Searching for the meaning of life (cont'd)

(3)
It was when I first arrived in US, my husband had told me once that there were two persons in our area I should meet. I asked him why. He said he didn’t exactly know why, but felt that they possessed certain qualities which I might like. That was the end of conversation. I didn’t understand the meaning of it, neither did he.

One day during those confusing period, at supermarket, my husband suddenly said loudly to me: “Le, look, that’s Bill, whom I told you before.” I remembered what he said to me about Bill. Yes, there was something special in Bill that I could not describe, but I did like for sure. After exchanging a few greetings, Bill said: “Do you have time on Wednesday evening? Let’s have dinner together at my home.” Before we realized, the invitation was confirmed.

On the way home, I asked my husband: “Do you know Bill well?”

“No, just met him one time when he came to where I lived to visit some one else, we chatted in the hall way and after that met him several time in restaurant where I worked as a waiter, that’s it.”

I asked : “Is this the custom here, people invite each other for dinner at home even though they don’t know each other well?"

“I don’t think so.” We were not sure what all these meant.

On the evening of that Wednesday, right before we were ready to go to Bill’s home, my husband decided he would not go after all. I decided I was going all by myself.

On the way to Bill’s home, I lost direction for a while in the darkness. I had never been in that area. I couldn't decide should I turn back or go forward. I asked myself that I didn’t know Bill at all, why I’d go to see him even by myself. Beside to keep my word, were there any other reasons? Another day when I saw Bill at National, I felt clearly there were something in him that attracted me. I was not sure what it was, but I'd like to find it out.

When I arrived at Bill’s home, he and his wife had prepared a whole table of food and were waiting for us. Five minutes into dinner, I was about to ask Bill questions concerning religion. I didn’t know then that the conversation was about to lead me to answers to all my questions and concerns, and would change the rest of my life and my 15-year-long search would come to a conclusion.

(The following is not exactly quotes of our conversation, rather they are what I remembered the principles I learned).

I asked Bill: Are you a Christian?

Bill said: We believe Christ is a Messenger from God, and Bible is the teachings from God brought to us by Christ.

I noticed immediately that Bill’s answer was different from a standard Christian’s answer. I was encouraged and asked another question: Beside Christ, are there any other Messengers from God?

Bill: Yes, God has sent to mankind many Messengers in history and will send many more in future. In fact, we believe all of the founders of major religions are Messengers from God.

I: So what’s the relationship between those religions? Do they believe in the same God? ( This was a big and crucial question for me)

Bill: We believe all religions are from the same God. The relationship between them we call Progressive Revelation.

I: What is Progressive Revelation?

Bill: We view religious history as a succession of revelations from God and the term "progressive revelation" is used to describe this process. We believe that in reality, there is only one religion, the religion of God. This one religion is continually evolving, and each particular religious system represents a stage in the evolution of the whole. All of the religious systems "have proceeded from one Source and are the rays of one Light." Religion is like a book, different religions are different chapters in the same book.

I felt that the clouds in front of me were slowly dispersed away, there was a ray of light shining through the cloud directly to the very depth of my heart. My inner being recognized instantly the truth of these few words. It's like a magic, religion was no longer a lifeless system, rather suddenly become alive. God was no longer so far removed, but became near, so intimately near to my heart.

I couldn't wait to hear more: What’s the relationship between science and religion? Do they have to contradict with each other?

Bill: We believe that science and religion are two sources of knowledge ordained by God. Science is the source of understanding the laws of physical reality while religion, true religion, is a source of understanding of the laws of spiritual reality. Fundamentally science and religion should agree and complement to each other. If they appear to contradict with each other, it’s because either religion has become superstition, or science has not yet discovered complete truth.

I breathed deeply. Everything sounded refreshing and made sense to me and I still had one last question that had been buried deeply in my heart for 15 years: "What is indeed the meaning of our existence?"

Bill: We believe that human reality is fundamentally spiritual. If there were no Creator, if humans were simply chance products of a thermodynamic system, there would be no purpose in life. Each individual human being would represent the temporary material existence of a conscious animal trying to move through his or her brief life with as much pleasure and as little pain and suffering as possible. It is only in relation to the Creator, and the purpose which that Creator has fixed for His creatures, that human existence has any meaning. And in this context, life should be seen as an eternal process of spiritual discovery and growth. God has endowed each human reality potentials to reflect all of His attributes. Thus the development of these spiritual potentials constitutes the meaning of our life. And as we develop and as we progress, we become more and more God-like and thus drew ever nearer to God.

How wonderful and beautiful insights of understanding! Everything suddenly made sense and all pieces had simply come together. My puzzle had finally been solved!!

It was obvious to me that all of these understandings were not from traditional Christianity.

I asked Bill: "What is your religion?"

Bill: "We are Baha'is, the followers of Baha'u'llah."

The name was new, never heard before. But it's alright with me. There was first time for all new things. I could get used to the new name.

"Who is Baha'u'llah?"

Bill: "We believe that Baha'u'llah is the latest Messenger from God, He brought teachings for our time."

No wonder everything sounded so current, so accessible to modern mind!

I sat there for a while quietly, hardly comprehending what had just happened to me. I looked at Bill. His face was luminous that it seemed there was light shinning through him. His eyes were full of warm kindness that could move one to tears. I wished he kept talking and that moment would never end. I had no doubt at that moment that it was God who had sent Bill to guide me and to teach me. God had kept His promise. My fifteen-year-long fervent search had finally been answered, and my mind and my heart could finally rest for peace.

I ran home that night and shouted to my husband:" I found it, I found it, I found it!!!" He looked at me puzzlingly: " I never know you have lost anything." Never mind, he didn't know this. I never told anyone my inner struggles, my desperate desires. I wished I could share this with someone, anyone that how much this meant to me. God cares, God really cares for me and equally for everyone. God's grace did not just pour out at an arbitrary point of history and stopped pouring for ever for no reason. God has been and will always be raining down His grace to mankind. And with the one simple teaching that religion and science should be in harmony, my heart and my mind are brought together into one single entity. Truth must be beautiful and beauty cannot be false. Everything becomes one and I become whole. 

I'd like to finish this post with a paragraph from the Writings of Baha'u'llah concerning how a seeker of truth should go about his searching:

"On this journey (searching) the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every country he looketh for the Beloved. He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One." (Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 7)

Searching for the meaning of life (Part I)