It behoveth the people of Baha to
render the Lord victorious through the power of their utterance and to admonish
the people by their goodly deeds and character, inasmuch as deeds exert greater
influence than words.
(Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 57)
We
have seen that kerygmatic speech is a proclamation of God because it is imbued
with divine qualities. It is truthful, kindly and compassionate, moderate,
founded upon and expressing spiritual principle. It is a just balance of
restraint and release. Finally, it is also
religious, but only in the real sense of that word, as the binding together in
consciousness of phenomena, of beings and their experiences with each other and
with their Source, a joining and knitting together of
beginnings and endings.
We need to state this about religion, because the
modern temper has forgotten it and dismissed what is really only a straw man of
religion. “People,” ‘Abdu’l-Baha is reported to have said, “think religion is
confined in an edifice, to be worshipped at an altar. In reality it is an
attitude toward divinity which is reflected through life.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy: 14) Baha’u’llah claims that: “The religion of God
and His divine law are the most potent instruments and the surest of all means
for the dawning of the light of unity amongst men.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 129) Judging by news reports, religion is failing miserably
in this its most important work. But that may be because our conception of God
is outdated—the real meaning of the cry, God is dead!—and hence all established religions, brought into the
world to guide humanity only through infancy and childhood into adolescence, are
inadequate to meet the needs of a mature humanity. A new spiritual impulse and form is
required. The Universal
House of Justice put the change this way: “Indeed, the coming of Bahá'u'lláh
ushered the world into a new age, making possible the beginning of a wholly new
relationship between humanity and its Supreme Creator.” (The Universal House of
Justice, 1992 Nov 26, Second Message to World Congress) We have spiraled back to the statement that
set this series of posts going: A
different Cause, however, hath appeared in this day and a different discourse
is required. (Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle
of Unity: 113-114) The
different discourse indicated by Baha’u’llah I am naming the kerygmatic.
Language is one of the chief controlling forces holding society
together. So if speech is imbued with
spiritual virtues, if it is a proclamation of God, Who is the Source of those
virtues, then society is held together by those virtues to the extent that
language and conversation, indeed all verbal culture, does this.
The
chief purpose
of the kerygmatic mode of language is to articulate the proper attitudes that
evoke our higher inner state, to generate impulses for selfless behavior to
grow and be seen. The
proper attitude is summed up in these words of the Master: “O
ye lovers of this wronged one! Cleanse ye your eyes, so that ye behold no man
as different from yourselves. See ye no strangers; rather see all men as
friends, for love and unity come hard when ye fix your gaze on otherness. And
in this new and wondrous age, the Holy Writings say that we must be at one with
every people; that we must see neither harshness nor injustice, neither
malevolence, nor hostility, nor hate, but rather turn our eyes toward the
heaven of ancient glory. For each of the creatures is a sign of God, and it was
by the grace of the Lord and His power that each did step into the world;
therefore they are not strangers, but in the family; not aliens, but friends,
and to be treated as such.” (Selections
from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha:24)
To
proclaim God, then, is more than good speech, however important that is. It is also and more importantly to manifest
deeds worthy of the divine aspect of the human reality. Baha’u’llah exhorts His followers: “It
behoveth the people of Baha to render the Lord victorious through the power of
their utterance and to admonish the people by their goodly deeds and character,
inasmuch as deeds exert greater influence than words.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 57)
This attitude is manifest in the act of service. The behavioral equivalent to kindly speech
uttered for the sake of God is the performing of service for others. The embodiment of ideals and words in acts is
a healing, not only of the individual, but between them. Baha’u’llah lamented: “No
two men can be found who may be said to be outwardly and inwardly united. The
evidences of discord and malice are apparent everywhere, though all were made
for harmony and union.” (Tablets of
Baha'u'llah: 163-164) He warns His
followers: “Beware, O people of Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose
words differ from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the
peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments.
Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be
they high or low, differ from their conduct. It is through your deeds that ye
can distinguish yourselves from others.” (Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 305)
Such a harmonic unity of inner state and outer condition is manifest in
spiritual knowing.
I
said there were two qualities necessary for good consultation: truthfulness and
compassion, one verbal the other non-verbal, but demonstrable. The power of a kindly tongue to “cloth the
words with meaning” is reinforced by the attribute of compassion, because compassion (i.e. suffering with
another) brings one knowledge of another by getting “inside” their situation to
understand it from within, as they experience it, so to speak. Compassion is not objective knowledge, but
subjective understanding. A kindly
tongue encourages listening, makes the heart and mind more open and
receptive. Harsh and unkindly talk, a
mocking or derisive tone, makes another want to “manifest opposition from the
very outset” no matter what the truth you may be imparting to him, even in the
name of truth and honesty.
Compassion
equalizes all situations, and prevents all the injustice and the taking
advantage of others that seems to characterize so much of modern interchange
between people and peoples.
Baha’u’llah’s admonishment is: “Take heed that your
words be purged from idle fancies and worldly desires and your deeds be
cleansed from craftiness and suspicion.” (Tablets
of Baha'u'llah: 138) “Be fair to yourselves and to others, that the
evidences of justice may be revealed, through your deeds, among Our faithful
servants.” (Gleanings from the Writings
of Baha'u'llah: 277)
He exhorts us: “Do not busy yourselves in your own
concerns; let your thoughts be fixed upon that which will rehabilitate the
fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts and souls of men. This can best be
achieved through pure and holy deeds, through a virtuous life and a goodly
behavior.” (Gleanings from the Writings
of Baha'u'llah: 93-94) And:
“Know
ye that such holy deeds exert, in themselves, a great influence upon the world
of being—an influence which is, however, inscrutable to all save those whose
eyes have been opened by God, whose hearts He hath freed from obscuring veils,
and whose souls He hath guided aright.” (The Summons of the Lord of Hosts: 206)
We have before touched on the love of God as, perhaps,
the foundational quality of the kerygmatic mode of language. We learned in that discussion that barriers
to understanding the kerygmatic need to be removed, burnt up by and in the fire
of the love of God. But this fire is not just a warm and passionate feeling for
the Deity, or His Manifestation, which is likely, without being fanned, to
slowly cool into dull embers and gray ash.
There are also duties to be performed to help keep this fire going. The foundational twin duties toward Him are
recognition and obedience. Now by
recognition is meant to spiritually perceive the reality of the Manifestation
of God for this day and to see Him also in the fundamental principles of unity,
oneness of humankind and justice. To
obey Him is to carry out in acts His revealed laws and ordinances, or the
teachings and explications of His designated successors as leaders of the
Faith. Obedience, then, is more than
giving verbal and intellectual assent to their validity, practicality, and
equity. “Let deeds, not words, be your
adorning”, cautions Baha'u'llah. (The
Hidden Words Persian #5)
To
truly obey them in the human realm is to put them into practice and one of the
most powerful admonitions to obey is that of service. “Thy day of service is now come”, is His
call. (Tablets of Baha'u'llah:
84) “Think ye at all times of rendering
some service to every member of the human race” is the Master’s exhortation. (Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha:
3)
But
like so much else, the notion of service and worship has been redefined in a
greatly expanded fashion by the pen of Baha’u’llah. The Master says: “What bounty greater than
this that science should be considered as an act of worship and art as service
to the Kingdom of God.” (Selections from
the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha: 144)
“In
the Bahá'í Cause arts, sciences and all crafts are (counted as) worship. The
man who makes a piece of notepaper to the best of his ability, conscientiously,
concentrating all his forces on perfecting it, is giving praise to God.
Briefly, all effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart
is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service
to humanity. This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of
the people. Service is prayer. A physician ministering to the sick, gently,
tenderly, free from prejudice and believing in the solidarity of the human
race, he is giving praise." (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks: 176-177)
Love
for God and serving Him must be
demonstrated in those services rendered to those around us, else it is, in
reality, nothing but a febrile imaginary image of God we are serving. The fire of the love of God is not only a
subjective feeling, a radiant warmth in the heart, but also an objective state of
being and social responsibility that embodies and expresses that condition in
services, in putting others before oneself.
Recall that peace is an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral
attitude and it is brought forth into awareness by spiritual principle. Similarly with love. Fire of love of God is a universal fire, meaning
a love for all things created by God.
‘Abdu’l-Baha
when discussing the various degrees of love stated: “It is clear that limited
material ties are insufficient to adequately express the universal love.
“The
great unselfish love for humanity is bounded by none of these imperfect,
semi-selfish bonds; this is the one perfect love, possible to all mankind, and
can only be achieved by the power of the Divine Spirit. No worldly power can
accomplish the universal love.
“Let
all be united in this Divine power of love! Let all strive to grow in the light
of the Sun of Truth, and reflecting this luminous love on all men, may their
hearts become so united that they may dwell evermore in the radiance of the
limitless love.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris
Talks: 36)
We
can end with this exhortation of the Master: “Ye must conduct yourselves in
such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and brilliant as the sun
among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he should become a
centre of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his
honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and loving-kindness towards all the
peoples of the world, so that the people of that city may cry out and say:
'This man is unquestionably a Bahá'í, for his manners, his behaviour, his
conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the
Bahá'ís.” (Selections from the Writings
of Abdu'l-Baha: 70)
