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From: Fran Baker <fran@gershwin.dgii.com> Subject: "holy" deluded Date: Friday, August 21, 1998 4:14 PM Timothy Mulligan <tmulligan@central.uh.edu> writes: > Some have asked me to return to the Baha'i Faith, to build it up >rather than tear it down. I cannot return to the Baha'i Faith, because >I do not believe in the claims of Husayn Ali (alias Baha'u'llah). Sometimes Baha'is seem to have a hard time understanding that someone does not find his claims either believable or appealing. > Let me share with you what I suspect about Husayn Ali. I want to >emphasize that this is only a guess, because I have no way of knowing. >But it is a common consequence of the unitive experience of God (the >highest mystical state that can be achieved in this life) that one feels >one actually *is* God. The mystics of all traditions, including the >Hindu, Catholic, and Buddhist, all attest to this. And in Islam, for >instance, a famous Sufi (whose name, I think, begins with an H) ran >through the streets shouting I am the Truth!, and he was burned at the >stake for it. What he experienced was correct, because at the summit of >mystical experience, one actually feels ones identity with God. It >requires a wise elder mystic and a religious community with experience >in such matters to make sure the mystic does not draw improper >conclusions. I dont think Bahaullah had the benefit of such >correction. In short, I believe he was deluded. But its not a black >and white situation. He may have been very close to God. And yet, for >reasons we dont know, God allows even his closest friends to be >seriously mistaken. > It does seem to me, however, that elements of ego inflation poisoned >Husayn Ali's message. His flights of self-glorification are peppered >with claims to be "lowly" that, on their face, are self-serving. I >remember being particularly put off by Husayn Ali's comment on the >crucifixion of Christ that he longed to suffer the same fate, or >something to that effect. Yuck! I have a very similar assessment of Baha'u'llah. I think his being born a male Persian aristocrat also had something to do with it; they are treated as little gods from birth. I think he was definitely delusional after his traumatic imprisonment. I don't know whether he actually had mystical experiences, but he may well have, and I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt. His subsequent delusions and egomania (so evident in his letters to world leaders, for example) along with his homophobia, sexism, puritinism, and barbaric notions of punishment have left their unfortunate mark on this religion. their mark on this religion and severely undermine any claims to inclusiveness and enlightened social reform. --Fran >Tim Mulligan >tmulligan@central.uh.edu Homepage |