Man—the true man—is soul, not body;
though physically man belongs to the animal kingdom,
yet his soul lifts him above the rest of creation.
~ Abdu'l-Baha ~
Dear Ones,
What is consciousness? This question has followed the human spirit since the first dawn of self-awareness.
What is consciousness? This question has followed the human spirit since the first dawn of self-awareness.
If scientists probe the brain and philosophers weigh endless theories, mystics fall silent before the mystery. Yet the Baha'i Writings answer with quiet, radiant certainty: consciousness is the soul. Not a product of the body, not a fleeting electrical pattern, but the soul itself — “a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel.” This is the reality that says “I”. This is the light that knows it is light.
As Baha'is, we know that the rational soul (often simply called "the soul" in the Writings) is our essential and eternal identity. It is not born of the body; rather, it is the soul that animates the body. Immortal, it appears at conception and continues, beyond death, its infinite progress. From the very first moment, all its perfections are already present, yet in germ. Just as the whole tree sleeps within the seed, just as the eyes that will one day see already rest within the embryo, so the soul carries within itself, from the beginning, the capacity to reflect Reality. And that faculty unfolds little by little, according to each one’s purity and efforts.
The soul may be compared to a window or to a mirror. Its vocation is to reflect Reality without the veils of ego, ignorance or passion, guiding us toward right action and right thought in every circumstance. For when this window is clouded by attachments and conditionings, it lets through only a narrow and distorted image. When it is cleansed and opened, an ever greater portion of the divine Reality becomes visible. For Reality itself is one and total. It contains all that is, has been and will be. But our consciousness will never access it completely. It will ever receive only what its degree of development allows it to receive — in this world or in the worlds beyond.
After death, souls are said to stand at different degrees of consciousness, those of a lower station being unable to fully comprehend those who rank above them. Although the soul continues to progress eternally, yet, once there, that progress depends more upon the grace of God and the prayers of those who remain. This earthly life is the privileged moment when free will carries its greatest weight. The choices made here determine the starting point of the journey beyond. Thus, every choice, every trial, every act of love or detachment can enlarge the window or allow it to close. To act according to the divine pattern enlarges it. To turn away from it restricts it. The progress of the soul consists precisely in enlarging its inner opening. Knowing that, we then accept more readily our destiny, including the circumstances that grieve us. We choose to make the necessary efforts: “The tiny seed knew that in order to grow it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach the light.” Among the means given to us for this purpose, meditation holds a special place (see DIVINE MEDITATION).
Our human capacity will ever remain limited in comparison with that of the Manifestations of God, and with the unique station of Abdu’l-Baha. Even a purified consciousness is never overwhelmed; it receives according to the direction of its attention, just as the Master described for himself that the answer appears the moment a question arises.
Thus, if the soul is our essential and eternal reality, is not our sole true purpose to expand its capacity so that, little by little, a greater share of the Reality that transcends us and awaits us may be perceived?
Here is what Baha'u'llah writes of the faithful soul:
As Baha'is, we know that the rational soul (often simply called "the soul" in the Writings) is our essential and eternal identity. It is not born of the body; rather, it is the soul that animates the body. Immortal, it appears at conception and continues, beyond death, its infinite progress. From the very first moment, all its perfections are already present, yet in germ. Just as the whole tree sleeps within the seed, just as the eyes that will one day see already rest within the embryo, so the soul carries within itself, from the beginning, the capacity to reflect Reality. And that faculty unfolds little by little, according to each one’s purity and efforts.
The soul may be compared to a window or to a mirror. Its vocation is to reflect Reality without the veils of ego, ignorance or passion, guiding us toward right action and right thought in every circumstance. For when this window is clouded by attachments and conditionings, it lets through only a narrow and distorted image. When it is cleansed and opened, an ever greater portion of the divine Reality becomes visible. For Reality itself is one and total. It contains all that is, has been and will be. But our consciousness will never access it completely. It will ever receive only what its degree of development allows it to receive — in this world or in the worlds beyond.
After death, souls are said to stand at different degrees of consciousness, those of a lower station being unable to fully comprehend those who rank above them. Although the soul continues to progress eternally, yet, once there, that progress depends more upon the grace of God and the prayers of those who remain. This earthly life is the privileged moment when free will carries its greatest weight. The choices made here determine the starting point of the journey beyond. Thus, every choice, every trial, every act of love or detachment can enlarge the window or allow it to close. To act according to the divine pattern enlarges it. To turn away from it restricts it. The progress of the soul consists precisely in enlarging its inner opening. Knowing that, we then accept more readily our destiny, including the circumstances that grieve us. We choose to make the necessary efforts: “The tiny seed knew that in order to grow it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach the light.” Among the means given to us for this purpose, meditation holds a special place (see DIVINE MEDITATION).
In essence, it is consciousness — this distinctive capacity of the rational soul — that lifts the human being above the rest of creation. It is not the body, nor even purely cerebral intelligence, but this consciousness capable of reflecting Reality, of opening and of expanding, that makes the difference.
Our human capacity will ever remain limited in comparison with that of the Manifestations of God, and with the unique station of Abdu’l-Baha. Even a purified consciousness is never overwhelmed; it receives according to the direction of its attention, just as the Master described for himself that the answer appears the moment a question arises.
Thus, if the soul is our essential and eternal reality, is not our sole true purpose to expand its capacity so that, little by little, a greater share of the Reality that transcends us and awaits us may be perceived?
Here is what Baha'u'llah writes of the faithful soul:
Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The Maids of Heaven, inmates of the loftiest mansions, will circle around it, and the Prophets of God and His chosen ones will seek its companionship… If any man be told that which hath been ordained for such a soul in the worlds of God… his whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that most exalted, that sanctified and resplendent station.Although the mystery of what the soul essentially is will remain, its purpose shines with sufficient clarity to orient a life: to purify and enlarge its window. In the end, the angels themselves are none other than souls that have been sufficiently purified to radiate more fully the qualities of the spirit. Why, then, fix one’s gaze upon a lesser horizon, when the vastest, the highest, is already accessible to the one who consents to open? A consciousness that has been greatly enlarged may sometimes perceive collective and transcendent realities that most of us only glimpse. One striking personal testimony of such an advanced state is shared in this account of a sacred night: SPIRAL OF ALL-SOULS.
The Holy Writings themselves are filled with allusions to this mystical expansion of consciousness. This plea of Abdu'l-Baha expresses it with particular beauty:
Let my heart be dilated with joy through the spirit of confirmation from Thy kingdom, and brighten my eyes by beholding the hosts of divine assistance descending successively upon me from the kingdom of Thine omnipotent glory. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Powerful.May we believe in its reality — and strive to draw nearer to such a state of rapture and awe.
Be
wonderfully blessed !
Loesha
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