Souls must be
transformed, communities thereby consolidated, new models of life thus
attained. Transformation is the essential purpose of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh,
but it lies in the will and effort of the individual to achieve it in obedience
to the Covenant.
(Universal
House of Justice, A Wider Horizon,
Selected Letters 1983-1992: 64-65)
When
we look into the human kingdom, the importance of will and volition in human development,
especially spiritual development, cannot be overemphasized. "The incomparable
Creator hath created all men from one same substance, and hath exalted their
reality above the rest of His creatures. Success or failure, gain or loss,
must, therefore, depend upon man’s own exertions. The more he striveth, the
greater will be his progress." (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 82-83) But here we can confront
and explicate the huge reversal that must occur when moving from the human into
the spiritual. It is the reversal that occurs whenever a transcendent move must be made, for the whole unfolded development of a organism becomes enfolded into the centerpoint of a whole new kind of progress, as the whole of the seed unfolded into the tree and the whole of the tree is enfolded and embodied in the fruit.
When moving from the natural to the human the individual
self-assertive will was born, a separation by reversal out of
the collective, tribal mentality. The
individual became an entity in himself i.e. a human, reflective self. This birth of the subjective self is both the
fruit of a long phase of human development and the seed for the next
millennia-long phase. It was both the
enfolding into a new manifest human reality of spiritual qualities and mental
abilities developed over centuries of advance, and the beginning of the unfolding
of a whole new set of qualities lying within the fruit/seed. Similarly the movement today from human to
spiritual can only occur when the self-assertive will is sacrificed so it can
be reborn into the self-sacrificing soul.
Volitional
capacity is defined not only by the faith to achieve goals, but also by the
determination to take needed action, by what is actually chosen to do and
carried out. Faith is a key element in
this process, for as an aid to formulating goals and purpose it is central to
generating motivation and action. Even in today’s materialistic age,
faith retains “its central role in
consciousness.” It’s just that it “appeared impotent to influence the course of
events.” (One Common Faith: 12)
Sometimes the greatest act of faith is that of
surrender, the giving up of self for a greater selfhood, of assertive ego
individuality for a humble spiritual one.
Faith is built upon hope. But while faith is, spiritually, the perfection of the
intellect, hope is an act of the will, as is overcoming fear. Hope is a desire
for all that is good—that is, for all that can bring us to God. Fear then is a healthy avoidance of all that
takes the soul away from God. This is
the foundational power of hope and fear in the volitional arena.
The
significance of will and volition is implied in Abdu’l-Baha’s statement that in
spite of the numerous things beyond human control, the most significant events
(our moral and ethical choices), are not. “Some
things are subject to the free will of man, such as justice, equity, tyranny
and injustice, in other words, good and evil actions; it is evident and clear
that these actions are, for the most part, left to the will of man.” (Some Answered Questions: 248)
We
know that willing is not just a capacity for volition and intentions, but, in
relation to creating reality, it is the first capacity, the one that gets
everything else going, the link between mind or knowledge and action. The will is the greatest faculty for advancement and progress, for the will is
incapable of willing backwards. We can,
however, will to give up the will.
When this is not a cancellation of action that leads to paralysis, it is
not only our supreme moral act, but also the greatest act of empowerment. Recall the Master is reported to have said: “It is a great power to have a strong
will, but a greater power to give that will to God.”
Hannah
Arendt states: “Only by surmounting an inner resistance does the Will become
aware of its genesis.” (The Life of the
Mind: 162) But I wonder about that. Awareness of this sort is intellectual. No doubt, by overcoming resistance the will
knows and can increase its power. But
the greatest resistance to overcome is not willing to negate another volition,
but not willing to negate the self. This
often occurs from a belief that there is no life after this one, only
extinction. But some things are only
known to exist by their opposites. That
is, if material life exists, that itself is an indirect proof of the life of
the spirit. The Master explains: Among
the proofs of the existence of a divine power is this: that things are often
known by their opposites. Were it not for darkness, light could not be sensed.
Were it not for death, life could not be known. If ignorance did not exist,
knowledge would not be a reality. It is
necessary that each should exist in order that the other should have reality…Things
are known by their opposites.” (The
Promulgation of Universal Peace: 82)
Also when one is in great trial or difficulty the will
often falters. The way out may be
surprising. ‘Abdu’l-Baha stated: “The afflictions which come to
humanity sometimes tend to centre the consciousness upon the limitations, and
this is a veritable prison. Release comes by making of the will a Door through
which the confirmations of the Spirit come. “The confirmations of the Spirit
are all those powers and gifts which some are born with (and which men
sometimes call genius), but for which others have to strive with infinite
pains. They come to that man or woman who accepts his life with radiant
acquiescence.” ('Abdu'l-Baha in London: 120-121) Willing self-surrender is the greatest act of
empowerment, for the soul connects with the almighty, divine Power.
Again
this is not a one-time or spasmodic thing, but can be turned into a central
pillar of one’s life, if one wishes to tap into spiritual power
consistently. The Master stated that to
fully manifest this power that penetrates to the realities of things, “we must be self-abnegating, we must
have pure spirits, pure intentions, and strive with heart and soul while in the
human world to attain everlasting glory.” (The
Promulgation of Universal Peace: 187)
This is not a new teaching for this age.
The Lord Christ stated two thousand years ago: “For whosoever will save
his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same
shall save it.” (King James Bible,
Luke 9:24) The difference is that in
Christ’s time the principle was for the emerging single individual. Today, the principle applies to the emerging
single collective, humankind.
Willing to know God
is a willingness to be self-abnegating.
To humbly submit to the counsels of Baha’u’llah in regards to organizing
human affairs is the volitional means to bring about unity and peace.
Will is the first cause of creation because it alone comes out of
itself. That is, it alone of all
faculties has the power to move itself or not, and it is this ability to will
yes or no that is the basis within humanity of obedience or disobedience to the
dictates of divine Will.
Regarding
the establishment of world peace, ‘Abdu’l-Baha stated: "All of us know
that international peace is good, that it is conducive to human welfare and the
glory of man, but volition and action are necessary before it can be
established. Action is essential. Inasmuch as this century is a century of
light, capacity for action is assured to mankind.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace: 120)
Since
moral choices and actions are within the scope of human will, then the capacity
to choose and will peace is assured. But
choice must be informed choice, not just of social possibilities but, the more
important knowledge is knowledge of actual human nature, for this knowledge enables real
choices to be made.
Will
is the creative power and ground of the plane of manifestation, linking this
plane to the essential plane of Spirit.
Since the essential merit of spiritual principle is that it harmonizes
with that which is immanent in the human reality, and this harmony generates
“an aspiration, a will, a dynamic”, and since unity is unattainable so long as
the counsels of Baha’u’llah are not recognized and followed, then absence of
spiritual principle in human affairs will not generate the necessary volition
and determination to tackle deep-seated problems and challenges, like establishing
peace. In this context we can understand
why Shoghi Effendi called our “Age of Transition” the “Age of Frustration.” (The World Order of Baha'u'llah: 171) It is an age characterized by, as the House
of Justice puts it, “a paralysis of will” that “must be carefully examined and
resolutely dealt with.” “This paralysis is rooted,” they go on, “in a
deep-seated conviction of the inevitable quarrelsomeness of mankind, which has
led to the reluctance to entertain the possibility of subordinating national
self-interest to the requirements of world order, and in an unwillingness to
face courageously the far-reaching implications of establishing a united world
authority. It is also traceable to the incapacity of largely ignorant and
subjugated masses to articulate their desire for a new order in which they can
live in peace, harmony and prosperity with all humanity.” (The Promise of World Peace: para. 26)
Through
its spiritual principles, which are
the rational part of Revelation, the Religion of God educates the heart
and soul, taps the roots of motivation, and generates individual and collective
volition. Collective capacity for action
is the result of the generation of a common will and widening of vision. The power of action lies first within the individual,
but it surges within the group collectivity.
The dynamic of will can be used to generate a collective human will to
achieve peace.
A universal cycle of human development has
ended, a new era of spiritual development of humanity has dawned; eternal
truths are being discovered and applied.
Hence one can read simultaneously both the foundational language of
essences, soils, and ground alongside paeans to the glory of this Day. But all comes forth from the faculty of
the heart encounter with the Word that brings forth its grounding in universal
love.
No comments:
Post a Comment