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Paris Talks
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Pages 43-45
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THE CLOUDS THAT OBSCURE THE SUN OF TRUTH
4 Avenue de Camöens,
Morning of Friday, October 27th
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The day is fine, the air is pure, the sun shines, no
mist nor cloud obscures its radiance.
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These brilliant rays penetrate into all parts of the city;
so may the Sun of Truth illumine the minds of men.
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Christ said, `They shall see the Son of Man coming
in the clouds of Heaven'.
[1]
Bahá'u'lláh said, `When
Christ came for the first time He came upon the
clouds'.
[2]
Christ said that He had come from the sky,
from Heaven--that He came forth from God--while
He was born of Mary, His Mother. But when He
declared that He had come from Heaven, it is clear
that He did not mean the blue firmament but that He
spoke of the Heaven of the Kingdom of God, and
that from this Heaven He descended upon the clouds.
As clouds are obstacles to the shining of the sun, so
the clouds of the world of humanity hid from the
eyes of men the radiance of the Divinity of Christ.
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Men said, `He is of Nazareth, born of Mary, we
know Him and we know his brethren. What can He
mean? What is He saying? That He came forth from
God?'
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The Body of Christ was born of Mary of Nazareth,
but the Spirit was of God. The capacities of His human
body were limited but the strength of His spirit was
vast, infinite, immeasurable.
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Men asked, `Why does He say He is of God?' If
they had understood the reality of Christ, they would
have known that the body of His humanity was a
cloud that hid His Divinity. The world only saw His
human form, and therefore wondered how He could
have `come down from Heaven'.
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Bahá'u'lláh said, `Even as the clouds hide the sun
and the sky from our gaze, even so did the humanity
of Christ hide from men His real Divine character'.
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I hope that you will turn with unclouded eyes towards
the Sun of Truth, beholding not the things of
earth, lest your hearts be attracted to the worthless and
passing pleasures of the world; let that Sun give you
of His strength, then will not the clouds of prejudice
veil His illumination from your eyes! Then will the
Sun be without clouds for you.
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Breathe the air of purity. May you each and all
share in the Divine Bounties of the Kingdom of
Heaven. May the world be for you no obstacle hiding
the truth from your sight, as the human body of
Christ hid His Divinity from the people of His day.
May you receive the clear vision of the Holy Spirit,
so that your hearts may be illumined and able to
recognize the Sun of Truth shining through all material
clouds, His splendour flooding the universe.
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Let not the things of the body obscure the celestial
light of the spirit, so that, by the Divine Bounty, you
may enter with the children of God into His Eternal
Kingdom.
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This is my prayer for you all.
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Notes
1. [St Matthew xxiv, 30. St Matthew xvi, 27.]
2. [St John iii, 13.]
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