{"id":1033,"date":"2013-05-26T12:43:36","date_gmt":"2013-05-26T12:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/songofnightingale\/?p=1033"},"modified":"2013-06-24T09:05:53","modified_gmt":"2013-06-24T09:05:53","slug":"living-in-the-present-the-bahai-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/songofnightingale\/2013\/05\/living-in-the-present-the-bahai-perspective.html","title":{"rendered":"Living in the Present – The Bah\u00e1’\u00ed Perspective?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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 <\/p>\n

I used to flop at mindfulness. Sometimes I still do. But this has been a good year (I know, I sound like a\u00a0potato harvest). The notion of mindfulness, with its deep roots in the Buddhist tradition, is indeed a profound and powerful idea. ‘Abdu’l-Bah\u00e1 reminds the Bah\u00e1’\u00eds too\u00a0that “prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness.” It goes without saying that\u00a0keen\u00a0mindfulness of our own behaviour, feelings and thoughts is absolutely indispensable for our personal growth.<\/p>\n

Despite\u00a0a\u00a0profound concept rooted in the antiquity, “living in the here and the now” is currently probably the trendiest\u00a0catchphrase of\u00a0post-modern spirituality.\u00a0 Yet I cannot help but\u00a0feel that the\u00a0constant repackaging\u00a0of\u00a0this otherwise meaningful mantra for the sales pitch\u00a0of\u00a0self-help books has stripped the concept\u00a0of some of its original\u00a0depth and purity.\u00a0Today it\u00a0is\u00a0proclaimed by\u00a0virtually every new self-help sage. Not infrequently we find the same concept eloquently rephrased to seem like an original\u00a0idea by the given author. Please don’t\u00a0get me wrong! Self-help literature has its definite place in a growing global market\u00a0stunted by\u00a0stress, panic attacks\u00a0and depression. But for me a certain line is crossed when meditation routines\u00a0and breathing techniques — even the all-important virtue of mindfulness —\u00a0are marketed as\u00a0the panacea for all ills. I’m also apprehensive when meditation, no matter how refined and ecstatic,\u00a0is\u00a0confidently\u00a0presented as\u00a0the\u00a0route to experiencing the Divine Itself, the Mystery of Mysteries.\u00a0The self-help gurus are not all alike. There are those drawing on time-honoured\u00a0traditions like Thich Nhat Hanh and Eckhart\u00a0Tolle\u00a0whose humble attitude, wise words and\u00a0techniques have been a source of tranquillity and meaning\u00a0for thousands. Materialistic lifestyle is fraught with anxieties, and breathing techniques as well as mental exercises\u00a0centering our focus\u00a0on the good available in\u00a0the present\u00a0may help many to momentarily let go of trivial attachments. Attachments\u00a0that have assumed disproportionate importance in the frenetic rat race that is urban lifestyle. But\u00a0acute awareness of our inner states, much less\u00a0techniques, alone,\u00a0fail to address the roots of our anxiety.\u00a0In\u00a0the received\u00a0individualist\u00a0culture healthy introspection may easily\u00a0degenerate into\u00a0fruitless self-absorption. Even more than meditative techniques mankind desparately needs selfless acts of service and ingenious social reforms.\u00a0A\u00a0more lasting\u00a0tranquillity of our mind and conscience seems to need these too.\u00a0Becoming overly absorbed in our own mental states, in the Bah\u00e1’\u00ed view, limits our presence in the world rather than increasing it.\u00a0A\u00a0painstaking quest\u00a0to\u00a0eliminate our own anxieties becomes, paradoxically,\u00a0itself a source of\u00a0pain and anxiety.<\/p>\n

“The more we search for ourselves, the less likely we are to find ourselves; and the more we search for God, and to serve our fellow men, the more profoundly will we become acquainted with ourselves, and the more inwardly assured. This is one of the great spiritual laws of life.”<\/em> – Shoghi Effendi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thich Nhat Hanh writes quite aptly:<\/p>\n

“Life is available only in the present moment, in the here and the now.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The\u00a0Bah\u00e1’\u00ed Writings fully endorse\u00a0the\u00a0fundamental notion that happiness and inner tranquillity ultimately hinge on our spiritual discernment to see\u00a0purpose and meaning in every moment, even\u00a0in agonizing suffering. It is a form of God-consciousness (“taqwa” in Arabic) to see His attributes and presence in all things and at all times. Bah\u00e1’u’ll\u00e1h wrote in the Seven Valleys (the Valley of Wonderment) of those that have rid themselves of earthly attachments:<\/p>\n

“At every moment he beholdeth a wondrous world, a new creation, and goeth from astonishment to astonishment, and is lost in awe at the works of the Lord of Oneness.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed,\u00a0as Bah\u00e1’\u00eds we must learn to see God in the present moment. In every atom, in every leaf and in every face. In every mundane task and\u00a0every casual circumstance.\u00a0But is that really enough? The Writings seem to respond with an unequivocal “Nay”. We must also learn to see God in the past, in the future and in the wider world beyond our immediate senses and geographic locations. Im\u00e1m Al\u00ed worded it beautifully in a famous hadith (oral tradition):<\/p>\n

“Nothing have I perceived, except that I perceived God within it, God before it, or God after it.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Learning to be mindful of only the physical present and the immediately accessible may be\u00a0a misunderstanding of Buddha’s intentions. It is\u00a0avoided by\u00a0many discerning\u00a0practitioners as\u00a0it\u00a0results in passivity. Passivity about the prospect of a beautiful and meaningful future for all mankind, and indifference to the world beyond our own\u00a0neighbourhoods, cities and lands. Accepting the world as it is may bring momentary calm. But if the virtue of resignation\u00a0isn’t understood properly, it will result in a failure to be an active agent of positive change in the world. The intention of the “here and the now”\u00a0exercises is\u00a0soberingly good, and their underlying philosophy boasts great truth.\u00a0Yet their superficial and\u00a0excessively technical implementation\u00a0does not\u00a0cure an\u00a0underlying self-centered mindset\u00a0which\u00a0runs diametrically counter to\u00a0their original\u00a0world-embracing intention.<\/p>\n

“It is not those who lack energy\u00a0or refrain from action, but those who work without expectation of reward who attain the goal of meditation.”<\/em> – Krishna, The Bhagavad Gita<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A meditative technique\u00a0may come in very handy for temporary\u00a0stress relief and emotional calm. But an obsessive\u00a0quest for\u00a0experiencing the Divine\u00a0through\u00a0esoteric self-immersion\u00a0and social isolation may,\u00a0inadvertently,\u00a0mistake presence <\/em>in the here and the now for indifference<\/em> to the past, the future, and the wider world beyond our immediate sensory access. The\u00a0catchy slogans on the covers of\u00a0bestselling self-help books\u00a0teach us\u00a0about “presence” in the moment\u00a0from the unwitting\u00a0soap box of material luxury and political security. Does it really take that much spirituality to be present in a moment that is safe, successful and stimulating? What about deriving inner peace from the present when the present means abject poverty,\u00a0crippling hunger and devastating war?\u00a0Does detachment from the future and the past\u00a0mean only\u00a0a new kind of\u00a0attachment to replace the old ones, namely attachment to a remarkably nice present! Isn’t such an attachment equally fraught with\u00a0the anxiety of losing it the very moment our luck turns? It is precisely our attachment to the comforts of the physical present that makes us indifferent to the future of mankind, and to the present moment of those that languish in want. But detachment <\/em>from the future and the past does not equate with indifference<\/em> to the future and the past. It is the former\u00a0which\u00a0the likes of Krishna, Buddha and Bah\u00e1’u’ll\u00e1h inculcated on us. The latter they warned us against in\u00a0the severest of terms.<\/p>\n

We should obviously not be attached to any particular future course of events.\u00a0Personal futures are always unpredictable. Nor should we dwell on the “unpleasant things” of our past (or our present, for that matter). But as Bah\u00e1’\u00eds we should always learn from the past, and live in the present by working for a better global future. We should do this while simultaneously remaining utterly unshackled by our past mistakes and undistracted by exciting future prospects, and thereby truly living in the here and the now.<\/p>\n

The Writings assure us that\u00a0we are ultimately\u00a0luminous\u00a0spiritual beings unrestrained by the physical constraints of time and place. In\u00a0our day and age\u00a0where the\u00a0human soul is slowly and\u00a0painfully\u00a0emerging\u00a0out of the\u00a0instant thrill-seeking of its turbulent adolescence, it is also\u00a0learning that to be\u00a0present is not just about ‘now’.\u00a0The present also\u00a0holds a formidable power to determine the future. The present is also entirely shaped by\u00a0its past. A truly mindful awareness sees all history and all future\u00a0present in every moment. It sees all mankind\u00a0present in every meeting.\u00a0The entire human race is constantly shaped by our conduct in\u00a0every\u00a0human encounter, no matter how\u00a0mundane and passing.\u00a0Perhaps this is what it means to live in the Here and the Now in the Bah\u00e1’\u00ed style. To see every moment as an opportunity to learn about God.\u00a0To find in every circumstance a possibility to serve the entire mankind. That it may become a mirror image of His Oneness.<\/p>\n

“Every imperfect soul is self-centred and thinketh only of\u00a0his own good.\u00a0But as his thoughts expand a little he will\u00a0begin to think of the welfare and comfort of his family.\u00a0If\u00a0his ideas still more widen, his concern will be the felicity of\u00a0his fellow citizens; and if still they widen, he will be\u00a0thinking of the glory of his land and of his race. But when\u00a0ideas and views reach the utmost degree of expansion and\u00a0attain the stage of perfection, then will he be interested in\u00a0the exaltation of humankind.\u00a0He will then be the well-wisher\u00a0of all men and the seeker of the weal and prosperity\u00a0of all lands.\u00a0This is indicative of perfection.” <\/em>– ‘Abdu’l-Bah\u00e1<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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  I used to flop at mindfulness. Sometimes I still do. But this has been a good year (I know, I sound like a\u00a0potato harvest). The notion of mindfulness, with its deep roots in the Buddhist tradition, is indeed a profound and powerful idea. ‘Abdu’l-Bah\u00e1 reminds the Bah\u00e1’\u00eds too\u00a0that “prayer and fasting is the cause…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":546,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,39],"tags":[36,144,147,136,4,151,137,145,146,152,142,148,143,150,140,139,149,141,138],"class_list":["post-1033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-and-world-affairs","category-spiritual-and-mystical-reality","tag-abdul-baha","tag-altruism","tag-attachments","tag-bahai-faith","tag-bahaullah","tag-bhagavad-gita","tag-buddha","tag-buddhism","tag-detachment","tag-eckhart-tolle","tag-imam-ali","tag-impermanence","tag-individualism","tag-krishna","tag-living-in-the-here-and-the-now","tag-living-in-the-present","tag-mindfulness","tag-shoghi-effendi","tag-thich-nhat-hanh"],"yoast_head":"\nLiving in the Present - The Bah\u00e1'\u00ed Perspective? - Song of Nightingale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/songofnightingale\/2013\/05\/living-in-the-present-the-bahai-perspective.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Living in the Present - The Bah\u00e1'\u00ed Perspective? - Song of Nightingale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  I used to flop at mindfulness. Sometimes I still do. But this has been a good year (I know, I sound like a\u00a0potato harvest). 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