radiance of the Day Star of Divine knowledge, they have
invariably summoned its peoples to embrace the light of God through such
means as best befitted the exigencies of the age in which they
appeared....(39)

It is not only the heart, but the mind, which must devote itself to this
process of discovery. Reason, Baha'u'llah asserts, is God's greatest gift
to the soul, "a sign of the revelation of ... the sovereign Lord."(40)
Only by freeing itself from inherited dogma, whether religious or
materialistic, can the mind take up an independent exploration of the
relationship between the Word of God and the experience of humankind. In
such a search, a major obstacle is prejudice: "Warn ... the beloved of the
one true God, not to view with too critical an eye the sayings and
writings of men. Let them rather approach such sayings and writings in a
spirit of open-mindedness and loving sympathy."(41)

THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD

What is common to all who are devoted to one or another of the world's
religious systems is the conviction that it is through the Divine
Revelation that the soul comes in touch with the world of God, and that it
is this relationship which gives real meaning to life. Some of the most
important passages in Baha'u'llah's writings are those which discuss at
length the nature and role of those who are the channels of this
Revelation, the Messengers or "Manifestations of God." A recurrent analogy
found in these passages is that of the physical sun. While the latter
shares certain characteristics of the other bodies in the solar system, it
differs from them in that it is, in itself, the source of the system's
light. The planets and moons reflect light whereas the sun emits it as an
attribute inseparable from its nature. The system revolves around this
focal point, each of its members influenced not only by its particular
composition, but by its relationship to the source of the system's
light.(42)

In the same way, Baha'u'llah asserts, the human personality which the
Manifestation of God shares with the rest of the race is differentiated
from others in a way that fits it to serve as the channel or vehicle for
the Revelation of God. Apparently contradictory references to this dual
station, attributed, for example, to Christ,(43) have been among the many
sources of religious confusion and dissension throughout history.
Baha'u'llah says on the subject:

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on th