poor Dave

 

The Winds of History

The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." There has never been a human society that has not been founded on a system of belief that gave meaning and purpose to life. When such systems of belief fail, the members of those societies cease to make the required sacrifices to maintain essential social relationships. When this happens a society loses the cohesive power that sustains it, and disintegration sets in.

We live in a world that has entirely lost its moral moorings, in which all of the ethical reference points of the past have been entirely swept away. The effect on the masses of humanity, leaders and led alike, has been to create the deepest anxiety of which human beings are capable.

The poet W.B. Yeats has described our age as one in which "the best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity".

As mankind has experimented with different forms of government, each time believing that he will finally end the cycle of man’s subjugation of man, each form has demonstrated itself to be non-viable in the long run. Even democratic governments eventually find effective action impossible due to an ever-increasing partisanship.

The bankruptcy of communism as an economic system in the former Soviet Union seems to have left the field open for the triumph of capitalism, yet that ill-tempered old German, Karl Marx, would say that his complaints of economic inequality, class prejudice, consumerism and rampant materialism have remained largely unsolved. Meanwhile, in the new Eurasian democratic frontier, an economic condition called gangsterism by the west, but which is actually unrestricted Lassaise-faire capitalism gone mad, has reduced the living standard of the average Russian to well below the level they ‘enjoyed’ under communism. Despite his lip service to religion, the capitalist is no less materialistic and ethically bankrupt than his communist brother. The solution to our inability to govern ourselves effectively and provide for the material needs of mankind is neither ideological nor economic but spiritual.

Underdeveloped nations are envious of and seek to imitate the material comforts of the west, while we in the developed world have come to realize that our dependence on machines has made us more vulnerable than ever to even temporary interruptions in services that mean the difference between life and death to us. As the complexity of our technology increases and society becomes more dependent on it, the potential impacts of tiny mishaps become catastrophic.

In a letter written to the American Baha’i Community in 1925, Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, wrote of the even then worsening condition of the current world order:

“The plight of mankind, the condition and circumstances under which we live and labor are truly disheartening, and the darkness of prejudice and ill-will enough to chill the stoutest heart. Disillusion and dismay are invading the hearts of peoples and nations, and the hope and vision of a united and regenerated humanity is growing dimmer and dimmer every day. Time-honored institutions, cherished ideals, and sacred traditions are suffering in these days of bewildering change, from the effects of the gravest onslaught, and the precious fruit of centuries of patient and earnest labor is faced with peril. Passions, supposed to have been curbed and subdued, are now burning fiercer than ever before, and the voice of peace and good-will seems drowned amid unceasing convulsions and turmoil.”

[BA, p.61]

On the causes of the world’s manifold problems, ‘Abdul-Baha writes:

“When we review history from the beginning of human existence to the present age in which we live, it is evident all war and conflict, bloodshed and battle, every form of sedition has been due to some form of prejudice--whether religious, racial or national--to partisan bias and selfish prejudice of some sort.”

[AB, PUP]

Is there, then, a solution to the malaise that infects our society? Baha’is believe that the solution to all these issues can be found in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. As Bahá'u'lláh Himself wrote:

“The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.”

[GWB, 213]

Underlying the body of His principles and concepts, Bahá'u'lláh has created a unified, coherent worldview, a universal theory of history, if you like, a comprehensive vision of the nature of man and society.

But Bahá'u'lláh has not merely outlined a theory of social evolution; nor has He contented Himself with the creation of a model. The Bahá'í community, with all its limitations and shortcomings, is itself the nucleus of an emerging "race of men".

"A race of men," is His written promise, "incomparable in character, shall be raised up which, with the feet of detachment, will tread under all who are in heaven and on earth, and will cast the sleeve of holiness over all that hath been created from water and clay."

[ADJ, 31-32]

What makes Bahá'u'lláh's worldview unique is that it is truly universal. Unlike all the systems that preceded it, it embraces not only the entire diversity of the human race, but also the entirety of human experience. Nothing that is truly human is alien to it.

No better illustration of this character of Bahá'u'lláh's System can be made than in the fact that this nucleus, this example to the world that Bahá'u'lláh has constructed, the Administrative Order of the Baha’i Faith, functions as well in an African village as in an American city. The Local Spiritual Assembly in Bombay, India finds an exact match in the Local Spiritual Assembly of Bristol, England. The same procedures and consultative techniques apply equally well in Indonesia and Indiana.

In former times, the expansion of religions into new areas often entailed attempts to export cultural norms as well as religious beliefs from the originating country, “making little Europeans out of the natives,” so to speak. In other cases, as the religion moved geographically, it took on characteristics of the area it was invading. This is illustrated by the incredible changes wrought on Buddhism by Taoist and Confucian influences it encountered in China. Although there are now Baha’is in every country of the world, their diversity in languages and cultures neither changes their faith and practice as Baha’is, nor does the Faith require any change to the essence of their culture.

The Guardian makes the method by which the Baha’i Cause can achieve the goals presented to them by the Central Figures of their Faith clear:

“Ours is then the duty and privilege to labor, by day and by night, amidst the storm and stress of these troublous days, that we may quicken the zeal of our fellow-men, rekindle their hopes, stimulate their interest, open their eyes to the true Faith of God and enlist their active support in the carrying out of our common task for the peace and regeneration of the world.”

[BA, p.51]

So it is the task of the Baha’is to act as an example to our fellow citizens in every land. In fact, he makes it clear that their success depends entirely on their reflection of the Teachings of the Founder of their Faith.

“Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and noble principles, not by an organized campaign of teaching--no matter how worldwide and elaborate in its character --not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and skeptical age the supreme claim of the Abha Revelation. One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Baha'u'llah.”

[BA, p.66]

It is not possible, at this early date, to define in its particulars the eventual form of government that the coming world commonwealth described by Bahá'u'lláh will take. In the words of Shoghi Effendi, "All that we can reasonably venture to attempt is to strive to obtain a glimpse of the first streaks of that promised Dawn which must, in the fullness of time, chase away the gloom that has encircled humanity," but some of the aspects of that order have been defined by the Guardian:

“Some form of a world super-state must needs be evolved, in whose favor all the nations of the world will have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments, except for purposes of maintaining internal order within their respective dominions. Such a state will have to include within its orbit an international executive adequate to enforce supreme and unchallengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the commonwealth; a world parliament whose members shall be elected by the people in their respective countries and whose election shall be confirmed by their respective governments; and a supreme tribunal whose judgment will have a binding effect even in such cases where the parties concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to its consideration.”

And further:

“A world community in which all economic barriers will have been permanently demolished and the interdependence of Capital and Labor definitely recognized; in which the clamor of religious fanaticism and strife will have been forever stilled; in which the flame of racial animosity will have been finally extinguished; in which a single code of international law--the product of the considered judgment of the world's federated representatives-- hall have as its sanction the instant and coercive intervention of the combined forces of the federated units; and finally a world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world citizenship--such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline, the Order anticipated by Baha'u'llah, an Order that shall come to be regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing age.”

[WOB, 40-41]

To sum up, I can do no better than to cite

“The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System--the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him.”

[GWB, 136]

R, Cromb 1975. Still oddly apropos!

Сделай Америку снова великой

Tears in Rain

Conservative Victim Card

Cartoon

Post election reflection

No Weirdos!

The Nightingale's Song

An imagining, in seven parts, based upon themes from 
The Seven Valleys, by Baha’u’llah.

Mark A. Clark

                        I

The wayfarer (thus shall we call him)
Awakens from sleep on that first morn,
And seeing the first sunrise over the first sea,
Stretches himself like one newborn,
And looks upon as fair a scene
As ever sunlight shall adorn,
But a fading wisp of misty dream
Has left him weary and forlorn.

In his dream the wayfarer
Loves well the Nightingale which sings,
As, to a branch on the tree of knowledge,
Above the forest floor, it clings,
And he hears, with rapt delight,
The verses to which the bird gives tongue,
Its song engenders springtime, and
The world is fresh and new and young.

Between them is a resonance,
Some mystic union of bird and lad,
And the loss of such a great beloved,
Has rendered him wan and tired and sad.
His mind still hears that mystic song,
Which he fears has made him mad,
And will lead him on an endless quest,
In search of his love, his lost Comrade.

But listen, what to the wayfarer's ear,
Doth come upon him, riding the wind?
Can it be the song of the Nightingale,
Which, faint, with the forest noises blend?
The wayfarer trembles at the sound,
His heart responding, his spirits ascend,
And heedless of his former life,
He begins his journey to seek the Friend.


                           II

Endlessly searching, helplessly wandering on,
Scanning the heavens, always hoping in vain,
To catch but a glimpse of the nightingale soaring at dawn,
To hear again the songs which cloud his brain.
As he searches the footpath, running his hands through the dust.
Laughing people say, “Nightingales live in the air,”
But too desperate is he even in logic to trust,
“I look everywhere; haply I'll find him somewhere.”
In every face he seeks the beauty of the Friend,
He probes each mind for the secret of his love.
The wayfarer dwells and hunts in every land,
Limbs and branches and endless skies above.
Zealously seeking, "Where is my love?" is his cry.
Zealously seeking, "If I can't find him I'll die!"


                             III

Seeking neither refuge nor abode,
Fleeing from both faith and unbelief,
The wayfarer looks for no relief,
Is unaware of himself and the endless road.

In constant pain is his harvest sowed,
And loneliness is his one motif,
His heart is filled with enormous grief,
His search for the Friend is a heavy load.

Love has swallowed the master of reason,
By love his knowledge has been destroyed,
He has not one thought save the Beloved.

The wayfarer lives for just one season,
The day when his heart will be overjoyed,
The day of reunion with his beloved.

                           IV

The wayfarer has sighed for lo, these long years,
In separation from his love, emptied of patience,
Wasted in the fire of remoteness and tears,
Weary of life in the Nightingale's absence

How many a day gave him no rest from longing,
How many a night pain kept him from sleep.
The doctors knew they had no way of curing,
A sickness of love makes his heart's wounds weep.

Until at last, the tree of his longing,
Yielded the ashen fruit of despair.
Deciding that he could bear no more living
He left his abode to end the affair.

Once on the road, he noticed that someone,
He took as a highwayman, followed behind,
Although he was bent on self-immolation,
Somehow he feared the other's design.

He fled down the highway, and the robber followed,
He urged his broken body into a run,
Then other robbers converged on the dark road,
And blocked every turn to the weary one.

And the wretched wayfarer, sore out of breath,
Ran here and there and moaned in his strife,
Surely these robbers are my angels of death,
Come here to harm me and take my life.

He came to a garden wall at length,
Having no other escape, he climbed up the wall,
It cost untold pain and all of his strength,
That slow and painful vertical crawl.

He gazed into the garden from the wall's lofty summit
But found that the darkness would render no clue
Forgetting his life, to escape from the bandits
He dropped from the wall to the garden below.

In untold pain, with a silent scream,
Through tortured limbs and burning despair,
He hears the sound from his long lost dream,
The song of the Nightingale floats on the air.

Before him, luminous, from a branch above,
Shining with a happy, inner light,
Sings the one for whom he's searched, his love,
His searching and pain at last is made right.

The wayfarer raises his hands to the sky,
"Glory to the robber, riches and long life,
For it was he who was truly my ally,
Even while seemingly wielding a knife."

"There was secret justice in his seeming tyranny,
As I might have seen if I'd had the vision,
My life is complete, and I act now most aptly,
I quench my lamp, for the sun has now risen."


                                   V  

The song of his loved one has made his life bright.
He drinks from the cup of the absolute,
The pure heart is a mirror that reflects the true light.

The wayfarer dances in heavenly delight,
Forgetting the pain of his long pursuit,
The song of his loved one has made his life bright.

Joyfully claiming his lawful birthright,
That none can ever in truth refute,
The pure heart is a mirror that reflects the true light.

He and the nightingale's spirits unite,
A long ordained union that bears the true fruit,
The song of his loved one has made his life bright.

Gazing on creation, with goodly insight,
He sees the creator, wise and astute,
The pure heart is a mirror that reflects the true light.

So finally the wayfarer's come around right,
Now his life’s compass has shown him the route,
The song of his loved one has made his life bright.
The pure heart is a mirror that reflects the true light.


                           VI

Although to outward eyes it seems,
The wayfarer dwells upon the dust,
Yet inward he thrives on mystic meanings,
Seeing the loaf in every crust,

The Nightingale reveals songs and secrets
The wayfarer losing himself within,
Casts away his mind and spirit
Binding tightly his soul to the Friend.

On this plane the wayfarer can see,
The beauty of the Friend in everything.
He beholds in illusion, reality,
And reads from the attributes the riddle of being

The tongue fails in describing this meaning
The pen refuses to mark the chart,
This mystery of inner gleaning,
May be whispered only from heart to heart.





                               VII

Thus did the wayfarer,
Finally discover,
The Nightingale's purpose and station,
The message is clear,
For all men to hear,
Love is the true destination.

When we've let go,
Of possessions and woe,
And left behind all acquisition,
Then you will see,
That we're never free,
Till we learn renunciation.

His journey complete,
His heart is replete,
And he leaves us a last affirmation,
Of just what the Nightingale,
May teach us all,
And offers this final quotation:

"Not every sea hath pearls;
not every branch will flower,
nor will the nightingale sing thereon." 1

"Harken to the melodies of this mortal Bird,
...seek out the undying chalice
and pass by every perishable cup." 2

"When thou hast attained this highest station
...then shalt thou gaze on the Beloved,
and forget all else." 3


1 -- Baha’u’llah, The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys,  p. 38.
2 -- Ibid, p. 43.
3 -- Ibid, p. 38.

Attaboy Clarence!

"Look Daddy! Teacher says every time a bell rings, a disciple of Ayn Rand
packs his bags for the Libertarian Paradise of East Somalia!"

Who Who - Who - Who

 

Late tonight, the owl enquired, 

  Who who -  who -  who?

"It's only me," I replied.

"Only me and nothing more."

"I Approve This Message" - Roy Zimmerman

I am the aging hippy longhair revolutionary defiantly brandishing his cane at the entrenched plutocracy and I approve this message!

thanks to Rick for turning me on to the link

One Meat Ball

My old buddy and musical mentor Tom Allston used to sing this song when we were sharing a house in San Angelo, many years ago.

Out of Gas

Just one of the whimsical and imaginative paintings by George Hughes available for viewing at The American Gallery. Check it out!

Dog's Diary - Cat's Diary

Shamelessly expropriated from a Facebook friend

Email to the boss:

Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:19:21 -0600
To: xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx
From: Mark Clark
Subject: Where's Mark?

Hi Boss:

This has been a very strange day. I got back to San Antonio from Fort Worth at 5am, and found that my room door would not open. I tried the 2 emergency numbers that I was given for this hotel, but both went to voice mail. (the management and I will be discussing this at some future time when I will not be quite so tempted to commit assault) So I ended up sitting in my pickup truck for 6 hours waiting for the office to open. It will come as no surprise to you that I was not a happy camper. Turns out that there wasn't anything wrong with my card keys, the problem was with the door lock. Apparently the cold weather degraded the batteries that power the door's card reader. (note to universe: batteries? really? Whose bright idea was that?)

So, long story short, I haven't had any sleep and will not be able to come in tonight.

yours in disarray,

mark-

He & She

She: Why don't I dazzle you anymore?

He: After 20 years, I've done gone blind from the glare.


.

Speak the Truth

Image courtesy of this isn't happiness

Random snapshots from San Antonio

Taken with my new Motorola Atrix 4G Smartphone :)