Interview with Bahram Elahi, M.D., Ostad Elahi’s Son and Depositary of His Thought. (Published in "L’être et l’esprit," December 1997)

In your book "Foundations of Natural Spirituality," you present a revolutionary approach to spirituality. Could you summarize for us your definition of spirituality?

Spirituality is the knowledge that allows human beings to reach their perfection, meaning the state in which their primordial nature is realized. It could be considered as a complete experimental science that can lead us to true knowledge of our rights and duties, which I believe is the key to any authentic spirituality. From this perspective, then, spirituality should be approached with a scientific mindset. As with any experimental science, we have to learn step by step, understand, practice, take tests, absorb, assimilate, and progress until we reach total knowledge of our "self" and the laws that shape our development. Of course, this process does not end with the death of the physical body, which is a temporary albeit necessary tool for laying the foundations of our future development.

If I speak of "natural" spirituality, it is because spirituality can lead to realization only if it is adapted to our true nature and our authentic spiritual needs. Like the human body, the human soul requires nourishment. But just as there are harmful foods for the body, there are poisonous spiritual foods as well. Thus, when we put a falsified divine principle into practice, or when we believe in a principle that is not of divine origin, for example, we are poisoning our metaphysical self. What we need to assimilate, therefore, is a spirituality that is able to nourish our spirit and provide for its gradual maturation and natural growth. Natural spirituality addresses this very need by teaching us the original principles of divine origin adapted to the nature of our true self.

These principles can be summarized in a few relatively simple rules that do not require adherence to any specific religious or spiritual doctrine: struggling against our weak points until we are able to establish perfect equilibrium between our excesses and deficiencies (perfection); having the Creator (who is both benevolent and an educator) constantly present in our minds and wanting to be in accord with Him in all things; wanting to speak and act well with others, which implies respecting the rights of others; applying the fundamental principles of ethics and religion, for it is these principles that are the source of order and peace in society; and establishing equilibrium between our spiritual life and our material life, which implies that we live an active life within and among society and assume responsibility for our material life through our own work.

In this "process of perfection," what is the role of faith in God?

We have just said that the function of spirituality is to harmoniously develop the spirit of human beings so they can realize their primordial nature and reach perfection. Faith plays a central role in this process as it provides us with the motivation to develop ourselves. Faith can be defined as an attraction towards transcendence or the Divine. Consequently, the greater our faith, the more we are attracted by this transcendence and the greater our desire to develop. Considering that our souls have a metaphysical origin, only metaphysical energy derived from the true God can foster this development. In order to receive metaphysical energy, we must practice natural meditation—that is, considering God to be ever-present, and constantly striving to act in accordance with His satisfaction. It is through knowledge of the basic principles and their application to the innumerable and complex scenarios of life that we will gradually experience and learn where God’s satisfaction lies in each particular situation.

Faith is also necessary in spirituality to help us find the teachings that are adapted to the harmonious development of our spiritual dimension. Although the Creator has imposed upon Himself the duty to always extend a rope of guidance on earth, there are some tempter forces that also extend their own ropes. How will we be able to distinguish between the right rope and the wrong ones? Here again, it is only faith that can help us to grasp the correct rope, the one that will enable us to escape from the "ravine" we are currently in and lead us to perfection. When we speak of faith, we mean a pure and sincere faith in the true God, meaning God as He really is and not as we imagine Him to be. Indeed, if our faith is insincere, or if we have faith in a false God, we will lose the benefits of having faith.

To grow and develop, human beings need what we have called the "divine warmth and light." The divine light refers to divine knowledge, meaning prescriptions of divine origin indispensable to our development that we can understand and assimilate through practice in our daily life. Divine warmth, on the other hand, refers to the love we feel towards our Creator, which generates the motivation within us necessary to practice the prescriptions that will nourish us. Now, to capture divine warmth and light naturally, meaning in the right proportions, it is essential for us to have faith in God. In reality, faith in God is indispensable at every stage of our spiritual work and journey. Faith constitutes a solid barrier against the pathogenic elements that constantly threaten to attack and weaken the soul, and is a determining factor in the process that leads human beings to dominate their weak points. Faith also enables us to neutralize the side effects (for example, the creation of a complex) that may result from struggling against our weak points, and helps us to attract divine help, without which it is impossible to truly dominate, and eventually eliminate, any weak point. Sincere faith in the true God, then, is the cornerstone of spiritual perfection.

It seems as though you are attributing a great deal of importance to the practice of spirituality in our daily lives. Could you elaborate on this point?

Traditionally, spirituality has often been perceived as an activity one should engage in away from society. In reality, however, there is no contradiction between spirituality and social life. If the goal of spirituality is the perfection of the soul, what better place is there to develop positive human qualities than in the midst of society, where we are in constant interaction with our fellow beings? From this perspective, everything becomes spiritual and it is no longer necessary to dedicate a specific time or place to spirituality, as long as at all times and in all places we consider everything from a spiritual viewpoint and strive to think and act in accordance with natural spiritual principles in our daily lives.

Spirituality in daily life means that we should remember we are never alone, and that we have not been abandoned to ourselves. It means to have the Creator constantly present in mind and to want to be in accord with Him in all things. This state of natural meditation, which should accompany all of our actions in life, creates a positive, motivating, and mobilizing energy within us. It helps us to develop attention towards ourselves and others, and to develop confidence in ourselves and in God. It also endows us with a sense of inner assurance and serenity, broadening and deepening our field of perception and gradually providing us with answers to our questions.

Spirituality in daily life also means to strive at every moment, whether at work or with our family, to respect the rights of everyone; in other words, to want for others what we want for ourselves, while still knowing how to defend our own rights when necessary.

Spirituality in daily life implies understanding that evil is not a creation per se, but rather a consequence of the dysfunctioning of responsible beings such as humans. As a result of this, we understand that while it is our duty to struggle against evil, it is not right to see people as bad nor to wish bad upon them. It is in this context that forgiveness finds meaning, and tolerance and compassion are learned.

In reality, spirituality in daily life encompasses all of spirituality, for it is in our daily lives that we can practice and assimilate spirituality by having constant attention to ourselves, others, and the Creator.