Truthfulness
gpoirier (gpoirier@acca.nmsu.edu)
Mon, Apr 17 1995 09:35:39 GMT
On 13 Apr 1995 Ryan Shaun Baker rbaker@jove.acs.unt.edu wrote:
> > "He who disbelieveth in God is neither truthful nor trustworthy...
> > Nothing whatsoever can induce such a man to uprightness"--Baha'u'llah,
> Where can I find this? Anyone?
I have been thinking about "truthfulness" in this context, and would like
to offer some thoughts. It may not be primarily referring to
"truthfulness" in the sense of speaking honestly with other human beings.
In His description of "the seven qualifications of the divinely
enlightened soul," `Abdu'l-Baha writes: "Truthfulness is the
foundation of all the virtues of the world of humanity. Without
truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds of God
are impossible for a soul. When this holy attribute is
established in man, all the divine qualities will also become
realized." (Tablets of `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas, Volume II, p. 459)
It is my understanding that this attribute of truthfulness must
be directed inward as much as outward to others. The look inside
at one's motives, spiritual state, and character is of the
essence of the spiritual journey; and may be the attribute that enables
us to believe in God.
To me, being truthful with myself, is linked to the Arabic word "insaf,"
translated as "Justice" in the 2nd Arabic Hidden Word of Baha'u'llah. In
a letter to a Baha'i named Glenn Shook and printed in "Baha'i News" during
the 1950's, which I cannot locate, Shoghi Effendi stated that "insaf"
should be thought of as "fairness." I understand it, therefore, to mean
"fairmindedness" in the following context, and that truthfulness
with oneself is implicit in this term:
O SON OF SPIRIT!
The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn
not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not
that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with
thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt
know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of
thy neighbor.... (Baha'u'llah, Arabic Hidden Words, #2)
I believe that this "justice," this "fairmindedness" in evaluating the
claim of the new Manifestation of God, is the "best-beloved" of human
qualities, because it enables a human being to detach from his peers, to
see with his own eyes, and to perform the greatest of acts: Make a
commitment of faith in the new Manifestation of God.
I also understand this inward and outward truthfulness to be related to
the Baha'i principle of the Independent Investigation of Truth. Just as
truthfulness is the "foundation of all the virtues," and fairmindedness is
the "best beloved of all things," the search for truth is our "primary
duty" as Baha'is. In his letter to the United Nations Special Commission
on Palestine, Shoghi Effendi wrote that "The Baha'i Faith ... enjoins upon
its followers the primary duty of an unfettered search after truth ... "
(Quoted on pp. v-vi of the Introduction to The Promised Day is Come)
Baha'u'llah wrote:
They who are the people of God have no ambition except to
revive the world, to ennoble its life, and regenerate its
peoples. Truthfulness and good-will have, at all times,
marked their relations with all men. Their outward conduct
is but a reflection of their inward life, and their inward
life a mirror of their outward conduct. No veil hideth or
obscureth the verities on which their Faith is established.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, pp. 270-271)
So, "truthfulness" in the very first quotation above has more to do, I
think, with accepting the validity and the truth of the claims of the new
Manifestation of God in each Day, and to draw near to Him.
In all the Divine Books the promise of the Divine Presence
hath been explicitly recorded. By this Presence is meant
the Presence of Him Who is the Dayspring of the signs, and
the Dawning-Place of the clear tokens, and the Manifestation
of the Excellent Names, and the Source of the attributes, of
the true God, exalted be His glory.... Briefly, there hath
been revealed in the Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude)
concerning the Presence and Revelation of God that which will
suffice the fair-minded. We beseech Him - exalted be He -
to aid every one to become the essence of truthfulness, and
to draw nigh unto Him.
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 118-119)
Brent Poirier
gpoirier@acca.nmsu.edu