th,
the Word of God, arises again, shines forth once more in the glory of its
power and disperses the enveloping darkness.

For a long time the divine precepts of the effulgent Word were obscured by
clouds of superstition and error until Baha'u'llah appeared upon the
horizon of humanity, rent the shadows, scattered the clouds and revealed
anew the foundations of the teachings of God.

The first teaching of Baha'u'llah is the duty incumbent upon all to
investigate reality. What does it mean to investigate reality? It means
that man must forget all hearsay and examine truth himself, for he does
not know whether statements he hears are in accordance with reality or
not. Wherever he finds truth or reality, he must hold to it, forsaking,
discarding all else; for outside of reality there is naught but
superstition and imagination. For example, during the days of Jesus Christ
the Jews were expecting the appearance of the Messiah, praying and
beseeching God day and night that the Promised One might appear. Why did
they reject Him when He did appear? They denied Him absolutely, refused to
believe in Him. There was no abuse and persecution which they did not heap
upon Him. They reviled Him with curses, placed a crown of thorns upon His
head, led Him through the streets in scorn and derision and finally
crucified Him. Why did they do this? Because they did not investigate the
truth or reality of Christ and were not able to recognize Him as the
Messiah of God. Had they investigated sincerely for themselves, they would
surely have believed in Him, respected Him and bowed before Him in
reverence. They would have considered His manifestation the greatest
bestowal upon mankind. They would have accepted Him as the very Savior of
man; but, alas, they were veiled, they held to imitations of ancestral
beliefs and hearsay and did not investigate the truth of Christ. They were
submerged in the sea of superstitions and were, therefore, deprived of
witnessing that glorious bounty; they were withheld from the fragrances or
breaths of the Holy Spirit and suffered in themselves the greatest
debasement and degradation.

Reality or truth is one, yet there are many religious beliefs,
denominations, creeds and differing opinions in the world today. Why
should these differences exist? Because they do not investigate and
examine the fundamental unity, which is one and unchangeable. If they seek
reality itself, they will agree and be united; for reali