DEFINITIONS:
Science -Systematic and formulated knowledge of a subject, obtained by scientific method that uses postulates to span the gaps left by the limited human means of obtaining knowledge and then tests the conclusions in every possible way. Reality - (1) What actually exists, as indicated by the signs of existence that appear in the human consciousness and designated by human terminology; and (2) what underlies or produces those appearances. The science of reality introduces an over-all concept of Existence, including both what actually exists where we live and what underlies these appearances and is out of this world. It is based on dimensions and realities perceptible to the human consciousness. It is a concept of three Realities:
space - measured by 3 dimensions: height, width, and depth, perceptible to physical consciousness;
time-and-space - where we live, with time (a fourth dimension) measuring the duration of activity; and
purpose-and-power, - immaterial and out of this world, underlying and accounting for all activity.
The knowledge that has been systematized and formulated into the science of reality is all knowledge available to the human consciousness through its three basic abilities to acquire knowledge:
personal experience - through living in the material world;
discovery - of what is out of this world through the human intellect or rational powers of perception;
revelation - of reality through inspiration (the source of proved and tested postulates) and through human teachability that accepts knowledge imparted by those who have been so inspired or know through other means.
THE SCIENCE OF REALITY
The science of reality has formulated and systematized knowledge by the scientific method of summarizing what is known by observation and reasoning, supplemented by postulates to span the gaps left by those limited means of obtaining knowledge. The next step is application of the knowledge to the practical solution of human problems, which is an ideal method of testing and proving the authenticity of the postulates. They are found, on testing, to work so infallibly that they may be considered dependable laws. Always in the past man has lived primarily in the world of his own physical experiences where he recognized reality - what actually exists - by the signs of existence that register on the human senses. Gradually he added to his consciousness an awareness of time and what goes on in it: namely, activity with cause and results. Beyond that, he has been given ideals, moral values and enlightenment that have developed in him a kind of spiritual conscience. He has even been taught to look up to his Source that exists somewhere out of this world as part of the Great Unknown. But always the rational mind has its specific ceiling level, and what lies beyond the human outlook or, now, the scientific view was too incomprehensible to be classed as part of the academic world. In fact ideals, human aspiration, and all that the heart of man senses and longs for have been regarded more as possibilities than as realities; we haven¹t seen them as elements of the fifth dimension of life nor realized that they must be dealt with as definitely as we react to the other four dimensions if we expect successful results. Most people seem to think that once a being is created, the relationship to his creator ends; nor are they concerned about their creator¹s will and purpose in bringing them into being. I am a purposeful powerful being, and that means that I am a five dimensional creature. However, to be required to fit into an overall purpose, and to use that power that is out of this world to achieve before being able to achieve success, is a new concept to most people. Philosophers translate spirit into ethics. Moralists prescribe values by which people are judged. Religionists interpret their Truths in terms that human nature can deal with. These are all good intellectual processes, but none of them lift the human consciousness above its egocentric preoccupation. They merely bring Revelations or manifestations of Reality down into the realm of common thought, where understanding depends on what kind of education and conditioning a person may have.
The science of reality does the opposite of that. It transcends egocentric thinking and the limitations of the rational consciousness by beginning with the Source of Existence. It calls attention to the two methods by which realities are brought into existence, and names the basic elements of existence that the human consciousness has come to recognize. It pictures the human being in the light of its purpose and power, identifying and describing the specific aspects of the soul that must be understood if we are to face our own heavenly reality. It translates the glorious heights of mysticism, art, human sciences and incredible human potentialities into simple portrayals that any heart can sense and understand without regard to academic education or dependence on logic. To avoid the restrictions of esoteric verbiage, it uses sensible figures and visual aides, and it introduces a few new terms of its own as every science does. In short, the aim is not to bring spiritual truth down to the world of the intellect, but rather to lift the human consciousness up to five-dimensional perception where reality is clearly visible. Existence consists of many worlds. All have emanated from a single source. First there is the World that the Source manifests. This is the Greater World. Then there is the World that the Source creates. This is the Lesser World, or Creation. Man is a creation of the Source, and steps into Existence at its outer edge, as part of the lowest level of Life - at the highest level of material existence and at the beginning of the world of spiritual existence. This is what can be seen from the Over-All View of Life.
(This is the way the science of reality begins:)
³The prophets of God have been the servants of reality; Their teachings constitute the science of reality.² (PUP p.297) The science of reality is not religious, but it is based on revealed Truth. Students will not be told the source of the postulates used in developing the science. Nor are any references to the Bahá'í Writings given. Religious terms are avoided because there is so little agreement on their connotations. Bahá¹ís and others will come to understand that the science of reality causes the human consciousness to become dynamically aware of the realness of all that the Prophets of God have taught and especially of what Bahá¹u¹lláh has unveiled. For in one small Book He has taken ³the inner essence of all that has been uttered by the tongue of power and might and that has been revealed to the Prophets² of the past, and ³clothed it in the garment of brevity.² And in addition He gave to the world innumerable volumes that make clear to the eyes of the heart the entire fifth dimension of Existence. This Knowledge is to come to mankind for the first time through the Bahá¹ís, but it does not belong to them exclusively. We have been instructed to impart it, to teach it in any and every way that is possible. A triple personal compulsion is behind my efforts to develop the science of reality, then: first, to contribute something to the teaching effort; next, to try to pass along to others what I, as an agnostic, found to transform my entire being - the most important Knowledge of my life; and, finally, to meet a great need and desire of many enlightened individuals to earn their living by imparting what they know. As we move along on the path of evolutionary progress, the exhilaration of recognizing reality in all of its glorious beauty, perfection, infinitude, eternality and Divinity increases. Bahá¹u¹lláh was empowered to convert satanic strength into heavenly power. He brought the Medicine to heal the ills of mankind. As we take in the fantastic illumination and warmth of what He offers, joy and compulsions from our own latent divinity grow and gradually overrule our preoccupation with material existence. The transformation takes place as a result of shifting from the low gear of egocentric vision to a growing awareness of the Over-All outlook and view. Applying and proving the validity of the science of reality can burn away the veil of humanness that holds the human consciousness back and forces us into the world of illusion that ¹Abdu¹l-Bahá said is the source of all of our troubles.
My life, since 1945, has been devoted to development of the science of reality. At first I worked from blind compulsion, not knowing why. Later, when the National Reference Library Committee set forth the classifications of Existence as it is in reality (as revealed, that is, by the Word of God), I realized that we had taken the first step in establishing the science of reality. Any system of education or living based on the Over-All view of life that has been so unveiled to the human consciousness HAS to work. So whatever we can offer that solves human problems is worth whatever effort we can put into it. The simple indexing process of categorizing ideas, or whatever faces us under the real classifications of existence, was found to be fantastically powerful. We learned by experience that it gradually builds up in the human consciousness an entirely new concept of life, one that changes one's feelings and reactions from hopelessly negative to exuberantly positive ones. It enables a person to understand what he deals with sufficiently to be able to direct his life intelligently and successfully. Indexers, and later those who worked without indexing but in some other ways with this classifying of what actually exists, have all experienced to some degree this transformation. It has been such a glorious experience that we have all been trying individually to lead others to share it.