본심본태양앙명 本心本太陽昻明

A talk given at 97 Cadogan Gardens, on Saturday, January 4th, 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Baha

What a power is love! It is the most wonderful, the greatest of all living powers.
Love gives life to the lifeless. Love lights a flame in the heart that is cold. Love brings hope to the hopeless and gladdens the hearts of the sorrowful. In the world of existence there is indeed no greater power than the power of love. When the heart of man is aglow with the flame of love, he is ready to sacrifice all – even his life. In the Gospel it is said God is love.
There are four kinds of love.
The first is the love that flows from God to man; it consists of the inexhaustible graces, the Divine effulgence and heavenly illumination. Through this love the world of being receives life. Through this love man is endowed with physical existence, until, through the breath of the Holy Spirit – this same love – he receives eternal life and becomes the image of the Living God. This love is the origin of all the love in the world of creation.
The second is the love that flows from man to God. This is faith, attraction to the Divine, enkindlement, progress, entrance into the Kingdom of God, receiving the Bounties of God, illumination with the lights of the Kingdom. This love is the origin of all philanthropy; this love causes the hearts of men to reflect the rays of the Sun of Reality.
The third is the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God. This is the transfiguration of His Beauty, the reflection of Himself in the mirror of His Creation. This is the reality of love, the Ancient Love, the Eternal Love. Through one ray of this Love all other love exists.
The fourth is the love of man for man. The love which exists between the hearts of believers is prompted by the ideal of the unity of spirits. This love is attained through the knowledge of God, so that men see the Divine Love reflected in the heart. Each sees in the other the Beauty of God reflected in the soul, and finding this point of similarity, they are attracted to one another in love. This love will make all men the waves of one sea, this love will make them all the stars of one heaven and the fruits of one tree. This love will bring the realization of true accord, the foundation of real unity.

압돌바하는 사랑에는 네가지가 있다고 정리하고 있다. 1. 하느님에게서 인간에게 흐르는 사랑, 2. 인간에게서 하느님에게로 흐르는 사랑, 3 하느님의 자아, 혹은 하느님의 정체성을 향한 하느님의 사랑, 4. 인간을 위한 인간의 사랑
각각의 사랑을 설명할때 신-인간은 flow를, 신-신의 속성은 toward를, 인간-인간은 for을 사용한다.
신과 인간 사이를 흐르는 사랑, 언제나 그 놀라운 사랑이 있어왔음을, 늘 사랑받는 존재라는 것을 인식한다면 밖에서 찾을 필요가 없어진다. (그 마음이 든다면 구해야할 대상을 알고 자리로 돌아오면 된다)

본심본태양앙명 本心本太陽昻明

우리의 가슴에 무엇을 담고 비출 것인가?
나는 무엇을 드러내는 것에 힘을 주고있는가?

태초부터 하느님은 우리를 사랑하지않은 적이 한번도 없지만, 오늘 느껴지는 것은 그 사랑에 대한 Response(응답), reflection(반영, 반사)가 중요하다는 것이다.