The Light Shineth in Darkness
by
Udo Schaefer
4 Paragraphs

For the believer the required submission he is expected to show to the will of God, which is the essence of religion, means that he has to come to terms with his ego and with God, with his selfish, worldly desires and the divine command. Baha'is are not enjoined to flee this life as ascetics, but to turn to God, to strive for an inner detachment from everything transitory, and to subordinate their whole lives to their faith. "O Son of Spirit! There is no peace for thee save by renouncing thyself and turning unto Me." "Say: Deliver your souls, O people, from the bondage of self, and purify them from all attachment to anything besides Me." But the self-knowledge and self-conquest required from the believers is rewarded at the end by everlasting happiness: "O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you." (Gl ClIII). (35:1)

The fulfilment of God's commands demands effort and striving on the part of the believer. Observance of the divine prohibitions means the restriction of his own freedom of action. This is obvious; all forms of ethics set limits to one's freedom of action and every religion has done this. Absolute freedom of action, the unlimited exercise of one's own will, as is demanded by some today, does not lead to man's liberation but to chaos. Unrestricted freedom in which the autonomous person does not observe any limits other than those which he sets himself-- and these are not binding in the end-- must "lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench... That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station." (Gl). (35:2)

This striving for unlimited freedom condemned by Baha'u'llah is widespread today and the concept is clearly expressed by Arno Plack when he says that man's aggressiveness is not original but has been learnt only through frustration of his impulses; and only when his sexuality is no longer suppressed and he is allowed to live out his spontaneous instincts to the full can he achieve true fulfilment. This idea can only be understood if one accepts a popularized libido-theory which lies at the basis of this purely materialistic, pan sexual vision of man. If we took seriously the demand to abolish all institutionalized forms of behaviour and to leave all sexual relationship to the personal will of the individual, we would soon have a culture reminiscent of a rabbit hutch: "to act like the beasts of the field is unworthy of man". (Gl Cix) And if we were to abolish penal law, as Plack also demands, we would have complete chaos. (36:1)

The laws of Baha'u'llah are not an expression of divine caprice, nor do they suppress or violate human nature. The are "not imposition of will, or of power, or pleasure, but the resolutions of truth, reason and justice". (Pt) They are "the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures", "the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples". This is why true freedom consists in "man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it... The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth." (36:2)

End of Quote

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