Becoming Mirrors of Divine Light & Hope for Humanity—An Interfaith Reflection
Dr. A. K. Merchant*
The International Day of Hope is observed globally on 12th July to celebrate hope as a transformative force for individuals, communities, and nations. It serves as a global invitation to act, foster shared humanity, and build a better future together. It is much more than a feeling. Science shows that hope is a teachable and measurable skill that can be built through action, connection, care, and support. This should lead all to the realization that the current state of uncertainty mirroring all that is destructive and threatening humanity’s survival has to be stopped. In the Bahá’i Faith, the mirror is a central metaphor for spiritual truth. It illustrates how the unknowable essence of God, like the sun, reflects His attributes through the Manifestations of God, described as Perfect mirrors, and how human souls can cleanse the "dust" of ego to reflect Divine light.
These Manifestations variously described as Divine Educators, Prophets, Avataras, Messengers--such as the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad [pbuh], and Bahá'u'lláh—to list only a few, may be likened to perfectly polished mirrors. They are the Founders of world religions aka dharma. They do not embody God's essence, just as a mirror does not become the sun, but they perfectly reflect His attributes—such as love, mercy, and wisdom—in a way that humanity can comprehend. Bahá’í teachings state that the human heart is also a mirror meant to reflect the light of God.
Present-day society cannot seriously expect to improve its conditions if the mirror of the human heart is clouded by “dust” of worldly attachments like avarice, envy, selfishness, and vanity. The purpose of spiritual practice—such as prayer, meditation, justice, and sincerity—is to "polish" the mirror of the heart. When cleansed, the soul becomes radiant with the divine attributes and acquires capabilities to resolve problems, remove mistrust and create harmony in situations of conflict. This analogy is also applied to the Bahá’í belief in progressive revelation—the idea that all major world religions originate from the same divine source. If all the Manifestations of God, are understood to be the mirrors reflecting the light of the same Sun, the Supreme Divinity, then obviously the followers of different religions should inherently reflect the same spiritual truths, despite the differences in their outer forms of worship, social laws and teachings suited to different cultural and environmental settings, history of peoples. Sadly, the vast majority of people have turned away from true religion. They have turned either to the selfish pursuit of material things or have followed man-made political theories trying to put the world right. The ground reality shows that none of these ideas, secular or religious, have succeeded because none has actively promoted well-being or brought peace in the world. Bahá’i Writings state: “Religion is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein.”
As human beings learn to accept the seeming pluralities of life in a fast-paced and highly volatile changing order, they would begin to discover the sacredness of unity in the midst of myriad diversity everywhere. This would help all in rediscovering hope, purpose and meaningful living. The inherent unity of the entire existence is only fully realized when individuals start mirroring this greater unity. In turn, such a realization may be extended to the two other protagonists of society—institutions and communities. Humans are capable of transcending perceived limitations when they look upon all things with an innate consciousness of oneness. Thus, the spirit of altruism within every person is enkindled mirroring the qualities of compassion, discernment and wisdom. This is the circle that completes the unity of existence, when all things are perceived as reflections of oneness and the same underlying spiritual reality of unity in diversity.
When the diversity of all things is seen as emanations of divine love and selfless service, humankind would perceive a living solidarity and unity with all things that can transform the world into a paradise. This unified consciousness is the inner force that consolidates human identity of unity into a profound gratitude for all things, bringing contentment, joy, wonderment, and bewilderment into a harmonious and balanced flow of wholeness. This further results in a fully engaged personality committed to contributing to the betterment of the world. To paraphrase a Bahá’i quotation, ‘one thing and only one thing will be unfailing and alone provide security and solace to humanity, and that is the extent to which the Cosmic Will for this Age is fully mirrored in every individual’s inner life and private character.’ With this understanding it becomes apparent that the changing order, designed to reflect this greater unity and peace, follows a trajectory of many twists and turns for mirroring the Changeless, Eternal One.
The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, His followers believe, has “lent a fresh impulse and set a new direction” that is world-shaking, world-ordering, convulsing the nations, stirring the conscience of the disillusioned multitudes, and accelerating a radical transformation never-before experienced in the collective evolution of humankind. “The world will pass away, and so will all the things whereat your hearts rejoice, or wherein ye pride yourselves before men. Cleanse the mirrors of your hearts from the dross of the world and all that is therein, that they may reflect the resplendent light of God….” Let us all remain ever hopeful.
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*The writer is a social worker, an independent researcher, & member of Bahá’i Community of India.