Creativity & Spirituality: Are they related?

Negin Sanaei

Australian Bahá'í Studies, Vol. 2, 2000

The definition of creativity is very broad as it encompasses many things.
Everyone is creative, even those of us who think otherwise. Every dream, every
fantasy that we have all had as children and even those we have as adults are
the manifestations of our creativity and imagination. Whether we appreciate
all kinds of creativity, it surrounds us everywhere. We may ask ourselves why
some creative works of certain creative and imaginative people last longer than
others. We could ask why the works of Shakespeare have lasted so long, and
why have the creative theories of Plato, the findings of Socrates, the imagina-
tive discoveries of Galileo, the contributions of Einstein have made such a
big impact on our civilisation? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Shake-
speare's plays appeal to a majority of the population or perhaps the thoughts
behind those ideas and works were spiritual or perhaps both.

Bahá'u'lláh states:

Consider Hippocrates, the physician. He was one of the eminent phi-
losophers who believed in God and acknowledged His sovereignty. After
him came Socrates who was indeed wise, accomplished and righteous...
What a penetrating vision into philosophy this eminent man had!… He
had a profound knowledge of such sciences as were current amongst men
as well as of those which were veiled from their minds… He it is who
perceived a unique, a tempered, and a pervasive nature in things, bearing
the closest likeness to the human spirit… After Socrates came the divine
Plato who was a pupil of the former... Then came Aristotle, the well-known
man of knowledge… These men who stand out as leaders of the people
and are pre-eminent among them, one and all acknowledged their belief
in the immortal Being Who holdeth in His grasp the reins of all sciences.1

This quotation explains to us why such men were 'successful' in their
imaginative endeavours. It will be referred to later in an attempt to find a better
method of how we can be more 'successful'.

Spirituality may seem to be a mystic word; it takes on many facets. The
definitions in the Bahá'í Writings vary. Poet, Jack McLean defines spirituality
for Bahá'ís as "to be involved with the life of society in order to preserve and
promote its finest heritage."2

Spirituality and religion are often used interchangeably. Spirituality, in
fact, is an aspect of religion and perhaps the most important aspect. Shoghi
Effendi states: "no amount of administrative procedure or adherence to rules
can take the place of this soul-characteristic, this spirituality which is the
essence of man".3

At the Bahá'í World Congress in 1992, David Hofman observed:

The world today is starving for spiritual food. It is dying of spiritual
thirst. In the innermost private life of every man, woman and child on
the planet, there is this inner frustration, this inner lack, this hunger, this
yearning for something other than what the world is offering for them
today or what they can discover in the world. When all the activities of
mankind turn against him, his economics doesn't feed, clothe or shelter him,
his religion doesn't inspire him to kindliness and goodwill, his politics are
unmentionable and his recreations are debased. Nothing today gratifies
this longing, this yearning in the individual human soul.4

This inner yearning can illustrate why Deepak Chopra or James Redfield's
books are among the best sellers. It is not hard to become more spiritual, as
Bahá'ís believe that man is in reality a spiritual being and only when he lives
in the spirit, is he truly happy. So how do we live in this spirit? Perhaps by
using our spiritual power. What is our spiritual power? 'Abdu'l-Bahá has
said our imagination along with other faculties like thought, comprehension
and memory are parts of our spiritual power.5 The more we utilise any of
these faculties, the more would we enhance our spiritual growth. This is not
to say that if one person commits to memory all the books in the world, s/he
is an especially spiritual person. That person also needs to use other faculties
of their spiritual power. Just like the body which needs food, water, exercise
and fresh air to survive, our spirituality needs to use all four faculties of our
spiritual power mentioned above.

Jack McLean writes in his book Dimensions in Spirituality that "imagination
can transcend time and space and directly go into the world of eternity
with its ethereal, airy spirits."6 Imagination is a constituent of our spirituality,
therefore it has implications for spiritual growth. It also has sure implications
for our spiritual detriment. Creativity has two dimensions. On the one hand,
when it is focused on unveiling knowledge, the advancement of civilisation and
the promotion of harmony and unification of the world, it becomes a powerful
ally of spiritualisation. On the other hand, when its energies are harnessed in
the service of the frivolous and self-focused gains, it can pose a serious threat
to spiritual development.7 It becomes a threat when our creativity is used for
our own materialistic purposes rather than for the portrayal of spiritual inspi-
ration. Therefore imagination can be viewed as a power of the soul which
may either focus on higher and abstract spiritual realities or on lower objects
of self-gratification.

Recall the quote about Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. In that
quote Bahá'u'lláh asserts that they all believed in God and praised Him and
recognised that without the help of God we are not worth as much. Even
someone contemporary, like Einstein, insisted that religion and science should
move forward together: "Science without religion is blind, religion without
science is lame."8

'Abdu'l-Bahá expands on this point in Paris Talks: "By the power of the
Holy Spirit, working through his soul, man is able to perceive the Divine Reality of things. All great works of art and sciences are witnesses of this power
of the spirit".9 And Bahá'u'lláh states:

All art is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When this light shines through the
mind of a musician, it manifests itself in beautiful harmonies. Again, shining
through the mind of a poet, it is seen in fine poetry and poetic prose. When
the light of the Sun of Truth inspires the mind of a painter, he produces
marvellous pictures. These gifts are fulfilling their highest purpose when
showing forth the praise of God.10

Does this mean that if we do not write or paint about God and the Divine,
our efforts are useless? I think not! I think the success of our art depends on
our intentions and our purposes. Our intentions should be spiritual and wanting to portray what is in our spirit and inspiration for the sake of presenting
and displaying our inspiration and not what that demonstration may pave the
way for.

There are many demonstrations of decadent creativity, for example, creativity used in marketing campaigns for achieving their materialistic goals while
destroying our self-worth and dignity. We are constantly probed to buy lottery
tickets so we can 'spend every minute of everyday, of every year'. This leads
us to think that money can come easily and we therefore have no respect for
the time which we have spent working hard. Nuclear power has the potential
to help humanity but unfortunately it has had a major adverse result of destroying parts of the world and some members of its family. Einstein had said
that if he had any vision of his energy theory being used as bombs he would
never have discovered it. These examples show our spiritual development
being threatened, when creativity is not used to advance human civilisation.

As an individual, however, I suggest that we acknowledge the negative and
find out what we can learn from it and try to make amends by concentrating
on the positive side of it. Let's utilise all the great talent we have around us
and appreciate its importance. Bahá'u'lláh states: "It hath been revealed and
is now repeated that the true worth of artists and craftsmen should be appreciated, for they advance the affairs of mankind,"11 and further, that, "Arts, crafts
and sciences uplifts the world of being, and are conducive to its exaltation."12

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Notes:

1. Bahá'u'lláh, Lawh-i-Hikmat in Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1988, pp. 146-147.
2. J.A. McLean, Dimensions in Spirituality, Oxford: George Ronald, 1994, p.126.
3. Letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, April 25, 1945, quoted in Helen Hornby, Lights of Guidance (2nd rev. ed.), New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1988, p.542.
4. Bahá'í World Congress video, 1992.
5. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1990, pp.210-211.
6. J. A. McLean, op.cit., p.176.
7. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, op.cit., pp. 210-211.
8. Richard Tarnas, The Passion of Western Mind – Understanding the Ideas that Have Shaped Our World View, New York: Ballantine Books, 1993. pp.355-356.
9. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, (10th Ed.), London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1961, p. 85.
10. Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings, op.cit., p.192.
11. Bahá'u'lláh quoted in The Compilation of Compilations, The Arts, Maryborough: Bahá'í Publications Australia, 1991, p. 3.
12. Ibid.

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