Rain Wilson quotes part of this in the talk cited in my last post. I looked up the reference, and feel blown away by how beautifully Abdu'l-Baha has written here about the importance of action. There are so many quotable lines in the passage below. Abdu'l-Baha says that to the extent that all of us strive to do service and to be followers of the Light we are all "Baha'is", which is exactly what I believe. It is not the label, but our actions that define us. Let us all strive today and each day that our actions may be beautiful prayers.
GOOD IDEAS MUST BE CARRIED INTO ACTION
November 8th
"All over the world one hears beautiful sayings extolled and noble precepts admired. All men say they love what is good, and hate everything that is evil! Sincerity is to be admired, whilst lying is despicable. Faith is a virtue, and treachery is a disgrace to humanity. It is a blessed thing to gladden the hearts of men, and wrong to be the cause of pain. To be kind and merciful is right, while to hate is sinful. Justice is a noble quality and injustice an iniquity. That it is one’s duty to be pitiful and harm no one, and to avoid jealousy and malice at all costs. Wisdom is the glory of man, not ignorance; light, not darkness! It is a good thing to turn one’s face toward God, and 80 foolishness to ignore Him. That it is our duty to guide man upward, and not to mislead him and be the cause of his downfall. There are many more examples like unto these.
But all these sayings are but words and we see very few of them carried into the world of action. On the contrary, we perceive that men are carried away by passion and selfishness, each man thinking only of what will benefit himself even if it means the ruin of his brother. They are all anxious to make their fortune and care little or nothing for the welfare of others. They are concerned about their own peace and comfort, while the condition of their fellows troubles them not at all.
Unhappily this is the road most men tread.
But Bahá’ís must not be thus; they must rise above this condition. Actions must be more to them than words. By their actions they must be merciful and not merely by their words. They must on all occasions confirm by their actions what they proclaim in words. Their deeds must prove their fidelity, and their actions must show forth Divine light.
Let your actions cry aloud to the world that you are indeed Bahá’ís, for it is actions that speak to the world and are the cause of the progress of humanity.
If we are true Bahá’ís speech is not needed. Our actions will help on the world, will spread civilization, will help the progress of science, and cause the arts to develop. Without action nothing in the material world can be accomplished, neither can words unaided advance a man in the spiritual Kingdom. It is not through lip-service only that the elect of God have attained to holiness, but by patient lives of active service they have brought light into the world.
Therefore strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble. Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute!
This is the work of a true Bahá’í, and this is what is expected of him. If we strive to do all this, then are we true Bahá’ís, but if we neglect it, we are not followers of the Light, and we have no right to the name.
God, who sees all hearts, knows how far our lives are the fulfilment of our words."
-Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks
Showing posts with label labels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labels. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, July 28, 2008
Labels, Part 2
I’ve still got labels on the brain. Let’s take a step backward.
What is a label?
A search for the definition of the noun “label” left me generally unsatisfied, until I saw this aspect of the noun in the Oxford American Dictionary: “a classifying phrase or name applied to a person or thing, esp. one that is inaccurate or restrictive.” I would love to know the etymology of how this connotation of label has come to be.
Regardless, it is precisely this restrictive quality of most labels that explains my hesitation and unease* in applying labels to myself. In psychology labels (the DSM IV** is full of them) can be convenient for diagnosis or classification, but this convenience should always be weighed with contextual care and an understanding of the complexity of humans.
I feel that using a spiritual or religious label is much the same: any label fails to do true justice to the unknowable essence of God.
What does a label mean in a religious context?
A religious label can, I believe, hold at least three applications. Let’s consider these applications through the lens of the label “Bahá’í”.
1) Firstly, a Bahá’í could be any person who follows the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, whether or not that person has knowledge of Bahá’u’lláh. To the extent that we all strive to hone our spiritual qualities, we are all Bahá’ís. Ironically, as Lukas recently pointed out to me, the only person who ever was really a Bahá’í, who actually managed to perfectly follow all of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, was his son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The rest of us are quite human and do our very best.
It is in this sense of the word that I see myself both as a Bahá’í (and as a Christian).
2) Secondly, a Bahá’í is a person who accepts Bahá’u’lláh as the most recent Manifestation of God, and therein recognizes his teachings. This should not involve blind acceptance, but rather independent investigation that leads to greater certainty.
For most Christians, being Christian in this sense implies accepting Jesus the Christ (Christ meaning “Anointed One”) as one and only way to God. More reflections on this detail likely to come at a later date, following further investigation on my part.
3) Thirdly, any particular religious label implies a belongingness to that particular religious community. I talked in Labels, Part 1 about my sense of belonging to the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches when I was younger. This includes acceptance of a particular doctrine: certain rituals and traditions, and, usually, a particular system of polices and governance. In my view, though this use of the label is important and can even lead to transforming communities, this seems trite when devoid of the other applications of the religious label I've already expounded.
So does any one of these applications of a religious label matter more than the others? Can we do without any of them? Of this, I am not so sure. I am most comfortably rooted in and have my biases towards the first, but am striving to move more into the spaces of the second and third applications of the Bahá'í label (while hopefully further reclaiming also the Christian label). I don't see the Christian and Bahá'í labels as being mutually exclusive. I also feel that I can only arrive at these latter two versions of labeling myself by more fully embodying the first (along with continued investigation). There are so many writings and I have so much to learn! I want to be as cognizant of these labels as possible before using them for myself. But, I trust, that at some point all of this will become clearer.
More musings on labels are likely to show up again at some point in the future.
* How appropriate that "unease" refers to mental or spiritual discomfort.
** For criticisms of the DSM, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders#Criticism
What is a label?
A search for the definition of the noun “label” left me generally unsatisfied, until I saw this aspect of the noun in the Oxford American Dictionary: “a classifying phrase or name applied to a person or thing, esp. one that is inaccurate or restrictive.” I would love to know the etymology of how this connotation of label has come to be.
Regardless, it is precisely this restrictive quality of most labels that explains my hesitation and unease* in applying labels to myself. In psychology labels (the DSM IV** is full of them) can be convenient for diagnosis or classification, but this convenience should always be weighed with contextual care and an understanding of the complexity of humans.
I feel that using a spiritual or religious label is much the same: any label fails to do true justice to the unknowable essence of God.
What does a label mean in a religious context?
A religious label can, I believe, hold at least three applications. Let’s consider these applications through the lens of the label “Bahá’í”.
1) Firstly, a Bahá’í could be any person who follows the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, whether or not that person has knowledge of Bahá’u’lláh. To the extent that we all strive to hone our spiritual qualities, we are all Bahá’ís. Ironically, as Lukas recently pointed out to me, the only person who ever was really a Bahá’í, who actually managed to perfectly follow all of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, was his son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The rest of us are quite human and do our very best.
It is in this sense of the word that I see myself both as a Bahá’í (and as a Christian).
2) Secondly, a Bahá’í is a person who accepts Bahá’u’lláh as the most recent Manifestation of God, and therein recognizes his teachings. This should not involve blind acceptance, but rather independent investigation that leads to greater certainty.
For most Christians, being Christian in this sense implies accepting Jesus the Christ (Christ meaning “Anointed One”) as one and only way to God. More reflections on this detail likely to come at a later date, following further investigation on my part.
3) Thirdly, any particular religious label implies a belongingness to that particular religious community. I talked in Labels, Part 1 about my sense of belonging to the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches when I was younger. This includes acceptance of a particular doctrine: certain rituals and traditions, and, usually, a particular system of polices and governance. In my view, though this use of the label is important and can even lead to transforming communities, this seems trite when devoid of the other applications of the religious label I've already expounded.
So does any one of these applications of a religious label matter more than the others? Can we do without any of them? Of this, I am not so sure. I am most comfortably rooted in and have my biases towards the first, but am striving to move more into the spaces of the second and third applications of the Bahá'í label (while hopefully further reclaiming also the Christian label). I don't see the Christian and Bahá'í labels as being mutually exclusive. I also feel that I can only arrive at these latter two versions of labeling myself by more fully embodying the first (along with continued investigation). There are so many writings and I have so much to learn! I want to be as cognizant of these labels as possible before using them for myself. But, I trust, that at some point all of this will become clearer.
More musings on labels are likely to show up again at some point in the future.
* How appropriate that "unease" refers to mental or spiritual discomfort.
** For criticisms of the DSM, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders#Criticism
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Labels, Part 1
I have often thought about labels, their convenience and how quick some are to adopt them. I have tended to be careful to attach labels to myself. Last night I had the privilege of visiting the Bosch Baha'i School to see two of my dear college friends who were there for an intensive Ruhi workshop. We delved into a number of excellent questions about beliefs and certainty, including deep discussion of where I am at in my spiritual journey. While eating dinner a young man came up and after being introduced to me astutely asked me one question, "Are you Baha'i?" To which we all gave qualified replies... This later got us to a discussion of labels, the use of the "Baha'i" label, the "seeker" label, the "Christian" label...
When I was young, I called myself a Christian. I was cognizant of the difference between "Catholics" and "Protestants" (as many of my friends were “Catholics” and I “Protestant”) but also repeatedly found myself informing or reminding people that we were all Christians, believers in the same God and the same Christ. In elementary school I became interested in attending church, which my mother and I did sporadically, with some regularity for a couple years at a Presbyterian church, where we found an excellent minister. Then I called myself a “Presbyterian.” I went to a Presbyterian summer camp, which provided me with yearly spiritual boosts. My mother and I stopped attending this Presbyterian church when I was in junior high school following the departure of our beloved minister and our discomfort with the style of his replacement. I was still interested in attending church, so my mom and I went to a few masses at various churches around town, searching for a place that felt like "home". In high school, I had a piano recital in a local Lutheran church, and something about it felt right. So I convinced my mother to go with me. I found in the pastor of this church a wonderful spiritual teacher, one who has always thoughtfully investigated my questions with me. Having never been baptized as a child, I started doing independent study with the pastor to learn more about the Christian faith of the Lutheran bent and on December 6, 1997 (perhaps it was 1998) I became baptized as a Christian. I was now a “Lutheran.” I became highly involved in that church, in its youth group, in teaching confirmation classes, in its service trips to Baja California...
Then in college I began to question my use of the Christian label. This didn’t come entirely out of the blue. Like one of my roommates who had grown up "Christian" and had a number of doubts about the interpretations of the Christian faith, I became less comfortable seeing myself as a Christian. Perhaps this was, in part, because my mother had lived awhile in India and had a broader vision of Christianity. I never doubted the idea of a higher power, but I had greater trouble accepting that the ONLY way to God is through Jesus Christ [I am now forming new sentiments on this matter] and that all who do not recognize Christ are somehow damned to this fiery place called hell. I had trouble believing that God, who had created us different in different parts of the world, would somehow judge non-Christians. These were not new concerns for me, but ones that I began to feel more and more unsettled about the more I saw how many others interpreted and applied the use of the Christian label. To me, it made much more sense that there was this one God (or whatever you want to call it) who had revealed [Himself] in many different forms to different people across the world as best worked in different cultural contexts.
Throughout college I struggled quite a bit with these questions and had a number of excellent discussions about them with others (including with the friends I just saw last night). It was definitely more en vogue at our small liberal arts college to label oneself as "spiritual" than as part of any particular religion (I once wrote an op-ed piece on that distinction for the college paper). I found it much more comfortable and convenient to use this “spiritual” label, because I continued to maintain a strong sense of myself as a spiritual being and, for me, much of college was about getting to know myself more fully; I sought to strip away veils and get to the core of my being. Freshman year I was introduced by (L, who I saw last night) to the Baha'i Faith and discussion of the Faith ended up being how he and my roommate (A, who I also saw last night) got to know each other... she continued to investigate the Faith, but, at that time, I didn't really know where to go to learn more.
I finished college four years ago, so where does that leave me now? More to come in part 2. Stay tuned! :) Meanwhile, I welcome your thoughts, and any writings you want to share related to any of what I've just written. I'd love to hear about your journey in choosing or rejecting different labels for yourself.
When I was young, I called myself a Christian. I was cognizant of the difference between "Catholics" and "Protestants" (as many of my friends were “Catholics” and I “Protestant”) but also repeatedly found myself informing or reminding people that we were all Christians, believers in the same God and the same Christ. In elementary school I became interested in attending church, which my mother and I did sporadically, with some regularity for a couple years at a Presbyterian church, where we found an excellent minister. Then I called myself a “Presbyterian.” I went to a Presbyterian summer camp, which provided me with yearly spiritual boosts. My mother and I stopped attending this Presbyterian church when I was in junior high school following the departure of our beloved minister and our discomfort with the style of his replacement. I was still interested in attending church, so my mom and I went to a few masses at various churches around town, searching for a place that felt like "home". In high school, I had a piano recital in a local Lutheran church, and something about it felt right. So I convinced my mother to go with me. I found in the pastor of this church a wonderful spiritual teacher, one who has always thoughtfully investigated my questions with me. Having never been baptized as a child, I started doing independent study with the pastor to learn more about the Christian faith of the Lutheran bent and on December 6, 1997 (perhaps it was 1998) I became baptized as a Christian. I was now a “Lutheran.” I became highly involved in that church, in its youth group, in teaching confirmation classes, in its service trips to Baja California...
Then in college I began to question my use of the Christian label. This didn’t come entirely out of the blue. Like one of my roommates who had grown up "Christian" and had a number of doubts about the interpretations of the Christian faith, I became less comfortable seeing myself as a Christian. Perhaps this was, in part, because my mother had lived awhile in India and had a broader vision of Christianity. I never doubted the idea of a higher power, but I had greater trouble accepting that the ONLY way to God is through Jesus Christ [I am now forming new sentiments on this matter] and that all who do not recognize Christ are somehow damned to this fiery place called hell. I had trouble believing that God, who had created us different in different parts of the world, would somehow judge non-Christians. These were not new concerns for me, but ones that I began to feel more and more unsettled about the more I saw how many others interpreted and applied the use of the Christian label. To me, it made much more sense that there was this one God (or whatever you want to call it) who had revealed [Himself] in many different forms to different people across the world as best worked in different cultural contexts.
Throughout college I struggled quite a bit with these questions and had a number of excellent discussions about them with others (including with the friends I just saw last night). It was definitely more en vogue at our small liberal arts college to label oneself as "spiritual" than as part of any particular religion (I once wrote an op-ed piece on that distinction for the college paper). I found it much more comfortable and convenient to use this “spiritual” label, because I continued to maintain a strong sense of myself as a spiritual being and, for me, much of college was about getting to know myself more fully; I sought to strip away veils and get to the core of my being. Freshman year I was introduced by (L, who I saw last night) to the Baha'i Faith and discussion of the Faith ended up being how he and my roommate (A, who I also saw last night) got to know each other... she continued to investigate the Faith, but, at that time, I didn't really know where to go to learn more.
I finished college four years ago, so where does that leave me now? More to come in part 2. Stay tuned! :) Meanwhile, I welcome your thoughts, and any writings you want to share related to any of what I've just written. I'd love to hear about your journey in choosing or rejecting different labels for yourself.
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