Life as rhythm

 
Here a video I enjoyed, followed by a commentary on it from the perspective of its being a work of art. It touches on a theme I have been reflecting over recently - that of seeing life as a rhythm that one needs to tune into - the rhythm of success, work and effectiveness in the path of God. On this path there can be no misstep; one will always be guided! All that matters is the effectiveness - essentially the rhythm - of one's actions in service to humanity. "Time does not stop, does not wait," writes the Universal House of Justice,

With every passing hour a fresh affliction strikes at a distracted humanity. Dare we linger? ...

[O]ne thing above all else is necessary: to act, to act now, and to continue to act.

Our heartfelt plea at the Holy Threshold on behalf of us all is that we may be... richly confirmed in whatever we do towards meeting the urgent aim of the... Plan at so fate-laden a moment in human history.

(Ridván message 155 B.E./1998, §§15-17)

Bahá'u'lláh, moreover, states, "[H]esitate not, though it be for less than a moment, in the service of His Cause." (Gleanings 43)


My challenge has been, in part, to view my actions not as disjointed service projects performed in separate chunks of time-periods, but as part of a larger continuum of service where all the different actions are integrated and connected, without the disjunctive pauses (as in excessive/frequent meditation breaks) in between.

It has much to do with having trust (that one is on the right course and is doing the right thing) and letting go (of any fears of inadequacy and of my feelings of unworthiness). Now, let's see where this can lead us! Here the video:--

On the video as Art - some thoughts

Life (and everything in it) is a creation, a work of art so to speak, and can, as art, necessarily only be judged by its own merits, on its own terms. This goes for the video as well. Each person will see something different in it.

Art consists of a constellation of elements, arranged in a particular/inviolable way. If dismembered, if one element of this complex entity is removed, is it any longer the original art?

Art is art. One element cannot be taken from it and analyzed out of context. It's a constellation. Every word in existence carries an infinitude of spiritual meaning. When combined in a certain way, the beauty/meaning of the individual words enhance the beauty/meaning of the others. 'Abdu'l-Bahá says, "All art is a gift from the Holy Spirit." He also says that evil doesn't actually have any independent existence (it is only the absence of goodness/beauty/art, if you will).

Since all creation, every life, every expression and every creative product is a unique piece of art - infrangible - our challenge lies in recognizing each as an independent such existence and finding the beauty/meaning in it, however strange/untrue/gnarled it may appear on the face of it (with certain exceptions, of course, such as hatred, oppression, discrimination, inequality, war, drug-abuse, murder, genocide, etc., or sheer carelessness, for that matter, which are all anathema to the Spirit).

Here are some passages from the Writings that may relate to this theme:

Gazing with the eye of God, [the true seeker] will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the … evidences of an everlasting Manifestation.

(Bahá'u'lláh, Iqan 196)

It is related that His Holiness Christ--May my life be a sacrifice to Him!--one day, accompanied by His apostles, passed by the corpse of a dead animal. One of them said: 'How putrid has this animal become!' The other exclaimed: 'How it is deformed!' A third cried out: 'What a stench! How cadaverous looking!' But His Holiness Christ said: 'Look at its teeth! How white they are!' Consider, that He did not look at all at the defects of that animal; nay, rather, He searched well until He found the beautiful white teeth. He observed only the whiteness of the teeth and overlooked entirely the deformity of the body, the dissolution of its organs and the bad odour.

"This is the attribute of the children of the Kingdom. This is the conduct and the manner of the real Bahais (Baha'is)..."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Skinner, in Lights of Guidance #312)

[I]n the world of existence two persons unanimous in all grades [of thought] and all beliefs cannot be found. ‘The ways unto God are as the number of the breaths of [His] creatures’ is a mysterious truth, and ‘To every [people] We have appointed a [separate] rite’ is one of the subtleties of the Qur’án."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Narrative 91-2)

Eagle sculpture in the gardens outside the Shrine of the Báb

Photo Copyright Bahá'í International Community. View here.

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Life as rhythm

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