Hidden Words analysis

[Truthseeker]

I will be presenting my latest thoughts on the Hidden Words each day in this thread. So if you keep tabs on Baha'i dir for those Baha'is that are here, I ask you to check out this thread each day. Feel free to comment on it, and have alternative thoughts.

Here are my latest thoughts on Hidden Word #1

O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh", a1

When asked for a definition of a pure heart, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said, "The pure heart is one that is entirely cut away from self. To be selfless is to be pure."
(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 106)

Purity can also be seen as lack of moral defect. This is a short definition. It is not all-encompassing I don't believe.

O Children of Adam!
Holy words and pure and goodly deeds ascend unto the heaven of celestial glory. Strive that your deeds may be cleansed from the dust of self and hypocrisy and find favor at the court of glory; for ere long the assayers of mankind shall, in the holy presence of the Adored One, accept naught but absolute virtue and deeds of stainless purity. This is the daystar of wisdom and of divine mystery that hath shone above the horizon of the divine will. Blessed are they that turn thereunto.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh", p69

Purity also means cleansed from hypocrisy as well as self as said by Abdu'l-Baha above. The two are related.

7. O SON OF MAN!
If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee.
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)


Turning away from our lower selves because we love God brings us purity as well as fastening our gaze on what God wants us to do. If God lives eternally in us, obviously this brings about radiance.


I think we can see the utility of being sanctified from riches, that is, not letting our possessions taint us so that we may be able to tap into the eternal spiritual wealth. Huququ'llah is available to us to purify our possessions if we give in the right spirit.


I believe that pure, kindly, and radiant are all inter-related, with purity being the most important, which means being selfless in one viewpoint. If I am selfless, I will be kind. If I am selfless, I won't be so bothered by what happens to me, will be more happy, and be more connected to the Spirit, which will give me pure joy.The following shows the realtionship between purity of heart and radiance:


If thou seekest to be intoxicated with the cup of the Most Mighty Gift, cut thyself from the world and be quit of self and desire. Exert thyself night and day until spiritual powers may penetrate thy heart and soul. Abandon the body and the material, until the merciful powers may become manifest; because not until the soil is become pure will it develop through the heavenly bounty; not until the heart is purified, will the radiance of the Sun of Truth shine therein. I beg of God that thou wilt day by day increase the purity of thy heart, the cheerfulness of thy soul, the light of thy insight and the search for Truth.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 362)

The following shows a relationship between joy and radiance and detachment, which is closely related to purity. It also shows a way to be more firm in His Cause.

Peruse My verses with joy and radiance. Verily they will attract you unto God and will enable you to detach yourselves from aught else save Him. Thus have ye been admonished in God's Holy Writ and in this resplendent Tablet. - Baha'u'llah
(From a Tablet- translated from the Arabic)
(Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 188)

Heart: the emotional or moral nature as distinguished from the intellectual nature

one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations.

This may not be a complete definition for Baha'i purposes, though. I came across this passage from the Valley of Wonderment recently:

O friend, the heart is the dwelling-place of eternal mysteries.

Being kindly obviously means being kind to people, animals, amd also to the earth as a whole. By being kind in our acts, this kindliness for others makes us more happy and radiant.

Having a radiant heart means exuding happiness to others and to be connected to the Holy Spirit, which brings all true joy.


Having sovereignty means having a lot of influence over others in a spiritual sense, to make them better people. This should not be sought as a self-aggrandizing thing, but as a service to God and man.


Ancient means the sovereignty comes from spiritual sources that are beyond time.


Imperishable and everlasting means this sovereignty can never die if one maintains a pure, kindly, and radiant heart.


The short version of the theme of this Hidden Word is to become more selfless, in order to have more influence spiritually in all the worlds of God. This is done for the sake of God, not for my own benefit.

O Son of Dust!
Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears, that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself of all learning, that thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and sanctify thyself from riches, that thou mayest obtain a lasting share from the ocean of My eternal wealth. Blind thine eyes, that is, to all save My beauty; stop thine ears to all save My word; empty thyself of all learning save the knowledge of Me; that with a clear vision, a pure heart and an attentive ear thou mayest enter the court of My holiness.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh", p11

This is a a guide book on how to be pure. See only God's beauty in everything helps make us pure, paying a lot attention to the word of God helps make us pure, the knowledge of God must guide us so that all other knowledge is in service to God's knowledge.

'Abdu'l-Baha said:

Every kind of knowledge, every science, is as a tree: if the fruit of it be the love of God, then is it a blessed tree, but if not, that tree is but dried-up wood, and shall only feed the fire.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá", 154.3

On another level, He is saying I believe that any knowledge we have other than the word of God shouldn't get in the way of believing in His word, and understanding His word.

All of this help serve to reach the goal of being pure.

How do I become more kind? Be selfless and develop love for people. Keep this in my mind also during the day.

How do become more radiant? Develop detachment and selflessness. Pray and meditate. Especially pray. Prayer and worship is also deeds done in the service of humanity.

Say: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. 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.
(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 143)

If one arise to promote the Word of God with a pure heart, overflowing with the love of God and severed from the world, the Lord of Hosts will assist him with such a power as will penetrate the core of the existent beings.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v2, p. 348)

If we are pure in heart, what we say in teaching will have an effect then. This is part of the sovereignty that Baha'u'llah talks about in this Hidden Word.

When it leaveth the body, however, it will evince such ascendancy, and reveal such influence as no force on earth can equal. Every pure, every refined and sanctified soul will be endowed with tremendous power, and shall rejoice with exceeding gladness.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, page 154)

This is another way that purity of heart leads to sovereignty.

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 goodwill. If it be accepted, if it fulfill 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. 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, p. 15)

Under all conditions, the teaching must be carried forward, but with wisdom. If the work cannot proceed openly, then let them teach in private, and thus engender spirituality and fellowship among the children of men. If, for example, each and every one of the believers would become a true friend to one of the unheeding, and, conducting himself with absolute rectitude, associate with this soul, treat him with the utmost kindness, himself exemplify the divine instructions he hath received, the good qualities and behaviour patterns, and at all times act in accord with the admonitions of God - it is certain that little by little he will succeed in awakening that previously heedless individual, and in changing his ignorance to knowledge of the truth.

Souls are inclined toward estrangement. Steps should first be taken to do away with this estrangement, for only then will the Word take effect. If a believer showeth kindness to one of the neglectful, and, with great love, gradually leadeth him to an understanding of the validity of the Holy Cause, so that he may come to know the fundamentals of God's Faith and the implications thereof - such a one will certainly be transformed, excepting only those seldom-encountered individuals who are even as ashes, whose hearts are `hard as rocks, or harder still.'(1)
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, page 265)

So kindness is also needed to be effective in teaching as well as purity.

36. O SON OF MAN!
Rejoice in the gladness of thine heart, that thou mayest be worthy to meet Me and to mirror forth My beauty.
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

The theme is that we should search for the gladness that is deep in our heart already and rejoice in that. When we do that we meet God and we are worthy of that because we made the effort to do that. When we meet God we reflect the attributes of God, which are beautiful.

Joy gives us wings! In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us we become weak, our strength leaves us, our comprehension is dim and our intelligence veiled. The actualities of life seem to elude our grasp, 110 the eyes of our spirits fail to discover the sacred mysteries, and we become even as dead beings.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 109)

This shows the benefit of being joyful or radiant beyond that of being happy. We comprehend more of the Writings and other matters and we find our sphere of usefulness.

When a speaker's brow shineth with the radiance of the love of God, at the time of his exposition of a subject, and he is exhilarated with the wine of true understanding, he becometh the centre of a potent force which like unto a magnet will attract the hearts. This is why the expounder must be in the utmost enkindlement. - Abdu'l-Baha
(From a Tablet - translated from the Persian)
(Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 299)

Radiance of heart is also important in teaching the Cause of God. So all three, purity, kindness, and radiance are important in teaching.

 

[Truthseeker]

O Son of Spirit!
The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh", a2

It beseemeth you to fix your gaze under all conditions upon justice and fairness. In the Hidden Words this exalted utterance hath been revealed from Our Most August Pen:

“O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.”

They that are just and fair-minded in their judgment occupy a sublime station and hold an exalted rank. The light of piety and uprightness shineth resplendent from these souls. We earnestly hope that the peoples and countries of the world may not be deprived of the splendors of these two luminaries.
, “Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas”

So here justice means being just and fair-minded in their judgment. When He says "turn not away if thou desirest Me" this means to me that if we don't look at Baha'u'llah or any Manifestation with the eyes of justice we won't recognize the Manifestation and we won't be able to commune with God through the Manifestation's writings, prayers, and His intervention with us. When God tells us "neglect it not that I may confide in thee" to me this means truth will be confided to us partly through our good judgment, and God will take us the rest of the way if we strive for justice in how we see things.

The second sentence “By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor.” is at the heart of the principle of the independent investigation of truth, which is the first principle of Abdu'l-Baha which He promoted in His travels.

“Ponder this in thy heart”. I think ponder in your heart means means meditating in the center of your spiritual consciousness, but this is just a guess. The heart is the center of supplying nourishment throughout your body. In the same way your spiritual reality is at the center of your nourishment is my guess.

"Verily justice is my gift to thee" God gave us the ability to understand through just consideration of truth and this is His gift to us. He gave us intellect to investigate all things and the attribute of being able to evaluate all things with justice.

Why does Baha'u'llah say that Justice is the most beloved of all things? He puts it even higher than love of God. Is it because just consideration independently can bring us to the love of God? I don't honestly know. Perhaps God values our free will understanding of things. He wants us to love through free will finding Him and loving Him. He didn't create us automatically loving him like a robot.

The theme of this Hidden Word is that justice is given to us so that we can come to God through investigation and understand all things through justice. See also the following:

The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye.
Bahá’u’lláh, "Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas", 10.22

The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal.
(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 4)

We should seek the truth with patience. Look into all things with a searching eye.

But, O my brother, when a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 192)

These are the spiritual prerequisites to seeking with justice.

I should always try to look at all matters with dispassionate justice, and be willing to reconsider my understanding.

 

[Truthseeker]

This thread has not received very much attention, but I will present the third Hidden Word here anyway.

O Son of Man!
Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.
, “The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh” , a3


We cannot know God directly. His essence is veiled from us.


Immemorial: extending or existing since beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition


God cannot be remembered as a distinct entity that we can define, because our experience of Him changes from time to time. We may experience God through Baha'u'llah as Almighty at one time, as love for us at another, and as a Being through which we can love everybody at another. I have had an intense experience with all three, though they were brief.


To get a handle of what eternity means for us, I quote this Hidden Word.


23. O SON OF THE SUPREME!
To the eternal I call thee, yet thou dost seek that which perisheth. What hath made thee turn away from Our desire and seek thine own?
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)


We are called to experience eternity as much as possible, which exists beyond the mortal world. The mortal world in itself has meaning in that it reflects eternal qualities, but if we don't see those eternal qualities we are bereft.

Ancient means to me that this eternal quality of God has always existed.

“I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee”

God is beyond considerations of time, so for Him I existed before He created me. He loves all mankind so He created us. Our body came into being from our parents and those before them in a long line and ultimately through the existence of the material universe through God. But I think that God is especially referring to the creation of our soul more than the body. This may also mean that He loves everything that He has created. The above quote seems to imply that He loves all of creation since He bestowed all of creation with the attributes of God, just not as much as us humans. I wonder, though, how much he loves animals since some of them suffer a lot, and animals don't reflect all the attributes of God like we do so they would develop spiritually because of their suffering.

They have no life after death according to Abdu'l-Baha:

The animal spirit is that all-embracing sensory power which is realized through the composition and combination of the elements. When this composition disintegrates, that spirit likewise perishes and becomes non-existent.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “Some Answered Questions” , 55.4

Some may say that Abdu'l-Baha's infallibility doesn't reach that far that He would necessarily be right about that, but we could easily believe that He is interpreting Baha'u'llah when He says that, and Abdu'l-Baha is also said to have “superhuman knowledge”.

He is, above and beyond these appellations, the "Mystery of God" -- an expression by which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has chosen to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized.
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 134)

Baha'u'llah has said things about the nature of “Abdu'l-Baha, and I see this description of Abdu'l-Baha as including superhuman knowledge as an interpretation by Shoghi Effendi of what Baha'u'llah said about Abdu'l-Baha.

So they apparently have no recompense for their suffering. What's the solution for this? Abdu'l-Baha says we should be kind to animals, and teach children to be kind to animals. How can we conclude from this that God does not love animals?

The only thing I can think of right now in defense is evolution. Evolution is advanced by the animals of the past being unfit to advance their genes to another generation. Evolution is God's method of creating humans. Part of animals being unfit will sometimes involve suffering of them. If we did not evolve with animal characteristics from our ancestors, in my opinion, there would be no point of this level of existence existing, because God set it up so we could choose between our animal nature and our spiritual nature. In the next world, free will no longer exists because don't have our material nature to act as an alternative to acting on behalf of our spiritual nature.

This means, of course, that God values us more than animals. This Hidden Word implies that anyway.

If man did not exist, the universe would be without result, for the purpose of existence is the revelation of the divine perfections.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "Some Answered Questions", 50.4

This is all just speculation on my part, there is no proof of what I am saying. I realize that animals suffer now in nature beyond how we treat them so this is not a complete and fool-proof explanation.

“have engraved on thee Mine image”

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is a direct evidence of the revelation within it of the attributes and names of God, inasmuch as within every atom are enshrined the signs that bear eloquent testimony to the revelation of that Most Great Light. Methinks, but for the potency of that revelation, no being could ever exist. How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop! To a supreme degree is this true of man, who, among all created things, hath been invested with the robe of such gifts, and hath been singled out for the glory of such distinction. For in him are potentially revealed all the attributes and names of God to a degree that no other created being hath excelled or surpassed. All these names and attributes are applicable to him. Even as He hath said: "Man is My mystery, and I am his mystery." Manifold are the verses that have been repeatedly revealed in all the Heavenly Books and the Holy Scriptures, expressive of this most subtle and lofty theme. Even as He hath revealed: "We will surely show them Our signs in the world and within themselves." Again He saith: "And also in your own selves: will ye not, then, behold the signs of God?" And yet again He revealeth: "And be ye not like those who forget God, and whom He hath therefore caused to forget their own selves." In this connection, He Who is the eternal King -- may the souls of all that dwell within the mystic Tabernacle be a sacrifice unto Him -- hath spoken: "He hath known God who hath known himself."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 177)

Engraven on me His image means that I potentially possess all the attributes of God. One of the profound truths of Baha'u'llah is however much we can experience and know God is already potentially within ourselves, and that is our limit.

It is a mystery to me that God loved us especially before He engraved on us His attributes.

God reveals His beauty through the Person and words of each Manifestation of God. We can also see God's beauty in all of creation, especially other human beings.

The theme of this Hidden Word is that man is a special spiritual being created and nourished spiritually by a God that is beyond anything we can know or emulate perfectly.

I need to love other people as a special creation of God, nourish myself from the Word of God, value myself also, at least the part of me engraven on me with divine attributes, and realize that I am nothing before God's eternal essence.

 

[Truthseeker]

O Son of Man!
I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh", a4

Again, like in the previous Hidden Word, God is beyond time so before I existed, He loved my creation. He is asking for a reciprocal love back because He created me out of love. What is love of God really?


From what I've felt before it is not like love for a human being. If I love justice, am I really loving God? If I love mercy, am I really loving God? Am I really loving God now, and don't know it? I think the rest of the Hidden Word will help. He will name our name and fill our soul with the spirit of life if we love Him. It is a sign that we love God if “[He] name(s) [our] name and fill [our] soul with the spirit of life.”


What does He mean by “name thy name”?


O Son of Man! I loved thy creation; for this I created thee. Therefore love Me, that I may mention thee and in the Spirit of Life, confirm thee. [K]


O Son of Man ! Because thy creation rejoiced Me, therefore I created thee. Love Me, that I may acknowledge thee and in the Spirit of Life confirm thee. [R]
Bahá’u’lláh, “Parallel Hidden Words in English (Early and Authorised)”


“Mention thee” and “acknowledge thee” is the same as what the Guardian interpreted as “name they name”. Very interesting. What light do these terms reveal as to what “name thy name” means? I'm not sure at all.

What is the spirit of life? There are degrees of spirit of life. There are degrees of love.

I think name thy name means having us realize our own particular unique qualities if we love God. It also means to me He pours all his Names into us so that we reflect His attributes.

Also there is this other Hidden Word thats sheds light on our loving God:

48. O SON OF MAN!
For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

The theme of this Hidden Word is that God loves us timelessly, and in return we should love Him back that we may fulfill our inner qualities and attributes and be radiant.

The question remains, how do we get ourselves to love God more than we do now?

Pray and meditate more, contemplate the Writings more I believe. I think I realized earlier in this analysis of the Hidden Words that striving to be more selfless will connect me more to the spirit of life, which is close in meaning as having a radiant heart.