Soul, Mind, and Spirit

January 30, 1913, at 30 rue St. Didier, Paris

One of the ladies present has asked me to speak on the subject of soul, mind and spirit. She desires an explanation of these terms.

The terminology of ancient philosophers differs from that of our time. In later ages certain terms have developed through which we see these subjects in a different light. According to some ancient philosophers, the words soul, mind and spirit imply the underlying principles of life, expressing the various phases of the one absolute reality. They were different names for the operations of one essence. For instance, we say a man sees, hears and speaks - seeing, hearing and speaking are the different performances of the same power which animates man.

Different schools of thought have given different names to the various operations of the one essence. For instance, when some speak of the emotions of consciousness, they call it soul; When they express the discovering power of man they call it mind, and when they refer to the animating essence of the world of creation, they call it spirit.

The differentiation which we make of these subjects is as follows: By soul we mean that power which is the mover of this physical body which is entirely under its control and lives in accordance with its dictates. The soul that lives in the material world is dark - for in the material world there is aggression, struggle, greed, vice and transgression. If the soul remains in this station, and moves along these paths it will receive no uplift, but if it becomes the recipient of the world of mind, its darkness will be transformed into light; its tyranny into justice, its ignorance into wisdom and its aggression into loving kindness. There will be no more struggle for existence and man will become free from egotism. He will be released from the material world and become the embodiment of justice, the personification of the virtues. He will become a sanctified soul and be the means of the illumination of the world of humanity and an honor to human kind. He will confer life upon the children of men so that all nations will attain to the station of perfection. To such a person we may apply the name of "a holy soul."

Condition of those who have passed on

Question: If one refuses the Cause of Baha’u’llah during his life time, may be hear of it after death?

‘Abdu’l-Baha: Yes, he will hear of it in his next life, but through the mercy of God alone, not through his own ability.

Question: Are we not able, through love and faith, to make those on the other side hear of the Cause who had not heard of it while on earth?

‘Abdu’l-Baha: Yes, surely sincere prayer always has its effect, and it has a great influence in the other world. We are never cut off from those who are there. The real and genuine influence is not in this world but in that other. 

(Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 16, December 31, 1911)