On Discovering the Baha'i Faith: Many Paths, One Destination
"All the paths before me... Again, I am not sure exactly when I painted this. I think at some point during the cold months in 2003. I had had an epiphany. Most of my life I didn't feel like I had options in front of me or a future. Things just happened. But, then something happened and I realized that I could make of my life what I chose. That there were many many paths to explore and that they were bursting out in front of my feet. Since then I've 'gotten' as well that there are many paths to 'enlightenment'. Which has made me be able to see the good parts of major religions (not that there aren't plenty 'o bad parts of course!). Anyway what I 'got' is that there are infinite paths to wonderfulness!" Uploaded on December 23, 2006 by rachels_squiggles on flickr
Finding a religion that makes sense and wanting to reflect upon it is a pretty good reason to start a blog. -gw
Again, I start a blog, and I am hoping, as always that is blog will not dwindle into an invisible nothingness like they all seem too. However, a momentous happening in my life has inspired me to once again start posting my innermost thoughts on the internet. I have found religion. As odd as that feel for me to say, and as cheesy as it sounds, my heart is warm thinking about it. ...
Again, I start a blog, and I am hoping, as always that is blog will not dwindle into an invisible nothingness like they all seem too. However, a momentous happening in my life has inspired me to once again start posting my innermost thoughts on the internet. I have found religion. As odd as that feel for me to say, and as cheesy as it sounds, my heart is warm thinking about it. ...
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For a long time I believed in ... the beliefs of my father; though the man never forced them on me, but explained them to me and as a child you believe your parents, and you do not think too much about those things. As I got older the atheism began to eat at me, it was not all that I knew in my heart, I knew that there was more to my body than a collection of atoms, and more to the universe than a collection thereof. However, event this seemed so at odds to the beliefs I had grown up with, because the idea of a deity was deeply alien to me, and I did not comprehend at that point that I could have my own beliefs separate from any religion and still believe in a higher power and a fundamental medium by which all the universe operates.
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Eventually I came to it, something that sat well with my heart and my world. From what I saw within and without I came to a set of conclusions about the nature of man and his universe. That all things have a soul, and the soul is the fundamental unit of creation. That all things are impermanent except that immortal soul, and that changes happen in cycles. That every action and thing effects equally every other action and thing, and that all actions and the effects thereof are preordained as effects of the first action. That there is a unifying force, greater than individual souls of world, of man, or the atoms that make him up, and that this unifying force is no more or less than the soul of the universe, made up by every soul therein just as I am made up of all the souls of the “things” that compose me. And finally we exist solely to make the universe a more beautiful, place, and every action performs this function, and thus morality; though important; must me acknowledged as a mortal concept and construct and not said to be the dictate of any unifying force.
Eventually I came to it, something that sat well with my heart and my world. From what I saw within and without I came to a set of conclusions about the nature of man and his universe. That all things have a soul, and the soul is the fundamental unit of creation. That all things are impermanent except that immortal soul, and that changes happen in cycles. That every action and thing effects equally every other action and thing, and that all actions and the effects thereof are preordained as effects of the first action. That there is a unifying force, greater than individual souls of world, of man, or the atoms that make him up, and that this unifying force is no more or less than the soul of the universe, made up by every soul therein just as I am made up of all the souls of the “things” that compose me. And finally we exist solely to make the universe a more beautiful, place, and every action performs this function, and thus morality; though important; must me acknowledged as a mortal concept and construct and not said to be the dictate of any unifying force.
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This sat well with me and satisfied me, and still does really. In the few years since I have never yearned for a deeper truth, and even today these statements seem to be the heart of truth. I still will tell you that through self exploration man will find his own truth, and that all are equally true. Yet I have found a truth even greater that I would never have found inside my self, because I am too tied to my mind, and the logic I have learned through my life only works a certain way. Only weeks ago a good friend (Who I would know call a better friend.) turned me on inadvertently to something so great that despite the arguments of my mind and its logic, I know to be true. I would be comfortable at this point saying that I was intended by God (In essence the same God who I saw as the summary and creator and encapsulator of all souls.) to meet this particular friend. He turned me on to something I would never have predicted me seeing cosmic truth in. A religion, an organized one for that matter, even dare I say, a revealed religion! The ultimate trickery of men’s faiths.
This sat well with me and satisfied me, and still does really. In the few years since I have never yearned for a deeper truth, and even today these statements seem to be the heart of truth. I still will tell you that through self exploration man will find his own truth, and that all are equally true. Yet I have found a truth even greater that I would never have found inside my self, because I am too tied to my mind, and the logic I have learned through my life only works a certain way. Only weeks ago a good friend (Who I would know call a better friend.) turned me on inadvertently to something so great that despite the arguments of my mind and its logic, I know to be true. I would be comfortable at this point saying that I was intended by God (In essence the same God who I saw as the summary and creator and encapsulator of all souls.) to meet this particular friend. He turned me on to something I would never have predicted me seeing cosmic truth in. A religion, an organized one for that matter, even dare I say, a revealed religion! The ultimate trickery of men’s faiths.
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But, despite all that I have found truth in it beyond what I could have expected. At first it was an astonishment that the beliefs of the Baha’i were so close to mine in terms of mortal morality. Then it started to surpass that, a concept of the Baha’i that I had known for a long time and always been intrigued by struck me more reading it this time: That all religions are one, and all Gods one God. I have always been fascinated by the existence of archetypes clearly visible in all human literature and art that appear to be deeply ingrained in the basic human psyche. This obviously extends to religion, and I have noticed that before; even among the most different of the world belief systems, certain aspects shine through morality through compassion and charity has been taught by every prophet and revealer, in fact they have all given us to accept each other’s beliefs (No one pays much attention to that though.). The followers of Baha’u'lla would say that this makes perfect sense, because the universe and all creation has only one creator, and he has revealed successively to all the people of the earth portions of the truth. This is amazing, and hard to deny from your heart. There is a passage somewhere in the Qu’ran when the angel host or god says “And surely we have sent a prophet to all the peoples of Allah.” or something; in point of fact the Qu’ran even says that Mohamed came simultaneously to the Men and the Jinn, and many Muslims recognize Zoroaster as a true messenger or prophet.
But, despite all that I have found truth in it beyond what I could have expected. At first it was an astonishment that the beliefs of the Baha’i were so close to mine in terms of mortal morality. Then it started to surpass that, a concept of the Baha’i that I had known for a long time and always been intrigued by struck me more reading it this time: That all religions are one, and all Gods one God. I have always been fascinated by the existence of archetypes clearly visible in all human literature and art that appear to be deeply ingrained in the basic human psyche. This obviously extends to religion, and I have noticed that before; even among the most different of the world belief systems, certain aspects shine through morality through compassion and charity has been taught by every prophet and revealer, in fact they have all given us to accept each other’s beliefs (No one pays much attention to that though.). The followers of Baha’u'lla would say that this makes perfect sense, because the universe and all creation has only one creator, and he has revealed successively to all the people of the earth portions of the truth. This is amazing, and hard to deny from your heart. There is a passage somewhere in the Qu’ran when the angel host or god says “And surely we have sent a prophet to all the peoples of Allah.” or something; in point of fact the Qu’ran even says that Mohamed came simultaneously to the Men and the Jinn, and many Muslims recognize Zoroaster as a true messenger or prophet.
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1 comment:
I can't express my deep honor and gratitude for your featuring my blog and my path to God here. I hope people will find this site, and the great sites linked to by it and find the truth inherent.
Now, to keep that blog from dwindling. Another post soon.
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