Right Rendering

Reality and Right Rendering Unto Caesar and God

By John Taylor; 2009 April 18, Jalal 09, 166 BE

Yesterday we discussed the crux of principle, a recognition of common reality followed by unified action based upon that. At least one reader found its thesis surprising.

==========

Hi John
When I started to read your entry this evening, my feeling was that it would lead into something like where individual knowledge and action came together, in sort of a "Zen moment", or "being in the zone", of course your view of the Baha'i version of it.

It did not go there, of course.

But I think it's important to consider (this) seriously as well. The Seven Valleys seem to be pretty much exclusively about it. Prayers such as those which talk about the teacher changing from something insignificant to something great( as a gnat into an eagle) also refer to it. It's the mystical transformation that can go all the way from Search to True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness... It's about being guided if we make the effort. I would imagine it's also very intimately connected to the humility that Abdu'l-Baha exemplifies, and obedience to the Covenant.

==========

I was struck by one thing the Master said in London, as recorded in ABL. Somebody asked him about spirituality, and He answered that if there is no practical fruit what we call spirit is not real. Okay, I will look up the quotation. Here it is,

"Know, O thou possessors of insight, that true spirituality is like unto a lake of clear water which reflects the divine. Of such was the spirituality of Jesus Christ. There is another kind which is like a mirage, seeming to be spiritual when it is not. That which is truly spiritual must light the path to God, and must result in deeds. We cannot believe the call to be spiritual when there is no result. Spirit is reality, and when the spirit in each of us seeks to join itself with the Great Reality, it must in turn give life." (Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 107)

In brief, we are here for two reasons, one to prepare our souls for a life beyond, and the other to advance civilization -- and right now the latter probably means saving civilization from total destruction. We make fatal errors when we think that one can be helped without the other, or if we confuse the rules and conditions of one with those of the other.

I had a friend a few years ago who read book after book about mysticism and the self-help inspirational pop-philosophy that weighs down the shelves of booksellers today. But when I listened to him go on and on about what he called spiritual insights, my thought was always, "What is the result of all this?" Nothing that I could see. Even his personal problems were not alleviated by all the navel gazing and absorption in "spiritual truths." Although he meditated hours every day and strained every nerve to control his thoughts, he was still constantly wracked by destructive nervousness and over-competitive feelings. I pitied him, but since he had little practical outlet of service his mystic leanings were worse than useless. He was beyond aid because he thought he had The Answer.

You mention the Seven Valleys. But if you check out the Hidden Words, they literally begin and end in admonitions to practical service, however mystical the material in-between may be.

That is why I squirm in my seat when I hear people facilely say that the world's problems can be solved by personal improvement or spiritual advancement. In what universe? After how many billions of years? Problems are solved by solutions, not by waving our fingers in the air and pretending that some invisible spiritual force is working unseen to the general betterment. That is just how my friend thought. I never saw any evidence that his "spirituality" was anything but vain imaginings.

The principle of harmony of religion with science means that we render unto Caesar what is of Caesar and to God what is God's. That means steadfastly refusing to confuse mystic reality with some debased scientific law that we can trick into manipulating. That is no better than superstition. Material things are below us and we can rule them by knowing them. Spiritual things are above us and only submission is appropriate in that direction.
I am not saying that spiritual progress has no effect. In fact, rendering to God His due would have tremendous results. For example, from an environmental point of view the divine law forbidding backbiting would revolutionize things completely. It would eliminate the endemic criticism of one another that makes social life so repulsive to most people. As we have seen here lately, poor social skills, worsened by gossip, push people away from one another. This feeds into suburbanization and prevents people from trying out the sort of high density housing that would minimize human impact on the natural world. It takes no provocation to set any two or more of us at each others' throats. Consider what the Master said in reference to a dispute about the "correct" spelling of certain Arabic and Persian names among early Baha'is.

"Should ye attribute a mistake to a person, it will be a cause of offense and grief to him - how much greater would this be if it is attributed to a number of people! How often it hath occurred that a slight difference hath caused a great dissension and hath been made a reason for division. ... In all matters, endeavor not to cause grief to any one. Strive firmly to establish unity and harmony. The least difference today may cause great difference in the future." (Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets, Vol. 1, p. 20)

Yet in social situations we we routinely do far more than attribute mistakes to groups, we impugn their motives, we vilify and cut them down any way we can. Spewing hatred for the most important group of all, government and politicians, is considered normal and healthy -- which is probably why Baha'u'llah orders us to pray for our political leaders. When we pray for them, we really are praying for ourselves, that we will not impugn them and make their service any harder than it already is. With all this social poison, is it any wonder so many long to get away and live in the insulated false paradise of suburbia? Anything is better than risk being cut to pieces in a well designed, eco-friendly but socially dysfunctional neighborhood.
That is where spirituality and religion can help save the planet, by changing the invariables of social life. For doing that, the following admonition of Baha'u'llah is worth infinitely more than gold, platinum, or any other precious substance.

"O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened. Abase not the station of the learned in Baha and belittle not the rank of such rulers as administer justice amidst you. Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God." (Baha'u'llah, Tablets, 138-139)

--
John Taylor

email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/