|
"In man there is a reality which is not the physical body... This other and inner reality is called the heavenly body... This is the conscious reality... the inner reality which comprehends things, throws light upon the mysteries of life and being, discovers the heavenly Kingdom, unseals the mysteries of God, and differentiates man from the brute." (Pup 460- 1) (35:1) The fact that it is your "inner reality" means that it is 'closer in' toward Deity, or "above" the body.. The important point is that the soul is created in this higher (inner) condition of being. (35:2) "The lowest degree of intelligence is that of the animals..., the natural feeling which appears through the powers of the senses, and which is called sensation. In this, men and animals are sharers..." (Saq 252) (35:3) "Man is like the animal in physical structure, but otherwise immeasurably separated and superior." "Just as the animal is more noble than the vegetable and mineral so man is superior to the animal. (Pup 64; 235) (35:4) "What difference is there between the animal and the man? The difference is this: that the animal is not capable of apprehending the divine teachings, whereas man is worthy of them and possesses the capacity to understand. In the animal kingdom there is no such bestowal." (Pup 58) (35:5) "First and foremost among... favors which the Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding. His purpose in conferring such a gift is none other except to enable His creature to know and recognize the one true God." With "the rational faculty... God hath endowed the essence of man." "God's greatest gift to man is that of intellect, or understanding. The understanding is the power by which man acquires his knowledge of the several kingdoms of creation, and of various stages of existence, as well as of much which is invisible." (Bwf 121- 2); Gl 164; Pt 41) (35:6) We've learned that "beings are of two kinds: material and spiritual, those perceptible to the senses and those intellectual," so we see that our body is a material being whereas your soul is not perceptible to the senses; and we see where the line is drawn between the two levels of existence. (Saq 301) (35:7) "Could ye apprehend with what wonders of My munificence and bounty I have willed to entrust to your souls, ye would, of a truth, rid yourselves of attachment to all created things, and would gain a true knowledge of your own selves." (Bwf 67)
(35:8)
|