The immortality of the spirit is mentioned in the Holy Books; it is the
fundamental basis of the divine religions. Now punishments and rewards are
said to be of two kinds. Firstly, the rewards and punishments of this
life; secondly, those of the other world. But the paradise and hell of
existence are found in all the worlds of God, whether in this world or in
the spiritual heavenly worlds. Gaining these rewards is the gaining of
eternal life. That is why Christ said, "Act in such a way that you may
find eternal life, and that you may be born of water and the spirit, so
that you may enter into the Kingdom."
The rewards of this life are the virtues and perfections which adorn the
reality of man. For example, he was dark and becomes luminous, he was
ignorant and becomes wise, he was neglectful and becomes vigilant, he was
asleep and becomes awakened, he was dead and becomes living, he was blind
and becomes a seer, he was deaf and becomes a hearer, he was earthly and
becomes heavenly, he was material and becomes spiritual. Through these
rewards he gains spiritual birth, and becomes a new creature. He becomes
the manifestation of the verse in the Gospel where it is said of the
disciples that they were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God; that is to say, they were delivered
from the animal characteristics and qualities which are the
characteristics of human nature, and they became qualified with the divine
characteristics, which are the bounty of God; this is the meaning of the
second birth. For such people there is no greater torture than being
veiled from God, and no more severe punishment than sensual vices, dark
qualities, lowness of nature, engrossment in carnal desires. When they are
delivered through the light of faith from the darkness of these vices, and
become illuminated with the radiance of the Sun of Reality, and ennobled
with all the virtues, they esteem this the greatest reward, and they know
it to be the true paradise. In the same way they consider that the
spiritual punishment, that is to say the torture and punishment of
existence, is to be subjected to the world of nature, to be veiled from
God, to be brutal and ignorant, to fall into carnal lusts, to be absorbed
in animal frailties; to be characterized with dark qualities, such as
falsehood, tyranny, cruelty, attachment to the affairs of the world, and
being immersed in satanic ideas; for them, these are the greatest
punishments and tortures.
Likewise the rewards of the other world are the eternal life which is
clearly mentioned in all the Holy Books, the divine perfections, the
eternal bounties, and everlasting felicity. The rewards of the other world
are the perfections and the peace obtained in the spiritual worlds after
leaving this world; whilst the rewards of this life are the real luminous
perfections which are realized in this world, and which are the cause of
eternal life, for they are the very progress of existence. It is like the
man who passes from the embryonic world to the state of maturity, and
becomes the manifestation of these words: "Blessed be God, the best of
creators." The rewards of the other world are peace, the spiritual graces,
the various spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of God, the gaining of the
desires of the heart and the soul, and the meeting of God in the world of
eternity. In the same way the punishments of the other world, that is to
say, the torments of the other world, consist in being deprived of the
special divine blessings and the absolute bounties, and falling into the
lowest degrees of existence. He who is deprived of these divine favors,
although he continues after death, is considered as dead by the people of
truth.
The logical proof of the immortality of the spirit is this, that no sign
can come from a non-existing thing; that is to say, it is impossible that
from absolute non-existence signs should appear, for the signs are the
consequence of an existence, and the consequence depends upon the
existence of the principle. So, from a non-existing sun no light can
radiate, from a non-existing sea no waves appear, from a non-existing
cloud no rain falls; a non-existing tree yields no fruit; a non-existing
man neither manifests nor produces anything. Therefore as long as signs of
existence appear, they are a proof that the possessor of the sign is
existent.
Consider that today the Kingdom of Christ exists: from a non-existing king
how could such a great kingdom be manifested? How, from a non-existing
sea, can the waves mount so high? From a non-existing 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.
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 afterwards 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 farsakha 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, 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.