Synchronizing and Coordinating Universal Reform
Third Essay on Panorthosia, Chapter Twenty, Reform of the Individual, Covering Paragraphs 3 and 7
By John Taylor; 2009 Feb 11, 05 Mulk, 165 BE
Let us continue with the twentieth chapter of Comenius's masterwork, "Universal Reform." The goal of all self-reform, Comenius says, is to liberate the self from slavery to externals; this, of course, is the unbelieving philosophy that Baha'is call materialism.
"For the goal of this first individual reform is that everyone should release himself from the powerful grip of external things and be restored to himself and God, for the purpose of asserting his freedom of thought, will and action upon things which make for his welfare here and to all eternity." (para 7, p. 22)
The individual's freedom, then, is not a lazy man's freedom from doing anything at all, but quite the reverse, it is freedom to make strenuous, un-distracted efforts at enlightenment. This resolves into improvements in three basic areas, thought, will and action. The three become one. Recalling that knowledge is power, Abdu'l-Baha says something startlingly similar in the following:
"For the intention, the power and the action, all the three essential elements are brought together and the realization of everything in the contingent world dependeth upon these three principles." (Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets, 690-692)
To liberate the inner self is to tear the mind away from superficial externals and direct it to improved thought, a more resolved will and higher deeds. This non-operant conditioning is the purpose of all religious law and devotionals. For example, the five-times-a-day Salat (obligatory prayer) of a Muslim, burdensome as it may seem from the point of view of a Taylorian efficiency expert, is designed to turn the heart to God and make matters of eternal concern the starting point. From a political point of view, the result should be a more aware, serious populace ready to sacrifice for one another and the good of all. Insofar as the Salat accomplishes this, the heavy daily investment of time and effort on the part of Muslims is no doubt well worth it.
The way personal reform works is, yes, to make for better individuals. However, after knowledge, will and action unite, there must be justice, which means division of labour. In anything but an anthill or beehive, social action resolves into some of us leading and others following. The leader is not there for selfish reasons but has a calling devoted to charity,
"It is of prime importance that those who are in positions of leadership and have to govern their fellow-men should seek to reform themselves in the first instance (fathers and mothers of families, schoolmasters, political leaders, and so on), since well-ordered charity begins with the individual, and the ability to govern demands self-control, and every power must gather strength first of all from within if it is to operate effectively." (para 3, pp. 20-21)
Notice Comenius's recognition that the natural and just division of labor allows all to lead sometimes, if only as parents, teachers or skilled tradespersons. A moderate amount of specialization permits everybody to participate at times in the more active divine virtues of leadership, such as power, sovereignty and might.
At the same time, Comenius recognizes that only a few can lead in society, and that most people, most of the time, contribute by compliance. The divine virtue of obedience gives each of us a finer sense of "followership."
"Nevertheless every individual, regardless of his station in life, ought to play his part in the building of this new Jerusalem like a well-measured beam or a well-squared stone, ready at all events to uphold truth with agreement, piety with worship, and order with obedience, and actually doing so already." (para 3, pp. 20-21)
Again, Comenius's threefold division saves him from a half-truth, or should I say a third-truth? Common knowledge demands that we submit to what is true, while common piety and faith demand that we bow in worship before our God, and, finally, order requires compliance. This followership arises from many individuals seeking and applying truth, individually and independently. This vision is what distinguishes Comenius from lesser reformers; indeed he might accurately be called the philosopher of universal participation.
Totalitarian regimes use tricks and ploys to accomplish a semblance of this, like mass rallies, propaganda, lies, group singing and marching to hypnotize large numbers of otherwise incompatible people to obey their will. Their resort to arbitrary violence in the end proves that they have only a superficial, materialist grasp on truth.
This very distinction Baha'u'llah makes between true unity and what deniers might aspire for; they can only, in the words of the Tablet of Ahmad, "combine to assist one another." True unity resonates from deep within and needs no tricks. Indeed, the fact that the Baha'i Salat is not said together, synchronized at set times and led by a prayer leader, unlike the Muslim Salat, is surely a sign that humanity now has the maturity not to need such coordination for its unity -- at least not as part of the obligatory prayer (other prayers are said by Baha'is in groups). But Baha'is still believe in universal participation, which unleashes great spiritual power. Comenius, in the previous chapter, had argued that reform can be massively sped up if we do some things all at the same time.
"I say all people at the same time, because the first way towards speedy success is to tackle the task on a universal scale. For example we frequently see our largest cities being cleaned up all at once in a single day on the approach of an anniversary or the arrival of a king, when everyone attends to the sweeping of every space that belongs to him in front of his own house. Therefore let us all begin in God's name to play our part together, scholars, churchmen, and politicians alike, no matter how small our individual share of the world may be." (Panorthosia, Ch. 19, para 9, pp. 13-14)
Certainly at least one thing will have to be synchronized if we are ever to have world peace, the universal gathering of humanity where our leaders and representatives agree once and for all to uphold permanent peace with a world government. Later its plans will allow all to participate, but this one act must be done at one time, all at once.
That unification will be like the mirror that the lunar astronauts set up on the moon, which allows earthlings to shine lasers at it and measure its distance very precisely. That measure showed that the moon is moving away at a rate of a few centimetres per year, proving the theory that it was once part of earth but was knocked off by a gigantic meteor collision. The formation of a world government will be a mirror placed on high where all individuals will be able to measure precisely their service and progress in relation to the whole of humanity. Who knows what a "giant leap for mankind" that reference point will prove to be?
John Taylor
email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/
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