I have come to believe that all knowledge and understanding derives from a single Point, and that this Point is so complete, and yet so rarefied, that although it smacks us in the face at every moment, it remains unperceived. Bahá’u’lláh wrote:
Say: My creatures are even as the leaves of a tree. They proceed from the tree, and depend upon it for their existence, yet remain oblivious of their root and origin. We draw such similitudes for the sake of Our discerning servants that perchance they may transcend a mere plant-like level of existence and attain unto true maturity in this resistless and immovable Cause. Say: My creatures are even as the fish of the deep. Their life dependeth upon the water, and yet they remain unaware of that which, by the grace of an omniscient and omnipotent Lord, sustaineth their very existence. Indeed, their heedlessness is such that were they asked concerning the water and its properties, they would prove entirely ignorant. Thus do We set forth comparisons and similitudes, that perchance the people may turn unto Him Who is the Object of the adoration of the entire creation.1
I think the human mind cannot contain this Point, since there exist no human concepts concerning its nature. I also believe, however, that the soul can know it – and know it intimately – to the extent that you would recognize it without hesitation, no matter how strange its form or appearance. Such as He describes here:
Each and every thing, however small, would be to him a revelation, leading him to his Beloved, the Object of his quest. So great shall be the discernment of this seeker that he will discriminate between truth and falsehood even as he doth distinguish the sun from shadow. If in the uttermost corners of the East the sweet savours of God be wafted, he will assuredly recognize and inhale their fragrance, even though he be dwelling in the uttermost ends of the West. He will likewise clearly distinguish all the signs of God – His wondrous utterances, His great works, and mighty deeds – from the doings, words and ways of men, even as the jeweller who knoweth the gem from the stone, or the man who distinguisheth the spring from autumn and heat from cold. When the channel of the human soul is cleansed of all worldly and impeding attachments, it will unfailingly perceive the breath of the Beloved across immeasurable distances, and will, led by its perfume, attain and enter the City of Certitude.2
If this life is a place of color and form, then the Point of all knowledge is that Light which, through reflection off of various objects, bestows on the world those very colors. If all human knowledge and wisdom is like a wonderful, intricate tapestry, yet it only has beauty because of that Light shining upon it. If the tapestry were placed in a cave devoid of the Light, it would appear no different from the surrounding walls of stone.
Whenever a person has discovered this Light, the meaning and reality of the various colors is revealed; the entire spectrum makes sense, and is seen to relate back to its Origin. Nor can the color’s brilliance be confused with the objects which reflects it. It’s like in the Seven Valleys where He wrote:
It is clear to thine Eminence that all the variations which the wayfarer in the stages of his journey beholdeth in the realms of being, proceed from his own vision. We shall give an example of this, that its meaning may become fully clear: Consider the visible sun; although it shineth with one radiance upon all things, and at the behest of the King of Manifestation bestoweth light on all creation, yet in each place it becometh manifest and sheddeth its bounty according to the potentialities of that place.3
If the Sun is the origin of all colors and form, and if the world of creation is known only through Its Rays, then to adore the Sun is to find all knowledge wrapped up within it, like the many colors that exist in the spectrum of the Sun’s light. But as I said, the mind cannot do this, since it knows things only through color and form. The soul, on the other hand, is a thing of the Light itself – an emanation from that very Sun – so it can learn the language of Light, which then illumines all the possibilities of color.
This Light, this spiritual essence which dawns on reality through the Being of the Manifestations of God, reflects throughout time resulting in the creation of society and the generation of human understanding. To know Them is to know the origin of all things, and to disregard Them is to render the various wonders of the universe an impenetrable mystery.