ve deeply
into the Baha'i Teachings, believers are enjoined to maintain a keen
awareness that the Revelation of Baha'u'llah is the standard of truth
against which all other views and conclusions are to be measured. They are
urged to be modest about their accomplishments, and to bear in mind always
the statement of Baha'u'llah that:

The heart must needs therefore be cleansed from the idle sayings of men,
and sanctified from every earthly affection, so that it may discover the
hidden meaning of divine inspiration, and become the treasury of the
mysteries of divine knowledge.

(19 October 1993 to an individual believer) [50]

3.2 "Useful" Sciences

From the Writings of Baha'u'llah

51: "It is permissible to study sciences and arts, but such sciences as
are..."

It is permissible to study sciences and arts, but such sciences as are
useful and would redound to the progress and advancement of the people.
Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Wise.

("Tablets of Baha'u'llah Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas", p. 26) [51]

From the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha

52: "The individual should, prior to engaging in the study of any subject,
ask..."

The individual should, prior to engaging in the study of any subject, ask
himself what its uses are and what fruit and result will derive from it.
If it is a useful branch of knowledge, that is, if society will gain
important benefits from it, then he should certainly pursue it with all
his heart. If not, if it consists in empty, profitless debates and in a
vain concatenation of imaginings that lead to no result except acrimony,
why devote one's life to such useless hairsplittings and disputes.

("The Secret of Divine Civilization", p. 106) [52]

From Letters Written on Behalf of Shoghi Effendi

53: "The choice you have made for your course of study is surely most..."

The choice you have made for your course of study is surely most
interesting and will be of inestimable service in your work for the Cause.
Even though every branch of study will have some interest for a Baha'i who
is looking how the spirit of the Cause and of the the new age is awakening
the minds, yet a study of the condition of society will better show us the
needs of the world, hence the part that the Teachings can play in
satisfying them.

(5 January 1930 to an individual believer) [53]

54: "Philosophy, as you will study it and later teach it, is c