Pervasiveness of Revelation

owl3951

Pervasiveness of Revelation

Postby owl3951 » Sun Aug 21, 2011 1:41 pm

Firstly, both the Bab and Baha'u'llah make it clear that God created only the Manifestation. In turn, the Manifestation created all the other realms and requisite inhabitants--whether physical or spiritual or something else entirely. See, for instance, (right-click and open in a new window)

http://bahai-library.com/brown_primal_will

I posit that the Revelations of Manifestations are both:

1) applicable; and
2) directed

to all levels of His Creation, where Creation here means all the infinite physical and/or spiritual kingdoms, as well as the various kingdoms of sentience, such as individual existence, social groups, evolution, imagination, comprehension, etc. It seems to me that Revelation, while always specifically given to educate us, also sustains, cherishes and gives purpose to the mineral (at the quantum and macro levels), vegetable and animal kingdoms, Paradise, the Kingdom of Names (habitation of the Manifestation, when capitalized) and so forth.

For example, Arabic Hidden Word #3 (page 4) (right-click and open in a new window)

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/HW/hw-4.html

can easily be seen (if a reader so chooses) simultaneously to be about God's creation of the:

1) Perfect Man (Primal Will, Holy Spirit, Gabriel, the Manifestation, etc.);
2) The Manifestation's subsequent creation of any sentient race; and/or
3) the Big Bang and the subsequent kingdom of names (not capitalized).

No matter how this Hidden Word is read, a Primal Existence {Who} clearly loves {Why}, then creates, another existence of some kind {What}, and tells it its purpose (to be like or manifest its Creator) {Why} and tells it how (to evolve to the Beauty of Unity [harmonizing, blending and making one the infinite names and attributes of the Creator] {How}). (Ah-ha! Maybe that is why He is the "Ancient Beauty"!)

In fact, the comprehensive applicability of the Revealed Word requires all these parentheses in this post. Those interested in a universal language will readily see how we need a language that is geared, not just to improving communication among people, but also between people and their Creator. In fact, this may be the more important task of the two. Hence, it may be that achieving the latter goal may aid enormously in attaining the former. For instance, the reason I include the colored adverbs and pronouns above is to show that the Hidden Word, while a powerful message of love and hope--and also a poet's dream and a physicist's hosanna--is also a Reporter's well-written lead on a newsworthy event. It has punch and it also answers all the basic journalism questions immediately. (Holy cow! Could this be true of all the Hidden Words?) How much misery will be abated when the love and hope so strongly proclaimed in this Text from God (and we thought texting was just invented :lol: ) is dominate in children's education and reinforced in media reporting. After all, we hunt all our lives for purpose! We need a language that nails this "story" into our souls, from cradle to coffin.

Although I have found a large number of Texts wherein Baha'ullah includes all Creation in a Passage or in His Revelation, or where He tells about the effects of His Revelation on the denizens of the spiritual realms or the very atoms of this universe, etc., I know of no Text specifically saying all Revelation is simultaneously addressed to all realms of Creation.

Does anyone know of Passages which speak to this idea one way or the other? Note: I am not looking for Scriptures which maybe could be interpreted one way or another, or which could hint, allude, etc., but Verses specifically stating either: 1) Revelation is meant for all existences; or 2) it is not.

Given that the Manifestation created and cherishes all creations and life forms, it makes sense to me that He renews and recreates all of these existences when He renews humanity, which is but one of His infinite creations. However, this entire posting may be just my own vain imagining. Or it could be the veriest glimpse and distorted peep of a colossal Truth.

Whatcha?

brettz9
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Re: Pervasiveness of Revelation

Postby brettz9 » Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:06 pm

Regarding thy question as to the beginning of Creation: Know thou that the Truth (GOD) has eternally ever been, and so also have His creatures, for there is no beginning either for the Truth (God) or for the creatures. According to the bodies in the contingent world, the "beginning" mentioned in the Holy Scriptures means the beginning of the Manifestation, and "creation" signifies the Second Spiritual Birth: as Christ says, "You must be born again." There is no doubt that the beginning of this Spiritual creation was the Manifestation Himself, for each Manifestation of the Divine Manifestations is the Adam (of His time,) and His first believer is Eve, while all the souls who are born of the Second Birth are His children and descendents. In the New Testament it is recorded: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." Again in John 1:13" Which was born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
.....
BC#286B
.....
(Signed) Abdul-Baha Abbas.

(Revealed Oct. 24, 1903. Translated in the Holy City. Translation certified to by Mirza Fareed Ameen, Dec.26, 1903.)
Pub. by C.e. Sprague, 3502 Lake Ave., Chicago, Ill. Apr. 19, 08.
BC#286C (Note these quotations let alone translations have not yet been verified, but could in fact be actual text, rather than pilgrim's notes)


I think this quote drives home the significance of at least some of the references to the Manifestation being "before" the creation (since as the Writings tell us, the Manifestations have always been sent, with existence being eternal in the past, as well as future). In other words, that it is only "before" in the sense of being superior to it, since is is not only that a creature must be created, but as 'Abdu'l-Baha explains in Some Answered Questions, "a creator without a creature is impossible" (p. 180) as well.

See http://www.bahai-library.com/zamir/barstow2.html#138a for a lesson on Adam and Eve which though described by the compiler (Thellie Lovejoy) as "Pilgrims note--maybe--source unidentified", but the answers sure seem consistent to me in both style and substance with the talks of 'Abdu'l-Baha for a very interesting analysis which I think nicely complements His talk in Some Answered Questions (http://bahai-library.com/writings/abdulbaha/saq/30.html ) .

Yet another interpretation ('Abdu'l-Baha did say there were others), offered by Albert Windust in a talk (part of the Barstow collection) was that the 6 days of creation prior to the day of rest refer to the previous Manifestations in the Adamic Cycle before Baha'u'llah, in which all things were perfected.

As far as God addressing His creation, while this might not be what you are looking for, I find it interesting that the very first sentence of the Kitab-i-Aqdas mentions, "The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation."

Warm regards,
Brett

onepence
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Re: Pervasiveness of Revelation

Postby onepence » Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:50 pm

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dh

onepence
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Re: Pervasiveness of Revelation

Postby onepence » Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:58 pm

In like manner, the moment the word expressing My attribute “The Omniscient” issueth forth from My mouth, every created thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvelous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Know thou of a certainty that the Revelation of every other Name is accompanied by a similar manifestation of Divine power. Every single letter proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother letter, and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revelation is a mother word, and His Tablet a Mother Tablet. Well is it with them that apprehend this truth.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh


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