Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi/Vii.—Ethics And Conduct

Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi Vii.—Ethics And Conduct

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[Page 114]

ETHICS AND CONDUCT

IF man’s nature and his relations to God are as outlined in the preceding chapter, what is true religion? That is, what is the path for man to follow which will most perfectly conduce to the fulfilment of the Divine purpose and to man’s highest good? It is not difficult to deduce an answer to this question from the philosophy which we have been considering. In reality, a man does not stand for himself alone, but for the whole human race. The life of all men is a single Divine emanation. They should therefore hold to each other the closest relation of sympathy, love, and brotherhood. This must be the way the matter looks when seen from the Divine standpoint — from the standpoint of the Divine rays which are the souls of men. Any other attitude on the part of the human consciousness must cause dis-harmony between man and God; must, in fact, constitute an insuperable barrier to man’s Divine possibilities. [Page 115]As we know ourselves, egotism and selfishness are the very core of our personal natures. Each imagines that he stands apart, separate and distinct from his fellows and all else. His motives and actions all have reference to his own centre of consciousness ; with regard to it and for its benefit all his efforts are exerted. This leads, in human intercourse, to greed, ambition, vanity, pride, and all the other forms of self-assertion. But according to the philosophy which we are considering, this idea of separateness is false, and places man in a position of hopeless hostility to the fundamental principle of all existence. Each man is bound up with his fellows. Their welfare should be his concern no less than his own. This identity goes to the very root and essence of man’s nature. Its realisation must, then, be the most important, if not the one essential, step in his higher development. Charity, kindness, love, and compassion for all beings must be the first of the virtues.

The religion of the Beha’is is in entire accord with their philosophy. The first duty of man, they say, is love to God and his fellows. This is true religion. Khodah and Mohabbet, God and Love, are the words always in their mouths. Love is the very essence of the [Page 116]nature of God. By love alone can man approach God; and love for God is no other than love for man. The service of man is its highest expression. Love, kindness, unselfishness, compassion, are the direct path to the soul and to God.

“Love for men,” says Abbas Effendi, “is love for God. To serve men is to serve God. My sign is this—that I serve the people, that I clothe the people.”

By “men” and “people” are meant all men and all people, no less than those of one’s own land or faith. “There is no reward for kindness to one’s own,” said Beha Ullah, “but for kindness to all there is a reward.”

Mirza Assad Ullah, a venerable teacher who has lived for twenty years in Akka, said to me :

“He [Beha Ullah] turned to every people, to all mankind, saying, ‘Ye are the leaves of one tree, the fruit of one tree. Be ye kind to one another.’ This is the first of the precepts he has left us. All the teachers of old desired to say this, but men were not able to hear it. Now they can understand it.

“When God opened this heavenly school, His first lesson was that of love. To-day in that school the chief teacher is our blessed [Page 117]Master. He sees the Moslem, the Christian, and the Beha’i, all with one eye—He is equally kind to all. He educates us to be like Him. We have been in this school for nearly sixty years, but we have not yet finished the first lesson that we may go on to the second.”

It follows from this law of love and brotherhood that evil should not be met with evil, but with good ; that is, there should be no resentment or retaliation—the injury is to be forgiven and forgotten. Commenting upon this subject, Abbas Effendi says :

“The reference of the words of the Old Testament ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ is double : it refers, first, to the balance which is preserved by human law, that there may be a check to evil-doing ; and, second, to the inevitable retribution which will fall upon each individual during his life, or upon the race after his death, for his evil acts. But Christ, when he advised that, if a man be struck upon one cheek, he turn the other, was advancing a rule of conduct which should govern the every-day relations between individuals. His words are not to be taken literally, but as enjoining that there should be no resentment or retaliation for injuries received. By retaliating in kind, you will act as evilly as [Page 118]the wrong-doer. You should conquer hatred by love. If you meet with kindness him who injures you, you may overcome his stubborn spirit. The love of God will then come to him, and he will become a changed man.

“As an illustration of what I mean by the spirit of non-retaliation, I may mention the instance of a believer in Russia who was attacked without provocation and almost killed. The criminal was tried and condemned to death. The believer, animated by this spirit, begged the Governor to mitigate the sentence, and obtained its reduction to several years of banishment.”

In conformity with this general principle of conduct, strife and disharmony of every sort are to be avoided. “No Divine Messenger,” says Abbas Effendi, “ever encouraged strife, or suggested that the sword be used in promulgating his teachings. When followers of Christ or Mahomet have resorted to this means of spreading their faith, imagining that they were justified by the words of their Master, they have mistaken the symbols of his teaching for its reality and have done that which he had, in fact, forbidden. This misinterpretation was due to their own ignorance and degradation. All the great Teachers are [Page 119]from God, and teach the same thing ; the differences in the results which have followed from their teachings have been due to the varieties of character—the degrees of ignorance or knowledge, of materiality or spirituality—of mankind.

“The capacities of men differ. If you pour water into two vessels, a large and a small one, though both may be filled one will contain more water than the other. So of men—one may have more truth than another; but the one who has less, may still have truth. Of what avail is contention as to what is truth ? In the contention God is lost. Intellectual refinements are of no avail without the godly life.

“Once there was a contention between two eminent believers in Persia. One of these declared that the Blessed Perfection was God and that there was no other. The other contended that the Blessed Perfection was but the reflection of God.

“The contention grew into a quarrel, and dissension was threatened in the Church. The Blessed Perfection summoned both of these men to appear before him.

“To the one he said, ‘You say that I am God and that there is no other. You are right.’ [Page 120]“To the other he said, ‘You say that I am but the reflection of God. You are right.’

“Then to both he said, ‘You are both right.¹ But to contend will destroy you both. Go home and be friends.’

“And so they did. They became good friends, returned to Persia, and each continued to teach as he thought. This was the only dissension which has ever occurred among the believers.

“The essence of the nature of God is love. His favour cannot be won by hatred or strife. He is never angry. He curses nothing. It has been said otherwise ; but such teaching is the teaching of heathenism — of the teachers of the time — not that of the Messengers of God. When you see men doing evil things, you should not be angry with them — you should pity them ; for their evil deeds are due to their ignorance, and for them they must suffer.”

A second cardinal principle of life which Beha’ism enjoins is a habit of detachment from material things. That is to say, while a man should make a reasonable and proper use

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¹ By this Beha Ullah is explained to have meant that he was in himself both the reflection and the One (see p. 129)—the apotheosis of man ; in one aspect divine, in the other human. [Page 121]of the things which minister to his comfort and pleasure, he should not be dependent upon them, or become attached to them, or allow his course of action to be diverted by seeking the gratification of desire or passion. This also is a necessary deduction from the philosophy, for obviously he cannot hope to reach union with the Divine while his energies are absorbed in the search for temporal pleasure, or his attention centred upon material things.

The influence of man’s lower nature, tending to engross his energies in satisfying its desires and ambitions, is the only “devil” which Beha’ism knows. Commenting upon the passage in the New Testament where Jesus is said to have been taken to a high mountain by Satan and shown all the kingdoms of the earth, Abbas Effendi said:

“This narrative cannot be literally true, as the earth is round and not to be surveyed from any mountain. The meaning is this: Man has two natures — a higher nature, which is Divine, and a lower nature, which is human. The higher nature is the inspiration of God within us; the lower nature is the slave of sensuous pleasure, desire, attachment, and ignorance. The struggle which Jesus [Page 122]experienced was that between the higher and the lower selves. In this struggle Jesus perceived that the things of the senses and the world are impermanent and futile. He conquered his lower nature, and his higher self — that which was of God — became ascendant. Then it was that he said, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan.’

“The servants of God,” said Beha Ullah, “cannot reach the shore of the ocean of the knowledge of God unless they fully cut themselves free from all that is created, in heaven or earth. Purify your souls, O men of the earth, in order that ye may attain to the position for which ye are predestined of God — in order that ye may enter the tents which God has pitched for you in the sky of Heavenly Expression.”

Heaven and hell are not places, but conditions of mind and heart. “Good thoughts, good resolves, and good deeds bring men nearer to God, and that is heaven. Hell is the state of mind in which there are evil thoughts and purposes, yielding to the desires of the senses, clinging to material things. In that state man is separated from God, and in his ignorance he suffers. Salvation — heaven — is the conscious realisation of God in this [Page 123]life, which is gained by love, kindness, and good deeds.”

Beha’ism has an elaborate code of social ethics, found chiefly in Beha Ullah’s Book of Laws, but amplified by other writings and oral teachings.

Marriage of one husband to one wife is recommended as the best condition of life for man. Asceticism is condemned.

That the exact position of the religion with reference to marriage may be understood, some explanation is necessary. The Book of Laws permits a second marriage. Beha Ullah himself had two wives ; but since his second marriage occurred early in his life and under peculiar circumstances, the exact nature of which I do not know, this fact is not regarded as sanctioning the practice for others. Moreover, both he and Abbas Effendi advise against it. They say that if a man has two wives, it is his duty to treat both exactly alike, which it is impossible for him to do. Further, men should so regulate their lives that all about them may be happy and contented ; but two wives of one husband cannot be so.

These facts, and the example of Abbas Effendi, establish monogamy as an essential feature of Beha’ism. That the Beha’is [Page 124]themselves everywhere so regard it, is shown by their practice.

Consent of both parties and parents is required for marriage.

Divorce is permitted on the demand of either party after a preliminary separation of one year. The reason assigned for this freedom of divorce is that a life useful and profitable to one’s self and others requires contentment ; but this is impossible where two persons, who find themselves uncongenial, are obliged to continue to live together.

The education of children, boys and girls alike, is strictly enjoined. If it is neglected by the parents, it should be given by the community at the expense of the father. The children of the very poor should be educated by the community. The teacher who educates a child acquires a claim upon any inheritance he may receive.

There are no priests connected with the religion.

The administration of institutions of charity, hospitals, and the like, and the care of the moral and spiritual welfare of the community, are to be placed in the hands of commissions selected by the people. Funds required for such uses are to be provided by an inheritance tax. [Page 125]Begging is forbidden. Every able-bodied man must work; and if work cannot be found, it will be provided by the community. “The most hateful of mankind before God is he who sits and begs; take hold of the rope of means, relying on God, the Causer of causes.”¹

Gambling, slavery, the use of opium, and the use of intoxicating liquors are forbidden.

The above social regulations were given to me at Akka. I will add a few excerpts from Professor Browne’s digest of the Book of Laws.²

Arson, murder, theft, adultery, slander, and backbiting are prohibited, and appropriate penalties provided.

Cleanliness is insisted upon.

Austerities and self-mortification are forbidden, and their uselessness exposed.

Legal impurity is abolished, and the people of all religions are to be regarded as pure and not to be avoided.

Kindness and courtesy are enjoined on all believers.

No one is to approve for another that which he would dislike for himself.

¹ Translation by Professor Browne.

² Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1889, p. 972. [Page 126]Enemies are to be forgiven ; evil is not to be met with evil.

Beasts of burden are not to be ill-treated or overloaded.

The book closes with a recommendation that mankind shall select one language and one character from those that exist, and adopt them as a means of communication. “This,” says Beha Ullah, “is the means of union, if ye knew it, and the greatest source of concord and civilisation, did ye recognise it. Teach this common language to the children in all schools, that the whole world may become one land and one home.”