Chapter 8
8
The Soul: The Reality of Man
`Man -- the true man -- is the soul...',[1]
says `Abdu'l-Bahá. However, there is no more difficult theme to deal
with, nor more elusive reality to know. Its existence is even denied by many
who think man to be merely a body and his mind just an outcome of his brain.
For the soul is a spiritual, metaphysical reality which cannot be perceived
through the senses, and therefore eludes anyone who relies only upon sensory
and intellectual perception. `Abdu'l-Bahá remarks: `If we wish to deny
anything that is not sensible, then we must deny the realities which
unquestionably exist... The power of attraction is not sensible, though it
certainly exists. From what do we affirm these existences? From their
signs...'. And He points out how in man there are `signs, powers and
perfections'[2] from which it may be inferred
that a spiritual reality exists in him, which is unique in the world of
creation, i.e. the soul or spirit of man.
Rational proofs of its existence and immortality
The Bahá'í teachings uphold the existence and the immortality of
the soul and produce many rational proofs demonstrating these concepts. A
short, incomplete list of such proofs is offered as follows.
Proofs of its existence.
Human rational faculty.
- A proof from which the existence in man can be inferred of a
particular power which is absent in the world of nature, is that man is capable
of escaping the rule of nature and of surpassing all the animals of the earth.
As far as we know, man is the only creature who has been capable of creating a
civilization and of establishing his rule in the world. This capacity is not
due to his physical qualities, because `In the physical powers and sense... man
and animals are partners. In fact, the animal is often superior to men in sense
perception. [3]
On the contrary, it depends on that very particular power man is possessed of,
which is called soul or spirit of man.
- The same argument is set forth also in other words:
Man is possessed of qualities (consciousness, volition, ideation, conscious
reflection and intelligence), which are absent in nature. [4]
`If we accept the supposition that man is but a part of nature, we are
confronted by an illogical statement, for this is equivalent to claiming that a
part may be endowed with qualities which are absent in the whole.'
`The truth is that God has given to man certain powers which are
supernatural.'[5]
Inner perception. The fact that man is possessed of the power of knowing
and seeing without instruments or organs, as is for example the case when he
sleeps, is mentioned by `Abdu'l-Bahá as further evidence of the
existence of the soul: `... how many times it happens that a question that one
cannot solve in the world of wakefulness is solved in the world of dreams. In
wakefulness, the eye sees only for a short distance, but in dream he who is in
the East sees the West. Awake he sees the present; in sleep he sees the
future.'[6]
Human inner reality. A further proof of the existence of the soul is
that a reality exists within man which is independent from the body, a reality
which he consults: `When you wish to reflect upon or consider a matter', says
`Abdu'l-Bahá, `you consult something within you. You say, shall I do it,
or shall I not do it? Is it better to make this journey or to abandon it? Whom
do you consult? Who is within you deciding this question? Surely there is a
distinct power, an intelligent ego.[7].Were it
not distinct from your ego, you would not be consulting it. It is greater that
the faculty of thought. It is your spirit which teaches you, which advises and
decides upon matters.'[8]
* * *
The Bahá'í texts uphold not only the existence, but also
the immortality of the soul. Created as an individual entity at the moment of
conception, the soul has a beginning, but it has no end. In fact, `... the
individual realities of mankind, when spiritually born, are emanations from the
reality of Divinity... and inasmuch as eternality is a property of Divinity,
this emanation is everlasting.'[9]
Elsewhere He explains: `... the world of things is the world of imperfection
in comparison with that of man, and the world of man is the world of perfection
in comparison with that of things. When imperfections reach the station of
perfection, they become eternal (i.e. in the kingdom of man, where alone the
Spirit manifests immortality).'[10]
In the Bahá'í texts, many proofs are advanced demonstrating and
explaining this concept. A preliminary short list of these proofs is offered
here. These proofs will be divided, in conformity with the classical
philosophical canons, into metaphysical proofs (i.e. founded upon the
attributes of the soul) and moral proofs (i.e. founded upon the purpose of its
existence).
Metaphysical proofs of its immortality
On the grounds of movement: `We have seen that movement', says
`Abdu'l-Bahá, `is essential to existence; nothing that hath life is
without motion... it must either ascend or descend. But with the human soul,
there is no decline. Its only movement is towards perfection; growth and
progress alone constitute the motion of the soul.
`Divine perfection is infinite, therefore the progress of the soul is also
infinite... When the body dies the soul lives on. All the differing degrees of
created physical beings are limited, but the soul is limitless!'[11]
On the grounds of the soul defined as substance:
- `The realities of all phenomena,' says `Abdu'l-Bahá, `are
immutable and unchangeable. Extinction or mortality is nothing but the
transformation of pictures and images. But the reality back of these images is
eternal.'[12] Thence since the soul is not a form, but reality or substance, it is
immortal.
- `... the human body', says moreover `Abdu'l-Bahá, `has one
form. In its composition it has been transferred from one form to another but
never possesses two forms at the same time. For example, it has existed in the
elemental substances of the mineral kingdom. From the mineral kingdom, it hath
traversed the vegetable kingdom and its constituent substances; from the
vegetable kingdom it has risen by evolution into the kingdom of the animal and
from thence attained the kingdom of man. After its disintegration and
decomposition it will return again to the mineral kingdom, leaving its human
form and taking a new form unto itself. During these progressions one form
succeeds another, but at no time does the body possess more than one.
`This spirit of man, however, can manifest itself in all forms at the same
time... the form of the physical body of man must be destroyed and abandoned
before it can assume or take unto itself another. Mortality, therefore, means
transference from one form to another... But the human spirit in itself
contains all these forms, shapes and figures. It is not possible to break or
destroy one form so that it may transfer itself into another. As an evidence of
this, at the present moment in the human spirit you have the shape of a square
and the figure of a triangle. Simultaneously also you can conceive a hexagonal
form. All these can be conceived at the same moment in the human spirit, and
not one of them needs to be destroyed or broken in order that the spirit of man
may be transferred to another. There is no annihilation no destruction;
therefore, the human spirit is immortal because it is not transferred from one
body into another body.'[13]
- `... the soul has no place in space,' says `Abdu'l-Bahá.
`Space is a quality of material things and that which is not material does not
partake of space. The soul, like the intellect, is an abstraction. Intelligence
does not partake of the quality of space, though it is related to man's brain.
The intellect resides there, but not materially. Search in the brain, you will
not find the intellect. In the same way, though the soul is a resident of the
body, it is not to be found in the body.'[14]
`If the spirit of man -- He says moreover -- belonged to the elemental
existence, the eye could see it, the ear hear it, the hand touch. As long as
these five senses cannot perceive it, the proof is unquestioned that it does
not belong to the elemental world and, therefore, is beyond death or mortality,
which are inseparable from that material realm of existence. If being is not
subject to the limitation of material life, it is not subject to mortality.'[15]
- `... the spirit is not affected by... changes or transformations' of
the body, says `Abdu'l-Bahá. `The body of man becomes lean or fat; it is
afflicted with disease, suffers mutilation; perhaps the eyes become blind, the
ears deaf; but none of these imperfections and failings afflict or affect the
spirit. The spirit of man remains in the same condition, unchanged. A man is
blinded, but his spirit continues the same. He loses his hearing, his hand is
cut off, his foot amputated, but his spirit remains the same. He becomes
lethargic, he is afflicted with apoplexy; but there is no difference, change or
alteration in his spirit. This is proof that death is only destruction of the
body, while the spirit remains immortal, eternal.'[16]
`Abdu'l-Bahá mentions also the example of sleep, `...when all the
physical faculties are in abeyance and the soul travels in all realms seeing,
hearing, speaking, so when the physical body is decomposed, the soul is not
affected'.[17]
On the grounds of the soul being simple, as a substance: `The soul is
not a combination of elements', says `Abdu'l-Bahá, `it is not composed
of many atoms, it is of one indivisible substance and therefore eternal. It is
wholly extraneous to the order of physical creation: it is immortal.'[18]
In fact, `... according to natural philosophy it is an assured fact that
single or simple -- elements are indestructible', because death means
decomposition of a composed being into its component simple elements. But
simple elements cannot subdivide, and therefore they are eternal.
`Abdu'l-Bahá remarks: `If an elementary substance is possessed of
immortality, how can the human spirit or reality, which is wholly above
combination and composition, be destroyed?'[19]
On the grounds of the presence of truth within the soul: `Reflect', says
`Abdu'l-Bahá, `that no effect, no trace, no influence remains of any
being after its members are dispersed and its elements are decomposed, whether
it be a mineral, a vegetable, or an animal. There is only the human reality and
the spirit of man which, after the disintegration of the members, the
dispersing of the particles, and the destruction of the composition, persists
and continues to act and to have power.'[20]
Therefore, `the traces of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the influence of His
Divine Teaching... the Sacred Writings (with ever the same Teaching) prove the
continuity of the spirit', whose traces they are, because `anything which does
not exist, can, of course, give no sign of its existence.'[21]
On the grounds of its natural aspiration for immortality: `The very fact
that our spiritual instinct, surely never given in vain, prompts us to pray for
the welfare of those, our loved ones, who have passed out of the material
world: does it not bear witness to the continuance of their existence?'[22]
On the grounds of the idea of mortality: `... the idea of mortality
presupposes the existence of immortality -- for if there were no Life Eternal,
there would be no way of measuring the life of this world.'[23]
Moral proofs of its immortality
As a requirement of human moral life:
(i) `Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `The consummation of this limitless
universe, with all its grandeur and glory hath been man himself, who in this
world of being toileth and suffereth for a time, with diverse ills and pains,
and ultimately disintegrates, leaving no trace and no fruit after him. Were it
so, there is no doubt that this infinite universe with all its perfections has
ended in sham and delusion with no result, no fruit, no permanence and no
effect. It would be utterly without meaning... this Great Workshop with all its
power, its bewildering magnificence and endless perfections, cannot eventually
come to naught. That still another life should exist is thus certain....'[24]
And in one of His talks he explains: `... the world of existence does not
culminate here. If this were so, existence itself would be sterile. There are
many worlds of light. For even as the plant imagines life ends with itself and
has no knowledge of our existence, so the materially-minded man has no
knowledge of other worlds of consciousness.'[25]
(ii) `The immortality of the spirit', says moreover `Abdu'l-Bahá, `is
mentioned in the Holy Books; it is the fundamental basis of the divine
religions. Now the punishments and rewards are said to be of two kinds: first,
the rewards and punishments of this life; second, those of the other world.'[26]
And He adds: `We read in the sacred writings that "all good works are found
again". Now, if the soul did not survive, this also would mean nothing.'[27]
On the grounds of consensus gentium:
(i) `In all religions', says `Abdu'l-Bahá, `the belief exists that the
soul survives the death of the body. Intercessions are sent up for the beloved
dead, prayers are said for the forgiveness of their sins. If the soul perished
with the body all this would have no meaning... If it were not possible for the
soul to advance toward perfection after it had been released from the body, of
what avail are all these loving prayers of devotion?'[28]
(ii) Bahá'u'lláh writes: `How could such Souls [the
Manifestations of God] have consented to surrender unto their enemies if they
believed all the worlds of God to have been reduced to this earthly
life?'29 And `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `If the spirit were not
immortal, how could the Manifestations of God endure such terrible trials?'[30] And moreover: `Were there nothing after
death, Christ would have not accepted the cross; the prophets of all time would
not have sacrificed their lives.'[31]
From the above quotations it clearly appears that most of the rational proofs
of the existence and immortality of the soul mentioned by `Abdu'l-Bahá
in His writings and talks may be found in the writings of the great
philosophers. However, He comes to the conclusion that these proofs, as
rational proofs of the existence of God, are neither indispensable nor
fundamental to the understanding of human reality. `This is a rational proof
which we are giving, so that the wise may weigh it in the balance of reason and
justice. But if the human spirit will rejoice and be attracted to the Kingdom
of God, if the inner sight becomes opened, and the spiritual hearing
strengthened, and the spiritual feelings predominant, he will see the
immortality of the spirit as clearly as he sees the sun, and the glad tidings
and the signs of God will encompass him.'[32]
Once again, we find a warning in the Bahá'í texts not to be
satisfied with a merely rational investigation of reality, but to make use of
all those cognitive means we have been given by God. Only thus shall we
discover our own reality, the most luminous trace of God we can find in the
universe: the soul of man.
What is the soul?
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `... the human soul is, in its essence...
a mystery among His mysteries', and moreover: `Wert thou to ponder in
thine heart, from now until the end that hath no end, and with all the
concentrated intelligence and undertaking which the greatest minds have
attained in the past or will attain in the future, this divinely ordained and
subtle Reality, this sign of the revelation of the All-Abiding, All-Glorious
God, thou wilt fail to comprehend its mystery or to appraise its virtue';
and then He adds: `This confession of helplessness which mature
contemplation must eventually impel every mind to make is in itself the
acme of human understanding, and marketh the culmination of man's
development.'[33]
Thus, it is impossible to comprehend the soul.
`Abdu'l-Bahá explains the reasons why the soul cannot be
comprehended:
(i) `Be it known that to know the reality or the essence of the soul of man is
impossible, for, in order to know a thing, one must comprehend it, and since a
thing cannot comprehend itself, to know one's self in substance or essence is
impossible...'[34]
(ii) `Man discerns only manifestations, or attributes, of objects,
while the identity, or reality, of them remains hidden',[35] thence how could a man know his own soul, which is his
own innermost essence?
As it is impossible to comprehend the soul, so it is impossible to give its
exact definition. However, in the Bahá'í texts many statements
may be found describing the soul, statements which may assist us in grasping
some of its aspects.
- The soul is `the reality of man',[36] says `Abdu'l-Bahá; or else `the substance'[37] of man; and also `a pure and unknown
essence',[38] and, finally, the `inner
reality'.[39] He writes that `... the body
has to die, when its light has come to an end. Therefore, of what importance is
it?',[40] suggesting that the true man is
the soul and undoubtedly the body is of minor importance.
- `... man has a soul in which dwells the divine spirit',[41] suggesting that the soul belongs to the
divine world.
- `As to the soul', writes Bahá'u'lláh, `...
it is sent forth by the Word of God';[42]
and `Abdu'l-Bahá says that the soul is `a spirit with which God has
endowed him [man] at creation';[43] it is `...
a depository, emanating from the light of the Ancient Entity -- God',[44] `It is a divine bounty. It is the effulgence
of the Sun of Reality',[45] suggesting that
the soul is a spiritual entity created by God through emanation.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá writes that the soul is `the intermediary
between the Supreme Concourse and the lower concourse',[46] suggesting that the soul acts as a link between the
world of creation and the world of the Kingdom.
- He says moreover that the soul is `... the medium of the
spiritual life',[47] `... the heavenly
body, the ethereal form which corresponds to this body',[48] suggesting that man belongs, by virtue of his soul, to
the spiritual world, whose life he can live.
- He says also that the soul is `the conscious reality', `the heavenly
gift of consciousness', suggesting that consciousness is the most important
among the qualities of the soul which appear in this world.[49]
- In the soul, Bahá'u'lláh writes, `are potentially
revealed all the attributes and names of God',[50] and `Abdu'l-Bahá says that it is a `collective
reality', `the collective centre of all human virtues', `the world of
exemplars',[51] suggesting that the soul has
the capacity of expressing all the divine attributes, or exemplars.
- The soul is `the harbinger that proclaimeth the reality of
all the worlds of God', writes Bahá'u'lláh, a `... sign of
the revelation of the Divine Being';[52]
and `Abdu'l-Bahá says that the soul is `sign[s] and trace[s] of the
divine bounty', suggesting that the soul -- `collective centre'[53] of all the divine attributes as it is -- is a proof of
the existence of God.
- Bahá'u'lláh mentions an Islamic tradition which says:
`... the soul... is divine and celestial. It is a divine energy, a
substance, simple, and self-subsistent.'[54] And `Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `The spirit... is a
single essence, fine and delicate, incorporeal, everlasting and of God.'[55]
The above-mentioned concepts could be thus summarized: from God the world of
the Kingdom emanates; from the world of the Kingdom the spirit emanates; the
spirit manifests itself in different realities which differ from each other in
the degree they occupy in the world of being. The soul of man is one of these
realities. Therefore, the relation of the soul to God `... is similar to that
of the ray to the sun -- the effect to the primal cause.'[56]
It is similar to the relation between God and any other of His creatures. But
whereas the other creatures reflect only one of the attributes of Divinity, the
soul of man reflects them all. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains that `... for each
name, each attribute, each perfection which we affirm of God there exists a
sign in man.'[57]
For this reason the soul of man -- a sign of God -- is said to be the
`collective reality', the centre where `the perfections of God, the divine
virtues are reflected or revealed', where God has engraved `the mysteries of
the divine Kingdom'.[58]
The soul is a ray of the divine Sun of Reality: though it does not partake in
the essence of the sun, it is however possessed of all its attributes, first
among them consciousness.
Its individuality
The spiritual reality of the soul is individual. In other words the soul is
characterized by potential endowments and qualities -- metaphorically described
by Bahá'u'lláh as `gems that lie hidden within the mine of
their [man's] true and inmost selves'59 -- which, taken
as a whole, are unique, inimitable and infinite. In the words of
`Abdu'l-Bahá, as `there are no repetitions in nature', so each man
`differs in natal capacity and intrinsic intellectual endowment.'[60]
Moreover, as the attributes of God are infinite, so, in the words of
Bahá'u'lláh, `the favours vouchsafed by Him unto mankind have
been, and will ever remain, limitless in their range.'[61] other words, as `Abdu'l-Bahá says, `... the
virtues of humanity and the possibilities of human advancement are
boundless.'[62]
The soul `is not susceptible of any change' in `its original state or
character',[63] writes
Bahá'u'lláh, whereas `Abdu'l-Bahá says that it `... is the
natural God- given personality... the inner aspect of man which is not subject
to change.' Its characteristics are `divine attributes, invisible in the rest
of creation...'. These attributes `are divine in origin...they are emanations
of the Father. They are the significance of his names and attributes, the
direct rays of which illuminate the very essence of these qualifications.'[64]
Since individuality `consists of the attributes of the heavenly Kingdom', it
is `the image of the Merciful': `Therefore, it is said that man has been
created in the image and likeness of God.'[65]
Individualities differ from each other and thus there is `a difference in the
intrinsic or natal capacity of individuals', as well as a `difference in degree
of capacity... among human souls'.[66]
From the explanations of the differences among human souls given by
`Abdu'l-Bahá we may understand that there is no soul who is not
possessed of its own, however limited, excellence. `... although divine
creation is purely good', He says, `yet the varieties of natural qualities in
man come from the difference of degree; all are excellent, but they are more or
less so, according to the degree.'[67]
Because of these varieties of natural qualities, `each human creature has
individual endowment, power and responsibility in the creative plan of God'. No
wonder therefore that individuality -- viewed as `capacity to attain human
virtues' -- is considered by `Abdu'l-Bahá `the greatest bestowal of God
to man':[68]
In fact it is because of this endowment that man is the apex of creation.
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes that the spirit of man `... is like unto the
light which is potential and in the candle and gets inflamed with the fire of
the love of God, then streams its light in the stage of visibility'.[69]
In this sense He says that `... the human reality may be compared to a seed...
the merciful God, our Creator, has deposited within human realities certain
latent and potential virtues. Through education and culture these virtues
deposited by the loving God will become apparent in human reality, even as the
unfoldment of the tree from within the germinating seed.'[70]
Therefore a man should endeavour, while he lives on this earth, to manifest
the divine qualities enshrined in his soul, of whose individuality they are a
part, in the form of knowledge, feelings, deeds and words. In the process of
such growth and endeavour `... his individuality which is divine and heavenly
should be his guide'.[71] This is the real
self-realization.[72]
Its dual nature
`The essence of man', writes Bahá'u'lláh, `is hidden in
his individuality which must appear through the polish of education. This is
man's glory, and all else which depends upon other things, is not a part of man
himself.'[73]
That which thus appears of a man's individuality is called personality.
Personality, says `Abdu'l-Bahá, `... is the result of acquired arts,
sciences and virtues with which man is decorated' and `... is obtained through
the conscious effort of man by training and education'. Human personality, He
says moreover, `... has no element of permanence. It is a slightly changeable
quality in man which can be turned in either direction. For if he acquire
praiseworthy virtues, these strengthen the individuality of man and call forth
his hidden forces; but if he acquire defects, the beauty and simplicity of the
individuality will be lost and its God-given qualities will be stifled in the
foul atmosphere of self.'[74]
The same concept is repeatedly explained in the Bahá'í texts: for
instance, Bahá'u'lláh writes: `... the soul hath two wings. If
it flieth in the air of the love and will of God, it will be attributed to the
Merciful; but if it flieth in the atmosphere of desire, it will be attributed
to satan -- may God protect us and you against it... And if it is kindled by
the fire of the love of God, it will be a pleasing and tranquil soul; but if it
be kindled by desire, it is a passionate soul.'[75]
And moreover: `If it be faithful to God, it will reflect His light, and
will, eventually, return unto Him. If it fail, however, in its allegiance to
its Creator, it will become a victim to self and passion, and will, in the end,
sink in their depths.'[76]
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `... soul is the intermediary between the
Supreme Concourse and the lower concourse. It (the soul) hath two phases -- the
higher aspireth to the kingdom of El-Abha and the lights of the mind shine
forth from that horizon upon its higher sphere. The other side inclineth to the
lower concourse of the material world, and its lowest phase is enveloped in the
darkness of ignorance.' He writes moreover: `There is a human spirit and
a divine spirit, the latter arising through knowledge and belief in God. The
human spirit is superior to the body and struggle with it for control of the
soul: when it succeeds, the soul becomes heavenly; when the body obtains
control, the soul becomes degraded.'[77]
`Abdu'l-Bahá says: `... the human personality appears in two aspects:
the image or likeness of God and the aspect of Satan. The human reality stands
between these two: the divine and the satanic.'[78]
He says moreover: `As long as man is a captive of habit, pursuing the dictates
of self and desire, he is vanquished and defeated. This passionate personal ego
takes the reins from his hands, crowds out the qualities of the divine ego, and
changes him into an animal, a creature unable to judge good from evil, or to
distinguish light from darkness. He becomes blind to divine attributes, for
this acquired individuality, the result of an evil routine of thought, becomes
the dominant note of his life.'[79]
And He writes: `In short, man is endowed with two natures: one tendeth
towards moral sublimity and intellectual perfection, while the other turneth to
bestial degradation and carnal imperfections.'[80]
It is clear therefore that the soul, in the process of developing its
individuality in this world, is subject to the influences of two realities
which are equally active upon it: its divine nature, urging the soul to develop
its potential spiritual qualities typical of the world of the Kingdom; and its
material or animal nature, leading the soul to indulge in the natural emotions
of its natal self and thus to lower itself from the spiritual kingdom whence it
comes to an inferior, animal level, to which the body belongs and into which it
allures the soul.
Therefore man, guided by `... his individuality which is divine and heavenly'
develops a personality `through the conscious effort... by training and
education'. Thus `capacity' appears in him `in accordance with striving and
sincerity'.[81]
This process of growth has been described in previous chapters. Bounties or
powers of the soul required for that process to unfold will be described in the
following pages.
The oneness of the spirit
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `Say, that spirit, mind, soul, hearing and
sight are one, but differ through differing causes. In the case of man,
for instance, ye see that by which man understands, moves, speaks, hears, and
sees: all of these are through the power of his God in him, but they each one
are different, according to the difference of their cause. Verily, this is
indeed the truth.
`For example, if all these faculties are turned to that which causes
hearing, then hearing and its results become manifest, and if they are turned
to that which causes sight, another activity and another result will appear; if
turned to the brain, head, etc., the manifestations of mind and soul will
appear.'[82]
Bahá'u'lláh writes, moreover: `Consider the rational faculty
with which God hath endowed the essence of man. Examine thine own self, and
behold how thy motion and stillness, thy will and purpose, thy sight and
hearing, thy sense of smell and power of speech, and whatever else is related
to, or trascendeth, thy physical senses or spiritual perceptions, all proceed
from, and owe their existence to, this same faculty.'[83]
And `Abdu'l-Bahá explains: `It is the same reality which is given
different names, according to the different conditions wherein it is
manifested. Because of its relation to matter and the phenomenal world when it
governs the physical functions of the body, it is called the human soul; when
it manifests itself as the thinker, the comprehender, it is called the human
soul; when it manifests itself as the thinker, the comprehender, it is called
the mind. And when it soars into the atmosphere of God, and travels in the
spiritual world, it becomes designated as spirit.'[84]
These words enables us to understand the fundamental oneness of the spirit,
beyond the multiplicity of its expressions. The instruments of the soul (or
spirit of man) should not, therefore, be viewed as independent entities, but as
different aspects of the same reality in its different functions.
Soul and body
The relation between body and soul is explained in many passages of the
Bahá'í texts. `Abdu'l-Bahá says that `... this essence or
soul of man because of its innate purity and its connection with the unseen
Ancient Entity is old as regards time, but new as regards individuality.' The
soul therefore -- as regards its individuality -- has a beginning at the time
of fertilization. In that circumstance, the zygote or fertilized ovum which
potentially contains in itself a future human being becomes as `a mirror'[85]
reflecting into the world of creation the `effulgences' of that `spirit'
`emanated from the reality of Divinity',[86]
i.e. the soul. Elsewhere it is said that the zygote is like `a magnet... for
the spirit' which `will become manifest in [it] with all its perfections'.[87]
This event is part of the great `creative plan of God':[88]
Matter -- in its evolution and transformations -- acquires different capacities
of expressing in the world of creation the spiritual realities of the world of
the Kingdom. In the stage of human zygote, matter acquires the capacity of
manifesting the spirit of man.
Explaining the relation between soul and body, Bahá'u'lláh uses
the metaphor of the sun (the soul) and the earth (the body),[89] whereas `Abdu'l-Bahá adduces other examples. He
says that `... the human spirit does not enter into the physical body, nay,
rather, it has some `attachment' (to it). This `attachment' is like that of the
mirror and the sun.'[90]
Other examples He mentions are: `... the body is a mere garment utilized by the
spirit', and moreover: `The spirit, or human soul, is the rider; and the body
is only the steed.'[91]
In other words, on the one hand, the soul is mirrored forth from the body and,
on the other, it utilizes the body as an instrument through which its qualities
may be expressed. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `The soul acts in the physical
world with the help of the body.'[92]
Therefore `... the soul is the intermediary between the body and the
spirit...',[93] and `The soul is a link
between body and spirit. It receives bounties and virtues from the spirit and
gives them to the body, just as the outer senses carry that which they receive
from the outer world to the inner senses, in order that (these impressions) may
be deposited in the memory and, through his various powers, may be utilized by
man.'[94]
Though the soul is closely related to the body, nevertheless it is independent
of it. `That a sick person', writes Bahá'u'lláh,
`showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose
themselves between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth
unaffected by any bodily ailments.' The body, on the contrary, is strictly
dependent on the soul: `So closely are they [the senses] related unto
it [the rational faculty]', writes Bahá'u'lláh, `that if
in less than the twinkling of an eye its relationship to the human body be
severed, each and every one of these senses will cease immediately to exercise
its functions and will be deprived of the power to manifest the evidences of
its activity.'[95]
The body therefore is but a machine functioning thanks to the
`bounties'96 the soul receives from the world of the Kingdom
and continuously bestows upon it (`It is the soul...', says
`Abdu'l-Bahá, `that directs a man's faculties, that governs his
humanity'[97]) and at the same time it is an
instrument through which the soul expresses itself in the world of creation.
Its bounties or powers[98]
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `... the soul hath limitless manifestations of
its own'99 and therefore it is impossible to describe all those
`bounties'100 the soul bestows upon the body; in other words
the powers it manifests in the world of creation. However, when the
Bahá'í texts are studied, the most important of those bounties
and powers may be understood.
The soul as coordinator and motor of the body ... the various organs and
members, the parts and elements, that constitute the body of man, though at
variance, are yet all connected one with the other by that all-unifying agency
known as the human soul, that causeth them to function in perfect harmony and
with absolute regularity',[101]
writes `Abdu'l-Bahá. And moreover: `the mind force -- whether we
call it pre-existent or contingent -- doth direct and coordinate all the
members of the human body, seeing to it that each part or member duly
performeth its own special function.'[102]
And He says: `It is the soul... that directs a man's faculties, that governs
its humanity.'[103]
He says moreover that the mediator between the soul and the body is the
`sympathetic nerve'104 -- to which He refers also as `common
faculty'[105] -- and regarding which He
writes: `[it] is connected with both. Its phenomena shall be perfect when
its spiritual and physical relations are normal'.[106]
The body therefore is an instrument through which the soul materializes itself,
and which the soul utilizes so that its allotted purposes in the world may be
accomplished. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `The attainment of any object is
conditioned upon knowledge, volition and action. Unless these three conditions
are forthcoming, there is no execution or accomplishment.'[107]
Since human life bears its fruits only when it is spent in the pursuance of
the God-given goal of human souls `to know Him and to love Him',[108] he three conditions of knowledge,
volition and action are realized in human life, i.e. the powers of knowing,
loving and willing.[109]
Knowledge
Each human cognitive process is realized through the soul. `Abdu'l-Bahá
states clearly that the soul can know `through instruments and organs'[110] and without them.[111]
The instruments which the soul utilizes so that it may know are the senses,
through which `sense perception' is realised; and the brain, through which the
`reasonable perception' or `intellection'[112] is realised. The soul can also know directly `without
instruments and organs':[113] this is
`insight, the power of inner perception',[114] or `intuitive knowledge'.[115]
Sense perception. It is shared by men and animals and one of its
purposes is `to separate the beneficial from whatever causeth harm.'[116] In the animal it is the typical
expression of the spirit at that level. In men, it is one of the expressions of
the animal spirit. However in men, the typical expression of spirit is the
`reasonable perception'.[117]
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `... if all these faculties [the
faculties of the spirit] are turned to that which causes hearing, then
hearing and its results become manifest, and if they are turned to that which
causes sight, another activity and another result will appear; if turned to the
brain, head, etc., the manifestations of mind and soul will appear....'[118]
And `Abdu'l-Bahá explains: `[the body] is only the medium of the
grossest sensations',[119] and elsewhere He
says: `It is not the body which feels pain or trouble, but the soul... though
the body is the cause of that trouble.'[120]
He writes moreover that `feelings' in men and animals `are one and
the same'.[121]
But it seems that though `sense perception' is shared by men and animals --
yet in men it has a different meaning and importance: in fact -- though it is
undoubtedly produced through the body -- yet it is immediately elaborated by
the soul through its power of `reasonable perception' through which it becomes
conscious.
`Reasonable perception' or `intellection'.[122]
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `... the human spirit is an all-encompassing
power that exerteth its dominion over the inner essences of all created things,
uncovering the well kept mysteries of the phenomenal world'. Through this
power, He adds, man `... graspeth universal ideas and layeth bare the
secrets of creation' as well as `abstract and universal ideas'.[123]
He explains that this kind of knowledge is possible because of certain powers
of the soul expressing themselves through the agency of the brain. In fact,
among `the inherent properties of the soul' there are those to which He
refers as `mental faculties'124 or `spiritual powers':
imagination, thought, comprehension, memory, common faculty.[125]
He says that they are properties of the soul `as the radiation of light is
the essential property of the sun',[126]
and that they find their expression in the world of creation through the
instrument of the brain. This `... action of the soul's
power'127 expressed through the brain is called mind. The mind,
says `Abdu'l-Bahá, `is the power of the human spirit. Spirit is the
lamp; mind is the light which shines from the lamp. Spirit is the tree, and the
mind is the fruit.'[128] Mind is strictly
dependent on the brain, where `Abdu'l-Bahá says it `has its seat':[129] `For the mind to manifest itself, the
human body must be whole; and a sound mind cannot be but in a sound
body.' Because mind depends on the brain, it is
`circumscribed'.[130] In fact mind
comprehends through senses: without them it cannot function.
`Abdu'l-Bahá explains the process of intellection. Senses perceive
material reality and convey their perceptions to the brain. In the brain,
perceptions are conveyed through the common sense to the mind; the mind in its
turn elaborates them through its mental faculties, i.e. imagination, thought,
comprehension and memory. Thus `The mind comprehendth the abstract by the
aid of the concrete.'130
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes that `... the human spirit is an all-
encompassing power that exerteth its dominion over the inner essences of all
created things, uncovering the well kept mysteries of the phenomenal world.
`The divine spirit, however, doth unveil divine realities and universal
mysteries that lie within spiritual world.' Therefore the mind -- assisted
by the `divine spirit'131 or `spirit of faith'[132] -- enables man to know also the reality
of the spiritual world. This knowledge of the spiritual world is confirmed and
strengthened through the soul's direct knowledge, its `inner perception or
insight'.[133]
`Inner perception or insight'134 or `intuitive
knowledge'.[135]
The Bahá'í texts very often refer to inner eye and vision, inner
ear and hearing, as well as inner mind[136]
and `Abdu'l-Bahá very often mentions two instruments -- mind and heart
as factors of spiritual progress.[137] Mind
has been previously discussed. The heart might be viewed as that kind of
knowledge which the soul achieve without instruments and organs. This kind of
knowledge is immediate, independent of any physical instrument, reflection or
reasoning and leads man directly to the `knowledge of being'.[138] It is insight or intuition.[139]
In the Bahá'í view, this cognitive capacity is not bestowed only
upon the chosen ones, through God knows what occult, mystical and magical arts.
It is a power shared by all mankind; but today it is atrophied because it is
very seldom used. In fact `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `... if the spiritual
qualities of the soul, open to the breath of the Divine Spirit, are never used,
they become atrophied, enfeebled, and at last incapable...'[140]
Very few people make a deliberate, conscious and methodical use of their
insight. Most of its fruits are reaped without an awareness of their origin.
Contrary to this pattern, the Bahá'í texts prescribe a systematic
use of this extraordinary cognitive power, and point to meditation as the
specific practice through which this power may be both used and developed. Such
is the importance attached in the Bahá'í texts to meditation,
that `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `You cannot apply the name "man" to any being
void of this faculty of meditation; without it he would be a mere animal, lower
than the beasts.'[141]
But it is primarily the spiritual progress resulting from the choice made by
the soul of turning towards the world of the Kingdom and its endeavours in
facing the necessary sacrifices while it perseveres in that choice, that
quicken such intuitive powers, as will be very useful in daily life.
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `The human spirit possesseth wondrous powers,
but it should be reinforced by the Holy Spirit... Then will that human spirit
uncover realities, and unravel mysteries.' And elsewhere He writes: `The
divine spirit... doth unveil divine realities.'[142]
He writes moreover:'I now assure thee... that if thy mind become empty and
pure from every mention and thought and thy heart attracted wholly to the
Kingdom of God, forget all else besides God and come in communion with the
Spirit of God, then the Holy Spirit will assist thee with a power which will
enable thee to penetrate all things, and a Dazzling Spark which enlightens all
sides, a Brilliant Flame in the zenith of the heaven, will teach thee that
which thou dost not know of the facts of the universe and of the divine
doctrine.'[143]
We may thus epitomize some of the most important finctions of this power of the
human soul:[144]
- Since it is a source of thought, it strengthens the mind and
promotes creativity.
- It assists man in his moral choices, helping him in understanding
the spiritual principles relevant to any issue to be faced and solved.
- It assists man in understanding the true nature of his own or
another's individuality, behind the veil of personality; thus it assists man in
loving himself and others, showing to him the sign of God in man.
- It assists man in comprehending the Revealed Words, whereas mind
often leads to a superficial understanding and may sometimes even be an
obstacle, particularly when it falls a prey to prejudice.
- It assists man in consultation, because it draws him closer to truth
and helps him in understanding and loving his fellow-men.
`Abdu'l-Bahá explains that insight and mind cannot function
simultaneously. `The sign of the intellect is contemplation', He says, `and the
sign of contemplation is silence.'[145]
`Abdu'l-Bahá therefore indirectly recommends that the importunate mind
be silenced from time to time, so that in that inner silence the voice of the
spirit may be heard.[146]
Self-consciousness. Man, unique among the creatures on the earth, is
self- conscious. Such is the importance of this divine bestowal that
`Abdu'l-Bahá says that `the spiritual faculty' is `the heavenly gift of
consciousness'. This extraordinary power of the soul bestows upon man the
capacity of `conscious reflection', `conscious ideation', `conscious
intelligence', `consciousness'. `Abdu'l-Bahá says:'God has created such
a conscious spirit within him [man] that he is the most wonderful of all
contingent beings.'[147]
Consciousness distinguishes man from animals, since animals cannot have such
self-image as he has.[148] This concept set
forth by `Abdu'l-Bahá is shared by modern scientists. It is well known
that when a chimpanzee, which is the most evolved among the primates, sees its
own image reflected in a mirror, it does not understand that it is its own
image. At most it looks behind the mirror, searching there for another animal.
In fact the animal is not possessed of the capacity of memorizing the image of
its own body and therefore it cannot know itself as an individual.
Thanks to this power, men know and are conscious of their knowledge. Sense
perception, reasonable perception of material reality achieved through the
mental faculties of the soul, intellectual perception of `the Divine reality of
things',[149] inner perception or insight
and any other human activity (emotions and feelings, attraction and attachment,
volition and endeavour) are, one and all, conscious activities.
The Bahá'í texts say that this consciousness has been bestowed
upon man so that certain important purposes may be achieved:
- `to investigate and discover the truth' `for himself'; to `perceive what is
true' arriving at `valid conclusions' and `at the verities of existence';[150]
- to `safeguard and protect himself';[151]
- to apprehend `the divine teachings';[152]
- to arrive at `the choice of good or evil';[153]
- to free himself `from all the fetters of self';[154]
- `to render effective the will of God and give it material station';[155]
- to acquire and manifest `... the bounties of God, that he may establish
the kingdom of God among men and attain to happiness in both worlds, the
visible and invisible'.155
Love
Love is another fundamental.characteristic of the soul.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `I have breathed within thee a breath of
My own Spirit, that thou mayest be My lover',[156]
suggesting that this capacity of loving typical of man is one of the divine
qualities shining within him. In the Bahá'í texts, love is
described as an eternal, marvelous, irresistible, all-pervading force which is
`the cause of the existence of all phenomena'.[157]
Creation is the outcome of `the love of God towards the Self or Identity of
God':[158] This love shines forth in the
various levels of existence -- in different degrees according to their
respective capacities -- in conformity with a single, universal law enunciated
thus by `Abdu'l-Bahá: `the whole attracteth the part, and in the
circle, the centre is the pivot of the compasses', with its corollary:
`... any movement animated by love moveth from the periphery to the
centre.' In the mineral kingdom we see the affinity among the elemental
atoms to which `Abdu'l-Bahá refers as: `the unique power that bindeth
together the diverse elements of this material world'; we see moreover
`the supreme magnetic force that directeth the movements of the spheres in
the celestial realms';[159] in the
animal kingdom we find `certain affiliation and fellowship... and selective
affinity',[160] typical of that kingdom. In
the human kingdom we see that man, being possessed of an animal nature
belonging to the world of creation, is attracted towards that world; while
being possessed of a divine nature belonging to the world of the Kingdom, he is
also attracted towards that Kingdom.[161]
The human soul therefore is subject to such typical tension previously
mentioned, as arises from the divergent attractions towards those two different
kingdoms of existence. At first the human soul hesitates and is doubtful in its
choice between material reality or the world of creation and divine reality or
the world of the Kingdom. When the soul chooses the love of the divine reality,
its spiritual growth begins. Thus, the soul arises to a superior degree of
reality and loves both the world of the Kingdom and the world of creation. But
if the soul chooses the world of creation, which is an inferior degree, it will
ignore the world of the Kingdom, which is a superior degree.
The most important characteristics of this capacity of loving typical of man
are described in the Bahá'í texts.
The capacity of feeling joy and pain. Love is always attended by
feelings of joy and pain: pain whenever the loved one is far away, joy whenever
the loved one is close.[162]
This important capacity of feeling joy and pain is typical of the soul: `It is
not the body which feels pain or trouble', says `Abdu'l-Bahá, `but the
soul... though the body is the cause of that Trouble',[163] and He adds: `If we are caused joy or pain by a
friend... it is the soul that is affected.'[164]
This capacity of feeling joy and pain is very important for the soul.
`Abdu'l-Bahá says: `It is the nature of man to find enjoyment in that
which is gratifying to his senses,' and moreover: `God originally endowed man
with an individuality which enjoyed that which was beneficial...'. Joy and pain
are therefore for man's protection, so that he may not draw close to that which
harms him or escape from that which profits him. However, `... man through his
evil habits changes this creation and transforms the divine illumination into
satanic darkness'.[165]
And moreover, He writes: `...every individual is born holy and pure, and
only thereafter may become defiled.'[166]
We understand now why purity is such an important human quality: when a man is
impure, his capacity of judgment is undoubtedly impaired; when he is pure, he
is able to turn towards that which profits him.
Purity of heart is inborn in man. `The hearts of all children are of the utmost
purity', says `Abdu'l-Bahá and therefore they are `near to God'. He says
moreover: `They are mirrors upon which no dust has fallen.' Yet, the original
purity of children is because of their weakness. In the course of their lives,
their purity may be strengthened `through the power of intelligence... through
the great power of reason and of understanding', so that when those children
grow to manhood, they become `pure... simple... sincere.'[167]
These qualities enable them to be aware of their truest human needs, which are
their spiritual needs, above their less noble, material instincts, which may
draw them far away from their true spiritual reality. But sometimes those
children are enticed by their natal selves with their natural emotions. In this
case their purity is lost and, `Abdu'l-Bahá says, their souls may fall
prey to `selfish disorders, intellectual maladies, spiritual sicknesses',[168] so that they go so far as to love harmful
things and to hate beneficial things. The soul is, in a sense, subject as
regards its purity to a phenomenon of addiction, i.e. it may easily fall into
bad habits. It is like the nose which at first smells any odour, but after a
prolonged exposition to an odour, it no longer perceives it.[169]
Such is the condition of impurity. Man must therefore be possessed of the
capacity and of the ability to distinguish between harmful and beneficent
things, to avoid harmful things lest he get accustomed to them and stop feeling
such repugnance for them as is caused by the trouble those same things
originally give him. Purity is closely connected with that human faculty
`which deterreth him from, and guardeth him against, whatever is unworthy or
unseemly, and which is known as his sense of shame'.[170]
In this regard `Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `It is clear... that the
emergence of this natural sense of human dignity and honour is the result of
education', `one of the bounties deriving from the instructions of the
Prophets of God'.[171]
The Manifestation of God, in fact, reveals to man how he should behave in his
life in view of his own material, mental and spiritual progress. His sense of
shame is trained at the school of religion, where man is taught how to satisfy
his inborn -- animal, human and spiritual -- needs, in view of a harmonious and
balanced growth of all his potentialities. It seems therefore a potential human
capacity, a part of his individuality, which will grow and become manifest only
through training.
The power of love. Love is described in the Bahá'í texts
as an amazing power, `the most wonderful, the greatest of all living powers.'[172] Love very often works independently of the power of reason.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `... the lover hath no desire save union
with his beloved.' In his eagerness to reach his goal, the lover ignores
any other thing, and is capable of any insanity: `... when the fire of love
is ablaze', Bahá'u'lláh writes, `it burneth to ashes the
harvest of reason.'[173]
The Bahá'í texts very often describe love through metaphors
drawn from the experience of human love between a man and a woman. This passion
may therefore be viewed as a metaphor of the highest expression of love which a
man may experience: the unselfish, total love towards the Absolute, i.e. God
Himself. The object of love is important, as regards its results in daily life.
In fact the consequence of such insanity will be either destructive or
constructive depending on whether its object is beneficent or maleficent. It is
one thing to eat a healthy food giving strength and energy to the body, and
another to become poisoned by a venomous draught.
Love and knowledge. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `When reality envelops the
soul of man, love is possible,'[174] and He
explains: `When man's soul is rarefied and cleansed, spiritual links are
established, and from these bonds sensations felt by the heart are produced.
The human heart resembleth a mirror. When this is purified human hearts are
attuned and reflect one another, and thus spiritual emotions are
generated.'[175]
Knowledge assists man in choosing the object of his love: the closer to reality
this knowledge is, the closer to the Absolute is the object of love, and the
nobler are the deeds produced through his will.
Love and courage. Bahá'u'lláh writes: `Love is a light
that never dwelleth in a heart possessed by fear'; and moreover: `A
lover feareth nothing and no harm can come nigh him.' The logic of love
would have the lover ready to do anything that he may reach his beloved, even
to offer `a hundred lives'. Therefore Bahá'u'lláh writes:
`The steed of this Valley [of love] is pain.' This pain is caused
not only by the separation from the beloved, but also because love `seeth
life in death': in the reunion with the beloved, the lover longs for total
annihilation, and is there any greater pain than the dying to oneself? In the
path of the spiritual search the lover is ready to give up the attributes of
his natal self that he may take on the divine qualities. For this purpose,
`at every step he throweth a thousand heads at the feet of the
beloved'.[176]
The growth of love. The capacity of loving -- as any other reality
within man -- is a potential capacity, bound to develop. This growth is a
gradual change of the object of love, from the love of the natal self to the
love of greater and more universal realities, until it focus upon the Self of
God, the Logos.
Man is endowed with dynamics, attributes and capacities which assist him in
developing his own capacity of loving: the dynamics of joy and pain, the
attribute of purity, the capacity of knowing reality, and thus of somehow
choosing the object of his love. But none of these endowments will prove
sufficient to preserve the soul from the destruction ensuing from a love, whose
object is unworthy. Divine assistance is needed. `Wouldst thou the mind
should not entrap thee? Teach it the science of the love of God', writes
Bahá'u'lláh. And `Abdu'l-Bahá explains that this science
is religion, suggesting that man should always adhere to such laws of the
Universal Mind as are expounded by the Manifestation of God, so that he may not
be deceived by his own mind, in its proposing objects of love.
Bahá'u'lláh writes moreover: `The lover's teacher is the Loved
One's beauty; His face their lesson and their only book',[177]
suggesting that the world of creation is a marvelous school of the love of
God, if man only learns how to look at it.
Will
Knowledge, as self-consciousness, and love, as awareness of such
feelings as are generated from attraction, qualify choice, or will. Will,
therefore, seems to be the choice of a satisfying attraction or, in other
words, the choice of the object of love. This choice is made by the soul. The
soul is confined within the condition of `servitude',[178] and of powerlessness, yet it has been endowed by God
with the bounty of free will or free choice. `The essence of all power is
God's',[179] writes
Bahá'u'lláh; and moreover: `Know, also, that the life of man
is from the Spirit and to turn indeed is from the soul.'[180]
And also: `All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be
manifested only as a result of your own volition',[181] suggesting that the soul is free to manifest either
its divine nature or its animal nature. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `... in the
choice of good and bad actions he [man] is free, and he commits them according
to his own will.'[182]
And moreover: `God, himself, cannot compel the soul to become spiritual; the
exercise of a free human will is necessary.'[183] Explaining this particular human condition, `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `...
this condition is like that of a ship which is moved by the power of the wind
or steam; if this power ceases, the ship cannot move at all. Nevertheless, the
rudder of the ship turns it to either side, and the power of the steam moves it
in the desired direction... in all the action or inaction of man, he receives
power from the help of God; but the choice of good or evil belongs to the man
himself.'[184]
The soul therefore may `turn', or make his choice of inner and outer
attitude, according to such attraction as it feels and to its understanding of
that attraction. The choice of the world of creation -- which in man expresses
itself as animal nature -- is the easiest choice, because it does not imply any
change, any transition from an inferior to a superior stage. On the contrary,
the choice of the world of the Kingdom -- which in man expresses itself as
divine nature -- is a difficult choice, at least at the beginning, because it
implies an awareness of a remote reality, a change, a transition from an
inferior to a superior stage: it is the second birth or spiritual progress.
In the Bahá'í texts, human freedom is viewed as a moral liberty
of choosing between the attraction towards the world of nature and the
attraction towards the world of the Kingdom, between love of the natal self and
love of the Self of God. Most of the facts and circumstances of human life
belong to a process which eludes the command of human will. They may be viewed
as expressions of the will of God. Therefore, whosoever rebels against them
somehow rebels against the will of God Himself. Man's dignity and freedom lie
in his striving to mirror forth the qualities of the world of the Kingdom in
such particular circumstances as are his lot. In fact, these circumstances are
both an outcome of his choices and of a chain of events which do not depend on
him. He may try to modify those facts and circumstances in his life which do
not mirror forth the world of the Kingdom, so that they may do it. On the other
hand, he may rebel against the will of God in several ways. One of the most
widespread kinds of rebellion in the Western world is the attitude of changing
pain into despair. Pain cannot be avoided. Whenever acutely-felt needs cannot
be satisfied, or realities encountered in which the light of the world of the
Kingdom is too dimly reflected, any soul feels pain. Rebellion occurs whenever
a soul dwells unduly upon such unpleasant aspects of life, whenever it indulges
in its painful feelings, whenever it does not show those concrete and positive
attitude through which that need may be satisfied, that dim light may become
more brilliant. In fact, God has willed joy and high aims for us. `I will no
longer be sorrowful and grieved, I will be a happy and joyous being... I will
no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not
dwell on the unpleasant things of life',[185] is the promise `Abdu'l-Bahá exhorts us to make
in one of His prayers. And elsewhere He gives the following advice to an
inquirer: `Then better for thee to bow down thy head in submission, and put
thy trust in the All- Merciful Lord.'[186]
It is clear that human choice, or the exercise of the `power of will',[187] depend on both attraction (or love), and
knowledge. Man chooses what he knows will satisfy such needs as he is aware of,
because he feels them as pain. That is why `Abdu'l-Bahá writes:
`Regarding the "two wings" of the soul: These signify wings of ascent. One
is the wing of knowledge, the other of faith, as this is the means of the
ascent of the human soul to the lofty station of divine perfections.'[188]
And elsewhere He says that faith is: `love that flows from man to God...
attraction to the Divine, enkindlement...'[189]
Knowledge, therefore, is but the first step into the path of spiritual
progress. Through his knowledge man becomes, on the one hand, conscious of his
needs, and, on the other, aware of the means through which those needs may be
satisfied. Having attained such consciousness and awareness, he will be ready
to make his choice by the agency of his will. His heart will be ready to choose
its `attachment',[190] an attachment that
may be called in this context love. Will, in this context, is the choice of the
object of attachment, or of love. Only at this point will he be ready to act,
and his action will thus be guided by a faith which is both `conscious
knowledge'[191] and `love'.[192]
Action
If knowledge, love and will must be conducive to action, an effort is
requested from the soul. Bahá'u'lláh writes: `Success or
failure, gain or loss must, therefore, depend upon man's exertions.' And
moreover: `The greater the effort exerted... the more faithfully will it
[the soul] be made to reflect the glory of the names and attributes of
God.'[193]
And `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `we must strive with energies of heart, soul and
mind to develop and manifest the perfections and virtues latent within the
realities of the phenomenal world.'[194]
And moreover: `Capacity is in accordance with striving and sincerity.'[195]
Therefore, the soul leads the body to act in the world of creation on the
grounds of its understanding of reality and of the attraction it has decided to
follow, prompted in this decision by its, sometimes vague, feeling that its
needs will be satisfied thereby. Any action implies a change of a previous
condition, and therefore requires an effort. The soul is possessed of the
required qualities for its efforts to be successful: steadfastness,
perseverance, firmness, courage and many other qualities of the soul which are
indispensable for any action.[196]
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `... the soul hath limitless manifestations of
its own.'[197]
In fact, the powers of knowledge, love and will are three great categories of
qualities expressed by the soul in accomplishing the purpose of its creation.
In each of these three categories, many qualities may be recognized. These
qualities are reflections of the divine qualities of the world of the Kingdom,
and constitutes potential endowments at the disposal of any human soul in its
endeavour of approaching, step by step, the goal of its existence: to return
conscious into that world of the Kingdom whence it came forth unconscious.
Moreover as knowledge, love and will are closely interrelated, so knowledge,
will and action -- being their outcome -- should be viewed not as three
successive and independent steps of a linear process, whose reciprocal
relations are univocal cause-effect relations. They should rather be viewed in
the light of the concept of unity and of the evolution of reality set forth in
the Bahá'í texts. They are the outcome of three aspects of a
single reality, the soul, and therefore they interact. Sometimes, in the sight
of God there is no difference between intention and action: `Every act ye
meditate is as clear to Him as is that act when already accomplished,'[198]
writes Bahá'u'lláh. Knowledge and love influence will, and will
is conducive to action. But each one of them is influenced as well by the
other. Knowledge is no longer the same, once will has been fulfilled, through
the impulse of love, in an action. Any action confirms or denies cognitive or
volitional-affective data through a dynamics which is very similar to
biological feed-back.[199]
Moreover, knowledge, love and will are so strictly interrelated that divided
from one another they lose their meaning. An unconscious and involuntary action
is not the same as a conscious and a voluntary one.[200]
Whenever knowledge, love and will are not translated into actions, they lose
importance. The cognitive, affective, volitional and practical aspects of human
reality are therefore closely interrelated and, depending on the circumstances,
they confirm or deny one another.
The dynamics of the choice
Such are the reasons and the dynamics of the choice. The following steps
are required, so that the choice may be properly directed:
- Whenever the cognitive powers are properly used, knowledge of
reality is achieved.
- Knowledge of reality fosters the soul's `attraction to the Divine',
which, in the words of `Abdu'l-Bahá, is faith, in its meaning of `the
love that flows from man to God.'[201]
- Faith is realized as `conscious knowledge and the practice of
good deeds'202 whenever the attraction to the world of the
Kingdom is favoured.
- The attraction to the world of the Kingdom and the conscious
knowledge of reality are conducive to the willing acceptance of any consequence
ensuing for the soul from its efforts to become attracted towards the world of
the Kingdom. This is the real meaning of sacrifice.
- All these conditions (knowledge, love and will as expressed through
action) attract `the power of the Holy Spirit',[203]
which in its turn transforms the nature of man and draws out of him his
potential divine virtues, or in other words his capacities.
(vi) As man's divine virtues emerge, he becomes more and more fit to reach his
spiritual goal, and the process of his spiritual growth becomes more and more
easy and speedy.
Now it is clear that knowledge, love and will are not enough for a man to
produce concrete and positive results through his actions. `Abdu'l-Bahá
writes: `... every great Cause in this world of existence findeth visible
expression through three means: first, intention; second, confirmation; third,
action.' Therefore a confirmation is required so that intention may be
translated into action. In the same text, He explains that
`confirmation' means `the confirmations of the Kingdom', `a
Dynamic power', `the power of the Word of God':[204] in other words the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
The Bahá'í texts say that if we are to receive such a
confirmation, we should -- out of pure love -- orientate our choices and
efforts according to the prescriptions of the Manifestation, that is towards
the world of the Kingdom. Only thus will such divine virtues be achieved as are
both means for the entrance into the Kingdom and qualifications of the
enlightened souls, i.e. fruits of spiritual progress.
Whenever, on the contrary, a man decides that he will not follow the guidance
of the Manifestation of God, either because he does not know it, or because,
although he knows it, he has nevertheless preferred to turn his back on reality
and to rely upon his own fancies, the process will follow a quite different
course. Mostly, a man decides that he will favour his attraction towards the
world of nature whenever he has used improperly his cognitive powers and has
thus not understood the greater importance of the world of the Kingdom when
compared to the world of creation. `Abdu'l-Bahá writes in this regard:
`... some souls are ignorant, they must be educated; some are sick, they
must be healed; some are still of tender age, they must be helped to attain
maturity, and the utmost kindness must be shown to them.'[205]
This concept is reminiscent of the `Socratic identification of science and
virtue'.[206]
On the grounds of this fundamental mistake, such a man places his faith --
which is both knowledge and love -- in an unworthy reality and his deeds will
mirror forth the qualities of that same reality. Those deeds therefore will not
be conducive to love, unity and cooperation, but will manifest the law of
self-centredness and of the struggle for existence with the survival of the
fittest, typical of the world of creation or nature. Thus his love will not be
attraction towards the world of the Kingdom, but only attachment, i.e. bondage
to the material reality in which he was created so that he might become
detached from it. As there is no spiritual love within him, neither will there
be any willing acceptance of pain and suffering, whose meaning he has not
understood. To him such pain will be both retribution for a wrong choice, and
an encouragement to change his ways. Since such a man makes no sacrifice, the
power of the Holy Spirit will not be attracted and none of the divine virtues
enshrined in his inner reality will become manifest. He will sink deeper and
deeper into the world of creation, at whose service he will have put his own
mind, `God's greatest gift to man';[207]
`daily [will] he strut abroad with the characteristic of a wild
beast', be it `a ferocious tiger', or `a creeping, venomous
viper' and will become `viler than the most fierce of savage
creatures.'[208]
In this condition, the qualities of the world of nature will emerge in that
man: cruelty, ruthlessness, aggression, selfishness, as well as fear, anguish,
anxieties, agony, cares; and he will not be able to escape them. He will
experience the hell of his `insistent self', with its `evil
promptings' and `carnal desires.'[209]
His spiritual progress will stop. Of such men Christ said: `... let the
dead bury their dead,'[210] and
Bahá'u'lláh wrote that they abide in `the abode of dust'
or in the `plane of heedlessness'.[211]
Until they abandon such behaviour, they will not reach the goal intended for
men: knowing their own true being, which is divine, through the realization of
divine virtues.
The choice is thus a dynamic process, rich in negative and positive feed-backs.
But each forward step will lead to higher levels of knowledge, will and
action.
The soul as the mirror of human choices[212]
The results of the choice are manifest in the soul, which will mirror forth
either the natural emotions of its natal self, i.e. the darksome world of
nature, or its spiritual feelings and divine virtues, i.e. the luminous world
of the Kingdom, depending on whether the attraction towards the former or the
latter has been chosen. Between these two extremes there are indeed many
intermediate degrees, closer to one or to the other end depending on the
spiritual progress achieved, and which are actually expressed by human beings
in their daily lives. `Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `The souls of the
believers, at the time when they first become manifest in the world of the
body, are equal, and each is sanctified and pure. In this world, however, they
will begin to differ one from the other, some achieving the highest station,
some a middle one, others remaining at the lowest stage of being.'[213]
The bounties of the spirit, reflected within the soul, become visible in the
world of creation -- through the instrumentality of the body -- as spiritual
knowledge, feelings, deeds and words.
Spiritual knowledge.214
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `... keenness of understanding is due to
keenness of vision.'[215] And
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes to an inquirer: `Verily, it [the Holy Spirit] is
the shining morning and the rosy dawn which will impart unto thee the lights,
reveal the mysteries and make thee competent in science, and through it the
pictures of the Supreme World will be printed in thy heart and the facts of the
secrets of the.Kingdom of.God will shine before thee.'[216]
Elsewhere He writes: `Once a soul becometh holy in all things, purified,
sanctified, the gates of the knowledge of God will open wide before his
eyes.'[217]
It is the Holy Spirit that bestows the bounty of knowledge. The Holy Spirit
opens the inner eye and therefore confers a deeper comprehension of both the
material and spiritual worlds.
Moreover, spiritual perception and virtues are closely interrelated, because
whoever shows forth any virtue will have an experience of it, and therefore
will know it. It follows that any virtuous man has a deeper spiritual
understanding of the world of the Kingdom to which his own virtues belong.
Spiritual feelings. Spiritual feelings are virtues of the world of the
Kingdom reflected in human hearts. Whoever is adorned therewith will not need
words or deeds to manifest them. They are part of his individuality and
personality. They radiate from him, as a light from its source. Of these men
the Báb, quoting the Qur'án, said: `On that day will We set a
seal upon their mouths; yet shall their hands speak unto Us, and their feet
shall bear witness to that which they shall have done.'[218]
Joy is one of the most typical feelings of spiritual men.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `Whoso keepest the commandments of God
shall attain everlasting felicity.'[219]
And `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `Afflictions and troubles are due to the state
of not being content with what God hath ordained for you. If one submits
himself to God, he is happy.'[220]
And moreover: `The most great, peerless gift of God to the world of humanity
is happiness born of love -- they are the twin sisters of the superman; one is
the complement of the other.'[221]
But He says also: `Although the bestowal is great and the grace is glorious,
yet, capacity and readiness are requisite. Without capacity and readiness, the
divine bestowal will not become manifest and evident... Therefore we must
obtain capacity in order that the signs of the mercy of the Lord may become
revealed. We must endeavour to make the soil of the hearts free from these
useless weeds and sanctified from the thorns of useless thoughts in order that
the cloud of Mercy may bestow its power upon it.' Therefore, only a sacrifice
met for the sake of love will deliver man from the natural emotions of his
natal self, will confer upon him `capacity and readiness',[222] and will enable him to achieve true happiness.
Happiness is a `spiritual state',[223] and
is `... dependent upon the susceptibilities of the heart and the attitude of
the mind'.[224] He writes: `As to
material happiness, it never exists; nay, it is but imagination, an image
reflected in mirrors, a spectre and shadow... It is something, which but
slightly removes one's afflictions... All the material blessings... bestow no
delight on the mind, nor pleasure to the soul: nay, they furnish only the
bodily wants...
`As to spiritual happiness, this is the true basis of the life of man,
because life is created for happiness, not for sorrow; for pleasure, not for
grief... This great blessing and precious gift is obtained by man only through
the guidance of God.'
He writes also that spiritual happiness is `... light... glad-tidings... the
Kingdom... life... the fundamental basis from which man is created, worlds are
originated, the contingent beings have existence and the world of God appears
like unto the appearance of the sun at midday. This happiness is but the love
of God', whereas sorrow is `darkness... disappointment... the earthly
world... non existence'. `Were it not for this happiness,' He adds,
`the world of existence would not have been created.'[225]
This condition of `spiritual enjoyment' is of such importance, that He
mentions it among the peculiar traits of man `to which the animal can never
attain', because it `depends from the acquisition of heavenly
virtues'226 animals are debarred from.
Spiritual deeds. Spiritual deeds are in the Bahá'í view of
life those actions which, suggested by love, promote the unity of mankind,
through a well pondered voluntary action. Whether they are humble actions in
the modest sphere of a limited personal existence or great deeds relevant to
the well-being of the whole of mankind, their meaning is always the same: `to
render effective the will of God and give it material station.'[227]
In fact, God's will for today is that the divine attribute of unity may become
manifest in the world and that a society of unity and peace may be created.
Such deeds are well-pleasing unto God, because when they are weighed `in the
scales of divine teachings',[228] they
comply with them. This topic has been previously discussed.
Spiritual words. As to spiritual words, `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `The
heart is like a box, and language is the key.' Then He adds: `... the function
of language is to portray the mysteries and secrets of human hearts.'[229]
Words may be thus viewed under two aspects:
(i) Words are the key to open the `boxes' of the hearts;
(ii) Words portray the mysteries and secrets of human hearts.
The Bahá'í texts recommend certain conditions, so that words may
be properly used as unique and powerful means of communication.
First, Bahá'u'lláh attaches the greatest importance to words:
`... the impression which each word maketh is clearly evident and
perceptible... One word may be likened unto fire, another unto light, and the
influence which both exert is manifest in the world... One word is like unto
springtime causing the tender saplings of the rose-garden of knowledge to
become verdant and flourishing, while another word is even as a deadly
poison,'[230]
He writes. And elsewhere: `... the tongue is a smouldering fire, and excess
of speech a deadly poison.'[231]
Numerous are His counsels we should follow, if our words are to `possess
penetrating power' whereby they may `exert [their]
influence.' He recommends `hearts which are detached and pure...
spirit... pure and heart stainless', so that words may be possessed of
`penetrating power.' He recommends moreover `tact and wisdom', so
that `moderation' may be achieved, as well as `leniency and
forbearance'.[232]
The Bahá'í texts recommend that, once the use of words is
perfected, they should be devoted to the fostering of unity and peace in the
world. This purpose may be achieved in two fundamental ways: teaching the Faith
and consultation.
- Teaching the Faith. The best use of words, in such a world of
unity and peace as Bahá'u'lláh wants mankind to build, is for the
opening of `the city of the human heart',[233] or for causing `the bushes to be enkindled and the
call "Verily, there is no God but Me, the Almighty, the Unconstrained" to be
raised therefrom',[234] i.e. for the
kindling in human hearts of love of the Manifestation of God.
- Consultation. The proper use of words represents moreover
one of the fundamental elements of that method of confrontation of ideas and
deliberation Bahá'u'lláh describes as an expression of `the
maturity of the gift of understanding', one of the `two luminaries'
enlightening the `heaven of divine wisdom', and which He recommends as a
unique instrument of `welfare' and `wellbeing', as `a cause of
awareness and awakening', 235 i.e. the method of
consultation.
Consultation is recommended not only as an effective method of finding
solutions to personal and interpersonal problems, but is also prescribed for
the administration of public affairs. Issues of social life find a better
solution whenever groups of specially elected or appointed people meet in
consultation. Consultation will be well conducted and will produce good results
only when certain simple technical rules are observed, and whenever the hearts
of those consulting (where the required words for any exchange of ideas during
consultation find their origin) are well advanced in their spiritual progress.
Without these prerequisites, consultation will not be optimal, it will be more
difficult to find solutions, and it will be more likely that those solutions
may be wrong. Nevertheless consultation, however imperfect it may be, is in
itself a means of spiritual perfecting, because any effort aimed at achieving a
harmonious view of an issue is in itself an effort towards spiritualization.
Consultation is therefore recommended also as an instrument of personal and
collective spiritual progress. We may now well understand why the
spiritualizazion of mankind is required for any real improvement of the
political and social conditions of the world.
* * *
Spiritual knowledge, feelings, deeds and words are therefore an
expression of the qualities of the soul -- knowledge, love and will --
manifested in the world of creation through the instrumentality of the body.
The Perfect Man, the Manifestation of God, in His perfect consciousness of
inner and outer reality, realizes a perfect unity and harmony between these
expressions of His reality. Imperfect man, in his almost total ignorance of
reality, realizes disharmony and conflict and creates difficulties for himself
and for others. Spiritual progress implies a growing consciousness of inner and
outer reality and a more and more bountiful confirmation of the spirit and
therefore an increasing harmony between knowledge, feelings, deeds and
words.
The journey of the soul
`Abdu'l-Bahá says: `... the human spirit is a Divine Trust, and it must
traverse all conditions, for its passage and movements through the conditions
of existence will be the means of its acquiring perfections... when the human
spirit passes through the conditions of existence, it will become the possessor
of each degree and station.'[236]
Human life is therefore a `journey', a `pilgrimage' of the soul, the `journey
back to God', and `the pathway of life is the road which leads to divine
knowledge and attainment',[237]
whereas `every atom in existence and the essence of all created things'
have been ordained by God for man's `training'.[238]
Preexistent as an undifferentiated potentiality in the divine world of the
Kingdom, the human soul appears as a potentially self-conscious individuality
in the world of creation at the moment of conception. The purpose of its
journey through the mineral, vegetable, animal and human kingdom is for the
soul to make the experience and to acquire the qualities of those kingdoms, so
that it may go back adorned with consciousness and will into that world of the
Kingdom whence it departed unconscious, and whose attraction it has always
felt, albeit obscurely and dimly.
It is the pen of a poet that assists us in expressing the feelings of this
human condition: the mystical pen of Rumi, that tells of the consuming yearning
of the soul in its remembrance of that world of the Kingdom whence it departed
and from which it feels so remote:
Listen to the reed how it tells a tale, complaining of
separations -
Saying, `Ever since I was parted from the reed-bed, my lament hath caused man
and woman to moan.
I want a bosom torn by severance, that I may unfold (to such a one) the pain of
love-desire.
Every one who is left far from his source wishes back the time when he was
united with it.
In every company I uttered my wailful notes, I consorted with the unhappy and
with them that rejoice.[239]
It is once again his pen which suggests a prayer -- mentioned by
Bahá'u'lláh Himself in His Four Valleys -- to be raised up
to God, that He may assist our souls in their quest:
O Lord! O Thou Whose bounty granteth wishes
I stand before Thee, all save Thee forgetting.
Grant that the mote of knowledge in my spirit
Escape desire and the lowly clay;
Grant that Thine ancient gift, this drop of wisdom,
Merge with Thy mighty sea.[240]
That same inspired pen thus describes -- after a toilsome journey through
endless times and spaces -- the enraptured amazement of self-annihilation and
of the vision of God in the innermost heart:
Cross and Christians, from end to end
I surveyed; He was not on the Cross.
I went to the idol-temple, to the ancient pagoda;
No trace was visible there.
I went to the mountains of Herat and Candahar;
I looked: He was not in that hill-and-dale.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Qaf;
In that place was only the `Anqa's habitation.
I bent the reins of search to the Ka'ba;
He was not in that resort of old and young.
I questioned Ibn Sina of his state;
He was not in Ibn Sina's range.
I fared towards the scene of `two bow-length' distance';
He was not in that exalted court.
And.I gazed into my own heart;
There I saw Him; He was nowhere else.
Save pure-souled Shamsi Tabriz
None ever was drunken and intoxicated and distraught.[241]
End notes:
[1] Paris Talks, p.85.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `...true life is not the life of the flesh
but the life of the spirit. For the life of the flesh is common both to men and
animals, whereas the life of the spirit is possessed only by the pure in heart
who have quaffed from the ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of
certitude. This life knoweth no death and this existence is crowned by
immortality.'(Kitáb-i-Íqán, p.120.)
[2] Some Answered Questions,
pp.189-90.
[3] Promulgation, p.241.
[4] See Some Answered Questions,
pp.185-190; Promulgation, pp.17, 30, 54, 58, 61, 80, 90, 172, 178,
241-2, 332, 357, 417. See above p.97 and no. 76.
[5] Promulgation, p.17. See ibid.
p.360.
[6] Some Answered Questions, p.17. As to
the meaning of dreams, Shoghi Effendi wrote through his secretary: `That truth
is often imparted through dreams no one who is familiar with history,
especially religious history, can doubt. At the same time dreams and visions
are always coloured and influenced more or less by the mind of the dreamer and
we must beware of attaching too much importance to them.' (Quoted in
Bahá'í Institutions (comp.), p.107.)
[7] As to the meaning of the words self or ego,
see above pp.126-7 and no. 45.
[8] Promulgation, p.242. See ibid.
pp.242-3, 464.
[9] Ibid. p.59.
[10] Some Answered Questions, p.152.
[11] Paris Talks, p.89. This argument,
supporting the immortality of the soul on the ground of its motion, seems
similar to an argument set forth by Plato in his Phaedrus.
[12] `The Three Realities' in Star of the
West VII, 119. This argument may paralleled by an argument set forth by
Plato in His Phaedo, stating that the soul is immortal because it is not
an accident, but a substance.
[13] Promulgation, p.307. See
ibid. p.242, 306. This argument may be brought back to argument b.i
[14] Divine Philosophy, p.124.
[15] Promulgation,p.308. See
p.308. This argument may be brought back to argument b.1.
[16] Promulgation, pp.417, 308.
[17] See Divine Philosophy, p.124.
Some Answered Questions, p.229; Promulgation, p.308. This
argument may be brought back to argument no. (i) immediately above.
[18] Paris Talks, p.91.
[19] Promulgation, p.260. See
ibid. pp.260, 306, 415; Paris Talks, p.91. This argument seems
similar to the arguments set forth by Plato in his Phaedo and by St
Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Contra Gentiles, when they declare that the
soul is immortal because it is `simple.'
[20] Some Answered Questions, p.225.
[21] Paris Talks, p.91. See Some
Answered Questions, p.225; Promulgation, pp.307-8; Paris
Talks, p.91. This argument seems similar to the argument produced by Platon
in his Menon, by St Augustine in His Soliloquia and by St Thomas
Aquinas in his Summa Contra Gentiles, when they say that the presence of
truth in the soul is a warrant for its immortality.
[22] Paris Talks, p.93. St Thomas
Aquinas mentions this argument as a signum (as something that seemingly
reveals something else) in his Summa Theologica.
[23] ibid. p.93 See Paris Talks,
p.93.
[24] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel', in
Bahá'í World XV, p.40. See `Abdu'l-Bahá,
Selections, pp.184-5; Paris Talks, p.92; Divine
Philosophy, p.119.
[25] Divine Philosophy, p.119.
[26] Some Answered Questions, p.223.
[27] Paris Talks,pp.89-90. See
ibid. p.93. As to this argument, upholding the immortality of the soul as
`a requirement of human moral life', N. Abbagnano writes: `This argument was
not successful in ancient times; it has rather proved the reason (very often
hidden) why philosophers were lead to seek out other arguments proving the
immortality of the soul.'(Dizionario di Filosofia, p.471.)
[28] Paris Talks, p.89. It is the
ancient, recurring argument called consensus gentium (general consent),
set forth by Cicero in his Tusculanae Disputationes.
29 Gleanings, p.158.
[30] Paris Talks, p.93.
[31] Divine Philosophy, p.119. The
argument of the consensus becomes more pregnant, when that
consensus is not given by common people, but by such authorities as the
Manifestations of God.
[32] Some Answered Questions,
pp.115-16.
[33] Gleanings, pp.160, 182.
[34] `Survival and Salvation', in Star of
the West, VII, p.190.
[35] Promulgation, 421.
[36] `Survival and Salvation', in Star of
the West, VII, p.190.
[37] Some Answered Questions, p.239. It
seems that `Abdu'l-Bahá gives to the word `substance', in this
statement, the Aristotelian meaning: that which necessarily is what it is.
[38] `Survival and Salavation', in Star of
the West, I, p.190. Essence, in this statement, seems accepted in its
meaning of `necessary essence', i.e. `substance.'
[39] Promulgation, p.464.
[40] Quoted in M. M. Rabb, `The Divine Art of
Living', in Star of the West, VII, p.151.
[41] Paris Talks, p.25.
[42] Quoted in `Studies in Immortality', in
Star of the West, XIV, p.8.
[43] Promulgation, p.60.
[44] `Survival and Salvation', in Star of
the West, I, p.190.
[45] Promulgation, p.60.
[46] Tablets, p.611.
[47] ibid. p.591.
[48] Promulgation, pp.464-5. The word
`form' here refers to an immaterial reality; it is not therefore used - it
seems - in its Aristotelian meaning of `substance of things which are possessed
of matter', but in its Scholastic meaning of `necessary essence, or substantial
principle which characterizes a being and determines its specific nature'.'
(See N. Abbagnano, Dizionario di Filosofia, pp.145-7.)
[49] Promulgation, pp.465, 258. The
Bahá'í texts attach the greatest importance to human
consciousness; however, consciousness is viewed as one of the divine qualities
of human soul and not as its essence, such as in the case of certain modern
philosophers. In the Bahá'í texts, the greatest importance is
attached also to love and will.
[50] Kitáb-i-Íqán,
p.101.
[51] Promulgation, pp.418, 239, 464.
For an interesting discussion of this topic See W. S. Hatcher, `The
Concept of Spirituality', in Bahá'í Studies, XI, pp.19-23.
He says: `A close examination of the psychology of the spiritual growth process
as presented in the Bahá'í writings indicates that the proper and
harmonious functioning of our basic spiritual capacities depends on recognizing
a hierarchical relationship among them. At the apex of this hierarchy is the
knowing capacity.' And he supports his statement quoting passages from the
Bahá'í texts. Then he writes: `In the above passages and in many
others not quoted, the hierarchical ordering of spiritual faculties is the
same: Knowledge leads to love which generates the courage to act (i.e., faith)
which forms the basis of the intention to act (i.e., motive and good will)
which in turn leads to action itself (i.e., good deeds.) Of course, the
knowledge which starts this psycho-spiritual chain reaction is not just any
kind of knowledge, but the knowledge of God which is equivalent to true
self-knowledge.' (ibid. pp.19-20.)
[52] Gleanings, pp.160, 191.
[53] Promulgation, pp.286, 239.
[54] Epistle, p.112.
[55] Selections, p.167.
[56] `Survival and Salvation', in Star of
the West, VII, p.190.
[57] Some Answered Questions, p.196.
[58] Promulgation, pp.418, 69, 303.
59 Gleanings, p.160.
[60] Promulgation, pp.285, 85.
Bahá'u'lláh writes that for every man God `poureth forth'
a `share of the flood of grace' and then He adds: `Let none,
therefore, consider the largeness or smallness of the receptacle. The portion
of some might lie in the palm of a man's hand, the portion of others might fill
a cup, and of others even a gallon-measure.' Gleanings, p.8.)
Elsewhere He writes: `Unto each one hath been prescribed a pre-ordained
measure....' (ibid. p.149.)
[61] Gleanings, p.194.
[62] Promulgation, p.377.
[63] Gleanings, p.160.
[64] Divine Philosophy, p.127.
[65] Promulgation, pp.335, 70.
[66] ibid. Pp.85, 24.
[67] Some Answered Questions, p.212.
[68] Promulgation, pp.293, 378.
[69] `Recent Tablets to Baháis
in America', in Star of the West, II, p.58. Bahá'u'lláh
writes: `All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested
only as a result of your own volition.'(Gleanings, p.149)
[70] Promulgation, p.70.
[71] Divine Philosophy, p.129.
[72] As to the topic of self-realization,
See W.S. Hatcher, `The Concept of Spirituality', in
Bahá'í Studies, XI. See moreover D.C. Jordan,
Becoming Your True Self: The Meaning of Deepening.
[73] `The Federation of the World', in Star
of the West, XIV, p.297.
[74] Divine Philosophy, pp.127, 128.
[75] Quoted in `Studies in Immortality', in
Star of the West, XIV, p.8.
[76] Gleanings, p.159.
[77] Tablets, p.611.
[78] Promulgation, p.464.
[79] Divine Philosophy, p.130.
[80] Selections, p.288.
[81] Divine Philosophy, pp.129, 128,
114. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `He [man] has the innate character, the
inherited character, and the acquired character which is gained by education.
`With regard to innate character, although the divine creation is purely good,
yet the varieties of natural qualities in man come from the difference of
degree; all are excellent, but they are more or less so, according to the
degree...
`The variety of inherited qualities comes from strength and weakness of
constitution - that is to say, when the two parents are weak, the children will
be weak; if they are strong, the children will be robust...
`But the difference of the qualities with regard to culture is very great, for
education has great influence...Education has a universal influence, and the
differences caused by it are very great.'(Some Answered Questions,
pp.212-4.)
Therefore, in the Bahá'í view, individual characters depend on
the interaction of those three factors and on the efforts exerted so that those
God-given qualities (innate character and inherited qualities) may be mirrored
forth in the plane of concrete reality, under the particular circumstances
allotted by God Himself (characters acquired from education.) Since those
efforts are conscious and voluntary, (See above pp.190-6, 265-70 and
below pp.331-5), each individual is responsible of his own personality under
his own particular circumstances.
[82] Quoted in `Studies in Immortality', in
Star of the West, V, p.8.
[83] Gleanings, p.164.
[84] `Survival and Salvation', in Star of
the West, VII, p.190.
[85] Some Answered Questions, p.144.
[86] Promulgation, p.59.
[87] Some Answered Questions, p.201.
[88] Promulgation, p.293.
[89] Bahá'u'lláh writes: `The
soul of man should be likened unto this sun, and all things on earth should be
regarded as his body...The soul of man is the sun by which his body is
illumined, and from which it draweth its sustenance, and should be so
regarded.' (Gleanings pp.154-5.)
[90] Quoted in `Studies in Immortality', in
Star of the West, IV, p.37.
[91] Promulgation, pp.259, 416.
[92] Divine Philosophy, p.123.
[93] Paris Talks, p.98.
[94] Tablets, p.611.
[95] Gleanings, pp 154, 164.
96 Tablets, p.611.
[97] Paris Talks, p.86.
[98] See also H.A. Weil, Closer than
your Life Vein, pp.42-70.
99 `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel', in Bahá'í World,
XV, p.38.
100 Tablets, p.611.
[101] ibid. pp.39-40.
[102] Selections, p.48.
[103] Paris Talks, p.86.
104 Tablets, p.309.
[105] Some Answered Questions,
p.210.
[106] This concept deserves further
discussions and studies in the light of the concept of the spiritual nature of
man. Then many aspects of human behaviours and neurosis will be better
understood, and more effective ways of curing and preventing the so called
psychosomatic diseases will be discovered. See H.B. Danesh, `Health and
Healing', in World Order, III, no. 3, p.15.
[107] Promulgation, p.157.
[108] Gleanings, p.65.
[109] See Some Answered Questions,
pp.300-305. For an interesting exposition of these three fundamental spiritual
powers of man, See W.S. Hatcher, `The Concept of Spirituality', in
Bahá'í Studies, XI, pp.19-23.
As to these attributes - knowledge, love and will - as expressed in the act of
creation, see above pp.75-6.
[110] Some Answered Questions,
p.277.
[111] See Some Answered Questions,
p.227; Promulgation, pp.86, 90; Paris Talks, p.86.
[112] Promulgation, pp.357, 417.
[113] Some Answered Questions,
p.227.
[114] Promulgation, p.325.
[115] Some Answered Questions,
p.157.
[116] Selections, p.155.
[117] Promulgation, p.357.
[118] Quoted in `Studies in Immortality', in
Star of the West. IV, p.8.
[119] Promulgation, p.417.
[120] Quoted in M.M. Rabb, `The Divine Art
of Living', in Star of the West, VIII, p.230.
[121] Selections, p.159.
[122] Promulgation, pp.357, 417.
[123] Selections, pp.170.
124 `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel', in Bahá'í World,
XV, p.38.
[125] Some Answered Questions,
p.210.
[126] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel', in
Bahá'í World, XV, p.38.
127 Tablets, p.611.
[128] Some Answered Questions,
p.209.
[129] Divine Philosophy, p.92.
[130] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel', in
Bahá'í World, XV, p.38.
131 Selections, p.170.
[132] Some Answered Questions,
p.208.
[133] Promulgation, p.325.
134 ibid.
[135] Some Answered Questions,
p.157.
[136] `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `He has
given us material gifts and spiritual graces, outer sight to view the lights of
the sun and inner vision by which we may perceive the glory of God. He has
designed the outer ear to enjoy the melodies of sound and the inner hearing
wherewith we may hear the voice of our Creator.'(Promulgation, p.90.)
[137] See Promulgation, pp.187, 270.
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes moreover: `...the sight of the heart is
illumined. It discerneth and discovereth the divine Kingdom. It is everlasting
and eternal.' (Selections, pp.37-8.)
For a preliminary study of the knowledge of the heart, see J. McLean,
`The Knowledge of God: An Essay on Bahá'í Epistemology', in
World Order, XII, no. 3, p.3; A. Bausani, `Cuore, cervello, mistica,
religione', in Opinioni Bahá'í, II, no. 1, p.5.
The word intuition has its etymology in the locution intus ire, to go
inside. It suggests therefore a kind of knowledge which goes beyond the
surface, or the qualities of things, reaching to the core, or essence. Insight
means to see inside.
[138] Some Answered Questions,
p.157.
[139] For the concept of insight, See
above pp.4-5, 135-6, 139-40.
[140] Paris Talks, p.97.
[141] ibid. p.175. As to the concept of
meditation, see above pp.120, 121. 153.
[142] Selections, pp.160, 164.
[143] Tablets, p.706.
[144] See H.A. Weil, Closer Than
Your Life Vein, pp.48-55.
[145] Paris Talks, p.174.
[146] `Abdu'l-Bahá delivered a very
interesting speech on the topic of intuition, which is recorded in the
collection of His French talks. See Paris Talks, pp.173-6.
[147] Promulgation, pp.258, 17, 58,
51, 178.
[148] See Promulgation, pp.17, 30,
58, 61, 173, 177, 241, 332. As to the differences between men and animals,
see above pp.63-4.
[149] Paris Talks, p.85.
[150] Promulgation, pp.291, 293, 63,
312-3, 316. Bahá'u'lláh writes: `This gift giveth man the
power to discern the truth in all things.'(Gleanings p.94.)
[151] Promulgation, p.48.
[152] ibid. p.61.
[153] Some Answered Questions, p.250.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `This gift [consciousness]
...leadeth him to that which is right.'(Gleanings, p.194.)
[154]Divine Philosophy, p.117.
[155] `Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted in M.M.
Rabb, The Divine Art of Living' in Star of the West, VII, p.161.
[156] Hidden Words, Persian, no.
19.
[157] Promulgation, p.255.
[158] Paris Talks, p.180.
[159] Selections, pp.63, 189, 35.
[160] Promulgation, p.255.
[161] `Abdu'l-Bahá says also that men
are possessed of `...spiritual instinct, surely never given in vain.' (Paris
Talks, p.90.)
[162] This process is one of the expressions
of a fundamental condition in the world of existence: the previously mentioned
process of `demand' and `supply' (Promulgation, p.83) which in man, a
conscious being, expresses itself as the process of joy and pain. See
above pp.86-7.
From the cognitive sphere we have thus come to the affective sphere. First, man
knows and understands reality. Then he feels the attraction towards reality and
becomes conscious of his own relation to it: he feels attracted to or rejected
by it; he loves or hates it; he receives from it joy or pain. The soul is
originally attracted towards such aspects of reality as it is in need of. Such
a need is felt by the soul as a pain, which continues until the need is
satisfied.
This capacity is expressed in the human body as sensitivity to pain, one of the
most important instruments for the protection of physical integrity. Congenital
agnosia to pain is a very dangerous condition: anyone affected by it may be
horribly mutilated, without being aware of it.
[163] Quoted in M.M. Rabb, `The Divine Art
of Living', in Star of the West VIII, 230.
[164] Paris Talks, p.65.
[165] Divine Philosophy,
pp.129-30.
[166] Selections, p.190,
[167] Promulgation, p.53.
[168] ibid. pp.204-5.
[169] Bahá'u'lláh writes,
alluding to the prevailing irreligion of our times: `In this day the tastes
of men have changed, and their power of perception hath altered. The contrary
winds of the world, and its colours, have provoked a cold, and deprived men's
nostrils of the sweet savours of Revelation.' (Bahá'u'lláh,
quoted in Shoghi Effendi, Promised Day, p.119.)
[170] Tablets, p.63.
[171] Secret of Divine Civilization,
pp.97-8.
[172] Paris Talks, p.179.
[173] Seven Valleys, pp.8, 10.
[174] Promulgation, p.234.
[175] Selections, p.108.
[176] Seven Valleys, pp.55, 9.
[177] Seven Valleys, pp.49, 53.
[178] Some Answered Questions,
p.230.
[179] Gleanings, p.341.
[180] Quoted in Studies in Immortality', in
Star of the West, XIV, p.8.
[181] Gleanings, p.149.
[182] Some Answered Questions,
248.
[183] Quoted in J.M. Grundy, Ten Days in
the Light of `Akká, p.6.
[184] Some Answered Questions,
pp.249-50.
[185] Bahá'í Prayers,
pp.80-81.
[186] Selections, p.51.
[187] Promulgation, p.83.
[188] Tablets, p.178.
[189] Paris Talks, p.180.
[190] Divine Philosophy, p.133.
`Abdu'l-Bahá says: `...the heart must have some attachment.'(ibid.
p.133.)
[191] Tablets, p.549.
[192] Paris Talks, p.180.
[193] Gleanings, pp.81, 262.
[194] Promulgation, pp.90-1.
[195] Divine Philosophy, p.114.
[196] It is vitally important that the soul
act in conformity with what it understands and its chosen attraction.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `The first and foremost duty prescribed
unto men, next to the recognition of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, is the duty
of steadfastness in His Cause.'(Gleanings,p.290.) In this regard
`Abdu'l-Bahá wrote, praising a group of believers: `[they] remain
steadfast under all conditions, neither at the first sign of trouble do their
footsteps slip. They are not changeable, playing fast and lose with some
project and soon giving it up. They do not, for some trivial reason, fail in
enthusiasm and zeal, their interest gone. No, in all they do they are stable,
rock solid and staunch.'(Selections, p.219.)
[197] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel', in
Bahá'í World, XV, p.38.
[198] Gleanings, p.150.
[199] Feed-back or retroaction is a process
through which in a given system, if A influences B, any variation produced by A
in B in its turn modifies A in its acting upon B.
[200] For an explanation of this concept,
See Some Answered Questions, pp.300-305. See above pp.72-3,
155.
[201] Paris Talks, p.180.
202 Tablets, p.459.
[203] Paris Talks, p.85.
[204] Quoted in Peace (comp.),
p.13.
[205] Selections, p.28.
[206] N. Abbagnano, Storia della
Filosofia, p.70. This Socratic concept is expounded in Plato's
Protagoras.
[207] Paris Talks, p.41.
[208] Selections, p.288.
[209] ibid. pp.242, 205.
[210] Matt. 8:22. The same concept is
explained also in a famous Islamic tradition, mentioned by
Bahá'u'lláh in His Kitáb-i-Íqán:
`... two of the people of Kúfih went to `Alí, the Commander of
the Faithful. One owned a house and wished to sell it; the other was to be the
purchaser. They had agreed that this transaction should be effected and the
contract be written with the knowledge of `Alí. He, the exponent of the
law of God, addressing the scribe, said: "Write thou: A dead man hath bought
from another dead man a house. That house is bounded by four limits. One
extendeth toward the tomb, the other to the vault of the grave, the third to
the Sirát, the fourth to either Paradise or hell".' (p.119.)
[211] Seven Valleys, pp.4, 5.
[212] See H.A. Weil, Closer than
your Life Vein, pp.58-60.
[213] Selections, p.171.
214 Bahá'u'lláh mentions in His
Kitáb-i-Íqán a divine knowledge and a Satanic
knowledge. See above, p.13 and no.64.
[215] Tablets, p.35.
[216] ibid. p.706.
[217] Selections, p.191.
[218] Nabíl-i-A'zam, The
Dawn-Breakers, p.92.
[219] Gleanings, p.289.
[220] Quoted in M.M. Rabb, `The Divine Art
of Living', in Star of the West, VII, p.187.
[221] Quoted in `A Fortune That Bestows
Eternal Happiness', in Star of the West, XIII, p.103.
[222] Quoted in `Capacity and Spiritual
Revelation', in Star of the West, XIII, p.214.
[223] Quoted in `A Fortune That Bestows
Eternal Happiness', in Star of the West, XIII, p.103.
[224] Quoted in `From the Unpublished Diary
of Ahmad Sohrab', in Star of the West, XIII, p.153.
[225] Quoted in M.M. Rabb, `The Divine Art
of Living', in Star of the West, VII, p.163.
226 Promulgation, p.185.
[227] Quoted in M.M. Rabb, `The Divine Art
of Living', in Star of the West, VII, p.161.
[228] Divine Philosophy, p.98.
[229] Promulgation, p.60.
[230] Tablets, p.173.
[231]
Kitáb-i-Íqán, p.193.
[232] Tablets, pp.188-9, 173.
[233] Gleanings, p.304.
[234] Tablets, p.143.
235 Quoted in The Heaven of Divine Wisdom
(comp.), pp.5, 1, 5. For a discussion of the topic of consultation see
The Heaven of Divine Wisdom. A Compilation; J.E. Kolstoe, Consultation:
A Universal Lamp of Guidance.
The main characteristics of consultation are thus epitomized in a recent paper
written by Dr H.B. Danesh:
`a) The main goal of consultation is to increase the level of unity, harmony
and understanding among the participants...
`b) The most important objective of consultation is to act with justice so that
the rights of every person affected by the decision are safeguarded...
`c) The most essential tools for consultation are frankness and openness, on
the one hand, and mutual respect and trust, on the other...
`d) All ideas, once expressed in the course of consultation, become the
property of the communicating group and not of the individual who initially
expressed the idea.' (H.B. Danesh, `Conflict-free Conflict Resolution'.
Unpublished.)
[236] Some Answered Questions,
p.200.
[237] Promulgation, pp.294, 336,
294.
[238] Bahá'u'lláh, Hidden
Words, Persian, no. 29.
[239] Quoted in R. A. Nicholson, Selected
Poems from the Divan Shamsi Tabrizi, p.5.
[240] Seven Valleys, p.54.
[241] Quoted in Nicholson, Selected
Poems, pp.71-3.
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