The state in which one should be to seriously search for the
truth is the condition of the thirsty, burning soul desiring the water of life,
of the fish struggling to reach the sea, of the sufferer seeking for the true
doctor to obtain the divine cure, of the lost caravan endeavoring to find the
right road, of the lost and wandering ship striving to reach the shore of
salvation.
Therefore, the seeker must be endowed with certain
qualities. First of all, he must be just and severed from all else save God;
his heart must be entirely turned to the supreme horizon; he must be free from
the bondage of self and passion, for all these are obstacles. Furthermore, he
must be able to endure all hardships. He must be absolutely pure and
sanctified, and free from the love or the hatred of the inhabitants of the
world. Why? because the fact of his love for any person or thing might prevent
him from recognizing the truth in another, and, in the same way, hatred for
anything might be a hindrance in discerning truth. This is the condition of
seeking, and the seeker must have these qualities and
attributes. Until he reaches this condition, it is not possible for him to
attain to the Sun of Reality. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Some Answered Questions’)
