A friend recently pointed out the following verse from the Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah to me, and raised a few interesting questions. I figured I'd just blog my thoughts on it, rather than just share them with her.
"O FRIEND!
In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love, and from the nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy hold. Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly."
The first thing that really struck me when I read this verse is how important it is, with spiritual writings to different religions, to
1. Not always interpret statements literally
2. Keep the broader context of the overall teachings in mind
So lets keep both these in mind as we go along...
As is often the case with the Hidden Words, I think the way Baha'u'llah addresses the reader provides a clue to the context of the verse - and here, addressing the reader as "O Friend", I believe the core message this verse conveys is that of the need to cultivate a deep friendship with one and all and love everyone without any inhibitions or prejudices. As Abdu'l Baha says in one of his Paris talks, "Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path." The imagery of the language here is indicative of how strong a feeling of love this should be.
This, I think, then clarifies what is meant in the last part of this verse - of eschewing all fellowship with the ungodly. Though this might literally be interpreted to mean that we should stay away from those who don't believe in God, and not love them, the broader teachings of the Baha'i faith clearly seem to indicate otherwise. What we do need to eschew is fellowship in actions - and so refrain from being a party to those actions that are ungodly - or in other words, those detrimental to our spiritual growth. From the spiritual standpoint, the primary emotional response to anyone should always be love (ya, I know how hard that is). And the primary response to any act of wrongdoing (again, from the individual perspective, not social) should always be forgiveness, and not hatred or vengeance. That of course does not mean we condone the action and become party to it - but it does mean that we do not hold anything personally against the doer of the action. Justice, of course, might need to be meted out at the social level - but personally speaking, we should always love others.
Such a deep and pure love, of course, arises only from viewing everything around us not as independent entities, but rather in relation to God. Abdu'l Baha says, "Love the creatures for the sake of God and not for themselves. You will never become angry or impatient if you love them for the sake of God. Humanity is not perfect. There are imperfections in every human being, and you will always become unhappy if you look toward the people themselves. But if you look toward God, you will love them and be kind to them, for the world of God is the world of perfection and complete mercy." This quote, I think, makes it very clear what we should be doing, and that's all I'll say on that.
On the other hand, not keeping God and broader spiritual goals in the picture can also lead us in the other direction - towards our love becoming a self-consuming passion that clouds reason and judgment, and makes us stray off the spiritual path. The Baha'i teachings stress how all human emotions and feelings have positive and negative expressions. As I've described in previous posts, there is no concept of pure evil in the Baha'i faith - and so there is no such thing as an evil or bad emotion. Therefore every emotion, taken in the right context, can be a positive one. And so greed is good if it represents a thirst for knowledge, or for spiritual growth. However if it turns into a slavering desire for money, a material life, or envy for other people's possessions, it becomes a negative emotion. Anger is good if it is expressed against injustice and prompts us to take action against it. But a self-consuming anger against others that destroys us and cultivates hate is entirely undesirable.
Therefore again, it is important to read the above verse in this context. When it talks about not losing hold on affection and desire, we should not to use this as a justification for wholly and completely immersing oneself in the love and affection for our loved ones, to the exclusion of everything else in our lives. Likewise it is important to not be consumed by blind passion and desire for someone. Passion and desire is one part of the love that one develops in a particular kind of relationship - but it should always be recognized as just one aspect of the broader, spiritual love one has for that person, and that it is to exist within the context of that relationship. Balancing detachment with any of these feelings, therefore, is critical. And we should always make sure none of this deters us from our spiritual path.
Love in its purest form is a feeling we need to absolutely express towards every element of creation. But there are other forms of expression of love, and it is important to bear in mind the context within which they need to be expressed. Much of society today, though, seems to have lost sense of context when it comes to expressing emotion of any kind.
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6 comments:
Thank you for your comments on this Hidden Word of Baha'u'llah. I appreciate your insights. I have always focused on the beginning of this quote, "In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love..." and not thought deeply about the other - very important - message at the end. Thanks for helping me find more "pearls of wisdom" hidden in its depths.
you are welcome - thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Hi Nikhil,
Thank you so much for your observations and commentary. In the Baha'i Faith there is a lot of emphasis on overlooking the faults of others, always seeing the best in other people, and focusing on their positive qualities. This is one of the most beautiful aspects of the Baha'i Faith.
I have found sometimes that I am reluctant to notice traits in other people that might be beneficial for me to avoid. The above quote gives some balance and gives me "permission" to use my discernment to ascertain when it might be in my best interests to not allow someone into my life or a close circle of friends.
I agree very much that all the writings need to be taken in context. This is certainly not an excuse to be judgmental, to focus on other's faults, or to feel superior. Time and time again we are instructed to have a sin-covering eye, to evaulate our own character rather than negatively perceiving others, to always seek unity and fellowship. But there are also times when it is appropriate to use discernment and to see clearly and to perhaps set boundaries or end unhealthy associations. I appreciate that we are also exhorted to use our wisdom and to think carefully about who we are spending time with. This is not always an easy issue, but I think you are right about viewing all the writings in context. They are multi-faceted and have many layers of meaning. Perhaps this is why we are encouraged to use consultation to understand them!
Thank you for your viewpoints, looking forward to dialogue on this issue,
Anne
hi anne
thanks so much for your comments - i think you really hit the nail on the head when you spoke about how one needs to be discerning in one's relationships. And achieving that balance between being discerning enough to keep certain people at a distance, and yet at that distance being loving and nonjudgmental is, I think, the ideal to strive for. Easier said than done, of course...
But yes, definitely there are a lot of my relationships I can think of that just end up being at a certain distance because of the way they do or do not contribute to my spiritual life. And often its unconscious - but somewhere maybe I'd end up making more of an effort with some relationships if I felt they would contribute more positively to the spiritual growth of both parties involved.
Being nonjudgmental, though, is probably one of the toughest things, for me at least - and its something I've had to work a lot on! But I see two ways to at least attempt to reach that state.
For one, as Baha'u'llah says, "Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great." So I think the first important thing to achieve is a deep sense of humility and to not consider ourselves superior to others.
The second aspect of this, I think, is what I alluded to in the blog post - of viewing everything in relation to God. As long as we do that, it will be possible to forgive people, and be truly loving, as one sees that spirit of God in everyone. Of course, that doesn't mean one is blind to negative influences. But it does mean you make the all important distinction of judging the action and not the actor.
So of course one doesn't need to include everyone in one's closest circle of friends - which is where the discernment comes in, and the quote clearly says we should do that. But as long as we don't take things personally, and harbor negative feelings towards people, or consider ourselves superior to them, I think we can be in line with the broader teachings of the faith.
Thanks so much Nikhil for your insight. This has been a really fascinating topic. I agree on the importance of a deep sense of humility. I guess the key is to really be aware of your motives and be aware of what is happening in your own heart.
I always look forward to your posts!
Anne
likewise, anne :)
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