CHAPTER VIII
THE TIME WHEN THE THIRD MANIFESTATION WILL PRIVATELY OR PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE HIS MISSION
Baha’u’llah and all previous Manifestations have informed us that only God knows when His Manifestations will appear. Yet, in each instance He has given us prophetic statements indicating when the Revelations will begin, written in a language that most people fail to understand. The clearest prophecies giving a date for the aw earance of a Manifestation were those foretelling the coming of the Bab, and yet Most people were veiled from their significance, and failed to accept the Bab when He declared His Mission. In this chapter I have brought together some of the prophecies relating to the time of the appearance of the third Letter of the Greatest Name, the All-Highest.
In the previous chapter we mentioned two of the prophecies which indicate an approximate time for the appearance of the Manifestation of God. They are: "The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divides and afflicts the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appears to be lamentably defective....Such shall be its plight that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly...Soon, will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead...After a time all the governments on earth will change...Oppression will envelop the world. And following a universal convulsion. the sun of justice will rise from the horizon of the unseen realm.’ Baha’u’llah cited in The Promised Day i~ Come, p. 121, India edition.
"The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. and when the appointed hour is come. there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then. and only then. will the Divine Standard be unfurled. and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody." Gleanings, p. 118
In these prophecies the terms "sun of justice"’ and ‘Nightingale of Paradise" are references to the Manifestations of God (see, for example, The Tablet of Ahmad). The term "unseen realm" is a reference to the hidden realm of the Holy Spirit. The term "Divine Standard" is a reference to the Word of God, which is the standard by which all things are judged. (Note: In Arabic there are no upper case and lower case letters, so when translated into English they are sometimes not indicated, depending on the translator and when the translation was made).
Although the subject of the catastrophic events to be focused on the world, a process well under way today, is discussed in the final chapter of this book, a few words are necessary here because they are among the ‘signs’ occurring just prior to the appearance of the third Letter of the Greatest Name. The days of the ‘purification’ of humanity are drawing near, and according to Shoghi Effendi and Abdu’l-Baha only a few will survive (see the last chapter for further prophecies). We see Baha’u’llah’s prophecy above (and in the Quran as well) that this cataclysmic event will occur suddenly, and Shoghi Effendi said that this means unexpectedly. Many Baha’is, as well a~ the generality of mankind, have failed to realize that world peace and ongoing international commerce are not the solution to the problems of mankind. We were created to know and to love God, this is the entire purpose of our existence. Our material creations, our knowledge, our new discoveries in science, etc. are given to us by God so that we may attain the true goal of life, nearness to Him. In a world of crass materialism we have lost sight of the purpose of life, and so humanity rushes towards its self-inflicted judgement day and time of purification.
"After this date (i.e.1963) great commotion and upheaval will embrace the whole earth. To make a long story short, terrible wars, and disastrous earthquakes will take place and all kinds of miseries will encompass mankind to such an extent that in certain parts of the world historical monuments will be completely destroyed. Briefly, the population of the earth will be diminished to one third.’ Abdu’l-Baha in a Tablet to a Persian believer
‘O peoples of the earth! I swear by your Lord! Ye shall act a~ former generations have acted...warn ye then, of the terrible. the most grievous vengeance of God...If ye fail, at the appointed hour to turn toward God, He, verily, will lay violent hold on you and cause grievous afflictions to assault you from every direction. How severe indeed is the chastisement with which your Lord will then chastise you...O ye peoples of the world! Know verily that an unforeseen calamity is following you and that grievous retribution awaiteth you..." Baha’u’llah cited in The Promised Day is Come. See also Gleanings pp. 169, 209 and 214
The final years before the event that will ‘cause the limbs of mankind to quake’ are now upon us, and we witness a growing avalanche of catastrophic events occurring around the world. One of the signs apparent today is the racial, religious, national and ethnic divisions that are growing worse month by month, and which are spreading around the world.
"Great, great is the Cause! The hour is approaching when the most great convulsion will have appeared. I swear by Him Who is the Truth! ; it shall cause separation to afflict everyone, even those who circle around Me". Baha’u’llah cited in Advent of Divine Justice, p. 81
These events signal the end of this world civilization, and the beginning of the new age. Only when this old order of things is destroyed will it be possible to build anew, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Many living during these times of the disintegration of this world civilization, and those born since World War II, have become so inured to the bad news and the calamities, that they accept it as normal, the way it has always been.
"Behold, famine and pestilence and distress and anguish are sent as scourges to correct men, but in spite of all these things, they will not turn from their wickedness, or ever remember the scourge.’ Esdras II, 16:20
If people will only look at the past, and consider the real potentials of humanity, they will become aware of the failures of this world civilization and the dangers we have created for ourselves. There is a decay of moral values, destruction of ecosystems and an unprecedented world-wide buildup of armaments. Rather than turning to God, the people still believe that we can solve our problems through material means and intellectual solutions. A few wise men in the world realize that we now face a world embracing cataclysm.
"A misunderstood development of the soul will inevitably carry a total psychological destruction. The actual situation is at this time so sinister that is difficult not to see that the Creator is preparing another deluge to exterminate the human race. " Carl Jung in Questa a una Filosofia
"The splitting of the atom has changed everything save our mode of thinking, and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe." Albert Einstein
After these days of darkness and terror have passed, the Light of God will appear on the horizon of the Realm of the Spirit. We understand that this event should occur just before the end of this century, or at the beginning of the next century, about the year 2001, the time of Mustaghath.
THE TIME OF MUSTAGHATH
"We, verily, believe in Him Who, in the person of the Bab, hath been sent down by the will of the one true God, the King of Kings, the All-Praised. We, moreover, swear fealty to the One Who, in the time of Mustaghath. is destined to be made manifest, as well as to those Who shall come after Him till the end that hath no end. We recognize in the manifestations of each one of them, whether outwardly or inwardly, the manifestation of no one but God Himself, if ye be of those that comprehend. Every one of them is a mirror of God, reflecting naught else but His Self, His Beauty, His Might and glory, if ye will understand. All else besides them are to be regarded as mirrors capable of reflecting the glory of these Manifestations Who are themselves the Primary Mirrors of the Divine Being, if ye be not devoid of understanding. No one hath ever escaped them, neither are they to be hindered from achieving their purpose." Gleanings ,pp.73-74
"Say, We have originated all the letters from the Point (Nukta) and to it We returned them; then We sent them forth in the form of a Human Temple. May the Wonderful and Admirable Doer be exalted. We shall form (a Temple) from it for another time in My name—El Abha—as a bounty on My part." Surat’ul’Hykal, translation by A. Hadad
You will note in the above quotations, that Baha’u’llah speaks of the next Manifestation as appearing in the ‘time of Mustaghath’. This ‘time of Mustaghath’ is given special importance in the Writings of the Bab, as we shall see below. In her book Baha’i Glossary Marzieh Gail explains the term ‘Mustaghath’ as follows:
"’He Who is invoked’. The cycle of every Divine Dispensation...The letters total according to Abjad reckoning 2001 -- the limit of time assigned by the Bab for the advent of the Promised One. With these words of the Bab, Baha’u’llah refutes those who claimed that the Promised One should not appear until 2001: ‘For none knoweth the time of the Revelation except God. Whenever it appeareth, all must acknowledge the Point of Truth, and render thanks unto God.’"
The Bab, in His Writings, stresses the importance of Mustaghath as a number, or date, or time, besides its literal meaning which is ‘He Who is invoked’. In the following verse vahid (vahd in Arabic) means unity, indicating the unity of all Manifestations (it also has the Abjad value of 19). As we have seen, the Abjad Value of the letter ~(ALF/ALIF) which is the third Letter of the Greatest Name, is also unity, or one. The name Ali-Muhammad has the Abjad value of seven, mentioned in the quotation below as ‘seven letters’.
"Let each soul guard itself by the form of the name of the Mustaghath at the moment of its birth, and no one should dispense with it. No name amongst the names of God is equal as regards its number (i.e. 2001), and that is the supreme fruit of the Names which has reached the Extreme of Manifestation, and where naught is manifest but teh first Vahid. And in the first Vahid is naught but the primal Vahid, which is the Prophet of God in the Quran, and the Essence of the Seven Letters in the Bayan, and before the Quran it was Jesus, and after the Bayan it will be He Whom God shall manifest. Different enthronements appear in different Manifestations, else that which ‘ascends the throne’, which is free from all limitations, is the same Primal Volition, the enthronement of which changes it not...And no name is superior to the number of Mustaghath in the ranks of Names. Therefore it is ordained that from the conception they should guard that form by a Tablet wherein is the number of the Name Mustaghath. For only God knows how long it will be from the beginning of a Manifestation until another. but if God please, it will not be more than the number of Mustaghath. And in the cycle of the Quran, the beginning and return of that was the name Aghfar (i.e the Most Forgiving) minus the Name Huwa (i.e. He), and there is no test by which to judge this matter. which only God knows. for between the Gospel and the Quran the number of years did not even reach 1000. And in every case the Tree of Truth regards the capacity of His people; whenever He sees that they are ready for the Manifestation in the mirror of their hearts, He reveals Himself.’ This portion of Vahid VII:10 was translated by E.G. Browne. (Note:Aghfar equals 1281 and Huwa equals 1, so 1281-11=1270, the number of years from the beginning of the Dispensation of Muhammad until that of the Bab).
(This portion of Vahid YII:10 translated from the French of A.L.M. Nicolas) "Thesignificance of this is that since all names circle around the Name of God, and the perfection of all consists in reaching the value of the name of Mustaghath, it is possible (if one follows the command that We gave of keeping a Tablet with you) that all believers in the Bayan reach the degree of perfection possible in order that at the moment of the manifestation of Truth, they can recognize the Sun of Truth and circle around Him. One must be cautious and not exceed this number; if someone who believes in the Bayan reaches the year 2001, and is informed that the Tree of Truth is manifest, that person must go to Him, even if he/she is not convinced. It is thus that he/she will be shielded from the fire [of unbelief] by that kindness. No mercy has been, nor is greater, in the Bayan (if one understands its value), than to save oneself from the fire of He Whom God will manifest, and to repose in the shadow of His Light. The Manifestation is the Source of the creation of Truth, and of the world of hearts. after the creation of the physical world prior to His Manifestation."
"Give as guardians for your children (hung from neck or arms) a prayer in the form of a hykal (i.e. shape of a star, signifying perfect Man) whereon are written 2001 names of God. The aim of this command is that perhaps on the Day of Judgement you will find salvation." Arabic Bayan, Vahid VII:10
As noted earlier, Baha’u’llah wrote:’...We verily, believe in Him Who, in the person of the Bab, hath been sent down by the Will of the one true God, the King of Kings, the All-Praised. We, moreover, swear fealty to the One Who, in the time of Mustaghath. is destined to be made manifest, as well as to those Who shall come after
Him till the end that hath no end..." Gleanings, p.79
I believe that these statements are a (veiled to some, perhaps, clear to others perhaps) reference to the date of the announcement of the Mission of the third Letter of the Greatest Name, the All-Highest. The ‘time of Mustaghath’ mentioned by Baha’u’llah will be the year 2001, about four years after November 1997, which marks the end of the "40 years of night" (as noted in Chapter VII). Perhaps the Manifestation will announce His Mission to a few of His followers in 1998, prior to any public announcement, I do not know. I do not expect to live to witness that Day, and I pray to God to protect, strengthen, guide amd inspire those sincere believers who turn to God in those days, and set out to find that Holy One.
You will know the Manifestation by His Presence, His spiritual attributes and His wisdom and insight (see page 6). One cannot attempt to describe His physical appearance, but thisdoes not matter. He will have, like everyone else, suffered through the time of cataclysm. His Presence will be overpowering, and those who are spiritually awakened will have nodifficulty in recognizing the Beloved of God, and so we must strive to prepare ourselves spiritually for that day.
Unless one has acquired the essential spiritual attributes mentioned in the Teachings of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha, at least to a large degree (none of us can expect perfection in humans), the seeker will be veiled from the Light of God. To acquire the attributes of submission to the Will of God, humility, love of God and humanity, communion with God at all times, sanctity and the other spiritual qualities of a true believer must become our central aim in life.
"I swear by the one true God! This is the day of those who have detached themselvesfrom all but Him, the day of those who have recognized His unity, the day whereon God createth, with the hands of His power, divine beings and imperishable essences, everyone of whom will cast the world and all that is therein behind him, and will wax sosteadfast in the Cause of God that every wise and understanding heart will marvel." Baha’u’llah cited in The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 85