Strive therefore to comprehend the meaning of “return” which hath been so explicitly revealed in the Qur’án itself, and which none hath as yet understood. What sayest thou? If thou sayest that Muḥammad was the “return” of the Prophets of old, as is witnessed by this verse, His Companions must likewise be the “return” of the bygone Companions, even as the “return” of the former people is clearly attested by the text of the above-mentioned verses. And if thou deniest this, thou hast surely repudiated the truth of the Qur’án, the surest testimony of God unto men. In like manner, endeavor to grasp the significance of “return,” “revelation,” and “resurrection,” as witnessed in the days of the Manifestations of the divine Essence, that thou mayest behold with thine own eyes the “return” of the holy souls into sanctified and illumined bodies, and mayest wash away the dust of ignorance, and cleanse the darkened self with the waters of mercy flowing from the Source of divine Knowledge; that perchance thou mayest, through the power of God and the light of divine guidance, distinguish the Morn of everlasting splendor from the darksome night of error.
Strive - The most difficult part of this book is not the reading of it, nor the ideas presented, but the work we need to do in reflecting on these ideas and learning how to incorporate them in our heart and in our actions.
In this case, we are asked to strive to understand the meaning of "return", "revelation", and "resurrection". This follows on the previous three paragraphs in which He points out how some people are attached to their understanding of how things will be in the latter days. In the first instance, it was the notion that the Promised One would need to perform a particular miracle. In the second, it is the idea that the "return" could not be someone from a different culture. These are only two examples, of course, that could be used here. Both of them, though, speak to the importance of detachment, that primary quality in Part One.
With these two examples, He asks us to "strive" to understand what is really meant by the "return". When we consider these examples, and struggle to see what they imply, we come to the realization that it is the return of not an individual, but the return of circumstances. It is the return of paradigms. It is the return of the same story arc. Just as we see the eastern sky getting brighter every day with the sunrise, the flowers sprouting each and every spring, we can recognize a similar cycle in the grand scheme of the various religions.
If we are used to seeing our own faith as the pinnacle, then this can be very difficult to accept, for some may see it as the lowering of one faith to be on par with all the others. What those people fail to understand, though, is that it is actually the raising of all the other faiths to be on the same level as your own. We are not lowering one, but raising all.
From here, Baha'u'llah offers us some beautiful imagery to help us better understand His point.
If we want to better understand the unity of all these religions, and more clearly see how they all follow the same pattern, He tell us to "wash away the dust of ignorance... with the waters of mercy flowing from the Source of divine Knowledge". What does this mean? How are we to understand it? What is it that we are ignorant of?
Given the context, it seems to be the idea that there is only one instance of "return", and that it will have certain characteristics that we already know, such as some exact miracle. Once we free ourselves of this prejudicial understanding, this idea that we somehow know what will happen, when we free ourselves of this, then we can better see the light that shines in the actions of each and every Messenger of God. We can better notice the same old attacks by those in power. We can better recognize the heroism and wisdom of the companions. It is through the mercy of God that this is shared, so that we may be able to recognize the Messenger in Their own lifetime. It is through the "Source of divine Knowledge" that these points are made, such as when He retold the stories of the Manifestations of old, such as Noah, and focused solely on what they all had in common, not what made each of them unique.
When we do this, we find ourselves filled with love and awe for each and every faith, and this love shines out from our soul like a light. Too often we have seen interfaith gatherings where some people feel that their job is to teach the ignorant who do not know about the faith they are espousing. They come in and try to convert all around them, not realizing that they are doing no more than alienating others, condemning them for wearing a different team jacket, so to speak. But then there are those others who go to these interfaith gatherings hoping to learn more about other paths. They are eager to see a different perspective. And it is these souls that are filled with light. They make the whole gathering feel loved and respected. Even though they are firm believers in their own path, they understand that everyone has a truth to share, and that they can learn from all. This, to us, seems like a beautiful example of cleansing "the darkened self with the waters of mercy flowing from the Source of divine Knowledge".
Then we come to that little word we have seen so often in this book, "perchance". With luck, by the Will of God, when all this happens, when we begin to understand this grand pattern of recurrence, we will be able to recognize the new Morn, the rise of a new Day, the appearance of another divine Messenger for today.
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