Immortality of the Spirit Baha i Devotional Readings. 1
O Thou forgiving Lord! Thou art the shelter of all these Thy servants. Thou knowest the secrets and art aware of all things. We are all helpless, and Thou art the Mighty, the Omnipotent. We are all sinners, and Thou art the Forgiver of sins, the Merciful, the Compassionate. O Lord! Look not at our shortcomings. Deal with us according to Thy grace and bounty. Our shortcomings are many, but the ocean of Thy forgiveness is boundless. Our weakness is grievous, but the evidences of Thine aid and assistance are clear. 82 Therefore, confirm and strengthen us. Enable us to do that which is worthy of Thy holy Threshold. Illumine our hearts, grant us discerning eyes and attentive ears. Resuscitate the dead and heal the sick. Bestow wealth upon the poor and give peace and security to the fearful. Accept us in Thy kingdom and illumine us with the light of guidance. Thou are the Powerful and the Omnipotent. Thou art the Generous. Thou art the Clement. Thou art the Kind. Abdu l-bahá, Compilations, Baha i Prayers, p. 81 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 2
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, 3
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.... 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. Abdu l-bahá, Bahá í World Faith, p. 323 As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that 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. Consider thy state when asleep. Verily, I say, this phenomenon is the most mysterious of the signs of God amongst men, were they to ponder it in their hearts. Behold how the thing which thou hast seen in thy dream is, after a considerable lapse of time, fully realized. Had the world in which thou didst find thyself in thy dream 4
been identical with the world in which thou livest, it would have been necessary for the event occurring in that dream to have transpired in this world at the very moment of its occurrence. Were it so, you yourself would have borne witness unto it. This being not the case, however, it must necessarily follow that the world in which thou livest is different and apart from that which thou hast experienced in thy dream. This latter world hath neither beginning nor end. It would be true if thou wert to contend that this same world is, as decreed by the All-Glorious and Almighty God, within thy proper self and is wrapped up within thee. It would equally be true to maintain that thy spirit, having transcended the limitations of sleep and having stripped itself of all earthly attachment, hath, by the act of God, been made to traverse a realm which lieth hidden in the innermost reality of this world. Verily I say, the creation of God embraceth worlds besides this world, and creatures apart from these creatures. In each of these worlds He hath ordained things which none can search except Himself, the All-Searching, the All-Wise. Do thou meditate on that which We have revealed unto thee, that thou mayest discover the purpose of God, thy Lord, and the Lord of all worlds. In these words the mysteries of Divine Wisdom have been treasured.... The Bahá í Faith - Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá u lláh, p. 151 Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed by thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Christianity - Matthew 6:9-13 5
... dost thou not know that God is mighty over all? Dost thou not know that God s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth? nor have ye besides God a patron or a help. Do ye wish to question your apostle as Moses was questioned aforetime? but whoso takes misbelief in exchange for faith has erred from the level road.... Be ye steadfast in prayer, and give alms; and whatsoever good ye send before for your own souls, ye shall find it with God, for God in all ye do doth see.... he who resigns his face to God, and who is kind, he shall have his reward from his Lord, and no fear shall be on them, and they shall not grieve.... God s is the east and the west, and wherever ye turn there is God s face; verily, God comprehends and knows.... His is what is in the heavens and the earth, and Him all things obey. The Originator of the heavens and the earth, when He decrees a matter He doth but say unto it, BE, and it is.... Islam - The Qur an (E.H. Palmer tr), Sura 2 Oh friends of The True One! The object of enduring the successive afflictions and these succeeding calamities, is this that the souls assured to God may behave with one another with the greatest harmony, in such a manner that discord and duellism and difference be effaced from among them, with certain exceptions revealed in Divine Scriptures. A man of insight will in no wise be subject to any defect; all that will take place will be a proof of the greatness of his station, and of the purity of his nature. For instance, if some one should humble himself 6
before the lovers of God for the sake of God, that submission will be as to God, because it has regard to his belief in God. Likewise, if the former (the one to whom the submission is shown) does not act like the latter, or if pride appear from him, the man of insight has attained the summit of his action, and has attained and will attain to its reward, and the evil of the deed of the former soul will turn to himself. So also, if someone act proudly, that pride will turn him from God (I take refuge in God) oh possessors of mind. I swear by the Greatest Name, in these days it is too pitiful that a soul should consider non-essential grades. Stand up for the Divine Cause, and behave with the utmost affection one with the other. Burn the carnal coverings sincerely before the Face of the Beloved with the fire of Unity, and have intercourse with one another with bright and glad faces. Ye have all seen the natural qualities of the True One, that it hath not been pleasing to Him that one night should pass in which one of the believers of God should be displeased with this youth. The core of the world is enkindled by the Divine Word; it is pitiful for ye not to be enkindled with this fire. Please God, We hope ye will appoint this blessed night the night of agreement and ye will all unite one with the other, and will be adorned with the embroidery of good and praiseworthy inward qualities. And your care must be this to guide one from the chambers of mortality to the River of Life, and to behave in such a manner among the servants that the traces of the True One may show forth from ye. Because ye are the first of the adorers, and the first of the worshippers, and the first of the encirclers; then by The One who hath caused Me to speak in that which is desired, your names are more renowned in the exalted Kingdom than the names before ye. Believe not that this utterance is imagination. Would that ye could have seen that which your Lord, The Merciful, sees of the greatness of your station, and the greatness of your worth, 7
and the loftiness of your position! I beg God that your passionate desires will not prevent ye from that which is ordained for ye. We hope that ye will behave with one another with the utmost harmony, affection and friendship in such a manner that the Ensign of Unity may be raised, and the standard of polytheism be annihilated, and that ye may advance one before the other in good deeds, and in showing forth the acceptance (of God). To Him is the Command and the Creation, He doeth that which He willeth, and ordereth that which He desireth; and verily He is The Powerful, The Mighty, The Omnipotent. The Bahá í Faith - Baha u llah O my Lord, my Beloved, my Desire! Befriend me in my loneliness and accompany me in my exile. Remove my sorrow. Cause me to be devoted to Thy beauty. Withdraw me from all else save Thee. Attract me through Thy fragrances of holiness. Cause me to be associated in Thy Kingdom with those who are severed from all else save Thee, who long to serve Thy sacred threshold and who stand to work in Thy Cause. Enable me to be one of Thy maidservants who have attained to Thy good pleasure. Verily, Thou art the Gracious, the Generous. - Abdu l-bahá (Compilations, Bahá í Prayers, p. 30) 8
The earth is the LORD s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. Judaism/Christianity - Psalms, 24:1-10 9
So glory be to Allah when ye enter the night and when ye enter the morning - Unto Him be praise in the heavens and the earth! - and at the sun s decline and in the noonday. He bringeth forth the living from the dead, and He bringeth forth the dead from the living, and He reviveth the earth after her death. And even so will ye be brought forth. And of His signs is this: He created you of dust, and behold you human beings, ranging widely! And of His signs is this: He created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Lo! herein indeed are portents for folk who reflect. And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Lo! herein indeed are portents for men of knowledge. And of His signs is your slumber by night and by day, and your seeking of His bounty. Lo! herein indeed are portents for folk who heed. And of His signs is this: He showeth you the lightning for a fear and for a hope, and sendeth down water from the sky, and thereby quickeneth the earth after her death. Lo! herein indeed are portents for folk who understand. And of His signs is this: The heavens and the earth stand fast by His command, and afterward, when He calleth you, lo! from the earth ye will emerge. Unto Him belongeth whosoever is in the heavens and the earth. All are obedient unto Him. He it is Who produceth creation, then reproduceth it, and it is easier for Him. His is the Sublime Similitude in the heavens and the earth. He is the Mighty, the Wise. He coineth for you a similitude of yourselves. Have ye, from among those whom your right hands possess, partners in the wealth We have 10
bestowed upon you, equal with you in respect thereof, so that ye fear them as ye fear each other (that ye ascribe unto Us partners out of that which We created)? Thus We display the revelations for people who have sense. Nay, but those who do wrong follow their own lusts without knowledge. Who is able to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray? For such there are no helpers. So set thy purpose (O Muhammad) for religion as a man by nature upright - the nature (framed) of Allah, in which He hath created man. There is no altering (the laws of) Allah s creation. That is the right religion, but most men know not - Turning unto Him (only); and be careful of your duty unto Him and establish worship, and be not of those who ascribe partners (unto Him); Of those who split up their religion and became schismatics, each sect exulting in its tenets... Islam - The Qu rán, Surah 30 11