I spent the afternoon reading assignments for my Jesus in History course. It is a challenging course on many levels. Until now, I haven't really felt the effects of this personally, but now I certainly do.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge pointed out, as I posted on another blog recently:
Those who begin by loving Christianity more than truth, proceed to love their sect more than Christianity, and end by loving themselves most of all.
Am I seeking truth, or self validation? That, my friends, is a deeply troubling question to ask yourself.
A large part of teaching others about the Baha'i Faith is challenging them to question their previous assumptions and beliefs. And that's good; it's the only way to get to the truth. But how often do we challenge our own?
Baha'u'llah says:
O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge...He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth.
Wow! Do you know how incredibly difficult that is? I love the Baha'i Faith, I loved the person who introduced me to the Faith, I love being a part of the Baha'i community, I love Baha'is. Am I being blinded? I have acquired knowledge, and interpret things based on it. Is this obscuring dust or revealing light? How am I to know?
10 comments:
Erica Toussaint discussed that quote at Green Acre Winter School last year. Think about dust on a surface. All you have to do is gently blow it off or maybe wipe it off with a cotton cloth. Just allow yourself to see things deeper by remembering to forget what is acquired knowledge. I relate this to the following from the second paragraph of the Íqán.
"The essence of these words is this: they that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly—their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth."
It also reminds me of a story about Mullá Husayn. He was passing a school he had previously attended and scorned it for giving him knowledge that stood in between him and divine truth.
To me that just means we need to take all the worldly knowledge in with a grain of salt (I never understood what that phrase meant) see if it agrees with divine teachings.
I guess it comes down to the question: what is divine teaching and what is worldly knowledge?
The "acquired knowledge" I referred to in the last paragraph is the Baha'i teachings. It sounds a lot like I'm doubting their truth, but really I'm not. Sometimes, though, I think maybe I should. Or that my beliefs should be at least as challengeable as any Christian's.
Thin is the line between certitude and arrogance.
have you entered into the Phenomenology of Perception text yet?
There will certainly not be any answers there... or..
lol
or.
-g
It's true that love can blind you from the truth, as can those things which you already think you know (i.e. people "knowing" that Baha'u'llah must be a cult leader). I would venture to say that loving Emily and the other Baha'is is fine, but would be obscuring dust if you had no stronger reasons to be a Baha'i. Kind of like if your love for your Catholic friends had kept you from becoming a Baha'i in the first place. Do you know what I mean? It's only obscuring dust if it keeps you from looking at things objectively.
Thanks Mona.
I certainly do have stronger reasons.
(Ayyám-i-Há presents!)
danny, have you been spreading rumors about me?
See, this is why all this spiritual stuff depresses me, nothing I learn, nothing I do is of worth, but only an obscure "truth", that might not even exist, is important. Good luck finding truth, as you can never truly know if it is such.
Napoleon
http://www.bahaiyouth.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1362&PN=1
or
bahaiyouth.com > forum > everyday life > thoughts on an important matter
...That touches on this.
Thanks, Leif. Nice thread. Funny, there was also a similar LJBahai thread today:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/ljbahai/360915.html
But I'm not a Bahai.
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