THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH STEPS: Upright, enlightened intellects and sound, illuminated hearts

 

 

Then the extremely inquisitive and ardent traveler, who has already learned from the tongues and dispositions of various species and nations that belong to the visible realm, expresses the desire to travel through the realm of the Unseen and the Intermediate Realm in further pursuit of the truth. And so there opens before them a door that leads to the world of upright and enlightened intellects and of sound and illuminated hearts, which are like the seeds of humankind, the fruit of the universe, and which can expand to embrace virtually the whole of the universe, despite their small size. The traveler looks and sees that these intellects and hearts form a link between the Unseen and visible realms, and that the contacts and exchanges between these two realms which relate to humankind occur at this point. Addressing their reason and heart, the traveler says: “Come, the path leading to the truth through the gate of these counterparts of yours is shorter. We should benefit from studying the qualities, natures, and colors that belief has given them, in a manner different from that which we have employed in learning through the tongues which pertain to previous paths.”

Beginning this study, the traveler sees that the belief and firm conviction concerning Divine Unity which all upright and enlightened intellects possess and display throughout their lives is, despite their varying capacities and their different and sometimes opposing methods and outlooks, in complete accordance; the traveler sees that their constant and ever-confident certainty and assurance are as one. This means that they are holding fast to a single, unchanging truth: their roots have penetrated deeply into this truth and cannot be pulled out. As a result, their agreement concerning belief and the necessary Existence and Unity of God is like a luminous, unbreakable chain, a brightly lit window that opens onto the truth.

The traveler also sees that the rapturous spiritual discoveries and visions of all these sound and illuminated hearts concerning the pillars of belief are, despite their different spiritual paths, in correspondence with one another, and that they are in absolute agreement on Divine Unity. All of these illuminated hearts, each of which is an embodiment of truth, a small throne of knowledge of God and a comprehensive mirror that is held up to the Eternally Besought One, are like windows that open onto the sun of the truth. Taken together, they are a supreme mirror, like an ocean that reflects the sun. Their agreement and unanimity concerning the necessary Existence and Unity of God is an unfailing and most perfect guide, a most elevated master. For it is in no way possible or conceivable that any false assumption or erroneous belief should be able to delude or deceive so many sharp, truth-seeing eyes at the same time. Not even the foolish sophists, who denied the existence of the universe, could agree with the corrupt and dissipated intellect that deemed such a thing possible. Understanding all of this, our traveler says with their heart and intellect: “I have come to believe in God.”

In a brief reference to the knowledge of belief which the traveler has learned from upright intellects and illuminated hearts, in The Twelfth and Thirteenth Steps of The First Station it was said:

There is no deity but God, the Necessarily Existent, Whose Necessary Existence in His Unity is demonstrated clearly by the unanimous agreement of all upright, enlightened intellects, with their congruent creeds, their convictions and corresponding certainties, despite their differences in capacity and outlook. His Necessary Existence in His Unity is also demonstrated by the agreement of all sound, illuminated hearts, with their mutually supporting discoveries and their congruent observations and visions, despite their varying paths and methods.

Said Nursi