"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
Commentary
on the Hidden Words
Potential Influence
cont.
In this book, within the compass of a few pages, Bahá’u’lláh has given to humanity a prescription which safeguards its well-being
and happiness. Speaking with the voice of God, He addresses man and exhorts him to ‘possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart’; He stresses the importance of cleansing his heart, which is the dawning-place of the Revelation of God, from the influences of the ungodly; calls on him to ‘cast out ... the stranger, that the Friend may enter His home’; advises him not to seek fellowship with the ungodly as this would turn ‘the radiance of the heart into infernal fire’; and assures him of the immortality of the soul. He also affirms that God has placed within him ‘the essence’ of His ‘light’ which ‘shall never be extinguished’; He confidently asserts that God has ‘made death a messenger of joy’ to man; establishes a Covenant with him to love God; enjoins on him to cling to justice, forbearance and love; reminds him that the ‘healer’ of all his ills is ‘remembrance’ of God; and describes the merits of turning to God in prayer at the hour of dawn. He counsels man to detach himself from this world, and not to abandon God’s ‘imperishable dominion’ for a ‘fleeting sovereignty’; rebukes him for his heedlessness, his indulgence of self and passion; directs him to avoid covetousness, envy, pride and vainglory; declares that the tongue is designed for the mention of God, that it should not be defiled with detraction and backbiting; mentions that the ‘best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God’; denounces the ‘idle and worthless souls’ who ‘yield no fruit on earth’ as the ‘basest of men’; speaks of the greatness of His Revelation; grieves that only a few souls have been found receptive to His Call and that of ‘these few’ only a ‘handful hath been found with a pure heart and sanctified spirit’. He warns man to ‘withdraw’ his hand from ‘tyranny’; pledges ‘not to forgive any man’s injustice’ in this day; foreshadows ‘an unforeseen calamity’ and a ‘grievous retribution’ following man by reason of the deeds that he has committed; admonishes the rich to bestow their wealth upon the poor; states that ‘wealth is a mighty barrier between the seeker and his desire, the lover and his beloved’; exalts the station of a rich man who is detached 80 from his wealth to such a position that his ‘splendour ... shall illuminate the dwellers of heaven even as the sun enlightens the people of the earth’; urges everyone to ‘show forth deeds that are pure and
holy’;and describes the powers latent within man in these words:
O Son of Spirit!
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to
poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself?
Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why
seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of
the clay of love I moulded thee, how dost thou busy thyself
with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest
find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.
