Know thou that in the Bayan purification is regarded as the
most acceptable means for attaining nearness unto God and as the most meritorious
of all deeds. Thus purge thou thine ear that thou mayest hear no mention
besides God, and purge thine eye that it behold naught except God, and thy
conscience that it perceive naught other than God, and thy tongue that it
proclaim nothing but God, and thy hand to write naught but the words of God,
and thy knowledge that it comprehend naught except God, and thy heart that it
entertain no wish save God, and in like manner purge all thine acts and thy
pursuits that thou mayest be nurtured in the paradise of pure love, and
perchance mayest attain the presence of Him Whom God shall make manifest,
adorned with a purity which He highly cherisheth, and be sanctified from
whosoever hath turned away from Him and doth not support Him. Thus shalt thou
manifest a purity that shall profit thee.
- The Báb ('Selections from the
Writings of the Báb’)