Put the Glass Down By Dr.Claude Shema-Rutagengwa, Pr.Dr.Udaya Kumar and Pr.Dr.Dietrich http://www.author-me.com/fict07/puttheglass.htm Once a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, “how much do you think this glass weighs? ’50gms!’?…’100gms…’125gms’…. The students answered, “I really don’t [...]

Put the Glass Down

By Dr.Claude Shema-Rutagengwa, Pr.Dr.Udaya Kumar and Pr.Dr.Dietrich

http://www.author-me.com/fict07/puttheglass.htm

Once a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, “how much do you think this glass weighs? ’50gms!’?…’100gms…’125gms’….

The students answered, “I really don’t know unless I weigh it.”

The professor said, ‘now, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?’

‘Nothing’ the students said.

“OK what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?” the professor asked.

“Your arm would begin to ache” said one of the students.

“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis; have to go to hospital for sure! Ventured another student”, all the students laughed.

“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?” Asked the professor.

“No” was the reply of all the students.

“Then what caused the arm to ache; the muscle to stress?” After a pause the professor asked “Before my arm ache, what should I do?”

The students were puzzled.

“Put the glass down!” said one of the students.

“Exactly!” said the professor, “Life’s problems are exactly like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK. Think of them for a long time; they begin to ache. Hold it even longer; they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.”

It’s important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to ‘put them down’ at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh; strong; can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!

Remember to put the glass down everyday!

 

God wants us to be at peace: His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh endured ordeals and hardships sixty years . . . He willingly endured these difficulties . . . [that] peace and tranquility be realized by all. (Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith, p. 230) He teaches us what is needed to overcome disease: Praise be to Him, ye [...]

God wants us to be at peace:

His Holiness Bahá’u'lláh endured ordeals and hardships sixty years . . . He willingly endured these difficulties . . . [that] peace and tranquility be realized by all. (Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith, p. 230)

He teaches us what is needed to overcome disease:

Praise be to Him, ye are acquainted with the various laws, institutions and principles of the world; today nothing short of these divine teachings can assure peace and tranquillity to mankind. But for these teachings, this darkness shall never vanish, these chronic diseases shall never be healed; nay, they shall grow fiercer from day to day.  (Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 249)

We’ve lost our peace by a lack of security and trust:

Today no state in the world is in a condition of peace or tranquillity, for security and trust have vanished from among the people. (Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 293)

We need the love of God:

Know thou, verily, Baha’ was the Sun of Love and Peace, who shone forth with the Light of Guidance and was a Spirit of Life to all regions. The signs of His effulgence shall appear when the love of God shall influence the hearts, just as the soul influenceth bodies. The clouds of darkness shall be dispelled from the manifest light of love and peace, and from the abundant bounty of reconciliation and tranquillity.  (Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v1, p. 190)

And the love of each other:

May the light of love shine forth and illumine hearts, and may human lives be cemented and connected until all of us may find agreement and tranquility.  (Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 115)

We need to turn to God:

It behoveth him who is a wayfarer in the path of God and a wanderer in His way to detach himself from all who are in the heavens and on the earth. He must renounce all save God, that perchance the portals of mercy may be unlocked before his face and the breezes of providence may waft over him. And when he hath inscribed upon his soul that which We have vouchsafed unto him of the quintessence of inner meaning and explanation, he will fathom  all the secrets of these allusions, and God shall bestow upon his heart a divine tranquillity and cause him to be of them that are at peace with themselves. In like manner wilt thou comprehend the meaning of all the ambiguous verses that have been sent down concerning the question thou didst ask of this Servant Who abideth upon the seat of abasement, Who walketh upon the earth as an exile with none to befriend, comfort, aid, or assist Him, Who hath placed His whole trust in God, and Who proclaimeth at all times: “Verily we are God’s, and to Him shall we return.”  (Baha’u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 25)

God’s purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.  (Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 79)

The plight of man today is similar to that of a gardener who toils and labours in vain because he has planted his seeds in fertile soil but in a dark pit far away from the rays of the sun. Man has turned his back on the Sun of Truth. Not until he recognizes Him and turns to Him will he find peace on this earth and tranquillity in his heart.  (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u'llah v 2, p. 418)

And consider the messages of His prophets to be the Divine Remedy:

The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. (Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 79)

So many times when we are sick, we rush to see a doctor, without considering first the spiritual implications of our disease.

To none is given the right to question their words [those of the Prophets of God] or disparage their conduct, for they are the only ones who can claim to have understood the patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ailments. No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician have attained. (Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 79)

Following anyone other than the messengers of God, won’t lead us to happiness:

A great many people embrace these cults which become fashionable for a time. But when the Novelty wears off or dissatisfaction sets in, or the movements become impotent and disintegrate, then they look for another saviour, another movement or another sect, and there are many to turn to throughout the world. And so the experiment to find peace and tranquillity in one’s life continues. But so far few have found happiness or peace of mind.  (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u'llah v 4, p. 71)

We need religion:

Should the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness and justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine. Unto this will bear witness every man of true understanding.  (Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 125)

Religion is a manifest light and a strong fortress for the protection and tranquillity of the people of the world. For the fear of God commands people to do that which is just and forbids them that which is evil. If the lamp of Religion remain concealed agitation and anarchy would prevail, and the orb of justice and equity and the sun of peace and tranquillity would be withheld from giving light. Every man of discernment testifies to that which is mentioned.  (Bahá’u'lláh, Baha’i World Faith, p. 198)

We need virtues:

The first, the fundamental purpose underlying creation hath ever been, and will continue to be, none other than the appearance of trustworthiness and godliness, of sincerity and goodwill amongst mankind, for these qualities are the cause of peace, security and tranquillity. Blessed are those who possess such virtues. (Bahá’u'lláh, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 328)

We need trust that by becoming Bahá’í, God has already given us peace and tranquility:

These are they whose countenances God hath graciously turned away from the face of the unbelievers, and whom He hath sheltered beneath the shadow of the Tree of His own Being; they upon whose hearts He hath bestowed the gift of peace and tranquillity, and whom  He hath strengthened and assisted through the hosts of the seen and the unseen.  (Baha’u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 10)

We need education:

“Bahá’u'lláh,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá affirmed, “after His return (from Sulaymaniyyih) made such strenuous efforts in educating and training this community, in reforming its manners, in regulating its affairs and in rehabilitating its fortunes, that in a short while all these troubles and mischiefs were quenched, and the utmost peace and tranquillity reigned in men’s hearts.”  (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 133)

We need to study the sacred texts for clues, and trust that God has our best interests at heart:

We have exhorted them at length in various Tablets and beseech God to graciously assist them, to enable them to draw nigh unto Him and to confirm them in that which would bring peace to the hearts and tranquillity to the souls and would stay their hands from whatsoever ill-beseemeth His days.  (Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 121)

We need righteousness and understanding:

The purpose underlying the revelation of every heavenly Book, nay, of every divinely-revealed verse, is to endue all men with righteousness and understanding, so that peace and tranquillity may be firmly established amongst them.  (Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 205)

When met with opposition we are asked to:

Resist their fighting with peace and reconciliation, their blows with kindness and perfection and their blame with joy and tranquillity.  (Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v2, p. 285)

Pray for the hateful sinners . . . Beseech God to direct them to the Path of Salvation and breathe into them the Spirit of Life.  (Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v2, p. 285)

By teaching others, we can ensure their peace and tranquility:

Consider what source of joy and gratification it should be to you to see people, who have been for years seeking for the truth and craving to obtain it, who look upon the prevailing conditions of the world with distress and earnestly pray for salvation, find through you the object of their quest and attain the peace, tranquillity and spiritual life which they have longed for. The accomplishment of the task and the resulting success will be an ample reward for all your strivings.  (Shoghi Effendi, The Light of Divine Guidance v II, p. 21)

He . . . affirms that man will experience peace and tranquillity when he becomes the well-wisher of all that dwell on earth and exhorts the peoples to leave the darkness of enmity and enter the light of unity.  (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u'llah v 3, p. 270)

God knows what has happened to us, and has given us prayers we can say:

Thou knowest all that is in me, O Lord, but I know not what is in Thee. Have mercy then upon me through Thy loving providence and inspire me with that which shall give peace to my heart during Thy days and tranquillity to my soul through the revelations of Thy sacred presence.  (Compilations, The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting)

All laud and honor to Thee, O my God! Thou well knowest the things which, for a score of years, have happened in Thy days, and have continued to happen until this hour. No man can reckon, nor can any tongue tell, what hath befallen Thy chosen ones during all this time. They could obtain no shelter, nor find any refuge in which they could abide in safety. Turn, then, O my God, their fear into the evidences of Thy peace and Thy security, and their abasement into the sovereignty of Thy glory, and their poverty into Thine all-sufficient riches, and their distress into the wonders of Thy perfect tranquillity. Vouchsafe unto them the fragrances of Thy might and Thy mercy, and send down upon them, out of Thy marvelous loving-kindness, what will enable them to dispense with all except Thee, and will detach them from aught save Thyself, that the sovereignty of Thy oneness may be revealed and the supremacy of Thy grace and Thy bounty demonstrated.   (Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 335)