How Is the Relation Between the Outward and Inward State Shaped? What Factors Influence It?
Perhaps during your education, it has happened to you that you took an exam without studying, and as a result, you failed to answer the questions. Deep down, you wished to get a top score, but it was an unattainable desire because what we write on the exam paper depends on the information we have gained before.
No matter how much information we have, we cannot fulfill our desire to get the perfect score if our information is not in line with the examination subject. This simple example reminds us of a bitter and stressful time which all of us have experienced, but such experiences can teach us lessons that can change the path of our lives. In fact, the same rule applies to life itself. Just as it is impossible to get a top score on an exam without studying, we get nowhere in life without effort and providing the ground for the intended result.
This rule, which is called the relation between the outward and inward state, expresses the fact that “every soul is hostage to what it has acquired.” In other words, every soul will be held in pledge for its deeds. In school exams, our acquisition is limited to the information we get from books, while in life, it extends to everything we perceive through our five senses, such as sound frequencies, light spectra, smells, what we touch, and everything we eat. All these things nourish our mind and body.
This nourishment or acquisitions shape what we are. In other words, these things are ingredients for our decisions, behaviors, thoughts, and deeds. All of them ultimately make up the assets of our soul. Finally, according to the relation between the outward and inward state, these acquisitions manifest themselves as behaviors or characteristics.
What Is the Root Cause of Our Behaviors?
We are all hostage to our past. Our thoughts, behaviors, deeds, and relationships have ultimately shaped our beliefs throughout our lives. In a reciprocal relationship, this set is influenced by our perceptions of the environment, and in turn, it influences the type of our relationship with the environment. In fact, we can only act within these limits and based on the type of nourishment we take. The relation between the outward and inward state is also formed within this framework. It means that our outward state is like a showcase that manifests what happens within us. In truth, every good or bad behavior is formed by our own specific acquisitions or the inward state we have built. This is because when someone likes a good characteristic, it does not mean that she can have it or is able to manifest it. We provide the groundwork for the manifestation of good behaviors through our positive acquisitions and the foundation for the manifestation of bad behaviors through our negative acquisitions.
Moreover, the amount and type of food that each faculty of our soul receives determine the scope of our desires in that part. The maximum score we get on an exam depends on our attention and how much we have studied, and we cannot make progress beyond that. It is just like the relationship between our physical strength and eating healthy and nutritious foods or unhealthy foods.
Everything we see, hear, smell, read, or any other acquisition, no matter how insignificant it is, leaves specific impacts on us and brings us one step closer to the health or diseases of our soul, just like the food we eat. The nutrition of the human dimension of our existence provides our soul with healthy and nutritious food. But if the amount of our acquisitions in the human dimension of our existence is low or negative, we cannot neutralize the effect of negative acquisitions in other dimensions of our existence, and ultimately these negative acquisitions show themselves as negative manifestations in our behavior. As a result, when we wish to be calm and patient, we will become angry, and when we must be generous, we are stingy.
Every Tree Is Known by Its Own Fruit
We can conclude that our behaviors in each part of our soul are proportional to the food we receive in that part and also to the inward state we have built. This rule refers to the relation between the outward and inward state. In religious literature, it is said that “Al-Zahir[1] manifests Al-Batin,[2]” or in other words, every tree is known by its fruit.
In fact, we only show the behaviors that we have prepared the ground for. So, the flawless and ideal self-image that we have of ourselves may differ from our true inward state. This is because the purity of the heart depends on all the positive sensory, imaginal, and estimative nutrition that we provide for it or the negative nutrition that we keep away from it. There is a direct relation between the outward and inward state. If we prepare the ground for any negative acquisition for our soul, are ill-tempered, violate the rights of others, and get used to seeing or hearing everything, we cannot claim we have a pure heart.
In fact, a set of behaviors and acquisitions build our inward state, and each behavior has its roots in our inward state. Every behavior has a root cause. For example, the habit of nail biting in children is an outward sign of inner anxiety and stress. Directly trying to stop this habit does not help. Rather, we must confront the inward reality of this manifestation, i.e. anxiety, and get rid of the root cause.
The Relationship Between Accepting the Truth and Our Inward State
Our relationship with the truth and its manifestations depends on the purity of our existential dimensions and faculties. If we have a pure heart, we will feel the desire to receive and accept the truth within ourselves when we gain a complete knowledge about the truth. Since the abilities and assets that we have built for ourselves are not in conflict with the truth and are even in complete compatibility with it, we easily accept the truth. This means that a sound heart accepts the truth without any compulsion after fully knowing it. Every person is hostage to what she has acquired. This is why some people cannot easily yield to the truth. However, sometimes we act like a disobedient student who knows the correct answers, yet he gives wrong answers to defy her teacher. When the heart is filled with harmful inputs, knowing the truth does not lead to its acceptance. In this situation, the individual freely rejects the truth because she has no desire to receive it, and she even hates it. Negative acquisitions captivate our souls and take away the ability to make the right decisions. In fact, this is the worst possible result we can get from our visual, auditory, dietary, and other acquisitions.
In this article, we discussed that every soul is hostage to what it has acquired. There is a direct relation between the outward and inward state. Our behaviors stem from the truth of our essence, and our acquisitions shape our inward state. Our positive acquisitions provide the ground for our positive behaviors, while our negative acquisitions are the basis for our negative behaviors. In fact, the relation between the outward and inward state is shaped within this framework. In the end, we pointed out that having a pure heart certainly increases our desire to receive and accept the truth.
[1] . the outward state
[2]. the inward state