I'm Better Than You!

watch original V-Blog in Persian

Just a few weeks ago I was having dinner with some "South Africans" who were of Greek, German, Spanish and Persian backgrounds. During their dinner conversation they nonchalantly commented that "They say we all came from Africa at some point". The comment that followed stung me: "Some of us have evolved and become civilized while others have stayed primitive", they said and laughed. It was a joke but these are the very attitudes that gave birth to apartheid and nazism.

Needless to say, I broke off and sat on my mental island quietly for the rest of the evening. I went over the meaning of "primitive" versus "civilized", terms that have become so loaded and political. On the one hand civilization denotes a society, culture and its way of life, it denotes 'advancement', 'progress' and 'achievement'. On the other, the process of "civilizing" a people has come to be associated with the trampling, homogenizing nature of colonialism. Much like the term "martyr" has become synonymous with "murderer", "civilization" has become synonymous with "savagery" in terms of the human/spiritual qualities it represents. Yet both terms have, in their original contexts, very different meanings.

In the Secret of Divine Civilization, Abdu'l-Baha points out that as human beings we have both intellect and wisdom. One causes us to invent and progress materially, while the other refers to the way in which we must apply these gifts. In his opening paragraphs, Abdu'l-Baha says that knowledge, technical procedures, philosophical systems, sciences, arts, industries are all emanations of the human mind. Yet, "the honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world's multitudes should become a source of social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight."

Therefore the ends to which we use our knowledge is key in defining the true meaning of "civilization"!

Abdu'l-Baha further equates using our knowledge to feed our passions and selfish desires to barbarism. Being materially advanced while exploiting and dehumanizing others is barbaric. And further: "How excellent, how honorable is man if he arises to fulfil his responsibilities; how wretched and contemptible, if he shuts his eyes to the welfare of society and wastes his precious life in pursuing his own selfish interests and personal advantages. "

As I pondered Abdu'l-Baha's definition of "civilization" as a blessing for humanity; as a tool that is only meaningful and conducive to true advancement if it's used to further the interests of the human family and bring out the best in us, I realized that my friends had been absolutely right that night. If I took their comment to mean that some have stayed primitive materially, sure, you can't argue with that. Some of the most primitive people materially have developed unparalleled human perfections and virtues, while some of the most advanced people materially have become lower than animals in their pursuit of power and personal welfare. And If I was to take their comment to mean that some had stayed spiritually "primitive", then again, they were absolutely right.