In Baháʼí cosmology reality is divided into three divisions. The first division is

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, who is preexistent and on whom the rest of creation is contingent. The second division is God's

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Ari ...

, the Primal Will, which is the realm of God's commands and grace. This realm pervades all created things. The Manifestations of God, Messengers from God, are appearances of the Logos in the physical world. The third division is

Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

, which includes the physical world. Creation is not seen as confined to the material universe, and individual material objects, such as the Earth, are seen to come into being at particular moment and then subsequently break down into their constituent parts. Thus, the current universe is seen as a result of a long-lasting process (cosmological time scales), evolving to its current state. In the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

, the whole universe is a sign of God and is dependent on him and humanity was created to know God and to serve his purpose.

Realms

Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, distinguished five realms of existence. The terminology used can partly be traced back to Islamic

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some i ...

and Sufism, but this does not mean that Baháʼu'lláh supports a Neoplatonist or Sufi worldview.Lepain, J.M. (2010) 990
The Tablet of All Food: The Hierarchy of the Spiritual Worlds and the Metaphoric Nature of Physical Reality
'. Baháʼí Studies Review 16, pp. 43–60. doi: 10.1386/bsr.16.43/1. He views all metaphysical viewpoints as relative, reflecting only the soul or psyche and cultural background of the individual rather than any Absolute Truth. The Baháʼí teachings de-emphasize the importance of metaphysics, while focusing primarily on social and personal ethics. God is manifested in all five realms, the Manifestations of God in all but the first realm, and

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

exist between the angelic and physical realms and can choose which to live in. All the divine worlds revolve around this world, and all are interdependent. The divine worlds can only be described by metaphors, and can be compared with the world of dreams. The realms of Nasut and Malakut are parts of the 'world of creation' and are ruled by the same spiritual laws. The purpose of life in this world is to develop spiritual qualities that are needed in the next world. Man has a

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

to live a material life in the world of Nasut, or a life of detachment in the realm of Malakut, manifesting the names and attributes of God. Baháʼu'lláh explains that the 'realm of subtle entities' (''ʻalam-i-dharr'', a reference to God's primordial

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

with humanity mentioned in Qurʼán 7:172) refers to the revelation of the Prophets. Before the Word of God is revealed, all people are considered equal in rank. Differences only appear after the Prophet reveals himself, caused by the different responses of each individual's

.Kazemi, Farshid (2009).
Mysteries of Alast: The Realm of Subtle Entities and the Primordial Covenant in the Bábí-Baháʼí Writings
'. Baháʼí Studies Review 15. Baháʼu'lláh also wrote of many worlds of God. In the '' Súriy-i-Vafa'', he writes: "Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later canonized as the ...

, son and successor of Baháʼu'lláh, writes in the ''Lawh-i-Aflákiyyih'' (''Tablet of the Universe'') that there are infinite Manifestations of God in the infinite worlds of God. 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Tablet of the Universe (Lawh-i-Aflákiyyih)
'. Baháʼu'lláh explained that while humans should seek knowledge, no human can understand the nature of God's creation or God himself. He stated that while God had given humans a rational mind, humans are unable to comprehend the inner reality.

Notes

References

External links

The Loom of Reality
thematic compilations of quotations from the Bahá’í Writings and beyond

compilation
Iscander Tinto: The Worlds of God
(archived)
More articles on Baháʼí cosmology
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on Baháʼí Library (various authors) {{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i cosmology Bahá'í belief and doctrine Bahá'í terminology Religious cosmologies

Realms

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links