The members
thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for
ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member
expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his
argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until
matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of
truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions. If after
discussion, a decision be carried unanimously, well and good; but if the Lord
forbid, differences of opinion should arise, a majority of voices must prevail.
(Bahá'í
Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932: 21-22)
There
are a couple of salient points to explore in the above quote regarding the
attitude and atmosphere of love and unity that it implies exists, and the kind
of unity to be constructed. First, it is
to be noted that, as we saw last post, ‘Abdu’l-Baha wishes those in
consultation to “arrive at unity and
truth.” Unity can be attained, in part,
when every member feels free to truthfully give his or her opinion and set
forth an argument. But any opinion
should be made, again from the last post, “as a contribution to the consensus
of opinion, for the light of reality becomes apparent when two opinions
coincide.”
When
considered in a context of seeking and discovering truth, where each member
only considers his or her ideas as helping to build “a consensus of opinion”, then
these opinions and arguments are as different reflecting facets of a single
diamond of thought, not individual and unconnected, even adversarial, personal
views clashing, cancelling, or overriding one another, seeking personal
triumph, promoting one’s opinion over others, or wrangling with another in
contentious dispute. That is because the
members start from one condition of unity, and seek to build another unity
arising out of consultation. They do not
work from a situation of disunity and strive for unity as a goal. Thus, unity
is foundation, goal and operating principle of consultation. Honest opinions based upon spiritual
principle assist this process, for ideas based on spiritual principle, entirely
unlike material things, possess an interpenetrating, mutually-defining and
enhancing spiritual nature. The light of
reality becomes apparent, because, as ‘Abdu’l-Baha stated, “reality or truth is
one”. The Master continues in this same
passage that “there are many religious beliefs, denominations, creeds and
differing opinions in the world today. Why should these differences exist?
Because they do not investigate and examine the fundamental unity, which is one
and unchangeable. If they seek reality itself, they will agree and be united;
for reality is indivisible and not multiple. It is evident, therefore, that
there is nothing of greater importance to mankind than the investigation of
truth.” (The Promulgation of Universal
Peace 26:5.)
Again,
though one in nature, truth has many facets, forms, contexts, and dimensions of
appearance. Within the functioning of
the Bahá’i Administrative Order, Shoghi Effendi stated that: “Consultation,
frank and unfettered, is the bedrock of this unique order.” And: “(T)he bedrock
of the Bahá'í administrative order is the principle of unity in diversity.” (Dawn of a New Day: 47)
In the context of consultation, unity in
diversity means, I believe, to “set forth” opinions “as a contribution to the consensus
of opinion, for the light of reality becomes apparent when two opinions
coincide”.
The
second point has to do with where truth resides. Recall that ‘Abdu’l-Baha asserted that every
member should express his opinion and set forth any argument “with absolute
freedom”. He went on: “Should any one
oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until matters are fully
discussed can the right way be revealed.” If truth is to be revealed then it exists
somewhere waiting to be revealed. It is
not just a product of human thought or imagination, neither is it some cobbled
together consensus, though these may be working models of the truth. That is, consultation educes truth from the
realm of truth. I don’t mean truth as some
sort of pre-packaged, readymade mix, needing only to be warmed up and served.
Rather revealed truth is the creative result of applying spiritual principles
to practical situations.
The
reality of the realm of truth is just those spiritual principles that the House
of Justice asserts should be used to guide all who engage in consultation. These principles are the divine, intellectual
form of Truth. For this reason the House
of Justice advises leaders, as we read last post to “first seek to identify the
principles involved and then be guided by them.” These principles also possess another
quality.
Spiritual
principle, the House of Justice avers, “presents a perspective which harmonizes
with that which is immanent in human nature”. Spiritual principles harmonize
with higher human nature, that nature, that image and likeness of God, identified
by Baha’u’llah in this passage: “Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest
find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting”. (The Arabic Hidden Words 13) The
intrinsic, resonant harmony of this higher nature with God’s Word appears when
the soul is in a receptive state. In
that condition: “Thy hearing is My hearing, hear thou therewith. Thy sight is My
sight, do thou see therewith.” (The
Arabic Hidden Words: 44)
The
presence and influence of the Word of God is not a phenomenon reserved only for
today, of course. The Lord Christ, the
Word made flesh, reportedly told His disciples: “For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (King James Bible, Book of Matthew 18:20)
‘Abdu’l-Baha Himself described spiritual conference, and presented, as its
finest example, the conference of Christ’s disciples after His ascension.
The
Master gives the following example of what He meant by spiritual conference, or
spiritual consultation. He stated: “The most memorable instance of spiritual
consultation was the meeting of the disciples of Jesus Christ upon the mount
after His ascension. They said, "Jesus Christ has been crucified, and we
have no longer association and intercourse with Him in His physical body;
therefore, we must be loyal and faithful to Him, we must be grateful and
appreciate Him, for He has raised us from the dead, He made us wise, He has
given us eternal life. What shall we do to be faithful to Him?" And so
they held council. One of them said, "We must detach ourselves from the
chains and fetters of the world; otherwise, we cannot be faithful." The
others replied, "That is so." Another said, "Either we must be
married and faithful to our wives and children or serve our Lord free from
these ties. We cannot be occupied with the care and provision for families and
at the same time herald the Kingdom in the wilderness. Therefore, let those who
are unmarried remain so, and those who have married provide means of sustenance
and comfort for their families and then go forth to spread the message of glad
tidings." There were no dissenting voices; all agreed, saying, "That
is right." A third disciple said, "To perform worthy deeds in the
Kingdom we must be further self-sacrificing. From now on we should forego ease
and bodily comfort, accept every difficulty, forget self and teach the Cause of
God." This found acceptance and approval by all the others. Finally a
fourth disciple said, "There is still another aspect to our faith and
unity. For Jesus' sake we shall be beaten, imprisoned and exiled. They may kill
us. Let us receive this lesson now. Let us realize and resolve that though we
are beaten, banished, cursed, spat upon and led forth to be killed, we shall
accept all this joyfully, loving those who hate and wound us." All the
disciples replied, "Surely we will -- it is agreed; this is right."
Then they descended from the summit of the mountain, and each went forth in a
different direction upon his divine mission.
“This
was true consultation. This was spiritual consultation and not the mere voicing
of personal views in parliamentary opposition and debate.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace:
Section 31.4)
What
form truth takes in the practical world is what is devised by those in
spiritual conference, not just with each other but with the Word of God in the
form of spiritual principle and law. For the use of spiritual principle as
guide “induces an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate
the discovery and implementation of practical measures”.
Consultation has
as its first object the investigation and apprehension of the truth. But given the above discussion this can be no
mere intellectual exercise or just mental apprehension. Consultation is, too, a process that reflects
upon and adjusts an unfolding course of action, making an organic, logically
connected series of advances toward full understanding. It is learning based on action and
reflection. Much truth, as opposed to
some idea of truth, cannot be revealed except in action. We will return to this
later. But, keep in mind, that truth
already exists waiting to be made manifest, though what form that will take
remains a mystery until it happens, for there are many, perhaps infinite,
levels and contexts of truth, and different qualities of the human intelligence
have access to different contexts of truth: the senses to sensory truth and
experience while the ordinary, rational intelligence, or human spirit “consists
of the rational, or logical, reasoning faculty, which apprehends general ideas
and things intelligible and perceptible”. Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith: 370) But
above these sensory and natural intellectual powers are higher faculties that
emerge in today’s spiritually gifted age, and which can come forth in true
consultation. To better understand this
notion and its implications for thought and action we can explore the topic of
how consultation brings forth, i.e. educes, latent powers from the power of
understanding, the supreme gift of God to humanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment