The Universal Experience

The Universal Experience,
The Universal Manifestation
and the Glory of God

“Your glory is the light that saves the world.”-A Course in Miracles

The following are first-hand accounts of individual encounters with the Divine. These are extra-ordinary events that have no parallel in the world of “peak” experiences. They speak of a oneness beyond communion, a luminosity that defies description and are striking in their similarity. The details of each encounter differ, but the essential nature of each happening is what we call the Universal Experience.

“Suddenly with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain…the illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light…the point of consciousness that was myself growing wider, surrounded by waves of light…I was now All Consciousness, immersed in a sea of light, simultaneously aware of every point, spread out, as it were, in all directions”. (Gopi Krishna)

“Hence it is that he forgets himself and the entire creation on account of this dazzling divine light. On account of this forgetfulness, all awareness of self is lost. There is no calling upon the name or observance of customs; awareness of whether one exists or not; explanation, allusion, or divine throne. In this world, all things pass away. There is no splendor except at this stage. Here, “everything perishes except His essence.” Here alone is God actually seen face to face. (Sufi Sharafuddin Maneri)

“For when the true lover and devoted friend reacheth to the presence of the Beloved, the sparkling beauty of the Loved One and the fire of the lover’s heart will kindle a blaze and burn away all veils and wrappings. Yea all he hath, from heart to skin, will be set aflame, so that nothing will remain save the Friend.” (Baha’u’llah, Seven Valleys, p. 36)

“Suddenly I was standing in an ocean of light. Everything -including my body -had blown to light. Waving lines of energy were emanating from the horizon in all directions and flowing towards me and through me finally rolling up behind me like waves on the shore. There were no separate objects, nothing had a name. My thoughts had ceased…I was pure experience, pure being. All was unified, connected in these waving flows of energy, ecstatic, alive. This experience was somehow, utterly familiar. I was profoundly quiet within. No matter which direction I turned my head these waves rolling up were always behind me. The “rolling up” seemed to correspond with the flow of eternity…As though time itself was rolling up behind me. There was no link of memory between each moment and the next; each was a total NOW.” (Oraea Varis)

“Losing the human form is like a spiral. It gives a warrior the freedom to remember himself as straight fields of energy and this in turn makes him even freer.” (from the works of Carlos Castaneda)

“Always has no direction. Time seems to go in one direction, but when you reach the end it will roll up like a long carpet spread along the past behind you, and will disappear.” ACIM T;13;I;3)

“Today physicists believe that sub-atomic phenomena should not be classified solely as either waves or particles but as a single category of somethings that are always somehow both. These somethings are called quanta and physicists believe they are the basic stuff from which the entire universe is made. Perhaps the most astonishing of all is that there is compelling evidence that the only time quanta ever manifest as particles is when we are looking at them.” (Talbot, The Holographic Universe, p.94)

“…we think that there is a world of objects out there only because of our awareness. But what’s really out there are the Eagle’s emanations, fluid, forever in motion, and yet unchanged, eternal.” (from the works of Castaneda)

“…all the variations which the wayfarer in the stages of his journey beholdeth in the realms of being, proceed from his own vision.” (Baha’u’llah, Seven Valleys, p18)

“…the kingdom is inside you, and it is outside you. If you know yourselves, then you will be known; and you will know that you are the sons of the living Father.” (The Gospel of Thomas)

On the Universal Manifestation:

“Briefly, we say a universal cycle in the world of existence signifies a long duration of time, and innumerable and incalculable periods and epochs. In such a cycle the Manifestations appear with splendour in the realm of the visible, until a great and universal Manifestation makes the world the centre of his radiance. His appearance causes the world to attain to maturity, and the extension of his cycle is very great. Afterwards other Manifestations will arise under his shadow, who according to the needs of the time will renew certain commandments relating to material questions and affairs, while remaining under his shadow. We are in the cycle which began with Adam, and its universal Manifestation is Baha’u’llah.” (Abdul-Baha’, SAQ, p.184)

Glory- n., Great honor, praise or distinction accorded by common consent; renown. – Adoration, praise and thanksgiving offered in worship. Majestic beauty and splendor; resplendence. The splendor and bliss of heaven; perfect happiness. A height of achievement, enjoyment or prosperity.

Baha’u’llah literally translated from the Arabic, means “the Glory of God”. His life, His person and His Revelation of Divine Scripture delineate the current “mold” that sculpts the soul of mankind. His imprint is the prevailing, ubiquitous myth that is being played out by every soul in this current cycle whose theme is Salvation, the Great Awakening– the Promised Day of God. Familiarization with the details of His life and with His Scripture are necessarily pertinent to every individual in order that understanding and ultimate enlightenment can take place.

“All terms are potentially controversial…Theological considerations as such are necessarily controversial, since they depend on belief and can therefore be accepted or rejected. A Universal Theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary.” (ACIM. TM, p.77)

Baha’u’llah, being the Universal Manifestation, when encountered beyond the farthest veils of limitation, is the Universal Experience that has now become available to Mankind.

“Christ takes many forms with different names until their oneness can be recognized.” (ACIM, Clarification of Terms, 5)

The Universal Experience spoken of here is an encounter with the Universal Manifestation, the Glory of God.

How better to actualize the salvation of the world than to understand that the world is contained within you and is under the auspices of your all-pervading consciousness.

When the Universal Manifestation becomes your experience, you will know that the Glory of God is the light in you that saves the world!

Salutations.
Oraea

Note: The ideas expressed in this article are based solely upon the author’s experiences and are not intended to represent any official Baha’i viewpoint.

The Exquisite Art of Forgiveness

True forgiveness is an art, it must be practiced exquisitely.

It is an art-form because, like a martial art, it takes discipline, exercise, determination and the development of latent talent within. It must be over-learned, replacing the ego’s habit of judging, defining and miscreating. It is practiced through exquisitely mindful awareness of errors of thought, and having noticed them, releasing them to correction.

Make no mistake, there is an art to letting go of judgments, stepping back and allowing the One who knows make the correction. Stepping back, where you would have formerly defended yourself, is nothing short of a highly skilled maneuver akin to dodging a bullet like Neo in the Matrix.

“All human standards of judgment are faulty, finite.” (Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 22)

Since all our judgements are faulty, we cannot try to use our old idea of forgiveness to accomplish anything. The Art of Forgiveness is something different. It is the recognition that we do not know and so, we cannot judge. How then, can we “blame” and then “forgive” something that we have misunderstood because our the scope of our understanding is severely limited.

To forgive is to acknowledge that there is nothing outside of ones self. To forgive is a form of personal responsibility taking that leads to unified perception. To acquire unified perception is to remove the sense of separation from God. It is the Atonement (At-one-ment). It is the Ultimate Healing, it is reunion with the One, Divine Beloved. This is an exquisite experience.

All the Glory of the Kingdom is veiled if our minds are split–or not whole. Healed and unified perception is of paramount importance because minds that see truly, bless those they look upon. Healed minds can heal. They can “cleanse the rust from off the heart”. A healed mind shines Light into the darkness and releases the Comforter within.

To be forgiving means to understand that one’s purpose is to be for giving. We are created like unto God – the Great Giver. We are designed to give. And since we are a whole part of the Oneness, when we give, we are giving to ourselves. The issue then becomes not whether we are giving or not but what we are giving. Are we are extending the brightness of Kingdom through clarified perception, reflecting from a clear mirror? Or are we projecting illusions from a split mind, reflecting shadows from a mirror obscured by the dust of acquired learning ?

“Know thou that the Kingdom is the real world, and this nether place is only its shadow stretching out. A shadow hath no life of its own; its existence is only a fantasy, and nothing more; it is but images reflected in water, and seeming as pictures to the eye.” (Abdu’l-Baha’, p. 177)

If the Kingdom is the real world and this nether place is it’s shadow, then who casts the shadow? Almost all of us “make pictures” or project illusions, from our minds through our faulty judgements and have thus created a shadow world that we then react to as if it were real. This creates enormous conflict.

We do not realize that we are causing the world we witness. The good news is that because we make the world with our thoughts, we can change it by changing our minds.

Enter, the “Art” of Forgiveness.

“The holiest of all the spots on earth is where an ancient hatred has become a present love.” (A Course in Miracles, T. 26:IX)

The practice of the Exquisite Art of Forgiveness is a real, nuts and bolts, everyday occupation in which we become Wagers of Peace. We can usher the whole world into a bright new reality via the power of Unity. One mind is all minds.

“Should any come to blows with you, seek to be friends with him; should any stab you to the heart, be ye a healing salve unto his sores; should any taunt and mock at you, meet him with love. Should any heap his blame upon you, praise ye him; should he offer you a deadly poison, give him the choicest honey in exchange; and should he threaten your life, grant him a remedy that will heal him evermore. Should he be pain itself, be ye his medicine; should he be thorns, be ye his roses and sweet herbs. Perchance such ways and words from you will make this darksome world turn bright at last; will make this dusty earth turn heavenly, this devilish prison place become a royal palace of the Lord — so that war and strife will pass and be no more, and love and trust will pitch their tents on the summits of the world. Such is the essence of God’s admonitions; such in sum are the teachings for the Dispensation of Baha” (Abdu’l-Baha, ibid, p. 34)

The Exquisite Art of Forgiveness is radical, it is mercy unalloyed. It is a total relinquishment to the healing power of Love.

Heroes are being led to the field of battle…the battleground of the mind.

“Arise, O people, and, by the power of God’s might, resolve to gain the victory over your own selves, that haply the whole earth may be freed and sanctified from its servitude to the gods of its idle fancies.” (Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 93)

Heroes, being led to the field of battle – the battleground is the mind.

~ D. Oraea Varis

Note: the ideas expressed herein are based solely upon the author’s experiences and are not intended to represent any official Baha’i viewpoint.