I always wonder about these kinds of phrases about the Concourse and angels, which are replete throughout the Bahá'í Writings, and how to understand them. We know that the Concourse on high consists of the holy men and women who have passed on to the Abhá Kingdom, and `Abdu'l-Bahá has explained that the "meaning of angels' is the confirmations of God and His celestial powers. Likewise angels are blessed beings who have severed all ties with this nether world, have been released from the chains of self and the desires of the flesh, and anchored their hearts to the heavenly realms of the Lord." (2)
This small band of faithful believers, the Orthodox Bahá'ís, who have remained faithful to the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and have survived against all odds certainly know that a mysterious Power, or Providence, has kept this Faith alive for the past 50 years.
The Bahá'í Revelation is not a lifeless shell of a religion with attractive teachings practiced by a lukewarm group of religious folks. Rather, it is the Cause of God and those who immerse themselves in its Power and who arise for its triumph find that the Holy Spirit walks with them, and that God has given "his angels charge over" them, to bear them "up in their hands" lest they dash their feet against a stone. (3) In other words, it is a living Faith, with the Holy Spirit guiding it and giving strength and power to its members.
The greatest philosophers without this Spirit are powerless, their souls lifeless, their hearts dead! Unless the Holy Spirit breathes into their souls, they can do no good work. No system of philosophy has ever been able to change the manners and customs of a people for the better. Learned philosophers, unenlightened by the Divine Spirit, have often been men of inferior morality; they have not proclaimed in their actions the reality of their beautiful phrases.
The difference between spiritual philosophers and others is shown by their lives. The Spiritual Teacher shows His belief in His own teaching, by Himself being what He recommends to others. An humble man without learning, but filled with the Holy Spirit, is more powerful than the most nobly-born profound scholar without that inspiration. He who is educated by the Divine Spirit can, in his time, lead others to receive the same Spirit.(4)
You are invited to explore the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith and to become educated by the Divine Spirit.
Jeffrey(1) Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, LXXII
(2) `Abdu'l-Bahá : Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, #39(3) Psalm 91:11-12
(4) `Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks p. 165
