Nasut
BY DR.CHANDRA SEKARAN
This is the mortal realm or physical realm.There is a hierarchy
of kingdoms in this realm also as in the previous realmsi.e. mineral,plant,animal,human.The
Manifestation of God exists in this realm also as Divine revelators.Here they play
a historical role with a special function and a particular teaching.They are revealers
of divine reality and moral laws.The spiritual laws describe predictable relationship
among spiritual entities and therefore are descriptive as well as prescriptive.In
revealing them to us He invites compliance with that reality.Using man made language
as a vehicle to channelise the creative forces He releasesin order to put in motion
the energies and laws which will cause spiritual reality to be actuated in the phenomenon
world.
The human soul in this realm exists as a distinct species with a consciousness
which is termed rational.Is that the only consciousness available to man?If we look
into the writings we decipher that man lives in this realm operating different levels
of consciousness at different times.He is able to manipulate and control at will
only one of his consciousnessi.e.rational or normal daytime consciousness.The other
consciousness I percieve are as follows:
a)EMBRYONIC CONSCIOUSNESS
:-
Before conception there is only the Divine Spirit of God in which
individual human identity exists as a potentiality.At conception the Divine Energy
enters the realm of separate self-recognition.Though it is concieved in the world
of time the foetus,the foetus has no awareness or memory of time.The embryo develops
unconsciously sensibilities like eyes,ears,vocal cords,self-awareness etc for its
next life.But what about its consciousness?Rudolf Steiner seems to provide the answer
to this question.He describes four different states of consciousness and gave each
one a special name.They are as follows:-
i)The 'awakeness' of today he characterised as object-consciousness.This is
the level of the present day man.
ii)Prior to this condition mankind had image-consciousness.All animals and
it is similar to the one we experience in our dreams.
iii)In primeval times preceding this latter state,men had a sleep-consciousness.This
is the consciousness of the plant kingdom 'They are continually asleep'
iv)In the far distant beginning of all existence there was a trance-consciousness.This
is the consciousness of the mineral kingdom and it is a consciousness which is dull
but all-knowing.(1)
Though Rudolf Steiner does not address the issue of
embryonic consciousness,I find that the foetus develops in utero from trance-consciousness
to sleep-consciousness,a consciousness which I observe persists in the first three
months of life.Only in the outside world does it progress into image-consciousness
and then into object consciousness.Abdul Baha says that: "&;..and in the embryonic
stage and in early infancy the reasoning power is totally absent."
(2)
b)RATIONAL/NORMAL DAY-CONSCIOUSNESS(OBJECT-CONSCIOUSNESS
):-In the bahai writings this is basically called'KNOWLEDGE OF
THINGS' (3)and it is objective.It
includes the knowledge of facts,knowledge that enables us to live in the world.It
comes through the operation of the five senses and is gained through reflection and
evidence,through concentration and effort.Rudolf Steiner says the same thing but
he relates it as evolutionary development.Let me quote his statement:-"In
the whole world everything is subject to the laws of evolution;our consciousness,too,has
developed.The kind of consciousness man has today was not always there.Step by step
it has become that which is at present.We call this type of consciousness the object-consciousness
or the waking day-consciousness....It is based on the fact that man directs his senses
to the outer world and percieves objects....That which he percieves by means of his
senses becomes the object of his thoughts.With the help of reason he tries to comprehend
the various objects;out of the combined faculties of sense perception and comprehension,by
means of reason,our present-day consciousness is composed.This type of consciouness
was not always there.It developed;and it will develop further so that man will rise
into higher states."(4)
He further distinguishes all in all seven states of
which the present object-consciousness is the fourth;three more are still to develop
in the course of the future evolution of mankind.It is of great importance to know
that the day-consciousness of our time is not the final achievement of the unfolding
spirit of mankind; it is a step which leads to still higher form of consciousness.
In this realm the five inner mental faculties of the soul function
as the mind along with the brain.The five inner powers are IMAGINATION which
concieves things,THOUGHT which reflects on realities,COMPREHENSION which comprehends
realities MEMORY which retains whatever man imagines,thinks and comprehends.The fifth
is the common faculty which connects the inner and outer powers.Though not specified
in definition in the writings
I postulate that this common faculty is the sympathetic nerve.I derive this
from a quotation in the writings i.e."THE POWERS OF THE SYMPATHETIC NERVE
ARE NEITHER PHYSICAL NOR SPIRITUAL,THEY ARE CONNECTED TO BOTH...."
(5)This statement holds a great
key to MENTAL HEALTH.
3)'CONSCIOUS KNOWLEDGE':This type of
consciouness is repeatedly mentioned in the writings.Abdul Baha states
that:'By FAITH is meant,first,conscious knowledge,and second,the practice of
good deeds.'(6)Conscious knowledge
has the quality of sure knowledge and is like the high degree certitude that one
has about one's own existence.
Abdul Baha further defines this conscious knowledge as 'knowledge of God as
contained in divine revelation',knowledge of 'those first and everlasting principles'
(7)and 'verities of life'
(8)which God has mediated to humanity through
the Manifestations of God.This brings us to the element of what is involved to bring
about this consciousness.We know that this process involves the acceptance of the
Manifestation of God for the Age.By this acceptance a seed of the 'spirit of faith'
is planted in heart of the believer.Depending on the development of this 'consciousness'
will depend our station.The HANDS OF THE CAUSE are supposed to have developed this
'Consciousness' to greater level than normal bahais.It is in this kind of 'Consciousness'
will depend our reaching the station of a 'LESSER PROPHET'
(9)because they had highly developed spiritual perception.
What is this kind of 'Consciousness' or Spirit of Faith mean:-
"...the spirit of faith which is of the Kingdom consists of the
all-comprehending grace and the perfect attainment and the power of sanctity and
the divine effulgence....."(10
)It is a kind of awareness that enable us to
realize our spiritual potential and realities with a greater degree of certitude.It
has been present in the past but only few individuals were able to develop it and
they became spiritual giants eg Ibn al Arabi etc But in this great age the generality
of mankind will be able to develop it and go to Steiner's 5th stage of consciousness.
4)MYSTICAL/INTUITIVE/MEDITATIVE CONSCIOUSNESS:-
I have basically clumped all these together because I
feel they all depict same kind consciousness at different grades.I shall use the
term mystical because this level of consciousness seems always to be mysterious.As
Nima Hazini so aptly puts it her article 'BAHA'IS AND SUFISM' that "the Bahai
Faith and Sufism have more in common(or rather mysticism as a whole with the Bahai
Faith)than the confessional religious literalistic-orthodoxy that one is accustomed
to finding amongst mainstream religious practice,"I tend to agree with her.Baha
'u'llah condemns those who claim 'inner knowledge' without the assistance of Manifestation
of God.He says what they see is the 'husks' which is left like bones left for dogs.
(11)It is plain that what they experience
or become aware is illusory.He further denounces the ascetic practices and pronounces
that such practices as worthless.(12)
In his writings He seems to confirm the practices and belief of Sufis
in a general way.In the 'Valley of Unity'(13)
Bahaullah categorically affirms that perceptions using this consciousness
differs from individual to individual".....all variations which the wayfarer
in the stages of his journey beholdeth in the realms of being,proceed from his own
vision.......and yet,through that effect,by the command of the Creator,it traineth
each thing according to the quality of that thing,as thou observest......Thus it
is certain invalid souls have confined the lands of knowledge within the wall of
self and passion,clouded them with ignorance and blindness..."
(14)
Further in the same valley He asserts that the union
which mystics rave about is "...in the hearts yet it is hidden under the
veilings of sense and the conditions of this earth..."
(15)That when this aspect of consciousness
is awakened"....when thou strippest the wrappings of illusion from thine
heart,the lights of oneness will be made manifest."
(16)The progressive unfoldment of this consciousness
has seven stages within the soul and the furthermost state of mystic knowers is the
realm/valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness.This realm approximates exactly
to the stations of fana(annhiliation of the personal ego)and baqa(subsistence in
God) of Sufism.Further he states that "...all these planes and states
are folded and hidden away within him".
(17)But He says this consciousness opens
the door to the conscious realm of the Heart which in itself has further 4 stages.But
to be brief about these 4 stages I QUOTE Julio Savi's article on
4 valleys,"In reality these goals are but one and the same:as manifested
in God's infinite attributes.But for the wayfarers,their aiming at different attributes
of God implies different attitudes.In fact each of these stations"appertaineth
to different spiritual reality:the SELF OF GOD,the PRIMAL REASON,the BEAUTY OF LOVE
in the first three valleys,the APEX OF CONSCIOUSNESS and the SECRET OF DIVINE GUIDANCE
in the fourth.Apart from the fourth valley,which seems precluded to human beings,the
others seem to be mutually exclusive."(18)
The heart is precisely that synthetic organ within
which the microcosmic context symbolises the unimaginable synthesis of the Reality
Itself in its undifferentiated wholeness.While ,in his intellect and spirit, man
is an aspect of God,in his body and life,an aspect of cosmic creation,and in his
soul an aspect of the relationship between God and the Cosmos IT IS IN HIS
HEART THAT MAN MAY FULLY REALIZE HIS INEXORABLE ONENESS WITH THE REALITY,WHICH IS
THE COINCIDENTIA OPPOSITORUM.
Thus to surmise there is a ontological basis to mystical experience
which is also in various symbolical disguises,the object of religious faith as well
as of philosophical quest.It is a intuitive apprehension of that ontological reality
and it proceeds in stages of approximation.
7)DREAM CONSCIOUSNESS:-
Bahaullah says in the 'VALLEY OF WONDERMENT'that
"...One of the created phenomena is the dream.Behold how many secrets are
deposited therein,how many wisdoms treasured up,how many worlds concealed.....Now
there are many wisdoms to ponder in the dream,which none but the people in this valley
can comprehend in their true elements.......Consider the difference between these
two worlds and the mysteries which they conceal,that thou mayest attain to divine
confirmations and heavenly discoveries and enter the regions of holiness."
(19)This is interesting
that understanding the dream world helps us to grow spiritually and increases our
spiritual perceptibility. In the Gleanings He states that in a way the dream world
is within you.
WHAT IS THIS DREAM WORLD?
This is a vast subject and I am only providing the tip of the iceberg.It
is a separate realm of consciousness not even associated with the unconscious.But
it is nearer to this land than our conscious mind.Like our waking consciousness which
is surrounded by the world of our senses,so is part of our unconscious surrounded
by the land of dreams.It is a vast region;a realm which lies behind the sensory world.From
this sphere stream the living forces of life and light,of sound and form.In this
land,beings are at home which are unknown to modern man.Just the sun illuminates
the realm of day and the sphere of consciousness,so does the moon light up the kingdom
of dreams.It is a land where sense-perception is subdued;memories arise and fantasy
has its way.Human destiny assumes a different meaning and the hidden rivers of life
begin to flow there.Dreams are not fantasies or fancies.They are experiences similar
to the experiences we have during the day.
Freud distinguished between the so called 'manifest dream text' and the 'latent
dream-content'The dream-text is the actual dream we remember.The latent dream content
is the great panorama of psychic forces which produce the manifest text.Freud called
the interpretation of dreams the 'via regia'(the royal path)to the unconscious regions
of the soul.C.G.Jung considers it as a realm of 'collective consciousness'.He also
says it is a store house of 'the complete content of all the experience which mankind
has made in the realm of psyche.'
I would consider it another realm of consciousness like the mystical/meditation
faculty which enables us to view world of spiritual realities and if used correctly
will rejuvenate and recondition us for our daily work.It also enables us to be more
self aware of our spiritual potentials and our natal weaknesses.I feel if we could
somehow learn to tap the hidden resources in our dream we will truly "enter
the regions holiness"(20)
as promised by Bahaullah.
The above concepts are basically my perceptions of the the various consciousness
and are just preliminary thoughts on this subject. The aspects of consciousness are
just one aspect of life on this planet.In our physical life respiration is an integral
part of life without which life is not sustained.The process of inspiration of air
is followed by expiration of air and this cyclical two fold process continues from
birth to death.In our spiritual aspect there is a similar two fold process that I
would term as worship and service.This process is interlinked with the concept of
twin duties of recognition and adherence to the commandments of God.Worship itself
takes on a different conceptual meaning in the bahai faith as it not only includes
acts of piety but also our engagement in a occupation.Service should be the by-product
of pious worship as virtue can only be inculcated by interaction.The four year plan
should be viewed as not only the establishment of an effective workshop for individual
spiritualization but also as a systematic advancement of human civilization as a
whole.Therefore the various consciousness should be seen as a tool for individual
and collective advancement.
REFERENCES
&(4)---RUDOLPH STEINER -A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND
WORK BY JOHN DAVY PG 12-14
BAHAI WORLD FAITH PG 337-38
SOME ANSWERED QUESTIONS PG 159
(5)TABLETS OF ABDUL BAHA ABBAS VOL.2 PG309
(6)BAHAI WORLD FAITH PG 383
(7) SELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF ABDUL BAHA PG114
(8)BAHAI WORLD FAITH PG 274
(10)BAHAI WORLD FAITH PG 371
- & (12)KITAB-I-AQDAS VERSE 36
(13)7 VALLEYS-VALLEY OFUNITY PG 7 2ND PARAGRAPH
(14),(15) &(16) -----DO------------ PG 7 9TH PARAGRAPH
(17)7 VALLEYS -VALLEY OF WONDERMENT PG 10 6TH PARAGRAPH
(18)WILL,KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE AS EXPLAINED IN BAH 'U'LLAH'S FOUR VALLEY BY JULIO
SAVI PG20 JOURNAL OF BAHAI STUDIES VOL.6,NO:1.
(19)&(20) 7 VALLEYS-VALLEY OFWONDERMENT PG10 2ND & 3RD
PARAGRAPH