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Chapter 12

The Characteristics and States of Soul in
Man's Outer and Inner

1. Question: How do the inward or spiritual characteristics of man differ with those of the animals?

Answer: Modesty and shame are two special agents in man. At certain times and specific locations he does not engage in things mostly enjoyable to him; out of modesty, he refrains. This brief explanation may not well clarify the truth of this characteristic.

2. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who has excellent outward and inward serenity. Modesty and shame are two of those excellent spiritual qualities of man. Whenever he is overcome by his sensual and egoistic instincts and tends toward committing some action prohibited in civil, religious, or family rules, at that time, if someone aware of the rule arrives and sees him, then compliantly, he feels as intense inward discomfort out of shame.

3. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who inwardly appears to be up to twenty, thirty, one hundred or more times greater than he is, in that he has developed himself from the perspective of Soul or Ego. But Rumi says from the standpoint of wise people, angels and devils

Couplet:

"The body is not veiled from the Soul, and the Soul from the body But Soul remains veiled from everyone." Rumi

4. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the only being who sees a part of his visual and spiritual life experiences in dreams in a very real manner. Afterwards, he can relate all or a part of it to his other fellows while he is awake. Why does he not ponder? Why and how does this situation come about? Sure! This is proof of the truth concerning the substance of man's imperfect Soul.

5. Question: Basically, what kind of invisible power does man possess?

Answer: Man is the being who is always busy with himself and his surroundings, voluntarily and involuntarily between the two good and evil broadcasting stations. He will be consequently drawn to the one, which prevails over the other.

6. Question: How then, can man reach a superior station and in what cases does he fall to an inferior station.

Answer: By following the Ego, should man tend to lean toward extreme lowliness and meanness, he is outwardly a human being but inwardly a very deceitful and fraudulent beast. By taking advantage of humanity's position, he makes harmful exploitations, because his Soul has descended to the level of Animal-Soul with the only difference being the availability of chance for people still in this situation to return to Almighty God. By making efforts, they could still reach the perfect and true human position or rank. Also, on the opposite side, as long as his Soul has not reached the position of Jaann and his Ego the position of At-Peace, then there exists a 25 - 30 % probability that he may go astray.

7. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being whose inner greatness can oftentimes be seen, neither by himself nor by others, whether it be from the viewpoint of Ego or from the viewpoint of Soul's purity. However, everyone can see his outer greatness resulting from some mastery in the areas of knowledge, wealth, power, and false or true fame, which are all perishable in the end.

8. Question: What are some other excellent human spiritual attributes?

Answer: Due to his sound intellect, man often does not respond with actual force like other animals in case he is defending himself. He deliberates, just in case the opposite side is stronger than him from any viewpoint which might endanger his life.

Whenever he finds himself weak and feeble in front of an attacker, then he starts to make use of other methods, such as insisting importunately, or using spiritual defense as a means to try to win the attacker's tenderheartedness.

9. Question: Could you illustrate this a bit more?

Answer: Certainly! Sound people not only feel the physical or spiritual harm that is done to others, but they dislike any attack on people's property and honor as well. In such cases, the experienced ones respond with patience and the hasty ones with immediate defense.

10. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who, due to his ambitious instinct for authority and domination over other living creatures, does not attack and disturb them, finding them weaker than himself or seeing himself in a position of authority over them. On the other hand, if he finds them to be his rival, then he tries by any possible means to defeat and subdue them.

11. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being possessing the intelligence bestowed upon him by Almighty God. He makes use and skillful things out of this intelligence to whatever extent he wants, in good and bad affairs.

12. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who quite clearly displays his contentment with laughter and his sorrow with tears.

13. Question: What privileges do these skills and authorities prove for him?

Answer: He is just showing examples and declaring evidence of his excellent intelligence and qualities granted to him by Almighty God, which he possesses quantitatively and qualitatively above all other existents.

14. Question: Why are all other beings except man created in a horizontal form?

Answer: So that their heads may reach the ground as quickly as possible for the purpose of eating and drinking. Therefore, they are deprived of spiritual ascent.

15. Question: Why, on the contrary, is man the only one among living creatures on the earth to have been created in an upright shape?

Answer: The perception of this secret is related to the fact that if man's spiritual powers ascend, he will go directly to the Highest-of-High. And if, on the contrary, Ego should prevail over him, then he will go down to the Lowest-of-Low.

16. Question: What inner aspect is this Ascent and Descent a result of?

Answer: The Soul is from the Presence of the Glorious Supreme Being, it manifests itself in the form of life in the body, and knowledge is represented by intellect in the body. Both Soul and Intellect have been entrusted to man's body from the Sacred World. Likewise, Ego, which is the essence of our malicious world, inferior world, or the earth, is also instilled in man's body. Therefore, each of these factors is trying to reunite with its origin. This means that, if Soul is fortified, then the person will directly ascend to the Highest-of-High; and if the Ego should prevail, then it will take man down to the Lowest-of-Low.

17. Question: Where would man's abode be, if the states of Soul and Ego were equal in him?

Answer: The main purpose of all these life scenarios is actually to be tested and consequently to acquire Insight into Glorious Him. It is to find and perceive the Greatness, Glory and Perfection of the Creator of the earth and sky. It is to accept with complete faith, all the rest of the hidden and exposed things as proof of His Almighty's unique Perfection and Magnificence; and to recognize Him as without opposition or likeness. These are some of the methods of establishing the relationship with Him Almighty.

The sign of the establishment of this relationship is such that, the owners of this fortune benefit God's creatures, always and everywhere, for the sake of His happiness, without thinking of any personal gain. Almighty God has bestowed upon us the entire honor, favors, gifts, kindness, and compassion from the beginning of the creation. Therefore, according to this criterion, if a guilty or disobedient person is not saved from the torture by a particle of faith through the intercession of some pious servant of God, then the person will taste the torture for a limited time in Hell. Afterwards, for the sake of his original faith, he will be taken out of Hell and placed in his abode in a Paradise or in the Ismuth.

18. Question: Will this intercession for the guilty people be accepted only from the elite human beings?

Answer: No! If a person has made the hearts of a fellow human being or of some other living creatures happy by fulfilling their desires and hopes when they were facing a disaster, then he will be saved by that creature's good prayer, as well. Likewise, if the person did a favor for a harmless animal or a small animate such as an ant, and he has saved it; then he will be pardoned by the Glorious Gracious, Great, Almighty God, through the intercession of that living creature.

19. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who will indeed win the Everlasting World and gain a good reputation among people, if he spends the whole of his worldly capital on the happiness of the Almighty God and his Unique Almighty Artificer, for the purpose of peace for God's creatures in the light of Theism. This fortune is the result of fortification of the battery of faith and the spiritual powers.

On the contrary, if this capital is spent to fulfill the desires of Ego and other immoralities, then woe be to him, he will be questioned in the Presence of Almighty God, the Beneficent of all favors, and the oppressed children of mankind, about all these bestowed favors and gifts.