In the name of God, we have reached the nineteenth article; an article with the title "The Levels of Human Life" or "The Territorialization of Station". In this article, we examine two movements: one "substantial motion" or "temporal territorialization" and the other "motion of meaning" or "positional situatedness (station of meaning)". These two movements can be compared to horizontal and vertical axes. Substantial motion is, for every contingent being, revelatory, necessary, and decreed. In the sense that with the occurrence of this movement, by the command of revelation, events occur in a row and successively, and that contingent being has no participation in the choice of these stages and the method of following of each stage. But the participation of the contingent being, meaning that which shows the character of the contingent being, is in the vertical movement; meaning that same thing we remember with the title of "the territorialization of the station of understanding and perception". In the continuation of the discussion, we will speak more about this topic and this was merely an introduction. We want to examine these two movements in the course of eight stages and see where the work begins and in the end, what horizon we will have in front of us.

Text of the Article

I died to the inanimate (mineral) state and became endowed with growth;

Then I died to growth and attained the life of the animal.

I died from animality and became human (Adam).

Why then should I fear? When have I ever become less by dying?

At the next level, I shall die to being human,

So that I may soar and raise my head among the angels.

Yet even from the angelic state I must transcend,

For everything perishes except His Face.

Once more I shall pass beyond the angel,

Becoming that which cannot be conceived by imagination.

Then I shall enter non-existence.

And non-existence, like the sound of an organ, will say to me:

“Verily, unto Him shall we return.”

1. Darkness or misguidance, synonymous with mineral or inanimate life: Imagine a mine in which various elements exist without substantial motion or consciousness. This corresponds to territorialization in time or substantial motion. Substantial motion is inherent, revelatory, necessary, and decreed for the contingent being.

2. Territorialization in time: With the reception of the Water of Life, parallel to receiving revelation, the human emerges from darkness toward light. This corresponds to temporal territorialization: gaining the effusion of revelation and beginning of the substantial motion toward forming the conscious but Illusory Mind in the horizontal course of life.

3. Vegetative life, shaped mind: Appearance of form through encounter with light, the emergence of the shaped mind, and plant-like vitality.

4. Animal life, Illusory Mind: Receiving revelation in order to enter territorialization of station or place, in proximity to the formless or unconscious mind. This marks the beginning of vertical motion of life. In the previous level, the Illusory Mind was bound by causal propositions of the form “if this, then that.” But in this level, vertical attraction propositions arise, concerned with “why,” “what,” and “how.” The minimum result of this level is the appearance of Practical (Subsistence) Reason in the human.

5. Human life, heart-oriented mind: Receiving revelation so that the heart may be endowed with direction, in proximity to the formless mind.

6. Imaginative mind, distancing from Illusory Mind: At this level, the human separates from the Illusory Mind or shaped mind. With the heart’s perfection toward forming the imaginative space, the creation of concepts from shaped experiences begins, and through a vertical journey, the human begins forming hypotheses and relational concepts from shaped experiences. The minimum result of this level is the emergence of Law-oriented Reason.

7. Human station and angelic territorialization, exercise of dream: Receiving revelation for the formation of the inspirational mind. Separation from time and space limits. With the heart’s completion, the human moves—contrary to an emphasis on particular laws—toward universal laws. With the expansion of imagination and the offering of general theory, the human attains philosophical reason.

8. Visionary mind for meeting with the Name: At this level, the human receives revelation for elevating the inspirational mind to the visionary mind. This level is the station of direct witnessing.

Explanation of the Article

I have named the first stage 'Darkness' or 'Misguidance'; synonymous with mineral, mineral, and inanimate life. In this stage various elements exist but no change or transformation occurs in them. The use of the word darkness or misguidance is a reference to the lack of knowledge and not knowing, and the use of the term 'mineral life' (hayat-e mamati) wants to say that in this stage there is neither movement nor change; the comparison to a mine and inanimate object is only to bring a mental image in the reader: like a soil in which various elements are present, but the looker sees no movement and change in it. This stage must be considered the initial stage: various elements are there, but temporal territorialization has not occurred and there is no movement in the work. In the second stage, the command of revelation is issued; a command that says emerge from darkness. In contrast to darkness, we must have another definition, and light, here is a figurative word: reference to a factor that brings about movement and change, separates from dark and inanimate life and draws toward itself. Light must be considered a factor that intensifies movements and gives them direction and meaning. In some sources, this stage has been considered synonymous with receiving 'the Water of Life'; a life which is that same substantial motion and temporal territorialization and also prepares the ground for elevating from the semantic aspect.

This stage can be considered synonymous with temporal territorialization or temporal station: gaining the effusion of revelation, the beginning of substantial motion toward acquiring a conscious mind. As we said in previous articles, this mind is still shaped and illusory; meaning no elevation has been obtained yet and the mind remains within the limits of forms and shapes. We call this course 'the horizontal course of life' so that in the continuation, whenever 'vertical movement' is spoken of, it is clear that the meaning is the elevation of station and reception; meaning the movement of the mind from a shaped and minimal state toward elevating and achieving meaning. In the third stage, meeting with light occurs; if even the minimum of this meeting takes place, the emergence of shape, meaning vegetative life or shaped mind, begins. To clarify this point, one can imagine a land that seems motionless and shapeless; but the Water of Life, which falls from above and refers to place and station, suddenly makes that same land full of plants that are constantly moving upward and toward the light, even in competition with each other to enjoy more light. With this exemplar, that same land which apparently was dead, comes to life in our eyes.

In the continuation of this same stage, we speak of territorialization of place or station: meeting with light occurs simultaneously with taking elevation and we must be placed in a position where we can move toward the shapeless mind; that same mind which, as we said in the previous article about the 'heart', is full of meaning. What I named 'animal life' in this stage must not be taken equal to its conventional meaning, meaning animal creatures; though it is not unrelated to it either. Here the meaning is the concepts of willpower and decision-making; a kind of closeness to the concept of choice, the ability to analyze and then willing for the method of action. Gaining the effusion of revelation, along with closeness to the unconscious mind, will be the beginning of the vertical course of life for human. Of course, one must consider that the temporal course, meaning that same substantial motion, is always running and in no stage, even at the peak of taking elevation, do we separate from it; that part of the work, in a necessary way, is outside our complete will. In the previous stage, we said about the Illusory Mind that the more understanding is limited, the more imposed the propositions of that mind will be. But in the path of vertical attraction, the Illusory Mind experiences excitement; as if in each stage, it dies relative to the higher stage. This point has great importance: whenever we want to change our position, we must die from a stage and enter another stage and act again more lively and active. This vertical attraction of light is what invites us to move upward and gradually converts the propositions of the Illusory Mind into propositions of why, what, and how.

The minimum result that can be drawn from this stage is the emergence of humans who possess Practical (Subsistence) Reason; meaning to have a minimal life, they have the capability of low-level analyses, place their experience at the disposal of others and thus spend their lives. In the fifth stage, receiving revelation continues, but now the inclination toward possessing a 'heart' becomes more prominent; because to connect with the shapeless mind, as we said in the previous article, we must have a heart; meaning a mechanism in which we can build meaning and abstract concepts from superficial matters. I have named this stage 'the station of human life'; a life in which humans build concept from the heart of forms.

In the continuation, the evolution of the heart for the formation of the space of imagination in the mind, or distancing from the shaped and Illusory Mind, is raised. In this stage, human proceeds to practice the creation of concepts, builds concept from shaped experiences, and elevates their vertical movement with the formation of the space of imagination; shaped experiences prepare the ground for creating hypotheses about the connection between events. The minimum result that can be found in this stage is the emergence of humans with Law-oriented Reason; like scientists, who in the level of their reason go beyond Practical (Subsistence) Reason and try to link events around to one another, make laws, present theories, and formulate them; this is where science emerges. In the sixth section, revelation is for the formation of the inspirational mind; meaning again the elevation of the mind increases. The interesting point is that in inspirational minds, separation from time and space is observed; those who experience inspiration, after returning from that state, often say they do not know where they were, what time it is, or what time has passed. This inspirational experience separates the individual from conventional occupation with time and space. I have named this stage 'equipping the station of angels' or 'practicing dreaming'. In this stage, the heart evolves so much that unlike humans who due to occupation with time and space are constantly entangled in particular laws, these individuals go toward universal laws; they look at everything universally and with the expansion of their space of imagination, give opinions that are beyond the era and even the people of their own time. This is that same philosophical reason; the reason we see in philosophers and makes us wonder, because as if they are free from their temporal and spatial chain, but they have thought so deeply that even modern human sometimes cannot perceive from what position they said such a word. In the final section, we spoke of receiving the visionary mind for meeting with the Name. In this stage, the individual experiences revelation so much that they leave even their inspirational mind behind and reach the visionary mind; a stage that can be called the stage of witnessing. The effort was that in the course of these eight stages, we both read the concepts of previous discussions and reflect them in the form of a poem by one of the thinkers; to see how beautiful human's elevating movements, meaning human station and the transformations occurring in it, are expressed in the form of words and poetry.