Wendi’s Wanders

A friend asked: `How should one look forward to death?’ `Abdu’l-Bahá answered: `How does one look forward to the goal of any journey? With hope and with expectation. It is even so with the end of this earthly journey.’ `Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í writings

On Wednesday I was the Bahá’í speaker at a conference arranged by our local Sue Ryder Care palliative care hospice at St John’s Moggerhanger - my topic, `Spirituality and Spiritual Care from the Bahá’í Perspective’.

The conference `Spirituality and Spiritual Care’ drew hospice and healthcare workers from across the country, as well as hospice chaplains and local volunteers serving at St John’s Moggerhanger. A team of psychologists and healthcare professionals working in a Sue Ryder hospice in Poland, which with St John’s is twinned, also attended, as well as Rev. Piotr Krakowiak, National Chaplain of Hospices in Poland, who oversees more than 500 hospices and home care units in that country (you can find him in Wikipedia!) and who spoke on the Hospice Movement in Poland. He was terrific!

Other speakers included Ramesh Pattni, Chair of the Hindu Forum of Britain, who spoke on `Spirituality and Spiritual Care from the Hindu Perspective’.

It was a fascinating day and I learned much about the hospice movement, how others understand spirituality and also some practical tips for being with people who are dying. We all agreed with the statement of Teilhard de Chardin that `We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.’

My talk was very well received and elicited much discussion and many questions. Here are some of the things I said:

`Spirituality’, the Bahá’í writings state, is the `essence’ of the human being (Shoghi Effendi, 1945). The Bahá’í scriptures provides this definition or description of spirituality:

Know, O thou possessors of insight, that true spirituality is like unto a lake of clear water which reflects the divine . . . (`Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 107).

Spirituality is linked to the human being. Other orders of God’s creation - animals, plants, minerals - may have some degree of `spirit’, in that they reflect certain of God’s qualities but they are unconscious of this fact and have no free will in the matter. Human beings, however, are the locus of all the qualities of God:

Upon the inmost reality of each and every created thing He hath shed the light of one of His names, and made it a recipient of the glory of one of His attributes. Upon the reality of man, however, He hath focused the radiance of all of His names and attributes, and made it a mirror of His own Self’ (Bahá’u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 65).

Humans, as distinct from rabbits or carrots or diamonds, have a rational soul and are able to make a choice as to whether to turn towards God or away from Him. You could say that spirituality is the condition of turning oneself towards God and reflecting ever more closely the attributes of God.

What Does it Mean to be Human? The Nature of the Human Being

The Bahá’í Faith teaches that a human is a spiritual being temporarily living in a physical body. The spiritual being is eternal and, indeed, is already living in eternity.

Bahá’u'lláh teaches that humanity was brought into being as an act of love on the part of God and that God has imprinted upon the human soul the potential to reflect all of the attributes of God.

Bahá’u'lláh uses the image of the heart of the human being like a mirror which reflects the light of the sun:

The world of creation, the world of humanity may be likened to the earth itself and the divine power to the sun . . . The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light . . . Therefore our duty lies in seeking to polish the mirrors of our hearts in order that we shall become reflectors of that light and recipients of the divine bounties which may be fully revealed through them (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith, p. 217).

According to Bahá’u'lláh, every single person has the capacity to reflect the qualities of God. It is the nature of the soul to recognise God and to draw nearer to Him. Further, each individual has his or her own particular capacities, gifts and talents, which can be identified, drawn out and developed through education:

Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom (Bahá’u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 259).

For Bahá’ís, the spiritual qualities are not fluffy ideals. Rather they are hugely practical qualities that are essential to living day to day in the 21st century, e.g. trustworthiness, honesty, generosity of spirit and of pocket, confidence, hopefulness, love, justice, a humble posture of learning, recognition of the essential oneness of all people, which enables us to recognise that the poverty or suffering of one person diminishes the prosperity, well-being and happiness of all and restricts the potential of everyone. Not only are these spiritual qualities useful in this life but they are all we take into the next.

Illness, Health and Healing

The Bahá’í teachings recognise that the body is subject to illness and deterioration and that physical illness and disorders require physical treatment while mental illness requires appropriate medical attention, `for medicine is but the outward and visible means through which we obtain the heavenly healing’ (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 19). `Take for instance, a cut hand,’ `Abdu’l-Bahá says, `if you pray for the cut to be healed and do not stop its bleeding, you will not do much good; a material remedy is needed’ (`Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 65).

At the same time, Bahá’ís recognise the very powerful effect of prayer and the role of a spiritual environment on healing: `Physical healing cannot be complete and lasting unless it is reinforced by spiritual healing’ (Shoghi Effendi, Letter of 23 May 1935).

The Bahá’í writings state that physical or mental illnesses are not an indication of the state of a person’s soul or his spiritual health. Further, Bahá’ís do not see physical or mental illness as a punishment from God or as the result of sin.

There are, however, what the Bahá’í teachings label as `spiritual illnesses’. These are the agitations of the soul that come about through lack of attention to the development of spiritual qualities and are easily recognisable to others as hatred, prejudice, anger, jealousy and so on, along with such habits as backbiting, gossip and lying. These respond best to spiritual treatment - `prayers offered . . . to God’ and `turning to Him’ (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections, p. 151) and the development and maintenance of a healthy spiritual environment.

Spiritual Care

Not only is the person who is ill the bearer of the spiritual qualities discussed earlier, but so are all those who care for and come into contact with him or her.

Each person has the responsibility to admit and defend the nobility and dignity of every human being, to act in ways that will protect each person from dishonour and to create an environment in which each person’s spiritual qualities can develop and flourish. At bottom, this comes down to the golden rule, found in every religious tradition: treat others as you yourself would expect and like to be treated. While as adults we must each take responsibility for our own selves, yet we are social beings who live in communities and there is, according to the Bahá’í teachings, a collective responsibility for the welfare of all the individuals in the community.

This is particularly true when people in our community fall ill, grow frail or old, or are edging towards the end of their lives - a time when they are least able to care for themselves and are most vulnerable. The spiritual qualities of selflessness, service, compassion and love are essential characteristics of those who care for and come into contact with the ill and dying. A positive attitude on the part of doctors and carers can be a great assistance to one who is ill.

Bahá’u'lláh requires Bahá’ís who are ill to seek the advice of a competent doctor and to follow it. In turn, the doctor should be both skilled and himself or herself seek spiritual assistance. At the same time, Bahá’ís believe that, if the person who is ill wishes it, they should be visited by their friends and family.

Preparing for Life after Life

For Bahá’ís, life on this earth is but one leg of a long journey of the spiritual self. The first stage is the life in the womb of one’s mother, when the body itself is formed and the physical faculties - unnecessary in that world but essential in this - are developed. There we grow eyes, fingers, hearing and legs - all fairly useless there. In fact, as the baby grows, the room in the womb becomes very small indeed to accommodate these. However, when the baby leaves that world - `dies’ from it, as the baby itself might describe that journey, and is born into this world, it becomes obvious what these limbs and eyes are for and the child gradually begins to develop their use.

Similarly, our task in this world is to develop the spiritual qualities which are needed for the next stage of our journey. Although these qualities have a definite purpose in this world as well, nevertheless their full value will be understood in the next. When we `die’ from this world, we are born into the next.

The Bahá’í writings state that the next stage of our development after this life, `the next world’ is one in which the body plays no role. It is a wholly spiritual world where the spiritual self will be developed further.

Understanding the transition from one stage of life to another helps to reduce fear and to face the journey with courage.

When the body dies, the soul continues its life:

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, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure (Bahá’u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 155).

An image used in the Bahá’í writings for the death of the body is that of a gardener transplanting a plant. `Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to the mother of a child who had died:

It is as if a kind gardener transfers a fresh and tender shrub from a narrow place to a vast region. This transference is not the cause of the withering, the waning or the destruction of that shrub, nay rather it makes it grow and thrive, acquire freshness and delicacy and attain verdure and fruition. This hidden secret is well-known to the gardener, while those souls who are unaware of this bounty suppose that the gardener in his anger and wrath has uprooted the shrub. But to those who are aware this concealed fact is manifest and this predestined decree considered a favour (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith, p. 379).

With this vision, carers of those who are near the end of their physical lives can assist them to face their illness and future bravely, enable them to pray for strength and to wait on the mercy of God.

There are no end of life rituals that Bahá’ís must perform. However, they often wish to have Bahá’í writings and prayers read to them as they are dying. This may also be true of other people, who take comfort and find joy in the word of God. Carers should facilitate this. A prayer many Bahá’ís like to say is this:

`O my God! O my God! Verily Thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with the fire of Thy love, hath been immersed in the depths of the ocean of Thy knowledge, hath been attracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon Thee, hath turned his face to Thee, hath offered his supplications to Thee, and hath been assured of Thy pardon and forgiveness. He hath abandoned this mortal life and hath flown to the kingdom of immortality, yearning for the favour of meeting Thee.

`O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of light in the world of mysteries.

`Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Powerful, the Forgiver and the Bestower’ (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections, p. 196).

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