I have long wondered about the Baha’i teachings on Nature. On Talisman9, a Baha’i discussion group, we have been debating the merits and meaning of Abdul Baha’s reference to ‘the impurities of Nature.
Here is my post on this from T9:
” In Some Answered Questions chapter 19 “The Baptism of Christ” Abdul
Baha wrote: “But the heavenly water and spirit, which are knowledge
and life, make the human heart good and pure; the heart which receives
a portion of the bounty of the Spirit becomes sanctified, good and
pure — that is to say, the reality of man becomes purified and
sanctified from the impurities of the world of nature. These natural
impurities are evil qualities: anger, lust worldliness, pride, lying,
hypocrisy, fraud, self-love, etc.”
I am intrigued by the use of the phrase “impurities of the world of
nature.” I wonder exactly what Abdul Baha meant.
For one thing we read elsewhere in SAQ of the non-existence of evil.
“God exists; evil is non-existent.” And then we read of the impurities
of the world of nature. Is this contradiction, I wonder.
In Baha’i nature is sometimes described as the source of impurities or
of evil, yet evils such as hypocrisy are found only in human affairs.
Nature is authentic and never hypocritical. The same can be said of
fraud and perhaps lying.
As we come from nature and as we can see evidence of God in nature I
see little benefit from denigrating nature in this way. It is the
foundation that we stand on and our origin. We are the brothers and
sisters of the creatures that we share the earth with. While it is
true that we can and should accept the breath of the spirit in ways
the animals cannot we need to respect nature as our physical mother
and symbol of our spiritual mother and father.
So — what do you think about this? Is this an example of translation
issues? Or is Abdul Baha saying that to become spiritual we must
reject the physical and the world of nature? Or grow beyond it? Can’t
we appreciate both aspects of our lives? What do you think?”
It seems to me that the impurities that Abdul Baha apparently finds in Natue are actually in human nature.
Personally I find spirit in Nature more than anywhere else.
The first part of the quote is particularly interesting to me:
“But the heavenly water and spirit, which are knowledge
and life, make the human heart good and pure; the heart which receives
a portion of the bounty of the Spirit becomes sanctified, good and
pure — that is to say, the reality of man becomes purified and
sanctified from the impurities of the world of nature.”
The heavenly water and spirit refers the sacred teachings and the Holy Spirit, I think. And yes these are uplifting at times — sacred writing usually, the holy spirit always. But so is Nature when one becomes immersed in it. In fact it can make one feel purified and sanctified, I believe. It’s a tonic for what ails you!
What do you think? Are the impurities we need to purge from ourselves in Nature or are they in human nature? Thanks for any thoughts you may be willing to share.
17 comments
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June 12, 2008 at 9:14 am
Debbie
I think the references to “nature” in Baha’s quote refer not to the external natural world, but to human nature.
I believe humankind was made perfect but also made with the gift of free will, or the ability to make imperfect choices, if you will. (Maybe we should we discuss whether free will is inherent imperfection?!) So pretty quickly, the perfect chose imperfection, or what is often referred to as “original sin.” For this reason, humans are by “nature” imperfect, or tainted by our own choices.
However, I don’t believe that there is anything we can do to purify ourselves. This line of thinking puts a power into human thoughts and actions that resides solely with God. There is a fallacy in thinking, “If I do this or that, or think this or that, I am better or more acceptable to God.”
I believe that only God can accept us back into God’s family after we remove ourselves with choices made as a result of free will. I also believe that only God can bestow the gift of faith in God, which God will do if, in exercising our free will, we ask it of God and invite God to bestow it.
I disagree that because God exists, evil doesn’t exist. I believe that evil does exist, but that God can use even evil for good (the ultimate insult to and triumph over evil).
Now I must go commune with nature by mowing my lawn and watering my flowers and veggies!
June 12, 2008 at 9:20 am
championingjustice
hi,
in response to your question about the degrading qualities of nature and how this can be contradictory to the upliftment that one can feel when one is immersed in Nature…
first off, i think that because the Baha’i Writings are translated authoritatively, you will be hard-pressed to find “translation issues”. that is, the true meaning of the text is retained in languages other than those the text were revealed in (Arabic or Farsi). at least, this has been my experience.
with regards to your thoughts on nature – a Writing of Baha’u’llah comes to my mind when i think about nature: “Say: Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My name, the Maker, the Creator.” i think that when we are surrounded by Nature, we are uplifted because we gain insight into two names of God (the Maker, the Creator). so i agree with you that when we think of the word “nature” – there have to be two meanings.
referring to the first quotation above – where ‘Abdu’l-Baha talks about impurities of nature – He clarifies it himself by saying “These natural
impurities are evil qualities: anger, lust worldliness, pride, lying,
hypocrisy, fraud, self-love, etc.” so we are clearly dealing with a situation where the term “nature” is referring to man’s lower nature, that part of man which draws it toward the earth. i think that when we think about being drawn toward “the earth” or the “dust of this world”, it’s not about the beauty of Nature (that’s true beauty), but about the terrible things that intelligent beings will do to change that environment to suit its needs: such as destroy the environment out of greed, or gain power to control others through competition, or to give into anger and hurt others – that kind of thing.
i hope i’ve expressed myself correctly – it is very interesting to think about what it is about human nature that leads to these impurities in itself and how that is separate and distinct from Nautre. i’ve never quite thought about it in this way! thanks for spurring on my own reflections 🙂
June 12, 2008 at 9:58 am
Dan Jensen
I wonder whether SAQ was translated “authoritatively”. Anyway, I don’t think we need to get into that quagmire.
I believe that ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ was following the theme of the dark, untrustworthy and “evanescent” nature of this world. Human nature is every bit as unreliable and untrustworthy. It’s only natural, after all. I think it’s naive to think of the natural world as pure, innocent, and indifferent. That’s neo-Victorian nonsense that only undermines our respect and awe of Nature. She is not a museum exhibit. Some of her beauty is terrible. She has, after all, given birth to HIV and Homo Sapiens. She is no more innocent than we are, and we are no more guilty than she. We are ultimately one with her, warts and all. I recall that Henry David Thoreau, upon viewing the ruins of a recent shipwreck and considering the cruelty of the sea, commented: “are there not two Powers?” His contemporary Herman Melville had quite a lot to say on that matter.
June 12, 2008 at 11:14 am
Susan
Abdu’l-Baha’s comments about nature here to be seen in the context of His conception of man’s dual nature. one being the lower nature and the other our higher nature.
“The reality underlying this question is that the evil spirit, Satan or whatever is interpreted as evil, refers to the lower nature in man. This baser nature is symbolized in various ways. In man there are two expressions, one is the expression of nature, the other the expression of the spiritual realm. The world of nature is defective. Look at it clearly, casting aside all superstition and imagination. If you should leave a man uneducated and barbarous in the wilds of Africa, would there be any doubt about his remaining ignorant? God has never created an evil spirit; all such ideas and nomenclature are symbols expressing the mere human or earthly nature of man. It is an essential condition of the soil of earth that thorns, weeds and fruitless trees may grow from it. Relatively speaking, this is evil; it is simply the lower state and baser product of nature.”
(Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 77)
It is not nature itself which is evil. What is evil is human beings giving in to their baser passions. Humanity is meant for more than ‘survival of the fittest’ which is the principle which drives nature.
June 12, 2008 at 11:44 am
frankwinters
Hello Susan,
Thanks for the comment.
The quote is fascinating:
“mere human!” Would that we all perfect our humanity.
“It is the essential condition of the soil of the earth that thorns, weeds and fruitless trees may grow from it.” What a negative way to look at the soil! Of course the key word is ‘may.’ And AB was explaining or trying to explain way the superstition of the existence and personification of evil as an opposite to God. When you get nto that discussion I suppose its difficult to be positive.
Where I live we have more wild blueberry bushes than weeds in some wild places.
Is our nature dual or is it a continuum from base to sublime, from selfish to altruistic. We grow and learn if we try. “The sins of the near ones are the goodly deeds of those who are far from God” I believe Bahaullah wrote that or words to that effect.
If you see the world as a work of art then the shadows provide the needed contrast to set off the light, without them we would be blind.
Perhaps the view that weeds are the baser product of nature is consistent with the Bahai gardens that I’m told seem too manicured to some people. I prefer the wild or wilder aspect of Nature and agree with Thoreau who wrote “In wildness is preservation of the world.
Peace,
Frank
June 12, 2008 at 12:12 pm
frankwinters
Dan,
You wrote:
‘I recall that Henry David Thoreau, upon viewing the ruins of a recent shipwreck and considering the cruelty of the sea, commented: “are there not two Powers?”
He had been sent by Emerson to the site of the ship wreck that killed Margaret Fuller, one of the lights of Transcendentalism. Yet I don’t believe he wavered in his belief in ‘Wildness.’ If Wildness is our salvation how can it be so randomly destructive?
I think this is in the nature of things. God creates us through the processes of Nature and he kills us the same way. Our job is to understand these processes and powers of God and nature so that we can develop our spirit creating a tangible something out of intangible spirit.
On his death bed Thoreau was asked about his belief in life after death. His response is recorded by history as “One world at a time, please.”
As to “the theme of the dark, untrustworthy and “evanescent” nature of this world. Human nature is every bit as unreliable and untrustworthy.” I hope you are not having a bad day! While the world can be viewed this way I choose to be much more positive even when I feel crumby.
Best Wishes,
Frank
June 12, 2008 at 12:16 pm
frankwinters
Dear Championingjustice,
You wrote:
“hope i’ve expressed myself correctly – it is very interesting to think about what it is about human nature that leads to these impurities in itself and how that is separate and distinct from Nautre. i’ve never quite thought about it in this way! thanks for spurring on my own reflections :)”
You are very welcome! After all this is one of the reasons to blog!
Frank
June 12, 2008 at 12:18 pm
frankwinters
Hi Debbie,
When you wrote:
“However, I don’t believe that there is anything we can do to purify ourselves. This line of thinking puts a power into human thoughts and actions that resides solely with God. There is a fallacy in thinking, “If I do this or that, or think this or that, I am better or more acceptable to God.”
Do you mean there is no way to better ones self? Can you explain that for me?
Thanks,
Frank
June 12, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Susan
Dear Frank,
Boy, this is a long discussion. You ask
“Is our nature dual or is it a continuum from base to sublime, from selfish to altruistic.”
I suppose we can divide our nature any number of ways. Abdu’l-Baha is speaking metaphorically whether He speaks in terms of duality or in terms of the Great Chain of Being which reaches from the material to the spiritual to God Himself.
Often in the Writings the wilderness is used a metaphor for remoteness from God whereas the City becomes a metaphor for ordering our lives in accordance with His will. It is not that we value urban life itself over ‘getting back to nature.’
June 13, 2008 at 7:35 am
frankwinters
Dear Susan,
Not so long — but it is deep!
You wrote:
“Often in the Writings the wilderness is used a metaphor for remoteness from God whereas the City becomes a metaphor for ordering our lives in accordance with His will. It is not that we value urban life itself over ‘getting back to nature.'”
So cities are a metaphor — model — of God’s will? Not the cities I know. I think we need a better metaphor or better cities or both.
What do you think?
Thanks,
Frank
June 13, 2008 at 10:20 am
Susan
Dear Frank,
I would be difficult for Baha’is to divorce themselves from this metaphor without divorcing themselves from a rich history and milleniums of hopes and prophecies.
Cities as a metaphor of God’s rule goes back to the Bible which at the same time recognizes the problematics of ciivlization (citied culture.) According to the Bible, Cain founded the first city. It was therefore founded on sin. The Sodom and Gomorrah story likewise compares unfavorably the corrupt and sinful cities to the virtuous nomad Abraham. At the same time, the New Testament depicts Christ Kingdom as a city and contrasts the City of God with the City of Man:
11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
(King James Bible, Hebrews)
13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
(King James Bible, Hebrews)
This is the hope which the Baha’i Faith is to fulfill. As it says in the Book of Revelations (chapter 21.)
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them ,
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
warmest, Susan
June 16, 2008 at 7:43 am
frankwinters
Hi Susan,
Thanks for this summary of the import of ‘city’ in the old texts.
Today we need a new city, a new kind of city — a new design. We can’t sustain cities like the largest ones we have and certainly can’t create any new ones on the model of New York or London. We need a new city one that includes the garden and wildness within its (thin) walls. One that, perhaps, spreads out almost imperceptible over many many miles.
As to prophecy that has God dwelling among us and no death — this is happening now if it ever will happen. God is ever present — “The Kingdom of God is within you” said Jesus. Death of the body can’t kill the spirit — we live on in many ways yet we all die, some of us way to soon.
The Baha’i Faith has already done its job — the prophecies are fulfilled, the world renewed. If we could just look and see. If our vision fails us we will be waiting just as the Jews still wait and the Zoroastrians. Wait and you will perish — the Kingdom has always been at our elbow — reach out and you will find it there.
So — Cities as we have them threaten the soul, cities as they could be fill the soul with knowledge, light and hope.
Thank you many times for discussing these things with me — it is a joy to do so.
Frank
March 19, 2009 at 5:24 pm
farhan
Frank, evil does not exist in nature, but is relative to our aim in life; earth is never evil, it is our source of life, but on a clean shirt becomes an impurity from the world of nature. Ozone is a combination of three atoms of oxygen on which our life depends. If breathed, it is toxic, produced as an impurity from car pollution but in the high atmosphere, it acts as a filter that protects us from ultraviolet rays that can produce skin cancer. Anger and greed are natural tendencies; they can be impure qualities in some cases, and we have to learn how to control them but they can be beneficial in other cases. Tenderness is a fine natural quality, but can become a weakness in some circumstances, if a policeman unable to control it fails to arrest a criminal. If we want silk, the mulberry leaves become fodder and we kill the worms before they become butterflies. I we want butterflies, we let the worms become chrysalis and hatch, destroying the silk thread. If we want mulberries, the worms are an impurity from nature.
March 19, 2009 at 6:26 pm
frankwinters
Farhan, Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. You have made some excellent points.
I still wonder what AB was referring to. Was it in fact as Susan suggests above human nature? Or the world of Nature as you imply in your comment?
I am closer to Thoreau’s pronouncement: “In wildness is preservation of the world” than I am to anything I’ve read about Nature in the Baha’i writings. They tell us, as I understand it, that the world of Nature and the base nature of mankind are the same. I think we need to integrate our primitive selves and be informed by that aspect of our existence as well as by our intellect/rational soul. We have much to learn from Nature.
I take your points regarding the need to husband the natural processes. But I’m not sure they are entirely relevant. For example, in people anger by itself is, as you say, negative unless it is transformed into passion for a virtuous cause. The policeman in your comment needs to retain tenderness even as he does his job for without it he will tend to become a brute.
God is found in two places in my experience — in the human heart and in Nature. Baha’is are taught that God comes to mankind through the manifestation only. I no longer accept this view of the world.
March 20, 2009 at 3:58 am
Farhan
I agree with your points, Frank. I believe that this refers to the concept of originel sin and teh downfall of Adam and Eve, a point as also abundantly debated by Augustine who for some time before coming back to Christianity was a Manichean, beliving in a duality of Gods, one of good and the other of evil. This is the original row that eventually gave rise to the Protestant reforms Ibn arabi refers to this age old discussion by a benevolent God being entirely good. So, creation is entirely good, our body functions are good, but have to be organised according to social values which determine what is good or bad; a failing coming into a good behaviour as an unwanted impurity, or parasite, and not as something evil. many natural substances are toxic: Peach almonds contain cyanide and can kill; when boiled with sugar, cyanaide is transformed and it becomes “purified” and edible.
March 20, 2009 at 4:01 am
Farhan
An alternative concept by Ibn Arabi refers to “impurities” of “evil” as a hole in goodness.
March 20, 2009 at 7:43 am
frankwinters
Farhan — thanks — but you confuse me. Do you really agree with my points? All of them? Or are you just being polite?
When Adam and Eve became aware of the potential that lies within humanity — however dimly at first — they started us on the road to civilization and enlightenment. The fact that many religionists believe this to be a fall is at the heart of the narrow mindedness we are discussing on Bahai Rants (http://bahairants.com/).
If people have had a fall at all it is from Nature into a civilization that is insulated and insular. With children who don’t know how to play in a mud puddle or walk in the woods. We need Nature now more than ever — just as we did in the time of Adam and Eve.