Secret to happiness

“Human happiness is founded upon spiritual behaviour …”

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  ('Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha')

The “appearance” of the “Sun of Truth” which is “the Word of God” “in every mirror is conditioned by the colour of that mirror”

The Sun of Truth is the Word of God upon which dependeth the education of those who are endowed with the power of understanding and of utterance. It is the true spirit and the heavenly water, through whose aid and gracious providence all things have been and will be quickened. Its appearance in every mirror is conditioned by the colour of that mirror. For instance, when its light is cast upon the mirrors of the hearts of the wise, it bringeth forth wisdom. In like manner when it manifesteth itself in the mirrors of the hearts of craftsmen, it unfoldeth new and unique arts, and when reflected in the hearts of those that apprehend the truth it revealeth wondrous tokens of true knowledge and discloseth the verities of God's utterance. 

- Baha’u’llah  (The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, The Importance of Arts in Promoting the Faith)

Physical fasting is a symbol of abstinence from lust – it is a reminder

Fasting is a symbol. Fasting signifies abstinence from lust. Physical fasting is a symbol of that abstinence, and is a reminder; that is, just as a person abstains from physical appetites, he is to abstain from self-appetites and self-desires. But mere abstention from food has no effect on the spirit. It is only a symbol, a reminder. Otherwise it is of no importance. Fasting for this purpose does not mean entire abstinence from food. The golden rule as to food is, do not take too much or too little. Moderation is necessary. There is a sect in India who practice extreme abstinence, and gradually reduce their food until they exist on almost nothing. But their intelligence suffers. A man is not fit to do service for God with brain or body if he is weakened by lack of food. He cannot see clearly.

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, quoted by Miss E. S. Stevens in Fortnightly Review, June 1911; included in ‘Baha'u'llah and the New Era', by Dr. J.E. Esslemont; Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 6, June 24, 1917) 

One of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s secretaries recalled how the Master revealed the first Tablet of the Divine Plan

On Monday morning, March 26, 1916, he was sitting peacefully in his room in Bahji, now and then looking out of the window over the olive grove, beyond the sea and far it seemed into the infinitude. Suddenly he turned his wonderful, penetrating eyes upon me and asked me to chant one of the prayers of Baha’u’llah. As I continued my chant I felt a strange consciousness coming over me a realization of my unworthiness in being permitted to live so long and so near the divine presence of Abdu’l-Baha. When I finished the prayer he looked at me with charming sweetness, that soft, dancing light in his eyes and said: "Thou must be infinitely grateful to Baha’u’llah that He has chosen thee to be with me for so long a time. Surely it must be for a great purpose that is not apparent at the present time. It will become clear in the future. Now bring pen, paper and ink and I will dictate a Tablet for America. 

- Ahmad Sohrab  (From a talk by Ahmad Sohrab at the Eleventh Annual Mashriqu’l-Adhkar Convention and Baha’i Congress, held in McAlpin Hotel, New York City, April 26th 30th, 1919; Star of the West, vol. 10, no.4, May 17, 1919)

The original Tablet was addressed to Mr. Hooper Harris, New York City, N. Y. care J.  H. Hannen, Washington, D. C. It was received August 19, 1916 (Star of the West, vol. 7, no.10, September 8, 1916)

 This Tablet was first printed in Star of the West, Vol. 7, No. 10, September 8, 1916.

Among the signs concerning Baha’u’llah’s station

And among His [Baha’u’llah’s] signs is the sublimity of His grandeur, His exalted state, His towering glory, and the shining out of His beauty above the horizon of the Prison: so that heads were bowed before Him and voices lowered, and humble were the faces that turned His way. This is a proof never witnessed in the ages gone before.

Again among His signs are the extraordinary things He continually did, the miracles He performed, the wonders appearing from Him without interruption like the streaming down of His clouds -- and the acknowledgement, even by unbelievers, of His powerful light. By His own life! This was clearly verified, it was demonstrated to those of every persuasion who came into the presence of the living, the self-subsisting Lord. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha  ('Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Baha')

A signet ring of the Báb

The inscription on the ring: 'Praise be unto Him; there is no God but Him. This is a Path revealed by His behest, and shall pass thereon.'

Studying Baha’i Prayers: - Those who sincerely believe in God

Insights from this prayer by Baha'u'llah

(a) Attributes of those who sincerely believe in God

• Such believers confess God’s “sovereignty” and “dominion”
• Their “discerning eye” perceives the “greatness” of God’s “majesty and the compelling power” of His “might”.
• They “enjoy near access” to God to such a degree that the “winds of tests” are “powerless to “hold” them back “from setting their faces towards the horizon” of His “glory”;
• They are so “wholly devoted” to God’s “will” that “the tempests of trials” will “fail to draw away and hinder” them from “approaching” His “court”.
• It seems as if “the lamp” of God’s “love is burning” in the “hearts” of such believers and that “the light” of His “tenderness is lit within their breasts”.
• “Adversities” appear “incapable of estranging them” from God’s “Cause”, and “the vicissitudes of fortune can never cause them to stray” from His “pleasure”.

(b) God’s blessings on those who sincerely believe in Him

In return, God will “keep” such believers “safe from the mischief” of His “adversaries”, and will “nourish their souls” with what He has “ordained” for His “loved ones” -- those “on whom shall come no fear and who shall not be put to grief”.

1907: Visiting Baha'is in Bombay, India

Left to right: Mirza Mahmud-i-Zarqani, Hooper Harris, Harlan Ober, Hand of the Cause Ibn-i-Abhar

The reason God sends “Prophets and Messengers”

The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High....

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I. Baha’i Education)

“every person must acquire a craft”

Thou hast written regarding thy meeting with... He hath written that he desireth to teach thee one of the crafts and show thee affection and consideration. We beseech God that this purpose may be attained, and thou wilt learn such a skill, for according to the divine ordinances, every person must acquire a craft. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, The Arts)

An example of Baha'u'llah seeking justice while still a child

While still a child, the Blessed Beauty (Baha'u'llah) watched as a government tax-collector, on three separate occasions, accosted His father and demanded, in cruel and unjust manner, the payment of taxes. Unable to bear the injustice of it all, He, though in early childhood, mounted His horse and rode for two days until He arrived in Tihran (the capital of Persia). There He sought the dismissal of this unjust and tyrannical tax-collector. He succeeded in obtaining the necessary papers ordering the dismissal and returned to His parents.

- Mr. Furutan  ('Story of Baha'u'llah')

Shine your Light on me, Baha'u'llah

Shine you Light on me Baha’u’llah,

I am over here Baha'u'llah,

Shine your light on me Baha’u’llah,

Glory-aye, glory-aye.

- Help me love Mankind Baha’u’llah,

I am over here Baha’u'llah,

Help me love Mankind Baha’u’llah,

Glory-aye, glory-aye.

- Help me serve the Faith Baha’u’llah,

I am over here Baha’u'llah,

Help me serve the Faith Baha’u’llah,

Glory-aye, glory-aye.

- Help me be a flame Baha’u’llah,

I am over here Baha’u'llah,

Help me be a flame Baha’u’llah,

Glory-aye, glory-aye.

- Help me teach the Cause Baha’u’llah,

I am over here Baha’u'llah,

Help me teach the Cause Baha’u’llah,

Glory-aye, glory-aye.

- Help me sacrifice Baha’u’llah,

I am over here Baha’u'llah,

Help me sacrifice Baha’u’llah,

Glory-aye, glory-aye.

Courtyard of the House of the Báb in Shiraz

Photo shows the orange tree and reflecting pool and, on the left, a well

The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in 'Ishqabad, extensively damaged by violent earthquakes in 1948, was demolished in 1963 by the Russian authorities for safety reasons

A message from the Universal House of Justice:

August 25, 1963

To the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í World

Dear Bahá'í friends,

The whole Bahá'í World will be grief-stricken at the news of the sad fate which has overtaken the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in 'Ishqabad, the first Temple raised to the glory of Bahá'u'lláh. [The temple was located in Turkmenistan, near the Iranian border, north of the Iranian province of Khurasan ] Due to its unsafe condition, resulting from earthquakes, the building has been entirely demolished and the site cleared.

The building of this edifice, the only structure of its kind to be raised and completed in the lifetime of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, was described by the beloved Guardian as "a lasting witness to the fervour and the self-sacrifice of the Oriental believers." This "enterprise," the Guardian further wrote, "must rank not only as the first major undertaking launched through the concerted efforts of His followers in the Heroic Age of His Faith, but as one of the most brilliant and enduring achievements in the history of the first Bahá'í century."[GPB, p. 300. The first Bahá'í century ended in 1944.]

The Bahá'í centre in 'Ishqabad was founded in the days of Bahá'u'lláh. Already during His lifetime preliminary steps had been adopted by the friends of that community to build, in accordance with the provisions of the Most Holy Book, a Mashriqu'l- Adhkar.[The Most Holy Book is the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh's book of laws]

The greatness of this Cause

The heaven of righteousness has no Star, and never shall have one, brighter than this… The Tree of the Word has no better Blossom and the Ocean of Wisdom shall never have a brighter Pearl than this…

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 1, March 21, 1910)

Badi – the "Pride of Martyrs", an Apostle of Baha’u’llah

Aqa Buzurg of Khurasan, the illustrious "Badi" (Wonderful); converted to the Faith by Nabil; surnamed the "Pride of Martyrs"; the seventeen year old bearer of the Tablet addressed to Nisiri'd-Din Shah; in whom, as affirmed by Baha’u’llah, "the spirit of might and power was breathed," was arrested, branded for three successive days, his head beaten to a pulp with the butt of a rifle, after which his body was thrown into a pit and earth and stones heaped upon it. After visiting Baha’u’llah in the barracks, during the second year of His confinement, he had arisen with amazing alacrity to carry that Tablet, alone and on foot, to Tihran and deliver it into the hands of the sovereign. A four months' journey had taken him to that city, and, after passing three days in fasting and vigilance, he had met the Shah proceeding on a hunting expedition to Shimiran. He had calmly and respectfully approached His Majesty, calling out, "O King! I have come to thee from Sheba with a weighty message"; whereupon at the Sovereign's order, the Tablet was taken from him and delivered to the mujtahids of Tihran who were commanded to reply to that Epistle - a command which they evaded, recommending instead that the messenger should be put to death. That Tablet was subsequently forwarded by the Shah to the Persian Ambassador in Constantinople, in the hope that its perusal by the Sultan's ministers might serve to further inflame their animosity. For a space of three years Baha'u'llah continued to extol in His writings the heroism of that youth, characterizing the references made by Him to that sublime sacrifice as the "salt of My Tablets."

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Shoghi Effendi – ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Eldest Grandson

Shoghi Effendi was the eldest son of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s daughter Diya’iyyih Khanum (d. 1951) and Mirza Hadi Shirazi Afnan (d. 1955). He was born in ‘Akka on 1 March 1897, the eldest of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s grandsons, named in the Master’s Will as His successor when he was still a child. Educated at first at home with other children of the household, he was later sent to Catholic school in Haifa and Beirut and then to the Syrian Protestant College (the predecessor of the American University) in Beirut, spending his summer holidays as one of his grandfather’s assistants. He gained an arts degree from the college in 1918, and became ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s chief secretary. Then in 1920, he went to Oxford University (Balliol College), where he studied political science and economics, and also sought tp perfect his English so as to be better able to translate Baha’i literature into that language. He was still in the midst of his studies when summoned to return to Haifa at the news of his grandfather’s death. 

- Peter Smith  ('A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha’i Faith')

Haifa 1898: Experiencing the healing power of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – by May Maxwell

That evening He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] invited us all to meet Him on Sunday morning under the cedar trees on Mount Carmel where He had been in the habit of sitting with Baha’u’llah. We were all most happy in this hope, and great was my disappointment next morning when I found myself quite ill. As soon as the Master arrived for breakfast He came directly to my room and walking over to my bedside took both my hands in His, passed His hand over my brow, and gazed upon me with such gentleness and mercy that I forgot everything but the love and goodness of God, and my whole soul was healed and comforted. I looked up into His face and said: 'I am well now, Mawláná. ’[Lord, Master] But He smiled and shook His head and bade me remain there quietly, until He should return at noon. Although I had been suffering during the night, all pain and distress were gone, and I slept quietly.

That night we were sitting together with some members of the Master's family; the room was dimly lighted by candles which cast strange shadows on the walls and low ceiling; the latticed windows opened on to the narrow street flooded with moonlight, and as we sat thus in silence waiting for our Master we heard His voice in the hall, and all arose to greet Him as He appeared on the threshold, and the light of His beautiful countenance was shed upon us.

On Sunday morning we awakened with the joy and hope of the meeting on Mount Carmel. The Master arrived quite early and after looking at me, touching my head and counting my pulse, still holding my hand He said to the believers present: “There will be no meeting on Mount Carmel today. We shall meet elsewhere, Inshá'alláh, [God Willing] in a few days, but we could not go and leave one of the beloved of God alone and sick. We could none of us be happy unless all the beloved were happy.”

Two accounts of the Báb’s childhood days at school

There are some accounts left for posterity concerning the time that the Báb attended school in Shiraz, Persia. Such accounts are priceless because they help us understand how each Manifestation of God exhibits very special God given qualities even in their childhood.

First Account:

A fellow student who was then twelve years old related the following account many years later concerning the Báb’s first day at school.

“The Báb had taken a seat, with great courtesy, in between this boy and another pupil who was also much older than Himself. His head was bowed over the primer put in front of Him, the first lines of which He had been taught to repeat. But He would not utter a word. When asked why He did not read aloud as other boys were doing He made no reply. Just then two boys, sitting near them, were heard to recite a couplet from Hafiz (a well-known Persian poet), which runs thus:

From the pinnacles of Heaven they call out unto thee;

I know not what hath thee here entrapped.

'That is your answer,' said the Báb, turning to …” the older boy who recalled this incident. 

(The Bab, 'The Herald of the Day of Days', by Hand of the Cause Balyuzi)

The thing remarkable about this account is that not only the Báb who was then only about five years old understood fully the meaning of this couplet, but that he equated himself with the phrase “thee”. To posses such keen understanding of such issues at such a young age is another proof of His innate and God given knowledge.

1910: Baha'i convention in Masonic Temple, Chicago

'Abdu'l-Baha at the door of the Pilgrim House near the Shrine of Baha'u'llah, 1920

“The great unselfish love for humanity… the one perfect love, possible to all mankind… can only be achieved by the power of the Divine Spirit.”

We must find a way of spreading love among the sons of humanity.

Love is unlimited, boundless, infinite! Material things are limited, circumscribed, finite. You cannot adequately express infinite love by limited means. The perfect love needs an unselfish instrument, absolutely freed from fetters of every kind. The love of family is limited; the tie of blood relationship is not the strongest bond. Frequently members of the same family disagree, and even hate each other. Patriotic love is finite; the love of one’s country causing hatred of all others, is not perfect love! Compatriots also are not free from quarrels amongst themselves. The love of race is limited; there is some union here, but that is insufficient. Love must be free from boundaries! To love our own race may mean hatred of all others, and even people of the same race often dislike each other. Political love also is much bound up with hatred of one party for another; this love is very limited and uncertain. The love of community of interest in service is likewise fluctuating; frequently competitions arise, which lead to jealousy, and at length hatred replaces love…. All these ties of love are imperfect. It is clear that limited material ties are insufficient to adequately express the universal love.

The great unselfish love for humanity is bounded by none of these imperfect, semi-selfish bonds; this is the one perfect love, possible to all mankind, and can only be achieved by the power of the Divine Spirit. No worldly power can accomplish the universal love. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk, Paris, October 24, 1911; ‘Paris Talks: Addresses given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912)

1899: First Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Tehran

Book: The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice - by the Universal House of Justice

The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice is referred to by the beloved Guardian as the “Most Great Law of the Faith of Baha’u’llah” (The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 130, 1973). It contains 16 pages and is divided into two sections:

 1. Declaration of Trust; and

 2. By-Laws

 See the transcript of a talk given by Ali Nakhjavani, then (2004), a member of the House of Justice.

“The human soul is an essence spiritual in entity and material or physical in function.”

The human soul is an essence spiritual in entity and material or physical in function. It is defined as essence because it is independent in itself, while the body is accidental and dependent upon the soul. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk, quoted by Lua Getsinger in her talk in San Francisco on December 17, 1911; Book: ‘Lua Getsinger – Herald of the Covenant’, by Velda Piff Metelmann)

“Service to the Cause of God” and the need for “intellectual honesty and humility”

Service to the Cause of God requires absolute fidelity and integrity and unwavering faith in Him. No good but only evil can come from taking the responsibility for the future of God’s Cause into our own hands and trying to force it into ways that we wish it to go regardless of the clear texts and our own limitations. It is His Cause. He has promised that its light will not fail. Our part is to cling tenaciously to the revealed Word and to the Institutions that He has created to preserve His Covenant.

It is precisely in this connection that the believers must recognize the importance of intellectual honesty and humility. In past dispensations many errors arose because the believers in God’s Revelation were overanxious to encompass the Divine Message within the framework of their limited understanding, to define doctrines where definition was beyond their power, to explain mysteries which only the wisdom and experience of a later age would make comprehensible, to argue that something was true because it appeared desirable and necessary. Such compromises with essential truth, such intellectual pride, we must scrupulously avoid. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 27 May 1966 to an individual believer; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

“every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute"

Thou hast, moreover, asked Me concerning the nature of the celestial spheres. To comprehend their nature, it would be necessary to inquire into the meaning of the allusions that have been made in the Books of old to the celestial spheres and the heavens, and to discover the character of their relationship to this physical world, and the influence which they exert upon it. Every heart is filled with wonder at so bewildering a theme, and every mind is perplexed by its mystery. God, alone, can fathom its import. The learned men, that have fixed at several thousand years the life of this earth, have failed, throughout the long period of their observation, to consider either the number or the age of the other planets. Consider, moreover, the manifold divergencies that have resulted from the theories propounded by these men. Know thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute. 

- Baha'u'llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah’)

Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri became known as Bahá

In the early summer of 1848, Baha’u’llah hosted a gathering at a village of Badasht in northern Perisa. He “rented, amidst pleasant surroundings, three gardens, one of which He assigned to Quddus, another to Tahirih, whilst the third He reserved for Himself." (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’) This gathering was called for by the Bab for His most eminent followers, known as Babis, to attend. “The primary purpose of that gathering was to implement the revelation of the Bayan by a sudden, a complete and dramatic break with the past -- with its order, its ecclesiasticism, its traditions, and ceremonials. The subsidiary purpose of the conference was to consider the means of emancipating the Báb from His cruel confinement in Chihriq. The first was eminently successful; the second was destined from the outset to fail.” (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’) It became known as the Badasht Conference. It is estimated that there were 81 Babis in attendance. They were all guests of Baha’u’llah for the entire duration of the conference which lasted about twenty-two days.

“On each of the twenty-two days of His sojourn in that hamlet He [Baha’u’llah] revealed a Tablet, which was chanted in the presence of the assembled believers. On every believer He conferred a new name, without, however, disclosing the identity of the one who had bestowed it. He Himself was henceforth designated by the name Baha. Upon the Last Letter of the Living was conferred the appellation of Quddus, while Qurratu'l-'Ayn was given the title of Tahirih. By these names they were all subsequently addressed by the Báb in the Tablets He revealed for each one of them.” (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’)

The early life of the Báb - described by the Báb

Immeasurably glorified and exalted art Thou. How can I make mention of Thee, O Thou the Beloved of the entire creation; and how can I acknowledge Thy claim, O Thou, before Whom every created thing standeth in awe. The loftiest station to which human perception can soar and the utmost height which the minds and souls of men can scale are but signs created through the potency of Thy command and tokens manifested through the power of Thy Revelation. Far be it from Thy glory that anyone other than Thee should make mention of Thee or should attempt to voice Thy praise. The very essence of every reality beareth witness to its debarment from the precincts of the court of Thy nearness, and the quintessence of every being testifieth to its failure to attain Thy holy Presence. Immeasurably glorified and exalted art Thou! That which alone beseemeth Thee is the befitting mention made by Thine Own Self, and that only which is worthy of Thee is the anthem of praise voiced by Thine Own Essence...

Through the revelation of Thy grace, O Lord, Thou didst call Me into being on a night such as this, [1] and lo, I am now lonely and forsaken in a mountain. Praise and thanksgiving be unto Thee for whatever conformeth to Thy pleasure within the empire of heaven and earth. And all sovereignty is Thine, extending beyond the uttermost range of the kingdoms of Revelation and Creation.

Describing Shoghi Effendi as he appeared to the outer eye of a pilgrim

I will try to describe him [Shoghi Effendi] for you as he appears to the outer eye. Now I know why there have been no adequate descriptions of him by the Pilgrims. It is completely unimportant. It is describing a mirror when you can't behold the sun that shines in it. It is describing a symphony by saying it has four movements, when you can't express the exhilaration and joy that its music stirs in you. This is more true of the Guardian. His is a music unique to the planet. It is a spiritual language which transcends even a musical language. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá said there was a spiritual language as different from our language as ours is from the cries of animals. This is the language of the presence of the guardian. It cannot be expressed, it must be experienced; what is written here is but the shadow of the reality. Only a pilgrimage of your own will clothe it in flesh. If you have seen him, you will understand this.

The Guardian, as I remember him, is short in stature. His hair is dark, greying on the sides. He is of medium to dark complexion. He has dark eyes that seem to become a shade of the reality. He is of medium to dark complexion. He has dark eyes that seem to become a shade lighter when they are most animated, as though they burned with some inner fire. His features are regular. He is smooth shaven except for a dark moustache. There is an energetic quality about his person, even when at rest. He is very sturdy. I judge this by the firmness I felt when he embraced me. He has very small, slender hands which are shapely and expressive. All of his gestures are extremely graceful. He wore a rust colored topcoat over his inner clothes all during the time I was there. His tie was always brown. He wears a slender gold Bahá'í ring on the second finger of his right hand. He wears a black fez with a black button in the center of the top. Almost every evening he brought some new cable, drawing, or document with him to the table. Frequently he discusses the work of the Faith with the Hands and the members of the International Council. The dinner table is long and narrow. It seats ten comfortably. The latest pilgrim used to sit at the head of the table. Now Mason Remey sits there. The Guardian sits on his right, and the latest pilgrim on Mason's left, opposite Shoghi Effendi. Ruhiyyih Khanum sits on the Guardian's immediate right. The pilgrim is only three feet away, yet a world away from him.

- Bill Sears  (‘Pilgrimage to Haifa’, 1954)

A story for children: The King's Messenger

Muhammad Shah

When the Báb began telling people that a new Messenger of God would soon come He was still quite young, just twenty-four years of age. But His words had divine power. And so it was not long before the whole of Persia knew about Him. Even the Shah heard of Him. He wanted to know more about the Báb. And so he sent his most learned servant, Vahid, to find out all he could about the Bab.

On the way, Vahid thought up the questions he would ask the Báb. They were the most difficult questions he could find. Vahid had never discovered anyone who could answer these questions. Would the Báb be able to do so?

The Báb listened attentively to Vahid's questions. How surprised Vahid was when the Báb then began to answer the difficult and complicated questions. These were the right answers. Vahid was sure of that. He also knew that he himself would never have been able to find them. And he thought, too, that he was the most learned man in the land.

Vahid wanted to ask some more questions. He went to see the Báb a second time. But when he wanted to begin, he had completely forgotten what he wanted to ask. This had never happened to him before. A few moments later he heard the Báb begin to speak. To his amazement, the Báb was giving the answers to the questions which Vahid had forgotten. Although Vahid had said nothing, the Báb knew exactly what he had been going to ask.