The
human spirit has a beginning but no end:
It endures forever.
- Baha'u'llah -
It endures forever.
- Baha'u'llah -
Dear Ones,
With the assistance of the Baha'i scriptures, as is our practice, let us
commence our inquiry by affirming this significant truth about the role
of fate in our spiritual journey: although each soul has an equal opportunity to
ascend to the highest heaven regardless of its inherent differences, this
ascension occurs within this mortal life, shaped by both its efforts and its particular destiny set by divine wisdom.
Nothing has been created without a special destiny, for every creature has an innate station of attainment...
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To each created thing, the Ancient Sovereignty hath portioned out its own perfection, its particular virtue and special excellence, so that each in its degree may become a symbol denoting the sublimity of the true Educator of humankind, and that each, even as a crystalline mirror, may tell of the grace and splendour of the Sun of Truth.
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As for what is meant by the equality of souls in the all-highest realm, it is this: the souls of the believers, at the time when they first become manifest in the world of the body, are equal, and each is sanctified and pure. In this world, however, they will begin to differ one from another, some achieving the highest station, some a middle one, others remaining at the lowest stage of being. Their equal status is at the beginning of their existence; the differentiation followeth their passing away.
Even though all the perfections of the soul are accessible to all, they are accessible according to a certain degree and a pattern defined not only by free will, but also by fate.
Unto each one hath been prescribed a preordained measure, as decreed in God’s mighty and guarded Tablets. All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition. Your own acts testify to this truth.
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No created thing shall ever attain its paradise unless it appeareth in its highest prescribed degree of perfection.
Just as we are born in different places and influenced by different environments, we are also endowed by nature with personal traits and characteristics, temperaments, and potential. This potential is determined in part by our physiology and in part by our environment, as illustrated by the following statement by Abdu'l-Baha, which suggests a composition including the fundamental elements (such as earth, water, air, fire, and even ether as a primary substance):
...the perfection of man is entirely due to the composition of the atoms of the elements, to their measure, to the method of their combination, and to the mutual influence and action of the different beings...
Given the situations we encounter in life, we must thoroughly cultivate our inherent virtues and capabilities, the human soul being "exalted above" and "independent of all infirmities of body and mind." However, they are also highly susceptible to significant enhancement under these conditions:
The power of God can entirely transmute our characters and make of us beings entirely unlike our previous selves. Through prayer and supplication, obedience to the divine laws Bahá’u’lláh has revealed, and ever-increasing service to his faith, we can change ourselves.
Prayer. Obedience. Service.
Be wonderfully blessed !
Loesha
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