NEW: The human soul is immortal

Flora Teckie

A Bahá’í Perspective

OUR soul is a spiritual entity.

It is not subject to the laws of nature as they operate in the physical world.

The soul has no physical existence.

Therefore, we cannot observe or understand it through material means.

It is the Bahá’í view that the human soul originates from the spiritual world of God, and that human beings have their beginning when the soul associates itself with the embryo at the time of conception.

There is a special relationship between the soul and the body, and together, they form a human being.

The association of the soul and 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.

Likewise, the soul is not inside the body. In 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.

The Bahá’í Writings state: “When the body dies the soul lives on … if the body undergoes a change, the spirit need not be touched. When you break a glass on which the sun shines, the glass is broken, but the sun still shines! If a cage containing a bird is destroyed, the bird is unharmed! If a lamp is broken, the flame can still burn bright! Our body is like the cage, and the spirit is like the bird. We see that without the cage this bird flies in the world of sleep; therefore, if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue and exist. Its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater and its happiness increased.”

Dreams are 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 Gweru or in another part of the country.

Our invisible, rational and everlasting soul

While human beings exist on earth in physical bodies, our essential identity is defined by an invisible, rational and everlasting soul.

According to the Bahá’í Writings, “… we have three aspects of our humanness, so to speak, a body, a mind and an immortal identity — soul or spirit” and that “the endowments which distinguish the human race from all other forms of life are summed up in what is known as the human spirit; the mind is its essential quality” and “… the mind forms a link between the soul and the body.”

Commenting on the immortality of the soul, the Bahá’í Writings explain that everything in creation which is composed of element is subject to decomposition.

However, “the soul is not a combination of elements, it is not composed of many atoms, it is of one indivisible substance and therefore eternal. It is entirely out of the order of the physical creation; it is immortal!”

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.

There is need to maintain a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives while allowing our spiritual nature to take control.

Humanity progresses through the exercise of the powers of the soul.

As the Bahá’í Writings state: “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.”

Our earthly life is a small part of life everlasting

The realisation that our earthly life is only a small part of a life that is eternal motivates us to prepare ourselves purposefully and perseveringly for the life beyond this life.

Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, says: “Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God …  It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes,  and will reveal His loving-kindness and bounty … 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.”

The cultivation of life’s spiritual side has several benefits.

We increasingly develop the innate qualities that are the basis for human happiness and social progress. Such qualities include faith, courage, compassion, love, trustworthiness and humility. As these qualities are increasingly manifest in us individually, society as a whole advances. Another effect of spiritual development is alignment with God’s will.

This growing closer to God prepares the individual for the afterlife.

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