I first met Ostad Elahi on an autumn day in 1963 in Tehran (I am French and at the time had been living in Tehran for 5 years). It was in the spring of 1964 that I really became his student. At first, the gatherings did not take place on fixed dates or at regular intervals. Gradually, a group formed that would convene once, sometimes twice a week; occasionally larger gatherings were also held in which many people participated. These larger gatherings would usually form to commemorate religious celebrations. In addition to these gatherings, some people used to visit him on certain evenings. I prefer to mostly talk about those informal gatherings, for it was during those sessions that Ostad Elahi would convey the majority of his teachings.

At first, everything seemed very simple. His perspective was general: it was sufficient for us to understand the origin of our existence, which according to him was celestial in nature, and to discover our ultimate goal, which was to return to the Source. Only then would our earthly destiny situated between these two mysteries become clear, mysteries that he would help us to lucidly understand. In doing so, he used a method that one could call Socratic: he constantly reminded us that everything exists within ourselves and all that was needed was to search within to become aware of the knowledge that our soul had accumulated over time, for we had not just been born and it has been a long time that we have been going back and forth between the earth and the heavens. During this time, Ostad repeatedly encouraged us to be attentive to the Source. He also familiarized us with the concept of respecting the rights of others and the harmful consequences that arise from violating these rights.

Until that time, I used to think of myself as a responsible person, but in reality I didn't know how to assess my behaviour. . . . The points that I would discover during each visit, together with each layer that he would unveil of the infallible cohesion of the divine order, would completely exhilarate me. At the same time, the awakening of my conscience and the understanding that Ostad Elahi had given us of the workings of the other world had induced within me both a sense of heightened awareness and a fear of God. I would ask myself, 'What if I don't succeed?' Sometimes, I would become entangled in spiritual traps and feel a sense of anxiety. Unlike the past, I was no longer unaware and could not live as I used to. Then, at the next gathering I would find Ostad speaking, perhaps in jest, about the benefits of being blissfully unaware. For example, he would allude to the fact that when we are ignorant about something we are truly carefree. . . . He would always remind us that divine tests are in proportion to a person's capacity, and that the key to success in passing these tests is sincere faith. Needless to say, the impact of his words and presence would stir up such a sense of elation and euphoria in the soul that all obstacles would disappear.

It was in this manner that I took my first steps in learning spirituality, at the outset through observation and then through experience. I could see that he was awakening within me an enormous sense of enthusiasm and nostalgia for the advancement of my soul as well as the desire to improve my behaviour and myself. The truth is that the pull of his attractive and penetrating personality induced a powerful sense of spiritual motivation within me. However, this exalted personality was not apparent to everyone: he would reveal his spiritual power only to those whom he wanted, and the key to this was having a pure faith. One would have to acquire faith to realize certainty.

I would try to visit him on a regular basis, and neither the cold of winter nor the warmth of summer would stop me. During these visits, the students would sometimes recount the significant events that had occurred that day and he would offer advice and guidance. At other times, someone would pose a question, and he would always reply with great benevolence. From time to time he would make recommendations, praise a person's strengths and good actions, or allude to a person's weak points or mistakes with the utmost kindness and tenderness. In short, without being overbearing, he was constantly seeking to rectify our actions, behaviors, and intentions so that we could acquire self-knowledge and become cognizant of the extent of our abilities.

Ostad Elahi would mostly illustrate the points he sought us to understand either through anecdotes and events relating to the lives of prominent spiritual personalities, or through his own personal experiences and dreams. These illustrations were used to set the stage for teaching us about the structure and purpose of creation, or about some specific points relating to lessons that we needed to learn.

The atmosphere of the gatherings was at once intimate, profound, and reassuring. It was reassuring in the sense that we always found an answer to our questions and a solution to our problems. Ostad Elahi wouldn't allow any confusion to remain, and that which he said was very easy for me to understand. At first, I was unaware of the complexity of the subjects that Ostad was teaching us about in such simple language. Later I realized that he was simplifying these subjects to such an extent that they would become accessible to my level of understanding.

His penetrating and compassionate eyes, his radiating and benevolent smile, and his open and cordial laughter would inwardly move our souls. Ostad had an interesting sense of humor. His words were always directed to the soul, and he was thoroughly familiar with its language and rationale. In short, he was the gateway through which I established a connection with the Source.

Through Ostad's teachings, I understood the workings of the universe. He brought together all the scattered pieces and incongruous elements and put them in their proper place. At the same time, he responded to the myriad whys that emerged in relation to my life and the world and explained them all. He replaced confusion and chaos with internal clarity. Above all, in doing so he used terms and concepts that I had deliberately excluded from my thought and vocabulary prior to meeting him, terms such as God, good, evil, reward, and resignation. He took all those notions that were loaded with religious and antiquated meanings and breathed new life into them, making them tangible and relevant to today's world. He made it such that we could concretely realize how inseparable these concepts were from our inner work. For us, these notions had turned into empty shells devoid of any substance. Ostad Elahi provided us with the opportunity to rediscover their true meaning and to place each piece in its correct place in the immense puzzle of the cosmos.

In conclusion, I should also say that the important qualities that distinguish these teachings are their coherence and directness. The coherence of these teachings becomes clear when we consider them in their entirety; not only are there no contradictions, but we also find that no element can be isolated from the others as they are all interrelated. As for the lack of an intermediary to receive these teachings, it was miraculous, for Ostad Elahi himself would directly influence the hearts and minds of those whom he instructed.