The divine Mirror: presence without confinement

O thou distinguished personage, thou seeker after truth! Thy letter of 4 April 1921, hath been read with love.

The existence of the Divine Being hath been clearly established, on the basis of logical proofs, but the reality of the Godhead is beyond the grasp of the mind. When thou dost carefully consider this matter, thou wilt see that a lower plane can never comprehend a higher. The mineral kingdom, for example, which is lower, is precluded from comprehending the vegetable kingdom; for the mineral, any such understanding would be utterly impossible. In the same way, no matter how far the vegetable kingdom may develop, it will achieve no conception of the animal kingdom, and any such comprehension at its level would be unthinkable, for the animal occupieth a plane higher than that of the vegetable: this tree cannot conceive of hearing and sight. And the animal kingdom, no matter how far it may evolve, can never become aware of the reality of the intellect, which discovereth the inner essence of all things, and comprehendeth those realities which cannot be seen; for the human plane as compared with that of the animal is very high. And although these beings all co-exist in the contingent world, in each case the difference in their stations precludeth their grasp of the whole; for no lower degree can understand a higher, such comprehension being impossible.

The higher plane, however, understandeth the lower. The animal, for instance, comprehendeth the mineral and vegetable, the human understandeth the planes of the animal, vegetable and mineral. But the mineral cannot possibly understand the realms of man. And notwithstanding the fact that all these entities co-exist in the phenomenal world, even so, no lower degree can ever comprehend a higher.

Then how could it be possible for a contingent reality, that is, man, to understand the nature of that pre-existent Essence, the Divine Being? The difference in station between man and the Divine Reality is thousands upon thousands of times greater than the difference between vegetable and animal. And that which a human being would conjure up in his mind is but the fanciful image of his human condition, it doth not encompass God's reality but rather is encompassed by it. That is, man graspeth his own illusory conceptions, but the Reality of Divinity can never be grasped: It, Itself, encompasseth all created things, and all created things are in Its grasp. That Divinity which man doth imagine for himself existeth only in his mind, not in truth. Man, however, existeth both in his mind and in truth; thus man is greater than that fanciful reality which he is able to imagine.

The furthermost limits of this bird of clay are these: he can flutter along for some short distance, into the endless vast; but he can never soar upward to the Sun in the high heavens. We must, nevertheless, set forth reasoned or inspired proofs as to the existence of the Divine Being, that is, proofs commensurate with the understanding of man.

It is obvious that all created things are connected one to another by a linkage complete and perfect, even, for example, as are the members of the human body. Note how all the members and component parts of the human body are connected one to another. In the same way, all the members of this endless universe are linked one to another. The foot and the step, for example, are connected to the ear and the eye; the eye must look ahead before the step is taken. The ear must hear before the eye will carefully observe. And whatever member of the human body is deficient, produceth a deficiency in the other members. The brain is connected with the heart and stomach, the lungs are connected with all the members. So is it with the other members of the body.

And each one of these members hath its own special function. The mind force -- whether we call it pre-existent or contingent -- doth direct and co-ordinate all the members of the human body, seeing to it that each part or member duly performeth its own special function. If, however, there be some interruption in the power of the mind, all the members will fail to carry out their essential functions, deficiencies will appear in the body and the functioning of its members, and the power will prove ineffective.

Likewise, look into this endless universe: a universal power inevitably existeth, which encompasseth all, directing and regulating all the parts of this infinite creation; and were it not for this Director, this Co-ordinator, the universe would be flawed and deficient. It would be even as a madman; whereas ye can see that this endless creation carrieth out its functions in perfect order, every separate part of it performing its own task with complete reliability, nor is there any flaw to be found in all its workings. Thus it is clear that a Universal Power existeth, directing and regulating this infinite universe. Every rational mind can grasp this fact.

Furthermore, although all created things grow and develop, yet are they subjected to influences from without. For instance, the sun giveth heat, the rain nourisheth, the wind bringeth life, so that man can develop and grow. Thus it is clear that the human body is under influences from the outside, and that without those influences man could not grow. And likewise, those outside influences are subjected to other influences in their turn. For example, the growth and development of a human being is dependent upon the existence of water, and water is dependent upon the existence of rain, and rain is dependent upon the existence of clouds, and clouds are dependent upon the existence of the sun, which causeth land and sea to produce vapour, the condensation of vapour forming the clouds. Thus each one of these entities exerteth its influence and is likewise influenced in its turn. Inescapably then, the process leadeth to One Who influenceth all, and yet is influenced by none, thus severing the chain. The inner reality of that Being, however, is not known, although His effects are clear and evident.

And further, all created beings are limited, and this very limitation of all beings proveth the reality of the Limitless; for the existence of a limited being denoteth the existence of a Limitless One.

To sum it up, there are many such proofs, establishing the existence of that Universal Reality. And since that Reality is pre-existent, It is untouched by the conditions that govern phenomena; for whatever entity is subject to circumstances and the play of events is contingent, not pre-existent. Know then: that divinity which other communions and peoples have conjured up, falleth within the scope of their imagination, and not beyond it, whereas the reality of the Godhead is beyond all conceiving.

As to the Holy Manifestations of God, They are the focal points where the signs, tokens and perfections of that sacred, pre-existent Reality appear in all their splendour. They are an eternal grace, a heavenly glory, and on Them dependeth the everlasting life of humankind. To illustrate: the Sun of Truth dwelleth in a sky to which no soul hath any access, and which no mind can reach, and He is far beyond the comprehension of all creatures. Yet the Holy Manifestations of God are even as a looking-glass, burnished and without stain, which gathereth streams of light out of that Sun, and then scattereth the glory over the rest of creation. In that polished surface, the Sun with all Its majesty standeth clearly revealed. Thus, should the mirrored Sun proclaim, 'I am the Sun!' this is but truth; and should It cry, 'I am not the Sun!' this is the truth as well. And although the Day-Star, with all Its glory, Its beauty, Its perfections, be clearly visible in that mirror without stain, still It hath not come down from Its own lofty station in the realms above, It hath not made Its way into the mirror; rather doth It continue to abide, as It will forever, in the supernal heights of Its own holiness.

And further, all the earth's creatures require the bounty of the sun, for their very existence is dependent upon solar light and heat. Should they be deprived of the sun, they would be wiped out. This is the being with God, as referred to in the Holy Books: man must be with his Lord.

It is clear, then, that the essential reality of God is revealed in His perfections; and the sun, with its perfections, reflected in a mirror, is a visible thing, an entity clearly expressing the bounty of God.

My hope is that thou wilt acquire a perceptive eye, a hearing ear, and that the veils will be removed from thy sight.

The Manifestations of God are like so many different mirrors, as They each have Their own distinct individuality, but that which is reflected in these mirrors is one and the same sun.

These holy realities are as reflectors, and the reality of Divinity is as the sun, which, although it is reflected from the mirrors, and its virtues and perfections become resplendent therein, does not stoop from its own station of majesty and glory and seek abode in the mirrors; it remains in its heaven of sanctity. … The Prophets are its mirrors; its lights are revealed through Them; its virtues become resplendent in Them, but the Sun of Reality never descends from its own highest point and station.

These holy Manifestations or Prophets of God are as mirrors which have acquired illumination from the Sun of Truth, but the Sun does not descend from its high zenith and does not effect entrance within the mirror. In truth, this mirror has attained complete polish and purity until the utmost capacity of reflection has been developed in it; therefore, the Sun of Reality with its fullest effulgence and splendor is revealed therein.

In the Manifestation of God, the perfectly polished mirror, appear the qualities of the Divine in a form that man is capable of comprehending.

Shouldst thou, however, turn thy gaze unto a Mirror, brilliant, stainless, and pure, wherein the divine Beauty is reflected, therein wilt thou find the Sun shining with Its rays, Its heat, Its disc, Its fair form all entire. For each separate entity possesseth its allotted portion of the solar light and telleth of the Sun, but that Universal Reality in all Its splendour, that stainless Mirror Whose qualities are appropriate to the qualities of the Sun revealed within It -- expresseth in their entirety the attributes of the Source of Glory. And that Universal Reality is Man, the divine Being, the Essence that abideth forever.

For the other beings have each received only a portion of that light, but the universal Manifestation of God is the mirror held before this Sun, and the latter manifests itself therein with all its perfections, attributes, signs and effects.

… It is therefore clearly established that the Holy Manifestations are the focal centres of the heavenly bounties, signs and perfections.

All the perfections, bounties and splendours of the one true God are plainly visible in the realities of His Holy Manifestations, even as the light of the sun is fully reflected with all its perfections and bounties in a clear and spotless mirror. And if it be said that the mirrors are the manifestations of the sun and the dawning-places of the daystar of the world, this is not meant to imply that the sun has descended from the heights of its sanctity or has become embodied in the mirror, or that that limitless Reality has been confined to this visible plane. God forbid! This is the belief of the anthropomorphists. No, all these descriptions, all these expressions of praise and glory refer to these holy Manifestations: that is, every description, praise, name or attribute of God that we mention applies to them.

The realities of the Prophets, peace be upon them, are not the Essential Reality of Divinity. Rather, the reality of Divinity is like the sun and the realities of the Prophets are like mirrors. The rays and heat of the sun shine and appear in these mirrors, but the sun remains in its own transcendent station - there is neither descent nor incarnation nor entrance. The reality of Divinity has always been and will always be sanctified from embodiment. Thus this matter has become clear and evident to you and no room remains for doubts.

If we say, "the sun is in this mirror," we do not mean that the sun has come down from its lofty sanctity and alighted in the mirror! It is impossible.

The essential nature of any thing cannot be transmuted into something else. The eternal cannot become transient, and the transient is not eternal. Rather, the Immortal Being casts its splendour in this mirror and its heat and light radiate and are revealed and manifest to the greatest degree.

Thus, among created beings, man is the most perfect of creatures. By man is meant the perfect individual, and that perfect individual is like a mirror wherein divine perfections appear and are visible. However, the Sun does not descend from its height of sanctity and enter into the mirror, but when the mirror is pure and faces the Sun of Reality, the perfections of the Sun of Reality - which are its rays and heat - become manifest and visible in that mirror. These souls are the Holy Manifestations of God.

The Perfect Man, however, is even as a clear mirror in which the Sun of Truth is revealed and manifested in the fullness of its attributes and perfections. Thus the reality of Christ was a bright and polished mirror of the greatest purity and clarity. The Sun of Truth, the Essence of the Divinity, appeared in that mirror and manifested its light and heat therein, yet it did not descend from the heights of holiness and the heaven of sanctity to reside within it. No, it continues to abide in its loftiness and sublimity, but has been revealed and manifested in the mirror in all its beauty and perfection.

For by the Word is not meant the body of Christ but the divine perfections that were manifested in Him. Thus Christ was like a spotless mirror which was turned towards the Sun of Truth, and the perfections of that Sun, that is, its light and heat, were plainly manifest in that mirror. If we look into the mirror, we see the sun and we say it is the sun. … The perfections of Christ are called the Word since all created things are like individual letters, and individual letters do not convey a complete meaning; while the perfections of Christ are even as an entire word, for from a word a complete meaning can be inferred.

This Fatherhood and Sonship has an interpretation: the reality of Christ is like a mirror in which the Sun of Divinity is reflected. If this mirror says 'this light is within me,' it surely speaks the truth. Thus Christ too spoke the truth, and this does not necessitate multiplicity. The sun in the sky and the sun in the mirror are one; there is no multiplicity.

Then Jesus replied that it is said in the Bible to the Holy Prophet of God that they are Gods. And in order to explain this saying the Master gave the illustration of the Sun and the mirrors. If you placed a row of perfectly clear mirrors out of doors when the sun rose, the sun would be reflected in each of them, and that the sun might say with truth to these mirrors, "Ye are suns." In this same sense, it is said of the great prophets of God, "Ye are Gods," because they reflect the qualities and characteristics of God.

"Christ was the mirror; God was the Sun. The Sun appeared with all its effulgence and splendor in the mirror; that is, the virtues, the perfections and the characteristics of God appeared in Christ.

The reality and Essence of Jesus Christ was like the mirror, and the reality and Essence of God is likened unto the Sun. The real sun appeared in the mirror, rose and shone in that mirror - the reality of God has shone in the reality of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Perfect Mirror, in which the Bounties and Perfections of God are reflected.

"If a man wishes to know God he must find him in the perfect mirror, Christ or Baha'u'llah. In either of these mirrors he will see reflected the Sun of Divinity.

A Divine Manifestation is as a mirror reflecting the light of the Sun. The light is the same and yet the mirror is not the Sun.

The reality of this question is as follows: Divine Oneness is proven and He revealeth Himself in the Holy Essences. The sun is one sun but manifesteth itself in different mirrors. If thou lookest into the mirror and seest the manifestation of the sun, thou wilt say, the sun is in the mirror and this sun manifest in the mirror is the same sun of the heavens; although two suns, yet in reality they are one. The sun hath not descended from its high and lofty station, it hath not taken up its abode in this mirror, but hath manifested itself therein.

They are like mirrors placed before the Sun of Truth, so if they claim that the Sun of Truth is in them, they speak the truth. However, they mean that the signs and light of the Sun of Truth are in them, and not the Sun itself.

The disc of the sun does not enter in the mirror, nay rather it is stationed in its own station of sublimity. But because the mirror is pure, only a reflection of the sun is seen therein.

The significance and essential purpose underlying these words is to reveal and demonstrate unto the pure in heart and the sanctified in spirit that they Who are the Luminaries of truth and the Mirrors reflecting the light of divine Unity, in whatever age and cycle they are sent down from their invisible habitations of ancient glory unto this world, to educate the souls of men and endue with grace all created things, are invariably endowed with an all-compelling power, and invested with invincible sovereignty.

… These Prophets and chosen Ones of God are the recipients and revealers of all the unchangeable attributes and names of God. They are the mirrors that truly and faithfully reflect the light of God. Whatsoever is applicable to them is in reality applicable to God, Himself, Who is both the Visible and the Invisible.

The perfect soul of man -- that is to say, the perfect individual -- is like a mirror wherein the Sun of Reality is reflected.

… These mirrors are the Messengers of God Who tell the story of Divinity, just as the material mirror reflects the light and disc of the outer sun in the skies. In this way the image and effulgence of the Sun of Reality appear in the mirrors of the Manifestations of God.

O ye respected ones! Know that the Prophets are mirrors reflecting the divine bounty and the revelations of the All-Merciful. Within them are impressed brilliant rays from the Sun of Truth, and in them are traced exalted images representing the manifestations of God's most beautiful names.

The Holy verities, the Divine Prophets, are like mirrors, which are in a state of utmost purity and sanctity and polish, and because they are in an attitude facing the Sun of Reality, therefore that Sun of Reality, with its potency, effulgence and heat, is reflected therein, and all its virtues can be visible in the mirror.

Rather, the Perfect Man is like a pure mirror in which the Sun of Reality with all its infinite bounties is apparent and visible.

Thou knowest that my station is but an image of Thy station, that my virtues recount Thy virtues, that within mine inmost being naught can be found except the revelations of Thy signs, and that my very essence is but a reflection of the evidences of Thy unity.

Indeed My heart as it is in itself hath been purged by God from the concepts of the learned and is sanctified from the utterances of the wise. In truth naught doth it mirror forth but the revelations of God.

He is the Primal Mirror, the Ancient Light, the Hidden Manifestation, the Perfect Word - the complete revelation and concealment of the King of Oneness.

And the divine lights were reflected from the reality of the Greatest Name. Although this station is far from the minds and understandings, yet its lights are apparent, its rays reflected and its brilliancy manifested throughout the universe.

But the pure Mirror, which is the Manifestor of the Sun of Truth and in which the Sun of Truth is manifest in full appearance--that mirror is restricted, not the lights. … By seeing God is meant beholding the Manifestation of Himself; for witnessing the sun in its entire splendor, in a clear glassy surface, is identical with witnessing the essence of the sun itself.

The fifth degree of spirit is the Holy Spirit, which is the mediator between God and His creation. It is like a mirror facing the sun: Just as a spotless mirror receives the rays of the sun and reflects its bounty to others, so too is the Holy Spirit the mediator of the light of holiness, which it conveys from the Sun of Truth to sanctified souls.

Answer: The sanctified realities of the Manifestations of God have two spiritual stations: One is that of the state of divine manifestation, which can be compared to the orb of the sun, and the other is that of radiance and revelation, which may be likened to the divine light and perfections--the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit is the manifold grace and perfections of God, and these divine perfections are even as the rays and heat of the sun. … The Prophets of God are Manifestations, and the divine perfections--that is, the Holy Spirit--are that which is manifested in Them.

These Prophets acquire the outpouring grace of the divine Reality without an intermediary. Their radiance is an essential radiance, like that of the sun which is luminous in and of itself and whose luminosity is an essential requirement rather than being acquired from another star: they are like the sun and not the moon. These Daysprings of the morn of Divine Unity are the fountainheads of divine grace and the mirrors of the Essence of Reality.

Every one of them is a mirror of God, reflecting naught else but His Self, His Beauty, His Might and Glory, if ye will understand. All else besides them are to be regarded as mirrors capable of reflecting the glory of these Manifestations Who are themselves the Primary Mirrors of the Divine Being, if ye be not devoid of understanding. … These Mirrors will everlastingly succeed each other, and will continue to reflect the light of the Ancient of Days. They that reflect their glory will, in like manner, continue to exist forevermore, for the Grace of God can never cease from flowing.

Compare Him Whom God shall make manifest, exalted be His glory, to that sun, and liken all creation to mirrors. Then in the mirrors nothing is seen but a single reflection, and likewise in all creation naught is witnessed but a single Manifestation.

Gaze not upon this Word, except as thou beholdest the sun in the heaven; and see not he who believeth in Him, save as thou lookest at the mirror. For the inmost reality of any one who believeth in the Lord of the seven letters, is derived from one of the Names of God, glorified and exalted be Him, while his outward manifestation is a leaf amongst the leaves of the Tree of Affirmation.

… For should a mirror say that the Sun is present in me, it would be evident before the True Sun that it is only Its shadow that the mirror is speaking of.

The very person whom ye mention as being a mirror - and it is evident to anyone possessed of insight that a mirror hath never had, nor shall ever have, any reality of its own, its existence being merely to reflect the rays of the sun - concerning him ye claim that the Primal Point (may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for His sake) hath declared that he is in himself a proof and hath no need of any text from Me.

… Second, verses are like mirrors in the station of mirrors, like the reflection of the sun in a mirror. That reflection in the mirror is visible and mentioned in the station of the mirror, yet it hath no relation to the sun in the heaven, nor will it ever have. As thou observest, if infinite mirrors were to face the sun, the reflection of the sun would appear in all of them, yet after they turn away all vanish while the sun remaineth shining and radiant in its place.

When you look at mirrors facing the sun that reflect its light, whatever you say about them is permissible since they have nothing of their own, but only while facing the sun. If there is the slightest deviation, it becomes as if it had never been mentioned.

Every Manifestation has to become as a clear mirror, which reflects the Splendor of the Sun, for only the Splendor of the Rays is imprinted there. The mirror has nothing of itself to give, as the mirror reflects the rays of the sun and is itself nothing.

The Prophet is the emanation (radiation) of the Eternal Light. It is not an emanation of substance, but an overflowing, a reflection (literally: reflect, throw back) of light and warmth. All things appertaining to prophethood are a manifestation, a reflection of the Divine."

Seventeenth letter from Dr. J. F. to Mrs. A. Schwarz, Stuttgart.

From two conversations of the Master with Miss St. and Dr. F. concerning prophets, prophecy and their significance for mankind.

Place: Sea shore.

Time: June 1910 before and after sunset.

Persons: Small circle of Baha'is and friends.

Language: Arabic with English translation.

Miss St.: "Master, is the concept of the 'Prophet' synonymous with that of a 'Manifestation'?"

Master: "Yes and no, namely: each Manifestation has His prophetic mission and His prophetic character, but not each Prophet is at the same time a Manifestation. This, my friends, will immediately be shown, when we look at some of the Prophets and Manifestations separately.

The word 'prophetes' is from the Greek and means literally the 'predictor'. Many people therefore think that a Prophet is a Seer Who prophesies the future, because He foresees the future. The Prophet, however, is more than a Seer, it is true that each Prophet has visions far into the future, but beyond this He is the Announcer and Expounder of the Word of God.

The best-known Prophets are the Israelite ones from the Old Testament. The Israelites or Hebrews are a Semitic family. In the Arabic language the original Semitic type has been preserved in its purest form, and what Sanskrit is to research into an Indo-Germanic language, Arabic is for the Semitic ones. (Assyrian, Babylonian, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic). In the Arabic the Prophet is called 'Nabi', from the root naba' = announce. The announcer, the agent of a third party, is called nabba'a or anba'a or in brief nabi (nebi). A 'Nabi-Prophet' therefore does not say anything of Himself, anything of His own, but what Another, Higher One inspires Him with, in brief, what He is charged with by God the All-Highest. The Prophet-Nabi appears as a Messenger of God in His name and at His bidding. He is the instrument of the All-Highest, the 'mouthpiece' of God (see Jer. 15:19 Old Testament). The Prophet-Nabi is able to understand the obscure divine Revelations and, if He wills, to explain and make them comprehensible to an ordinary mortal (see Pindar among the Greeks). Visions, ecstasy, miracles, are not the characteristics of the Prophet, of the Nabi, but the fact that He, as the Inspirer, and at the same time as the Interpreter of God, conveys His Message and Command, regardless of whether it revolves about the present or the future. Among the ancient peoples, the Babylonians and Assyrians, the prophets were primarily visionary ecstatics! (See for example the prophets of Baal on the Carmel under Ahab and Jezebel). Into this category belong also the Indian fakirs, the dancing and howling dervishes of the Sunnis, the begging dervishes of the Shiahs etc.

A Prophet, 'Nabi', in the Arabic meaning is, however, far more than a visionary, a magician, an ecstatic! All our great Prophets from Noah to Moses, from Christ and Muhammad down to the Holy Ones of our days, the Bab and the Perfect Beauty of Baha'u'llah - to name but the most great - have recognized God in history, They have placed all temporal things in an eternal context, They have measured Their era and its occurrences with a divine, eternal standard. All true and great Prophets demanded pure worship of God and equitable judgment; They, as the embodied Voice of God, have clearly testified to the Will and the Plans of God, the Creator, to Their contemporaries and beyond, to all people of Their age and for the future, They have expounded the Word of God and have demanded and commanded obedience.

Upheavals and catastrophes in world history have always been announced by Prophets (Nabi), were interpreted and explained by Them to the people, in order to show the right path to them (the people), so that they could safely find their way through the catastrophes and into a better future! In this sense the true Nabi prophesies the future to His own. The people have correctly recognized the Prophets (Nabi) as the 'stormy petrels' of world history.

If the true Prophets (Nabi) represent the embodied Voice of God, They are at the same time the embodied conscience of the people. Better than the word 'embodiment' would be the concept of the 'Manifestation'. Already His Holiness the Bab said: According to the doctrine of the Return (raj'a) the Prophets are always the same Man and to this I (the Bab) can testify: 'That which spoke in the Prophets of the past, now speaks in Me and will after Me speak in "Man Yu?hiruhu'llah" (Baha'u'llah), for there is no final end of manifestation'. Instead of Manifestation of God one can also speak of a Reflection of God. Already in the Bayan (Book of Laws of the Bab) the nineteen disciples of His Holiness the Bab are named 'mir'atu'llah' (mirrors of God), even more clearly His Holiness the Bab is called the 'Mirror of the Breath (Logos) of God'. Already the Greek philosopher Plotinus said: 'The relationship of the Creator to the creation is and will remain inconceivable', one can best bring it close to human understanding by denoting the Creator as the Sun of light and warmth, and the first creature, Man in His potency, i.e. the Prophet (Nabi), as the Reflection of the Godhead. The true Prophet (Nabi) is also the embodied Voice of God, the earthly Manifestation, the Reflection of the Light of the Creator." Allah-u-Abha.

It has become late, the guests take their leave, shortly afterwards the Master leaves too, accompanied by His Baha'is.

Suppose the mirror represents the prophets, and the Sun represents GOD, and the Sun's rays the Holy Spirit. The mirror of Adam was dull, for the people of the world were not sufficiently advanced at that time to receive more light than the mirror of Adam sent forth, therefore GOD reflected the light upon a dull glass. The mirror of Moses was much brighter, so that it could receive more of the Sun's rays, and give back to the people a greater brilliancy, for the people of Moses were more advanced than the people of Adam. The mirror of Jesus was entirely clear, so that it received the full Light from the Sun, and was, therefore, the Sun Itself, and this is what Jesus meant when He said "I and the Father are one."

It is the Mystery of Mysteries and the Essence of essences and the Light of lights. (2d) then there is the Manifestation of God, the transparent Mirror, the Clear Channel, the Perfect Man who represents to us all the ideas of "God" that we can clearly grasp; who reveals to us faint glimpses of that far off Light, and who opens our eyes to the majestic Glory of the Eternal Kingdom. (3d) Then there are creatures who receive the teachings and who try to live the life of purity and sanctity.

Therefore, the Ancient Essence is sanctified and free from the comprehension of created things, and one must understand It through the Divine Manifestations, for they are like mirrors before the sun. For others, there is only the reflection of Its radiance.

For example, the sun shines in a mirror and reflects upon a wall. If the mirror says "I am the sun," it speaks truly and correctly.

The focus of the rays of the Sun of Reality was Christ; and from this glorious focus the bounty of God was reflected upon the other mirrors which were the reality of the apostles...

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They were like mirrors that are turned toward the sun: it is certain that the rays and the effulgence of the sun will be reflected therein.

Through this mirror the Energy of God was transmitted to the world. The whole disk of the Sun of reality was reflected in him.

He is the One Who manifested His attributes and names in a Temple and made him a mirror of His Self and a reflection of His knowledge and power, and named him Muhammad.

Wherefore, bear Thou witness, O my God, that I do believe in that Word; for Thou didst create him for Thyself, didst reveal Thyself unto him with the might of Thy grandeur, and didst abolish the separation between him and Thee -- save for the four stations of the ordinance; for the distinction in the letters is four in number: it is not He in remembrance, nor in union, nor in indication; yet He is not other than it. For Thou hast made him the mirror of Thy Self and the one who standeth in the place of Thy Oneness.

In mirrors ye observe how they tell of the sun, wherein nothing is seen in the mirrors except what is reflected therein through itself, by itself, that there is no God but I, the Lord of all the worlds.

Thou art the Mirror wherein naught is seen except God, as I have seen naught in Thee save Him.

Thou art the First through Thy Lord's manifestation, and the Last through Thy Lord's concealment, the Outward through Thy Lord's exaltation, and the Inward through Thy Lord's inaccessibility.

Question: "What is the meaning of 'Everything is in everything'?"

Answer: "The Essence of Divinity--God--is sanctified above ascent, descent, and appearance. The lights of His qualities are manifest or reflected in the mirrors of the hearts of His Holy Manifestations...

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

In mirrors, if there is disturbance, agitation and breaking, the reflection of rays becomes disturbed, but in the reality of the sun there is never any change.

Should a black stone be placed facing the light of the sun, the signs of brilliancy would not appear, but, in the pure mirror, the sun, with all of its attributes and perfections, becomes reflected instantly.

And thou shalt find My meaning within thyself: When the mirror is polished and is turned towards the sun, it can see the sun, that is, the effulgence of its rays, within itself. This doth not mean that the sun hath entered the mirror, for the sun remaineth at the zenith of its sanctity; it neither descendeth nor ascendeth.

47 Indeed, the references that have been made to the degrees of mystic knowledge pertain to the knowledge of the effulgences of that Sun of Truth as it becometh reflected in various mirrors. And the effulgence of that light is present within the hearts, yet it is hidden beneath the veils of selfish desires and earthly attachments, even as a candle within a lantern of iron, and only when the cover is lifted doth the light of the candle shine out.

The realities of the loved ones of God are each a sacred day-spring of bounty unto that Light of Truth, for when the niche partaketh of the Most Mighty Manifestation and Vehicle and turneth unto Him, the result is "Light upon Light," complete delight and joy and ceaseless thankfulness.

And when the power of the radiance of its light, the crystal purity of the lamp and the spotlessness of the niche are in harmony, the true mystery of the blessed verse will be manifest and apparent.

That is, the words and letters are similar to a mirror, and the Sun of Truth and the Rays of Significances have become manifest and shone forth in these mirrors of words and letters.

This light may be likened unto a mirror, and as a mirror reflects all that is before it, so this Light shows to the eyes of our spirits all that exists in God's Kingdom and causes the realities of things to be made visible.

Thirdly, according to the religions and spiritual terminology which is our way of expression a "teacher" is the Center of the divine lights, so we say Christ was a Teacher of men. By the word "Teacher" we mean, the perfect source of universal virtues in the world of humanity."

Where the ever-widening circle of man's knowledge meets the spiritual world a Manifestation of God is sent to mirror forth His splendour.

As to your question concerning the Holy Spirit and its relationship to Baha'u'llah; the Holy Spirit may well be compared to the rays of the sun, and Baha'u'llah to a perfect mirror reflecting these rays which radiate from the sun. Briefly stated the comparison is this: God is the sun; the Holy Spirit is the rays of the sun; and Baha'u'llah is the mirror reflecting the rays of the sun.

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We find God through the Intermediary of His Prophet. We see the Perfection of God in His Prophets. Time and space are physical things, God the Creator is not in a 'place' as we conceive of place in physical terms. God is the Infinite Essence, the Creator. We cannot picture Him or His state, but if we did, we would be His equals, not His creatures. God is never flesh, but mirrored in the attributes of His Prophets, we see His Divine characteristics and perfections.

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