properly speaking. The third level, what I am calling the level of divinity, composed of the archetypal qualities of God, is, strictly speaking, not really part of creation, but is, rather, the foundation of its creative power.  I call it a level to distinguish it from the Essence of God which is unknowable.

These three levels correspond to the three levels of the human reality: body, mind and spirit or soul.  The divine level is latent within the rational, thinking human soul.  The Master says “…man has a soul in which dwells the divine spirit…(Paris Talks: 24)  Our diivinity is activated and brought into moral expression through contact with the Word of God.  Again, ‘Abdu’l-Baha states: “By mere intellectual development and power of reason, man cannot attain to his fullest degree—that is to say, by means of intellect alone he cannot accomplish the progress effected by religion….Therefore, the world of humanity must be confirmed by the breath of the Holy Spirit in order to receive universal education. Through the infusion of divine power all nations and peoples become quickened, and universal happiness is possible.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace: 170)

Let us take a closer look at this foundational level through examining what Baha’u’llah says about two qualities of God, “the Fashioner and “the Omniscient”.  However, we must also and always context any discussion of the origin of creation with this caution from Baha’u’llah: “None can grasp the reality of the origin of creation save God, exalted be His glory, Whose knowledge embraceth all things both before and after they come into being. Creation hath neither beginning nor end, and none hath ever unravelled its mystery. Its knowledge hath ever been, and shall remain, hidden and preserved with those Who are the Repositories of divine knowledge.” (Tabernacle of Unity: 47)  I am not about to unravel the mystery of the origin of creation.  I will simply put forth some insights, gleaned from the Revelation of Baha’u’llah, “the repository of divine knowledge” and attempt to make some sense of them

Since the dawn of language and scripture, the metaphor of the Word has been the primary vehicle to explain the creation, its Creator, and knowledge.  Baha’u’llah says: “The entire creation hath been called into being through the Will of God, magnified be His glory, and peerless Adam hath been fashioned through the agency of His all-compelling Word, a Word which is the source, the wellspring, the repository, and the dawning-place of the intellect. From it all creation hath proceeded, and it is the channel of God's primal grace.” (Tabernacle of Unity: 47)

The same relation between will, or volition, creativity, and knowledge holds for the human reality.  ‘Abdu’l-Baha is reported to have said: “Will is the centre or focus of human understanding. We must will to know God, just as we must will in order to possess the life He has given us. The human will must be subdued and trained into the will of God. It is a great power to have a strong will, but a greater power to give that will to God. The will is what we do, the understanding is what we know. Will and understanding must be one in the cause of God. Intention brings attainment.” ('Abdu'l-Bahá: Ten Days in the Light of Acca: 30)

The two attributes of God, “the Fashioner”, i.e. His Will expressed through His Word and “the Omniscient”, i.e. the All-knowing One, pervade the world and history, eternity and temporality, folded in and unfolding out.  It is knowing, Omniscient, and doing, Fashioner.

About God’s Name “the Fashioner” Baha’u’llah wrote: “Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere revelation of the word "Fashioner," issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except them whose sight is sharp.”

He goes on to say his about the divine quality of Omniscience: “In like manner, the moment the word expressing My attribute "The Omniscient" issueth forth from My mouth, every created thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvelous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Know thou of a certainty that the Revelation of every other Name is accompanied by a similar manifestation of Divine power. Every single letter proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother letter, and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revelation is a mother word, and His Tablet a Mother Tablet. Well is it with them that apprehend this truth.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 141)

Again, He starts with the primacy of the union of the Will and the Word, power and knowledge.  These generate human arts (Fashioner) and sciences (Omniscient) which reflect Them. It is interesting to me that in this statement, in regards to knowledge itself, humans are not mentioned as necessary to its appearance.  God and His creation alone are mentioned, with humans of course being part of the creation.  Created things themselves are “invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvelous sciences”, and they, that is the created things, “will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time…”  The scientific knowledge to be unfolded is, in essence, the knowledge that God has of His creation. Divine knowledge, Baha’u’llah stated above, “embraceth all things both before and after they come into being” There is a double dose of power put into the universe.  First, once “The Omniscient” is mentioned, every created thing is invested with power to unfold marvelous sciences.  But being invested with power to do something is not the same as being able to do it.  Will is also necessary, along with an instrument to effect the purpose of the Will.  Hence, secondly, these same created things holding this knowledge “will be empowered to manifest” their knowledge in the course of time.  How?: through human arts and sciences.  And knowledge manifests “at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing.” i.e. the Fashioner through uttering the Word.

We humans don’t “get” or “acquire” real knowledge through some sort of appropriation. It is not ours!  Rather, we discover knowledge (Scientia) when it manifests!!!  But to say that it can manifest is to say that it is already there awaiting the conditions of its manifestation.  We reflect this knowledge in our mind or heart.  How? We tune in to its vibration, attain to that state.  The Master states: “For example, knowledge, which is a state attained to by the intelligence, is an intellectual condition; and entering and coming out of the mind are imaginary conditions; but the mind is connected with the acquisition of knowledge, like images reflected in a mirror.”  (Some Answered Questions: 108)  We learn knowledge when we become open to its manifestation.   Not appropriation, but cooperation.  Baha’u’llah says: “Look at the world and ponder a while upon it. It unveileth the book of its own self before thine eyes and revealeth that which the Pen of thy Lord, the Fashioner, the All-Informed, hath inscribed therein. It will acquaint thee with that which is within it and upon it and will give thee such clear explanations as to make thee independent of every eloquent expounder.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 141-142)
This tells me that, since "every atom in the universe" provides training in how to understand the creation,  we should listen to the voice with which every created thing is invested, and it will tell us of the sciences locked within it.  More in next post.