Expert: Suzanne Gerstner - 11/14/2009

Question
Hello, how are you today?

My name is Mario, I'm a new Baha'i, and have really enjoyed browsing your site.

My question is this: "How do Baha'is believe that God speaks to them?"

I know that God speaks to man through the Universal House of Justice, the Manifestations, and that even some dreams can be interpreted as messages of God; however, do some Baha'is believe that God ever directly tries to communicate with them symbolically?

The reason that I ask this is because I was recently visiting a Christian friend of mine for the weekend, and decided to attend his church service that Sunday. When I was there, I found that the pastor and a number of individuals from the church were testifying that God had spoken to them in a number of symbolic ways.

For example, the pastor kept mentioning that he was seeing the number "3" in different places, and went into a long story of what he thought that God was telling him, and the significance of the number "3".
In a second instance a woman showed the congregation a statuette of a woman embracing her daughter. This statuette had fallen off of a table in her house by accident, and when it hit the ground only the face had fallen off. She then went into a long interpretation of what that meant, and what God was telling that whole congregation though that small event.

I have a hard time believing that God is speaking to me all day through minute symbols. If he was, then how could I ever know if my interpretation of these minor events was correct? I would be able to interpret them however I please.

On the other hand, god is omnipotent and has the ability to interfere with our daily lives at any moment. However, if God were to do this, do you think that this would be an assault on our free-will?

Thinking on this is very confusing for me. We have the Universal House of Justice to look to for guidance, an abundance of scripture that has been revealed through the Manifestations, and even some dreams that may have symbolic interpretation, but are there any other ways that Baha'is believe that God individually guides his servants beyond this?

Thank you for your time.


Answer
Hi Mario,

I believe that the primary way that God communicates with human beings is through His Words revealed by the Manifestations, especially, at this point in history, from Baha'u'llah.  We can "immerse" ourselves "in the Ocean of His Words", and learn a great deal about what God wants for us in this Day.  And, of course, there's also the Writings and interpretations of 'Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, and the example of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and, as you say, the guidance of the Universal House of Justice.  All point towards God's will for us.

However, it isn't just book learning.  Our spirits can be open to inspiration.  Speaking as the Mouthpiece of God in the Hidden Words, Baha'u'llah says:

"O SON OF BEING! Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation."

And again:

"O SON OF LIGHT! Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. This is of the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it."

We can pray for guidance, and sometimes we may feel that we are getting that guidance.  We are inspired to do or say something, and it's just the right thing, or just the right answer comes to us. We can pray with full hearts, and find that our hearts fill with joy and light.  Is this not a form of communication from the Divine?

Also, life presents us with so many situations, or what one might call tests, which we need to struggle to pass in a spiritual way.  Through prayer, and meditation on the word of God, and reflection on what 'Abdu'l-Baha might have done in this situation, we often pass our tests and grow spiritually.  So, in a sense, you could say that we are communing with God, and He has assisted us.

Dreams can also be guidance from the spiritual world, and often there are symbols in our dreams that have particular meanings.  But our interpretations are not always reliable.  The more we understand the Will of God for us through the Holy Scriptures, the better we are able to interpret what they mean.

But often what people think of as God speaking to them is, I believe, what Baha'u'llah would call "vain imaginings" or "idle fancies."  They believe it, and I respect their right to their own beliefs, but I'm afraid I'm as skeptical about that as you are.

All best wishes,

Suzanne