I just posted the following to another list. Perhaps it will generate some discussion here, too. ------ I have been involved in an extended thread on the divine philosophy on another list. Some of the suggestions I have made are:
1. That the divine philosophy (hikmat-i-ilAhI) is basically the higher alchemy (al-kImiyA) of progressive transformation: "All divine philosophers and men of wisdom and understanding, when observing these endless beings, have considered that in this great and infinite universe all things end in the mineral kingdom, that the outcome of the mineral kingdom is the vegetable kingdom, the outcome of the vegetable kingdom is the animal kingdom and the outcome of the animal kingdom the world of man. The consummation of this limitless universe with all its grandeur and glory hath been man himself, who in this world of being toileth and suffereth for a time, with divers ills and pains, and ultimately disintegrates, leaving no trace and no fruit after him. Were it so, there is no doubt that this infinite universe with all its perfections has ended in sham and delusion with no result, no fruit, no permanence and no effect. It would be utterly without meaning. They were thus convinced that such is not the case, that this Great Workshop with all its power, its bewildering magnificence and endless perfections, cannot eventually come to naught. That still another life should exist is thus certain, and, just as the vegetable kingdom is unaware of the world of man, so we, too, know not of the Great Life hereafter that followeth the life of man here below. Our non-comprehension of that life, however, is no proof of its non-existence. The mineral world, for instance, is utterly unaware of the world of man and cannot comprehend it, but the ignorance of a thing is no proof of its non-existence. Numerous and conclusive proofs exist that go to show that this infinite world cannot end with this human life." -- `Abdu'l-Baha, Tablet to August Forel, pp.13-14 2. Although, IMO, old-earth creationism (mistakenly called "parallel evolution," a biological description of evolution between life forms who are already closely related) is not taught by `Abdu'l-Baha, He, to my understanding, did teach a type of parallel **involution**, a spiritual process which can be understood both chronologically and structurally. Chronological involution is evolutionary teleology, not evolution itself. Structural involution is the incorporation of the lower kingdoms of creation into the human kingdom and into each individual. Involution does not presuppose any particular model of evolution. For instance, as per His frequent pedagogy of story-telling, `Abdu'l-Baha explained involution, in _Some Answered Questions_, using, as literary context, the now largely outdated popularization of Darwinism by Thomas Henry Huxley. Terms such as kingdom, creation, and species do not refer to properties of beings but to structures in the Mind of God, entirely subject to His Will. These structures, in turn, become templates by which He creates individual creatures. Thus, the universal is intellectual or conceptual (in the divine Mind), not ephemeral quiddity. Through the power of the our individual human spirits, emanated from God, each of us can, by reflecting or meditating on nature, discover these structures reflected in the names and attributes of the kingdoms of creation. Phenomenal being, however, is particular, not universal. Just as God is one, each of us is also unique. Our unity, or universality, is in the divine structure which emanates each of us. Furthermore, to my understanding, the (primordial) human kingdom, or (Peripatetic) original matter, discussed by `Abdu'l-Baha in _Some Answered Questions_, is an abstract reference to primordial humans. Through the power of their souls, they progressed through the various kingdoms of creation, "involved" (enveloped) in the human kingdom, until they reached their mature physical condition (perhaps hominids). At each stage of involution, the lower entities (mineral, vegetable, and animal), whose individualized potentialities were contained in humanity from "the beginning," branched off into their own particularized forms. Likewise, this involution is present in each of us. Individually, we contain the fulfilled potentialities of all the lower kingdoms within us. The next stage of the divine philosophy, or higher alchemy, was given by Baha'u'llah, when He wrote: "[T]he ... task of converting satanic strength into heavenly power is one that We have been empowered to accomplish. The Force capable of such a transformation transcendeth the potency of the Elixir itself. The Word of God, alone, can claim the distinction of being endowed with the capacity required for so great and far-reaching a change." -- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p.200 Mark A. Foster * http://MarkFoster.net http://CompuServe.m.foster.name ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
