Twelfth Reflection

The Twelfth Reflection: The Birth of the Human Being Nader Saiedi

Baha’u’llah writs: That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race… It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens . (Tablet of Baha’u’llah) One of the most astonishing statements of Baha’u’llah which is most representative of his new worldview is the above statement. This statement consists of at least three major pronouncements, each of which deserves an independent book for its analysis. The writings of Baha’u’llah affirm a historical and dynamic conception of human civilization. In that context, he argues that humanity has arrived at a new stage of its historic development. This new Stage is at the same time the appearance of the Day of God, the Day in which humanity can go beyond the logic of a beastly life and enter the republic of spirit, where the truth of human beings as a reflection of divine names and attributes can be manifested in individual life and in social and global institutions. In other words, at this new stage of human history, it becomes possible that humans overcome their spiritual self-alienation and move towards self-realization and true liberty. Baha’u’llah’s historic word is one of the major expressions of this new spiritual culture. Three interrelated issues are discussed in this statement. First Baha’u’llah offers a new definition of human being and human identity. Next, he discusses his new concept of honor, and addresses his notion of liberty. Finally, he discusses the new institutional basis of oppression and liberation. 1. Human Identity Human beings have been defined in various ways. Humans were defined as speaking animal, rational animal, tool-using animal, and erotic animal, among others. But in reality, human identity was always defined in terms of people’s biological or social characteristics. What defined humans were things that separated them from each other, like their family of birth or their gender, race, language, religion, tribe, nationality, tradition and the like. In this respect, even the postmodern worldview is no different from the pre-modern worldview which reduced identity to one’s culture and tradition. The result of this reduction is a definition of human beings that contrasts humans with others, constructing the other either a stranger or an enemy. Feuerbach, the German 19 th century philosopher, defined humans as a species-being, which meant that humans have a universal nature and they make their own nature an object of reflection. Species-being, therefore is a being who thinks about himself. Marx turned Feuerbach’s idea to a new definition of human identity by reducing human identity to social relations. Humans are a social being in the sense that they have no nature.Instead, their characteristics are all constituted by the specific forms of social (meaning economic) relations. Marxian conception of humans as a social being was sometimes used to justify communism as a true social form of existence where self-alienation will be overcome. But the real implication of Marxian concept, as noted by structural

Marxists, was that there is no real true essence of humans independent from their specific social relations, and therefore, all values are arbitrary social constructs. For Baha’u’llah, humans are both a spiritual and historical being. In fact, spirit is defined by its dynamic self-transformation and renewal. A spiritual being is therefore, unlike the static dead objects, a living, growing, dynamic, progressive, and historical being. History, therefore, becomes the arena of actualization of divine attributes which are inherent in human beings. From this point of view, humans have always been one and the same humanity because their real identity is divine attributes common in all of them. But this potential truth manifests itself in human history in a gradual form. Baha’u’llah is now proclaiming that the hidden truth of humans can now become manifest in the world. Therefore, he says that “today” a human being is one who dedicates himself to the service of the whole world. Baha’u’llah is also defining humans as a species-being, but this concept is now defined in the context of a spiritual, historical and global consciousness. True human identity is no longer one’s particularistic biological or social group. Humans are spiritual beings, defined by nobility, beauty and sanctity. All humans are beautiful reflections of God, and all are interdependent. Living a life of universal love and service reflects the true identity of humans. For the first time, humans can overcome their self-imposed self-alienation and become free. 2. True Liberty If the first part of the quotation deals with the true definition and identity of humans, the second part discusses the culture of freedom and liberty. Baha’u’llah’s statement provides a new concept of honor and glory: It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. Traditionally, honor was equated with sacrifice of self for the sake of one’s group. The entire concept of tragedy is centered on a hero who finds himself in a situation that to defend one’s own tribe, he had to sacrifice himself. Honor, in other words, was defined by reduction of identity and love to a particularistic group. Such love required hatred of other groups, and that is why most of the cultural and national heroes are the warriors who have massacred other nations, plundered their wealth, enslaved people and demolished civilizations. Baha’u’llah offers a new concept of hero and honor. Honor belongs to one who loves not only his own self, family, tribe, and nation, but also the entire human race. The implications of this concept is far reaching. For example, it is the only culture which truly offers an anti-colonial, anti-imperialist ethics. Colonialism is nothing but the culture and practice of loving one’s own group at the expense of others. When other peoples and countries can be used as means for the realization of one’s country, the result is justification of colonialism. In this way, some of the apparently anti-colonial slogans of some of the fanatical groups is not an expression of anti-colonial worldview. Instead, they represent their lamentation that why they themselves are not the colonizers. But such normative orientation represents a life that is in accordance with the true identity of human beings and the requirements of human self-actualization. Consequently, such culture is a culture of true liberty. When such culture becomes the norm of the society, humanity is attaining true liberty. Baha’u’llah has discussed the concept of true liberty in his Most Holy Book. There he affirms that real liberty is not a culture of selfishness and hedonism, characteristics of beasts. For human beings, he affirms, true liberty means the realization of a spiritual life. In yet another untranslated tablet Baha’u’llah discusses this same statement about equating pride and glory with loving the whole world. After quoting the same statement, he says that if people listen to that word they will attain the “most great freedom,” and concludes his discussion by saying that “This is the meaning of true liberty.”

3. Global Consciousness and citizenship If the previous two parts of the statement of Baha’u’llah discuss the true identity of human beings and the culture of human liberty, the third part emphasizes a new institutional imperative of the new world. Baha’u’llah’s global consciousness now deals with a new basis of discrimination and oppression, namely citizenship. In his worldview, the present nationalistic definition of citizenship must be extended to a new concept of global citizenship. When Baha’u’llah speaks of a human being as one who dedicates himself or herself to the service of the entire human race, he is rejecting all traditional forms of discrimination and inequality, including class, gender and race. Sociology, influenced by the logic of equating society with nation state, has been concerned with these traditional bases of oppression. In the middle of 19 th century, however, Baha’u’llah is announcing the emergence of a new basis of inequality and injustice which proved to become the most important basis of oppression. That new basis is citizenship. In the past, various countries were mostly similar in terms of their technology and standard of living. The present world, however, is distributing life chances of the people primarily on the basis of nationality and citizenship. Economic and technological capacities of different countries are worlds apart from each other. It was in this context that the Persian prophet prior to anyone else, spoke this revolutionary and prophetic words: The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens. This statement calls for reconstruction of the global institutions of the world. The solution to this problem is not mass migration of poor people to more wealthy countries. The point is development of global institutions that promotes development of all parts of the world. All people, as the citizens of the world, should be entitled to real opportunities for a creative and prosperous life. Such lofty goal requires assuming new culture and responsibilities both at the level of developing and developed countries. Extension of democratic participation of people in local, national and global decision-making is one of the requirements of this ideal. This ideal is one of unity in diversity. It is neither one of global uniformity, nor diversity of mutual estrangement. It represents the institutional realization of the human spiritual potentialities as a being who is both a unique and independent being, and one with the entire human race.