Why search for truth? Many scientists search for scientific truth, and it is not uncommon for people to be motivated by a desire to seek truth for truth's sake alone. Indeed, this is a noble ideal. However, to Gandhi and to many Bahá'ís, the quest for truth is more than an end in itself. The belief held by Gandhi and the Bahá'ís, that Truth is divine, adds a mystical or spiritual dimension to the quest for truth.
Explaining why we must search for truth, Gandhi writes,
If we had attained the full vision of Truth, we would no longer be mere seekers, but would have become one with God, for Truth is God. But being only seekers, we prosecute our quest, and are conscious of our imperfection.[17]
No search is possible without some workable assumptions. If we grant nothing, we find nothing. Ever since its commencement, the world, the wise and the foolish included, has proceeded upon the assumption that if we are, God is, and that if God is not, we are notGandhi also felt that devotion to Truth and a commitment to seeking it are prerequisites to further personal development:The very search for Truth becomes interesting and worthwhile, because of this belief. But search for Truth is search for God. Truth is God. God is, because Truth is. We embark upon the search, because we believe that there is Truth and that it can be found by diligent search and meticulous observance of the well-known and well-tried rules of search. There is no record in history of the failure of such search. Even the atheists who have pretended to disbelieve in God have believed in Truth. The trick they have performed is that of giving God another, not a new, name. His names are legion. Truth is the crown of them all.[18]
Devotion to Truth is the sole justification for our existence. All our activities should be centered in truth. Truth should be the very breath of our life. When once this stage in the pilgrim's progress is reached, all other rules of correct living will come without effort and obedience to them will be instinctive. But without Truth it is impossible to observe any principles or rules in life.[19]
The idea that the search for truth is a tool for spiritual enlightenment can also be found in the Bahá'í writings:
O thou seeker of the True One! If thou wishest the divine knowledge and recognition, purify thy heart from all beside God, be wholly attracted to the ideal, beloved One; search for and choose Him and apply thyself to rational and authoritative arguments. For arguments are a guide to the path and by this the heart will be turned unto the Sun of Truth. And when the heart is turned unto the Sun, then the eye will be opened and will recognize the Sun through the Sun itself. [20]Bahá'ís believe it is an individual's sacred duty to seek out truth. The quest for truth moreover acquires a romantic or mystical quality when people regard the search for Truth to be identical with the search for God.[21] Bahá'u'lláh gives a glimpse of the burning passion which can accompany such search:
The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God. Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the world. On this journey the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every country he looketh for the Beloved. He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One.[22]