Thoughts on a Five Year Plan

That there be no Sadness

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:46:00 +0000

From the writings of the Bab

Be lovingly watchful of one another and thus improve your affairs. Should ye find amongst you one who is afflicted with grief, remove his sorrow by any means in your power, and should ye find one stricken with poverty, enrich him to the extent of your ability. If ye find in your midst one who is abased, exalt him to the extent ye can, and if ye find one who is veiled by ignorance, educate him to the degree of your capacity. Should ye find amongst yourselves one who is single, help him to marry, in accordance with the divine law, to the limits of your ability, and should ye find one who is in distress, bring him tranquility by any means in your power.... Gaze upon others with the same eyes with which ye gaze upon your own selves.... If ye find in your midst one who is hungry, send him, in truth and to the extent of your power, food in such a way that his heart will not be saddened, and if ye find one who has no clothes, provide him with clothes in the most dignified manner, to the extent possible for you. Look then not at your selves and your possessions, but rather look at God, Who hath created you and conferred upon you from His kingdom
that which is your lot.

(Gate of the Heart, Saiedi)

Beyond Hegelian Dialectics

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:15:00 +0000

The future of reality and its investigation

In order to better understand the doctrine of progressive revelation, it is instructive to compare it with the work of the main representative of historical consciousness in Western philosophy, Hegel. Hegel's philosophy represented a turning point in Western philosophy precisely because he emphasized the dynamic nature of reality as a dialectical process. In his approach to the study of religion, Hegel applied his dialectical model to the realm of religious history as well. Dialectical method sees reality as the unity of Opposites. Each side of this unity contains its Opposite within itself. The true totality is realized when the opposition of the two sides is cancelled and they are united in a higher totality.

Hegel conceived of religious history as a dialectical process comprising three stages. In the first stage, worship of the Absolute Reality takes the form of the veneration of natural phenomena. The second stage is the worship of the Absolute as God, a spirit that is conceptualized as the creator of the universe but which is entirely opposed to material nature. Hegel, however, found both these approaches to religion inadequate. He posited as the final stage in his sequence what he termed "Christianity," in which God and the world become identical, and the believer finds God to be immanent in the world. Hegel's pantheistic interpretation of Christianity was based on the doctrine of God-manhood, or incarnation - the belief that in Christ God has become flesh. Thus human beings and God, or nature and Creator, are perceived as one and the same reality. For Hegel the apparent merging of opposites in this stage represents the consummation of the dialectical unfolding of religious truth, and is explicated as the attainment of divine self-consciousness.

Although the Báb does not address the works of Hegel, His writings address virtually the same questions Hegel grappled with. Hegel's philosophy of religious development advocates a thesis of historical consciousness and change, and it attempts to transcend the opposition between the spiritual and the natural realms. Both of these issues are addressed by the Báb. However, unlike Hegel, who terminates historical dynamics in the final resolution of the dialectic, the Báb sees no end for the dynamics of religious truth. Even the truth represented by the Revelation of the Báb, in the inception of the age of the sanctuary of the heart, is still partial and relative to the receptivity of human beings in the current Stage of spiritual development. The writings of the Báb thus introduce a truly historical consciousness, one which avoids the static thesis of the end of history.

Hegelian theory achieves its positive orientation to nature by dissolving God into the level of phenomenal beings. But for the Báb such a pantheistic conception is not an advanced consciousness, and the Hegelian dialectic is typical of the tendency of human beings to take the categories that pertain to their own reality and then elevate them to descriptions of the Essence of God. This attitude is comparable to that of an ant who defines God as a reality whose antennae stretch to infinity. According to the Báb, any claim to rationally understand the Absolute Mystery is a sign of imprisonment within one's self. Although the perspective of the heart transcends the limited categories of intellect, this perspective is never suggested as a means of understanding the Essence of God but, rather, the revelation of God at the level of the phenomenal world.

The main problem with the Hegelian construct is that Hegel, like some of the Sufi writers, confounds the Essence of God with the realm of divine Action. The conception of God that Hegel speaks of - a God that was first conceived as the creator of the world and then discovered to be the same as the world - refers, in the Báb's terms, to the twin stations of the Point or the Primal Will, where the unity of opposites is realized. This realm, however, is neither the unity of the world with the Essence of God, nor a static final point of civilization. Instead, it represents the dynamic principle of progressive revelation. Nor is this station confined to Christ; it is the reality of all the Manifestations of God. Christ was the Manifestation of the Primal Will in the world at a particular Stage of humanity's spiritual development.

Therefore, Hegelian philosophy, at best, can be viewed as a somewhat crude affirmation of the principle of manifestation, and the thesis of the identity of God and human in Christ as an inadequate expression of this general doctrine. The Manifestations of God do represent the revelation of God in the phenomenal world. But unlike Hegelian theory, which takes this fact as evidence for the end of history and of religious progression, the Báb defines this principle as progressive revelation, and as the resolution of the existential paradox of human reality. The Báb affirms the principle of manifestation in order to announce not the end of spiritual dialectics but the perpetual renewal of divine revelation. The metaphysical truth that the doctrine of the trinity attempts to explain, thus, has nothing to do with the Essence of God. Rather, it is an affirmation of the triad of Will, Determination, and Destiny, or the Manifestation of God in the world.

(from Gate of the Heart, Saiedi)

Be lovingly watchful

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Be lovingly watchful of one another
and thus improve your affairs.
Should ye find amongst you one
who is afflicted with grief,
remove his sorrow by any means in your power,
and should ye find one stricken with poverty,
enrich him to the extent of your ability.

If ye find in your midst one who is abased,
exalt him to the extent ye can,
and if ye find one who is veiled by ignorance,
educate him to the degree of your capacity.

Should ye find amongst yourselves one who is single,
help him to marry, in accordance with the divine law,
to the limits of your ability, and should ye find one
who is in distress, bring him tranquility
by any means in your power....

Gaze upon others with the same eyes
with which ye gaze upon your own selves....
If ye find in your midst one who is hungry,
send him, in truth and to the extent of your power,
food in such a way that his heart will not be saddened,
and if ye find one who has no clothes,
provide him with clothes in the most dignified manner,
to the extent possible for you.

Look then not at your selves and your possessions,
but rather look at God, Who hath created you
and conferred upon you
from His kingdom that which is your lot.

(The Bab)

Seek Ye Eagerly!

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Seek ye eagerly God's Most Mighty Reward,
through the Báb, for the Báb of Truth,
the Exalted Mystery of God,
this 'Alí, Who is evident in the Mother Book....

O people of Glory!
Hearken ye unto the call of God,
raised within the Inscribed Mystery,
out of these Crimson Leaves,
that hath descended from the Throne
upon this Snow-White Leaf,
to bow down upon the Yellow Dust.

* * * * * *

O people of the Supreme Cloud of Subtlety!
Hearken unto My call from this Radiant Moon,
Whose Countenance shall never eclipse the Face
of this Youth of the East and the West,
the One ye find mentioned in all the Holy Scriptures
as the Mystery that is hidden upon the Written Line....

He verily is the Truth in the accent of Muhammad,
and He is the Mystery Who shineth forth
out of the body of 'Alí, the hidden Dove
- like Light within the heart of Fátimih....
This is verily the Mystery of Mysteries,
Who hath been inscribed in the vicinity of the Water....
- The Báb
(from Gate of the Heart)

Before Abraham was, I am. (Jn 8:54-55)

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:29:00 +0000

If Jesus is a prophet then he has a right to pass on the words of God.
What if that is what he was doing the whole time? If so, the words
about Abraham make sense, because it is God speaking.

But what about the "I am". I think that this indicates that Jesus was also
I special character in history. A manifestation of God. He is more than a
prophet.

Muhammad is allowed to be the mouthpiece of God by the Muslims,
but the Christians get confused when Jesus speaks as God. He is a
special soul that has witnessed history and influenced earlier prophets.

The Bab, 1844-1850, said that he spoke to Moses through the burning
bush. It is the job of messengers to pass on messages. Why should we
be so threatened? Is it because God is asking us to do acts that we are
too lazy to do? Is the message too much for us to take?

A.G.W.

I Wonder

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Would it be possible that man could construct a system that
had the appearance of spirituality. This would be done in the
distant future. This construction of the soul and heaven would
need to be so convincing that they would be all convinced that
this new created God was uncreated.

This system would have to be passed on to a newly created
universe. None of the creators could live in the new heaven
because they would know the truth and could not hide truth
in heaven. If truth could be hidden then what you would have
was hell.

I suspect that what man could create will be unconvicing. The
levels of heaven would need to be infinite and on each level man
would need to learn truths that man on earth will never know. A
man's soul can only be raised to new heights by true heavenly
love and wisdom.

A.G.W.

SPACE TRANSCENDING

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:19:00 +0000

I thought the following quote puts much into perspective about our time on this earth.

"The same kind of transcendence of course applies as well to space as to time. The baby learns on the scale of inches before he is big enough to grasp anything in the range of feet. Yet even when he can understand that his crib is a yard long, larger units like acres or miles might be infinite for all his comprehension of them. And it is only when he is big enough to take long walks that his world attains the span of a mile. From there on, the transcendent relativity of space becomes increasingly noticeable to him and the miles (like years) shrink and go by faster as they increase in number - and in a similarly inverse proportion.

"By the time he is grown up and studying astronomy, he will get an inkling of what a light-year is. Then come parsecs and even megaparsecs, which relegate miles (relatively) into the microcosm. And all of this verifies Einstein's statement that neither space nor time are fundamental. Which means they are basically only illusions of this finite phase of earthly existence, out of which the law of transcendence is progressively and inexorably taking us. Moses seems to have agreed when he said in the Ninetieth Psalm that "a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night." Later David added that, "as for man, his days are as grass." And, likening him to a flower of the field, "the wind passeth over it, and it is gone: and the place thereof shall know it no more."

"Please don't get the idea that the sweep of transcendence through time and space need ever disrupt your sense of where or when you are. For the acceleration of dimensions is generally too gentle and natural for that. Certainly you do not have to lose the minute as you gain the hour. Nor let go the year to grasp the century. In fact I can read a chapter of the book of life now in as few clock hours as it took me to read a single sentence in my childhood, yet I'm sure I understand most sentences of that chapter much better than I understood the single sentence I once struggled with. By simple extrapolation I can even predict that when you and I are a billion earth years old and a finite century unrolls in a twinkle, whatever world we are in (assuming it includes the time dimension) we will still have ample "time" to take in every minute of every year. We may feel then what we can barely deduce now: that time is just as relative a dimension as space, with width and depth as well as length.

"And so with space, the astronomer with his telescope who thinks in megaparsecs and supergalaxies need have no difficulty in switching, if need be, to a microscope and measuring molecules in microns and angstroms. For you do not lose the inch when you encompass the mile, nor the mile when you discover the light-year. And no one of the finite units of space or time excludes or diminishes another."

(from The Seven Mysteries of Life by Murchie)

Tests and Trials

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:53:00 +0000

I thought these passages in the book I have been reading will encourage many Baha'is.

(from Counsels of Perfection by Genevieve Coy)

Tests and Trials

The word 'test' is used frequently in the Bahá'í
Writings. Some of these tests, or trials, are the
consequences of a person's own actions. He makes a
mistake and has to suffer the consequences; he is
unkind, and makes a friend unhappy; he fails to pay
his debts, and becomes known as untrustworthy. It is
only when he analyses his behaviour, and realizes his
errors, that he will make an effort to change his conduct.
If he does not see his mistakes and try to improve, he has
failed to meet the 'test' he has given himself.

Other tests and trials are sent to us by God for our
development and perfecting. Some people have difficulty
in accepting this idea; they even feel that God
is unjust when he presents us with problems. But this
is just what a good teacher does in order to educate
his pupils. He gives them problems to solve, and tests
to take, which are within their ability if they work to
the top limit of their capacity. If he makes the tests
too easy the good student will feel that his teacher is
not interested in him, or underestimates his ability!

Since God is omniscient, He adjusts each individual's
tests to his capacity. We should realize that when a
trial or problem seems impossibly difficult, it is
because we are not working at it with all our might,
and with full dependence on God's help.

He will never deal unjustly with any one, neither
will He task a soul beyond its power.[6]

To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God,
the Exalted, for a heroic person hasteneth, with
the utmost joy and gladness, to the tests of a violent
battlefield, but the coward is afraid and trembles
and utters moaning and lamentation. Likewise, an
expert student prepareth and memorizeth his
lessons and exercises with the utmost effort, and in
the day of examination he appeareth with infinite
joy before the master.[7]

Remember not your own limitations; the help of
God will come to you. Forget yourself. God's help
will surely come![8]

Tests and trials are opportunities to learn, to become
more mature. Each of us should ask ourselves:
Am I willing to make the effort to learn, or do I
try to avoid the problem? I may try to escape the
problem by refusing to recognize it, by blaming others,
or by making a half-hearted, unintelligent approach
to it. If I succeed in avoiding the test it is likely to
recur again and again, until I face it and solve it.
The psychologist Alfred Adler wrote that the person
who tries to avoid all problems is acting as though he
wishes to 'live like a worm in an apple'!

How can we be happy in the face of problems
which are due to our own weaknesses and errors? If
you have lost your way in the woods, by taking the
wrong turn when the path forked, you return to the
fork, and are joyful to move forward on the path
which will take you to your destination. Similarly, we
can be happy in learning what we should not do in
the future.

We should not waste our energy by dwelling on our
failures. We should form the habit of looking for the
cause of the error. Then, if we can do something to
correct the mistake, let us do it at once. If we cannot
repair the harm we have done, let us plan how we can
do better to meet a similar situation next time it
arises. We should then move ahead into constructive
activity, rather than feel we are being 'noble' when
we use time and energy in regret and remorse.

Worry is another emotion with which some people
meet tests and problems. The dictionary defines 'to
worry' as 'to torment oneself with, or suffer from,
disturbing thoughts; to dwell uncomfortably on
actual or possible troubles'. Worry, like remorse is
an unproductive use of time and energy. It is
incompatible with an intelligent effort to solve the
problem. If you worry about a difficult university
entrance examination that you must take, you are
wasting time which could be spent in study: you cannot
worry and study at the same time. If you worry about
the success of a public talk on the Bahá'í Faith which
you are to give this evening, you are showing a lack
of common sense: do you wish your mind to be a
confused, unhappy turmoil when you address the
audience? If you have prepared the talk to the best of
your ability, leave its delivery in the hands of God,
and go to a film, or read an interesting book.

When God sends us difficult problems we often
cannot see their usefulness for our own development.
I may be unhappy because the direction of my life
seems to be deflected from what I thought was a fine
and creative goal. I may feel that many of my most
unselfish efforts have been wasted. But I can foresee
only a small section of my life, on my way through
eternity. God, who 'sees the end from the beginning',
has for me a larger and more glorious goal than I
can imagine. My faith in His goodness and justice
must be so deep that I can rejoice in the methods He
uses to educate me.

Graphic

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:05:00 +0000

As the sun sprays rays upon the shores
Of minds of receptive souls, scaring shadows aside
Man must open his horizons, human pores
To the eternal verities, much more absorb
Than now, before, in store a majestic push.

We hide from the close fit of revelation
We could glide forward on wings
Strong minds resigned to avoiding
Graphic sex and violence, springing into greens
Of new growth and directions, summer coming.

Picked to be revelators and seers, we
Fear not! See like you can encapsule truth
But never attribute authority wrongly
Mirrors unite about new lands and seas
Opening new eyes, senses freshly awakened.

As the sun sprays rays upon the shores
We are tired of old worn ways, decline
Old patterns, bright orange and blue feathers
Flit about the shining giant trees of eternity
Glinting arrows of light flashing
From distant mountain tops.

A.G.W.

Guidance

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:48:00 +0000

All the difficulties of our time have continued to multiply because men and women do not pray in their hearts and take time to read the Word's of God from the Gospels, the Qur'an and the Baha'i writings. There is no other way to know our purpose, to know our souls, to know our deep connection to the unknowable. Meditation and reflection, hear the voice in the Words of God calling. "For the break of the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of the night of error."

Qur'an 3:164
"Indeed, God bestowed a favour upon the believers
when he raised up in their midst an apostle
from among themselves,
to convey His messages unto them,
and to cause them to grow in purity,
and to impart unto them the divine writ
as well as wisdom -
whereas before that they were indeed,
most obviously, lost in error."

Short Obligatory Prayer (Baha'i)

"I bear witness, O my God,
that Thou hast created me
to know Thee and to worship Thee.
I testify, at this moment,
to my powerlessness and to Thy might,
to my poverty and to Thy wealth.
There is none other God but Thee,
the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting."

What "oppression" is more grievous than
that a soul seeking the truth,
and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God,
should know not where to go for it
and from whom to seek it?
For opinions have sorely differed,
and the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied.
This "oppression" is the essential feature
of every Revelation.
Unless it cometh to pass,
the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest.
For the break of the morn of divine guidance
must needs follow the darkness of the night of error.
For this reason, in all chronicles and traditions
reference hath been made unto these things,
namely that iniquity shall cover the surface
of the earth and darkness shall envelop mankind.
(Baha'i writings)

A.G.W

A Thick Layer of Dust

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:23:00 +0000

I watched part of a program on PBS last night about a Jewish synagogue (A synagogue, "assembly", "house of assembly", "house of prayer" is a Jewish house of prayer.) The overall impression was that the prayer house was surrounded by thousands of ghosts and mythical creatures and that this was very much a part of the European Jewish faith. I am sure that many people can think back and recall superstitions in their own family, church, mosque, house of worship.

It seems to me that the main subject of interest in my own family, at family gatherings, had to do with mysterious happenings and spooky local stories. Nothing was said about the actual words, instructions of Jesus, nor of methods of spiritual development. The evil eye seemed to always come up.

These religions of old are not what they used to be. How can anyone actually discover God or what the Messenger means. The stage is too crowded.

We all know that they will never be able to shake the decorations and believers are obsessed with the decor.

Time to build anew.

'A multitude of mysterious and supernatural beings had descended into Christianity from pagan antiquity, and were still coming into it from Germany, Scandinavia and Ireland, as trolls, elves, giants, fairies, goblins, gnomes, ogres, banshees, mysterious dragons, bloodsucking vampires; and new superstitions were always entering Europe from the East. Dead men walked the air as hosts; men who had sold themselves to the Devil roamed woods and fields as werewolves; the soul of children dead before baptism haunted the marshes as will-o'-the-wisps.' (from pg 86 The Wine of Astonishment by William Sears)

When people talk of their religions, what are they really thinking about? Is there a place we can all sync with?

This passage from the Qur'an seems to speak of the problem.

2:165 And yet there are people who choose to believe in beings that allegedly rival God, loving them as [only] God should be loved: whereas those who have attained to faith love God more than all else. If they who are bent on evildoing could but see - as see they will when they are made to suffer [on Resurrection Day] - that all might belongs to God alone, and that God is severe in [meting out] punishment!
2:166 [On that Day] it will come to pass that those who had been [falsely] adored shall disown their followers, and the latter shall see the suffering [that awaits them], with all their hopes cut to pieces! (2:167) And then those followers shall say: "Would that we had a second chance [in life], so that we could disown them as they have disowned us!" Thus will God show them their works [in a manner that will cause them] bitter regrets; but they will not come out of the fire.

A.G.W.

What is Religion?

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:06:00 +0000

There are many definitions. If we look at religion as practiced by more than 60% of the world's population, we can say that religion is the belief in God and the following of a Messenger of God. The messenger has (in the eyes and hearts of its believers) revealed the Word of God and made God's wishes clear to them.

Religion in our time involves a book or books which includes the Words of God and the history of its Messenger and early followers. For example the five books of Moses, the four Gospels, the 114 chapters of the Qur'an, The Book of Certitude by Baha'u'llah. If there is no book, there will be no substantial following.

The Messenger is like a mirror wiped clean of all dust. The Sun (God) is shining in some unseen space and only the Messenger can reflect perfectly the Sun's heat and light to the people. The rays of light are like the Holy Spirit. They stream into the mirror and out again to us unhindered. You could call this a trinity. The Messenger and the rays can in no way influence the Sun. Nor can we in any way disturb the Messenger from reflecting the rays.

God is One and Independent. The Messenger will reveal what we need to know for our time. We have no need to complain that God has left us without guidance.

Religion is One. It is the continuing instructions to mankind for his enlightenment from a personal God.

A.G.W.

Ten Lists of Top Ten Lists on God and Religion

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:56:00 +0000

1. Top Ten Organized Religions of the World

2. Top Ten Tenets of the Religions of God

3. Ten Top Reasons for Not Giving Up on God

4. Top Ten Things God Wants Us to Know

5. Top Ten Attitudes to Take into the Next World

6. Top Ten Reasons for Avoiding Materialism

7. Top Ten Reasons to Believe in God

8. Top Ten Reasons to Pray

9. Top Ten Methods of Prayer

10. Top Ten Books About God

A.G.W.

Top Ten Organized Religions of the World

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:44:00 +0000

Statistics of the world's religions are only very rough approximations. Aside from Christianity, few religions, if any, attempt to keep statistical records; and even Protestants and Catholics employ different methods of counting members.

Religion	Members	Percentage
Christianity	2.1 billion	33.0%
Islam	1.5 billion	21
Hinduism	900 million	14
Buddhism	376 million	6
Sikhism	23 million	0.36
Judaism	14 million	0.22
Bahaism	7 million	0.1
Confucianism	6.3 million	0.1
Jainism	4.2 million	0.1
Shintoism	4 million	0.0

NOTES: As of 2005. This list includes only organized religions and excludes more loosely defined groups such as Chinese or African traditional religions.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.adherents.com.

This list was found at http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904108.html

Top Ten Tenets of the Religions of God

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:03:00 +0000

1. God is one and not divisible.

2. Mankind is God's creation and is instructed to worship Him.

3. God sends Messengers to reveal God's words and laws. At different times and places.

4. God will not leave mankind without guidance.

5. Man must take care of his fellow folk and give in charity.

6. Man must live his life honestly and with humility. Fasting is a special time to contemplate.

7. People need to be spiritually awake so they will recognize the next Messenger. That is called the Judgment Day

8. We all have souls and will live on in the afterlife. But our deeds in this world will dictate what kind of afterlife we will live in.

9. We have the ability to reflect all the attributes of God.

10. God calls us out of the earthly life. We need to take time and contemplate the spiritual nature of the words of the Messengers.

There is not god but God and Abraham is his Messenger.
There is not god but God and Moses is his Messenger.
There is not god but God and Jesus is his Messenger.
There is not god but God and Muhammad is his Messenger.
There is not god but God and The Bab is his Messenger.
There is not god but God and Baha'u'llah is his Messenger.

There is no beginning and no end.

A.G.W.

Ten Top Reasons for Not Giving Up on God

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:26:00 +0000

1. Calm down and reason! Did not God's messengers suffer also without abandoning us?

2. Has not God revealed to us His wonders in this age? We have now all the tools to unify mankind and He told us how to do it. Yet we complain.

3. War is man's folly. Do you really want God to remove our free will to save us?

4. Where do you go when you dream, and who is it that is dreaming?

5. Have you really sat down and asked God to show Himself? You have to spend time listening for that answer.

6. Read the Psalms, the Gospels, the Qur'an and the Baha'i writings with an open mind. These are the words of God.

7. There are many events about to happen and they will only make sense when we see them from God's perspective.

8. There are few people enjoying this earthly life. This life is a learning opportunity to seek out answers, not a time to party.

9. This life is an opportunity to be of service to God and mankind, not a time for frivolous enjoyment.

10. Our souls have been prepared by God, to understand the spiritual in life. But most do not take it seriously.

A.G.W.

Top Ten Things God Wants Us to Know

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:09:00 +0000

This is a blog and anything I say is my own personal opinion. Nothing here is to be confused with the official writings of any religion or any belief but my own personal feelings.

I feel that religion is so compartmentalized, that what one group says has no positive meaning to another group. I have tried to avoid religious terms and keep the language simple and from the heart.

1. God is Unknowable but He will show us a glimmer of His true Self if we pay attention.

2. We have been made in His image. Meaning we are capable of reflecting all his attributes.

3. We have the honor of worshiping Him and loving Him.

4. By following the first three statements He will lead us into all truth.

5. Some knowledge of God can be gained through nature but most truths are gained through the Words of the Messengers. It would be even better if we met him personally!

6. We are beings that need to be continually educated. We should live life accordingly.

7. Our physical conception is when our bodies and souls join and begin, but there is no ending.

8. New Messengers will be sent in future but will we pay attention?

9. Ignoring what the Messengers say has dire consequences to the individual and society.

10. "The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System - the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed."- Baha'u'llah (1817-1892)

A.G.W.

Top Ten Attitudes to Take into the Next World

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:58:00 +0000

1. Number 1, 2 and 3 should be Humility. I am nothing in the face of the Infinite. Nothing I have done deserves even a glance from God's eye.

2. Remember the ones left behind and pray for them. You now know the truth.

3. Appreciate that you have been released from the burdens of this lower world.

4. Offer your services wherever you find yourself.

5. Learn with complete concentration, everything that your instructors are teaching you.

6. Don't be sad because it is your time. God will more than compensate!

7. Take joy in the meeting again with your lost loved ones and family.

8. Do not enter God's higher kingdoms with preconceived ideas. It will block your understanding.

9. God has set up heaven as a model for what we should be doing here. So get started building the kingdom here. Entrance to heaven will go much smoother.

10. Read what the Messengers say and it will teach you that what is needed entering heaven is the same attitude as what is needed staying here.

A.G.W.

Top Ten Reasons for Avoiding Materialism

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Materialism: preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.

1. Because you stop listening to quieter voices

2. Our society is based on spiritual values and needs your contribution

3. Thousands of years of civilization, sacrifice and love will be thrown away

4. Five senses are only the beginning of perception

5. Physical comforts will only let you down, then what?

6. You only get one chance to get it right so why deny the spiritual realm?

7. Maybe God has a job for you but He needs your cooperation

8. You can still enjoy material comforts but add investigation of your inner self

9. Why chose a lifetime when you can have eternity?

10. True happiness cannot be here below. Reach out for your true self.

Top Ten Reasons to Believe in God

Who are the Messengers? Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah are some. Only those who have provided books in our time, can be investigated properly.

1. Read the Words of the Messengers because they speak the Words of God.

2. You will find answers in your own self, if you take quiet moments to meditate and pray.

3. Prayer is a ladder to God. Use that tool, then listen with your heart for an answer.

4. Meditation done diligently, will clear the mind so your soul can rise above this contingent world

5. Apply science to religion and you can strip away those man-made decorations that hide the truth

6. This world has hidden God from you for a hundred years so you will buy more stuff. Break free!

7. The established religions hide God from you and substitute idols of there own making, love your true self!

8. Nobody can understand who God is, better than you. What are you waiting for?

9. You do not know when your time is up, so go out believing, with deeds under your belt.

10. God has a job for you building the kingdom. Are you going to refuse?

A.G.W.

Top Ten Reasons to Pray

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:36:00 +0000

1. We want to ask for knowledge

2. Then we want to ask for wisdom

3. Then we want to pray for humility

4. We want to beg for detachment from this physical world

5. Then attachment to those things that are important to God

6. Now we want to ask for opportunities to serve Him

7. Then we want to know how to serve mankind

8. Then we want protection from persons that will lead us into falsehood

9. Then we ask for the means of living

10. Finally pray for the unity of mankind

Each of these is work we must do.
Not the list you were expecting?
Make your own.

Top Ten Methods of Prayer

1. Find a quiet spot and address God with a uncluttered heart

2. Pray for those things that God want for you

3. Pray for the kingdom of God on earth

4. then ask Him to help you see it if it is now here.

5. You are a soul and not that body you use. Pray accordingly!

6. Try to understand the words in the Psalms.

7. Try to understand the words of Christ in the Gospels.

8. Read chapter 13 in the Qur'an and understand. Thunder!

9. Do not accept what others have told you. You can figure it out for youself.

10. Listen! Because God is going to answer!

A.G.W.

Top Ten Books About God

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:04:00 +0000

We are talking about the One and only, unknowable God.

1. Book of Genesis
This book establishes the first widely known text from a Messenger of God. The original revelation came from Moses, the Messenger.

2. Book of Psalms
Also known as the Psalms of David. He is revealing man's relationship to God and describing the coming of future messengers.

3. Book of Isaiah
Prophetic verse about God's purpose and future messengers. David and Isaiah can be called minor prophets under the inspiration of Moses.

4. Gospel of John
This is the Word of God from Jesus Christ, a Messenger of God. All the Gospels are great because they allow us to read the words of Christ and feel the love of God.

5. The Qur'an
This is the Word of God as revealed by the Messenger of God, Muhammad. This is the first book that makes it clear that God is One and Unknowable. He praises Jesus and Moses and calls them true Muslims.

6. Book of Revelation of John
This is a small powerful book inspired by Jesus Christ. A prophesy about the time of the end.

7. The Book of Certitude
This book from the Messenger of God, Baha'u'llah, about the purpose of God, the process of revelation, and what is man's purpose. He explains that God reveals Himself through His Messengers in small doses.

8. Some Answered Questions
Book of questions and answered about God and religion from the son of Baha'u'llah.

9. Bhagavad Gita
Book out of Hinduism: The world's third largest religion. It makes clear that God sends Messengers at different times to raise mankind out of darkness.

10. Tablets of Baha'u'llah
A collection of writings of Baha'u'llah written after His Book of Laws.

The common theme that goes through these books is that man's purpose is to know God and to worship Him. That there is no one even close to equaling Him. That man fulfills his purpose by knowing and loving God.

In this Day, we get to serve mankind and move society forward through service. God's purpose for today is to unite mankind and bring about the tranquility of its peoples.

A.G.W.

Seven on Trial

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:18:00 +0000

Seven dedicated persons who were asked to coordinate Baha'i activities in Iran are now to go on trial for their lives. Being a Baha'i in Iran can mean death. This is a poem I wrote today for all the spiritual beings who reflect the true nature of Islam, Muhammad's words.

Dawnbreakers

Should I name them those teachers
Of the Dawn of the Gate
Rays of the Sun of God
It would be long verses to say

I will speak of their deeds
They choose not to attack but
To defend against attack, invincible
In desert shrine or village hostel

The Bab was the Gate mentioned in the Qur'an
A gate in a wall waiting for those who knock
Waiting for those called from the streets
To find their way in that dark night.

When they passed through, a new name was given
To each, these mirrors became Dawnbreakers
Callers to the new morning brightness
By their actions, by their sacrifice, worthy

The Bab called them to a greater teacher still
The Glory of God, Lord of Hosts, Comforter
The Imam Bab was the morning glow
Baha'u'llah was the Sun of that Dawn

Death was the price of a steely follower
Persia the eater of its children
Most persons burn their candles in a house
They made holes in the backs of saints

They watched with relish as the believers in God
Walked proudly along the avenue
Flames flickering in oily holes
A smile on the sufferers' faces

Dawnbreakers are still being born
In Persia they still eat the flesh
Of these spirits for breakfast and
Go to bed with true hate in the hearts

What happens to a nation
When it turns away from the Dawn
Countries ruled by a 'so called' Islam
A body which can not accept the best amoung them

A foot that fights the hand
A mouth that chews the lip
A heart that hates the lungs
A head that bashes its brain

A.G.W.

God, are you there?

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:16:00 +0000

I seems to me not a question of if God is here.
It seems more like God speaks to us in our time
but He is not telling us what we want to hear.

If God tells us we must live like brothers and
sisters, then we say that this is unrealistic.
If He says that the rich must help the poor from
their own good hearts. Then there is no point in
being a part of this God faith.

If He asks us to form an international government then
the powers in control accuse God of promoting communism.

If God points out that greed leads to defeat then they laugh
and ask people to look around at who are the rich among us.
Well I am looking around and suddenly God is making a comeback.

A.G.W.

Persian Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:43:00 +0000

(from Wine of Astonishment by Bill Sears)

Ezekiel prophesied of this new day in which the Word of God would be spoken to a people who would be "impudent and hardhearted". He made it plain that men in that day would have to have inner vision in order
to understand the Word of God. Ezekiel records:

I will open thy mouth, and thou shall say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; ...

Then he adds:

He that heareth, let him hear ...

In this same chapter, Ezekiel speaks of the wonder of this vision, and of beholding the glory of the Lord. He says:

... and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

The river Chebar, known of old as the river Khabar, has its source west of Baghdad and empties into the Euphrates in ancient Babylon. It was in this very region, near the Chebar, that Bahá'u'lláh, Whose name means the Glory of the Lord, announced His Mission. In this same region Bahá'u'lláh revealed His Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude) which has been quoted so frequently in this volume. It has been written of this Book of Bahá'u'lláh's

... it proffered to mankind the "Choice Sealed Wine", whose seal is of "musk", and broke the "seals" of the "Book" referred to by Daniel, and disclosed the meaning of the "words" destined to remain "closed up" till the "time of the end".

It was in this book, the Book of Certitude, that Bahá'u'lláh clearly and beautifully explained the meaning of all those things which have puzzled and divided men in the past. In this book, Bahá'u'lláh unsealed the secrets of both the Old and the New Testament, and laid bare the "gems of Truth" which were concealed there.

Clarity

noreply@blogger.com (arthurlife) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:26:00 +0000

There is one aspect of the Baha'i writings that cannot be mistaken. They are unrivaled in their clarity. Christ said that when He returned He would speak plainly. No parables needed, because this world has reach the age of literacy. Most now can read the Word and think for themselves.

And if you spend some time reading Baha'u'llah's writings then older scriptures begin to reveal their secrets. The veils fall away from fearful eyes because the wind of revelation has wiped the tears and now He asks us to stand and speak out.

A.G.W.