Ask a Baha’i: From the Baha’i perspective, what is the purpose of life?

Ask a Baha’i: From the Baha’i perspective, what is the purpose of life?

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Commentary by Daniel Pschaida | FāVS News

In my own understanding, the purpose of our lives in the Bahá’í Faith is to love God by loving all of humankind, of whatever religion, racial appearance, social status, ethnicity or nation, and cultivating bonds of friendship and collaboration with all members of humanity. This is the practice of the central Bahá’í teaching of the Oneness of Humanity — a oneness defined by Unity in Diversity rather than homogeneity.

Bahá’ís are called not only to be loving friends in their moment by moment choice of actions but also to work with friends and neighbors, whether they also identify as Bahá’í or not, to develop new patterns of community life where we all regularly come together to pray, study, educate the young, consult together regularly on the needs and aspirations of our communities and work together to implement projects to serve those needs and aspirations.

In the Bahá’í scripture and writings, we find diverse — yet each inextricably linked — proclamations of the purpose of our lives. For example:

• To know God: “He hath called into being His creatures, that they may know Him, Who is the Compassionate, the All-Merciful.” Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

• To love God: “Having created the world and all that liveth and moveth therein, He, through the direct operation of His unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him — a capacity that must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation …” Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

• To commune with God: “O SON OF LIGHT! Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. This is of the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it.” The Hidden Words “O SON OF MAN! Rejoice in the gladness of thine heart, that thou mayest be worthy to meet Me and to mirror forth My beauty.” The Hidden Words

• To draw near to God: “The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence … a Presence which is the real Paradise, and of which the loftiest mansions of heaven are but a symbol.” Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

• To prioritize God’s will over own “idle fancies.” Rather than excessively occupying ourselves with pursuits that do not directly promote our own well-being or that of others, Bahá’ís are called to focus on that which will “rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind” and will promote the well-being of humanity: “… the purpose for which mortal men have, from utter nothingness, stepped into the realm of being, is that they may work for the betterment of the world …” (Quote from Bahá’u’lláh in For the Betterment of the World) Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh say, “The essence of love is for man to turn his heart to the Beloved One, and sever himself from all else but Him, and desire naught save that which is the desire of his Lord.”)

• To work in attitude and actuality in service of humanity: Whether we are directly working with others or not in our professions, we are to perform work that conscientiously renders service to others and to mindfully do this work with excellence and in a spirit of service to humanity.

• To develop the virtues latent in our souls: The Bahá’í writings describe the human soul as rich in gem-like virtues that we are to mine and shine for the benefit of humanity. Other writings speak of these virtues as diverse seeds in the rich soul of our hearts that we are to cultivate, gardening our character full of beautiful trees, plants and flowers of truthfulness, sincerity, loving-kindness, wisdom, humility, forbearance, thankfulness and joy.

• To prepare for eternal life in many realms beyond this earthly life: The Bahá’í writings compare this life on earth to our lives when we were developing in the womb of our mothers. Although the requirements of self-sustenance were simple then and we did not know why we would need such complex biology, we did need to develop all parts of our body if we were to flourish when we are born. Fortunately such growth occurred naturally, but when we’re born from our mothers we have a lot more development work to do intentionally. This is the development of faith in God and the virtues (mentioned above). Faith, trustworthiness, compassion, loving-kindness, patience and joy are as the eyes, ears, limbs and organs that we need to flourish in the spiritual realms we will be born into when die.  

• To knit together hearts and cultivate the unification of humanity: “… strive ye to knit together the hearts of men, in His Name, the Unifier, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh The Bahá’í Writings say that God created those in this new era, with the advent of Bahá’u’lláh, to establish the “kingdom of God on earth,” the “Most Great Peace” — a world characterized by justice and equity, adequate material resources for the health and well-being of each person, as each person is a priceless gem. This is a world characterized by equal empowerment of women and men, freedom from racial prejudice, friendship, fellowship, solidarity, collective investigation of reality and consultative decision-making, mutual support and unity in diversity. While this aim seems impossibly utopian, in Bahá’ís’ growing experience we have found that teams of individuals can come together in our own immediate neighborhoods and fashion together patterns of life in these very neighborhoods that reflect this desired global transformation. Bahá’ís see themselves and each neighbor — whether identifying as Bahá’í or not — as a spiritual being, friend and protagonist of building communities together, of these qualities, as we come together in core activities of the quickening and unification of humanity. We pray together in devotional gatherings that are inclusive of our various religious traditions. We bring together classes for children that focuses on the gem-like spiritual virtues in the soul of each. We animate junior youth groups that raise the capacity of 12-14 year-olds to articulate and identify the needs of their own community and serve its well-being. We study together God’s word and spiritual principles, consulting together on equal footing how sound teachings can be translated into action in our individual and collective lives. Bahá’ís are learning the ways in which the transformation of our global society into God’s kingdom of peace, justice, friendship and unity is not a top-down approach of governments or the super-rich or politically powerful; rather, unity is established in our own local environments — a unity which “can illuminate the whole earth” and is fundamental to “the well-being of mankind, its peace and security.”

While this is a long list of the meaning and purpose of our lives, each of these purposes are intimately related, different facets of a single dynamic, one encompassed by the central theme of unity and wholeness. Becoming more united with God, and God’s will, assists us to become more united with each other. Learning to love each other virtuously — becoming a united society — is the practical daily expression of loving God more deeply. 

As each of us become more whole, developing and actualizing our talents and gem-like spiritual virtues, we are able to know and love God — who possesses all spiritual perfections — more completely and deeply.

We also create more holistic and wholesome relationships with each other, in solidarity and deep friendships and collaboration as one whole community. This is a reciprocal process of the transformation of the character of each individual and the character of society as a whole. 

Each person, of Bahá’í or other identity, has a part to play — in collaboration with each other — transforming society by transforming oneself, and, in turn, ourselves being further positively impacted by a more virtuous, more prayerful and mindful and united society.

Bahá’ís believe that in this day and age, God is summoning humanity to the overarching purpose to intentionally work locally and globally to unify humankind — a unity which is both the ends and the means of individual human beings actively empowered to reach our full potential in relationship to God and each other — the Most Great Peace, the Kingdom of God on earth. 

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.