Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 405
3 May 1908 405 I have also had occasion to meet and talk with such peo- ple who take the course of recognizing and identifying the Creator from [looking at] the creation and I have also tested this method myself, but beware that this approach is not satis- factory, it is incomplete. Through this approach one can never achieve such true cognizance and perfect conviction which can impact his practical life and conduct. At the most, one is convinced that there should be a God, but there is a world of difference between ‘there should be’ and ‘there is’. Perfect Cognizance The purpose of my discourse is to say that only such cognizance can be of benefit which can bring about a change in a person. If a person claims that he has eyesight and has the ability to see but provides no proof with this claim, and runs into walls as soon as he stands up, is his claim worthy of being accepted? Most certainly not! The excellence of an attribute is what makes it useful. It is axiomatic that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thus, to search for perfect cognizance is a requisite and this can only be attained by following the path that the Prophets introduced to the world. One kind of an atheist is he who denies the existence of the Creator altogether and this group has existed from the earli- est of times. Nevertheless, I say that even if it is assumed that there is no such person in the world, still every such individual who does not have perfect cognizance of God is also an atheist. Until one attains perfect cognizance there is nothing. Just as one grain of food cannot satisfy hunger and one drop of water cannot quench thirst, dry faith—unaccompanied by perfect cognizance together with all its essentials—cannot provide