The Book of the Covenant

Sometimes things become, in a moment of clarity, very sharp and focused. This is an explanation from the book "I beheld a maiden..."

"Bahá'u'lláh begins the Book of his Covenant with a statement rich with significance. He writes:

Although the Realm of Glory hath none of the vanities of the world, yet within the treasury of trust and resignation We have bequeathed to Our heirs an excellent and priceless heritage. Earthly riches We have not bequeathed, nor have We added such cares as they entail... The aim of this Wronged One in sustaining woes and tribulations, in revealing the Holy Verses and in demonstrating proofs hath been naught but to quench the flame of hate and enmity, that the horizon of the hearts of men may be illumined with the light of concord and attain real peace
and tranquillity.

1) Bahá'u'lláh addresses us as his "heirs." "Trust and resignation" are contrasted with "earthly riches" and "such cares as they entail." This is one of a number of passages that suggest that the Covenant is not about this world as an end in itself. It is not about wealth and power.

But, if the goal and value of human life is not about the accumulation of wealth, what is it about? We would expect to find in the Book of the Covenant a statement concerning the purpose of human existence. Bahá'u'lláh does make such a statement explicit later in the book, but even here it is implied in the opening reference to the "Realm of Glory."

This negation of the "vanities of the world" and affirmation of the purpose of existence has implications for individual identity. While the riches of the earth are necessary to human life, they are not the goal of that life. The goal is the remembrance of God, and it is this remembrance that constitutes the "priceless heritage" given by Bahá'u'lláh to humankind.[10] Bahá'u'lláh continues by noting how this recognition and goal of human life on earth translates
into living that life.

2) As an heir of Bahá'u'lláh, one's life purpose is directed towards quenching "the flame of hatred and enmity" that the hearts of human beings may be "illumined" and "attain real peace and concord." The Covenant is fundamentally about inner illumination and the turning of hearts to God. The value and joy of this life is found in opening the heart to God and aiding others to do the same. In the process of this illumination, one gradually overcomes the alienation or "hatred and enmity" that exists among the people of the earth. In this effort each believer's individual life reflects the aim and purpose of the life of the Prophet himself. And in this effort, each becomes an heir of a ''priceless heritage."

To this end, Bahá'u'lláh exhorts us to:

3) "Hold fast to the fear of God," as one would avoid hurt to a lover, "and firmly adhere to what is right," or lead a virtuous life. This virtuous life is an outward manifestation in deeds of the love that one feels for the Beloved.

4) "utter what is meet and seemly" refraining from "slander and abuse." This and the next couple of verses are related to acts of speech; how we speak is an aspect of the Covenant. This is implicit in the text, since the purpose of the Covenant is unity, the illumination of hearts, and the remembrance of God. Speech (and the language that it reflects), as twentieth-century philosophers are fond of reminding us, influences and shapes social reality. What I speak, and the manner in which I speak it, influences that reality. Speech reflects underlying perceptions and
assumptions about the world and about what it means to be human. In speech, I can move hearts toward God and overcome hatred and enmity. Or, I can reflect perceptions focused on earthly distinctions and the exclusionist categories of thought and action that those perceptions reflect.

5) "hold fast to righteousness and truth." This is similar to the opening statement about trust and resignation. These attributes are significant since they are set in the context of the Covenant and faithfulness to it. That is, they are related to the heritage given us as the "heirs" of Bahá'u'lláh. Righteousness (a virtuous character) and holding to truth are now aspects of the Covenant. Of course, the principle of the independent investigation of truth has long been understood as basic to Bahá'í belief. I suggest that it is an inherent part of the Covenant.

6) "remain firm and steadfast in the Cause." There is a common understanding of this principle of steadfastness in the Bahá'í community, and it is usually thought of as remaining a good Bahá'í. I suggest that firmness and steadfastness in the Cause are effectively defined in the Book of the Covenant as: the remembrance of God and the oneness of humankind. Considering the horrors of the twentieth century, I believe that we can say that one has remained firm and steadfast who has not forgotten God and has advanced his Cause. The Cause is, I believe, the unification of the human race and all that such a unification would imply. This reading of the text, therefore, can accept as partners in the Covenant a vast diversity of human groups and efforts that promote
that oneness. It also suggests, I believe, that the conception of breaking or violating the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh needs to be understood as applying to all those efforts by human beings that have resisted or opposed the unity or oneness of the human race. Movements of religious hatred or exclusion, wars of ethnic cleansing - from Nazi Germany to Cambodia to Bosnia and Kosovo - are violations of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. They are violations because they promote an identity less than one grounded in the remembrance of God, and because they deny the truth that all human beings are heirs to the "priceless heritage" bequeathed to us by that one God.