Chain of the Light of Imamat - Reality of the Whole and the Part
Reality of the Whole and the Part
Tags: Universal Soul, Universal Intellect, Soul, Kull
The Universal Soul is given this name because of the fact that from the beginning to the end all human souls are created from it. Thus, the souls of all human beings are his parts and it is their whole. But the concept of the Universal Soul is not like any physical whole. For material bodies consist of numerous particles; if a single particle is removed from it, or if all other particles except one are included, it cannot be called the `whole'. That is, because one particle has been removed, it cannot logically be called the all- inclusive "whole". It is only when the separated particle is rejoined to it, that it can be called whole in the true sense. This is the reality of the physical whole and its constituent particles or parts.
Now if we consider the spiritual whole and its particles, we can come to an understanding of it by many examples in present day science, which provide seekers of spirituality with educational examples. These examples are almost the final wonders of physical progress. Therefore, if we reflect upon the last stages of perfection of the body, we can estimate the initial stage of the power of the soul. For instance, if we have not seen an extraordinary thing and do not know its qualities, we can estimate it from the highest quality of an ordinary thing. Suppose a person sits on the bank of a river and in his world of imagination, he imagines that it is very deep and wide, he can arrive at an approximation or an example of what the ocean is like. That is, even though he has not seen the ocean, he can have a concept of it, which to some extent is correct.
In addition there are many opposite qualities between the body and the soul, by which the power of the soul can be estimated. For instance, the body is mortal and the soul is immortal; the body exists in time and space, but the soul has no fixed time and space; many things can be obstacles for the body, but for the soul nothing is an obstacle. Despite all this, in the present atomic cycle, the state of physical and material progress is such that inter-planetary travel appears to be among the possibilities for man. We observe every day those wondrous inventions which can be called physical miracles. From thousands of miles, through television, not only can we converse with, but also see one another. The telephone, radio, telescope and moving pictures i.e. films, despite being wondrous have become so ordinary and accepted now that nobody looks at them with wonder anymore.
It is evident that in comparison to the soul, the body has no power. In comparison to the soul, the body is lifeless. Yet with the help of the soul it can accomplish supernatural actions. It can traverse the distance of thousands of miles in seconds; it can see things from the distance of thousands of miles; it can study the conditions of thousands of years; it can ascend the heaven, it can observe the universe. In short, it can do all that which we can see and hear. If the body which is not more than a handful of dust can accomplish such amazing wonders with the cooperation and help of the soul, then imagine how powerful and strong the soul itself must be! With this comparison think about the Universal Soul, for if only a part of it is so powerful and strong, how powerful and strong must the whole be and how difficult it is to estimate its infinite power.
On the screen of the cinema you can see moving pictures depicting and analysing all aspects of human life. There is no link between these pictures and those to whom these pictures belong, i.e. the actors and actresses, except that they have been photographed. Nor does anything decrease from the actors and actresses because they have been photographed. On the cinema screen, even the picture of a person who died a thousand years ago, can be a source of amusement for viewers. If the actor had the skill of becoming a picture instead of being photographed, his life would have been liberated from the physical body and a subtle body would have been made for itself.
From this physical example we can conceive a whole which has been completed by the parts, but has become independent of them. Further, with the help of this example we can conceive another hypothetical example closer to a spiritual whole. Suppose that the cinema is a spiritual whole in which the actors and actresses are created according to pictures instead of just taking their pictures, i.e. their pictures existed before them. This is the reality of the soul. It has been mentioned in the Noble Hadith: "God created Adam in His Image". Mawla-yi Rum, who was a revealer of Divine secrets, says about this subject:
Tan chu sayah bar zamin-u jan-i pak-i `ashiqan
Dar bihisht-i `adn tajri tahtiha'l-anhar mast
The bodies of the lovers of God, like shadows are on earth, but their souls are intoxicated in the Paradise of Eden, underneath which flow rivers, i.e. the four rivers of honey, wine, water and milk.
This same reality is also clear in this verse: "And there is not a thing but its treasures are with Us. And We send it not down but in a known measure (bi-qadarin ma`lum)" (15:21). Known (ma`lum) is the name of this world and measure (qadar) means capacity. Thus, by bi-qadarin ma`lum or known measure is meant the capacity of the world. It is evident that even the smallest thing is also with God in spiritual form. This article has passed from one example into another, so let us once again concentrate on the main subject, i.e. the reality of the whole and the part and that of Paradise.
It is our firm conviction that wherever the word "kull" (whole) is mentioned in the Qur'an, it contains knowledge about the whole, therefore, we should look into this wisdom-filled verse with the eye of insight: "And He taught Adam all the names (in the best way)" (2:31). It is obvious that according to this verse no name was left out from what was taught to Hazrat Adam, including the names of the Creator and those of the creatures. The best way of teaching was that God showed Adam gradually all the named or the possessors of the names in Paradise in a luminous form as spiritual bounties. Further, He taught him all the wisdoms of their names, the reason for their naming, their shapes, forms and the purpose of the creation and annihilation of their manifestations. Thus there was nothing which was not included in the science of names (`ilmu'l-asma'). The dignitaries of religion have made it clear that knowledge is contained in words and words are names and names have named ones. Thus all names and named ones are in this world. The real Adam, i.e. the Universal Intellect, was shown this world in its entirety in the luminous form, without excluding any name or named. According to one proof and in accordance with worldly calculations, all these spiritual pleasures had come to an end after a duration of 900,000 years and the renewal of the action was felt necessary, therefore the Universal Intellect sent its cyclical mazhar to this world. However, the spiritual and intellectual bounties were there intact and the Universal Intellect itself was self-sufficient and in no need of these bounties, but with respect to its mazhar it was in need, therefore its mazhar and that of the Universal Soul came to this world as shadows by the names of Adam and Eve, as do all other human beings.
From this explanation of reality you can be certain that Paradise too, is included in the whole. You may have studied this book carefully and noted that it is the luminous form of this world which is Paradise. The same is the spiritual whole, the Hereafter and the subtle world. In other words, if someone observes with insight he will come to know that the subtle world is that Book of God, by reading which no doubt remains, as God says: "It (the Qur'an ) is the detailed explanation (tafsil) of the Book, in which there is no doubt (opposite of certitude)" (10:37). That is, in it there is only certitude and certitude can be obtained with the eyes only. If the search for pleasures is viewed from the spiritual point of view, then it is Paradise, as God says: "Race with one another for forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise whose breadth is as the breadth of the heaven and the earth" (57:21; 3:133). If it is looked at spiritually, it is the Universal Soul: "His Kursi (i.e. the Universal Soul) has comprised the heavens and the earth" (2:255). If it is looked at with respect to knowledge and wisdom, it is the Universal Intellect. "Will you not then remember?" (6:81). God willing, now it must be clearer that nothing is excluded from the spiritual whole, and the physical whole is also included in it and they are not separate from one another. Regarding the spiritual whole, we have to say that in reality it is not divisible. In other words, the soul does not decrease by becoming two from one. For increase and decrease are the characteristics of the body, not that of the soul. For instance, the physical world is one and its luminous form, i.e. the spiritual world, is also one. But God from this spiritual world can create not only thousands but innumerable worlds in luminosity, so that He may grant eternal kingdom to each one of His servants in a separate world. We are also convinced of His power which enables the same one single soul to manifest itself in every shape and form in all these innumerable worlds simultaneously and all this becomes possible through the whole.
| Chapter Index | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter |