In A Blue Haze:
Smoking and Baha'i Ethics
by Udo Schaefer
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chapter 5 | start page | single page | chapter 7 |  |
Chapter 6
On our Duty towards Ourselves
The issue of smoking has profound ethical consequences because of one's own duties to oneself. These are based on the universal premises underlying the purpose, the exalted station, and the noble destiny of man, as well as the purpose of life, the relationship of the individual to the world (especially in terms of the value given to the body and its physical health) and, finally, the explicit ordinances that guide an individual along the "Straight Path" to the sublime goals one is expected to pursue.
1. The starting point for our following observations is the recognition that, according to the testimony of Bahá'u'lláh, man is "the noblest and most perfect of all created things"[97], "created ... rich"[98], and chosen to be God's "mirror"[99]. We find the biblical notion of man being created in the image of God in the Hidden Words:
"Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty."[100]
As 'Abdu'l-Bahá testifies, a natural consequence of this view is that man should be "striving by night and day and resting not for a moment" that this divine image may "illumine the mirror of the human heart"[101].
Man is the only being to partake of the spiritual world[102], and the only creature to be able to exercise conscious control over physical nature. All of creation "is subject to the laws of nature", "man alone, by his spiritual power, has been able to free himself, to soar above the world of matter and to make it his servant"[103]. However, humanity was not only endowed with ability, but also given the task to rise above the physical world, to be sanctified from the world, to turn potential nobility into real nobility and to set out on a journey towards an infinite perfectibility that reflects man, likeness to God: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."[104]
This task, to free oneself from attachment to the world, permeates through all the Writings in the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, especially in His mystical Works, The Hidden Words and The Seven Valleys. A few selected quotations:
"O friends! Abandon not the everlasting beauty for a beauty that must die, and set not your affections on this mortal world of dust[105] ... and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings[106] ... Up from thy prison ascent unto the glorious meads above, and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless[107] ... O My Servant! Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more[108] ... Didst thou behold immortal sovereignty, thou wouldst strive to pass from this fleeting world[109] ... Wherefore must the veils of the satanic self be burned away at the fire of love, that the spirit may be purified and cleansed and thus may know the station of the Lord of the Worlds[110] ... Then we must labour to destroy the animal condition, till the meaning of humanity shall come to light[111] ... O friend, the heart is the dwelling of eternal mysteries, make it not the home of fleeting fancies; waste not the treasure of thy precious life in employment with this swiftly passing world. Thou comest from the world of holiness, bind not thine heart to the earth; thou art a dweller in the court of names, choose not the homeland of the dust."[112]
And again the admonition:
"Cleanse from your hearts the love of worldly things ... Disencumber yourselves of all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof. Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch as they prompt you to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and hinder you from entering the straight and glorious Path."[113]
The attitude required by this view of existence is not one of ascetic denial of the world, nor of mortification of the flesh. This is unmistakably clear from the context of these admonitions. By "the world" is meant "your unawareness of Him Who is your Creator". Thus, the world is assigned a relative status. It must be subordinated to the love of God. This is the explanation of the explicit statement that
"God hath ordained every good thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants as truly believe in Him"[114].
2. This view about the purpose of man's creation, his ontological station, and the appropriate attitude to the world corresponds to the often repeated commandment of detachment[115] on one hand, and to Bahá'u'lláh's verdict on lust,[116] corrupt desires,[117] evil passions,[118] and hedonism on the other:
"We, verily, have commanded you to refuse the dictates of your evil passions and corrupt desires."[119]
In the hour of death, man should "ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High"[120]. The Hidden Words say:
"Let it now be seen what your endeavours in the path of detachment will reveal."[121]
So fundamental is this goal that here the individual's journey towards God is called the "path of detachment". Bahá'u'lláh assures us:
"He hath chosen out of the whole world the hearts of His servants, and made them each a seat for the revelation of His glory"
and combines it with the urgent admonition:
"Wherefore, sanctify them from every defilement, that the things for which they were created may be engraven upon them."[122]
The warnings that individuals should not surrender to their lusts and passions, the warning against hedonism[123], the life-style of modern man, the utopia of a life in luxe, calme et volupté, as Baudelaire defined it[124], are so frequent that it must suffice here to quote only a few. One of the most impressive is found in The Hidden Words:
"Alas! Alas! O lovers of worldly desire! Even as the swiftness of lightning ye have passed by the Beloved One, and have set your hearts on satanic fancies. Ye bow the knee before your vain imagining, and call it truth. Ye turn your eyes towards the thorn, and name it a flower. Not a pure breath have ye breathed, nor hath the breeze of detachment been wafted from the meadows of your hearts. Ye have cast to the winds the loving counsels of the Beloved and have effaced them utterly from the Tablets of your hearts, and even as the beasts of the field, ye move and have your being within the pastures of desire and passion."[125]
The Qur'án reprimands the soul "who hath made a God of his passions"[126], and in the Kitáb-i-Íqán Bahá'u'lláh speaks of those who "like the bats of darkness" occupy themselves with nothing "except to pursue the transient things of the world"[127]:
"Obstruct not the luminous spring of thy soul with the thorns and brambles of vain and inordinate affections[128] ... Deliver yourselves from your evil and corrupt affections[129] ... They that follow their lusts and corrupt inclinations, have erred and dissipated their efforts."[130]
At this stage smokers will object that lust and passion are referred to only in an abstract sense and they will ask how in the world these could be even remotely related to smoking. When it is said:
"Will ye be content with that which is like the vapour in a plain, and be willing to forego the Ocean Whose waters refresh, by virtue of the Will of God, the souls of men?"[131],
it is surely not an explicit discussion of the vapour emanating from tobacco but rather a metaphorical comparison of the attractions of this world to those of heaven. And when it is said in the verse quoted above:
"Not a pure breath have ye breathed"[132],
this is not really a reference to a smoker's breath, but rather to most people's attachment to the world in general.
But the norms of morality are never concrete. They are always general and abstract, meaning that they are binding for everyone and they are truly detached from concrete instances. In applying a norm it is always necessary to find out which concrete behaviour falls under a particular norm and which does not. The starting point is always the text and the purpose of the norm, the ratio legis.
Is "smoking" one of the "corrupt inclinations" reprimanded by Bahá'u'lláh which results in a misspent life? I think we have no choice but to designate such a harmful habit as smoking as "corrupt". It is "corrupt" because it ruins one's own health, the foundation of life, while risking the health of others. However, we will leave aside the aspect of physical health for now and first turn to the problem of addiction.
3. It has long been a known fact that nicotine is an addictive substance[133]: "The smoking of tobacco is not only seen as the most important avoidable cause of illnesses and death ..., but also as one of the most frequent psychotoxical addictive misbehaviors of man."[134]
We must distinguish between smokers who are not addicted, smoking only occasionally, and addicted smokers. The latter are the ones who cannot get away from tobacco and who need help. The criteria for determining addictive behaviour in smokers are compulsory smoking, nicotine hunger, deep inhalation, and frequent automatic reaching for a cigarette: "Addictive smokers cannot live without cigarettes and feel uncomfortable even after a short period of abstinence."[135] Unequivocal signs of an addiction are repeated, unsuccessful attempts either to quit or to reduce substantially the consumption of tobacco, withdrawal symptoms, and the continued consumption of tobacco despite serious physical damage which is aggravated by smoking, and of which the smoker is aware.[136] Withdrawal symptoms always appear when an addictive substance is taken over a long period of time and the body has adapted to it.[137]
Regular consumption of addictive substances bears the risk of physical dependence, not to mention psychological addiction. Those who smoke regularly and habitually, run a high risk of becoming addicted.
Quite aside from smoking, addiction has become a mass phenomenon, the escape syndrome of a society in which religious obligations, moral values, and the transcendent foundations of society are withering. People flee from duties, responsibilities, spiritual values, and sacrifice into fun and pleasure. Aside from drug, medication, and alcohol addiction there is a wide range of other addictions from gambling obsession to bulimia and the addictive consumption of videos and rock music.[138]
Addiction is a human phenomenon. An animal will not become addicted by itself. The addictive behaviour of humans is a result of the human condition. A human being has no species-specific limitations to the satisfaction of needs: "Man is characterised by a disposition for surfeit"[139] as well as a tendency towards refinement and luxury. The ancient Greeks spoke of pleonexia[140], insatiability, to which meden agán is the answer: "Nothing to the extremes", the commandment of moderation so emphasised in Bahá'u'lláh's hierarchy of values[141].
A person who puts a life of pleasure first[142], who claims a general "human right to intoxication"[143], who on principle "follows his momentarily prevailing natural impulses, who allows himself to be directly and completely determined by them, misses an altogether happy life and thus acts deeply unreasonably. His needs and passions lead a life of their own in the face of which every effort of education, reflection, and control remains paralysed. In a life of pleasure, man submits himself to his instincts and passions"[144]. Such a person acts, as Aristotle appropriately expressed in his Nicomachean Ethics, "slavishly"[145].
If individuals indulge in their pleonexia, their insatiability, lusts, and passions to the extent that they lose control and are finally completely dominated and thus addicted, they act contrary to the purpose of their creation, which is to free themselves from the bonds of the material world and to be "perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect"[146]. A worse attachment to the nether world, a more pernicious kind of slavery than addiction is inconceivable. A person who has become the slave of passions and lusts is completely dominated by the material world and incapable of becoming free "from the fetters of this world"[147]. Such a person resembles the bird of which Bahá'u'lláh says that it wants to rise up "through the immensity of the heavens" and yet "impelled to satisfy its hunger, it turneth longingly to the water and clay of the earth below it, and, having been entrapped in the mesh of its desire, findeth itself impotent to resume its flight to the realms whence it came"[148].
Even religiously committed persons are in constant danger of falling into the temptations of this world and of selling their birthright for a pottage of lentils[149], surrendering the "everlasting beauty" "for a beauty that must die" and to set their "affections on this mortal world of dust"[150]. That is why hardly an issue turns up in the prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá as often as does the plea for assistance that the believers may be detached and sanctified "from the transitory things of this world"[151], that they may be saved "from whatsoever may be abhorrent unto Thee", and from every "corrupt desire"[152]:
"Make us ... following Thy command, and leaving our faded delights to seek Thy good pleasure[153] ... Break off from me the shackles of this nether world[154] ... Enable us to conquer self and overcome desire. O Lord! Deliver us from the bondage of the material world."[155]
A person who has become addicted risks missing the purpose of being. From this perspective it becomes clear that an addiction provoking behaviour such as smoking is a "corrupt" inclination, because it hampers one's spiritual and moral development.
4. Now let us consider the question why Bahá'u'lláh abrogated the Báb's smoking prohibition instead of including it in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. But is this questioning of the wisdom of divine Legislation not a sign of human hubris? Is it not written in the Tablet Tajallíyát,
"Say, none can ever fathom the manifold exigencies of God's consummate wisdom"[156],
and in the Tablet Ishráqát,
"Know thou for a certainty that the Will of God is not limited by the standards of the people, and God doth not tread in their ways."[157]
Certainly, the divine Will manifest in the divine Law is beyond human comprehension. It is unrestrained, unfathomable by reason, and applies simply because it exists, not because of its inherent persuasive power. It is a'aBábud[158]; it must be accepted as it is. These words stand boldly above every rational reflection:
"He doeth whatsoever He willeth and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth[159] ... He shall not be asked of His doings"[160].
However, the fact that the Word of God is unfathomable[161] does not mean it is blocked from rational reasoning. For some of His laws, for example the parental consent for marriage[162], or the intestate share of the children[163], Bahá'u'lláh Himself has given an explanation. That most laws are apodictic in nature does not mean that asking for their purpose is inadmissible. We need only remember that beyond any purpose which we may find and understand, stands the wisdom of God that remains impenetrable[164], and that "the primary purpose" of the divine Law, as already stated in the Torah[165], is "human happiness"[166], "abiding joy"[167]:
"Whoso keepeth the commandments of God shall attain everlasting felicity[168] ... O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store of you."[169]
I think that the reason for the different treatments of various addictive behaviours is found in the fact that there is a wide spectrum of addictions. One addiction is not the same as another. There is a big difference whether someone is gluttonous, addicted to nicotine, to medication, to alcohol, or even to heroin or cocaine. Gluttons, aside from aesthetical problems, have social consequences only insofar that the individual suffers from excess weight and thus has health risks. The consumption of tobacco leads to permanent damage, loss of control, and ultimately to addiction only after persistent use. The consumption of alcohol may lead to addiction only after a lengthy period of abuse, but quite rapidly to an intoxication that diminishes or suspends sound judgement and free will. The addictive potential of heroin and other drugs is such that even a single attempt can cause physical dependence. The decisive factor seems to be that as smokers may harm themselves and others and gradually lose control over their habit, they do not lose control over their behaviour altogether. They never lose the ability of insight into social norms or their ability to act according to norms. Their discernment and control, i.e. in legal terms their capacity for criminal responsibility, remains intact. This is rapidly diminished with addictive substances such as alcohol, heroin, or cocaine where it is often completely suspended. Thus, the consumption of alcohol and drugs often leads to criminal acts and being addicted to these substances leads to delinquency. The same holds true for gambling which often leads to obsession and which is mentioned in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas together with opium and other intoxicating drugs.[170] Smokers are not subject to this danger, as addicted as they may be.
Thus, it is quite sensible that smoking, in spite of all its health risks, has not been prohibited in the divine Law. If we look at the wording of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, we can see that these differences may even be found in the diction: the consumption of alcoholic beverages, gambling[171], and the consumption of opium are explicitly prohibited. However, the prohibition of alcohol is relatively moderate in diction:
"It is inadmissible that man, who hath been endowed with reason, should consume that which stealeth it away."[172]
From Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh[173] and from the interpretations of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi it becomes clear that this is a strict prohibition and not just advice. By contrast, the prohibition of gambling and opium is worded much more directly:
"Gambling and the use of opium have been forbidden unto you. Eschew them both, o people, and be not of those who transgress. Beware of using any substance that induceth sluggishness and torpor in the human temple and inflicteth harm upon the body."[174]
Towards the end of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, opium is inexorably condemned once again:
"It hath been forbidden you to smoke opium. We, truly, have prohibited its practice through a most binding interdiction in the Book. Should anyone partake thereof, assuredly he is not of Me. Fear God, O ye endued with understanding."[175]
All addictive, hallucinogenic or habit-forming drugs, including (in addition to opium and alcohol) hashish, marijuana, and LSD, are categorically forbidden for the believer (except under qualified medical prescription) because they lead to indolence and apathy and inflict "harm upon the body"[176]. The goal is a drug-free society, a society from which addiction is gradually banned. From this perspective the increasingly voiced demands for the acceptance of the addiction to and the legalisation of "soft" drugs or even all drugs[177], for the introduction of a "drug class for primary school students" in which they are supposed to learn the "responsible use of hashish"[178], and for the downplaying and glorification of drugs[179] to the extent of declaration of a "right to intoxication" appear irresponsible and the expression of a hedonistic society.
5. Regarding addiction as a severe form of attachment to the world and thus an offence against the commandment to be detached, still does not deal with the problems of smokers' continuous abuse of the body and the resultant permanent damage inflicted to their health. What is the value attributed to the body and to physical health in the Bahá'í Revelation?
The Scriptures of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá offer much more on the relation of body and soul than all other Holy Writings.[180] According to Bahá'u'lláh, the body is a divine bounty. In it the immortal soul manifests itself during its life on earth. The body is the bearer of the highest gift God has given humanity: reason. Through it humanity has been given the capability "to know and recognize the one true God"[181]. The body, a creation of divine omnipotence and love, is the instrument of the soul[182], the indispensable bearer of the human spirit for the duration of earthly existence:
"By the appearance of the spirit in the physical form, this world is enlightened."[183]
Therefore, the body has its own dignity which is immediately apparent to the uncorrupted human being who has a natural aversion to its debasement.[184] In the mystical Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the physical human being appears as a "temple"[185] of the Divine, a metaphor used earlier by St. Paul[186]. Therefore, it is a grave sin in every religion for persons to harm themselves and destroy this temple.[187] Furthermore, individuals carry a moral responsibility towards their body which require them to care for and attend to it and, above all, not to harm it. The ill-disposed tendencies towards the body that kept recurring in Christianity[188] are clearly rejected.
In the Persian Bayán[189] the Báb revealed the following regarding the relationship between the body and the soul,
"Since the physical body is the throne whereon the inner temple is established, God hath ordained that the body be preserved to the extent possible."
For this reason, the "utmost respect deference"[190] should be shown, even to a dead body.
Physical health, therefore, is a high asset. It directly serves to achieve the goals that have been set for man by the Creator: to worship God on earth and to serve Him. Shoghi Effendi writes, "You should always bear in mind Bahá'u'lláh's counsel that we should take the utmost care of our health, surely not because it is an end in itself, but as a necessary means of serving His Cause."[191] The words of the pagan Juvenal[192] scorned by Martin Luther, "a sound mind in a sound body"[193] are repeatedly confirmed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá:
"The more healthful his body the greater will be the power of the spirit of man; the power of the intellect, the power of the memory, the power of reflection will then be greater."[194]
He also emphasised the interaction between the mind and physical health:
"Spiritual health is conducive to physical health."[195]
This view of human corporeality corresponds to the high station Bahá'u'lláh has ascribed to the art of medicine. In the Law-i-iBáb He revealed:
"Say: The science of healing is the most noble of all sciences, verily, it is the greatest instrument given by God, the Quickener of moldering bones, for preserving the bodies of people. God hath given it precedence over all sciences and branches of wisdom."[196]
A fundamental prerequisite of any medical art is prophylaxis, to refrain from anything that harms the body. In the same Tablet we read therefore to "eschew harmful habits, for they truly, are a calamity for created beings"[197]. If the consumption of tobacco is, as already shown,[198] the "main preventable cause for illness and death in the industrial societies", there is no need for further elucidation that smoking is indeed a "harmful habit", a "calamity for created beings" and that the smoker acts persistently contrary to the divine exhortations to care for and to preserve the body, the instrument of the soul.
6. Let us now summarize the preceding discussion, before we finally turn to the aspect of purity, under which Bahá'ís generally view smoking:
Smoking is not explicitly prohibited in the Book of God. However, it is sinful because it contradicts a whole range of ethical norms and goals which may be identified as the commandments of
- courtesy
- charity and mercy
- justice and fairness ('adl wa insáf), and respect for the common good
- renunciation of one's self
- detachment from the fetters of the material world
- not becoming a slave to one's lusts and passions and renouncing all corrupt inclinations
- preserving and caring for the body, the "instrument of the immortal soul", the "temple of God".
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