{"id":41572,"date":"2026-01-08T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/?p=41572"},"modified":"2026-01-05T07:39:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T15:39:29","slug":"ineffable-nature-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/ineffable-nature-dying\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ineffable Nature of Dying"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever had an ineffable experience\u2014one you simply couldn\u2019t describe in words? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the accounts of the subjects who had near-death experiences in Raymond Moody\u2019s study, particularly in the accounts of those who seem to have had an extended experience, several parallels between the NDE and the description of our entrance into the afterlife in the Baha\u2019i writings are evident. For example, all of Moody\u2019s subjects acknowledge the ineffable nature of their near-death experiences. They find language totally inadequate to convey the reality of that existence:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, there is a real problem for me as I\u2019m trying to tell you this, because all the words I know are thee-dimensional. As I was going through this, I kept thinking, \u201cWell, when I was taking geometry, they always told me there were only three dimensions, and I always just accepted that. But they were wrong. There are more.\u201d And, of course, our world\u2014the one we\u2019re living in now\u2014is<\/i><\/strong> three-dimensional, but the next one definitely isn\u2019t. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s so hard to tell you this. I have to describe it to you in words that are three-dimensional. That\u2019s as close as I can get to it, but it\u2019s not really adequate. I can\u2019t really give you a complete picture.<\/strong> \u2013 Raymond Moody, Life After Life<\/em>, p. 26.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baha\u2019u\u2019llah likewise indicates the indescribable difference between physical and spiritual life\u2014the two planes of human existence. He further notes that even were it possible to describe this experience, he would not do it because it would be unwise for him to give us this insight: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men \u2026 The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother. \u2013 Gleanings from the Writings of Baha\u2019u\u2019llah<\/em>, p. 156.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Purpose of Life<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Raymond
Raymond Moody<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Moody\u2019s subjects and the Baha\u2019i writings are also in accord regarding the purpose of our physical experience and the progress of the human soul. That primary purpose\u2014achieving incremental spiritual development through a process of learning\u2014Moody discusses more elaborately in <\/span>Reflections on Life After Life<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Moody\u2019s subjects states that in the course of his experience he came to understand that, according to the \u201cbeing of light,\u201d the attainment of knowledge is the purpose of life: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He seemed very interested in things concerning knowledge, too. He kept on pointing out things that had to do with learning, and he did say that I was going to continue learning, and he said that even when he comes back for me (because by this time he had told me that I was going back) that there will always be a quest for knowledge. He said that it is a continuous process, so I got the feeling that it goes on after death.<\/strong> \u2013 Raymond Moody, Life After Life<\/em>, pp. 67-68.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Baha\u2019i writings emphasize education as one of the primary purposes of physical reality. The Baha\u2019i definition of justice for the individual is to know and then to do. As we have also noted, the sort of knowledge and learning that is most praiseworthy is that which leads to spiritual progress. In fact, Baha\u2019u\u2019llah states that the acquisition of knowledge is essential if the soul is to fulfill its potential: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. \u2013 Gleanings from the Writings of Baha\u2019u\u2019llah<\/em>, p. 260.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What is more, there are many statements in the Baha\u2019i writings indicating that our education continues in the next stage of our existence in the realm of the spirit: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. \u2013 Ibid., p. 155.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u00e1 likewise affirms that during such progress, the departed souls will discover the \u201cmysteries of which man is heedless in this earthly world.\u201d<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Tablets of Abdu\u2019l-Baha<\/em>, Volume 1, p. 205.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever had an ineffable experience\u2014one you simply couldn\u2019t describe in words? In the accounts of the subjects who had near-death experiences in Raymond Moody\u2019s study, particularly in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":362,"featured_media":88798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[3152,2984],"series":[1555],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41572"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88800,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41572\/revisions\/88800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41572"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=41572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}