Document Type : Original Article
Author
Assistant Professor of Ahl al -Bayt International University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
The theory of epiphany serves as a crucial foundation for legitimizing religious‑spiritual leaders. Accordingly, the present article addresses the question of how this theory is interpreted within the Bahā’ī sect and within Sathya Sai Baba spirituality, and to what extent these two readings are tenable. The findings—derived through a library‑based study employing an analytical‑critical method—indicate that, although manifestation (maẓharīyyat) in Bahā’ī thought is regarded as a rank equivalent to the reality of prophethood, such that all previous prophets are viewed as divine manifestations and Bahā’u’llāh is deemed the most recent messenger in that sequence, and although in Sai Baba spirituality it is likewise asserted that he is one of the avatāras or epiphanies of Viṣṇu, fulfilling the role of a great savior who will appear in three distinct bodies, both interpretations ultimately posit a form of union and indwelling (ḥulūl) of a human individual with God. Yet indwelling is possible only for bodies and accidents, whereas God is neither body nor accident; moreover, the union of two essentially different entities is impossible, for the merger of realities whose difference is intrinsic and ineradicable is inconceivable and entails contradiction. In addition, in both systems the theory of epiphany is intertwined with the doctrine of reincarnation.
Keywords