Part 2 in a case for Vitriol in the Bahai Writings agreeing with Mark Passio
Irony of these statements:
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/c/BWF/bwf-90.html.utf8?query=truthfulness&action=highlight#gr5
Courtesy and Reverence
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O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy
is indeed … the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is
adorned with the mantle of Uprightness and illumined
with the light of Courtesy. He who is endowed with Courtesy
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(or Reverence) is endowed with a great station. It
is hoped that this Wronged One, and all, will attain to it,
hold unto it and observe it. This is the Irrefutable Command
which hath flowed from the pen of the Greatest
Name.—Tablet of the World.
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Beware! Beware! Lest ye offend any heart!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye hurt any soul! Beware! Beware! Lest ye deal unkindly toward any person! Beware! Beware! Lest ye be the cause of hopelessness to any creature! Should one become the cause of grief to any one heart, or of despondency to any one soul, it were better to hide oneself in the lowest depths of the earth than to walk upon the earth. |
He teaches that as the flower is hidden in the bud, so a spirit
from God dwells in the heart of every man, no matter how hard
and unlovely his exterior. The true Bahá’í will treat every man,
therefore, as the gardener tends a rare and beautiful plant. He
knows that no impatient interference on his part can open the
bud into a blossom; only God’s sunshine can do that, therefore
his aim is to bring that life-giving sunshine into all
darkened hearts and homes.
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Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is one requiring
man, under all conditions and circumstances, to be forgiving,
to love his enemy and to consider an ill-wisher as a
well-wisher. Not that one should consider another as an
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enemy and then put up with him … and be forbearing
toward him. This is hypocrisy and not real love. Nay,
rather, you must see your enemies as friends, your ill-wishers
as well-wishers and treat them accordingly. Your
love and kindness must be real … not merely forbearance,
for forbearance, if not of the heart, is hypocrisy.
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Such counsel appears unintelligible and self-contradictory
until we realize that while the outer carnal man may be a
hater and ill-wisher, there is in everyone an inner, spiritual
nature which is the real man, from whom only love and goodwill
can proceed. It is to this real, inner man in each of our
neighbors that we must direct our thought and love. When he
awakens into activity, the outer man will be transformed and
renewed.--------------------------
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http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-132.html
CXXXII: The Purpose of the one true God, exalted…
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The Purpose of the one true God, exalted
be His glory, in revealing Himself unto men is to lay
bare those gems that lie hidden within the mine of
their true and inmost selves. That the divers communions
of the earth, and the manifold systems of
religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the
feelings of animosity among men, is, in this Day, of
the essence of the Faith of God and His Religion.
These principles and laws, these firmly-established
and mighty systems, have proceeded from one Source,
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and are the rays of one Light. That they differ one
from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements
of the ages in which they were promulgated.
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Gird up the loins of your endeavor, O people of
Bahá, that haply the tumult of religious dissension
and strife that agitateth the peoples of the earth may
be stilled, that every trace of it may be completely
obliterated. For the love of God, and them that serve
Him, arise to aid this most sublime and momentous
Revelation. Religious fanaticism and hatred are a
world-devouring fire, whose violence none can
quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver
mankind from this desolating affliction….
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The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is
these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the
leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with
the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and
fellowship. He Who is the Day Star of Truth beareth
Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that
it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true God,
He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to
the truth of these words.
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Exert yourselves that ye may attain this transcendent
and most sublime station, the station that can
ensure the protection and security of all mankind.
This goal excelleth every other goal, and this aspiration
is the monarch of all aspirations. So long, however,
as the thick clouds of oppression, which obscure
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the day star of justice, remain undispelled, it
would be difficult for the glory of this station to be
unveiled to men’s eyes….
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Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit
of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a
certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others
are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost
kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it
fulfil its purpose, your object is attained. If any one
should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech
God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with
him. A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts
of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the
words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of
wisdom and understanding….
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