Is this the Century of Light, or of the self?
Here’s what the Universal House of Justice said a few years ago in the foreword to the Century of Light:
The conclusion of the twentieth century provides Bahá’ís with a unique vantage point. During the past hundred years our world underwent changes far more profound than any in its preceding history, changes that are, for the most part, little understood by the present generation. These same hundred years saw the Bahá’í Cause emerge from obscurity, demonstrating on a global scale the unifying power with which its Divine origin has endowed it. As the century drew to its close, the convergence of these two historical developments became increasingly apparent.
Century of Light, prepared under our supervision, reviews these two processes and the relationship between them, in the context of the Bahá’í Teachings. We commend it to the thoughtful study of the friends, in the confidence that the perspectives it opens up will prove both spiritually enriching and of practical help in sharing with others the challenging implications of the Revelation brought by Bahá’u’lláh.
The Universal House of Justice — Naw-Rúz, 158 B.E.
Not long after this publication, the BBC’s award winning documentary Century of the Self aired.
Jump to watch it.
It explores the “deeper questions about the roots and methods of modern consumerism, representative democracy” and the implications of the wide application of psychological techniques to manipulate people, especially as used by politicians.
Perhaps because of it we now have a strange concoction brewing in society’s cauldron. The deep rooted instinct to search for meaning, or as some would call it, spirituality, has mingled with a fierce focus on the individual and the self to create an ugly compound.
For example, last year all the rage among the new-agey people was the ridiculous book, The Secret. It being that if you want something, just desire it and repeat it like a mantra and it will be given to you! Whatever you focus on, the law of attraction will draw to you. It was pushed hard by the queen trend setter of such nonsense in popular culture: Oprah.
And this year, Oprah is pushing Eckhart Tolle’s vapid “A New Earth”. Apparently The Secret isn’t enough. We need more Eastern thought repackaged to masquerade as spiritual enlightenment. Perhaps though I’m being too harsh. After all, all these people are yearning for the same thing, they are “sore athirst” for Baha’u'llah who is the new Manifestation for our age. Yet, they forgo the pure water fountain to drink from a filthy ditch.
There is now a whole industry that has sprung up to try and satiate the need of the Baby Boomer generation for spiritual enlightenment - they are after all, approaching the end of their natural life and as all humans their thoughts turn to less material spheres.
But such a focus on the self is self-defeating. The more we concentrate on ourselves and attempt to gain “spiritual enlightenment” the more it will elude us. It is like trying to hold on to a fistful of sand by clenching your fingers tighter and tighter.
As Shoghi Effendi said:
The more we search for ourselves, the less likely we are to find ourselves; and the more we search for God, and to serve our fellow-men, the more profoundly will we become acquainted with ourselves, and the more inwardly assured. This is one of the great spiritual laws of Life.
Here’s an excerpt from The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch which sums up what we are seeing now:
“Having no hope of improving their lives in any of the ways that matter, people have convinced themselves that what matters is psychic self-improvement: getting in touch with their feelings, eating health foods, taking lessons in ballet or belly-dancing, immersing themselves in the wisdom of the East, jogging, learning to ‘relate’, overcoming the ‘fear of pleasure’
Such an approach to life is, in essence, chaotic. All endeavors are aimed at the avoidance of pain, and more importantly, at achieving gratification and pleasure. Any other objective would require discipline, hard work, postponement of gratification, willingness to suffer and experience pain, the ability to work in harmony and cooperation with others and to be of service to one’s fellow man. Such qualities are needed for the creation of a healthy relationship but are almost nonexistent in the life of an indulgent person.
In addition to the promotion of pleasure-orientation and a chaotic lifestyle, the indulgent mode of human communication creates anarchy and disorder both in the individual and in society. The only source of authority and power that the indulgent person acknowledges is gratification. He seeks freedom similar to that which animals possess: the freedom to gratify biological and instinctual needs and desires, without according due consideration to the other realities of complex human relationships. These individuals rationalize all of their self-centered activities in the name of individual freedom, the freedom to do whatever one pleases as long as it does not interfere with the rights of others. In reality, however, at one level, all people are interrelated. There is a universal ecology of life, which, at the level of human relationships, creates a universal interdependence similar to the organs and parts of a body. Thus, for example, the health or illness of one individual ultimately affects others as well. Consequently the actions of the indulgent individual do interfere with the rights and lives of others. The indulgent individual ignores this fact and, subsequently, introduces anarchy into interpersonal relationships.
Finally, the intellectual and emotional characteristics of an indulgent individual have serious consequences for both the individual and society at large. The continuous pursuit of pleasure often results in a lifestyle characterized by the quest for instant gratification, which, in turn, requires a willingness to sacrifice fundamental principles of quality, integrity, and beauty. In the indulgent lifestyle, emotions are an end in themselves. The individual seeks joy and happiness but refuses to submit to the self-discipline and control required for creativity and growth, prerequisites for true joy and happiness. The indulgent person avoids the pain and discomfort of growth and thus hampers the progress of this maturity and development.”
Abdu’l-Baha wasn’t trying to become more conscious or spiritual. He simply served and loved all. Perhaps there’s something in such a life that can inspire us to live the life:
“The great thing is to ‘Live the Life’ to have our lives so saturated with the Divine teaching and the Baha’i Spirit that people cannot fail to see a joy, a power, a love, a purity, a radiance, an efficiency in our character and work that will distinguish us from worldly-minded people and make people wonder what is the secret of this new life in us. We must become entirely selfless and devoted to God so that every day and every moment we see to do only what God would have us do and in the way He would have us do it.”
Reminds me of The Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness:
This station is the dying from self and the living in God, the being poor in self and rich in the Desired One. Poverty as here referred to signifieth being poor in the things of the created world, rich in the things of God’s world. For when the true lover and devoted friend reacheth to the presence of the Beloved, the sparkling beauty of the Loved One and the fire of the lover’s heart will kindle a blaze and burn away all veils and wrappings. Yea, all he hath, from heart to skin, will be set aflame, so that nothing will remain save the Friend.
Here is the BBC’s four part miniseries (each is about an hour long):
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Happiness Machines
The Engineering of Consent
There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed
Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering
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