ALL CHRISTIANS - Has Elijah returned or not?, page-253 - HotCopper | ASX Share Prices, Stock Market & Share Trading Forum

Originally posted by Copperbod: ↑

Hi Kam,
"Optimism and hope for a golden future for humanity is needed because without hope, there is little reason to wake up tomorrow.
Without a vision, the little achievements are directionless."

I'm assuming this is your experience and perhaps you are also extending it to other Baha'i ?
Nothing wrong with optimism or hope in a grand vision of something external .... unless without it, "there is little reason to wake up tomorrow."
Such overarching reliance on such a vision would have me concerned there was a lack of contact with and reverence for one's inner "life" loaned to us for just a short while. This exists independently of how it is used externally.

For example, a craftsman aware of the intrinsic value of this limited life, will apply the same care, attention, skill and appropriate measure regardless of the particular task he is working on.
Likewise the Japanese Tea Ceremony is not just for making a cup of tea or extending hospitality to the guest.

If tomorrow there was discovered a letter from Baha'u'llah clarifying that those aims of World Unity and Universal Justice etc were of course not attainable, but a worthy and highly motivating aim for people of faith. Baha'i should work "as if" they were attainable but with eyes open.

Would that alter your attitude to the work you and other Baha'i are doing ?
Would it diminish it's value ?
I hope not.

.

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Hi Copperbod,
I think my above message was a partial repeat response to an earlier post. Can't keep up with all the posts sometimes

In regards to vision, hope and a direction, I would agree that were I to have a vision for world unity, it wouldn't diminish my day to day actions if it was said to me that world unity is unattainable. But it must be stated that the vision for humanity revealed by Baha'u'llah is an organic vision which is comprised of smaller visions, or milestones if you like. My day to day life is born of trying to translate these smaller visions into reality. Of course I do not believe that global unity is achievable in my lifetime, but I do believe that the goals the Baha'i community has for the next global Plan will be achieved. and continually so from Plan to Plan until we have a world which many today would say is "unattainable"

What Baha'is believe in, is the principles. All these principles are qualitative, so there is no real "end goal", they are process driven, not event driven, and founded on a principle concept within Baha'u'llahs Revelation which "bring thyself to account each day" and "Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday"

In regards to your craftsman example, it is important to mention that the "final vision" is already in the Aristotlean "realm of forms" in the mind of the craftsman. The vision of the final art piece is a valuable asset for the creative technician

Kam