What kinds of knowledge do we seek?
Throughout our lives we try hard to obey God and for everything we do to reflect qualities such as love, justice, humility and generosity, and praying every day that God will guide us and protect us.
We are also seekers.We seek knowledge of God and of His creation, and then we find we love Him more and more..
How do we know God?
- By listening to those Special Teachers that He sends to humanity
- By studying their teachings.
- By following the laws of God
- By looking at every thing that He created – the warmth of the sun reminds us of the love of God – the rain reminds us that He is always giving us gifts – the mountains call to mind God’s majesty.
Why did ‘Abdu’l-Baha say that we should make every effort to learn about the sciences and arts?
- to understand the world,
- and use our knowledge to help others,
- and to make the world more peaceful and all people to stop fighting.
Can anything stop us from learning?
If we don’t make an effort, or we don’t read the teachings of God, or if we don’t practice what we learn, or if we don’t ask questions, or if we get discouraged by our mistakes, then we might stop learning, or we learn more slowly.
What should we do then?
- study the sciences and arts – our love for learning will grow.
- ask questions of our parents, elders and teachers, and reflect on what we discover
- Listen, observe, think deeply.
- Strive, and persevere.
- if we make mistakes, think about what happened and keep trying.
What happens if we have a prejudice or a superstition?
Having a prejudice is when we have made up our mind, before even looking. For example I used to be prejudiced about olives and brussels sprouts. But now I love olives and brussels sprouts.
Remember:
- Truth is one, no matter where we may find it.
- Light is good from whatever lamp it may shine.
- A rose is beautiful, in whatever garden it may grow.
- We must always keep our minds open. Looking for answers.
Memorise:
Exert every effort to acquire the various branches of knowledge and true understanding. Strain every nerve to achieve both material and spiritual accomplishments.
‘Abdu’l-Baha
Story – Mirza Abu’l-Fadl and the Blacksmith
Mirza Abu’l-Fadl and the Blacksmith
Mirza Abu’l-Fadl was very well-known for his wealth of knowledge, and his ability to understand and explain complex spiritual ideas. He had deeply studied mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and languages. When he was still a young man, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl became a university professor in Teheran, Persia. This is the story of how he, while in that city, gained a knowledge beyond any he had acquired in all his broad studies – knowledge of the Revelation of Baha’u’llah.
One afternoon, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl and a few of his companions set out on donkeys to visit the countryside. On their way out of the city, one of the donkeys lost a shoe and the party called at the nearest blacksmith’s shop to help. When the blacksmith, who did not have much school education, saw Mirza Abu’l-Fadl’s long beard and large turban, which were considered symbols of vast learning, he asked whether the scholarly man might be willing to answer a question that had puzzled the blacksmith for some time.
Mirza Abu’l-Fadl agreed.
So, the blacksmith asked Mirza Abu’l-Fadl, “Is it true,” began the blacksmith, referring to an old written religious tradition, “Is it true that each drop of rain is accompanied by an angel from heaven, and that this angel brings down the rain to the ground?”
“This is true,” Mirza Abu’l-Fadl responded.
After a pause, the blacksmith begged to be allowed another question, to which Mirza Abu’l-Fadl gave his assent.
“Is it true,” the blacksmith asked once more, “that if there is a dog in a house no angel will ever visit that house?”
Again, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl responded in the affirmative, saying YES, for this too was a belief held by those who followed these written traditions.
“In that case,” commented the blacksmith, arriving at his point, “no rain should ever fall on a house where a dog is kept.”
Mirza Abu’l-Fadl had no answer. He left the shop embarrassed and angry, for he had been stumped by a blacksmith with no formal schooling!
Mirza Abu’l-Fadl had learned from his friends that the blacksmith was a Baha’i. Now, it happened that he and the blacksmith shared a mutual friend, a local clothing designer who had a shop in the bazaar that Mirza Abu’l-Fadl would sometimes visit. When the clothing designer, who was also a Bahai, heard about the incident at the blacksmith’s, he invited Mirza Abu’l-Fadl to take part in some discussions.
Mirza Abu’l-Fadl accepted the invitation, and the meeting was arranged.
In that meeting, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl posed numerous questions and raised many objections. Each one was answered in such simple terms and in such a wise manner that Mirza Abu’l-Fadl found himself at a loss, for he had thought he could easily prove wrong the Baha’i beliefs.
For several months Mirza Abu’l-Fadl continued to meet many different Baha’is, some of them quite scholarly themselves. Finally, forever unable to deny the proofs offered by the followers of Baha’u’llah, he turned his heart in earnest to God and begged to be shown the truth. Soon, he was overwhelmed with the truth of Baha’u’llah’s mission, and became, after nearly a year of protesting against Baha’i beliefs, a staunch and steadfast believer and an enthusiastic teacher of the Cause.
Questions:
- Who had the most schooling – Mirza Abu’l-Fadl or the blacksmith?
- Why did Mirza Abu’l Fadl leave the blacksmith’s shop embarrassed and angry?
- Later, when Mirza Abu’l Fadl started asking questions, did he think that he could easily prove that Baha’i beliefs were wrong?
- After Mirza Abu’l Fadl had talked to many different Baha’is, and he wanted to be shown the truth, what did he do?
- Who changed Mirza Abu’l Fadl from being argumentative, to a steadfast believer? Was it the blacksmith, or the clothing designer, or many different Baha’is, or was it God who helped him?
Song – The Human Race is One
By Gina and Russ Garcia (https://songs.ruhi.org/)
We are many faces (dou shi but tong mian kong)
Living ‘neath the sun (tong zai lan tian shai)
We may be many colors (dou shi but tong fu se)
But the human race is one (wo men yi ran shi yi jia)
Humanity is like a lovely garden
With different coloured flowers every where
Let’s take the time to know each other better
And find a way to show someone you care
We are many faces (dou shi but tong mian kong)
Living ‘neath the sun (tong zai lan tian shai)
We may be many colors (dou shi but tong fu se)
But the human race is one (wo men yi ran shi yi jia)
Humanity is like a lovely garden
With many different cultures we can see
It’s not enough to only love your country
Let’s take the time to love humanity
We are many faces (dou shi but tong mian kong)
Living ‘neath the sun (tong zai lan tian shai)
We may be many colors (dou shi but tong fu se)
But the human race is one (wo men yi ran shi yi jia)
Come on all you people now
Please listen to our plea
You know deep down inside our skin
We’re one humanity
We are many faces (dou shi but tong mian kong)
Living ‘neath the sun (tong zai lan tian shai)
We may be many colors (dou shi but tong fu se)
But the human race is one (wo men yi ran shi yi jia)
But the human race is one
