Month: May 2019

The Reality of All Things

Published May 31, 2019 by admin

In the early period of Baha’u’llah’s revelation, as He was educating the community the Bab had left him to mold, Baha’u’llah began the process of unfolding the spiritual and social teachings of His message with the revelation of a small book of short aphorisms known as the “Hidden Words”. Hailed by Baha’u’llah as the “inner essence” of the revelations of God from the past, the work can be thought of as Baha’u’llah’s Revelation in the form of a seed that would then unfold over the next few decades as a full tree. The Voice of God is the author, who speaks directly to the human heart, in a sublime and intimate manner. Though initially the language and form may seem different, when you ponder upon its meanings, spiritual insights unfold before you. At no time in the history of religion has God spoken to humanity with more intimacy, as a lover speaking to his beloved.

O Son of Man! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.

O Son of Man! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.

‘Abdu’l-Baha’, Baha’u’llah’s son, described divine revelation as the “essential connection that proceeds from the reality of all things”. Within the Hidden Words, Baha’u’llah is revealing to us our true natures, as well as the nature of the world, and the truths that we need to appreciate in order to fully thrive as human beings. As the passages above suggest, humans are not only fundamentally spiritual but have been brought into being to fulfill a fundamentally exalted purpose.

O SON OF SPIRIT! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.

Again and again, the Voice of God urges us to pull ourselves up out of our limited conceptions- filled with existential doubt about the true purpose of our lives- to see ourselves and the world in its true and glorious dimension.

O FLEETING SHADOW! Pass beyond the baser stages of doubt and rise to the exalted heights of certainty. Open the eye of truth, that thou mayest behold the veilless Beauty and exclaim: Hallowed be the Lord, the most excellent of all creators!

O MOVING FORM OF DUST! I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me. The sword of thy rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee, yet boundless shame thou hast chosen for thyself. While there is yet time, return, and lose not thy chance.

The Voice of God even pines away for us, sad that we have not risen to our true destiny, that of being an intimate lover of God.

O SON OF DUST! All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame.

This idea that we have given our heart to another, when our inmost hearts true desire is to be united with its spiritual Beloved is extraordinarily powerful and beautiful. But who or what have we given our heart to, instead of to God? Baha’u’llah teaches us that it is our “worldly affections”, our attachments to money, wealth, power, and ego, that keep us from finding our true selves and the Beloved within us.

O BEFRIENDED STRANGER! The candle of thine heart is lighted by the hand of My power, quench it not with the contrary winds of self and passion. The healer of all thine ills is remembrance of Me, forget it not. Make My love thy treasure and cherish it even as thy very sight and life.

ALAS! ALAS! O LOVERS OF WORLDLY DESIRE! Even as the swiftness of lightning ye have passed by the Beloved One, and have set your hearts on satanic fancies. Ye bow the knee before your vain imagining, and call it truth. Ye turn your eyes towards the thorn, and name it a flower. Not a pure breath have ye breathed, nor hath the breeze of detachment been wafted from the meadows of your hearts. Ye have cast to the winds the loving counsels of the Beloved and have effaced them utterly from the tablet of your hearts, and even as the beasts of the field, ye move and have your being within the pastures of desire and passion.

There is an extraordinarily profound reality at the root of all this. Baha’u’llah is telling us that this journey we are all on called “life” is really fundamentally a moral and spiritual journey in which the destination is to ultimately find our true Beloved within us. The ramifications of this perspective are so far reaching that it’s impossible to go into all its aspects. Suffice it to say that every difficulty we face in life, and every bounty, is actually truly valuable to the degree that it moves us forward or backward along this spiritual journey.

Take, for instance, the idea of wealth. People go through great efforts to acquire wealth, often making it the object and purpose of nearly every waking moment. But what value does wealth really have, when framed within the reality of the spiritual journey we are all on?

O SON OF MAN! Thou dost wish for gold and I desire thy freedom from it. Thou thinkest thyself rich in its possession, and I recognize thy wealth in thy sanctity therefrom. By My life! This is My knowledge, and that is thy fancy; how can My way accord with thine?

In a later passage, Baha’u’llah will tell us that wealth is only truly valuable to people who have reached spiritual maturity, who see wealth as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. When complexed with the love of God, wealth can be a wonderful thing as people with spiritual maturity use it to benefit of others.

O MY SERVANT! The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds.

Well is it then with him, who, being rich, is not hindered by his riches from the eternal kingdom, nor deprived by them of imperishable dominion. By the Most Great Name! The splendor of such a wealthy man shall illuminate the dwellers of heaven even as the sun enlightens the people of the earth!

The extremes of wealth and poverty we see in our world are really the expression of a fundamental ignorance about the true value of wealth. Those who hoard it to a degree far beyond their means are really expressing a form of ignorance, as the wealth will ultimately become a major barrier in their own spiritual progress.

O CHILDREN OF DUST! Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth. To give and to be generous are attributes of Mine; well is it with him that adorneth himself with My virtues.

Note in this passage it’s not that we should “tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor” to relieve the plight of the poor, but the wealthy! They are the ones on the “path of destruction” because they are at risk for over-valuing their wealth and not developing their inner resources.

O SON OF MAN! Bestow My wealth upon My poor, that in heaven thou mayest draw from stores of unfading splendor and treasures of imperishable glory. But by My life! To offer up thy soul is a more glorious thing couldst thou but see with Mine eye.

The theme of the reality of our spiritual journey as human beings will course throughout Baha’u’llah’s revelation. People who thirst for power, wealth, and influence will be portrayed as “ignorant”, victims of their own “idle fancies” and “vain imaginings”- ideas that only serve to feed our egos but are out of step with the underlying spiritual truths at the root of all reality. These “veils” have imprisoned them within their own conceptions. Baha’u’llah consistently, throughout the Hidden Words, implores us to listen to His Voice, and put aside those shadowy voices within us that are expressions of ignorance.

O SON OF DUST! Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears, that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself of all learning, that thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and sanctify thyself from riches, that thou mayest obtain a lasting share from the ocean of My eternal wealth. Blind thine eyes, that is, to all save My beauty; stop thine ears to all save My word; empty thyself of all learning save the knowledge of Me; that with a clear vision, a pure heart and an attentive ear thou mayest enter the court of My holiness.

The Hidden Words also lays the spiritual foundations of many of the social concepts that Baha’u’llah would later reveal in more detail, and ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ would further explain in his writings and talks in the West.

For instance, the second Hidden Word counsels us about justice.

O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.

Note that Baha’u’llah is not only describing our typical sense of justice, as reflected in our legal system or the “rule of law’, although that sense of justice is undoubtedly part of it, but also about independence of mind and spirit- that we should look at things with our own eyes, know of our own knowledge and not be blind followers of others. That sense of justice, of fair-mindedness, of independent truth seeking, is God’s “best beloved”. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ would later describe this as the principle of “independent investigation of truth” and he would say that blindly following tradition or one’s impressions without investigation it is at the root of all prejudice, and thus the cause of great and needless division in the world.

The distinctive teaching of Baha’u’llah’s revelation is the oneness of humanity. This will later be described as “the pivot around which all the teachings of Baha’u’llah revolve”. It’s far reaching implications, in our social and political systems, as well as in our daily lives and efforts will be developed more fully in both Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Writings, as well as later those of Shoghi Effendi, who led the Faith until the Universal House of Justice was elected in 1963.

But even that concept follows from a fundamental spiritual reality expressed in the Hidden Words- that human beings are fundamentally all one.

O CHILDREN OF MEN! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory.

The concept of the oneness of humanity also flows from the fact that all human beings were created out of love- “I loved thy creation, hence I created thee”. All human beings are therefore loved, intimately and personally loved, by their Creator. Moreover, we have been created for a noble purpose- “Noble have I created thee”. These are foundational ideas about human nature with extended social implications. Because love is a universal reality that extends to all humanity, no limits should be placed on its application- “It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” God’s love is the basis of the concept of the oneness of humanity, and our love for God is the energy we can draw upon to actualize a love of all humanity, irrespective of their differences from us in terms of culture and habit.

O SON OF MAN! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me.

Baha’u’llah would found all his social teachings on spiritual roots. In another instance, Baha’u’llah prohibits slavery as being against the law of God and expressed that “It is not for him who is himself a servant to buy another of God’s servants, and this hath been prohibited in His Holy Tablet. Thus, by His mercy, hath the commandment been recorded by the Pen of justice. Let no man exalt himself above another; all are but bondslaves before the Lord, and all exemplify the truth that there is none other God but Him. He, verily, is the All-Wise, Whose wisdom encompasseth all things.”. The prohibition of slavery extended from a spiritual truth at the root of our reality- that we are created from love in a state of servitude to God- to a social and political teaching- that slavery must be abolished.

Unlike the various social thinkers of the 19th century or since, the principles of Baha’u’llah’s revelation all spring from spiritual roots, truths that well-up from the underlying reality of the world. Baha’u’llah taught that that reality, and the reality of our consciousness, is ultimately and fundamentally spiritual, where the greatest commodity to own is virtue and authentic character. Therefore, as much as civil liberties and secular equalities are valuable in their own right, the true and lasting basis of human civilization is the upliftment of human beings to their natural state of nobility and goodness, which will then flow out in many directions in the improvement of our world materially and socially.

As noted above, Baha’u’llah described the Hidden Words as the “inner essence” of the Revelations of the past. It’s worth citing the entire preamble-

This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the gem of divine virtue.

Baha’u’llah’s teaching about religion is that each revelation of God has two aspects- an inner changeless aspect, and an outer form that varies from age to age depending on humanity’s circumstances and maturity. The inner aspect is expressed in the Hidden Words and everyone- of whatever faith- will hear echoes of their own religion within them. These are the changeless principles of God- the foundation of true civilization.

Baha’u’llah will later encourage people of all faiths to look at the inner essence of their religion, abandon the traditions, forms, and structures that have build up over the centuries, and see the law and teachings of God as one Reality.

O contending peoples and kindreds of the earth! Set your faces towards unity, and let the radiance of its light shine upon you. Gather ye together, and for the sake of God resolve to root out whatever is the source of contention amongst you. ..There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you. This, verily, is the most exalted Word which the Mother Book hath sent down and revealed unto you. To this beareth witness the Tongue of Grandeur from His habitation of glory.

Religion itself, at its root, is the “essential connection that proceeds from the reality of all things”. Humanity has covered up that reality in ceremonies, traditions, and dogmas that make religion- the expression of the fundamental reality at the root of all things- seem even irrational. The solution is to turn to the root of faith, those truths that are at the heart of every religion, and see them as the expression of one Reality, and use that as a further basis to establish the oneness of humanity on a sure foundation.

The social teachings that Baha’u’llah will subsequently reveal build on this foundation. As humanity has evolved socially and politically, it has greater capacity to express spiritual truths in social structures. For instance, it has always been true that all humanity are servants of one God, but we have now evolved where we can recognize that and eliminate slavery as a fundamental contradiction to that reality. The same is true for the social equality of women. As humanity now has greater socio-economic capacity, the possibilities for women greatly expand. Baha’u’llah says that “women and men have always been equal in the sight of God” but now that our social and economic structures have evolved, we can now see that expressed fully in society.

In summary, the Hidden Words and Baha’u’llah’s revelation teaches us that the spiritual truths at the heart of all religion and all civilization are fundamentally one, but that it is us that changes. As we change and evolve, we have greater capacity to manifest those truths in our social structures. Baha’u’llah’s social teaching can thereby be seen as simply a further manifestation of the spiritual and moral truths at the heart of every religion.

With those introductory thoughts, we will turn in the next installment to some of more specific social teachings that are part of God’s “divine prescription” for our time in history.

Photo is of the Chilean Baha’i House of Worship and is courtesy of Baha’i Blog.

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Introducing the Speaker

Introducing the Speaker

Published May 28, 2019 by admin

We are going to conclude the short series of introductory essays on the Baha’i Faith and the Revelation of Baha’u’llah with several installments that outline the basic social and spiritual teachings Baha’u’llah proclaimed to “save the world”. These ideas are as relevant and compelling now as they were when they were first enunciated. Baha’u’llah came in the 19th century, a century rife with paralyzing divisions, but also a time of immense potential and transformation. Most of the basis of our modern civilization was laid or solidified in that century. It was also the century in which a rich and beautiful new revelation of God unfolded itself before humanity.

Whenever someone gives a talk, at an academic conference or other settings, there is invariably a host who first welcomes everyone and then introduces the speaker. Oftentimes, these introductions take the form of reciting the speaker’s accomplishments, titles, and so forth- reasons that they are particularly worthy to give such a presentation. Ultimately, the introduction is intended to convince you that you should pay attention to the speaker and the content they will deliver.

When a new Manifestation of God comes into the world, they are often devoid of any of the “worldly titles” that tend to draw peoples attention. Imagine if we were to introduce Christ to an audience of his contemporaries. We would have nothing to say of His worldly titles. He was not rich or known to have scholastic accomplishments. He didn’t write a book or lead an army. There was nothing to acclaim His message except the power and truth of His own words. This was true of every Manifestation of God we know of. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’, Baha’u’llah’s son, once wrote that the Manifestations of God come into the world “dressed in nothing but their own poverty”.

The host who introduced Baha’u’llah to the world was the herald-prophet known as the “The Báb”- a 26 yo merchant from Shiraz Iran, who, without any theological training or accomplishment, turned his country on end with His claim to be a Prophet of God. The Báb’s story is absolutely fascinating. In His early teachings, He presented his religion within the context of the theological world view of the time. Once he had gained an audience, numbering thousands of people, many of whom were so attracted to him that they would willingly give their lives, He pivoted all his teachings to the One who would come after Him. His later writings are a single song of praise for the Manifestation of God who would soon come into the world and transform our conceptions radically. Once He had the attention of an entire country, he funneled it all to the transformative figure he was sent to herald- Baha’u’llah.

The Báb was introducing the speaker. He was telling us why we should pay attention- who the Speaker was in relation to us and to Him. He did that through theological and philosophical explanation, but also through some truly remarkable passages, like this one-

When the Day-Star of Bahá will shine resplendent above the horizon of eternity it is incumbent upon you to present yourselves before His Throne. Beware lest ye be seated in His presence or ask questions without His leave….Ye have, one and all, been called into being to seek His presence and to attain that exalted and glorious station. Indeed, He will send down from the heaven of His mercy that which will benefit you, and whatever is graciously vouchsafed by Him shall enable you to dispense with all mankind. Verily on that Day the learning of the learned shall prove of no avail, neither the accomplishments of the exponents of knowledge, nor the pomp of the highly honoured, nor the power of the mighty, nor the remembrance of the devout, nor the deeds of the righteous, nor the genuflexion of the kneeling worshipper, nor his prostration or turning towards the Qiblih, nor the honour of the honoured, nor the kinship of the highly born, nor the nobility of those of noble descent, nor the discourse of the eloquent, nor the titles of the prominent—none of these shall be of any avail unto them—inasmuch as all these and whatever else ye have known or comprehended were created by His word of command ‘Be’ and it is.

The Báb was executed by the Persian authorities, at the behest of the clergy, because his movement was thought to be a threat to the government, despite the fact that the Báb had written Tablets to the King emphasizing that He had no desire for worldly leadership. His mission was only to prepare the way for the One who would come after. On the eve of His death, He revealed passages such as this one-

I, verily, have not fallen short of My duty to admonish that people, and to devise means whereby they may turn towards God, their Lord, and believe in God, their Creator. If, on the day of His Revelation, all that are on earth bear Him allegiance, Mine inmost being will rejoice, inasmuch as all will have attained the summit of their existence, and will have been brought face to face with their Beloved, and will have recognized, to the fullest extent attainable in the world of being, the splendour of Him Who is the Desire of their hearts. If not, My soul will indeed be saddened. I truly have nurtured all things for this purpose. How, then, can anyone be veiled from Him? For this have I called upon God, and will continue to call upon Him. He, verily, is nigh, ready to answer.

Nineteen years after the Báb had initiated His movement, Baha’u’llah formally declared Himself to be the Promise the Báb had foretold. As a result of the Báb’s teaching, most of His followers almost immediately accepted Baha’u’llah and He molded that community into a new creation over the ensuing decades of His Revelation. In place of division and discord, he taught them to be united. Whole communities of Jews and Zoroastrians became Baha’is, and together with former Muslims, they would meet in secret to study the new Word of God and implement it in their families and communities. People who would normally not even associate in public life were now meeting together in secret, offering their possessions and even their lives for each other.

While Baha’u’llah was molding the new community internally, He simultaneously announced His mission and teachings to the rest of humanity with Tablets and Letters to every significant government and religious authority on the planet. These “Tablets to the Kings” form the proclamation of Baha’u’llah, both announcing the new Revelation, but also providing an overview of the social teachings that would underly His Revelation and unfold in more detail in the ensuing decades. Like the passages from the Báb, the Tablets to the Kings contain equally compelling statements of divine authority-

Ye are but vassals, O Kings of the earth! He Who is the King of kings hath appeared, arrayed in His most wondrous glory, and is summoning you unto Himself, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Take heed lest pride deter you from recognizing the Source of Revelation; lest the things of this world shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is the Creator of heaven. Arise, and serve Him Who is the Desire of all nations, Who hath created you through a word from Him, and ordained you to be, for all time, the emblems of His sovereignty.

For many who have come from Christian backgrounds, reading the passages addressed to Christians is eye-opening, as they clearly demonstrate the remarkable and compelling nature of His claim.

O people of the Gospel! They who were not in the Kingdom have now entered it, whilst We behold you, in this day, tarrying at the gate. Rend the veils asunder by the power of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous, and enter, then, in My name My Kingdom. Thus biddeth you He Who desireth for you everlasting life… We behold you, O children of the Kingdom, in darkness. This, verily, beseemeth you not. Verily, He (Jesus) said: ‘Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.’ In this day, however, We say: ‘Come ye after Me, that We may make you to become quickeners of mankind.’

In this next passage, Baha’u’llah abolishes monasticism and priesthood! He then states that confessions of sins before human beings is no longer permitted.

The pious deeds of the monks and priests among the followers of the Spirit (Christ)…are remembered in His presence. In this Day, however, let them give up the life of seclusion and direct their steps towards the open world and busy themselves with that which will profit themselves and others. We have granted them leave to enter into wedlock that they may bring forth one who will make mention of God, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of the Exalted Throne.

When the sinner findeth himself wholly detached and freed from all save God, he should beg forgiveness and pardon from Him. Confession of sins and transgressions before human beings is not permissible, as it hath never been nor will ever be conducive to divine forgiveness. Moreover such confession before people results in one’s humiliation and abasement, and God—exalted be His glory—wisheth not the humiliation of His servants. Verily He is the Compassionate, the Merciful.

We don’t cite these passages to be controversial, but to truthfully state the extraordinary claims of Baha’u’llah as He Himself enunciated them. He spoke with the Voice of God throughout His Revelation, with a compelling and powerful tone. It is the combination of those extraordinary claims with the simultaneous reasonability, coherence, and uplifting nature of his teachings that makes Baha’u’llah so intriguing to any reflective reader.

After Baha’u’llah, his son ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ would then come to North America and Europe, where he would further expand on Baha’u’llah’s teachings to a Western audience. In churches and synagogues, philosophical societies and social organizations, ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ proclaimed the oneness of humanity, encouraged the investigation of truth so that humanity would no longer be fettered by the prejudices of the past, and outlined with more specifics Baha’u’llah’s teachings. Taken all together, these represent God’s “divine prescription” for how we can save our world. Baha’u’llah described himself as a “physician” prescribing a remedy.

The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements…We can well perceive how the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable afflictions. We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and disillusioned. They that are intoxicated by self-conceit have interposed themselves between it and the Divine and infallible Physician…Incline your ears to the sweet melody of this Prisoner. Arise, and lift up your voices, that haply they that are fast asleep may be awakened. Say: O ye who are as dead! The Hand of Divine bounty proffereth unto you the Water of Life. Hasten and drink your fill. Whoso hath been re-born in this Day, shall never die; whoso remaineth dead, shall never live.

This “divine prescription” contained remarkable elements, elements that were not traditionally associated with religion but Baha’u’llah proclaimed were essential to the peace of the world. Among them were universal education, reduction of the extremes of wealth and poverty, the education of women and full participation in the functions of society, the investigation of truth with an open and unbiased mind- a mind not limited by tradition or traditional assumptions. He called upon world leaders to “reconcile their differences” and initiate a plan for collective security that would ensure the peace of the planet.

Baha’u’llah urged us to “be anxiously concerned with the age in which ye live”. When we look around our world, we see it continues to be beset with many of the same problems that were present in the 19th century- marked disparities between the rich and poor, both on the levels of individuals and countries, the hoarding of wealth, rising nationalism, lack of a vision of world solidarity, and the continued oppression of women and minorities. We have made great progress on many issues, and we will see that much of this progress is because humanity, even without specific knowledge of Baha’u’llah’s teachings, applied His principles to humanity’s problems- often after suffering the devastation of neglecting them first.

In the following installments of this essay entitled “How to Save the World”, we will outline these principles and how they unfolded within the Revelation of Baha’u’llah and also how they continue to apply to our modern world.

Photo by Nikola Knezevic on Unsplash

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Do you believe in evolution?

Do you believe in evolution?

Published May 25, 2019 by admin

“Do you believe in evolution?’ Is a question Baha’is sometimes get when introducing their faith to others. Evolution can mean several things so its helpful to parse out those meanings. In the broadest sense, evolution means the change and development of things over time. For that definition, Baha’is are most certainly evolutionists. Indeed, it can be said that one of the fundamental concepts of Baha’u’llah’s revelation is the evolution of all things. The central theological concept-progressive revelation- is that there is evolution in religion and revelation to meet humanity’s evolving needs. The Baha’i writings frequently make reference to the dynamic and evolving nature of all reality- not just material- but also social and spiritual. That aspect is therefore one of the unique and distinguishing elements of Baha’u’llah’s revelation.

On the biological level, evolution means the change and development of biological organisms over time, and that also the Baha’i writings explicitly accept. Baha’u’llah taught that the universe and our earth are “ancient” and that our current reality evolved to be what it is after long stretches of time. So none of these aspects of evolution are problematic for Baha’is.

The part of Darwin’s theory of evolution which is potentially problematic for Baha’is is the same part that is problematic for all people who believe their lives have some higher purpose- that the process of biological evolution is completely random. Darwin’s theory remains controversial because it presupposes that the entire process of biological evolution is mindless. Before Darwin, it was a basic belief of philosophers, scientists, and theologians, that the world was “designed”- that it was simply too marvelous to have come into being on its own. Darwin’s theory challenged that because it proposed a mechanism- random mutation and natural selection with survival of the fittest- that could create the appearance of the world being designed without their being an intelligent force behind it. The so-called “modern synthesis” is that random mutations of DNA create new biological features that then confer upon an organism a selective advantage. The organism with the new feature then comes to dominate other organisms without that feature, leading to the evolution of that family of organisms over time.

Within that modern idea of Darwin’s theory, natural selection and survival of the fittest is not all that problematic for the question of ultimate purpose in life. It is now recognized to be part of the evolution of everything. Cars evolve because a feature that is initiated by one company is eventually adopted by all others because people choose to select and buy a car with only that feature. NFL teams evolve their styles because a feature of their play style- West Coast offense, for instance- provides a competitive advantage leading one team to dominate until all teams begin to adopt that advantage. Of course, in those examples, the generation of the new feature is not random. Some creative intelligence- an automotive engineer or a football coach- creatively develops a new idea and begins to implement it. The source behind the evolution is thus intelligence, not randomness.

Its really the idea that new features come into being randomly that is most controversial for the Darwinian mechanism, both theologically and scientifically. On the theological front- completely random processes would make biological evolution truly mindless, and therefore Darwin’s theory would be a challenge to any belief system that supported the idea of human purpose- including all religion. If it were true, all the features of humanity- including our rationality- would be the outcome of a blind process and our entire lives would be ultimately meaningless. There are some people who believe that biological evolution was completely random but still hold to the idea of human purpose, but it’s clearly a challenging philosophical hurdle to maintain both ideas simultaneously.

Occasionally, you will hear a scientist declare in the public space that Darwin’s theory is “settled science”, or that it is not at all controversial within the scientific community. That is largely true, certainly when it comes to whether biological organisms evolve over time or that natural selection is part of that process. Those aspects are not controversial and were settled in the 20th century, if not the 19th. The part that remains problematic is that the generation of new features of organisms- that then come to dominate other organisms without that feature- is completely random or mindless. It is not a question of why new features create a selective advantage, but how new organisms evolve those new features in the first place. Darwin’s modern synthesis assumes its random, but there are serious questions about how that could be possible. Since that is also the crux of the matter theologically, it can truly be said that Darwin’s theory remains controversial for good and rational reasons.

So is the generation of new biological forms random? That is the tough nut to crack. Certainly some mutations would seem to be random, but is that the underlying process that leads biological forms to have a new feature? The more we have learned about molecular biology, the more evident it is that organisms- even really simple ones- contain extraordinarily complex and integrated systems with all parts depending on each other for proper functioning. How dose one random mutation lead to improvement in an organism if all parts depend on each other? Wouldn’t a random event in an integrated system be almost certainly detrimental to the organism? And how did these integrated systems evolve in the first place, when it seems that one part doesn’t have any value without the other part to which it is integrated? If only one part of a system has no selective advantage without the other, you would need both to happen simultaneously for something valuable to come of it- but the probability of two synergistic mutations to happen simultaneously and both provide advantage is vanishingly small- so small that there is not enough time in the history of the universe for it to likely occur. That has led increasing numbers of thoughtful people- both scientists and laypeople- to conclude that our world could not have come into being mindlessly- that it requires some degree of planning to get the integrated physical and biological systems that create and sustain life.

In the last post, we highlighted Dr Stephen Meyer, who is a particularly good explainer of these problems in modern science. In the talk below, Dr Meyer outlines why he has come to believe that the basis of biological structures is information, and therefore ultimately intelligence. If you are interested in these issues, his talk is definitely worth a listen.

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A Scientific Perspective on the Existence of God

A Scientific Perspective on the Existence of God

Published May 22, 2019 by admin

One of the brightest thinkers in our world on the intersection between science and faith is Dr Stephen Meyer. Dr Meyer is a Christian and holds a doctorate in the philosophy of science from Cambridge University. He is best known as a proponent of “intelligent design”- the idea that the most coherent interpretation of modern scientific findings is that our world is the outcome of a transcendent intelligence, an assumption also at the root of all the major religions. “Intelligent design” makes specific challenges to science itself, but you don’t have to accept those challenges to appreciate the philosophical and intellectual value of Dr Meyer’s ideas.

Dr Meyer is a joy to hear speak. Eminently accessible, humble, fair minded, and well-versed in the history and philosophy of science as well as religion, he lays out his ideas with precision and elegance. Even if you don’t agree with him, it’s impossible not to come away respecting his intellectual integrity. The video below was taped as part of a recent Science and Faith conference in Dallas TX. The host of the show is Eric Metaxas, who developed “Socrates in the City”, a highly successful forum in NYC where thinkers present views on the great questions of life.

The clip below is over an hour long, but rich with information on the most up to date scientific findings and how they relate to the question of God’s existence. Well worth the time to listen. Enjoy!

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The Lion King

The Lion King

Published May 20, 2019 by admin

Humans have taken a bit of a beating these last few centuries. Ever since Darwin presented his theory of evolution, humans have been scientifically defined as being the outcome of blind materialistic forces that resulted in what we now call homo sapiens. While the theory of evolution has been scientifically illuminating as to how biological organisms like us have developed over time, it is by no means proven that the process is completely random or not intended in the divine purpose of creation. The other point of view, highlighted by religion, points out that the evolution of matter to the point where it produces an organism- us- that can explain matter itself, to itself, is so astoundingly remarkable that it could not possibly have been unintended or some random outcome of mindless forces. Indeed, human rationality is so remarkable that it is arguably the most powerful force in the universe, able to tame the forces of nature to its own advantage. The recognition of the transcendence of rationality is the starting point to thinking about humans, not as simply biological machines, but the reflection within the material universe of the fundamentally transcendent and spiritual nature of the universe itself. From this perspective, the fundamental basis of reality is not matter, but thought, and spirit.

The revelations of God have pounded on this theme. So consistent has been the refrain within the revelations of God that humans are fundamentally transcendent that all the passages referring to it could fill up a hefty book. Indeed, the revelations of God have been the counterpoint to our natural tendency to slide back into thinking of ourselves as material things only, with material advantage being the only product worth working towards. As much as our current materialistic philosophies about the nature of humans are the result of the explosion of scientific understanding, they are also the result of the decline in the coherence of religious thought, as traditional religions had tied themselves to world views that were surpassed by the modern scientific understanding of the world.

The revelation of Baha’u’llah reinvigorates our spiritual understanding of the world. By explaining that all the revelations of God are essentially on the same side, and not inherently contradictory with themselves, despite how humans have interpreted them, we can now line up considerable intellectual weight on the side of a perspective that humanity is fundamentally transcendent. Indeed, we see, through the revelations of God, a continuous process of humanity being reminded of our transcendence just when we were set up to again forget it. The fact that Baha’u’llah Himself appeared just as materialistic scientific ideas were beginning to exert their force is another confirmation that God doesn’t want us to forget who we truly are. Just as it seemed like all hope for a transcendent view of humanity was lost, God has sent yet another revelation to remind us- one with more potency and explanatory power than any of the previous revelations.

Anybody with kids has seen the movie “The Lion King”. If you are having trouble figuring out who Baha’u’llah is, think of him as Mufasa. Remember the scene where Simba is pondering his future on a dark starry night and his father, Mufasa, appears to him in the stars to remind him of who he is. The scene ends with Mufasa saying “Remember who you are!”. Baha’u’llah is Mufasa, the King sent to remind us who we truly are. The passages that reflect this theme are manifold, but here are a few selected ones.

O Son of Spirit! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.

O friends! Be not careless of the virtues with which ye have been endowed, neither be neglectful of your high destiny. Suffer not your labors to be wasted through the vain imaginations which certain hearts have devised. Ye are the stars of the heaven of understanding, the breeze that stirreth at the break of day, the soft-flowing waters upon which must depend the very life of all men, the letters inscribed upon His sacred scroll. With the utmost unity, and in a spirit of perfect fellowship, exert yourselves, that ye may be enabled to achieve that which beseemeth this Day of God. Verily I say, strife and dissension, and whatsoever the mind of man abhorreth are entirely unworthy of his station.

Were man to appreciate the greatness of his station and the loftiness of his destiny he would manifest naught save goodly character, pure deeds, and a seemly and praiseworthy conduct. If the learned and wise men of goodwill were to impart guidance unto the people, the whole earth would be regarded as one country….This servant appealeth to every diligent and enterprising soul to exert his utmost endeavour and arise to rehabilitate the conditions in all regions and to quicken the dead with the living waters of wisdom and utterance, by virtue of the love he cherisheth for God, the One, the Peerless, the Almighty, the Beneficent.

Photo by Simon Greenwood on Unsplash

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The Sun of Reality

The Sun of Reality

Published May 17, 2019 by admin

We’ve been drawing on talks that ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ gave while in America to illustrate various themes highlighted in the “Introductory Essays” series. One of the themes highlighted is the fundamental oneness of religion. In essence, spiritual truth has been revealed to humanity as our capacity has grown, and thus every revelation of God- those that formed such religions as Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam…etc- are from the same Source and all fundamentally true. One of the metaphors frequently used to illustrate this is that the revelations of God are like the sun, which can appear differently each day depending on cloud cover and other factors, and may arise from different points on the horizon depending on the season, but it is always the same sun. Humanity has failed to recognize the fundamental oneness of God’s revelations because we allow traditions and other temporal aspects to obscure our appreciation of the light that shines from that One Sun. Those obscuring ideas are like clouds and fog that obscure our appreciation of the light of truth that comes from the Sun.

This is a very powerful metaphor and it is used in many different ways in the Revelation of Baha’u’llah. Just as humans and all life depends on the Sun for its material sustenance, humans depend on the revelations of God for their spiritual sustenance.

In this short talk below, ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ enlarges on these themes. Enjoy!

This morning the city is enveloped in fog and mist. How beautiful is a city brilliant with sunshine. Just as these mists and vapors conceal the phenomenal sun, so human imaginations obscure the Sun of Truth. Consider the radiant glory of the great solar center of our planetary system: how wonderful the sight, how its splendor illumines vision until clouds and mists veil it from the eye. In the same way, the Sun of Truth becomes veiled and hidden by the superstitions and imaginations of human minds. When the sun rises, no matter from what dawning point on the horizon it appears—northeast, east, southeast—the haze and mists disperse, and we have clear vision of its glory mounting to the zenith. Similarly, the nations have been directed to the dawning points of the Sun of Reality, each to a particular rising place from which the light of religion has become manifest; but after a time the dawning point has become the object of worship instead of the Sun itself, which is ever one Sun and stationary in the heavens of the divine Will. Differences have arisen because of this, causing clouds and darkness to overshadow again the glorious luminary of Reality. When the mists and darkness of superstition and prejudice are dispersed, all will see the Sun aright and alike. Then will all nations become as one in its radiance.

Inasmuch as these clouds and human vapors of superstition hide the light of the spiritual Sun, we must put forth our utmost endeavor to dispel them. May we unite in this and be enlightened to accomplish it, for the Sun is one and its radiance and bounty universal. All the inhabitants of earth are recipients of the bounty of the one phenomenal sun, and none are preferred above others; so, likewise, all receive the heavenly bestowals of the Word of God; none are specialized as favorites; all are under its protection and universal effulgence. Human strife and religious disagreement complex and disfigure the simple purity and beauty of the divine Cause until clouds obscure the light of reality and disunion results. Therefore, make use of intelligence and reason so that you may dispel these dense clouds from the horizon of human hearts and all hold to the one reality of all the Prophets. It is most certain that if human souls exercise their respective reason and intelligence upon the divine questions, the power of God will dispel every difficulty, and the eternal realities will appear as one light, one truth, one love, one God and a peace that is universal.

Photo by Jasper Boer on Unsplash

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Unity is Life

Unity is Life

Published May 15, 2019 by admin

Abdu’l-Baha’ often used analogies and comparisons to the natural world to express spiritual truths. One of the profound points he often makes is that unity is life and disunity is death, and that this is true in the natural world as it is also true among human societies. Also, similar to the natural world, humanity’s diversity should be seen as a source of beauty, and not of dissension. The talk below was delivered in Chicago, when ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ visited. It is beautiful short presentation of these profound ideas. Enjoy!

A meeting such as this seems like a beautiful cluster of precious jewels—pearls, rubies, diamonds, sapphires. It is a source of joy and delight. Whatever is conducive to the unity of the world of mankind is most acceptable and praiseworthy; whatever is the cause of discord and disunion is saddening and deplorable. Consider the significance of unity and harmony.

This evening I will speak to you upon the subject of existence and nonexistence, life and death. Existence is the expression and outcome of composition and combination. Nonexistence is the expression and outcome of division and disintegration. If we study the forms of existence in the material universe, we find that all created things are the result of composition. Material elements have grouped together in infinite variety and endless forms. Each organism is a compound; each object is an expression of elemental affinity. We find the complex human organism simply an aggregation of cellular structure; the tree is a composite of plant cells; the animal, a combination and grouping of cellular atoms or units, and so on. Existence or the expression of being is, therefore, composition; and nonexistence is decomposition, division, disintegration. When elements have been brought together in a certain plan of combination, the result is the human organism; when these elements separate and disperse, the outcome is death and nonexistence. Life is, therefore, the product of composition; and death signifies decomposition.

Likewise, in the world of minds and souls, fellowship, which is an expression of composition, is conducive to life, whereas discord, which is an expression of decomposition, is the equivalent of death. Without cohesion among the individual elements which compose the body politic, disintegration and decay must inevitably follow and life be extinguished. Ferocious animals have no fellowship. The vultures and tigers are solitary, whereas domestic animals live together in complete harmony. The sheep, black and white, associate without discord. Birds of various species and colors wing their flight and feed together without a trace of enmity or disagreement. Therefore, in the world of humanity it is wise and seemly that all the individual members should manifest unity and affinity. In the clustered jewels of the races may the blacks be as sapphires and rubies and the whites as diamonds and pearls. The composite beauty of humanity will be witnessed in their unity and blending. How glorious the spectacle of real unity among mankind! How conducive to peace, confidence and happiness if races and nations were united in fellowship and accord! The Prophets of God were sent into the world upon this mission of unity and agreement: that these long-separated sheep might flock together. When the sheep separate, they are exposed to danger, but in a flock and under protection of the shepherd they are safe from the attack of all ferocious enemies.

When the racial elements of the American nation unite in actual fellowship and accord, the lights of the oneness of humanity will shine, the day of eternal glory and bliss will dawn, the spirit of God encompass, and the divine favors descend. Under the leadership and training of God, the real Shepherd, all will be protected and preserved. He will lead them in green pastures of happiness and sustenance, and they will attain to the real goal of existence. This is the blessing and benefit of unity; this is the outcome of love. This is the sign of the Most Great Peace; this is the star of the oneness of the human world. Consider how blessed this condition will be. I pray for you and ask the confirmation and assistance of God in your behalf.

Photo by SGR on Unsplash

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Religion and the Elimination of Prejudice

Religion and the Elimination of Prejudice

Published May 13, 2019 by admin

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s talks in America were all intended to introduce Baha’u’llah’s teachings to different audiences. In the passage below, he is speaking to a Unitarian Church in Washington DC. This short excerpt below explains the nature of humanity and the purpose of religion. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s talks are all easy to understand, but the concepts are extraordinarily profound and far reaching when you fully digest them. Enjoy!

The doctrines and creed of this church, so capably expressed by its revered minister, are truly commendable, sanctified and worthy of praise and glorification, for these precepts are opposed to the deep-rooted religious prejudices of the day. It is evident that prejudices arising from adherence to religious forms and imitation of ancestral beliefs have hindered the progress of humanity thousands of years. How many wars and battles have been fought, how much division, discord and hatred have been caused by this form of prejudice! But inasmuch as this century is a century of the revelation of reality—praise be to God!—the thoughts of men are being directed toward the welfare and unity of humanity. Daily the mirage of imitations is passing away, and the ocean of truth is surging more tumultuously. All the existing nations had a divine foundation of truth or reality originally, which was intended to be conducive to the unity and accord of mankind, but the light of that reality gradually became obscured. The darkness of superstitions and imitations came and took its place, binding the world of humanity in the chains and fetters of ignorance. Enmity arose among men, increasing to such an extent that nation strove against nation in hatred and violence. War has been a religious and political human heritage.

Now it is enough! We must investigate reality. We must put away these superstitions. It is a self-evident truth that all humanity is the creation of God. All are His servants and under His protection. All are recipients of His bestowals. God is kind to all His servants. At most it is this: that some are ignorant; they must be educated in order that they may become intelligent. Some are immature as children; they must be aided and assisted in order that they may become mature. Some are sick and ailing; they must be healed. But the suffering patient must not be tested by false treatment. The child must not be warped and hindered in its development. The ignorant must not be restricted by censure and criticism. We must look for the real, true remedy.

All the Prophets of God, including Jesus Christ, appeared in the world for the education of humanity, to develop immature souls into maturity, to transform the ignorant of mankind into the knowing, thereby establishing love and unity through divine education and training…..

The Prophets have appeared in this world with the mission that human souls may become the expressions of the Merciful, that they may be educated and developed, attain to love and amity and establish peace and agreement.

In the world of existence the animal is a captive of nature. Its actions are according to the exigencies and requirements of nature. It has no consideration or consciousness of good and evil. It simply follows its natural instinct and inclination. The Prophets of God have come to show man the way of righteousness in order that he may not follow his own natural impulse but govern his action by the light of Their precept and example. According to Their teachings he should do that which is found to be praiseworthy by the standard of reason and judgment of intellect, even though it be opposed to his natural human inclination; and he should not do that which is found to be unworthy by that same standard, even though it be in the direction of his natural impulse and desire. Therefore, man must follow and manifest the attributes of the Merciful.

The imperfect members of society, the weak souls in humanity, follow their natural trend. Their lives and actions are in accord with their natural propensities; they are captives of physical susceptibilities; they are not in touch or in tune with the spiritual bounties. Man has two aspects: the physical, which is subject to nature, and the merciful or divine, which is connected with God. If the physical or natural disposition in him should overcome the heavenly and merciful, he is, then, the most degraded of animal beings; and if the divine and spiritual should triumph over the human and natural, he is, verily, an angel. The Prophets come into the world to guide and educate humanity so that the animal nature of man may disappear and the divinity of his powers become awakened. The divine aspect or spiritual nature consists of the breaths of the Holy Spirit. The second birth of which Jesus has spoken refers to the appearance of this heavenly nature in man. It is expressed in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and he who is baptized by the Holy Spirit is a veritable manifestation of divine mercy to mankind. Then he becomes just and kind to all humanity; he entertains prejudice and ill will toward none; he shuns no nation or people.

The foundations of the divine religions are one. If we investigate these foundations, we discover much ground for agreement, but if we consider the imitations of forms and ancestral beliefs, we find points of disagreement and division; for these imitations differ, while the sources and foundations are one and the same. That is to say, the fundamentals are conducive to unity, but imitations are the cause of disunion and dismemberment. Whosoever is lacking in love for humanity or manifests hatred and bigotry toward any part of it violates the foundation and source of his own belief and is holding to forms and imitations. Jesus Christ declares that the sun rises upon the evil and the good, and the rain descends upon the just and the unjust—upon all humanity alike. Christ was a divine mercy which shone upon all mankind, the medium for the descent of the bounty of God, and the bounty of God is transcendent, unrestricted, universal.

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The Spirit of Faith

The Spirit of Faith

Published May 9, 2019 by admin

In a previous essay, we outlined the concept of a human being that is presented in the revelation of Baha’u’llah. We discussed how humans have both a lower nature and a higher nature. The lower nature is the part of us that we share with animals and is concerned with fulfilling our material desires and instincts. If we were to completely give in to our lower natures, we become no different, and can behave even worse, than animals. The higher nature is the true and distinctive reality of our humanity and the part that has allowed for the growth of civilizations and increasingly peaceful societies, as through it we commit to ideals that unite us. If we reflect further upon our higher nature, it actually has two different aspects- our mind and intelligence, which is the seat of our rationality and ability to do science and other distinctive intellectual pursuits, and our heart- which is the seat of our values and ideals.

In distinguishing between the two aspects of our higher nature- rationality and heart- we can see a correlation between a common distinction philosophers make between facts and values. “Facts” correspond to scientific theories and other products of our rational mind and intelligence. “Values” are not rationally derived, and consist of our moral standards, define how we treat each other, and how we judge ourselves. Philosophers make the point that one is not derivable from the other- they are separate realities in the world- and they reflect separate aspects of us.

A simple thought experiment can highlight the distinction between facts and values- between rationality and heart. Imagine a person who is extremely smart, hyper-rational, but morally bankrupt. One can be highly knowledgeable and rational but not moral. Such people are the most dangerous people in the world. Similarly, picture another person who has the highest possible values, loves and serves all humankind without distinction, but has no knowledge of a single scientific theory and no understanding of how the world works. Those imagined people teach us that there is a distinction between these two aspects of our higher selves and both are needed to make a person “perfect”. The scenario also reminds us which part of our being is most important. Clearly, we all know which person we would invite on a weekend camping trip! Values trump facts every time. In other words, values are more foundational than facts, as facts are the most useful to us when placed in the context of values. Within a human being, though rationality and knowledge is extremely important, it is less important than our heart.

The Baha’i writings offer unadulterated praise on humanity’s rational capacity as it is an expression of our fundamentally abstract and spiritual nature-

The virtues of humanity are many, but science is the most noble of them all. The distinction which man enjoys above and beyond the station of the animal is due to this paramount virtue. It is a bestowal of God; it is not material; it is divine. Science is an effulgence of the Sun of Reality, the power of investigating and discovering the verities of the universe, the means by which man finds a pathway to God. All the powers and attributes of man are human and hereditary in origin—outcomes of nature’s processes—except the intellect, which is supernatural. Through intellectual and intelligent inquiry science is the discoverer of all things.

Science is further described by ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ as the “very foundation of all individual and national development” and is “likened to a mirror wherein the infinite forms and images of existing things are revealed and reflected”. Baha’u’lah further describes the outcome of our intelligence- knowledge- to be “as wings to man’s life, and a ladder for his ascent. Its acquisition is incumbent on everyone”. Baha’u’llah further praises scientists and “craftsmen”- engineers, artists, and other creators of useful technologies, stating that “great indeed” is their “claim’ upon the world, stating that we should always honor them. He calls knowledge a “veritable treasure for man, and a source of glory, of bounty, of joy, of exaltation, of cheer and gladness unto him”, concluding with “Thus hath the Tongue of Grandeur spoken in this Most Great Prison”.

Religion, as an expression of humanity’s higher nature, must therefore always make sense and be consistent with the outcomes of other intellectual investigations. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ describes as both being essential to true human progress. The one enhances our factual understanding of the world, the other is primarily- though not exclusively- associated with our values. Religion and science are the two wings upon which man’s intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress, stating further that “there is no contradiction between true religion and science. When a religion is opposed to science it becomes mere superstition: that which is contrary to knowledge is ignorance.”

While science is far reaching in its benefits, it does not translate clearly to noble values. Noble values are not “rational” as people could- and often do- provide rational justifications for bad actions. From their own selfish perspective, their actions can be entirely “rational”.

That is why the revelations of God speak to our heart and work to develop that aspect of our being. As Baha’u’llah says in the Hidden Words-

All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory.

Indeed, the purpose of religion itself is not only to bring unity to humanity, and establish principles that ensure human social progress, but it opens up new vistas within our hearts. It empowers us to performs deeds of great service and virtue- willingly and joyfully!

Baha’u’llah tells us that our “heart” can make an infinite amount of progress. At the most basic level, we follow the rules. We obey stoplights and generally try to stay out of trouble, but we are mostly just acting out of convenience or a sense of duty without any conscious appreciation. But Baha’u’llah, like Christ before Him, invites us to higher level of moral and spiritual consciousness, into a different relationship with ourselves and with God- a personal relationship with God that brings to life our inner spirituality and morality in ways we could not have imagined otherwise. We become transformed by the “spirit of faith”.

The spirit of faith is highlighted in numerous passages in the Bible, Quran, and the revelation of Baha’u’llah. It reflects our connection with a transcendent spirit, one that causes us to be spiritually “alive” when we were previously dead. Being “dead” is a relative state in which we are not “alive” to the spiritual reality of who we are- and may not even acknowledge that it exists!. Famously, it is what Jesus was referring to when he talked about being “born again”-

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Connecting with the spirit of faith is like being put on a moral and spiritual escalator, or one of those moving walkways at the airport. You can make moral and spiritual progress without it, trudging through life trying to make the best progress you can, but it really helps to connect with transcendent spirit offered by the revelations of God. They are utterly transformative of our entire outlook and inner world and the impact is felt in every part of our heart. In the analogy that Jesus gave us, it is the difference from being dead to being alive. In some other passages, it is compared to being asleep and then being awakened to a new reality.

Baha’u’llah gave many examples of the same transformation. One famous one is that is like turning copper into gold. Some of the people in Baha’u’llah’s time were trying to get rich by finding a way to turn copper into gold through the use of basic chemistry, a practice called alchemy. They were never able to find the solution- known as the “elixir”- and alchemy died out as a practice. (As a side note, humanity did eventually learn how to do this using nuclear physics.) Baha’u’llah used this practice of alchemy as an analogy for what happens to human consciousness when it is transformed by a revelation from God.

“..Consider the substance of copper. Were it to be protected in its own mine from becoming solidified, it would, within the space of seventy years, attain to the state of gold.…Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant, cause the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will traverse the seventy-year stages in a single moment.”

This is a metaphor, as copper does not turn into gold on its own in the physical world. Human beings who are like copper, and live approximately 70 years, will grow spiritually over the course of their lifetime and can turn into gold, developing more spiritual and moral maturity, unless they become “solidified” by being overly attached to the world or their own egos. But people can make the same amount of progress with the “spirit of faith”- as an inner spiritual response to a revelation from God- that would take a whole lifetime otherwise. Baha’u’llah refers, in this analogy, to the spirit of faith as being the “Divine Elixir”.

Likewise, these souls, through the potency of the Divine Elixir, traverse, in the twinkling of an eye, the world of dust and advance into the realm of holiness; and with one step cover the earth of limitations and reach the domain of the Placeless. It behooveth thee to exert thine utmost to attain unto this Elixir which, in one fleeting breath, causeth the west of ignorance to reach the east of knowledge, illuminates the darkness of night with the resplendence of the morn, guideth the wanderer in the wilderness of doubt to the well-spring of the Divine Presence and Fount of certitude, and conferreth upon mortal souls the honour of acceptance into the Ridván of immortality. Now, could this gold be thought to be copper, these people could likewise be thought to be the same as before they were endowed with faith.

He refers to it as a “mystic transformation” and highlights it in many other passages, including this one, that explains what happens when one spiritually connects to a revelation from God-

Whensoever the light of Manifestation of the King of Oneness settleth upon the throne of the heart and soul, His shining becometh visible in every limb and member. At that time the mystery of the famed tradition gleameth out of the darkness: “A servant is drawn unto Me in prayer until I answer him; and when I have answered him, I become the ear wherewith he heareth….” For thus the Master of the house hath appeared within His home, and all the pillars of the dwelling are ashine with His light.

It should be noted that, unlike some interpretations within Christianity, Baha’u’llah is not saying that only those people who have experienced this transformation go to “heaven”, or become “saved”, whereas others are somehow condemned. It’s just a metaphor for spiritual transformation, and those terms reflect a relative state of spiritual understanding. He makes clear that all people can make spiritual and moral progress in life- no matter what their belief system- and indeed all people will continue to make progress after their death through the “worlds of God”. Indeed, progress is the entire purpose of life and Baha’u’llah goes even so far as to say everything in creation has educational value-

Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things.

But the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is the spiritual energies that flow through the revelations of God, something we will all come to appreciate eventually. He clearly states that it should be seen as a further advancement in our commitment to moral and spiritual principles, and not a replacement for the foundation of civil society- “It behoveth everyone to traverse this brief span of life with sincerity and fairness. Should one fail to attain unto the recognition of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, let him at least conduct himself with reason and justice.”

When a person becomes illumined by the spirit of faith, not only can they make tremendous progress as a human being, but they begin to experience life in a whole new way. Baha’u’llah describes it this way-

Then will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of Divine Revelation, and the evidences of an everlasting Manifestation.

Though the language is metaphorical, Baha’u’llah is describing a spiritual state in which you begin to see the world, not as a purposeless wasteland, but brimming with life and beauty.

“Within every blade of grass are enshrined the mysteries of an inscrutable Wisdom, and upon every rose-bush a myriad nightingales pour out, in blissful rapture, their melody…Each and every thing, however small, would be to him a revelation, leading him to his Beloved, the Object of his quest.”

As noted above, after this spiritual transformation, we are endowed “with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind”. We see the world from a broader perspective, one that is infused with purpose and meaning.

This is a reality that is better experienced than explained. What He is expressing to us is a change in consciousness, one that pulls us out of our materialistically focused lives into a life of faith- faith in ourselves, faith in the ultimate moral and spiritual purpose of the universe, and ultimately faith in the future and potential of humanity.

The other aspect of this transformation is that it cannot be fully encompassed by reason. We can experience it, appreciate its bounties, but ultimately these “steps of the spirit” supersede rationality. Because the reality of the world ultimately transcends the limited things we can encompass with our rational minds, over-reliance on rationality can actually become a hindrance to our spiritual development. Ultimately, the development of our moral and spiritual selves requires that we have “faith”, an increasing reliance on the “arc of the moral universe”- as Dr Martin Luther King expressed it. That is not a purely rational process, but is an affair of the heart. In one passage, Baha’u’llah gives an example of a “learned grammarian”- a man who was so caught up in his own mind that he was afraid to take the leap of faith required to experience genuine spirituality-

The story is told of a mystic knower, who went on a journey with a learned grammarian as his companion. They came to the shore of the Sea of Grandeur. The knower straightway flung himself into the waves, but the grammarian stood lost in his reasonings, which were as words that are written on water. The knower called out to him, “Why dost thou not follow?” The grammarian answered, “O Brother, I dare not advance. I must needs go back again.” Then the knower cried, “Forget what thou didst read in the books..and cross the water.”

In a similar statement, He quotes an Islamic tradition- “All human attainment moveth upon a lame ass, whilst Truth, riding upon the wind, darts across space”.

Reason is powerful and the source of our understanding of the world, but we have to be careful not to be limited by it, because spiritual truths are transcendent and require a commitment of the heart. Indeed, one can have profound understanding of spiritual truths and not be learned at all. Christ’s first apostle, Peter, was reportedly illiterate. One of Baha’u’llah’s most trusted believers, the one he most trusted to courier Tablets from Him to other believers throughout the Middle East, was similarly illiterate, but his spiritual understanding was profound. He cautions us to not allow our learning to make us proud, and explicitly states that the understanding of the Word of God, in every revelation, is not dependent on knowledge. “The understanding of His words and the comprehension of the utterances of the Birds of Heaven are in no wise dependent upon human learning. They depend solely upon purity of heart, chastity of soul, and freedom of spirit.”

Baha’u’llah’s revelation, like the revelations before it, is intended to open up the universe of meaning that exists within our own hearts and reveal it to us. The language Baha’u’llah uses to describe the life of faith He lays out is so compelling and beautiful that it makes your heart dance and leap.

O My servants! Could ye apprehend with what wonders of My munificence and bounty I have willed to entrust your souls, ye would, of a truth, rid yourselves of attachment to all created things, and would gain a true knowledge of your own selves—a knowledge which is the same as the comprehension of Mine own Being. Ye would find yourselves independent of all else but Me, and would perceive, with your inner and outer eye, and as manifest as the revelation of My effulgent Name, the seas of My loving-kindness and bounty moving within you. Suffer not your idle fancies, your evil passions, your insincerity and blindness of heart to dim the luster, or stain the sanctity, of so lofty a station.

In summary, a human being consists of a lower nature, which we share with animals and a higher nature that consists of both our rational intellect and our heart- the seat of our ideals and values and through which we can make spiritual progress. The spirit of faith is a gift of each of the Revelations from God, and is like a spiritual elevator that can propel us upward in our spiritual journey to heights we could not have even imagined for ourselves without it. As we grow spiritually, we not only become better people, but our internal world becomes filled with light and we start to see the world differently, in a broader and more transcendent way, in a manner that was previously veiled to us. We become so wedded to that new perspective that, as Baha’u’llah states, a “moment’s separation from it would be unthinkable”. It becomes our new Beloved, and we carry it with us in our heart wherever we go and with whomever we interact.

Photo by Sunyu on Unsplash

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Two Natures of Humanity

Two Natures of Humanity

Published May 7, 2019 by admin

In the next several posts, we are going to present some of the talks of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ describing the nature of humanity and the purpose of life. These all relate to the last two introductory essays. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s explanations are illuminating and well worth reading and studying. In today’s post, he highlights the two natures in humanity- a material nature and a spiritual nature. This excerpt is taken from a talk he gave in Paris and published in “Paris Talks”.

In man there are two natures; his spiritual or higher nature and his material or lower nature. In one he approaches God, in the other he lives for the world alone. Signs of both these natures are to be found in men. In his material aspect he expresses untruth, cruelty and injustice; all these are the outcome of his lower nature. The attributes of his Divine nature are shown forth in love, mercy, kindness, truth and justice, one and all being expressions of his higher nature. Every good habit, every noble quality belongs to man’s spiritual nature, whereas all his imperfections and sinful actions are born of his material nature. If a man’s Divine nature dominates his human nature, we have a saint.

Man has the power both to do good and to do evil; if his power for good predominates and his inclinations to do wrong are conquered, then man in truth may be called a saint. But if, on the contrary, he rejects the things of God and allows his evil passions to conquer him, then he is no better than a mere animal.

Saints are men who have freed themselves from the world of matter and who have overcome sin. They live in the world but are not of it, their thoughts being continually in the world of the spirit. Their lives are spent in holiness, and their deeds show forth love, justice and godliness. They are illumined from on high; they are as bright and shining lamps in the dark places of the earth. These are the saints of God. The apostles, who were the disciples of Jesus Christ, were just as other men are; they, like their fellows, were attracted by the things of the world, and each thought only of his own advantage. They knew little of justice, nor were the Divine perfections found in their midst. But when they followed Christ and believed in Him, their ignorance gave place to understanding, cruelty was changed to justice, falsehood to truth, darkness into light. They had been worldly, they became spiritual and divine. They had been children of darkness, they became sons of God, they became saints! Strive therefore to follow in their steps, leaving all worldly things behind, and striving to attain to the Spiritual Kingdom.

Pray to God that He may strengthen you in divine virtue, so that you may be as angels in the world, and beacons of light to disclose the mysteries of the Kingdom to those with understanding hearts.

Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash

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