"What'sa matter, son?" Grandpa knew the answer
even before asking. Brently's asthma-strained breaths could be heard before
he'd left his own porch 20 yards away. The child often sought comfort in
Grandpa's lap during attacks.
"It's bad, Grandpa," Brently wheezed, climbing
onto Grandpa Burrell. The Kansas sky was vividly blue with just a few clouds,
the temperature in the nineties; this was harvest weather - hot, dry, and
breezy - bringing asthmatic people like Brently a heap of trouble.
Brently's long brown legs reached the ground as he draped
himself over Grandpa. He smelled the familiar smells of being on Grandpa's lap:
peppermints and pipe tobacco. These were his favorite smells because he so
loved his Grandpa.
A few minutes of squeaky rocking on the rusty metal chair
worked magic on Brently's breathing. The boy looked deep in thought as he
twirled Grandpa's Baha'i ring around and around his deep brown pinkie. "Grandpa,
tell me that story again."
Grandpa half-smiled, guessing which story; the story about
the Báb's pens and seals. It was one of his favorite proofs that the Báb knew
Bahá'u'lláh was the One His Own Teachings pointed to. "Which story,
Brent?"
"You know, the one about the blue paper."
Burrell sighed happily at being asked to recount this
special, sacred story. He scanned the sky, whose winds had shoved a few more
clouds overhead than even a moment ago.
"Back in June 1850, in Persia, it was summer like it is
here. It felt like a big crisis was about to happen. A young merchant, 'Ali
Muhammad, had gotten very famous by claiming to be someone special: the
Promised One of Islam. That's Who the Muslim people were waiting for, just like
Christians were waiting for Christ to come again. 'Ali Muhammad, the Báb, had
gotten some of the clergy real upset by His claims, because people believed in
Him."
"Grandpa, what does 'clergy' mean?"
"It means the people who lead a religion. Christians
have preachers like Muslims have mulás ... Anyway, many people loved 'Ali
Muhammad's Teachings. Those that fell in love with the Teachings became His
followers: they were known as Bábís. When the Bábís learned these Teachings and
lived by them, they became better people.
"The Bab's Message spread like wildfire. Thousands of
people began to follow Him, and that scared the Muslims that were in power.
Some mullás felt really threatened by this kind, loving, honest Man. They
figured if people followed the Báb, Muslims wouldn't have as much influence as
they used to. They figured right. See, in Persia, religious leaders were very
respected. People listened to their opinions, and that made them very
powerful."
The sky had clouded up and was starting to rumble.
"What did they have to worry about if the Báb was teaching good things
that made people better?" Brently asked.
"If enough Muslims became Bábís, then people wouldn't
be putting mullás up on a pedestal anymore," answered Grandpa. "Then
some mullás began to look into the Bábí Faith to see what all the fuss was
about. Those mullás with pure hearts saw the good in the Revelation. Those
mullás who liked power more than they loved truth were the ones who tried to
destroy the Bábís and this new religion."
Just then, Grandpa's story was interrupted by a strong gust
of wind that brought with it the smell of rain. "The Báb knew His time on
this earth was short," continued Grandpa, holding his grandson a little
closer. "Even though He never met Bahá'u'lláh face to face, He sent His
pens and seals to Him through Mullá Báqir, who was a devoted follower of the
Báb This was about a month before the Báb was killed. It was a clue to the
Bábís to look to Bahá'u'lláh when the Báb was gone."
"Can you tell me again what a seal is?" asked Brently,
who watched as large raindrops appeared on the porch.
"His seals were like His signature. Closing a letter up
and then pressing the seals in melted wax on the sealed envelope was like
saying, 'I wrote this.' No one could forge the Báb's Writings because they
didn't have these seals. Now, the Báb was a Messenger from God, so His seals
were a treasure. By sending these to Bahá'u'lláh, He hinted to the believers
that Bahá'u'lláh was the One the Báb had promised would be coming, 'He Whom God
will make manifest.' The Báb placed these seals, rings, and remaining Writings
in a special box and put the key to the box in an envelope. He gave these to
Mullá Báqir who traveled many long miles to Qum, to give them to Mullá 'Abdu'l
Karim, another trusted Bábí. That man's job was to get them to
Bahá'u'lláh."
"Many people urged Mullá 'Abdu'l Karim to open the box.
From that special box he pulled out a sheet of blue paper that looked like it
had a beautiful star painted on it. A closer look showed the star was made of
tiny words, elegantly written in perfect penmanship. The star was made up of
tiny, tiny letters that spelled out the name Bahá over and over again in 360
different ways."
"And Bahá means Glory," finished a smiling
Brently, with a strong, easy voice free from breathlessness.
Then an odd thing happened - the clouds broke, letting the
sun shine through. The old man smiled as Brently gave him a hug and jumped off
the porch for a better view of the emerging rainbow.
(Written by Liz Donaldson
and Illustrated by Cam Herth; ‘Baha’u’llah’, Core Curriculum for Spiritual
Education)
