When he becomes aware that the essence...

When he becomes aware that the essence, power, intelligence and goodness of this primary cause are infinite and beyond his perception, his mind will finally have attained rest.” ( Khudavandan i And ishayi yi Siyasi, II, 75) If the world be regarded as a laboratory and the hereafter as a continuation of the life of this world, albeit on a higher plane, and the body be considered as a means of implementation or expression for the wishes and intentions of man, the personality of man is no longer restricted to a single orbit.

A vast space is opened before him for his flight and ascent, and life takes on its true meaning. The Effectiveness of Faith If we examine the influence of belief in the hereafter in preserving social security and preventing the spread of corruption, crime and the violation of law, we reach the conclusion that this belief is the only force capable of taming the rebellious desires of the soul.

It is like a protective shield that guards man from the assault of his passions, for the one who holds this belief will obey a series of ethical principles without hypocrisy and without being subject to external pressure; he will accept the discipline they inculcate with a clear conscience. Such an aim cannot be assured simply by a high standard of education or economic prosperity, the power of technology, or by the existence of highly developed punitive mechanisms.

A society that relies on these will be unable to advance toward a balanced and ideal situation. Today we witness a growing wave of corruption, injustice and cruelty in countries which are well-developed with respect to education, economic prosperity, and judicial organization.

Such is the extent of the moral decay in those countries that the forces of law and order - well organized though they are and provided with all the equipment that the scientific and technological revolutions have bestowed on them - are unable to take the place of the basic element of faith in taming the rebellious inclination of the soul to deviance and sin.

There are many people today who lament and are distressed by the present condition of their societies, but they are unable to do anything effective or to sketch out a plan of action. A society that has fallen prey to a sick culture cannot fail to be replete with all kinds of impurity and abomination. What we mean by a “sick culture” is pessimism, the absence of goals, a belief that life lacks all meaning.