Story from the childhood of Jesus Christ

Luke chapter 2:42-52

Stories from the childhood of the Báb

1. Extra-ordinary demeanour and behaviour. Nobility of character. Never cried.

2. First day in school of Shaykh Abid. Poem recited by the other pupil.

“From the pinnacles of Heaven they call out unto thee,

I know not what hath thee here entrapped.”

3. Often late in school, found praying. “I was in the house of My Grandfather”. “I want to be like My Grandfather”.

4. Shared food and things with the other children.

5. Interpretation of the verse “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.”

6. Shaykh Abid’s inability to answer the question of the pupils. Poem:

“Should the grace of the Holy Spirit once again deign to assist,

Others will also do what Christ could perform.”

7. Shaykh Abid takes Him home: “He, verily, stands in no need of teachers such as I.”

8. Great Uncle of the Báb, His guardian. Trip to the shrine of the Imam. Martyred in the path of his Nephew; one of the illustrious 7 martyrs of Teheran.

Stories from the childhood of Bahá’u’lláh

1. Childhood dream of swimming in the sea and the attack of the birds and fish.

2. Letter to His aunt as a child of 5 years; masterpiece of Persian literature as well as containing profound truths:

“He is the Well-Beloved! God willing you are abiding restfully beneath the canopy of Divine mercy and the tabernacle of His bounty. Although to outward seeming, I am little and cannot write, but because this illiterate One is clung to the Divine Lote tree, He can read without knowledge and can write without schooling. And this fact is clear and evident in the spiritual realm to those endued with insight. Others have not been and are not aware of this mystery.”

(unauthorised translation from Mahbub’i’Alam)

“Although He (the Manifestation of God) may be unknown among His own kindred and before the appearance of physical maturity, even if crying in His cradle for milk, still at that very time, all created things have their being through His assistance.”

(unauthorised translation)

Bahá’u’lláh and Abdu’l-Bahá’s clarification of the state of consciousness of the Manifestations of God

“Consider the hour at which the supreme Manifestation of God revealeth Himself unto men. Ere that hour cometh, the Ancient Being, Who is still unknown of men and hath not as yet given utterance to the Word of God, is Himself the All-Knower in a world devoid of any man that hath known Him. He is indeed the Creator without a creation. For at the very moment preceding His Revelation, each and every created thing shall be made to yield up its soul to God. This is indeed the Day of which it hath been written: “Whose shall be the Kingdom this Day?” And none can be found ready to answer!” (Gleanings, LXXVIII)

Statements of Abdu’l-Bahá from Some Answered Questions:

“Verily, from the beginning that Holy Reality (the Manifestation) is conscious of the secret of existence, and from the age of childhood signs of greatness appear and are visible in Him. Therefore, how can it be that with all these bounties and perfections He should have no consciousness? … So the saying: ‘I was asleep, and the divine breezes passed over Me, and I awoke,’ is like Christ’s saying: ‘The body is sad, and the spirit is happy,’ or again: ‘I am afflicted’, or: ‘I am at ease’, or ‘I am troubled’ - these refer to the physical condition and have no reference to the individual reality nor to the manifestation of Divine Reality. … These words which Bahá’u’lláh said: ‘I was asleep, and the breeze passed over Me, and awakened Me,’ refer to the body.” (Chapter 39)

“When beginning is spoken of, it signifies the state of manifesting; and symbolically, the condition of silence is compared to sleep. For example, a man is sleeping - when he begins to speak, he is awake - but it is always the same individual, whether he be asleep or awake; no difference has occurred in his station, his elevation, his glory, his reality or his nature. … Then it is evident and clear that Christ did not reach the station of Messiahship and its perfections at the time of baptism, when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the likeness of a dove. Nay, the Word of God (the Manifestation) from all eternity has always been, and will be, in the exaltation of sanctification.” (Chapter 38)