Bahá’u’lláh on Suffering...

[Guest guest]

I apologize if the formatting of this on your screen is off, but I wanted to

share this with everyone. I think it can give us greater insight on the

nature of suffering, and ease our passage through our trials.

 

Bahá'u'lláh's Teachings on Spiritual Reality

Part IV: The Progress of the Soul

24 Suffering

 

God alone ordereth all things and is all-powerful. Why then does He send

trials to His servants? The trials of man are of two kinds. (a) The

consequences of his own actions. If a man eats too much, he ruins his

digestion; if he takes poison he becomes ill or dies. If a person gambles,

he will lose his money; if he drinks too much he will lose his equilibrium.

All these sufferings are caused by the man himself, it is quite clear

therefore that certain sorrows are the result of our own deeds.

(b) Other sufferings there are, which come upon the faithful of God.

Consider the great sorrows endured by Christ and His Disciples! 24.2

 

Physical pain is a necessary accompaniment of all human existence, and as

such is unavoidable. As long as there will be life on earth, there will be

also suffering, in various forms and degrees. But suffering, although an

inescapable reality, can nevertheless be utilized as a means for the

attainment of happiness. This is the interpretation given to it by all of

the prophets and saints who, in the midst of severe tests and trials, felt

happy and joyous, and experienced what is best and holiest in life.

Suffering is both a reminder and a guide. It stimulates us to better adapt

ourselves to our environmental conditions, and thus leads the way to

self-improvement. In every suffering one can find a meaning and a wisdom.

But it is not always easy to find the secret of that wisdom. It is sometimes

only when all our suffering has passed that we become aware of its

usefulness. What man considers to be evil turns often to be a cause of

infinite blessings. And this is due to his desire to know more than he can.

God's wisdom is, indeed, inscrutable to us all, and it is no use pushing too

far trying to discover that which shall always remain a mystery to our mind.

24.6

 

Man's physical existence on this earth is a period during which the moral

exercise of his free will is tried and tested in order to prepare his soul

for the other worlds of God, and we must welcome afflictions and

tribulations as opportunities for improvement in our eternal selves. 24.7

 

All calamities and afflictions have been created for man so that he may

spurn this mortal world – a world to which he is much attached. When he

experienceth severe trials and hardships, the his nature will recoil and he

will desire the eternal realm – a realm which is sanctified from all

afflictions and calamities. 24.8

 

The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more

the ground is plowed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest

will be. Just as the plow furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds

and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs

of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment….

To attain eternal happiness one must suffer. He who has reached the state of

self-sacrifice has true joy. Temporal joy will vanish. 24.9

 

…God hath never burdened any soul beyond its power.

24.10

 

Suffering, of one kind or another, seems to be the portion of man in this

world. Even the Beloved ones, the Prophets of God, have never been exempt

from the ills that are to be found in our world; poverty, disease,

bereavement – they seem to be part of the polish God employs to make us

finer, and able to reflect more of His attributes! No doubt in the future,

when… men become truly spiritualized, a vast amount of our present ills and

problems will be remedied. We who toil now are paving the way for a far

better world, and this knowledge must uphold and strengthen us through every

trial.

24.13

 

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((¸¸.•´ ..•´ -:¦:- ..::Brightest Blessings::..

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