“The wisdom of the appearance of the spirit in the body is this: the human spirit is a Divine Trust, and it must traverse all conditions, for its passage and movement through the conditions of existence will be the means of its acquiring perfections.”
The purpose of life
Sufferings like every other aspect of life should be understood in the context of the ‘purpose of life’. If there were no Creator, if humans were simply chance products of a thermodynamic system, as many in the world today assert, there would be no purpose in life. Each individual human being would represent the temporary material existence of a conscious animal trying to move through his or her brief life with as much pleasure and as little pain and suffering as possible.
Therefore only in relation to the Creator, and the purpose which the Creator has fixed for His creatures, that human existence has any meaning.
“The conception of annihilation is a factor in human degradation, a cause of human debasement and lowliness, a source of human fear and abjection. It has been conducive to the dispersion and weakening of human thought whereas the realization of existence and continuity has upraised man to sublimity of ideals, established the foundations of human progress and stimulated the development of heavenly virtues; therefore it behoves man to abandon thoughts of non-existence and death which are absolutely imaginary and see himself ever living, everlasting in the divine purpose of his creation. He must turn away from ideas which degrade the human soul, so that day by day and hour by hour he may advance upward and higher to spiritual perception of the continuity of the human reality. If he dwells upon the thought of non-existence he will become utterly incompetent; with weakened will-power his ambition for progress will be lessened and the acquisition of human virtues will cease.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 265)
In the beginning stages of earthly life, the individual undergoes a period of training and education which, if it is successful, gives him/her the basic intellectual and spiritual tools necessary for continued growth.
“Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.” (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 259)
“.....favour character and conduct above the sciences and arts. Good behaviour and high moral character must come first, for unless the character be trained, acquiring knowledge will only prove injurious. Knowledge is praiseworthy when it is coupled with ethical conduct and virtuous character..” (Abdu’l-Baha -Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 278)
When individuals attain physical maturity in adulthood, they become responsible for their further progress, which now depends entirely on the efforts they themselves make. Through the daily struggles of material existence, people gradually deepen their understanding of the spiritual principles underlying reality, and this understanding enables them to relate more effectively to themselves, to others, and to God.
“Know thou that all men have been created in the nature made by God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Unto each one hath been prescribed a pre-ordained measure, as decreed in God's mighty and guarded Tablets. All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition. Your own acts testify to this truth.” (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 149)
“From the exalted source, and out of the essence of His favor and bounty He hath entrusted every created thing with a sign of His knowledge, so that none of His creatures may be deprived of its share in expressing, each according to its capacity and rank, this knowledge. This sign is the mirror of His beauty in the world of creation. The greater the effort exerted for the refinement of this sublime and noble mirror, the more faithfully will it be made to reflect the glory of the names and attributes of God, and reveal the wonders of His signs and knowledge… There can be no doubt whatever that, in consequence of the efforts which every man may consciously exert and as a result of the exertion of his own spiritual faculties, this mirror can be so cleansed from the dross of earthly defilements and purged from satanic fancies as to be able to draw nigh unto the meads of eternal holiness and attain the courts of everlasting fellowship.” (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 262)
"In this age every face must turn to God! so that spiritual enlightenment will go hand in hand with material education. Material education alone cannot make the world happy. Spiritual civilization must assist the material. The material civilization is like the lamp, but the spiritual civilization is like the light in the lamp. The lamp without the light is a useless thing." (Abdu’l-Baha - Star of the West, Star of the West - 9)
“As for the spiritual perfections they are man's birthright and belong to him alone of all creation. Man is, in reality, a spiritual being, and only when he lives in the spirit is he truly happy. This spiritual longing and perception belongs to all men alike..” (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 72)
The spiritual reason for our life on earth is to provide us with a training ground; our life is a period of growth during which we focus on the development of our innate spiritual and intellectual capacities. Because these capacities are faculties of our immortal soul, they are eternal, and we must make great efforts to develop them. Such efforts are worthwhile, since the soul is the only part of us which endures. Whatever promotes our spiritual development is good, and whatever hinders it is bad.
“Strain every nerve to acquire both inner and outer perfections, for the fruit of the human tree hath ever been and will ever be perfections both within and without. It is not desirable that a man be left without knowledge or skills, for he is then but a barren tree. Then, so much as capacity and capability allow, ye needs must deck the tree of being with fruits such as knowledge, wisdom, spiritual perception and eloquent speech.” (Bahá'u'lláh, from a Tablet-translated from the Persian)
“Man must travel in the way of God. Day by day he must endeavour to become better, his belief must increase and become firmer, his good qualities and his turning to God must be greater, the fire of his love must flame more brightly; then day by day he will make progress, for to stop advancing is the means of going back. The bird when he flies soars ever higher and higher, for as soon as he stops flying he will come down. Every day, in the morning when arising you should compare today with yesterday and see in what condition you are. If you see your belief is stronger and your heart more occupied with God and your love increased and your freedom from the world greater, then thank God and ask for the increase of these qualities. You must begin to pray and repent for all that you have done which is wrong and you must implore and ask for help and assistance that you may become better than yesterday so that you may continue to make progress.” (Abdu'l-Bahá,- "Star of the West", vol. 8, no. 6 (24 June 1917), p. 68)
After physical death, the individual continues to grow and develop in the spiritual world, which is greater than the physical world, just as the physical world is greater than the world we inhabit while in our mother's womb.
“. . . In this world he must prepare himself for the life beyond. That which he needs in the world of the Kingdom must be obtained here . . . In that world there is need of spirituality, faith, assurance, the knowledge and love of God. These he must attain in this world so that after his ascension from the earthly to the heavenly Kingdom he shall find all that is needful in that eternal life ready for him. That divine world is manifestly a world of lights; therefore, man has need of illumination here. That is a world of love; the love of God is essential. It is a world of perfections; virtues, or perfections, must be acquired. That world is vivified by the breaths of the Holy Spirit; in this world we must seek them. That is the Kingdom of everlasting life; it must be attained during vanishing existence . . .” (Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 63)
Therefore human beings should learn to live fully in this world and yet be detached from it so as to be fully prepared - mentally, emotionally, spiritually - for the transition from this world into the next.
“The earthly life lasts but a short time, even its benefits are transitory; that which is temporary does not deserve our heart's attachment.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 135)
Life should be seen as an eternal process of joyous spiritual discovery and growth.
“The wisdom of the appearance of the spirit in the body is this: the human spirit is a Divine Trust, and it must traverse all conditions, for its passage and movement through the conditions of existence will be the means of its acquiring perfections.” (Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 313)
“The body is not important. The spirit is important. The shell is not so important, but the pearl inside the shell is of great importance.”
(Abdu’l-Baha)