Looking around the circles of our family and friends for role models, it is easy to feel confusion over how to live our lives, what constitutes healthy relationships and how to be as members of society. Considering that most of us have fractured family lives, longstanding afflictions, are affected by injustice and war, and that intergenerational trauma is likely keeping us all from being our best selves, how do we make any sense of life and how to live? How can we come to any understanding of who we are in relation to others, and what is harmful or beneficial? How do we live a better, happier life?
We are first and foremost spiritual beings
The Baháʼí teachings emphasize that we are first and foremost spiritual beings and that we can only be happy when we learn to live according to spiritual principles. The spiritual principles we adhere to need to be in conformity with an agreed upon authority or we will be in constant disagreement and confusion over what is true. This authority, according to Baháʼí teachings, comes to us in the form of a Messenger, also called Prophet or Manifestation, sent by the Creator and appearing in every culture and people when the society is most in need of guidance.
Follow the instructions
Each Messenger brings a portion of spiritual understanding to humanity as we are ready to understand and apply it. Although part of that message is a reinforcement of the spiritual teachings of previous Messengers, another part is specific to the needs of the people at the time. According to Baháʼu’lláh, however, all Divine Messengers have the same basic mission:
God’s purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquility of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.
– Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu’lláh, pp. 79-80.
From this quote we can see that these Divine Messengers have both an individual and collective mandate to provide a framework for living which is comprehensive and ensures peace and tranquility for all. To the degree that each of us follows these teachings, we feel and promote peace and tranquility in our lives and those around us. That is the role of religion in the world – to liberate individuals and to provide a framework for living that builds healthy and just relationships, structures, institutions, and governments. When religion does not fulfil its role, society becomes weakened, and institutions lose the trust of the people. When individuals do not follow spiritual laws and principles, relationships become blurred, and boundaries violated. And when communities lose their sense of responsibility to individuals and institutions, there is mistrust and chaos. So how do we get out of this mess? What would help us to live better lives?
Take the medicine
It helps to think of each of the Divine Messengers or Manifestations as skilled physicians providing the remedy we need as individuals and as societies:
Each Manifestation is the heart of the world and the proficient Physician of every patient. The world of humanity is sick, but that skilled Physician hath the healing remedy and He bestoweth divine teachings, exhortations and advices which are the remedy of every ailment and the dressing for every wound.
– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Baháʼí World Faith, pp. 380-381.
Once we receive the prescription from the Messenger of the time in which we live, not taking the medicine means we will get progressively sicker and more confused. As a human race we have not been very good at taking our divine medicine, which is part of why we need a continuous flow of Messengers or Manifestations over time to keep us on track.
These prescriptions for better living from the Manifestations of God fall into three basic categories:
- Our relationship with the Creator. These pertain to humility, reverence, prayer, submission, patience, and servitude to God which actually becomes the source of liberty in the same way that we are all free to travel and be safe when we follow traffic laws.
- Our relationship to our own continuous spiritual progress. These involve detachment from things like material possessions and desire for personal power and status, purity of intent, mind and heart, and chastity which is channeling our passions and desires into healthy outcomes. This points to the fact that continuous effort is required for positive growth.
- Our relationship with others and the virtues required for these relationships to be healthy. Some of these are truthfulness, trustworthiness, sincerity, justice, moderation, wisdom, love and compassion. As we intentionally practice these virtues we all experience happier lives.
The practice of purity for living a better life
Albert Einstein is attributed to have said “What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” Consider that what has become normalized behaviour in society is not a good measure for our individual conduct. The teachings of the Manifestations of God are more accurate guides for our behaviour, since they point us to the best versions of ourselves through the practice of virtues.
One of the many recurring virtues in the writings of the world religions is that of purity. When we have purity of heart, purity of intent and purity of spirit, the hearts and souls of other people are attracted to us. The Divine in us compels the Divine in others. Others feel they can trust us and that they are safe in our presence. There is no hidden agenda when purity of heart is the foundation for interpersonal relations. The agenda is only to be present to others in love.
Baháʼu’lláh wrote:
O Son of Spirit!
My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.
-Baháʼu’lláh, Hidden Words, p 3.
We adorn our hearts with purity through daily prayer, reading and reflection of the Sacred Texts which cleanses and refreshes our spirits. We sustain pure intentions through service to others, awakening our latent potential and building momentum for higher levels of purity. And we expand our capacity to stay pure under even difficult circumstances as we focus on the development of virtue until our desire for the betterment of the world becomes stronger than our desire for self-gratification. This expansion of spirit is a dawning point of peace, not only on an individual level, but on a societal level as well. The more we practice purity, the more we expand the capacity of others to do the same and increase the calm and security that comes from knowing that our trust in others will not be violated.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá illustrates this most beautifully in the quote below:
First in a human being’s way of life must be purity, then freshness, cleanliness, and independence of spirit. First must the stream bed be cleansed, then may the sweet river waters be led into it. Chaste eyes enjoy the beatific vision of the Lord and know what this encounter meaneth; a pure sense inhaleth the fragrances that blow from the rose gardens of His grace; a burnished heart will mirror forth the comely face of truth.
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 146-147
When a few Edmonton Baha’is were asked to contribute their thoughts on the topic of purity in their lives, one comment stood out in particular. This is what an 18 year old member of the Edmonton Baha’i Community, Maya Asdaghi, had to say about practicing purity in her life:
“Oftentimes I find in our society we have a limited perspective when it comes to applying the idea of purity in our lives. In my own life I have realized how vast its applications can be, from what courses through my mind when someone upsets me, to how I interact with friends and family. The spiritual teaching of purity reminds me to bring myself to account, and reflect on my intentions, especially in receiving things from others or carrying out acts of service. I have noticed that often, when I find a task grueling it is because I have forgotten the deeper purpose and meaning behind it—by reminding myself of this daily it helps me to feel more aware of my motivations and the purity of them. I think that if we all took the time to reflect on our purity of motive, and allow ourselves to be guided by it we would find ourselves in a world free of corruption and hypocrisy— a world that I would one day love to see and contribute to.”
Maya Asdaghi
Conclusion
In summary, our lives are happier and healthier when we follow spiritual principles rather than passing trends of popularity. One of these spiritual principles that has a huge effect on the holistic development of both individuals and society, is the practice of purity. As 18 year old Maya so eloquently put it, when we reflect on and allow ourselves to be guided by purity, we bring freedom to our lives and to those around us. Freedom from corruption, fear and hypocrisy. And that is a world we would all love to live in. Let’s make it happen by starting with the practice of purity in our own lives.