Bahá'u'lláh and the New EraEsslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Religion
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
Esslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Bahai Faith; Bahá'u'lláh, 1817-1892
The range and accuracy of His knowledge was amazing. He could quote and
expound the Scriptures of the various religions with which His
correspondents or questioners were familiar, in convincing and
authoritative manner, although apparently He had never had the ordinary
means of access to many of the books referred to. He declares, in Epistle
to the Son of the Wolf, that He had never read the Bayán, although in His
own Writings He shows the most perfect knowledge and understanding of the
Báb’s Revelation. (The Báb, as we have seen, declared that His Revelation,
the Bayán, was inspired by and emanated from “Him Whom God shall make
Manifest”!) With the single exception of a visit from Professor Edward
Granville Browne, to whom in the year 1890 He accorded four interviews,
each lasting twenty to thirty minutes, He had no opportunities of
intercourse with enlightened Western thinkers, yet His Writings show a
complete grasp of the social, political and religious problems of the
Western World, and even His enemies had to admit that His wisdom and
knowledge were incomparable. The well-known circumstances of His long
imprisonment render it impossible to doubt that the wealth of knowledge
shown in His Writings must have been acquired from some spiritual source,
quite independent of the usual means of study or instruction and the help
of books or teachers.(19)
Sometimes He wrote in modern Persian, the ordinary language of His fellow
countrymen, which is largely admixed with Arabic. At other times, as when
addressing learned Zoroastrians, He wrote in the purest classical Persian.
He also wrote with equal fluency in Arabic, sometimes in very simple
language, sometimes in classical style somewhat similar to that of the
Qur’án. His perfect mastery of these different languages and styles was
remarkable because of His entire lack of literary education.
In some of His Writings the way of holiness is pointed out in such simple
terms that “the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein”
(Isaiah xxv, 8). In others there is a wealth of poetic imagery, profound
philosophy and allusions to Muḥammadan, Zoroastrian and other scriptures,
or to Persian and Arabic literature and legends, such as only the poet,
the philosopher or the scholar can adequately appreciate. Still others
deal with advanced stages of the spiritual life and are to be understood
only by those who have already passed through the earlier stages. His
works are like a bountiful table provided with foods and delicacies suited
to the needs and tastes of all who are genuine truth seekers.
It is because of this that His Cause had effect among the learned and
culture, spiritual poets and well-known writers. Even some of the leaders
of the Súfís and of other sets, and some of the political ministers who
were writers, were attracted by His words, for they exceeded those of all
other writers in sweetness and depth of spiritual meaning.
The Bahá’í Spirit
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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