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The soul is immortal – Bahai
Flora Teckie : A Bahá’í Perspective
Human nature has two basic aspects: material and spiritual. Although we exist on earth in physical bodies, but the essential identity of each individual is defined by an invisible, rational, and everlasting soul. The Bahá’í Writings confirm the existence of a separate, rational soul for every human being and that in this life the soul is associated to the physical body. It provides the underlying animation for the body, and is our real self. Bahá’u’lláh uses the metaphor of the sun to explain the relationship between the soul and the body. He says: “The soul of man is the sun by which his body is illumined, and from which it draweth its sustenance, and should be so regarded”.
The physical world is a place of composition and decomposition, of progress and decline. But according to the Bahá’í teachings soul suffers no disintegration and no regression. It is “entirely out of the order of the physical creation”.
Soul is not subject to laws of nature
The human soul is a spiritual entity. It 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.
Bahá’u’lláh says: “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”, and the soul is “the first among all created things to declare the excellence of its Creator, the first to recognize His glory, to cleave to His truth, and to bow down in adoration before Him”.
The soul does not die; it endures everlastingly. The Bahá’í Writings confirm that “When the body dies the soul lives on. All the differing degrees of created physical beings are limited, but the soul is limitless!”
The soul originates from the spiritual worlds of God. It is exalted above matter and the physical world. The human being has its beginning when the soul, coming from these spiritual worlds, associates itself with the embryo at the time of conception. There is a special relationship between soul and body, which together form a human being. This relationship lasts only the span of mortal life. When this ceases, each one returns to its origin, the body to the world of dust and the soul to the spiritual worlds of God.
According to the Bahá’í Writings: “The spirit is changeless, indestructible. The progress and development of the soul, the joy and sorrow of the soul, are independent of the physical body. If we are caused joy or pain by a friend, if a love prove true or false, it is the soul that is affected. If our dear ones are far from us – it is the soul that grieves, and the grief or trouble of the soul may react on the body.
Thus, when the spirit is fed with holy virtues, then is the body joyous; if the soul falls into sin, the body is in torment!”
Body, mind and our immortal
identity
“ . . . we have three aspects of our humanness, so to speak, a body, a mind and an immortal identity – soul or spirit,” according to the Bahá’í Writings, which also explain 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 . . . . the mind forms a link between the soul and the body.”
Relation between mind and soul is further explained in the following quotation from the Bahá’í Writings: “the mind is the power of the human spirit. Spirit is the lamp; mind is the light which shines from the lamp. Spirit is the tree, and the mind is the fruit. Mind is the perfection of the spirit and is its essential quality, as the sun’s rays are the essential necessity of the sun”.
The body serves a temporary purpose in the development of the soul, and, when that purpose has been served, is laid aside; just as the eggs hell serves a temporary purpose in the development of the chick, and, when that purpose has been served, is broken and discarded.
The physical body, according to the Bahá’í Writings, is incapable of immortality, because it is a composite thing, built up of atoms and molecules, and, like all composed things it eventually decomposes. However, the Bahá’í Writings explain that: “The soul is not a combination of elements, it is not composed of many atoms, it is of one indivisible substance and therefore eternal”.
Dreams are one of the proofs 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, hear without using our ears, speak without a tongue, 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 Bulawayo or in another part of the globe.
Development of the rational soul
The Bahá’í writings refer to gradual development of the rational soul as spiritual progress. The soul grows and develops through the individual’s relationship with God.
This relationship is fostered through prayer, knowledge of the Scriptures revealed by the Divine Teachers, also called: “Manifestations of God”. Such relationship is strengthened through love for God, moral self-discipline, and service to humanity.
Our earthly life, as viewed by the Bahá’í teachings, 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.
There is need for maintaining a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives while allowing our spiritual nature to take control.
The body is the instrument of the soul’s development in this earthly life, and as such physical health and development cannot be neglected. Material means are essential for humanity to be able to pursue its 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 societies.
According to the Bahá’í Writings: “ . . . 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.
“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 and social progress help us grow closer to God and prepare us for the life beyond.
“Reflections on the Life of the Spirit” is the first of a series of books in which one can study and enhance one’s knowledge of our rational soul, its development and immortality. I recommend it to anyone who may want to get a deeper insight into this topic.
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