A Moment of Inspiration: Him, Her & Humanity

"Enter into wedlock, O people, that ye may bring forth one who will make mention of Me amid my servants. This is My bidding unto you; hold fast to it as an assistance to yourselves."

-Bahá'u'lláh (The Kitáb-i-Aqdas)

The above quotation is taken from the Baha'i Faith's Holy Book, the The Kitáb-i-Aqdas. My friend had brought this quotation to my attention some time ago and I have been giving it some thought, especially in terms of what marriage means to humanity.

If you had followed my last post, please know that my posts from now on are some of the fruits of consultation between my wife and I, assuming that I will never be able to fully understand any aspect of reality without the input from my wife.

Before I begin, I would like to note that the following is only our limited understanding on the subject and is should not be considered as representative of the sacred writings of the Baha'i Faith.

My basic understanding on the phrase "...who will make mention of Me amid my servants.", is that one of the strongest ways to make mention of God amongst humanity is in spreading the teachings of His Manifestations and practising it as a means to contributing to the advancement of civilisation towards the oneness of humanity.

And to give context to this post: Should the thought of marriage be constantly linked with the concept of a human family?

Here are some thoughts into both possible answers to this question.

Surely, one would feel a higher sense of fulfilment when one is married and further starts a family. A sense of fulfilment that one can now contribute to humanity on a whole new level - the opportunity to raise yet another child of God and of humanity. Wow, can you just imagine that for a second? Each person being endowed with nearly limitless potentialities and gifts to bring about wonders in advancing human civilisation, and we now have the opportunity to be part of raising one of them? Surely, if we leave this world knowing that our children have grown up contributing to the betterment of the world, we would leave this world in peace and fulfilment.

Now let's take it a step further and imagine if all of us parents and would-be parents have the desire to raise our children in such a way. Would our society be consisting of just mere individuals or families? Would the basic unit of the human society be individuals or families? There is a prevalent train of thought which postulates that good behaviour and morality starts within the confines of the home or family. I had a close friend who recently told me how powerless she felt in trying to bring about social transformation. Perhaps we are all at a stage in our lives when we feel that our capacity to contribute to social change is somewhat limited. But does not our capacity contribute to social change multiply tremendously when we have the opportunity to raise one human soul who will want to contribute to an ever-advancing civilisation? (This question is directed more so to those searching souls who still wonder if marriage is for them).

Now let's take it down a notch and think how raising one who makes mention of God helps us as a married couple and even as individuals. An increasing number of researchers are testifying to the assumption that each of us learn the most from our parents, especially in our early years, about the many questions of life and society. Where does a child learn how to show love to one another? Where does a child learn that the woman should always be attending to the needs of children whereas the father only goes to work? Where does a child learn to look down on another race? Or show love to all who may cross their path? Where does a child learn that education is only a means to a rich and upper-class lifestyle? Or that education is to bring out the best in us to carry forward an advancing civilisation? Where does a child learn that he has to prioritize his happiness and comfort over others? Or that he will want to lead a life which seeks to to change the situation of the oppressed?

So how would I want to teach my children how to show love? I would first need to learn to show love to my wife.

And lastly, let's think about some implications from what we have talked about so far. Could one of the ways we try to address the many pressing problems of humanity lie in the sacred relationships of our marriages? When I make a slip of the tongue or a simple negative action (like littering when there is no dustbin around) which does not harm anyone, a thought always scares me. What if my children had heard me say that or saw me do that? And though I do not have children yet, the thought of that already makes me think seriously about the way I live my life.

I guess I will end here with a couple of scenarios to think about. One is where I litter a sweet wrapper just because I would need to get back into my car to drive to a dustbin, and that act if left unchecked, perpetuates into a possible future where my child would one day be that person who disregards the earth's resources in favour of a comfortable lifestyle of a privileged few.

The other scenario is where I praise the Lord with my wife for each other each night before going to bed, and if it continues, will perpetuate into a possible future where my child would one day be that person who champions the cause of justice through the reforms of policy because there are countless others who have less to thank for than himself.

Have a blessed week.

A Moment of Inspiration

Monday, April 21, 2014

Him, Her & Humanity

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