Words of Wisdom: Destiny

[Unveiled Artist]

True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as His hands is the destiny of all His servants. ~Writings of Bahaullah (Bahai Faith)​

A famous Mongol general and his troops had captured a large part of Central Asia. By now his troops were tired and far from home. He wanted to press on to capture the great city of Samarkand which was defended by five times as many soldiers as his own. He felt certain they could win, but the soldiers were reluctant.

Calling them together, they set up a sacred altar and prayed for advice from their gods. At the end of the ceremony, the general took out a large gold coin and said he would now toss it to see what the gods directed. If it came up heads the soldiers would win a great victory.

The toss was indeed heads, and inspired by the gods, the soldiers went on to easily overrun the city.

Afterward a soldier said to the general, "when we have been shown that the gods are with us, nothing can challenge our destiny."

The general laughingly agreed and then showed him the coin, which had a head on both sides.

~Classical Chinese Tale

Contemplation

Fasten yourself to your fixed destination, and you will with god's help, get there. The wise general's destiny was Samarkand; what's yours?

So what are your thoughts?

Mine, I pretty much chuckled to tell you honestly. This story has many lessons than one.

Taken from The Soul's Almanac. A Year of Interfaith Stories, Prayers, and Wisdom.

 

[Spiderman]

True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as His hands is the destiny of all His servants. ~Writings of Bahaullah (Bahai Faith)​

A famous Mongol general and his troops had captured a large part of Central Asia. By now his troops were tired and far from home. He wanted to press on to capture the great city of Samarkand which was defended by five times as many soldiers as his own. He felt certain they could win, but the soldiers were reluctant.

Calling them together, they set up a sacred altar and prayed for advice from their gods. At the end of the ceremony, the general took out a large gold coin and said he would now toss it to see what the gods directed. If it came up heads the soldiers would win a great victory.

The toss was indeed heads, and inspired by the gods, the soldiers went on to easily overrun the city.

Afterward a soldier said to the general, "when we have been shown that the gods are with us, nothing can challenge our destiny."

The general laughingly agreed and then showed him the coin, which had a head on both sides.

~Classical Chinese Tale

Contemplation

Fasten yourself to your fixed destination, and you will with god's help, get there. The wise general's destiny was Samarkand; what's yours?

So what are your thoughts?

Mine, I pretty much chuckled to tell you honestly. This story has many lessons than one.

Taken from The Soul's Almanac. A Year of Interfaith Stories, Prayers, and Wisdom.

Beautiful!

 

[arthra]

Carlita:

I hadn't heard about the "Mongol general" but the quote from Baha'u'llah is a well known one among Baha'is.. The context reads as follows:

"The essence of love is for man to turn his heart to the Beloved One, and sever himself from all else but Him, and desire naught save that which is the desire of his Lord.
True remembrance is to make mention of the Lord, the All-Praised, and forget aught else beside Him.
True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as in His Hands is the destiny of all His servants."

~ Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 155

Abdul-Baha also commends a profession:

"There are no solitaries and no hermits among the Bahá'ís. Man must work with his fellows. Everyone should have some trade, or art or profession, be he rich or poor, and with this he must serve humanity. This service is acceptable as the highest form of worship."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 92

To be brief: "Work is worship"

 

[Tabu]

Thanks for sharing the story.
My lesson from the story would be ,
Keep your focus on the destination , it becomes easy to cross all the obstacles along the way .

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” –” – Buddha