Every subject presented to a thoughtful audience must be supported by
rational proofs and logical arguments. Proofs are of four kinds: first,
through sense perception; second, through the reasoning faculty; third,
from traditional or scriptural authority; fourth, through the medium of
inspiration. That is to say, there are four criteria or standards of
judgment by which the human mind reaches its conclusions. We will first
consider the criterion of the senses. This is a standard still held to by
the materialistic philosophers of the world. They believe that whatever is
perceptible to the senses is a verity, a certainty and without doubt
existent. For example, they say, "Here is a lamp which you see, and
because it is perceptible to the sense of sight, you cannot doubt its
existence. There is a tree; your sense of vision assures you of its
reality, which is beyond question. This is a man; you see that he is a
man; therefore, he exists." In a word, everything confirmed by the senses
is assumed to be as undoubted and unquestioned as the product of five
multiplied by five; it cannot be twenty-six nor less than twenty-five.
Consequently, the materialistic philosophers consider the criterion of the
senses to be first and foremost.
But in the estimation of the divine philosophers this proof and assurance
is not reliable; nay, rather, they deem the standard of the senses to be
false because it is imperfect. Sight, for instance, is one of the most
important of the senses, yet it is subject to many aberrations and
inaccuracies. The eye sees the mirage as a body of water; it regards
images in the mirror as realities when they are but reflections. A man
sailing upon the river imagines that objects upon the shore are moving,
whereas he is in motion, and they are stationary. To the eye the earth
appears fixed, while the sun and stars revolve about it. As a matter of
fact, the heavenly orbs are stationary, and the earth is turning upon its
axis. The colossal suns, planets and constellations which shine in the
heavens appear small, nay, infinitesimal to human vision, whereas in
reality they are vastly greater than the earth in dimension and volume. A
whirling spark appears to the sight as a circle of fire. There are
numberless instances of this kind which show the error and inaccuracy of
the senses. Therefore, the divine philosophers have considered this
standard of judgment to be defective and unreliable.
The second criterion is that of the intellect. The ancient philosophers in
particular considered the intellect to be the most important agency of
judgment. Among the wise men of Greece, Rome, Persia and Egypt the
criterion of true proof was reason. They held that every matter submitted
to the reasoning faculty could be proved true or false and must be
accepted or rejected accordingly. But in the estimation of the people of
insight this criterion is likewise defective and unreliable, for these
same philosophers who held to reason or intellect as the standard of human
judgment have differed widely among themselves upon every subject of
investigation. The statements of the Greek philosophers are contradictory
to the conclusions of the Persian sages. Even among the Greek philosophers
themselves there is continual variance and lack of agreement upon any
given subject. Great difference of thought also prevailed between the wise
men of Greece and Rome. Therefore, if the criterion of reason or intellect
constituted a correct and infallible standard of judgment, those who
tested and applied it should have arrived at the same conclusions. As they
differ and are contradictory in conclusions, it is an evidence that the
method and standard of test must have been faulty and insufficient.
The third criterion or standard of proof is traditional or
scriptural--namely, that every statement or conclusion should be supported
by traditions recorded in certain religious books. When we come to
consider even the Holy Books--the Books of God--we are led to ask, "Who
understands these books? By what authority of explanation may these Books
be understood?" It must be the authority of human reason, and if reason or
intellect finds itself incapable of explaining certain questions, or if
the possessors of intellect contradict each other in the interpretation of
traditions, how can such a criterion be relied upon for accurate
conclusions?
The fourth standard is that of inspiration. In past centuries many
philosophers have claimed illumination or revelation, prefacing their
statements by the announcement that "this subject has been revealed
through me" or "thus do I speak by inspiration." Of this class were the
philosophers of the Illuminati. Inspirations are the promptings or
susceptibilities of the human heart. The promptings of the heart are
sometimes satanic. How are we to differentiate them? How are we to tell
whether a given statement is an inspiration and prompting of the heart
through the merciful assistance or through the satanic agency?
Consequently, it has become evident that the four criteria or standards of
judgment by which the human mind reaches its conclusions are faulty and
inaccurate. All of them are liable to mistake and error in conclusions.
But a statement presented to the mind accompanied by proofs which the
senses can perceive to be correct, which the faculty of reason can accept,
which is in accord with traditional authority and sanctioned by the
promptings of the heart, can be adjudged and relied upon as perfectly
correct, for it has been proved and tested by all the standards of
judgment and found to be complete. When we apply but one test, there are
possibilities of mistake. This is self-evident and manifest.
We will now consider the subject of love which has been suggested,
submitting it to the four standards of judgment and thereby reaching our
conclusions.
We declare that love is the cause of the existence of all phenomena and
that the absence of love is the cause of disintegration or nonexistence.
Love is the conscious bestowal of God, the bond of affiliation in all
phenomena. We will first consider the proof of this through sense
perception. As we look upon the universe, we observe that all composite
beings or existing phenomena are made up primarily of single elements
bound together by a power of attraction. Through this power of attraction
cohesion has become manifest between atoms of these composing elements.
The resultant being is a phenomenon of the lower contingent type. The
power of cohesion expressed in the mineral kingdom is in reality love or
affinity manifested in a low degree according to the exigencies of the
mineral world. We take a step higher into the vegetable kingdom where we
find an increased power of attraction has become manifest among the
composing elements which form phenomena. Through this degree of attraction
a cellular admixture is produced among these elements which make up the
body of a plant. Therefore, in the degree of the vegetable kingdom there
is love. We enter the animal kingdom and find the attractive power binding
together single elements as in the mineral, plus the cellular admixture as
in the vegetable, plus the phenomena of feelings or susceptibilities. We
observe that the animals are susceptible to certain affiliation and
fellowship and that they exercise natural selection. This elemental
attraction, this admixture and selective affinity is love manifest in the
degree of the animal kingdom.
Finally, we come to the kingdom of man. As this is the superior kingdom,
the light of love is more resplendent. In man we find the power of
attraction among the elements which compose his material body, plus the
attraction which produces cellular admixture or augmentative power, plus
the attraction which characterizes the sensibilities of the animal
kingdom, but still beyond and above all these lower powers we discover in
the being of man the attraction of heart, the susceptibilities and
affinities which bind men together, enabling them to live and associate in
friendship and solidarity. It is, therefore, evident that in the world of
humanity the greatest king and sovereign is love. If love were
extinguished, the power of attraction dispelled, the affinity of human
hearts destroyed, the phenomena of human life would disappear.
This is a proof perceptible to the senses, acceptable to reason, in accord
with traditions and teachings of the Holy Books and verified by the
promptings of human hearts themselves. It is a proof upon which we can
absolutely rely and declare to be complete. But these are only degrees of
love which exist in the natural or physical world. Their manifestation is
ever according to the requirement of natural conditions and standards.
Real love is the love which exists between God and His servants, the love
which binds together holy souls. This is the love of the spiritual world,
not the love of physical bodies and organisms. For example, consider and
observe how the bestowals of God successively descend upon mankind, how
the divine effulgences ever shine upon the human world. There can be no
doubt that these bestowals, these bounties, these effulgences emanate from
love. Unless love be the divine motive, it would be impossible for the
heart of man to attain or receive them. Unless love exists, the divine
blessing could not descend upon any object or thing. Unless there be love,
the recipient of divine effulgence could not radiate and reflect that
effulgence upon other objects. If we are of those who perceive, we realize
that the bounties of God manifest themselves continuously, even as the
rays of the sun unceasingly emanate from the solar center. The phenomenal
world through the resplendent effulgence of the sun is radiant and bright.
In the same way the realm of hearts and spirits is illumined and
resuscitated through the shining rays of the Sun of Reality and the
bounties of the love of God. Thereby the world of existence, the kingdom
of hearts and spirits, is ever quickened into life. Were it not for the
love of God, hearts would be inanimate, spirits would wither, and the
reality of man would be bereft of the everlasting bestowals.
Consider to what extent the love of God makes itself manifest. Among the
signs of His love which appear in the world are the dawning points of His
Manifestations. What an infinite degree of love is reflected by the divine
Manifestations toward mankind! For the sake of guiding the people They
have willingly forfeited Their lives to resuscitate human hearts. They
have accepted the cross. To enable human souls to attain the supreme
degree of advancement, They have suffered during Their limited years
extreme ordeals and difficulties. If Jesus Christ had not possessed love
for the world of humanity, surely He would not have welcomed the cross. He
was crucified for the love of mankind. Consider the infinite degree of
that love. Without love for humanity John the Baptist would not have
offered his life. It has been likewise with all the Prophets and Holy
Souls. If the Bab had not manifested love for mankind, surely He would not
have offered His breast for a thousand bullets. If Baha'u'llah had not
been aflame with love for humanity, He would not have willingly accepted
forty years' imprisonment.
Observe how rarely human souls sacrifice their pleasure or comfort for
others, how improbable that a man would offer his eye or suffer himself to
be dismembered for the benefit of another. Yet all the divine
Manifestations suffered, offered Their lives and blood, sacrificed Their
existence, comfort and all They possessed for the sake of mankind.
Therefore, consider how much They love. Were it not for Their love for
humanity, spiritual love would be mere nomenclature. Were it not for Their
illumination, human souls would not be radiant. How effective is Their
love! This is a sign of the love of God, a ray of the Sun of Reality.
Therefore, we must give praise unto God, for it is the light of His bounty
which has shone upon us through His love which is everlasting. His divine
Manifestations have offered Their lives through love for us. Consider,
then, what the love of God means. Were it not for the love of God, all the
spirits would be inanimate. The meaning of this is not physical death;
nay, rather, it is that condition concerning which Christ declared, "Let
the dead bury their dead," for "That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Were it not for the love
of God, the hearts would not be illumined. Were it not for the love of
God, the pathway of the Kingdom would not be opened. Were it not for the
love of God, the Holy Books would not have been revealed. Were it not for
the love of God, the divine Prophets would not have been sent to the
world. The foundation of all these bestowals is the love of God.
Therefore, in the human world there is no greater power than the love of
God. It is the love of God which has brought us together here tonight. It
is the love of God which is affiliating the East and the West. It is the
love of God which has resuscitated the world. Now we must offer thanks to
God that such a great bestowal and effulgence has been revealed to us.
We come to another aspect of our subject: Are the workings and effects of
love confined to this world, or do they extend on and on to another
existence? Will its influence affect our existence here only, or will it
extend to the everlasting life? When we look upon the human kingdom, we
readily observe that it is superior to all others. In the differentiation
of life in the world of existence, there are four degrees or kingdoms: the
mineral, vegetable, animal and human. The mineral kingdom is possessed of
a certain virtue which we term cohesion. The vegetable kingdom possesses
cohesive properties plus the power of growth, or augmentative power. The
animal kingdom is possessed of the virtues of the mineral and vegetable
plus the powers of the senses. But the animal, although gifted with
sensibilities, is utterly bereft of consciousness, absolutely out of touch
with the world of consciousness and spirit. The animal possesses no powers
by which it can make discoveries which lie beyond the realm of the senses.
It has no power of intellectual origination. For example, an animal
located in Europe is not capable of discovering the continent of America.
It understands only phenomena which come within the range of its senses
and instinct. It cannot abstractly reason out anything. The animal cannot
conceive of the earth being spherical or revolving upon its axis. It
cannot apprehend that the little stars in the heavens are tremendous
worlds vastly greater than the earth. The animal cannot abstractly
conceive of intellect. Of these powers it is bereft. Therefore, these
powers are peculiar to man, and it is made evident that in the human
kingdom there is a reality of which the animal is lacking. What is that
reality? It is the spirit of man. By it man is distinguished above all the
other phenomenal kingdoms. Although he possesses all the virtues of the
lower kingdoms, he is further endowed with the spiritual faculty, the
heavenly gift of consciousness.
All material phenomena are subject to nature. All material organisms are
captives of nature. None of them can deviate in the slightest from the
laws of nature. This earth, these great mountains, the animals with their
wonderful powers and instincts cannot go beyond natural limitations. All
things are captives of nature except man. Man is the sovereign of nature;
he breaks nature's laws. Though an animal fitted by nature to live upon
the surface of the earth, he flies in the air like a bird, sails upon the
ocean and dives deep beneath its waves in submarines. Man is gifted with a
power whereby he penetrates and discovers the laws of nature, brings them
forth from the world of invisibility into the plane of visibility.
Electricity was once a latent force of nature. According to nature's laws
it should remain a hidden secret, but the spirit of man discovered it,
brought it forth from its secret depository and made its phenomena
visible. It is evident and manifest that man is capable of breaking
nature's laws. How does he accomplish it? Through a spirit with which God
has endowed him at creation. This is a proof that the spirit of man
differentiates and distinguishes him above all the lower kingdoms. It is
this spirit to which the verse in the Old Testament refers when it states,
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." The
spirit of man alone penetrates the realities of God and partakes of the
divine bounties.
This great power must evidently be differentiated from the physical body
or temple in which it is manifested. Observe and understand how this human
body changes; nevertheless, the spirit of man remains ever in the same
condition. For instance, the body sometimes grows weak, it becomes strong
or stout, sometimes it grows smaller or may be dismembered, but there is
no effect upon the spirit. The eye may become blind, the foot may be
amputated, but no imperfection afflicts the spirit. This is proof that the
spirit of man is distinct from his body. Defects in the body or its
members do not imply defects in the spirit. This leads to the accurate
conclusion that if the whole body should be subjected to a radical change,
the spirit will survive that change; that even if the body of man is
destroyed and becomes nonexistent, the spirit of man remains unaffected.
For the spirit of man is everlasting. Sometimes the body sleeps, the eyes
do not see, the ears do not hear, the members cease to act, every function
is as inactive as death; nevertheless, the spirit sees, hears and soars on
high. For it is possessed of these faculties which operate without the
instrumentality of the body. In the world of thought it sees without eyes,
hears without ears and travels without the motion of foot. Without
physical force it exercises every function. This makes it evident that
during sleep the spirit is alive though the body is as dead. In the world
of dreams the body becomes absolutely passive, but the spirit still
functions actively, possessed of all susceptibilities. This leads to the
conclusion that the life of the spirit is neither conditional nor
dependent upon the life of the body. At most it can be said that the body
is a mere garment utilized by the spirit. If that garment be destroyed,
the wearer is not affected but is, in fact, protected.
Furthermore, all phenomena are subject to changes from one condition to
another, and the revolution caused by this transformation produces a form
of nonexistence. For instance, when a man is transformed from the human
kingdom to the mineral, we say that he is dead, for he has relinquished
the physical form of man and assumed the condition of the mineral
substances. This transformation or transmutation is called death.
Therefore, it follows that no phenomenal organism can be possessed of two
forms at the same time. If an object or phenomenon presents a triangular
shape, it cannot simultaneously possess the shape of a square. If it is
spherical, it cannot at the same time be pentagonal or hexagonal. In order
to assume any given figure or form it must relinquish its previous shape
or dimension. Thus the triangular must be abandoned to assume the square;
the square must change to become a pentagon. These transformations or
changes from one condition to another are equivalent to death. But the
reality of man, the human spirit, is simultaneously possessed of all forms
and figures without being bereft of any of them. It does not require
transformation from one concept to another. Were it to be bereft of one or
all figures, we would then say it has been transferred to another, and
this would be equivalent to death. But as the human spirit possesses all
the figures simultaneously, it has no transformation or death.
Again, according to natural philosophy it is an assured fact that single
or simple elements are indestructible. As nature is indestructible, every
simple element of nature is lasting and permanent. Death and annihilation
affect only compounds and compositions. That is to say, compositions are
destructible. When decomposition takes place, death occurs. For example,
certain single elements have combined to make this flower. When this
combination is disintegrated, this composition decomposed, the flower dies
as an organism of the vegetable kingdom. But the single elements of which
this flower is composed do not suffer death, for all single elements are
permanent, everlasting and not subject to destruction. They are
indestructible because they are single and not compound. Thus they cannot
disintegrate nor become separated in their component atoms but are single,
simple and, therefore, everlasting.
If an elementary substance is possessed of immortality, how can the human
spirit or reality, which is wholly above combination and composition, be
destroyed? Nay, rather, that spirit, which is all in all, is a unit and
not a compound. Its destruction, therefore, is not possible. The spirit of
man transcends the qualities and attributes of any natural element. It is
greater in attributes than gold, silver or iron, which are single elements
and indestructible. As they are free from destruction and qualified with
permanence, how much more so is the human spirit free and immortal. How
will that ever be destroyed? This is a subject of great importance. There
are innumerable proofs in support of it. I hope we may continue it at
another time.
Before we leave, I desire to offer a prayer in behalf of Miss Farmer; for,
verily, she has been the founder of this organization, the source of this
loving fellowship and assemblage.
O Thou kind God! Encircle these servants with the glances of Thy
providence. Set aglow the hearts of this assemblage with the fire of Thy
love. Illumine these faces with the light of heaven. Enlighten these
hearts with the light of the most great guidance.
O God! The clouds of superstitions have covered the horizons of the
hearts. O Lord! Dispel these clouds so that the lights of the Sun of
Reality may shine. O Lord! Illumine our eyes so that we may behold Thy
light. O Lord! Attune our ears so that we may hear the call of the Supreme
Concourse. O Lord! Render our tongues eloquent so that we may become
engaged in Thy commemoration. O Lord! Sanctify and purify the hearts so
that the effulgence of Thy love may shine therein.
O Thou kind Lord! Bestow quick recovery through Thy power and bounty upon
the founder of this Association. O Lord! This woman has served Thee, has
turned her face toward Thy Kingdom and has established these conferences
in order that reality might be investigated and the light of reality
shine.
O Lord! Be Thou ever her support. O Lord! Be Thou ever her comforter. O
Lord! Bestow upon her quick healing. Verily, Thou art the Clement. Verily,
Thou art the Merciful. Verily, Thou art the Generous.
17 August 1912
Talk at Green Acre
Eliot, Maine