Soul and body: a connection beyond containment

Furthermore, during a conversation you say: "I said so and so," "I went to that place." But who is it that is saying these things? It is a second reality with which one deliberates as to whether a certain action is beneficial or harmful, and whether it should be performed or not. What consequences will it have? It is the soul with which you are conversing. If it says: "Do this action," you do it, or vice versa. It is evident that this second reality is the rider, while the bodily reality it the mount. The former is the lamp, while the latter is the globe.

It has no need to enter or exit, ascend or descend, penetrate or commingle, for these are the properties of bodies, not of souls. Therefore, the soul of man does not enter into this corporeal frame, but rather it has a connection to it. Death consists of the severing of that connection. That connection resembles the relationship between a mirror and the sun. The sun does not enter into or depart from the mirror, and does not incarnate itself therein, but has a connection to the mirror and is reflected within it. When that connection becomes severed, the mirror is deprived of its brilliance, loveliness, and charm.

The spirit is absolutely placeless and immaterial, but it has a connection with the body, even as the sun has a connection with this mirror: The sun occupies no place within the mirror but it has a connection with it.

Although this is a serious topic and worthy of investigation, thou art of course aware that mixing and commingling, entering and exiting, ascending and descending, and penetration are among the properties of bodies, not souls. If a reference to the soul mentioneth "penetration," this referreth not to the reality but is intended metaphorically, for there is a condition in the spiritual world that is sanctified from every conception which can only be expressed in this physical world by such terms as "entering," "penetrating," "mixing," and "commingling."

From among the people there was he who held fast unto this statement and, actuated by his own fancies, conceived the idea that the spirit literally penetrateth or entereth into the body, and through lengthy expositions he advanced proofs to vindicate this concept; and groups of people followed in his footsteps.

They conceive of the body as a vessel and the spirit as its contents, like water and cup, with the water being emptied from one cup and poured into another. This is indeed a childish notion: They do not reflect deeply enough to realize that the spirit is an entirely incorporeal thing, that it does not enter or exit, and that at most it is connected with the body as the sun is with the mirror.

As for separation and union, parting and meeting - these are physical conditions. The spirit is sanctified above proximity and distance, connection and disconnection - these are attributes of bodies and requirements of elemental realities. The spirit remains ever in its center of transcendence and elevation, like the sun constantly fixed in its orbit. Its absence and presence relate to the purity of the receiving place and the refinement of the body facing it. As soon as the facing surface is polished, the lights of the sun appear in it, and as soon as the surface becomes dense, its lights disappear from it.

O thou who art exalted above the conditions of the lowest concourse! The exaltation of this physical world is an imaginary conception and mere appearance, a matter of convention. In reality there exists no high or low, no descent or ascent.

The human spirit is not within the body; because it is exalted above all egress and ingress, above all circling and turning which only appertains to the essence (nature) of matter. The human spirit (or the soul) is a ray, a reflex out of God, and the relationship of the spirit and body is like that of the sun and the mirror. The spirit illumines the body.

Q. What is the connection of the spirit with the body?

A. It has the same connection as the sun has with the mirror. Death is the name for the dissolution of this connection.

Nevertheless, its connection to the body is apparent, and resembleth the connection of the sun to a mirror. Should the bond of association become severed, the body will become deprived and the mirror obscured.

Spirit shines through the body as the sun is reflected in the mirror. The spirit is like the sun--it has a connection with the body like that of the sun to the mirror.

The mirror is lighted by the sun, and when the connection is broken the mirror becomes dark.

The sun is reflected in the mirror; the mirror reflects the light and brilliancy of the sun, but the sun does not reside in the mirror. It does not enter nor come out of the mirror, nevertheless one sees it in the mirror, so the soul reflects itself in the body. If the mirror be broken the sun does not die. The body is the temporary mirror; the spiritual soul suffers no change, no more than the sun does remaining eternally in its own station.

Know that the influence and perception of the human spirit is of two kinds; that is, the human spirit has two modes of operation and understanding. One mode is through the mediation of bodily instruments and organs. Thus it sees with the eye, hears with the ear, speaks with the tongue. These are actions of the spirit and operations of the human reality, but they occur through the mediation of bodily instruments. Thus, it is the spirit that sees, but by means of the eye; it is the spirit that hears, but by means of the ear; it is the spirit that speaks, but by means of the tongue.

The spirit has two modes of operation: one through instruments and means, that is, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear, speaking through the tongue. Though these instruments are at work, it is the spirit that moves them. Though these powers appear through the body, they are through the power of the spirit. The other operation is without instruments, as in the world of dreams where one sees without eyes, hears without ears, speaks without tongue, and travels without moving the feet.

In order to seize the actions of the rational soul, we need the mediation of the body; but the soul can act directly without this intermediary. Thus, when we sleep the soul sees without the help of the eyes. The auditory nerves are inactive, but the soul hears. Our members are in repose, but the soul is in movement. Our body is in the room, our soul is traveling through all horizons.

In regard to the dominance of evil spirits about which you inquired - how can evil spirits, who are deprived of eternal life, have any influence? However, holy souls, since eternal life is assured for them, their outpourings exist in all divine worlds. When you were here, the answer was given thus: Holy souls, after their ascension, have mighty influences and abundant outpourings established, and great effects ordained in all horizons and souls. After separation from bodies, spirits do not take on elemental physical form. What is imagined is the person's own discovery in receiving aid and grace from holy souls. When in that state one becomes absent from self and immersed in the ocean of attention, a spiritual condition free from body and physicality appears to their view, and they think it is a body. It is like dreams - in the dream world one sees various forms, converses, and receives bounties, thinking in the dream state that these are embodied temples and physical manifestations, when in fact they are purely spiritual.

In brief, the reality of spirit is sanctified and exalted above body and physical things, but like the dream world, its outpourings appear in physical forms and shapes. Similarly, in states of discovery one sees spirits in physical forms and images. To summarize, holy souls have a mighty influence and intense effect, and their permanence and influence are not conditional on physical existence and elemental composition. Observe that during sleep, the human body and physical powers of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch are inactive, meaning all physical faculties are impaired. Despite this, the human reality has spiritual life and spiritual powers have utmost influence in making wonderful discoveries in East and West, perhaps uncovering matters that will appear in the physical world after a long time.

Thus it becomes clear that the human reality's permanence and influence are not conditional on the physical frame. Rather, this physical frame is an instrument upon which the human spirit casts its rays, like the sun shining upon a mirror making it bright, and when the sun's connection to the mirror is cut off, the mirror becomes dark. Likewise, when the spirit's outpouring is cut off from the body, that instrument becomes idle. In short, the human being is the spiritual reality, and that reality penetrates all things, that reality discovers hidden mysteries, that reality manifests all sciences, crafts, innovations and effects. All that you observe of human traces is a manifestation of its perceptions, and it encompasses all things and perceives all things. Observe these existing sciences, arts, crafts and innovations - there was a time when each was in the realm of the unseen, unknown, a hidden secret and not understood. The human spirit, since it encompasses all things, discovered and perceived them, drawing them from the realm of the unseen to the visible plane.

Thus it is proven and established that the the human spirit discovers, perceives and encompasses all things, but the progress of the soul after its ascension to the Kingdom is independent of place and time. Progress after ascension is progress in perfections, not in place - like the progress of a child from the embryonic world to the world of maturity and reason, from the world of ignorance to the world of knowledge, and from the station of imperfection to the world of perfection. And since divine perfections are infinite, therefore there is no limit to the progress of the spirit.

Man has likewise a number of spiritual powers: the power of imagination, which forms a mental image of things; thought, which reflects upon the realities of things; comprehension, which understands these realities; and memory, which retains whatever man has imagined, thought, and understood. The intermediary between these five outward powers and the inward powers is a common faculty, a sense which mediates between them and which conveys to the inward powers whatever the outward powers have perceived. It is termed the common faculty as it is shared in common between the outward and inward powers.

Now concerning mental faculties, they are in truth of the inherent properties of the soul, even as the radiation of light is the essential property of the sun. The rays of the sun are renewed but the sun itself is ever the same and unchanged. Consider how the human intellect develops and weakens, and may at times come to naught, whereas the soul changeth not. For the mind to manifest itself, the human body must be whole; and a sound mind cannot be but in a sound body, whereas the soul dependeth not upon the body. It is through the power of the soul that the mind comprehendeth, imagineth and exerteth its influence, whilst the soul is a power that is free. The mind comprehendeth the abstract by the aid of the concrete, but the soul hath limitless manifestations of its own.

And each one of these members hath its own special function. The mind force -- whether we call it pre-existent or contingent -- doth direct and co-ordinate all the members of the human body, seeing to it that each part or member duly performeth its own special function. If, however, there be some interruption in the power of the mind, all the members will fail to carry out their essential functions, deficiencies will appear in the body and the functioning of its members, and the power will prove ineffective.

Among all parts of the human body, both spiritual and physical connections are clear and manifest. For instance, between the mind and human organs there exists a spiritual connection. But between members such as the eye, ear, hand, and foot, there exists an evident connection. In brief, interaction exists, cooperation and mutual assistance are manifest, yet all this interaction is connected to the spiritual force of the human soul, which is the axis and mover of this interaction.

He both senses and comprehends it, for the spirit encompasses the body and is aware of its sensations and powers.

Although the spirit is hidden from view, still its commandments shine out like rays of light upon the world of the human body.

And yet, God be praised, despite their physical weaknesses, despite their feeble powers, these trials were steadfastly withstood, these tribulations overcome. Thus doth the body obey the spirit and the outer form reflect the inner reality.

The body without spirit is not capable of real accomplishment. Although it may be in the utmost condition of beauty and excellence, it is, nevertheless, in need of the spirit. The chimney of the lamp, no matter how polished and perfect it be, is in need of the light. Without the light, the lamp or candle is not illuminating.

This is most evident and known, that the effect of all these aforementioned causes is dependent and conditional upon the existence of the rational soul, which is a sign of the manifestation of the sovereign Unity.

That is, the body of man, which is composed of the elements, is the most perfect form of composition and combination, the soundest arrangement, the noblest composition, and the most perfect of all existing things. It grows and develops through the animal spirit.

The body of man is the result of the composition of the elements and these elements are constantly at war with each other.

As the completeness of man stems entirely from the component elements, their measure, their manner of combination, and the mutual action and interaction of other beings--and since man was produced ten or a hundred thousand years ago from the same earthly elements, with the same measures and quantities, the same manner of composition and combination, and the same interactions with other beings--it follows that man was exactly the same then as exists now. This is a self-evident truth and cannot be doubted. And if a thousand million years hence, the component elements of man are brought together, measured out in the same proportion, combined in the same manner, and subjected to the same interaction with other beings, exactly the same man will come into existence.

Beyond this, the members, constituent parts and composition that are found within man attract and act as a magnet for the spirit: the spirit is bound to appear in it. Thus, when a mirror is polished, it is bound to attract the rays of the sun, to be illumined, and to reflect splendid images. That is, when these physical elements are gathered and combined together, according to the natural order and with the utmost perfection, they become a magnet for the spirit, and the spirit will manifest itself therein with all its perfections.

The existence of the tree within the seed is potential; but when the seed is sown and watered, the signs thereof, its roots and branches, and all of its different qualities, appear. Likewise the "rational soul" has a potential existence before its appearance in the human body, and through the mixture of elements and a wonderful combination, according to the natural order, law, conception and birth, it appears with its identity.

"Were the souls created as individuals before they entered the physical bodies of this world?" Abdu'l-Baha: "They existed before coming to this world, but NOT as we know personality upon this planet."

The rational soul---the human spirit---did not descend into this body or subsist through it to begin with, that it should require some substance to depend upon after the constituent parts of the body have decomposed. On the contrary, the rational soul is the substance upon which the body depends. The rational soul is endowed from the beginning with individuality; it does not acquire it through the intermediary of the body. At most, what can be said is that the individuality and identity of the rational soul may be strengthened in this world, and that it may either progress and attain to the degrees of perfection or remain in the lowest abyss of ignorance and be veiled from and deprived of beholding the signs of God.

Abdul-Baha said: "We know that the body or form has nothing to do with the spirit or spiritual conditions. When the spirit is disconnected from or leaves the body, that is no reason for thinking it can be re-absorbed or joined with the whole of spirit, as the drops of water are absorbed or lost in the sea.

The earth is one unit, yet how many beings and separate parts it contains! The body of man is one unit, yet it has an infinite number of separate and individual parts that compose it--such as eyes, fingers, etc.; so, in like manner, spirit is one, but consisting of many differentiated parts."

In the physical powers and senses, however, man and the animal are partners. In fact, the animal is often superior to man in sense perception. For instance, the vision of some animals is exceedingly keen and the hearing of others most acute. Consider the instinct of a dog: how much greater than that of man. But, although the animal shares with man all the physical virtues and senses, a spiritual power has been bestowed upon man of which the animal is devoid.

The ears can hear the voice in a limited distance, the vision of the eyes similarly is circumscribed but the spirit sees the East and the West; while in the West it organizes important affairs in the East; while on earth it discovers heavenly satellites; it unfolds the mysteries of phenomena; it goes under the earth and brings into the light of day the geologic secrets.

A dear woman present brought up some theories of spiritual causation. Just at that moment they were seving salad.

"If all the spirits of the air", laughed 'Abdu'l-Baha, "were to congregate together they could not create a salad! Nevertheless the spirit of man is powerful; for the spirit of man can soar in the firmament of knowledge, can discover realities, can confer life, can receive the divine Glad-Tidings. Is not this greater than making a salad?"

Between the material things and spiritual things there is connection. The more the body is healthful the greater will be the power of the spirit in man; the power of the intellect, the power of the memory, the power of reflection shall be more powerful. … So the perfection of the body is the means for the expression of the power of the spirit.

The body is made joyous, and then that joyousness is transmitted to the soul. The body will receive a share of every effect which is found in the spirit. For instance, if the spirit be rejoiced, then the effect will be over the body, and that means dancing. If the spirit be affected, with sadness the eyes begin to weep. Therefore, it is self evident that the body receives the impressions of the spirit.

No matter if the limbs of your body are feeble, praised be God your spirit is robust; for it is even as the Christ hath said: The flesh is weak, and despondeth, but the spirit rejoiceth greatly. Know then that from this very spirit, thy body too will take on strength.

We cannot accomplish really great things through physical force alone; the spirit must fortify our bodily strength. … The spirit must assist the body under certain conditions which surround us, because the body of itself cannot endure the extreme strain of such hardships.

But if there is a harmony in man, a quiet concord, in brief, a unity between voluntary and involuntary processes, between conscious and unconscious will, then there will result an agreement of human and divine will, or better: a unification of the human will-to-action with the eternal will of God, which results in the tranquillity of the conscience of man, his highest earthly good.

"He didn't understand You the other day, my Lord. He thinks that You teach asceticism, that the spirit and the flesh are two separate things."

"That is not what I said," the Master replied. "I said that the spiritual man and the materialist were two different beings. The spirit is in the flesh."

Yes, when weakness occurs in the body due to austerities and eating and drinking less, the manifestations of passion and anger decrease. But this quieting of anger and reduction in passion is accidental, not essential, since whenever one returns to eating and drinking, one returns to the original state.

As to the body, it is but an instrument for the spirit, for it is the spirit that moveth, acteth, acquireth, committeth both good and evil. Sin and righteousness, cruelty and kindliness spring from the soul and spirit, not from the helpless body. … No sword is called to account for slaying the innocent, and no arrow is reproached for wounding the helpless, for these are but instruments, not agents; they are governed, not governors; they are subdued, not subduing.

When we speak of the soul we mean the motive power of this physical body which lives under its entire control in accordance with its dictates. If the soul identifies itself with the material world it remains dark, for in the natural world there is corruption, aggression, struggles for existence, greed, darkness, transgression and vice.

You perceive how the soul is the intermediary between the body and the spirit. In like manner is this tree the intermediary between the seed and the fruit.

When a soul has in it the life of the spirit, then does it bring forth good fruit and become a Divine tree. I wish you to try to understand this example.

The soul is a link between the body and the spirit. It receives bounties and virtues from the spirit and gives them to the body just as the outward senses carry to the inward senses what they receive from the outer world in order that it may remain deposited in the memory and may be made serviceable by man through his power.

Spirit is the highest and supreme development of the soul. Soul is the material or outer self--the Mind. is the action of the Soul's powers. The Body is the physical covering or medium in which Mind acts and functions. At death everything but Spirit is destroyed and becomes extinct.

Asked about the difference between soul and spirit, He replied:

"The spirit results from the union of body and soul; this spirit becomes immortal, always remaining with the soul and forming for it, after death, a sort of ethereal body." He added - "There is a human and a divine spirit, the latter coming through knowledge of and belief in God. The human spirit is superior to the body and struggles with it for control of the soul: when it succeeds, the soul becomes heavenly, when the body obtains the control, the soul becomes degraded."

It is not the body which feels pain or trouble but the soul. If we have a pain in our arm the defect is in the body yet it is the soul which feels the pain and is troubled, not the body, though the body is the cause of that trouble.

We see that cold, heat, suffering, etc, only concern the body, they do not touch the spirit.

How often do we see a man, poor, sick, miserably clad, and with no means of support, yet spiritually strong. Whatever his body has to suffer, his spirit is free and well! Again, how often do we see a rich man, physically strong and healthy, but with a soul sick unto death.

Likewise, in illness the manifestation of the spirit's power and might is prevented and veiled due to intervening causes, but after its release from the body it appears with such power, might and ascendancy as cannot be imagined. The pure, holy and sanctified spirits have ever possessed and shall continue to possess all power and complete freedom.

The body weakens, but the soul is not affected. The body becomes incapacitated or paralyzed, but the soul suffers no change. No matter how many of man s limbs become amputated, the condition of the soul is unvarying and undergoes no change whatsoever.

The fifth proof: The body of man may become weak, it may become ill or incapacitated, or it may become healthy, but the soul remains unchanging in its own state. If the body becomes weak, the soul is not weakened; if the body becomes corpulent, the soul is not enlarged; if the body becomes indisposed, the soul does not suffer.

These changing conditions of the bodily composition are definite and continual. At one time it is normal, at another time abnormal. Now it is weak, now strong. It suffers injury, a hand may be amputated, a limb broken, an eye destroyed, an ear deafened or some defect appear in a certain organ, but these changes do not affect the human spirit, the soul of man.

… The spirit, or human soul, is the rider; and the body is only the steed. If anything affects the steed, the rider is not affected by it. The spirit may be likened to the light within the lantern. The body is simply the outer lantern.

Still another proof: The body of man becomes lean or fat; it is afflicted with disease, suffers mutilation; perhaps the eyes become blind, the ears deaf; but none of these imperfections and failings afflict or affect the spirit. The spirit of man remains in the same condition, unchanged.

Mutilation of the body brings no harm to the soul. This is one of the proofs of the immortality of the soul, for death consists of the change and dispersion of the members and elements of the body.

This physical frame undergoes change and transformation, but for the spirit there is no transformation. The body falls ill, but no defect occurs in the spirit. The body's members become impaired, but the spirit remains in its perfect state. When the defect and decay of any bodily member causes no harm to the spirit, then the defect and decay of all members likewise causes no harm to the spirit. Thus it is proven that none of its attributes depends upon the body.

In connection with the impossibility of descent in the planes of existence, the point of the effect of old age in the form of second childhood was raised.

'Abdu'l-Baha said that was not really a deterioration of the essential part of the man, the mind or spirit, but a weakening of the functional organs.

Bodily matters are not important. The physical suffering of Christ passed away, but his spirit was everlasting. These bodily sufferings come and pass away, but the spirit is eternal. The body is not important. The spirit is important.

For the body of man is accidental; it is of no importance. The time of its disintegration will inevitably come. But the spirit of man is essential and, therefore, eternal.

The physical body of man is like that of the animal, the only difference being on the level of consciousness. It follows therefore that only consciousness or mind is left after death.

Here we are subject to the conditions of matter; after this will succeed life on the mental plane, a life freed from this material body.

Man is created in the image of the Merciful [God], that is, with divine attributes. Therefore, while physical characteristics will perish, divine qualities will endure. The soul is a divine emanation while the body is an earthly composition. Upon you be the divine attributes.

As to the soul which is intended, in truth it hath been called forth by the Word of God and is such that, if it be kindled with the fire of the love of its Lord, neither the waters of opposition nor the oceans of the world can quench its flame. That soul is indeed a fire ablaze in the tree of man which proclaimeth: "No God is there but Him!" … And when it casteth off its earthly frame, God shall raise it up again in the most excellent of forms and cause it to enter a sublime paradise.

Our body is like the cage, and the spirit is like the bird. We see that without the cage this bird flies in the world of sleep; therefore, if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue to exist; its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater and its happiness increased.

Like a bird in the cage of this body he was captive and confined. This cage was broken and that bird took flight, becoming intimate and harmonious with the divine birds in the celestial garden.

The very utmost is this, he was imprisoned in this material cage, he was like unto a bird, he was in the troubles of this life enduring its vicissitudes. He broke this cage and flew away. From this terrestrial [plane] he ascended to the heavenly rose-garden. From this darkened world he ascended to the world of illumination.

The body is the cage. The spirit is the nightingale. Once the doors of the cage are opened, once the fetters of that prison-house are broken - the nightingale will soar toward the Rose-garden of Eternity and on the branches of the Tree of Life it shall perch, singing sweetly the songs of Freedom and Peace.

Once the nightingale is out of the cage, it will not even look at it. What does the free bird want to do with a shuttered cage, even if it is made of gold?

The body is the word. The spirit is its meaning. The word passes. The spirit remains.

The sounder the body, the greater is the resplendency and manifestation of the spirit.

Catalogue reference: ABU3773 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

Of interest is the way in which the five external senses subserve the principal internal senses, i.e. the sensus communis, the imagination and memory, which together co-ordinate the 'sensible forms' received through the five senses. In a similar manner, the 'intelligible forms' received by the rational faculty from the Active Intellect are co-ordinated by this faculty. (Majid Fakhry commenting on al-Farabi, Short Introduction p. 43.) See also Suhrawardi in The Book of Radiance, pp. 29-31; Three Muslim Sages, p. 39; History of Muslim Philosophy (1961), vol. 1, pp. 393, 493. Al-Ghazali in The Niche of Lights gives the five inward powers as khayal, wahm, fikr, dhikr, and hifz (pp. 7-8).

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified

If body did not exist, soul would not go forth, since there is no place other than body where it is natural for it to be. But if it intends to go forth, it will produce a place for itself, and so a body.

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified

It is as if a net immersed in the waters was alive, but unable to make its own that in which it is. The sea is already spread out and the net spreads with it, as far as it can.... And soul's nature is so great, just because it has no size, as to contain the whole of body in one and the same grasp; wherever body extends, there soul is.

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified

Sentence boundary needs source review; the supplied wording is retained.

The best, most perfect, and clearest of these is that spirit is an abstract substance separate from matter in essence but not in act. … Spirit cannot be described by such attributes as ingress and egress, independence and inherence, advance and retreat, movement and stillness. Eyes cannot perceive it, nor can the other senses. Yet it remains in need of matter in all acts, and inseparable from it in all conditions, for it is unimaginable that matter be stripped from it. No act can issue from spirit except through matter, and it is inconceivable that an effect could be produced by spirit save through the instrumentality of matter.

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified