I Blog Poetry and Prose

Contemplating Detachment and Salvation

Jamal (Beauty), 15 Kalimat (Words) 177 B.E. - Sunday, July 26, 2020

"O bird without a nest! It is reported thy home and shelter is burnt, thy resting place and habitation is become desolate. Though this news is greatly affecting, yet do not be sorrowful and disheartened, because the birds of the divine gardens have nests on the branches of the Tree of Life. The earthly abode is not worth the attachment of the heart, for this structure will surely be destroyed, but that which is of worth to freed ones (detached from all save God) is the heavenly palace and the court of Divine Majesty. Thanks be to God that for each one of the divine freed slaves and the heavenly and dear maid-servants, an indestructible mansion will be erected in the New Kingdom. This mansion will be an everlasting dwelling, an eternal abode and shelter.

There is a hidden wisdom in the burning of the house which before long will be clearly known. Divine attractions and heavenly bounties alone cause happiness to the hearts."

‘Abdu’l-Baha12

On the last Sunday in July 2020,
I contemplate detachment--
freedom from all except God--
and ask myself,
"Am I detached from the things and situations
in my surroundings
and my life?"

Detachment,
is only,
one of the tests salvation brings.

Indeed,
it may be
one of the most severe tests
my soul faces after salvation.

On the last Sunday in July 2020,
I contemplate salvation--
my soul's first severe test--
and its achievement
first through faith in Christ
(when I was a child)
and second through faith in Baha'u'llah,
as Christ returned in the Glory of the Father.

Footnotes
1  Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 2
2  Quoted in Counsels and Explanations - by 'Abdu'l-Baha on July 26, 2020. http://counselsandexplanations.blogspot.com/