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What could have been the motive for His actions? (109:1) If the Message He proclaimed was not the truth, then why would he willingly have submitted to decades of sorrow because of it? If He had not arisen for the love of God, then why would He have not returned to the life of wealth and ease that He was, through His high birth, accustomed to? And if He were not assisted by the power of God, how could He have sustained the loss of everything a normal human being aspires to in this life, while at the same time never sinking into despair, and even boldly proclaiming to the rulers of the earth the rise and victory of His Faith? (109:2) No, only one thing can explain His life in an understandable manner; His sole motivation was to obey the summons of God: (109:3) O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding to flow. The learning current amongst men I studied not; their schools I entered not. Ask of the city wherein I dwelt, that thou mayest be well assured that I am not of them who speak falsely. This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised, have stirred. Can it be still when the tempestuous winds are blowing? Nay, by Him Who is the Lord of all Names and Attributes! They move it as they list. The evanescent is as nothing before Him Who is the Ever-Abiding. His all-compelling summons hath reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst all people. I was indeed as one dead when His behest was uttered. The hand of the will of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful, transformed Me. Baha'u'llah, quoted in The Promised Day is Come, p. 40 (109:4) Of HIS SUFFERING HE Writes:- Though beset with countless afflictions, We summon the people unto God, the Lord of names. Say, strive ye to attain that which ye have been promised in the Books of God, and walk not in the way of the ignorant. My body hath endured imprisonment that ye may be released from the bondage of self. Set your faces then towards His countenance and follow not the footsteps of every hostile oppressor. Verily, He hath consented to be sorely abased that ye may attain unto glory, and yet, ye are disporting yourselves in the vale of heedlessness. He, in truth, liveth in the most desolate of abodes for your sakes, whilst ye dwell in your palaces. Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 11
(109:6)
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