But, O my brother, when a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error. That seeker must at all times put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above anyone, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vainglory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence, and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endure a century.
Here Baha'u'llah begins a seven-paragraph exposition on the nature of the true seeker. It follows all the groundwork He has already laid, helping build up a true understanding of the nature of religion, history, the Manifestations of God and their dual nature, and so many other important issues. With all of these pieces in place, He now switches His focus, turning to the individual, and the attributes they must show in order to truly be considered a seeker, before going on to the actual proofs of the Bab's mission. The nature of these paragraphs, though, focuses on the individual seeking, rather than the world at large.
This opening paragraph outlines the internal conditions necessary, while the next will focus more on actions the individual must take.
Here Baha'u'llah outlines twelve points for us to consider:
- cleanse and purify his heart... from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge
- purge his breast... of every defilement
- sanctify his soul from all... ephemeral attachments
- put his trust in God
- renounce the peoples of the earth
- detach himself from the world of dust
- cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords
- never seek to exalt himself above anyone
- wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vainglory
- cling unto patience and resignation
- observe silence
- refrain from idle talk
Before we begin looking at these points, we just want to note that He refers to all of this "search... leading to" God as a path, not a destination. The implication here is that we can never reach the end. It is an eternal search, helping us get closer and closer to an understanding of the divine.
We also want to point out how gently He has gotten us to this point. It all began in the very first paragraph when He told us to "Sanctify your souls, O ye peoples of the world". This is when He first told us in this book to work on ourselves. And why did He do this? So that, with luck, we might "attain that station which God hath destined for you and enter thus the tabernacle..." This is the goal. And this is how we do it.
In the second paragraph, He clarified a bit about what He meant by sanctifying our soul. He said that people must "cleanse themselves of all that is earthly—their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth", which, if you think about it, is what we have read in virtually every other religion out there. And finally, in those opening paragraphs, He added that we have to cease "to regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard". All of this amounts to a gentle reminder of what we already know.
Throughout the next couple hundred paragraphs He would add in more reminders, and gently prod us forward in our understanding of our own responsibility in our search, allowing us to become accustomed to the weight of this responsibility. His compassion seems to know no bounds, for He seems very aware of how difficult this will be. But now, here, He lays it on us. We are ready to face this challenge.
The first point is about the heart. As with most things in the Faith, it all begins with the heart. So important is this that He feels it necessary to qualify this, to explain that the heart "is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God". Like a mirror, for it to be able to fully reflect the light of God, it must be cleansed "from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy." While knowledge itself is not necessarily a bad thing, it can become a barrier to true understanding. When this occurs, it is like a layer of dust on the mirror. And perhaps this is where detachment comes in. If we become attached to our knowledge, then we won't be able to polish our heart, for we cling to the very dust that is obscuring it. But when we acknowledge that we may be wrong, we may have a misunderstanding, or that we can learn more, then we allow that dust to blow away. We free ourselves of it, and are better able to allow the light to shine in the mirror of our heart.
The second point is about the breast, which He also clarifies as "the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved". This has to be purged "of every defilement". This is not easy. Purging implies an almost violent action, swift and sudden. Is there something in there that defiles the breast? Get rid of it, quickly and completely. Nothing can be allowed to impede the love of God, which must remain strong even in times of great difficulty, for that is the very definition of "abiding".
In short, this all begins with the heart, and the love it must feel for its Creator.
The third point is that we need to "sanctify (our) soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments". God, of course, is not "ephemeral", but eternal. In other words, now that our heart can reflect the light of God, and our love for God can withstand the tests and trials that we may face, we have to make sure that it is turned towards God, and not towards something that will fade.
What, though, does it mean to "sanctify our soul"? He has told us to do this numerous times. Simply put, it means to make pure and holy, to recognize its sacredness. We need to recognize that it is that part of us that is immortal.
But this is not simple. Our heart is naturally attracted towards love, and will attach itself to pretty much anything. Similarly, it will also feel repelled by those things we don't like. Love and hate are intertwined in that space. And those strong emotions can get in the way of clarity.
Earlier in this volume He talked about the "overpowering majesty of the Word of God". This speaks to how we can be so in love with the sacred text that it may blind us to seeing the next Manifestation. Our very love can become a barrier. Therefore, we must be careful, and attentive. Hate, as He says, can repel us from the truth, but love can blind us to it.
The next 8 points are fairly straightforward. Simple phrases, simply put, and not much to discuss here. Trust in God, not the people of earth. Be detached, but cleave to God. Don't be proud, stay humble. Be patient and resigned in times of trouble. And observe silence.
This last one, of course, ties into the previous point, refraining from idle talk.
Why? Every other point in this paragraph seems to refer to some internal state of being. Cleansing our heart, purifying our breast, trusting in God, detaching ourselves from the world. On and on, they all revolve around that internal state of our being. These last two, though, seem to be more about our interaction with the world around us. So why are they here?
The first ten points are all about our internal state of being. The first three ensure that the slate is clean, so to speak. The next seven are reminders that seem to go with each other. Trust in God, not the people of the earth. Detach yourself from this world and cleave to God. Don't exalt yourself above others, get rid of any trace of pride, unlike that "certain man" we just read about. Then, as we begin to interact with others, we should be patient.
It feels as though this patience is what allows others to ask their questions. And this is when we not only need to be quiet, but take that extra step and actually observe silence. We need to intentionally refrain from speech, quiet not just our tongue but our own internal chatter that desperately seeks to respond. We should listen to understand the other, not listen to answer. We must take the time to achieve that deeper sense of self-reflection and spiritual focus.
Then, if we do feel the need to respond, we should do so, again, intentionally. We should not just talk to talk, speaking of silly or trivial things, but respond to elevate the soul. We should be concise in our speech, and deeply aware of the other person.
So often, our speech is the first sign that another has of what is going on inside our head. Our actions, which either vindicate or contradict our words, come next, just as they do in the very next paragraph.These last two points seem to be the pivot between the internal and the external, the threshold between what's inside and what's outside of us. They are the last step before we move completely into the realm of action.
Baha'u'llah then reverses our traditional way of thinking about these things. We often hear the phrase, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Here, He implies otherwise.When we speak with a fiery speech, the effects of that can last a century, whereas the effects of an actual fire fade after a short time.
We may think "they're just words", but here He is confirming that they are much more than a breath of air. They have great influence. And like a fire, our words can either provide warmth and comfort, lighting the way for those who are lost, or they can be destructive, accidentally burning down all in their path.
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