“Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker’s heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being.”
— Baháʼu'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Íqán
Welcome to Lamp of Search, a media project led by Aaron JR Ferguson, and a place for spiritual, mystical, and philosophical explorations of the Baháʼí Faith. In this publication we invite contributions on a wide range of topics relevant to exploring the Baháʼí Revelation. This includes essays on Baháʼí perspectives, compilations and commentaries on quotes from the Writings, ‘provisional translations’ of the Arabic and Persian Writings of the Founders of the Baháʼí Faith, and much, much more.
The focus is on in-depth, unique, and thoughtful explorations of Baháʼí topics that strive to balance accessibility for those with less familiarity with the Baháʼí Faith, while also not holding back on diving into the immense and profound depths to be explored in the ‘Ocean’ of the Baháʼu’lláh’s Revelation.
Please note that this publication represents solely the views of the contributors, and is not an official Baháʼí perspective.
FAQ
What is the Baháʼí Faith?
The Baháʼí Faith is the worldwide community of believers in the unity of religion, followers of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, united in their efforts to bring about the unity of humanity and a peaceful world. Check out the official website of the worldwide Baháʼí community for more detail.
Who are the Founders of the Baháʼí Faith?
On May 22, 1844, a Persian youth of Shíráz, named Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad, but better known by His title the Báb (“the Gate”) declared the dawning of a new day and the inauguration of a new period in the religious history of humankind: the day of peace and unity had come, the age reconciliation of all religions and peoples had arrived, the time of the coming of the heavenly Kingdom on earth was at hand, the day of divine justice was here.
His movement attracted thousands across His land of Persia, igniting intense retribution from the religious and state authorities even as it sparked the profoundest devotion and self-sacrifice from His followers. In the course of His short ministry of just under 7 years, He wrote thousands of works unfolding the mysteries of past revelations, promulgating new ethics, and pursuing a wholly unique outlook on religious truth and history. After years of imprisonment and wide-scale persecution of His followers brought on by His audacious claims, the Báb was martyred in July of 1850, executed in front of 10,000 onlookers in Tabriz just a few months short of His 31st birthday.
In His Writings the Báb had announced the stunning claim that He was also the forerunner of a Messenger even greater than Himself, One destined to transform humanity’s spiritual life. Central to His mission was preparation for the imminent coming of the Supreme Manifestation of God who would usher in in full an age of peace and justice.
Bahá’u’lláh, meaning the “Glory of God”, is that Promised One foretold by the Báb and all of the Divine Messengers of the past. Bahá’u’lláh, a prominent Persian nobleman by birth, had become an early leading figure among the Bábi movement. After the martyrdom of the Báb, He experienced a profound messianic awakening akin to the experience of Moses at the Burning Bush, the enlightenment of the Buddha beneath the Bodhi Tree, or the first revelation received by Muhammad in the Cave of Ḥirá. From this point on, Bahá’u’lláh delivered an entirely new Revelation from God to humanity, spanning thousands of divine verses, major books, and countless letters (referred to as ‘Tablets’), divine discourses that ceaselessly flowed from His pen throughout His ministry. In His Writings, He outlined a framework for the development of a new global civilization, revealed countless new spiritual principles to guide humanity, and harmonized all aspects of spiritual and material dimensions of human life. For this, He endured 40 years of imprisonment, torture and exile. He ascended from this earthly life in 1892, having defined the Teachings, the Institutions that would arise after His ascent, and entrusting the leadership of His Cause to His son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Baháʼí Faith has since become a world-spanning Faith of adherents dedicated to bringing Bahá’u’lláh’s vision into reality.
What does it mean that the perspectives posted here are not ‘authoritative’ Baháʼí perspectives?
[coming soon]
Who are the contributors here? Are there clergy in the Baháʼí Faith?
[coming soon]
What does it mean for a translation to be “provisional”?
As the original languages of the Baháʼí Writings are Arabic and Persian, translation is of utmost importance for the accessibility of the Writings for speakers of other languages. ‘Provisional’ translations are those made purely by individual initiative for personal use, as compared to ‘authoritative’ translations produced by collaborations of experts in the original languages under the guidance of the Baháʼí World Centre. Check out the following post on provisional translations for more detail.
Why do you run this publication?
The process of writing is uniquely transformational for advancing understanding, and sharing the fruits of those understandings on profound topics has the potential to transform the lives of individuals and society around us. This depends on both the depth of investigation but also its accessibility, and the interface of these two relates to what is now often called ‘public’ or ‘open scholarship’. In the past, although great scholars have always transformed humanity in significant ways, ‘intellectual life’ remained rarified and inaccessible to the vast majority of humanity. In the age of the internet, tools such as Substack (this newsletter platform) provide some small and inspiring examples of new ways to invite communities to interact with the intellectual life and work of scholars. It opens accessible ways of relating to those, such as myself, who wish to commit to a type of intellectual life that isn’t separate, distinct, and aloof, but instead taps into the potential of understanding to fundamentally transform your way of living and meaningfully impact that of others.
This is something I consider essential for becoming a better scholar and motivates why I try to share explorations, meditations, and scholarly work here, in a public way. The analogy often used for this type of open and accessible relating is ‘working with the garage door open’ (the image of a creator or tinkerer putting things together in their workshop but that signals invitation to join in or stop by to observe). Hence it is not just a space for ‘polished’ finished products that might otherwise be suitable for a publication or a book, but also includes rough and provisional works in progress. To see the intellectual process unfold, which is instructive in its own way.
Why Substack?
Substack allows for a model of sponsorship for the intellectual work of scholars, work that many benefit from, but that rarely gets directly supported monetarily. The process of supporting this kind of work in your profession life is harrowing and becoming increasingly difficult, but the depth of thought is no less needed. Where most internet services have shifted to a toxic advertisement-based revenue model, many ‘Substacks’ run off a subscription model where supporters can directly contribute to a creator’s works through a monthly or yearly subscription.
How can I support your work?
The majority of content here is freely available and will remain so. Starting at the end of 2025 I’ve begun adding special content for paid subscribers only. The purpose of the subscription is twofold
to make accessible lengthy, in-depth content to a select audience of those with a unique and focused interest in learning about special topics
this includes edited recordings from seminars, occasional podcasts or related
to share WIP projects and provisional scholarly resources to a small community who wish to see these projects progress further and have a hand in their development
this includes lengthy provisional compilations, early draft manuscripts, and special scholarly resources such as philosophical dictionaries of Persian and Arabic concepts in the Writings.
Despite now adding a subscription, I remain committed to making the vast majority of what’s shared here freely accessible. For those who don’t wish to or cannot contribute as a paid subscriber there are other ways to support my scholarly work. Some of the material needs of research, writing, and supporting the time spent in creating work to share here could be meaningfully supported in a few ways:
I have a public “wish list” of scholarly books that are critical for my intellectual pursuits that I haven’t gotten around to acquiring yet. There’s a wide diversity of topics (and prices!), but if you felt inclined to support my work, buying any one of these books would be a notable contribution.
You can refer me as a resource for those wishing to collaborate on intellectual projects related to the work shared here, including consulting on relevant topics or even offering paid services such as producing translations.
You can metaphorically ‘buy me a coffee’ through Ko-Fi, a peer-to-peer ‘tipping’ platform. Any contributions are appreciated and help sustain my work.
Can I get involved in creative work or writing for this publication?
Certainly! I am always open to proposals for ways to contribute to this publication. One way might be to prepare an article as a guest contributor, although I am open to any and all suggestions from enthusiastic collaborators. One thing I’d like to accomplish in the future is audio and video content. Just send me an email or pitch an idea and we can figure it out.
