Will

As usual, all opinions here are my own and do not represent the thoughts of Bahá'ís in general. I am simply stating my own in thoughts in hopes that others read them and offer their own thoughts so that I may learn from them. It is so beautiful that we all have this power of speech and intellect in order to discuss with one another and learn from one another. Too often is this bounty neglected.

What is will? Desire? Wanting? It is so much more than that alone. Desire and wanting denote weakness and limitation. One can desire something or want something, but this does not imply that it shall be. Whereas one can will something, and it is.

This is the power of will. It takes the desire and longing and implies action occurs.

In the Writings, we never see phrases such as, "God wanted" or "God desired." No. Once again, we cannot simply limit the Limitless. The Writings (and not only Bahá'í, but near all Sacred Scripture) has this same idea of the Will of God. There is a catch however that we need to be wary of:

Whatever God willed, happened.
Does this make sense? Certainly it may seem so. God, the omnipotent, wills something. Whatever He wills, must happen, right? True, but in this scenario we are limiting the Creator. It implies that something must be desired by God before it occurs. This is not so. Let us look at the next scenario.

Whatever happened, is God's Will.
Does this make more sense? I think so. What we need to understand here again, and this is something I think really needs to be emphasized, is that God is limitless. We are all under the Guidance of the Primal Will, Logos so to speak. Under such Guidance, we were created ("I loved they creation, hence I created Thee..." -Arabic Hidden Words). It is the "B and E joined and knit together." It is the Manifestations of God offering the Bounties of God and allowing us as a human race to progress and mature.

I have a tendency to go to various blogs and other opinionated websites to see what people are saying. Religion is looked down upon by many people. One famous claim states, "If your God is kind and loves everybody, why does He allow for people to suffer?" The person makes a valid point. Is it God's Will for people to suffer? Sure, we are offered tests to allow us to grow and prosper and we are not tested beyond our capacity. But then, why is it that people are born into suffering and starvation? Why are children forced into slavery in the sex trade or as child soldiers? Why are women raped and husbands killed? Is this really what God willed?

Yes. This is what God willed. We as humanity are maturing, but we are also confused. We are beginning to learn the power of free-will but we do not know how to control it properly. Education systems have not been put in place to allow us to near eliminate such suffering. These pains people are suffering are necessary. They are not fair. No, by no means is it fair. But God, the Most-Just will shower His Bounty upon them. These people are meant to serve as examples as to what we are becoming as a human race. The atrocities which they face are a symbol of what we wish to eliminate. We will need to work to improve our planet. This is God's Will.

Now how to carry this forward:
"The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct." This quote has been used over and over in this blog, and will continue to be used. We have all been created from the same dust, in God's image. We all possess the various virtues and qualities of God to varying degrees depending on our capacities. However, it is useless until put into action. By purely, with no ulterior motive, putting these deeds into action, we can bring about the betterment of the world and assist to alleviate this ailing planet from the disease of warfare and injustice which is currently plaguing it's denizens.

This is not an easy task. This is not an overnight task. But, this task is what God has willed upon it. Do we not, as His creation, have an obligation to carry out His Will? What greater bounty do we have than to serve our fellow man and bring about the betterment of the world?

How do you plan to do it?

Me? I am currently a University student in the field of science. Personally, right now, my service is twofold. First is the short-term, where I can converse with others and see who would like to join and bring about the betterment of the world (for how, see the entry on July 23, 2010 for an example). Long-term... This is the difficult part for me. I need to study to make sure I do the best I can to reach a capacity where I can serve my brothers and sisters through my occupation directly. Whether it be through research, medicine, public health, or something completely unrelated to science, I do not know. All I know is that through action, Divine Confirmation will assist me.

Again, how do you plan to bring about the betterment of the world?