Chapter 23
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Conflicting writings regarding the Self of God, the Manifestation of God.
The same way there is a
fundamental unity ("the station of pure abstraction and essential unity
of the Manifestations of God") between Muhammad (Independent Prophet,
Manifestation of God) and the Holy Imams (Branches, Dependent/Lesser
Prophets of Muhammad, Manifestations of God); the same unity exists
between Baha'u'llah (Root) and Abdu'l-Baha (Branch), and all other
Prophets, as they are all Manifestations of one God.. What Shoghi
Effendi says in passage 1 about the reference "He is Myself," as not
meaning Abdu'l-Baha is a Manifestation of God, conflicts with the Holy
Writings. From the Tablet of the Branch, it is evident Abdu'l-Baha is a
Manifestation of God, like the Holy Imams. The same theme is explained
in passages 2 and 3 and other references.
1)
I feel it necessary, therefore, to state without any equivocation or
hesitation that neither in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas nor in the Book of
Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, nor even in the Tablet of the Branch, nor in
any other Tablet, whether revealed by Bahá'u'lláh or 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is
there any authority whatever for the opinion that inclines to uphold
the so-called "mystic unity" of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, or to
establish the identity of the latter with His Father or with any
preceding Manifestation. This erroneous conception may, in part, be
ascribed to an altogether extravagant interpretation of certain terms
and passages in the Tablet of the Branch, to the introduction into its
English translation of certain words that are either non-existent,
misleading, or ambiguous in their connotation. It is, no doubt, chiefly
based upon an altogether unjustified inference from the opening
passages of a Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh, extracts of which, as reproduced
in the Bahá'í Scriptures, immediately precede, but form no part of, the
said Tablet of the Branch. It should be made clear to every one reading
those extracts that by the phrase "the Tongue of the Ancient" no one
else is meant but God, and that the term "the Greatest Name" is an
obvious reference to Bahá'u'lláh, and that "the Covenant" referred to
is not the specific Covenant of which Bahá'u'lláh is the immediate
Author and 'Abdu'l-Bahá the Center but that general Covenant which, as
inculcated by the Bahá'í teaching, God Himself invariably establishes
with mankind when He inaugurates a new Dispensation. "The Tongue" that
"gives," as stated in those extracts, the "glad-tidings" is none other
than the Voice of God referring to Bahá'u'lláh, and not Bahá'u'lláh
referring to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
-- Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 137
2)
I shall restate here My theme, that perchance this may assist thee in
recognizing thy Creator. Know thou that God - exalted and glorified be
He - doth in no wise manifest His inmost Essence and Reality. From time
immemorial He hath been veiled in the eternity of His Essence and
concealed in the infinitude of His own Being. And when He purposed to
manifest His beauty in the kingdom of names and to reveal His glory in
the realm of attributes, He brought forth His Prophets from the
invisible plane to the visible, that His name "the Manifest" might be
distinguished from "the Hidden" and His name "the Last" might be
discerned from "the First", and that there may be fulfilled the words:
"He is the First and the Last; the Seen and the Hidden; and He knoweth
all things!" Thus hath He revealed these most excellent names and most
exalted words in the Manifestations of His Self and the Mirrors of His
Being.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 33
3)
The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days being thus closed in
the face of all beings, the Source of infinite grace, according to His
saying: "His grace hath transcended all things; My grace hath
encompassed them all" hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to
appear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human
temple, and be made manifest unto all men, that they may impart unto
the world the mysteries of the unchangeable Being, and tell of the
subtleties of His imperishable Essence. These sanctified Mirrors, these
Day-springs of ancient glory are one and all the Exponents on earth of
Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate
Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is
derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a
reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless
glory. They are the Treasuries of divine knowledge, and the
Repositories of celestial wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace
that is infinite, and by them is revealed the light that can never
fade. Even as He hath said: "There is no distinction whatsoever between
Thee and them; except that they are Thy servants, and are created of
Thee." This is the significance of the tradition: "I am He, Himself,
and He is I, myself."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 99
More references on the Self of God.
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