At such a time as
this Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed the first principle of His mission and teaching—the
oneness of the world of humanity. His second announcement was the investigation
of reality; the third was the oneness of the foundations of the divine
religions. Through spiritual education He led the people out of darkness and
ignorance into the clear light of truth, illuminated their hearts with the
splendor of knowledge, laid a true and universal basis for religious teachings,
cultivated the virtues of humanity, conferred spiritual susceptibilities,
awakened inner perceptions and changed the dishonor of prejudiced souls to the
highest degree of honor and capacity.
(Abdu'l-Baha,
The Promulgation of Universal Peace: 341)
Recall
that, in regards to peace, the House of Justice stated: “For, in essence, peace
stems from an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral attitude, and it is
chiefly in evoking this attitude that the possibility of enduring solutions can
be found.” How is the spiritual or moral
attitude evoked? They go on:
“There
are spiritual principles, or what some call human values, by which solutions
can be found for every social problem. Any well-intentioned group can in a
general sense devise practical solutions to its problems, but good intentions
and practical knowledge are usually not enough. The essential merit of
spiritual principle is that it not only presents a perspective which harmonizes
with that which is immanent in human nature, it also induces an attitude, a
dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery and
implementation of practical measures.” (The
Promise of World Peace: para 37)
The
process then is essentially an educational one, a bringing forth or evoking of
inner states, conditions and powers into greater maturity, integrity, and
complexity. That is, a particular faculty of perception and the dimension of
experience that faculty is designed to perceive are interconnected. Like every other human faculty, the spiritual potential in human nature is
actualized when the relationship between faculty and dimension is clearly established: i.e. when a perspective
“harmonizes with that which is immanent in human nature” and this harmony “induces,
“an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery
and implementation of practical measures.” To bring this spiritual alchemy
about, however, a catalyst—i.e. a model or knowledge structure of that dimension—is needed. That is the role of spiritual principles.
Spiritual
principles, such as the essential harmony of science and religion, the equality
of the sexes, the Oneness of God and of religion, the abolition of all
prejudice, the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty, shape moral
attitudes, evoke spiritual feelings, and drive individual and collective
transformational social action. Such
principles are all part of the teachings of Baha’u’llah. Let us recall that “unity can never be
achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed
are suffered to pass unheeded.” (Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 286) Part of the reason this is true is precisely
that these principles resonate with that which is immanent in human
nature. They form a sort of intellectual
magnet that attracts and draws forth spiritual and moral potentials, as math
presents a knowledge structure which harmonizes with certain mental abilities centered
on number and quantity that are immanent in the mind and draws them forth. Language
does the same with latent verbal abilities.
Recent
scientific research shows the beneficial effects of mindfulness, of performing
service to others, of gratitude. Mirror neurons seem to kick-in and create
neurological pathways within the observer that replicate the neurological
pathways associated with the mental and emotional states of those they witness
performing acts of kindness. Thus there exists a profound interaction at
different levels between knowledge and being.
A certain form of knowledge draws forth a certain kind of being, and
being, i.e. actions and practices, generates further knowledge of that state. The Master reminds us that, in essence, knowledge
is not a quantity but a state. He says:
“knowledge, which is a state attained to by the intelligence, is an
intellectual condition; and entering and coming out of the mind are imaginary
conditions; but the mind is connected with the acquisition of knowledge, like
images reflected in a mirror.” (Some
Answered Questions: 108) And
Baha’u’llah opens His most challenging theological work, The Kitab-i-Iqan (Book
of Certitude) with this declaration: “No man shall attain the shores of the ocean
of true understanding except he be detached from all that is in heaven and on
earth. Sanctify your souls, O ye peoples of the world, that haply ye may attain
that station which God hath destined for you and enter thus the tabernacle
which, according to the dispensations of Providence, hath been raised in the
firmament of the Bayan….man can never hope to attain unto the knowledge of the
All-Glorious, can never quaff from the stream of divine knowledge and wisdom,
can never enter the abode of immortality, nor partake of the cup of divine
nearness and favour, unless and until he ceases to regard the words and deeds
of mortal men as a standard for the true understanding and recognition of God
and His Prophets.” (The Kitab-i-Iqan,
p. 3-4)
Spiritual principles and knowledge draw forth
our spiritual nature, and acting through this nature generates greater
spiritual knowledge, meaning that the mind has attained the state of spiritual
knowing. Thus, ‘Abdu’l-Baha continues
the above quote: “Therefore, as it is evident and clear that the intellectual
realities do not enter and descend, and it is absolutely impossible that the
Holy Spirit should ascend and descend, enter, come out or penetrate, it can
only be that the Holy Spirit appears in splendor, as the sun appears in the
mirror.” (Some Answered Questions: 108) It only appears in splendor in the
spiritually receptive heart that radiantly shines its light upon the mind.
This
interplay of knowledge and being indicates, as the document One Common Faith states, that: “The
rational soul does not merely occupy a private sphere, but is an active
participant in the social order.” (One
Common Faith:15)
This
discussion sheds light, perhaps, on Baha’u’llah’s statements in the opening
paragraph of His Most Holy Book on the twin duties—one inner, one outer—of
recognition and obedience laid upon every believer: “The first duty prescribed
by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His
Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both
the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty
hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof hath gone astray,
though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth
this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every
ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable.
Neither is acceptable without the other. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who
is the Source of Divine inspiration.” (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas: 19)
That
which is immanent in human nature is the rational faculty or power of
understanding. “Consider the rational
faculty with which God hath endowed the essence of man.” (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah:
163) It operates both within and
without. The rational faculty is that
center and essence, both pivot and totality, Source and motive power, of the
inner human reality that the principle of the oneness of humankind is for outer
social life and organization. The House
of Justice proclaims: “The endowments which distinguish the human race from all
other forms of life are summed up in what is known as the human spirit; the
mind is its essential quality. These endowments have enabled humanity to build
civilizations and to prosper materially. But such accomplishments alone have
never satisfied the human spirit, whose mysterious nature inclines it towards
transcendence, a reaching towards an invisible realm, towards the ultimate
reality, that unknowable essence of essences called God. The religions brought
to mankind by a succession of spiritual luminaries have been the primary link
between humanity and that ultimate reality, and have galvanized and refined
mankind's capacity to achieve spiritual success together with social progress.”
(The Promise of World Peace: para 12)
The
human soul or spirit, then, is no ghostly entity loosely associated with the
more real body and which kind of deflates and blows away like a balloon when
its anchor unmoors from material life at death.
Quite the opposite. From a
spiritual point of view the body is the more vaporous entity, while the soul has
a solidness that endures for eternity.
But
the soul is no mere motor of energy, either.
It is full of individualized faculties and capacities that apprehend
creation’s different levels of intelligence.
Human beings have sensory faculties which they share with the
animals. These are powers through which
the external world is apprehended.
Our
mental faculties are part of our spiritual endowments, being inherent cognitive
or perceptual powers of the mind. Such faculties as the power of
attention or concentration; of speech and language; of memory; of intellect, reasoning
and understanding, giving the capacity for rational thought, inference and
discrimination; moral capacities for deciding right from wrong, good and evil; of
volition and will, which are the capabilities of conscious choice, decision and
intention, when taken together, are part and parcel of being human. But all these individual powers are
expressions of one central power, and they come together at that stage named
maturity.
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