(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom), 1292? [1875-1876], to Mulla Muhammad Qa'ini (Nabil-i-Akbar) -- BH00223)
Heat and motion
heat and motion
Editorial introduction
The world came into being, Bahá’u’lláh writes, through the heat generated between an active force and its recipient, and in the same breath He asks His reader to be a throbbing artery in the body of creation, so that the heat of that motion may quicken hesitant hearts. Heat and motion do several kinds of work. They belong to an older natural philosophy in which lightness rises because of warmth and stillness comes from cold; they describe the perpetual movement of atoms and the test of life itself; and they become images of a fire latent in wood, or in a heart, waiting for the force that will release it. Aristotle, asking whether fire alone can account for a living thing’s growth and finding that organized form needs another explanation [1], is a useful partner from a neighbouring ancient account. Bahá’u’lláh sets His heat above the kinds in the books of men, because it proceeds from the Word. The path leads on to the four elements, to love as fire, and to the teaching that all things are in motion.
Selected passages
Heat exists in all things, but a force is needed to make it manifest. Likewise in the world of religion, the power of Baha'u'llah makes manifest the heat of the love of God - that is, the latent power hidden in hearts - and expands the sphere of thoughts, bestows enlightenment, and shows the path of guidance.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Dec-24 in London -- ABU2229)
The test of existence is motion. An object which has in itself the power of motion lives. If motion is withheld growth ceases. That is mortality.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Rue St. Didier 30 in Paris, 1913-Mar-16 -- ABU0989)
He asserts: 'Fire, i.e. warmth, is, for example, latent in wood, but it becomes liberated when its antagonist, cold, disappears more and more through mechanical friction. A movement, a conversion into power then takes place, but there is no qualitative change'.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in the house of Abdu'l-Baha in Jan 1910 -- ABU0148)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Dustan-i-Yazdani, ca. 1289-1290? -- BH01353)
O friend! The cause of motion is heat, and the cause of ascension is lightness. God willing, the fire of the love of God which is deposited in thy verses will become the cause of ascension and the reason for motion, and will unite the friends with the friends.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Muhammad Baqir Qahvihchi -- BH11852)
We have made heat the cause of motion, and We have sanctified it above the types of motion mentioned in the books of men, for it has appeared from thy Lord's word without how or gesture.
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290?, to Mulla Muhammad -- BH03124)
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290? -- BH02747)
But we must think about gaining a portion and share from this great bounty, achieving such illumination and spirituality that its lights will shine and its effects will remain evident and manifest throughout all divine worlds. Otherwise there is no doubt that the blessed Word is penetrating and, like the sun's heat, influences all things - the only difference being that its effects appear more slowly in some things and more quickly in others.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-Jun-17 in Port Said -- ABU1918)
Does this philosopher mean that there is no 'motion' whatever in nature? For as we know there are several kinds of motions. There is for instance a 'creational' motion or movement, a 'conditional motion,' a 'motion of environment.' etc.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to a Frenchman, spoken on 1914-Jun-03 -- ABU2506)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Metaphysical Club on 1912-Aug-27 -- ABU0024)
Verily, the essence [jawhar] is but a single word. It hath shone forth from the mouth of the Divine Will, and through it appeared that heat which God hath made the cause of motion in the world. Through it all things are sustained, though they be veiled therefrom.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH11218)
O Amin! The cause of motion is heat, and the cause of heat is the Word of God.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Abul-Hasan-i-Ardikani -- BH00751)
Praise be to God Who created water through His utterance manifest in the Kingdom of immortality. Then He gazed upon it, and it trembled within itself, and a portion of it was frozen. Thereupon the dusty earth appeared through His decree established in the realm of origination. When they separated and divided, the Tongue of Grandeur spoke another word. Then that water, brought into being through the Will manifest in creation through the essence of possibility, moved upon that earth brought into existence through the will of the All-Merciful. And there rose from them both a subtle, spiritual, luminous heat by its power to the highest rank, that it might attain to that station wherein the tongue of its Lord, the Most Glorious, speaks. When it reached the ultimate station, it paused in that most exalted place which is mentioned in creation as the highest sphere. Then the water mixed partially with the earth, and another heat rose from them both, and due to its weakness it did not reach the first one and halted at another station which is known as the second sphere. And likewise heat rose from them time after time until the stations known as the spheres were complete. Then the Tongue of Grandeur spoke another word, and thereby the stations and spheres began to revolve, and from the intensity of revolution a light shone forth and was transformed into a dome over the face of heaven. Then brilliant stars and luminous planets appeared. When the dominion of His Name, the Self-Subsisting, encompassed them from all directions, each one of them became circular as can be seen in the sun and moon. Exalted is the All-Powerful, the Wise Creator Who made His exalted Word the source of creation of all things above and below, the four elements, and the sublime natures brought into being.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1291-01-23 [1874-Mar-12], to Mirza Husayn Munajjimbashi Tafrishi -- BH00843)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
It is assuredly the quintessence of [the divine, Cosmic] Activity (jawhar al-fa`il) from which are established the foundations of the world (qawwam al-`alām). It is [also] the "Heat" without which there would be no motion (al-haraka); for motion is a result of the action which is engendered thereby.
(Baha'u'llah, provisional translation, MA4.080, quoted here)
The substance (jawhar) is a single word which hath shone forth from the mouth of the Will, and by it the heat appeared which God made to be the cause of motion in the universe. By it all things came forth.
(Baha'u'llah, provisional translation, in "Fa'il va Munfa'il" 'Andalib v5#19 p. 33)
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- Where do heat and motion function as descriptions of nature, and where do they become spiritual images?
- What does the image of a hidden fire suggest about capacities that have not yet become visible?
- How might the account of creation shape the way these passages describe a word’s effect on a person?
- What questions should we ask before translating the vocabulary of historical natural philosophy into contemporary scientific terms?