All things involved in all things: living through relationship

No atom can succeed without help and assistance. Everything in this world depends upon the assistance of others.

Thus hath He likened this world of being to a single tree, and all its peoples to the leaves thereof, and the blossoms and fruits. It is needful for the bough to blossom, and leaf and fruit to flourish, and upon the interconnection of all parts of the world-tree, dependeth the flourishing of leaf and blossom, and the sweetness of the fruit.

… Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help.

When we pounder deeply upon the connection and interdependence of beings, we clearly realize that the life of every being draws benefit and sustenance from all the other innumerable existences. This mutual helpfulness is realized either directly or through mediation, and if for the twinkling of an eye, this confirmation and assistance does not descend upon the living being, that one will become non-existent, for all the existing things are linked together and draw help from each other. Therefore, the greatest foundation of the world of existence is this co-operation and mutuality.

In surveying the vast range of creation thou shalt perceive that the higher a kingdom of created things is on the arc of ascent, the more conspicuous are the signs and evidences of the truth that co-operation and reciprocity at the level of a higher order are greater than those that exist at the level of a lower order. For example, the evident signs of this fundamental reality are more discernible in the vegetable kingdom than in the mineral, and still more manifest in the animal world than in the vegetable.

The world of existence is like the human form - all its members and parts, even to the finest and most delicate veins and nerves, must assist one another so that the collective body may attain health, well-being, comfort and life.

Observe how throughout all creation these divine connections, this universal order and divine law are in operation. Consider the plant, which releases an element that gives life to animals, while animals provide an element that causes the growth and development of plants. Thus, cooperation and mutual assistance are evident and manifest among all created things.

Every edifice is made of many different stones, yet each depends on the other to such an extent that if one were displaced the whole building would suffer; if one is faulty the structure is imperfect.

It is obvious that all created things are connected one to another by a linkage complete and perfect, even, for example, as are the members of the human body. Note how all the members and component parts of the human body are connected one to another. In the same way, all the members of this endless universe are linked one to another.

… Furthermore, although all created things grow and develop, yet are they subjected to influences from without. For instance, the sun giveth heat, the rain nourisheth, the wind bringeth life, so that man can develop and grow. Thus it is clear that the human body is under influences from the outside, and that without those influences man could not grow.

For all beings are linked together like a chain; and mutual aid, assistance, and interaction are among their intrinsic properties and are the cause of their formation, development, and growth. It is established through numerous proofs and arguments that every single thing has an effect and influence upon every other, either independently or through a causal chain.

My meaning, instead, is that this endless universe is like the human body and that all its parts are connected one with another and are linked together in the utmost perfection. That is, in the same way that the parts, members and organs of the human body are interconnected, and that they mutually assist, reinforce and influence each other, so too are the parts and members of this endless universe connected with, and spiritually and materially influenced by, one another.

All created things are interconnected through essential relationships which are a divine trust.

In fine, that Universal Reality with all its qualities and attributes that we recount is holy and exalted above all minds and understandings. As we, however, reflect with broad minds upon this infinite universe, we observe that motion without a motive force, and an effect without a cause are both impossible; that every being hath come to exist under numerous influences and continually undergoeth reaction. These influences, too, are formed under the action of still other influences.

Thou hadst asked about fate, predestination and will. Fate and predestination consist in the necessary and indispensable relationships which exist in the realities of things. These relationships have been placed in the realities of existent beings through the power of creation and every incident is a consequence of the necessary relationship. For example, God hath created a relation between the sun and the terrestrial globe that the rays of the sun should shine and the soil should yield. These relationships constitute predestination, and the manifestation thereof in the plane of existence is fate. Will is that active force which controlleth these relationships and these incidents.

And divine destinies are the strong and true relationships between all parts of creation. Every matter is connected to all matters, and every affair has necessary relationships with all affairs.

The chain of creation is interwoven in a natural law and divine order. Everything is interlinked. A link cannot be broken without affecting that natural order. Everything that happens is in conformity with this order and is based on consummate wisdom.

We compare the body of the universe with the body of man. The members of the body of man are closely connected; so, also, are the parts of the great universe. The great events which happen are due to this connection. There is day, there is night; sometimes there are eclipses, etc.--all according to the requirements of this Divine system. All the created beings are connected with each other, and all occurrences and events are indicative of the requirements of this connection and interrelation.

Question: Are great calamities like this flood, the San Francisco earthquake, etc., caused by the wickedness of the people?

Answer: It belongs to the lesson of yesterday. Events like these happen because of the connection between the parts of the universe, for every small part has connection with every great part, and what affects one affects the other or all others.

All things are connected in the universe and operate according to divine wisdom. When great events unfold, they are part of this interconnected system, guided by God's will. Even seemingly small occurrences are part of this divine plan.

O handmaid of God! The stars in the sky do not exert any spiritual influence on this world of dust; but all the members and parts of the universe are very strongly linked together in that limitless space, and this connection produceth a reciprocity of material effects.

The words of the astrologers are for the most part doubtful and unreliable.

But the whole of creation is interrelated like the different parts of the human body which have a complete affinity from the toenail to the hair on the head. Every part is perfectly connected with the other. Similarly, the whole of creation forms a chain composed, as it were, of many links connected with each other. It is therefore obvious that they all greatly influence each other and are part of organized, regular cycles.

There are neither eight nor nine nor ninety spheres and the stars are numberless. Later astronomers like Kepler and Newton discovered the law of attraction and repulsion there is a universal law of interdependence between the stars.

Regarding palmistry: since all things, all beings that are members of this great body of the world of existence, are all interconnected - meaning each being is a member or part of that great body - therefore from any part, due to this connection, the realities of other parts can be discovered. Its analogy is the human body - imagine the world of possibility as a human body whose parts, members, elements and faculties are all interconnected with each other, having perfect connection.

Now I shall speak of the oneness of existence. It is evident that all beings are composed of single elements, and through the gathering of these single elements a distinct organism emerges. For example, man is created by the gathering of single elements, yet these elements do not remain in the same state. The elements that comprise man decompose, later becoming parts of other beings -- thus, a particle that was once part of a flower may become part of an animal, or part of a human being, or part of a tree, or part of a stone. Therefore, these single elements continually transfer from one being to another.

Thus the existence and non-existence of created things consisteth of combination and dissolution. When the individual elements of a body are dissolved, each element combineth with other elements and another created thing cometh into being. Therefore every individual element progresseth through all ranks, and this is self-evident and sensible rather than a matter of belief. From this it is established that every individual element journeyeth through all created things. … Thus all created things exist in all created things. Consider what unity this is, that every particle of creation compriseth all creation.

Fundamentally all existing things pass through the same degrees and phases of development, and any given phenomenon embodies all others. An ancient statement of the Arabian philosophers declares that all things are involved in all things.

… Whenever it appears in any distinct form or image, it has its opportunities, virtues and functions. As each component atom or element in the physical organisms of existence is subject to transference through endless forms and stages, possessing virtues peculiar to those forms and stations, it is evident that all phenomena of material being are fundamentally one.

Therefore, every thing is connected to every other thing.

Every atom undergoes limitless transitions, and with each transition a different characteristic is manifested until all the perfections become gathered together.

This single primordial element has had its transformations through these infinite forms and images. … In short, this reality or this single primordial atom has had its numerous travellings through every stage of life and in every stage or form it was endowed with a special and peculiar virtue. Therefore the great and divine philosophers have had an epigram as follows: "All things are involves in all things". Every single phenomenon has enjoyed the favors of God, and in every form of these infinite electrons it has had its perfections or virtue.

For example the atoms which are a part of this flower will some day appear in other flowers: then they may appear in the animal kingdom and return again to the vegetable life. Therefore the primordial atoms of this flower may have gone through many changes - now it is a flower and later on it may be an animal. In short it goes through the make-up of infinite forms. And in each form it is adorned with a special virtue. Consequently there is a philosophical statement that "all things are involved in all things."

This motion and renewal of beings gives rise to the orderly arrangement and interconnectedness of all things, and were it not for these passages across the vegetable, animal, and human realms, the chain of being would be broken and the innate order of nature would be disrupted.

And just as the composition, the formation, and growth and development of the physical body have come about by degrees, so too must its decomposition and dispersal be gradual. If the disintegration be rapid, this will cause an overleaping and a slackening in the chain of transferences, and this discontinuity will impair the universal relationships within the chain of created things.

For every part of the universe is connected with every other part by ties that are very powerful and admit of no imbalance, nor any slackening whatever.

… For all creatures are eaters and eaten, and the very fabric of life is reared upon this fact. Were it not so, the ties that interlace all created things within the universe would be unravelled.

Herein lies the meaning of the philosophic epigram: 'All things are involved in all things.' In this manner all things march upward and unlimited progress is obtained. For example: the power of life innate in the soil is appropriated by the seeds and the growth of grass is made possible; in turn the virtue augmentative talent in the grass is absorbed by the animal. Although outwardly the form of grass is lost yet it has gone into the make-up of a higher life, thus the death of one confers life upon another.

If for one instant this mutual helpfulness and co-operation were cut off from the sources and realities of things, all the existent beings and things would be thrown into confusion and chaos and be reduced to nothingness and annihilation. For instance, from the breath of the animals a watery element, called hydrogen, and carbon is exhaled and this is the life principle of the vegetable kingdom. From the vegetable kingdom and the trees, a fiery element, called oxygen, is emitted and this becomes the cause of the maintenance of the life of the animal kingdom. In such a manner, mutual helpfulness and co-operation is realized continually between all the existent beings.

Answer: "All are connected by the bond of existence. What greater bond is there than this? Furthermore, none of these can continue to exist independently of the other; for interrelation and solidarity make their existence possible. … So are all the other beings (connected) making the world of existence as one person - a great person. Just as the members and parts of man co-operate and work together, likewise the parts and members of the world co-operate with each other and are interdependent.

For in all physical respects, and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are shared by animal and man.

Consider minerals that are but one of the effulgent rays of creation and constitute the lowest level of this world. No matter how they are perfected, they can never hope to attain unto the station of vegetables. And similarly, vegetables can never develop senses, nor can animals ever aspire to gain rational faculties and command exhibited by men. All the attributes of minerals are limited to the world of minerals, and the vegetables are bounded by their own limitations, as are the animals. They are all confined within the scope of their category of existence. Therefore, creation is hierarchical, and each level is incapable of understanding the higher realm.

These kingdom form an endless chain of existence, and one is merged imperceptibly into the other. Yet neither is aware that the other exists...

These chains form an endless movement of life. Can man imagine that the endless chain is broken with him?

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Question: "What is the meaning of 'Everything is in everything'?"

Answer: "The Essence of Divinity--God--is sanctified above ascent, descent, and appearance. The lights of His qualities are manifest or reflected in the mirrors of the hearts of His Holy Manifestations... It means the transference or transformation of created bodies into infinite forms of creation. Every indivisible electron is transformed into all the forms of creatures and everything travels or moves in everything."

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Taking the material ocean as an illustration, 'Abduil-Baha said, The atoms composing an ocean are, in appearance the ocean, but the identity of the atoms remains. So it is with our individuality in the ocean of life, it remains.

All the parts and kinds and species of the creational Life are interrelated together. There is an invisible chain binding all into one mass of homogeneity.

Likewise, observe factories and workshops where all the machinery is connected to each other with interaction between them, yet all is connected to a general force which is the mover and axis of these interactions, and that is the power of steam.

Thus it becomes evident that the interaction between created things, the cooperation and mutual assistance between elements, and the composition and analysis among beings are all connected to a moving force which is the axis and mover of creation.

Likewise, observe factories and workshops, where all the machinery is connected to one another with interaction between them, yet connected to a general power which is the mover and axis of these interactions, namely steam power.

Thus it becomes clear that the interaction between created things, the cooperation and mutual assistance between elements, and the composition and analysis between beings are all connected to a moving power which is the axis and mover of creation.

These are spiritual truths relating to the spiritual world. In like manner, from these spiritual realities infer truths about the material world. For physical things are signs and imprints of spiritual things; every lower thing is an image and pattern of a higher thing. Nay, earthly and heavenly, material and spiritual, accidental and essential, particular and universal, foundation and structure, appearance and reality and the essence of all things, both inward and outward--all of these are connected one with another and are interrelated in such a manner that we find that drops are patterned after seas, and that atoms are structured after suns in proportion to their capacities and potentialities.

This material world has an outward appearance, as it has also an inner reality. All created things are interlinked in a chain leading to spirituality and ultimately ending in abstract realities.

Know that a mighty connection exists between the soul of man and the realities of all created things. … Therefore, a spiritual connection exists between the thought of man and that outward form.

The world of man has no communication with the vegetable or animal world. But there are sensations or spiritual emotions between the two. When man looks to the plain, meadow or mountain he does not speak with them, but there is a wave of spiritual communication between the two.

If a lover holds the hand of a beloved, it is obvious what feelings ensue. They communicate face to face and speak heart to heart, as this light is communicating now with human eyes, the sun with the earth, the cloud with the land and the breeze with the tree. This process is found in all things.

Rather, what is meant by the Word is that the world of creation is like letters, and all humans are like letters. A letter alone has no meaning, no independent meaning, but Christ's station is that of the Word, which has complete and independent meaning.

For this association of the part with the whole endows him with the whole, and this union of the particular with the universal makes him all-in-all.

O thou who gazest upon the Kingdom of Verses! The time hath come for thee to witness all the signs within thine inmost being and to observe all the signs in the universe in every atom, that thou mayest behold with both outer and inner vision how each and every thing containeth the meaning of all things.

For the reality of things is hidden in the Treasuries of the kingdom and, as soon as it is bodied forth upon this plane of nether world, the emblems (symbols) and realities of the contingent beings become apparent.

O my soul and my spirit! The unity of the worlds of oneness hath fresh stations and infinite degrees. In one station it is sanctified above description and utterance, mention and explanation, and at this level form and body and flesh and name and trace have no place at all, that anyone should find a way unto it or comprehend love and affection or enumerate longing and rapture. It is treasured in the invisible treasury and stored in the vessels of mystery.

The world is the world of divine unity, and all are beheld on one plane.

All the saplings of the world have appeared from one Tree, and all the drops from one Ocean, and all beings owe their existence to one Being.

We are the waves of one sea and the drops of one river. We have received the radiance of one sun and have grown through the sprinklings of one cloud.

May they break all bonds of limitation, so that they can observe from the height the lordly processions of infinite creatures; they will see the blue heavens studded with luminous stars, rivers flowing with salubrious water, gardens bedecked with fragrant flowers, trees adorned with blossoms and fruits, birds singing songs of light, humanity ever striving forward, every atom of existence breathing life and force - the universe of God a wonderful theatre upon the stage of which every created thing plays its part.

And since in everything can be seen the attributes of all things, therefore upon a single one is conferred the decree of all. And this is the mystery of that which was formerly inspired in the Manifestation of My Self: "Whoso quickeneth a soul is as though he had quickened all mankind." For since all that is in the world existeth in a single soul, He therefore saith that if someone giveth life to a soul it is as though he had given life to all mankind, and if someone killeth a soul it is as though he had killed all the world.

O ye friends of Abdul-Baha! His honor Mr. [Woodcock] wrote a letter and in that letter he mentioned your names, asking divine favor on your behalf. While reading your names I opened my tongue in thanksgiving in the Threshold of Oneness, that he hath granted such favor and bestowed such providence. He guided the souls and pointed out to them the entrance to the Kingdom. Such confirmation deserveth thanks and praise, and such guidance is the most great bounty of His Highness the One.

Likewise, you must be engaged day and night, with all your soul and heart, in thanksgiving and in the glorification of His Highness the Desired One who hath created you in such a glorious period, made you the manifestors of guidance in the Day of the Lord, imparted to you the insight and enkindled your souls and spirits with the fire of love. Today the grandeur, the majesty, the splendor and the magnitude of this station is not clear and manifest because it is the time of seed-sowing and the beginning of the planting of trees in the orchard of the Merciful One. When that seed is grown and the tree reacheth the time of its fruition, then many harvests shall be gathered and all regions and kingdoms shall be adorned with its blossoms and fruits.

Ere long the Adored One of this providence will become the Beloved of the assemblages of the world and the rays of the Sun of Truth will illumine every house, every place and corner. At that time the greatness and superiority of the friends of God will become evident and demonstrated.

Consider ye! In the day of His Highness Christ, the grandeur and majesty of their Holiness the Apostles, was not known. After three-hundred years the loftiness of the station and the exaltation of their attainment became manifest. Ere long the result of the deeds in this cycle of Baha'u'llah will appear and every one of the friends and the maid-servants will be crowned with a diadem whose splendid gems will radiate brilliancy and effulgence throughout cycles and ages.

Therefore, O ye servants of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful One, do ye not rest for one moment! Do ye not seek any composure! Do ye not wish for any rest and ease! endeavor and make ye an effort with all your heart and soul to spread the fragrances of Paradise, to raise the eternal melody of the Kingdom of ABHA, to establish the gathering of fellowship, to become assisted with the confirmations of the Holy Spirit; to clothe the temple of existence with a new garment; to bestow eternal life upon the reality of souls; to become a cause of the civilization of the human world; to characterize the bloodthirsty animals with the heavenly attributes and divine commemorations; to pacify the world with peace and salvation, and to adorn man with the favors of His Highness the Merciful One; that perchance ignorance, animosity and strangeness may be removed entirely from among the denizens of the world, and the Banner of Reconciliation, Freedom, Nobleness and Oneness be hoisted; for the chains of existence contain countless links, each connected with the other. This connection is the cause of the appearance of the invisible powers of the world of the visible.

O ye true friends! Make ye a mighty effort, that this world may become another world, and this darksome earth may become shining and resplendent through the rays of the Sun of Truth.

I entreat God that this favor may be realized and this unending outpouring become manifest and apparent, and the friends of God be confirmed by every bounty.

What I discussed this morning was evident as the sun. That was the oneness of the existence of phenomena. But the first remarks were difficult of understanding, and most of the people did not understand what I was talking about, but some day I will make it clear to you. If the people should understand this aright, they would never war, they would never fight.

...realize that all the created things are as letters and words...

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Reflect on the power of God who has caused even the elements to possess this means of communication with man. All things existing in the world, all minerals, all the plants will (can) communicate with man...

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All phenomena are involved in all phenomena. Consider what a transcendent unity exists, that, from this standpoint, every monad is the expression of all creation; this is the law and order in the world of existence.

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As to shortness of life, fewness of children, and scarcity of means, these are a result of all encompassing wisdom, the source of which is divine fate -- and divine fate consists in the firm and binding relationships between the various parts of the universe. Every event is bound up with every other event, and every exigency, owing to these necessary relationships (ravabit-i-daruri), is related to every other.

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Then, having attached everything to this, go down again, dividing and seeing the one dispersed by reaching to all things and including them together in a single common order, so that it is a single multiplex living thing with distinct parts, and each of the things in it acts according to its own nature while being all the same in the whole...

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