We live in a time of renewal. Not only is this a time of seasonal renewal, it is also a time of spiritual renewal. Like the natural cycles of the seasons, our evolving consciousness follows the universal pattern of growth, maturity, decay, and renewal.
Signs of decline all around us are part of a larger process. The bigger picture holds the promise of rebirth. The rise and fall of civilizations follow this pattern as well. Ascent and descent make up the essence of change, which is the inherent nature of life. Change is inevitable, and necessary for progress. There is a sequence to all change, and it is toward potential.
This same pattern of decline and renewal is found in the spiritual realm. There have been spiritual epochs clearly defined along our evolutionary continuum. A divinely inspired process of maturation followed by decline and eventual renewal is as true in the realm of religion as it is for individual development, social development, and the cycles of the seasons.
Spiritual and religious consciousness expands along a progressive, eternal continuum, increasing in complexity as our individual and collective development unfolds. Abdu’l-Baha, son of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, puts it this way: “The evolution of existence is one; the divine system is one; whether they be small or great beings, all are subject to one law and system.”
After a long winter of sleep and inner growth, we are witnessing now the early stages of renewed life, and with it a leap of consciousness. We are becoming more aware every day that the realm of Creation is an indivisible oneness, that deep down we are all interconnected.
It is difficult to deny that prophets of God such as Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and, most recently, Baha’u’llah have, each in their own time, not only impacted the world, but have changed the whole course of human life in the last four thousand years.
Abdu’l-Baha explains further: “Just as the solar cycle has its four seasons, the cycle of the Sun of Reality has its distinct and successive periods. Each brings its vernal season or springtime. When the Sun of Reality returns to quicken the world of mankind, a divine bounty descends from the heaven of generosity. The realm of thoughts and ideals is set in motion and blessed with new life. Minds are developed, hopes brighten, aspirations become spiritual, the virtues of the human world appear with freshened power of growth, and the image and likeness of God become visible in man. It is the springtime of the inner world.”
In a short span of evolutionary time, the progressive nature of human consciousness, guided and directed by the never-ending outpouring of divine energies, has evolved from a basic frame of reference of the family and the tribe to one of nations and humanity as a whole.
With the New Year (Naw-Ruz) beginning on the spring equinox for Zoroastrians, Persians, and Baha’is, it is now only 173 years into the Baha’i Era (the equivalent of a century and three-quarters into the Christian Era.) In just this time frame, we have seen a leap in consciousness from the norm of nation-building to an almost realized vision of a global community built by world citizens.
In relation to the cycle of the seasons, the Baha’i Revelation is still in its early days; its spiritual energies are just beginning to ascend and blossom, changing this world into another world. We are the fortunate ones living in a spiritual springtime.
The most important change is always a change in consciousness. Yet this is a potential not automatically fulfilled, or guaranteed. We are born capable of transcending our own consciousness by developing a larger and larger awareness of self, society, the mysteries of life, and the universe of which we are part.
The consciousness characterizing our spiritual epoch, that we need to ensure comes into its summer fullness, is the consciousness of the oneness of humanity. The Baha’i writings focus on just this: “World order can be founded only on an unshakeable consciousness of the oneness of mankind… all the human sciences recognize only one human species, albeit infinitely varied in the secondary aspects of life. Recognition of this truth requires abandonment of prejudice—prejudice of every kind—race, class, colour, creed, nation, sex, degree of material civilization, everything which enables people to consider themselves superior to others.” This is how the world is now being renewed and revivified.
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