Spiritual Existance is Immortality

 

According to divine philosophy, there are two important and universal conditions in the world of material phenomena; one which concerns life, the other concerning death; one relative to existence, the other non-existence; one manifest in composition, the other in decomposition. Some define existence as the expression of reality or being, and non-existence as non-being, imagining that death is annihilation. This is a mistaken idea, for total annihilation is an impossibility. At most, composition is ever subject to decomposition or disintegration; that is to say, existence implies the grouping of material elements in a form or body, and non-existence is simply the de-composing of these groupings. This is the law of creation in its endless forms and infinite variety of expression. Certain elements have formed the composite creature man. This composite association of the elements in the form of a human body is therefore subject to disintegration which we call death, but after disintegration the elements themselves persist unchanged. Therefore total annihilation is an impossibility, and existence can never become non-existence. This would be equivalent to saying that light can become darkness, which is manifestly untrue and impossible. As existence can never become non-existence, there is no death for man; nay, rather, man is everlasting and everliving. The rational proof of this is that the atoms of the material elements are transferable from one form of existence to another, from one degree and kingdom to another, lower or higher. For example, an atom of the soil or dust of earth may traverse the kingdoms from mineral to man by successive incorporations into the bodies of the organisms of those kingdoms. At one time it enters into the formation of the mineral or rock; it is then absorbed by the vegetable kingdom and becomes a constituent of the body and fibre of a tree; again it is appropriated by the animal, and at a still later period  is found in the body of man. Throughout these degrees of its traversing the kingdoms from one form of phenomenal being to another, it retains its atomic existence and is never annihilated nor relegated to non-existence.

Non-existence therefore is an expression applied to change of form, but this transformation can never be rightly considered annihilation, for the elements of composition are ever present and existent as we have seen in the journey of the atom through successive kingdoms, unimpaired; hence there is no death; life is everlasting. So to speak, when the atom entered into the composition of the tree, it died to the mineral kingdom, and when consumed by the animal, it died to the vegetable kingdom, and so on until its transference or transmutation into the kingdom of man; but throughout its traversing it was subject to transformation and not annihilation. Death therefore is applicable to a change or transference from one degree or condition to another. In the mineral realm there was a spirit of existence; in the world of plant life and organisms it reappeared as the vegetative spirit; thence it attained the animal spirit and finally aspired to the human spirit. These are degrees and changes but not obliteration; and this is a rational proof that man is everlasting, everliving. Therefore death is only a relative term implying change. For example, we will say that this light before me, having reappeared in another incandescent lamp, has died in the one and lives in the other. This is not death in reality. The perfections of the mineral are translated into the vegetable and from thence into the animal, the virtue always attaining a plus or superlative degree in the upward change. In each kingdom we find the same virtues manifesting themselves more fully, proving that the reality has been transferred from a lower to a higher form and kingdom of being. Therefore non-existence is only relative and absolute non-existence inconceivable. This rose in my hand will become disintegrated and its symmetry destroyed, but the elements of its composition remain changeless; nothing affects their elemental integrity. They cannot become non-existent; they are simply transferred from one state to another.

Through his ignorance, man fears death; but the death he shrinks from is imaginary and absolutely unreal; it is only human imagination.

The bestowal and grace of God have quickened the realm of existence with life and being. For existence there is neither change nor transformation; existence is ever existence; it can never be translated into non-existence. It is gradation; a degree below a higher degree is considered as non-existence. This dust beneath our feet, as compared with our being is non-existent. When the human body crumbles into dust we can say it has become non-existent; therefore its dust in relation to living forms of human being is as non-existent but in its own sphere it is existent, it has its mineral being. Therefore it is well proved that absolute non-existence is impossible; it is only relative.

The purpose is this;—that the everlasting bestowal of God vouchsafed to man is never subject to corruption. Inasmuch as He has endowed the phenomenal world with being, it is impossible for that world to become non-being, for it is the very genesis of God; it is the realm of origination; it is a creational and not a subjective world, and the bounty descending upon it is continuous and permanent. Therefore man the highest creature of the phenomenal world is endowed with that continuous bounty bestowed by divine generosity without cessation. For instance, the rays of the sun are continuous, the heat of the sun emanates from it without cessation; no discontinuance of it is conceivable. Even so the bestowal of God is descending upon the world of humanity, never ceasing, continuous, forever. If we say that the bestowal of existence ceases or falters it is equivalent to saying that the sun can exist with cessation of its effulgence. Is this possible? Therefore the effulgences of existence are ever-present and continuous.

The conception of annihilation is a factor in human degradation, a cause of human debasement and lowliness, a source of human fear and abjection. It has been conducive to the dispersion and weakening of human thought whereas the realization of existence and continuity has upraised man to sublimity of ideals, established the foundations of human progress and stimulated the development of heavenly virtues; therefore it behoves man to abandon thoughts of non-existence and death which are absolutely imaginary and see himself ever living, everlasting in the divine purpose of his creation. He must turn away from ideas which degrade the human soul, so that day by day and hour by hour he may advance upward  and higher to spiritual perception of the continuity of the human reality. If he dwells upon the thought of non-existence he will become utterly incompetent; with weakened will-power his ambition for progress will be lessened and the acquisition of human virtues will cease.
Therefore you must thank God that He has bestowed upon you the blessing of life and existence in the human kingdom. Strive diligently to acquire virtues befitting your degree and station. Be as lights of the world which cannot be hid and which have no setting in horizons of darkness. Ascend to the zenith of an existence which is never beclouded by the fears and forebodings of non-existence. When man is not endowed with inner perception he is not informed of these important mysteries. The retina of outer vision though sensitive and delicate may nevertheless be a hindrance to the inner eye which alone can perceive. The bestowals of God which are manifest in all phenomenal life are sometimes hidden by intervening veils of mental and mortal vision which render man spiritually blind and incapable but when those scales are removed and the veils rent asunder, then the great signs of God will become visible and he will witness the eternal light filling the world. The bestowals of God are all and always manifest. The promises of heaven are ever present. The favors of God are all-surrounding but should the conscious eye of the soul of man remain veiled and darkened he will be led to deny these universal signs and remain deprived of these manifestations of divine bounty. Therefore we must endeavor with heart and soul in order that the veil covering the eye of inner vision may be removed, that we may behold the manifestations of the signs of God, discern His mysterious graces, and realize that material blessings as compared with spiritual bounties are as nothing. The spiritual blessings of God are greatest. When we were in the mineral kingdom, although endowed with certain gifts and powers, they were not to be compared with the blessings of the human kingdom. In the matrix of the mother we were the recipients of endowments and blessings of God, yet these were as nothing compared to the powers and graces bestowed upon us after birth into this human world. Likewise if we are born from the matrix of this physical and phenomenal environment into the 267 freedom and loftiness of the life and vision spiritual, we shall consider this mortal existence and its blessings as worthless by comparison.

In the spiritual world, the divine bestowals are infinite, for in that realm there is neither separation nor disintegration which characterize the world of material existence. Spiritual existence is absolute immortality, completeness and unchangeable being. Therefore we must thank God that He has created for us both material blessings and spiritual bestowals. He has given us material gifts and spiritual graces, outer sight to view the lights of the sun and inner vision by which we may perceive the glory of God. He has designed the outer ear to enjoy the melodies of sound and the inner hearing wherewith we may hear the voice of our creator. We must strive with energies of heart, soul and mind to develop and manifest the perfections and virtues latent within the realities of the phenomenal world, for the human reality may be compared to a seed. If we sow the seed, a mighty tree appears from it. The virtues of the seed are revealed in the tree; it puts forth branches, leaves, blossoms, and produces fruits. All these virtues were hidden and potential in the seed. Through the blessing and bounty of cultivation these virtues became apparent. Similarly the merciful God our creator has deposited within human realities certain virtues latent and potential. Through education and culture, these virtues deposited by the loving God will become apparent in the human reality even as the unfoldment of the tree from within the germinating seed. 

- Abdu'l Baha

Read More

Public Announcement from the living guardian of the Baha'i Faith

 Public Announcement from the living guardian of the Baha'i Faith

 

Dear friends,

Allah’u’Abha!

‘Abdu’l-Baha has explained in his many writings that a person is already a Baha’i if they are the personal living embodiment of the Spirit of Baha’u’llah and all His teachings, the primary focus being their personal devotion and understanding of the knowledge of the Oneness of Humanity. He states they are real Baha’is even if they have never heard the word or name of Baha’u’llah. The Baha’i understanding of this truth and verity can be found in Baha’u’llah and the New Era for example.

The same holds true for those souls and communities who are already aware of the name and identity of Baha’u’llah and who are living the perfect embodiment of the Baha’i teachings even if they have never heard the word or the name of the true Covenant and successorship of Baha’u’llah today.

As of the year 2001 AD, when the Divine Standard of the genealogy of Baha’u’llah was first unfurled (signalizing the start of the Golden Age of the Dispensation of Baha’u’llah) we can see by this spiritual criteria the majority of the people of all the world are in fact now already Baha’i.

Likewise those that self-identify as Baha’is knowingly in the various communities throughout the world, are in fact reckoned under the provisions of the Covenant spiritually, even if they have not as yet received the direct outward knowledge of the identity of the Covenant in this day: and the proof is that they are obviously the living embodiments of the Spirit of the Covenant today as fellow equal heirs in the Kingdom; and as soon as the hear the news, they accept it without hesitation.

The Centenary of the Covenant (this November 28, 2021) marks the opening of the second Epoch of the Golden Age of the Dispensation of Baha’u’llah, the first Epoch being the first Vahid from 2001 until now in 2020/2021 AD. According to Shoghi Effendi:

The “Golden Age of that Dispensation--a Dispensation which, as the Author of the Faith has Himself categorically asserted, must extend over a period of no less than one thousand years, and which will constitute the first stage in a series of Dispensations, to be established by future Manifestations, all deriving their inspiration from the Author of the Baha’i Revelation, and destined to last, in their aggregate, no less than five thousand centuries.” (Citadel of Faith (CF), p. 5)

“In the course of the Golden Age, destined to consummate the Dispensation itself, the banner of the Most Great Peace, promised by its Author, will have been unfurled (September 11-21, 2001, the Autumnal Equinox), the World Baha’i Commonwealth will have emerged in the plenitude of its power and splendor, and the birth and efflorescence of a world civilization, the child of that Peace, will have conferred its inestimable blessings upon all mankind.” (Citadel of Faith (CF), p. 6)

The “birth and efflorescence of a world civilization” is now taking place as promised during the Golden Age of Baha’u’llah. The firm and indestructible foundation (of this first centenary of the current appointed phase) for the future election of “the Supreme Tribunal” mentioned in the Will and Testament (page 13) has been permanently laid and established. The presence of God (shekinah) upon the earth shall never be altered or removed as embodied in the “House of the Lord” the “House of Justice” as now permanently Tabernacled upon the planet earth as it is in heaven, through the life-giving power of the Covenant.

“This House of Justice enacteth the laws and the government enforceth them. The legislative body must reinforce the executive [the Guardian], the executive [BRANCH--Davidic] must aid and assist the legislative body so that through the close union and harmony of these two forces, the foundation of fairness and justice may become firm and strong, that all the regions of the world may become even as Paradise itself.” (Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, p. 15)

This second Epoch of the Golden Age, of which we are now entering within, shall see the News of the Covenant, and the truth of the divine Testament, spread rapidly, like wide-fire, throughout the entire Baha’i word, in a more vigorous and unstoppable fashion, and simultaneously, the world at large will hear more and more about the Baha’i faith in general and the revelation of Baha’u’llah for the Oneness of Humanity in particular.

As the people of the world deepen, knowingly or unknowingly, in the 12 Principles of Baha’u’llah, the Baha’i peoples of the world, are deepening knowingly or unknowingly, in the Spirit of the Covenant, which (through the authentic House of Justice (head and body both)) directs all the affairs of the faith upon the earth, whether they are aware of that fact outwardly or not.

Shoghi Effendi provides some glimpses and insights into the Golden Age of Baha’u’llah we are in now:
“The “Golden Age” is the maturity of the Revelation of Baha’u’llah and it will start with the unification of the world [begun at the 9-11, 2001, the year al-mustaghath]; that marks its beginning… As far as this planet is concerned, there is nothing beyond this Golden Age. Thence its endurance for five hundred thousand years [see Cablegram Jan. 9, 1951: “5000 century cycle], just as the individual States in the U.S.A. united to form one federal government, so the nations of the world will unite to form one federal international government, which is the highest thing for this planet…The Cause is impelled forward through crises. The spread of the Cause precipitates crises, and the crises gives the spread of the Cause a chance to overcome it, and the solution of the crisis through the operation of the Cause facilitates the spread of the Cause. Growth, crisis, and the manifestation of the spirit of the Cause; and then it starts again, further growth, crisis, triumph, etc. The Bab’s Revelation released the forces required to bring about the maturity of the human race. When we enter the Golden Age of this Cause [begun in 2001 AD], then this maturity becomes a fact. The Golden Age is when it yields its fruit. The culmination of a process, the consummation of a cycle…The Cause is like the body of a man, growing continuously, and crises occur which are a sign of growth. There will always be crises even in the Golden age. The Golden Age will witness no decline. It is a new phase--the Golden Age!”

“To re-establish Islam from a spiritual point of view, will be one of the tasks of the Baha’is in the Golden Age. To vindicate the spiritual position of the Imams, not to re-establish the machinery of Islam. It is these crises in the world [such as the current global World War of Terror] that unfold to us the importance of these events.”

“Peter’s position in relation to Christianity and Ali’s in relation to Islam is represented by two institutions in the Cause: the Guardianship and the International House of Justice.”

“The stage of mass conversion will come after the next war [WW III]. Accepting the Cause in the days of the Manifestation when its glory is not yet manifest is one stage, and then conversion in the Golden Age which is very easy. Three stages, a) the Heroic Age: the days of the Bab, Baha’u’llah and the Master; next is b) the Formative Stage, consolidation of the administration [establishment of the IBC/UHJ in 1991: “the last and crowning stage in the erection of the framework of the Administrative Order” (CF, p. 6)]; and then the Golden Age and mass conversion.”

“The catastrophe is inevitable and needs be to purge the world. It will be something the world has never seen and will effect every nation, country, class and creed. The world has high blood pressure and this will be the blood letting. Blood will run everywhere. It will purge the world and then cement the remnants together…The new World Order is the child [see Isaiah 11] and it will mature into the world civilization. There will be no decline in the future. It will be like a spiral, ever upwards. There may be moments that stop, but no decline. This is the Day that is not followed by night--the Golden Age!” (Shoghi Effendi to May Maxwell, 1937; and to Gladys and Elmer Beasley, 1953)

Greetings this blessed day in the Golden Age!

I remain yours,
your servant,
Neal.

Read More