Three Alifs. Something to think about

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Here are references to think about if you realize that Baha’u’llah
was
the first Alif to appear after the Bab’s Mission. There are three
Letters BHA, in the Greatest Name, this Revelation, and two have
appeared, the Bab and Baha’u’llah................

The Bab cited in the book Selections from the Writings of E.G.
Browne
refers to Himself as “The (letter) Ba which permeates the water of
the
Letters, and the Point which stands at the Gate of the two
Alifs......” p. 215 Selections from the Writings of E.G. Browne
World as Text: Cosmologies of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i
by Juan R.I. Cole, Department of History, University of Michigan,
Studia Islamica 80 (1994):1-23. Juan Cole gives this symbolic
meaning to the word ALIF in Arabic:
alif...............A......................al-Badi`
(Wondrous)....................Universal Intellect
Baha'u'llah states at the end of the Kitab-i-Iqan , "Revealed by the
`Ba' and the `Ha". The Bab being the Ba (B) and Baha'u'llah the Ha
(H)
of the Greatest Name, BHA, with the Alif (A) soon to follow.

[Number Eleven - GPEMC!]

Here are references to think about if you realize that Baha’u’llah
was
the first Alif to appear after the Bab’s Mission. There are three
Letters BHA, in the Greatest Name, this Revelation, and two have
appeared, the Bab and Baha’u’llah................
The Bab cited in the book Selections from the Writings of E.G.
Browne
refers to Himself as “The (letter) Ba which permeates the water of
the
Letters, and the Point which stands at the Gate of the two
Alifs......” p. 215 Selections from the Writings of E.G. Browne
World as Text: Cosmologies of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i
by Juan R.I. Cole, Department of History, University of Michigan,
Studia Islamica 80 (1994):1-23. Juan Cole gives this symbolic
alif...............A......................al-Badi`
(Wondrous)....................Universal Intellect
Baha'u'llah states at the end of the Kitab-i-Iqan , "Revealed by the
`Ba' and the `Ha". The Bab being the Ba (B) and Baha'u'llah the Ha
(H)
of the Greatest Name, BHA, with the Alif (A) soon to follow.

How interesting that the acronym for "Bottom Hole Assembly", used in the
petroleum industry, should have such splendid spiritual connotations.

Yet returning to the linguistics of origin, I wonder how one might reconcile
the precocious appearance of a "Manifestation of God", symbolised by a
vowel - in particular one that is usually dropped; with Kitab-i-Aqdas
Section 37?

Perhaps we may take the above-mentioned aspect of "Universal Intellect" to
refer to that which we all possess, with implications after the idea that
all who may hear the voice of God are Manifestations of God. If we take God
to be the "power of attraction" (McKinney, 1912a), and thus at the level of
human interaction God is love (MacNutt, 1912; McKinney, 1912b; Abbas, 1912;
Abbas, 1913; Holley, 1945a; Holley, 1945b); then empathy is the voice of God
that speaks through the conscience of every human being - making everyone a
Manifestation of God.

Although it can be argued cogently that this is not the intent of Baha'i
literature (particularly with respect to the conspicuous rarity in otherwise
spiritual discourse of words such as remorse, guilt, and qualm), I would
submit that the presence of two conflicting maxims in the writings of
Baha'u'llah, deny the certainty of either argument, if not the appearance of
a prophetic successor itself. This speaks to the independent investigation
of truth as an ongoing affair, wherein Baha'is may do better to make up
their own minds as to how they individually understand the sacred
literature, without any help from authoritative or otherwise consensual
interpretation.


References
Abbas, `Abdu'l-Baha, 1912, "5th September Talk at Saint James Methodist
Church, Montreal, Canada, Stenographic Notes", Promulgation of Universal
Peace (compilation of talks given by `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas), Baha'i Publishing
Trust, pp. 312-319

Abbas, `Abdu'l-Baha, 1913, "The Four Kinds of Love, 4th January Talk at 97
Cadogan Gardens, London", Paris Talks (compilation of talks given by
`Abdu'l-Baha Abbas), Baha'i Publishing Trust, pp. 179-181

Holley, H., 1945a, "The Need of Divine Education", Foundations of World
Unity (compilation of talks given by `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas), Baha'i Publishing
Trust, pp. 72-78

Holley, H., 1945b, "The Quickening Spirit", Foundations of World Unity
(compilation of talks given by `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas), Baha'i Publishing Trust,
pp. 100-104

McKinney, E., 1912a, "Talk at Greenacre, Eliot, Maine", in Promulgation of
Universal Peace, (compilation of talks given by `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas), Baha'i
Publishing Trust, pp.253-261

McKinney, E., 1912b, "29th August Talk at Home of Madame Morey, 34 hillside
Avenue, Malden, Massachussetts", in Promulgation of Universal Peace
(compilation of talks given by `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas), Baha'i Publishing Trust,
pp. 289-296

MacNutt, H., 1912, "30th May Talk at Theosophical Lodge, Broadway &
Seventy-ninth Street, New York", Promulgation of Universal Peace
(compilation of talks given by `Abdu'l-Baha Abbas), Baha'i Publishing Trust,
pp. 155-161


At the end of time,
"The Kingdom" may well be God's,
but thy faith is thine.

____________________________________________________________
Timothy Casey GPEMC - Eleven is the ***@timothycasey.info to email.
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