Universal Mind

All that we see around us is the work of mind. It is mind in the herb and in the mineral that acts on the human body, and changes its condition.

(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London: 95)

That there is a mental foundation to the physical universe is not just a rediscovery of modern physics, but is also part of the Baha’i Teachings. This subtle mental level of the physical universe is what many ancient philosophers called, and an increasing number of modern researchers are calling, the ether.  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says: “Even ethereal matter, the forces of which are said in physics to be heat, light, electricity and magnetism, is an intellectual reality, and is not sensible. In the same way, nature, also, in its essence is an intellectual reality, and is not sensible.” (Some Answered Questions:83)  In another place, he stated: “For example, ethereal matter is not sensible, though it has an undoubted existence. The power of attraction is not sensible, though it certainly exists. From what do we affirm these existences? From their signs. Thus this light is the vibration of that ethereal matter, and from this vibration we infer the existence of ether.” (Some Answered Questions:189)

Now this foundational intellectual level of physical reality is not a passive presence, but an active power.  Baha’u’llah tells us that: “The entire creation hath been called into being through the Will of God, magnified be His glory, and peerless Adam hath been fashioned through the agency of His all-compelling Word, a Word which is the source, the wellspring, the repository, and the dawning-place of the intellect. From it all creation hath proceeded, and it is the channel of God's primal grace.” (Tabernacle of Unity 141-142)

Now, by intellect Baha’u’llah means, I believe, the “universal intellect” of the Manifestation.  This universal intellect is the mind that ‘Abdu’l-Baha said was created before all else, as we read in a previous post.  It is the mind working in “all that we see around us”, that is present also in “the herb and in the mineral.”  It is the power that reconfigures the creation. (See Secret of Divine Civilization:1)  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains the relation between this Mind and other minds: “But the universal divine mind, which is beyond nature, is the bounty of the Preexistent Power. This universal mind is divine; it embraces existing realities, and it receives the light of the mysteries of God. It is a conscious power, not a power of investigation and of research. The intellectual power of the world of nature is a power of investigation, and by its researches it discovers the realities of beings and the properties of existences; but the heavenly intellectual power, which is beyond nature, embraces things and is cognizant of things, knows them, understands them, is aware of mysteries, realities and divine significations, and is the discoverer of the concealed verities of the Kingdom. This divine intellectual power is the special attribute of the Holy Manifestations and the Dawning-places of prophethood; a ray of this light falls upon the mirrors of the hearts of the righteous, and a portion and a share of this power comes to them through the Holy Manifestations.” (Some Answered Questions: 217)

Baha’u’llah confirms this understanding of universal Mind when He writes: “If the wayfarer's goal be the dwelling of the Praiseworthy One (Mahmud), this is the station of primal reason which is known as the Prophet and the Most Great Pillar.  Here reason signifieth the divine, universal mind, whose sovereignty enlighteneth all created things—nor doth it refer to every feeble brain.” (The Four Valleys:52)

The power of the universal Mind penetrates every level of creation.  In one place Baha’u’llah asserts: “The breeze of the bounty of the King of creation hath caused even the physical earth to be changed, were ye to ponder in your hearts the mysteries of divine Revelation.” (The Kitab-i-Iqan: 47)

 In another place He states that His Revelation is “all-encompassing”; its “virtues have pervaded the whole of creation. Such is their virtue that not a single atom in the entire universe can be found which doth not declare the evidences of His might, which doth not glorify His holy Name, or is not expressive of the effulgent light of His unity.” (Gleanings: 62) In still another place He asserts that “the revelations of My grace and bounty have permeated every atom of the universe.” (Gleanings: 325)

Let’s now look at this from the other, the created and contingent, side.  We know that the Word is the first emanation of God and that the power of understanding is the discoverer of the Word.  So far I have limited discussion of the power of understanding to the human world whose members are endowed with a conscious rational faculty.  However, the Master says: “The power of the understanding differs in degree in the various kingdoms of creation.”  ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks: 24)  Thus Mind is from this perspective, too, present in all the kingdoms of creation.  Given that “the reality of man is his thought”, then, using the terminology of quantum mechanics, every thought of each person is a participation in the interrelations of the universe of realities.  There are, then, no passive observers, strictly speaking, only active participants at various levels and kinds of interactions.

Eastern thought, too, has the idea of one universal Mind creating and coordinating the universe, and all beings partaking of that Mind.  In Buddhist thought we can read: “All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but One Mind, besides which nothing exists.  This Mind, which is without beginning, is unborn and indestructible…for it transcends all limits, measures, names, traces, and comparisons.  Only awake to the One Mind.” (Zen master Huang Po, quoted in The Tao of Physics)  Human beings can tap into the creative power of this One Mind, and so the Buddha is reported to have said: ‘We are what we think.  All that we are arises with our thoughts.  With our thoughts we make the world.” (Dhammapada)

And, given that the universe is an emergent reality, and that revelation is progressive, then all is evolving—i.e. new and ever more wonderful configurations are cast on the mirror of creation with every revelation.  This means, too, that every atom in the universe is evolving in its capacity to express revealed reality.  The Master again: “Therefore, each atom of the innumerable elemental atoms, during its ceaseless motion through the kingdoms of existence as a constituent of organic composition, not only becomes imbued with the powers and virtues of the kingdoms it traverses but also reflects the attributes and qualities of the forms and organisms of those kingdoms. As each of these forms has its individual and particular virtue, therefore, each elemental atom of the universe has the opportunity of expressing an infinite variety of those individual virtues. No atom is bereft or deprived of this opportunity or right of expression….It is evident, then, that each elemental atom of the universe is possessed of a capacity to express all the virtues of the universe. This is a subtle and abstract realization.” (Promulgation of Universal Peace: 286)

Our power of mind connects us with the other kingdoms of creation and allows us to understand them—and them us—and to unravel the secrets of Nature, which are some of the secrets of ourselves.  As the Manifestation, the possessor of the universal Mind, communicates with us, so we, possessors of an infinitely larger amount of understanding than the plants, animals and minerals can, nonetheless, share in the same power with all sentient beings.