Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh
From Bahai9
Read online at http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/shoghieffendi/wob/37.html
Contents |
Study Guides
Notes
- http://wilmetteinstitute.org/projects/dob.wilson.html ("its continuing place in history")
- http://wilmetteinstitute.org/projects/dob.wittman.html ("Keys to the Proper Understanding of Islam in...")
On the need to read: (on administration, helpful on theology, etc.)
“He feels, indeed, that the time has come for the German believers to acquire a thorough knowledge as well as a full understanding of such important Tablets as Bahá’u’lláh’s “Book of My Covenant” and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, both of which constitute the very bedrock upon which the entire administrative system of the Faith has been raised and established. As to the “Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh” it also constitutes an invaluable supplement to these afore-mentioned Tablets.”
- (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 10 January 1935, The Importance of Deepening in our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith, no. 123))
“Shoghi Effendi was also pleased to learn of the response which his last general communication {“The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh} addressed to the friends in the West has awakened in your community. It is his hope that the believers will, through their careful and continued study of this important communication, acquire a new vision of the Cause, and will be stimulated to redouble their efforts for the expansion and consolidation of their work for the Faith.
- (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, The Importance of Deepening in our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith, no. 121))
“Concerning the institution of the Guardianship and its true position in the Administrative Order of the Cause, the Guardian would urge you to make a careful study of the subject in his last general letter addressed to the West and published under the title of 'The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh'. In the last part of this important treatise you will find an adequate and authoritative analysis of the origins, nature and function of that institution, and of its unique significance in the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. You should also recommend your fellow-believers to better acquaint themselves with the contents of that same letter, so that their vision of the Cause and their understanding of its present-day administration may acquire in strength and in depth.”
- (2 May 1934, to two believers, quoted in the compilation “Studying the Writings of Shoghi Effendi” on-line at http://bahai-library.com/compilations/writings.guardian.html)
Read Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh to find answers on certain theological questions
"The soul or spirit of the individual comes into being with the conception of his physical body.
"The Prophets, unlike us, are pre-existent. The Soul of Christ existed in the spiritual world before His birth in this world. We cannot imagine what that world is like, so words are inadequate to picture His state of being.
"We cannot know God directly, but only through His Prophets. We can pray to Him, realizing that through His Prophets we know Him, or we can address our prayer in thought to Bahá'u'lláh, not as God, but as the Door to our knowing God.
"We find God only through the Intermediary of His Prophet. We see the Perfection of God in His Prophets. Time and space are physical things; God the Creator is not in a 'place' as we conceive of place in physical terms. God is the Infinite Essence, the Creator. We cannot picture Him or His state; if we did, we would be His equals, not His Creatures. God is never flesh, but mirrored in the attributes of His Prophets, we see His Divine characteristics and perfections.
"Shoghi Effendi advises you to study 'Some Answered Questions' and the 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' which help you to grasp these questions."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 9, 1947; quoted in Lights of Guidance, no. 1699)
Specific passages
The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, Certain Passages Clarified
(Note: page numbers below have been linked to equivalent page numbers in the compilation World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.)
"Concerning the meaning of the passage on p. 12 of the 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' beginning with the words 'But for Him no Divine Messenger...', this refers to the reality of God in Him and not to His Person.
"Page 20, first line, of the same pamphlet: The passage refers to any opportunities that are missed through neglect and not to any particular event.
"Page 21, line 20: The meaning of the passage should not be taken literally. The purpose is to emphasize the theme and heighten its effect.
"Page 24, line 20: It refers to the reality of Bahá'u'lláh."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 17, 1937, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1557)
Reckoning of Days Mentioned in the "Dispensation"
(Note: See World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 101-103 for the following reference)
"Concerning the passage in the 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' in which the Guardian quotes Abdu'l-Bahá's interpretation of the prophecy referring to the times when the sun would stand still in the heavens, he wishes me to explain that the days referred to in this prophecy have to be reckoned differently. In the Sacred Scripture of various religions there are to be found frequent references to days, but these have been considered as indicating different periods of time, as for instance in the Qur'an a day is reckoned as one thousand years. The first ten days in the above-mentioned prophecy represent each a century, making thus a total of one thousand lunar years. As to the twenty days referring to the Babi Dispensation, each of them represents only one lunar year, the total of twenty years marking the duration of the Revelation of the Bab. The thirty days in the last Dispensation should not be reckoned numerically, but should be considered as symbolizing the incomparable greatness of the Bahá'í Revelation which, though not final, is nonetheless thus far the fullest revelation of God to man. From a physical point of view, the thirty days represent the maximum time taken by the sun to pass through a sign of the zodiac. They thus represent a culminating point in the evolution of this star. So also from a spiritual standpoint these thirty days should be viewed as indicating the highest, though not the final, stage in the spiritual evolution of mankind."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, August 7, 1934: Bahá'í News, No. 87, September 1934, p. 1, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1558)
