In the world of existence the greatest bestowals of God are His teachings.
The other bounties of God are limited as regards their benefits and
provision. Human existence itself is a divine bestowal, but it is
circumscribed with limitations. Sight and hearing are bounties of God;
both are limited. And so it is with all the other bestowals; the circle of
their operation is confined, restricted, whereas the sphere of the divine
teachings is boundless. Centuries and ages pass away, but their efficacy
continues like the spirit of life which animates the world of existence.
Without the teachings of God the world of humanity is like the animal
kingdom. What difference is there between the animal and man? The
difference is this: that the animal is not capable of apprehending the
divine teachings, whereas man is worthy of them and possesses the capacity
to understand. In the animal kingdom there is no such bestowal; therefore,
there is limited progression. At most, evolution in that kingdom is a
development of the organism. In the beginning it is small, undeveloped; it
develops, becomes larger; but its sphere of intellectual growth is
limited. Therefore, the teachings of God are the bestowals specialized for
man.
Although the divine teachings are truth and reality, yet with the passage
of time thick clouds envelop and obscure them. These clouds are imitations
and superstitions; they are not the fundamentals. Then the Sun of Truth,
the Word of God, arises again, shines forth once more in the glory of its
power and disperses the enveloping darkness.
For a long time the divine precepts of the effulgent Word were obscured by
clouds of superstition and error until Baha'u'llah appeared upon the
horizon of humanity, rent the shadows, scattered the clouds and revealed
anew the foundations of the teachings of God.
The first teaching of Baha'u'llah is the duty incumbent upon all to
investigate reality. What does it mean to investigate reality? It means
that man must forget all hearsay and examine truth himself, for he does
not know whether statements he hears are in accordance with reality or
not. Wherever he finds truth or reality, he must hold to it, forsaking,
discarding all else; for outside of reality there is naught but
superstition and imagination. For example, during the days of Jesus Christ
the Jews were expecting the appearance of the Messiah, praying and
beseeching God day and night that the Promised One might appear. Why did
they reject Him when He did appear? They denied Him absolutely, refused to
believe in Him. There was no abuse and persecution which they did not heap
upon Him. They reviled Him with curses, placed a crown of thorns upon His
head, led Him through the streets in scorn and derision and finally
crucified Him. Why did they do this? Because they did not investigate the
truth or reality of Christ and were not able to recognize Him as the
Messiah of God. Had they investigated sincerely for themselves, they would
surely have believed in Him, respected Him and bowed before Him in
reverence. They would have considered His manifestation the greatest
bestowal upon mankind. They would have accepted Him as the very Savior of
man; but, alas, they were veiled, they held to imitations of ancestral
beliefs and hearsay and did not investigate the truth of Christ. They were
submerged in the sea of superstitions and were, therefore, deprived of
witnessing that glorious bounty; they were withheld from the fragrances or
breaths of the Holy Spirit and suffered in themselves the greatest
debasement and degradation.
Reality or truth is one, yet there are many religious beliefs,
denominations, creeds and differing opinions in the world today. Why
should these differences exist? Because they do not investigate and
examine the fundamental unity, which is one and unchangeable. If they seek
reality itself, they will agree and be united; for reality is indivisible
and not multiple. It is evident, therefore, that there is nothing of
greater importance to mankind than the investigation of truth.
The second teaching of Baha'u'llah is the oneness of the world of
humanity. Every human creature is the servant of God. All have been
created and reared by the power and favor of God; all have been blessed
with the bounties of the same Sun of divine truth; all have quaffed from
the fountain of the infinite mercy of God; and all in His estimation and
love are equal as servants. He is beneficent and kind to all. Therefore,
no one should glorify himself over another; no one should manifest pride
or superiority toward another; no one should look upon another with scorn
and contempt; and no one should deprive or oppress a fellow creature. All
must be considered as submerged in the ocean of God's mercy. We must
associate with all humanity in gentleness and kindliness. We must love all
with love of the heart. Some are ignorant; they must be trained and
educated. One is sick; he must be healed. Another is as a child; we must
assist him to attain maturity. We must not detest him who is ailing,
neither shun him, scorn nor curse him, but care for him with the utmost
kindness and tenderness. An infant must not be treated with disdain simply
because it is an infant. Our responsibility is to train, educate and
develop it in order that it may advance toward maturity.
The third teaching or principle of Baha'u'llah is that religion and
science are in complete agreement. Every religion which is not in
accordance with established science is superstition. Religion must be
reasonable. If it does not square with reason, it is superstition and
without foundation. It is like a mirage, which deceives man by leading him
to think it is a body of water. God has endowed man with reason that he
may perceive what is true. If we insist that such and such a subject is
not to be reasoned out and tested according to the established logical
modes of the intellect, what is the use of the reason which God has given
man? The eye is the organ of sense by which we view the world of outer
phenomena; hearing is the faculty for distinguishing sounds; taste senses
the properties of objects, such as bitter, sweet; smell detects and
differentiates odors; touch reveals attributes of matter and perfects our
communication with the outer world; yet after all, the circle and range of
perception by the five senses is exceedingly limited. But the intellectual
faculty of man is unlimited in its sphere of action. The eye views details
perhaps a mile, but the intellect can perceive the far East and West. The
ear may hear tone modulations at one thousand feet, but the mind of man
can detect the harmonies of the heavenly spheres as they swing in their
courses. Mind makes geological discoveries in subterranean depths and
determines the processes of creation in the earth's lowest strata. The
sciences and arts, all inventions, crafts, trades and their products have
come forth from the intellect of man. It is evident that within the human
organism the intellect occupies the supreme station. Therefore, if
religious belief, principle or creed is not in accordance with the
intellect and the power of reason, it is surely superstition.
At another time I shall speak further of the principles revealed in the
teachings of Baha'u'llah.