Selections from the writings of ‘Abdu'l-BaháʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Religion
Selections from the writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Bahai Faith
It is certain that in this wonderful new age the development of medical
science will lead to the doctors’ healing their patients with foods. For
the sense of sight, the sense of hearing, of taste, of smell, of touch—all
these are discriminative faculties, their purpose being to separate the
beneficial from whatever causeth harm. Now, is it possible that man’s
sense of smell, the sense that differentiates odours, should find some
odour repugnant, and that odour be beneficial to the human body? Absurd!
Impossible! In the same way, could the human body, through the faculty of
sight—the differentiator among things visible—benefit from gazing upon a
revolting mass of excrement? Never! Again, if the sense of taste, likewise
a faculty that selecteth and rejecteth, be offended by something, that
thing is certainly not beneficial; and if, at the outset, it may yield
some advantage, in the long run its harmfulness will be established.
And likewise, when the constitution is in a state of equilibrium, there is
no doubt that whatever is relished will be beneficial to health. Observe
how an animal will graze in a field where there are a hundred thousand
kinds of herbs and grasses, and how, with its sense of smell, it snuffeth
up the odours of the plants, and tasteth them with its sense of taste;
then it consumeth whatever herb is pleasurable to these senses, and
benefiteth therefrom. Were it not for this power of selectivity, the
animals would all be dead in a single day; for there are a great many
poisonous plants, and animals know nothing of the pharmacopoeia. And yet,
observe what a reliable set of scales they have, by means of which to
differentiate the good from the injurious. Whatever constituent of their
body hath decreased, they can rehabilitate by seeking out and consuming
some plant that hath an abundant store of that diminished element; and
thus the equilibrium of their bodily components is re-established, and
they are rid of their disease.
At whatever time highly-skilled physicians shall have developed the
healing of illnesses by means of foods, and shall make provision for
simple foods, and shall prohibit humankind from living as slaves to their
lustful appetites, it is certain that the incidence of chronic and
diversified illnesses will abate, and the general health of all mankind
will be much improved. This is destined to come about. In the same way, in
the character, the conduct and the manners of men, universal modifications
will be made.
135: ACCORDING TO THE EXPLICIT DECREE OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH ...
According to the explicit decree of Bahá’u’lláh one must not turn aside
from the advice of a competent doctor. It is imperative to consult one
even if the patient himself be a well-known and eminent physician. In
short, the point is that you should maintain your health by consulting a
highly-skilled physician.
136: IT IS INCUMBENT UPON EVERYONE TO SEEK MEDICAL ...
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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