Meet Wade Fransson
(Baha’i)
Blog #2 … By Wade Frannson
Chapter 2 ~ The Independent Investigation of Reality.
The First Principle of the Baha’i Faith: Independent Investigation of reality
Introduction:
At the heart of the Baha’i Faith lies a foundational principle that beckons individuals to embark on a personal journey of exploration and understanding—the independent investigation of reality. This principle encourages each seeker to engage in a thoughtful and discerning quest for spiritual truth.
In my first blog on this site, I shared my epiphany gained in Russia at the collapse of the Soviet Union. Under dramatic circumstances, I came to a full realization of the degree to which each of us are convinced of our rightness, that we have the answers. But I nonetheless still felt, at that time, that I was not only more “right” than the next person, but I was also less “wrong” than others. This is the pernicious nature of this belief in one’s own “rightness”.
And while I knew that Jesus called me to repent of this attitude, to crucify my ego, in accepting that truth, I simultaneously succumbed to the belief that I understood Jesus’ teachings better than others and was rigidly applying the frequent biblical admonitions to “hold fast” to the teachings as I had understood them.
This holds true, in differing degrees and nuanced variations, for all religions and Ideologies and all of their adherents. This is one aspect of the universality of the Baha’i Faith. It is literally against my religion to proselytize. To seek converts to my belief system. To try to force others to see things through my eyes. Instead, Bahai’s are invited to follow the example of Abdu’l Baha – the son of the Prophet / Founder of the Baha’i Faith Baha’u’llah – in this regard.
I was recently reminded of a critical quote, that expounds on this point, from a series of lectures he delivered in Paris in the early 1900s.
The Jews believe that they are the only possessors of the truth and condemn all other religions. The Christians affirm that their religion is the only true one, that all others are false. Likewise the Buddhists and Muhammadans; all limit themselves. If all condemn one another, where shall we search for truth? All contradicting one another, all cannot be true. If each believes his particular religion to be the only true one, he blinds his eyes to the truth in the others. If, for instance, a Jew is bound by the external practice of the religion of Israel, he does not permit himself to perceive that truth can exist in any other religion; it must be all contained in his own!
If five people meet together to seek for truth, they must begin by cutting themselves free from all their own special conditions and renouncing all preconceived ideas. In order to find truth we must give up our prejudices, our own small trivial notions; an open receptive mind is essential. If our chalice is full of self, there is no room in it for the water of life. The fact that we imagine ourselves to be right and everybody else wrong is the greatest of all obstacles in the path towards unity, and unity is necessary if we would reach truth, for truth is one. (Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 136)
The Baha’i Principle of Independent Investigation:
The important principle of independent investigation is the key to growing in our understanding of spiritual truths, because each of us must understand truth in our own way, on our own terms, in ways that resonate with us. This is subtly different from the current emphasis on individual truths – i.e. “my truth”. It actually is the opposite of insisting on one’s own subjective interpretation. It shifts the focus onto an objective, external reality while allowing us to apply our own internal conceptualization independently of someone else’s conceptualization of that reality.
By way of example, you may have heard of Plato’s cave. I have updated his analogy to conceive of each of us as living in our own parallel universe. But to make it accessible and even comical, imagine that each of us lives inside our own onion, covered by many onion layers. From the inside, it’s impossible to peel away the outer layers that prevent us from seeing the world as it is. From inside that onion, we can only understand objective reality from within our own language, resulting in a clouded view of the world. Or as the Apostle Paul explained, “through a glass darkly.”
The principle of independent investigation accepts this reality and points the way out. It invites individuals to use their intellect, reasoning, and innate spiritual capacity to discern the verities of religion in open non-confrontational, non-antagonistic, discussion with those who believe differently. In future blogs, we’ll address some of the tools at our disposal and explore where this leads. But suffice it to say here that such discussions will encourage all of us to allow our individualized consciousness to meet consciousness on a grander scale – Divine Consciousness – thus simultaneously changing our conceptions and creating a new kind of shared reality. Let’s wrap this one up with some quotes from the founder of the Baha’i Faith.
The Book of Certitude
Baha’u’llah asserts that blind imitation of ancestral beliefs is inadequate in the search for truth, urging individuals to seek knowledge with an open mind and a sincere heart.
- But, O my brother, when a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy.
- The Kitáb-i-Íqán: The Book of Certitude – Bahá’u’lláh
This quote underscores the challenge presented by prior knowledge in the spiritual journey. Early in my journey I had been taught the analogy that if you wish to fill a cup with water, you have to allow the air to escape. One could come up with many examples of how pre-existing beliefs might have entered our consciousness, even if they are nothing but “hot air”. A biblical example of this is how the serpent in Genesis 3:1, as rendered in the New King James version, planted an incorrect idea in Eve’s consciousness:
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
The independent investigation of truth is further portrayed by Bahá’u’lláh as a journey that commences with the recognition of the divine and culminates in the adherence to divine guidance.
- It behooveth us, therefore, to make the utmost endeavor, that, by God’s invisible assistance, these dark veils, these clouds of Heaven-sent trials, may not hinder us from beholding the beauty of His shining Countenance, and that we may recognize Him only by His own Self.”
- The Kitáb-i-Íqán: The Book of Certitude – Bahá’u’lláh
And yet Baha’u’llah highlights the source of divine guidance as the Messengers of God, called Manifestations in the Baha’i Writings. The seeker is encouraged to recognize the messages they bring by quoting the Qur’án ~ 2:285
No distinction do We make between any of His Messengers!
And adding
For they one and all summon the people of the earth to acknowledge the Unity of God, and herald unto them the Kawthar of an infinite grace and bounty.
Conclusion:
The principle of independent investigation of truth in the Baha’i Faith beckons individuals to embark on a personal and transformative journey. And this principle is not only about seeking knowledge but also about cultivating virtues that lead to a deeper understanding of spiritual truths. The next few blogs will similarly focus on the foundational principles of the Baha’i Faith, and I invite us all to approach these discussions with open hearts and discerning minds, and to apply spiritual commitment in pursuit of intellectual coherence.