The Manifestations of God

[arthra]

One of the unique features of the Baha'i Faith is the concept of the Manifestation of God... so in the next few posts or so we're going to share some of the excerpts from the Baha'i Writings and supplemental material that explains this concept...

So to begin this presentation there is an excerpt from the Writings of Baha'u'llah:

It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of Being, those Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable splendor! Wherefore, should one of these Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: "I am the return of all the Prophets," He, verily, speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact, the truth of which is firmly established....

The other station is the station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of creation, and to the limitations thereof. In this respect, each Manifestation of God hath a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a predestined revelation, and specially designated limitations. Each one of them is known by a different name, is characterized by a special attribute, fulfils a definite mission, and is entrusted with a particular Revelation. Even as He saith: "Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the others. To some God hath spoken, some He hath raised and exalted. And to Jesus, Son of Mary, We gave manifest signs, and We strengthened Him with the Holy Spirit." 53

~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 51

Note above the two distinctions. We augment this topic in our next post.

 

[arthra]

xt quote is also from the same source and may at first reading appear rather startling to some but consider the paragraph together with the one above.. Also I source the text so you can see the context:

Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: “I am God,” He, verily, speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His names and His attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed: “Those shafts were God’s, not Thine.” And also He saith: “In truth, they who plighted fealty unto Thee, really plighted that fealty unto God.” And were any of them to voice the utterance, “I am the Messenger of God,” He, also, speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth. Even as He saith: “Muḥammad is not the father of any man among you, but He is the Messenger of God.” Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim, “I am the Seal of the Prophets,” they, verily, utter but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the “Beginning” and the “End,” the “First” and the “Last,” the “Seen” and the “Hidden”—all of which pertain to Him Who is the Innermost Spirit of Spirits and Eternal Essence of Essences. And were they to say, “We are the Servants of God,” this also is a manifest and indisputable fact. For they have been made manifest in the uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly attain.

http://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/gleanings-writings-bahaullah/#f=f2-127

After these two citations above I would like to share a few excerpts from an essay by Mario Savi and summarize some of the characteristics of the Manifestation of God as a concept.

 

[arthra]

As I mentioned earlier I was going to share a summary of a chapter from Julio (not Mario..my mistake) Savi's book "The Eternal Quest for God"...

6. THE PERFECT MAN: THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD
The Manifestations of God in the history of mankind
Their threefold reality
Material
Human
Divine
The Essence of God and the Manifestations of God
Their names
Relations between the Manifestations of God
The station of unity
The station of distinction
Their purposes
Their proofs
Denial

I've found that the above essay is an excellent summary of the concept of the Manifestation of God. You'll note that the essay is well documented with citations from Baha'i Writings, etc.

 

[Sundance]

Alláhu abhá, dearest @arthra ! Time and time again, I have been very deeply moved and enamored by everything you post, and today is undoubtedly no different! So beautifully thought-provoking and enriching.... I truly thank you!

* deep sigh *

Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá.


Oh yeah, speaking of the subject at hand, for a very long time, I had encountered some difficulty in understanding the concept of the Manifestation of God due to the passage from the Gleanings:

“Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: “I am God,” He, verily, speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation ofGod, His names and His attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed: “Those shafts were God’s, not Thine.” And also He saith: “In truth, they who plighted fealty unto Thee, really plighted that fealty unto God.” And were any of them to voice the utterance, “I amthe Messenger of God,” He, also, speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth. Even as He saith: “Muḥammad is not the father of any man among you, but He is the Messenger of God.” Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim, “I am the Seal of the Prophets,” they, verily, utter but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the “Beginning” and the “End,” the “First” and the “Last,” the “Seen” and the “Hidden”—all of which pertain to Him Who is the Innermost Spirit of Spirits and Eternal Essence of Essences. And were they to say, “We are the Servants of God,” this also is a manifest and indisputable fact. For they have been made manifest in the uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly attain.”

Although now, as I've finished reading the above summary from Savi’s book, as well as gone over the above verse over and over and over, I'm finally beginning to understand this very important concept in our Faith! Once again, thank you immensely, man! May God give you His Peace and Blessings!

 

[arthra]

To quote from Julio Savi's chapter above on the topic of the Essence of God and the Manifestations:

The Essence of God is sanctified above anything else. It is Its active attributes that shine in the world of the Kingdom and appear in the human world through the Manifestations of God. Therefore, the Manifestations are not incarnations of God,[22] nor do they manifest His Essence, from which they are far remote.[23]

They are an emanation of God -- His First Emanation. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains that they `... are as mirrors which have acquired illumination from the Sun of Truth, but the Sun does not descend from its high zenith and does not effect entrance within the mirror. In truth, this mirror has attained complete polish and purity until the utmost capacity of reflection has been developed in it; therefore, the Sun of Reality with its fullest effulgence and splendour is revealed therein.'[24]

I left the footnotes in the text so you can follow the references. Footnote 23 has the following text:

[23] In this regard Bahá'u'lláh writes: `Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are thunderstruck upon the Sinai of their search at God's forbidding voice, "Thou shall never behold Me!"; whilst a myriad of Messengers, each as great as Jesus, stand dismayed upon their heavenly thrones by the interdiction: "Mine Essence thou shall never apprehend!".' And moreoever: `When I contemplate, O My God, the relationship that bindeth Me to Thee, I am moved to proclaim to all created things "verily, I am God"; and when I consider my own self, lo, I find it coarser than clay.' (Bahá'u'lláh, in Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.113.)

The analogy of the sun and mirror is a very common one in Baha'i Writings and conveys much of the meaning. The analogy also is similar to a reflector telescope.

 

[arthra]

I'll provide a few examples of the sun and mirror analogy here:

If we claim that the sun is seen in the mirror, we do not mean that the sun itself has descended from the holy heights of his heaven and entered into the mirror! This is impossible. The Divine Nature is seen in the Manifestations and its Light and Splendor are visible in extreme glory.

Therefore, men have always been taught and led by the Prophets of God. The Prophets of God are the Mediators of God. All the Prophets and Messengers have come from One Holy Spirit and bear the Message of God, fitted to the age in which they appear. The One Light is in them and they are One with each other. But the Eternal does not become phenomenal; neither can the phenomenal become Eternal.

Saint Paul, the great Apostle, said: "We all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of God, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 23)

Note the reference to Saint Paul.

If a pure, fine mirror faces the sun, the light and heat, the form and the image of the sun will be resplendent in it with such manifestation that if a beholder says of the sun, which is brilliant and visible in the mirror, "This is the sun," it is true. Nevertheless, the mirror is the mirror, and the sun is the sun. The One Sun, even if it appears in numerous mirrors, is one. This state is neither abiding nor entering, neither commingling nor descending; for entering, abiding, descending, issuing forth and commingling are the necessities and characteristics of bodies, not of spirits; then how much less do they belong to the sanctified and pure Reality of God. God is exempt from all that is not in accordance with His purity and His exalted and sublime sanctity.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 207)