"The Tablet of the True Seeker"

[arthra]

“The Tablet of the True Seeker” was revealed by Baha’u’llah in the 19th century:

“O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this Day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the Divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error.”

Read more at

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-125.html

A Calligraphic rendering of the Tablet of the True Seeker:

 

[Cino]

I like that calligraphy! Slows the reader down, and by turning over and playing with the orientation of the text blocks, conveys a puzzle-solving, seeking around the corners mood. Very nice!

Is calligraphy a thing for Baha'is? If so, is it always in Arabic?

 

[Ahanu]

Is calligraphy a thing for Baha'is? If so, is it always in Arabic?

I think this is Persian calligraphy, but Art is welcome to correct me if I am wrong. See blog posts about the artist here and here. An excerpt from one of the blog posts has some historical tidbits about Persian calligraphy:

"A little about the origin of persian calligraphy: In the era of Islam, when the new revelation came to humanity, the Words of the Quran were the spiritual force that inspired many creative works of art. Many people began transcribing the Quranic verses with the most beautiful writing available, as their gesture of devotion to this new Faith. During this time, Iran was under the authority of Sassanid Dynasty. At the spread of Islam into Iran along with its new forms of science and art, Iranians too shared the development of the art of calligraphy, and created a new style to be uniquely Iranian, which is now known as Nastalíq. It was a style created by the fusion of Naskh and T’aliq. Nastalíq became a thing that not only excited artists but also the royal circle. In fact every king and their prince took it upon themselves to learn the art by the most distinguished masters in their time.

All the central figures in the Baha’i Faith also had masterful penmanship, which can be seen from the original tablets and letters. In fact the Bab’s exhortation to His followers was to not transcribe any of the verses of the Bayan unless it was done by the best of penmanships."

 

[arthra]

I like that calligraphy! Slows the reader down, and by turning over and playing with the orientation of the text blocks, conveys a puzzle-solving, seeking around the corners mood. Very nice! Is calligraphy a thing for Baha'is? If so, is it always in Arabic?

Here's an example from a Calligrapher Randall Deighton who I've personally met and admire for some years now:

http://randalldighton.webplus.net/protection_pentacle.pdf

There are several examples of his work!