Saturday, March 9, 2013

The Most Great Assurance


O my friend, were the bird of thy mind to explore the heavens of the Revelation of the Qur'án, were it to contemplate the realm of divine knowledge unfolded therein, thou wouldst assuredly find unnumbered doors of knowledge set open before thee. Thou wouldst certainly recognize that all these things which have in this day hindered this people from attaining the shores of the ocean of eternal grace, the same things in the Muhammadan Dispensation prevented the people of that age from recognizing that divine Luminary, and from testifying to His truth. Thou wilt also apprehend the mysteries of "return" and "revelation," and wilt securely abide within the loftiest chambers of certitude and assurance.
             (Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 147, 148 )

The Most Great Assurance

We are living in a world of doubt. At one time we knew the world was flat. That knowledge turned out to be false. We knew that the earth was the center of the universe and all other planets and stars revolved around it. False again. How many things do we know today that will be proved to be false in the future.

Then there is the issue about God. Is there a God? Can we prove that God exists? We were likely told about God when we where children, but we were also told about the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause. We soon learn that reindeer don't fly and fat men don't come down chimneys, so are the stories we heard about Jesus true?

Now it is quite easy to prove the fact that there was a creator. No one believes that a house just happens by accident, or a watch found in a forest just naturally occurred there. We know that something as simple as a pencil had to have someone to make it, so how could anyone in their right mind think that something as magnificent, so huge and so intricate as the universe just happened all on its own. The fact that the universe exists proves that there must have been a superior, all powerful, intelligent being that created it. But that doesn't mean that this Omnipotent Being pays any attention to us or even cares if we live or die. For all we know we could just be an unwanted by-product of this magnificent universe.

Then comes the Revelation of God. Each of the Revealers of God's Word could be denied. It could be passed off as a crazy person who was delusional and believed that He had a connection with the Almighty God. But when you put them together it becomes too great to be passed off as mere coincidence. Are we to believe that these Holy Beings who appeared once in about every 1000 years, endured great suffering to deliver Their Message and caused revolutionary changes in the planet were just some crazy people. Then add to that the fact that thousands of martyrs gave up their lives in order to promote the Teachings of these Divine Beings. If that had occurred once we may be able to say that the advancement of society was coincidental to the ravings of a mad man, but every time a Divine Being appears there is great changes and advancement in Science, Spirituality and Social Conditions.

Even the enemies of God cannot deny the influence of the Divine Manifestations of God. Those who do not believe at all and those who hold on to a past Revelation while not accepting the latest will acknowledge the influence of the Holy Ones. Yes they will acknowledge and fear them. Otherwise why would they be doing everything in their power to stop them? Why Crucify someone if you think He is insignificant? Why persecute a crazy man? It is because these Divine Messengers where changing the society they were living in and making learned men doubt what they knew to be true.

The things we have been taught by previous generations has a powerful hold on us. When someone presents us with evidence, or even a suggestion that we might be wrong, we often get defensive. If we know that what they are saying is a lie, it will not bother us to much, but if it begins to cause us to doubt then let the fireworks begin. At this point there is only two possible courses of action. The one many people take is to do everything in their power to discredit and otherwise prove false the information that is causing them to doubt. They will intimidate, hate, fight and even kill the ones that are causing them to doubt what they have always believed to be true. The result of this action, if they succeed, will be that they are able to continue to believe a lie.

Plan two is the one I recommend. If someone causes me to doubt something I believe, I find it is time to investigate and examine my belief. Is it possible that I have been misinformed? Could it be that the sky is green when I have always believed it to be blue? Let me hear your reasoning. Why have you come to your conclusions? Let is discuss freely why each of us believes as we do and see who is right. Perhaps  we will find that truth lies somewhere between our understandings. Perhaps we will find we are both right, but are just viewing the situation from different perspectives. By consulting each other and investigating thoroughly we will both come to a greater understanding of the Truth and we will not need to kill each other.

My purpose here was to present the Most Great Assurance; The undoubtable Truth that no one can deny. I can see that, no matter how convincing the proofs or how conclusive the arguments, each of the religions on earth today could be doubted, but the cumulative effect is undeniable. The fact that the story repeats on a regular basis, that it advances at each stage and that it heals the ailments of each age proves beyond any doubt that, not only there is a God, but that there is a God who loves us and cares for us. Indeed He is a God who wants the best for His Creatures that He created in His own Image. This is the Most Great Assurance and the undeniable Truth.