Origins and Foundations of Morality

One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh.

(Shoghi Effendi, Baha'i Administration: 66)

To better understand the phrase used by the House of Justice that spiritual principle “harmonizes with that which is immanent in human nature” we should go back to the difference between origins and foundations.  The first is an event that starts a process in time, an evolutionary or historical origin, while the other is an eternal structure that progressively unfolds in time.  The first, the manifest foundation and origin, is connected to and manifests the second, or essential foundation and purpose; that is, the origin and life of the temporal structure is an eternal, spiritual one.

Thus, by the foundations of morality I mean that eternal, metaphysical foundation laid at the creation of the universe and in the very creation of the spirit of humanity, and which is, too, the foundation and origin of community, what Jesus called “the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (The Book of Matthew 25:34) Living these eternal principles is the goal of human action, the behavioral aspect of the soul’s “mysterious nature” that “inclines it towards transcendence”.

The essential foundation of the human reality is, as Baha’u’llah stated that “all were made for harmony and union.”  The essential purpose of human social activity—i.e. how that essential foundation develops from origins in time and history—is that: “All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 214)

For me the origins of morality are in the interaction between an innate moral faculty and the Word of God.  Or, in the absence of the Word directly, in any moral code that the faculty encounters and stimulates into action.

But first: Is there a moral faculty? 

 Linguist and social theorist, Noam Chomsky, stated the argument for the existence of an innate moral faculty, writing that “it certainly seems reasonable to speculate that the moral and ethical system acquired by the child owes much to some innate human faculty and is rooted in our nature.” (Noam Chomsky, Language and Problems of Knowledge: The Managua Lectures, Cambridge MA: MIT Press p.153)

In the following passage, Baha’u’llah identifies the moral faculty in every human being: "Indeed, there existeth in man a faculty which deterreth him from, and guardeth him against, whatever is unworthy and unseemly, and which is known as his sense of shame. This, however, is confined to but a few; all have not possessed and do not possess it.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 63) (An important passage for Him as He repeated it in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf: 27-28)

This moral faculty, like every other faculty, must connect with some dimension of life.  Wayne Meeks states: “Morality names a dimension of life, a pervasive and, often, only partly conscious set of value-laden dispositions, inclinations, attitudes, and habits.” (Meeks: 4)  Psychologist and self-styled atheist, Jonathan Haidt, writes in his book The Happiness Hypothesis: “My claim is that the human mind perceives a third dimension, a specifically moral dimension that I will call ‘divinity’….  In choosing the label ‘divinity’, I am not assuming that God exists and is there to be perceived.  Rather my research on the moral emotions has led me to conclude that the human mind simply does perceive divinity and sacredness, whether or not God exists.” (The Happiness Hypothesis: 183-184) To perceive “a specifically moral dimension” via scientific research means there is an objective dimension there to perceive. 

This beautiful description of the spiritual dimension of human nature comes from a Bahá’i document: “Although there are mystical aspects that are not easily explained, the spiritual dimension of human nature can be understood, in practical terms, as the source of qualities that transcend narrow self-interest.  Such qualities include love, compassion, forbearance, trustworthiness, courage, humility, co-operation and willingness to sacrifice for the common good—qualities of an enlightened citizenry, able to construct a unified world civilization.” (Baha'i International Community, 1993 Apr 01, Sustainable Development and the Human Spirit)

However, like all those other dimensions and higher worlds that are the source of qualities that characterize our better natures, moral virtues are, because of the powerful undertow of egoistic self-interest, for the most part, and for most people, not within human power to consistently manifest without the assistance provided by the divine Manifestation of God and His Revelation. 

‘Abdu’l-Baha issued this trenchant comment on how the higher virtues come forth: “These virtues do not appear from the reality of man except through the power of God and the divine teachings, for they need supernatural power for their manifestation. It may be that in the world of nature a trace of these perfections may appear, but they are unstable and ephemeral; they are like the rays of the sun upon the wall.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions: 79-80)

He reinforced this idea to an American audience: “Through the breaths of the Holy Spirit man is uplifted into the world of moralities and illumined by the lights of divine bestowals. The moral world is only attained through the effulgence of the Sun of Reality and the quickening life of the divine spirit. For this reason the holy Manifestations of God appear in the human world. They come to educate and illuminate mankind, to bestow spiritual susceptibilities, to quicken inner perceptions and thereby adorn the reality of man—the human temple—with divine graces.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace:  330)

Higher virtues will not come forth and appear naturally and unannounced.  Rather, to receive heavenly assistance the individual must make a conscious decision to act in a certain way. Choice is of the essence of the free will.  The most important decisions are moral.  “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)

Nonetheless, divine assistance, like the light of the sun, is there regardless of human choice, for it is the propulsive power for motion and action in either moral direction.  That is, though an individual may be propelled by the divine, the direction he takes is up to him.

The Master again: “… man’s stillness or motion itself is conditioned upon the aid of God. Should this assistance fail to reach him, he can do neither good nor evil. But when the assistance of the all-bounteous Lord confers existence upon man, he is capable of both good and evil. … This condition can be likened to that of a ship that moves by the power of wind or steam. Should this power be cut off, the ship would be entirely unable to move. Nevertheless, in whatever direction the rudder is turned, the power of the steam propels the ship in that direction. If the rudder is turned to the east, the ship moves eastward, and if it is directed to the west, the ship moves west. …

“In like manner, all the doings of man are sustained by the power of divine assistance, but the choice of good or evil belongs to him alone.” (Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, newly revised edition, pp. 288-289.

The Moral Faculty: Leadeth Him to that which is Right

As religion inculcates morality, it is therefore the truest philosophy, and on it is built the only lasting civilization.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks: 32)

“Peace”, the House of Justice, explains “stems from an inner state “supported by a spiritual or moral attitude.”  Now an attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling that is demonstrated in behavior.  Thus there are two moral dimensions to explore in the following discussion, the inner spiritual attitude that supports peace, and the outer practical action that builds peaceful community on the global scale.  It is what statements originating with the Universal House of Justice call the twin duties of individual and social transformation.  The change in scope of human community from national to global and universal parallels and occurs with an advance in being from human to spiritual being. From a long historical perspective this is, again, another example of the changing temporal/organic social form embodying more fully the unchanging eternal/spiritual pattern.  Now it reaches its highest form, that of maturity.

With the practical side of morality we are in the realm of actions that everyman can do to bring about world peace. Here, morality means not the abstract rules and principles of right behavior, but what transpires between human beings under the guidance of those rules of engagement of individuals.  That is, out of the interplay between moral rules and practices and the relations of individuals with those authorities that are the guardians of these rules there gradually emerges both a normative canon of concepts of economic, legal, cultural and social justice, and civil institutions that adjudicate, apply and mediate these. However, while principles and systems are real enough, in a social context the essence of all morality is to be sought for in the respect which the individual acquires for these rules and institutions.  Morals comes from mores and ethics from ethos, which are, respectively, customs and habits.

In many respects morality is the glue building community and holding its members together, especially in times of stress. In fact, it is difficult to think of the formation and evolution of morality without also thinking of forming, building, and maintaining distinctive community. Wayne Meeks, in his book, The Origins of Christian Morality, wrote: ‘Making morals means making community.” (Meeks: 5) Yet, because images of reality differ, codes of behavior that set out what is and is not moral differ, and when systems and beliefs differ clashes occur. 

Morality, then, is, socially, deeply conservative and communal, identifying an individual as a member of a community.  From this view, in any society moral advances are individual acts of courage of moral reformers in the name of higher principles or powers that go against the settled way of thinking, but which nonetheless constitute a broadening or humanizing, of established morality, and which often cost these pioneers, such as Socrates, Martin Luther King, and Gandhi, their lives.  Today, there is little traditional community left.  But a new global community is emerging.

The situation today was summed up by Baha’u’llah: “No two men can be found who may be said to be outwardly and inwardly united. The evidences of discord and malice are apparent everywhere, though all were made for harmony and union.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 163-164)

Now, if moral rules and principles harmonize with that which is immanent in human nature, as the House of Justice says that spiritual principles do, and if institutions embody the same spiritual principles and seek the same moral goals as individuals, then the moral faculty has a situation of coherence or unity, i.e. a harmony between inner and outer aspects.  Thus there is no contradiction between the individual’s inner sense of what is right and his outer behavior that demonstrates and expresses that moral potential. 

The only way to achieve this goal in a world that is simultaneously unifying and fracturing along myriad of moral fault lines is to adopt an universal code of morality.  And if humanity is one then our collective moral development would occur with principles of right and wrong that resonate with something immanent to the native faculties of people everywhere. 

Now let’s note again that there are two natures in the human being, traditionally called lower and higher, animal and angelic.  It is here, also, within the soul of the individual, that the spiritual and social worlds meet, interact, and influence each other, where the two natures of the human being either contend or cooperate, where morality takes shape.  The phrase “harmonizing with that which is immanent to human nature” assuredly means this higher, spiritual nature.  It is this nature that responds with alacrity to spiritual principles, and not to principles that legitimate or support prejudice, oppression and discrimination, principles that so attract the lower nature.

Religion has been the foundation of nearly every code of morality.  Unity in the moral realm, then, is inconceivable independently from the teachings of the world’s greatest Spiritual Figures.  “All the Manifestations of God and His Prophets have taught the same truths and given the same spiritual law. They all teach the one code of morality. There is no division in the truth. The Sun has sent forth many rays to illumine human intelligence, the light is always the same.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks: 142)

These universal moral principles, the one code of morality spoken of by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, are not any eclectic mix of  the various cultural norms, nor man-made codes restricting and training behavior., which are often unconscious holdovers from simpler times or the mere articulation of abstract principles which have little power to actually change human behavior.  This one code of morality is not any cultural norm, but a spiritual one. It is those principles and attitudes that connect with that which is immanent in the human spirit and bring it forth in good behaviors and practices.

In short, it is the eternal principles of right behavior that are part and parcel of every Revelation that harmonize with higher human nature.  But, as we have learned, eternal structures don’t enter the world in their full form, but unfold as the human race develops and evolves in its understanding of spiritual reality.  Hence Baha’u’llah makes statements such as: “From the heaven of God's Will, and for the purpose of ennobling the world of being and of elevating the minds and souls of men, hath been sent down that which is the most effective instrument for the education of the whole human race. The highest essence and most perfect expression of whatsoever the peoples of old have either said or written hath, through this most potent Revelation, been sent down from the heaven of the Will of the All-Possessing, the Ever-Abiding God. Of old it hath been revealed: ‘Love of one's country is an element of the Faith of God.’ The Tongue of Grandeur hath, however, in the day of His manifestation proclaimed: ‘It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his who loveth the world.’ Through the power released by these exalted words He hath lent a fresh impulse, and set a new direction, to the birds of men's hearts, and hath obliterated every trace of restriction and limitation from God's holy Book.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 95-96)

Spiritual principles and the latent potentials and inner powers they bring forth are in a reciprocal relationship.  That is, they educe and support each other.  For example, the House of Justice states that: “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.”  Thus spiritual principle induces an attitude that supports peace when it is evoked.  A little later they declare about the commonality of the revealed religions: “The teaching that we should treat others as we ourselves would wish to be treated, an ethic variously repeated in all the great religions…sums up the moral attitude, the peace-inducing aspect, extending through these religions irrespective of their place or time of origin; it also signifies an aspect of unity which is their essential virtue, a virtue mankind in its disjointed view of history has failed to appreciate.”  Hence the moral attitude that supports peace also induces it through spiritual principles. 

But, traditionally, this reciprocal relationship failed to endure and our moral faculties became stunted, for the same reason that the faculties of religion and justice failed to fully develop as they should have; namely, universal divine thought was twisted and deformed by human self-interest into narrow privilege and prejudice.  “Had humanity seen the Educators of its collective childhood in their true character, as agents of one civilizing process, it would no doubt have reaped incalculably greater benefits from the cumulative effects of their successive missions. This, alas, it failed to do.” (The Promise of World Peace: 1)

The same situation appears today.  The Master explains: “Now, in our own day, history repeats itself.

“Those who would have men believe that religion is their own private property once more bring their efforts to bear against the Sun of Truth: they resist the Command of God; they invent calumnies, not having arguments against it, neither proofs.” (Paris Talks: 102)

Baha’u’llah warned the moral and religious leaders of His time: "O ye the dawning-places of knowledge!  Beware that ye suffer not yourselves to become changed, for as ye change, most men will, likewise, change. This, verily, is an injustice unto yourselves and unto others.... Ye are even as a spring. If it be changed, so will the streams that branch out from it be changed.” (Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come: 83)

A New Order of Justice

Justice, which consisteth in rendering each his due, dependeth upon and is conditioned by two words: reward and punishment. From the standpoint of justice, every soul should receive the reward of his actions, inasmuch as the peace and prosperity of the world depend thereon, even as He saith, exalted be His glory: ‘The structure of world stability and order hath been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars of reward and punishment’ In brief, every circumstance requireth a different utterance and every occasion calleth for a different course of action.

(Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle of Unity: 40)

While justice “consisteth in rendering each his due”, the concept of equity—“every circumstance requireth a different utterance and every occasion calleth for a different course of action”—broadens and relaxes the strictures of the equality of law, making true justice.  Equity may demand that more be given to some than what may be, by law, due to them, because they have been deprived of equal opportunity and resources.  Equity restores the balance and moderates the selfish impulses of those already blessed with social advantage.  The Master stated: “The Kingdom of God is founded upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion, and kindness to every living soul.” (Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha: 158)

Now equity itself, while the axial principle, or fundamental human value, in justice, is brought about through two other powers working in tandem.  The first of these is consultation, but consultation does not function alone.  In our discussion of the kerygmatic, we saw that consultation is paired with compassion.  I wrote there: “…compassion works collectively to build the unity of a group. It is itself an unique form of knowing and generating knowledge. Baha’u’llah says compassion is of equal importance to consultation in the meaningful exchange of thought: “The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion...”(Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 126) 

Their relation with justice as the inner faculty which discerns truth, and with the consultative processes that operate within the outer institutions of justice to educe and train that faculty, is further strengthened when we look at the larger statement.  Baha’u’llah wrote: “The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion and the canopy of world order is upraised upon the two pillars of reward and punishment.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 126)  Consultation and compassion are connected with intellect and the power of understanding, i.e. the recognition of spiritual principle: “The Great Being saith: The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion. Take ye counsel together in all matters, inasmuch as consultation is the lamp of guidance which leadeth the way, and is the bestower of understanding.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 168)

As the faculty that discerns truth and orders society, justice “traineth the world.”    Perhaps this is why it is the “best-beloved of all things” in His sight.  When it is a consistent system of rewards and punishments, justice and equity are life-giving, as are all other spiritual faculties when functioning properly.  Baha’u’llah tells us: “That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the sources of life to the world. Inasmuch as for each day there is a new problem and for every problem an expedient solution, such affairs should be referred to the Ministers of the House of Justice that they may act according to the needs and requirements of the time.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 27)

“The structure of world stability and order,” He further asserts, “hath been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars of reward and punishment. And in another connection He hath uttered the following in the eloquent tongue: Justice hath a mighty force at its command. It is none other than reward and punishment for the deeds of men. By the power of this force the tabernacle of order is established throughout the world, causing the wicked to restrain their natures for fear of punishment.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 163-164)

Yet, what society today embodies both of these ideals?; which community uses both wings of justice to fly?  In a stinging indictment of many penal systems, ‘Abdu’l-Baha remarked: “They build prisons, make chains and fetters, arrange places of exile and banishment, and different kinds of hardships and tortures, and think by these means to discipline criminals, whereas, in reality, they are causing destruction of morals and perversion of characters.” (Some Answered Questions: 271)

The best means of achieving justice is through moral education.  The Master again: “The communities must punish the oppressor, the murderer, the malefactor, so as to warn and restrain others from committing like crimes. But the most essential thing is that the people must be educated in such a way that no crimes will be committed; for it is possible to educate the masses so effectively that they will avoid and shrink from perpetrating crimes, so that the crime itself will appear to them as the greatest chastisement, the utmost condemnation  and torment. Therefore, no crimes which require punishment will be committed.” (Some Answered Questions: 268-269)  He is not so sanguine as to believe that crime can be completely eliminated.  But His category of crimes that do not require punishment is suggestive of the kind of community that can be built.

One final point needs be made regarding the proper training of the faculty of justice.  I will let ‘Abdu’l-Baha make it, and only say to the reader to pay attention to His last phrase: “As to the difference between that material civilization now prevailing, and the divine civilization which will be one of the benefits to derive from the House of Justice, it is this: material civilization, through the power of punitive and retaliatory laws, restraineth the people from criminal acts; and notwithstanding this, while laws to retaliate against and punish a man are continually proliferating, as ye can see, no laws exist to reward him.” (Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha: 132)  What might be the result of laws that reward citizens for righteous actions?  Again, crimes for which punishment is not required, and laws that reward for good actions are ideas that grow from the principle of the oneness of humanity and its correlate, in this context, of equity—taking account of extenuating circumstances.

Basically there are two types of justice, retributive and distributive.  Loosely, the first is punishment, the second, reward.  Both are necessary, but in individual psychology as in collective life, the retributive mentally emerges first, while some idea of distributive emerges later with socialization.  (See, for example, Jean Piaget, The Moral Judgement of the Child) But this chronology indicates that distributive justice is, spiritually, the higher form.  Real distributive justice has as its goal unity, the just distribution of goods, services, opportunities and wealth in society.  Hence it centers round equity as its axial principle.

Socially, equity and justice depend first upon a personal sense of justice among the rulers.  “The heaven of statesmanship is made luminous and resplendent by the brightness of the light of these blessed words which hath dawned from the dayspring of the Will of God: It behoveth every ruler to weigh his own being every day in the balance of equity and justice and then to judge between men and counsel them to do that which would direct their steps unto the path of wisdom and understanding. This is the cornerstone of statesmanship and the essence thereof. From these words every enlightened man of wisdom will readily perceive that which will foster such aims as the welfare, security and protection of mankind and the safety of human lives.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 166)  But there is emerging today a third kind of justice.

If humanity had the inner faculty of justice better developed there would be no need for so many laws, because previous ones would not need abrogation; and all such laws would be in harmony with that which is immanent in human nature, not the desires of the ruling classes. True justice would also preserve the universal relations of human society, as all would be in harmony with Wisdom.  That is, justice would no longer be either retributive or distributive, but restorative, putting relations in manifest unity and, thereby, renovating the conditions of existence.  The balance of social forces, classes and aspirations would be dynamically set upon the primary ideal of the oneness of humankind, much as proper bodily health comes from the balance of foods and nutrients.  It is necessary for the world's peace and prosperity that societies have laws that reward people for their good actions.  This is but true manifest justice.  Baha'u'llah, in our opening quote stated: From the standpoint of justice, every soul should receive the reward of his actions, inasmuch as the peace and prosperity of the world depend thereon.  This innovation alone would cause a great change in people’s attitude toward the law and authority, and direct their behavior along productive lines, certain, as they would be, of proper reward.

World civilization cannot be built without institutions of justice at every level.  The best means of bringing forth the faculty of justice is good moral education.  They go hand-in-hand.  We read where rulers must daily weigh their own actions in the balance of justice and equity, then rule over their subjects.  But justice in a globalizing world cannot be established without a universal code of morality, agreed upon by all people, that sets out what is right and wrong for everyone.  Morality, too, is intimately connected with both individual and social transformation. 

Another way that the word of God can be discovered and recognized is through the moral faculty.  We turn to that next.

Educing and Training the Faculty of Justice

The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas: 85)

The realization of justice, especially today, is central to the Divine purpose.  Yet all around there is a lack of justice and equity.  This lack of justice, that discerning faculty whose core value and principle is equity, stems from the degeneration of the faculty of recognizing God and the failure to acknowledge the principle of the oneness of humankind: i.e. that all are children of the one God.  So befogged and dissipated has the discernment of the faculty of justice become that Baha’u’llah could write: “For the people are wandering in the paths of delusion, bereft of discernment to see God with their own eyes, or hear His Melody with their own ears.  Thus have We found them, as thou also dost witness.”

To remedy this situation Baha’u’llah designed the institutions of His Order around the principle of justice.  These administrative institutions of the Bahá’i Order are, according to Shoghi Effendi, to be both the nucleus and pattern for the social institutions of a new world order. Too, given the prominence of justice in the Bahá’i Writings, it probably should come as no surprise that the governing bodies of the Bahá’i community are called Houses of Justice, for their members are to discern the truth in all things that come before them.  Their collective means of educing the faculty of justice, of finding the truth in any matter, to look into all things with a shared, searching eye, are the principles and practice of consultation.

The document, The Prosperity of Humankind, states: “[C]onsultation is the operating expression of justice in human affairs. So vital is it to the success of collective endeavor that it must constitute a basic feature of a viable strategy of social and economic development. Indeed, the participation of those on whose commitment the success of such a strategy depends becomes effective only as consultation is made the organizing principle of every project. ‘No man can attain his true station,’ is Bahá’u’lláh's counsel, ‘except through his justice. No power can exist except through unity. No welfare and no well-being can be attained except through consultation.’" (The Prosperity of Humankind: Section III para: 6)

            But outside of the Bahá’i Order much can be changed.  In our discussion of the religious faculty we noted that it can be smothered, crushed, or distorted by the wrong sort of education, or by no spiritual education at all, whenever human thought usurps divine thought, narrowing it, clogging its fresh streams of insight, turning it into prejudice and oppression.  Similarly with justice. 

Baha’u’llah observed that those who oppose the Manifestations mostly do so because, lacking discernment and: “…having weighed the testimony of God by the standard of their own knowledge, gleaned from the teachings of the leaders of their faith, and found it at variance with their limited understanding, they arose to perpetrate such unseemly acts.” (The Kitab-i-Iqan: 14)

Recall Baha’u’llah’s counsel that: “Schools must first train the children in the principles of religion, so that the Promise and the Threat recorded in the Books of God may prevent them from the things forbidden and adorn them with the mantle of the commandments; but this in such a measure that it may not injure the children by resulting in ignorant fanaticism and bigotry.” (Baha'u'llah,Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 68)

The first part of this statement is the key to educating, or bringing forth this faculty, as we will explain.  But how to do this in such a way that it does not result in fanaticism and bigotry? 

First, is recognition of the principle of the oneness of humanity and, second, is the goal of world unity.  The first is the foundation, the second the mature expression of justice. Shoghi Effendi writes: “Of the principles enshrined in these Tablets the most vital of them all is the principle of the oneness and wholeness of the human race, which may well be regarded as the hall-mark of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation and the pivot of His teachings. Of such cardinal importance is this principle of unity that it is expressly referred to in the Book of His Covenant, and He unreservedly proclaims it as the central purpose of His Faith. "We, verily," He declares, "have come to unite and weld together all that dwell on earth." "So potent is the light of unity," He further states, "that it can illuminate the whole earth." "At one time," He has written with reference to this central theme of His Revelation, "We spoke in the language of the lawgiver; at another in that of the truth seeker and the mystic, and yet Our supreme purpose and highest wish hath always been to disclose the glory and sublimity of this station." Unity, He states, is the goal that "excelleth every goal" and an aspiration which is "the monarch of all aspirations." (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By: 216)

Now, regarding the proper training and expression of this faculty of justice, whose purpose is the appearance of unity, and also to prevent tyranny and oppression, the Master tells us that it is done, in part, through a combination of hope and fear.  “There is no greater prevention of oppression,” He asserts, “than these two sentiments, hope and fear. They have both political and spiritual consequences.

“If administrators of the law would take into consideration the spiritual consequences of their decisions, and follow the guidance of religion, ‘They would be Divine agents in the world of action, the representatives of God for those who are on earth, and they would defend, for the love of God, the interests of His servants as they would defend their own.’ If a governor realizes his responsibility, and fears to defy the Divine Law, his judgments will be just. Above all, if he believes that the consequences of his actions will follow him beyond his earthly life, and that "as he sows so must he reap", such a man will surely avoid injustice and tyranny.

“Should an official, on the contrary, think that all responsibility for his actions must end with his earthly life, knowing and believing nothing of Divine favours and a spiritual kingdom of joy, he will lack the incentive to just dealing, and the inspiration to destroy oppression and unrighteousness.

When a ruler knows that his judgments will be weighed in a balance by the Divine Judge, and that if he be not found wanting he will come into the Celestial Kingdom and that the light of the Heavenly Bounty will shine upon him, then will he surely act with justice and equity. Behold how important it is that Ministers of State should be enlightened by religion!” (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks: 157)

Baha’u’llah states that this method of moderating behavior has always been the method of training of God and His Manifestations.  Indeed, it goes back to the very foundations of human society.  His statement expands on the Master’s:  “Above all else, the greatest gift and the most wondrous blessing hath ever been and will continue to be Wisdom. It is man's unfailing Protector. It aideth him and strengtheneth him. Wisdom is God's Emissary and the Revealer of His Name the Omniscient. Through it the loftiness of man's station is made manifest and evident. It is all-knowing and the foremost Teacher in the school of existence. It is the Guide and is invested with high distinction. Thanks to its educating influence earthly beings have become imbued with a gem-like spirit which outshineth the heavens. In the city of justice it is the unrivalled Speaker Who, in the year nine, illumined the world with the joyful tidings of this Revelation. And it was this peerless Source of wisdom that at the beginning of the foundation of the world ascended the stair of inner meaning and when enthroned upon the pulpit of utterance, through the operation of the divine Will, proclaimed two words. The first heralded the promise of reward, while the second voiced the ominous warning of punishment. The promise gave rise to hope and the warning begat fear. Thus the basis of world order hath been firmly established upon these twin principles. Exalted is the Lord of Wisdom, the Possessor of Great Bounty.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah,: 66)

From this quote we glean that any statement of spiritual principle from “the peerless source of Wisdom” is a cognitive combination of promises of rewards and warnings of punishments.  These “two words” when understood bring forth an emotional response built upon the pillars of hope and fear.  Then authorities of society are charged with instituting the rewards and punishments.  That is, rewards and punishments should be part and parcel of the laws and institutions themselves.

These dualities of promise/threat, hope/fear, reward/punishment provide the structure of equity, the arena for moderating extremes, the scales for balancing the powers of the human soul.

More next post.

Images of Justice

This is the infallible Balance which the Hand of God is holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate determined, if ye be of them that believe and recognize this truth.

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas: 86)

  

To see justice as a faculty of the human reality is not unique to the Bahá’i Revelation.  Justice was one of the four cardinal virtues recognized in the writings of western antiquity, the other three being, prudence, temperance and courage.  Justice was generally considered the most important of the four.  It meant fairness, the Greek word also having the meaning of righteousness.  Fairness implied a moderation of one’s passions and appetites, and the restraining of improper impulses, both needed for building that internal unity which is the balance of qualities and attributes.  Socially, justice also implied the fair distribution of wealth among people and all sorts of other things to keep the classes in balance.

Hence, the principle of equity, or fairness, is, and has always been, the core or axial value of justice.  “Tell, O Ali, the loved ones of God that equity is the most fundamental among human virtues.  The evaluation of all things must needs depend upon it.” (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 202)

Now we should not confuse equity with equality, which is the same measure, or proportion, for all:  a conception closer to the anatomy of law and which, by itself, can advance, even create or bring about, injustice.  Law may be the framework and backbone of justice, but the realization of law in justice is through the instrument of equity or fairness.  Full or complete equality is a chimera.  Equity as the operating principle of the foundational principle of the oneness of humankind creates what is called "a level playing field".  Equity would create social harmony by overcoming or reducing immoderate differences in fortune, imbalances of opportunity, and advantages of position.  Equity would reset economic imbalance through, for example, a fair graduated income tax, or reverse discrimination in educational opportunity through a well-conceived affirmative action program. It invites divine assistance and confirmation.  Recall Baha’u’llah’s statement earlier that were mankind to be adorned with justice, “they would behold the day-star of the utterance, ‘On that day God will satisfy everyone out of His abundance,’” (Tablets of Baha’u’llah: 66-67)

A traditional personification of justice is a woman, Lady Justice, holding scales to weigh the truth of all things in the balance, and a sword to symbolize authority whose judgments are swift and final. But the sword is also discernment, the separation of truth from falsehood. Such images go back as far as the Egyptians.  Later, Justice was often depicted as blind to show impartiality—i.e. that the rule of law was greater than any person, even kings and nobles.  Yet equity is a kind of open-eyed partiality in favor of the poor, the oppressed, those discriminated against, all victims of prejudice.  It is perceiving what is called structural inequity and having the leadership of society reduce that through law, policy, and institutional transformation.

This is no easy task.  Privilege is difficult to surrender.  Baha’u’llah writes in this context: “In this Day the Straight Path is made manifest, the Balance of divine justice is set and the light of the sun of His bounty is resplendent, yet the oppressive darkness of the people of tyranny hath, even as clouds, intervened and caused a grievous obstruction between the Day-Star of heavenly grace and the people of the world.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 255)

So important is this quality of social balance in this day of the unification of humankind that it can no longer be left to human authorities to exercise through their faulty standards.  Only the universal, divine standard and framework, which alone can claim to be truly impartial, will work.  Baha'u'llah writes of His Revelation: “This is the infallible Balance which the Hand of God is holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate determined, if ye be of them that believe and recognize this truth. Say: Through it the poor have been enriched, the learned enlightened, and the seekers enabled to ascend unto the presence of God.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 136-137)

Thus it is the revealed Word which sets the difference between truth and falsehood of both sayings and souls, which measures and weighs the truth of all things.  This is the divine balance and He, the divine Assayer.  In another place He wrote that the Qur'án was for Its time “the unerring Balance that distinguisheth truth from falsehood.” (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts: 115)

A related motif of equity and balance is the principle of moderation, which we discussed both as a quality of the new discourse in posts on the kerygmatic and as one of the older meanings of justice.  As a discerning of proper thought and balanced behavior it harkens back to the Middle Way of Buddhism.

Moderation is much more than the passive sentiment of nothing too much. While it includes, of course, the avoidance of extremes, it is not an aversion to exuberance and life. It is the result of a dynamic interplay of forces operating in harmony and unity.  Its achievement, whether individually or collectively, is usually accomplished through a considerable effort in self-restraint.  So essential is moderation to a discerning justice, that Bahá’u’lláh exclaimed: “Whoso cleaveth to justice, can, under no circumstances, transgress the limits of moderation. He discerneth the truth in all things, through the guidance of Him Who is the All-Seeing. The civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men. Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Knowing. If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation…. All other things are subject to this same principle of moderation.” (Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah: 342-343)

He admonishes the leaders of society: “It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of understanding may favourably regard them, they will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious influence upon men.” (Tablets of Baha’u’llah: 169)

Again, it is not left to human authority to decide if and when things are being taken to excess, nor are the poor and weak left to fend for themselves against tyranny.  In one of the most sternly worded and commanding statements of the Hidden Words the Manifestation of God, the divine Judge, warns “the oppressors of the earth” to: “Withdraw your hands from tyranny, for I have pledged Myself not to forgive any man's injustice. This is My covenant which I have irrevocably decreed in the preserved tablet and sealed with My seal.” (Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words 64)

He also warned the “Rich Ones on Earth: The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease.” (The Persian Hidden Words #54)

“Know ye that the poor are the trust of God in your midst”, He stated in one of His Tablets. “Watch that ye betray not His trust, that ye deal not unjustly with them and that ye walk not in the ways of the treacherous. Ye will most certainly be called upon to answer for His trust on the day when the Balance of Justice shall be set, the day when unto every one shall be rendered his due, when the doings of all men, be they rich or poor, shall be weighed.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 251)

But He also promised: “O well-beloved ones! The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. We cherish the hope that the light of justice may shine upon the world and sanctify it from tyranny. If the rulers and kings of the earth, the symbols of the power of God, exalted be His glory, arise and resolve to dedicate themselves to whatever will promote the highest interests of the whole of humanity, the reign of justice will assuredly be established amongst the children of men, and the effulgence of its light will envelop the whole earth. (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 163-164)

A world civilization cannot be built until institutions of justice are erected.  Justice is the most important social principle.  The opening and training of the judgement centers in the mind of the individual occurs during maturity: the maturing of this faculty, in a sense, marking entry into that final state of human development. The same is true for the maturing of collective humanity.  In both cases, the transition is marked by great upheavals and universal readjustments.

The Faculty of Justice: Discernment

Justice, as a faculty of the soul, enables the individual to distinguish truth from falsehood and guides the investigation of reality, so essential if superstitious beliefs and outworn traditions that impede unity are to be eliminated

(Universal House of Justice: Letter to the Bahá'ís of Iran 2 March 2013)

Often, when thinking about justice, we think of social justice, a sociological and legal concept. It is a condition that we wish to bring about in the world through the creation and application of good civil law.  We think of barriers to unity as social, as laws and institutions that discriminate, enabling one race or class to have and keep advantages, as narrow-minded prejudices and divisive thought patterns, all of which must be overcome. All this is true, but it is only half the truth.  It is only half of the truth because it does not discern the spiritual aspect, does not recognize the inner faculty of justice needing proper training and expression: that all enduring and progressive social conditions are built upon a spiritual foundation.

As global peace stems from an inner state, so social justice is the outer manifestation of that inner reconciliation and balancing which characterizes the two natures of humanity when they are working in tandem in a spirit of harmony.   The inner reconciliation, which is justice for the two natures are in proper balance, then enables the appearance of unity.

Baha’u’llah, of course, recognized all this and a great deal more, and knew the reason why, imploring His followers: “Time and again have We admonished Our beloved ones to avoid, nay to flee from, anything whatsoever from which the odour of mischief can be detected. The world is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions. He, verily is the All-Possessing, the Most High.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 94)

Justice is the faculty of discernment.  Discernment is the ability to judge well.  It is the middle way between an undiscerning and unguarded tolerance of every kind of action, and a rigid legalistic mechanical system of laws and principles. Justice is the supreme operating quality for today, the harbinger of unity and the foundation of peace.  It separates the old order from the new, because its perceptions are based upon a new foundation of knowledge and truth.

What does Baha’u’llah say about the soul’s faculty of justice? “The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.” (The Arabic Hidden Words #2)

Yet, as I have said, justice and the other faculties come from the religious faculty and religion’s principles of moral and social life.  Recall Baha’u’llah’s statement: “Should the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness and justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah:  125)

He says of His own Revelation and the powers it grants: “The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 156)

Freeing our minds from all rigid ideology and our hearts from fancy and imitation, perceiving the creation of God with the eye of oneness as totality, not multiplicity, and looking into all things with a searching eye, enables the intelligence to discern the truth in all things and separate out what is vain, fanciful, prejudicial, untrue and simply wrong, from what is true, enlightening and enduring. These are the attributes of discernment, and they will manifest when we learn to measure our limited knowledge against the standard of the ocean of His Revelation and true scientific knowledge, not the other way around. Baha’u’llah advised one soul: “Set now thy face towards the court of this Wronged One, that haply the breezes of Revelation and the breaths of inspiration may assist thee and enable thee to attain thy goal. Whoever gazeth this day on My signs will distinguish truth from falsehood as the sun from shadow, and will be made cognizant of the goal.” (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf: 87)  And of any searching soul: “He discerneth the truth in all things, through the guidance of Him Who is the All-Seeing.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 342)

Through the exercise of the faculty of justice the mind will be able to discern knowledges as yet unknown, and unified social conditions as yet unrealized.   For He says: “Unveiled and unconcealed, this Wronged One hath, at all times, proclaimed before the face of all the peoples of the world that which will serve as the key for unlocking the doors of sciences, of arts, of knowledge, of well-being, of prosperity and wealth.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 96)

If justice is the faculty of discernment, how do we discern real justice from its imitators and false claimants?  We discern true justice by knowing its purpose, which Baha’u’llah tells us: “The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men. (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 66-67)

We have seen that “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 286)  But unity will remain a floating balloon moving toward a receding horizon without a secure anchoring in justice.

If unity is the purpose of justice, then real justice cannot be realized through the violent redress of past inequality, the overthrow of oppressions and dismantling of discriminatory practices supported by prejudicial laws.  That is part of the work of justice, and its results will endure if the goal of this work is the further unity of the human race.  If this is not their purpose, then humanity will simply run another circle on the gerbil wheel of social upheaval and merely replace one oppressive ruling class with another.  The full statement of which I have just quoted contains both a warning and a promise: “The light of men is Justice. Quench it not with the contrary winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men. The ocean of divine wisdom surgeth within this exalted word, while the books of the world cannot contain its inner significance. Were mankind to be adorned with this raiment, they would behold the day-star of the utterance, 'On that day God will satisfy everyone out of His abundance,' shining resplendent above the horizon of the world. Appreciate ye the value of this utterance; it is a noble fruit that the Tree of the Pen of Glory hath yielded.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 66-67)

The inner unity is the result of an educational effort that develops the faculty of justice, that enables minds to discern, i.e. know and judge, the truth in all things: to discern as quickly and accurately as we differentiate light from shadow.  In a time when, as I quoted Baha’u’llah above, “The world is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion.”  He entreats God to “graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions. He, verily is the All-Possessing, the Most High.”

The outer unity here, as an expression of the pivotal principle of the oneness of humankind, is that all should have the same rights and privileges.  The Master asserts that: “Justice is not limited, it is a universal quality. Its operation must be carried out in all classes, from the highest to the lowest. Justice must be sacred, and the rights of all the people must be considered. Desire for others only that which you desire for yourselves. Then shall we rejoice in the Sun of Justice, which shines from the Horizon of God.” (Paris Talks: 161)

What is the core value and principle that teaches justice and draws forth and trains the faculty of justice?  Baha’u’llah combines the inner faculty of justice with its social determinations in this quote, which also states the axial value of justice:  “Say: ‘O God, my God! Attire mine head with the crown of justice, and my temple with the ornament of equity. Thou, verily, art the Possessor of all gifts and bounties.’

“Justice and equity are twin Guardians that watch over men. From them are revealed such blessed and perspicuous words as are the cause of the well-being of the world and the protection of the nations.” (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf: 12-13)

Socially, justice through equity, which is the middle way we mentioned earlier, is the discernment of attenuating circumstances that enable a fair retribution or distribution of goods and services or a fair legal decision to be carried out.  Law is a blanket statement, but equity is the just application of the law, the leveling of the playing field, how all are equal before the law, how social equality is truly realized.  So important are these qualities that He unequivocally states: “It beseemeth you to fix your gaze under all conditions upon justice and fairness.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 36)