The Object of the True Seeker’s Quest

Every true seeker focuses, of course, on union with the Creator.  Since our lives all end in the great transition of death, and we inevitably move then into a spiritual existence rather than a physical one, every person will eventually experience some sense of union with the Eternal.  The quality of that union, and the joy and radiance of our souls, depend on the relationship we forge with the mystical here on Earth.

One of Baha’u’llah’s titles, which the other founders of the great religions were also called, is the true Friend — because that Friend will lead us back to God:

Worldly friends, seeking their own good, appear to love one the other, whereas the true Friend hath loved and doth love you for your own sakes; indeed He hath suffered for your guidance countless afflictions. Be not disloyal to such a Friend, nay rather hasten unto Him. – Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words, p. 40.

This Friend will “awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of negligence.” Then the seeker “will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind.” This transformative blessing, which happens at the level of the deepest part of our human consciousness, can remake us. As Baha’u’llah wrote, 

Blessed the slumberer who is awakened by My Breeze.  Blessed the lifeless one who is quickened through My reviving breaths… Blessed the distressed one who seeketh refuge beneath the shadow of My canopy.  Blessed the sore athirst who hasteneth to the soft-flowing waters of My loving-kindness. Blessed the insatiate soul who casteth away his selfish desires for love of Me and taketh his place at the banquet table which I have sent down from the heaven of divine bounty for My chosen ones.  Blessed the abased one who layeth fast hold on the cord of My glory; and the needy one who entereth beneath the shadow of the Tabernacle of My wealth.  Blessed the ignorant one who seeketh the fountain of My knowledge; and the heedless one who cleaveth to the cord of My remembrance.  Blessed the soul that hath been raised to life through My quickening breath and hath gained admittance into My heavenly Kingdom. – Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 16.

The Friend calls us, not only for our own sakes, not only because of God’s love for us, but also that we may contribute our part in bringing about a better world:

Incline your hearts, O people of God, unto the counsels of your true, your incomparable Friend. The Word of God may be likened unto a sapling, whose roots have been implanted in the hearts of men.  It is incumbent upon you to foster its growth through the living waters of wisdom, of sanctified and holy words, so that its root may become firmly fixed and its branches may spread out as high as the heavens and beyond. 

O ye that dwell on earth!  The distinguishing feature that marketh the preeminent character of this Supreme Revelation consisteth in that We have, on the one hand, blotted out from the pages of God’s holy Book whatsoever hath been the cause of strife, of malice and mischief amongst the children of men, and have, on the other, laid down the essential prerequisites of concord, of understanding, of complete and enduring unity. – Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 93.

Adapted from One With All The Earth, © Kalimat Press 2003, All Rights Reserved.