2nd, Teleological

Month, Day: 172, Splendour, Light (Justice)

We just completed the Transcendent group of the 1st month, right after the yearly measure.

      Splendour, Glory, Beauty, Grandeur.

Now, we are into the Teleological which may be more in our grasp.

      Light, Mercy, Words, Perfection.

Then, we get to what we can do, namely Operational.

Remarks:  03/25/2015

03/25/2015 --

Essence and prayer

Month, Day: 171, Loftiness, Dominion (Majesty)

Long Obligatory Prayer                  

O Thou in separation from Whom hearts and souls have melted, and by the fire of Whose love the whole world hath been set aflame!  I implore Thee by Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued the whole creation, not to withhold from me that which is with Thee, O Thou Who rulest over all men!  Thou seest, O my Lord, this stranger hastening to his most exalted home beneath the canopy of Thy majesty and within the precincts of Thy mercy; and this transgressor seeking the ocean of Thy forgiveness; and this lowly one the court of Thy glory; and this poor creature the orient of Thy wealth.  Thine is the authority to command whatsoever Thou willest.  I bear witness that Thou art to be praised in Thy doings, and to be obeyed in Thy behests, and to remain unconstrained in Thy bidding.

There is no God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.  There is no God but Thee, the Ordainer, both in the beginning and in the end.  O God, my God!  Thy forgiveness hath emboldened me, and Thy mercy hath strengthened me and Thy call hath awakened me, and Thy grace hath raised me up and led me unto Thee.  Who, otherwise, am I that I should dare to stand at the gate of the city of Thy nearness, or set my face toward the lights that are shining from the heaven of Thy will?  Thou seest, O my Lord, this wretched creature knocking at the door of Thy grace, and this evanescent soul seeking the river of everlasting life from the hands of Thy bounty.  Thine is the command at all times, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names; and mine is resignation and willing submission to Thy will, O Creator of the heavens!

O Lord of all being and Possessor of all things visible and invisible!  Thou dost perceive my tears and the sighs I utter, and hearest my groaning, and my wailing, and the lamentation of my heart.  By Thy might!  My trespasses have kept me back from drawing nigh unto Thee; and my sins have held me far from the court of Thy holiness.  Thy love, O my Lord, hath enriched me, and separation from Thee hath destroyed me, and remoteness from Thee hath consumed me.  I entreat Thee by Thy footsteps in this wilderness, and by the words “Here am I. Here am I” which Thy chosen Ones have uttered in this immensity, and by the breaths of Thy Revelation, and the gentle winds of the Dawn of thy Manifestation, to ordain that I may gaze on Thy beauty and observe whatsoever is in Thy Book.

O God, my God!  My back is bowed by the burden of my sins, and my heedlessness hath destroyed me.  Whenever I ponder my evil doings and Thy benevolence, my heart melteth within me, and my blood boileth in my veins.  By Thy Beauty, O Thou the Desire of the world!  I blush to lift up my face to Thee, and my longing hands are ashamed to stretch forth toward the heaven of Thy bounty.  Thou seest, O my God, how my tears prevent me from remembering Thee and from extolling Thy virtues, O Thou the Lord of the Throne on high and of earth below!  I implore Thee by the signs of Thy Kingdom and the mysteries of Thy Dominion to do with Thy loved ones as becometh Thy bounty, O Lord of all being, and is worthy of Thy grace, O King of the seen and the unseen!

Remarks:  03/19/2015

03/19/2015

Questions and answers

Month, Day: 171, Loftiness, Questions (Perfection)

Our best gift? Questions without which there would be no answers. Of course, we may have answers all around us; do (can) we know or recognize them without the filter of Questions?

Groups and their cusps

Remarks:  03/16/2015

03/16/2015

approaching 50 years

Month, Day: 171, Intercalary, #4 (Beauty)

It was fifty years ago, this time of the year, that I first heard of the Glory (of God - BASIS). The time frame was spring break, college campus. Being not of the 1%, I worked through the break. However, at the same time, I took the remaining leisure period to read Tolstoy's War and Peace (unabridged). In English, even though at the time I was taking Russian.

So, there is a story before and after this time, however, we're just doing a little snapshot. On the before, the key thing would be apple of the Bab's eye. The after? Let's just say that we'll continue these signets for as long as we're on the planet.

---

My older brother said, here, you might be interested in this and handed me an invitation to a talk that was taking place at the Student Union that afternoon. Why, given that he was not leaning toward anything? The talk? Someone was giving a presentation on their trip to Israel.

I went. Why not? Slides (photos) and yakking. Typical. The speaker mentioned God. And I was out of the room like a shot out of a cannon (yes, the before included a stint in the military - not exactly peacetime, let's say, in between war time). Then, on that day, agnostic (I was never stupid enough to be atheistic - or, perhaps, I ought to give credit to the characteristics of that before picture) would be a good modifier for my state of mind.

In short, the introduction to the Faith was brief. Was that the end of it? Evidently not. Look, if you would, at the tone of this blog. But, that's the rest of the story (no such thing, as we all know).

Remarks: 04/03/2015

03/07/2015 -- That spring, my brother, with some peers, went south to support the voter registration efforts. Too, they took over the Admin building and were, subsequently, clink'd. ... Does anyone remember, fondly, en loco parentis?

04/03/2015 -- Still within the 50 years and two years prior finding the Glory. Applying a little logic to the reflection, the time may have been during Ridvan as I recall the weather being warmer, with more blooms about, than one finds in March. ... This brother passed on about the same time as Hitchens.