A Final Appeal

1Chapter
Choosing Your Destiny
Before You Have Lost the Chance

The Role Of
Religious Leaders
In Human History

1Chapter
Religious Leaders:
The Prime Source of
Misinformation Concerning
“the Knowledge of God”

1God created man in His own image…
Genesis 1:27
For thou hast made man a little lower
than the angels, and hast crowned him
with glory and honor. Psalms 8:5
The kingdom of God is within you.
Christ (Luke 17:21)
How blest are those who know their
need of God; the kingdom of Heaven is
theirs. Christ (Matt. 5:3 NEB)
The source of all learning is the knowl-
edge of God, exalted be His Glory.
Bahá’u’lláh
Let him who glories glory in this: that
he understands and knows Me.
Jeremiah 9:24 NKJ

The Knowledge
Of God
The Lord Looks Down From Heaven On The Sons Of Men To

1see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
Psalms 14:2 NIV

1offer you a chance to enjoy the everlasting fruits of these promises
and blessings:
Blessed are they who…seek Him with all their heart.
Psalms 119:2 NIV
Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
John 16:24
…thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if
thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for
Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NKJ
This book is written in two versions on two different levels. Please
choose the version that suits your time and taste:
• This version—The Knowledge of God—is the briefest. It
is written for the busiest readers. Its prime purpose is to

2• The second version—The Spiritual Design of Creation—
covers many other concepts, not included in this volume.
Its prime purpose is to prove and inform.

3You can choose to read both versions or read either one of them.
Each version is unique, yet they both have a common purpose.
They are written to enhance the fulfillment of these prophecies:
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
This version blends the spiritual teachings of a recognized book,
the Bible, with a rather unknown book, The Hidden Words of
Bahá’u’lláh to show their harmony and strengthen their impact.
The second version includes much scientific evidence for the
existence of God and the afterlife. It is especially suited to the
young and educated who are skeptical, but trust the fruits of sci-
ence.
Printed copies of both versions will become available later.
Please share with us your comments and questions:

1Hosea 6:3 NKJ
The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted
be His Glory.1 Bahá’u’lláh
How blest are those who know their need of God; the king-
dom of Heaven is theirs. Christ (Matt. 5:3 NEB)
The supreme cause for creating the world and all that is
therein is for man to know God.2 Bahá’u’lláh
Many seekers thirst for true knowledge of God, but in this
crowded and confusing age, they do not know where to find it:
Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to
east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not
find it. Amos 8:12 NIV
This small book is a gift and a guide for all those who are
searching for the knowledge of God, but do not know where to
look:
What “oppression” is more grievous than that a soul seeking
the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God,
should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek
it? For opinions have sorely differed, and the ways unto the

2If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you…search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will
…find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:3-5 NIV
All praise and glory be to God Who…hath singled out for
His special favor the pure, the gem-like reality of man, and
invested it with a unique capacity of knowing Him and of
reflecting the greatness of His glory.4 Bahá’u’lláh
For the highest and most excelling grace bestowed upon men
is the grace of “attaining unto the Presence of God” and of
His recognition, which has been promised unto all people.
This is the utmost degree of grace vouchsafed unto man by
the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days, and the fullness of
His absolute bounty upon His creatures.5 Bahá’u’lláh
Let him that glorieth glory in this: that he understandeth
and knoweth Me. Jeremiah 9:24
O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee…
Christ (John 17:25)
The physical world mirrors forth the spiritual. Just as clouds
conceal the splendor of the sun, so do the clouds of misconcep-
tion and misinformation obscure the Glory of God. It is the
purpose of this book and its sequel to disperse those clouds.
Only then can we witness the transforming power of the
Knowledge of God in human life and the fulfillment of this
prophecy:
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. Christ (Matt. 6:10)
We have the freedom to define who we are and to decide who we
would like to become. The possibilities are endless. Some people
choose to live and die in their eggshell. The light of knowledge
threatens their security.
Others act and live as if they are chickens. They spend all their

3happiness are centered on their nest. As long as they have plenty
of grains around them and a secure shelter, they feel satisfied. If
they would only attempt to leave the ground, if they could only
experience the ecstasy of flying, they would never feel satisfied
with staying in their small enclosure. They would see their secure
nest as a trap.
Others know instinctively that they are eagles, with wings to fly.
They descend to the earth for food and rest, but they feel en-
trapped until they are airborne again. A sense of awareness of
God’s presence in their soul, and His love and longing to lift
them beyond their worldly desires, empower them to rise, to join
the ranks of the eagles, to fly through the heavens, and become
immortal.
Those who hope in the Lord…will soar on wings like
eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk
and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 NIV

4Ye are even as the bird which soareth, with the full force of
its mighty wings and with complete and joyous confidence,
through the immensity of the heavens, until, impelled to
satisfy its hunger, it turneth longingly to the water and clay
of the earth below it, and, having been entrapped in the
mesh of its desire, findeth itself impotent to resume its
flight to the realms whence it came. Powerless to shake off
the burden weighing on its sullied wings, that bird, hitherto
an inmate of the heavens, is now forced to seek a dwelling-

1created and designed in the most splendid Image, for a profound
purpose—to grow and advance spiritually by remaining in touch
with our Designer. Our welfare and our destiny depend on

210 The Knowledge of God

3harmonizing our life with what He has planned and has in store
for us. Unless we accept and submit to His plan, we cannot
manifest our full potential, nor can we enjoy the blessings in
store for us. Instead of blooming into a beautiful flower, we will
live and die as a seed, without fulfilling our mission—the very
reason we came into this world.
If our bond with our Creator and Designer is intimate and strong,
then everything will fall in place; if not, everything will break
down and fall apart.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying
can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if
God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more
clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry,
saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or
“What shall we wear?”…But seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added
to you. Christ (Matt. 6:25-33 NKJ)
Today the critical bond between God and mankind is being is
stretched to the limits. It is near breaking point. If this trend
is allowed to continue—as the evidence indicates that it will—
human life will gradually decline to a state of utter desperation.
Mere struggle for survival will become the norm—the law of the
land. Life will become extremely stressful; human suffering will
continue to mount and eventually reach unbearable proportions.
It will be a time of great distress. Christ (Matt. 24:21 NEB)
Our Creator designed us after His splendid Image—as perfect as
possible. He shared with us everything present in His Kingdom:

4Chapter 1: The True Knowledge of God

5The kingdom of God is within you. Christ (Luke 17:21 NIV)
He granted us countless blessings, among them, the greatest and
the most glorious is the supreme honor of knowing and loving
Him. No gift, no blessing can ever come close to this honor. All
the treasures of the earth compared to this gift count as nothing.
Yet many people live and die without any awareness of the
presence of such priceless jewels in their soul. They are rich
beyond measure! Yet they live and die in abject poverty.
As a token of His generosity, the supreme Designer crowned
our soul with many other precious jewels. As we can discover
within the heart of the earth many precious gems such as, ru-
bies, diamonds, and sapphires to adorn our bodies; so can we
discover within the human heart, spiritual gems such as self-
awareness, intelligence, imagination, understanding, creativity,
freedom of choice, and the twin gifts of learning and loving. The
prime purpose of all these gifts is to help us know and love our
Creator—by choice, and not by force. We can use these gifts to
renew our soul, to tame our ego, and choose the honor of being
in the presence of our Creator, or use them for pursuing worldly
desires, and face the unpleasant consequence of separation from
the Source of all pleasures and perfections. We are spiritually
rich and blessed beyond measure. Seldom do we take the time
to count our many blessings. Imagine life without the joy of
learning and loving! Imagine life without hope and purpose!
I have come that they may have life, and that they may
have it more abundantly. John 10:10 NKJ
We are designed to live an abundant life full of joy and peace.
But the spiritual Jewels within our soul cannot shine and show
their splendor unless they come into the presence of our supreme
Designer. If they stay beyond spiritual spheres, they lose their
light. They become invisible in the darkness of remoteness from
the glory of God.
To glow with joy and hope, we must take a step away from our
overconfident and persistent ego to let His light shine on the

612 The Knowledge of God

7jewels we already own—precious gems that have always been
present in our soul, that always wish and hope for a chance to
manifest their beauty and splendor.
The purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, hath
been to bring forth the Mystic Gems out of the mine of
man…7 Bahá’u’lláh
Our purpose in life is to grow and become more spiritual, to live
for the joy of learning and loving rather than exchanging our
precious lives for worldly gains and pleasures. But how can we
transform our own soul and society? Does simply knowing or
believing that something is true make it come true? Does simply
believing in unity and equality make us united and equal?
Suppose you said: “I believe this is a wonderful orange seed.”
Will your belief make the seed to grow and produce oranges?
No, to manifest its potential, a seed needs nourishment—tender
loving care.
The fruit of knowing God is loving God. How can we not love
the One who cherishes the purest and noblest love for us? As
our knowledge of God grows, so will our love for Him.
For every one of you his paramount duty is to choose for
himself that on which no other may infringe and none
usurp from him. Such a thing—and to this the Almighty is
My witness—is the love of God, could ye but perceive it.8
Bahá’u’lláh
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do
not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also. Christ (Matt. 6:1921 NIV)
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul
thirsts for you, my body longs for you…your love is better
than life… Psalms 63:1, 3 NIV

8Chapter 1: The True Knowledge of God

9Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere
…For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows
favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from
those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is
the man who trusts in you. Psalms 84:10-12 NIV
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all
your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing
praise to your name, O Most High. Psalms 9:1-2 NIV
This book demonstrates that the seed of human happiness can
grow, blossom, and produce luscious fruits only if it is planted
for the love of God and cultivated in the light of His knowledge.
His love is so splendid, His knowledge so infinite, they can
provide the seed of our soul with everything it needs to flourish
and become a fruitful tree. What more can we expect?

1reminds us to “walk away from the trees to see the forest.” That
is precisely what the knowledge of God does.
Much pain and suffering comes not from what happens to us, but
from what we allow to happen to us. Our attitude is the looking
glass through which we see and judge the events of our life.
The knowledge of God serves a similar purpose. It is the binoc-
ular that extends our vision from here and now to eternity. It
dissolves the little drop of our identity—the “I” and the “me”—
in the infinite ocean of God’s creation. Apart or away from that
ocean, we become a lonely drop, and live and act as if we are
that ocean!
Our connection to God transforms our perception of reality. It
infuses the little drop of our ego with this message: “Sure you
are facing this tragedy or trouble, but turn your eyes heaven-
ward. Look beyond the rain and the drifting clouds. The sun

214 The Knowledge of God

3never stops shining. There is more to life than meets the eye.
For now, be patient—and accept and even cherish—the inevitable.
There is a reason for everything that happens, even if you do not
know that reason.”
How often we have wished for something which did not come
true. And then later we thanked God that it did not! Thus as
the expression implies, we tend to see only the trees. The
knowledge of God elevates our perspective and allows us to
gain a glimpse of the forest. That change of view makes all the
difference. It dissolves the disappointments of daily living in the
vast ocean of the knowledge of our everlasting and splendid
destiny. It adds a new dimension to our life—a deep sense of
meaning and purpose. We can survive without having access to
that dimension, but at a heavy cost: failing to enjoy a life of
abundance, as destined for us by our Creator.
Few people have been as intimately bound with the spiritual
dimension of life and experienced its blessings and wonders as
did King David:
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord
with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know
that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His
gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give
thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good
and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues
through all generations. Psalms 100:1-5 NIV
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord…Let us come before
him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all
gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the
mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made
it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow
down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the

4Chapter 1: The True Knowledge of God

5flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not
harden your hearts… Psalms 95:1-8 NIV
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed with-
in me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my
Savior and my God. Psalms 42:5-6 NIV
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill
me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your
right hand. Psalms 16:11 NIV
O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants,
and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy
commandments and abide in Thy law. Help them, O God,
in their endeavor, and grant them strength to serve Thee. O
God! Leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by
the light of Thy knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy
love. Verily, Thou art their Helper and their Lord.9
Bahá’u’lláh

Blessed Are Those
Who Are Invited

1Christ (Rev. 19:9 NIV)

1…many, I tell you, will try to enter[the Banquet] and will
not be able to. Christ (Luke 13:24 NIV)
If you have never fallen in love with God or have fallen out of
love, you are in the majority—one of those who have made
these predictions come true:
The love of most will grow cold… Christ (Matt. 24:12 NIV)
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the
earth? Christ (Luke 18:8 NIV)
If you have a desire to ignite or reignite the flame of love in your
heart, this book is written for you. As the following statement
indicates, if you place God first in your life, then everything
else will take care of itself. This is a promise from the One who
made us:
Set your mind upon His Kingdom, and all the rest will
come to you as well. Christ (Luke 12:31 NEB)
What are we? A body with a soul, or a soul with a body? Our
body has no relation to us—to who we are. It is like clothing of
our soul. It belongs to the earth and returns to the earth:

218 The Knowledge of God

3I have created all things from dust, and to dust will I return
them again.10 Bahá’u’lláh
No, we are not bodies made of cells. We are souls housed in a
body for a short time and for a great purpose. No, we are not here
to accumulate wealth. We are spiritual images of our Designer
who allows us to live on earth for a little while. He will then
take us back to Himself:
Behold, all souls are mine… Ezekiel 18:4
Then shall the dust return to the earth…and the spirit shall
return unto God. Ecclesiastes 12:7
Why then did God place us on earth? For this reason: to give us
a chance to choose Him—to know Him and fall in love with
Him just as He is in love with us. True love can come only by
choice, not by force—and it is complete only when it is mutual.
Can any honor equal this: To be in mutual love with the One who
created the universe? Can we ever appreciate or understand this
favor from our Creator? If we fail to embrace this unmatched
honor and favor with gratitude, with utter joy and ecstasy, we
have lived in absolute spiritual poverty—we have lived without
knowing what true living is really like. Without living in mutual
love with our Creator, life has no meaning, nor purpose. With-
out embracing His love, our life is an utter failure, even if we
own all the treasures of the earth.
But before we can love God, we must know Him. How can we
love someone we do not know? This book and its sequel—The
Spiritual Design of Creation—are written, first and foremost to
help us know God according to His own Word as recorded in
the sacred Scriptures.
True love can come only from true knowledge. The seed of love
can grow and survive only in a fertile and pure ground, not in
confusing and divisive theologies that have caused widespread
spiritual poverty throughout the world.
Who are assumed to be reliable authorities on God? Who else but
religious leaders! For thousands of years they have held the reigns

4Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

5of authority in their grasp. What grade should they receive for
their achievements? Have they played a positive or a negative
role in the destiny of mankind? Have they promoted peace or war?
Have they promoted harmony or prejudice? Have they united or
divided the world? Are they in agreement concerning human life
and destiny? Who divided Christianity into thousands of de-
nominations? According to the 2003 World Christian Database,
there are about 37,000 different denominations in Christianity.11
Who are the sources of religious prejudice? What do the religious
leaders have in common? They disagree on just about every-
thing except this: “My version of truth is the only one that saves
your soul and leads you to heaven!”
Where do people, including religious leaders, gain their knowledge
of truth? Two sources stand out:
• What their parents have told them to be the truth.
• What their particular priest, minister, rabbi, or mulla tells
them.
It is extremely sad that in this age of enlightenment, people con-
tinue to believe, just like children, what they are told to believe!
The spread of misinformation about God is the main reason
many people, including religious leaders, are losing their faith
and moving toward atheism. Many of those leaders admit that
they have doubts about their beliefs but, to make a living, they
must continue to support and promote whatever those in higher
positions—their bosses—dictate. Can we find a core of
knowledge about God common to all religions? Yes, it is the
prime purpose of this book and its sequel to go beyond denomi-
nations and the lines that have separated the great religions. Only
by rising above the narrow perspective of divisive theologies
can we see the light of truth. Our best guide to true knowledge
is the gift of reason bestowed upon us by our Creator. We use
this guide in discovering the mysteries of the universe. Should
we not use it also in our attempt to discover the mysteries of the
One who created the universe?

620 The Knowledge of God

7This book offers many quotations from sacred Scriptures to bring
us face to face with our Creator, to hear the Voice of the One
who made us, owns us, and takes us back to Himself.
This book is also an invitation to all those who wish to become
fit for the Banquet of Heaven while they have a chance, before
they have reached the end of their journey, before their eternal
destiny has been sealed.
Another honor our Creator has bestowed upon us is this: He has
granted us the freedom, the authority, and the ability to write the
script of our lives. In effect, He has declared: “Here is paper and
here is a pen. Decide your destiny, write it down, and go for it!”
Yet so many people ignore this most splendid gift, this most
glorious honor. They allow the winds of chance to take them
wherever it may. What a tragedy! What a loss!
The door of knowledge is open to anyone:
Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man
can shut it… Christ (Rev. 3:8)
How regrettable indeed that man should debar himself
from the fruits of the tree of wisdom while his days and
hours pass swiftly away. Please God, the hand of divine
power may safeguard all mankind and direct their steps to-
wards the horizon of true understanding.12 Bahá’u’lláh
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,
and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in ex-
change for his soul? Christ (Matt. 16:26 NKJ)
This book is aimed both at the heart and the mind. It is an
awakening call to activate the “spiritual gene” that our Creator has
concealed in our soul for Himself. It is an aid and a reminder to
all those who have discovered this gene and sense a deep yearn-
ing to bring it to life, but are too busy to take time for their soul.
Our knowledge of God comes mostly from the sacred Scriptures.
Should we ignore the most vital source of this knowledge? What
do the Scriptures teach us about God and about what matters
most in our lives? They ask us to place God first in our lives:

8Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

9Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. Christ (Luke 12:31)
The spirit alone gives life; the flesh is of no avail.
Christ (John 6:63 NEB)
Without a strong bond with our Creator, we are like a car without
a steering wheel. We can move, but we cannot advance toward
our divine destiny. The attractions and pressures of daily living
are so powerful, many people fail to take this first step: to center
their lives and destiny on an intimate relationship with God.
This small book is written to help them fulfill their mission—
the purpose for which they have been created—and to remind
them of the grave consequence of failing to accomplish this
mission.
Our Creator constantly calls us to “the eternal” but only a few
heed and respond to His call:
O SON OF THE SUPREME!
To the eternal I call thee, yet thou dost seek that which per-
isheth. What hath made thee turn away from Our desire
and seek thine own?13 Bahá’u’lláh
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish
you were either one or the other! Christ (Rev. 3:15 NIV)
Only a few have as yet quaffed from this peerless, this
soft-flowing grace of the Ancient King. These occupy the
loftiest mansions of Paradise, and are firmly established
upon the seats of authority.14 Bahá’u’lláh
How can we “seek” and become worthy of “the Kingdom of
God”? The first step in our everlasting journey toward our Crea-
tor starts with these questions: Why am I here? What is my
prime purpose in life? And how can I attain that purpose?
The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will
ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His
Presence.15 Bahá’u’lláh
The supreme cause for creating the world and all that is
therein is for man to know God.16 Bahá’u’lláh

1022 The Knowledge of God

11Know thou that, according to what thy Lord, the Lord of all
men, hath decreed in His Book, the favors vouchsafed by
Him unto mankind have been, and will ever remain, limit-
less in their range. First and foremost among these favors,
which the Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of
understanding. His purpose in conferring such a gift is
none other except to enable His creature to know and
recognize the one true God—exalted be His glory. This gift
giveth man the power to discern the truth in all things,
leadeth him to that which is right, and helpeth him to dis-
cover the secrets of creation.17 Bahá’u’lláh
The world passeth away, and that which is everlasting is
the love of God.18 Bahá’u’lláh
God is the light of the world. Without His love, we live in dark-
ness:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and
great commandment. Christ (Matt. 22:37-38 NKJ)
Also Luke 10:27
The most beloved of people before God are…those who
have surpassed others in their love for God, exalted be His
glory.19 Bahá’u’lláh
As planned by our Designer, human life on earth is the “stage of
preparation” for a journey that will never end. Never again will
this opportunity be granted to us. Never again will there be a
springtime in our lives. Any failure to plant the Seed of our Des-
tiny in the due season—during our brief life at this most critical
stage—will prove extremely costly, on a scale unimaginable.
Beware lest the transitory things of human life withhold
you from turning unto God…20 Even as the swiftness of
lightning your days shall pass… 21 Bahá’u’lláh
Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty and rejoice
not therein. Ye are even as the unwary bird that with full
confidence warbleth upon the bough; till of a sudden the

12Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

13fowler Death throws it upon the dust, and the melody, the
form and the color are gone, leaving not a trace.22
Bahá’u’lláh
Our prime purpose on earth is to prepare our soul for the
Kingdom of God and the Banquet of Heaven—a Banquet so
splendid that is beyond description. How do we prepare our-
selves for a splendid banquet on earth? We buy and wear the
most elegant clothing we can afford. We seek the help of the
best barber or hair dresser; we bathe our body and make it
fragrant with an expensive perfume. We spare no effort to look
and smell our best. Finally we stand before a mirror for a last
look to make sure we appear as perfect as possible. Only then
do we feel we are ready to depart. We do all this and more for a
banquet that lasts only a few hours. What then should we do for
a Banquet that will last for all eternity! Even a hundred billion
years compared to eternity counts as nothing! What then is
required to become worthy of the honor of living in such a
Kingdom and attending such a Banquet? Can anyone imagine
the magnitude of such an honor?
What is the next step in our journey toward “knowing and
loving” our Creator? It is recognizing that mere confession is
not a ticket to that Kingdom. Noble deeds are an absolute
requirement:
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven. Christ (Matt. 7:21 NIV)
Living a life crowned with noble deeds requires great effort.
Only a few are willing to do so. Only a few arise to meet the
challenge of dressing up for the occasion—to be a guest of
honor in this great Banquet of God. And only a few receive the
honor of being chosen:
For many are invited, but few are chosen.
Christ (Matt. 22:14 NIV)
Those who fail to meet the essential requirement of nobility and
purity, will face, and should expect, only closed doors:

1424 The Knowledge of God

15Many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
Christ (Luke 13:24 NIV)
The City of God is pure and perfect. Only those with clean robes
are allowed to enter, only they have the right to partake of “the
tree of life,” only they will be truly alive:
Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have
the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates in-
to the city. Christ (Revelation 22:14 NIV)
To be human is to be negligent. Imagine the number of people
who neglect their health and their safety, who fail to be kind to
their body—which has little tolerance and a low threshold for
pain! How much more are they likely to neglect their soul—
who is patient, long suffering, and forbearing!
At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art ever far from
Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee, yet bound-
less shame thou hast chosen for thyself. While there is yet
time, return, and lose not thy chance.23 Bahá’u’lláh
Our age is presenting us with the most demanding challenges.
Few people have the time or take the time for their soul—their
spiritual health. Struggle for survival for some, and greed for
others, leave little time for thinking about the very purpose they
have been created. Mankind as a whole is moving away from
God—toward atheism:
At that time many will turn away from the faith…the love
of most will grow cold… Christ (Matt. 24:10, 12 NIV)
The vitality of men’s belief in God is dying out in every
land…24 Bahá’u’lláh
Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be
meet and seemly.25 Bahá’u’lláh
It will be a time of great distress; there has never been such
a time… Christ (Matt. 24:21 NEB)
Nations will stand helpless, not knowing which way to
turn… Christ (Luke 21:25 NEB)

16Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

17For most people, loving the “world” comes before loving the
One who made the world:
O SON OF MAN!
Upon the tree of effulgent glory I have hung for thee the
choicest fruits, wherefore hast thou turned away and con-
tented thyself with that which is less good? Return then un-
to that which is better for thee in the realm on high.26
Bahá’u’lláh
Strong incentives and warnings are needed to awaken the negli-
gent, the sleeping, and the struggling peoples of our time. This
book is written for this very reason. It is written as an aid to
those who neglect their soul, who live and die without ever ask-
ing the first and most urgent question in their lives: “Why am I
living?” The deeper the sleep and negligence, the louder the call
must be!
O SON OF MAN!
Many a day hath passed over thee whilst thou hast busied
thyself with thy fancies and idle imaginings. How long art
thou to slumber on thy bed? Lift up thy head from slumber,
for the Sun hath risen to the zenith, haply it may shine
upon thee with the light of beauty.27 Bahá’u’lláh

18O CHILDREN OF VAINGLORY!
For a fleeting sovereignty ye have abandoned My im-
perishable dominion, and have adorned yourselves with
the gay livery of the world and made of it your boast. By
My beauty! All will I gather beneath the one-colored
covering of the dust and efface all these diverse colors
save them that choose My own, and that is purging from
every color.28 Bahá’u’lláh

19Night hath succeeded day, and day hath succeeded night,
and the hours and moments of your lives have come and
gone, and yet none of you hath, for one instant, consented
to detach himself from that which perisheth. Bestir your-
selves, that the brief moments that are still yours may not

2026 The Knowledge of God

21be dissipated and lost. Even as the swiftness of lightning
your days shall pass, and your bodies shall be laid to rest
beneath a canopy of dust. What can ye then achieve? How
can ye atone for your past failure?29 Bahá’u’lláh
Most people fail to recognize the enormous and everlasting conse-
quences of neglecting their spiritual destiny. It is in their best
interest to know those consequences while they still have a
chance. If they could gain just a glimpse of the enormity of their
losses and become aware of their everlasting regrets for failing
to plant the Seed of their Destiny in the due season, they would
not hesitate even for one moment to place the pursuit of their
spiritual mission—the very reason they are living—first and
foremost in their lives.
Many fail to realize that our brief life on earth is by far the most
critical stage of our everlasting journey toward God. If we fail
to act during this brief moment, our Creator warns, we will for
ever lose this opportunity:
O MY SERVANT!
Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy
soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will
come to thee no more.30 Bahá’u’lláh

22Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting
moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy
thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so that, free and
content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and
repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal
kingdom for evermore.31 Bahá’u’lláh

23O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE!
Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty and rejoice
not therein. Ye are even as the unwary bird that with full
confidence warbleth upon the bough; till of a sudden the
fowler Death throws it upon the dust, and the melody, the
form and the color are gone, leaving not a trace. Wherefore
take heed, O bondslaves of desire!32 Bahá’u’lláh

24Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

25The honor of knowing and loving God is being forgotten. Many
fail to realize that this supreme honor is bestowed only on those
who desire it, deserve it, and seek it with all their heart and
soul:
…thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if
thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for
Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NKJ

26If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will…find
the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:3-5 NIV

27Blessed are [those] who…seek Him with the whole heart.
Psalms 119:1-2 NKJ

28Some people think that by believing in God, they will do God a
favor! They think like a person who says “If I stay indoors, it
will be bad for the sun!” Such individuals do not realize that the
exact opposite of what they think is true. Being allowed to
know and love God is a favor beyond description. It is by far
the greatest, the most glorious, and the most splendid honor that
Heaven may bestow on humans.
Such is the station ordained for the true believer that if
to an extent smaller than a needle’s eye the glory of that
station were to be unveiled to mankind, every beholder
would be consumed away in his longing to attain it. For
this reason it hath been decreed that in this earthly life the
full measure of the glory of his own station should remain
concealed from the eyes of such a believer.33 Bahá’u’lláh

29People feel proud to be in the presence of a world leader—a king,
a queen or a president of a country. Yet they fail to recognize
that they can choose to be in the presence of the One who can
create countless queens, kings, and presidents in an instant. Why
do those world leaders pay attention to us? To receive our support

3028 The Knowledge of God

31to stay in power. What about the One who made us? Does He
also need us in order to stay in power?
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.34 Bahá’u’lláh
What then will be “the spiritual state” of those who ignore or
refuse to seek God during their earthly life?
[They will] be made aware of the good things that have
escaped them, and shall bemoan their plight, and shall
humble themselves before God. They shall continue doing
so after the separation of their souls from their bodies.35
Bahá’u’lláh
This mortal life is sure to perish; its pleasures are bound to
fade away and ere long ye shall return unto God, distressed
with pangs of remorse, for presently ye shall be roused
from your slumber, and ye shall soon find yourselves in the
presence of God and will be asked of your doings.36 The Báb
Many people also fail to realize that the choice between God and
human beings is mutual. We must set the cycle of choosing in
motion, but the final choice is up to our Creator:
A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
Christ (John 3:27 NIV)
…no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him
by My Father. Christ (John 6:65 NKJ)
You [disciples] did not choose Me, but I chose you [to] bear
fruit, and that your fruit should remain.
Christ (John 15:16 NKJ)
Whoever has my commands and obeys them…I…will…
show Myself to him. Christ (John 14:21 NIV)
What is the standard for being among the chosen ones? Is it
believing in God, or is it knowing God and manifesting that

32Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

33knowledge through noble deeds? An unfounded assumption
prevalent among many people—believers and nonbelievers
alike—is this: “believing in God” and “knowing God” are
synonymous. This is a misconception with grave consequences.
It has tarnished the honor of knowing and loving God. No, they
are not the same. They differ even as day and night. Belief in God
has little value unless it is enlightened with true knowledge,
which always culminates in love and noble deeds.
How can we trust and love someone we do not know? Does
simply believing that we have a neighbor make us trust and
love our neighbor? Believing without knowing is walking in
total darkness. It may even be unsafe. All the damage inflicted
on religion throughout all ages has come from believers who
“believed” in God, or they thought they did, but had no
knowledge of God.
The failure to recognize the difference between “believing in
God” and “knowing and loving God” has been extremely costly
to the dignity and honor of true faith. It has given the atheists
and agnostics throughout all ages the perfect weapon against
God. To know and love God and to be a hypocrite are the exact
opposites. It is impossible to love God and hate people. It is im-
possible to love God and deceive or mistreat His creatures—
even an ant! True love is universal, not judgmental. It does not
discriminate:
He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…Be
perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Christ (Matt. 5:45, 48 NIV)

34Our Creator is our model for perfection. But can we ever attain
perfection? We can attain relative, but not absolute, perfection.
Perfection on the human level means becoming the best we can
be. It means manifesting our potential—the jewels hidden in our
soul:

3530 The Knowledge of God

36The Purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, in
revealing Himself unto men is to lay bare those gems that
lie hidden within the mine of their true and inmost selves.37
Bahá’u’lláh
Unless we manifest the hidden gems within our soul, we are not
truly alive:
I have come that they may have life, and that they may
have it more abundantly. Christ (John 10:10 NKJ)
We cannot attain perfection. It is human to slip and fall. But our
love for God and trust in His love for us, gives us the courage
and the strength to arise and carry the torch. What matters are
our motives. Knowledge of God purifies our motives. It punc-
tures our inflated ego—the voice within us that says: “I know
and I know that I know. Don’t tell me otherwise!” It removes
the mask of hypocrisy that obscures the purity of our soul that
prevents it from being transparent.
The failure to appreciate and embrace the greatest honor that
heaven may bestow on humans—an intimate relationship with
our Creator—is a loss beyond human understanding. Only after
departure from this life will we recognize the enormous conse-
quences of such a loss—our failure to attain the very purpose for
which we came into this world. The combined consequences of
all our shortcomings and failures in our earthly life, compared
to this one failure, count even as a mere drop to a vast ocean.
What makes the consequence of this failure and this loss so
enormous is the immensity of time it will endure. We are assured
that the human soul will last as long as our Creator lasts. Even a
long life—a hundred years—compared to eternity counts only as
one passing moment. And yet that one passing moment deter-
mines the eternity that follows it! This piece of the puzzle of
human life and destiny is so critical, so consequential that it
should awaken, warn, and inspire every sleeping soul to arise
and rush forward—without any hesitation toward fulfilling his
divine destiny, toward manifesting the precious gems in his

37Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

38soul. Why would anyone endowed with wisdom risk his eternal
destiny for the sake of one passing moment? Why would any-
one exchange the honor of everlasting life in the presence of
God for the perishable and short-lived pleasures of this life?
What is the price of ignoring God’s presence in our lives? What
is His standard of judgment?
For with the same measure that you use, it will be meas-
ured back to you. Christ (Luke 6:38 NKJ)

39God will verily do unto them that which they themselves are
doing…38 Bahá’u’lláh

40This world is the “womb” of spiritual life. Just as a baby must
grow and become fit for life on earth, so must the human soul
grow and become fit for life in heaven.
Perhaps the most potent words found in the sacred Scriptures
are: heaven and hell. Believers throughout all ages have failed to
know what these terms represent. Is “hell” a place where evil
people are burned forever? A close study of sacred Scriptures
indicates that those two words—heaven and hell—are simply
metaphors for the state of the soul in its relation to God:
heaven implies nearness to God, and hell remoteness from
His Presence.
The state of our physical health before and after birth offers
perhaps the best picture of the state of our spiritual health before
and after death. Being in heaven means being spiritually healthy:
living in a state of joy and happiness; being in hell means being
spiritually sick: living in a state of misery. Heaven implies having
access and being able to enjoy all the blessings God has created
for human beings; and hell implies being deprived of those
blessings. “The fire” implies the soul’s burning desire to be in the
presence of God—the very source of life, joy, and happiness.
Can anyone imagine an honor equal to being in the presence of
God for all eternity?

4132 The Knowledge of God

42For the highest and most excelling grace bestowed upon
men is the grace of “attaining unto the Presence of God”
and of His recognition, which has been promised unto all
people. This is the utmost degree of grace vouchsafed unto
man by the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days, and the
fullness of His absolute bounty upon His creatures.39
Bahá’u’lláh

43Imagine life without the gift of sight and hearing. Imagine also
living for countless ages without these gifts. This example is,
however, “relative”—since each individual must face his own
unique handicaps, or his own unique “hell.” No two individuals
are, or will ever, be alike.
We are told that in the spiritual world there are many grades or
levels of life, which correspond to the many levels of nobility—
or lack of it—that we find in this world. Even suffering from
one handicap can be painful—a heavy burden to bear. Why, then,
take any chances? Why choose to be miserable because of a little
negligence? Why not submit “the ego” to the forces of humility?
Why lose the one opportunity our Creator has given us?
As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent
Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
Christ (John 9:4 NIV)

44Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more.40
Bahá’u’lláh

45Seek the Lord while he may be found. Isaiah 55:6

46Seize, O friends, the chance which this Day offereth you,
and deprive not yourselves…of His grace.41 Bahá’u’lláh

47At the point of death, our everlasting destiny is determined by:
• Our relationship with God
• The purity and nobility of our soul, and
• The quality of the life we have lived.

48Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

49During the brief span of our lives, we must make every effort to
advance in all these arenas. For at the moment of death, our des-
tiny is permanently sealed. Surely we will be able to advance,
but it will be within limitations. If a seed fails to grow in due
season, it must face and endure irreparable losses later.
We are only passengers passing through and have no choice but
to accept and submit to our Maker’s plan and verdict. We have
no choice but to submit to the One who is the supreme Designer
and Ruler of the universe. No one can deviate or escape from
His Design—from what He has planned. We have no haven
save in Him!
Behold! all souls are Mine… Ezekiel 18:4
Then…the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Soon ye shall return to Us, and We will let you know what
ye have done! Qur’án 10:24
For unto God shall be the final gathering. Qur’án 35:19
All men have proceeded from God and unto Him shall all
return.42 The Báb
Verily, we are God’s, and to Him shall we return.43
Bahá’u’lláh
Yes, our life, sooner or later, ends. All that remains of us is our
soul. That is what we are, what we take with us, and will be
ours for all eternity. What then is the value of a soul without the
glory of God, without the knowledge and love of its Creator?
This question was answered long ago. It holds true for now and
forever:
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,
and loses his own soul? Christ (Matt. 16:26 NKJ)
What Jesus means is this: “What is the value of a seed that in
due season—this life—had a chance to bear beautiful flowers
and luscious fruits, but never did, nor ever will?” Yes, without
anchoring our soul in God, we are like a tiny seed at the mercy

5034 The Knowledge of God

51of mighty winds. Only in our knowledge of God can we grow
roots and become fruitful trees. Only through Him can we mani-
fest our potential for beauty and greatness, only through Him
can we unveil His glorious Image hidden deep in our soul.
O SON OF BEING!
With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers
of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the
essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek
naught else, for My work is perfect and My command is
binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt thereof.44
Bahá’u’lláh
O SON OF SPIRIT!
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to
poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase
thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being,
why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me?
Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy
thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou
mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and
self-subsisting.45 Bahá’u’lláh
Upon the inmost reality of each and every created thing He
hath shed the light of one of His names, and made it a
recipient of the glory of one of His attributes. Upon the
reality of man, however, He hath focused the radiance of
all of His names and attributes, and made it a mirror of His
own Self. Alone of all created things man hath been singled
out for so great a favor, so enduring a bounty.46 Bahá’u’lláh
Those who center their efforts on their worldly life at the expense
of their spiritual life, are unaware of the grave injustice they inflict
on their own soul. If they knew the enormous and everlasting
losses they must face in the next kingdom, they would place
everything on hold, make any sacrifice, exert any effort, until
they have discovered the most glorious Gem of joy and peace
lying deep in their soul, until they have found and cherished the
One who, as Bahá’u’lláh declares, is “the most manifest of the

52Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

53manifest, and the most hidden of the hidden”47—the great
Spirit who is both the Source and Purpose of their lives—the
One who is so close to them, and yet they are so far from Him!
What then will be the spiritual state of those who embrace their
Creator with gratitude versus those who ignore His presence in
their soul? Compare our relationship with God with our relation-
ship with each other. Suppose you wish to celebrate a special
day in your life. Who would you include in your guest list?
Would you include strangers—people who do not know you?
Would you include those who don’t care for you? What about
those who know you, but keep ignoring you and pretending that
you don’t even exist? If you do not want such “unfit guests” at
your banquet, why should God? Why should God accept as
guests of honor in His most glorious Mansions in heaven—
people who enjoyed His blessings all the days of their lives, but
lived and acted as if the generous Host didn’t even exist? No, it
would not be in keeping with God’s justice to allow such souls
to enter those Mansions:
…many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not
be able. Christ (Luke 13:24)

54The following words of Jesus may be harsh, and should not be
taken literally. They simply show us in symbolic and graphic
language the serious consequences of being unprepared for God’s
“many Mansions in heaven.” They express the divine justice
imposed on those who have failed to “dress up” and be fit for
His heavenly Kingdom.
But when the King came in to see the guests, he saw a man
there who did not have on a wedding garment. So He said
to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wed-
ding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the King said
to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away,
and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are
chosen. Christ (Matt. 22:11-14 NKJ)

5536 The Knowledge of God

56Perhaps the most touching, beautiful, and instructive of all the
parables Jesus spoke is the one about the Banquet of Heaven.
Through this parable, He teaches us the ultimate destiny of
those who ignore their Creator or refuse to know Him, while
they have a chance—during their earthly life. This brief parable
contains a universe of knowledge. Read it many times and ponder
its mysteries and meanings:•
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the Bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish
ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
The Bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all
became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the Bridegroom!
Come out to meet Him!” Then all the virgins woke up and
trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise,
“Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” “No,”
they replied, “there may not be enough for both us and you.
Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for your-
selves.” But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the
Bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in
with Him to the wedding Banquet. And the door was shut.
Later the others also came. “Sir! Sir!” they said. “Open the
door for us!” But He replied, “I tell you the truth, I don’t
know you.” Therefore keep watch, because you do not
know the day or the hour. Christ (Matt. 1-13 NIV)

57God has given us the right to ignore Him, reject Him, and even
rise against Him. But it is essential to know the consequences of
each of those choices. God is both benevolent and just. We must
count on His justice, but can only hope for His mercy. God’s
attributes of “forgiveness” has been used by religious leaders to

58•
“Oil” stands for wisdom—the source of light, which can guide us to our
divine destiny.

59Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

60attract new converts. They use this concept to present an easy
and short path to heaven. They tell people that if they simply
say “I believe…” all their sins will be forgiven! This, of course,
is a great bargain, especially for those who have a long list of
sins on their record! Such leaders use God’s forgiveness almost
as an invitation to disobey God. A man was stealing a bicycle. A
friend asked: Why? He said: “After taking the bicycle, I will ask
for forgiveness!”
Abuses of this concept and many others have diminished the
dignity and honor of believing. They have made it cheap, have
turned it into a market place where believers can bargain with
God—exchange a few words for long-lasting benefits.
To be negligent in practicing ethical principles—because we
know God is forgiving—is an act of self-deception. The one
who truly knows God perceives good deed as its own reward,
and unseemly deed as its own punishment. Knowledge of God
makes the performance of a good deed in itself enjoyable and
inviting, and the performance of a bad deed in itself unpleasant
and even impossible. To the one who loves God, being dishon-
est, deceptive, or unloving is painful. To love God and hate
people is a contradiction, because we all belong to God.
Knowledge of God removes from the human heart all tempta-
tions to do wrong. The one who truly knows God is well aware
that he cannot hide his thoughts from the All-Knowing. His
sense of shame prevents him from engaging in an unseemly
deed or thought, even as his sense of shame would prevent him
from appearing naked in a crowd.
There are some spiritually primitive people, however, who can-
not rise to this level: loving simply for the sake of loving. What
can possibly protect such people from doing wrong? What can
motivate them to take their spiritual life seriously? Only their
awareness of divine justice. Only that thought can touch and
transform their hearts. Only their fear of the loss of a precious
Jewel can inspire and motivate them to rise to the occasion. Only
verses such as these can reach and touch them:

6138 The Knowledge of God

62Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words…of him the Son
of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory
of His Father. Christ (Mark 8:38)
O SON OF BEING!
Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My
love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.48
Bahá’u’lláh
The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek
him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He
will forsake you. II Chronicles 15:2 NIV
Our Creator will allow us to be a guest of honor in His heavenly
Kingdom only if we invite Him and even implore Him to be a
guest of honor in our soul in His earthly Kingdom. How then
can we please God and become worthy of His incomparable
favors and blessings? How can we become a permanent guest in
His celestial Banquet?
Knowing God is not merely an intellectual experience. It is not
only a matter of convincing the mind, but also of touching and
transforming the heart. Philosophers have focused on proving or
disproving God. They have turned this concept into a game of
chess, where each player has one purpose: to defeat the other
player. Religious leaders have taken a different direction: they
have removed God out of reason. They have looked down on
science and scientists and have practiced and promoted believ-
ing without thinking. Both of these extremes have caused many
sincere and reasonable people to remain confused, unable to get
to the heart of the question.
Proving God and believing in God is only a small segment of
knowing God. Harmony between faith, reason, and science is
absolutely essential. Science is an expression of God’s mind.
They cannot contradict each other. Convincing the mind is only
one step toward the ultimate goal of knowing and loving God.
Knowing God is not a journey on a straight and smooth path,
but one through many mountains and valleys. It is the most

63Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

64challenging and rewarding experience in human life. It is an
achievement and honor that overshadows any other.
Overcoming the obstacles that stand in our way requires deter-
mination, deep desire, and persistent efforts. Can anyone attain
physical fitness without effort? Establishing an intimate relation-
ship with God requires spiritual fitness. Unless an individual is
willing to do his best to meet the spiritual requirements, he will
be unable to establish such a relationship. Let us once again review
some of those requirements:
• Making a commitment to abide by this counsel:
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God… Christ (Matt. 6:33)

65We must determine to devote some time every day to the
first and foremost purpose in our life: Learning to nourish
the seed of the knowledge and love of God in our soul.
• Facing God with pure motives and absolute sincerity. Noble
deeds are the clearest evidence of our purity and sincerity.
Would God reveal His glory to a soul afflicted with selfish-
ness, prejudice, greed, lust, hypocrisy, and deception? Would
God invite impure souls into His supremely pure and splendid
Mansions in heaven?
Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for
Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

66Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Christ (Matt. 5:8)

67• Persistent praying and pleading with God to become worthy
of the honor of being an invited guest.
We should with tearful eyes, fervently and repeatedly,
implore Him to grant us the favor of that grace.49
Bahá’u’lláh

68Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while
you may be found… Psalms 32:6 NIV

6940 The Knowledge of God

70The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call
on him in truth. Psalms 145:18 NIV

71• Standing in utter humility before God. Pride, like clouds,
conceals the face of God from us. Looking down on others—
including nonbelievers—is an evidence of pride. Only God is
the true judge. All judgment must be left to Him. True love
knows no boundaries.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them
his way. Psalms 25:9 NIV

72The Lord sustains the humble… Psalms 147:6 NIV

73For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest
. Christ (Luke 9:48 NIV)

74• Pursuing a life of service to humankind. Good deeds are a
clear evidence of one’s sincerity and nobility. They attract
divine blessings.
Faith without works is dead. James 2:26

75• Persistently seeking knowledge. We must continue to ask
questions until no question is left unanswered.
…through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
Proverbs 11:9

76Perhaps the best way to know God is to examine a few models—
people who demonstrate the knowledge of God through their
noble deeds. These models show us the limits of human potential
for nobility. They demonstrate how far we can rise.
While traveling in Florida, I met a lady who told me the following
story. She said that her husband was a physician who practiced
his profession in the city of Hamadan in Iran. After the revolution,
her husband was arrested, and tortured because he belonged to a
religious minority: the Bahá’í Faith. He was a most wonderful
person, dedicated to the welfare of his patients. While in prison,
he was tortured severely in an attempt to force him to deny his

77Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

78beliefs, but he refused to submit to the tyrants. As a result of his
refusal, he was killed, not with a gun but in a most brutal way.
The news of his death and of eight other Bahá’ís shook the resi-
dents of the city. Thousands of people gathered in the streets to
demonstrate and protest against this violent crime. Some people
of courage addressed the crowd; they mourned his death, and
shared their memories of his deep love for his patients. After
giving a detailed account of that day, the lady then added: “I
heard from strangers of his acts of kindness that I had never
heard before. My husband kept his acts of kindness private. A
pharmacist testified that not only would my husband treat poor
patients for free, but he would call and ask him not to charge
them for the medicine. He would pay the cost himself.”
What could have inspired this doctor to withstand those tyrants?
What could have empowered him to endure severe torment and
eventually pay by his life to prove a principle? Yes, they took
his life, but not his soul nor his dignity. Who can give a human
being such courage, commitment, determination, and power?
Who can elevate a human being to such a level of dedication
and self-sacrifice?
This brief story demonstrates a profound principle: The absolute
contrast between blind faith and enlightened faith. Those who
committed this crime engaged in this atrocity supposedly to
please God! They believed in and obeyed the god that they had
created in their own distorted mind and used that imagined figure
as a cover to commit a serious crime.
The doctor, on the other hand, did not simply believe in God.
He was gifted with the knowledge of God. He demonstrated his
knowledge through courage and sacrifice. His example demon-
strates the highest level of human potential for nobility.
The torturers simply believed that they believed in God. But they
had absolutely no knowledge of God. They were mere robots
controlled by their religious leaders.

7942 The Knowledge of God

80We are all unique and must overcome the unique obstacles each
of us faces. What matters is to make a commitment to move
forward. Anyone who does his best, who sincerely strives to
practice the preceding six principles, becomes worthy of the
honor of becoming intimate with God and a permanent guest in
His Kingdom. Here once again is a brief summary of those
principles:
• Placing God first in our lives.
• Learning about God. Seeking the knowledge of God
• Purifying our soul from that which is unseemly.
• Praying persistently. Seeking the divine blessings.
• Destroying our ego. Standing with utter humility before
God.
• Never losing a chance to perform good deeds.
God is just, and considers the obstacles each of us must over-
come to reach our destination. What matters is what we do with
what we have:
From everyone who has been given much, much will be
demanded… Christ (Luke 12:48 NKJ)

81To conclude: Just as the sun continues to shine—and faces no
loss if we remain indoors—so does God. By failing to accomplish
the very reason we have come to this world—knowing and
loving our Creator—we waste a divine investment greater than
the universe. For each of us represents the greatest investment
God could possibly make.
O SON OF SPIRIT!
My claim on thee is great, it cannot be forgotten. My grace
to thee is plenteous, it cannot be veiled. My love has made
in thee its home, it cannot be concealed. My light is mani-
fest to thee, it cannot be obscured.50 Bahá’u’lláh

82Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

83Could God create a being greater than a reflection of His own
Self?
So God created man in His own image… Genesis 1:27
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and
hast crowned him with glory and honor. Psalms 8:5
The kingdom of God is within you. Christ (Luke 17:21)
Without the light of God in our soul, we are like a shining and
beautiful piece of diamond that is kept concealed forever in a
dark closet! Only His love can make us shine. Only through
Him can we become worthy. His love is the only reason we
have come to this world and must be the only reason that we
live.
O SON OF THE WONDROUS VISION!
I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit, that
thou mayest be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken Me and
sought a beloved other than Me?51 Bahá’u’lláh
O SON OF BEING!
Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with
Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This is that which hath
been destined for thee in Our kingdom above and Our
exalted dominion.52 Bahá’u’lláh
Know thou that nothing profiteth a soul save the love of the
All-Merciful…53 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Our Creator offers us much help and many clues to awaken us
to the splendors of our divine destiny. He “stands at the door”
and invites us to step out of the closet. He is even willing to
come inside to lead us out of the darkness, but He will not come
unless invited:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come in…
Christ (Revelation 3:20 NKJ)
What is the prime obstacle that prevents us from “opening the
door” and stepping out of the closet to witness the splendors of

8444 The Knowledge of God

85God’s glory and grandeur? That obstacle is our ego! In most of
us, this ego is as hard, as proud, and as mighty as a towering
mountain. It is the first and foremost barrier to our spiritual
growth. The message it sends is this: “I know, and I know that I
know!” It is our ego, which prevents us from being open to new
ideas, which keeps insisting that: “I know everything I need to
know!” It is our ego that makes us favor everything that fits into
our established beliefs and reject anything that fails to fit:
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes…
Proverbs 21:2 NKJ
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes…
Proverbs 16:2 NKJ
It is the forces of ego that keep the world divided and in disarray.
It is the forces of ego that keep the followers of major religions
in disagreement. But God in His Wisdom has created an adver-
sary that can undermine the security and power of this tyrant.
That adversary is called: humility. Our Creator has allowed us
to inflate our ego, to make it as vast as the heaven and as big as
a mountain. But He has also given us the potential to shatter and
reduce that mountain to mere dust. Only by standing before God,
like a child, and cherishing and expressing the deep longing within
our soul for knowing the reason we have come into this world
and an awareness of the everlasting consequences of failing to
nourish the Seed of our Destiny during this first moment in
eternity, can we remove the veils that prevent us from knowing
who we are and what matters most in life. Only by removing the
mask of the ego can we change our perception and perspective
of God from “the most hidden of the hidden” to “the most
visible of the visible.”
Ignoring or rejecting God is an evidence of ingratitude on a scale
unimaginable. It is like rejecting or ignoring a loving parent.
Suppose your mother traveled a long distance to see you. When
she knocked, you opened the door, and said: “Who are you? I
don’t know you! I don’t have a mother!” How would she feel?
God is both our mother and father. He is the One who gave us

86Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

87the gift of life for a purpose and has a plan for each of us. Like
loving parents, He wants the best for us, but He would not force
us to accept His plan. He did not create us as slaves. He granted
us the honor of choosing, knowing, and loving Him. He only
invites us:
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who
hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and
whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of
life. Revelation 22:17 NIV
What will be our sense of shame after we depart from this life
only to discover that we have ignored the One who created us
from sheer love and was so kind and generous to us, as to share
His own Self, His own Image with us?
“For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed,
but My kindness shall not depart from you…” says the
Lord. Isaiah 54:10 NKJ
Among the “defense strategies” human beings use to deny the
most certain event in their lives—their own death—is to focus on
the present and to forget the future. The Sacred Scriptures try to
break this dam of denial, but the forces against it are so power-
ful that few people take notice:
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Psalms 144:4 NKJ
Remember your Creator before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken… Ecclesiastes 12:6
O FRIENDS!
Abandon not the everlasting beauty for a beauty that must
die, and set not your affections on this mortal world of
dust.54 Bahá’u’lláh
O MY SERVANT!
Abandon not for that which perisheth an everlasting do-
minion, and cast not away celestial sovereignty for a
worldly desire. This is the river of everlasting life that hath

8846 The Knowledge of God

89flowed from the well-spring of the pen of the merciful; well
is it with them that drink!55 Bahá’u’lláh
Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting
moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy
thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so that, free and
content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair
unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom
for evermore.56 Bahá’u’lláh
O MY SERVANT!
Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy
soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will
come to thee no more.57 Bahá’u’lláh
O SON OF MY HANDMAID!
Didst thou behold immortal sovereignty, thou wouldst strive
to pass from this fleeting world. But to conceal the one
from thee and to reveal the other is a mystery which none
but the pure in heart can comprehend.58 Bahá’u’lláh
O OFFSPRING OF DUST!
Be not content with the ease of a passing day, and deprive
not thyself of everlasting rest. Barter not the garden of
eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world. Up
from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and
from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of
the Placeless.59 Bahá’u’lláh
As to those that have tasted of the fruit of man’s earthly
existence, which is the recognition of the one true God,
exalted be His glory, their life hereafter is such as We are
unable to describe. The knowledge thereof is with God,
alone, the Lord of all worlds.60 Bahá’u’lláh

90Chapter 2: Blessed are Those Who are Invited

1We make thousands of decisions during the course of our life.
How can we make sound decisions? Only by making “informed
decisions,” only by considering the many sides or shades of an
issue. How can we do this? Only by tapping into a reservoir of
knowledge far, far beyond what we already have. That is the
precise purpose of the sequel to this book: The Spiritual Design
of Creation. It offers the most essential information you need to
make an informed decision concerning the course of your ever-
lasting destiny. Can any decision compare with this?
The information offered in that volume meets the following
standards:
• Rational thinking or reasoning in regard to every concept
presented.
• Scientific findings whenever relevant or possible.
• Scriptural evidence, whenever relevant or possible.
If a concept fails to satisfy the preceding standards, it must be
rejected or at least considered questionable. What more can be
expected?
In The Spiritual Design of Creation, you will find convincing
answers to virtually all questions and objections that people
regularly raise against God. A printed version of this book will
become available. For further information please visit this web-
site: www.GlobalPerspective.org.

A Final Appeal

1The Time is Short!
The Decision Critical!
The Consequence Everlasting!

1To everything there is a reason, a time for
every purpose under heaven…
Ecclesiastes 3:1
While daylight lasts we must carry on the
work of him who sent me; night comes,
when no one can work. John 9:4 NEB
Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee

1mission, that they have only a short time to make the most critical
choice in their lives: to choose their everlasting destiny. Instead of
paying close attention to that choice, they spend their precious
lives playing with a few toys, without knowing that a marvelous
race is going on all around them and they are out of it. It is a
race to fulfill the very purpose of their lives before they have
lost the chance. They are so busy, so rushed, they do not take
the time to measure their enormous losses, to notice how fast
they are losing ground.
Some people instinctively know that they need to be in this
race: toward their divine destiny. They recognize that there is a
grand purpose in their lives—a purpose that can guide them and
move them forward. But they do not know where to look. They
often take the clue from the people around them. They notice
the masses and masses of people who are constantly running
and rushing without getting anywhere, without reaching a desti-
nation. They assume that all those people must know something
that they do not know. So they join the race with everyone else—
a race for making more, saving more, and spending more! But
after running for some time, they discover what they instinctively
knew: that the "pot of gold" always stays one step ahead of them;
that they are running in a circle, and keep ending up where they
started.
Sometimes they dream of leaving the circle, only to find that it
does not let them. They feel like a passenger in a plane, fastened
by a seatbelt, high in the sky. So they stay in the race and keep

252 The Knowledge of God

3running until they cannot run anymore. Then what do they find
at the end of their journey, at the end of the race? Sickness and
symptoms of senility.
They find themselves near the end of their journey without ever
reaching any destination. Then they begin to think about their
past, about their unfulfilled dreams, about the value of all the
toys that they have collected. If they are perceptive, they may
suddenly wake up as from a dream. They may realize that they
have been running for no purpose, that the material gains they
have struggled to accumulate were of no real value, and that
they have wasted the most precious gift given to them: their
freedom to choose their destiny. They discover that after all the
running, they are still at the starting point of the race, where
they were sixty or seventy years ago. They learn that they have
labored without achieving any enduring purpose, and now they
are exhausted and defeated! What a tragedy! They were born in
ignorance, they lived in ignorance, and now they must die in
ignorance.
Now they begin the next stage of their journey. They suddenly
behold a "new dawn" from a new horizon. They see that "the
veil" of secrecy is lifted. They begin to view everything in the
light of a new knowledge—a light they have never seen before.
"The dawn" is the moment of their departure from this life to the
next. At that moment they will realize what they have missed,
and they will begin to mourn their colossal and irretrievable
losses. They will know that death was not the end of their jour-
ney, but a sign post along the way. They will recognize that the
"circular race" was useless. It looked real, but it was only a
mirage. It did not help them get anywhere. They will discover
that all the toys they gathered were as trustworthy as the
sandcastles children make on the seashore, which a few waves
suddenly wash away. They will understand that the real race
was for God and toward God, not to accumulate gold. They will
discover that death—the point of departure from their earthly
life—did not end the race; the race will and must continue for

4Chapter 3: Choosing Your Destiny

5all eternity. They will know that during their earthly life they
made no progress toward their goal. They will see a long journey
ahead of them, and will wonder how they can ever reach their
far away destination.
“But if the race toward fulfilling one’s spiritual mission will
continue,” one may ask, “why worry about it here? Why not
wait for death, and then begin the race?”
Consider this analogy. Suppose you are traveling, and your first
destination is 100 million light years away, and you only have
ten days to reach it. As a gesture of kindness, you are given a
spacecraft that can travel ten million light years a day. You have
a choice to use this spacecraft or to ignore it. Every day that you
fail to use it, you fail to travel a distance of ten million light
years. The critical point is this: whatever distance you fail to
travel here, you will have to walk in the hereafter. Once you
leave the earth, never again will that spacecraft be offered to you.
Imagine the magnitude of your anger, despair, and sense of loss,
when you learn the consequences of your failure to have taken
advantage of the incredible opportunity you were given: to travel
even faster than the speed of light.
This analogy clearly demonstrates the critical significance and
purpose of our earthly life. Here we have the freedom to become
the most noble or the most evil human being, the most saintly or
the most sinister. What we make of ourselves determines our
distance from our divine destination. If we fail to be in the race
for God and for goodness in this life, at death we will discover
that we are still at "ground zero."
Imagine your sense of frustration and despair when you realize
that you could have covered that astronomical distance—100
million light years—within the span of your earthly life. Now
instead of sixty or seventy years you have "eternity" ahead of
you. It will take you countless ages and eons to cover what you
could have covered in just a few years. Now you find yourself
so far away from your destination that you do not even want to

654 The Knowledge of God

7think about it. Imagine your sense of utter loss when you realize
that because of just a little negligence, you lost the most glori-
ous gift that Heaven may bestow upon humans: the freedom to
choose your divine destiny. Imagine your sense of anger when
you compare your position with those who took full advantage
of the opportunities given to them during those first critical
years on this earth.
Yes, those "astronomical days" is the time we spend here. They
are the span of our earthly lives. That span is short and often
painful. It passes away as swiftly as the wind. If we waste it, our
losses are astronomical. It will take countless ages and eons to
regain them. The spacecraft we are offered—our freedom to
choose our divine destiny—is precious beyond anyone's imagi-
nation. But we only have it for a short while. If we fail to take
advantage of it here, then we have to walk all the way to our
destination for ages and ages to come. Faced with that possi-
bility, would any reasonable person take a chance?
How amazing, how incredible! The enormity of the losses that
can come from a little negligence! Who is willing to face that
loss?
In terms of distance, all the efforts we make for our physical
comfort count only as an inch—that is how little they will ulti-
mately count. What about the efforts we make for finding the
purpose of our lives and choosing our destiny? They can be
measured only in light years. That is the magnitude of its colos-
sal significance and consequence. In human language, there is no
word to describe it. Human imagination is powerless to conceive
it. Every other choice has limited consequence, except this one.
The consequences of this choice endure for all eternity. What
more needs to be said?
Seize, O friends, the chance which this Day offereth you,
and deprive not yourselves…of His grace.62 Bahá’u’lláh

8Chapter 3: Choosing Your Destiny

9To every thing there is a season, and a time to every pur-
pose under the heaven…a time to plant, and a time to pluck
up that which is planted… Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
Behold, now is the day of salvation! II Corinthians 6:2
Free thyself from the veils of idle fancies and enter into My
court, that thou mayest be fit for everlasting life and worthy
to meet Me.63 Bahá’u’lláh
As to those that have tasted of the fruit of man’s earthly
existence, which is the recognition of the one true God,
exalted be His glory, their life hereafter is such as We are
unable to describe. The knowledge thereof is with God,
alone, the Lord of all worlds.64 Bahá’u’lláh
Seize the time, therefore, ere the glory of the divine spring-
time hath spent itself…This is My counsel unto thee and
unto the beloved of God. Whosoever wisheth, let him turn
thereunto; whosoever wisheth, let him turn away.65
Bahá’u’lláh

1writer, the director, and the actor. I am given one chance to make
only one movie. Let it then be my best—one that will win many
Oscars. This is the movie I will see millions of times for all
eternity. This is the movie that will determine my everlasting
destiny. I will regret seeing its flaws and rejoice witnessing its
pleasant scenes, where I have manifested love toward others
and demonstrated wisdom in my decisions. I will be the best
critic of my movie while I have a chance, before my precious
days have come to an end, before I have seen these words on
the screen: The End!
Every life that comes to an end is a book of lessons and warn-

2critical lesson I can learn from each finished book is this: Do
not let the world—its glamour—distract your attention from
your goal: knowing and loving God and expressing that love to
others. Let your book of life be as pure and radiant as the light.
Let there be no ill-feelings toward others. Let the pages of your
life be filled with service.
Every day speak to your soul and say: I do not like to face and
feel the shame that comes from seeing blank pages in the book
of my life. My joy, my glory, and my honor will come from
witnessing these jewels on the crown of my everlasting life:
• Knowing, loving, and trusting God.
• Possessing a pure, radiant heart.
• Being generous.
• Serving others to the point of self-sacrifice.
• Being detached from everything and everyone except

1err, and confuse the course of your path. Isaiah 3: 7, 17 AB
Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack
of a shepherd. My anger burns against the shepherds, and
I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care

1“the Knowledge of God”
This topic is presented specifically for the believers of all faiths
who depend on their religious leaders for spiritual guidance. If
they face a new path to knowledge, they rush to their rabbi,
priest, pastor, or mulla to tell them what to do.
This chapter shows that depending on one’s religious leaders for
spiritual guidance is unwise and unjustified. Religious wars have
been waged in all ages by believers who have blindly followed
what their trusted leaders told them. In this advanced age of
knowledge, spiritual slavery is still an epidemic disease with
grave consequences.
If you are an independent thinker, you will not benefit from this
chapter. Its contents will, however, help you gain more insight
into something you already know.
Ours is the age of the decline of faith:
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the
earth? Christ (Luke 18:8 NIV)
The vitality of men’s belief in God is dying out in every
land…66 Bahá’u’lláh
It is essential to explore the reasons behind the rapid decline of
faith during the last two centuries. To find a remedy, we must

260 The Knowledge of God

3first discover the cause. Unless we detect the source of the disease,
there is little if any hope for recovery. Let us therefore get to the
root of this epidemic disease.
Who are in charge of the spiritual life of people? Who must guide
them and strengthen their faith? Who, but religious leaders? Are
they not paid for this very reason? They hold much power within
their grasp. They are assumed and expected to be saintly beyond
reproach. They are also assumed to be experts in the knowledge
of their sacred Scriptures. They reign in their synagogues,
churches, or mosques like kings. They enjoy the respect of their
followers and are regarded by them as their guiding stars to
heaven—the paradise of everlasting joy and peace—rather than
to the never-ending fire. Who would question such guiding star?
Despite their enormous influence in the affairs of the world—
socio-economic, political, and spiritual—seldom have they been
scrutinized. Seldom if ever have they been placed on trial. Let
us do exactly what others have failed to do. The failure to do so
is extremely costly to the spiritual welfare of all peoples and
nations. Unless countless millions of believers are liberated from
spiritual slavery, the world cannot find peace.
What is the first and foremost role of religious leaders? It is to
serve as models of virtues. By their noble deeds they must
demonstrate the transforming powers of faith. They must show
how faith can elevate the spiritual life of their followers.
They should be shining examples of self-sacrifice and love
for peoples of all faiths. They should also be open to new
knowledge, to scientific discoveries, no matter where they may
lead them.
Have they lived up to these standards? Have they respected
scientific discoveries that could undermine their dogmatic
thinking and beliefs? Have they also spread good-will among
nations, especially between their followers and those of other
faiths?

4Chapter 4: Religious Leaders

5Unfortunately, most of them have failed to live up to any one of
these standards. In fact, they have set an opposite example.
Instead of crowning the spiritual life of mankind with honor,
they have inflicted shame on this most glorious gift that heaven
may bestow on humans.
In this age of science and enlightenment, they still take the
metaphoric story of Adam and Eve literally! They still insist
that God made Eve out of a rib removed from Adam! They are
still refusing to look into the telescope—as they did during the
time of Galileo and Copernicus—to witness the awesome design
of creation both in the universe without and the universe within—
the spiritual design of creation. They have failed to acknowledge
the divine origin of all the great religions. Instead of promoting
unity and finding harmony between their faith and other faiths,
they have tried to find and exaggerate minor differences. They
have been a divisive force in the destiny of mankind.
It is evident that religious leaders are not identical. Some of
them shine as brightly as the stars of heaven. Such leaders, who
are a small minority, deserve the highest praise:
Know ye that they are the lamps of guidance unto them that
are in the heavens and on the earth.67 Bahá’u’lláh

6Those divines [religious leaders]…who are truly adorned
with the ornament of knowledge and of a goodly character
are, verily, as a head to the body of the world, and as eyes
to the nations.68 Bahá’u’lláh

7Unfortunately, the majority of religious leaders fail to live up to
expected standards. Among those I have known, seldom have I
found one who is open to new ideas, no matter how reasonable.
Seldom have I found one who would reject the concept of “ex-
clusive salvation” (“we are the only ones saved!”) a doctrine
that has fueled religious prejudice in all ages.
The very Scriptures that these leaders preach, predict their mis-
leading role in this crowded and confusing age:

862 The Knowledge of God

9In that day…O My people, your leaders will cause you to
err, and confuse the course of your path. Isaiah 3: 7, 17 AB

10Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack
of a shepherd. My anger burns against the shepherds, and
I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock… Zechariah 10:2-3 NIV

11For the time will come when men will not put up with sound
doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what their
itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away
from the truth and turn aside to myths. II Timothy 4:3-4 NIV
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last
will be first. Christ (Matt. 19:30 NIV)
Note what Jesus said to the religious leaders of His age:
How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law
…Hypocrites! For you won’t let others to enter the King-
dom of Heaven, and you won’t go in yourselves.
Christ (Matt. 23:13 NLT)

12Woe to you, blind guides!…Woe to you, teachers of the
[Mosaic] law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the
outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed
and self-indulgence. Matthew 23: 16, 17, 25 NIV

13You study the scriptures diligently, supposing that…you
have eternal life, yet although their testimony points to me,
you refuse to come to me for that life.
Christ (John 5:39-40 NEB)
What about the religious leaders of Jewish Faith?
My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.
It is all your fault, you priests, for you yourselves refuse to
know me…The more priests there are, the more they sin
against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the
disgrace of idols. Hosea 4:6-7 NLT

14Chapter 4: Religious Leaders

15What do Islamic Scriptures say about the religious leaders of our
time? Here is one reference quoted widely in Islamic resources
and also by Bahá’u’lláh:
The religious leaders of that age will be the most evil
beneath the shadow of heaven. Mischief from them will
proceed and unto them shall it return.69
Religious leaders should have been the first to acknowledge the
divine origin of great Messengers. Have they fulfilled this role?
Once again, they have played just the opposite role:
Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their
people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, in-
asmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty
grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want
of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of
the deprivation of the people.70 Bahá’u’lláh
The door to the knowledge of God is open to everyone:
Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man
can shut it… Christ (Rev. 3:8)
Religious leaders have kept this door closed and pretend to have
the key.
The extreme and persistent prejudice and narrow-mindedness
displayed by those who should serve as models of true faith and
shining examples of love and tolerance has been the prime cause
of the decline of faith in our time—especially among the young
and educated. The demeanor of religious leaders has diminished
the honor of believing. If they are the best examples of true
faith, who would want to have faith?
The news of sexual scandals committed by some religious leaders
in the west, and the promotion of violence by others in the east,
have further stained the honor of being an example for those in
desperate need of an example. Instead of sending child abusers—
who have engaged in serious crimes—to prison, church officials
have simply transferred them to other cities to find new victims

1664 The Knowledge of God

17to abuse! Is this what religion is all about? Christian authorities
have paid billions of dollars in lawsuits in several countries.
When we went to school, we were graded. Grades gave us an
objective assessment. Let us now grade the religious leaders to see
more objectively where they stand. Please feel free to disagree
with any grade assigned here to them. Minor disagreements can
be expected, but they will not change the total picture. If you
strongly disagree with any grade, please let me know your reason.
Perhaps we can reach a consensus concerning this critical issue.

1of various religions —
2. Serving as shining examples of nobil-
ity for others—for both believers and
nonbelievers.
—
3. Promoting unity between denomina-
tions within their own religion —
4. Using reason and evidence as the
standard of truth rather than tradition —
5. Respecting scientific studies —
6. Preventing division of religion into
denominations and sects —
7. Emphasizing spiritual values over

2Chapter 4: Religious Leaders

1nation of prejudice —
9. Helping the poor +
10. Influencing the law-makers to reduce
taxes for the poor and middle classes —
11. Serving as peace-makers among na-
tions —
12. Preventing religious wars and violence —
13. Welcoming and acknowledging the
new Messengers from God —
Total Score +1 —
These grades demonstrate the extremely negative impact that
religious leaders have had on the spiritual health of the world.
Their grades are the opposite of what they should be.
Suppose you wanted to fly and you discovered that your pilot
had received failing grades 12 out of 13 times. Would you board
his plane and allow him to take you to your destination? Suppose
you were a principal and wanted to employ a teacher. Would
you offer that job to a candidate with a grade point average of
“-12”? Why then do billions of people, without knowing, leave
their spiritual life and destiny in the hands of incompetent and
unqualified teachers? As long as believers depend on their reli-
gious leaders, the world will remain in darkness. War, violence,
conflict, prejudice, and misery will continue to afflict the world.
The time has come to liberate mankind from spiritual slavery.
How long will the followers remain asleep?
Lift up thy head from slumber, for the Sun hath risen to
the zenith, haply it may shine upon thee with the light of

2What predictions have the Scriptures made about these leaders?
What does the very Bible they teach, declare about those in charge
of the spiritual destiny of mankind—the so-called “shepherds of
the flock”?
At that time…Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing
of the leaders of the flock, for the Lord is destroying
their pasture. Jeremiah 25:33, 36 NIV
Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders
of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you
will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. The shepherds
will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place
to escape. Jeremiah 25: 34-35 NIV
See also Ezekiel 34:10
The appointed time predicted by the Prophets has now come!
Should the believers continue to depend on these narrow-
minded leaders as their guides to heaven? The spiritual destiny
of mankind is too precious to be left in the hands of mostly
dogmatic thinkers who are centuries behind their time.
This book and its sequel are written to raise the status of faith
above the blind conformity promoted by most religious leaders
who have taken charge and presented themselves as the true
models of faith and as trustworthy custodians of truth. What do
these religious leaders have in common? Each of them is con-
vinced that only the believers on his side are worthy of God’s
“many mansions in heaven,” and that others are “unsaved and
lost” and therefore “fit for the fire!” This belief alone has alien-
ated millions of enlightened thinkers from God. It is like asking
GPS (global positioning system) for direction to a given destina-
tion and getting four or five opposite directions!
Do religious leaders have a monopoly over the truth? This book
and its sequel are written to show that they do not, and that there
is indeed a viable alternative. The facts presented in the next
volume—The Spiritual Design of Creation—demonstrate that
true faith can stand on both reason and scientific discoveries,

3harmony between faith and reason, and between the spiritual
teachings of all great religions.
It is my ardent wish that the facts presented in this book will
reignite the flame of faith in all lovers of truth, especially in
young and educated people who have been exposed to the fruits
of science and must face this painful choice: either deny their

1ing produce a crop. Christ (Luke 8:15 NIV)
Why don’t religious leaders gather together and resolve their
differences? Why have the peoples of the world remained spir-
itually divided, even hostile toward each other, for thousands of
years? Why can’t even Christian denominations come together
and work together? Because of this ingrained tradition and as-
sumption: the religion or the denomination of one’s parents is
the only one to accept and follow. This assumption is accepted
and faithfully followed by the followers of all religions and
denominations, and even by agnostics and atheists. Isn’t it
amazing that people build their spiritual life on a mere assump-
tion or tradition? Isn’t it amazing that instead of choosing, they
let chance determine their beliefs?
Suppose the line of your present beliefs can be traced to an
atheist or agnostic who lived a thousand years ago. Suppose one
day a Christian had told him to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior,
and he had said, “Yes.” Is there any reason for thinking that
your ancestor’s conversion to Christianity, a thousand years ago,
should determine what you should believe today? Suppose your
ancestor had said “No” to the Christian who invited him, and

2also follow that line, and then pass it to your descendents? Can
you think of any reason why your particular culture or parents
should forever determine your spiritual life?
We should honor our ancestors. But does this mean that we
should also put them in charge of our destiny? Should we let
them decide what we must believe today? No logical, scriptural,
or historical reason supports this tradition.
Most, perhaps all, of the obstacles to unity, peace, and harmony
can be traced to conformity. They can be traced to beliefs that
have been accepted, not as a result of independent and impartial
inquiry, but rather as a consequence of emotional attachment or
convenience—an unwillingness to take the time to investigate
the truth, to make an effort to gather the facts before making a
choice.
It is evident that prejudices arising from adherence to
religious forms and imitation of ancestral beliefs have
hindered the progress of humanity thousands of years.
How many wars and battles have been fought, how much
division, discord and hatred have been caused by this form
of prejudice!72 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
The age of dependency has passed; the time of maturity and in-
dependence has arrived:
He hath endowed every soul with the capacity to recognize
the signs of God. How could He, otherwise, have fulfilled
His testimony unto men…?73 Bahá’u’lláh

3I have perfected in every one of you My creation, so that
the excellence of My handiwork may be fully revealed unto
men. It follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and
will continue to be, able of himself to appreciate the Beauty
of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed with such
a capacity, how could he be called to account for his fail-
ure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the earth will be

4presence of God, be asked: "Wherefore hast thou disbe-
lieved in My Beauty and turned away from My Self," and if
such a man should reply and say: "Inasmuch as all men
have erred, and none hath been found willing to turn his
face to the Truth, I, too, following their example, have
grievously failed to recognize the Beauty of the Eternal,"
such a plea will, assuredly, be rejected. For the faith of no
man can be conditioned by any one except himself.74
Bahá’u’lláh

5Purge your sight, that ye may perceive its glory with your own
eyes, and depend not on the sight of any one except your self,
for God hath never burdened any soul beyond its power. Thus
hath it been sent down unto the Prophets and Messengers of
old, and been recorded in all the Scriptures.75 Bahá’u’lláh

6Darkness hath encompassed every land, O my God…I
beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to raise in every
city a new creation that shall turn towards Thee, and shall
remember Thee amidst Thy servants, and shall unfurl by
virtue of their utterances and wisdom the ensigns of Thy
victory, and shall detach themselves from all created
things.
Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. No God is there but
Thee, the Most Powerful, He Whose help is implored by

7to: info@TheKnowledgeofGod.com. Printed
copies of this book and the next volume—
The Spiritual Design of Creation—will soon
become available. Please check this Web-

1ing produce a crop. Christ (Luke 8:15 NIV)
Why don’t religious leaders gather together and resolve their
differences? Why have the peoples of the world remained spir-
itually divided, even hostile toward each other, for thousands of
years? Why can’t even Christian denominations come together
and work together? Because of this ingrained tradition and as-
sumption: the religion or the denomination of one’s parents is
the only one to accept and follow. This assumption is accepted
and faithfully followed by the followers of all religions and
denominations, and even by agnostics and atheists. Isn’t it
amazing that people build their spiritual life on a mere assump-
tion or tradition? Isn’t it amazing that instead of choosing, they
let chance determine their beliefs?
Suppose the line of your present beliefs can be traced to an
atheist or agnostic who lived a thousand years ago. Suppose one
day a Christian had told him to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior,
and he had said, “Yes.” Is there any reason for thinking that
your ancestor’s conversion to Christianity, a thousand years ago,
should determine what you should believe today? Suppose your
ancestor had said “No” to the Christian who invited him, and

2also follow that line, and then pass it to your descendents? Can
you think of any reason why your particular culture or parents
should forever determine your spiritual life?
We should honor our ancestors. But does this mean that we
should also put them in charge of our destiny? Should we let
them decide what we must believe today? No logical, scriptural,
or historical reason supports this tradition.
Most, perhaps all, of the obstacles to unity, peace, and harmony
can be traced to conformity. They can be traced to beliefs that
have been accepted, not as a result of independent and impartial
inquiry, but rather as a consequence of emotional attachment or
convenience—an unwillingness to take the time to investigate
the truth, to make an effort to gather the facts before making a
choice.
It is evident that prejudices arising from adherence to
religious forms and imitation of ancestral beliefs have
hindered the progress of humanity thousands of years.
How many wars and battles have been fought, how much
division, discord and hatred have been caused by this form
of prejudice!72 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
The age of dependency has passed; the time of maturity and in-
dependence has arrived:
He hath endowed every soul with the capacity to recognize
the signs of God. How could He, otherwise, have fulfilled
His testimony unto men…?73 Bahá’u’lláh

3I have perfected in every one of you My creation, so that
the excellence of My handiwork may be fully revealed unto
men. It follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and
will continue to be, able of himself to appreciate the Beauty
of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed with such
a capacity, how could he be called to account for his fail-
ure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the earth will be

4presence of God, be asked: "Wherefore hast thou disbe-
lieved in My Beauty and turned away from My Self," and if
such a man should reply and say: "Inasmuch as all men
have erred, and none hath been found willing to turn his
face to the Truth, I, too, following their example, have
grievously failed to recognize the Beauty of the Eternal,"
such a plea will, assuredly, be rejected. For the faith of no
man can be conditioned by any one except himself.74
Bahá’u’lláh

5Purge your sight, that ye may perceive its glory with your own
eyes, and depend not on the sight of any one except your self,
for God hath never burdened any soul beyond its power. Thus
hath it been sent down unto the Prophets and Messengers of
old, and been recorded in all the Scriptures.75 Bahá’u’lláh

6Darkness hath encompassed every land, O my God…I
beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to raise in every
city a new creation that shall turn towards Thee, and shall
remember Thee amidst Thy servants, and shall unfurl by
virtue of their utterances and wisdom the ensigns of Thy
victory, and shall detach themselves from all created
things.
Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. No God is there but
Thee, the Most Powerful, He Whose help is implored by

7to: info@TheKnowledgeofGod.com. Printed
copies of this book and the next volume—
The Spiritual Design of Creation—will soon
become available. Please check this Web-