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The peacock is an ancient symbol found in many cultures throughout the world. The richness of meanings attributed to it matches the ornate beauty of its plumage. The peacock is often depicted in Hindu mythology as a steed of the gods and is considered sacred. It is associated with Japanese and Chinese goddesses of mercy. In the Buddhist tradition, the peacock’s ability to eat poisonous snakes can be understood as a symbol of the transmutation of evil into good. In some Islamic traditions, it has been portrayed as the greeter at the gates of paradise. In ancient Persian texts the peacock represented eternal life. The early Christians praised the many “eyes” in its feathers as signs of the all-seeing God. Though for later Christians the peacock came to be regarded as a symbol of vanity, they found its usefulness in the idea that just as the beautiful peacock considers its own feet ugly humans should take note and lament their own imperfections no matter how great their worldly glory.
Later depictions of the peacock continued to attribute to it spiritual significance. In his poem, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the mystic poet William Blake wrote: “The pride of the peacock is the glory of God.” Given its enduring symbolism, the peacock was seen as an appropriate decoration by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, who used it as a motif at various Bahá’í settings.
In his Spiritual Couplets, the famous Sufi poet Maulana Jalalu-'D-Din Muhammad Rumi tells the following tale:
A sage went out to till his field, and saw a peacock busily engaged in destroying his own plumage with his beak. At seeing this insane self-destruction the sage could not refrain himself, but cried out to the peacock to forbear from mutilating himself and spoiling his beauty in so wanton a manner. The peacock then explained to him that the bright plumage which he admired so much was a fruitful source of danger to its unfortunate owner, as it led to his being constantly pursued by hunters, whom he had no strength to contend against; and he had accordingly decided on ridding himself of it with his own beak, and making himself so ugly that no hunter would in future care to molest him. The poet proceeds to point out that worldly cleverness and accomplishments and wealth endanger man's spiritual life, like the peacock's plumage; but, nevertheless, they are appointed for our probation, and without such trials there can be no virtue.
Masnavi e Ma’navi, Book V, Story III (E. H. Whinfield, tr.)
Today, the state of the world is challenging individuals, communities, and societies to raise our eyes from the many negative practices and premises that have paved our common path. Instead, we are called upon to dedicate our resources and capacities towards the unfoldment of a new global society, a society built upon the richness of human diversity and one that echoes the beauty of the unfolded plumage of the peacock.
No longer can we justify despair and injustice as beyond our understanding or control. Today, we find before us a combination of material richness, scientific understanding, and the free will to choose when and how we apply such riches and powers to help ourselves and others. But, like the peacock in the poet’s tale, richness is in many ways humanity’s greatest test. Contemplating the symbolism of the peacock raises awareness of both the opportunities and the challenges of dedicating ourselves and our resources to the transformation of processes that are destructive to those that are constructive and mutually beneficial. The peacock and its symbolic meanings can inspire us to strive to establish a just world order responsive to humanity’s suffering. The Bahá’í Chair, within its modest means and through the generosity of its supporters, seeks to provide opportunities to meet this great challenge.