Know Thou That Every Created Thing Is A

Sources: Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llah

Know thou that every created thing is a sign of the revelation of God.

Each, according to its capacity, is, and will ever remain, a token of the

Almighty. Inasmuch as He, the sovereign Lord of all, hath willed to reveal

His sovereignty in the kingdom of names and attributes, each and every

created thing hath, through the act of the Divine Will, been made a sign

of His glory. So pervasive and general is this revelation that nothing< r />
whatsoever in the whole universe can be discovered that doth not reflect

His splendor. Under such conditions every consideration of proximity and

remoteness is obliterated.... Were the Hand of Divine power to divest of

this high endowment all created things, the entire universe would become

desolate and void.



Behold, how immeasurably exalted is the Lord your God above all created

things! Witness the majesty of His sovereignty, His ascendancy, and

supreme power. If the things which have been created by Him--magnified be

His glory--and ordained to be the manifestations of His names and

attributes, stand, by virtue of the grace with which they have been

endowed, exalted beyond all proximity and remoteness, how much loftier

must be that Divine Essence that hath called them into being?...



Meditate on what the poet hath written: "Wonder not, if my Best-Beloved be

closer to me than mine own self; wonder at this, that I, despite such

nearness, should still be so far from Him."... Considering what God hath

revealed, that "We are closer to man than his life-vein," the poet hath,

in allusion to this verse, stated that, though the revelation of my

Best-Beloved hath so permeated my being that He is closer to me than my

life-vein, yet, notwithstanding my certitude of its reality and my

recognition of my station, I am still so far removed from Him. By this he

meaneth that his heart, which is the seat of the All-Merciful and the

throne wherein abideth the splendor of His revelation, is forgetful of its

Creator, hath strayed from His path, hath shut out itself from His glory,

and is stained with the defilement of earthly desires.



It should be remembered in this connection that the one true God is in

Himself exalted beyond and above proximity and remoteness. His reality

transcendeth such limitations. His relationship to His creatures knoweth

no degrees. That some are near and others are far is to be ascribed to the

manifestations themselves.



That the heart is the throne, in which the Revelation of God the

All-Merciful is centered, is attested by the holy utterances which We have

formerly revealed.



Among them is this saying: "Earth and heaven cannot contain Me; what can

alone contain Me is the heart of him that believeth in Me, and is faithful

to My Cause." How often hath the human heart, which is the recipient of

the light of God and the seat of the revelation of the All-Merciful, erred

from Him Who is the Source of that light and the Well Spring of that

revelation. It is the waywardness of the heart that removeth it far from

God, and condemneth it to remoteness from Him. Those hearts, however, that

are aware of His Presence, are close to Him, and are to be regarded as

having drawn nigh unto His throne.



Consider, moreover, how frequently doth man become forgetful of his own

self, whilst God remaineth, through His all-encompassing knowledge, aware

of His creature, and continueth to shed upon him the manifest radiance of

His glory. It is evident, therefore, that, in such circumstances, He is

closer to him than his own self. He will, indeed, so remain for ever, for,

whereas the one true God knoweth all things, perceiveth all things, and

comprehendeth all things, mortal man is prone to err, and is ignorant of

the mysteries that lie enfolded within him....



Let no one imagine that by Our assertion that all created things are the

signs of the revelation of God is meant that--God forbid--all men, be they

good or evil, pious or infidel, are equal in the sight of God. Nor doth it

imply that the Divine Being--magnified be His name and exalted be His

glory--is, under any circumstances, comparable unto men, or can, in any

way, be associated with His creatures. Such an error hath been committed

by certain foolish ones who, after having ascended into the heavens of

their idle fancies, have interpreted Divine Unity to mean that all created

things are the signs of God, and that, consequently, there is no

distinction whatsoever between them. Some have even outstripped them by

maintaining that these signs are peers and partners of God Himself.

Gracious God! He, verily, is one and indivisible; one in His essence, one

in His attributes. Everything besides Him is as nothing when brought face

to face with the resplendent revelation of but one of His names, with no

more than the faintest intimation of His glory--how much less when

confronted with His own Self!



By the righteousness of My name, the All-Merciful! The Pen of the Most

High trembleth with a great trembling and is sore shaken at the revelation

of these words. How puny and insignificant is the evanescent drop when

compared with the waves and billows of God's limitless and everlasting

Ocean, and how utterly contemptible must every contingent and perishable

thing appear when brought face to face with the uncreated, the unspeakable

glory of the Eternal! We implore pardon of God, the All-Powerful, for them

that entertain such beliefs, and give utterance to such words. Say: O

people! How can a fleeting fancy compare with the Self-Subsisting, and how

can the Creator be likened unto His creatures, who are but as the script

of His Pen? Nay, His script excelleth all things, and is sanctified from,

and immeasurably exalted above, all creatures.



Furthermore, consider the signs of the revelation of God in their relation

one to another. Can the sun, which is but one of these signs, be regarded

as equal in rank to darkness? The one true God beareth Me witness! No man

can believe it, unless he be of those whose hearts are straitened, and

whose eyes have become deluded. Say: Consider your own selves. Your nails

and eyes are both parts of your bodies. Do ye regard them of equal rank

and value? If ye say, yea; say, then: ye have indeed charged with

imposture, the Lord, my God, the All-Glorious, inasmuch as ye pare the

one, and cherish the other as dearly as your own life.



To transgress the limits of one's own rank and station is, in no wise,

permissible. The integrity of every rank and station must needs be

preserved. By this is meant that every created thing should be viewed in

the light of the station it hath been ordained to occupy.



It should be borne in mind, however, that when the light of My Name, the

All-Pervading, hath shed its radiance upon the universe, each and every

created thing hath, according to a fixed decree, been endowed with the

capacity to exercise a particular influence, and been made to possess a

distinct virtue. Consider the effect of poison. Deadly though it is, it

possesseth the power of exerting, under certain conditions, a beneficial

influence. The potency infused into all created things is the direct

consequence of the revelation of this most blessed Name. Glorified be He,

Who is the Creator of all names and attributes! Cast into the fire the

tree that hath rot and dried up, and abide under the shadow of the green

and goodly Tree, and partake of the fruit thereof.



The people living in the days of the Manifestations of God have, for the

most part, uttered such unseemly sayings. These have been set down

circumstantially in the revealed Books and Holy Scriptures.



He is really a believer in the Unity of God who recognizeth in each and

every created thing the sign of the revelation of Him Who is the Eternal

Truth, and not he who maintaineth that the creature is indistinguishable

from the Creator.



Consider, for instance, the revelation of the light of the Name of God,

the Educator. Behold, how in all things the evidences of such a revelation

are manifest, how the betterment of all beings dependeth upon it. This

education is of two kinds. The one is universal. Its influence pervadeth

all things and sustaineth them. It is for this reason that God hath

assumed the title, "Lord of all worlds." The other is confined to them

that have come under the shadow of this Name, and sought the shelter of

this most mighty Revelation. They, however, that have failed to seek this

shelter, have deprived themselves of this privilege, and are powerless to

benefit from the spiritual sustenance that hath been sent down through the

heavenly grace of this Most Great Name. How great the gulf fixed between

the one and the other! If the veil were lifted, and the full glory of the

station of those that have turned wholly towards God, and have, in their

love for Him, renounced the world, were made manifest, the entire creation

would be dumbfounded. The true believer in the Unity of God will, as it

hath already been explained, recognize, in the believer and the

unbeliever, the evidences of the revelation of both of these Names. Were

this revelation to be withdrawn, all would perish.



Consider, in like manner, the revelation of the light of the Name of God,

the Incomparable. Behold, how this light hath enveloped the entire

creation, how each and every thing manifesteth the sign of His Unity,

testifieth to the reality of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, proclaimeth His

sovereignty, His oneness, and His power. This revelation is a token of His

mercy that hath encompassed all created things. They that have joined

partners with Him, however, are unaware of such a revelation, and are

deprived of the Faith through which they can draw near unto, and be united

with, Him. Witness how the divers peoples and kindreds of the earth bear

witness to His unity, and recognize His oneness. But for the sign of the

Unity of God within them, they would have never acknowledged the truth of

the words, "There is none other God but God." And yet, consider how

grievously they have erred, and strayed from His path. Inasmuch as they

have failed to recognize the Sovereign Revealer, they have ceased to be

reckoned among those who may be regarded as true believers in the Unity of

God.



This sign of the revelation of the Divine Being in them that have joined

partners with Him may, in a sense, be regarded as a reflection of the

glory with which the faithful are illumined. None, however, can comprehend

this truth save men endued with understanding. They that have truly

recognized the Unity of God should be regarded as the primary

manifestations of this Name. It is they who have quaffed the wine of

Divine Unity from the cup which the hand of God hath proffered unto them,

and who have turned their faces towards Him. How vast the distance that

separateth these sanctified beings from those men that are so far away

from God!...



God grant that, with a penetrating vision, thou mayest perceive, in all

things, the sign of the revelation of Him Who is the Ancient King, and

recognize how exalted and sanctified from the whole creation is that most

holy and sacred Being. This, in truth, is the very root and essence of

belief in the unity and singleness of God. "God was alone; there was none

else besides Him." He, now, is what He hath ever been. There is none other

God but Him, the One, the Incomparable, the Almighty, the Most Exalted,

the Most Great.