Conception of health and illness
Unity being of such importance in the Baha’i faith, illness is understood, here, as disunity within the person or between the person and the world.
“The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Baha'u'llah. Our physical health is so linked up with our mental, moral and spiritual health, and also with the individual and social health of our fellowmen, nay, even with the life of the animals and plants, that each of these is affected by the others to a far greater extent than is usually realized. There is no command of the Prophet, therefore, to whatever department of life it may primarily refer, which does not concern bodily health.” (Abdul-Baha, 1990)
It was explained to me that there is three stages of illness in the Baha’i faith.
The first one is strictly physical. It has physical causes often easily identified by western medicine. I was given the example of a cut or a bruise. In those specific cases, the use of medical treatment is taught to be at least as important as prayers. Prayers might help, but “when you cut your finger, you need a plaster to heal the wound, prayers alone won’t do”. The Baha’i are open to the use of western medicine, with only a few limitations.
The second stage of illness is of spiritual nature. Mental illnesses are included in this category, but also losses of faith, adjustment disorders, marital conflicts, etc. The accepting precepts of the Baha’i religion, open to every one’s differences, were hinted to be good to prevent this form of illness. As for treatment, prayers and meditation were mentioned, but also social changes to end prejudices and intolerances.
The third level of illness is the most severe. It includes the illnesses that have a physical and a spiritual cause. Because the body and the soul are one in the Baha’i faith, they both are expected to interact and affect each other. Here, western medicine and spiritual guidance are both necessary for the person to fully recover.This mixture of the spiritual and the physical appealed to me, partly because I am an atheist. As such, I don’t believe in a soul disconnected from the body, but that the two are actually one. As a nurse, I also learned to appreciate the complex imbrications between the biological, the psychological and the social aspects of health and illness. Those views of mine, strangely, put me closer to the Baha’i conception of health and illness than I had expected.
While our medical knowledge always increases, the nursing profession and the western society in general are slowly turning toward a more holistic vision of health and illness. It seems that something similar was happening at the time Shoghi Effendi wrote, making his writing very contemporary. This was first written in 1923 : “In the Western world of today there is evident a remarkable revival of belief in the efficacy of healing by mental and spiritual means. Indeed many, in their revolt against the materialistic ideals about disease and its treatment which prevailed in the nineteenth century, have gone to the opposite extreme of denying that material remedies or hygienic methods have any value whatsoever. Baha'u'llah recognizes the value of both material and spiritual remedies. He teaches that the science and art of healing must be developed, encouraged and perfected, so that all means of healing may be used to the best advantage, each in its appropriate sphere.” (Effendi, 1980)
To initiate the conversation at the brunch, one Baha’i member told me: “Food is like medicine for us” Indeed, prevention is very important in the Baha’i conception of health and illness. As Abdul-Abba (1990) wrote: "The bearing on health of these commands relating to the simple life, hygiene, abstinence from alcohol and opium, etcetera, is too obvious to call for much comment, although their vital importance is apt to be greatly underestimated. Were they to be generally observed, most of the infectious diseases and a good many others would soon vanish from among men. The amount of illness caused by neglect of simple hygienic precautions and by indulgence in alcohol and opium is prodigious."
“The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Baha'u'llah. Our physical health is so linked up with our mental, moral and spiritual health, and also with the individual and social health of our fellowmen, nay, even with the life of the animals and plants, that each of these is affected by the others to a far greater extent than is usually realized. There is no command of the Prophet, therefore, to whatever department of life it may primarily refer, which does not concern bodily health.” (Abdul-Baha, 1990)
It was explained to me that there is three stages of illness in the Baha’i faith.
The first one is strictly physical. It has physical causes often easily identified by western medicine. I was given the example of a cut or a bruise. In those specific cases, the use of medical treatment is taught to be at least as important as prayers. Prayers might help, but “when you cut your finger, you need a plaster to heal the wound, prayers alone won’t do”. The Baha’i are open to the use of western medicine, with only a few limitations.
The second stage of illness is of spiritual nature. Mental illnesses are included in this category, but also losses of faith, adjustment disorders, marital conflicts, etc. The accepting precepts of the Baha’i religion, open to every one’s differences, were hinted to be good to prevent this form of illness. As for treatment, prayers and meditation were mentioned, but also social changes to end prejudices and intolerances.
The third level of illness is the most severe. It includes the illnesses that have a physical and a spiritual cause. Because the body and the soul are one in the Baha’i faith, they both are expected to interact and affect each other. Here, western medicine and spiritual guidance are both necessary for the person to fully recover.This mixture of the spiritual and the physical appealed to me, partly because I am an atheist. As such, I don’t believe in a soul disconnected from the body, but that the two are actually one. As a nurse, I also learned to appreciate the complex imbrications between the biological, the psychological and the social aspects of health and illness. Those views of mine, strangely, put me closer to the Baha’i conception of health and illness than I had expected.
While our medical knowledge always increases, the nursing profession and the western society in general are slowly turning toward a more holistic vision of health and illness. It seems that something similar was happening at the time Shoghi Effendi wrote, making his writing very contemporary. This was first written in 1923 : “In the Western world of today there is evident a remarkable revival of belief in the efficacy of healing by mental and spiritual means. Indeed many, in their revolt against the materialistic ideals about disease and its treatment which prevailed in the nineteenth century, have gone to the opposite extreme of denying that material remedies or hygienic methods have any value whatsoever. Baha'u'llah recognizes the value of both material and spiritual remedies. He teaches that the science and art of healing must be developed, encouraged and perfected, so that all means of healing may be used to the best advantage, each in its appropriate sphere.” (Effendi, 1980)
To initiate the conversation at the brunch, one Baha’i member told me: “Food is like medicine for us” Indeed, prevention is very important in the Baha’i conception of health and illness. As Abdul-Abba (1990) wrote: "The bearing on health of these commands relating to the simple life, hygiene, abstinence from alcohol and opium, etcetera, is too obvious to call for much comment, although their vital importance is apt to be greatly underestimated. Were they to be generally observed, most of the infectious diseases and a good many others would soon vanish from among men. The amount of illness caused by neglect of simple hygienic precautions and by indulgence in alcohol and opium is prodigious."
posted by karine at 11:54 AM
2 Comments:
Very interesting read Cybellette! There ar many statements in the Bahai writings about health illness and especially hapiness!
Dave Menham
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