The core theme revolves around the purpose of life as acquiring spiritual qualities and perfections, culminating in the birth of the "spirit of faith" through a deep connection with divine revelation, and the subsequent vital importance of nurturing this faith through consistent engagement with spiritual teachings.
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ah pence I feel we should now continue
our subject there is there any other
questions before I go on there was a
gentleman a lady first yes you were
first there you remember in the back yes
the question is this that if a child is
born blind for instance and of course in
this world he has missed an awful lot
what happens to a soul is not what
you're saying in an excellent no oh what
we don't have oh I see yeah you mean to
say that if we do not acquire certain
qualities and perfections here and we
said that we cannot get them in the next
life what will happen
well again again you see remember this
we cannot be we are not here going to be
discussing this entirely on a rational
basis and just say exactly what's going
to happen what we understand from the
writings that's all I can say is that we
must acquire these qualities and
perfections in this life this is the
place for acquiring them if we do not
acquire them we cannot get them in the
next slide then there is a question here
which we will never we must never
overlook and it is the bounties of God
and the grace of God and the forgiveness
of God
that's another thing these are all the
elements which must be taken into
consideration we know a child for
instance who has not had the quality the
opportunity to develop these qualities
and perfections in this life God will
compensate it for him in the next life
through his bounties
I don't know how God will be deal with
us if we have not acquired these
qualities and perfections we cannot be
sort of in here sitting and giving a
judgement and say this is exactly what's
going to happen one thing we know and
that is that forgiveness of God is very
great very great indeed you cannot
underestimate the forgiveness of God I
am sure myself in my thought in my mind
this is my feeling a God will forgive
everybody now I'm not saying that God
will immediately put us all on the same
level yeah we will be not all levels but
God is very forgiving and all the wrong
there are some things that he cannot
forgive I'll come we'll discuss this
later on it is not something that he
doesn't want to forgive but he cannot
it's against the laws of creation and
one of those things I mentioned is this
covenant breaking but abdu l-bahá
mentions if you do not educate your
children properly if you do not educate
them if you do not teach them the law of
God and the love of God it's something
which God cannot forgive I don't know
what it means what how he will live with
us there are few things that are
unforgivable by God
but his forgiveness is very very great
the ocean of his forgiveness is very
immense but it must not become a license
that we can say alright now that God is
forgiving let's go and have a jolly good
time here you have to remember that we
have to acquire limbs and all spiritual
qualities and perfections here
this is the purpose of life you know
speaking of God's forgiveness I'll tell
you a little story just to amuse you a
little bit it's just to amuse you
you know there was a very great
religious leader in in the East in
Persia and one day God said to him and
he had a lot of followers this man had a
lot of followers and he was very proud
of himself
it became proud a little bit and God
said to him do you want me to he said I
see you have a lot of followers he said
I see you have a lot of followers do you
want me to reveal to all your followers
some of your bad qualities which you're
hiding from them and if I reveal all
these bad qualities all these followers
believe you do you want me to do that he
said this man thought things are getting
very bad he decided to do a little bit
of blackmailing he said to God do you
want me to tell the people about the
great ocean of your forgiveness that you
forgive everybody so that if they hear
it nobody will worship you anymore and
God thought this is getting very bad [Music]
[Music]
he said we'll make a deal I won't I
won't reveal all your bad qualities and
you don't talk so much about the ocean
of my forgiveness so I think it gives us
an idea now if there is no other
questions I think I'll go now and talk
about this and I'm not I suppose some of
you who have not heard the first part of
this talk and so I don't know what you
will learn now or we listen now but
anyhow I am NOT going to say what I have
also far said but I feel that it is
essential to say this much that we said
that the soul comes from the spiritual
worlds of God
it's an emanation from the worlds of God
that it is here to acquire spiritual
qualities and perfections so that in the
next life it can use those qualities and
perfections to enable him to progress
and we said that this seems to be the
purpose of life but really this is not
the essential purpose of life there is a
far far greater purpose in life that God
has created us for something far far
greater than this he has not just
created us to come into this world and
acquire qualities and perfections alone
he has created us for something far
greater and in order to appreciate this
I'm going to take you to nature again
because I'll tell you this morning that
nature will give us an awful lot of
insight into spiritual things provided
you read the writings in nature you will
notice anything which grows which has an
organic growth has a beginning and the
beginning of it is when you put the seat
down in the soil you put a seat down in
the soil the seed will germinate then
come a time is like again conception of
a child it's the same thing the seed
will germinate and then you have a
little plant and then the plant grows
and it becomes a tree but now this tree
we can say it can only fulfill itself
fulfill the purpose for which this tree
is created is to give its fruit when it
gives its fruit when it gives its seed
we'll say now it has fulfilled itself it
see everything has to begin at the
beginning it grows it must give it fruit
must bring a child the soul is the same
thing our soul has a beginning we said
it this morning it has a time when it
the soul begins to grow in the first at
the time of conception it grows and it
acquires spiritual qualities just like
the tree that is growing but at a
certain time and not immediately now in
the same way with a tree that we cannot
immediately come and give its fruit it
has to reach an age of maturity and when
the tree reaches the age of maturity
then it will give its true its fruit the
same thing is with the soul the soul
comes into this life if it first is is
created like the seed is planted then it
grows and acquires qualities and
perfections but at one point at some
point in his life that soul must produce
a child must give birth to a child the
soul I'm talking of the soul which is a
spiritual thing must give birth to a
fruit a child but as I said it cannot
produce it immediately and in fact there
is a certain age for it that it can
begin to think in terms of producing a
child and I'll mention the age later on
now go back to nature again you will
find anything which produces a child is
a female
a female species is what produces a
child and I I hope that men would not
mind me saying this I think that females
the female is a much better more
complete form of creation than email you
know that oh you're V oh there we are
now men will be angry when I go out of
this room you must be protecting me you
know I'll be at I'll be attacked I'll be
attacked you see because a female can
reproduce can produce a fruit but again
the tree cannot produce it a fruit by
itself and we are just talking of nature
it has to be pollinated a female cannot
produce a child on her own there must be
a relationship with a male factor so
that the female can conceive a child and
then give birth to it this is nature
this is the same thing with the soul our
soul which is a spiritual entity if it
has to produce a child it cannot produce
a child on her own the soul here must
act as a female and enter into
partnership with another agency with
another force but the choice the soul
here must act as a female and enter into
partnership with another agency with
another force but the choice here is
given to us the tree has no choice its
pollinated by nature the animal has this
mating with its own type but we but the
soul here has got a choice it can you
can choose whatever agency whatever
force you want to give your soul to it
and start
this marriage it's like a marriage
really our soul which is a spiritual
thing now I tell you what most peoples
of the world do of course most people
even don't know they have a soul
they won't even think about it but most
people without knowing it they give
their soul to this world they're born
here they live so many years they think
of nothing but material things isn't
that right
so what happens then they have given
their soul to this world and so the
child of that soul which is a spiritual
entity the child that it produces is not
worthy of itself it is materialism
imagine our soul give birth to
materialism it's become darkened there
is a little bit of spiritual entity
there but that spiritual entity has
given birth as has given itself to this
world establish a relationship in this
world and the child of that product is
very unworthy see it's father is very
low the mother is the soul but the
father is very unworthy it's in material
things and so the child is materialism
now how Allah tells us
I'm paradigm just giving you in this
form of example to whom we should give
our soul in marriage in relationship
with whom we should establish a
relationship we should establish a
relationship between our soul and the
forces of the revelation of baha'u'llah
in other words we give ourselves to the
influences of the revelation of
baha'u'llah we open our heart and our
soul to the influences of his revelation
and imagine a very much more exalted
station than ourselves the forces of the
revelation which he has released in the
world we allow our souls to become
fertilized by these forces which he has
released if you let it because it's up to
to
and when you open your heart to the
influences of his revelation and let the
forces of his revelation fertilize our
souls then our souls will conceive a
child which is worthy and that child
once it is born it is known you can call
it the spirit of faith our soul has
produced the spirit of faith which is a
very which is the purpose of life the
purpose of creation the purpose that God
has created us for and by how Allah says
if the station of that soul is revealed
to the eyes of men and paraphrasing his
work who has given birth to the spirit
of faith where all of creation would
will be found dumbfounded someone who
has given birth to the spirit of faith
someone who has said I believe then you
say I believe what really has happened
is that your soul and the revelation of
bahá'u'lláh as a result of this mystical
intercourse has now produced the child
and you say I believe and that child is
born the spirit of faith is born now
this is the station which God has
destined for man which can overlook all
the other qualities and perfections
which can an over not overlook it can
they really dominate over all the other
things that we have acquired when you
have the spirit of thing you know this
lamp in here is lighting is lighted
before it was lighted it was nothing but
when it is lighted when you look at it
you can't see anything else but the
light it will dominate over all the
things in fact if you closely look at it
you will see it's full of dust probably
but you can't see the dust it has
completely overshadowed all the
imperfections because it has
become lighted I'm like course you come
across beautiful beautiful chandeliers
somewhere hanging in someone's house you
come across beautiful people in this
world with great qualities and
perfections really we're not behind you
come across great great many people who
live a marvelous life much better than
me I'm sure they're like has chandeliers
you know like it's beautiful
crystal lamp which is exquisite but it's
not lighted it's not lighted this is
that this is the only thing but then you
come across an old an old little bulb or
an old little lamp full of dust and full
of all kinds of imperfections but it is
connected that's light it that is the
difference but the real thing to be is
to be a chandeliers which is lighted
that is the real purpose of life to have
the qualities and perfections and been
exquisite qualities and perfections and
also lighted that is the story of the
early or the believers the believers
both early and the present time to
acquire qualities and perfections and to
have faith to have the spirit of faith
now it's faith when it is born when this
child is born we said the spirit of
faith is the child which really our soul
has given birth to it has conceived it
because you know it doesn't happen
suddenly also when you give yourself to
the influences of the revelation of
baha'u'llah it doesn't immediately
appear as a spirit of faith just like a
mark just like a woman who becomes
pregnant doesn't immediately give birth
to a child there must be a period of
conception of growth of that embryonic
growth until it can be born takes time
but there comes a time that then you'll have
have
you have so much sure of it
that you have faith and you say I really
believe and you really believe in your
heart I also mentioned you remember that
when the soul when the tree comes into
being remember we talked about a tree
its first there you plant the seed and
then it grows it doesn't immediately
produce a fruit either you have to wait
until it becomes mature it's the same
thing with this soul not immediately
recognize and give itself to baha'u'llah
there is an age for it there is at least
a limit for it that you have to produce
that and that is you might say the age
of 15 that you will become spiritually
obliged to keep to give to carry out
some of the teachings although before
that you are a Baha'i naturally a child
is a Baha'i but if but the obligations
where is not binding on you until you
reach that particular age now having
said this that our soul must give birth
to a child now let us look at nature
again in nature when a mother gives
birth to a child that's that operate
that action of giving birth to it may be
relatively an easy action now maybe I
shouldn't say that to give birth to a
child is easy I shouldn't say that but
really parents know that to give birth
to a child is nothing comparing with the
after afterwards after the child is born
is the beginning of all the caves and
the attention and the labors and the
work that you have to do for that child
to protect it constantly all the time to
protect it and help it to grow and
mature it's much more difficult it's
easy to become behind but it is
difficult to grow to
protect the faith to enable it to grow
day by day and to look after it
to watch over it much more difficult it
needs a vigilance which is constant
vigilance has to be constant so that
there we come across again a very new a
new challenge which has come to us
once you have faith a new challenge come
to us I have said I am a Baha'i what is
the next step
so that my faith may grow and remember
our faith is precious to us just as much
a child is precious to a mother to him
and it's also precious to its father and
here is the process of the revelation of
baha'u'llah but how Allah is attached
very deeply to our faith he loves a
believer he loves the faithful believer
person who has faith and his love for
him is so great that we cannot ever
measure it the love that bahá'u'llah has
for the believers and the outpouring of
his love is so great that we cannot
visualize in this life and this sorrow
which floods the heart when one person
is his heart when one person loses his
faith or becomes weak in his faith it
brings great sorrows to the heart of the
manifestation of God such sorrows that
are not that are not comparable ever
with all the sufferings which were
heaped upon him by the enemies that is
nothing the sufferings of the enemies is
nothing it mean nothing to howl are
really the physical sufferings and he
himself mentioned the suffering which
comes to the manifestation of God is
when one soul who has recognized him
there's one little thing which is an
indication that he is not growing just like
like
a father who sees his son is becoming
ill and he will see it he notices it
becomes ill and as soon as it becomes
ill he becomes worried becomes unhappy
one believer doing one thing against the
faith brought so much sorrow to the
heart of bahá'u'lláh to the heart of
abdu l-bahá the heart of shoghi effendi
that is beyond our estimation and if
everyone lost his faith that would be
just like a father who laments the
passing of his child child is dead
brings great sorrow to the person also
and to mahalo i will give you a an
example of this at least not about
baha'u'llah but i talked about shoghi
effendi you know shoghi effendi was a
very he was very sensitive a very
sensitive soul very sensitive heart he
was a guardian of the cause and you know
of course must have heard the name of
Dorothea Baker who was one of the hands
of the cause an American lady and she of
course was involved in a fatal accident
where she she was traveling in this
comet which was the one of the first was
the first jet airliner which the British
made and the comet exploded in the air
wasn't really fully tested and she she
was she was
Hill well one of the pilgrims was
telling us a story she was present at
the time that the news of the of the
passing on this tragic form of Dorothea
Baker was brought to shoghi effendi and
shoghi effendi was sad and he began to
talk about her services and spoke about
her for some time that evening and then
change the subject and carried on
carried on and there all this person has
passed away then a few days later the
news reached shoghi effendi that one
young girl who was a believer has been
with some tricks and some plottings has
been taken into the company of the
covenant breakers and has joined in
marriage with one of them now that
person is gone it's like a chart like
his soul which is dead now you know the
faith is what I was talking to you about
faith is gone is lost the sorrows which
flooded the heart of shoghi effendi as a
result of this fifteen-year-old girl was
so great that for some days he could not
crippled really with this blow but look
the days of the other hand of the cause
was only 15 minutes we passed by nothing
after all she had ascended to the realms
beyond but they
defection of this girl losing her faith
dealt such a deadly blow upon him that
he could not come and meet with the
brain for one or two days now this shows
how much our faith is is is really
precious to God the manifestation of God
unto his decide an - unto Him above
behind show him any well now we wanted
to find out what should we do now we
have just given birth to the spirit of
faith just like a mother who was birth
given birth to a child what are we going
to do with it now
to enable it to grow this again we can
learn from nature you want to say
something yes yeah yeah yes the soul has
just given birth to faith our soul has
just produced a faith he believes now in
bahá'u'llah and he has given himself to
Baha'u'llah really and as a result of it
he says I believe that is when the first
spark of faith appears in our hearts
just like a mother was given birth to a
child this is just a form of looking at
nature to see what happens there
now when you look at nature you will
find that the mother who gives birth to
a child the first thing she does if you
notice she loves that child very much
and the next thing she does she will
feed the child and the child has never
been fed before in his life never tasted
the milk and none of us can remember
what it was like when we first received
the milk from our mother but it must
have been some it must have some effect
on us on the child it gets the taste for
it and the next time it probably wants
it's not going to reject it it becomes
more and more fond of that milk to such
an extent that it will cry for it
afterwards and he wants to
drink this milk and this milk make it
grow this is nature and the mother will
feed the child regularly regularly now
the same thing applies exactly to our
faith when you say I become a Baha'i
it's a dangerous thing to remain like
this and just remain in that state you
must we must ours
our faith we must feed the spirit of
faith which is born we must feed it with
some food and the food for it is the
words of God for this age this is why
bah how Allah has commanded us this is
one of his Commandments he says you must
read you must recite he says recite my
words recite my words twice a day in the
morning and in the evening he spent he
stipulates that recite my words in the
morning and in the evening it's just
like a mother who says to her child
eat your food two or three times a day
you see our similarities and bah how
Allah mentions to us if we don't recite
what will happen to us you can imagine
what will happen to us what will happen
if a child does not eat his food but how
Allah says if you do not read my words
it's a very serious situation he says
you are not steadfast in the covenant
our soul if it is to be healthy it must
be steadfast in the covenant if it is
not it's a serious situation and this is
when the
believer becomes confused he's a bhai
yes but he has never taken a food or
very little and so he becomes frustrated
he cannot see joy out of his faith and
out of life just like a person who does
not eat his food I remember a few years
ago one young person came to me and he
said you know he said it's one year that
are never high but I don't feel any
difference I'm the same person as before
can you imagine when you become a bhai
can you imagine what happened we will
have to be different one has to be very
different very different it's a new it's
a new life this is the second birth that
Christ is talking about the spirit of
faith is born it must be the most
exciting thing which happens just like
an excitement which comes to a mother
there is no excitement in the world for
a mother greater than to have given
birth to a child and this person said
well I don't feel any exciting I'm bhai
for a year but I'm not grown I've not
changed I'm just like the old days not
excited about anything what is wrong
with me is it well you can imagine
what's wrong you know I mentioned him I
said have you ever loved somebody
because you must remember the faith you
cannot you cannot only become a bhai
through your intellectual appraisal and
intellectual investigations you might
begin with that way but you have to fall
in love really your heart must accept
the pea you must fall in love it's a
falling in love to be a bhai is that you
have fallen in love and of course this
is a relative term it varies from person
to person one person is love for
baha'u'llah is not much of a love for
another in another
case of another person everyone is in
different levels we are all different
level this is relative term but to be of
a high means that you have come to love
the Howell ah this is what it amounts to
you can understand it yes you must study
it and everything else I don't know how
you become a bhai it's not important you
might become a bhai through a purely an
intellectual approach but then if you if
your heart does not move and if your
heart does not fall in love because I
mentioned you have to give ourselves too
we have to give our soul to the
influences of the revelation of the
whole law it simply it is just like a
marriage when you are marrying somebody
you love that person you see now here it
is I this jaw yes young man was telling
me he said that after a year I don't
feel any difference I said did you ever
love you ever loved anybody in your life
he said yes now let us see what happened
that you love this person really let us
examine it this is nature again what
happens that you come to love somebody
the first thing you meet that person is
not right and when you meet that person
you like that person and when you like
that person you come a little closer to
that person it's not wrong you come a
little closer and when you come a little
closer you like him more or like her
more and when you like her more you come
still further closer and you come closer
and closer and closer and it comes a
point that you want to you want to know
everything about that person isn't that
right they want to know everything and
you're going to ask even people what is
this tell me all about and I'm sure if
somebody rings you up in the middle of
night 2:00 in the morning and say look
I've got some news for you about your
friend would you like me to tell you oh
yes please tell me
you're not tired of it you become
excited you see you are beginning to
fall in love with somebody and so this
is how you fall in love with some person
so I mentioned to this young man I said
the new head of Howell and recognized
him and said you are a bhai
did you ever come a little closer to him
to bahá'u'lláh did you ever allowed
yourself to come a little closer to him
no did you ever read anything about the
history of his revelation really to find
out what was going on in his in all this
did you try to find out anything about him
him
no did you read any of his writings no
did you care to carry out his teachings
exactly see what he has said that we
carry them out no we say well what do
you expect you have kept your distance
and now you want to be different of
course you're not you're the same person
just like a mother was given birth to a
child somehow but it's gone now it's not
there anymore
it's very little of it left and this is
why I said it's very easy to become a
Baha'i but to grow and the faith is the
greatest challenge and the greatest
difficult but we can learn we can learn
from nature and we can learn from the
writings of bahá'u'lláh and as I said in
the morning everything that he has said
it fits into nature now this very
teaching that it tells us this very
commandment that it tells us we must
read his words twice a day in the
morning and in the evening is just as
vital as eating the food for a child and
you see how much similarities to nature
when he says do it twice a day
you know in life it's the same thing if
you eat you cannot lump together all
your food and eat it once a day you
can't do that it's not healthy you eat
something in the morning then that's
something that you eat in the morning
you have to give it time to be digested
and when it is digested then you become
hungry again and it is a sign of
digestion is that you have you're hungry
again then you will eat again
but how Allah has given us the same
commandment he says read my words in the
morning which means when you read it you
mustn't just read it and forget it but
rather allow it to penetrate into our
hearts penetrate into our hearts and and
when it penetrates in the heart then
sign of it penetrating in our hearts
what we read is that when we come home
in the evening you are eager to read a
game of the writings this is the sign if
I come home and I'm not eager to read it
means what I have read in the morning or
if I have read it what I have read in
the morning have not penetrated into my
heart and there is again a challenge
what are we going to do how are we going
to enable the words of the howler to
penetrate into our soul and now what I
am trying to tell you in a way is this
that in life you have to do so many
things to live in order to enable you to
live it's not right in life you can't
just say alright I'm going to eat only
and then I'm going to live no no you
can't do that you have to do so many
things to enable you to live in this
life you have to eat you have to sleep
you can't do without it you have to
breathe air into your lungs you have to
wash you have to dress
you have to go shopping you have to work
you have to have friends if you want to
live you have to do all these things and
if one of them is not done if I say I'm
not going to shopping ever and we can't
live really you must go for shopping you
have to do all these things it's like in
electricity it's like you know these
switches which are in series if you put
a lot of a number of switches one after
the other you must close all the
switches so that the current may flow if
one of them is open
nothing will happen it's the same thing
in the faith you become a Baha'i now the
work the task begins you have to close
switch off the switch in order that you
may live happily and grow our faith may
grow one of them the first one was this
reading of the writings in the morning
and in the evening it is such an
important commandment that nobody can
ever emphasize this point enough how
important it is to make it a habit for
ourselves to read the writing and you
know to form a habit is difficult when
you are grown up or when you become a
Baha'i you've never been reading the
writings before so to form a habit it's
difficult it's alright for children to
learn it a child will learn it and make
a habit of it but to read the writings
when you are grown up you have to force
yourself at first until it becomes a
second habit and it doesn't matter you
must one must not be worried about it if
we once there is a lapse in this you may
do it for a week and then you forget it
doesn't matter
try it again you forgot it for another
week okay doesn't matter God is
forgiving of course it is you just take
one little step forward it comes to you
a thousand meters doesn't matter do it
again so that it becomes a habit so that
the goal of a bhai really is to become
an addict to the writings of baha'u'llah
this is the goal and you know how you
become an addict now you must know we
messed up hello I don't think your
addicts yourself to anything but people
who become addicts to drugs what happens
to them is somebody introduces the idea
to them and eventually give them a
little peace to try the child becomes an
addict to the milk of the mother and we
have to become an addict to the writings
about how Allah and I will probably in
the course of news next sessions will
talk about it of how should we read the
words so that we may become really
addicts too now I think when their
children children can learn this when
they are young and we should teach our
children from childhood to make it a
habit of reading the writings in the
morning and in the evening then they
grow and they becomes natural for them
now there is one point the time as
mentioned here it's very important point
what is the writing
we must not mix it it prayers here we
are not talking of prayers prayers are
different things
we do it differently and I'm not going
to talk about it now prayer plays a very
important part in our life but reading
their writings about how Allah is very
different in all together the writings
are those things that you come across in
English now many of these writings are
available to us the gleanings book of
gleanings is full of the writings of
baha'u'llah the tablets of ba how Allah
lately published by the eyes of Justice
these are the writings of Allah there
are other books which are not prayers of
the writings the hidden words is one of
the writings of bahá'u'llah and there is
a vast difference between writing
reading the writings
and saying prayers in fact these two
things are sometimes oppositely very
opposite a prayer and a tablet of
baha'u'llah or opposite things I will
explain to you how when you say a prayer
you often ask God for something but when
you read the writing it's God who asks
you to do something very different see
how different today and we have to be
differentiating this very clear in our
mind and especially if you are teaching
our children I note that the children of
all the Baha'i families they are taught
prayers you know most children learn
prayer but we should have a program
every home where we can see that we show
the children the difference between
reading their writings and saying your
prayer you could say alright say a
prayer but let us now read the writing
and pick up something for them which
they can read so that it becomes a habit
for them and they can distinguish
between the two things in our meeting
this is my own taste now if you like all
it this is just the taste personal taste
I feel we should say prayers but equally
we should read the writings when we
gather together in a meeting when you
have a devotional program you can say
prayers you can read the writings now
bahá'u'lláh has again here applied the
same laws of nature to this particular
commandment by telling us that we must
not read the writings when we are tired
he said read as much as you are enjoying
it as soon as you become tired
don't read it you know what it is like
it's like a mother who says to a child
eat your food as long as you're hungry
as soon as you're full stop eating this
is it is it very natural all these
teachings as I said have their origin in nature
now we must also I'm going to the time
is coming twelve o'clock I think I'm
going to tell you a story there is much
we can have you have to cover in this
field you haven't even touched upon this
properly of all the things we have to do
as I said there are a lot of switches we
have to close in in order that we can
enable our souls to experience that
growth and that joy of faith a growing
faith not a static faith a static faith
wherever high is fatal
you know something which is always to
say but he says you must allow our faith
to grow day by day and we must feel it
just like a mother who feels that his
child is growing and he's happy for it
now I'm going to tell you a story which
is a true story and I don't think it's
made up it relates to one of the early
believers of bahá'u'lláh now this is a
very well known one of the well-known
apostles of the house and one of the
apostles of bahá'u'lláh was called zayn
old mahajabeen it doesn't matter now the
name to you he was one of the
outstanding disciples of a hollow one
who really had a great great qualities
of knowledge and learning and his
particular work was at one stage in his
life was to transcribe the writings you
know transcribing the writings was a
very important task because when
revelation came to baha'u'llah and this
amanuensis would write it very fast so
fast that you cannot read it revelation
writings you can look at revelation
writings it's not possible to read it
the way revelation came to him was so
fast and there is no shorthand in
persian and arabic languages that his
amanuensis had to had to use a special
technique of writing them and i'm not
going to go into details of it but I can
just give you illustrate for you how he
he had very large sheets of paper very
large piles of them and when he was
writing he found out that you cannot use
if you if you hold the pen in your hand
and normally be used to hold the pen in
our hands and we begin to write by
moving our fingers when you're writing
you move your ear your fingers when you
move your fingers you can't write very
fast but he used to hold a pen like this
within his between his fingers but he
wouldn't move his fingers when he was
writing he would move his wrist and so
you can write big one letter with maybe
one word would take the whole line maybe
and it would be each word would go into
each other all the words would go into
each other
quick quick quick you would write them
down because remember revelation came in
the speed of one thousand verses in an
hour the catawba I found was probably
revealed in three or four hours because
when the man when this person sent the
questions to Baja wallah in writing 48
hours later the book of certitude in
dust in its original form in the
handwriting of abdu l-bahá was presented
to him didn't mean it took 48 hours to
be revealed
it meant that bow allowed to eat had to
sleep had to do other things during that
period three or four hours the
revelation is like this and so when it
was written down very fast then he had
to go to his room the secretary of
baha'u'llah their manuals is a
Baha'u'llah and rewrite it again
properly and then he would bring it to
Baha'u'llah and baha'u'llah often would
pace up and down the room and reira veal
that tablet as if he knew it all by
heart and this man would chicken and any
corrections were made and then when it
was properly done then there were people
who would transcribe it because there
were no typewriters in those days or no
printing machine people were
transcribing abdu l-bahá was one of
those people who used to transcribe the
writings during Baja Lala's ministry now
this man that I'm going to tell you a
story off and we are getting late was
one of those who used to transcribe the
writings but he was a very meticulous
man where
meticulous in his work of transcription
so meticulous that he used to check it
all everything he wrote used to check in
with his son he would he would call him
after a few pages that he would write he
would call his son and the son would
come and read for him
the original tablet and then he would
check what he has written this is how
the writing of general Madara bean
anything you find in his handwriting is
authentic it's right it's a standard for
behind publications you always compare
every publication with his Rand writing
now he had a great sense of humor the
cinematography and he often came to the
presence of bahá'u'lláh and he always
had some humorous remarks to make and as
I said by how Allah loved human good
human one day he came into the presence
of bahá'u'lláh and he said you know he
said to bahá'u'llah we in our family we
of course carry out your teachings but
we are particularly have a favorite
amongst your teachings each one of us
have a favorite of one of your teachings
and so baha'u'llah said well what are
they well he said my son has a very
special favorite he said every day I
write many many pages because this was
his work this man's work he said I write
and write and write and then when it's
all finished I call my son to come and
to read for me the writings so that I
can check them so he comes in he reads
one page and then he turns to mean is
his father
I am tired and Baha'u'llah says when
you're tired you must not read the
writings this is his favorite teaching [Music]
and bahala laughed very much then he
said my wife has another favorite when I
have done a lot of work and very tired
and exhausted I said well would you make
us a cup of tea please she says go and
make it yourself Baha'u'llah says men
and women are equal this is her favour
well now friends I think we leave it
here and we will come back do we come
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