In a previous short essay about death, we described  how the Revelations of God have talked about death, encouraging us not to fear it, and to prepare for it by following spiritual teachings. As we noted, there seems to be a connection between the development of a spiritual perspective and the next world itself. As noted, Baha’u’llah expressed the idea that “the true believer lives in both this world and the world to come”. The word in Arabic that Baha’u’llah used to refer to the next world is “malakut”.  Interestingly, the origin of the word is Aramaic- the ancient Hebrew language that Christ spoke.  In Aramaic, “malakut” means the “Kingdom of God”, which is of course how Christ referred to His own message, further strengthening this connection between spiritual teachings and the next world.

Baha’u’llah describes this further- “The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men. The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying Their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High.”

Baha’is are taught that there is only one world that we all go to after death. “Heaven” and “hell” are metaphorical terms that reflect our degree of spiritual development, but we all go to the same place when we die, no matter what your religion or belief. It’s just that faith in the great Revelations of God prepare us better for that world than rejection of them.  As those religions all taught us to believe in abstract moral principles, see ourselves as primary spiritual beings, one can appreciate how believing in them would better prepare us for an abstract spiritual life in the next world, whereas rejection of such a belief would keep our vision focused only on the material world we share with animals and deprive us of that preparation and growth.  “Belief” then is a process of putting your faith and trust in something abstract that exists beyond you, and in so doing, you develop and prepare yourself for an “abstract” world after this one.

All this may seem strange until you recognize that humans believe in abstract things all the time. “Justice”, for instance, is an abstract idea. Indeed, the development of civilization depends upon people and societies putting their own personal preferences aside and adhering to abstract moral principles- principles like justice and equality…etc. You then can appreciate that creating the “Kingdom of God” on earth is about basing our societies on peace and justice- that is- abstract moral principles- the same stuff that is the fuel for progress in the next world!  As Jesus taught His followers to say in the Lord’s prayer- “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

With those introductory comments, we present the following passages from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’, who explained all these ideas so clearly-.

Know thou that the Kingdom is the real world, and this nether place is only its shadow stretching out. A shadow hath no life of its own; its existence is only a fantasy, and nothing more; it is but images reflected in water, and seeming as pictures to the eye…If thou wouldst hearken to my words, release thyself from the fetters of whatsoever cometh to pass. Nay rather, under all conditions thank thou thy loving Lord, and yield up thine affairs unto His Will that worketh as He pleaseth. This verily is better for thee than all else, in either world. (‘Abdu’l-Baha)

O thou handmaid aflame with the fire of God’s love! Grieve thou not over the troubles and hardships of this nether world, nor be thou glad in times of ease and comfort, for both shall pass away. This present life is even as a swelling wave, or a mirage, or drifting shadows. Could ever a distorted image on the desert serve as refreshing waters? No, by the Lord of Lords! Never can reality and the mere semblance of reality be one, and wide is the difference between fancy and fact, between truth and the phantom thereof. (‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

The difference and distinction will naturally become realized between all men after their departure from this mortal world. But this (distinction) is not in respect to place, but it is in respect to the soul and conscience. For the Kingdom of God is sanctified (or free) from time and place; it is another world and another universe. (‘Abdu’l-Baha’) 

The rewards of the other world are peace, the spiritual graces, the various spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of God, the gaining of the desires of the heart and the soul, and the meeting of God in the world of eternity. In the same way the punishments of the other world, that is to say, the torments of the other world, consist in being deprived of the special divine blessings and the absolute bounties, and falling into the lowest degrees of existence (‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

When the human soul soareth out of this transient heap of dust and riseth into the world of God, then veils will fall away, and verities will come to light, and all things unknown before will be made clear, and hidden truths be understood.

Consider how a being, in the world of the womb, was deaf of ear and blind of eye, and mute of tongue; how he was bereft of any perceptions at all. But once, out of that world of darkness, he passed into this world of light, then his eye saw, his ear heard, his tongue spoke. In the same way, once he hath hastened away from this mortal place into the Kingdom of God, then he will be born in the spirit; then the eye of his perception will open, the ear of his soul will hearken, and all the truths of which he was ignorant before will be made plain and clear. (‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

Photo by Luis Fernando Felipe Alves on Unsplash