Many Baha’is believe that all men have an eternal soul that will, after the death of the body, rejoice in the next worlds of God. Alas, the Manifestations of God tell us otherwise.

Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha informed us that the human soul does not face annihilation after the physical death of the body; however, they are both equally clear that if the soul has not been transformed, sanctified (set apart to God), in this life, that soul will be “as dead” in the next worlds of God.

If we think of man as the Writings describe him, as a tripartite being composed of a spirit, which is given of God; a soul, which is created at conception; and a body; then we have a framework to understand what the Manifestations of God mean by the process of transformation of the soul of a man through the Spirit of God and the spirit of man.

“Therefore, the spirit is the bounty of God, the water is knowledge and life, and the fire is the love of God. For material water does not purify the heart of man; no, it cleanses his body. But the heavenly water and spirit, which are knowledge and life, make the human heart good and pure; the heart which receives a portion of the bounty of the Spirit becomes sanctified, good and pure — that is to say, the reality of man becomes purified and sanctified from the impurities of the world of nature. These natural impurities are evil qualities: anger, lust, worldliness, pride, lying, hypocrisy, fraud, self-love, etc. “Man cannot free himself from the rage of the carnal passions except by the help of the Holy Spirit. That is why He says baptism with the spirit, with water and with fire is necessary, and that it is essential — that is to say, the spirit of divine bounty, the water of knowledge and life, and the fire of the love of God. Man must be baptized with this spirit, this water and this fire so as to become filled with the eternal bounty.”

(Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 92)

We might picture the human soul as the mind, the will, and the emotions of man. This soul is pure at birth.

“Then know thou verily all the souls are created according to the nature of God and all are in the state of (unconscious) purity at the time of the births. But afterward they differ from one another insofar as they acquire excellencies or defects.”

(Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v2, p. 453)

The soul of a man has an interface with the body of the man. Through this interface the soul receives sensory data and can direct actions of the body. Likewise, the human spirit is intended to have an interface with the soul of a man.

“You perceive how the soul is the intermediary between the body and the spirit. …

“When a soul has in it the life of the spirit, then does it bring forth good fruit and become a Divine tree.” (Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 98)

However, the man who has not apprehended God and who has not had his spirit renewed through the agency of the Spirit of God lacks the spiritual pathway to direct and regenerate the soul of the man. The Master spoke of it thus:

“God, in His Bounty, has given us a foretaste here, has given us certain proofs of the difference that exists between body, soul and spirit…

“The spirit is changeless, indestructible. The progress and development of the soul, the joy and sorrow of the soul, are independent of the physical body. “If we are caused joy or pain by a friend, if a love prove true or false, it is the soul that is affected. If our dear ones are far from us — it is the soul that grieves, and the grief or trouble of the soul may react on the body. “Thus, when the spirit is fed with holy virtues, then is the body joyous; if the soul falls into sin, the body is in torment!

… “The same thing applies to the spirit of man. Though death destroy his body, it has no power over his spirit — this is eternal, everlasting, both birthless and deathless. “As to the soul of man after death, it remains in the degree of purity to which it has evolved during life in the physical body, and after it is freed from the body it remains plunged in the ocean of God’s Mercy. … “It is my earnest prayer that we may all be in the Kingdom of God, and near Him.”

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 64)

Clearly, some of us will not be in the Kingdom of God and some of us will not be near God. If my soul is not filled with true Life during my time here, then my soul in the next world will be like an empty, wrinkled, flaccid balloon left on the grass after a six year-old’s birthday party; just a few pretty colors, but no significant form or substance. Empty. Because, only the infinite can survive the infinite.

Thus, if we wish to have eternal life we must acquire it now, through the Grace of God, the second birth, and the outworking of God’s Truth in us daily.