(Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words - Persian, 1274 ca. [1857-1858] -- BH00113)
A single step toward recognition
attainment to faith in the twinkling of an eye
Editorial introduction
Distance, in the life of the spirit, is not measured in miles or years. Bahá’u’lláh tells the son of love that he stands only one step from the heights, and in the Seven Valleys He describes journeys with no visible end that a detached wayfarer, confirmed by God, may cross in a single breath. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes to believers who turned at the first call, and to one who was drawn by the utterance of a single word; such sincerity, He says, is among the greatest of divine gifts. In one moment a traveller passes from negation into affirmation. The Buddhist story of Bāhiya, freed upon hearing a brief teaching, offers a different account of such a sudden turning [1]. Yet a door opened in an instant leads onward. What begins in recognition becomes a second birth, a slow transmutation of the soul, and a daily walk along the spiritual path, where the ocean that once seemed far proves closer than one’s own life-vein.
Selected passages
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude), 1278 ca. [1861-1862], to Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, great uncle of the Bab (Khal-i-Akbar) -- BH00002)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Haft Vadi (The Seven Valleys), to Shaykh Muhiyid-Din Judge of Khaniqayn et al -- BH00047)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Javahiru'l-Asrar (Gems of Divine Mysteries), to Haji Siyyid Muhammad Mujtahid Isfahani -- BH00012)
But, through the bounty of the Beauty of ABHA, as soon as thou didst hear the call, thou didst turn thy face toward the Lord of Hosts and became a believer in God and assured of His divine verses. Immediately the Most Great Name made an impression upon thee.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Dec-16, to Henrietta C Wagner -- AB06597)
Now, praise be to God, thou didst possess a sincere intention and a superior capacity, such that with the mere utterance of a word thou becamest attracted, and this is among the greatest of divine bestowals.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Oct-31, to Ella Bailey -- AB08235)
Whoso turneth unto this Countenance in less than the twinkling of an eye, by My life, he is accepted before the Beloved, and whoso turneth away is indeed among the people of the Fire.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290-05 [1873-Jun], to Aqa Siyyid Mirza Afnan son of Afnan Kabir -- BH01508)
Concerning what thou hast written about the heedlessness, oppression and transgressions of the people of the Bayan, and likewise about the progress of the children who have ascended from barren lands through the breaths of revelation and have attained to the Kingdom of utterance - verily the divine traces in those who have turned unto Him appear more swiftly than the twinkling of an eye, transforming their very being in an instant and leading them from the corner of ignorance to the realm of knowledge. Glory be to God! His Holiness the Martyr of Zavarih sacrificed his life through but a single word. The details thereof have been revealed in certain Tablets from the Tongue of Grandeur - that which causeth hearts and souls to burn and be attracted.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1305-09 [1888-May], to Muhammad Husayn Bayk et al -- BH00075)
With one step the traveler finds himself in the Kingdom; even less than the twinkling of an eye the change is wrought. In one moment, he travels from the world of negation into the world of affirmation.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Baltimore Hotel in Paris, 1913-May-11 -- ABU1949)
Think not that they were not cautious in their religion, or that they did not wish to believe in the truth. Rather, their lack of faith and certitude stemmed from their extreme caution in their religion. In their relationship with God, they all considered themselves strivers and righteous ones, such that had they truly been convinced that the Messenger of God was the same Prophet of Whom Jesus had given tidings, they all would have believed in less than the twinkling of an eye. Now observe how the self and the deity they claim, in the sight of even a single follower of God's Messenger, is as nothing. How much more so in the sight of the Creator of all, His Messenger, the martyrs of His Faith, and the proofs of His Cause! And thus does the matter become confused to all. And yet they all believe they act for God in their relationship with Him. However, no more than seventy Christians believed in God's Messenger, as recorded in one tradition. The fault lies with their divines, for had they believed, the rest of creation would have believed.
(The Báb, Dala'il-i-Sab'ih (The Seven Proofs - Persian), to Mulla Ahmad-i-Katib and Hujjat-i-Zanjani -- BB00015)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
This most great, this fathomless and surging Ocean is near, astonishingly near, unto you. Behold it is closer to you than your life-vein! [cf.
Qur'an 50:16] Swift as the twinkling of an eye ye can, if ye but wish it, reach and partake of this imperishable favor, this God-given grace, this incorruptible gift, this most potent and unspeakably glorious bounty. O My servants! Could ye apprehend with what wonders of My munificence and bounty I have willed to entrust your souls, ye would, of a truth, rid yourselves of attachment to all created things, and would gain a true knowledge of your own selves - a knowledge which is the same as the comprehension of Mine own Being. Ye would find yourselves independent of all else but Me, and would perceive, with your inner and outer eye, and as manifest as the revelation of My effulgent Name, the seas of My loving-kindness and bounty moving within you. GWB#153 p326-327, Ruhi2.1.3, Ruhi5.2.5
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- What might change in a moment of recognition, and what might still require patient cultivation afterward?
- How do the images of a step, a breath, and a journey alter our expectations about spiritual progress?
- What relation do sincerity, receptivity, and the words of another person have to a decisive change of direction?