majnun wrote:Even if we recognize older religions, it does not mean
we need to read their scripture to progress.
"Entirely disregard" is a clear prescription.
Baha'u'llah says:
turn your eyes towards this Great Revelation, and entirely disregard these conflicting tales and traditions. (Gleanings 87, or in farsi, Iqtidirat p77).
MJ
Not quite!
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You have taken this out of context. When you isolate a sentence, you can distort its intended meaning
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I have pasted the entire paragraph below. The first couple of sentences (which have been boldened) show what the paragraph is talking about :
"How is it that no records are to be found concerning the
Prophets that have preceded Adam, the Father of
Mankind, or of the kings that lived in the days of
those Prophets?"
(^the first couple of sentences, which sets the scene of what the whole paragraph will be talking about)
The sentence which you have referred to in your original post
("turn your eyes towards this Great Revelation, and entirely disregard these conflicting tales and traditions")
is located at the end of this paragraph (which i have boldened for you, again)
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In order to progress you **do** need to read holy writings of other faiths/religions.
There are many reasons, and here are two top reasons which I can think of right now:
1. Even if you were born
into a bahai family, it does not mean you are a bahai. You must first read and investigate different religions, so that you can see the proofs for yourself that bahaullah is the one which has been mentioned about in all other religions.
Then, and only then, (after reading proofs for yourself) can you declare as a bahai. As you already know, there is no such thing as "being born a Bahai"
2. in order to teach other people from other faiths, you must also read so that you know how to explain to them, and so you can draw relevant examples
Final point - remember that we as bahais don’t have the attitude of “my religion is better than yours” because all religions come from the same god. So you cannot say that the only way you progress is by reading bahai scriptures only - that is not a bahai principle at all. So long as you lead your life with a pure heart, religion should not be the cause of disunity of any sort.
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re-read the final paragraph
sorry this has been a long post…
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the original section:
LXXXVII. And now regarding thy question,
"How
is it that no records are to be found concerning the
Prophets that have preceded Adam, the Father of
Mankind, or of the kings that lived in the days of
those Prophets?" (so that was the topic which will be dealt with) Know thou that the absence of any
reference to them is no proof that they did not actually
exist. That no records concerning them are now
available, should be attributed to their extreme remoteness,
as well as to the vast changes which the
earth hath undergone since their time.
Moreover such forms and modes of writing as are
now current amongst men were unknown to the generations
that were before Adam. There was even a
(page 173)
time when men were wholly ignorant of the art of
writing, and had adopted a system entirely different
from the one which they now use. For a proper exposition
of this an elaborate explanation would be
required.
Consider the differences that have arisen since the
days of Adam. The divers and widely-known languages
now spoken by the peoples of the earth were
originally unknown, as were the varied rules and
customs now prevailing amongst them. The people
of those times spoke a language different from those
now known. Diversities of language arose in a later
age, in a land known as Babel. It was given the name
Babel, because the term signifieth "the place where
the confusion of tongues arose."
Subsequently Syriac became prominent among the
existing languages. The Sacred Scriptures of former
times were revealed in that tongue. Later, Abraham,
the Friend of God, appeared and shed upon the
world the light of Divine Revelation. The language
He spoke while He crossed the Jordan became known
as Hebrew (&Ibrani), which meaneth "the language
of the crossing." The Books of God and the Sacred
Scriptures were then revealed in that tongue, and not
until after a considerable lapse of time did Arabic become
the language of Revelation....
Witness, therefore, how numerous and far-reaching
have been the changes in language, speech, and
(page 174)
writing since the days of Adam. How much greater
must have been the changes before Him!
Our purpose in revealing these words is to show
that the one true God hath, in His all-highest and
transcendent station, ever been, and will everlastingly
continue to be, exalted above the praise and
conception of all else but Him. His creation hath ever
existed, and the Manifestations of His Divine glory
and the Day Springs of eternal holiness have been
sent down from time immemorial, and been commissioned
to summon mankind to the one true God.
That the names of some of them are forgotten and
the records of their lives lost is to be attributed to
the disturbances and changes that have overtaken the
world.
Re-read this paragraph:
Mention hath been made in certain books of a
deluge which caused all that existed on earth, historical
records as well as other things, to be destroyed.
Moreover, many cataclysms have occurred which
have effaced the traces of many events. Furthermore,
among existing historical records differences are to
be found, and each of the various peoples of the
world hath its own account of the age of the earth
and of its history. Some trace their history as far
back as eight thousand years, others as far as twelve
thousand years.
To any one that hath read the book
of &Juk it is clear and evident how much the accounts
given by the various books have differed.
Please God thou wilt turn thine eyes towards the
(page 175)
Most Great Revelation, and entirely disregard these
conflicting tales and traditions.
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SUMMARY
The last bit is not instructing us to ignore( or to 'turn thine eyes') from reading other religious scriptures.
Its asking us to disregard the
"conflicting tales and traditions" between different religions which are trying to explain the question (how no records are found).
The final part of this paragraph is basicaly saying 'dont waste your time, and instead turn your gaze unto god)
It is telling us not to get caught up in all that and to use our time more productively by doing good deeds etc etc