15  From Maturity to Devotion

15.1 The First Responsibility

In the prior chapter we established some basic rights all people have from conception until maturity. In this chapter, we will begin a series of chapters about life once maturity is reached and the devotional identity expected of a Person of Bahá. This devotional identity will guide and inform all rights and responsibilities for the remainder of Part 3. Maturity is an important concept, because societies in general have struggled to define it and to express what rights and responsibilities exist around it. This chapter frames maturity as the doorway where rights become stewardship, and where devotion becomes a lived identity rather than a private feeling.

Before explaining what maturity is, I want to introduce what I believe is the first responsibility we have at maturity. Bahá’u’lláh says “no one should object to those who rule over the people.”1 Instead of objecting to rule, we should leave leaders to what they have, such as their power, and focus our attention on the hearts of people. This is also a right. Every person has the right to peacefully be led. They also have the right and responsibility to guide hearts through their conduct and speech. Every responsibility a person has from maturity must be exercised in a way which does not overstep the bounds of law, no matter where they live. To change or influence law and leadership, the changing of hearts is the core of the devotional identity. This is where achieving true liberation becomes practical, because liberation is not only what a soul rejects, but what a soul builds in public life through lawful conduct and a transformed heart.

Reflection: Where do you invest your energy, in contesting authority or in cultivating hearts?

With that first responsibility in view, we can now define what maturity means in this framework.

15.2 What is Maturity?

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas mentions maturity twice. The first is when prayer and fasting become obligatory2 and the second is when one becomes eligible to receive inheritance.3 On the latter right, Bahá’u’lláh conditions trusteeship if the descendant is weak instead of being mature. What might weakness be related to?

Weakness is usually associated with physical strength, but strength is not a sole determination of maturity. I believe weakness in this case is associated with two major characteristics. The first would be a person who lacks firmness in character, or maybe someone who is still understanding who they are as a person. The second characteristic would be the inability to function normally or fully. This might be a level of codependency, whether it be financial or emotional, which does not exist when someone is mature.

To support these ideas, we can look further in Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation. In the Lawḥ-i-Ra’ís (Tablet to the Vizier), Bahá’u’lláh closes with an instruction for Mehmed Emin ’Alí Páshá, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire when written in 24 BE (1868). He says “Ask God to help you reach maturity so that you become aware of the beauty and ugliness of deeds and actions.” To reach maturity, one must understand the consequences of one’s actions. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas also conditions marriage upon the consent of both potential spouses. In other words, maturity is not only capacity, it is moral sight, and consent is one of its first

With these conditions, let’s look at how the Badí‘ calendar’s progression moves through the maturation process.

Reflection: If maturity is moral sight, what should time itself be teaching you?

The next section uses the sacred rhythm of the year to make the stages of maturity easier to see.

15.3 The Badí‘ Calendar’s Rhythm of Maturity

A person matures through three stages at the ages of 11, 15, and 19. The numbers 11, 15, and 19 are not arbitrary. They correspond to the months Mashíyyat (Will), Masá’il (Questions), and ‘Alá’ (Loftiness) in the Badí‘ calendar. This is the divine rhythm by which the world itself matures. Thus, even time testifies that the awakening of awareness, the assumption of will, and the perfection of trust are one continuous act of God’s creation. By the time a person turns 19, that person would have completed 19 cycles of 19 months, a complete Váḥid of life. This is the essence of unity. This section will be focused on the Báb’s teachings of maturity. Bahá’u’lláh made no changes to the Báb’s command regarding maturity.

15.3.1 At Age 11

Age 11 corresponds to God’s name Huva.4 Huva is composed of two Arabic letters, Há’ (ه) and Váv (و). Bahá’u’lláh says the letter Há’ corresponds with God’s inward identification and indexing of Himself as “He.”5 Every other name is derived from this name. The name Váv, which means Will, represents the outward expression of Him. In the Badí‘ calendar’s rhythm of maturity, at age 11 this would represent the potential of a person to become aware of their identity. Once aware of your identity, you are capable of expressing your identity through your will. This combination of identity and will forms the legal notion of consent, as well as the ability to believe and express belief.

The Báb teaches that at this age of Mashíyyat, a person is ready to fast and perform other spiritual practices. There is a spiritual practice the Báb taught that He wanted parents to teach their children at age 11, which I find quite interesting. He says they should be taught the knowledge of the bounty of God and to write the Temples of Unity, which were first fashioned through the first Temple, the Temple of the Letter Há’.6 These Temples of Unity are 19 Temples which each include 11 units from the Names of God. They may be created in the form the child desires. For each day of the month, the child is to recite what they wrote within the temple, which begins a cycle which has a beginning and an end. It’s a way to take the sacred rhythm of the Badí‘ calendar and make a sacred rhythm of the soul from it. The full instructions are within the Book of the Five Modes.

15.3.2 At Age 15

Age 15 marks the second state of maturity according to the Badí‘ calendar. This would mark the time when we reach the age of reason and moral awareness.7 The Báb says that when this age is reached, this is when you are fully capable of choosing your religion. We can say a person has progressed not just in knowing who they are and what they choose, but also in having the ability to understand the full consequences of their choices and actions through their ability to reason. Reason is also the ability to declare your intention or what you know is true.

15.3.3 At Age 19

Age 19 marks the age of loftiness, when a person has progressed through each stage of development. You are complete. Age 19 marks the age of adulthood. This also marks the age when a person should be financially independent.8 This also marks the final stage of spiritual development, where again a person may affirm their belief and have full ability to recognize the Manifestation of God.9

To mark this age, a person should render thanksgiving for the day of their conception as an embryo.10 This also suggests the possibility that we do not just observe a birthday, but also celebrate the conception date as marking the age of a person. This also marks the first time we have the responsibility to practice reflection.

15.3.4 Progression Through Stages of Maturity

While there is a right for each person to be able to mature according to this sacred time, a child may not fully be able to. The Báb understood this and was compassionate. For example, He says if a child is unable to demonstrate capability at age 11, then one should reevaluate at age 15, and again at age 19 if needed.11 He describes this as observing the conditions of limitation. One condition of limitation would be to recognize that a person under the age of 19 is not fully mature and is a child. The rights described in the last chapter remain intact. These conditions of limitation govern what I am calling the Maturity Matching Principle, where we recognize these stages of maturity as distinct, and we encourage peer development and association within their maturity levels.

There are times when a person suffers from developmental handicaps which prevent their ability to be fully mature. To determine whether a person is fully mature at the age 19 threshold requires careful consultation and consideration of certain qualities. These qualities would be financial and emotional independence, firmness in character and identity, and the ability to understand the consequences of their actions. Remember, it is the right of every person to mature, but they also have a right to be free from being forced to be mature before they are ready.

15.4 The Devotional Identity of a Mature Adult

Maturity marks the official beginning of the devotional identity of an adult, if they choose to do so. Bahá’u’lláh says in tablet BH00528:

When man attaineth the age of maturity, he must investigate and, putting his trust in God and sanctified from love and hate, reflect upon that whereunto the people adhere. He must hear with his own ears and see with his own eyes, for if he looketh through the eyes of another, he will be deprived of beholding the effulgent rays of the Sun of Divine Knowledge. Various parties exist in the world, and each hath regarded itself as being in the right, as He, exalted be He, hath said: “Each party rejoiceth in what it possesseth.”

He goes on to say the “understanding of every soul must…. behold itself independent.”12 This establishes the next set of rights and responsibilities of every person after they reach maturity. We have the right to independently seek truth and the responsibility to be independent as we seek truth. To be a Person of Bahá means to actively believe in and see the truth of Bahá’u’lláh, not to do so blindly. If there is a criticism or argument against Bahá’u’lláh or the People of Bahá, do not turn your back on it. Investigate. Always be diligent in understanding each side of an argument or perspective, much like a judge allowing both a prosecutor and defender to cross-examine evidence while presenting their cases. We have the responsibility to do the spiritual work ourselves, not to defer it to others.

Reflection: What changes when you refuse borrowed eyes and borrowed ears?

With independent seeking established, we can now state the first explicit right that follows from it.

15.5 Right to Belief

Every mature person has a right to believe as they wish, even if Bahá’u’lláh says this comes with consequences. You may not believe in anything in Part 1 of this book, or you may have partial belief. You might even believe in Bahá’u’lláh but be part of an organization which claims infallibility. This is your right. Bahá’u’lláh says it is the responsibility of every mature adult to reflect on what people adhere to, see with one’s own eyes, and react from there. His hope is to be one with the People of Bahá, but this hope comes without coercion.

A person of Bahá has the right and responsibility to every spiritual practice described in Part 2, and the right and responsibility to develop their own Unity Constellation of virtues. Those who are not a person of Bahá have the right to practice any or all of these practices and develop any or all of those virtues according to their belief. None should ever be deprived, no matter who they are.

Reflection: If belief cannot be coerced, what kind of accountability can still be asked of the soul?

From here, we can name the core accountabilities that shape devotion into conduct.

15.6 Spiritual Accountability

There are various guidelines in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas which focus on aspects of spiritual accountability. For each guideline, they will be presented as both a right and responsibility.

15.6.1 Looking Inward

The first sphere of spiritual accountability begins within the soul itself. There is a responsibility not to measure the Book of God by your own desires, and a corresponding right to measure your desires according to the Book of God. There is a responsibility not to object to the fragrance of God, which is His love, and a right to receive that love fully. There is a responsibility not to withhold yourself from the bounties and grace of God, and a right to receive them. There is a responsibility not to question Bahá’u’lláh’s actions, and a right to believe those actions reflect the Will of God, who represents all names including the Most Subtle. These four accountabilities share a common thread. The soul must be oriented toward God before it can look anywhere else.

15.6.2 Looking Outward

The second sphere extends from the soul into its relationship with the Cause and the world. There is a responsibility not to oppose or object to Bahá’u’lláh, and a right to support His Cause. There is a responsibility not to hesitate in following His command, and a right to trust and act sincerely in implementing the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. There is a responsibility not to corrupt the Cause of God, and a right to allow the Cause to reform the Earth. There is a responsibility not to deny what God has permitted, and a right to be free from the tyranny of those who deny what God has permitted or allow what God has forbidden. Finally, there is a responsibility never to deviate from a verse’s outward meaning, and a right to interpret both its outward and inward meanings. A soul oriented inward toward God will naturally begin to see the world through that same orientation.

15.6.3 Action

The third sphere is where orientation becomes conduct. There is a responsibility not to destroy what God has built, and a right to what God has built and created. There is a responsibility to raise up the Sacred Houses and the places whereupon the Throne of the Lord rested. There is a responsibility to ask about the Cause of God and what your soul needs, and a right to receive those answers. These are not passive accountabilities. They require a soul that has already done the inward work and looked outward with clarity, and is now ready to build.

Reflection: When you speak of maturity, do you mean legal adulthood or the soul’s growth into discernment?

Next we widen the lens to spiritual maturity, where law becomes symbol and devotion becomes station.

15.7 The Right to Spiritual Maturity

The writings of Bahá’u’lláh often refer to another kind of maturity, spiritual maturity. Even if you have reached maturity in the traditional sense, it does not mean you have reached spiritual maturity. To help describe what spiritual maturity is, Bahá’u’lláh uses the traditional descriptions of maturity as symbols for the spiritual side.

The Kitáb-i-Badí‘ is the largest single book by Bahá’u’lláh, written in response to questions from a man who followed Ṣubḥ-i-Azal, denying belief in Bahá’u’lláh as a Manifestation of God. This section will not go into a discussion of Ṣubḥ-i-Azal until Chapter 24 “Spiritual Leadership.” A significant portion of this book discusses the conditions and reasons for lack of belief in individuals, especially those who are led by those who claim belief in God yet are spiritually corrupt.

The first right of spiritual maturity is for a spiritual infant to receive the knowledge of spiritual maturity. There is a corresponding responsibility for a teacher or other person to only give the knowledge of spiritual maturity to those who are capable and ready. This requires a high level of discernment. The Kitáb-i-Badí‘ says “most today are considered infants before God.” Part of this lack of maturity is due to their constellation of virtues not being valued, such as the virtue of heedfulness. A sign of maturation is belief in the Manifestation of God.

The Kitáb-i-Íqán discusses extensively why people lack this development. Bahá’u’lláh places considerable blame on religious leaders and institutions who inhibit spiritual maturity. They do this by distorting the Words of God by changing meanings, claiming God said things God did not say, or by interpreting verses against their explicit intent. These distortions introduce new doctrines, traditions, superstitions, and laws which God had not intended. A spiritually immature person struggles to understand what God actually wants in life, such as these rights and responsibilities being discussed. The weak and immature are easily led astray by others who fabricate such distortions.13

The rights and responsibilities of spiritual accountability from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas form the foundation of spiritual maturity. Even if you do not believe in Bahá’u’lláh, these principles are incredibly vital to your spiritual health. I personally believe that if any person who is part of any religion is able to see what is from God as the source, they have a great chance to reach spiritual maturity. What I mean is that if a Christian were to focus on the actual teachings and example of Jesus Christ as the primary source of their religious practice and understanding, while choosing to use all other sources such as the teachings of Saint Paul or their local pastor as secondary, they may have a great opportunity to mature in their God consciousness. “Today, knowledge and ignorance, high and low, nearness and distance, truth and falsehood, life and death, maturity and infancy, wisdom and heedlessness, are all distinguished by the confirmation of the manifestation.”14 With this said, I do believe in what the Kitáb-i-Aqdas says in its opening about believing in the Manifestation of God in this age. God says this is the source of all spiritual maturity.

The next right is to be allowed to attain the station of spiritual maturity. Each person has a responsibility to attain spiritual maturity and each person has a responsibility to allow others the ability to reach spiritual maturity, according to their capacities. Bahá’u’lláh says the children of the age must be nurtured with milk that is delicate and subtle until they attain maturity.15 An associated responsibility is for a person to no longer be moved by desires and illusions.16

Reflection: If spiritual maturity is a station, what obligations does it place on your speech and your influence?

Now we can name the responsibilities that belong to maturity in its spiritual sense.

15.8 Responsibilities of Spiritual Maturity

There are two important responsibilities for a person who has attained spiritual maturity. These responsibilities do not come with associated rights. The first responsibility of spiritual maturity is to never exceed your station.17 Bahá’u’lláh says a person can do this by purifying their soul from the world, not speaking of what they do not know, and refraining from mentioning what they do not understand. It is acceptable not to know everything. It is also acceptable to stay away from being placed on a pedestal. It would be worse if you placed yourself, or allowed others to place you in a position which replaces the Manifestation of God.

The next responsibility for a spiritually mature person is to convey God’s Cause.18 This responsibility is reserved only for the spiritually mature. A person who does not place the Manifestation of God as the primary source of God’s Will is unable to convey God’s Cause. They will distort God’s Cause. The purpose of conveying God’s Cause is for others to reach spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is the station where the soul has reached liberation. The liberation of the soul is a right afforded to all people.

This is the day that the Most Great Spirit foretold and proclaimed in the wilderness of yearning by His name. Those who drink of the wine must act with wisdom, engage in the proclamation of the Cause, and, in all matters, cling to the cord of consultation and hold fast to the hem of compassion, so that the children of the age may attain maturity through the kindness and mercy of the divine sages and be nourished in complete health.19

Reflection: If maturity is stewardship, what does it ask you to protect in those still growing?

To close, we return to your core pattern, and carry it forward into the private life of the mature soul.

15.9 Conclusion

Maturity is a right and itself marks the beginning of great responsibility. When combined with our constellation of virtues and our increased awareness of God’s names and attributes, we can be sure to develop both our legal status of maturity and our spiritual station of maturity. This pattern of maturity exists in every layer of creation, exists within manifestation and command, and is a pattern I have leaned into greatly when writing this book. Everything is within this cycle of maturity, including you and me. We must be careful to recognize, respect, and honor that which is not mature. The mature are the trustees of the immature. If the devotional identity is real, it will show itself first as lawful restraint, then as moral clarity, then as steady service.

With this, we take these responsibilities and look at what it means to be mature within our private lives. How do we prepare ourselves to be less immature so that we can manifest our maturity into the world? Chapter 16 will continue this cycle of maturity and look into our private lives.

  1. Kitáb-i-Aqdas #95↩︎

  2. Kitáb-i-Aqdas #10↩︎

  3. Kitáb-i-Aqdas #27↩︎

  4. The Persian Bayan Vahid 8, Gate 18↩︎

  5. Tafsir-i-Hu (Interpretation of “He”)↩︎

  6. The Book of the Five Modes (BB00005)↩︎

  7. BB00083↩︎

  8. The Arabic Bayan Vahid 10, Gate 14↩︎

  9. The Book of Names↩︎

  10. The Persian Bayan Vahid 5, Gate 4↩︎

  11. BB00083↩︎

  12. BH00601↩︎

  13. Lawḥ-i-Siráj↩︎

  14. Kitáb-i-Badí‘↩︎

  15. BH00302↩︎

  16. Words of Paradise↩︎

  17. Kitáb-i-Badí‘↩︎

  18. BH00035↩︎

  19. BH00123↩︎