how could such a great kingdom be manifested? How, from a nonexisting sea,
can the waves mount so high? From a nonexisting garden, how can such
fragrant breezes be wafted? Reflect that no effect, no trace, no influence
remains of any being after its members are dispersed and its elements are
decomposed, whether it be a mineral, a vegetable or an animal. There is
only the human reality and the spirit of man which, after the
disintegration of the members, dispersing of the particles, and the
destruction of the composition, persists and continues to act and to have
power.
This question is extremely subtle: consider it attentively. This is a
rational proof which we are giving, so that the wise may weigh it in the
balance of reason and justice. But if the human spirit will rejoice and be
attracted to the Kingdom of God, if the inner sight becomes opened, and
the spiritual hearing strengthened, and the spiritual feelings
predominant, he will see the immortality of the spirit as clearly as he
sees the sun, and the glad tidings and signs of God will encompass him.
Tomorrow we will give other proofs.
61: THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SPIRIT (2)
Yesterday we were occupied in discussing the immortality of the spirit.
Know that the power and the comprehension of the human spirit are of two
kinds--that is to say, they perceive and act in two different modes. One
way is through instruments and organs: thus with this eye it sees; with
this ear it hears; with this tongue it talks. Such is the action of the
spirit, and the perception of the reality of man, by means of organs--that
is to say, that the spirit is the seer, through the eyes; the spirit is
the hearer, through the ear; the spirit is the speaker, through the
tongue.
The other manifestation of the powers and actions of the spirit is without
instruments and organs. For example, in the state of sleep without eyes it
sees; without an ear it hears; without a tongue it speaks; without feet it
runs. Briefly, these actions are beyond the means of instruments and
organs. How often it happens that it sees a dream in the world of sleep,
and its signification becomes apparent two years afterward in
corresponding events. In the same way, how many times it happens that a
question which one cannot solve in the world of wakefulness is solved in
the world of dreams. In wakefulness the eye sees only for a short
distance, but in dreams he who is in the East sees the West. Awake he sees
the present; in sleep he sees the future. In wakefulness, by means of
rapid transit, at the most he can travel only twenty farsakhs(156) an
hour; in sleep, in the twinkling of an eye, he traverses the East and
West. For the spirit travels in two different ways: without means, which
is spiritual traveling; and with means, which is material traveling: as
birds which fly, and those which are carried.
In the time of sleep this body is as though dead; it does not see nor
hear; it does not feel; it has no consciousness, no perception--that is to
say, the powers of man have become inactive, but the spirit lives and
subsists. Nay, its penetration is increased, its flight is higher, and its
intelligence is greater. To consider that after the death of the body the
spirit perishes is like imagining that a bird in a cage will be destroyed
if the cage is broken, though the bird has nothing to fear from the
destruction of the cage. Our body is like the cage, and the spirit is like
the bird. We see that without the cage this bird flies in the world of
sleep; therefore, if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue and
exist. Its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater,
and its happiness increased. In truth, from hell it reaches a paradise of
delights because for the thankful birds there is no paradise greater than
freedom from the cage. That is why with utmost joy and happiness the
martyrs hasten to the plain of sacrifice.
In wakefulness the eye of man sees at the utmost as far as one hour of
distance(157) because through the instrumentality of the body the power of
the spirit is thus determined; but with the inner sight and the mental eye
it sees America, and it can perceive that which is there, and discover the
conditions of things and organize affairs. If, then, the spirit were the
same as the body, it would be necessary that the power of the inner sight
should also be in the same proportion. Therefore, it is evident that this
spirit is different from the body, and that the bird is different from the
cage, and that the power and penetration of the spirit is stronger without
the intermediary of the body. Now, if the instrument is abandoned, the
possessor of the instrument continues to act. For example, if the pen is
abandoned or broken, the writer remains living and present; if a house is
ruined, the owner is alive and existing. This is one of the logical
evidences for the immortality of the soul.
There is another: this body becomes weak or heavy or sick, or it finds
health; it becomes tired or rested; sometimes the hand or leg is
amputated, or its physical power is crippled; it becomes blind or deaf or
dumb; its limbs may become paralyzed; briefly, the body may have all the
imperfections. Nevertheless, the spirit in its original state, in its own
spiritual perception, will be eternal and perpetual; it neither finds any
imperfection, nor will it become crippled. But when the body is wholly
subjected to disease and misfortune, it is deprived of the bounty of the
spirit, like a mirror which, when it becomes broken or dirty or dusty,
cannot reflect the rays of the sun nor any longer show its bounties.
We have already explained that the spirit of man is not in the body
because it is freed and sanctified from entrance and exit, which are
bodily conditions. The connection of the spirit with the body is like that
of the sun with the mirror. Briefly, the human spirit is in one condition.
It neither becomes ill from the diseases of the body nor cured by its
health; it does not become sick, nor weak, nor miserable, nor poor, nor
light, nor small--that is to say, it will not be injured because of the
infirmities of the body, and no effect will be visible even if the body
becomes weak, or if the hands and feet and tongue be cut off, or if it
loses the power of hearing or sight. Therefore, it is evident and certain
that the spirit is different from the body, and that its duration is
independent of that of the body; on the contrary, the spirit with the
utmost greatness rules in the world of the body; and its power and
influence, like the bounty of the sun in the mirror, are apparent and
visible. But when the mirror becomes dusty or breaks, it will cease to
reflect the rays of the sun.
62: PERFECTIONS ARE WITHOUT LIMIT
Know that the conditions of existence are limited to the conditions of
servitude, of prophethood and of Deity, but the divine and the contingent
perfections are unlimited. When you reflect deeply, you discover that also
outwardly the perfections of existence are also unlimited, for you cannot
find a being so perfect that you cannot imagine a superior one. For
example, you cannot see a ruby in the mineral kingdom, a rose in the
vegetable kingdom, or a nightingale in the animal kingdom, without
imagining that there might be better specimens. As the divine bounties are
endless, so human perfections are endless. 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 of God, and the contingent might attain
to the condition of the absolute. But for every being there is a point
which it cannot overpass--that is to say, he who is in the condition of
servitude, however far he may progress in gaining limitless perfections,
will never reach the condition of Deity. It is the same with the other
beings. A mineral, however far it may progress in the mineral kingdom,
cannot gain the vegetable power. Also in a flower, however far it may
progress in the vegetable kingdom, no power of the senses will appear. So
this silver mineral cannot gain hearing or sight; it can only improve in
its own condition and become a perfect mineral, but it cannot acquire the
power of growth, or the power of sensation, or attain to life; it can only
progress in its own condition.
For example, Peter cannot become Christ. All that he can do is, in the
condition of servitude, to attain endless perfections; for every existing
reality is capable of making progress. As the spirit of man after putting
off this material form has an everlasting life, certainly any existing
being is capable of making progress; therefore, it is permitted to ask for
advancement, forgiveness, mercy, beneficence and blessings for a man after
his death because existence is capable of progression. That is why in the
prayers of Baha'u'llah forgiveness and remission of sins are asked for
those who have died. Moreover, as people in this world are in need of God,
they will also need Him in the other world. The creatures are always in
need, and God is absolutely independent, whether in this world or in the
world to come.
The wealth of the other world is nearness to God. Consequently, it is
certain that those who are near the Divine Court are allowed to intercede,
and this intercession is approved by God. But intercession in the other
world is not like intercession in this world. It is another thing, another
reality, which cannot be expressed in words.
If a wealthy man at the time of his death bequeaths a gift to the poor and
miserable, and gives a part of his wealth to be spent for them, perhaps
this action may be the cause of his pardon and forgiveness, and of his
progress in the Divine Kingdom.
Also a father and mother endure the greatest troubles and hardships for
their children; and often when the children have reached the age of
maturity, the parents pass on to the other world. Rarely does it happen
that a father and mother in this world see the reward of the care and
trouble they have undergone for their children. Therefore, children, in
return for this care and trouble, must show forth charity and beneficence,
and must implore pardon and forgiveness for their parents. So you ought,
in return for the love and kindness shown you by your father, to give to
the poor for his sake, with greatest submission and humility implore
pardon and remission of sins, and ask for the supreme mercy.
It is even possible that the condition of those who have died in sin and
unbelief may become changed--that is to say, they may become the object of
pardon through the bounty of God, not through His justice--for bounty is
giving without desert, and justice is giving what is deserved. As we have
power to pray for these souls here, so likewise we shall possess the same
power in the other world, which is the Kingdom of God. Are not all the
people in that world the creatures of God? Therefore, in that world also
they can make progress. As here they can receive light by their
supplications, there also they can plead for forgiveness and receive light
through entreaties and supplications. Thus as souls in this world, through
the help of the supplications, the entreaties and the prayers of the holy
ones, can acquire development, so is it the same after death. Through
their own prayers and supplications they can also progress, more
especially when they are the object of the intercession of the Holy
Manifestations.
63: THE PROGRESS OF MAN IN THE OTHER WORLD
Know that nothing which exists remains in a state of repose--that is to
say, all things are in motion. Everything is either growing or declining;
all things are either coming from nonexistence into being, or going from
existence into nonexistence. So this flower, this hyacinth, during a
certain period of time was coming from the world of nonexistence into
being, and now it is going from being into nonexistence. This state of
motion is said to be essential--that is, natural; it cannot be separated
from beings because it is their essential requirement, as it is the
essential requirement of fire to burn.
Thus it is established that this movement is necessary to existence, which
is either growing or declining. Now, as the spirit continues to exist
after death, it necessarily progresses or declines; and in the other world
to cease to progress is the same as to decline; but it never leaves its
own condition, in which it continues to develop. For example, the reality
of the spirit of Peter, however far it may progress, will not reach to the
condition of the Reality of Christ; it progresses only in its own
environment.
Look at this mineral. However far it may evolve, it only evolves in its
own condition; you cannot bring the crystal to a state where it can attain
to sight. This is impossible. So the moon which is in the heavens, however
far it might evolve, could never become a luminous sun, but in its own
condition it has apogee and perigee. However far the disciples might
progress, they could never become Christ. It is true that coal could
become a diamond, but both are in the mineral condition, and their
component elements are the same.
64: THE STATE OF MAN AND HIS PROGRESS AFTER DEATH
When we consider beings with the seeing eye, we observe that they are
limited to three sorts--that is to say, as a whole they are either mineral,
vegetable or animal, each of these three classes containing species. Man
is the highest species because he is the possessor of the perfections of
all the classes--that is, he has a body which grows and which feels. As
well as having the perfections of the mineral, of the vegetable and of the
animal, he also possesses an especial excellence which the other beings
are without--that is, the intellectual perfections. Therefore, man is the
most noble of beings.
Man is in the highest degree of materiality, and at the beginning of
spirituality--that is to say, he is the end of imperfection and the
beginning of perfection. He is at the last degree of darkness, and at the
beginning of light; that is why it has been said that the condition of man
is the end of the night and the beginning of day, meaning that he is the
sum of all the degrees of imperfection, and that he possesses the degrees
of perfection. He has the animal side as well as the angelic side, and the
aim of an educator is to so train human souls that their angelic aspect
may overcome their animal side. Then if the divine power in man, which is
his essential perfection, overcomes the satanic power, which is absolute
imperfection, he becomes the most excellent among the creatures; but if
the satanic power overcomes the divine power, he becomes the lowest of the
creatures. That is why he is the end of imperfection and the beginning of
perfection. Not in any other of the species in the world of existence is
there such a difference, contrast, contradiction and opposition as in the
species of man. Thus the reflection of the Divine Light was in man, as in
Christ, and see how loved and honored He is! At the same time we see man
worshiping a stone, a clod of earth or a tree. How vile he is, in that his
object of worship should be the lowest existence--that is, a stone or clay,
without spirit; a mountain, a forest or a tree. What shame is greater for
man than to worship the lowest existences? In the same way, knowledge is a
quality of man, and so is ignorance; truthfulness is a quality of man; so
is falsehood; trustworthiness and treachery, justice and injustice, are
qualities of man, and so forth. Briefly, all the perfections and virtues,
and all the vices, are qualities of man.
Consider equally the differences between individual men. The Christ was in
the form of man, and Caiaphas was in the form of man; Moses and Pharaoh,
Abel and Cain, Baha'u'llah and Yahya,(158) were men.
Man is said to be the greatest representative of God, and he is the Book
of Creation because all the mysteries of beings exist in him. If he comes
under the shadow of the True Educator and is rightly trained, he becomes
the essence of essences, the light of lights, the spirit of spirits; he
becomes the center of the divine appearances, the source of spiritual
qualities, the rising-place of heavenly lights, and the receptacle of
divine inspirations. If he is deprived of this education, he becomes the
manifestation of satanic qualities, the sum of animal vices, and the
source of all dark conditions.
The reason of the mission of the Prophets is to educate men, so that this
piece of coal may become a diamond, and this fruitless tree may be
engrafted and yield the sweetest, most delicious fruits. When man reaches
the noblest state in the world of humanity, then he can make further
progress in the conditions of perfection, but not in state; for such
states are limited, but the divine perfections are endless.
Both before and after putting off this material form, there is progress in
perfection but not in state. So beings are consummated in perfect man.
There is no other being higher than a perfect man. But man when he has
reached this state can still make progress in perfections but not in state
because there is no state higher than that of a perfect man to which he
can transfer himself. He only progresses in the state of humanity, for the
human perfections are infinite. Thus, however learned a man may be, we can
imagine one more learned.
Hence, as the perfections of humanity are endless, man can also make
progress in perfections after leaving this world.
65: EXPLANATION OF A VERSE IN THE KITAB-I-AQDAS
Question.--It is said in the Kitab-i-Aqdas "...whoso is deprived thereof,
hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed." What
is the meaning of this verse?
Answer.--This blessed verse means that the foundation of success and
salvation is the knowledge of God, and that the results of the knowledge
of God are the good actions which are the fruits of faith.
If man has not this knowledge, he will be separated from God, and when
this separation exists, good actions have not complete effect. This verse
does not mean that the souls separated from God are equal, whether they
perform good or bad actions. It signifies only that the foundation is to
know God, and the good actions result from this knowledge. Nevertheless,
it is certain that between the good, the sinners and the wicked who are
veiled from God there is a difference. For the veiled one who has good
principles and character deserves the pardon of God, while he who is a
sinner, and has bad qualities and character, is deprived of the bounties
and blessings of God. Herein lies the difference.
Therefore, the blessed verse means that good actions alone, without the
knowledge of God, cannot be the cause of eternal salvation, everlasting
success, and prosperity, and entrance into the Kingdom of God.
66: THE EXISTENCE OF THE RATIONAL SOUL AFTER THE DEATH OF THE BODY
Question.--After the body is put aside and the spirit has obtained freedom,
in what way will the rational soul exist? Let us suppose that the souls
who are assisted by the bounty of the Holy Spirit attain to true existence
and eternal life. But what becomes of the rational souls--that is to say,
the veiled spirits?(159)
Answer.--Some think that the body is the substance and exists by itself,
and that the spirit is accidental and depends upon the substance of the
body, although, on the contrary, the rational soul is the substance, and
the body depends upon it. If the accident--that is to say, the body--be
destroyed, the substance, the spirit, remains.
Second, the rational soul, meaning the human spirit, does not descend into
the body--that is to say, it does not enter it, for descent and entrance
are characteristics of bodies, and the rational soul is exempt from this.
The spirit never entered this body, so in quitting it, it will not be in
need of an abiding-place: no, the spirit is connected with the body, as
this light is with this mirror. When the mirror is clear and perfect, the
light of the lamp will be apparent in it, and when the mirror becomes
covered with dust or breaks, the light will disappear.
The rational soul--that is to say, the human spirit--has neither entered
this body nor existed through it; so after the disintegration of the
composition of the body, how should it be in need of a substance through
which it may exist? On the contrary, the rational soul is the substance
through which the body exists. The personality of the rational soul is
from its beginning; it is not due to the instrumentality of the body, but
the state and the personality of the rational soul may be strengthened in
this world; it will make progress and will attain to the degrees of
perfection, or it will remain in the lowest abyss of ignorance, veiled and
deprived from beholding the signs of God.
Question.--Through what means will the spirit of man--that is to say, the
rational soul--after departing from this mortal world, make progress?
Answer.--The progress of man's spirit in the divine world, after the
severance of its connection with the body of dust, is through the bounty
and grace of the Lord alone, or through the intercession and the sincere
prayers of other human souls, or through the charities and important good
works which are performed in its name.
THE IMMORTALITY OF CHILDREN
Question.--What is the condition of children who die before attaining the
age of discretion or before the appointed time of birth?
Answer.--These infants are under the shadow of the favor of God; and as
they have not committed any sin and are not soiled with the impurities of
the world of nature, they are the centers of the manifestation of bounty,
and the Eye of Compassion will be turned upon them.
67: ETERNAL LIFE AND ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
You question about eternal life and the entrance into the Kingdom. The
outer expression used for the Kingdom is heaven; but this is a comparison
and similitude, not a reality or fact, for the Kingdom is not a material
place; it is sanctified from time and place. It is a spiritual world, a
divine world, and the center of the Sovereignty of God; it is freed from
body and that which is corporeal, and it is purified and sanctified from
the imaginations of the human world. To be limited to place is a property
of bodies and not of spirits. Place and time surround the body, not the
mind and spirit. Observe that the body of man is confined to a small
place; it covers only two spans of earth. But the spirit and mind of man
travel to all countries and regions--even through the limitless space of
the heavens--surround all that exists, and make discoveries in the exalted
spheres and infinite distances. This is because the spirit has no place;
it is placeless; and for the spirit the earth and the heaven are as one
since it makes discoveries in both. But the body is limited to a place and
does not know that which is beyond it.
For life is of two kinds: that of the body and that of the spirit. The
life of the body is material life, but the life of the spirit expresses
the existence of the Kingdom, which consists in receiving the Spirit of
God and becoming vivified by the breath of the Holy Spirit. Although the
material life has existence, it is pure nonexistence and absolute death
for the holy saints. So man exists, and this stone also exists, but what a
difference between the existence of man and that of the stone! Though the
stone exists, in relation to the existence of man it is nonexistent.
The meaning of eternal life is the gift of the Holy Spirit, as the flower
receives the gift of the season, the air, and the breezes of spring.
Consider: this flower had life in the beginning like the life of the
mineral; but by the coming of the season of spring, of the bounty of the
clouds of the springtime, and of the heat of the glowing sun, it attained
to another life of the utmost freshness, delicacy and fragrance. The first
life of the flower, in comparison to the second life, is death.
The meaning is that the life of the Kingdom is the life of the spirit, the
eternal life, and that it is purified from place, like the spirit of man
which has no place. For if you examine the human body, you will not find a
special spot or locality for the spirit, for it has never had a place; it
is immaterial. It has a connection with the body like that of the sun with
this mirror. The sun is not within the mirror, but it has a connection
with the mirror.