"As to thy question concerning the worlds of God.  Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range.  None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” - Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, pp. 151-2

This article will present the author’s thoughts on the Bahá’í concept of “The Worlds of God.”  Three kinds of “worlds” will be explored: physical worlds, mental worlds, and spiritual worlds.

Our physical universe consists of innumerable galaxies composed of almost an infinite number of stars and planets.  The overwhelming number of planets extant in the universe supports the probability that there is sentient/self-aware life on at least some of these planets.  The Bahá’í Writings affirm the existence of life on other planets:

"Verily I say, the creation of God embraceth worlds besides this world, and creatures apart from these creatures." - Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, p. 152

"Know thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute.” - Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, p. 163

In addition to the sheer number of planets/worlds in the visible universe, there are varying scales of physical existence that can be conceived as separate “worlds:” 1) the macrocosm of outer space structured into ascending levels of increasing distances: star systems, galactic arms, galaxies, groups of galaxies, and galactic super-clusters, 2) the “human” scale of life and objects that we can see with the naked eye and interact with on our planetary surface, and 3) the microcosm of inner space structured into descending levels of decreasing distances: microscopic creatures, molecules and atoms, quantum sized sub-atomic particles such as quarks.  Other possibilities for additional “Worlds of God” include other physical universes based on other physical laws located outside of our universe as well as smaller scales of physical existence as yet unknown to human science.

A second kind of worlds that we can consider is mental “Worlds of God.”  Such worlds exist inside the minds of all sentient creatures such as humans.  Thus, there are at least as many mental worlds as there are sentient beings.
 
“In like manner, when the Holy Manifestation of God, Who is the sun of the world of His creation, shines upon the worlds of spirits, of thoughts and of hearts, then the spiritual spring and new life appear, the power of the wonderful springtime becomes visible, and marvelous benefits are apparent.  As you have observed, at the time of the appearance of each Manifestation of God extraordinary progress has occurred in the world of minds, thoughts and spirits.  For example, in this divine age see what development has been attained in the world of minds and thoughts, and it is now only the beginning of its dawn.  Before long you will see that new bounties and divine teachings will illuminate this dark world and will transform these sad regions into the paradise of Eden.”
- Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 163

Aspects of these mental worlds include many things.  First, a person’s “belief system:” how a person perceives the world based on their religious convictions, political leanings, economic class, and ethnicity.  Second, a person’s temperament/personality with four basic types of personality types generally recognized:  1) those who use sense perception as their primary means of understanding the world, 2) those who use reason as their primary means of understanding the world, 3) those who use tradition as their primary means of understanding the world, and 4) those who user their feelings/inspiration as their primary means of understanding the world.  The third aspect of a person’s mental world consists of her/his tastes in art, music, literature, and athletic activities.
 
For those such as I who believe in the concept that what generation you are part of deeply affects how you see the world, there is a fourth aspect of one’s mental “world:” a person’s place in the cycle of generations of people.  The theory of generational types generally recognizes four kinds of generations that occur in a repeating cycle: 1) a Collective generation whose members willingly engage in big joint undertakings led by their Individualistic and Reactive generation elders while young adults and build up societal institutions when at the height of their power, 2 ) a sensitive generation whose members grow up in the shadow of their Reactive and Collective generation elders and modify societal institutions to be more humane when at the height of their power, 3) an Individualistic generation whose members challenges the big joint undertakings of their Collective and Sensitive generation elders such while young adults and tear down societal institutions when at the height of their power and 4) a Reactive generation whose members  struggle to survive in an era of societal breakdown while young and promotes the rebuilding of societal institutions when at the height of their power.  Examples of Collective generations include those who fought in WWII / The Greatest Generation and those currently fighting in the Middle East / The Millennial Generation.  Examples of Sensitive generations include those who grew up as children in The Great Depression and WWII / The Silent Generation and those growing up now in the early 21st century/ Post Millennial generation.  The most famous example of an individualistic generation is the Baby Boom generation currently in control of American society.  The most modern example of a Reactive generation is Generation X.

A third kind of world that we can consider is spiritual “Worlds of God.”  This category of world is the hardest to define since they cannot be sensed directly by our outer/physical senses:

"To man, the Essence of God is incomprehensible, so also are the worlds beyond this, and their condition.  It is given to man to obtain knowledge, to attain to great spiritual perfection, to discover hidden truths and to manifest even the attributes of God; but still man cannot comprehend the Essence of God.  Where the ever-widening circle of man's knowledge meets the spiritual world a Manifestation of God is sent to mirror forth His splendour.” - Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 66

 “This physical universe is infinite, and if material existence is endless, how much more so are the worlds of God!  When we think of the visible worlds as infinite, how can we think that the worlds of God are limited?  There is no beginning and no end to the material or spiritual worlds.  Man passes through different phases and when in a lower consciousness he cannot comprehend the consciousness above.  When we were in the state of the unborn child we had no knowledge of the world of man.  If the vegetable kingdom could speak it would cry out, "Where is the world of man?" We cry out, "Where is the kingdom of the spirit?"

 “My hope for you is that as you travel through the universe of existence you will ever become acquainted with new and wonderful significances; that your knowledge will ever be increased - knowledge without limitation; then you will understand the realities existing in all kingdoms.  Capacity is in accordance with striving and sincerity. “- Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 117

The world we experience while dreaming may be a possible bridge between the mental worlds of our minds and the spiritual worlds of our souls.  From a Bahá’í perspective, our souls always exist in a spiritual world, but they are reflected in our minds and physical bodies in such a way that we experience reality as if they were inside our physical bodies.  The Bahá’í Writings proclaim that there are different levels in the spiritual worlds just like there are different scales of existence in the physical worlds.  These Writings and state that which spiritual worlds our souls can experience depend in part on our personal level of spiritual development as well as the Grace of God.  We can experience the glory of a spiritual world in various ways such as when deep in prayer, when in awe before the beauty of nature, when selflessly acting to promote social justice, when deeply moved by a story or a piece of music.
Finally, the Baha’i Writings state that after death, one way ours souls ascend through the spiritual worlds is via good actions taken by others in honor of us in the physical worlds.

“But the paradise and hell of existence are found in all the worlds of God, whether in this world or in the spiritual heavenly worlds.” - Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 223