Compilation, Baha'i Quotes on Death and the Struggle for Existence
"the struggle for existence is the fountain-head of all calamities and is the supreme affliction"
Featured here is a compilation on a lesser recognized theme in the Baha’i' Writings, that of banishing the ‘struggle for existence’ which is described as the “fountain-head of all calamities” and its connection with fearing annihilation. Besides having a broad and profound relevance that crosses over into a number of other critical topics (economic affairs, militarism, unity and development of nations, abolition of all forms of prejudice) we see that the struggle for existence as described here as having a radical impact on one’s self-conceptualization and intimately connected to the very potential for developing the inherent virtues and capacities that define us as human beings. This pertains not just to how we see ourselves operating in this life (how we treat others, whether we pay regard for our fellow human beings, whether we seek to uplift the circumstances of the world around us) but also in the very nature of how we conceptualize our end, death.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes the radical statement that it is not spirituality or a life hereafter which is imaginary - which is almost taken for granted today - but in actuality, it is the notion of annihilation that is purely imaginary. That we as immortal souls with spiritual capacities could perish is presented as an absurdity. By connecting the deleterious struggle of existence with the very conception that we die we begin to see it acting as a force leading us to our own degradation. This fear of annihilation has a pernicious impact on our ability to progress towards virtuous living and commit to higher ideals than our own survival. Ignorance of our eternal nature stymies our ability to impact the world through expending our life towards the betterment of others since we are more likely to confine our thinking to our own selfish pursuits or fail to transcend the base materialistic struggle for survival. In other words, we forgo heavenly humanistic ideals and remain captives of nature.
“Strive but a little to soar, that, by the grace of Him Who is the eternal King, thou mayest ascend from the dust-heap of utter non-existence unto the loftiest heights of ancient glory…
This profitless world produceth naught save deadly poison, and its ephemeral dregs can never yield the everlasting cup. Were the Jesus of the spirit to give ear to the call of holiness from the Falcon of the realm above, He would assuredly cry out from His inmost being and be seized with fervid longing even as the lover’s soul. It is through that call that the Moses of eternity was dumbfounded; it is by its virtue that the Abraham of faithfulness shattered the idol of the mortal body. Shatter then, in turn, this idol, that thou mayest take up thine abode in the land of the Beloved…”
~ Bahá’u’lláh, Call of the Divine Beloved
"And among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is that religious, racial, political, economic and patriotic prejudices destroy the edifice of humanity ... As long as these prejudices persist, the struggle for existence must remain dominant, and bloodthirstiness and rapacity continue. Therefore, even as was the case in the past, the world of humanity cannot be saved from the darkness of nature and cannot attain illumination except through the abandonment of prejudices and the acquisition of the morals of the Kingdom. "
~Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 299
"Through his ignorance man fears death, but the death he shrinks from is imaginary and absolutely unreal; it is only human imagination."
~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 88
"The conception of annihilation is a factor in human degradation, fear and abjection. It has been conducive to the dispersion and weakening of human thought whereas the realization of existence and continuity has upraised man to sublimity of ideals, established the foundations of human progress and stimulated the development of heavenly virtues; therefore it behoves man to abandon thoughts of non-existence and death, which are absolutely imaginary and see himself ever living, everlasting in the divine purpose of his creation. He must turn away from ideas which degrade the human soul, so that day by day and hour by hour he may advance upward and higher to spiritual perception of the continuity of the human reality. If he dwells on the thought of non-existence he will become utterly incompetent; with weakened will-power his ambition for progress will be lessened and the acquisition of human virtues will cease."
~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Bahá’í World Faith, 1971 ed., p. 265)
"And among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is man’s freedom, that through the ideal Power he should be free and emancipated from the captivity of the world of nature; for as long as man is captive to nature he is a ferocious animal, as the struggle for existence is one of the exigencies of the world of nature. This matter of the struggle for existence is the fountain-head of all calamities and is the supreme affliction."
~Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 302
“The mass of the people are occupied with self and worldly desire, are immersed in the ocean of the nether world and are captives of the world of nature, save those souls who have been freed from the chains and fetters of the material world … their highest wish centereth on the eradication from among men of the struggle for existence, the shining forth of the spirituality and the love of the realm on high, the exercise of utmost kindness among peoples, the realization of an intimate and close connection between religions and the practice of the ideal of self-sacrifice. Then will the world of humanity be transformed into the Kingdom of God.
O ye friends, exert ye an effort! Every expenditure is in need of an income. This day, in the world of humanity, men are all the time expending, for war is nothing but the consumption of men and of wealth. At least engage ye in a deed of profit to the world of humanity that ye may partially compensate for that loss. Perchance, through the divine confirmations, ye may be assisted in promulgating amity and concord among men, in substituting love for enmity, in causing universal peace to result from universal war and in converting loss and rancour into profit and love. This wish will be realized through the power of the Kingdom.”
~ Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 281-282
“…a heavenly individual is sanctified from these limitations, and the expansion of his mind and the loftiness of his aspirations are in the utmost degree of perfection. The compass of his thinking is so vast that he recognizes in the gain of all mankind the basis of the prosperity of every individual member of his species … he strives with heart and soul as much as possible to bring prosperity and blessings to the entire human race and to protect all nations from harm. He endeavors to promote the exaltation, illumination, and felicity of all peoples, and makes no distinctions among them, for he regards humanity as a single family and considers all nations to be the members of that family. Indeed, he sees the entire human social body as one individual and perceives each one of the nations to be one of the organs of that body. Man must raise his aspiration to this degree so that he may serve the cause of establishing universal virtues and become the cause of the glory of humankind.
At present the state of the world is the opposite of this. All the nations are thinking of how to advance their own interests while working against the best interests of other nations. They desire their own personal advantage while seeking to undermine affairs in other countries. They call this the "struggle for survival" [tanázu'-i baqá], and assert that it is innate to human nature. But this is a grievous error; nay, there is no error greater than this."
~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet on the Struggle for Existence, provisional translation, Keven Brown