The principle of virtues

Sometime back, I was raving on to Steve about a passage from Tablet to the Son, in which Baha'u'llah states what is the fundamental principle of his revelation. After reading this passage, I suddenly remembered how the Baha'is like to say that the fundamental principle of the Baha'i revelation is unity (never mind what that means). But unity isn't what Baha'u'llah identifies in this passage - he says it is virtue.

"Note that what appeared was virtues, of which all remained ignorant." para 8, Tablet of the Son

This statement comes in the middle of a fascinating passage, which most Baha'is are, unfortunately, unfamiliar with. In paragraph 6, Baha'u'llah is lamenting the fact that the world is full of people who imagine they have attained mystical insight into God and then imagine that God is like them. He prays that God might cause the people to recognise themselves, which would enable them to distinguish themselves from God. If they could distinguish God from themselves - which, presumably, would enable them to see God better - they would be able to work out the purpose behind the verses, and hence recognise each new manifestation.

"The people have been stricken with an illness... This epidemic consists in people believing that they have attained mystical insight, and then supposing that God is like them. Today, most are afflicted with this disease... Beseech God to render hearts pure and eyes sharp, so that they might perhaps recognize themselves, and distinguish between themselves and God. Thus might they discern God's purpose in the revealed verses. If the peoples had understood the divine purpose, they would not have remained veiled at the moment of revelation." (para 6)

Baha'u'llah goes on in paragraph 7 to say that the Muslims never understood their scripture and this meant that they did not recognise the Bab when he appeared in the year 60. But then he, Baha'u'llah, came and washed everyone clean in a great celestial river.

"The dust of misconceptions and the clay of illusions prevented all humankind from attaining the panorama of divine unity, until the greatest purifier arrived and washed the people with the most cleansed of celestial rivers, calling them to the radiant countenance and informing them of the good news."

This leads into the first sentence of the next paragraph (para 8), which I quoted above. "Note that what appeared was virtues, of which all remained ignorant." In other words, what appeared with Baha'u'llah was virtues. He explains that it is true that virtues were also a part of previous revelations, but they gain a new meaning when they are renewed with a new revelation. This principle applies to all concepts associated with religion. He gives the example of the concepts of "mystical insight" and "monotheism". They all gain a new meaning with each new revelation. "For if God speaks a word today that comes to be on the lips of all the people, before and after, that word will be new, if you only think about it." (para 9)

In the first sentence of paragraph 12, Baha'u'llah says that we must look at the basic principle of each revelation and not allow ourselves to be distracted over this by the opinions of those held out by the people to be wise. "One must look at the basic principle of the cause of God, not at the high or low levels of verbal insight that have been achieved among the people." And so, as stated above, Baha'u'llah clearly states that the principle that arose with the Baha'i revelation was virtues. He also tells us that the principle favoured by God in the Muhummadan revelation was the state of transcendence and abstraction.

"In the dispensations of the Qur'an and the Bayan, the divine will preferred pure transcendence and absolute sanctification. For this reason, the brilliance of these utterances has established itself and become apparent in the hearts of the believers." (para 11)

When I think about virtues, I recall that, right up into the 1990s, Baha'is would say that what believers must endeavour to do is reflect the virtues of God. I don't hear talk like that any more. It's all about unity, and that's interpreted to mean that believers must reflect the attributes of their religious leaders - good or bad - for the sake of unity. Talk about having the disease of thinking that God is like you!

I get an idea of what Baha'u'llah means by 'virtues' from the following Persian hidden word:

"O son of my handmaid! Guidance hath ever been given by words, and now it is given by deeds. Every one must show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones." (PHW 76)

As I understand it, the new principle of virtues is the death-knell for hypocrisy. That's why I think President Obama is likely to find solutions that seemed intractable to President Bush. President Bush's motive was always expediency, not virtue for virtue's sake. And he achieved nothing, for nothing is achieved without the permission of God, and God has set the standard if you want to achieve things in this day.

It may be that those with questionable motives used to achieve their goals in previous revelations, I don't know. Perhaps, back then, one could get somewhere by sheer force of will, rather than by virtue. But I understand Baha'u'llah to be saying that he has put an end to that state of things. Now, if you want to prevail, you must do the inner work. This is the fundamental flaw of the new global teaching campaign. It is run on the force of will and numbers, not on the power of virtue and quality.

Adam and Eve - a modern rendition

I had to rewrite a traditional tale in 400-500 words for my course. We were given five options and I chose Adam and Eve. The purpose of the exercise was to practise working with immediate scene and narrative summary. I've learned that modern readers don't put up with too much narrative summary - especially of backstory - so I've tried to write it in immediate scene as much as possible.

Once upon a time - in fact, just after God made time - God decided to create a garden called Eden. God beautified it and, crucially, planted two trees in the middle of it - the tree of the knowledge of good and bad and the tree of life. Out of an ironic sense of humour, God also made a guy out of dust, whose name was Adam, and a partner for him out of rib bone, Eve. God gave Adam clear instructions.
    "Don't eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad or you'll die."
    "Rightio," said Adam. God didn't tell Eve about the rule because she hadn't been made by then, but she knew about it anyway.
    Adam and Eve had a cruisy life until one day when the snake sidled up to her, mischief in mind. "Have you tried the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad?"
    "No," said Eve, "we're not supposed to eat it because we'll die."
    "Rubbish," said the snake, "you won't die. God's just worried that you'll become a god and know stuff gods know. Go on. Try it!"
    Eve tried it. And the snake was right - she did learn a thing or two, and the fruit was delicious as well.
    "Hey, Adam," Eve called out when Adam returned from a bush walk. "This fruit is OK after all! I tried it and look, I didn't die."
    "For goodness sake, Eve, that was a stupid thing to do," said Adam. "What if God finds out. There'll be all hell to pay."
    "Oh, that God is all talk," said Eve. "God just doesn't want us to know things gods know. Go on, try one and see for yourself."
    Adam ate the fruit and had to agree. But God got suspicious after noticing that Adam and Eve developed a new form of art that seemed awfully concerned with genitals. One day, God tracked them down in the bush.
    "You guys have been scarce lately. What's up?"
    "Ah, we got a bit shy of being naked and developed a new form of art," they explained.
    "How do you know what naked is?" asked God. "Have you guys been eating from the forbidden tree?"
    "Eve made me do it," said Adam.
    "The snake made me do it," said Eve.
    "I don't have an excuse and don't care," said the snake.
    "All right," said God, "I gave you guys fair warning. I'm worried now that you'll eat the fruit from the tree of life. I'd really have a nightmare on my hands if you no-goods lived forever! I'll have to banish you from Eden, I'm afraid. There's nothing else for it."
    And so, God put Adam and Eve out of Eden, but not before making them a decent set of clothes.

Poem for Ridvan

Orange juice, ice cream, runny brie and crackers
Drop the dime into the jukebox of your spirits.

Turn the dial on Heaven, up high to nine
Pick a soulful jazz, something warm for the spirit.

Let it dance and chime and swing between stars
Sweet pathos mixed with tango, cherry and spirit.

O Zaynab, sing softly the song of his pain
Like the charmer, in trance, draws out snake spirit.

Pirouette on the sigh gathered up from his cares
Spin him free with gentle tease and ease of spirit.

Beyond right and wrong, and lost to time
His eternal song in another’s tune and spirit.

World’s tacky nature-picture hung too long
Shatters into dust-settled dreams of tranquil spirit.

Copyright Alison Marshall 2009

Judith Tearce

Phew! There's a lot going on for me. I'm navigating my way through a scary change. In a big way, this has been prompted by the feedback that I am getting from my classmates over my first short story. Those who write about writing say that your stories are a product of your own self and, boy, you sure find that out when people respond to what you write. My main character is a woman called Judith Tearce, who is a cluster co-ordinator. Here, I'll quote my first paragraph. It is now defunct because I've already decided to ditch it for the second draft of the story, but it'll do here to show you who she is.

Judith Tearce was all matching colour and assertive order. She lived in a modern house with windows for walls and decor in a soft mix of purples, creams and reds, and a view of a structured garden of weeping flowering cherries and pink and white rose carpets over woodchips. She liked to wear a casual but classy combination of skirt, shirt and jacket in shades of dark blue or green, softened with necklaces and earrings. She managed a boutique shop in the CBD, and got the best out of her staff by role modelling and demanding a strict etiquette of good service, careful grooming and smart outfits. Full-time management work, family and house and garden duties, and voluntary work as cluster co-ordinator for her local Baha'i community were the building blocks of Judith's punishing work ethic and they spun an austere world around her. Those who shared her world fell into line, having forgotten to question whether there was any choice in the matter. "Put your things away," she would tell her 12-year-old son, Jamal, as she noticed clothes lying on his bedroom floor. "Why are these papers still on the table?" she would ask her husband Henry, after he had got up from his accountancy work in the lounge to make a cup of coffee."

When I created Judith, she came alive for me when I realised that she was in me. Much as I would like to think that people who take an administrative view of the Baha'i Faith hold views that are contrary to mine, nevertheless, there is a Judith in me. What that means in practice is that there is a Judith in me who does damage to my spiritual life in the same way that Judith Tearce does damage to the Baha'i Faith. She is completely sincere, but wholly misguided. She puts all her efforts into what she believes is making the world a better place. But in fact, the more effort she puts in, the more damage she does. And she doesn't know it. I used to be a member of the Baha'i community and I used to do the things Baha'is do now, and I believed what I was doing was right.

Last night, I had a dream related to this. I dreamed that I was in love with a guy who drank alcohol. I have no idea who the guy was, just that he was a lovely guy, but he drank alcohol. In the dream, he is sitting on my knee and I have my arms around him and am giving him a hug. I loved him and loved to be close to him. But all the while that I'm experiencing this warm closeness, I am saying to myself 'this guy drinks alcohol; why do I love him; is it right to love him?' The point is that something in me is freeing up. I'm not sure yet what that thing is. All I can feel is that a very old, hardened crust, which has formed a layer over my soul since time immemorial, has been cracked and is now beginning to break off. It is freeing me up. But I am experiencing the new freedom as a sin - hence the alcohol.

And this is where Judith comes in. I've tried to portray her as someone who is extremely ordered and who, obviously, takes to the administration's systematisation like a duck to water. She knows it to be right. Her way of operating is to order the external world and the people around her. To her, that's the essence of righteousness. And her religion gives her the perfect outlet to pursue those proclivities. So if someone like Judith was, for some reason, to begin to break free of that way of being, she would experience it as a sin. So much so, that it's no wonder few Baha'is ever do it.

And there's a Judith in me, who leaves me feeling like I've sinned if I break free of her grip.

A conversation in the next world

Last night, I visited in a dream a woman who lived in the next world. She lived in a house that was high up a hill so steep it was like a cliff. It had windows all along the front and there was a wonderful view out onto the valley. When I was talking to her, I felt like I knew her well, but now I can't recall why I thought that. Aware that I had found myself in the next world, I took the opportunity to ask her some questions about it. To my amazement, she gave me answers and I understood them. I remember thinking that it really helped to actually be in the next world with her, so I could experience what she talking about. She knew I was a visitor from the physical world; she seemed a bit on guard because of that. But do you think I can remember now what we discussed? Not much at all! I'm disappointed about that. I remember waking up in my body and thinking 'Gee, I've just been chatting to a woman in the next world', and realising that my recall of the experience was fading fast and there was nothing I could do about it.

I do recall gaining the general sense from her answers that the next world was like this one. After all, I was surrounded by this woman's house, with its view and ordinary things you see here everyday. Also, just as we live here with ourselves, we live there with ourselves, so if we don't like living with ourselves, then we've got a problem. My final question before I woke up - and this one I do remember - was whether she experienced the rotation of night and day like we do - whether there was something in her world that generated the night and day pattern. She said that I was thinking from the point of view of someone who lived in the physical world. I was a little put out at this, for I was trying my hardest not to assume any concepts from the physical world knowing that none really applied. She could have just said 'No, there's nothing like that here.' I woke up after that. I must have disappeared from her presence all of a sudden.

I don't reguarly have dreams like that. I expect it was sparked from reading "Walking in Light", which is all talk about people in the next world and what it's like to live there.

New blog style

I've just had a long chat with Steve about my blog and where I am with it. The issue is that I recreated myself over the past year. I gave up studying Arabic and many other things as well. My whole life had become stale and I needed to do something radical. It was scary because I had believed I was doing what Baha'u'llah wanted and if I gave it away he'd be angry. But I knew deep down that I wasn't following me and my star anymore; rather, I was trying to be like people I admired a lot. It was difficult sitting around trying to work out a new direction. But the upshot was that by the end of the year, I'd decided to try writing fiction. And now that I'm getting into that, I see that my blog has to take on a new life too.

What will that new life be? I want to try writing more regularly - more in a twitter-like way, only with more substance than with twitters. It'll be more like a diary of my musings and what's going on for me on a day-to-day or weekly basis. I expect this will lead me into rants about stuff as well. So be it. I've created a new category called "Diary", where I'll put my regular offerings.

One thing that I expect will come out of this is a more down-to-earth picture of me - not just someone with lots of exalted thoughts, but someone who experiences the small details of life and comes up with ideas out of that. I started writing a daily diary at the beginning of 2009 after I skimmed George Eliot's daily diary. Reading her diary gave me insight into how her life was, how she spent her time, and I saw that there was real value in keeping such a diary. I read what I have written in my 2009 diary so far and realise that I get a lot done. This helps me because it stops me beating myself up for being lazy.

At the moment, with it being the Easter holidays, I am having a breather from the writing I do for my fiction course. Thursday last week, April 9, I completed the first draft of my very first short story. I worked like a dog to complete it. I spent hours and hours on it. And since then, I've had the time to catch up on other things before next week's course work begins tomorrow. Writing my blog here now is part of me trying to sort things out. Now I must finish my company accounts so I can get them away to the accountant and I can get some tax money back from the Inland Revenue Department. Yay!

Last Friday, April 10, I was 50. No, I didn't have a party or anything like that. I don't like those things; I prefer to be on my own. I'm not very social, like most people are. I had a splendid day walking into town in the sunshine - Baha'u'llah put on a pearler of a day weather-wise - and went to see the movie "The Reader". It was brilliant. I had read a bad review of it and wasn't expecting much, but soon realised the reviewer was wrong.

I also bought myself the book "Walking in Light", which is the autobiography of Kelvin Cruickshank, the famous New Zealand psychic who appears on our version of the TV franchise Sensing Murder. It is a compelling read. I haven't been able to put it down. What a roller-coaster life he has had. I suppose, looking at it from a Baha'i point of view, if someone is given the ability to see dead people and are to get famous for it, then God would put them through hell to prepare them and demonstrate their worth. For it seems that God has given him an amazing gift, and Baha'u'llah says we don't get any spiritual gift without earning it.