Chapter 3
3
Throughout the Universe in Search of God
It was Galileo Galilei (1564-1643) -- the founder of the modern scientific
method -- who said that, since both nature and the Holy Writings arise from the
same divine truth and reason, no conflict can exist between what the former
shows and the latter states. Nevertheless, in Galileo's opinion, students of
nature and of the Holy Writings aim at two quite different goals: the former
investigate natural reality, the latter the purposes of men. Therefore he
advocated a complete mutual autonomy between scientific and religious truth,
and at the same time he maintained that though science and religion pursue two
different goals, it is possible for their results not to disagree.
Galileo lived in times when religious dogmatism was grievously interfering with
the progress of science. The vicissitudes of his life and the humiliation he
was exposed to, when he was forced by the religious authorities to recant his
theories on `the two greatest world systems'[1]
in the name of dogmatic truth, are well known. Therefore his assertion is amply
justified by the conditions prevailing in his time.
During the last three centuries, science has become emancipated from the
fetters of a primitive knowledge founded on theological and philosophical
assumptions set forth by human minds, minds which were often very acute, but --
being human -- were also limited and therefore liable to error. And yet it
cannot be said that such separation between religion and scientific truth has
produced good results only, for the cause of peace and unity of mankind. Even
science has made mistakes: many of its theories, though elaborated through the
scientific method, were proved later to be false in the light of subsequent
discoveries and more accurate observations. And grievous consequences have come
from an implicit faith in science which, on the one hand, has resulted in a
prevailing and deprecated crisis of spiritual values and, on the other, created
a technology, bearer of abundant gifts, but also of such destruction, death and
injustice as have brought mankind to the verge of the apocalypse. Obviously it
is unfair to criticize the fundamentals of modern science on these grounds; but
the urgency is felt to reconcile that ancient separation, so that modern
culture may deepen its roots in a knowledge capable both of describing nature
and of comprehending spiritual values.
It is in this perspective that the Bahá'í teachings urge
Bahá'í scholars to give due consideration, while they pursue
their studies, to Revelation.[2] In conformity
with the Bahá'í principle of harmony between science and
religion, scholars are invited to stay away from the two extremes: the one of
creating man-made dogmas about the Words of the Revelation, while ignoring the
results of science (superstition), and the other of working out self-styled
scientific theories on the basis of intellectual and empirical observations,
while ignoring the Revealed Truth (materialism).[3] Therefore, if a conflict is found in the results of any
scientific research it might be useful not only to try to understand better the
revealed Words, but also to make a deeper analysis of the results of that
empirical and intellectual re-search.
In the Bahá'í view, whoever thinks he should investigate reality
from the standpoint only of the natural sciences, which rationally examine
physical reality and all its measurable phenomena, is behaving like those blind
men who in the famous apologue[4] meet an
elephant and have the nerve to believe they can describe it without seeing it.
Studying the Holy Scriptures, which explain the origin and the purpose of
reality, can be viewed as a healing balm having the power of curing blindness;
in fact in the Holy Scriptures can be traced an organic vision of created
things, in whose context any scientific discovery achieved through experimental
means is not denied, but integrated. Another example may be suggested to
describe that modern scholar or scientist who follows the path of intellectual
search, and rejects the guidance of Revelation: a man persuaded that he can
examine the contents of a completely dark room (reality) by means of a single
ray of light. Such a man will be able to see in that room only single details,
and can therefore hardly have an organic vision of that room or an
understanding of the meaning of each detail, though he may have carefully
studied them one by one. But if he illuminates the room by means of a lamp --
and this is the purpose of Revealed Truth -- he will undoubtedly be more
successful in availing himself of his cognitive instruments and will more
easily understand the meaning of those details. Finally, paraphrasing the
famous myth of the cave proposed by `the divine Plato',[5] Revelation bestows upon man such knowledge as enables him
to come out of the cave where he was confined, and to behold reality itself,
not its shadow.
This is a very good starting point for Bahá'í scholars or
would-be philosophers: on the one hand, they observe nature through modern and
reliable scientific writings (in fact, in `Abdu'l-Bahá's words, science
is both `...the one agency by which man explores the institutions of material
creation' and `...the means by which man finds a pathway to God'; on the other,
they peruse the Holy Writings (where `the science of reality' is enshrined);[6] on the one hand, they analyze the details of
physical reality, on the other, they look into the Writings for an Ariadne's
thread which might enable them to escape from the labyrinth of details; on the
one hand they care-fully study each detail of reality, on the other, they try
to make a philosophical synthesis, so that they may not lose sight of the
forest while struggling to study a single tree.
Creation
God is the Creator: if we want to find His traces in the universe, the
first issue we should try to clarify is the creational relation between Him and
the universe.
A full understanding of the great mystery of creation is undoubtedly beyond the
reach of any creature: it is a question which will for ever disappoint all
human effort. And yet the Bahá'í texts set forth many
explanations on this issue: we will try to summarize some of them. Undoubtedly
others will peruse these texts with greater skill, the more so in the future
when those numerous texts will become available which cannot be studied today
by most Western readers because they are as yet unpublished in Western
languages or even in the original text.
The world of God
God in His Essence is unknowable, inaccessible to man: we can only say
that He exists, but we cannot know anything else about Him, not even what `to
exist' means for Him.
And yet, we are used to ascribe to Him names and attributes: Creator,
All-Knowing, Provider, or Word, Will, Love, and so on. The meaning of this
ascription of names and attributes is explained in the Bahá'í
texts in two ways:
- The names and attributes we ascribe to God refer to what we
understand of them in the world of creation. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `Their
[the attribute's] existence is proved and necessitated by the appearance of
phenomena':[7] we see that the universe follows
a harmonious and ordered way, and we say that God is its Ordainer; we see
creatures, and we say that God is their Creator. But our understanding of these
attributes is only what we have under-stood, in the plane of the world
of creation, of these spiritual truths, which are far beyond our minds. This is
what Western philosophers call via eminentiae.
- The names and attributes we ascribe to God `are only in order to
deny imperfections, rather than to assert the perfections that the human mind
can conceive'.[8] For example, we say that
He is the Almighty, meaning that He is not powerless, as His creatures are.
This is what Western philosophy calls via negationis or
remotionis.
From both these explanations, we understand that man comprehends the attributes
of God in his own degree of existence -- the world of creation -- and not in
God's degree of existence -- the world of God. Bahá'u'lláh
writes: `...the highest praise which human tongue or pen can render are all
the product of man's finite mind and are conditioned by its
limitations'9 and `Abdu'l-Bahá declares: `However far
mind may progress, though it may reach to the final degree of comprehension,
the limit of under-standing, it beholds the divine signs and attributes in the
world of creation and not in the world of God.'[10]
The attributes we ascribe to God fall in the Bahá'í texts (as
well as in the Islamic tradition) into two categories: essential and active
attributes.[11] But, whereas in the Islamic
tradition, the two categories of attributes are clearly distinguished from each
other, i.e. a Divine attribute is either essential or active, in the
Bahá'í texts the same attribute can be viewed as essential (i.e.
in its own reality) or as active (i.e. as ex-pressed in action), depending on
the plane in which it is seen.[12]
The Bahá'í texts state moreover that we understand but a faint
reflection of God's active attributes in the world, and that we cannot
understand anything at all of His essential at-tributes. In fact,
`Abdu'l-Bahá says that `the essential names and attributes of God are
identical with His Essence...' and sets forth a concise, rational explanation
of His statement:
- God is absolutely preexistent, i.e. He `is not
preceded by a Cause', and therefore His is `essential pre-existence'; moreover
He `is without beginning', and therefore He has also `preexistence of
time'..13
- `If the attributes are not identical with the Essence, there must
also be a multiplicity of preexistences';[13]
- `...as Preexistence is necessary (essential), therefore the sequence
of preexistence would become infinite. This is an evident error.'
Inasmuch as Divine Essence and divine essential names and attributes are one
and the same thing, it follows that:
- God's essential names and attributes are
incomprehensible as well as His Essence.[14]
- `As the divine entity is eternal, the divine attributes are
coexistent, coeternal'[15] and `co-equal'[16] with and to Him.
- `...His attributes are infinite.'
- `...the names of God are actually and forever existent and not
potential',[17] otherwise God would be
imperfect.
It is therefore possible to conceive a station where only God, Who is
essentially preexistent and preexistent of time, exists, with His
incomprehensible, `coexistent, coeternal', `co-equal', `infinite', `actually...
existing' essential Names and Attributes.
Bahá'u'lláh alludes thus to such station: `He was a hidden
treasure... This is a station that can never be described, not even alluded
to'.[18]
The world of the Kingdom
If God is inaccessible in His Essence, if He transcends His creatures
and is sanctified from any other reality, what is the relation binding His
creatures to Him?
`Abdu'l-Bahá says: `The dependence of the creatures upon God is a
dependence of emanation -- that is to say, creatures emanate from God; they do
not manifest Him.'[19]
Creation as emanation -- as the Bahá'í texts explain it --
implies the following fundamental points:
- God is absolutely transcendental and preexistent;
- creatures do not manifest God's Essence, from which they emanate;
but they mirror forth its active attributes;
- creatures have their existence in different degrees.
God's transcendence and pre-existence.
This concept was previously
discussed:
- God is unknowable in His Essence and in His essential attributes;
- God has absolute preexistence:
- He is not preceded by a cause (essential preexistence)
- He is not preceded in time by other realities (preexistence of
time)
- the attributes we ascribe to Him are intended to deny His
imperfection (via negationis or remotionis).
God and His creatures.
`Abdu'l-Bahá explains: `...creatures
emanate from God; they do not manifest Him.' He says moreover that if creatures
would appear `through manifestation',19 then it would follow that
the Essence of Divinity had descended in them, transforming Itself into them;
but this is impossible, otherwise God -- taking on phenomenal attributes --
would reduce Himself to imperfection. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains the meaning
of such a concept of manifestation, through the metaphor of a seed and a
tree.[20] The tree manifests the seed because
the essence of the seed has gone into branches, leaves, roots and flowers
forming the tree. This concept cannot apply to creation. He explains the
meaning of the concept of emanation through other metaphors: the sun and its
rays, an actor and his action, a writer and his writings, a speaker and his
speech. Under those circumstances, the essence of the creator does not go into
the created objects, but his active attributes appear in them. The relation
between God and His creatures is similar: this relation is not through the
Essence of the Creator, nor through His essential attributes, but through His
active attributes. These active attributes, while expressing themselves,
emanate or radiate from the Creator and appear in His creatures as symbols of
His perfections. The whole creation can be therefore viewed as `evidences
that proclaim the excellence and perfection of their author'..[21]
Different degrees in the world of existence.
The process of creation as
emanation implies the existence of many different realities which, though all
emanating from God -- `Supreme Centre'[22] --
differ from each other because of their different degrees.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `Furthermore, consider the signs of the
revelation of God in their relation to one another. Can the sun, which is but
one of these signs, be regarded as equal in rank to darkness... Consider your
own selves. Your nails and eyes are both parts of your bodies. Do ye regard
them of equal rank and value?... every created thing should be viewed in the
light of the station it hath been ordained to occupy.' He writes moreover that
God `...hath entrusted every created thing with a sign of His knowledge, so
that none of His creatures may be deprived of its share in expressing, each
according its capacity and rank, this knowledge. This sign is a mirror of His
beauty in the world of creation.'[23]
There are still long studies to be done in order to better understand this
concept, the more so as many Bahá'í texts -- as has already been
mentioned -- are as yet unpublished, both in translation into Western languages
and in their original version. Nevertheless, a concept appears even now very
clear: three fundamental levels may be perceived in the world of being: (1) the
world of creation; (2) an intermediary world which has been called the world of
the Kingdom (or First Mind, First Will or Primal Will, Word of God, Logos,
Identity or Self or Soul of God);[24] 3) the
world of God. These three levels seem to be the same as the three conditions of
existence mentioned by `Abdu'l-Bahá: `...servitude... prophethood...
and... Deity'.[25] While the world of God is a
world of Absolute Unity, wholly unknowable for man, many degrees of reality can
be discerned both in the world of the Kingdom and in the world of creation.
The world of the Kingdom.
`The first emanation from God is the bounty of
the Kingdom', says `Abdu'l-Bahá; and elsewhere He explains in Plotinian
terms:[26] `The first thing which emanated
from God is that universal reality, which the ancient philosophers termed the
"First Mind", and which the people of Bah call the "First Will"... '.[27] The station of this first emanation, where
the whole process of existence has its beginning, is alluded to by
Bahá'u'lláh in one of His famous aphorisms: `Veiled in My
immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence I knew My love for
thee; therefore I created thee... ':[28]
God, unattainable in His unfathomable Essence, is conscious (He is, indeed, the
All-Knowing) of Himself and of His own essential names and attributes, one of
which is Love. This Love, on the one hand, implies -- just as any other of
God's attributes and names which are `actually... existing and not potential'[29] -- the existence of a recipient upon which
it may be bestowed; on the other -- being perfect -- it implies also that God
is willing to bestow it. Bahá'u'lláh alludes to such spiritual
reality with His words `"I did wish to make Myself known"'..[30]
In these words Bahá'u'lláh is, apparently, alluding to a station
of existence, more than describing a reality in time and space. Next to the
station of Absolute Divine Unity, a station is described in which the essential
attributes of God express them-selves as active attributes: Love, as the act of
loving; Knowledge, as the act of knowing; Will, as the act of willing. In this
station the primal unity splits into a couple, a subject and an object, which
in reality are identical: it is God Who knows and loves Himself. In fact, His
essential attributes are identical with His Essence and His active attributes
are but His essential attributes in their active expression.
Whereas the ancient philosophers called this station `First Mind', thus
emphasizing the attribute of Knowledge, the Bahá'í texts prefer
the term `Primal Will or First Will':[31] God
is Love (essential attribute), He loves Himself (active attribute), therefore
He wants to bestow His Love (First Will). In this regard,
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `The Cause of creation of all contingent
beings has been love, as it is mentioned in the famous tradition: "I was a
hidden treasure, and I loved to be known. Therefore I created the creation in
order to be known"',[32] and
`Abdu'l-Bahá says that every love existing in the whole universe comes
from `the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God', a love He describes
as `the reality of Love, the Ancient Love, the Eternal Love'..[33] Elsewhere He says that love is `the source of all the
bestowals of God', `the cause of the creation of the phenomenal world', `the
axis round which life revolves', `the eternal sovereignty... the divine power',
`the first effulgence of divinity and the greatest splendour of God', `the
greatest bestowal of God' and `the conscious bestowal of God',[34] `...the transfiguration of His beauty, the reflection of
Himself in the mirror of His creation'..[35]
Pre-existence of the world of the Kingdom.
Explaining the station of the
world of the Kingdom, `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `This emanation, in that which
concerns its action in the world of God, is not limited by time or place; it is
without beginning or end -- beginning and end in relation to God are one.' Then
He adds: `Though the "First Mind" is without beginning, it does not become a
sharer in the preexistence of God, for the preexistence of the universal
reality in relation to the existence of God is nothing-ness, and it has not the
power to become an associate of God and like unto Him in preexistence... '..[36]
He describes the world of the Kingdom as an intermediate spiritual reality,
which, on the one hand, cannot be identified with God, Who is unfathomable in
His Essence, and, on the other, is eternal and infinite, because it emanates
directly from Him. This reality is not essential preexistence, because it is
preceded by a Cause that is God Himself; but it is temporal preexistence,
because it has no beginning. For even as the essential attributes of God are
`coexistent, coeternal' with God, so also the world of the Kingdom -- which is
the expression of these essential attributes as active attributes -- is
coeternal with God. In fact the divine attributes are `actually and forever
existent and not potential',[37] or
else God would be imperfect. Bahá'u'lláh writes: `His name,
the Creator, presupposes a creation'; and moreover: `The one true God
hath everlastingly existed, and will everlastingly continue to exist. His
creation, likewise, has no beginning, and will have no end.'38
And `Abdu'l-Bahá explains: `...just as the reality of Divinity
never had a beginning -- that is, God hath ever been a Creator... -- so there
hath never been a time when the attributes of God have not had an
expression'..[39] Therefore God is both
preexistent and uncreated, whereas the world of the Kingdom is preexistent, but
created.
The world of the Kingdom and spirit.
The world of the Kingdom is often
likened by `Abdu'l-Bahá to the sun:[40]
`The outer sun is a sign or symbol of the inner and ideal Sun of Truth, the
Word of God'; and moreover: `In our solar system the centre of illumination is
the sun itself. Through the Will of God, this central luminary is the one
source of the existence and development of all phenomenal things... But if we
reflect deeply, we will perceive that the great bestower and giver of life is
God; the sun is the intermediary of His will and plan... Likewise, in the
spiritual realm of intelligence and idealism there must be a center of
illumination, and that center is the ever-lasting, ever-shining Sun, the Word
of God.'[41] As the sun radiates light and
heat bestowing life upon the phenomenal world, so spiritual reality pours out
its divine bounties (spirit), bringing into existence all created things.
This metaphor, frequently used in the Bahá'í texts, enables us to
understand other concepts about the world of the Kingdom: the process of
creation as emanation is a continuous, gradual and descending process. From the
`Supreme Centre',[42] -- the Essence of
Divinity, Absolute Preexistence, uncreated, unattainable in its essential
attributes (and this is not -- it should be noted once again -- a place or a
time, but a station), emanates the world of the Kingdom, preexistent in time
but created, which is the manifestation as emanation of God's active qualities
and attributes. The world of the Kingdom has, likewise, its essential
attributes, which are beyond human reach. They are emanations of God's active
attributes and in the Bahá'í texts they are sometimes termed, as
a whole, Soul, or Self, or Identity of God.[43] These essential attributes of the world of the Kingdom
express themselves, in their turn, as active attributes.
Bahá'u'lláh seems to refer to this emanation of attributes from
God to the world of the Kingdom, and from the world of the Kingdom to the world
of creation, in the following passage: `A drop of the billowing ocean of His
endless mercy hath adorned all creation with the ornament of existence...
'44 `Abdu'l-Bahá describes it with such locutions as `the
bestowals of God', `the bounty of God', `the divine bounties of the Sun of
Realities', `the bestowal and grace of God',[45] `Divine Mercy'.[46] He
says moreover: `The world of existence is an emanation of the merciful
attribute of God' and `the bestowal and grace of God have quickened the realm
of existence with life and being.'[47]
This metaphysical reality emanating from the world of the Kingdom and
enlightening the inferior degrees of existence is often termed, in the
Bahá'í texts, spirit: a power conveying the divine gifts to the
world of creation. `Abdu'l-Bahá says that the bestowal of God, or
spirit, is a `divine breath which animates and pervades all things', `one power
animating and dominating all things, and all things are but manifestations of
its energy and bounty. The virtue of being and existence is through no other
agency.'[48] He writes moreover that spirit is
`the power of life',[49] the
eternal `radiation of the light and heat of the Sun of Reality'..[50]
Degrees of the spirit
Spirit is one, if it is viewed in the station of
the world of the Kingdom; but it specifies itself in different degrees in the
inferior planes of existence, assuming different features, just as the light of
the sun shines in different ways depending on the object by which it is
mirrored; or as electric power appears in different ways depending on the
different instruments it works. In the mineral kingdom, spirit appears as
`power of attraction';[51] in the vegetable
kingdom it appears as `power of growth';[52]
in the animal kingdom it appears as `power of sense perception'.[53] In the human kingdom, says `Abdu'l-Bahá, it `is
given different names, according to the different conditions wherein it is
manifested. Because of its relation to matter and the phenomenal world, when it
governs the physical functions of the body it is called the human soul; when it
manifests itself as the thinker, the comprehender, it is called the mind. And
when it soars into the atmosphere of God and travels in the spiritual world, it
becomes designated as spirit.'[54] In the
world of the Kingdom it appears as the Most Great Spirit,55
the creative agency of the universe, which manifests itself in such universal
Manifestations of God[56] as
Bahá'u'lláh; as the Holy Spirit, which manifests itself in such
great Manifestations of God as Moses, Christ, or Muhammad; as the spirit of
faith, which manifests itself in such extraordinary men as Elijah or John the
Baptist.[57]
The world of creation
The world of the Kingdom is that station where all the essential names
and attributes of Divinity appear s active attributes. Since they are active
attributes, they imply the existence of objects or creatures upon which they
have been bestowed. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `all the names and attributes of
God require the existence of objects or creatures upon which they have been
bestowed and in which they have become manifest'; `otherwise, they would be
empty and impossible names':[58] this
object-receptacle of the bestowals of the world of the Kingdom is the world of
creation.
The world of the Kingdom involves, therefore, the specification of two planes
of reality: on the one hand, a sensible reality, i.e. matter; on the other
hand, a metaphysical reality, i.e. spirit, which moves and directs that
sensible reality. The former is a passive reality, a receptive pole; the latter
is an active reality, an active pole. Therefore the world of the Kingdom is
also the station where God is the creator both of the visible material world
and of the invisible, metaphysical world, i.e. of spirit and matter, which in
this station find their unity.
Relation between the world of the Kingdom and the world of creation
`Abdu'l-Bahá explains the relation between the world of the Kingdom and
the world of creation through the metaphor of the sun and the earth. He writes:
`The Lord of the Kingdom and the Sun of Truth hath set forth a splendour and
effulgence upon the world and the universe. All the contingent things found
life and existence from the rays of that effulgence, entered and became
manifest in the arena of being. Therefore all the objective phenomena are as
surfaces of mirrors upon which the Sun of Truth hath cast the rays of the
outpouring of bounty. All these surfaces (different stages of life) are mirrors
reflecting the rays of the Sun of Truth. The outpouring and diversified mirrors
are different from one another. Some of them are in a state of the utmost
purity and clearness, reflecting the rays of the Sun of Truth, and the
effulgence of the Luminary is manifested and visible in them. On the other
hand, there are mirrors full of dust and therefore dark; consequently, they are
deprived and bereft of any radiation.'[59]
In one of His talks, He said moreover: `...the bounty of the Kingdom... is
reflected in the reality of the creatures, like the light which emanates from
the sun and is resplendent in creatures; and this bounty, which is the light,
is reflected in infinite forms in the reality of all things, and specifies and
individualizes itself according to the capacity, the worthiness and the
intrinsic values of things.'[60] In one of His
writings, He explains this concept through the metaphor of rain: `Although
the reality of Divinity is sanctified and bound-less, the aims and needs of the
creatures are restricted. God's grace is like the rain that cometh down from
heaven: the water is not bounded by the limitations of form, yet on whatever
place it poureth down, it taketh on limitations -- dimensions, appearance,
shape -- according to the characteristics of that place... '..[61] `...[T]he bestowals of God -- He says
elsewhere -- are moving and circulating throughout all created things. This
illimitable divine bounty has no beginning and will have no ending. It is
moving, circulating and becomes effective wherever capacity is developed to
receive it.'[62] And He says also: `...all
creatures are favoured by the bounty of resplendency through emanation, and
receive the lights, the perfection and the beauty of Its Kingdom, in the same
way as all earthly creatures obtain the bounty of the light of the rays of the
sun, but the sun does not descend and does not base itself to the favoured
realities of earthly beings.'[63]
From these words we understand that from the world of the Kingdom two realities
do emanate: on the one hand, His bestowals, i.e. spirit, and on the other, the
recipients of these bestowals, i.e. material or sensible reality. Spirit
emanating from the world of the Kingdom has neither beginning nor end, because
it belongs to that world. It pervades all sensible reality, but is distinct
from it, even as the sun which enlightens the world by its rays, but does not
descend into the world in its essence.
`Abdu'l-Bahá says that `spirit in itself is progressive',[64] a characteristic which is mirrored forth in the sensible
world. In fact spirit moves and guides sensible reality, which -- in its moving
according to the guidance of the spirit -- grows in its capacity to receive the
gifts of that same spirit. Thus, sensible reality manifests in different
degrees on its own sensible level the attributes of spirit, i.e. of the world
of the Kingdom. Such a manifestation becomes more and more refined and perfect,
as the creatures of the sensible world grow, by virtue of their
transformations, in their capacity to receive those same gifts. Here we find
in nuce the meaning and the direction of evolution.
The world of the Kingdom and the world of creation are, therefore, strictly
interrelated. They belong to the same creation, inasmuch as their origin is one
and the same. Nevertheless, the world of the Kingdom -- which is the cause of
the existence of the world of creation -- is totally different from that world:
a world of unity, the former; a world of multiplicity, the latter. Both the
world of the Kingdom and the world of creation do exist, nevertheless, they
differ from each other in degree, whereas there is no dualistic opposition
between spirit and matter.
Since the spiritual world belongs to a superior level, it is higher in degree
than the physical world; the physical world does really exist, though on an
inferior level than the spiritual world. In this sense
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `The world is but a show, vain and empty,
a mere nothing, bearing the semblance of reality...';[65] and `Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `Reality is pure
spirit, it is not physical',[66] and He
says moreover: `Only the spirit is real; everything else is as shadow.'[67]
Nature and the Will of God
The relation between the world of the
Kingdom and the world of creation is still more precisely explained in the
Bahá'í texts. Alluding to the Word of God -- which, as has
already been mentioned, is the same as the world of the Kingdom --
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `...[it] is none but the Command of God
which pervadeth all created things', and further on He states that it is
not only `the Cause which hath preceded the contingent world', i.e. the
creative impulse which brings into existence physical reality, but also the
universal law pervading the entire creation. Therefore the Word of God is
termed `Nature', meaning `God's Will and its expression in and
through the contingent world... a dispensation of providence ordained by the
Ordainer, the All-Wise'68 or else -- in `Abdu'l-Bahá's
words -- `...those inherent properties and necessary relations derived from
the realities of things',[69] and at last
`the manifestation of the divine laws and disciplines which are essential to
the realities of beings... '.[70]
In other words, the world of the Kingdom creates, moves and guides the world of
creation: it brings it into existence; it imparts to it the necessary impulse,
so that it may move and proceed in its motion and transformations; it gives a
meaning to any existing thing; it provides that logic of motion we can trace in
natural laws, which are those same `necessary relations derived from the
realities of things' which science calls natural laws and
`Abdu'l-Bahá terms nature, as the will of God.
Distinctive features of the world of creation
From these premises some
general distinctive features of the world of creation may be inferred:
- creation `is infinite in its range and deathless in its
duration... The process of His creation hath had no beginning and can have no
end',[71] writes
Bahá'u'lláh. Creation is out of time and continuous: otherwise,
the attribute Creator would be an empty name and God would be imperfect.
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes in this regard: `As to life... it has had no
beginning nor will it have end. The eternal grace of God has always been the
cause of life. It has had no starting and it will not approach any
end.'72
- `...the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite
in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them, except God, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise'; `...the creation of God embraceth worlds
beside this world; and creatures apart from these creatures',[73] writes Bahá'u'lláh. And
`Abdu'l-Bahá says: `The universe hath neither beginning nor ending';
`Consider the endless phenomena of His creation. They are infinite; the
universe is infinite';[74] `this
universe contains many worlds of which we know nothing', and moreover: `...how
is it possible to conceive that these stupendous stellar bodies are not
inhabited? Verily, they are peopled, but let it be known that the dwellers
accord with the elements of their respective spheres' and also: `The forms of
life are infinite.'[75] And finally He writes:
`Know then that the Lord God possesseth invisible realms which the human
intellect can never hope to fathom nor the mind of man
conceive.'76
That the universe is infinite in time, in space and in the variety of its
phenomena, is a corollary of its Creator's perfection. It is impossible to
conceive a time when creation was not existing as a whole: it would be
tantamount to say that God is not Creator. It is also impossible to maintain
that the universe is limited: if such was the case, what does exist beyond its
borders? Finally, this universe cannot but contain an infinite number of
phenomena, otherwise it would be finite. Therefore, the `original matter' is
eternal and infinite, nevertheless it is subordinated to God Who is its
Creator, and to the world of the Kingdom which moves and guides it.
`Abdu'l-Bahá expounds these same concepts through a different logical
argument: `absolute nonexistence cannot become existence' or else `absolute
nothingness cannot find existence, as it has not the capacity of existence.'[77] Therefore that which exists has always been
in existence, though in a different shape.[78]
In other words we could say: `nothing is created, nothing is destroyed,
everything changes', which is a well known scientific principle.[79]
- Bahá'u'lláh writes: `...each and every created
thing hath, according to a fixed degree, been endowed with the capacity to
exercise a particular influence, and been made to possess a distinct
virtue.'[80] Thence, `Abdu'l-Bahá
explains that the universe is a world of `absolute order and perfection';[81] `in the possible world there is nothing more
wonderful than that which already exists... the universe has no
imperfection.'[82]
The perfection of the Creator is reflected in the perfection of the universe:
in Bahá'u'lláh's words, His `image is reflected in the mirror
of the entire creation'. In its own degree and as a whole, the universe is
perfect and perfect is also each created thing, as long as it is `viewed in
the light of the station it has been ordained to occupy'.[83] Therefore, nothing whatsoever in existence is evil,[84] since every created thing has its own place
and meaning in the `creative plan of God'.[85]
Nevertheless, `Abdu'l-Bahá explains, `this material world of ours is a
world of contrast... It is all the time changing... ',[86] therefore the universe is also a realm of imperfection,
an imperfection which becomes manifest when the various degrees of existence
are compared with one another: this is the reason why we find throughout the
universe `...contradictions... opposites'.[87]
Though its qualities are good and perfect in themselves and in view of their
intended purpose, nevertheless they are not perfect, when they are compared to
other qualities. `Consider the effect of poison,' writes
Bahá'u'lláh, `Deadly though it is, it possesseth the power of
exerting, under certain conditions, a beneficial influence.'[88] A further example: the law of the struggle for existence
is good in the world of nature, but it is blameworthy in human society.
Therefore `Abdu'l-Bahá pronounces an apparently contradictory statement:
`nature seems perfect, it is nevertheless imperfect, because it has need of
intelligence and education.'[89] This
imperfection of nature is in comparison to a relatively greater perfection of
human beings.
- `...the divine and the contingent perfections are unlimited', says
`Abdu'l-Bahá; therefore you cannot find a being so perfect that you
cannot imagine a superior one.' In fact, `if it were possible to reach a limit
of perfection, then one of the realities of the beings might reach the
condition of being independent from God, and the contingent might attain to the
condition of the absolute. But for every being there is a point which it cannot
overpass... '.[90]
- `All parts of the creational world are part of one whole',[91] a `vast machinery of omnipresent power',[92] `one laboratory of might', `The organization
of God is one; the evolution of existence is one; the divine system is one.'[93]
The Creator is the Unifier of the infinite universe He Himself has created. He
established in His universe one Law -- His Command acting through the agency of
the spirit -- therefore the universe can be viewed as a great laboratory, whose
working criteria are everywhere the same.
The concept of the unity of the laws of the universe is upheld also by many
modern scientists and has found a scientific formulation in the cosmological
principle, which says: There is in nature a fundamental unity or uniformity,
wherefore (with the exception of certain peculiar situations, which are limited
in time and space) the universe is everywhere the same; indeed the natural laws
governing the fundamental phenomena appearing throughout the universe, as well
as the atomic and sub-atomic structure of matter, are uniform.[94]
- `all things are involved in all things',[95] says `Abdu'l-Bahá. This concept will be better
understood in the light of the atomic conception expounded by
`Abdu'l-Bahá, which will be de-scribed in the following pages. Suffice
to say here that, in `Abdu'l-Bahá's words, `Fundamentally all existing
things pass through the same degrees and phases of development, and any given
phenomenon embodies all others.'95 He says that the world of
creation is a uniform and organic reality -- `reality is one and cannot
admit of multiplicity',[96] He writes --
whose components, parts of the same organism, obey the same laws and are
strictly interrelated, so that any change in any of their parts influences the
whole and viceversa. In other words, `All the visible material events are
inter-related with invisible spiritual forces. The infinite phenomena of
creation are as interdependent as the links of a chain.'[97] He writes moreover: `...every part of the universe is
connected with every other part by ties that are very powerful and admit of no
imbalance, no slackening whatever.'[98]
This interdependence of phenomena appears with strong evidence in the
ecological equilibrium prevailing on the earth, to which `Abdu'l-Bahá
refers in the following words: `...all created things are closely related
together and each is influenced by the other or deriveth benefit therefrom,
either directly or indirectly.
`Consider for instance how one group of created things constituteth the
vegetable kingdom, and another the animal kingdom. Each of these two maketh use
of certain elements in the air on which its own life dependeth, while each
increaseth the quantity of such elements as are essential for the life of the
other. In other words, the growth and development of the vegetable world is
impossible without the existence of the animal kingdom, and the maintenance of
animal life is inconceivable without the co-operation of the vegetable kingdom.
Of like kind are the relationships that exist among all created things. Hence
it was stated that co-operation and reciprocity are essential properties which
are inherent in the unified system of the world of existence, and without which
the entire creation would be reduced to nothingness.'[99]
And elsewhere He writes on the same theme: `In the physical realm of
creation, all things are eaters and eaten: the plant drinketh in the mineral,
the animal doth crop and swallow down the plant, man doth feed upon the animal,
and the mineral devoureth the body of man. Physical bodies are transferred past
one barrier after another, from one life to another, and all things are subject
to transformation and change...
`Whensoever thou dost examine, through a microscope, the water man drinketh,
the air he doth breathe, thou wilt see that with every breath of air, man
taketh in an abundance of animal life, and with every draught of water, he also
swalloweth down a great variety of animals. How could it ever be possible to
put a stop to this process? For all creatures are eaters and eaten, and the
very fabric of life is reared upon this fact. Were it not so, the ties that
interlace all created things within the universe would be
unravelled.'100 And elsewhere He says on the same subject: `If
it were not so, in the universal system and the general arrangement of
existence, there would be disorder and imperfection.'[101]
- `The worlds of God are in perfect harmony and correspondence one
with another. Each world in this limitless universe is, as it were, a mirror
reflecting the history and nature of all the rest. The physical universe is,
likewise, in perfect correspondence with the spiritual or divine realm. The
world of matter is an outer expression or facsimile of the inner kingdom of the
spirit,'[102] says `Abdu'l-Bahá. Matter
takes on manifold shapes, guided in its transformation by the Command of God
which is present in it: therefore, it cannot but mirror forth its qualities,
though on a different level.[103] We could
wrongly see in these concepts a new formulation of the Platonic concept of the
world of Ideas and of the material world. But whereas Plato's conception may
suggest a dualism between spirit and matter, there is no dualism in the
Bahá'í texts. The physical world (the world of creation) reflects
the metaphysical world (the world of the Kingdom) in different degrees,
according to the capacities matter has acquired in its continuous
transformations, induced and guided by spirit emanating from the world of the
Kingdom. The world of the Kingdom and the world of creation have their
existence on different levels, but both of them are real. The world of creation
reflects on its own plane the qualities of the world of the spirit, expressing
them according to its capacities. There-fore, as Bahá'u'lláh
writes, `Every created thing in the whole universe is but a door leading
into His knowledge, a sign of His sovereignty, a revelation of His names...
';[104] and `Abdu'l-Bahá urges us
to search out, throughout the sensible universe, the traces of the `indwelling
spirit'.[105] Nevertheless, when it is
compared to the world of the Kingdom, `the world is but a show, vain and
empty.'106
- `...the whole attracteth the part, and in the circle, the centre
is the pivot of the compasses,' writes `Abdu'l-Bahá.. This is the
expression in the world of creation of another universal law, i.e. one of the
laws of love: `...any movement animated by love moveth from the periphery to
the centre, from space to the Day-Star of the universe..'[107]
- `The sign of singleness is visible and apparent in all things,' says
`Abdu'l-Bahá; and moreover: `As the proof of uniqueness exists in all
things, and the Oneness and Unity of God is apparent in the reality of all
things, the repetition of the same appearance is absolutely impossible.'[108]
In this infinite universe, whose phenomena are infinite, the variety of beings
is also infinite; therefore, as an earthly sign of the Divine Oneness and Unity
manifest in all things, `there are no repetitions in nature': every individual
is itself and, as such, unique.[109]
- `The world of existence is progressive,' says `Abdu'l-Bahá,
and `is dependent for its progress on reformation', a reformation that,
`Abdu'l-Bahá says, is an educational process: `the world of nature is
incomplete and imperfect until awakened and illumined by the light and stimulus
of education,' and moreover: `the world of nature is inherently defective in
cause and outcome... the defects therein must be removed by education.'[110]
- `...change is a necessary quality and an essential at-tribute of
this world, of time and place.'[111]
From the Bahá'í texts the world of creation appears as a reality
which -- eternal, infinite and perfect as a whole, and in its individual
components, provided they are viewed in their own degree -- is subject to one
unifying law, according to which all realities are strictly interrelated, so
that a marvellous harmony and correspondence exist among them. This law is the
law of evolution: the change brought into the world of creation by the power of
spirit, which transforms creatures bringing them to ever higher levels of
perfection, and which is in that respect an educational process.
The spirit is the true reality of the world of creation: what we see and
understand of this world is but `images reflected in water'[112] of the superior reality of the world of the Kingdom.
Such is the reality through which we shall be satisfied: those same traces of
God in the universe which Bahá'í scholars or would-be
philosophers should search and may discover.
The atom
Since the times of Democritus of Abdera (5th to 4th century BC)
philosophy has hypothesized that the sensible universe may be formed by
indivisible, eternal units, which cannot be directly perceived through the
senses, but which are within the reach of human reason , units that have been
called atoms, i.e. `that cannot be divided or split'. Throughout the centuries
this hypothesis has been specified, until it was given a scientific formulation
in the modern conception of the structure of matter.
`Abdu'l-Bahá says that the sensible universe is formed by `elemental
atoms', and expounds an atomic conception whose broad lines can be found in the
following quotations from His Tablets and recorded talks:[113]
- `It is evident that each material organism is an aggregate
expression of single and simple elements', which He terms `elemental atoms' or
`individual atoms';[114]
- `...it is a philosophical axiom that the individual or indivisible
atom is indestructible'; `it retains its atomic existence and is never
annihilated nor relegated to nonexistence'; `...atoms... continue to exist
because they are single, individual and not composed. Therefore it may be said
that these individual atoms are eternal.' In fact `existence implies the
grouping of material elements in a form or body, and nonexistence is simply the
decomposing of these groupings',[115]
therefore that which is not composed cannot be decomposed, that is, it does not
perish.
- `The elemental atoms which constitute all phenomenal existence and
being in this illimitable universe are in perpetual motion, undergoing
continuous degrees of progression', they `are transferable from one form of
existence to another, from one degree and kingdom to another, lower or
higher.'[116]
- `Because they have affinity for each other, the power of life is
able to manifest itself, and the organisms and phenomenal world become
possible. When this attraction or atomic affinity is destroyed, the power of
life ceases to manifest; death and nonexistence result.'
The nature of such an affinity is thus explained by `Abdu'l-Bahá:
------ `By a divine power of creation the elements assemble together in
affinity, and the result is a composite being... this affinity of the inanimate
elements is the cause of life and being.'
------ `...the phenomena of the universe find realization through the one power
animating and dominating all things, and all things are but manifestations of
its energy and bounty.'
------ `We declare that love is the cause of the existence of all phenomena and
that the absence of love is the cause of disintegration and nonexistence. Love
is the conscious bestowal of God, the bond of affiliation in all phenomena.'
------ `This quickening spirit emanates spontaneously from the Sun of Truth,
from the reality of Divinity, and is not a revelation or manifestation. It is
like the rays of the sun... '
------ `...the greater power in the realm and range of human existence is
spirit -- the divine breath which animates and pervades all things.'[117]
- `each elemental atom in the universe is possessed of a capacity to
express all the virtues of the universe... every atom in the universe possesses
or reflects all the virtues of life... '[118]
- `...the constituent elemental atoms of phenomena undergo progressive
transference and motion throughout the material kingdoms... In its ceaseless
progression and journeyings the atom becomes imbued with the virtues and powers
of each degree or kingdom it traverses... all are privileged to possess the
virtues existent in these kingdoms and to reflect the attributes of their
organisms... From this point of view and perception pantheism is a truth, for
every atom in the universe possesses or reflects all the virtues of life, the
manifestation of which is effected through change and transformation.'
Thence the elemental atom is the guarantor of `...the intrinsic oneness of all
phenomena... ', wherefore `...all phenomena of material being are fundamentally
one' and `each phenomenon is the expression in degree of all other phenomena.
The difference is one of successive transferences and the period of time
involved in evolutionary process', wherefore `all things are involved in all
things',[119] the universe is `one
laboratory of might under one natural system and one universal law',[120] and `the origin of all material life is
one and its termination is likewise one'.[121]
The above words by `Abdu'l-Bahá give a general idea of His atomic
conception. The following remarks are added in the hope that they will prove
useful in the attempt to draw a parallel between that conception and some of
the conclusions of modern science.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá says that the universe is formed by indivisible
particles which He refers to as `elemental atoms': atom, in its etymological
meaning as something that cannot be split; elemental, as simple, primal,
fundamental. Modern scientists say that the atom is `the smallest material unit
in which any chemical element can be divided'.[122] This is not the philosophical atom. In fact, since last
century, scientists have understood that such an atom is neither simple nor
indivisible. It was Rutherford[123] who
proposed the model of atomic structure which is today accepted by most
scientists: `a kind of microscopic planetary system',[124] where instead of the sun there is a central nucleus,
and instead of the planets there are electrons.[125] Subsequent studies demonstrated that not even the
nucleus is simple and indivisible: it is formed by neutrons and protons.
Neutrons and protons, in their turn, are formed by other simpler particles:
quarks. Today the smallest known material particles are quarks and leptons
(neutrins and electrons) and modern physicists think that all the matter which
is in the universe is formed by four systems of two couples of particles (a
quark-up and a quark-down, from one side, and an electron and a neutrin, from
the other). But no one knows yet whether these sub-atomic particles are really
simple or whether they can be divided into simpler ones. Whether and when
scientists will discover the elemental atom, we do not know. But they accept
the idea of its existence.
- The elemental atoms are simple. Since in the world of creation death
means decomposition, the elemental atoms, being simple, cannot be decomposed
and therefore are eternal. This concept, for the time being, has no parallel in
science: scientists at the most state that known elemental particles are
billions of years old.
- `Creation is the expression of motion. Motion is life. A moving
object is a living object, whereas that which is motion-less and inert is as
dead... '[126] says `Abdu'l-Bahá; and
moreover: `Absolute repose does not exist in nature':[127] atoms -- fundamental components of creation -- are
themselves subject to a perpetual motion. Modern scientists confirm this
concept: the old division of matter into animate and inanimate matter is
obsolete, because it is clear that all matter, in its microscopic dimension, is
in motion. The elemental particles, in fact, are subject to a rotatory
movement, called spin. Moreover, they literally move from one kingdom of
existence to the other.
- Among the elemental atoms there is a sort of attraction which
`Abdu'l-Bahá calls `attraction' or `atomic affinity':[128] this attraction is the cause of the existence of all
phenomenal reality. In fact, since all phenomenal beings are formed by
elemental atoms, thence only if an affinity exists among these elemental atoms
is the existence of phenomenal beings possible. `Abdu'l-Bahá indicates
in such affinity the simplest expression, on the physical plane, of the
metaphysical reality of love[129] and says
that this is one of the spiritual lessons man can learn from physical reality:
`Throughout all creation, in all kingdoms, this law is written: that love and
affinity are the cause of life, and discord and separation are the cause of
death.'[130] `Abdu'l-Bahá says that
this power of attraction among the elemental atoms is a bounty that God bestows
upon material creation through the agency of the world of the Kingdom: it is
therefore the simplest expression of spirit in the world of creation.
Scientists are well aware of the existence of this power of attraction among
the constituent particles of matter. The elemental particles are subject to the
spin movement and this same movement produces forces of mutual attraction,
which are called nuclear interactions. These forces binding together the
elemental particles are extremely strong. Scientists have learnt how to release
a part of those forces and the consequences of this release are manifest in the
disruptive explosions of the atom bomb (which should be more properly called
the neutron bomb).
- Elemental atoms are totipotent, inasmuch as each atom, as it goes
through the mineral, vegetable, animal and human kingdoms of the world of
creation, and through the myriad forms and organisms of phenomenal existence in
each of those kingdoms, variously combining with other elemental atoms, `not
only become embued with the powers and virtues of the kingdom it traverses, but
also reflects the attributes and qualities of the forms and organisms of those
kingdoms'. It follows that `all [atoms] are privileged to possess the virtues
existent in these kingdoms and to reflect the attributes of their organisms'.
Therefore `each elemental atom of the universe is possessed of a capacity to
express all the virtues of the universe'. This concept is evidently also upheld
by modern scientists who -- as has been already said -- agree that every
existent being in the universe is formed by quarks and leptons.
`Abdu'l-Bahá states that this particular aspect of the phenomenal world
is a great lesson of unity and `the true explanation of pantheism'.. He
explains that God is transcendent in His Essence and that no direct relation
exists between Him and His creatures. The world of creation receives the gifts
of God by emanation from the intermediate world of the Kingdom through the
agency of the spirit, which moves it and guides it in its moving. Following a
path whose course is deter-mined by natural laws -- the Will of God as
expressed on the phenomenal plane -- atoms combine and generate the various
beings, which differ from each other in `degree and receptivity'.[131] But the `original matter' of the
elemental atoms is one, and the spirit which moves it, and as it moves,
enables, it to assume different shapes, is one. Therefore the universe is like
a single great `laboratory'[132] or
`workshop'[133] where the same material and
metaphysical components -- the elemental atoms and spirit animating and guiding
them -- are present. This is the foundation of the `intrinsic oneness of all
phenomena',[134] of the total, eternal,
mutual involvement of all existing realities, of the perfect reciprocity of
phenomena. It is in the light of these concepts that the following words by
`Abdu'l-Bahá should be read: `the smallest atoms in the universe are
similar to the greatest beings of the universe.'[135]
- The atomic theory also explains `...the conservation of energy and
the infinitude of phenomena, the indestructibility of phenomena, changeless and
immutable because life cannot be annihilated. The utmost is this: that the
form, the outer image, throughout these changes and transformations, is
dissolved. The realities of all phenomena are immutable and unchangeable.'[136]
A question seems left unanswered: are all the elemental atoms equal, or do they
differ from each other? On the ground of the principle that there is no
repetition in nature, it would appear that among them there might be a `point
of contact' and a `point of distinction':[137] the former might be their substance, perhaps the
`original matter'137 which is the origin and the point of unity of
all sensible reality; the latter might be in relation to their degree and
function in the scale of reality.
Evolution
The two concepts of creation as emanation and of the atomic structure of
the universe are the foundation of another very important concept in the
Bahá'í view of the universe and life: evolution.
The creative plan of God
The world of creation, as an emanation from God, `reflecteth His
glory': it is a `mirror' where His `image is reflected'.[138] `His sovereign and pervasive Will...
called into being... creation',[139] and
`the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him' that
`He chose to confer upon man' is the purpose wherefore He willed to
create -- in Bahá'u'lláh's words, `the generating impulse and
the primary purpose underlying the whole creation'..[140] As a Creator, therefore, God has a plan: to enable
`original matter', emanating from the world of the Kingdom as a necessity of
divine attributes, to reflect more and more faithfully His image, so that it
may produce man who, through his capacity `to know Him and to love Him',
brings the process a step further, transferring it from a plane of unconscious
necessity to a level of willing consciousness. This process, through which the
totipotent elemental atoms are enabled to manifest their `capacity to express
all the virtues of the universe' `through change and transformation' and
`progressive transference and motion throughout the material kingdoms',[141] is evolution.
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `Every plan is in need of a power for its
execution':[142] the power through which
`the creative plan of God' is executed is the spirit, which -- emanating from
the world of the Kingdom, `in itself is progressive'. `Abdu'l-Bahá says:
`Motion is life. A moving object is a living object, whereas that which is
motionless and inert is as dead...'[143]
Thence it is the spirit which keeps in motion the world of creation, so that
`...nothing which exists remains in a state of repose... Everything is either
growing or declining...'[144] and `all
creation is growing and evolving. It never ceases.'[145] Therefore evolution is `the expression of spirit in the
world of matter' or else `progress of the spirit'.[146]
General features of the creative plan of God
The Bahá'í texts fully explain the general features of
this majestic process.
- From the world of the Kingdom two realities emanate, as a necessity
of God's attributes: the spirit, that is the intermediary between the world of
the Kingdom and the world of creation, and `original matter', formed by
`elemental atoms'.
- Spirit has a twofold effect on `original matter':
------ it sets in motion elemental atoms, starting the never-ending chain of
the continuous transformations of `original matter':
------ it guides matter in its movements and transformations, according to
criteria which man is able to perceive as natural laws. These criteria execute
in the matter the `creative plan of God', enabling the totipotent atoms to
express, through their assembling together, their capacity to mirror forth the
manifold attributes of life, i.e. `the powers and virtues of the kingdom [they]
traverse[s]... and the attributes and qualities of the forms and organisms of
those kingdoms'.[147]
- The `original matter' is therefore characterized by a perpetual
motion[148] -- `Abdu'l-Bahá says that
this motion is `essential, that is natural',[149] because it is `necessary to existence'. According to
the `intrinsic oneness of all phenomena',[150] the `original matter' follows in its motion criteria
which apply to all phenomena of existence.[151]
- These criteria can be summarized as a never-ending process of
growth, which is similar -- according to one of the metaphors suggested by
`Abdu'l-Bahá -- to the development of a seed which slowly sprouts, then
grows, until it brings forth a fruit which contains a new seed.
This process of growth is therefore characterized by the following elements:
------ it is `gradual':[152] from a degree
of lesser (least) perfection it reaches a degree of greater (greatest)
perfection or fulfillment;[153]
------ it is cyclical: whenever a material being reaches its greatest possible
perfection, `the point which it cannot overpass',[154] it declines until it ceases to exist in its original
condition, while in its stead `a new order and condition is established'; this
order and condition in its turn undergoes a new process of growth. `The circle
of existence is the same circle: it returns',[155] says `Abdu'l-Bahá.
------ it is relative: since the possible perfections each material being can
achieve are infinite, it follows that the greatest perfection any being may
have attained is always a relative perfection;
------ it is infinite: since in the physical reality taken as a whole the
possible perfections are infinite, it follows that the evolutionary process is
endless.[156]
Evolution in the world of creation
In the world of creation we can therefore perceive the following
essential features:
- `for existence there is neither change nor transformation; existence
is ever existence: it can never be translated into nonexistence';[157]
- `Creation is the expression of motion. Motion is life. A moving
object is a living object, whereas that which is motion-less and inert is as
dead. All created forms are progressive in their planes, or kingdoms of
existence, under the stimulus of the power or spirit of life. The universal
energy is dynamic. Nothing is stationary in the material worlds of outer
phenomena or in the inner world of intellect and consciousness';[158] therefore all created things undergo a
never-ending evolution;
- as created things evolve, they go through `gradual stages or
degrees', characterized by a `specialized capacity'[159] to mirror forth the spirit;
- at last, created things attain a `degree, or stage of maturity',[160] which they `cannot overpass';[161]
- `after which a new order and condition is established'.[162]
In this context, the concepts of physical life and death have different
meanings, depending on the context:
------ in the light of the atomic conception of the universe, life means
composition and death decomposition. According to such a definition, therefore,
death is but a transference from one condition of existence to another;
------ in the light of the concept of evolution, existence `is gradation; a
degree below a higher degree is considered as non-existence'.[163] In fact, if we consider a mineral, this is undoubtedly
dead in comparison to a vegetable. But spirit is present also in the mineral:
it is that movement, which generates the power of attraction, which in its turn
binds together its constituent particles. `All beings are endowed with
life,'[164] writes `Abdu'l-Bahá..
However, the vegetable has the power of growth, which is absent in the mineral.
And the animal is alive, when it is compared with the vegetable, whereas the
vegetable is dead, if it is compared to the animal. For example, a human being
affected by a deep coma, because of a severe trauma, is said to live a
vegetative life, and by this it is meant that his life is quite different from
a normal human life. In the Bahá'í texts the word death
indicates also the condition of such a man who, while alive in his animal life,
is nevertheless, since he is spiritually wholly unconscious, even as dead. Such
is the meaning of the well-known words of the Gospel: `Let the dead bury their
dead':[165] spiritually dead the former,
physically dead the latter. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains, moreover, that
`...though the existence of beings in relation to the existence of God is an
illusion, nevertheless, in the condition of being it has a real and certain
existence.'[166] Therefore, the world is but
a show, when it is compared to the world of the Kingdom; but, in itself, it is
really existent. Therefore, the concept of life and death is a relative
concept.
- `...for the whole universe, whether for the heavens or for men,
there are cycles of great events, of important facts and occurrences. When a
cycle is ended, a new cycle begins';[167]
- within each cycle, each phenomenal reality undergoes a process of
transformation, as regards its perfection, but not as regards its state. Each
reality can achieve endless and infinite perfections, without any change in its
state. Everything, writes Bahá'u'lláh, `according to its
capacities, indicateth, and is expressive of, the knowledge of
God'168 and `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `In every station there is
a specialized capacity', `a degree of function and intelligence';[169]
- `The transformation of the innate substance is impossible',[170] writes `Abdu'l-Bahá; He says
moreover: `...the world of existence is dependent for its progress upon
reformation; otherwise it will be as dead';[171] this reformation is realized through the spirit
emanating from the world of the Kingdom. In `Abdu'l-Bahá's words: `The
transformation depends upon divine bounty. The mineral progresses in its own
world. But from the mineral to the vegetable it progresses only by divine
bounty. Also transformation from the vegetable to the animal is God's plan. Of
itself the transformation cannot take place.'[172] These statements are very subtle: they require deeper
investigation and studies than those that have been done up to now. Evolution
is within the kingdoms,[173] says
`Abdu'l-Bahá.. Vegetable and animal spirits, being a part of creation,
are sufficient for the intrinsic changes of each phenomenal being to take
place. But for the transformations from one kingdom to another, these natural
powers are not enough: a power from a higher level must assist. This is the
divine bounty, the power of the world of the Kingdom, that is, the spirit.
In fact, evolution within the kingdoms implies but the perfecting of potential
qualities: the `power of attraction' in the mineral kingdom, the `power of
growth' in the vegetable kingdom, the `power of sense perception' in the animal
kingdom. But the transition from one kingdom to another implies the appearance
of a new capacity, which previously did not exist, even potentially. It is a
real transformation of substance, which cannot come to pass by itself.
Therefore, it is only the power of the world of the Kingdom, which -- belonging
to a superior level -- can realize this transformation. Such a concept is
evident particularly in the process of man's spiritual evolution.
And yet, evolution -- whatever the level on which it is examined -- is always
moved by the powers of the spirit, because `the power of growth' and the `power
of sense perception' are themselves expressions of the spirit. The only
difference is that these two capacities are expressions of the spirit in its
acting in the world of creation, whereas the powers bringing the elemental
atoms to meet so that they may give birth to the creatures of the mineral, or
vegetable, or animal, or human worlds are expressions of the spirit in its
acting in the world of the Kingdom.[174]
- Evolution is progress: between the simple, tiny elemental atom and
the great man, with his complex brain, there is a sequence of degrees of
existence, one following the other in a growing complexity of structures and a
growing capacity to express in the physical world the qualities of the
metaphysical world of the Kingdom. This evolutionary process is a process of
approaching God, inasmuch as the higher degrees of perfection are achieved by
physical reality, as it evolves according to the guiding rules given by the
world of the Kingdom -- Bahá'u'lláh mentions `the Command of
God which pervadeth all created things'.[175] The more completely this reality expresses the
spiritual qualities of the world of the Kingdom, the closer it approaches God.
It is in such perspective that `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `Progress is the
expression of spirit in the world of matter.'[176]
- `Inequality in degree and capacity is a property of nature,[177] says `Abdu'l-Bahá; because of this
property the world of matter is a world of multiplicity, of `contradictions...
opposites',[178] which arise from the
comparisons among, and the coexistence of, physical realities, which are
fundamentally equal, but belong to different degrees. In other words, `each
phenomenon is the expression in degree of all other phenomena. The difference
is one of successive transference and the period of time involved in the
evolutionary process'. It is clear then that in the phenomenal world all things
are fundamentally one and the difference among single realities is but `one of
degrees and receptivity.'[179]
In conclusion, the process of evolution can be viewed as that process through
which those perfections which were engraved within each created being when it
was brought into existence find an ever more complete expression, until that
being reaches an apex called maturity. `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `All beings,
whether large or small, were created perfect and complete from the first, but
their perfections appear in them by degrees...'.[180] Each created being possesses in itself -- like a seed
-- potential perfections. Evolution is that process through which those
perfections manifest themselves. What that created being will become depends,
on the one hand, on its potential endowments, on the other, on the natural laws
which start, move and guide its development, and finally on many external
circumstances which interact with it, influencing its possibility of expressing
those same perfections it was imbued with at its creation.
Evolution in the four kingdoms of the world of creation
If we examine the physical universe and its evolution in the light of
these concepts, we will understand that the four kingdoms of the world of
creation -- mineral, vegetable, animal and human -- are even as four different
fruits arrived at maturity on the same tree (the world of creation) in
different times; the lapse of time which must pass before maturity is attained,
is proportionate to the complexity of the structure of that kingdom. This
metaphor is offered by `Abdu'l-Bahá in His talks, in order to explain
that the four kingdoms, mutually dependent as they are, nevertheless do not
stem from one another.[181]
The four kingdoms of creation are different from each other, inasmuch as their
component material elements are organized in different ways and therefore
express at different levels and degrees the spirit -- the divine bounties
emanating from the world of the Kingdom and pervading the whole creation. `Each
kingdom is receiving the light and bounty of the eternal Sun according to its
capacity' says `Abdu'l-Bahá; and moreover: `In each kingdom we find the
same virtues manifesting themselves more fully, proving that the reality has
been transferred from a lower to a higher form and kingdom of being', which is
possible because `the atoms of the material elements are transferable from one
form of existence to another, from one degree and kingdom to another, lower or
higher'.[182]
`Abdu'l-Bahá dwells upon the details of the differences among these four
kingdoms:
- The mineral kingdom has the capability to manifest the spirit as
`power of attraction' and this is `the only expression of love the stone can
manifest'.[183]
- The vegetable kingdom has the capability to manifest the spirit as
`power of growth' or in other words as `power of absorption from the earth';[184] in fact vegetables can absorb from the
earth and the atmosphere what they need for preservation, reproduction and
regulation -- the three typical activities of living systems. This power -- in
`Abdu'l-Bahá's words -- `results from the combination of elements and
the mingling of substances by the decree of the Supreme God, and from the
influence, the effect, the connection, of other existences. When these
substances and elements are separated from each other, the power of growth also
ceaseth to exist': this power is therefore viewed in the Bahá'í
texts not as a mystical entity, but as a natural power and it is compared by
`Abdu'l-Bahá with the `electric force'..[185]
- The animal kingdom has the capability to manifest the spirit as
`power of sense perception', a power that confers on the animals `emotions and
sensibilities', `intelligence',[186]
`voluntary movements'[187] and `memory'.[188] Also this power is viewed as a natural
power, bound to vanish when the elements whose composition was conducive to its
appearance in the physical plane are separated from each other, even as `when
the oil is finished and the wick consumed'[189] the light fades away.
- the human kingdom has the capability to manifest the spirit as
`intellect' or `conscious intelligence', `conscious reflection', `intellectual
investigation'.[190] Referring to human
spirit, `Abdu'l-Bahá says that, unlike the mineral, vegetable and animal
spirits which belong to the world of creation and there-fore have a beginning
and an end, human spirit belongs to another degree. In fact `the body of man
is... the most perfect existence'.[191] He
likens it to a mirror and the human spirit to the sun; when the mirror is
broken, the sun nevertheless remains; likewise the human spirit, which is of
the world of the Kingdom, has no end. The comprehension of such a concept
requires a more detailed analysis, which will be presented in the following
chapters.
If we intended to draw a graphic representation of the evolutionary processes
going on throughout the universe, we should not draw a staircase, but a tree:
from the root (mineral kingdom) three branches grow (vegetable, animal and
human kingdoms); from these three branches other branches and twigs grow
(genuses, species, etc.) and so on.[192]
Thus starting from the farthest branch we could follow, from one branch to the
other, a path through which we could reach the root; all these branches are the
successive transformations that branch (or that creature) underwent in its
morphology, starting from the root, until it took on its present form.
Evolution according to Plotinus, in the Bahá'í texts
`Abdu'l-Bahá also explains evolution in Plotinian terms. The
world of the Kingdom is the first emanation from God `Supreme Centre';[193] from this Centre begins the first arc of
existence, the arc of descent, the arc of material worlds: elemental atoms form
the elements, which are the foundations of all material things: mineral,
vegetable, animal. Man, who is possessed of all the qualities of the world of
creation, i.e. `a body which grows and which feels'[194] is `the lowest point of the arc of descent',[195] or else the highest point of materiality.
This process which, starting from the elemental atom, arrives at man, is termed
`beginning (literally: bringing forth)'[196]
and man is its fruit. From man, who stands therefore opposite the `Supreme
Centre', begins the second arc of existence, the arc of ascent, the arc of the
spiritual worlds. This arc comprises the spiritual degrees of existence and is
termed `progress (literally: producing something new).'196 This arc
of ascent culminates in the world of the Kingdom (termed also First Mind,
Primal Will, Word of God or Logos. Identity or Self or Soul of God). The circle
of existence therefore has its beginning in the elemental atom, it follows the
arc of descent, with the degrees of material world -- mineral, vegetable and
animal kingdoms -- and culminates in man. From man, who stands at the end of
materiality and at the beginning of spirituality, the second arc of existence
begins: it is the arc of ascent which traversing the various degrees of the
spiritual worlds such as the spirit of faith, the Holy Spirit, the Most Great
Spirit, culminates in the Logos, which manifests itself in the world of
creation as the Manifestation of God, Perfect Image of God, Perfect Man,
perfect expression, in the plane of the world of creation, of all the qualities
of the world of the Kingdom.
Evolution as an educative process
Evolution is described by Bahá'u'lláh as `the
revelation of the Name of God, the Educator'. `Behold', He writes,
`how in all things the evidences of such a revelation are manifest, how the
betterment of all beings dependeth upon it. This education is of two kinds. The
one is universal. Its influence pervadeth all things and sustaineth them. It is
for this reason that God hath assumed the title, "Lord of all the worlds". The
other is con-fined to them that have come under the shadow of this Name, and
sought the shelter of this most mighty Revelation.' [197] These words (which will be commented upon later on)
point out the relation between the spiritual evolution each man undergoes,
through the efforts he exerts, as he follows the guidance of the Revelation of
God, and the evolution of the entire creation.
Evolution, in the different planes of the world of existence
The evolutionary process can be studied in various perspectives. If we
consider it in the world of being as a whole -- the world of creation and the
world of the Kingdom -- this process should necessarily be viewed independently
of its relation with time. In fact in the world of the Kingdom time does not
exist. The world of the Kingdom is coexistent and coeternal with God, to Whom
it is inferior though, because it depends on, and was created by, Him. In the
level of the world of the Kingdom, beginning and end are one and the same
thing, therefore any created being, viewed in that world, is simultaneously
what it is -- in the world of creation -- in all phases of its evolution. Thus
the world of creation could metaphorically be viewed as a magnificent fresco:
each point in this fresco is an individual; groups of points, making together a
detail of this fresco, are species; a group of details, forming a figure, is a
kingdom of creation; groups of figures, forming a theme, are more kingdoms of
creation, and so on. This metaphor enables us to understand how, in the plane
of the world of the Kingdom, there is no transformation from individual to
individual, from species to species, from kingdom to kingdom, because each of
them has its own individuality and existence beside that of the others, though
it comes into existence after the others, and forms with them the majestic
fresco of the world of creation. It is in this perspective that
`Abdu'l-Bahá confirms the concept of `conservation of species'[198] and of the absolute and complete
distinction among the kingdoms of creation, and that He says: `...the original
species of the genus do not change and alter, but the form, color, bulk will
change and alter, or even progress'.[199]
This statement parallels with that law of evolution whereby `...all phenomena
of being attain to a summit and degree of consummation, after which a new order
and condition is established'.[200]
Evolution is that progress whereby the potential qualities of the seed are
transformed into the reality of the tree and its fruits: in the world of the
Kingdom the seed is simultaneously tree and fruit; in the world of creation
between the seed and the fruit there are many different stages, the stages of
evolution.
At the level of the individual, evolution begins, for example, with the
conception of a human being); it proceeds through successive stages (embryo,
foetus, new-born baby, child, boy or girl, adolescent, young man or woman,
mature individual, old individual); it brings forth its fruits during maturity
(progeny and fruits of material and intellectual work); at last it ends in
decomposition (death).
At the level of species, there is a phenomenal beginning, that is, whenever a
species appears on the earth; an evolution through successive stages
culminating in an apex of maturity; a stage of decline and at last its
disappearance. Such phenomenon is fully proved by paleontological evidences
(fossils), enabling scientists to study the evolutionary process of single
species. A very well known example is the evolution of dinosaurs. They appeared
in the Triassic Period and attained an apex during the Jurassic and Cretaceous
Periods, after which they disappeared.[201]
At the level of the world of creation viewed as a whole, the beginning of
evolution can be traced in `original matter' -- the seed -- its `fruit'[202] is man, who -- being the apex of physical
evolution -- is possessed of all the existing perfections of all the inferior
grades. In fact, man has in himself the typical `power of attraction' of the
mineral kingdom; the `power of growth' belonging to the vegetable kingdom; the
`power of sense perception', which a distinctive feature of the animal kingdom.
But besides all these powers, he has also the power of `intellect', which
belongs only to his kingdom. Therefore, man is the `fruit' or the purpose of
evolution.
This is the foundation of another important Bahá'í concept: how
is it possible for the whole evolutionary process of the world of creation --
infinite and eternal as a whole -- to come to a close with such a powerless
creature, as physical man, who lives for a very few years on this earth and
then dissolves in dust? Evolution is in itself a never-ending process: there
must therefore be something else beyond physical man. The Bahá'í
texts say that such a reality transcending physical man is the human soul,
which -- inasmuch as it has the capacity of intellectual and spiritual
perception and is endowed with potential spiritual qualities -- brings the
evolutionary process a step forward from the world of creation to the world of
the Kingdom.
Limitations of some modern concepts on evolution
Some evolutionists deny any unity, `rationality' and finality in the
evolutionary process.
- Regarding the progress in the physical world through evolution, this
progress can be described -- in a Bahá'í perspective -- as a
rising helicoidal motion. Each coil of the helicoid is a `circle of
existence'[203] with its beginning and its
end. In the helicoid, the end of the coil always stands at a superior level to
its beginning. In fact, just as any phenomenal reality, both individual and
species, had a beginning, so it will have also an end, because any phenomenal
reality, inasmuch as it is phenomenal, is limited in time and space. Therefore
evolution, viewed in individuals and species, implies a stage of progress, as
well as a stage of regress, following that stage wherein that phenomenal being
has attained its highest possible point of perfection, that is its maturity.
Nevertheless, that individual, or that species, will be followed by other
individuals, other species, which will bring his or its perfections a step
forward. But they will do it on another level.
Evolution is therefore a very complex process. No wonder that because of such
complexity it is so difficult to trace the specific conditions which have
influenced the evolution of any given phenomenal reality. For example, it is an
arduous task to discover why the earth has today such a shape, such component
elements, geographical configuration, climate, vegetable and animal species,
and man. It is up to men of science to investigate nature through their
methods, so that they may unravel its mysteries. Bahá'í texts
give a guidance which will prove useful as to the direction such studies could
follow.
- As for those which seem nature's mistakes,[204] its seemingly wrong choices, which are advanced as
proof by those who deny its rationality and finality:
------ the universe and nature are perfect as a whole, but each individual
being is manifestly imperfect. Therefore these mistakes are not a surprise.
------ some of these supposed mistakes in the evolutionary processes could be
merely choices whose meaning is as undiscovered. It would be totally absurd for
a man to claim a complete understanding, of even phenomenal reality;
------ other supposed mistakes could be stages of regress of an individual or a
species, when they have already yielded their fruit and are therefore
inexorably declining towards the conclusion of their vital cycle.
- To maintain that evolution is not just the outcome of chance, but is
moved by an Intelligent Being Who guides it, does not belong -- as the
Bahá'í texts explain it -- to the realms of tales and myth, but
to the domains of reason. For the time being no one can demonstrate either
hypothesis. To believe in the former or in the latter is therefore a matter of
faith; but in this context too to have faith means to be sure that a hypothesis
is true, because so it appears in the light of many other general ideas which,
inasmuch as they are undoubtedly true and make this hypothesis probable and
reliable, are the rational guarantors of a hypothesis, which is thus accepted
in an act of faith.
In this regard, a suggestive anecdote is related by Guy Murchie `about Charles
Boyle, the fourth Earl of Orrery, who flourished in southern Ireland early in
the eighteenth century -- and of the theorem that bears his name. Having heard
of Kepler's famous discovery of the laws of planetary motion and of Newton's
recent work on gravitation, Lord Orrery had a working model of the solar system
built inside his castle. It was an extraordinary, dynamic and up-to-date piece
of clockwork with orbital hoops and a brass sun in the center plus smaller
globes representing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn slowly
revolving around it, even a moon circling the Earth and four little ones going
around Jupiter.
`But it seems that Lord Orrery had an atheist friend who had an utterly
materialistic outlook and thought of the universe as just an immense moving
system of natural machinery that somehow coasts along, blindly but
automatically maintaining itself with-out benefit of consciousness, mind or
intelligence of any kind. So when the friend heard tell of Orrery's new and
wonderful machine, he lost no time in going to the castle to see it. Entering
the great hall where the model was in operation, the atheist's eyes widened
with awe and the first question he asked Lord Orrery was: "Where did you get
this magnificent thing? Who made it?"
`But Orrery, remembering previous arguments with the atheist about creation,
surprised him by replying, "Nobody made it. It just happened".
`"How could that be?" retorted the atheist. "Surely these intricate gears and
wheels couldn't create themselves. Who made them?"
`Lord Orrery stood his ground, insisting that his model of the solar system had
just happened by itself. Meantime, the atheist worked himself into a state of
hysterical frustration. Then at last, judging the time was ripe, Orrery let him
have it. "Up to now", he declared, "I was testing you. Now I am going to offer
you a bargain. I will promise to tell you truly who made my little sun and
planets down here as soon as you tell me truly Who made the infinitely bigger,
more wonderful and more beautiful real sun and planets up there in the
heavens".
`The atheist turned a little pale and, for the first time, began to wonder
whether the Universe could really have made itself, or possibly be running all
this time automatically and unguided by the slightest twinge of intelligence.
And this was the origin of the Orrery Theorem which says: "If the model of any
natural system requires intelligence for its creation and its working, the real
natural system requires at least as much intelligence for its own creation and
working."'[205]
This anecdote is suggestive not so much for its persuasiveness, as for that
subtle irony which is a distinctive feature of anyone who has attained a
universal view of life and existence and consequently to a serenity, which we
think -- because Bahá'u'lláh states it -- to be man's
birthright.[206] Any other out-look is
conducive only to fruitless and unacceptable pessimism, or at most to
agnosticism, which we accept only as a refuge where clever minds may withdraw,
when they do not meet or recognize anything worthy of their trust during their
lives. But it is only a pause, a limbo whence they must sooner or later emerge
to face with all its implications the inescapable task of finding an answer to
the great existential questions of life, lest other forces prevail. Such
forces, denying the transcendental worlds, deprive life of its meaning and
human values of their pregnancy, and reduce man to being satisfied with
considering himself an intelligent animal and thus becoming the most foolish of
all living creatures -- a creature who prefers to be even as his inferiors, who
stupidly upholds and sanctions a society poisoned by competition and war.
Whereas the concepts of the atom and of evolution, as explained in the
Bahá'í texts, are in themselves a mighty trace of God in this
phenomenal world, a trace which it is worthwhile following if that
`knowledge of God'207 in which all things begin is to be
attained.
End notes:
[1] After Galileo published his Dialogues
about the Two Greatest Systems in the World (1632), in defence of the
Copernican system against the Ptolemaic system, he was put on trial for heresy.
This trial went on till 22 June 1633, when it ended in Galileo's forced
abjuration of his theories.
[2] On 15 May 1979, the Universal House of
Justice issued a message to the Bahá'ís of the world,
establishing some fundamental principles for Bahá'í scholars:
`the principle of harmony of science and religion means not only that religious
teachings should be studied in the light of reason and evidence as well as of
faith and inspiration, but also that everything in creation, all aspects of
human life and knowledge, should be studied in the light of revelation as well
as in that of purely rational investigation. In other words, a
Bahá'í scholar, when studying a subject, should not lock out of
his mind any aspect of truth that is known to him.' (The Universal House of
Justice, `The Challenge and Promise of Bahá'í Scholarship', in
Bahá'í World, XVII, pp.195-6.)
[3] `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `Religion and
science are the two wings upon which man's intelligence can soar into the
heights, with which the human soul can progress. It is not possible to fly with
one wing alone! Should a man try to fly with the wing of religion alone he
would quickly fall into the quagmire of superstition, while on the other hand,
with the wing of science alone he would also make no progress, but fall into
the despairing slough of materialism.' (Paris Talks, p.143.)
[4] See Hakim Sana'i, `Apologo
dell'Elefante e dei Ciechi' in M.M. Moreno, Antologia della Mistica
Arabo-Persiana, p.29.
[5] Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets,
p.147. See Plato, Republic, Book VII.
[6] Promulgation, pp.29, 49, 297.
[7] ibid. p.272.
[8] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel' in
Bahá'í World, XV, p.41.
9 Gleanings, p.62.
[10] Some Answered Questions, p.146.
[11] In Islamic tradition, the essential
attributes are might, science, life, will, hearing, sight and word; the active
attributes are love, command, perception, and -- according to some scholars --
will and word.
[12] For a preliminary study of divine
attributes as presented in Islamic tradition and in the Bahá'í
Faith, See J.R. Cole, `The Concept of Manifestation in the
Bahá'í Writings', in Bahá'í Studies, IX,
pp.3-5, 25-9.
[13] Some Answered Questions, pp.148,
280, 148-9.
[14] See Some Answered
Questions, pp.148-9.
[15] Promulgation, p.159.
[16] Divine Philosophy, p.145.
[17] Promulgation, pp.274, 219.
[18] Tablets, p.140.
[19] Some Answered Questions, p.202.
[20] See Some Answered
Questions, pp.202-4.
[21] Gleanings, p.337. From this point
of view, the physical world might be Seen -- according to J.S. Hatcher
-- as a metaphor of the spiritual world. See below, pp.206-9.
[22] Promulgation, p.15.
[23] Promulgation, p.15.
[24] The Persian word nafs is
translated into English in the Bahá'í literature sometimes as
`self', sometimes as `soul'. The term Soul of God translates the Persian
nafs-i-rahmaníyyih, i.e. literally, `the Soul of the
Merciful'.
[25] Some Answered Questions, p.230.
This tripartition of being is a pattern which can be perceived in many aspects
of reality. While explaining the Christian concept of Trinity,
`Abdu'l-Bahá writes in one of His Tablets: `...there are necessarily
three things: the Giver of the Grace, and the Grace, and the Recipient of the
Grace; the Source of the Effulgence, the Effulgence, and the Recipient of the
Effulgence; the Illuminator, and the Illumination, and the Illuminated.'
(Tablets, p.117.) Further, He likens these three `things' to the
sun, its rays and the objects on which these rays fall. The same pattern and
the same explanation apply also in other circumstances: God, the world of the
Kingdom, the world of creation; God, the outpouring of His active attributes,
the world of the Kingdom; the world of the Kingdom, spirit, the world of
creation; God, the Most Great Spirit, the Manifestation of God; the
Manifestation of God, the spirit of faith, man; spirit, human soul, human body;
soul, its mental faculties, human body. These concepts will be explained
further on.
[26] As for the philosophical language used in
the Bahá'í texts, See above p.26 and n.29.
[27] Some Answered Questions, pp.294,
203.
[28] Hidden Words, Arabic no. 3.
[29] Promulgation, p.219.
[30] Tablets, p.140.
[31] Some Answered Questions, p.203.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: `All that is in heaven and all that is in
the earth have come to exist at His bidding, and by His Will all have stepped
out of utter nothingness into the realm of being.' (Gleanings,
p.318.)
[32] Quoted in Star of the West, VII,
p.100. When `Abdu'l-Bahá was still a youth He wrote a famous commentary
on this well-known tradition ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad Himself. This
commentary, entitled Tafsír-i-Kuntu Kanzan
Makhfíyyan, has not yet been translated into
Western languages. J.R. Cole gives a short summary of its contents in his `The
Concept of Manifestation in the Bahá'í Writings', in
Bahá'í Studies, IX, pp.25-9.
[33] Paris Talks, p.180.
[34]
Promulgation, pp.15, 297, 268, 211, 397, 15, 255. In another passage,
`Abdu'l-Bahá says: `God is love and all phenomena find source and
emanation in that divine current of creation. The love of God haloes all
created things. Were it not for the love of God, no animate being would exist.'
(ibid. p.315.)
He writes, moreover, that true joy is `spiritual happiness' and that
this happiness is `the love of God'. `This happiness is but the
eternal might, the brilliant traces of which are shining forth unto the temples
of unity. Were it not for this happiness the world of existence would have not
been created.' (quoted in M.M. Rabb, `The Divine Art of Living' in Star
of the West, VII, p.163.)
[35] Paris Talks, p.180.
[36] Some Answered Questions, p.203.
[37] Promulgation, pp.159, 219.
38 Gleanings, pp.150, 162.
[39] Promulgation, p.462.
[40]
That the world of the Kingdom is also referred to as Sun of Truth or Sun of
Reality may well astonish or perplex Western readers, accustomed as they are to
a univocal and schematic language. But in the Bahá'í texts
metaphors are not used as though they were rigid symbols. The same metaphor is
suggested, in different contexts, to convey different spiritual concepts. Such
a flexible use of metaphors is typical of Islamic literary style, both in
Arabic and Persian. (For the Islamic and Persian literary styles See A.
Bausani, Persia Religiosa, pp.347-50, and J.S. Hatcher, `The
Metaphorical Nature of Material Reality', in Bahá'í
Studies, III.)
In this context, therefore, the sun -- which is often presented as a metaphor
for the Essence of God -- indicates His First Emanation, the world of the
Kingdom. Therefore, in this context, the essence of the sun Seems a
metaphor for the Essence of God; the image of the sun which our eyes perceive
in the sky seems to refer to the world of the Kingdom; the rays of the sun are
the bounties emanating from the world of the Kingdom, bounties that in the
Bahá'í texts are often termed spirit.
[41]
Promulgation, pp.74, 93-4.
[42] Ibid. p.15.
[43] In Persian
nafs-i-rahmaníyyih. See above p.35, n. 24.
44 Gleanings, p.61.
[45] Promulgation, pp.313, 286, 273,
88.
[46] Paris Talks, p.25.
[47] Promulgation, pp.390, 88.
[48] Ibid. pp.58, 286.
[49] Tablets, p.611.
[50] Promulgation, p.271.
[51] ibid. p.268.
[52] Some Answered Questions, p.143.
[53] Some Answered Questions, p.143.
[54]
`Survival and Salvation', in Star of the West, VII, p.190. Any student
of the Bahá'í teachings on spirit, soul, mind, etc. is faced by a
certain difficulty of language, which Shoghi Effendi himself pointed out,
writing through his secretary: `When studying at present, in English, the
available Bahá'í writings on the subject of body, soul and
spirit, one is handicapped by a certain lack of clarity, because not all were
translated by the same person, and also there are, as you know, still many
Bahá'í writings untranslated. But there is no doubt that spirit
and soul Seem to have been interchanged in meaning sometimes; soul and
mind have, likewise, been interchanged in meaning, no doubt due to difficulties
arising from different translations. What the Bahá'ís do believe
though, is that we have three aspects of our humanness, so to speak, a body, a
mind and an immortal identity -- soul or spirit. We believe the mind forms a
link between the soul and the body, and the two interact on each other.'
(quoted in Arohanui, p.89.)
Moreover these difficulties increase because of certain differences between
Western and Islamic terminology and of the different meanings ascribed within
these two cultures to such words as spirit, soul and mind. An explanation of
the meanings of the words spirit, soul and mind as they are used in this book
may be found at pp.40, 145, 156 respectively.
Such difficulty of language obliges any scholar who intend to achieve a deeper
comprehension of these concepts to be always mentally alert, in his efforts to
understand. These mental exertions, somehow, train them in avoiding any
rigidity and schematism, which is always detrimental whenever such subtle
spiritual themes are studied. In fact spirit, as a living reality, is
ever-changing in its manifestations; therefore -- within its scope -- any
definition, which is perforce rigid, is inadequate. It follows that, whenever
such words as spirit, soul, mind are mentioned, it should be kept in mind that
they indicate different aspects of a single reality in its different functions.
For example in quotation n.54 p.40, the word spirit Seems to indicate
the soul of man when the divine reality has appeared in it; whereas the word
soul Seem to indicate the soul in its relationship with the body. In
other texts (See Some Answered Questions, p.264. the terms
rational soul and human spirit Seem to indicate the soul of man in its
usually accepted meaning.
55 See Shoghi Effendi, World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh, p.109.
[56] Regarding the concept of the
Manifestation of God, See below pp.100-114.
[57] See `Abdu'l-Bahá,
Tablets, p.117. The Bahá'í Faith vigorously upholds the
concept of the oneness of the Manifestations of God. See below
pp.107-10.
[58] Promulgation, pp.219, 272.
[59] Quoted in M.M. Rabb, `The Divine Art of
Living' in Star of the West VIII, p.123.
[60] Some Answered Questions, p.295.
[61] Selections, p.161.
[62] Promulgation, p.160.
[63] Some Answered Questions, p.296.
This divine presence throughout creation is called by Bahá'u'lláh
`Universal Revelation'..(Kitáb-i-Íqán, p.139.) A
short explanation of this concept is given by J.R. Cole in `The Concept of
Manifestation in the Bahá'í Writings' in Bahá'í
Studies, IX, pp.18-20.
[64] Promulgation, p.101.
[65] Gleanings, p.328.
[66] `How is it possible to imagine life after
death?' in Star of the West, XI, p.316.
[67] Divine Philosophy, p.133. In the
Bahá'í view the material world, when compared to the spiritual
world is but a shadow; but it has its own existence. See below, pp.49,
60, 216.
68 Tablets, p.142.
[69] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel' in
Bahá'í World, XV, p.39.
[70] `It is the time which His Holiness Christ
calls the "Day of Marriage"` in Star of the West, XII, p.194.
`Abdu'l-Bahá also gives another meaning to the word `nature', i.e. the
animal kingdom or `world of nature', as different from, and inferior to, the
`human kingdom or world of reason'.(Promulgation, pp.309, 312,
356-7.)
[71] Gleanings, p.61.
72 `It is the time which His Holiness Christ calls the "Day of
Marriage"' in Star of the West, XII, p.194.
[73] Gleanings, pp.151-2, 152.
[74] Promulgation, pp.220, 274.
[75] Divine Philosophy, pp.136, 110,
162.
76 Selections, p.185.
[77] Some Answered Questions, pp.183,
180, 281.
[78] See Some Answered
Questions, pp.180, 204, 281; Promulgation, pp.87-9.
[79] This is one of those principles or
theorems of conservation, stating the constancy in time of such physical
dimensions as mass, energy, quantity of movement, momentum. These theorems,
originally enunciated as philosophical statements, were afterwards expressed in
scientific terms, thanks to the discoveries made by Lavoisier (1743-1794).
[80] Gleanings, pp.189.
[81] Promulgation, p.79.
[82] Some Answered Questions, p.177.
[83] Gleanings, pp.166, 188.
[84]
The Bahá'í concept of good and evil is that `... there is no
evil in existence; all that God created He created good. This evil is
nothingness; so death is absence of life... darkness is the absence of light.'
(Some Answered Questions, p.264) See also Some Answered
Questions, pp.215, 263- 4; Promulgation, p.259; and W.S. Hatcher, `A
Logical Solution to the Problem of Evil' in Zygon, IX, p.3.
Regarding the concept of the non-existence of evil explained by
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi wrote through his secretary: `We must never
take one sentence in the Teachings and isolate it from the rest... We know the
absence of light is darkness, but no one would assert darkness was not a fact.
It exists even though it is only the absence of something else. So evil exists
too, and we cannot close our eyes to it, even though it is a negative
existence. We must Seek to supplant it by good.' (Unfolding
Destiny, pp.457-8.) See also below, p.89.
[85] Promulgation, p.293.
[86] `Divine Contentment' in Star of the
West, XIV, p.168.
[87] Paris Talks, p.90.
[88] Gleanings, p.189.
[89] Promulgation, p.329.
[90] Some Answered Questions, p.230.
[91] `Abdu'l-Bahá, in
Bahá'í World Faith, p.364.
[92] Promulgation, p.463.
[93] Some Answered Questions, pp.182,
199.
[94] It is on the ground of this cosmological
principle that many scientists are today trying to explain the oneness of the
four fundamental forces in the universe: gravity, the electro-magnetic fields,
the weak interactions of Fermi and strong interactions (or nuclear forces). For
the time being this oneness is far from having been proved. But the fact itself
that physicists are making efforts in this direction demonstrates their trust
in the cosmological principle.
[95] Promulgation, p.349.
[96] Selections, p.157.
[97]
Divine Philosophy, p.111.
[98]
Selections, p.157.
[99] Quoted in
Huqúqu'lláh (comp.), no. 61.
100 Selections, p.157.
[101] Some Answered Questions,
p.247.
[102] Promulgation, p.270.
[103] `...within it lieth the true explanation
of pantheism', says `Abdu'l-Bahá (Promulgation, p.286).
See Some Answered Questions, pp.290-6; Promulgation,
pp.284-9.
[104] Gleanings, p.160.
[105] Some Answered Questions, p.6.
106 Gleanings, p.328.
[107] Selections, pp.63, 197-8.
[108] Some Answered Questions,
p.283.
[109] This concept is the foundation of the
arguments advanced by `Abdu'l-Bahá against the concept of reincarnation.
See Some Answered Questions, pp.283-4.
[110] Promulgation, pp.285, 378, 279,
309, 400.
[111] Quoted in The Establishment of the
Universal House of Justice comp.), p.47.
[112] Selections, p.178.
[113] See Selections,
pp.289-90; Promulgation, pp.160, 284-6, 306, 350; Paris Talks,
pp.90-1.
[114] Promulgation, pp.349, 306.
[115] ibid. pp.306, 88, 306, 87.
[116] ibid. pp.284, 87.
[117] ibid. p.4, 207, 286, 255, 59, 58.
[118] ibid. p.285.
[119] ibid. pp.284-6, 349, 350, 349.
[120] Some Answered Questions,
p.182.
[121] Promulgation, p.350.
[122] G. Vegni, `Atomo' in Enciclopedia
della Scienza e della Tecnica, II, p.373.
[123]
Ernest Rutherford of Nelson (1871-1937), New Zealander,
Nobel Prize in 1906, well known for his studies on the theory of radioactivity
and the atomic structure.
[124] E. Fermi, `Atomo' in Enciclopedia
Italiana, V, p.245.
[125] We are reminded of the following words
by `Abdu'l-Bahá: `The smallest atoms in the universe are similar to the
greatest beings of the universe...' (Some Answered Questions, p.182.)
[126] Promulgation, p.140.
[127] Paris Talks, p.88.
[128] Promulgation, p.4.
[129] `Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `Love
is... the unique power that bindeth together the divers elements of this
material world, the supreme magnetic force that directeth the movement of the
spheres in the celestial realms.' (Selections, p.27.)
[130]
Promulgation, p.207.
[131]
Promulgation, pp.285, 285-6, 285, 14.
[132] Some Answered Questions,
p.182.
[133] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel' in
Bahá'í World, XV, p.40.
[134] Promulgation, p.349.
[135] Some Answered Questions, p.182.
The charm of such concepts has not escape some modern scientists who,
perceiving a similarity between the greatest and the smallest, advanced a
theory on the structure of the universe wherefore the universe could be an
enormous adron and, viceversa, adrons could be considered as strong
microuniverses. See E.Recami, `Particelle elementari come
microuniversi', in Scienza e Tecnica 79, pp.60, 64.
[136] `The Three Realities' in Star of
the West, VII, p.119.
[137] Promulgation, p.67.
[138] Some Answered Questions,
p.138.
[139]
Gleanings, p.166. Bahá'u'lláh writes: `... whatever is
in
the heavens and whatever is on the earth is direct evidence of the
revelation within it of the attributes and names of God... To a supreme degree
is this true of man... for in him are potentially revealed all the attributes
and names of God to a degree that no other created being hath excelled or
surpassed.' (Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp.100-101.)
[140] Gleanings, pp.61, 65.
[141] Promulgation, pp.286, 285.
[142] Quoted in `The Need of a Universal
Program' in Star of the West, XIII, p.132.
[143] Promulgation, pp.293, 101,
140.
[144] Some Answered Questions,
p.233.
[145] `Progress in Religion' in Star of
the West, XIII, p.99.
[146] Paris Talks, pp.90, 88.
[147] Promulgation, pp.293, 285.
[148] Regarding motion `Abdu'l-Bahá
says: `There are different degrees of motion. There is a motion of transit,
that is from place to place... Another kind is the motion of inherent growth,
like that of man from the condition of childhood to the state of manhood... The
third is the motion of condition -- the sick man passes from the stage of
sickness to the state of health. The fourth motion is that of the spirit. For
instance, the child while in the mother's womb has all the potential qualities
of the spirit, but those qualities begin to unfold little by little, as the
child is born and grows and develops, finally manifesting all the attributes
and the qualities of the spirit. The fifth is the motion of the intellect
whereby the ignorant become wise... the carnally minded spiritual... The sixth
motion is that of the eternal essence. That is to say, all phenomena either
step from the arena of non-existence into the court of objectivity, or from
existence into non-existence. Just as being in motion is the test of life, so
being stationary is the test of death and when a moving object stops it
retrogrades.'(`Abdu'l-Bahá, Abdul-Baha on Divine Philosophy,
pp.120-1.)
[149] Some Answered Questions,
p.233.
[150] Promulgation, pp.131, 349.
[151] The very interesting general systemic
theory of evolution advanced by E. Laszlo Seems to agree with this
concept of evolution viewed as a single great plan involving the entire
creation. E. Laszlo writes: `Scientific evidence of the patterns traced by
evolution in the physical universe, in the living world, and even in the world
of history is growing rapidly. It is coalescing into the image of basic
regularities that repeat and recur.' (Evolution, p.5.)
[152] Paris Talks, p.88.
[153] These concepts also Seem to fit
in the theory advanced by E. Laszlo, when he writes that in the process of
evolution `we find an increase in the level of organization' and `can readily
appreciate that the products of evolution are distributed on multiple
hierarchical levels.' (Evolution, p.24.)
[154] Some Answered Questions,
p.230.
[155] Promulgation, pp.124, 220.
[156] See above, p.47.
[157] Promulgation, pp.88-9.
[158] ibid. p.104.
[159] ibid. pp.131, 160.
[160] ibid. p.430.
[161] Some Answered Questions,
p.230.
[162] Promulgation, p.124.
[163] Promulgation, p.89.
[164] `Tablet to Dr. A. Forel' in
Bahá'í World, XV, p.38.
[165] Luke 9:50.
[166] Some Answered Questions,
p.278.
[167] ibid. p.160.
168 Kitáb-i-Íqán, p.102.
[169] Promulgation, pp.160, 240.
[170] Selections, p.61.
[171] Promulgation, p.279.
[172] Quoted in A. Kunz, `Some Questions
about science and religion' in Star of the West, XIII, p.143.
[173] Some Answered Questions,
p.230.
[174] `Abdu'l-Bahá writes: `Know
that spirit in general is divided in five sorts -- the vegetable spirit, the
animal spirit, the human spirit, the spirit of faith and the divine spirit of
sanctity...'; He then continues saying that the vegetable, animal and human
spirits `are not reckoned as Spirit in the terminology of the Scriptures and
the usage of the people of truth, inasmuch as the laws governing them are as
the laws which govern all phenomenal being [i.e. all existences belonging
to the phenomenal or the material universe, called `the world of generation
and corruption'], in respect to generation, corruption, production,
change and reversion...'.(Tablets,pp.115-6.)
[175] Tablets,p.141.
[176] Paris Talks, p.90.
[177] Promulgation, p.132.
[178] Paris Talks, p.90.
[179] Promulgation, pp.349, 14.
[180] Some Answered Questions,
p.199.
[181] Some Answered Questions,
p.199.
[182] Promulgation, pp.173, 88,
87.
[183] Promulgation, p.268.
[184] ibid.
[185] Some Answered Questions,
p.143.
[186] Promulgation, pp.29, 268,
17.
[187] Some Answered Questions,
p.3.
[188] Promulgation, p.240.
[189] Some Answered Questions,
p.143.
[190] Promulgation, pp.49, 51, 17,
31.
[191] Some Answered Questions,
pp.143-4.
[192] In this connection `Abdu'l-Bahá
says: `The world is like a tree; the mineral kingdom is like the root; the
vegetable kingdom is like the branches; the animal kingdom is like the
blossoms; and man is like unto the fruit of that tree. The tree is but for its
fruit. If the gardener did not expect fruit, he would never plant trees. In the
same way everything is for man.'(quoted in G. Winterburn, Table Talks with
Abdul-Baha, p.12.)
[193] Promulgation, p.15.
[194] Some Answered Questions,
p.235.
[195] Selections, p.130.
[196] Some Answered Questions,
p.286.
[197] Gleanings, p.190.
[198] Promulgation, p.359.
[199] Some Answered Questions,
p.193.
[200] Promulgation, p.124.
[201] `Abdu'l-Bahá says: `... the
species existing on this earth are phenomenal, for it is established that there
was a time when these species did not exist on the surface of the
earth.'(Some Answered Questions, p.151.)
[202] Some Answered Questions,
p.201.
[203] Promulgation, p.220.
[204] K. Lorenz writes: `The mistakes and
dead ends into which evolutionary processes can be lured by momentary
advantages are everything except irrelevant to the continued existence of the
lineage in question.' (The Waning of Humaneness, p.21). Lorenz is one of
those scientists who deny a teleological order in the universe.
[205] The Seven Mysteries of Life,
p.611.
[206] For an explanation of the concept that
happiness is a human birthright See G. Townshend, The Mission of
Bahá'u'lláh, pp.88 passim.
207 Gleanings, p.5.
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