Only when we live in the spirit

The year 2016 saw a lot of famous people, including actors and musicians, pass from this life. There may be many reasons why, but one of them surely is that many of them have had their lives blighted or cut short by misuse of drugs and alcohol.

 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, talking about the true nature of a human being, said: “Man is, in reality, a spiritual being, and only when he lives in the spirit is he truly happy.” If people are missing this spiritual dimension in their lives, it is easier to understand why they might find false happiness in drugs or alcohol.

Life in this world is temporary, but Bahá’ís believe the life of the spirit lasts forever. When we pass to the next world, it is like a bird being freed from its cage, it soars onward and upward. So while we are here on earth we need to prepare ourselves by strengthening our spiritual wings. Bahá’ís see this life on earth as a matrix, in which we learn lessons and qualities which we will need in the next world. It seems likely that surrendering our faculties to alcohol or to a habit-forming drug may delay or prevent us from learning such lessons, or acquiring such faculties. The natural nobility of the human mind is often brought low by these substances. Bahá’ís think that alcohol and drugs are best avoided altogether.

So how do we prepare ourselves? Living in the spirit is not just thinking spiritual thoughts, action is required as well! One big help is the faculty of meditation which leads us to look for ideas inside ourselves. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “It is an axiomatic fact that while you meditate you are speaking with your own spirit. In that state of mind you put certain questions to your spirit and the spirit answers: the light breaks forth and the reality is revealed.”
Prayer, another useful practice for anyone wishing to live in the spirit, is “conversation with God”. To work properly, however, conversation needs to be two-way. We pray to God, then remain quietly, to see what we are inspired to do in response.

If we understand the importance of the spiritual life, it will help us to deal with the problems we encounter: “Today, humanity is bowed down with trouble, sorrow and grief, no one escapes; the world is wet with tears; but, thank God, the remedy is at our doors. Let us turn our hearts away from the world of matter and live in the spiritual world! It alone can give us freedom!” Then there will be no need for drugs or alcohol to deaden the pain.

If we live in the spirit then we have a purpose in life, and something to work towards. In the Bahá’í view, it is our innermost essence – our spirit, our soul, which survives after death. It is our spirit which needs to be connected with God, or at least to spiritual ideas. If we are at peace with ourselves, and living in the spirit, we will be happy and make progress both in this world and the next.

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When David Bowie died, last January, I wrote a blog post about him, and about life after death:
http://paddyvickers.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/a-messenger-of-joy.html