anxious? concerned? confused?

i read this article last week (in the new york times) and thought that you might like it.  it’s all about our ability to weigh the risks vs benefits of a situation and judge accordingly.

what i find interesting is that it talks about how affected we are, as individuals, by an abundance or lack of information on a topic.  in other words – it states that being bombarded by information in the media makes us more anxious about those things, rather than things that might actually cause us more harm, but isn’t widely acknowledged/known.

it reminded me of the following Writing from Baha’u'llah:

What “oppression” is more grievous than that a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek it? For opinions have sorely differed, and the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied. This “oppression” is the essential feature of every Revelation. Unless it cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest. For the break of the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of the night of error. For this reason, in all chronicles and traditions reference hath been made unto these things, namely that iniquity shall cover the surface of the earth and darkness shall envelop mankind.

(Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 31)

in a sense, this imposition of confusion on our society (and it’s not just by the media, and it’s not just the media’s fault) is a form of oppression.  ‘Abdu’l-Baha tells us that “When thou lookest about thee with a perceptive eye, thou wilt note that on this dusty earth all humankind are suffering.” (Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 184)  there’s various forms of suffering, of course, and i don’t mean to diminish what anyone is going through.  the reality is simply this: that in one form or another, every individual on this planet is hindered from finding truth.

you might read that and say “well, not everyone wants to look for truth”.  and i would respond: they’re all looking for something real, in some form.  and from there we would get into a discussion of conscious and unconscious search… which is a whole series of posts… and discussions, really.  because, at the end of the day, i don’t really know what i’m saying – i’m just sharing some thoughts and hoping that it creates a dialogue – somewhere, somehow.

vertigo: a matter of perception?

are the horizontal lines parallel or do they slope?

Perception is everything.  It is remarkable that reality exists, given that we are all subject to our own ability to understand and interact with it.  That is to say, our limitations govern our definitions of reality.

Recently, a friend of my mom’s had an ear infection that she was unaware of.  For the past year (she doesn’t believe in doctors, as you can see) she has been missing steps (or adding them) as she goes up and down the stairs at work.  She is young, perhaps in her 20’s and my mom has beent telling her, for months, to see a doctor.  Last week, she finally went.  The diagnosis: ear infection.  She is now on medication, and should be able to go up and down stairs, without falling, within 10 days.  The infection in this young woman’s ear was causing her perception of reality to be skewed.  She was unable to clearly define/interpret where the steps started and ended, and as a result, she was constantly falling.

In a sense, we’re all doing this.   We’re all stumbling around to some degree or another, struggling against vertigo.  In the process, we’re likely doing harm to ourselves and others.  Some of us realize that we’re feeling the effects of vertigo, and do things to actively fight it… others, though, are either satisfied with where they’re at (maybe they don’t realize that it’s not normal), or they think that the room is actually no longer spinning (they’re clearly lying to themselves).

In any case – living in such a state is clearly damaging.  Why would you want to do that?  And, as an individual watching others do this to themselves – what possible reason could I have to not get involved?

These are the questions that are plaguing my mind.  When we all seem to be lost, why not work together through the maze?  Why do we constantly fight with each other?  And if others fight with me, should I still try to work with them?

truth.

recently, i had an experience in which someone i care about deeply openly lied to me.  it was an interesting sort of lie; i’d never experienced anything quite like it.  the situation was such that i knew the truth, through his (let’s call him LK), but wanted him to have to say it to me.  however, when i got to that long anticipated moment… the moment i had played out in my mind hundreds of times… that is, when i finally confronted him and asked him for the truth, he told me a boldfaced set of lies.  i, of course, had to accept it as if it were truth… but it was a very interesting experience in that i’d never witnessed anyone say such a huge lie, and in any case, i’d never known it to be a lie as it was being said to me! what was even more spectacular was that it appeared as though LK was even lying to himself.

what amazes me is that not only can people lie but that it is also done so often!   little lies, big lies, sloppy ones, neat ones…. (we could write a dr seuss book about this!)  i do not understand what is so attractive about it…  this friend of mine… i think he was trying to protect himself – but in reality, the resultant is that he gets hurt, and his spiritual faculties damaged.

cuz you see, when we learn that “truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues” (‘Abdu’l-Baha), it suggests to me that the development of all of our other qualities (such as love, justice, magnanimity, humility) depends on the development of our ability to be truthful.  so then it fascinates me that we think that we can get away with lying!  all of our other faculties stop working the second we do that!

i guess that maybe it comes down to how much we think that we can get away with… but, do we really think we can hide from God?

i’ve tried… it’s pretty damned hard when His home is your heart!

happy Ridvan, friends

true justice involves freedom from passion and self

‘O Son of Spirit!

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behoveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.’

They that are just and fair-minded in their judgement occupy a sublime station and hold an exalted rank. The light of piety and uprightness shineth resplendent from these souls. We earnestly hope that the peoples and countries of the world may not be deprived of the splendours of these two luminaries.

(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 36)

I have been familiar with the above Hidden Word from a very young age.   My understanding of it has changed a lot over time, though.  At first, I thought that justice means fairness so God loves fairness.  That makes sense… but then why does that involve seeing things for oneself?  I suppose it makes sense for a child not to understand how much other people play into judgment.  Lately, I’ve come to understand justice as a search for truth, and so this Hidden Word talks about searching for truth, and how we need to search it out for ourselves.  (operative word: self)  So, if we think about how that behooves us to be – it behooves us to be detached from the thoughts and perceptions of others, and also to not influence others either.  So often, I find that we like to think of ourselves as detached from what everyone else says, but as soon as someone states an opinion that is different than ours, we throw our weight around and try to convince them that we’re right.  Mutual exchange is fine, but pressure – there’s an arrogance in that that cannot survive in the New World Order.

Now, as I read about the upcoming trial of the Baha’i Leaders in Iran, I am coming to understand how important it is that justice is aloof from the thoughts of others.  Justice mixed with politics, ambition, power, self – becomes poison for a society.  Of course, we know from the Baha’i Writings and from science that human beings can accustom themselves to poison, but this is not healthy in the least.  Every country in the world is plagued by this “mixed up justice” – or injustice, if we really want to be clear about it.  It’s not my intent to point out every little flaw, I’ll leave that to the academics.  I only want to discuss the situation in Iran right now, because I think it’s an excellent example of this type of injustice.

The Baha’is

The seven Baha'i leaders in Iran

in Iran have ever worked for the benefit of their society and the world.  They have been characterized by the demonstration of pure and goodly deeds, and by commendable and seemly conduct.  They opened the first schools in Iran, they are among the most educated.  Their children are the top students in primary and secondary schools (they’re not allowed into post-secondary institutions).   The government and clergy (which, I guess, these days, are basically the same thing), on the other hand, scandalized by the fact that God might actually keep His word about renewing Islam, and afraid of losing their own precious social standing and power, have been attempting to eliminate the Baha’i Faith by any means possible.   They have arrested the seven individuals currently serving as Baha’i leaders in Iran.  The charges?  “…espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.”

This is a fascinating topic for me, not only as an Iranian Baha’i, not only as a child of the revolution, but also as an individual looking to work toward justice in this world.  It is amazing to me that a countries’ government could be so blind to the truth.  It’s actually sort of ridiculous.  Even the most biased observer will admit that the Baha’i law commanding its adherents not to disobey any government rules out any form of revolutionary statements or actions.  So then it becomes obvious to the observer of such an act on the part of the Iranian government that it is based completely on their own passions and self-serving interests – and even then, it’s illogical in its basis.  Why not focus on other groups that might actually be after your power? (This is only one of many questions we could ask about the Iranian governments actions)

This is a possible reason why, in my opinion, Baha’u'llah warns us about being deprived of those who are just and fair-minded in their judgements.  This ability to see clearly, to move in the world without being swayed and distracted by the fancies and idle thoughts of those around us, is so critical to progress and growth.  I think it will be important, then, for those of us who are do try to see with our own eyes, to take a step and champion the rights of the oppressed, to move in a direction where truth is as visible as the sun at noon, and bring some sort of justice to this world.   How else will the world survive the calamities that plague it?

Baha’u'llah says that we should ponder this in our hearts, and see how it behooves us to be.  After all, it’s up to each one of us to decide how to act on what we know.  In the end, though, I think the key is actually acting on what we know, and not just sitting idly by.  We need to be a part of the movement toward change, and if not, we’re simply promoting the status quo.  Sometimes that means stepping away from situations that we don’t agree with, sometimes it means actively working against the injustice.  Whatever your way, I hope that you find it.

On that note, happy ponderings!