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Flora Teckie
A Bahá’í Perspective
The untimely passing of a friend or a relative due to the current global health pandemic, Covid-19, has been a common feature of our communities these days and a source of sorrow and anxiety to us.
I am, therefore, moved to share a few words on the life of the soul and its immortality with our valued readers with the hope that it would help bringing some consolation to the hearts.
Reflecting on the fact that although we live on the earth in physical bodies, our essential identity is an invisible rational soul, and that our soul does not die and endures everlastingly, is a source of consolation.
According to the Bahá’í Writings, “When the body dies the soul lives on. All the differing degrees of created physical beings are limited, but the soul is limitless!”
Being a spiritual entity, our soul is not subject to laws of nature, as they operate in the physical world. It has no physical existence. Therefore, we cannot observe or understand it through material means.
It is through the exercise of the powers of the soul that humanity progresses.
According to the Bahá’í Writings: “The power of the rational soul can discover the realities of things, comprehend the peculiarities of beings, and penetrate the mysteries of existence. All sciences, knowledge, arts, wonders, institutions, discoveries and enterprises come from the exercised intelligence of the rational soul”.
The soul and body come from different origins
The human soul and the human body come from different origins and their relationship lasts only for the span of the mortal life.
When this relationship ceases the body goes to the world of dust, where it had originated, and the soul goes to its origin, which is the spiritual worlds of God.
A human being has his or her beginning when the soul associates itself with the embryo at the time of conception. But the association of the soul with body is not material.
The soul does not enter or leave the body and does not occupy a physical space.
The soul’s association with the body is like the association of light with the mirror which reflects it. The light which appears in the mirror is not inside it, it comes from an external source.
Similarly, the soul is not inside the body. There is a special relationship between the soul and the body and together they form a human being.
The same way that the light continues existing whether the mirror is there to reflect it or not, the soul continues living independent of the body.
Our dreams are a proof that the life of the soul does not depend on the life of the body. For example, in the state of sleep we see without eyes, we speak without a tongue, we run without using our feet.
When we are awake the eye sees only for a short distance, but in dreams we may be in Harare and meet our friends in Mutare or in another part of the country.
We cannot understand the exact nature of the soul.
Bahá’u’lláh says “that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind … can ever hope to unravel”.
Eternal journey towards perfection
When death occurs in this world, the soul separated from the body, continue to progress in an eternal journey towards perfection.
According to the Bahá’í teachings, this earthly life is a small part of a life that is eternal, a life for which we should prepare ourselves purposefully and perseveringly. Since our eternal part is our soul, therefore, we should not live on earth as if only our physical life and physical pleasures are all that matter.
We need to maintain a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives while allowing our spiritual nature to take control.
Considering that the body is the instrument of the soul’s development in this earthly life, physical health and development cannot be neglected.
Material means are necessary for us to be able to pursue our spiritual and other goals, as long as we use our material means towards the primary goal in life, which is fostering our soul’s progress, and contributing towards the spiritual transformation of our communities.
Our souls grow and develop through our relationship with God.
This relationship is fostered through prayer, and knowledge of the Scriptures revealed by the Divine Teachers, also called: ‘Manifestations of God’.
Such a relationship is strengthened through love for God, moral self-discipline, and serving the common good.
The Bahá’í Writings state that: “… if the soul of man hath walked in the ways of God, it will, assuredly, return and be gathered to the glory of the Beloved. By the righteousness of God! It shall attain a station such as no pen can depict, or tongue describe”.
And “As to the soul of man after death, it remains in the degree of purity to which it has evolved during life in the physical body, and after it is freed from the body it remains plunged in the ocean of God’s Mercy”.
Developing the innate qualities that lie at the foundation of human happiness, such as trustworthiness, love, compassion, truthfulness and justice towards all, help us grow closer to God and prepare us for the life beyond this life.
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