MARCH 2019
Greetings friends!
I’m so excited to begin this journey of discovery, revelation and enlightenment with you! I was inspired to take this path while in a rare state of mental repose amidst the calm and reassuring sands of the Sleeping Bear Dunes in northern Michigan summer of 2017. Casual reflection soon gave way to a growing excitement over the possibilities latent within a deliberate probe of the spiritual nature and significance of a people long hampered, hindered, harangued and harassed as a matter of course – a people whose spiritual ascendancy it turns out is undeniable, inestimable, unequivocal and immutable.
At the core of this discourse is a remarkably distinct and heretofore unsurmised decree from the Pen of the Author of the Bahá’í Revelation:
‘Bahá’u’lláh once compared the coloured people to the black pupil of the eye surrounded by the white. In this black pupil you see the reflection of that which is before it, and through it the light of the Spirit shines forth.’
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 68)
What in the world – at this time or any other – could this possibly mean? The ‘coloured’ people – a term in full use at the time of that writing (bet. 1863-1892) – are being compared to the pupil of the eye. The black pupil of the eye in fact. The coloured people. You and I.
Counsels from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of Bahá’u’lláh, addressing an African man affirms: ‘Thou art like unto the pupil of the eye which is dark in color, yet it is the fount of light and the revealer of the contingent world.’
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 78)
Revealer of the contingent world?? That’s some kind of special visioning right there. Created to reveal the contingent world. Physically and spiritually. Us?
To another He counselled, ‘Thou art even as the pupil of the eye, the very wellspring of the light, for God’s love hath cast its rays upon thine inmost being and thou hast turned thy face toward the Kingdom of thy Lord.’
The very wellspring of the light. Like a fountain. The light source. God endowed. A moment to reflect, yes?
Harmony of Science and Religion
One of the key principles of the Bahá’í Faith is the essential harmony of science and religion, and this instance being no exception, it is clearly exemplified here. Through the scientific lens we ‘see’ (yes—pun) the physical reality of a pupil, its structure and function. The pupil is the circular opening (aperture) of the eye. It is surrounded by the iris, which gives the eye its color but which responds involuntarily to dilate or constrict at the pupil’s behest. Dr. May Khadem Czerniejewski, a renowned researcher and practitioner of opthmalmology along with husband Dr. Richard Czerniewjewski, offers this insight [emphasis and commentary added]:
The pupil of the eye is a portal which admits and regulates the flow of light to the retina [a portal – not a solid impenetrable black dot]. Without this passage, no images are perceived. At the retina, our consciousness is intimately in contact with physical reality, for the brain’s cells themselves flow out to the retina to receive information through the illumination modulated by the pupil. Cells from the brain cut loose and head on out to the retina to see what they can see.
Why the Pupil of the Eye is Black
Most enlightening is this from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: ‘But it is known that the pupil of the eye is black, so as to attract the rays of the sun; for if it were another color, that is, uniformly white, it would not attract the rays of the sun.’ (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Section, p. 308) So the pupil’s blackness is neither arbitrary nor flexible, but indeed fundamental, mandatory. A requirement for sight. Every human has a black pupil. No black? No light. No sight. Period.
The Drs. Czerniejewski go on to say:
The pupil has the dual function of light gathering and modulation. Light, which unites all colors and is composed of all colors, [an especially unique theme considering irrefutable scientific proof of the black race as the source of our physical origin from which all races have flowed–albeit over an enormous span of time] light illumines physical reality, but at the same time its intensity can destroy the delicate structures of the eye. When light levels are high, it constricts to protect the retina from intense and even damaging exposure. Since sight is often described as our most precious sensory ability, we can say that the pupil helps to protect this most precious gift. On the other hand, when there is very little light the pupil admits more light through dilating, thus permitting sight even in very dark places. Rosa Parks could see in the dark. Martin Luther King, Jr. could see in the dark. Mary McLeod Bethune could see in the dark. Frederick Douglass could see in the dark. Sojourner Truth could see in the dark. Nelson Mandela could see in the dark. Fannie Lou Hamer could see in the dark. Spiritual pupils dilated to the nth degree, a sliver of light their unerring guide. As were the pupils of countless others whose names we may never know, but the light of whose spirits shall never fade.
The black appearance of the pupil is deceptive. The pupil appears black only until the inside of the eye is illumined. Then it becomes radiant, filled with a warm, reddish-orange glow [reflecting the retina which is red!]. With this reflection from the inside of the eye, the pupil itself becomes a source of [internal?] illumination.
To top it off they state:
The most remarkable quality of the pupil is that despite its vital service, it is the embodiment of “the hollow reed from which the pith of self hath been blown,” for it is the absence of physical structure that permits it to facilitate the harmonious functioning of all the other components of the eye that make sight possible. Nothing blocking the way. Nothing blocking the light. Nothing blocking the spirit. No pith. no self. A most clear path, this hollow reed of a black pupil . . . .
A Spiritual Lens
That’s the physical. Now, adjusting the lens as would an optometrist to maximize visual acuity, let’s consider this from a spiritual perspective.
‘. . . white and black are the descendants of the same Adam; they belong to one household. In origin they were one; they were the same color. Adam was of one color. Eve had one color. All humanity is descended from them. Therefore, in origin they are one. These colors developed later due to climates and regions; they have no significance whatsoever.’ (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Talks in Washington D.C., 20-25 April 1912, Howard University) [*Obviously mankind existed prior to the time of Adam and Eve (approximately 6000 years ago). All persons living today are descended from them. What happened to those who preceded Adam? More than one deluge, wiping out millenia of generations. God has all power. For our purposes, however, we begin with Adam and Eve.]
Bottom line . . . no real significance these colors. Then why must we as a people have to now and forever prove, explain, and defend our existence as though it were the portal to unlocking the keys to the universe? How and why has this been made the object of our existence? During his first campaign run for president, then Senator Barack Obama was accused not only of being a member and devout supporter of (African American) Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ – a church perceived, labelled and defined (by others) as anti-American based on comments of the pastor – but also a true proponent of the Reverend’s values. What did the President do? Wrote a ‘black’ paper on race to defend, debunk and utterly derail that misguided train of thought. And yes, it IS a black paper, not a white paper because it had to be written in defense of living while black. All rights reserved. Next.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88478467
President Barack Obama Paper on Race – 18 March 2008
Origin of Man
“. . . mankind has been created from one single origin, has branched off from one family. Thus in reality all mankind represents one family. God has not created any difference. He has created all as one that thus this family might live in perfect happiness and well-being.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Section, p. 297)
Know what mitosis is? A sperm fertilizes an egg forming a single cellular entity – a zygote (from the Greek ‘joined’ or ‘yoked’). To become who we are, that zygote (the mother cell) divides and becomes two identical daughter cells which remain attached; which then divide, become four and remain attached; which divide, become sixteen and remain attached until, as God intended over 9-months’ gestation, a blastocyst, embryo, fetus and finally baby is formed. It is thee most basic yet conclusive example of e pluribus unum – out of one, many AND its long-term consequential reverse: ex uno plures – out of many, ONE: many cells, one human; many humans, one humanity!
Differentiation
Mitosis. TMI? Fine. Let’s talk about differentiation. One stage in the progression of our ‘becoming’ is embryonic differentiation – the process of development during which embryonic cells specialize and diverse tissue structures arise. We like the term ‘diverse’…. The differentiation of cells during embryogenesis is the key to cell, tissue, organ, and organism identity.
Consequently, conversely and likewise, the differentiation of humans resulting from migration, climate and environment over an enormous passage of time (240,000 years long enough?) – our diversity – stems from external factors, not internal, not intrinsic, not innate. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is clear: ‘. . . for there is no doubt that in the beginning the origin was one: the origin of all numbers is one and not two.’ (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Section, p. 297) Yet we have this long-term process of ‘becoming’ our true collective identity. Actually, we are the long-term process. Going through our mitotic phases as a single humanity – at first just one people, then separation and division into as many peoples as we could fathom, and finally striving to execute the God-ordained plan which re-unites and binds us as one. Trust our vision is 20/20 on this.
Since science parallels, syncs with, and ultimately corroborates religion, we’ll close with this 2016 link:
A Single Migration from Africa Populated the World, Studies Find – New York Times article
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/science/ancient-dna-human-history.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join us for the next blog session: Out of Africa –A Sojourn Supreme
Click About BPOTE to learn more about us.
Contact BPOTE any time!
Til then, let the light of your spirit shine forth!
BlackPupilofTheEye.com