The Missing Moral Dimension
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Suresh Sahadevan, The Missing Moral Dimension, bahai-library.com.
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The Missing Moral Dimension
Suresh    Sahadevan

Introduction

Many areas of our social fabric today are fashioned by policies which
are largely materially efficient and technically sound. These sectors can
be as diverse as economic growth and technopreneurship as well as
health and education. Despite the characteristic progress that we see or
are expected to see with such policies, there is however, for me, an
uneasy feeling that something is missing, something fairly vital: a
dimension that also pays heed to graciousness within and between
individuals, a dimension that, though it may not immediately and
directly result in revenue, efficiency or productivity, is crucial, in the
longer run and indirectly, for these same objectives. I believe that our
government is also aware of this missing dimension in our society - as
exemplified by our Prime Minister's recent analysis regarding the need
to develop graciousness in our society:

"Singaporeans cannot just be materialistic, self-centered and impatient
to get rich quick. My vision is a Singapore where every citizen strives to
make Singapore a better home, where people are considerate and well-
behaved towards one another, where everyone is well-educated, trained
and employed, gracious, happy and enjoying a high quality of life.
Graciousness, honesty and care for one another are important features of
a civilized society."1

Technically sound and materially efficient policies, while good for
promoting economic welfare and external comfort, are still inadequate to
address certain inner, value-centered or moral needs. Moreover,
awareness of this moral dimension increases and the actualization of the

Goh C.T., A Better Home for All, in: Speeches - Bimonthly Selection of Ministerial
Speeches, Singapore: Ministry of Information and the Arts, 1996, 20 (4), pp. 4-8.
34               THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

highest human potentials becomes more possible as society achieves a
basic level of stability and prosperity.2 With a little reflection, one
realizes that this dilemma is not peculiar to Singapore alone and no
developed society has truly solved it. In this brief presentation, I would
like to attempt an analysis of what I regard to be a withered and
withering moral dimension in our manifold endeavours. This paper
argues that the saga goes beyond any specific society or individual; it is
our collective and historical narrative of a continually evolving humanity
and the main objective of this analysis is to suggest a possible approach
to moral recovery.

I think it is also important at the outset to state what will not be covered
in today's talk. I am extremely aware how a topic such as this closely
interfaces with moral philosophy, but the latter will be largely avoided.
One reason is in the interests of time, but more importantly, from what I
have come to know about contemporary moral philosophy, it has
actually failed to provide us with clear answers to the central questions
of moral enquiry. I can only adumbrate upon this failure in this
presentation but the interested reader can refer to some excellent books
describing in-depth the historical reasons leading to the philosophical
difficulties as well as the pervasive and paralyzing moral relativity of
3,4
our age.
To transcend the failure of moral philosophy requires, I believe, a return
to the theological foundations of the moral dimension. Historically,
these foundations occupied a dominant position in the governance of
society and it will be instructive to briefly review the reasons why
spiritual perspectives have become marginalized in many developed
nations. A return to the metaphysical origins of ethics requires a new
spiritual paradigm that will not result in the same prejudices and errors
which were enacted in the name of religion in the past. Once moral
clarity and justification can be restored through a spiritual basis, then
moral responsibility can be re-exercised in all our manifold endeavours,
improving the ethos of our social life.

Maslow AH. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, p. 7.
Maclntyre A., After Virtue.
Maclntyre A., Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry.
The Missing Moral Dimension                          35

With regards to the new spiritual paradigm, as well as how it can bring
about moral recovery, I shall quote several times from the Baha'i
writings. Those who know the Baha'i Faith reasonably well will
immediately realize that the quotations refer to spirituality or religion in
general and not just specifically to the Baha'i Faith. For those unfamiliar
with the Baha'i Faith, a few introductory words are necessary. The
Baha'i Faith, with its birth in 1844, is the youngest of the world's
religions and its central message is that divine revelation is periodic,
continual and progressive with each revelation reaffirming the eternal
changeless spiritual laws already enunciated by earlier religions. At the
same time it has brought new social laws that may differ from its
predecessors, since social laws have to be relevant for the changing
needs of an ever-advancing human civilization. It is with this central
tenet of progressive religion that it espouses its three cardinal principles
of Oneness of God, Oneness of Religions and Oneness of Mankind.
Thus the Baha'i Faith makes no distinctions between religions in terms
of any being better or superior. All religions and all prophets are equal
in status and their purpose, when understood and practised properly, is
to morally support an ever-evolving civilization. These perspectives will
have to be kept in mind in the discussion.

Moral Atrophy

The first part of today's talk focuses on some of the important reasons
that have led to the atrophy of the moral dimension in our lives and our
interactions with one another. I believe there are three main reasons:
firstly, the regarding of "facts" as being superior to "values" (which,
ironically, is in itself a value judgement); secondly, the problem of
moral subjectivism or relativism, and lastly, psychological factors
pertaining to moral commitment and freedom.

Facts vs Values

From the period of Enlightenment onwards, a progressive belief has
occurred in all urbanizing parts of the world that the route to success fór
humanity in all its endeavours is through the scientific method, which is
36          THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

founded upon empiricism and rationality. Science has repeatedly
demonstrated its ability to both predict as well as control various natural
events, resulting in material comfort for all of humanity. This
spectacular success of science has produced a rather unique mode of
thinking that now influences all of us: the way to solve all problems is
by employing the scientific method to first define problems in objective
terms, then solve them objectively through empirical and rational
methods and thus arrive at objective solutions. Objectivity - meaning
observability, measurability and hence testability - is so fundamental to
the scientific attitude that there is now a pervasive inclination in many
developed and developing societies that whatever is non-observable and
non-measurable is less important or, worse still, not important. Facts are
thus prized over values since the former are characteristically
objectifiable and quantifiable and hence amenable to further analysis
and application, but the latter are typically not so.

Philosophers and scientists have pointed out, however, that the
foundations of scientific objectivity are themselves theory-laden and
resting upon certain very non-objective and non-testable assumptions
such as the principles of lawfulness of nature and finite causation.5,6 But
these expositions have by and large gone unheeded and instead, there
exists a widespread, but unjustified certitude in the abilities of a theory-
and value-neutral science to solve all the problems of humanity. That
such capabilities, even if true, are restricted to the measurable domain of
our existence and therefore have only a limited and finite role (since the
totality of our life experiences includes also the important, but non-
quantifiable, inner world of emotions and meanings) is seldom, if ever,
reflected upon.

With the attitude that the study of human values rank second to the study
of scientific facts, compounded further by not having objective, testable
approaches to solving moral disagreements, ethics have become
relegated to a secondary role in our society. Thus the moral dimension
comes into our lives nowadays in a less immediate, less direct and more
watered-down mode, typically associated with the sanctions imposed by
society's legal institutions. They define for us our minimal codes of

Khursheed A., The Universe Within, pp. 84-93.
Maxwell SE, Delaney HD. Designing Experiments and Analyzing Data, pp. 6-11.
The Missing Moral Dimension                            37

conduct and relationships and are largely characterized in contractual
terms. Moral inspiration and excellence of character are not within the
courts' purview and thus not the social focus of our lives. In fact, such
notions appear archaic and anachronistic, and their direct relevance have
become questionable in the face of the overwhelming need to strive for
technical excellence and wealth acquisition.

Subjectivism and Relativism

The lack of objective standards in morality leads to moral subjectivism.
The truth of an ethical stand is to be perceived subjectively by each one
of us. Such moral convictions that originate from within can be powerful
enough to guide our actions, but the justifications for these convictions
cannot be measured nor tested. In sum, moral subjectivism implies that
when an individual thinks something is ethically justified, he cannot - as
long as he is not. breaking any legal statutes - be proven wrong,
scientifically. Even when a law is violated, the wrongness of that action
can only be classified as such by predefined legal statutes and not be
established by an empirical or rational analysis of the underlying ethical
stand that prompted the wrong action.

It is in this way that moral truth also becomes relativistic - relative to the
individual or culture concerned. Embedded in this concept is that each
individual is entitled to his own notions of what right and wrong is, and
that he does not have to be accountable for his ethical stands. It is hardly
surprising then that such relativism in moral standards has rapidly led to
a state of having no standards whatsoever, with each individual only
promoting his self-interests, especially in a social environment that gives
the message that everyone is only worth his marketable talents and that
nobody else is going to be responsible for him or to care for him.
Another consequence stemming from moral plurality is that since
nothing conclusive can be proven scientifically within the ethical realm,
there is no need to waste so much time, and care so much about, moral
issues. Thus, what moral relativism almost always leads to is moral
indifference and if the contemporary media is anything to go by, moral
indifference is pervasive.
38            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

If we accept the simple definition that what we mean when we use the
word "moral" involves the caring or concern for others, then both the
fuzziness of ethical standards through moral relativism and the
consequent moral indifference lead relentlessly to our present situation -
a situation where progressively (or more accurately, regressively) we
care less and less for others. In summary, ethical relativism marks the
failure of modern moral philosophy's self-set tasks from the beginning
of the Enlightenment to use empirical reasoning alone (and avoid
teleological, non-scientific reasoning as exemplified by the religious
approach to ethics) to derive for humanity its required set of moral
standards.

Psychological Matters

Over and beyond the philosophical history of ethical plurality, a related
characteristic of many urbanized societies is the psychological
weakening of the individual's will to be committed to, and struggle
towards, a moral lifestyle. As Fromm has pointed out, many people
today shun away from effort, commitment and discipline (and all of
these traits are crucial for the leading of an ethical life); the causes of
this "no effort - no pain" doctrine7 are several, including the culture
emanating from technical progress that has cumulatively been liberating
the human race from hard work. Fukuyama, in articulating the
perspectives of Nietzsche, has observed how as humanity moved
historically from authoritarian, aristocratic regimes towards more
tolerant, democratic cultures, the climate of discipline in society
correspondingly withered, resulting in an ascent of mediocrity.8
Facilitating this trend further are the elaborate developments within the
media industry that have often emphasized superficial personality over
depth of character, creating in the process an impression that a happy
life generally is an easy life, both physically and psychologically.

For a significant segment of our society, the contemporary fuzziness of
ethical standards conveniently provides an excuse for moral laxity. One
can now argue that moral standards themselves are contentious and

Fromm E., The Art of Being, pp. 24-26.
Fukuyama F., The End of History and the Last Man, pp. 300-312.
The Missing Moral Dimension                          39

unclear and that there is therefore no logical justification for expending
effort or discipline to maintaining any high moral standards. One can
also state that the very concept of obeying a set of eternal moral laws
runs counter to the fundamental precept of man's inner freedom, an ideal
that all liberal societies cherish and uphold. Again, as Fromm has
pointed out, the underlying spirit of anti-authoritarianism that
characterizes such clamours for freedom, while they may have had
certain valid historical origins, is largely these days a rationalization for
unrestrained fulfillment of all forms of passive whims, rather than
valuing opportunities to creatively develop an active will.9 Needless to
say, such insights are not part of mainstream social awareness.

All the above factors have resulted in a moral vacuum and what has
stepped in to fill this void, so as to still give life purpose, meaning and
direction, is promotion of self-interests. In fact, nurturing, advancing and
fulfilling self-interests are now considered to be valid, rational and
legitimate activities at all levels of society, and they have been
predominantly responsible for the contemporary "culture of
Narcissism".10

Moral Recovery

Reconceptualizing Religion

The above analysis focussed on how philosophy and science have failed
to give the moral dimension of our lives a good objective grounding as
well as how, in conjunction with some of the peculiarities of a modern
lifestyle, they have been unable to provide the necessary impetus for
moral commitment. This state of affairs has arisen because Science and
Philosophy were thought to be more than capable substitutes for
Religion which traditionally had always been the acknowledged
fountainhead of morality. The consequent narcissistic and self-centred
culture is unsurprisingly producing a calculative, manipulative and
uncaring atmosphere. In the interests of reversing this trend, it is

Fromm E. The Art of Being, pp. 26-29.
Lasch C , The Culture of Narcissism.
40         THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

necessary at this stage to ask whether one can still turn back to Religion
to redeem that moral dimension for all of us, as individuals and as
society. To properly answer this question we need to be aware of the
important reasons that caused the dethronement of Religion in the first
place.

The main problems were related to the according of initiative and power
to the leaders of religious institutions and their subsequent corruption.
The misuse of power by ecclesiastical leaders resulted in hypocrisy and
injustice and with the constricting atmosphere of religious intolerance,
the individual believer was powerless to protest against any corruption
or unfairness. Also agonizing was religious prejudice that was largely
fomented by the same leaders and the cruelties and mayhem inflicted
against members of another religion. Thus what transpired as power in
Religion, which was originally meant to be the experience of the love of
God, was the subjugation to, and injustice from, religious institutions.
Hence, when the advent of the scientific revolution displaced Religion
from its central role in society, many resolved never to allow such
patterns of religious power and prejudice to dominate society again.

This background awareness and understanding is crucial as we are now
poised to reexamine the usefulness of Religion in restoring the moral
dimension of our lives. Is it possible to reaccept Religion while
simultaneously avoiding the horrors and ills of the past that Religion has
itself perpetrated? If the answer to this is "no", meaning that the horrors
and harms of Religion have been, are, and will always be inevitable,
then we might as well stop the enquiry here. A remedy, by definition,
must not be as bad or worse than the problem it is trying to rectify. It
will then also be pointless to examine more closely the relevant
conceptual links between morality and religion. Thus our first step is to
wonder whether it is possible for Religion to reoccupy a central role in
our society - can it do this sensibly, moderately and usefully? To address
this matter, imagination is the needed faculty.

Imagine a conceptualization of Religion that accepts all human beings
and religions to be equal, coming from the one and same Source. This
oneness of religion is to be understood through a principle called
progressive revelation - that Divine revelation periodically comes to
mankind from God, with each religion arriving at a time when the
The Missing Moral Dimension                         41

preceding one is waning in its influence. Revelation comes through a
Prophet-Founder, and all Prophet-Founders are deemed equal, with none
being superior over others. Each Revelation has at least two aspects: (a)
the eternal - which comprise the core spiritual principles that are
essentially timeless and universal in their application and (b) the social -
which comprises the specific laws governing social conduct and matters
relevant to the era that the Revelation occurs in. The latter, unlike the
former, varies from religion to religion, since the social laws have to
meet the changing needs of an ever-advancing human civilization. Such
differences between religions, however, are secondary and should never
be the grounds for dissension or division. In fact, imagine a Religion
where one is encouraged "to look into all things with a searching eye",
and discern the underlying oneness behind the varied forms of reality.11

Over and beyond this vital oneness of God, religion and man, imagine a
conceptualization of Religion that exhorts independent investigation of
truth by all individuals .without bias or fear and encourages individual
initiative and enterprise. The role and function of religious institutions
are clearly defined and the relationship between the individual and
institution specified, each recognizing and respecting the responsibilities
of the other. No individual is given power over other people. The
authority of the institutions is that of the institutions' and not of the
individuals' who comprise the institutions and these individuals
themselves are prayerfully elected regularly with no campaigning or
partisan politics. Above all, imagine a Religion which encourages
excellence in moral, scientific and artistic endeavours and sees scientific
enterprise as not being in opposition with spiritual strivings; a Religion
which does not negate the world, requiring from its adherents service
towards humanity, and yet at the same time reminding everyone that the
realities of this life do not constitute the Ultimate Reality, that worldly
participation therefore must always be coupled with an attitude of
spiritual detachment.

If such a Religion or understanding of Religion were possible would we
allow ourselves the possibility of its re-acceptance to our society and to
ourselves? I venture that to the many who are reflective and fair-minded,
the answer to this question will be "yes" and this is exactly the

Baha'u'llah, Tablets ofBahau'llah, p. 157.
42             THE SINGAPORE BAHÁ'Í STUDIES REVIEW

understanding of Religion that the Baha'i Faith provides12 - not just of
itself but about Religion in general, embracing in the process, the truth
of all Religions before and after.

It needs to be emphasized that even when Religion is reinstated to a
central position in our society, its ability to improve the moral dimension
of our lives is tied up then with how we truly practice its core principles.
In other words, even when we can call ours to be a religious society, the
mere presence of that word "religious" will not result in any
transformations till we ourselves are willing to be transformed
spiritually, in accordance with the central teachings of Religion. This
means, amongst other matters, our readiness to voluntarily impose limits
to the promotion of self-interests and for us to be genuinely concerned
with, and help improve the welfare of others. However, the willingness
to incorporate a spiritually-based code of ethics into our lives requires
that we are also clear about Religion's perspectives on moral
justification and moral commitment and it is to this that we now turn.

Moral Justification

If we can sufficiently re-conceptualize Religion as above, to the point
that we are not intrinsically prejudiced against its possible return to our
lives, then what is necessary at this stage is to examine underlying
concepts in Religion's basis for moral justification and its enjoinders to
moral commitment. Firstly, the issue of justifying the truth of moral
actions. If we accept the framework that there are 4 approaches to truth
in general13. (1) Truth that you feel, (2) Truth that you are told, (3) Truth
that the senses reveal and (4) Truth revealed through reason, then the
moral truth of Religion is given its grounding primarily by (2) - the
Truth that you are told. Both (1) and (4) are also involved - eventually
the truth that has been told to us requires further verification from our
capacities to reason and feel; but essentially they only serve to
corroborate, and by themselves, are unable to derive the truth of
morality.

Hatcher W.S., Martin J.D., The Baha'i Faith.
Fernandez-Armesto F., Truth.
The Missing Moral Dimension                       43

What does it mean, "Truth that you are told" in the context of Religion?
It is the acknowledgement of the truth of Religion as given by the
revelation of its Prophet-Founder. In other words, the truth of Religion is
predicated upon, first and foremost, the truth of its Prophet-Founder and
not, as many may have believed, the truth of God, who, by definition, is
inaccessible and incomprehensible to all of us. A fundamental concept
elucidated in the BaháT Writings is how the knowledge of the Divine
Messengers is tantamount to the knowledge of God, and is in fact, the
only mode made available for humanity to know God:

"... The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever been, and
will continue forever to be, closed in the face of men. No man's
understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a token of
His Mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving kindness, He hath
manifested unto men the Day-Stars of His divine guidance, the Symbols
of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified
Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self. Whoso
recognizeth Them hath recognized God. Whoso hearkeneth to their call,
hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso testifieth to the truth of
their Revelation, hath testified to the truth of God Himself..." M

To establish the veracity of the Divine Messengers is a more accessible
first step than to grasp the elusive, non-objectifiable and indefinable
concept of God and once this crucial step of recognizing the truth of
Religion's Prophet-Founders is taken (and its details are further
discussed below), then moral truth, as enunciated by the Prophet,
becomes grounded, attains "objective" standards and very importantly,
allows for the evaluation of which actions are to be regarded as moral
and which are not.

The use of the word "objective" in this context, however, requires
careful consideration. There is objectivity insofar as the source of truth
is still outside of ourselves, not rendering morality therefore to be a
totally arbitrary subject matter, but the objectivity of this realm is still
not the same as scientific objectivity. For one, it is non-measurable and
thus beyond any scientific analysis, and secondly, as one of its
corroborating steps, it requires from us also a feeling for the truth of its

BaháVlláh, Gleanings from the Writings ofBaha'u'llah, pp. 49-50.
44             THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

contents which, from an empirical scientific perspective, is neither
necessary nor sufficient for tmth verification. Lastly, the objectivity of
moral tmth, even when understood as springing from the tmth of
Religion's Prophet-Founders, still allows for a subjective latitude in the
interpretation of moral principles and their specific application in our
daily lives. These interpretations and applications can still differ from
individual to individual in accord with their varying inclinations and
capacities to understand and practise moral tmth. Diversity is thus
allowed for in the spiritual context but what needs to be observed is that
the variations of moral expression are not totally random. Figuratively,
there is a well-defined centre, and the types of action classified as moral
oscillate within a fixed band around this centre. This model of tmth, as
fluctuations within a band from the centre is again at variance with the
classical notions of scientific tmth where fluctuations of understanding
or practice about core principles are not typically accommodated.
However, the variations of moral expression as allowed for by Religion
are such that limits are still imposed upon moral subjectivity and thus,
unlike the consequences of post-modem moral philosophy, the world of
moral behaviour in the Religious paradigm never becomes total anarchy.
This, in essence, becomes Religion's greatest contribution to moral
clarity.

Once the tmth of the Prophet-Founder is acknowledged, the question of
which moral standards do I follow and why becomes non-existent. The
believer strives to follow faithfully the revealed standards of God as
pronounced by the Prophet. The .crucial question then is how do we
recognize the tmth of the Prophet-Founder? The capacity to recognize
this tmth is deemed by Religion to be potentially residing in all of us.15
This capacity however, remains a potentiality until we choose to
investigate this tmth and undertake its necessary search for ourselves.
The choice to seek out the tmth is given to us and that choice has to be
exercised by ourselves - nobody else can do it for us. For those who
decide to undertake that investigation or search, ardour is a needed
quality16 - a lackadaisical, semi-hearted attempt will be foredoomed to
failure. Another extremely important prerequisite is that our hearts and
minds must be open, unprejudiced and freed from all forms of

Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 143.
Baha'u'llah, Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 7.
The Missing Moral Dimension                       45

attachments,17 and continual exercises of honest and even courageous
self-reflection are needed for the seeker to be in this state.

In such a spirit of search, the truth of the Divine Messengers is
established by exploring the life history of the Prophet Founders and by
studying Their revealed words.

"Say: The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own
Self. Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to
recognize either the one or the other, He hath established the words He
hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth."18

Thus for us who are not in a position to witness the Prophets directly in
Their process of Revelation, the only recourse available to us to
determine Their truth are the historical accounts of Their lives and,
where available, Their revealed Words of God. What always features
prominently in a fair-minded reading of the life history of the Prophets is
the degree of personal sacrifice (in some instances, to the point of death)
They endured for the sake of upholding the truth of God's Revelation for
humanity and it is precisely this sacrifice and the reasons for the
sacrifice that the seeker has to contemplate upon. With reference to the
Word of God, it is Religion's singular claim that the Word of God has
special powers capable of inspiring and transforming the inner spirit of
the true seeker. Thus the interaction of the seeker with the Prophet-
Founder's revealed words coupled with a knowledge of His life and
sufferings, all in the spirit of the seeker's humility, openness and
detachment, would be sufficient for the seeker to make a decision about
the truth or falsehood of the Central Figure. The fact that many, for all
sorts of reasons, still will not or choose not to recognize this truth of the
Prophets is itself recognized by Religion. The onset of the spiritual
journey (which begins with the belief in the Prophet - at least in this
earthly life) is deemed by Religion to come to different people at
different points in time (and it need not be during this existence either).
The nonbelievers are left to their own devices, and discord or
disagreement with them is forbidden to those who would claim
themselves to be believers of Religion. In fact, for the believers, many

BaháVlláh, Kitáb-I-íqán, p. 192.
Baha'u'llah, Gleanings form the Writings ofBaha'u'llah, p. 105.
46             THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

tasks await them, all centering around the realities of moral
commitment.

Moral Commitment

I have tried to explain how the recognition of the truth of the Prophet-
Founder is the religious justification for morality. The recommended
approach for determining this truth (reading and reflecting on the
Prophet's life history as well as His revealed Word of God) has also
been touched upon and it will be realized that this judgement of truth
requires from the seeker both his reasoning faculty as well as what can
crudely be termed as his feeling for truth. As the final part of today's
talk, we will look at moral commitment and Religion's influence on it.
Earlier, the progressive weakening of the "moral will" in many of
today's societies was depicted and linked to moral relativism as well as
an individual's psychological preference for freedom and inclination
towards self-centredness. Let us see now what Religion's solutions to
these challenges are.

The clearest reason for moral commitment is again linked to the truth of
the Prophet. As the Baha'i Writings make clear, recognition of that truth
enjoins upon the seeker a two-fold obligation: steadfastness in his belief
and obedience to the laws as revealed in Religion.

"In this Day whosoever is guided...to...the station of recognizing the
Source of divine commandments and the Dayspring of His Revelation,
hath everlastingly attained unto all good. Having reached this lofty
station a twofold obligation rested upon every soul. One is to be
steadfast in the Cause... The other is observance of the divine
ordinances which have streamed forth from the wellspring of His
heavenly-propelled Pen. For man's knowledge of God cannot develop
fully and adequately safe by observing whatsoever hath been ordained
by Him and is set forth in His heavenly Book."19

Baha'u'llah. Tablets ofBaha'u'llah, p. 268.
The Missing Moral Dimension                        47

In other words, recognition of the Prophet-Founder's status, in addition
to justifying and making clear the moral standards, also means
commitment to a moral lifestyle. But Religion also offers other
perspectives that are linked to moral commitment.

The central challenge of a moral lifestyle is that it demands that we go
beyond the pursuit of self-interests, that we actively work towards the
fulfillment of others' needs. While this may certainly have the potential
to effect excellence in one's character, that excellence may not
necessarily (especially, in the short-run) result in any tangible benefits.
However, it is such material success that most of us are caught up with,
that gives our life direction and meaning, and its overwhelming
importance is the fundamental message that secular societies passes onto
all their citizens.

How Religion transcends this challenge is in educating its adherents that
what they deem to be this life is not the only reality, that over and
beyond this life, there is another, Ultimate Reality; and in relation to this
Ultimate Reality, moral excellence, and not earthly success, constitutes
the true (albeit long-term) victory. There is nothing wrong with earthly
success or its related striving as long as it is accomplished through moral
excellence, as a result of which the believer is inwardly detached from
such attainments. As Maclntyre has pointed out, from early historical
times there has been an awareness that both virtue and victory are facets
of excellence that human beings are inclined to strive towards, and the
pursuit of one can certainly collide with the demands of the other.
Religion's answer to this dilemma is clear: the acquisition of virtues
must always be given priority over the pursuit of worldly achievements.

However, detachment is one topic that is extremely easy to talk about,
compared to its actual practice. As stated above, the Religious
perspective is that this earthly life is not truly the ultimate reality since
everything around us is impermanent, transient and fleeting - be they
relationships, possessions or responsibilities: the "changes and chances
of life".21 It would thus be foolish to set our hearts on, and overwhelm
our minds with what is intrinsically a transitory life. However, such an

Maclntyre A., Whose Justice? Which Rationality?, pp. 30-46.
Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 258.
48         THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

inner reorientation is radically at odds with conventional social
perspectives. All around, people hunger for riches, fame and power but
without reflecting on the impermanence and instability of these goals: I
may finally be able to attain my dream-level of wealth, fame and power,
but can I be sure that tomorrow these will still remain with me? In a
nutshell, practising spiritual detachment will certainly bring the
individual beyond the established pursuits and beliefs of modern society.

Yet neither should detachment be understood to mean negation of life
and withdrawal from the manifold duties or responsibilities that it
throws in our direction. As contemporary Religion would have it, no
longer can the believer practise detachment by leading an ascetic life.
Thus detachment is not to be understood as an external deprivation of
sorts - it is, in essence, an inner re-orientation and there is therefore
nothing wrong about experiencing happiness or being wealthy while
adopting a moral lifestyle, so long as the individual does not become
attached to that happiness or wealth. Participation in life is extremely
important to be able to attain one of the central goals of Religion: to be
of service to mankind. In fact, if the purpose of life as defined by
Religion is the acquisition of virtues, then the reason for that acquisition
is for us to be better able to serve mankind and any such service
demands an immersion into, and involvement with, one's society.

What is interesting then in the practice of an ethical lifestyle is the
juxtapositioning of love (or service) and detachment. There appears to
be an apparent tension or paradox in these two concepts.
Conventionally, one associates love with attachment and detachment
with the contrary. But I believe the love that Religion envisages is
something quite different from what we ordinarily understand the word
to mean. This love or compassion is the natural expression of our inner
love of God and it is non-possessive. The way in which concomitant
detachment makes this love-state different from the conventional love-
state is that truly nothing is expected in return. There are no calculations.
The question "What's in it for me?" becomes meaningless and non-
existent. These are some of the features of the moral standards that
Religion enjoins its adherents to have, and be committed to.

The above explications about detachment only make clearer the
significant difficulties of its practice. Thus the spiritual individual
The Missing Moral Dimension                          49

cannot escape the experience of a profound aloneness when striving to
practise a detached ethical lifestyle which runs counter to current social
norms. The only way of preventing that aloneness from becoming a
negative loneliness is again in the sincere practice of detachment in the
first place. But this still does not remove the difficulty of becoming
spiritually detached. However, Religion has an answer to this difficulty
and it resides in the experience of the love of God.22 It is this love that
will inspire and empower an individual to undertake ethical detachment
and still remain psychologically integrated and healthy. At the practical
level, this love of God translates into love or compassion for our fellow
beings for the sake of God, the Creator of all. And it is this experience of s
love or compassion that generates a feeling of lightness or gentleness to
what could otherwise be a severely austere lifestyle of obedience to
ethical rules and detachment from secular demands.

So far under the topic of moral commitment we have discussed how it
naturally follows from the initial step of recognizing the truth of the
Prophet-Founder. Moreover, the difficulties of leading a moral lifestyle
in the midst of secular societies were touched upon, emphasizing in the
process, the importance of detachment and compassion and their
apparent conceptual tensions. Throughout the discussion we have briefly
mentioned how for moral commitment to be realistic and fruitful, and
how for detachment and compassion to be practised healthily and
meaningfully, the underlying inspiration of the love of God is crucial.
What remains now, as the last part of today's talk, is to address the issue
of how this love of God can come about in all of us.

In answering this question, we should also reflect upon how unique
Religion is, compared to all other branches of human knowledge in
effecting changes in moral behaviour. All other relevant disciplines can
only, at best, describe ethical behaviour, they cannot motivate, inspire or
transform. Even psychology, which comes closest to this task, is
essentially descriptive of the humanistic importance of leading an other-
oriented as compared to a self-oriented lifestyle; its prescriptive scope,
on the other hand, is very limited and where it exists, is primarily
cognitive in nature, lacking inspiration. Religion, however, clearly and
boldly states that spiritual transformation is a potential reality in all of us

22   'Abdu'1-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 301.
50            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

and that the starting point of this transformation is the knowledge of God
which, as described earlier, is tantamount to the knowledge of the
Prophet-Founder, and in particular, the revealed Word of God. It is
Religion's singular claim and promise that as long as an individual, with
openness, sincerity and courage, interacts with the Word of God, the
Writings will inspire and transform the seeker and create within him the
mysterious love of God.

"Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with
such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of
them that comprehend this truth.. ,"23

"Is it within human power... to effect in the constituent elements of any
of the minute and indivisible particles of matter so complete a
transformation as to transmute it into purest gold? Perplexing and
difficult as this may appear, the still greater task of converting satanic
strength into heavenly power is one that We have been empowered to
accomplish... the Word of God, alone, can claim the distinction of being
endowed with the capacity required for so great and far-reaching a
change"24

"The words of Baha'uTlah... have a creative power and are sure to
awaken in the reader the undying fire of the love of God."25

The individual thus becomes inspired and motivated to turn away from
his self and to turn towards God because of the Beauty of God. The
extent to which this love can be attained in our lives varies from one to
another, dependent on the earnestness of our endeavours as well as His
Grace. To then maintain this transformed state or even grow further, we
are required to daily interact with the Word of God through prayers and
meditations and put into sincere practice divine ordinances. In this way,
by inspiration, faith and deeds, the individual's moral commitment
becomes strengthened.

J
Baha'u'llah, Gleanings form the Writings of Baha'u'llah,, p. 141.
Baha'u'llah, Gleanings form the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 200.
On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, The Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and
Understanding of the Faith, pp. 34-35.
The Missing Moral Dimension                          51

Conclusion

This presentation has described the missing moral dimension in many of
our individual and social endeavors and has ascribed the phenomenon to
the downfall of the true practice of spirituality, a downfall precipitated
by the corrupt past practices of Religion as well as an unwarranted
conviction about man's intellectual capabilities. Also central to this
paper is the belief that for moral recovery to be effected realistically and
lastingly, Religion has to be reinstated to a central position in the lives
of both individuals and society. Admittedly, this can only be if both the
structure and functioning of religious institutions are different from the
past (without altering the spiritual content of love) so as to ensure that
its historical errors will never be repeated.

However, even the above-described repositioning of Religion cannot, by
itself, reinvigorate our current moral climate. Such re-energizing can
only occur if we ourselves are prepared to practise the true precepts of
Religion. Thus we ourselves must want and be ready to be transformed,
become progressively less self-centered and more compassionate
towards others, in thoughts as well as deeds. Only then can the
empowering influence of Religion be realized. Of course, the need for
Religion has been approached in this paper from the standpoint of
today's withering moral dimension, but ultimately, the truth of Religion
can never be determined this way. That ascertainment, by necessity, will
have to come at a more personal level and it requires from the seeker a
willingness to undertake an independent and unbiased search for truth.
Aspects of such a search and its end points (knowledge and love of God)
have also been briefly addressed in this presentation.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to my wife, Ang Ing Ing, for helping me with the
development of ideas as well as the patient preparation of the manuscript
through all its many versions. Dr Anjam Khursheed encouraged this
effort right at its inception and towards the end, provided insights that
were useful in the final revision. Needless to say, the paper's remaining
52         THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW

inadequacies are the author's responsibility; all I can say is that this
work could have been far worse.
The Missing Moral Dimension                        53

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-- The Missing Moral Dimension (Used by permission of the curator)