Sifter of Dust.org is devoted to helping people explore the Baha’i Faith and the teachings of its Founder, Baha’u’llah. We sponsor content on this site to assist people in their own exploration of the truths of this astonishingly beautiful religion. Our attitude is that of open sharing with our fellow human beings a Faith that has become so meaningful and significant to us. We seek to do that in a fair minded and balanced way, leaving every person the opportunity to make their own decisions as to its truth.
Sifter of Dust.org was named after a marvelous story Baha’u’llah told that illustrates the nature of humanity’s search for truth, a fundamental element of who we are as human beings. In the story, a young man, in love with a woman who symbolically represents truth, was sifting the dust looking for her, at which time someone asked him what he was looking for. He said “I look for Layli my beloved”, to which the questioner replied, “but Layli is of pure spirit, why do you look for her in the dust?”. The lover replied that he is so desperate to find her that he looks for her everywhere. Baha’u’llah then commented that, although it was inappropriate to look for spiritual truths in the dust, the ardour of the young lover was a spirit we all should adopt.
The story is a parable and illustrates how we all search for truth, our beloved, everywhere, including in the dust. As this website is for people searching to find answers, as we all are, it seemed appropriate to name it after this parable.
Sifter of Dust.org is an effort of Pennsylvania-based Baha’is. All content on this website should be regarded as the opinions and thoughts of individual Baha’is reflecting on their faith. Everyone is also encouraged to explore the content on the official Baha’i websites-
Sifter of Dust is always looking to broaden and diversify our content and are actively recruiting presenters and discussants for our Tea House podcast, and to develop on-line Ruhi programs. Our focus is on helping people navigate the Baha’i teachings and understand the Baha’i Writings, with a focus on providing content with high informational value. If you have skills and interest in presenting Baha’i content for the general public, please feel free to email us at sifterofdust.org@gmail.com.