Compete to Cooperate II

Happy the soul that shall forget his own good and, like the chosen ones of God, vie with his fellows in service to the good of all.

(‘Abdu’l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization: 116)

I want to further explore this topic of competing to cooperate, for it can easily be dismissed as pie-in-the-sky idealism about human nature.  I wrote last post: “While it may be hard to believe that, given humanity’s bloodstained past, unity, reciprocity and cooperation, and spiritually vying for the good of others, are possible to achieve and maintain, the reason lies not in our nature, but in an education that has brought us down to a poverty of self-understanding.  That is, the reason lies not in something we are and, therefore, cannot change, but something we have learned to be and can, therefore, unlearn.”  There is always a connection between economic crisis and moral possibility—do we become more selfish or more selfless?  Inducing us to become more selfless is the power and purpose of spiritual education—one model of which I developed in Renewing the Sacred.

One way to look at the transition from competition to cooperation is to see it as a centripetal to centrifugal shift of moral direction from me-first to you-before-me, from self-service to self-sacrifice.  When we compete to cooperate, that is, when we compete to express spiritual virtues, we compete to be more loving, more kind, more just and so on.  But another change is the change of competitor.  If we compete with another to be more kind, for example, we are simply playing the same me-first competition game with the same end goal—its all about me!  This is a hidden form of self-centeredness, though it is mostly only hidden from oneself.

In spiritual competition the focus is on helping another, of course, but the competitor one is jousting with is oneself, to do better than one has in the past, to be in more of a humble posture of learning, to really prefer the other before oneself, striving to be of service with less thought or need of reward, and the like. All these are part of a daily bringing oneself to account, and only you can be the accountant.  Nevertheless rewards are there, and we can legitimately seek them if we truly understand human nature and are sincerely pursuing spiritual development.  The Master wrote: “Sincerity is the foundation-stone of faith. That is, a religious individual must disregard his personal desires and seek in whatever way he can wholeheartedly to serve the public interest; and it is impossible for a human being to turn aside from his own selfish advantages and sacrifice his own good for the good of the community except through true religious faith. For self-love is kneaded into the very clay of man, and it is not possible that, without any hope of a substantial reward, he should neglect his own present material good. That individual, however, who puts his faith in God and believes in the words of God -- because he is promised and certain of a plentiful reward in the next life, and because worldly benefits as compared to the abiding joy and glory of future planes of existence are nothing to him -- will for the sake of God abandon his own peace and profit and will freely consecrate his heart and soul to the common good." (The Secret of Divine Civilization: 96-97)

In another place, Abdu’l-Baha reminds us that when operating from our higher nature “acts of cooperation, mutual assistance and reciprocity are not confined to the body and to things that pertain to the material world, but for all conditions, whether physical or spiritual, such as those related to minds, thoughts, opinions, manners, customs, attitudes, understandings, feelings or other human susceptibilities. In all these thou shouldst find these binding relationships securely established. The more this interrelationship is strengthened and expanded, the more will human society advance in progress and prosperity.  Indeed without these vital ties it would be wholly impossible for the world of humanity to attain true felicity and success.” (Compilation on Huququ’llah #61)  In another place he writes: “because the members of the world of humanity are unable to exist without being banded together, cooperation and helpfulness is the basis of human society.  Without the realization of these two great principles no great movement is pressed forward.” (Principles of Bahá’í Administration:52)  

Another sort of reward we can seek in the proper way through true self-sacrifice is the reward of greater life.  For example, ‘Abdu’l-Baha said that “we must be the servants of the poor, helpers of the poor, remember the sorrows of the poor, associate with them; for thereby we may inherit the Kingdom of heaven.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace: 33

I am presenting what I hope is a “spiritual” perspective on the economic crisis, because the real crisis stems from a terrible misapprehension of our true nature. The crisis in our material life resides not in what Marxists would call “the relations of production”; rather, it is in our human relations: it is not in our material economy but in our moral economy; not in our knowledge, but in our self-knowledge.  It is a view on achieving general prosperity that is strongly self-sacrificing rather than self-centered in focus, altruistic rather than avaricious in motivation.  This view, that the solution to our economic and social woes is fundamentally spiritual in character, can, it is hoped, shed some light into our current darkness and show a way out for all of us.  The darkness that we need to escape, though, is within us.  It is the dark distortion generated by false assumptions of the nature of the human being.  These assumptions have crystallized into an educational philosophy the  social system of which it both supports and draws legitimacy from deprives us of that which we inherently possess.

But, so far I have concentrated on the individual and his or her relations with other individuals.  But there are indispensable social relations mediated by social institutions  that are also part of the moral economy, the “Divine economy” as Shoghi Effendi titles it.  The Universal House of Justice wrote in regard to the local Bahá’í community: “A Bahá'í community which is consistent in its fundamental life-giving, life sustaining activities will at its heart be serene and confident; it will resonate with spiritual dynamism, will exert irresistible influence, will set a new course in social evolution, enabling it to win the respect and eventually the allegiance of admirers and critics alike.” (Letter from the Universal House of Justice, dated Ridvan, 1984, to a National Spiritual Assembly)  Next post will begin an examination of the phrase “set a new course in social evolution.”

A direct link to my book, Renewing the Sacred is http://tinyurl.com/cndew5a  It is now also in Kindle

Compete to Cooperate

No two men can be found who may be said to be outwardly and inwardly united. The evidences of discord and malice are apparent everywhere, though all were made for harmony and union.

(Tablets of Baha’u’llah:163)

Baha’u’llah wrote these words more than one hundred years ago. The situation has, on most fronts, only become worse, though encouraging signs of humanity’s unification are there to see.  A healing crisis, guided by the divine Physician, is underway.  But the deeper point of the phrase “all were made for harmony and union” is that disharmony and disunity either within the human soul, or between people, is not a God-created condition, but a human-created one, since human beings were created for “harmony and union.”  It should, therefore, be easier to cooperate in unity than to compete in disunity, as it is easier to smile than to frown.  But to do that individuals must live from the higher nature, not the lower one, and human institutions must be designed that nurture the expression of that higher nature.  This latter can only be achieved if those institutions themselves embody principles and express social virtues exemplifying the consciousness of the oneness of humanity. 

            Selfish competition is not an irremovable human quality but a removeable one.  With sufficient inducements and rewards, it can be transformed into cooperation, for both have to do with relations with others.  Competition is to bring the best out of oneself by striving with not against others.  Cooperation is to bring the best out of everyone by working together.  Materialism is really the legitimate desire for prosperity gone hideously awry, and the creators of this illusion are transfixed by their own creation. 

We can legitimately compete in the expression of spiritual virtues.  Ruhiyyih Khanum, wife of the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, wrote that Shoghi Effendi “frequently quoted Bahá'u'lláh's admonition: ‘Vie ye with each other in the service of God and of His Cause’ and openly encouraged a competitive spirit in its noblest form.” (The Priceless Pearl: 400)   As an immature attitude and behavior, destructive competition is fed and nurtured by philosophies such as nationalism, sexism, racism, and all those other isms that divide a single humanity into separate camps of self-interested people.  The wellspring of all wrong competition is the attitude of me-first.  Such competition is more characteristic of the world of animals than the human kingdom.
         But the spiritual form of competition reverses the direction and purpose of moral effort.  ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes: “Happy the soul that shall forget his own good and, like the chosen ones of God, vie with his fellows in service to the good of all.” (The Secret of Divine Civilization:116) Looking out for others rather than "number one" is something “inherent” to our higher nature, though it must be brought forth or educed.  It can be done because such vying to serve others brings happiness to the soul.  But an improper education tells us that we are nothing more than naked monkeys and, ignorant of our true nature, we never grow out of this dreary, self-interested, ego-thinking and acting.

While it may be hard to believe that, given humanity’s bloodstained past, unity, reciprocity and cooperation, and spiritually vying for the good of others, are possible to achieve and maintain, the reason lies not in our nature, but in an education that has brought us down to a poverty of self-understanding.  That is, the reason lies not in something we are and, therefore, cannot change, but something we have learned to be and can, therefore, unlearn. But to prove these assertions is not possible through words alone.  Models of behavior must demonstrate the efficacy of spiritual principle to transform the self and society.  But also criteria that measure this new kind of real wealth are needed.

            In a material economy wealth is measured in financial terms, by the number and quality of goods available, the capital needed to produce these goods and deliver them to the consumer, and the amount of money one has to purchase commodities, whether goods or services, materials or labor.  In a spiritual economy wealth can be measured by the services and self-sacrifices community members give to each other.  Service is the currency of the Divine Economy.

Baha’u’llah admonishes, for example: “Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches….Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavors be spent in promoting your personal interest.” (Tablets of Baha’u’llah: 138)  How opposite is this statement to the moral order we are trying to grow out from?  ‘Abdu’l-Baha echoes this sentiment: “the happiness and greatness, the rank and station, the pleasure and peace, of an individual have never consisted in his personal wealth, but rather in his excellent character, his high resolve, the breadth of his learning, and his ability to solve difficult problems.” (The Secret of Divine Civilization:23)

Prosperity is achieved between individuals and small groups primarily through networks of service, sharing, and cooperation.  It is a change from looking out for oneself to caring for each other.  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says: “Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race….Let each one of God’s loved ones centre his attention on this: to be the Lord’s mercy to man; to be the Lord’s grace. Let him do some good to every person whose path he crosseth, and be of some benefit to him. Let him improve the character of each and all, and reorient the minds of men.” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l Baha:3)  “Beware,” says Bahá’u’lláh, “lest ye prefer yourselves above your neighbors.” (Gleanings:315)  Service and preferring others is the foundation of prosperity.  But if we are to have ethical economies of scale, social justice achieved by law is required and, as I stated at the outset, institutions must be designed that nurture not denature our higher self.

‘Abdu’l-Baha said while in Paris: “Certainly, some being enormously rich and others lamentably poor, an organization is necessary to control and improve this state of affairs. It is important to limit riches, as it is also of importance to limit poverty. Either extreme is not good. To be seated in the mean is most desirable. If it be right for a capitalist to possess a large fortune, it is equally just that his workman should have a sufficient means of existence.

A financier with colossal wealth should not exist whilst near him is a poor man in dire necessity. When we see poverty allowed to reach a condition of starvation it is a sure sign that somewhere we shall find tyranny. Men must bestir themselves in this matter, and no longer delay in altering conditions which bring the misery of grinding poverty to a very large number of the people. The rich must give of their abundance, they must soften their hearts and cultivate a compassionate intelligence, taking thought for those sad ones who are suffering from lack of the very necessities of life.

There must be special laws made, dealing with these extremes of riches and of want. The members of the Government should consider the laws of God when they are framing plans for the ruling of the people. The general rights of mankind must be guarded and preserved.” (Paris Talks: 153-154)

Next post will conclude our discussion of the moral economy.

A direct link to my book, Renewing the Sacred, is http://tinyurl.com/cndew5a.  It is now also in Kindle.

The Fourth Part of Prosperity

It is not merely material well-being that people need. What they desperately need is to know how to live their lives — they need to know who they are, to what purpose they exist, and how they should act towards one another; and, once they know the answers to these questions they need to be helped to gradually apply these answers to everyday behaviour. 

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986: 283)

I said at the beginning of these posts on the moral economy that to solve our economic crisis two kinds of education were required, spiritual, or ideal education, and material, or practical education.  Of these two, spiritual education is by far the more important one, so I have dwelt at some length upon it, as it not only gives us a new paradigm for economic study, but also points to the way out of our economic malaise. But to do as the House of Justice advises and apply the answers to the first three questions—i.e. who are you?, to what purpose do you exist?, and how should we act towards one another?—“to everyday behavior”, takes us to the practical side.   

In practical education are learned the arts and sciences and skills for employment, the finding of one’s calling and performing acts of service.   Many educational systems today focus solely on preparing students for career, for employment, and for going about the business of earning a living.  But many students leave their “education” without being able to find a job.  In my opinion, this is because conceptualizing the moral context for study remains an elusive goal.  While jobs are obviously important, the proper moral context is larger than that of achieving merely personal comfort.  Achieving comfort seems practical, but it is only self-centeredly so.  It is ego-practical.  The practical education I have in mind must promote a moral context of, among other things, empowering the disempowered, of generating sustainable material wealth by focusing upon stewardship of the renewable energy sources of sun, wind and water in the physical environment, and of removing all material incentives to engage in war and exploitation, or that legitimate an unchecked profit-motive. 

Too, besides obtaining skills for employment, a spiritually practical education would inculcate moral principles of behavior and develop the intellectual skills of critical thinking and evaluation that enable students to comprehensively analyze their social and intellectual environment in the light of spiritual principles.  Further they must be helped to understand the interplay of spiritual principles and material forces to know how to build a sustainable social system, and, if their current system is not sustainable, then execute the means to bring about a progressive change. 

The House of Justice wrote that youth must have a program that “engages their expanding consciousness in an exploration of reality that helps them to analyse the constructive and destructive forces operating in society and to recognize the influence these forces exert on their thoughts and actions, sharpening their spiritual perception, enhancing their powers of expression and reinforcing moral structures that will serve them throughout their lives. At an age when burgeoning intellectual, spiritual and physical powers become accessible to them, they are being given the tools needed to combat the forces that would rob them of their true identity as noble beings and to work for the common good.” (Universal House of Justice Ridvan 2010)

We are created rich in the spiritual wealth of virtue, but we need to know how to bring these riches out of our higher nature and apply them in order to transform an increasingly dysfunctional materialist order into a functioning spiritual one.  A realignment of the material and social forces and values of the current order will not be sufficient to make the needed change.  Something far more fundamental is required.  Spiritually-inspired action is needed.

Bahá’u’lláh in one short statement indicated how any individual can apply spiritual principles: “Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.” (Gleanings: 284)

By now it should be obvious that the inherently divisive and obsessively polarizing ego-based reason that has dominated human thought and action for centuries is not the source of attitudes of cooperation, altruism, sharing and giving that are the basis of human prosperity, but are the very antithesis of them.  There is no doubt that spiritual behavior can not appear so long as we remain at the level of ego-consciousness, however idealistic it can appear to be.  Ego-consciousness is founded upon seeing another as the other.  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warns: “See ye no strangers; rather see all men as friends, for love and unity come hard when ye fix your gaze on otherness.” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha: 24)   If prosperity is to be achieved for all we must first be infused with a consciousness of humanity’s oneness and recognize the need for greater cooperation.  This is the prerequisite for all other activity.   

Greater wealth and real growth is created more by cooperation than by competition, no matter what the theorists of unbridled free-market capitalism say.  Modern physics tell us that all visible matter represents about 4% of the known matter in the known universe.  If a similar ratio holds between the known forms of wealth and the unmanifest potential for wealth, then only 4% of our wealth capacities are known and in use and circulation.  We humans spend a great deal of time competing to get a piece of that 4%.  But in doing so we are missing out on the 96% of wealth that is possible to create through cooperation.  To bring these untapped possibilities into existence requires that: “We should continually be establishing new bases for human happiness and creating and promoting new instrumentalities toward this end.”  (The Secret of Divine Civilization:3)  We must learn to cooperate not compete.  Until that point, though, we can compete to cooperate.  I'll discuss that in detail next post. 

A direct link to my book, Renewing the Sacred, is http://tinyurl.com/cndew5a.  It is now also in Kindle.

The Virtues of Prosperity: Detachment, Contentment, Action

To know that it is possible to reach a state of perfection, is good; to march forward on the path is better. We know that to help the poor and to be merciful is good and pleases God, but knowledge alone does not feed the starving man, nor can the poor be warmed by knowledge or words in the bitter winter; we must give the practical help of Loving-kindness.

(Abdu'l-Baha in London:60)

          So far I have presented seven of the ten virtues of prosperity: love, truthfulness, trustworthiness,  faith, generosity, gratitude, humility. 

The eighth virtue is detachment.  Detachment is the opposite of attachment.  If wealth is to flow freely and humanity is to achieve prosperity, detachment from material things is necessary so wealth may flow, so that all may be affluent.  But detachment, in turn, stems from a real consciousness of humanity’s oneness, and from a sense of inner well-being. Baha’u’llah wrote: “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.” (The Hidden Words Arabic #68)   With detachment the fires of greed and avarice will be stilled, and the fears of insecurity dissolved.

In the realm of action, detachment is to leave all things to God, the Universal, infinite Mind, to achieve any result wished for.  But to be receptive to whatever God decides is not to put our desire out there and do nothing except enter into a passive state of listless waiting.  That would make apathy appear principled.  While working diligently, we should let go of any notion of how we think the desire must be realized because the infinite Mind knows far better than we do how to organize things to accomplish our wish through the universal relationships organizing the world.  The essence of detachment in economic circumstances was summed up by Baha’u’llah this way: “Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more.” (The Hidden Words Arabic #52)  That is, true detachment is from the world entirely, from both its prosperity and its abasement.  The reason for this is that, as we read earlier, fear and peril are embedded in material riches.  We should flee from the world and its false promises of wealth by accumulation and turn to God for security and help, for He is the help in peril, and give generously of our substance.  We are potentially in peril just by being in the world.  Detachment is an ark.

The ninth virtue is contentment.  Contentment is the obverse of detachment.  They work together.  Baha’u’llah writes: “Put away all covetousness and seek contentment; for the covetous hath ever been deprived, and the contented hath ever been loved and praised.” (The Hidden Words Persian #50)  The soul in the Valley of Contentment, Bahá’u’lláh says: “…feeleth the winds of divine contentment blowing from the plane of the spirit. He burneth away the veils of want, and with inward and outward eye, perceiveth within and without all things the day of: “God will compensate each one out of His abundance.” (The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys: 29)

Contentment means to be satisfied with whatever comes our way.  If we have the desire for some goal,  work hard for its realization yet with detachment from result, practice the virtues faithfully, and still the desired reality does not manifest, then it is for the best.  Believing this enables contentment to kick in.  All desires should be with the proviso: “If God so wishes.”  In this regard Bahá’u’lláh wrote to a petitioner: “Concerning thine own affairs, if thou wouldst content thyself with whatever might come to pass it would be praiseworthy. To engage in some profession is highly commendable, for when occupied with work one is less likely to dwell on the unpleasant aspects of life.” (Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh:175)  Truly contentment is a wonderful gem.

The tenth virtue is Action.  This is perhaps the most important virtue.  At least it is the one that, like a convex lens, brings the radiant light of the other virtues into a single focal point of energy.  To one individual Shoghi Effendi gave a concise and comprehensive outline of the steps to take to solve problems or meet challenges.  In his full explanation the Guardian listed five steps, the first four—prayer, meditation, determination, confidence—tell how to get up some inner steam.  But the fifth step is action.  But it is action of a certain kind which many of us should keep in mind.  It is the action of the supreme talisman.

The recorder wrote: “Then, he said, lastly, ACT; Act as though it had all been answered. Then act with tireless, ceaseless energy. And as you act, you, yourself, will become a magnet, which will attract more power to your being, until you become an unobstructed channel for the Divine power to flow through you. Many pray but do not remain for the last half of the first step. Some who meditate arrive at a decision, but fail to hold it. Few have the determination to carry the decision through, still fewer have the confidence that the right thing will come to their need. But how many remember to act as though it had all been answered? How true are those words – “Greater than the prayer is the spirit in which it is uttered” and greater than the way it is uttered is the spirit in which it is carried out.” (Principles of Baha’i Administration: A Compilation:91.)

These are my ten personal virtues of prosperity.  While it may be hard to believe that, given humanity’s supposedly selfish nature, such virtues are possible to achieve and maintain, the reason lies not in our nature, but in an education that has brought us down to a poverty of self-understanding.  The fault is not in something we are and, therefore, cannot change, but something we have learned to be and can, therefore, unlearn. But to prove these assertions is not possible through words alone.  Models of behavior must demonstrate the efficacy of spiritual principle to transform the self and society.  But this, too, by itself may not generate a transformative power within the soul.  Shoghi Effendi admonished the Baha’is regarding their own work to advance the influence of their Faith: “One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh.” (Baha'i Administration: 66)  The same kind of admonition goes for practicing nobility.

Let us turn to the final question and discuss how to practically apply this spiritual knowledge.

A direct link to my book, Renewing the Sacred, is http://tinyurl.com/cndew5a.  It is now also in Kindle.