What Is the Truth of Human Essence, and When Can We Call Ourselves Human?
People within a society are not considered to be on the same level when it comes to existential qualities. Some people have better genetic qualities such as beauty, physical strength, intelligence, and health. We inherit most of these qualities from our ancestors, and we do not play an active role in their development. Therefore, we may not be satisfied with our appearance and intelligence, or we may have been born with some diseases and defects which trouble us.
There are also other qualities that, though not genetic, still do not have much to do with our choice. For example, some people are born into wealthy families, while others may be born into poor families. Some are born into powerful and influential families, some into ordinary ones. In some cases, children lose their parents in childhood, and in some, they do not even know their parents because they were raised by institutions or people other than their original parents. We cannot even choose our gender, so some people may be unhappy with their gender.
We have probably occupied our minds with these concerns many times and compared ourselves to others: Why is such and such a person more beautiful or richer than I am? Why does he have family support, while I do not have a family to turn to for support? Why is someone married, but I am not? Why is his child healthy and smart, while mine is born with defects and diseases? And thousands of other questions…
If you have these questions in mind too, but you do not know how to answer them, “You have defined yourself the wrong way!”
Non-Human Competitions and Their Harms
When the criteria for valuing individuals in society is shifted from spiritual (human) and supra-rational qualities to low-level and non-human qualities like beauty, education, social status, etc., people change their definition of themselves and others. That is when the sphere of life turns into a contest for material, vegetative, animal, and intellective growth, instead of providing a platform for the growth of the human dimension of our existence, which constitutes the truth of human essence. Everyone tries to appear more beautiful and stronger in competition with other plants and animals. As a result, if we have defects in any of these dimensions, we will feel inferior and miserable.
Most of us have a toolbox in our home that contains various tools, such as wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. Our toolbox is never intended to serve as a goal, but rather as a means of achieving our goals. Not only the toolbox, but everything in the material world is a means; a chair is a means to sit on, and food is a means to satisfy our hunger and survive. Clothing protects us against heat and cold; marriage gives us inner peace and satisfies our sexual desires, and etc. These are all tools that are intended to enhance our physical comfort and wellbeing. Our body is also a means because it is made of matter. It has already been stated that we are not limited to the physical body. Rather, we are divine and immaterial beings who need a physical body on our path of spiritual (human) growth. If we view our body not as a tool but as being equal to our true self, our focus will shift from spiritual growth and development to meeting the needs of our body. We will suffer from the lacks and deficiencies that this body faces and will feel worthless. To make up for these deficiencies, we may even turn to immoral acts.
If this wrong view becomes prevalent among all people in society, what will happen? Animalistic values will replace human values, and the society becomes more and more immersed in immorality and deviation. This is something we can clearly see today. We cannot control how others view us, and what criteria they use to measure our value. But the way we look at ourselves and evaluate our position in the system of creation is entirely up to us.
Our happiness and inner peace are not dependent on our material, vegetative, animal, or intellective assets. Gaining or losing them does not increase or decrease our value. Of course, all this depends on us defining ourselves as “human beings,” not as inanimate objects, plants, and animals.
The Supra-Sexual and Supra-Material Essence of Human Beings
As human beings, we are neither men nor women, neither healthy nor sick, neither married nor single, neither doctors nor engineers, neither workers nor employees; all these qualities are conventional concepts related to our material status. The truth of human essence is not made of matter, and these qualities cannot define us. So if we are not material beings, our true beloved cannot be material either, and our value cannot depend on material things. Therefore, when someone humiliates us because of our flaws and shortcomings, we do not attribute this humiliation to our ‘self’ or feel sad about it. If we have not had such a view of ourselves up to now, it means we are suffering from a lack of self-knowledge, and we need to spend enough time to know the truth of human essence.
To know the truth of human essence, we should view ourselves as supra-sexual and supra-material beings. God expects us to have such an attitude towards ourselves, as he looks at us the same way. The value of each of us depends on the amount of our connection and friendship with God as our primary and spiritual beloved. Having friendship with God and manifesting His names and attributes is a real and lasting perfection, which remains unaffected by earthly circumstances and never fades away. The more we manifest God’s names and attributes, the more human we are. The less we manifest His names, the more we have distanced ourselves from the truth of human essence, even if we have attained the highest degree of perfection in other areas.