What Is God?
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Stanwood Cobb, What Is God?, Washington, DC: The Avalon Press, 1955, bahai-library.com.
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WHAT IS GOD?
BY

STANWOOD COBB

AVALON PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
COPYRIGHT—   1955   ... BY STANWOOD COBB
MANUFACTURED    IN UNITED   STATES OF AMERICA
^t)edication

To the Apocalyptic Splendor —

The Spiritual Potency that guides and inspires

May its Tide wax full upon earth's    shore,

Deep from the Ocean of Omniscience.

Dedicated to

SEERS   &    HIEROPHANTS
Inspired by the Almighty
reface

^/se following verses are an attempt to open
up vistas into the Infinite in a way that prose could
not accomplish.      Let the    reader   look upon each
stanza   as a   mystic avenue of Light, giving (it is
hoped) some faint suggestion of Reality.         These
poems are intended neither for inculcation nor in
doctrination, but as focal points of contemplation on
the Majesty, the Omnipresence and the All-enfolding
Beneficence of man's Creator, King and Friend.

Let the reader, as he will, pursue whatever flights
of spiritual imagination these stanzas lead him to in
his own search for God. For man's spiritual search
must be individual, his desire individual, and his at
tainment individual.

No one can find God for another person, but we
can lift each other up by sharing our inspirations
and our faiths.   Our communions with Divinity
must be in the silence of our own hearts; but our
journey Godward can and should be in gladsome
fellowship.
What is God?      The World has ever sought,
And still must seek, to solve this mystery.
Here avails but little — scientific thought
Or fragile cobwebs of philosophy.
We look, we search the universe, in vain —
The Whole is not discernible in part:
But when soul-weary, sore with pain,
We look within we find Him in our heart.
Not immense learning but the gift of Grace
Enables us to see Him face to face:
The Ancient Beauty is the Holy Grail
Revealed to Love where other seekers fail.
Canto Oh,

THE SEARCH FOR GOD
I

J).         we peer into the awesome Infinite

and question—“What      is   God?”
The ancients were more humble—stood abashed

on ground where He had trod.

II

*   7   the majestic sky they raised imploring hands
beseeching the Unknown

To grant protection and beneficence
from His Almighty    throne.
III

O.       the priests dared breathe His sacred Name,

only the privileged        approach

His august Presence where no worldliness
could venture to encroach.

IV

S}    oes God exist?       We do not need the tomes

of philosophic     mists

To prove the sun. We only need
its

warmth
to know that            exists.
it

-
s
V

–4.          so with   God. Discussions cannot prove
what wisdom has not sown.

The proof of His existence comes from search
by souls in ripeness grown.

VI

~/.     faith, like healing, be empirical:

we learn by adept stages.
its

Experience    achieves         certitude
its

where doubt             battle wages.
VII

^^nce we have felt the tenderness,      the warmth,

the love of the Divine —

We no more doubt this Spirit of Existence
than that the sun can shine.

VIII

God a Personality?   We err
if we say "Yes" or "No".
He is not less than Personality —
this much we surely know.
IX

could the universe in quality

surpass its   Architect?
Or life develop attributes and traits
only its Maker could perfect?

this could not originate

From atoms which his sovereign will compels,
nor from      a soulless   Fate.
XI

J.       man is mind, then God is Greater Mind.

If humans can devise—
Then Deity is the cosmic Architect

both Skilled and Super-wise.

XII
_9.

of

man        capable        selfless love,
is

whence comes         this quality?

did not rise from matter's catenations,
It

nor star-dust energy.
XIII

~/.      underlies existence, from solar heat

to the life beneath the sod—

A love that vitalizes matter, yet is not
matter,   but is God.

XIV

G.     is the Gracious, and His loving thought

enfolds each living thing.

He is the radiance of dawn and dusk,
the joy   of birds that sing.

*
XV

G.     is the safe Protector.   His Wisdom guides,
His spirit shelters all.
He knows His universe, His angels speed
at   His commanding      Call.

XVI

S.    God is Peace, but not the peace of death.
He is the Peace of Power—
A Power that transcends motion and achieves
infinity each hour.
XVII

º
,   he way of God is utter Peace and Power.

Then man should contemplate
This Cosmic Way, and so transform his life
to such celestial state.

XVIII

G.        is Creative   Will, the Great Transformer;
to His Plan all Nature flows.

His Thought inhabits every solid form
and every wind that blows.

*
XIX

/   he world moves by the magic of His Mind;

His secret aim deploys

All upward growth from minuscule to man
from grief to cosmic joys~

XX
V                                 1

[y ast cosmic currents move as He designs,
infinities   that terrify.

He stays forever Inaccessible,
remoter than the sky.
XXI

'M/.      then can reach His throne, or worship

at his   Holy sanctuary?
Only those who travel on such Beams of Light

as   to defy earth's gravity.
Canto j(MVO

GOD IS THE QUEST OF LEARNING
God, Thou art not only Knowledge,

but the quest of every learning:

The goal of search, the ardent heart's desire,
the   essence    of all yearning.

II

JJ.       who finds Thee has found the Ultimate.

What questing further needs he

Of erudition,    vain imaginings,

arid philosophy?
III

G.
all

do
is         Wisdom. Therefore             the wise,

seeking       cosmic    Way
a
To truth and wisdom, kindle their white light
from His Supernal Ray.

IV

4.        atheists deny.       Let the scholar pour
over his musty book.
of

Seekers        truth glean wisdom from the skies,
low-learning
all

forsook.
V
God, our reason cannot bridge Thy gulf,

nor solve   Thy mystery.
The mind falls short: —only the humble heart
can   find its way to Thee.

VI

J4.      is most learned who has plumbed the depths

of that Reality,
Which like an ocean rims the shores of life
with vast Finality.
J/
VII

most is wise whose inmost search is Love.

His knowledge         is most vast

Who, sitting at Supper with his Lord of Lords,

shares a   Divine repast.

VIII

_9. is not merely where the flesh-bound body
but where desires fly                is,
That sets the soul’s evolving destiny
sky.
or
to

nearer        earth
IX
ay that   life has no meaning save in God —
the temporal is void.

Life is most real when ruled celestially,
all earthliness   destroyed.

J   immortality is not time's prolongation,

but Time spiritually

And Infinity is not mere endless space,
betrothed.

but Space suffused      with God.
XI

O.      need    not die to reach this Limitless.
Existence    can be free.

its
The bird has but to leave              gilded cage

Infinity.
to

reach
Canto   J.
GOD AS CREATOR
hat is God?   The Infinite Creator!
By His August Command
Worlds come into being — universes
fashioned by His Hand.

II

else is created   and conditioned,

He Alone the Uncreate.

All else, as non-existent in His presence,
Is subject to His State: —
III

G.     is the transcendent universal

of
all   plurals that exist.
ONE

Every event that links with Time and Space

His command        keeps    tryst.
at

IV
G.

the Absolute, the Primal Cause—
is

His Essence          still vortex
a

From which flows out creation’s myriad forms
3.

their Source forever Formless.
V

G.     is
all
action, yet He              Calm

is
a
stiller than tropic sea:

The Life-pulse              existence, yet He dwells
of

eternally.
in

Peace

VI

/8.         creation was the Thought
of

God:
within creation             His Love,
is

From which flows universal Energy
and Wisdom interwove.
VII

–4           that Man has of intellectual   power,

All truth   that he can find

Is but   a   faint illumination from

the Universal Mind.

VIII

G.       lies beyond the far horizons

of our finite mind and thought.
We grasp Him only so much and so far

As the intuitive soul has caught.
out

GOD AS THE DREAD DESTROYER
I

6.     is the maker   of the ruthless drought—
the heat that sickly broods:

He is the cause of over-copious rains
and devastating      floods.

J/
II

is the Hurler   of the thunder-bolt,

the Heart of the cyclone:

All dreaded storms that rage on land and sea
are sourced       from Him alone.
Ill

or no other being shares His august Rule —

no partner and no mate;

He is the Power of the Universe
and the sole Hand of Fate.

IV

»
Id
s\J
.
ow can we gladly chant His supreme praise?
How turn our aching hearts
In adoration to that Lord of Lords
from whom such sorrow starts?
V

2/   ob learned we cannot hold our love for Him

only to sunny days.

“Even though He slay me, will I trust Him!” such

should be man's steadfast praise.

VI

G.     does not need   fair-weather friends.

within each heart to form
He seeks

A faithful love, a constant fealty
in sunshine or in storm.
VII
1                             1

his is life's chief dilemma — how to keep

a   heart of loving hope

And see God as the Beloved, even when
our feet in darkness   grope.

VIII

hat is God? He is the dread Destroyer

Who tears down every form,

With Time's Assistance all anew to build
to the more Perfect    Norm.
Canto    Jw

GOD AS JUSTICE
I

0.     is   not Vengeance.   We personify
our own proud hearts

When we apply that quality to Him

Who only love imparts.

II

G.     is immortal unrecorded     Law,

that is not merely now

But always was and will be operative,

to guide and to endow.
III

/3.ut Divine Law is not that fearsome thing
we esteem law to be;

It is the creative flow of Love itself
ruling eternally.

IV

od is Cosmic Justice—the moral law behind

an ordered universe.

His punishment is clear: in each wrong act
lies its inherent    curse.
V
/3.     God is infinite forgiveness, love

and tender mercy,     too:

No matter what our Karmic weight of sin,
each   day begins anew.

VI

G.     is the Merciful.   If He were not,
who would be left alive?

To err is human; to forgive, divine.
all

God’s grace helps               thrive.
to
VII

hat is God's Justice?     It is not legal fiat
nor punishment      for tort.
It is the universal reign of good,
the splendor   of Love's Court.

VIII

\Jod is Equilibration, the fine balance
of universal life

Holding the atom in its destined        place,

shielding the stars from strife.
IX

C.       but this Balance, this Consent-to-Peace

rule the affairs of man,

Life would unfold with frictionless design
under celestial plan.
Canto-Si,

GOD AS BEAUTY
herever we see beauty, we see God.

It is the shining mark
He traces with indelible love and grace

on all His handiwork.

n

1.             .      J
his Beauty is bewilderment   and joy

to each perceiving soul—

And for the artist is the occult clue
to life's dynamic Whole.
III

0.     is in mountains and the midnight sky,

in beauty of the stars,

The crescent moon and the amazing comet

that through the heaven flares.

IV

*   y he stir of nature in the Womb of Earth
is the   Divine Will to bring
From barren soil and tired bare-branched trees

the shining   new-born Spring.
\J   od is the vigor of the winter months,

the softness      of the spring,
The luxury of summer foliage,
the growth in everything.

VI

J4.      is the Painter   of the sunset hues —

His promise in the sky
That Light —even though darkness intervene —

has   immortality.
VII

is the Creative Essence of Existence.

All things of Earth and        Sky

Are fashioned by Him into loveliness
for our adoring eye.

VIII

since He made us in His image      for

perfection's   distant plan,

He molds all things to slowly-growing beauty —

even   the Soul   of Man.
IX

4.        only ugliness is the lack of life—

decadence    or decay.

Only by constant growth does Beauty hold

its
in Earth or Man                sway.

X

4.     Beauty, then,          the Soul's Inspiration,
be

moral law;
of

the symbol

God’s willing that the Spirit may
in

time
raise   man above all flaw.
Cranio Seeven

GOD AS INSPIRATION
I

G.     is the   Fire blazing from the Bush,

the Speaker on the Mount,

The Wisdom-Source of the Prophetic Word,

the soul’s perpetual   Fount.

II

G.     Wisdom and His mystic Word are one,

that through the heavens ride

And reach the spiritual sense of man
to counsel and to guide.

/
J/
III

Word that was, from time's beginning, old;
His wisdom that            creates,   L
All this lies patent for the need of man,
stands waiting at his gates.

IV

4.      him who, yearning for high excellence,

is sensitive to hear,
all

Fling open
of

the   windows         his soul
grown near.
to

paradise
V

///.     was not made for idle ease or joys.
In work he finds God best:
And in creative tasks he shares with Him

the Apocalyptic   quest.

VI

0.    is the Giver of Progress, the Divine Source
of inventions and of arts:

His spirit breathes upon creative souls
and kindles ardent hearts.
J/
VII

all
is the hidden Cause of                great work,

inspiration;

of
the Source

The Divine Afflatus that imbues the poet
with vision and creation.

VIII
y

all
he

invisible impulse              human progress,
of

*

the Blue Prints of Perfection.

Man rises           potential   cosmic heights
to

powered by    This Protection.
s
HAPPINESS AND PRAYER
I

-   y he universe is not a hostile waste
where man must walk alone.

Spirit is the tender Friend, the mystic Guide

of faith full-grown.

II

G.      is the faithful Answerer of Prayer.

We do not need to know

How our beseechments reach His lofty Throne,
or how His blessings flow.
Ill
Q.                        J
t is enough to pin our faith on His

ability to hear,
And guide our actions by the simple trust

His love and aid are near.

rv

but the cause lies in ourselves —

We ask for fruits denied by Fate to him

who neither digs nor delves.
V
<?
seek to develop — pray to grow, to gain
new values and new power.

For prayer is not a magic to compel

success beyond man's dower.

VI

y.   et in God's promise for each gifted soul,

of destined far perfection,
Our prayers can win a needed cosmic power
and guarantee protection.
VII
7           .
or God is Joy-Bestower.

What does He wish
but happiness      for man?

Existence, even veiled by passing woe,

has a divine Elan.

VIII

/he stars themselves revolve with vital joy;
the atoms   owe their might

To potencies placed deep within their hearts

by the Creative Light.
IX

G.     is the Music of the heavenly spheres,

the symphony        of life;
His Love    begets celestial harmony,

all
His will can quell                strife.

X

–4.        always functions normally with joy.

Sorrow        but       cloud
is

a

Behind which shines eternally             Light
a

that grief can never shroud.
*
XI

&-             all
grief                                    Life

of
God—the Breath

is

all
sustaining               creation,
of

The Essence          phenominal          existence,

Eternity’s duration.

XII

S.         then, this Eternal Beloved.

His love within our breast
Once we feel

We enter       new birth, new consciousness
a

of

divine dynamic rest.
-   ---   -   - - --
Canto %me

GOD AS LOVE
I

G.

all
is the abundant          Storehouse of         good,

the bounteous Bestower:

All that life needs   is   cosmically assigned

by   His creative power.
II
G.

of

the Boundless Ocean            Existence,
is

the Reservoir        of Force.

Life who daily fills
of

One need not fail

his cup           this Great Source.
at
?
III

'M/     never need to fail or suffer lack

if we can reach to Him,
And bring petition to His inner court
guarded by seraphim.

IV

0.     is the Unpossessed,   the Unconstrained

from whom possession flows.

His Wealth is freely given, His Beneficence
freights every wind that blows.
V

J/.       can we conceive this Inconceivable,

we who live under law?

Man cannot fathom that Remote Control

whose Throne he never saw.

VI

J/.       can we find Him in the Universe,

Who dwells eternally
Beyond the Universe itself—the Source,

the primal   Will-to-Be?

*
VII

S.          then, that God is Love, earth's love and the soul's.

He is the Cosmic Love

That warms cold space, and sets the flaming suns
its
each in             place above.

VIII
0.

Pure Love expanding through the worlds
is

all
of

being.
to

limits
its

He        Life's Essence,             sustaining Breath,
is

all

the Sight behind                    seeing.
s
IX

*   º here is no heart throughout His wide domains
but shares this Divine Love:

It penetrates
all

of
facets        existence
below,     around,      above.

X

his Love—this Cosmic Force alone—can          bind
º

*
all

atoms, every minuscule

Into       myriad diverse unity
a

where harmony            can rule.
XI

his Universe of Love, flooding man's soul,
giving his spirit sooth,

Enables his aspiring will to wend

its way toward Cosmic Truth.

XII

º o know the Lord is but the mind's avowal;
only His Presence    brings,

To hearts that yearn, the Cosmic Love and Grace
that gives man's spirit wings.

s
XIII

ings to soar up above earth's heaviness —

Wings to uplift, each hour,
Man's soul to lofty planes where the soul's love

is matched   with perfect power.
RELIGION IS MORE THAN RITUAL
I

G.       is pure Spirit—so the Gnostics say.

And he who worships here
Must worship in pure spirit and in truth,

with heart that’s crystal clear.

II
jhis
its
all

means     that self—with                     eager   claims—
its

must yield               motivation

Within       heart that ardent worship            lifts
a

in

humble    adoration.
*
III

eligion is not mere ritual or creed.

It points to Shining Ways;
Opens a Path to our Divinest Lord.

He worships best who prays:-

TV

ho prays with sanctity; who daily yearns

for downpouring     of Grace
And gains a vision that in everything
beholds   his Master's face: —
V
'M/.      seeks to draw God’s Presence and    His Love

a tide   of joy to fill
All crooks and crannies of the soul
till Time itself stands still.

VI

–4      a young bride prepares her home with Love

against her dear mate's return,

So kindle in the altar of your heart

flames that divinely burn.
VII

'M/.       wrapped in Love the soul can travel safer

than clad in coat    of steel;
For armored mail has never shown the power of Love
to radiate, and win, and heal.

VIII

O.       through Love can the Creator share

Infinity with man.
Only through Love can we become reborn

and the Divine Vision span.

s
IX

G.      is man's Beginning          and his Cosmic End.
way

its
Each soul must wend

Through countless evolutions toward that Throne

all
which holds                            sway.

in
ens

X
an

being all-submerged                  God
L in
is
a

shall ever be,
so

and
its

Until life ends         disparateness,     slipping

glad into the Shining Sea.

E   AH
L
S
-- What Is God? (Used by permission of the curator)