On Personal Ethics: A Personal Statement by a 2nd Generation Baha'i

Jeff on The Life of Jeff, Kind Of, offers "Some insight into who I am and what I believe" in a recent posting. Jeff is second-generation Baha'i. How easy is it to raise a child to follow in the footsteps of his parents spiritually? Not that easy, I would suggest. Is Jeff "messed up in the head," as he jocularly asserts to his regular readers on Xanga? I think not. Kudos to his parents. More kudos to Jeff.

So for my Personal Ethics class, my professor handed out a really compelling questionare that we had to fill out so he could get some better insight into what we believe and why. I figured since I'm sharing it with him, I might as well share with you guys too, you know, so you can understand why I'm so messed up in the head. Isn't that nice of me?

-On what key beliefs (or truths) do you base your life?
Religiously, I was born and raised a Bahai and I firmly believe in my faith. At the same time, my parents raised me to be both morally conservative and socially responsible.

-Do you believe in God or an Ultimate Reality? What is that reality?
Yes I do believe in God. As for the how to define the ultimate reality, Ive never really concerned myself with that because I doubt that having any kind of insight on that would change the way I live my life.

Image: The Voyages of the Crimson Ark, Rob Hain 1991
The painting represents two states of being; death and life. The closed triptych depicts the disintegration of a room, which should be seen as the corporeal body. This is the soul in its caged, earthly existence.

-What is the purpose of life?
I believe that our physical lives can be compared to a mothers womb. Just as the mothers womb allows us to develop all the physical faculties we need to survive and interact with the physical world, our lives, the experiences we have, and the things we learn help us to develop the spiritual faculties well need to survive and interact with the next life.

-What do you think of death? What is it? What, if anything, continues after death?
I believe that all death is is the soul leaving the physical body. While the soul doesnt need the body to survive, the body needs the soul to survive, so as soon as it leaves us permanently, our bodies cease to function and our souls move on to the next world, the spiritual world.

-Why is there suffering?
There is suffering for two reasons. One reason is that it is part of life and it is meant to be there to help us grow and develop. The other reason there is suffering is because of the choices we make as human beings. When we make unhealthy choices, we cause ourselves and others to suffer. As a result, its very important to be as careful as possible to think and behave in such a manner to alleviate suffering as much as possible.

-Why is there evil? What is its cause?
There is no evil, there is only the absence of goodness. Think of goodness as a light and evil as the shadow. Light exists, it can move and radiate and spread, but it is physically impossible for darkness to radiate and spread. The only reason there is ever darkness is because there is a lack of light or something is blocking that light.

-Some people think that personal relationships interfere with spiritual growth. What do you think?
The people in our lives are there to make us spiritually stronger through our interactions with them. The only thing that hinders our spiritual growth is the choices we make personally. Sure, people can influence us, but in the end, were the ones who chose to act so we only have ourselves to blame.

Image: The Voyages of the Crimson Ark, Rob Hain 1991
The opened triptych reveals the Crimson Ark; a modern day Garden of Heavenly Delights. The images are all symbolic and taken entirely from the imagination. The soul has moved from its static world of the physical, to the free, moving world of the metaphysical. Inspired by Italian Pre-Renaissance painters and religious icons, there is a childlike naive innocence I wanted to convey.
-Do all religions lead to the same place?
Yup. Were all heading in the same direction whether we like it or not.

-What is most important to you?
Loving and helping others.

-Why are you doing what you are doing?
I do what I do because I love this world and the people in it. I try to not live my life for me, but rather, for the people in my life. Its not always easy, because there are times when I want to be selfish, very selfish, but I have found time and time again that whenever I act with selfish intentions, I cause more harm than good.

-What is the highest ideal a person can reach? How is this ideal attained?
I dont know, everyone has their own goals in life, their own ideals, and what they believe is desirable, so who am I to say whats ideal for everyone? I do however believe that the best way to obtain your ideal, once you have decided what it is, is to devote yourself tenaciously to what you believe is the best path towards reaching that ideal.

-What do you feel is something life still has to teach you?
Patience. Patience. Patience.

Jeff, "Some insight into who I am and what I believe," The Life of Jeff, Kind Of