This newsletter is dedicated to all seekers after the Eternal Truth.
It is intended and designed to provide some guidance to and along the straight
Path to God Himself and His Purpose for us. It will do this through an
introduction to the Bahá'í Faith, the newest world religion,
which was established by God's latest Prophet and Messenger,Bahá'u'lláh.
This newsletter will be dealing with various issues and subjects
from a Bahá'í perspective. Therefore, the Bahá'í
writings will be extensively quoted. Since the following authors will be those
primarily quoted, a brief explanation follows.
Bahá'u'lláh: A Prophet and the most
recent Messenger from God Whose coming was prophesied and anticipated by all of
the past Prophets and Founders of the major Religions of the world. He was the
Founder and Author of the Bahá'í Religion and Dispensation (the
span of time during which a Messenger's Revelation is current--which lasts
until the next Messenger appears). His primary Mission was to bring about the
unity and brotherhood of all mankind, the Most Great Peace, the promised
Kingdom of God on earth. The Báb: The Herald of the Bahá'í
Dispensation. In addition, He was a Prophet and Manifestation of God in His own
right, the Founder and Author of the Bábí Religion and
Dispensation. His primary Mission was to prepare the way for and to announce
the imminent coming of Bahá'u'lláh.
'Abdu'l-Bahá: Son of Bahá'u'lláh
and appointed by Him in His Will and Testament as His successor, the Center of
His Covenant and the official and authoritative Interpreter of His Writings.
He was the one to whom the Bahá'ís turned after the passing of
Bahá'u'lláh. Shoghi Effendi: Grandson of 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
appointed by Him as His successor, the Guardian of the Faith, and the one to
whom the Bahá'ís turned after the passing of
'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The Universal House of Justice: The highest
administrative institution of the Bahá'í Faith . It provides
unerring guidance and is the only body empowered to legislate on all matters of
Bahá'í law not specifically laid down by
Bahá'u'lláh in His Book of laws. Its existence was conceived and
instituted, and its authority and infallability was vouchsafed by
Bahá'u'lláh in His Writings. Its reality came about primarily due
to the tireless efforts of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. The first
Universal House of Justice was elected in April of 1963.
As this newsletter's existence is primarily for those dedicated
seekers of Truth, I think it would be appropriate to begin this first issue
with some quotations from the Bahá'í writings on this
search, the state of seeking, and the qualities that the seeker must
necessarily possess for this search to be fruitful.
To begin , a mention follows of the rewards and the fruits of the
search itself . It provides a reassurance that the search, though it may be
long and hard and even painful at times, is definitely worth the effort
involved--so stick with it, you'll be glad you did. After all, it is God
Whom you are seeking, the one Object truly worthy of the effort involved
in any search, and for Whom every effort is worthwhile.
. . .and draw thee to a station wherein thou shalt see nothing
in creation save the Face of thy Beloved One, the Honored, and behold all
created things only as in the day wherein none hath a mention. . . . . .and the bird of thy soul shall recall the holy
sanctuaries of preexistence and soar on the wings of longing in the heaven of
'walk the beaten paths of thy Lord' [Qur'án 16:7]. . .. By My life, O friend, wert thou to taste ofthese
fruits, from the green garden of these blossomswhich grow in the
lands of knowledge, beside the orient lights of the Essence in the mirrors of
names and attributes--yearning would seize the reins of patience and reserve
from out thy hand, and make thy soul to shake with the flashing light, and draw
thee from the earthly homeland to the first, heavenly abode in the Center of
Realities, and lift thee to a plane wherein thou wouldst soar in the air
even as thou walkest upon the earth, and move over the water as thou
runnest on the land. Wherefore, may it
The Seeker's Passage, Vol. I, Number 1, Page 2
rejoice Me, and thee, and whosoever mounteth into the heaven of knowledge,
and whose heart is refreshed by this, that the wind of certitude hath blown over the garden of
his being, from the Sheba of the All-Merciful. Peace be upon him who followeth the Right Path! . .
.1
After those encouraging words, here are some
passages on how to search and some more words of encouragement from One
Who was intimately acquainted with all mysteries, since His knowledge
came directly from God Himself. Bahá'u'lláh writes:
THE VALLEY OF SEARCH The steed of this Valley ispatience; without
patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal.
Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a hundred thousand years
and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter. . . . In
their search, they have stoutly girded up the loins of service, and seek at
every moment to journey from the plane of heedlessness to the realm of being.
No bond shall hold them back, and nocounsel shall deter
them. It is incumbent on these servants that they cleanse the
heart--which is the wellspring ofdivinetreasures--from every
marking, and that they turn away from imitation, which is following the
traces of their forefathers and sires,and shut the door of friendliness
and enmity upon all the peopleof the earth. In this journey the seeker reacheth a stage wherein he
seeth all created things wandering distracted in search of the Friend. How
many a Jacob will he see, hunting after his Joseph; he will behold many a
lover, hasting to seek the Beloved, he will witness a world of desiring ones
searching after the One Desired. At every moment he findeth a weighty matter,
in every hour he becometh aware of a mystery; for he hath taken his heart away
from both worlds, and set out for the Ka'bih of the Beloved. At every step,
aid from the Invisible Realm will attend him and the heat of his search will
grow . . . . . . . he true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his
quest, and the lover hath no desire saveunion with his beloved.Nor shall the seekerreach his goal unless he sacrifice all things.
That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at
naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God.
Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to
drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall
cast away the world. On this journey the traveler abideth in every land and
dwelleth in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend;
in every country he looketh for the Beloved. He joineth every company, and
seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the
secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved
One. . . .2
Indeed, a great effort seems to be called for--including "patience,"
"labor," "ardor," and detachment to "cleanse the heart"
"cast away the world," and to " sacrifice all things." It certainly is not
easy but the reward is great: to " drink of the honey of reunion with Him."
The following is more direction on how to conduct ourselves on this search.
That seeker should, also, regard backbiting as
grievous error, and keep himself aloof from its dominion, inasmuch as
backbiting quencheth the light of the heart, and extinguisheth the life of the
soul. He should be content with little, and be freed from all inordinate
desire. He should treasure the companionship of them that have renounced the
world, and regard avoidance of boastful and worldly people a precious benefit.
At the dawn of every day he should commune with God, and, with all his
soul, persevere in the quest of his Beloved. He should consume every wayward
thought with the flame of His loving mention, and, with the swiftness of
lightning, pass by all else save Him. He should succor the dispossessed, and
never withhold his favor from the destitute. He should show kindness to
animals, how much more unto his fellow-man, to him who is endowed with the power of
utterance. He should not hesitate to offer up his life for his Beloved, nor
allow the censure of the people to turn him away from the
The Seeker's Passage, Vol. I, Number 1, Page 3
Truth. He should not wish for others that which he doth not wish for
himself, nor promise that which he doth not fulfil. With all his heart he
should avoid fellowship with evil-doers, and pray for the remission of their sins. He should forgive the sinful, and never despise his
low estate, for none knoweth what his own end shall be. How often hath a sinner attained, at the hour of
death, to the essence of faith, and, quaffing the immortal draught, hath taken
his flight unto the Concourse on High! And how often hath a devout believer, at the hour of his ascension, been so changed as to
fall into the nethermost fire! 3
As you can see from the preceding passage, a high standard of
conduct indeed is called for from the seeker. To conclude are two quotations
by 'Abdu'l-Bahá with some more words of advice for the seeker
including the "state" in which the seeker must be and the qualities the
qualities he/she must possess to be successful, of which an open mind and
heart are of extreme importance. We must search everywhere and be
prepared to accept Truth from whatever Source in which it is reflected.
Don't limit yourself or you may find it has slipped between your fingers and
you'll have to start all over again.
The state in which one should be to seriously search for the
truth is the condition of the thirsty soul desiring the water of life, of the
fish struggling to reach the sea, of the sufferer seeking for the true doctor
to obtain the divine cure, of the lost caravan endeavouring to find the right
road, of the lost and wandering ship striving to reach the shore of
salvation. Also, the seeker must be endowed with certain qualities. First
of all, he must be justand severed from all else save God; his heart
must be entirely turned to the supreme horizon; he must be free from the
bondage of self and passion; for all these are obstacles. Furthermore, he must
be able to endure allhardships; he must be absolutely pure and
sanctified, and free from the love or the hatred of theinhabitants of
the world. Why? because the fact of his love for any person or thing might
prevent him from rcognising the truth in another, and in the same way, hatred
for anything might be a hindrance in discerning truth. This is the condition
of seeking; and the seeker must have these qualities and attributes. Until he
reaches this condition, it is not possible for him to attain to the Sun of
Reality.4
. . .Therefore man must be the seeker after the
Reality; and he will find that Reality in each of the Sanctified
Souls. He must be fascinated and enraptured, and attracted to the
divine bounty; he must be like the butterfly who is the lover of the light from
whatever lamp it may shine, and like the nightingale who is the lover of the
rose in whatever garden it may grow.5
*********
1 Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys and the Four
Valleys, pp. 3-4. 2 Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys and the Four
Valleys, pp. 5-7. 3 Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh,pp 265-266. 4 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, pp. 45-46 5 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, pp. 87-88
.The Seeker's Passage, Vol. I, Number 1, Page 4
