tag name: Human nature type: Philosophy; Principles, teachings; Science: natural, social, and applied web link: bahai-library.com/tags/Human_nature related tags: – Concepts, Philosophical; – Concepts, Religious; – Concepts, Science; – Ethics; Creation; Nature; Psychology; Purpose of life; Purpose of life; Spirituality; Tags with multiple Inventory subjects (selected) referring tags: Arc of ascent and descent; Free will; God, Image of; He who knoweth his self knoweth his Lord (hadith); Heart; Human capacity and limitations; Inner reality; Microcosm and macrocosm; Mind, spirit, soul; Nobility; Rational faculty; Reality of man; Self; Soul, Human Inventory subject: Human reality created in the image of God; Man is the sum; pinnacle; fruit of creation; Man's distinction from the animal; Two aspects of the human soul; the higher and lower natures notes: "Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.
Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee.
With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light...
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being...
Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created."
– Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic, no. 3, 12–14, and 22"... Upon the inmost reality of each and every created thing He hath shed the light of one of His names, and made it a recipient of the glory of one of His attributes. Upon the reality of man, however, He hath focused the radiance of all of His names and attributes, and made it a mirror of His own Self. Alone of all created things man hath been singled out for so great a favor, so enduring a bounty..."
– Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, XXVII [BH00690]"... Say: Spirit, mind, soul, and the powers of sight and hearing are but one single reality which hath manifold expressions owing to the diversity of its instruments. As thou dost observe, man’s power to comprehend, move, speak, hear, and see all derive from this sign of his Lord within him. It is single in its essence, yet manifold through the diversity of its instruments. This, verily, is a certain truth..."
– Bahá'u'lláh, Súriy-i-Ra'ís, ¶35"... Man is the supreme Talisman. Lack of a proper education hath, however, deprived him of that which he doth inherently possess. ... Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom..."
– Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, Lawḥ-i-Maqṣúd (Tablet to Maqṣúd), ¶2
"When we examine all things with the eye of discernment, we observe that they are generally confined to three categories: mineral, vegetable, and animal... Man is the most distinguished species in that he combines the perfections of all three classes—that is, he possesses a material body, the power of growth, and the power of sensation. Beyond the mineral, vegetable, and animal perfections, however, he also possesses a special perfection of which other created things are bereft, namely, the perfections of the mind. Thus man is the noblest of all existing things.
Man is in the ultimate degree of materiality and the beginning of spirituality; that is, he is at the end of imperfection and the beginning of perfection. He is at the furthermost degree of darkness and the beginning of the light. That is why the station of man is said to be the end of night and the beginning of day, meaning that he encompasses all the degrees of imperfection and that he potentially possesses all the degrees of perfection. He has both an animal side and an angelic side, and the role of the educator is to so train human souls that the angelic side may overcome the animal..."
– 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, chapter 64"... As we have before indicated, this human reality stands between the higher and the lower in man, between the world of the animal and the world of Divinity. When the animal proclivity in man becomes predominant, he sinks even lower than the brute. When the heavenly powers are triumphant in his nature, he becomes the noblest and most superior being in the world of creation. All the imperfections found in the animal are found in man. In him there is antagonism, hatred and selfish struggle for existence; in his nature lurk jealousy, revenge, ferocity, cunning, hypocrisy, greed, injustice and tyranny. So to speak, the reality of man is clad in the outer garment of the animal, the habiliments of the world of nature, the world of darkness, imperfections and unlimited baseness.
On the other hand, we find in him justice, sincerity, faithfulness, knowledge, wisdom, illumination, mercy and pity, coupled with intellect, comprehension, the power to grasp the realities of things and the ability to penetrate the truths of existence. All these great perfections are to be found in man. Therefore, we say that man is a reality which stands between light and darkness.."
– 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, talk no. 139, 4 December 1912 [ABU0033]
"... A foundational concept to explore... is the spiritual reality of man. In the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, the nobility inherent to every human being is unequivocally asserted; it is a fundamental tenet of Bahá’í belief, upon which hope for the future of humankind is built. The soul’s capacity to manifest all the names and attributes of God—He Who is the Compassionate, the Bestower, the Bountiful—is repeatedly affirmed in the Writings. ... “Man’s merit lieth in service and virtue”, Bahá’u’lláh avers, “and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches.” And further: “Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting your personal interest.” By consecrating oneself to the service of others, one finds meaning and purpose in life and contributes to the upliftment of society itself..."
– Universal House of Justice, letter dated 1 March 2017, to the Bahá'ís of the world
See also:
– Bahá'í Sacred Writings, chapter 2, section Human Nature" (Bahá'u'lláh), and chapter 13, section The Nature of the Human Being" ('Abdu'l-Bahá)
references: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_nature; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q="Human nature"
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