Transcription of the Audio File "Faith"

The Audio File "Faith", by Mr. DEzhakam

In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Drawing strength from the Absolute Power, we begin today's session.
Hello friends, my name is Hossein. I am a traveler and the guardian of this session. I would like to ask the session secretary, Ms. Zahra, to read the summary of the previous session and announce today's agenda.
Hello friends, my name is Zahra. I am a traveler.
Today is the seventh session of the fourteenth term, with Mr. Dezhakam serving as both the guest speaker and the guardian, and myself, Zahra, as the secretary. Today's agenda is "Faith." The session officially began at 9:00 a.m.
Thank you.

Fortunately, our female travelers have been reaching liberation one after another. Just last week, we had Hayedeh, who used to come all the way from Semnan. For ten or twelve months, she would get on a bus in Semnan, travel here, attend the class, receive her OT, and then get back on the bus and head all the way to the terminal again. She reached liberation. Then Fatemeh reached liberation, then Mrs. Zarei, Parvaneh, Marzieh, another Fatemeh, and several others as well.
Right now, we also have several women who are in the final stages of their treatment, and any day now they will reach liberation too. So, as you can see, the female travelers' liberation rate has become truly outstanding. This is the result of the guides' consistent and dedicated efforts. They have been doing an excellent job.
Now, among all of them, there may be one or two cases that don't turn out well. That's completely natural, and there's nothing wrong with that. I've often used God Himself as an example. I say that even though God, the Almighty, created the noblest of all creations, some people are still born with congenital defects. That is simply part of His wisdom.

That's how the system works, and the same principle applies to people. We cannot expect everyone to come here and reach the desired level of awakening. Although the success rate is very, very high, there may still be an occasional exception. But overall, the results show that the group is functioning well.
This is the outcome of our system, our order, and our discipline. The stronger and more consistent our discipline is—when everything is in its proper place, everyone fulfills their responsibilities, and people show respect to those with greater experience and responsibility—the more successful we become and the more we accomplish. But the moment we drift away from that order, we begin moving toward decline and, eventually, complete collapse.
I truly believe that the level of discipline that must exist among the members of Congress 60 is especially important because many of us have lived with a particular illness. Some people still experience a great deal of instability in their thoughts and way of thinking. There is also a term people use—bipolar—meaning someone who constantly swings between two opposite poles.
In my opinion, the very first characteristic of a person who uses drugs is that they are bipolar. That's the first characteristic of an addicted person: they are bipolar. In other words, they live in two completely different states. When they're using drugs or taking their pills, they're one kind of person. When they're in withdrawal and can't get hold of what they need, they're someone entirely different. In that sense, they become two different personalities.

That is why the level of discipline among us must be a hundred times greater than in a university. It must be a hundred times stricter than in a military barracks. It must be a hundred times stronger than in a sports club. No matter what organization you compare it to, discipline in Congress 60 must be on a higher level if we want to achieve the results we are striving for.
An instruction should only need to be given once. It should not have to be repeated a second or third time. We simply do not have the time or the energy for that.
For example, if a guide tells a pupil to go on free fall for a week or even for three days, that instruction is given once—and it is the pupil's responsibility to carry it out. There is no second or third reminder, no arguing or bargaining over it.
These are the very principles that lead us to the results we seek.

But behind all of this, there is something deeper.
What is it that enables us to let go of our attachments? What is it that helps us set aside our personal desires? What gives us the strength to refrain from the very things we enjoy? Why do we choose not to do some of the things we want to do? Why are we willing to endure these hardships, devote our time to other members, and dedicate ourselves to serving other people?
What is it that lies behind all of this?
What is it that has created this strength within the guides and within all those who work tirelessly in Congress 60?

From a rational point of view—or at least what people think is rational—how could anyone measure or calculate something like this?
If you tried to explain it to most people in the world, they would laugh at you. Especially in Western or European countries, they would ask, "Why would someone devote so much of their time and energy to this? For what purpose?"
The only explanation is that there is a love behind it. It is that love which gives rise to this movement and keeps it alive. And where does that love come from? It springs from faith. It is a belief, a conviction, that sets all of this in motion.
We have said that faith is the manifestation of God's light within a human being. But what does that really mean? It's easy enough to say, "the manifestation of God's light within a human being," but what is the true meaning of those words? What reality do they point to? What do they actually tell us?

Isn't it true that we all believe God has breathed His spirit into us? Or that each of us is a part of the existence of the Almighty?
Does the Almighty expect anything in return for everything He has done for humanity—for all the blessings He has bestowed and for bringing the universe into existence?
His expectations are not great. He is like the sun, shining His light on everyone without distinction. He never thinks about taking that light back, nor does He wish to reclaim it.
When we say that a person becomes the manifestation of God's light, it means that God's qualities begin to appear within that person. It means the attributes of God are reflected in a human being.
So when we say that faith is the manifestation of God's light within a human being, we mean that the attributes of God are manifested in that person.
God is forgiving; therefore, a person with faith is forgiving.
God is the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful; therefore, a person with faith is compassionate and merciful.
God is loving; therefore, a person with faith is loving.
God is All-Powerful and All-Knowing; therefore, those who possess faith become capable and empowered human beings.

Whichever attribute of God we consider, that same attribute reveals itself in a person who has faith. In other words, it becomes manifest. So, when we say that faith is the manifestation of God's light within a human being, we mean that the attributes of God are manifested within that person.
All of God's attributes have been placed within every human being. The difference is that, in God, they are like an infinite ocean, while in us, they are like a single drop of water or a small vessel.
If God is All-Knowing, His knowledge is as vast as the oceans. But if a human being is knowledgeable, that knowledge is only the size of a bowl—or even a glass. The quality is the same; only the measure is different.
So, faith also means having belief. That was one definition, and this is another: faith means believing.
Believing in what?
We have opened this discussion before, and we talked about it in The Thirteenth Valley. Even so, we will continue talking about it, because there is still much more to be said.

Belief in oneself, belief in other people, in one's family, in human society, in life, in truth, in honesty, in righteousness, in kindness, in love—whatever it may be, a person must believe in something.
This is what faith is. This is how the system of the Almighty works. This is how the divine system works. This is how the universe itself is designed.
In the system of existence, the one who gives and remains in motion is like a clear, flowing river. Rivers are always moving. Their waters are pure and ever-flowing. The fields, the trees, and the gardens all draw water from them. They become the source of life for people, plants, animals, and every part of creation. Yet the rivers never become depleted. Instead, their channels grow fuller, clearer, more transparent, stronger, and more powerful, precisely because they keep giving.
A person who does not give is like a stagnant pool, a reservoir, or a pond. They may even be like a lake—but they remain still, without movement.

When water becomes still and stagnant, it turns into sludge and sewage.
Faith is not merely about laying out a prayer mat and reciting prayers. That is only one part of it. Faith is something deeper—it is when you are willing to give from the very essence of your being.
Which one of us truly has the capacity to give from the essence of our being?
A person who has faith tries to offer all the goodness and beauty within themselves to other human beings. In other words, they are willing to give the essence of their being to others. That is what faith is.
And when a person gives from their essence, they become even more filled. This means that someone who gives from the essence of their being has faith, has love, and their inner vessel is already full—and the more they give, the fuller it becomes.
In existence, it is impossible to be someone who only takes and never gives.
No one can claim, “I have faith, I have love,” but at the same time say, “I cannot give from my essence, I cannot give from my wealth, I am afraid to give, I will not give.” Such a person does not truly have faith—even if they pray a thousand rak’ahs all night long or perform the highest forms of worship.
Worship is nothing but service to creation; it is not about prayer beads, prayer mats, or cloaks.
Now look at yourselves—who among you truly has faith? Who is willing to give from the essence of their being, from their wealth?
Once a year, for example on the day of guides, people may work a lot, and then with hesitation and embarrassment, out of politeness or pressure, they might bring even two thousand tomans to give to their guide.
And I do not even want to focus on money here. I am not saying this to encourage anyone to give money to guides—no, guides are not about money at all.
The point is: what does a human being actually do in response to faith?
If a person does not give—from their essence, from their wealth—their condition gradually worsens. When they do not give, their state becomes more and more troubled.

A friend once said to me that, in his view, the root of all illnesses is lack of faith. From schizophrenia to every type of cancer—colon cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer, heart disease—he believed the root of all of them lies in this absence of faith.
In other words, such a person becomes someone who wants everything only for himself and for his own family. If there is a beautiful red apple, he wants it for himself or for his family. And if there are two apples that are already rotten, he will take the rotten ones and say, “Since these are spoiled, I will give them to my friend—in the name of God, so to speak.” In other words, he offers what is left over, what has no value: “the spilled oil is offered as a vow for Shah Cheragh.”
All of this is under the shadow of true faith.
A person who has faith—we are speaking here about practical faith, not theoretical faith. It is not about merely knowing many concepts intellectually. Rather, it is faith that enters the stage of action. After all, the command of God comes down to two things: word and action.
When a person with faith enters the realm of action, everything changes. But in words, yes—in words we may claim that our faith is the highest of all. We say we believe in God, we go to Mecca, we accept the Imams, we go for pilgrimages—all of these are in their place, and all are excellent.
But ask yourself: do you love the Imams, the Prophet, Imam Ali, and God because you want them to give you something in return? Is that the kind of faith we have?

In the morning, before leaving the house, we recite Ayat al-Kursi and blow over ourselves, hoping it will protect us. When someone becomes ill, we place the Quran over their head so that they may recover. If another person falls sick, we spend a large amount of money on medicine and treatment. We may even lay out an expensive ritual spread worth seven, eight, or ten thousand tomans, hoping it will make them well.
We go on Hajj in order to increase our wealth, and from there we bring back a few videos or television sets.
So this too is a form of religiosity, and this too is a kind of faith.
But it is a one-sided faith—a type of belief in which the human being always expects everything to come back toward them. In other words, it becomes a transaction: I give five units, and the Imams and great figures are supposed to return one hundred units to me.
It is like money in a bank. When you deposit your savings in Saderat Bank or Melli Bank, a short-term deposit might give you around seven percent interest. That means if you deposit one thousand tomans, after one year you receive seventy tomans as profit. So after one year, your one thousand tomans becomes one thousand and seventy.

So how is your faith, then?
Sometimes our faith is like this: we want to deposit seventy tomans and receive one thousand in return. We want to deposit seventy tomans and get seventy thousand. We want to deposit seventy tomans and receive seven hundred thousand. These are the kinds of expectations we all enjoy.
If we look within ourselves—if we pay attention to the hidden layers of our minds—we realize that this is exactly what we desire. And at the same time, we imagine ourselves to be very faithful people. But in reality, all we want is for everything to come back to us.
Even if we assume our belief is completely firm and one hundred percent certain, sometimes we still say, “No, maybe this is true or maybe it is not.” But let us assume, for the sake of argument, that everything is absolutely true and sincere. We still consider ourselves very faithful people.
But this is not faith. This is business.
It is like running a shop—you are selling something, but at the same time you are extremely expensive in return. You give one toman, but when someone gives you one toman, you do not give them one toman’s worth of goods. They must give you a thousand tomans so that you give them one toman’s worth in return.
This is a kind of marketplace mentality, a kind of shopkeeping.
And when we continue on this negative path, day by day, we will lose everything we have.

To some extent, we do have faith. We move forward, we make progress, and God helps us. He supports us well. We reach a stage where even if we touch ashes, they turn into gold. I have seen this among the members, and I have seen it in myself as well. We reach a point where most of our paths open up and life becomes easier.
But then we become ungrateful. We fail to give thanks. We deviate from the straight path.
And once we leave the straight path, the system shifts into reverse. At that point, you reach a stage where even if you touch gold, it turns into ashes. The warmth is lost; the natural quality changes.
Something that is naturally cold loses its coldness in the sense of its proper function—it no longer behaves as it should. Or something that is naturally warm, like certain foods, loses its beneficial warmth and becomes something else in effect.
Dates, for example, are considered very warm in nature, but when the body’s system is out of balance, even dates—which are warm by nature—no longer have that effect. Garlic is also warm, but it may lose its proper function depending on the system. Or something like lavashak, which is considered cold in nature—or perhaps warm depending on its type—its properties can also reverse.

Those who have faith become ill less often. They believe, they accept, and they truly trust in God. They place their reliance on Him. But those who do not have faith do not truly rely on anything. They think they are relying, but in reality they are not—even for five seconds they are not capable of real trust.
This system is the system of creation. I hope that one day we will truly understand it.
You must love in order to be loved. You must give in order to receive.
You cannot reap what you have not sown.
One of the great misfortunes of human beings is that they want to harvest without planting anything. They have sown no seed, yet they expect a harvest. But you must plant something first.
And whatever you plant, you will harvest the same.
If you plant something bitter, you will harvest bitterness. If you plant poison, you will harvest poison. Whatever you sow, that is exactly what you will reap.
And if you plant nothing at all, then you will certainly harvest nothing.
You may own a field—ten thousand hectares, five hectares, twenty hectares—but if you do not plant anything in it, you will harvest nothing. Meanwhile, your neighbor plants, and from a single seed he harvests seventy.
You plant a walnut tree: you place a single walnut in the ground, wait seven, eight, or ten years, and then it begins to produce. After that, it may give you five thousand, four thousand, ten thousand, even fifty thousand walnuts a year.
But the one who plants nothing has nothing. At most, only weeds and thorns grow on his land.

Well, you didn’t plant anything—so what exactly are you going to harvest?
Some people say, “Everything I have is mine.” Others use a local expression: “māl-e khodam be hambuneh”—meaning everything I have is my own and goes into my own pouch. Hambuneh refers to an old leather bag that people used to carry money and valuables in.
So for them, everything belongs in their own pouch. But when it comes to other people, they say, “What belongs to others is under the teeth”—meaning we consume it, we take it for ourselves. Everything I have is hidden and kept for me, but whatever belongs to others is something to be eaten or taken.
Unless you plant, you cannot harvest.

Faith belongs to the one who sows. But there is a very important and sensitive point here—this system is not what people usually think it is.
The system is not a kind of magic trick. Yes, if you plant something like beets, turnips, or radishes, you will harvest the same. But when it comes to the field of faith, if you sow expecting a direct, calculated return—like treating it as a transaction—it does not work that way.
For example, if I give ten tomans expecting that I will receive one hundred tomans in return, this is not how the system responds. If you do something only for pride or to show off, it does not work. If you do it to promote yourself, it does not work.
It must be unconditional. Only if it is given without expecting anything in return does it begin to work.
In other words, when you give from the essence of your being—from your thoughts, your mind, your understanding, your wealth, and anything you have—in order to bring happiness to others, to put a smile on people’s faces, to solve their problems and help solve them, then if you give without expecting anything back, only then does it produce its result.
That is when it gives you its true outcome.

Do you understand what I mean?
In other words, you perform service, but you do not expect anything in return. That is when planting actually produces a result. But if you try to “plant” love in a way that you are expecting a return from it, there is a hidden issue in this matter—it does not work like magic. It does not respond that way.
That is why it is called unconditional love.
A person who has faith is someone who acts without expecting anything in return. If there is no expectation, then results appear. And those who truly have faith reach a state of inner security. They live in peace and safety; they are not worried even for a single day.
This idea has been beautifully expressed by Rumi in one of his stories. I have mentioned it to you before as well.
There was once a cow living in a vast field. Every morning it would wake up, and the pasture was full of fresh grass. From morning until night it would eat comfortably and happily.
But at night, when it was time to sleep, it would start thinking: “What if tomorrow I wake up and there is no grass left? What if the wind has carried it away? What if a flood has destroyed it? What if it doesn’t work out—what will I do then?”
From night until morning it would worry. By morning, it would become thin and weak from anxiety. Then the next morning it would see that the grass was still there, so it would eat again all day and become fat again.
And again at night, it would start worrying until morning. And this was its life for forty years.

Without meaning any disrespect, sometimes that cow is actually us. Everything is available, everything is prepared, everything is provided. We are using it, we are benefiting from it, we are taking from it—and yet at night we start worrying again: “What if tomorrow something happens? What will I do then?” And then the next day comes, and the same cycle repeats.
We may live forty years in this cycle of suffering and anxiety.
But a person who has faith knows that there is also wisdom, there is a system, there is trust, there is contentment, and there is surrender. They do their work. They say, “God is generous. For now, it is here, and we are benefiting from it. If it is not there tomorrow, we will go elsewhere.” For them, provision still exists in another form.
As it is said:
“If God closes a door through His wisdom,
He opens another through His mercy.”

So those who do not have faith, those who do not have belief—well, I am not even speaking here specifically in terms of God. The fundamental truth is that a human being must believe in God. Whoever has belief will be in a completely different state.
By “God,” I mean the Absolute Power—call it whatever you want. You may call it Ahura Mazda, you may call it Allah, you may call it God—any name you choose. Names are not important. But what matters is that some form of belief exists.
Do you believe? Do you believe in existence itself? Do you believe in a system where you are in comfort while others are in suffering? Do you accept that? Or do you not even accept that?
So those who have faith are not like that cow. Those who do not have faith are like that cow, who has everything available and uses everything, but still lives with doubt and uncertainty. And that doubt and uncertainty eventually reveals itself in different forms.
And how does it show itself? It appears as all kinds of illnesses—breast cancer, colon cancer, brain cancer, and many other diseases. Because such a person has no support, no belief, no ideal, no foundation.
They are like someone drowning in the sea, floating without any stability, with no foothold and no anchor.
As a result, it manifests as various forms of physical and psychological illness, and eventually they reach a point where they try to solve everything only through medication.

My dear, all of this is within you. It is all part of who you are—your own thoughts and the way you think. It is your thoughts and your worldview that create these conditions.
You can change your perspective. You can simply change the angle of the camera. If you keep walking into the same wall a hundred times, then change your direction. Look at things differently.
Ask yourself: What have I done? What have I done for the very system that has been helping me?
Every once in a while, sit down and think about it. All of you—take some time to reflect.
I'm not even talking about money. If you don't have it, then you don't have it. We pray that God blesses you with abundance. And if you are truly struggling, come and tell us—we will help you. That's not the issue.
The real question is: What have you done? In return for all the services you have received, what have you contributed? What step have you taken?
For example, would you be willing to spend ten thousand tomans to provide a meal for others?
I remember seeing one of you once—I won't mention any names. He had bought chicken for the members. He spent seventy thousand tomans on it, even though his own financial situation was extremely difficult. He simply said, "Come on, everyone, eat."
I asked him, "Why did you buy so much?"
He replied, "Let everyone eat. I don't want there to be too little."
That takes courage. It takes a generous heart to spend seventy thousand tomans on chicken and sincerely say, "Let everyone eat," without a second thought or any hesitation.
That is one step.
Now ask yourselves: What steps have the rest of you taken?

You keep taking out your money, counting it, and putting it back again. When the time comes to do something worthwhile, you do nothing.
But you have to do something. You have to plant something if you expect to harvest. If you never sow, you will never reap. Then, when difficulties come, you wonder why.
Sometimes, even the good things we do are mixed with self-interest. That reminds me of the story I told you before about "انا شریک !" meaning I am a partner."
It is connected to the people of Yazd. Now, let me say first that the people of Yazd are wonderful people, and I truly like them. In fact, if you go to Yazd, you hardly ever see theft. People don't put steering-wheel locks on their cars. They leave their bicycles unlocked. Stealing bicycles, motorcycles, car stereos, or cars is simply not part of the culture there. It is almost unheard of.
They are very careful and thoughtful people, and at the same time, they are remarkably generous.
Of course, the people of Yazd also enjoy making jokes about themselves.
One joke goes like this:
A Yazdi father said to his son, "Son, whenever you walk down the street, keep your head down."
The son was a young man, and he asked, "Why, Father? What's the benefit of that?"
His father replied, "First, if you keep your head down, the collar of your shirt won't rub against your neck as much, so your shirt will last longer."
"Second, with your eyes on the ground, if anything valuable has fallen there, you'll be the first one to spot it."
"And third, people will say, 'What a well-behaved, humble young man!'"
That's the joke.
But in reality, they are good people, and in their city these kinds of crimes simply don't happen. Everyone is attentive and mindful.

They would ride their bicycles, carrying a small notebook and a pen. In those days—and things have changed a bit now—they used little notebooks, very much like the pupil notebooks we use in Congress 60 today, along with a small pen.
Suppose they wanted to buy two kilos of oranges. Before making the purchase, they would first visit two or three different shops to compare the prices. Then, when they finally chose a shop, they would ask, "How much are the oranges per kilo?"
They would write down the price of the oranges, then the potatoes, and every other item they bought. After that, they would add everything up themselves and say, "All right, the total comes to this much."
Most of us are different. We buy two kilos of this or five kilos of that, and then simply ask, "How much do I owe you?" The shopkeeper says, "Nine thousand five hundred tomans," and we pay it. Whether it should have been seven thousand five hundred, eight thousand five hundred, or nine thousand five hundred, we usually don't even check.
There is a story people tell about some Yazdis who had gone on the pilgrimage to Mecca many years ago.
At lunchtime, they would prepare a meal together. Each person would buy a small amount of meat—perhaps two or five seers—bring it along, put it into a large pot, cook it together, and then everyone would share the meal.
One day, while their pot was cooking, an Arab man came by. Earlier, he had caught a mouse out in the desert. He asked, "What's going on here?"
They replied, "Everyone has brought a piece of meat so we can cook a meal together."
Without saying another word, the man threw his mouse into the pot and said,
"!انا شریک" meaning "I'm a partner too."

Sometimes, the problem is not simply that we fail to serve. Sometimes our role in the system is "أنا شریک!"
In other words, we offer no service. We don't help with the cooking. We don't wash the dishes. We don't participate in any of the work. We don't contribute financially. And then, to make matters worse, we throw a mouse into the pot so that the entire stew is spoiled and no one else can enjoy it.
Sometimes that's exactly how people behave.
I'm speaking in general terms here. I don't have any particular person in mind. Please don't think I'm referring to anyone specifically. Whenever I say something like this, some people immediately think, "Mr. Dezhakam is talking about me."
But as the old saying goes, "When you raise the stick, the dog and the thief each know why."
I'm speaking about the system as a whole. These recordings are distributed to all the male travelers throughout Congress 60. I'm certainly not talking about any particular person or group.
When I speak, I usually speak in general principles. At the same time, if someone recognizes a weakness in themselves through these words, then that's exactly what they should do—they should reflect on it and think deeply about it.
There may be hundreds, even thousands, of people who have the same problem. By listening to this recording, they may recognize it within themselves and begin to correct it.
So the question is: Which group do we belong to?
Are we among those who are always throwing the mouse into the pot? Is that our pattern in every area of life?
Perhaps you're a mother-in-law. Instead of helping your son and daughter-in-law, instead of showing them love and support, all you do is interfere and create problems between them.
Or perhaps you're a sister-in-law. Rather than contributing anything positive, you end up disrupting their lives.
Or perhaps you're the daughter-in-law, creating one problem after another.

Or perhaps you're in a workplace. You're an employee there, but instead of helping your colleagues, you create conflict among them. You stir up disagreements and create one problem after another.
These people exist too. So ask yourself: Which one are you?
Are you the one who throws the mouse into the pot and says, "أنا شریک!"—"I'm a partner too"?
Then there is another type of person. This one may not actively create problems, but neither do they contribute anything. They don't help financially, nor do they serve in any other way. Whether with their pen, their forgiveness, their money, or whatever they are capable of giving, they offer nothing. They don't respond to the system in any way.
That person is simply someone who has never planted anything.
But the one who throws the mouse into the pot gradually pays a much heavier price. Such a person slowly develops the worst kinds of illnesses—cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases over time—because they have no inner peace.
There is an old story about a man who said to someone, "I'll grab you by the ear and drag you all the way around the world."
The other man replied, "Do you think you can do that without coming along yourself?"
If you're holding someone's ear and dragging them around the world, you have to make the whole journey with them.
The same is true in life.
When you want to wound someone with poisonous words, hurt their feelings, or fill them with resentment and hatred, you first have to create all of those destructive feelings within yourself. You cannot upset another person while remaining perfectly happy yourself.
As you hurt someone else, you are putting tremendous pressure on your own mind and soul. You have to carry that burden yourself. It is just like the story of dragging someone around the world by the ear—you have to go with them.
That is why people whose thoughts are never balanced, who are not at peace and do not live in harmony, end up causing tremendous harm to themselves.

If you want to give warmth to someone, you must first have warmth within yourself. You warm them with your own warmth. If you want to give coldness, you must first possess coldness yourself. If you want to give money, you must first have money to give.
The same is true of hatred and resentment. If you want to give hatred, you must first carry that hatred within yourself. It is like holding a burning piece of hot coal in your own hand while trying to throw it at someone else. Before it reaches them, it burns you.
That is why such people gradually become afflicted with all kinds of illnesses. Perhaps this condition is less severe than the previous one, but it still brings harm.
On the other hand, people who have faith, who truly believe, who trust in God, and who have gradually come to understand the laws of existence, live by the saying:
"Do good and cast it into the Tigris; God will return it to you in the desert."
You do a good deed. You take pieces of bread and feed the fish. Why does God repay you in the desert? Because every good deed is a seed that has been planted.
If only you knew the joy of doing good for others—of wishing them well, of giving from the very essence of your being, of bringing happiness into their lives, of putting a smile on their faces—you would understand what an extraordinary transaction this is.
It is the kind of transaction in which you give one and receive a hundred—indeed, far more than a hundred. And at the same time, you live in peace, tranquility, and inner harmony.
One day, we must reach this understanding. Once we do, we will be eager to do good in every aspect of our lives. We will strive to be the first to serve, because in the end, all of it comes back to us—to our families and to our lives.
Unfortunately, most of us have not yet understood this. We have not truly grasped it.
I hope each of you will spend some time reflecting on these ideas. Think about your own place in life. Think about your own actions. Reconsider the path you are on.

Sometimes, another person wants to do a good deed, and we end up standing in the way.
There is something I personally like to do, even though some people may think it's foolish. You know those people struggling with addiction who stand at intersections, collecting money or cleaning car windows? I usually give them a generous amount—two, three, or five tomans, or whatever I have with me.
People say to me, "Mr. Dezhakam, he'll just use it to buy drugs."
I tell them, "Let him. At least he'll find a little relief. After all, there was a time when we ourselves were using drugs. We know what that life is like."
Sometimes interesting things happen.
Once, Amin and I were driving through Shadabad when we stopped at a traffic light. One of these drug users came over and started cleaning the windshield. He was standing on the other side of the car, so I called him over to my side.
He probably thought I was going to lecture him. With my beard, I must have looked like one of those religious elders. He came over, I rolled down the window, handed him some money, and he looked at me and said, "You're a real tough guy, Hajji. You've got a big heart."
Honestly, hearing those few words gave me more joy than if someone had handed me two million tomans.
What I wanted was simply to make his day a little easier. Think about it—he has to stand there for hours, collecting a hundred tomans from one person, fifty from another. He's going through withdrawal. He's suffering. If I can give him enough so he can move on with his day, then I do.
And, God willing, perhaps one day the door will open for him as well.
We shouldn't say, "Don't give him anything because he'll buy drugs." We know what withdrawal feels like. We've experienced that pain ourselves. We know how unbearable it can be.
Of course, one day he should seek recovery, and, God willing, he will. But right now he is in withdrawal. Help him today, and perhaps tomorrow the time will come when destiny opens the way for his recovery.

One day, a man struggling with addiction stole a crate of oranges so he could sell it and buy drugs. People caught him and beat him so badly that they left him bruised and battered.
Sometimes, all a person needs is a little help.
When the moment comes to help someone, you shouldn't overthink it. You simply help. You serve. And when you do that, your own heart remains at peace.
Even today, I still remember what that man at the traffic light said to me. It wasn't really an insult. It was simply the language he knew, the way he expressed his appreciation according to his own culture, his own feelings, and his own way of speaking.
That was his way of saying, "Thank you."
It made me laugh. Amin laughed too. And now all of you are laughing as well.
So this is how these things work. Do what you can. Serve others. Never stand back and say, "Let me get well first. Once I'm better, once some money comes in, once I receive what I'm expecting, then I'll make a contribution."

One day, someone said to me, "Mr. Dezhakam, once I recover, I'm going to sign a major business contract with companies overseas—in Dubai and elsewhere. I'll make a great deal of money, and then I'll bring a large donation to Congress 60."
I said, "Let me tell you a story." I may have told it before, but perhaps some of you haven't heard it.
There was once a man who was owed one hundred tomans. Time after time he went to collect his money, saying, "Sir, please pay me the one hundred tomans you owe me."
Each time the debtor replied, "I don't have it."
This went on for two or three years.
Finally, one day the creditor came back again and said, "Please pay me my one hundred tomans."
The man replied, "Don't worry. I've come up with a plan."
The creditor asked, "What plan?"
He said, "I've collected some seeds from those thorny desert bushes. When the season comes, I'm going to scatter them all over the desert."
"So then what?" the creditor asked.
"Well," he replied, "the thorn bushes will grow. Throughout the year, flocks of sheep will pass by, and their wool will get caught on the thorns. Later, I'll go out with a few workers and my children, gather all that wool from the bushes, wash it, spin it into yarn, dye it, have it woven into carpets, sell the carpets... and then I'll pay you your one hundred tomans!"
The creditor burst out laughing.
The debtor asked, "Why are you laughing?"
"Ah, I see—you've already got your money! That's why you're laughing!"

We see this kind of thing a lot in Congress 60 as well. People come and say, "Once this business deal goes through... once I sell this property... once the legal dispute over my land is settled... God willing, I'll receive the money, and then I'll make a donation to Congress 60."
And I tell them the same story.
I say, "Believe me, you may be saying this today, but once you recover, you'll say, 'I did it myself.'"
During the first journey, a pupil says to their guide, "Guide, you are like a king to me. You're everything. You saved my life." But once they recover and some time passes, they begin to say, "No, it was all my own doing."
This is simply human nature.
As the Quran says:
"Indeed, man is ungrateful to his Lord."
“Except for those who believe, do righteous deeds, encourage one another to uphold the truth, and encourage one another to patience and compassion.”

I've shared these thoughts with you today so that you will reflect on them and truly understand what faith means.
Faith is not simply a rosary, a prayer rug, or a dervish's cloak. Faith is the manifestation of God's light within a human being. And the manifestation of God's light means that His noble attributes become visible in us and reveal themselves through our thoughts, our words, and our actions.
I hope every one of you succeeds on this path.
Think more deeply, and put more into practice.
The more you learn to appreciate God's creation, the more you yourself will grow. I truly enjoyed what happened in Sunday's gathering, when we took the time to express our appreciation for one another. The truth is, we were never taught how to do that. We simply don't know how to thank people or express genuine gratitude.
But now that we are learning, we can see how beautiful it is, how uplifting it feels, and how much happiness it brings when we sincerely appreciate one another. Imagine a daughter thanking her mother, her sister, or someone who has helped her. Such a simple act is deeply meaningful and incredibly beautiful.
We can create a world among ourselves that is filled with faith, love, wisdom, and compassion—a world where we support one another and lift each other up.
Perhaps in Congress 60 we cannot always help each other financially, but we can always help through our thoughts, our understanding, our encouragement, and the comfort we offer one another.
The closer we move toward the true path—the Straight Path—the clearer the sign becomes: your state of being grows better and better. Day by day, you experience greater peace and happiness. But the farther you drift from that path, the more your inner state declines.
So do your best to remain on the path and stay true to the journey.

Know that the closer you come to the Straight Path, the clearer the sign will be: your state of being becomes lighter, happier, and more peaceful, and this feeling continues to grow within you. On the other hand, the farther you drift from this path, the more your inner state begins to deteriorate. So do your best to remain on this path at all times. Thank you all for your attention, and thank you for listening.

Translated by: Companion Marjan

7/7/2026