Pupil of the Eye: What the Baha'i Faith Says about Black Folks
(Eye Diagram courtesy of kidshealth.org)
This symposium is a gathering of African Americans from a variety of religious traditions to explore spiritual responses to the challenges facing our community in an age of "crisis" dramatized so painfully by the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
April 15-16 I will be participating in a local Black Men's Gathering in the Greater Boston area. The Black Men's Gathering is an international fellowship of brothers committed to applying the Baha'i Revelation to the spiritual and moral empowerment of peoples of African Descent around the world.
Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith said this about people of African Descent:
"Thou art like unto the pupil of the eye that is dark in color but is a fount of light and the revealer of the contingent world."
This profound statement has been a source of inspiration to the souls of Black Baha'is for generations. But what does it mean? To reflect on the possible spiritual significance of this analogy it could be helpful to explore the physical reality it is based on. How does the "pupil" actually work and what is it's function in the phenomenon of sight?
The pupil is the black-appearing spot in the center of the iris. Its size changes since its function is to control the amount of light reaching the retina. In the dark, it expands allowing more light to enter. It contracts in bright light to keep out excess light. The retina is a membrane that lines the inside wall of the eye. It contains photoreceptors (rods and cones) that change light into sight by converting light into electrical impulses. These electrical messages are sent from the retina to the brain and interpreted as images.(From How Eyes Work www.pixi.com) Pupil size can change from 2 millimeters to 8 millimeters. This means that by changing the size of the pupil, the eye can change the amount of light that enters it by 30 times. (From science.howstuffworks.com)
Thus a possible way of understanding the analogy of Black people being like the pupil of the eye may be in reflecting on the pupil's role of modulating the intensity of light involved in our capacity to "see", particulary that the pupil can "magnify" the amount of light we receive.
What spiritual signficance does "light" have in the Baha'i Writings and other Scriptures? Here are a few selections to consider:
The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Daystar of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth. The One true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words.
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 14)
O ye people of the Book! our Apostle has come to you to explain to you much of what ye had hidden of the Book, and to pardon much. There has come to you from God a light, and a perspicuous Book; God guides thereby those who follow His pleasure to the way of peace, and brings them into a right way.
(The Qur'an (E.H. Palmer tr), Sura 5 - The Table)
1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
(King James Bible, 1 John)
42,6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and have taken hold of thy hand, and kept thee, and set thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations; 42,7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.
(Nev'im (Prophets), Yeshayahu (Isaiah))
The ways in which "light" is used in sacred scripture are far too many to even begin to explore them in this post, but the selections above lead me to believe that a way of understanding Black folks as the "pupil of the eye" is that our contribution to the world somehow involves acting as a source of "magnification" of the "light" of God's Revelation. This magnifying power may serve to increase humanity's spiritual perception of God's power, love, wisdom and guidance.
3 comments:
Phillipe:
Thanks for this illuminating analysis. For a long time I've had the urge to further explore this concept. I feel like the significance of the pupil comparison from the Baha'i writings has so many facets that we haven't yet discovered.... kind of like what you always hear about the human brain; that we only use about 10 percent of it.
So let's try to stretch our brains a bit, shall we? In an effort to further explore the pupil of the eye concept, from time to time I'm going to post quotes here from the Holy Scriptures that mention eyes, vision, and sight. (I would love it if anyone who comes across one of these quotes in their daily readings would cut & paste them here also, along with comments or insights.)
Here's the first one:
"We cherish the hope that through the loving-kindness of the All-Wise, the All-Knowing, obscuring dust may be dispelled and the power of perception enhanced, that the people may discover the purpose for which they have been called into being. In this Day whatsoever serveth to reduce blindness and to increase vision is worthy of consideration. This vision acteth as the agent and guide for true knowledge. Indeed in the estimation of men of wisdom keenness of understanding is due to keenness of vision. The people of Baha must under all circumstances observe that which is
meet and seemly and exhort the people accordingly."(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas, page 35)
I'm really looking forward (no pun) to watching this collection of quotes grow...
Many thanks,
Liz
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Rain down, I beseech Thee, from the clouds of Thine overflowing grace, that which shall cleanse the hearts of Thy servants from whatever may prevent their beholding Thy face, or may prevent them from turning unto Thee, that they may all recognize Him Who is their Fashioner and Creator. Help them, then, O God, to reach forth, through the power of Thy sovereign might, towards such a station that can readily distinguish every foul smell from the fragrance of the raiment of Him Who is the Bearer of Thy most lofty and exalted name, that they may turn with all their affections toward Thee, and may enjoy such intimate communion with Thee that if all that is in heaven and on earth were given them they would regard it as unworthy of their notice, and would refuse to cease from remembering Thee and from extolling Thy virtues. (Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations, page 159)
"...consider the signs of the revelation of God in their relation one to another. Can the sun, which is but one of these signs, be regarded as equal in rank to darkness? The one true God beareth Me witness! No man can believe it, unless he be one of those whose hearts are straitened, and whose eyes have become deluded. Say: Consider your own selves. Your nails and eyes are both parts of your bodies. Do ye regard them of equal rank and value? If ye say, yea; say, then: ye have indeed charged with imposture, the Lord, my God, the All-Glorious, inasmuch as ye spare the one, and cherish the other as dearly as your own life."
To transgress the limits of one's own rank and station is, in no wise, permissible. The integrity of every rank and station must needs be preserved. By this is meant that every created thing should be viewed in the light of the station it hath been ordained to occupy. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 188)
"The candle of thine heart is lighted by the hand of My power, quench it not with the contrary winds of self and passion. The healer of all thine ills is remembrance of Me, forget it not. Make My love thy treasure and cherish it even as thy very sight and life.” (Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, No. 32 from the Persian)
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