abian Philosophy

In each of the three concepts preceding this one, there is an underlying assumption of responsibility that serves as the rudder, if you will, for proper growth in the concepts. We can speak of our sensations, our emotions, and our mental processes as if each was a "part" of the self. Such divisions are a convenience of thought and have no basis in reality. The human being is a continuum from "soul to body," body being the physical expression of the spiritual soul. We are forever responsible for the "whole" of ourselves. The concept of responsibility is the readiness to come to terms with our individual strengths and weaknesses. If our emotions drive us to uncontrollable anger, we must look to the nature of our underlying intolerance and not to the outer circumstances that were the occasion of our outburst.

Sabian philosophy teaches that there is no validity to the oft-heard lament that "I was forced by people or circumstances into this or that course of action." We are always the masters of our destiny and it is the degree of responsible commitment to our decisions that makes our stature as human beings greater or lesser. The buck stops "here" eternally.

This approach to creative living is based on Ibn Gabirol’s Fountain of Life Book V, Chapter 15. Here the Teacher goes into great detail to explain that the "spiritual substance" of the human being contains within itself a vital or life-giving soul, an animal soul and a human soul all given expression in the physical body. In the human being, these "souls" are not "parts" but functions within the rational or human soul.  In proper, or spiritual, growth the lower functions of human nature are to be made the servants of the rational soul and never the reverse.

A practical application of the concept of responsibility would be to voluntarily self-assume a task that you are not under any obligation to perform, and carry the assignment through to the end. In this way you will come to realize that all self-assumed tasks of everyday living  are a personal responsibility.