Supplemental Information W. JOHN MURRAY & THE BAHAI FAITH
W. John Murray was acquainted with the writings of Baha’u’llah, author of the Bahai Revelation, as evidenced by the following quote which appears at the front of The Realm of Reality:
“O Son of Spirit, I have created thee rich. How is it thou art poor? And made thee mighty. How is it thou art weak? And from the very essence of Love and Wisdom I have manifested thee. How is it thou occupiest thyself with someone else?
“Turn thy sight to thyself that thou mayest find ME standing in thee, Mighty--Powerful--Supreme.”
--- From the Hindu. Murray erroneously attributes the above quotation to Hindu texts whereas it was actually taken from The Hidden Words, a sacred book of the Bahai Faith. The complete quotation is as follows:
Having thus established a familiarity with Bahai writings it is significant that on several occasions Rev. Murray incorporates concepts from the Bahai faith into his concept of Divine Science.
O SON OF SPIRIT! “I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abuse thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I moulded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another?
“Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.”
--- Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words, Arabic. You will have noticed that you were directed to this supplemental page after reading Murray’s words: “But the strange thing is that history does not record that any great truth, that any startling spiritual truth has ever come through a man standing high in the church.” He continues, "It is always some lonely, solitary individual who alone with God or some great idea, perceives a hidden truth and then communicates it to another. Great bodies have never given us anything...The ass hears the message of good will and peace upon earth more quickly than most of our scholars."
This mirrors the viewpoint of Baha’u’llah:
“Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people...The denials and protestations of these leaders of religion have, in the main, been due to their lack of knowledge and understanding. “
--- Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-I-Iqan. To the best of my knowledge Rev. Murray’s church and ministry, despite being staunchly Divine Science in its teachings, remained independent. Although he was a close friend of Nona Brooks he published his own books and materials, using the Divine Science name, but apparently without needing (or seeking) approval from Denver. This high level of independence is also characteristic of the Bahai Faith which, to this day, is decentralized and lacks a formal church structure.
For students who wish to better acquaint themselves with the Bahai teachings I recommend a visit to their Virtual Study Center. It takes about an hour to put yourself through the course and is time well spent.
NYC Bahai Virtual Study Center * * * * *
Northwoods Divine Science Resource Center