Tajuddin the Ant

The "universe is but a door leading into [divine]… knowledge:" a shadow of a "transcendental realm whose outline, if studied carefully, can elucidate wisdom (1). Interestingly, it is said even an ant, through observing the black of its eyes, can “unravel all" the verses of even the most holy of books (2).

And Tajuddin was a curious ant.

Scurrying from shore to shore, she explored the limits of her island just as she explored the limits of her mind, often wondering: "Why am I here,” "What is my purpose,” and "How should I live?" Today, instead of exploring her world, she decided to explore her mind: scouring for a 'door' to a place she had never been before (1).

She looked up to the sky. How the clouds always interested her, flying far above her grasp, the meadows, and flowers of the island. Tajuddin began to think:

peering down at the world

clouds roll over meadows

finding joy

in drifting freely

above flowers

only to float over them

for only their shadow

ever touches the ground

freedom incarnated

clouds look down

from ivory towers

taking in all the beauty

this world offers

yet giving nothing back

remaining distant

from the very world

they take pleasure in

"rarely…sacrific[ing]"

"their...comfort,

"for others" (3)

having the entire world

with all its pleasures

in its purview,

clouds are mostly empty

until they dissolve

for "[t]rees that yield no fruit

have been, and will ever be

for the fire" (4)

"Although," Tajuddin thought, "clouds and trees are very different." Feeling her observations were limited by her capacity to understand the world, she began to doubt the heavenly bodies above her were merely drifting observers. Tajuddin knew she had to look harder.

for, like souls,

dynamism defines clouds

in their innate ability

to embody countless "forms"

"simultaneously”

"transfer[ing]" between them

as the winds stir (5)

and, from high above,

unleashing the rain

Tajuddin had seen them

crossing the beach

above the flowers

pouring their very life away

to water the meadows

they once enjoyed

from afar

self-immolating

for a love

greater than themselves,

and by utter sacrifice

finding meaning

within the "vanguard

of heroes, martyrs and saints" (6)

"tingl[ing] their hair

With...blood," (7)

they wore

a crown of thorns

"But are they not tortured?"

thought Tajuddin;

For "[they] weep their life away

"drop by drop" (8)

so that a world

may bloom –

suffering nobly

yet suffering nonetheless,

precipitating

until the sky

is bereft of them

how clouds are

dissonant chords,

finding misery

in selflessness

and selfishness,

in hedonism

and martyrdom

seeking to find harmony

between opposing natures

that are,

in reality,

the same concept

A honeybee landed on a flower

near Tajuddin. Raising her

mandibles, she 'smiled' at

them, getting lost in thought

as she watched them vibrate

from petal to petal.

“How a flower to a cloud and to a bee are starkly different,” she thought.

for a honey bee,

flowers are art

brushstrokes of creation

their petals and

microstructures,

as intricate as souls

their shades and patterns,

as diverse as Earth's landscapes

movement

from charm to charm,

From "every soul" to "every soul,"

from "every abode" to "every abode," (9)

is adventure

whose byproduct

is yet more compositions –

more flowers pollinated,

mindlessly or with intention,

that more may bloom

for others to explore

their many quests, are murals

their wings, acrylics

their canvas, the universe's ledger;

annals inaccessible

yet eternal

and while exploration's nectar (12)

"a transcendent Essence" (13)

is treasured,

it is yet transformed,

labored over,

and processed

into honey: a crystallized spontaneity

a form of wisdom

etched in hexagons

service and art

locked in geometry –

an application of living

that may be used

for a higher purpose

for honey bees

worship their Creator

through service

to their best formulation

of their Lord:

a hive of souls;

an amalgamation of personalities;

a "Simorgh" (14)

the fragments of God

in each being

amidst their imperfections;

the "Mirror[s]" of the "Sun of Reality"

obscured by "dust;"

a sameness

colored a thousand ways

testifying that "service to humanity

is service to God" (15)

for reality speaks in flowers,

and bees reply with honey,

in an endless discourse

beyond hedonism

beyond martyrdom

a living "dialogue" (16)

between us

and what is beyond us –

an exchange

with no arbiter of destiny:

only two collaborators,

Creator and servant,

locked in conversation

until the end of time

Tajuddin's journey into her heart took them further than any corner of the island ever could. While some questions remained unsolved, she knew there would be more time to ponder them. For now, she intended to exist as the honey bees did - to see life as the beautiful adventure it was: as an exploration of a stunning world her Creator had blessed her to investigate, beautify, and serve.

Work Cited

(12) It must be clarified that Bahá'í teachings encourage believers to appreciate and enjoy the world that has been gifted to humanity. However, it should be explicitly stated that Bahá'í thought qualifies this enjoyment with the guidance of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

(14) Meaning “30 Birds,” Simorgh is a representation of the collective reflection of God manifested in human beings, as depicted in the Conference of the Birds, written by the famous Sufi philosopher, Attar of Nishapur around 1177 CE. Bahá'í belief, however, defines the essence of God as completely transcendental, meaning there is an unknowable entity that is independent of the physical world. Yet Bahaí thought simultaneously asserts that part of God is reflected in the tangible world. This is an important distinction from Attar’s Simorgh, which is a product of a more mystical framework, in which the Kantian noumenal realm is equated to God themselves. Therefore, in this poem, Simorgh is used to depict God’s reflection in reality — the form of God that Bahaí thought explains we can aim to understand and serve; this does not refer to the “essence” of God, which is seen as a transcendental entity that is unknowable and eternal from a Bahá'í perspective nor does it assert that is more than one God.

(1) Bahá’u’lláh. “Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh | Bahá’í Reference Library.” Www.bahai.org, Bahá’í Reference Library, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/gleanings-writings-bahaullah/. LXXXII.

(2)  Nader Saiedi. Gate of the Heart. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 22 Apr. 2008.

The Báb, Tafsír-i-Súriy-i-Kawthar, INBA 53:98.

(3) Bahá’u’lláh , and Abdu’l-Bahá’. BAHÁ’Í SCRIPTURES: Selections from the Utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and “Abdu’l-Bahá.” BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING COMMITTEE, 1923, p. 358, bahai-library.com/compilations/bahai.scriptures/.

(4) Bahá’u’lláh. “The Hidden Words | Bahá’í Reference Library.” Www.bahai.org, Bahá’í Reference Library, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/hidden-words/.

Part Two: From the Persian: Number 80.

(5) Abdu’l‑Bahá. “The Promulgation of Universal Peace | Bahá’í Reference Library.” Www.bahai.org, Bahá’í Reference Library, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/promulgation-universal-peace/. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Talks in Montreal, 1—5 September 1912: 100. Home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell.

(6) Bahá'u'lláh, et al. Compilation of Compilations. Edited by Mona Vale, vol. II, Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 1991, p. 21, bahai-library.com/compilation_compilations_2/.

(7) Bahá’u’lláh. “The Hidden Words | Bahá’í Reference Library.” Www.bahai.org, Bahá’í Reference Library, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/hidden-words/.

Part Two: From the Arabic: Number 47.

(8) Bahá’u’lláh , and Abdu’l-Bahá’. BAHÁ’Í SCRIPTURES: Selections from the Utterances of

Bahá’u’lláh and “Abdu’l-Bahá.” BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING COMMITTEE, 1923, p. 502, bahai-library.com/compilations/bahai.scriptures/.

(9) Bahá’u’lláh, “The Call of the Divine Beloved | Bahá’í Reference Library.” Www.bahai.org, Bahá’í Reference Library, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/call-divine-beloved/. Accessed 31 May 2023. The Seven Valleys: The Valley of Search.

(13) Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh | Bahá’í Reference Library.” Www.bahai.org, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/prayers-meditations/. Accessed 25 June 2024. CLXXXIV.

(14)  Farīd-Ad-DīnʿAṭṭār, and Sholeh Wolpé. The Conference of the Birds. New York London W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.

(15) Abdu’l‑Bahá. “The Promulgation of Universal Peace | Bahá’í Reference Library.” Www.bahai.org, Bahá’í Reference Library, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/promulgation-universal-peace/. Accessed 6 June 2024. Talks in New York and Brooklyn, 11—19 April 1912: 3. Studio of Miss Phillips

(16) Baha'i Blog. “Worldview and the Law of the Persian Bayan (Part 2/4) - Dr. Nader Saiedi.” YouTube, 7 July 2020, youtu.be/0TsA-_u8tms?si=8y2oCFMCcv9ssd1m&t=1435. Accessed 7 June 2024. 23:54.