The Bahai Writings establish that there is a purpose in every single atom. There is no randomness. Everyone and everything here has been created for a purpose and is a participant in the very design of all existence.
"O SON OF BOUNTY! Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things." --Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words 29
What a remarkable statement. Imagine; every single atom has been created for our training! Every thing you can see, or hear or touch. Both the known and even the unknown. Even all that is out there in space. And more than that, no two of those atoms are alike. Each exists for us; each is a door to the life of the soul; to 'greater certitude and divine revelation'.
In fact, the growth and progress of all humanity, its scientific and spiritual knowledge, is derived from the education and teachings of the holy teachings. "Gifts of ever greater understanding are bestowed upon every soul who determines to become a 'true seeker'. At that time: ...will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of Divine Revelation, and the evidences of an everlasting Manifestation"". ---Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah cxxv
But all these gifts are contingent upon our own choices and values. Clearly we could all have been programmed in advance with all knowledge of all things. Then, like clones, we would all know the same things without the least effort. There would be no losers... but there would also be no winners, no diversity in our expression of that knowledge, no pleasure in our accomplishment, no need for effort, no progress.
Earthly existence provides all the tools required for our learning. However, what we do about these tools is the result of our individual choice, our personal actions; the outcome is ours to decide. It requires us to acquire knowledge, to use personal volition (will or choice), and then to act upon those; "The attainment of any object is conditioned upon knowledge, volition and action. Unless these three conditions are forthcoming, there is no execution or accomplishment." --Abdu'l-Baha. The Promulgation of Universal Peace 58
We are here for a reason. We must not only derive our personal growth from the Teachings, but to be most effective we must share them with others. In the process of sharing our understanding, it becomes reinforced and strengthened in ourselves; hence the saying that the teacher learns 9 times as much as the student.
Abdu'l-Baha explains that, unlike plant and animals who develop though various phases that inevitably end in death and a return to the mineral form, the potential of our human growth is unlimited:
"All creation, whether of the mineral, vegetable or animal kingdom, is compelled to obey the law of motion; it must either ascend or descend. But with the human soul, there is no decline. Its only movement is towards perfection; growth and progress alone constitute the motion of the soul. Divine perfection is infinite, therefore the progress of the soul is also infinite. From the very birth of a human being the soul progresses, the intellect grows and knowledge increases. Once the physical development is completed our continuance is as a spiritual being. And that point of physical completion takes place at the moment of death. Whatever we have learned of this physical world ends, and our spiritual development continues. We take with us whatever we have acquired of our spiritual being". --Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks.
So every day we wake with the choice; to choose the path of spiritual development, or delude ourselves with nothingness. "The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High".
---Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, rev. ed. (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1984), Sec.81, pp.156-7
"Split the atom’s heart, and lo! Within it thou wilt find a sun".
---Baha'u'llah 'The Call of the Divine Beloved' quoting 28 Hátif-i-Iṣfahání (d.1783).
In fact, the growth and progress of all humanity, its scientific and spiritual knowledge, is derived from the education and teachings of the divine Messengers.
"Gifts of ever greater understanding are bestowed upon every soul who determines to become a 'true seeker'. At that time: ...will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of Divine Revelation, and the evidences of an everlasting Manifestation"". ---Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah cxxv
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