Crimson Ark; the Ark of God
Editorial introduction
No wind can shake it, no sea can drown it, no rock can shatter it: Bahá’u’lláh describes an Ark that crosses both land and sea, whose captain is the Will of God and whose passengers are the people of Bahá. To speak of a community as an ark is to say something about belonging that other images leave out. One does not build it or steer it; one recognises it, embarks, and holds on through the storm, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes the Covenant itself that vessel of salvation, with a Navigator who must be followed. Who, then, is aboard? Whoever has recognised God in this day, whoever has caught the fragrance of the verses, and those who stand firm even if no other assured soul remains on earth. Patience, forbearance and service turn a place on deck into a responsibility. First Peter reads Noah’s ark through baptism and the resurrection of Christ [1], a reminder that an ark has carried different meanings for different communities. The voyage continues into firmness in the Covenant, the high station of the true believer, and the wider workings of symbolism in sacred speech.
This is not a ship that can be shaken by the winds, or drowned by the seas, or shattered by the rocks. By God! This is the Ark of God that traverseth both land and sea, whose captain is the Will of the All-Merciful, and whose passengers are the people of Baha in all creation. Exalted be God, its Maker and Creator, the All-Wise, the All-Informed.
For the world of existence is like unto an ocean and the essence of the Covenant is the Ark of Salvation leading to the realm on high.
O thou who hast inhaled the fragrance of the gardens!
If thou art among the people of the Ark upon the sea of grandeur, then follow the Navigator of these vessels that sail forth, plunging into the heart of the seas, coursing through the depths of mysteries.
Stand thou firm in the Cause in such wise that, though all in the heavens and on the earth should war against thee, and there be upon the earth no assured one save thyself, thou wouldst arise of thine own self for the Cause. This is God's command unto thee; and His command encompasseth all worlds. Embark thou upon the Crimson Ark in My Most High, Most Exalted Name; then sail upon the sea of majesty, that thou mayest be numbered among the people of Baha in the Mother Book.
If I were to hesitate or change direction at the sight of every danger, the Ark of the Cause of God would surely fail to reach its destination.
Although the tempest and the hurricane were intense and violent, yet, praise be to God, the Ark of Salvation reached the heaven of security, while protected and guarded.
Thus doth the Most Exalted Pen proclaim: Rejoice, O people of faithfulness, for the Crimson Ark hath sailed upon the ocean of Names, and the people of Baha have embarked thereon by the leave of God, the Almighty, the All-Compelling, the Self-Subsisting.
The ocean of oneness hath surged, and the Ark hath sailed, and the fragrance of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, hath been wafted.
Enter, O people of Baha, into the Crimson Ark, then board it in My Name, the Most Exalted, the Most High.
Today, whosoever hath attained unto the recognition of God is recorded in the Divine Book as one of the people of the Crimson Ark.
They who have inhaled the fragrance of the verses when the Dawning-Place of clear proofs appeared, they are the companions of the Crimson Ark before God, the Lord of what was and what shall be.
Let all who attain in this day to what hath streamed from the Most Exalted Pen be numbered among the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark. Otherwise these sight-deprived servants and ears polluted with vain imaginings are not, nor ever shall be, worthy to witness and hearken.
He is of the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark whom We mentioned in the Qayyumu'l-Asma' from God, the Lord of existence.
These are they who are the companions of the Crimson Ark, as recorded by the Most Exalted Pen in the Qayyumu'l-Asma'.
Glory and praise be upon the people of the Crimson Ark, mention of which was revealed in the Qayyumu'l-Asma' before God, the One, the Chosen One.
And they who have turned towards it are among the people of the Crimson Ark, whom God hath mentioned in the Qayyumu'l-Asma.
Verily such a one is of the companions of the Crimson Ark which hath been mentioned in the Qayyumu'l-Asma' by God, the Fashioner of earth and heaven.
These are they who are among the companions of the Crimson Ark, whose mention flowed from the Supreme Pen in the Qayyumu'l-Asma'.
I beseech Thee, O King of Kings and Merciful to the servants, by Thy Name before which all names bow down in adoration, and by the light of Thy countenance before which all on earth and in heaven humble themselves, and by the Crimson Ark which Thou didst ordain especially for the people of Baha in the Qayyumu'l-Asma', to assist me in Thy remembrance and praise and enable me to do what befitteth Thy days.
I beseech Thee by Thy Most Great Signs and by the Crimson Ark to assist me to serve Thy loved ones among Thy servants.
Today a spiritual messenger brought from the garden of inner meanings these words: "Whosoever is victorious through patience and forbearance in times of hardship and adversity, he is of the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark.
Others have succeeded in hearing the rustling of the Divine Lote Tree and the shrill voice of the Supreme Pen, and have arisen to serve the Cause in such wise that God Himself bears witness: these are the people of the Crimson Ark whose names have been inscribed by the Supreme Pen in the Crimson Book.
The glory from Us be upon the people of Baha who have held fast to the Crimson Ark and whom the censure of every denier and deceiver hath not kept from the Path.
O people of Baha! Be not grieved by what hath befallen you in creation. By God! Ye are the companions of the Crimson Ark.
We were walking in the house and hearing the tale of the earth when suddenly a call was raised from the Most Exalted Paradise: "O people of Baha who are settled upon the Crimson Ark! Rejoice and be glad at the arrival of His Honor, the Trusted One, at a manifest station and mighty prison in the path of God, the Lord of the worlds."
Convey My greetings to thy family and to those who have held fast to the Crimson Ark. Then illumine them with the lights that have shone forth and appeared from this manifest horizon.
We beseech God not to deprive the people of Baha from the Crimson Ark.
I beseech Him, exalted be He, to make me one of the companions of the Crimson Ark which hath adorned the sea of grandeur when He came Who illumined thereby the Most Exalted Horizon.
I beseech Thee by the ocean of Thy verses and by the Ark which Thou hast ordained for the people of Thy Baha, to open before my face the door of Thy bounty and to ordain for me that which shall profit me through Thy Name amidst Thy creation.
We make mention of those who turned to God when the ocean of utterance appeared with manifest waves, and We guide them to the Ark which We have fashioned with the hands of Our power that dominates all who are in the heavens and on earth. Hold fast unto it, O people of Baha, and follow not every heedless and remote one.
O people of the Crimson Ark! Hearken unto the call of your Lord, the Most Glorious, from this Most Sublime Horizon: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Single, the All-Informed.
Through Him was opened the gate of mysteries, and the trees did speak, and the Herald called out from every direction: "O denizens of the highest Paradise and the most exalted Garden! The eyes of the people of the Crimson Ark have been gladdened by the establishment of the Glory upon the throne of faithfulness.
Blessed are the people of Baha who have settled themselves upon the Crimson Ark through this Name that encompasseth all the worlds.
Glory be upon the people of Baha who have embarked upon the Crimson Ark in the name of God, the Cleaver of the Heaven, and who are among those possessed of certitude.
Verily the glory be upon the people of Baha who are established upon the Crimson Ark through the name of God, the Possessor of Names.
By God! They are in a state of joy and delight, and they are servants who have embarked upon the Crimson Ark in My Most Great Name and have detached themselves from the world.
Verily the glory be upon the people of Baha who have held fast unto the Crimson Ark and drawn nigh unto God, the One, the All-Informed.
He is of the people of the paradise of My knowledge and the companions of My Ark, which the All-Merciful hath mentioned in His perspicuous Book.
However high the waves of tests may rise, they shall not reach the passengers of the Ark of the Covenant. This is the Ship of Salvation, this is the Tree of Life.
O My sea! Hast thou beheld the people of the Crimson Ark, whose mention hath flowed from the Pen of God, the Most High?
The people of Baha are souls who are seated and mentioned in the Crimson Ark and the Luminous Book.
Such a one is among the companions of the Crimson Ark which hath been mentioned and recorded by the Most Exalted Pen in the Book of Names.
These are they who are truly of the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark which God hath mentioned in His perspicuous Book.
He is of the people of the Crimson Ark, whose name hath been mentioned in the Book of God, the Lord of all beings and the Lord of the hereafter and the former times.
Happy is he who witnessed the great words and happy is he who speaks what God commands him to speak. Verily, he is among the people of the Crimson Ark in a clear Book.
Such a one is numbered among the companions of the Crimson Ark, as attested by the Lord of Names and Creator of the heavens in this blessed, mighty and wondrous Tablet.
Such a one is of the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark.
Blessed are they who have attained unto the cord of true oneness and held fast thereunto. These are the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark.
By the life of God! He is assuredly among the people of the Crimson Ark. His name hath been inscribed in a Book which none hath comprehended save His all-encompassing knowledge.
Whoso attains unto it is of the Concourse on High and the companions of My Crimson Ark, by which the Books have been adorned.
Blessed art thou, inasmuch as thou hast quaffed the choice wine of utterance from the hand of the bounty of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, and hast attained unto that which was inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen in the Crimson Tablet.
Whoso attaineth today unto the choice wine of revelation, he is indeed of the people of Baha inscribed in the Crimson Tablet, and whoso is debarred therefrom is among the abject ones.
To this bears witness the Lord of Eternity in this station which has been named by all names in the Crimson Tablet which none has comprehended save the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
In this day the Sun of Truth, from the horizon of the prison of 'Akka, speaketh this most sublime Word: I say in truth, the blessed word "but He is the Apostle of God and the Seal of the Prophets" found its consummation in "the Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds." This is the Most Great Glad-Tidings for the Concourse on High and the companions of the Crimson Ark and for whosoever is in the heavens and the earth.
This is a Day wherein all who dwell on earth are seen to be thunderstruck and fallen prostrate by the divine trumpet-blast, save only for certain letters of thy Lord's countenance - they who are the people of the Crimson Ark, in whose praise hath spoken the Lord of Names and the Lord of both the beginning and the end.
He who hath attained on this Day is, before God, his Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious, among the companions of the Crimson Ark, and he who hath been prevented is among the most remote of creatures in a hidden Tablet.
We behold the people of Baha in the Crimson Ark, while they that turned away are drowned - these are among the perishing ones.
Soon shall every soul return to its resting-place, and the people of Baha shall be with their Lord, riding upon the Crimson Ark.
Glory be upon the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark.
Glory be upon you, O companions of the Crimson Ark, from God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
Indeed God hath created everywhere around this Gate oceans of divine elixir, tinged crimson with the essence of existence and vitalized through the animating power of the desired fruit; and for them God hath provided Arks of ruby, tender, crimson-coloured, wherein none shall sail but the people of Baha, by the leave of God, the Most Exalted; and verily He is the All-Glorious, the All-Wise.
For thought and discussion