Edition:Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era (1923)/Prayer

CHAPTER VI

PRAYER

“Prayer is a ladder by which everyone may ascend to Heaven,’— MUHAMMAD.

Conversation with God.

“Prayer,” says ‘Abdu’l-Baha, “is conversation with God,” In order that God may make known His Mind and Will to men, He must speak to them in a language which they can understand, and this He does by the mouths of His Holy Prophets. While these Prophets are alive in the body they speak with men face to face and convey to them the Message of God, and after their death their message continues to reach men’s minds through their recorded sayings and writings. But this is not the only way in which God can speak with men. ‘There is a “ language of the Spirit,” which is independent of speech or writing, by which God can commune with and inspire those whose hearts are seeking after truth, wherever they are, and whatever their native race or tongue. By this language the Manifestation continues to hold converse with the faithful after his departure from the material world. Christ continued to converse with and inspire His disciples after His crucifixion. In fact He influenced them more powerfully than before ; and with other prophets it has been the same. ‘Abdu’lBaha speaks much of this spiritual language. He says, for instance :—

“ We should speak in the language of heaven—in the language of the spirit—for there is a language of the spirit and heart. It is as different from our language as our own language is different from that of the animals, who express themselves only by cries and sounds. _

“Tt is the language of the spirit which speaks to God. When, in

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prayer, we are freed from all outward things and turn to God, then it is as if in our hearts we hear the voice of God. Without words we speak, we communicate, we converse with God and hear the answer. . . . All of us, when we attain to a truly spiritual condition, can hear the Voice of God ” (from a talk reported by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg).

Baha’u’llah declares that the higher spiritual truths can be communicated only by means of this spiritual language, “The spoken or written word is quite inadequate. Ina little book called The Seven Valleys, in which he describes the journey of travellers from the early dwelling to the Divine Home, he says, in speaking of the more advanced stages of the journey :—

“The tongue is unable to give an account. of these, and utterance falls exceedingly short. ‘The pen is useless in this court, and the ink gives no result but blackness. . . . Heart alone can communicate to heart the state of the knower; this is not the work of a messenger, nor can it be contained in letters.”

The Devotional Attitude.

In order that we may attain the spiritual condition in which conversation with God becomes possible, ‘Abdu’l-Baha says :—

‘“* We must strive to attain to that condition by being separated from all things and from the people of the world and by turning to God alone. Tt will take some effort on the part of man to attain to that condition, but he must work for it, strive for it. We can attain to it by thinking and caring less for material things and more for the spiritual. ‘The further we go from the one, the nearer we are to the other. ‘The choice is ours.

“Our spiritual perception, our inward sight must be opened, so that we can see the signs and traces of God’s Spirit in everything. Everything can reflect to us the light of the Spirit’ (from a talk reported by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg).

Again he says :—

“The highest and most elevating state is the state of prayer. Prayer iscommunion with God. . . . The worshipper must pray with a detached spirit, unconditional surrender of the will, concentrated attention and spiritual passion. . . . Automatic, formal prayers which do not touch the core of the heart are of no avail.

“‘ How sweet, how delicious, how satisfying, how spiritual is prayer in the middle of the night! While other eyes are closed, the eyes of the worshipper are wide open. While other ears are stopped, the ears of the suppliant are attuned to the subtle music of God. While others [Page 85]PRAYER 85

are fast asleep, the adorer of the Ideal Beloved is wakeful. All around him there is a rare and delicate silence, calm, magical and subtle—and there is the worshipper, communing with natureand the Author of nature.” —Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, September 3, 1914.

Necessity for a Mediator. According to ‘Abdu’l-Baha :—

“A mediator is necessary between man and the Creator—one who receives the full light of the Divine Splendour and radiates it over the human world, as the earth’s atmosphere receives and diffuses the warmth of the sun’s rays.” —Divine Philosophy, p. 8.

“If we wish to pray, we must have some object on which to concentrate. If we turn to God, we must direct our hearts to a certain centre. If man worships God otherwise than through His Manifestation, he must first form a conception of God, and that conception is created by his own mind. As the finite cannot comprehend the Infinite, so God is not to be comprehended in this fashion. ‘That which man conceives with his own mind he comprehends. ‘That which he can comprehend isnot God. ‘That conception of God which a man forms for himself is but a phantasm, an image, an imagination, an illusion. There is no connection between such a conception and the Supreme Being.

“ Ifa man wishes to know God, he must find Him in the perfect mirror, Christ or Baha’u’llah. In either of these mirrors he will see reflected the Sun of Divinity.

“As we know the physical sun by its splendour, by its light and heat, so we know God, the Spiritual Sun, when He shines forth from the temple of Manifestation, by His attributes of perfection, by the beauty of His qualities and by the splendour of His light” (from a talk to Mr. Percy Woodcock, at ‘Akka, 1909).

Again he says :—

“ Unless the Holy Spirit become intermediary, one cannot attain directly to the bounties of God. Do not overlook the obvious truths, for it is self-evident that a child cannot be instructed without a teacher, and knowledge is one of the bounties of God. ‘The soil is not covered with grass and vegetation without the rain of the cloud; therefore the cloud is the intermediary between the divine bounties and the soil. . . . The light hath a centre and if one desire to seek it otherwise than from the centre, one can never attain to it. . . . Turn thine attention to the days of Christ; some people imagined that without the Messianic outpourings it was possible to attain to truth, but this very imagination became the cause of their deprivation.” —Tad/ees of ‘Abdu’ /-Bahd, vol. iil.

PP: 591; 592A man who tries to worship God without turning to His [Page 86]86 BAHA’U’LLAH AND THE NEW ERA

Manifestation is like a man in a dungeon trying through his imagination to revel in the glories of the sunshine.

Prayer Indispensable and Obligatory.

The use of prayer is enjoined upon Baha'is in no uncertain terms. Baha’u’llah says in the Kitdbu’l-Agdas :—

“ Chant (or recite) the Words of God every morning and evening. The one who neglects this has not been faithful to the Covenant of God and His agreement, and he who turns away from it to-day is of those who have tumed away from God. Fear God, O my people! Let not too much reading (of the Sacred Word) and actions by day or night make you proud. ‘T'o chant but one verse with joy and gladness is better for you than reading all the Revelations of the Omnipotent God with carelessness. Chant the ‘Tablets of God in such measure that ye be not overtaken with fatigue and depression. Burden not the soul so as to cause exhaustion and Janguor, but rather refresh it that thus it may soar on the wings of Revelation to the Dawning-place of proofs, ‘This brings you nearer to God, were ye of those who understand.”

‘Abdu’l-Baha says to a correspondent :—

“O thou spiritual friend! Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext whatever is excused therefrom unless he be mentally unsound or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him.”—Tadlets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahd, vol. iii. p. 683.

Another correspondent asked: “Why pray? What is the wisdom thereof, for God has established everything and executes all affairs after the best order—therefore, what is the wisdom in beseeching and supplicating and in stating one’s wants and seeking help?”

‘Abdu’l-Baha replied :—

“ Know thou, verily, it is becoming in a weak one to supplicate to the Strong One, and it behoveth a seeker of bounty to beseech the Glorious Bountiful One. When One supplicates to his Lord, turns to Him and seeks bounty from His Ocean, this supplication brings light to his heart, illumination to his sight, life to his soul and exaltation to his being.

“ During thy supplications to God and thy reciting: ‘Thy Name is my healing,’ consider how thine heart is cheered, thy soul delighted by the spirit of the love of God, and thy mind attracted to the Kingdom of God! By these attractions one’s ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is enlarged the water increases, and when the thirst grows the [Page 87]PRAYER 84

bounty of the cloud becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is the mystery of supplication and the wisdom of stating one’s wants” (from a tablet to an American believer, translated by ‘Ali Quli Khan, October 1908).

Prayer the Language of Love.

To another who asked whether prayer was necessary, since presumably God knows the wishes of all hearts, he replied :—

“ If one friend feels love for another he will wish to say so. ‘Though he knows that the friend is aware that he loves him, he will still wish to say so. . . . God knows the wishes of all hearts, but the impulse to pray is a natural one, springing from man’s Jove to God... .

“¢ Prayer need not be in words but in thought and attitude. If this love and desire are lacking, it is useless to try and force them. Words without love mean nothing. Ifa person talks to you as an unpleasant duty, with no love or pleasure in his meeting with you, do you wish to converse with him?” (article in Fortnightly Review, June 1911, by Miss E. S. Stevens).

In another talk he said :-—~—

“Tn the highest prayer, men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him or hell, or hope for bounty or heaven. . ... When a man falls in love with a human being, it is impossible for him to keep from mentioning the name of his beloved. How much more difficult is it to keep from mentioning the Name of God when one has come to love Him. . . . The spiritual man finds no delight in anything save in commemoration of God” (from notes of Miss Alma Robertson and other pilgrims, November and December 1900).

Congregational Prayer.

Regarding the value of United or Congregational Prayer, ‘Abdu’l-Baha spoke as follows :—

“Man may say: ‘I can pray to God whenever I wish, when the feelings of my heart are drawn to God; when I am in the wilderness, when I am in the city, or wherever I may be. Why should I go where others are gathered upon a special day, at a certain hour, to unite my prayers with theirs, when I may not be in a frame of mind for praying?’

“To think in this way is useless imagination, for where many are gathered together their force is greater. Separate soldiers fighting alone and individually have not the force of a united army. If all the soldiers inthis spiritual war gather together, then their united spiritual feelings help each other, and their prayers become acceptable” (from notes taken by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg). [Page 88]88 BAHA’U’LLAH AND THE NEW ERA

Deliverance from Calamities.

According to the teaching of the prophets, disease and all other forms of calamity are due to disobedience to the Divine Commands. Even disasters due to floods, hurricanes and earthquakes are attributed by ‘Abdu’l-Baha indirectly to this cause. Referring to such he says :—

“* Events like these happen because of the connection between the parts of the universe, for every small part has connection with every great part, and what affects one affects the other or all the others. On account of this connection, the actions of man have effect. Whenever a promise is broken it causes a commotion. For instance, suppose two nations have a disagreement. It is a difference in ideas only, and not a physical thing; not anything that we can touch or see, yet this disagreement has a physical effect. It causes war, and thousands of men are cut in pieces. So, when man breaks his promise to God, in other words, when he ‘ breaks the Covenant,’ the effect is physical and calamities appear.” —Daily Lessons Received at Acca, p. 25.

The suffering that follows error is not vindictive, however, but educative and remedial. It is God’s Voice proclaiming to man that he has strayed from the right path. If the suffering is terrible, it is only because the danger of wrongdoing is more terrible, for “the wages of sin is death.”

Just as calamity is due to disobedience, so deliverance from calamity can be obtained only by obedience. There is no chance or uncertainty about the matter. “Turning from God inevitably brings disaster, and turning fo God as inevitably brings blessing.

As the whole of humanity is one organism, however, the welfare of each individual depends not only on his own behaviour, but on that of his neighbours. If one does wrong, all suffer in greater or less degree ; while if one does well, all benefit. Each has to bear his neighbour’s burdens, to some extent, and the best of mankind are those who bear the biggest burdens. The saints have always suffered abundantly ; the prophets have suffered superlatively, Baha’u’llah says in the Book of Iqgan :—

“For it is heard how every prophet and his companions have suffered

adversities, such as poverty, diseases and contempt; how the heads of their followers were sent as presents in the cities.”

This is not because the saints and prophets have merited punish[Page 89]PRAYER 89

ment above other men. Nay, they often suffer for the sins of others, and choose to suffer, for the sake of others. ‘Their concern is for the world’s welfare, not for their own. ‘The prayer of the true lover of humanity is not that he, as an individual, may escape poverty, ill-health or disaster, but that mankind may be saved from ignorance and error and the ills that inevitably flow from them. If he wishes health or wealth for himself, it is in order that he may serve the Kingdom, and if physical health and wealth are denied him, he accepts his lot with “‘ radiant acquiescence,” well knowing that there is a right wisdom in whatever befalls him in the Path of God. “‘Abdu’l-Baha says :—

“ Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance; they are sent by the Divine Mercy for our perfecting. When grief and sorrow come, then will a man remember his Father who is in Heaven, who is able to deliver him from his humiliations. ‘The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest of spiritual virtues shown forth by him.”—Paris Talks, p. 45.

At first sight it may seem very unjust that the innocent should suffer for the guilty, but ‘Abdu’l-Baha assures us that the injustice is only apparent and that, in the long run, perfect justice prevails, He writes :—

“ As to the subject of babes and children and weak ones who are afflicted by the hands of the oppressors . . . for those souls there is a recompense in another world .. . that suffering is the greatest mercy of God. Verily that mercy of the Lord is far better than all the comfort of this world and the growth and development appertaining to this place of mortality.”"—Tadlets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahda, vol. ii. p. 337.

Prayer and Natural Law.

Many find a difficulty in believing in the efficacy of prayer because they think that answers to prayer would involve arbitrary interference with the laws of nature. An analogy may help to remove this difficulty. Ifa magnet be held over some iron filings the latter will fly upwards and cling to it, but this involves no interference with the law of gravitation. The force of gravity continues to act on the filings just as before. What has happened is that a superior force has been brought into play—another force [Page 90]go BAHA’U’LLAH AND THE NEW ERA

whose action is just as regular and calculable as that of gravity. The Baha'i view is that prayer brings into action higher forces, as yet comparatively little known ; but there seems no reason to believe that these forces are more arbitrary in their action than the physical forces. ‘The difference is that they have not yet been fully studied and experimentally investigated, and their action appears mysterious and incalculable because of our ignorance.

Another difficulty which some find perplexing is that prayer seems too feeble a force to produce the great results often claimed for it. Analogy may serve to clear up this difficulty also. A small force, when applied to the sluice-gate of a reservoir, may release and regulate an enormous flow of water-power, or, when applied to the steering-gear of an ocean liner, may control the course of the huge vessel. In the Baha'i view, the power that brings about answers to prayer is the inexhaustible Power of God. The part of the suppliant is only to exert the feeble force necessary to release the flow or determine the course of the Divine Bounty, which is ever ready to serve those who have learned how to draw upon it.

Baha'i Prayers.

Baha'u'llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha have revealed innumerable prayers for the use-of their followers at various times and for various purposes. ‘The greatness of conception and depth of spirituality revealed in these utterances must impress every thoughtful student, but only by making their use a regular and important part of one’s daily life can their significance be fully appreciated and their power for good realized, Unfortunately, considerations of space prevent our giving more than a very few short specimens of these prayers. For further examples the reader must be referred to works mentioned in the Bibliography.

““Omy God! Make Thy Beauty to be my food and let Thy Presence be my drink. Let my trust be in Thy Will, and my deeds according to Thy Command. Let my service be acceptable to Thee, and my action a praise to Thee. Let my help come only from Thee, and ordain my | home to be Thy holy Mansion. Thou art the Precious, the EverPresent, the Loving.” ——Baua’v’LLAH.

“T bear witness, O Lord, my God! that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to adore Thee. I testify at this moment to my feebleness [Page 91]PRAYER 91

and to Thy Might, to my poverty and to Thy Wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting!”

= » —Baua’v’ Lian. r _4 “O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants, “and reveal to them Thy great Purpose.» May they follow thy Commandments and abide in Thy Law. Help them, O God, in their endeavour, and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God! Leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the light of Knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy Love. Verily, Thou art their Helper and their _— Lord !”—Bana’v’Lan.

» ~“O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. ‘Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household. In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.

, shelter all, conferrest life upon all, Thou hast endowed each and all with

_.» talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.

\ the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the

whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony.

“O God, Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.

““O God! Establish the Most Great Peace.

“Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.

“O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence. /

“Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and / ‘Thou art the One who overlookest the shortcomings of all mankind !” / —‘Anpu’t-Bank. (4 ¢ , =

A

“O Thou Almighty! Iam a sinner, but Thou art the Forgiver ! I am full of shortcomings, but Thou art the Compassionate! I am in the darkness of error, but Thou art the Light of Pardon!

“Therefore, O Thou Benevolent God, forgive my sins, grant thy Bestowals, overlook my faults, provide for me a shelter, immerse me in the Fountain of Thy Patience and heal me of all sickness and disease.

“Purify and sanctify me. Give me a portion from the outpouring of holiness, so that sorrow and sadness may vanish, joy and happiness descend, despondency and hopelessness be changed into cheerfulness and trustfulness, and courage take the place of fear.

“Verily Thou art the Forgiver, the Compassionate, and Thou art the Generous, the Beloved !”»—‘Aspu’t-BanA. [Page 92]92 BAHA’U’LLAH AND THE NEW ERA

““O Thou Compassionate God! Bestow upon me a heart which like a mirror may be illumined with the Light of Thy Love ; and inspire me with thoughts which may change the world into a rose garden, through the Spiritual Bounty.

“Thou art the Compassionate, the Merciful, the All-Bountiful !” —‘Aspu’L-Bana.

Baha'i prayer is not, however, confined to the use of prescribed forms, important as those are. Baha’u’llah teaches that one’s whole life should be a prayer, that work done in the right spirit is worship, that every thought, word and deed devoted to the

Glory of God and the good of one’s fellows is prayer, in the truest sense of the word.*

t On the subject of Intercessory Prayer, see Chapter XI, p. 167.