Sometimes it's good to be forgetful

For reflection..

"Whosoever has lost himself, has found the universe and the inhabitants thereof! Whosoever is occupied with himself is wandering in the desert of heedlessness and regret! The master-key of self-mastery is self-forgetfulness. The road to the palace of life is through the path of renunciation."

-Abdu'l-Baha

What does it mean to be forgetful of self?

Our Highest Destiny

My precious mama sent me this beautiful quote this morning, which I wanted to share because of the hope that it imparts:

"By thy life, O my beloved! if thou didst know what God had ordained for thee, thou wouldst fly with delight and thy happiness, gladness and joy would increase every hour."

-Abdu'l-Baha

These words are a reminder of the high destiny that we have been created to attain, which seems to include the full manifestation of the spiritual qualities with which we have been endowed. Baha'u'llah writes:

"How lofty is the station which man, if he but choose to fulfill his high destiny, can attain!"

"O friends! Be not careless of the virtues with which ye have been endowed, neither be neglectful of your high destiny."

"Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee..."

It is clear that a great destiny has been ordained for us. But there seem to be certain conditions that need to be fulfilled if we are to reach this high destiny. And this is where free will comes in. Although our destiny is great, will we choose to attain it? Will we choose to walk a path of selfless service, of sacrifice, rather than one of comfort and ease? Will we choose to put others before ourselves? Will we seek gifts and blessings for each other rather than wishing them only for ourselves? Will we rejoice in the successes of others? Will we choose to remember our inherent nobility and let our thoughts and actions radiate with the knowledge that we and others have been created noble? Will we choose to recognize the incredible potential that lies within each of us to develop the spiritual qualities and attributes that lie within us like seeds, waiting to be nurtured? Will we patiently persevere in developing these qualities, day after day, even when it seems we cannot try any harder? Will we seek to see in others only that which merits praise? Will we close our eyes to the faults of others and turn all our attention to perfecting our own characters? Will we believe from the deepest corners of our hearts that we are truly one people, regardless of race, religion, economic means, tribe, culture? Will we play our part in contributing to an ever-advancing civilization?

Luckily, we are not left to ourselves to somehow figure out the way..

God sends us His Messengers, who have included Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and today, Baha'u'llah, to guide us, educate us, and teach us how to transform ourselves and contribute to the transformation of society. We are told that, in truth, there is one religion of God, revealed over time through each of these Messengers whose Message is suited according to the needs of the particular age in which They have appeared.

So we know we have a high destiny, we know we have the free will to make certain choices that prepare us for this high destiny, and we have the Word of God revealed by His Messengers to educate us and fill us with the energy that we need to transform our own hearts and contribute to the creation of a new civilization.

So, yes, it's not an easy path, but could we ask for more?

Side by side

"So free must be your thoughts of any trace of prejudice--racial, religious, economic, national, tribal, class, or cultural--that even the stranger sees in you loving friends."

The above is an excerpt from a letter of the Universal House of Justice, supreme governing body of the Baha'i Faith, addressed this past spring to the Baha'is of the world.

A couple of days ago, I was thinking about the humility that is needed to overcome prejudice. If we feel we are completely free of it, then how will we be able to muster up (paraphrasing Shoghi Effendi): the ceaseless exertions called for, the care and vigilance demanded, the moral courage and fortitude required, the tact and sympathy necessitated, to eliminate every trace of prejudice from our minds and hearts?

Abdu'l-Baha writes about racial prejudice:

"Throughout the animal kingdom we do not find the creatures separated because of color. They recognize unity of species and oneness of kind. If we do not find color distinction drawn in a kingdom of lower intelligence and reason, how can it be justified among human beings, especially when we know that all have come from the same source and belong to the same household?"

May we strive to translate into reality this next quote on a daily basis:

"Let all associate, therefore, in this great human garden even as flowers grow and blend together side by side..."
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 69)

...new life at every instant

O Thou beloved of my heart and soul! I have no refuge save thee. I raise no voice at dawn except in thy commemoration and praise. Thy love encompasseth me and Thy Grace is perfect. My hope is in Thee.

Oh God, give me a new life at every instant and bestow upon me the breaths of the Holy Spirit at every moment, in order that I may remain steadfast in Thy love; attain unto great felicity, perceive the manifest light and be in the state of utmost tranquillity and submissiveness.

Verily, Thou art the Giver, the Forgiver, the Compassionate.

--'Abdu'l-Bahá

True Wealth

A friend posed the question about the meaning of true prosperity.

In thinking about this question, I came across the passage below from the Baha'i Writings about the meaning of true wealth in the context of the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human worlds. Abdu'l-Baha mentions that the true wealth of an individual is comprised of (to name a few): intellectual perception, scientific discoveries, rectitude in all circumstances, the sacrifice of one's life for the good of all people, the education of the nations and races. What a refreshing perspective and how society tells us otherwise! The task before us is to free ourselves from the erroneous belief (which is fed to us by society) that true prosperity, both individually and collectively, is defined in merely material terms.

Here is the full passage:

TRUE WEALTH

The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and circumstances.

The excellency, the adornment and the perfection of the earth is to be verdant and fertile through the bounty of the clouds of springtime. Plants grow; flowers and fragrant herbs spring up; fruit-bearing trees become full of blossoms and bring forth fresh and new fruit. Gardens become beautiful, and meadows adorned; mountains and plains are clad in a green robe, and gardens, fields, villages and cities are decorated. This is the prosperity of the mineral world.

The height of exaltation and the perfection of the vegetable world is that a tree should grow on the bank of a stream of fresh water, that a gentle breeze should blow on it, that the warmth of the sun should shine on it, that a gardener should attend to its cultivation, and that day by day it should develop and yield fruit. But its real prosperity is to progress into the animal and human world, and replace that which has been exhausted in the bodies of animals and men.

The exaltation of the animal world is to possess perfect members, organs and powers, and to have all its needs supplied. This is its chief glory, its honor and exaltation. So the supreme happiness of an animal is to have possession of a green and fertile meadow, perfectly pure flowing water, and a lovely, verdant forest. If these things are provided for it, no greater prosperity can be imagined. For example, if a bird builds its nest in a green and fruitful forest, 79 in a beautiful high place, upon a strong tree, and at the top of a lofty branch, and if it finds all it needs of seeds and water, this is its perfect prosperity.

But real prosperity for the animal consists in passing from the animal world to the human world, like the microscopic beings that, through the water and air, enter into man and are assimilated, and replace that which has been consumed in his body. This is the great honor and prosperity for the animal world; no greater honor can be conceived for it.

Therefore, it is evident and clear that this wealth, this comfort and this material abundance form the complete prosperity of minerals, vegetables and animals. No riches, wealth, comfort or ease of the material world is equal to the wealth of a bird; all the areas of these plains and mountains are its dwelling, and all the seeds and harvests are its food and wealth, and all the lands, villages, meadows, pastures, forests and wildernesses are its possessions. Now, which is the richer, this bird, or the most wealthy man? for no matter how many seeds it may take or bestow, its wealth does not decrease.

Then it is clear that the honor and exaltation of man must be something more than material riches. Material comforts are only a branch, but the root of the exaltation of man is the good attributes and virtues which are the adornments of his reality. These are the divine appearances, the heavenly bounties, the sublime emotions, the love and knowledge of God; universal wisdom, intellectual perception, scientific discoveries, justice, equity, truthfulness, benevolence, natural courage and innate fortitude; the respect for rights and the keeping of agreements and covenants; rectitude in all circumstances; serving the truth under all conditions; the sacrifice of one's life for the good of all people; kindness and esteem for all nations; obedience to the teachings of God; service in the Divine Kingdom; the guidance of the people, and the education of the nations and races. This is the prosperity of the human world! This is the exaltation of man in the world! This is eternal life and heavenly honor!

These virtues do not appear from the reality of man except through the power of God and the divine teachings, for they need supernatural power for their manifestation. It may be that in the world of nature a trace of these perfections may appear, but they are unstable and ephemeral; they are like the rays of the sun upon the wall.

As the compassionate God has placed such a wonderful crown upon the head of man, man should strive that its brilliant jewels may become visible in the world.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 79)

Coherence: Spiritual and Material

During a workshop today, we had the opportunity to reflect on the Baha'i approach to social and economic development. It was mentioned that the basic task with which we are are concerned is that of civilization building. For the first time in history, we are trying to build a civilization that is 1) global and 2) that achieves a dynamic coherence between the spiritual and material dimensions of human existence. I was especially touched by the idea that the achievement of true prosperity for all the world's peoples requires that material and spiritual progress go hand in hand. A natural tendency of the human mind is to fragment reality and to create false dichotomies--between the mind and heart, faith and reason, the spiritual and the material. But, in reality, there is one universe, one existence that has both its spiritual and material dimensions which both have to go together. Science and religion are the two knowledge systems that propel civilization and we will need to learn to use them both in ways that humanity has never done so before.

These are a few paragraphs from a statement called "The Prosperity of Humankind", prepared by the Bahá'í International Community Office of Public Information in Haifa, which explore the necessity of achieving this coherence between the spiritual and material. It is an excellent paper and I've included the link below.

"The assumptions directing most of current development planning are essentially materialistic. That is to say, the purpose of development is defined in terms of the successful cultivation in all societies of those means for the achievement of material prosperity that have, through trial and error, already come to characterize certain regions of the world. Modifications in development discourse do indeed occur, accommodating differences of culture and political system and responding to the alarming dangers posed by environmental degradation. Yet the underlying materialistic assumptions remain essentially unchallenged.

"As the twentieth century draws to a close, it is no longer possible to maintain the belief that the approach to social and economic development to which the materialistic conception of life has given rise is capable of meeting humanity's needs. Optimistic forecasts about the changes it would generate have vanished into the ever-widening abyss that separates the living standards of a small and relatively diminishing minority of the world's inhabitants from the poverty experienced by the vast majority of the globe's population.

"This unprecedented economic crisis, together with the social breakdown it has helped to engender, reflects a profound error of conception about human nature itself. For the levels of response elicited from human beings by the incentives of the prevailing order are not only inadequate, but seem almost irrelevant in the face of world events. We are being shown that, unless the development of society finds a purpose beyond the mere amelioration of material conditions, it will fail of attaining even these goals. That purpose must be sought in spiritual dimensions of life and motivation that transcend a constantly changing economic landscape and an artificially imposed division of human societies into "developed" and "developing"."

http://statements.bahai.org/95-0303.htm

The Heart

The heart has always fascinated me, biologically I mean ;) With its chambers and its valves, its constant and steady beat providing life. Tonight I was thinking about how the heart is so often used in the sacred scriptures to convey spiritual ideas. For instance, this is a line from a prayer by Abdu'l-Baha:

"Bestow upon me a pure heart, like unto a pearl."

When asked for a definition of a pure heart, Abdu'l-Baha said: "The pure heart is one that is entirely cut away from self. To be selfless is to be pure."

Advancing Civilization

"Though willing to share to the utmost the temporal benefits and the fleeting joys which this earthly life can confer, though eager to participate in whatever activity that conduces to the richness, the happiness and peace of that life, they can, at no time, forget that it constitutes no more than a transient, a very brief stage of their existence, that they who live it are but pilgrims and wayfarers whose goal is the Celestial City, and whose home the Country of never-failing joy and brightness."

-Shoghi Effendi

What better way to start than with the above statement of our identity. We are but pilgrims and wayfarers in this life, in this world that Bahá'u'lláh likens to a "shadow that vanisheth swifter than the twinkling of an eye".

And yet, we are reminded by Bahá'u'lláh: "All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization." In this life that vanishes swifter than the twinkling of an eye, we are to use all our intellectual and spiritual faculties to participate with others in building a new civilization, the like of which mortal eyes have never seen.

Am interested to hear your thoughts on the following:

1. What are some of the qualities of an individual that bring honor to a civilization?

2. What might directing our energies toward the advancement of civilization look like on a daily basis?