Eve As Symbol Of The Human Soul

 

I have always admired ‘Abdu’l Baha for his appreciation of the symbolic nature of religious language. A good example is his exegesis of the biblical story of Adam and Eve- 

Question.—What is the truth of the story of Adam, and His eating of the fruit of the tree? 

…We must reflect a little: if the literal meaning of this story were attributed to a wise man, certainly all would logically deny that this arrangement, this invention, could have emanated from an intelligent being. Therefore, this story of Adam and Eve who ate from the tree, and their expulsion from Paradise, must be thought of simply as a symbol. It contains divine mysteries and universal meanings, and it is capable of marvelous explanations. Only those who are initiated into mysteries, and those who are near the Court of the All-Powerful, are aware of these secrets. Hence these verses of the Bible have numerous meanings. 

We will explain one of them, and we will say: Adam signifies the heavenly spirit of Adam, and Eve His human soul. For in some passages in the Holy Books where women are mentioned, they represent the soul of man. The tree of good and evil signifies the human world; for the spiritual and divine world is purely good and absolutely luminous, but in the human world light and darkness, good and evil, exist as opposite conditions. 

 The meaning of the serpent is attachment to the human world. This attachment of the spirit to the human world led the soul and spirit of Adam from the world of freedom to the world of bondage and caused Him to turn from the Kingdom of Unity to the human world. When the soul and spirit of Adam entered the human world, He came out from the paradise of freedom and fell into the world of bondage. From the height of purity and absolute goodness, He entered into the world of good and evil.  

Source: http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-30.html

 

Significantly Eve is not the temptress of the literalist story and is rather a symbol of the human soul. Of course as ‘Abdu’l Baha says

these verses of the Bible have numerous meanings.

A Marriage Prayer

 

 The Baha’i writings are full of beautiful prayers for many different events-such as marriage-

O Thou kind Lord! These are Thy servants who have gathered in this meeting, have turned unto Thy kingdom and are in need of Thy bestowal and blessing. O Thou God! Manifest and make evident the signs of Thy oneness which have been deposited in all the realities of life. Reveal and unfold the virtues which Thou hast made latent and concealed in these human realities. 

O God! We are as plants, and Thy bounty is as the rain; refresh and cause these plants to grow through Thy bestowal. We are Thy servants; free us from the fetters of material existence. We are ignorant; make us wise. We are dead; make us alive. We are material; endow us with spirit. We are deprived; make us the intimates of Thy mysteries. We are needy; enrich and bless us from Thy boundless treasury. O God! Resuscitate us; give us sight; give us hearing; familiarize us with the mysteries of life, so that the secrets of Thy kingdom may become revealed to us in this world of existence and we may confess Thy oneness. Every bestowal emanates from Thee; every benediction is Thine. 

Thou art mighty. Thou art powerful. Thou art the Giver, and Thou art the Ever-Bounteous. 

  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 

Prayer For My Daughter

My younger daughter has had this beautiful prayer hanging on the wall of her room since she was a baby-

O Thou peerless Lord! Let this suckling babe be nursed from the breast of Thy loving-kindness, guard it within the cradle of Thy safety and protection and grant that it be reared in the arms of Thy tender affection. 

‘Abdu’l-Bahá 

Spiritual Springtime

Of all Bahá’í holy days Naw-Rúz on the 21st of March is the one I love the most. The historical roots of Naw-Rúz (or ‘New Day’ in Persian) are in the ancient Iranian New Year festival, which apart from being celebrated in Iran itself is also marked within the broader sphere of Persian cultural influence. This includes parts of the Middle East, West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, North Western China and the Caucasus. As well as being sacred to Baha’is Naw-Rúz is also a holy day for Alawites, Alevis, Ismaili Muslims and Zoroastrians. I also note with interest that the Vernal Equinox is also marked by Pagans- for example as the ‘High Feast of Ostara’ sacred to the Norse Pantheon. Occurring as it does on the Vernal Equinox I associate the festival of Naw-Rúz with both spiritual and physical renewal. Indeed `Abdu’l-Bahá describes the revelation of God as the ‘Sun of Reality’ bringing life to a spiritually dead world.

Furthermore, just as the solar cycle has its four seasons, the cycle of the Sun of Reality has its distinct and successive periods. Each brings its vernal season or springtime. When the Sun of Reality returns to quicken the world of mankind a divine bounty descends from the heaven of generosity. The realm of thoughts and ideals is set in motion and blessed with new life. Minds are developed, hopes brighten, aspirations become spiritual, the virtues of the human world appear with freshened power of growth and the image and likeness of God become visible in man. It is the springtime of the inner world. After the spring, summer comes with its fullness and fruitage spiritual; autumn follows with its withering winds which chill the soul; the Sun seems to be going away until at last the mantle of winter overspreads and only faint traces of the effulgence of that divine Sun remain. Just as the surface of the material world becomes dark and dreary, the soil dormant, the trees naked and bare and no beauty or freshness remain to cheer the darkness and desolation, so the winter of the spiritual cycle witnesses the death and disappearance of divine growth and extinction of the light and love of God. But again the cycle begins and a new springtime appears. In it the former springtime has returned, the world is resuscitated, illumined and attains spirituality; religion is renewed and reorganized, hearts are turned to God, the summons of God is heard and life is again bestowed upon man. For a long time the religious world had been weakened and materialism had advanced; the spiritual forces of life were waning, moralities were becoming degraded, composure and peace had vanished from souls and satanic qualities were dominating hearts; strife and hatred overshadowed humanity, bloodshed and violence prevailed. God was neglected; the Sun of Reality seemed to have gone completely; deprivation of the bounties of heaven was a fact; and so the season of winter fell upon mankind. But in the generosity of God a new springtime dawned, the lights of God shone forth, the effulgent Sun of Reality returned and became manifest, the realm of thoughts and kingdom of hearts became exhilarated, a new spirit of life breathed into the body of the world and continuous advancement became apparent.