The Two States of Nature

Nature is that condition, that reality, which in appearance consists in life and death, or, in other words, in the composition and decomposition of all things.

Briefly, the world of existence is progressive. It is subject to development and growth.

This Nature is subjected to an absolute organization, to determined laws, to a complete order and a finished design, from which it will never depart—to such a degree, indeed, that if you look carefully and with keen sight, from the smallest invisible atom up to such large bodies of the world of existence as the globe of the sun or the other great stars and luminous spheres, whether you regard their arrangement, their composition, their form or their movement, you will find that all are in the highest degree of organization and are under one law from which they will never depart.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions: 3)

Examining with care ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s statement above gives us the two states of Nature, the world of being.  First, it is a reality which in appearance consists in life and death, or, in other words, in the composition and decomposition of all things. That is, the appearance and disappearance of things in Nature is because they compose and decompose.  But, composition and decomposition is not a mindless ricorso, or return to the beginning, to start the same cycle.  For the other condition of appearance is that the world of existence is progressive. It is subject to development and growth. These two conditions make the state of appearance.

The other and more fundamental state of Nature, the underlying condition of the condition of appearance, is that: This Nature is subjected to an absolute organization, to determined laws, to a complete order and a finished design, from which it will never depart….  Thus, there are not only laws of regulation, i.e. of composition and decomposition, and of progression, of growth and development, but also an unchanging foundational law making all things under one law from which they will never depart.

Further: "(W)hen you look at Nature itself, you see that it has no intelligence, no will. For instance, the nature of fire is to burn; it burns without will or intelligence. The nature of water is fluidity; it flows without will or intelligence. The nature of the sun is radiance; it shines without will or intelligence.” (Some Answered Questions: 4)  How are recurring cycles which nevertheless progress possible if the foundational law never varies, and if Nature is without intelligence and will?

This takes us back to wisdom and intellect, the creative powers of the universe.  Wisdom is the underlying laws from which all things appear, are composed and decompose, yet progress.  Wisdom is the unchanging archetypes of existence, the “one law” of all things.  Intellect is the configuring power of these archetypes and their power of progression. The configuration of the foundational laws when done by the Manifestation, the “universal intellect”, is in comformity with wisdom, yet never makes the same arrangement.  Everything in Nature is unique. But, also remember Baha’u’llah’s statement: “That which hath been in existence had existed before, but not in the form thou seest today.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 140)  That is, it is an unique expression of an archetypal pattern.

Baha’u’llah declares about these relations: “Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise. Were anyone to affirm that it is the Will of God as manifested in the world of being, no one should question this assertion.  It is endowed with a power whose reality men of learning fail to grasp. Indeed a man of insight can perceive naught therein save the effulgent splendour of Our Name, the Creator. Say: This is an existence which knoweth no decay, and Nature itself is lost in bewilderment before its revelations, its compelling evidences and its effulgent glory which have encompassed the universe.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah:142)

Again, He first talks about the state of the essence of Nature, then He discusses the “manifestations” of the appearance of natural things which “are diversified by varying causes.”  Nature itself “knows no decay”, (i.e. it is eternal as a level of reality) because it is “the Will of God as manifested in the world of being.”  Indeed, so wonderful is the creative power of the Will of God upon Nature that “Nature itself is lost in bewilderment before its revelations.”

Though Nature is without intelligence and will, the perfections latent within it evolve and develop through the Will of God.  For certain, Nature evolved on its own to a certain degree, because it itself is one of the diversity of causes mentioned by Baha’u’llah.  There are purely material causes.  But only by the instrumentality of human thought and work does Nature reach true perfection, do weeds become crops, thistles change to flowers, the barren tree is cultivated into a fruitful one, and the bitter fruit becomes sweet. 

On the purely physical plane, composing the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, these perfections are all physical, the minerals evolving to produce great gems of beauty and lustre, the vegetable kingdom evolving to produce flowers and trees of surpassing loveliness and fruit, and the animal kingdom evolving to produce all the perfections of the sensory world, plus the strength and grace of muscle and sinew.

But the world of existence includes the human world, and our perfections are intellectual and cultural, building the great civilizations, developing law, the sciences and the arts.  In short, human education perfects Nature when properly applied. 

It may seem strange that human education is necessary for nature to be complete, but ‘Abdu’l-Baha asserts: “It is evident, therefore, that the world of nature is incomplete, imperfect until awakened and illumined by the light and stimulus of education.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace:309)   In another talk, He pointed out, in response to certain philosophies that say all humans need is Nature, because Nature is perfect: “If the world of nature were perfect and complete in itself, there would be no need of such training and cultivation in the human world—no need of teachers, schools and universities, arts and crafts. The revelations of the Prophets of God would not have been necessary, and the heavenly Books would have been superfluous.  If the world of nature were perfect and sufficient for mankind, we would have no need of God and our belief in Him. Therefore, the bestowal of all these great helps and accessories to the attainment of divine life is because the world of nature is incomplete and imperfect.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace:310)

All development is through the power of Revelation educating human beings, and through the progressive bringing forth (i.e. educing) of the inexhaustible power of the names of God latent within every create thing.  These names and attributes are signs of God.  These are the spiritual foundation to Nature, underneath even that of Mind.  They are the foundational level of archetypes which the Manifestations renew, regenerate and reconfigure by Revelation, according to Wisdom, to make Nature and the world of existence progress. Baha’u’llah states: "Know thou that every created thing is a sign of the revelation of God. Each, according to its capacity, is, and will ever remain, a token of the Almighty. Inasmuch as He, the sovereign Lord of all, hath willed to reveal His sovereignty in the kingdom of names and attributes, each and every created thing hath, through the act of the Divine Will, been made a sign of His glory. So pervasive and general is this revelation that nothing whatsoever in the whole universe can be discovered that doth not reflect His splendor." (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 184)

We will explore more about wisdom in the next post.