Chapter C48
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Luminous Being -- the Independent Prophet and Dependent/Lesser Prophet.
1)
Luminous Temples, the Prophets.
XIX. To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God,
the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond
every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent,
egress and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should
adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His
fathomless mystery. He is, and hath ever been, veiled in the ancient
eternity of His Essence, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly
hidden from the sight of men. "No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh
in all vision; He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving."...
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.... These Tabernacles of Holiness, these
Primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but
expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles. By the
revelation of these Gems of Divine virtue all the names and attributes
of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy
and wisdom, glory, bounty, and grace, are made manifest.
These attributes of God are not, and have never been, vouchsafed specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld from others. Nay,
all the Prophets of God, His well-favored, His holy and chosen
Messengers are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and the
embodiments of His attributes. They only differ in the intensity
of their revelation, and the comparative potency of their light. Even
as He hath revealed: "Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the
others."
It hath, therefore, become manifest and evident that within the tabernacles of these Prophets and chosen Ones of God
the light of His infinite names and exalted attributes hath been
reflected, even though the light of some of these attributes may or may
not be outwardly revealed from these luminous Temples
to the eyes of men. That a certain attribute of God hath not been
outwardly manifested by these Essences of Detachment doth in no wise
imply that they who are the Day Springs of God's attributes and the
Treasuries of His holy names did not actually possess it. Therefore,
these illuminated Souls, these beauteous Countenances have, each and
every one of them, been endowed with all the attributes of God, such as
sovereignty, dominion, and the like, even though to outward seeming
they be shorn of all earthly majesty....
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 47
2)
Imam Sadiq, the sixth Dependent Prophet in the era of Muhammad is a luminous countenance.
In like manner, it is related that on a certain day, one of the companions of Sadiq [the Sixth Imam] complained of his poverty before him. Whereupon, Sadiq, that immortal beauty,
made reply: "Verily thou art rich, and hast drunk the draught of
wealth." That poverty-stricken soul was perplexed at the words uttered
by that luminous countenance,
and said: "Where are my riches, I who stand in need of a single coin?"
Sadiq thereupon observed: "Dost thou not possess our love?" He replied:
"Yea, I possess it, O thou scion of the Prophet of God!" And Sadiq
asked him saying: "Exchangest thou this love for one thousand dinars?"
He answered: "Nay, never will I exchange it, though the world and all
that is therein be given me!" Then Sadiq remarked: "How can he who
possesses such a treasure be called poor?"
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 130
3)
In the following passage,
"luminous and sparkling stars" that "derived their grace and brilliance
from the bounties of the Abha Realm" is a reference to Dependent Prophets of
Baha'u'llah, who receive their revelation from Baha'u'llah, the
Independent Prophet. This theme is explained at the following link on the two classes of Prophets.
19. Praise be to Him through Whose splendours the earth and the heavens
are aglow, through Whose fragrant breathings the gardens of holiness
that adorn the hearts of the chosen are trembling for joy, to Him Who
hath shed His light and brightened the face of the firmament. Verily
there appeared luminous and sparkling stars, glittering, shining out,
and casting forth their rays upon the supreme horizon. They derived
their grace and brilliance from the bounties of the Abha Realm, then,
stars of guidance, they poured down their lights upon this earth.
Praise be to Him Who hath fashioned this new era, this age of majesty,
even as an unfolding pageant where the realities of all things can be
exposed to view. Now are clouds of bounty raining down and the gifts of
the loving Lord are clearly manifest; for both the seen and the unseen
worlds have been illumined, and the Promised One hath come to earth and
the beauty of the Adored One hath shone forth.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 38
The Blessed Beauty, in unmistakable language, hath made this promise in
His Book: 'We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid
whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the
Concourse on high and a company of Our favoured angels.'[1]
[1 Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, LXXII ]
God be thanked, that promised aid [Abdu'l-Baha] hath been vouchsafed, as is plain for all to see, and it shineth forth as clear as the sun in the heavens.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 270
4)
Luminous Being, Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet.
O YE divines of the City! We came to you with the truth, whilst ye were
heedless of it. Methinks ye are as dead, wrapt in the coverings of your
own selves. Ye sought not Our presence, when so to do would have been
better for you than all your doings.... Know ye, that had your leaders,
to whom ye owe allegiance, and on whom ye pride yourselves, and whom ye
mention by day and by night, and from whose traces ye seek guidance --
had they lived in these days, they would have circled around Me, and
would not have separated themselves from Me, whether at eventide or at
morn. Ye, however, did not turn your faces towards My face, for even
less than a moment, and waxed proud, and were careless of this Wronged
One, Who hath been so afflicted by men that they dealt with Him as they
pleased. Ye failed to inquire about My condition, nor did ye inform
yourselves of the things which befell Me. Thereby
have ye withheld from yourselves the winds of holiness, and the breezes
of bounty, that blow from this luminous and perspicuous Spot.
Methinks ye have clung to outward things, and forgotten the inner
things, and say that which ye do not. Ye are lovers of names, and
appear to have given yourselves up to them. For this reason make ye
mention of the names of your leaders. And should any one like them, or
superior unto them, come unto you, ye would flee him. Through their
names ye have exalted yourselves, and have secured your positions, and
live and prosper. And were your leaders to reappear, ye would not
renounce your leadership, nor would ye turn in their direction, nor set
your faces towards them. We found you, as We found most men,
worshipping names which they mention during the days of their life, and
with which they occupy themselves. No sooner do the Bearers of these
names appear, however, than they repudiate them, and turn upon their
heels.... Know ye that God will not, in this day, accept your thoughts,
nor your remembrance of Him, nor your turning towards Him, nor your
devotions, nor your vigilance, unless ye be made new in the estimation
of this Servant, could ye but perceive it.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 101
5)
1.57
O Ancient Beauty! Turn aside from the unbelievers and that which they
possess, and waft over all created things the sweet savours of the
remembrance of Thy Beloved, the Exalted, the Great. This remembrance
quickeneth the world of being and reneweth the temples of all created
things. Say: He, verily, hath established Himself upon the Throne of
might and glory. Whosoever desireth to gaze upon His countenance, lo,
behold Him standing before thee! Blessed be the Lord Who hath revealed Himself in this shining and luminous Beauty.
Whosoever desireth to hearken unto His melodies, lo, hear them rising
from His resplendent and wondrous lips! And unto whosoever desireth to
be illumined by the splendours of His light, say: Seek the court of His
presence, for God hath verily granted you leave to approach it, as a
token of His grace unto all mankind.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 29
6)
1.62
O Living Temple!
Arise to serve this Cause through a might and a power born of Us.
Disclose, then, unto the servants of God all that the Spirit of God,
the sovereign Lord, the Incomparable, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise,
hath imparted unto Thee. Say: O people! Will ye turn away from Him Who
is the Eternal Truth, and choose instead him whom We have created out
of a mere handful of clay? To do so is to inflict a grievous injustice
upon yourselves, if ye be of them that reflect upon the verses of your
Lord. Say: O people! Cleanse your hearts and your eyes, that ye may recognize your Maker in this holy and luminous attire.
Say: The celestial Youth hath ascended the Throne of glory, made
manifest His independent sovereignty, and now voiceth, in the most
sweet and wondrous accents, this call betwixt earth and heaven: "O
peoples of the earth! Wherefore have ye disbelieved in your Lord, the
All-Merciful, and turned aside from Him Who is the Beauty of the
All-Glorious? By the righteousness of God! This is His Hidden Secret,
Who hath risen from the dayspring of creation; and this is His
cherished Beauty, Who hath shone forth above the horizon of this
exalted Station, invested with the sovereignty of God, the Help in
Peril, the All-Glorious, the All-Subduing, the Almighty."
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 32
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