Consolidate your faith because you are not a materialistic creature. Those who consider the human being a materialistic creature consider him to be an animal. You are a creature who has a materialistic dimension, but more important than that is your spiritual side; you possess a divine soul. You have an abstract self. If you are at the service of God, the Most Exalted, the Most High, then your ‘self’ will become purged and purified, and you will achieve happiness. You will embrace this happiness under any circumstances; even in dying. (June 12, 1979)
Do not think too highly of the West. There is no basis for humanity there. It is the West that is eradicating the bases of human ethics. It is the West that is trampling upon human dignity. But we imagine that the West possesses everything. Now that the West enjoys the automobile, it ought to have everything. But in laws, our laws are richer than those of the whole world. (June 9, 1979)
Do not think that Westerners have progressed. They have advanced materially, but they have no spirituality. Islam and other divine schools of thought seek to perfect and construct true human beings, but the West has nothing to do with this matter. (June 11, 1979)
You ought to get illuminated, to purge and purify your ‘selves’. Leave worldly desires out of your ‘selves’. All mistakes and wrongdoings stem from attachment to the world. Come to true and eternal life through divine life. (February 26, 1981)
All the messengers of God, the Most Exalted, the Most High, have been appointed to purify and perfect human beings. All the books of the Prophets, particularly the Holy Quran, are trying to educate and train mankind. (February 26, 1981)
Departing from the ‘self’ is a prelude to the perfection of mankind. (February 26, 1981)
If a person is full of knowledge, even if one has a good command of Islamic teachings and even if one understands monotheism, but is not purified, he will still cause harm to oneself, one’s country, one’s nation, and to Islam. (February 29, 1981)
One who seeks to purify a society will not be able to achieve one’s goal if one’s self is not purified. A group of people who strive to Islamicize a center will not be able to do so if they have not prepared themselves for it. They cannot correct others if they themselves are not corrected. (September 20, 1979)
The jihad (spiritual and physical struggle for the cause of God) should begin from the ‘self’; to fight against the internal Satan. This jihad will be the basis of other jihads and struggles.
If you seek to implement the Cultural Revolution in Iran, first of all, this revolution should begin from your inner self. Your soul should change.
If the ‘selves’ are not purged and purified and if they are not purified from corrupt qualities, science will have adverse effects.
In Islam, ethical teachings are also political ones. This same commandment in the Quran, saying that the believers are brothers to one another, is an ethical, social, and political order. If the believers – various ethnic groups who are in Islam and believe in God and the Prophet of Islam – act in a fraternal manner with one another, this will create affection among all classes and groups in the same way that a brother feels affection towards his own brother. This, in addition to being a great Islamic ethical rule with great ethical consequences, is also a great social commandment with important consequences. (August 18, 1980)
If all divine orders and commandments are implemented by a people, falsehood and evil will leave them. If the ethical divine rules, human ethics, and religious beliefs are implemented among Muslim peoples, falsehood will be annihilated by itself. (August 28, 1980)
What makes similar actions different from one another is the ultimate goal attached to them that forces human beings to take such actions. Then, God, the Most High, will elevate people to the lofty position of humanity. (June 24, 1979)
Almighty God has bestowed a favor upon mankind by sending His messengers to train their spiritual side, which is the most important one. The Prophets were assigned to purify and then teach human beings the Book and Wisdom, as well as to teach the control of the material aspects of them. Those who are materialistic regard materiality in unleashing terms. The Prophets were assigned to train human beings in such a way that all material gains come under the control of the soul. The basic principle is spirituality, which no school of thought or ruling clique in the world pays heed to. (June 24, 1979)
A Muslim clergy should be pious and attracted to God, the Most Exalted, the Most High, wholeheartedly so that he will be able to educate society. A person who is well-educated but whose knowledge is not accompanied by ethical and spiritual training will do more harm to his people than those who have no knowledge. (June 27, 1981)
One becomes a true human being with one’s spirit and one’s insight. We share common things such as possessing ears, eyes, and legs, and therefore, these are not the things that differentiate human beings from animals. What really separates mankind from other natural creatures is mankind’s heart and insight. If you possess insight, you are considered to be a human being. (July 5, 1979)
One of the blessings of this Revolution has been the spiritual transformation observed in our society. I have repeatedly said that this spiritual transformation witnessed in Iran brought about by this Revolution with the will of God, the Most Exalted, the Most High, has been more valuable and more important than the victory we have achieved or the fact that we have curtailed the hands of the foreigners and criminals from this country. (July 5, 1979)
With every step taken for acquiring knowledge, and for your explicit and implicit actions, you should seek to create a sense of piety, resistance (against satanic desires), and honesty. You will learn and acquire knowledge, and at the same time purify your ‘soul’ and bring it under your full control. (July 8, 1979)
There are two sides and dimensions to mankind. The spiritual side and the material side. The material aspect is what exists in this world, and we observe it. The spiritual side is another aspect beyond this world. (June 24, 1979)
All monotheistic schools of thought, particularly Islam, are seeking to train people in such a way that material gains do not act as obstacles to spirituality. They seek to bring material gains under the service of spirituality. While the religions pay heed to the material and the world, they attract people towards spirituality and liberate them from the darkness of being materialistic. (July 27, 1979)
All the differences among human beings are rooted in the rebellion of the ‘self’. (June 2, 1981)
If you are not purified, you will face rebellion of the ‘self’. So long as you are not purified, knowledge will be dangerous for you, and the most dangerous thing for you will be a high position. This may lead you to annihilation in this world as well as in the next world. (June 4, 1981)
The teaching of the Book and Wisdom will be impossible unless purification comes first. You should purify your ‘selves’ from all contaminations. The worst one is the contamination of the ‘self’ with selfish and animal desires. (June 2, 1981)
Our Revolution depends upon spirituality and God, and those who are in agreement with us are those who agree with the line of monotheism. We should not forget the spiritual side for which we made such a Revolution. We should not neglect that spiritual side, for despite all our incompetence in propaganda and publicity, still the people of the world understand our Revolution. And it is the line of spirituality that oppressors and power wielders are against. (October 15, 1981)
All of the Prophets were appointed to train true human beings. They came to elevate this creature of nature from its natural level to super natural level and up to the highest heaven. The ultimate goal of all the prophets’ efforts was the spiritual elevation of human beings. (June 28, 1979)
All the efforts of the Prophets were aimed at turning man into a true human being; to turn a creature of nature into a divine human being in this very world. (July 7, 1979)
In Islam, everything is a prelude to making true human beings. If this creature is left to itself, it will ruin and destroy the whole world. (August 31, 1980)
The most dangerous trap for mankind is their selfishness and egoism. We have to free ourselves from this trap and then follow the right path in order to be able to both correct ourselves and our society. (September 11, 1980)
Human beings should endeavor to lessen their egoism and selfishness, even if they are unable to put an end to it. This is, of course, a very difficult task, and it needs a great deal of hard work and self-purification. But this is not impossible. (September 11, 1980)
By their very nature, human beings have unlimited anger, unlimited animal passion, and unlimited selfishness, and nothing satisfies them unless they are correctly trained and educated. With this training, they will enter a path that God Almighty wants them to achieve, and that is absolute perfection. When they reach that perfection, they will find themselves in peace and calmness and will enjoy confidence, reliance, and reassurance. (September 6, 1980)
None of the world’s regimes, except the divine and monotheistic ones, have focused on the spirituality of mankind and have dealt with their ethics. (June 25, 1980).
If knowledge is not mingled with spiritual purification and the training of ethics, the owner of knowledge will cause more harm to the people than a person who has no knowledge. This person may use his or her knowledge as a sword to cut off the roots of a country. (June 28, 1980)
All differences and problems of humanity stem from the rebellion of selfish desires. (June 2, 1981)
You will face rebellious acts of your selfish desires unless you are purified. Knowledge and science will inflict harm if you are not purified. In that case, the most dangerous matter for you will be accepting a social position that will annihilate you in both worlds. You should purify yourself and bring your selfish desires under full control before taking positions. (June 2, 1981)
It is impossible to learn the Book and Wisdom in the absence of purging the self. We should purify ourselves from all sorts of impurities, including inner desires and selfishness. (June 2, 1981)
All differences arising between human beings, such as those of monarchs and wielders of power, are rooted in the rebellious motivations of their selfish desires. (June 2, 1981)
Source: imamkhomeini.ir
