Baha'i Perspectives

negin October 9th, 2008

That going through the path of life completely carefree, with everything happening as planned and always getting what we want, is impossible, would be something most people agree on. There are few – or I would say no – people that go through life without encountering any kind of hardship or crisis; be it social, economic, spiritual or health-related. However, there seems to be a major difference in how these hardships are met, and more interestingly, how they shape our lives.

Working within health care, this is a matter I come across in some way on an almost daily basis. The definition of “crisis” is of course very broad; death, separation, illness, bankruptcy, violence and betrayal are examples of incidents that cause people to go through a crisis – a turning point in life after which there will be a change. The initial stages of shock and sadness are of course natural and more or less similar for everyone, but when it comes to how people recover and adjust on a longer term, the diversity is striking. Is it just accidental? Or do some people have certain qualities that make them more able to handle hardship?

In psychology, Resilience is one term that is used for defining the ability to recover – or bounce back – from a crisis. A number of studies have been done aimed at finding out what makes a person resilient. Why do some people recover faster than others? And how come some individuals seem to gain strength from and grow through their hardships, while others despair?

Different significant characteristics have been identified in these studies. One of these, that is recurrent, is the value of having faith and an ability to find meaning in life. Anybody working within health care, interacting with patients, would probably recognize this tendency.

Traditionally, people have always turned to religion and faith when facing hardship. However, not all the world’s religions are able to satisfy the modern mind in this regard. Some place sin on the shoulders of the “victim”, as the reason for what has occurred. Others encourage disengagement from all worldly affairs and suggest isolation and/or an ascetic lifestyle to be a model.

From a Baha’i perspective, crisis and suffering is an inescapable part of life. It is not an aim in itself, but a means through which one grows and develops.

The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be.

Abdu’l-Baha

Beyond just seeing a meaning in the suffering itself, having a faith and holding deep spiritual values also affects how people interpret events and incidents in their environment. Seeing oneself as part of a greater whole, believing in the benefit of striving and, perhaps most importantly, trusting in a Divine Reality, must surely provide a clarity of vision and lend strength in recovering from adversity.

Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you.

Put your whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created you, and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succor cometh from Him alone. He succoreth whom He will with the hosts of the heavens and of the earth…

Baha’u'llah

So even though walking on the path of life without stumbling or falling seems to be impossible, accepting that there are hidden wisdoms in hardships that make them meaningful, and believing in a greater purpose, will give us tools to better handle the obstacles that are bound to appear along the way.

Tags: faith, tests

• Baha'i Concepts , Society
• Comments(5)

Interview Series October 7th, 2008

The Interview Series aims to reflect the unity in diversity of the Baha’i Faith through a series of informal interviews with people from various cultures and backgrounds, touching on their personal experiences and insights. This week, we chat with Ella and Jordan, spiritual sisters from opposite sides of the globe.

 

Ella Wisniewski (EW)
Jordan Campbell (JC)

Where are you from?

EW: Perth, Western Australia.

JC: Lakeworth, Florida, United States

How long have you been a Baha’i?

EW: Three years and three months [EW is 18].

JC: Four and a half years [JC is 19].

When did you first hear or see the word?

EW: My brother was taking Bahá’í classes and he had an art presentation day.  He was 10 at the time, and I was forced to tag along — I had to be the member of the family that had to support him!  I started talking to his teacher who invited me along to a junior youth group, which was held at my soccer field where I play, so it was fairly easy, plus there was the promise of refreshments immediately after.  Wow, I’m such a spiritual giant!

JC: I guess from my mom.  Also from singing prayers — I basically grew up a Baha’i.

Why does one need faith?

EW: Because without it your life is just a series of events. It gives meaning to life which is otherwise just another day after another day. Everyone wants to believe in a power that is greater than them.

JC: Because without it, you don’t really have a good reason to live. There’s so much negativity in the world that you have to believe there is a reason for it all.

What about the Baha’i Faith gives you hope?

EW: That the world is not going to collapse on itself and that there won’t be an apocalypse. That there are better things to come. It gives me hope that we can all live up to our true potential because it reminds us that we are inherently noble creatures and we all have these huge capacities.

JC: There’s a plan, there’s a structure for how things are going to work. It teaches peace, but it’s not just some vague idea of how things are going to work. There’s a blueprint for how it will happen in a practical sense.

What virtue do you esteem most highly or try to adhere to most often?

EW: Detachment. [We then asked, "Do you want to expand on that?", to which she replied, "No, I'm pretty detached from that."] Otherwise it’s so easy to get caught up in stupid everyday situations.

JC: Obedience. “The only true happiness is true submission”.

What do you consider your greatest achievement in life, to date?

EW: My birth — that was huge, that was a big deal for me. If I hadn’t done as brilliantly as I did, things would be very different for me now.

When I was 14, I went to a random hotel in Shanghai from the Shanghai airport. By myself. Without knowing any Mandarin.

JC: Writing songs. [Jordan is a very talented musician.]

What life lesson do you wish you had known earlier?

EW: That the Baha’i Faith should be the focus, at the forefront, of my life, and not the other way round.

JC: Not to worry about other people. Because it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t allow you to be free and grow. Being happy and true to yourself, then you don’t have to worry about other people. Your other relationships would go more smoothly.

What is your favourite passage from the Writings?

EW:

Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues. Without truthfulness, progress and success, in all the worlds of God, are impossible for any soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also be acquired.

Abdu’l-Baha (Cited in Shoghi Effendi, “The Advent of Divine Justice”, p. 26)

JC:

Therefore strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble. Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute!

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 80)

• Interviews
• Comments(0)

ronnie October 4th, 2008

This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

…Morpheus says to Neo, Keanu Reeves character in Warner Brothers’ movie; ‘The Matrix.’ (here is the scene on YouTube)

Before I hear you sigh; ‘oh dear, sci-fi geek alert!,’ I’m kindly requesting a few minutes of your precious time, even if you found Mamma Mia! far more riveting than the Matrix.

Now, what if I told you that this piece of science fiction is far closer to reality than might first appear? And we’re not talking about Keanu Reeves’ acting skills either.

“The Matrix describes a future in which the reality the perceived by humans is actually the Matrix, a simulated reality created by sentient machines.” says Wikipedia.

In the aforementioned movie quote, Morpheus a prophet of sorts is giving the film’s protagonist, Neo, a computer programmer, the option to see the world for what it really is.

If he takes the blue pill, he stays ‘asleep,’ carrying on with his daily routine but if he takes the red pill he awakens to his inner reality, another world:

In the beginning of his human life man was embryonic in the world of the matrix. There he received capacity and endowment for the reality of human existence. The forces and powers necessary for this world were bestowed upon him in that limited condition. In this world he needed eyes; he received them  potentially in the other. He needed ears; he obtained them there in readiness and preparation for his new existence. The powers requisite in this world were conferred upon him in the world of the matrix, so that when he entered this realm of real existence he not only possessed all necessary functions and powers but found provision for his material sustenance awaiting him.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 63)

This quote from Abdu’l-Baha, pre-dates the movie by about 80 years. Abdu’l-Baha is talking about the world inside a mother’s womb being the ‘world of the matrix.’ This world, the only world we know as an embryo, is preparing us for the world we know now, the ‘post-birth’ world.

Both worlds are connected of course, and this starts at conception. You just don’t realise this until you actually arrive here, whether it’s by c-section or naturally.

You can discern hints of it, however, like the muffled voices of our louder relatives.

Conversely you can also make impressions in it, by kicking your chubby baby legs to the glee of your mother’s co-workers.

Now how does this relate to the Matrix film? Well, from my limited understanding of the Baha’i Faith, THIS world, the world of Poverty, Climate Change, Racism, Consumerism, War, Climate change and Sex in The City (okay, it’s not that bad!) is OUR world of the Matrix.

Here we develop our capacity and endowment for the next world, through tests:

Therefore, in this world he must prepare himself for the life beyond. That which he needs in the world of the Kingdom must be obtained here. Just as he prepared himself in the world of the matrix by acquiring forces necessary in this sphere of existence, so, likewise, the indispensable forces of the divine existence must be potentially attained in this world…

(Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 63)

In the womb, we had no choice.

In this world, it’s like the red pill or the blue pill.

Every Manifestation from God, whether Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad, Jesus or Baha’u'llah, has offered us a choice like this; the choice of true liberty or to go back to sleep wearing shackles of ignorance and blinded by our ego.

Baha’u'llah tells us when He was ‘awakened’:

O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been.

(Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 11)

He also gives us a choice, rather than a red pill or blue pill, to look with the inner eye rather than the outer one:

O MAN OF TWO VISIONS!

Close one eye and open the other. Close one to the world and all that is therein, and open the other to the hallowed beauty of the Beloved

(Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words)

The quote above must not be taken out of context. It is not suggesting that we become aloof from human affairs in this material world. In fact, Baha’u'llah teaches the contrary and I’ll expand on this topic in greater detail in part 2.

The quote above, according to my understanding, is saying that we look at things in this world with a ‘spiritually attuned’ eye, rather than looking at things viscerally. The spiritual world is not another location, or to be experienced solely after we die. It is intricately interwoven into the very fabric of our existence. Like lines of code which make up the physical world in the Matrix movie, in this world we have to read in-between these lines:

The one true God is My witness! This most great, this fathomless and surging Ocean is near, astonishingly near, unto you. Behold it is closer to you than your life-vein! Swift as the twinkling of an eye ye can, if ye but wish it, reach and partake of this imperishable favor, this God-given grace, this incorruptible gift, this most potent and unspeakably glorious bounty.

(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 326)

Now the main difference between the film’s premise and the Baha’i Faith is that in the film, the ‘real’ world, the world that Neo will see if he chooses to know reality, is actually quite dark, and not a nice place at all.

The Baha’i view point is quite the opposite. Should we choose to know the Truth, that reality, that world is paradise.

Thus to conclude, if I were sitting in the dusty old chair that Neo was, and given a choice between ignorance and paradise, I don’t think I’d hesitate to take that leap of Faith to investigate further.

I mean what do you have to lose? Only something to gain.

Other than a few calories from a red jelly bean.

Part 2-Coming Soon

“So, you’ve chosen the pill (presumably). What do you do next? What does this mean? Will it mean you have to take part in two poorer sequels? These questions (except the 3^rd) plus more will be answered in Part 2.”

Tags: afterlife, reality

• Arts & Culture , Baha'i Concepts
• Comments(13)

iman October 2nd, 2008

In the third part of this series on happiness, examining the “three S’s” above, it is proposed that the trials of suffering can make one happier.  Sounds counter-intuitive. “Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this world?” was the question posed to Abdu’l-Baha in Paris, in the early 20^th century.  He replied:

The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering…His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most…. Through suffering he will attain to an eternal happiness which nothing can take from him. The apostles of Christ suffered: they attained eternal happiness.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 178)

No-one enjoys sorrow. Suffering presents itself in countless ways and it is for this reason that no-one is left unaffected.  Everyone is tested in various ways; ways which may differ from person to person. Whilst many a time we may find circumstances unbearable,  it is how we deal with, and accept the latent wisdom that lies within these challenges, that provides a path to happiness:

…suffering, although an inescapable reality, can nevertheless be utilised as a means for the attainment of happiness. This is the interpretation given to it by all the prophets and saints who, in the midst of severe tests and trials, felt happy and joyous and experienced what is best and holiest in life. Suffering is both a reminder and a guide. It stimulates us better to adapt ourselves to our environmental conditions, and thus leads the way to self improvement. In every suffering one can find a meaning and a wisdom. But it is not always easy to find the secret of that wisdom. It is sometimes only when all our suffering has passed that we become aware of its usefulness. What man considers to be evil turns often to be a cause of infinite blessings.

(Shoghi Effendi, The Unfolding Destiny of the British Baha’i Community)

Be it illness, the loss of a loved one, or poverty, amongst the many struggles we are faced with, a lot of the times it is through suffering that we develop more compassion and are more willing to sacrifice ourselves for the betterment of the lives of those around us:

To attain eternal happiness one must suffer. He who has reached the state of self-sacrifice has true joy. Temporal joy will vanish.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 178)

Ever wondered why the simple act of giving gifts makes us happy?  In its purest form it is not merely the act of giving the gift, but sacrificial interplay on a higher level. How much more the mutual happiness that can be derived from acts of service on a highly participatory, more global scale?  How much more rewarding to unceasingly sacrifice for our  Creator, the Infinite?:

In the Bahá’í Cause arts, sciences and all crafts are (counted as) worship. The man who makes a piece of notepaper to the best of his ability, conscientiously, concentrating all his forces on perfecting it, is giving praise to God. Briefly, all effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity. This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer. A physician ministering to the sick, gently, tenderly, free from prejudice and believing in the solidarity of the human race, he is giving praise.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 176)

In addition, service helps us overlook our own perceived shortcomings (and, sometimes, imaginary remedies), which are often a source of discontent:

The more we search for ourselves, the less likely we are to find ourselves; and the more we search for God, and to serve our fellow-men, the more profoundly will we become acquainted with ourselves, and the more inwardly assured. This is one of the great spiritual laws of life.

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 18, 1954)

Suffering and sacrifice can be overwhelming at times so what can sustain us? – it is the faith that our sacrifices can be the cause of irreversible spiritual growth, both for us and for those around us.   Faith will be discussed in the next post.

“…and the food of them who haste to meet Thee is the fragments of their broken hearts.”
(Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 95)

Tags: happiness, sacrifice, service, tests

• Baha'i Concepts , General Interest
• Comments(0)