What Wealth Means to the New Race of Man
The popular evolutionary belief is that we have been created like the rest of animals and have evolved to become a human being. This view to me undermines the station and destiny of humanity. It sets the bar very low for working towards our goals, and this leads to expecting violence, wars and other destructive forces as acceptable behavior. It expects us to act like animals. The religions, however, have a different view which is we, in essence, are spiritual and have been created as a spiritual being to gain human experience. We are from God and have a spiritual destiny. If we are spiritual in essence, then we have a spiritual journey to traverse to achieve our transformation into a New Race of Man so that we spiritually evolve to gain the presence of God.
God in his wisdom has created all things. Nothing has been created without a special destiny, for every creature has an innate station of attainment. This flower has been created to mirror forth a harmonious ensemble of color and perfume. Each kingdom of nature holds potentialities, and each must be cultivated in order to reach its fulfillment. The divine teachers desire man to be educated that he may attain to the high rank of his own reality, the deprivation of which is the rank of perdition. – Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 110.
History proves that so far humanity has not lived its expectations to live a human life and so far has acted on its animal impulses. So in that sense, human history has not started as yet. The evidence of this is the so-called human history which is all about wars, conflicts, aggression, destructions, and miseries. To become a new race of man humanity has first to discover its true nature and then take steps to start the transformation in all aspects of its life. That means to subordinate its lower nature and find the true purpose of its creation and move towards it. At this time it is impossible to imagine the qualities and abilities of the new race of man because our understandings and values are not spiritual enough to picture that, so all we can do at this time is working on our personal growth by relying on the spiritual guidance given to us by His manifestation of this age. Keeping in mind, what our Creators intended for our existence:
O Son of spirit! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created. – Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words, p. 9.
Once we start the process of transformation, we have to redefine many of humanity’s definitions and concepts that are outdated and are not applicable to remedy the present problems. The definitions of such concepts like, success, wealth and possessions so that they reflect their true meanings. Material achievements and aspirations should be matched with a spiritual one.
Then it is clear that the honor and exaltation of man must be something more than material riches. Material comforts are only a branch, but the root of the exaltation of man is the good attributes and virtues which are the adornments of his reality. These are the divine appearances, the heavenly bounties, the sublime emotions, the love and knowledge of God; universal wisdom, intellectual perception, scientific discoveries, justice, equity, truthfulness, benevolence, natural courage and innate fortitude; the respect for rights and the keeping of agreements and covenants; rectitude in all circumstances; serving the truth under all conditions; the sacrifice of one’s life for the good of all people; kindness and esteem for all nations; obedience to the teachings of God; service in the Divine Kingdom; the guidance of the people, and the education 80 of the nations and races. This is the prosperity of the human world! This is the exaltation of man in the world! This is eternal life and heavenly honor! -Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 80.
Past generations of humanity so far have spent so much energy to gain material possession believing that is all there is to do in life and as a result, they neglect their spiritual needs and growth. The humanity’s vision of itself and its destiny has been misguided, and in the end, they led to nothing of real value in the eyes of God.
The All-Merciful hath conferred upon man the faculty of vision, and endowed him with the power of hearing. Some have described him as the “lesser world,” when, in reality, he should be regarded as the “greater world.” The potentialities inherent in the station of man, the full measure of his destiny on earth, the innate excellence of his reality, must all be manifested in this promised Day of God. –Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, CLXII
Equally crucial to the process is understanding the qualities and expectation needed for the new race of man.
But the universality of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh and the forces of new life released by Him within the individual, have given birth to a new race of men who have acquired a new vision and the will to think independently and act with purpose.
-Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh v 2, p. 252.
As we move towards our spiritual destiny, we have to change our external tools and replaced them with more spiritual ones and adopt new concepts to guide us to our true destiny. We have to shed our animalistic tendencies and acquire virtues to follow the path to take every man and woman to become the new race of man eventually.
In the economic field many of criteria’s with which we have been using as a tool for measuring our achievements. Concepts such as money and wealth have to be transformed into a spiritual one. We are on a spiritual journey, and our lives should reflect that.
The world is, in truth, moving on towards its destiny. The interdependence of the peoples and nations of the earth, whatever the leaders of the divisive forces of the world may say or do, is already an accomplished fact. Its unity in the economic sphere is now understood and recognized. The welfare of the part means the welfare of the whole, and the distress of the part brings distress to the whole. The Revelation of Baha’u’llah has, in His own words, “lent a fresh impulse and set a new direction” to this vast process now operating in the world. – Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, pp. 122-123.