What is truth? Who determines what is true? Bahá’ís believe it is the duty of the individual to investigate facts for themselves to determine the truth of a fact of reality. When you endeavour to search, to make your own decision about your spiritual beliefs, you actually set yourself free - from imitation, from falsehood, from fossilized traditions that do harm to humanity and continue the mistakes of the past. Most importantly, you set yourself free from the prison of prejudice, which all of us inherit from our traditions and our cultures and our upbringing. The primary goal of the independent, unfettered investigation of truth focuses on eradicating prejudice and freeing our hearts and minds from its corrosive impact.
The following are some of the Bahá’í teachings on the importance of Independent Investigation of Truth.
“The first principle of Bahá’u’lláh is independent investigation of truth, blind imitation the past will stunt the mind. But once every soul inquireth into truth, society will be freed from the darkness of continually repeating the past. Truth is one when it is independently investigated, it does not accept division. Therefore the independent investigation of truth will lead to the oneness of the world of humanity. Bahá’u’lláh continually urges man to free himself from the superstitions and traditions of the past and become an investigator of reality, for it will then be seen that God has revealed his light many times in order to illumine mankind in the path of evolution, in various countries and through many different prophets, masters and sages…” ('Abdu'l-Bahá —Divine Philosophy)
“God has given man the eye of investigation by which he may see and recognize truth. He has endowed man with ears that he may hear the message of reality and conferred upon him the gift of reason by which he may discover things for himself. This is his endowment and equipment for the investigation of reality. Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another’s ears nor comprehend with another’s brain. Each human creature has individual endowment, power and responsibility in the creative plan of God. Therefore depend upon your own reason and judgment and adhere to the outcome of your own investigation; otherwise you will be utterly submerged in the sea of ignorance and deprived of all the bounties of God. Turn to God, supplicate humbly at His threshold, seeking assistance and confirmation, that God may rend asunder the veils that obscure your vision. Then will your eyes be filled with illumination, face to face you will behold the reality of God and your heart become completely purified from the dross of ignorance, reflecting the glories and bounties of the Kingdom.” (Abdu’l-Bahá—Foundations of World Unity)
“Naturally human beings are continually discovering more and more about truth. God is infinite, so His truth is also infinite. Nevertheless, as human knowledge progresses there are certain truths that are clearly establish. Acceptance of such truths is not a surrender of freedom but is a free acceptance of things as they are. For example it is now clearly established by science that the earth moves round the sun, and not vice versa. Any human being is free to believe the contrary but to do so is not an assertion of freedom, it is an evidence of ignorance or foolishness. In the same way, to accept that Bahá’u’lláh’s claim to be a Manifestation of God is true is not a surrender of freedom but the acceptance of a conclusion that one has confirmed to one’s own satisfaction.” (Universal House of Justice)