(Bahá’u’lláh, Haft Vadi (The Seven Valleys), to Shaykh Muhiyid-Din Judge of Khaniqayn et al -- BH00047)
Microcosm and macrocosm: the whole within the part
microcosm and macrocosm ['alam-i-akbar and 'alam-i-asghar]
Editorial introduction
Do you think yourself a small and puny form, Bahá’u’lláh asks, when the greater world is folded up inside you? The ancient names for the two worlds, ‘álam-i-akbar and ‘álam-i-asghar, are turned inside out here: the human being, so often called the lesser world, is in truth the greater one, a seed holding the whole tree, a leaf inscribed with volumes, a book in which every mystery of creation can be read. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá adds that the universe itself is like a living body whose members assist and influence one another, so that an eye sees and the whole frame is moved. Taken seriously, these images change how one acts: if every attribute of the world is present in one soul, then to quicken a single life is to quicken all mankind. Paul’s picture of a body whose weaker members deserve the greater care makes the ethical edge of this vivid [1]. From here the way opens toward the soul as a mirror, the interconnectedness of all things, and the sense in which the higher encompasses the lower.
Selected passages
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1300-04-14 [1883-Feb-22] -- BH07594)
In a single leaf of a tree are inscribed and visible volumes of knowledge and wisdom, and the ocean of creation is apparent and surging.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1305-08-28 [1888-May-10], to Haji Muhammad Husayn Yazdi -- BH02373)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address to Advanced Thought Center, Carnegie Lyceum, spoken on 1912-Apr-14 -- ABU0399)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Suriy-i-Haykal (Surih of the Temple) -- BH00007)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude), 1278 ca. [1861-1862], to Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, great uncle of the Bab (Khal-i-Akbar) -- BH00002)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Oct-24, to Aqa Siyyid Rida et al -- AB01840)
What then was this Word, which at times was mentioned as a seed, at times as a countenance, and at times as a drop - from which drop emerged an ocean, from which countenance emerged faces, and from which seed emerged a world?
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307-04-05 [1889-Nov-29], to Haji Muhammad Husayn Yazdi -- BH04706)
In truth, man is the greater world, and the world is but a lesser reflection of him, as hath been said: "Were I to speak of it, it would overwhelm minds; were I to write of it, many pens would break."
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1301-12 [1884-Sep], to Muhammad Mustafa Baghdadi -- BH01095)
O divine friends and true companions! Man is in truth a preamble of the Manifest Book of contingent being, and an epitome of the meanings of the Preserved Tablet of this mighty universe, and a concise expression of this unfurled scroll of all ancient and modern times.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1893-Dec-06, to Baha'is of Ishqabad -- AB11818)
That is, while other creatures, and indeed the entirety of creation, are the manifestations of God's clear tokens, only the excellent figure of man representeth His most luminous sign and the sum of all Divine perfections. For he is the most great demarcation, the archetype of the greater world, the luminous book, the manifestation of the splendours of the Realms above, the Inscribed Tablet, and the Outspread Roll.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Commentary on the Fig and the Olive -- AB00447)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 64, The Station of Man and His Progress after Death, 1904 ca. -- AB00420)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 40, The Knowledge of the Divine Manifestations, 1904 ca. -- AB00780)
When we ponder over the reality of the microcosm, we discover that in the microcosm, or the little man, there are deposited three realities. Man is endowed with an outward or physical reality. It belongs to the animal kingdom because it has sprung out of the material world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at The White Lodge in Wimbledon, 1913-Jan-03 -- ABU0055)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Nov-17 in Paris -- ABU0577)
Whereas He created man outwardly as a mortal frame, inwardly he is the manifestation of the radiant Light; while symbolically microcosm, he is in reality macrocosm. Inwardly, God hath made him the manifestation of the Divine Unity, the repository of His essence, and the most effulgent testimony for the perfections of existence.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB04119)
Since the Divine Reality has manifestations of brilliant signs and traces in all worlds and stations, therefore in the world of archetypes and spiritual realities He made human reality the niche and glass for the light of Truth and manifested all names and attributes upon it. And when this universal reality appeared in the realm of existence with all its conditions and perfections, the robe of vicegerency adorned it and became the ornament of its symmetrical figure - most becoming indeed!
That which is above has a reflection below.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Muhammad Unis Khalifih -- AB05563)
O photographer! All created things are mirrors of one another, and the image of each is reflected in the other.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 ca., to Mirza Ahmad Khan Akkas -- AB05239)
Therefore, strive thou to capture images of the Concourse on High in the mirror of capability and potential, and to show forth heavenly reflections upon earthly planes. These images are infinite, and these reflections enduring and established. That which is below hath its image in that which is above.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912-Feb-13, to Mirza Hasan Akkasbashi -- AB07496)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Baha'is of Mosul -- AB00446)
As has been said by a Persian poet, the celestial globe is in such a form that the under part is, as it were, a reflection of the upper part. That is to say, whatever exists in heaven is reflected in this world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Thornburgh-Cropper home, 1911-Sep-12 -- ABU1118)
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. For particulars in relation to what is below them are universals, and what are great universals in the eyes of the veiled ones are in fact particulars in relation to the realities and beings which are superior to them. Universal and particular are in reality incidental and relative considerations.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Lawh-i-Aflakiyyih (Tablet of the Celestial Spheres), 1876-08 ca. -- AB00023)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Lawh-i-Dr Forel (Tablet to Dr Forel), 1921-Sep-21, to Auguste Forel -- AB00020)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1921-May-01, to Mr A A Dan Zidgiz -- AB00103)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 69, The Influence of the Stars and the Interconnectedness of All Things, 1905-Jan-30 -- AB00475)
He likened it to the human body, where all elements and members are interdependent, explaining that the universe operates similarly - all parts connected and mutually dependent.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Helen Goodall and Ella Cooper spoken in Jan. 1908 -- ABU2400)
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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at 309 W 78th St in New York, 1912-Jul-04 -- ABU3146)
Liken the world of existence to the temple of man. All the limbs and organs of the human body assist each other, therefore life continues. When, in this wonderful organism, there is a disconnection, life is changed into death and the parts of the body disintegrate. Likewise, among the parts of existence, there is a wonderful connection and interchange of forces, which is the cause of the life of the world and the continuation of these countless phenomena.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Jan-29, to Baha'is of Iran et al -- AB00362)
That is, compare the great frame of the universe to the small frame of man - just as the general and particular organs and parts of man are connected and related to each other, likewise this reality and connection exists in the elements and organs of created things.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Sep-22, to Rashid Jamshid Hazari Parsi -- AB00767)
O lover of the Ancient Beauty and the Greatest Name!
The body of the world, when thou considerest it in truth, is like unto a human person - that is, a physical frame.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1895-Aug or <, to Prince Muhibbali Mirza -- AB02581)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 46, Transformation of Species, 1904-Jun ca. -- AB00278)
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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Helen Goodall and Ella Cooper spoken in Jan. 1908 -- ABU1589)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Address to NAACP convention, Handel Hall in Chicago, 1912-Apr-30 -- ABU0573)
And from animated beings a certain watery element is given, which you call hydrogen, and that promotes plant life and its growth and evolution. So there is a connection, and the growth and evolution of each are dependent and contingent upon the other. 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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Myron Phelps spoken around Jan. 1909 at the home of Mirza Asadu'llah -- ABU2014)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Ibn-i-Dhi'b (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf), 1308 ? [1891], to Muhammad Taqi Isfahani (son of the Wolf) -- BH00005)
O Hakim! The essential foundation is prophethood and messengership and the appearance of the Manifestations of Oneness, for the body of contingent existence, like the human person, is subject to endless illnesses.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or <, to Husayan Khan Hakim Imtiyaz -- AB07365)
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1296 ca.? -- BH00779)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-Sep-28, to Dorothie Rogers -- AB05227)
For the contingent world - that is, the realm of the senses and the external sphere - in relation to the stations of heart and soul and the world of the heart and spirit, is like the realm of the womb in relation to the world and cosmos.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Hand of the Cause Ali Muhammad Ibn Asdaq -- AB05191)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), 1290-05-15 [1873-Jul-11] -- BH00001)
The universe, the macrocosm, is captured by our spirit, the microcosm, as in a mirror.
… And as the whole universe is reflected in our spirit, we perceive from this that our spirit (Ruh) is a reflection of the Creative Spirit and thus partakes of the infinity of space and the endlessness of eternity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. April 1910 -- ABU1069)
Thus, hath God, in fairness, made plain His signs in both souls and in the world.
(The Báb -- BB00590)
O questioner! Man is the greatest index and the mightiest talisman. He is an index in which are found the representations of all that hath been created in earth and heaven. When the spirit is freed from incidental limitations and earthly conditions, it traverseth all stations, and the more it is detached, the swifter, more constant and more truthful is its journey. If it be said that the human temple is, in one station, the kingdom of God, this is the truth in which there is no doubt, for the representation of all things is found and witnessed therein. Though some have called it the lesser world, yet We bear witness that it is the greater world.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Commentary on a verse from the Qayyumu'l-Asma, ca. 1289-1290?, to Asad -- BH00135)
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH01071)
For We have created every soul today like unto this world - just as in the world there are diverse cities and different villages, and likewise trees and fruits and leaves and branches and twigs, and seas and mountains and all that is visible therein, even so within man all these diverse things exist. Thus doth one soul warrant being called a world.
… 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.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Nasir, to Haji Muhammad Nasir -- BH00049)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
In the All there is an indescribably wonderful variety of powers, especially in the bodies which move through the heavens. For it did not have to come to be an ordered universe like a soulless house, even if a large and complex one...; but it exists, all awake and alive differently in different parts, and nothing can exist which does not belong to it.
Plotinus, Enn.IV.4.36
...there is the One beyond being ..., and next in order there is Being and Intellect, and the nature of Soul in the third place. And just as in nature there are these three of which we have spoken, so we ought to think that they are present also in ourselves.
Plotinus, Enn.V.1.10
The first thing which God created in order to see Himself therein was the world or universe. Ibn 'Arabi calls the world in this particular context the Big Man (al-insan al-kabir), i.e., Macrocosm. The most salient feature of the Big Man is that every single existent in it represents one particular aspect (Name) of God, and one only, so that the whole thing lacks a clear delineation and a definite articulation, being as it is a loose conglomeration of discrete points. It is, so to speak, a clouded mirror. In contrast to this, the second thing which God created for the purpose of seeing Himself as reflected therein, namely, Man, is a well-polished spotless mirror reflecting any object as it really is. Rather, Man is the polishing itself of this mirror which is called the universe. Those discrete things and properties that have been diffused and scattered all over the immense universe become united and unified into a sharp focus in Man. The structure of the whole universe with all its complicated details is reflected in him in a clear and distinctly articulated miniature. This is the meaning of his being a Microcosm. Man is a Small Universe, while the universe is a Big Man, as al-Qashani says.
(Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism, pp. 220-221)
...it is by applying the outward world to the inner, the high to the low, the small to the large, the general to the particular that, with abundant clearness, it becometh apparent that the new rules arrived at by the science of astronomy are in closer accord with the universal divine principles...
(Abdu'l-Baha, provisional translation, Lawh-i-Aflakiyyih, MKT1:030)
Verily hath God created within thyself all that He hath fashioned in creation in His likeness, that thou mayest not be veiled from any effulgence. Verily God hath generated within thy being the entirety of His manifestations. He hath ordained that His home be the heart of His servant...
(The Bab, provisional translation, GOH.059)
A dewdrop out of this ocean would, if shed upon all that are in the heavens and on the earth, suffice to enrich them with the bounty of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
GWB#129 p279
The world is like the body. The Cause of God, the Confirmation of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Bounties, the Spiritual Power are like the Spirit.
(Table Talks at Acca, by Abdul-Baha Abbas, 1907, p. 5)
We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic in the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions. COC vol1 p84,
Ruhi5.1.15 (17 Feb. 1933 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- What different possibilities do the images of seed, mirror, book, and body reveal about the relation of a person to the world?
- How can an analogy deepen understanding without becoming a claim that two things have identical physical structures?
- What changes when the relation between part and whole is understood as a relationship of mutual influence?
- How does Paul’s attention to the body’s less honored members illuminate the ethical consequences of interdependence?
- What might it mean to discover signs within oneself while remaining attentive to realities beyond oneself?
- How could the passage about inward life and environment guide a practical effort to improve a community?