Momtazi

Did Baha'u'llah says everyone has the capacity to accept the Faith?

Sboyce

Yes he does! I'm not sure where but I have read it most certainly in Ruhi Book 6

Rani

Here are a couple of references that alludes to it:

Say: The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own Self. Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to recognize either the one or the other He hath established the words He hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth. This is, verily, an evidence of His tender mercy unto men. He hath endowed every soul with the capacity to recognize the signs of God. How could He, otherwise, have fulfilled His testimony unto men, if ye be of them that ponder His Cause in their hearts. He will never deal unjustly with any one, neither will He task a soul beyond its power. He, verily, is the Compassionate, the All-Merciful.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 105)


'Suffer not yourselves to be wrapt in the dense veils of your selfish desires, inasmuch as I have perfected in every one of you My creation, so that the excellence of My handiwork may be fully revealed unto men.
It follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and will continue to be, able of himself to appreciate the Beauty of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed with such a capacity, how could he be called to account for his failure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the earth will be gathered together, any man should, whilst standing in the presence of God, be asked: "Wherefore hast thou disbelieved in My Beauty and turned away from My Self," and if such a man should reply and say: "Inasmuch as all men have erred, and none hath been found willing to turn his face to the Truth, I, too, following their example, have grievously failed to recognize the Beauty of the Eternal," such a plea will, assuredly, be rejected. For the faith of no man can be conditioned by any one except himself.'

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 143)


'This humble servant is filled with wonder, inasmuch as all men are endowed with the capacity to see and hear, yet we find them deprived of the privilege of using these faculties.'
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 171)


And yet, this verse below seems to indicate that God allows a veil to obstruct one's sight sometimes, in consequence of 'the deeds their hands had formerly wrought'. At least that's how it reads to me.

'Consider the multitude of souls who seemed to be intensely eager and athirst, yet when the Ocean of living waters did surge forth in the world of being, they remained deprived thereof, inasmuch as they failed to relinquish idle fancy and to become consciously aware of Him Who is the Object of all knowledge. This failure is in recompense for the deeds their hands had formerly wrought.'

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 235)

Rani

'..He hath endowed every soul with the capacity to recognize the signs of God. How could He, otherwise, have fulfilled His testimony unto men, if ye be of them that ponder His Cause in their hearts. He will never deal unjustly with any one, neither will He task a soul beyond its power. He, verily, is the Compassionate, the All-Merciful.

Say: So great is the glory of the Cause of God that even the blind can perceive it, how much more they whose sight is sharp, whose vision is pure. The blind, though unable to perceive the light of the sun, are, nevertheless, capable of experiencing its continual heat. The blind in heart, however, among the people of the Bayan -- and to this God is My witness -- are impotent, no matter how long the Sun may shine upon them, either to perceive the radiance of its glory, or to appreciate the warmth of its rays.

Say: O people of the Bayan! We have chosen you out of the world to know and recognize Our Self. We have caused you to draw nigh unto the right side of Paradise -- the Spot out of which the undying Fire crieth in manifold accents: "There is none other God besides Me, the All-Powerful, the Most High!" Take heed lest ye allow yourselves to be shut out as by a veil from this Day Star that shineth above the dayspring of the Will of your Lord, the All-Merciful, and whose light hath encompassed both the small and the great. Purge your sight, that ye may perceive its glory with your own eyes, and depend not on the sight of any one except your self, for God hath 107 never burdened any soul beyond its power. Thus hath it been sent down unto the Prophets and Messengers of old, and been recorded in all the Scriptures.

Strive, O people, to gain admittance into this vast Immensity for which God ordained neither beginning nor end, in which His voice hath been raised, and over which have been wafted the sweet savors of holiness and glory. Divest not yourselves of the Robe of grandeur, neither suffer your hearts to be deprived of remembering your Lord, nor your ears of hearkening unto the sweet melodies of His wondrous, His sublime, His all-compelling, His clear, and most eloquent voice.'

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 105)

Momtazi

I obviously totally accept the passages you have sited.

From the writings of Abdu'l-Baha below I have difficulty getting my mind around the whole subject.

Help!!??!!
Although the same Sun is shining upon both, in the mirror which is polished, pure and sanctified you may behold the Sun in all its fullness, glory and power revealing its majesty and effulgence, but in the mirror which is rusted and obscured there is no capacity for reflection although so far as the Sun itself is concerned it is shining thereon and is neither lessened nor deprived.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 217)
…………………………………………………….

Those souls who have the capacity and ability to receive the outpourings of the Kingdom and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, they become attracted through one word. But people who have not the capacity, no matter how much one explain the divine behests and advices or breathe the breath of the Holy Spirit, it will not make an effect; nay, rather they add to their hardness and heedlessness.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 364)

arthra

Quoting from above..

But people who have not the capacity, no matter how much one explain the divine behests and advices or breathe the breath of the Holy Spirit, it will not make an effect; nay, rather they add to their hardness and heedlessness.

So that implies to me they choose something "...they add to their hardness"... They make a choice not to respond.

I found these Tablets from Abdul-Baha dealing with capacity also:

O thou servant of God!

Thy letter was received. Thou hast spoken concerning thy lack of ability and capacity. Wert thou without ability and capacity, thou wouldst not have advanced toward the Kingdom of ABHA.

Consider how there are thousands of heedless souls who are asleep, while there is one who is conscious and awake! Even a His Holiness Christ has said, the friends of God are the salt of the earth, and the salt is but a little part of the whole. Undoubtedly the friends of God have been endowed with ability and capacity, on which account they became of the "chosen" and not of the "called."

O thou spiritual friend! This world is a prison for heavenly souls, and this earthly world is but a cage, and not a nest, unto the divine birds. A prisoner who is awake and conscious will certainly seek for freedom, and mindful bird will certainly wish for deliverance from the cage. When the heart becometh free from attachment unto this world, it will crave for the world of the Kingdom and seek for eternal life.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 109

This next Tablet is mind bogglingto me in that it refers to some capacities that occurred in a primordial state:

Verily, I say unto thee that the gifts of thy Lord are encircling thee in a similar way as the spirit encircles the body at the beginning of the amalgamation of the elements and natures in the womb; the power of the spirit begins then to appear in the body gradually and successively according to the preparation and capacity to receive that everlasting abundance.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 156


The next excerpt talks about everyone having capacity but some more than others:

Know thou that the Messianic Spirit and the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit is always manifest, but capacity and ability (to receive it) is more in some and less in others.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 193

Momtazi

You have given me much to reflect upon....cause I don't understand a lot of it!!!!!

arthra

Yes.. Well I'm not all that sure myself that I "understand" it either.

But I am sure you have the "capacity"...

Share with us what you learn...

Pollwr

The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light. One heart may possess the capacity of the polished mirror; another be covered and obscured by the dust and dross of this world. Although the same Sun is shining upon both, in the mirror which is polished, pure and sanctified you may behold the Sun in all its fullness, glory and power revealing its majesty and effulgence, but in the mirror which is rusted and obscured there is no capacity for reflection although so far as the Sun itself is concerned it is shining thereon and is neither lessened nor deprived. Therefore our duty lies in seeking to polish the mirrors of our hearts in order that we shall become reflectors of that light and recipients of the divine bounties which may be fully revealed through them. (Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 218)