Kingdom of Bahá

God, forgive me for such crassness, but this has to be said: God is not a rapist!

It’s simple. God says (I’m paraphrasing here), “THIS is how to find green pastures. Trust Me, and I will lead you there, because I really do love My creation. But it seems you prefer to do it your way. You prefer to worship the golden calf, the bull god, the whore of Babylon, the god of celebrity, the god of cool, and every other false idol of corrupt desire in your heart that you don’t even seem to know is there. Ok. You’re free to choose. Let’s see what happens when you choose badly.”

This isn’t coercion. This is the reality of karma. Choosing wisely leads to good outcomes. Choosing badly leads to bad outcomes. Humanity has collectively been choosing badly for a long time now, and it’s coming up time to reap what we have sown.

Today, when life is not valued, when souls are cheap and cheapened, when the culture tells people that their existence is just a meaningless accident of a meaningless universe, it’s no wonder that so many people don’t take their choices in life very seriously, and so never arise to the shining station that we’re created for. Instead, they get treated by the world and by themselves as virtual trash to be thrown on the trash heap when the world is done using them. 

In fact, the word for “hell” in the New Testament was translated from the Greek word “Gehenna,” which at the time of Jesus, was a place near Jerusalem used as a trash heap. Before that, it was used as a place of child sacrifice. This heinous practice was still being carried out during the reign of Israeli kings, even though it was completely outlawed in the Torah. So this was a place where psychopathic idol worshippers, in a twisted fit of passion, threw living children on a fire, and then befittingly, this profane place became a garbage dump. What better metaphor to describe the cheapening of human life and the condition of souls that stay stuck in the wilderness of corrupt desire, separate from God’s will for them.

“O SON OF SPIRIT! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.” Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words #13 (Arabic)

God doesn’t require martyrdom. Those who arise to serve the Cause of the Kingdom do it out of love for God and love for humanity. When people serving His Cause are martyred, it’s never God Who does the torturing and killing. But those who accept the fate of martyrdom, as the Cause clashes with the powers and principalities of the world, are promised great karmic rewards. See: Jesus. 

“What religion are you?” I guess it’s human nature to want to categorize people. It certainly can make the world easier to navigate. But it has a down side. We can end up putting people into our mental boxes, and when they try to escape, we want to wrestle them back in.

One answer that I have to my least favorite question is: I try to follow the religion of God as progressively revealed by His Messengers, Prophets and Manifestations. That means that I accept Noah, Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha’u’llah as authentic. Because I believe that the latest of the Manifestations was Baha’u’llah, it’s not wrong for me to call myself a Baha’i. But that’s not the end of the story.

The three main pillars of the Baha’i Faith are: 1) living a Baha’i life, 2) teaching the Baha’i Faith, and 3) firmness in the Covenant. Future posts will consider the first two. It’s #3 that I want to focus on a bit today.

Baha’u’llah left a Covenant, and only a person who is steadfast and firm in that Covenant can be said to be under the spiritual protection of Baha’u’llah. So I can call myself whatever I want, but how I actually measure up against the standard of the Covenant is the reality of my situation. The Baha’i writings make that crystal clear.

So here’s an even fuller answer to my least favorite question: While I consider myself to be a Baha’i, I am not a member of the Baha’i World Faith, which is the organization currently centered in Haifa, Israel. The reason for that has to do with my understanding of the Covenant.

The Covenant of Baha’u’llah is in writing. It’s unambiguous. There is no question in my mind that the Baha’i World Faith has gone far astray. They would say the same of me. It’s unfortunate that believers in Baha’u’llah, Whose revelation is for the unity of mankind, find themselves in different camps. The optics are bad.

Still, one person, or a handful of people, on the side of God is a majority. The Covenant as revealed by Baha’u’llah, as elucidated by Abdu’l-Baha, and adhered to by Shoghi Effendi, is accessible for everyone to see. But they have to want to see it. And there’s the rub.

“Today that which is most important is firmness in the Covenant and the Testament and otherwise Baha’i unity will not be preserved. If Baha’i unity could be preserved through something else, undoubtedly the Blessed Beauty would have commanded it.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Star of the West, Volume 10, #14, p.268)

My name is Glenn Goldman, and my journey in the Baha’i Faith began in the summer of 1988 when I met a group of Baha’is teaching at the Rainbow Gathering in Angelina County, Texas. It was a year after the Harmonic Convergence had shaken me out of my spiritual stupor, and a search for the big answers had all but consumed me. When I stumbled upon the Baha’i teaching camp, and heard directly from the promised “Messenger of the Covenant,” my life would be forever changed.

The path has not always been easy. In fact, at times the mental tests have been almost tortuous. We are not promised that the path will be be strewn with soft and comfy rose petals. But for those who persevere, we are promised assistance from above. I can say without hesitation that such assistance is real.

I hope that you connect with some of the words I post. Feel free to contact me with your own reflections.

Sometimes, when trying to light a fire, the initial flame will rapidly start to extinguish because only a small amount of the kindling actually ignited. Just when it seems hopeless, a simple breath directed at the right embers will reignite the flame.

“He is God!

“O Lord, my God, my Well-Beloved! These are servants of Thine that have heard Thy Voice, given ear to Thy Word and hearkened to Thy Call. They have believed in Thee, witnessed Thy wonders, acknowledged Thy proof and testified to Thine evidence. They have walked in Thy ways, followed Thy guidance, discovered Thy mysteries, comprehended the secrets of Thy Book, the verses of Thy Scrolls and the tidings of Thy Epistles and Tablets. They have clung to the hem of Thy garment and held fast unto the robe of Thy light and grandeur. Their footsteps have been strengthened in Thy Covenant and their hearts made firm in Thy Testament. Lord! Do Thou kindle in their hearts the flame of Thy divine attraction and grant that the bird of love and understanding may sing within their hearts. Grant that they may be even as potent signs, resplendent standards, and perfect as Thy Word. Exalt by them Thy Cause, unfurl Thy banners and publish far and wide Thy wonders. Make by them Thy Word triumphant, and strengthen the loins of Thy loved ones. Unloose their tongues to laud Thy Name, and inspire them to do Thy holy will and pleasure. Illumine their faces in Thy Kingdom of holiness, and perfect their joy by aiding them to arise for the triumph of Thy Cause.

“Lord! Feeble are we, strengthen us to diffuse the fragrances of Thy Holiness; poor, enrich us from the treasures of Thy Divine Unity; naked, clothe us with the robe of Thy bounty; sinful, forgive us our sins by Thy grace, Thy favor and Thy pardon. Thou art, verily, the Aider, the Helper, the Gracious, the Mighty, the Powerful.

“The glory of glories rest upon them that are fast and firm. “

Abdu’l-Baha