Spiritual search: keeping desire and discernment alive

The fountain of divine generosity is gushing forth, but we must have thirst for the living waters. Unless there be thirst, the salutary water will not assuage.

The thirsty one must run after the water; the fountain will not run after those who are thirsty.

At the gate of the garden some stand and look within, but do not care to enter. Others step inside, behold its beauty, but do not penetrate far. Still others encircle this garden inhaling the fragrance of the flowers and, having enjoyed its full beauty, pass out again by the same gate.

The steed of this valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should he ever become downhearted: If he strive for a hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter. For those who seek the Kaaba of "for Us" rejoice in the tidings "In Our ways shall We assuredly guide them."

… O My brother, consider these matters in the spirit of enquiry, not in blind imitation.

First, he must be fair-minded and detached from all save God. His heart must be entirely directed towards the Supreme Horizon and freed from the bondage of vain and selfish desires, for these are obstacles on the path. Furthermore, he must endure every tribulation, embody the utmost purity and sanctity, and renounce the love or hatred of all the peoples of the world, lest his love for one thing hinder him from investigating another, or his hatred for something prevent him from discerning its truth.

Know thou of a truth that the seeker must, at the beginning of his quest for God, enter the Garden of Search. In this journey it behoveth the wayfarer to detach himself from all save God and to close his eyes to all that is in the heavens and on the earth. There must not linger in his heart either the hate or the love of any soul, to the extent that they would hinder him from attaining the habitation of the celestial Beauty.

… It behoveth thine eminence in this station to consider each created thing in its own place, neither abasing nor exalting its true rank. For instance, if thou wert to reduce the unseen world to the realm of creation, this would be an act of sheer blasphemy, and the converse would likewise be the essence of impiety. Wert thou, however, to describe the unseen world and the realm of creation within their own stations, this would be the undoubted truth.

… Comprehend, in like manner, every station, sign, and allusion, that thou mayest perceive all things in their own place and consider all matters in their proper light.

Therefore one must search after truth, become enraptured and enthralled with any sanctified soul in whom one finds it, and become wholly attracted to the outpouring grace of God. Like a moth one must be a lover of the light in whatever lamp it may shine, and like a nightingale one must be enamoured of the rose in whatever bower it may bloom.

One must seek after the manifold grace of God, search out the divine effulgences, and become enraptured and enthralled with any reality in which they are clearly and plainly found.

Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker's heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will the mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of negligence. Then will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind.

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established.

It is incumbent upon man to be a seeker after the discovery of every truth, so that he may penetrate every mystery and make easy every difficulty.

Ye must therefore put forth a mighty effort, striving by night and day and resting not for a moment, to acquire an abundant share of all the sciences and arts, that the Divine Image, which shineth out from the Sun of Truth, may illumine the mirror of the hearts of men.

'Abdu'l-Baha's Face became very serious, His Voice loud as He answered in these words:

"The first thing to do is to acquire a thirst for Spirituality, then Live the Life! Live the Life! Live the Life! The way to acquire this thirst is to meditate upon the future life. Study the Holy Words, read your Bible, read the Holy Books, especially study the Holy Utterances of Baha'u'llah; Prayer and Meditation, take much time for these two. Then will you know this Great Thirst, and then only can you begin to Live the Life!

As we came to the table because we were hungry, so we should approach the spiritual table.

Man must never get satisfied. He must ever be thirsty. There is nothing worse in this world than satisfaction from thirst. Man must drink from every fountain. His Holiness Baha'u'llah says: 'Your thirst must be so great that if you quaff the seven seas of the world you may yet be thirsty and dry.'

Let the flame of search burn with such fierceness within your hearts as to enable you to attain your supreme and most exalted goal -- the station at which ye can draw nigh unto, and be united with, your Best-Beloved

O Ahmad! Deny not thyself the surging, tempestuous, and hidden oceans, and deprive not thyself of the clear and straight path.

In the Rose Garden of changeless splendor a Flower hath begun to bloom, compared to which every other flower is but a thorn, and before the brightness of Whose glory the very essence of beauty must pale and wither. Arise, therefore, and, with the whole enthusiasm of your hearts, with all the eagerness of your souls, the full fervor of your will, and the concentrated efforts of your entire being, strive to attain the paradise of His presence, and endeavor to inhale the fragrance of the incorruptible Flower, to breathe the sweet savors of holiness, and to obtain a portion of this perfume of celestial glory.

Whoso followeth this counsel will break his chains asunder, will taste the abandonment of enraptured love, will attain unto his heart's desire, and will surrender his soul into the hands of his Beloved. Bursting through his cage, he will, even as the bird of the spirit, wing his flight to his holy and everlasting nest.

Only the one who is willing to become like an adoring moth around the flame shall shine even as a lighted candle. Such a one must strive by day and night, must cry aloud and beg to behold the rays of truth shining from the Dawning Place of all lights.

Thou hearest the sighing of those who long for Thee and beholdest the agitation in the hearts of the sincere ones in their separation and remoteness from Thee.

We beseech Him to kindle in the breast of the world the fire of seeking, that all may turn in devotion toward the most exalted horizon, the supreme perspective, and the ultimate goal.

The incomparable Creator hath created all men from one same substance, and hath exalted their reality above the rest of His creatures. Success or failure, gain or loss, must, therefore, depend upon man's own exertions. The more he striveth, the greater will be his progress.

O ye friends, exert ye an effort! Every expenditure is in need of an income.

We must strive to attain to that condition by being separated from all the things and people of the world, and seeing God only. It will take some effort and trouble on our part to attain to this condition; we must work for it, strive for it.

O servant of God! A sovereign in this human world is one who inhales the sweet fragrances of the other world, and whose spirit, in the kingdom of the body, ascends the throne of the heart and vanquishes and subdues the hosts of self and passion.

Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly recognize and know Him, and observe befittingly His precepts.

Consequently, rest ye not, seek ye no composure, attach not yourselves to the luxuries of this ephemeral world, free yourselves from every attachment, and strive with heart and soul to become fully established in the Kingdom of God. Gain ye the heavenly treasures. Day by day become ye more illumined. Draw ye nearer and nearer unto the threshold of oneness.

Now is the time, O ye beloved of the Lord, for ardent endeavour. Struggle ye, and strive. And since the Ancient Beauty was exposed by day and night on the field of martyrdom, let us in our turn labour hard, and hear and ponder the counsels of God; let us fling away our lives, and renounce our brief and numbered days.

Tell the maidservant of God Kerry Kinney and Percy Grant to increase their attention to the Kingdom as much as they can so they may find innate courage and seek spiritual power.

O seekers of truth! The struggle and search for truth is a heavy burden, and the trust of the Glorious Lord is such that heaven and earth cannot bear it. Therefore, the learned and accomplished who did not seek became deprived. But since you were seekers of truth, you strived and struggled, became privy to the mystery and became intimate confidants with the Beloved of mysteries.

Wert thou for a thousand years to recite unto a stone the verses of wondrous glory, would it ever be affected by them or comprehend their significance? Nay, by thy Lord, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate! Wert thou to recite unto the deaf all the verses of God, would they hear a single letter thereof? Nay, by His ancient and glorious Beauty!

O thou kind friend! However much the powerful rays of the sun may melt an iron object and render fluid what was once solid, it cannot make the frozen heart perceive, nor bring delight to the deprived blind. And however much the melodies of the divine nightingale may bestow happiness and evoke ecstasy, they cannot make those with defective hearing grow wise.

O seeker of truth! Your letter arrived and its contents indicated that you are searching for the divine Faith.

If you are lost in the desert, the path of guidance is clear and evident. If you thirst for the sweet Euphrates, the waves of the creative sea are high and manifest. And if you long for the divine countenance, the lights of His presence from the Most Glorious Kingdom are clear and visible to the eye of insight.

If any soul desires to attain to Knowledge, in the moment when that desire had mounted to its apex - a teacher will be sent regardless whether that inquiring one is in a cave in the ground or in any other inaccessible place.

No God is there but Thee, the Mighty, the Beneficent. Thou disappointest not him that hath sought Thee, nor dost Thou keep back him that hath desired Thee.

No man that seeketh Us will We ever disappoint, neither shall he that hath set his face towards Us be denied access unto Our court.

O seeker of God! All creation speaks of God but seeks Him not. … Praise be to God that you were a seeker and found; you were thirsty and reached the sweet water; you were a searcher and discovered what you sought; you were a wayfarer and reached the Ka'bah of your desire.

Thou didst traverse the path of search and didst seek the countenance of the Beloved One, the All-Merciful, until thou didst find traces of the Traceless Friend and didst attain unto the Best-Beloved.

O thou who journeyest unto God! Take thy portion from this ocean and deprive not thyself of that which hath been ordained therein, and be of them that attain. Were all who are in the heavens and earth to be given but a drop thereof, they would find themselves enriched through the enrichment of God, the Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Take, with the hand of detachment, a handful from this Living Ocean, then sprinkle it upon all created things, that they may be purified from human limitations and be brought nigh unto the Most Sublime Vision of God, this hallowed and resplendent spot.

O My servants! My holy, My divinely ordained Revelation may be likened unto an ocean in whose depths are concealed innumerable pearls of great price, of surpassing luster. It is the duty of every seeker to bestir himself and strive to attain the shores of this ocean, so that he may, in proportion to the eagerness of his search and the efforts he hath exerted, partake of such benefits as have been pre-ordained in God's irrevocable and hidden Tablets.

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O servants! Not every mortal frame hath a spirit or is imbued with life. In this day he is endowed with spirit who with all his heart seeketh the abode of the Beloved.

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The soul, because its searching for the Beloved is real and its love great, will not leave undone anything it can do itself. The soul that really loves God is not easygoing in its efforts to find the Son of God, the Beloved. Even when it has done all it can it is still unsatisfied, feeling it has done nothing. To find God we must work ourselves according to our capacity. The soul therefore, remembering the saying of the Beloved "Seek and you shall find", is resolved to seek him actively and not rest until it finds him. For there are many who do not want God to cost them anything except empty words.

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And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

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A "best teacher" and an "exemplary believer" is ultimately neither more nor less than an ordinary Baha'i who has consecrated himself to the work of the Faith, deepened his knowledge and understanding of its Teachings, placed his confidence in Baha'u'llah, and arisen to serve Him to the best of his ability. This door is one which we are assured will open before the face of every follower of the Faith who knocks hard enough, so to speak. When the will and the desire are strong enough, the means will be found and the way opened...

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