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Sniffing out the good things in life
Sniffing out the good things in life
When you get up close and personal with someone, what is the first thing you are likely to notice?
Their smell? Probably so!
Our sense of smell follows a unique, direct pathway to the brain that differs from other senses. The process is the same or similar for almost all creatures that have a sense of smell. Humans and most other vertebrates possess an olfactory bulb—a structure at the base of the forebrain (just above and between the eyes) that sorts the signals from the nerve endings in the nose and relays the information to the brain's cortex, which is responsible for identifying the specific odor. Bahá’í scriptures often refer to non-physical things as having a "fragrance" (fancy word for smell, usually referring to a pleasing smell). I've provided a few examples below.
Sidebar. Smell is important on an evolutionary scale because it helps ensure that we don't ingest something poisonous. At the same time, we have evolved to recognize the smells of things in nature that might be good for us to eat.
Here's an academic reference in support of the above statement.
Genetics of Taste and Smell: Poisons and Pleasures
Were anyone to wash the feet of all mankind, and were he to worship God in the forests, valleys, and mountains, upon high hills and lofty peaks, to leave no rock or tree, no clod of earth, but was a witness to his worship -- yet, should the fragrance of My good pleasure not be inhaled from him, his works would never be acceptable unto God. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Lord of all. —Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 31
O SON OF HIM THAT STOOD BY HIS OWN ENTITY IN THE KINGDOM OF HIS SELF!
Know thou, that I have wafted unto thee all the fragrances of holiness, have fully revealed to thee My word, have perfected through thee My bounty and have desired for thee that which I have desired for My Self. Be then content with My pleasure and thankful unto Me. —Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic Hidden Words
O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence. —from a prayer by 'Abdu'l-Bahá
What smells good to the spiritual nose?
What smells good to the spiritual nose?
When it comes to 'spiritual' smells or fragrances, as in the three quotes above, it seems to me that there are certain attributes normally found in virtuous people that attract the spiritual nose. To help me remember them, I have made an acronym.
Enthusiasm
Ardency
Urgency
By enthusiasm, I mean the kind of joyful eagerness to learn and improve often found in the young and inexperienced (but not unwise) soul. Ardency refers (in this case) to physical expressions of intense enthusiasm over something—in this case, specifically something that is good and beautiful. By urgency, I mean not haste, but a time-related manifestation of enthusiasm that helps us gain the momentum needed to persevere and press on to achieve our noble goals and make the world a better place. Speaking of making the world a better place, take a look and listen to Michael Jackson's "Heal the World."
"Heal the World " - Michael Jackson
Selected lyrics
There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space
Make a better place
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
If you want to know why
There's a love that cannot lie
Love is strong; it only cares for joyful giving
If we try, we shall see
In this bliss, we cannot feel
Fear or dread, we stop existing and start living
One thing about both physical smells and spiritual smells, it is possible to fool the nose!
Eau de Virtue
Eau de Virtue
Think of a red herring. This phrase means to "distract from the main point or argument." Not only is the herring red (a color often associated with both danger and ripeness/edibility), but it also has a strong and distinctive smell.
Just as food manufacturers add chemicals to make food look and smell good to eat, people who want to lure unsuspecting virtuous people into doing their bidding may disguise their motives by pretending enthusiasm, ardency, and urgency. Online scammers, with the help of artificial intelligence, are getting very good at this. **How can we train our noses to recognize real virtue?**
Code Name Fruit
Code Name Fruit
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." —Matthew 7:15-18 (New International Version)
**As the Bible quote above implies, the answer is to examine the fruit (i.e., the outcomes of the person's actions).** Does this mean actually sampling a little bit of the poisonous fruit? I used to think so, but now that I am older, I think it is better to wait (despite any feelings of ardency and urgency) and scope out the situation fully before taking a bite.
The last thing I want to say about the scent of virtue is related to the first Bahá’í quote in this post. I think that quote is saying, in essence, that God has a really well-developed, super-duper sense of spiritual smell. She can smell BS from the other side of the universe. Wolves beware!
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