Crimson Fear 1

Crimson Fear, Part One

By John Taylor; 22 January, 2006

In the past several essays we have been exploring Baha'u'llah's uses
of the color "Crimson" and His use of terms like "Crimson Ark" and
"Crimson Book." In a Hidden Word last time we saw how crimson
symbolizes a soul's mystic passage from enlightenment to sacrifice, a
spiritual reality that seems somehow reflected physically in the
genetic code, which is the machinery of evolution. The ability to read
this crimson code unites us in a single spiritual heritage; puts us
into the same boat, almost literally, on a journey that will extend
far beyond the bounds of material existence.

"And now concerning thy question whether human souls continue to be
conscious one of another after their separation from the body. Know
thou that the souls of the people of Baha, who have entered and been
established within the Crimson Ark, shall associate and commune
intimately one with another, and shall be so closely associated in
their lives, their aspirations, their aims and strivings as to be even
as one soul. They are indeed the ones who are well-informed, who are
keen-sighted, and who are endued with understanding. Thus hath it been
decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise." (Gleanings,
LXXXVI, 169-170)

On a sociological level, the unifying power of the "Crimson Book"
manifests itself in Baha'u'llah's covenant, demonstrably the first
written, authoritative Will and Testament in religious history. This
Book acts as a sort of genetic code which believers and those in the
"crimson spirit" can "read" or "decode" into unity, social progress
and ultimately the Most Great Peace. Today I want to decrypt crimson
in relation to the fear of God. Baha'u'llah identifies His Crimson Ark
and those who enter its "shadow" with a "luminous standard" embodied
by fear of God.

"We have admonished Our loved ones to fear God, a fear which is the
fountainhead of all goodly deeds and virtues. It is the commander of
the hosts of justice in the city of Baha. Happy the man that hath
entered the shadow of its luminous standard, and laid fast hold
thereon. He, verily, is of the Companions of the Crimson Ark, which
hath been mentioned in the Qayyum-i-Asma." (Baha'u'llah, Tablets, 120)

I must pause here to admit that I am stymied by the mention of the
"Qayyum-i-Asma" in this passage. I will append a note at the end of
this essay explaining how far I got in the Writings of the Bab; I hope
someone familiar with the source languages and documents will chase
this little mystery to ground.

In spite of this hiccup, the meaning of this passage is evident.
Sometimes "Companions of the Crimson Ark" means unambiguously the
members of the House of Justice, and though in this case it is
addressing all believers, His "loved ones," there is nonetheless a
hint that since justice is their commander, the House of Justice is
the arbiter of what is just. The overall thrust of what He is telling
us about fear seems to say, in the argot of my youth, "Fear of God has
had a bad rap. Get over it." The reason fear will never go away is
that it is essential to justice, and justice is the characteristic
teaching of Baha'u'llah.

Fear is unavoidable in talking about justice because of the problem of
hypocrisy. The Greek philosophers talked of this intractable problem:
all too often, then and now, a man seems to the world to be
meritorious but secretly, in private, he exploits widows and orphans,
traditionally the vulnerable, unprotected members of society. As long
as he can hide his wrong there is nothing to stop him except by
meeting with God. To commune with the Supreme Being and not to fear,
blithely to continue at whatever one was doing before, wronging others
if one can get away with it, is implicitly to deny the influence of
the All-Seeing. The Law of Moses therefore asserts: "You shall not
wrong one another; but you shall fear your God: for I am Yahweh your
God." (Lev 25:17) Later, Jesus railed at the hypocrite who washes the
outside of the plate -- that is, public wrongs subject to scrutiny --
yet leaves the inside, unseen, private wrongs, unwashed.

This is not to say that the fear of God should be over-emphasized or
singled out, as so often in the past. `Abdu'l-Baha admonishes parents
to teach it in a balanced way, along with love and other virtues, to
children from the earliest age.

"Let them (mothers) strive by day and by night to establish within
their children faith and certitude, the fear of God, the love of the
Beloved of the worlds, and all good qualities and traits."
(Selections, 125)

In the concluding passage of a late Tablet, the Ishraqat, Baha'u'llah
again invokes the "companions of the Crimson Ark."

"... We exhort all believers to observe justice and fairness and to
show forth love and contentment. They are indeed the people of Baha,
the companions of the Crimson Ark. Upon them be the peace of God, the
Lord of all Names, the Creator of the heavens." (Baha'u'llah, Tablets,
134)

Here Baha'u'llah does not mention fear but He does justice, along with
fairness, love and contentment, all being defining elements of a
believer. The context is important though, for fear and its opposite,
hypocrisy, enter in here nonetheless.

Baha'u'llah has been discussing a case where a law of the Holy Book
against usury had been flouted De Facto by the Islamic clergy. This
corrupt body in Persia had been given the task of enforcing Islamic
law but wangled around it in the most hypocritical, brazen manner.
This made, in Baha'u'llah's words, a "plaything of the laws and
ordinances of God." (id.) Baha'u'llah alters and moderates the severe
restrictions of Islamic (and Mosaic, for that matter) law against
interest on loans, and entrusts such ticklish issues entirely to the
House of Justice. The,

"conduct of these affairs hath been entrusted to the men of the House
of Justice that they may enforce them according to the ... dictates of
wisdom." (id.)

Wisdom is an important proviso here. In order for justice not to be a
"plaything" it must be applied strictly, but also wisely, moderately
and in a timely manner. This tension in God's covenant between hard
and strict application of the law and merciful accommodation to human
weakness is hardly new. Jewish scholars point to two instances in the
Bible where God and man enter into dialogue and negotiate, God's
proposed destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and God's order to Abraham
to sacrifice His long awaited son, Isaac. As always between lovers in
a marital relationship, in the Crimson Covenant fear and love,
strength and weakness, justice and wisdom, eventually work a happy
balance. This in itself, while not eliminating fear, tends to moderate
it; in the future we can be confident that however harsh an
application of law may seem, it is not applied in the arbitrary,
terror inspiring manner of a law unmated by wisdom.

We are not finished with crimson fear, and will continue next time.

End Note on "Qayyum-i-Asma."

The Bab wrote two "Books of Names," one in Arabic and the other in
Persian, both of which veer close to the mention above. There may be
others not included in the excerpts that we have in English. One is a
mention of "ark" in the Kitab-i-Asma (XVI, 17),

"If ye seek God, it behooveth you to seek Him Whom God shall make
manifest, and if ye cherish the desire to dwell in the Ark of Names,
ye will be distinguished as the guides to Him Whom God shall make
manifest, did ye but believe in Him. Verily then make your hearts the
daysprings of His exalted Names as recorded in the Book, and ye shall,
even as mirrors placed before the sun, be able to receive
enlightenment." (Selections, 131)

The other, perhaps more likely, is in the Arabic Qayyumu'l-Asma, in
chapter LVII,

"Indeed God hath created everywhere around this Gate oceans of divine
elixir, tinged crimson with the essence of existence and vitalized
through the animating power of the desired fruit; and for them God
hath provided Arks of ruby, tender, crimson-coloured, wherein none
shall sail but the people of Baha, by the leave of God, the Most
Exalted; and verily He is the All-Glorious, the All-Wise."
(Selections, 57-58)

--
John Taylor

badijet@gmail.com