Some Bahá'í contributions to understanding the fourth Unitarian Universalist principle
The fourth Unitarian Universalist principle
– “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning” – is also an essential
principle in the Bahá'í Faith. Many Unitarian Universalists and Bahá'ís say
that this was the principle that attracted them most. This was certainly my
case, having been born and partially raised in a Brüderhof community, where the
search for truth was closely controlled, books heavily censored, and
stimulating conversations few and short for fear of “intellectualizing” one’s
faith.
When I was 13, my Bahá'í aunt explained
that the search for truth was our right and responsibility, that there was no Bahá'í
clergy or priesthood, and that nobody could interpret the Bahá'í Teachings
authoritatively for others. I knew right away that this was something I wanted
to explore further.
Several Unitarian Universalist talks have also
deepened my understanding of this principle, especially “A Free and Responsible
Search for Truth and Meaning” by Reverend Hilary Landau Krivchenia.[1] This
post explores some Bahá'í contributions to this principle, penned by Bahá’u’lláh
during His 40 years of exile and prison, and spoken by His son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
(circa 1912), sometimes to Unitarian congregations.
1. Free Search is God-Given
A just God who created us with mind and
reason would not then forbid us to use them. The key is to use all of our
innate capabilities in a way that is not hurtful but helpful to both ourselves
and others. And guidance in this path can come from both science and religion.
Baha'u'llah makes it a religious duty that
is “incumbent upon all” to seek knowledge with our "own eyes and not
through the eyes of others."[2] This echoes Isaiah’s warning, "You
will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never
perceiving.”[3] It reflects Jesus’ counsel to those who, "though
seeing, do not see; though hearing, do not hear or understand” to “see with
their own eyes, hear with their own ears, and understand with their own hearts”[4]
and to “know the truth, for the truth will set you free.”[5]
It also coincides with Muhammad’s advice to
seek knowledge even as far as China,[6] to investigate the claims even of a bad
person, lest ye harm others through ignorance;[7] and that on the Final Day,
God will not accept our saying, “Verily we found that our forefathers of that
persuasion, so we followed in their footsteps.”[8] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, "No
man should follow blindly his ancestors and forefathers. Nay, each must see
with his own eyes, hear with his own ears and investigate independently in
order that he may find the truth. Following the religion of our forefathers and
ancestors is blind imitation. We should investigate reality."[9]
2. Blind Imitation is Divisive
The antithesis of a free and responsible
search for truth is blind imitation, superstition, dogma, and prejudice. One of
the main causes of conflict today is that many uncritically follow various
traditions, trends, and opinions, becoming attached to them and intolerant of others
who do not share them. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says we must forsake adherence
to mere hereditary forms:
“As the nations of the world are following
imitations in lieu of truth, and as imitations are many and various,
differences of belief have been productive of strife and warfare. So long as
these imitations remain, the oneness of the world of humanity is impossible… Therefore,
we must investigate reality so that by its light the clouds and darkness may be
dispelled."[10]
He adds, “The fact that we imagine
ourselves to be right and everybody else wrong is the greatest of all obstacles
in the path towards unity, and unity is necessary if we would reach truth, for
truth is one.”[11] Let’s see how that is possible.
3. Free Search for Truth Promotes Unity
Many religions, political movements and
even companies discourage free thought out of a misguided fear that diversity
will lead to division, and that unity requires uniformity. The Bahá'í approach
is the exact opposite: fostering the synergies that can only be built upon unity
IN diversity by sincerely searching for truth, sharing our findings humbly with
each other, and not imposing them as the only or even the best way to see
things.
'Abdu'l-Bahá says, “Being one, truth cannot
be divided, and the differences that appear to exist among the many nations
only result from their attachment to prejudice. If only men would search out
truth, they would find themselves united.”[12] Unfortunately, many take the easy route: “…the
people are too easily led by tradition. It is because of this that they are
often antagonistic to each other, and dispute with one another."[13]
Therefore, each one "must cut himself free from all prejudice and from the
result of his own imagination, so that he may be able to search for truth
unhindered."[14]
4. One Light in Many Lamps
True search means recognizing that the light
of truth can be found in many different sources. For example, the Bahá'í teachings
emphasize the value of both science and religion in our search for truth.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:
“Science must be accepted. No one truth can
contradict another truth. Light is good in whatsoever lamp it is burning! A
rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden it may bloom! A star has the same
radiance if it shines from the East or from the West. Be free from prejudice,
so will you love the Sun of Truth from whatsoever point in the horizon it may
arise!... This is what is meant by the 'Search after Truth'.”[15]
According to Bahá'í belief, truth can be found
or “read” in two different but complementary “books”: the book of creation and
the ‘written book’. The book of creation is “the outspread roll of existence,”
while the written book consists of the Holy Books revealed to the Prophets of
God.”[16] Our understanding of both books is always limited, so it needs to grow
through a free, responsible search for truth.
The “written book” of divine revelation is adapted
to the needs and capacities of each age, but it gradually becomes altered and
distorted through both translation and interpretation. Therefore, it needs to
be renewed in each age with a new Holy Book revealed by a Krishna, a Moses, a Zoroaster,
a Buddha, a Jesus, a Muhammad, a Bahá’u’lláh, or countless others lost to
history:
“Baha’u’llah continually urges man to free
himself from the superstitions and traditions of the past and become an
investigator of reality, for it will then be seen that God has revealed his
light many times in order to illumine mankind in the path of evolution, in
various countries and through many different prophets, masters and sages.”[17]
We might compare this process of
“Progressive Revelation” to the paradigm shifts in scientific progress. Each
Holy Book introduces a new religious paradigm to be explored and more fully
understood and applied, just as quantum physics built upon, clarified and superseded
the Newtonian paradigm. And just as we do not judge the worth of science by its
earlier paradigms, neither would it be valid to judge the value of the universal
phenomenon of revealed religion as antiquated or inapplicable to the needs of
the time on the basis of a limited or incorrect understanding of millenary Holy
Books.
5. Qualities and Attitudes of the True Seeker
What inner attributes and approaches are
needed in our search? ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says,
“…it is imperative that we should renounce
our own particular prejudices and superstitions if we earnestly desire to seek
the truth. Unless we make a distinction in our minds between dogma,
superstition and prejudice on the one hand, and truth on the other, we cannot
succeed. When we are in earnest in our search for anything we look for it
everywhere…
"It means, also, that we must be willing to
clear away all that we have previously learned, all that would clog our steps
on the way to truth; we must not shrink if necessary from beginning our
education all over again. We must not allow our love for any one religion or
any one personality to so blind our eyes that we become fettered by
superstition.
"When we are freed from all these bonds,
seeking with liberated minds, then shall we be able to arrive at our goal.”[18]
In this vein, the first of Bahá’u’lláh’s
“Seven Valleys” is the Valley Search:
"The steed of this Valley is patience;
without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no
goal. Nor should he ever be downhearted…Nor shall the seeker reach his goal
unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and
understood, all must he set at naught… Labor is needed… ardor is needed…”[19]
I would like to end this post with a few excerpts from a beautiful piece by Bahá’u’lláh, often referred to as
the “Tablet of the True Seeker,” in which He expounds on these qualities:
“When a true seeker determineth to take the
step of search… he must, before all else, cleanse his heart… from the obscuring
dust of all acquired knowledge... that no remnant of either love or hate may
linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel
him away from the truth…
“That seeker must, at all times… detach
himself from the world of dust.... He must never seek to exalt himself above
any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and
vain-glory, must cling to patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain
from idle talk…
“He should be content with little, and be
freed from all inordinate desire. He should treasure the companionship of them
that have renounced the world… He should not… allow the censure of the people
to turn him away from the Truth…
“When the detached wayfarer and sincere
seeker hath fulfilled these essential conditions, then and only then can he be
called a true seeker."[20]
References:
2. Bahá’u’lláh,
Hidden Words
3. Isaiah 6:9
4. Matthew 13:13
5. John 8:32
6. Islamic Hadith Hasan Mashhûr.
7. Qur’an, Hujurat
49:6.
8. Qur’an, Zukhruf
43:21
9. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
Divine Philosophy, p. 24
10. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The
Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 180
11. 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
Paris Talks, p. 136
12. 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
Paris Talks, p. 129
13. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in
London, p. 27
14. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
Paris Talks, p. 128
15. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
Paris Talks, p. 137
16. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in
B. Nakhjavání, Response, p. 13
17. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
Divine Philosophy, p. 8
18. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
Paris Talks, p. 137
19. Baha'u'llah, The
Seven Valleys, p. 6
20. Gleanings from
the Writings of Baha'u'llah, pp. 265-270
1 comment:
Looks good. Have bookmarked. Only had time to skim. Will come back to this when time allows.
BTW, I regularly attended a Unitarian Universalist church in Kensington, Maryland, on my own, age 13-14; the first of my three forays into organized religion and participation in congregations.
Jeff
Post a Comment