One light, successive horizons: the unity of the Manifestations

Likewise, the divine religions of the holy Manifestations of God are in reality one, though in name and nomenclature they differ. Man must be a lover of the light, no matter from what dayspring it may appear. He must be a lover of the rose, no matter in what soil it may be growing. He must be a seeker of the truth, no matter from what source it come. Attachment to the lantern is not loving the light.

Therefore one must search after truth, become enraptured and enthralled with any sanctified soul in whom one finds it, and become wholly attracted to the outpouring grace of God. Like a moth one must be a lover of the light in whatever lamp it may shine, and like a nightingale one must be enamoured of the rose in whatever bower it may bloom.

One must seek after the manifold grace of God, search out the divine effulgences, and become enraptured and enthralled with any reality in which they are clearly and plainly found.

The Sun of Divinity and of Reality has revealed itself in various mirrors. Though these mirrors are many, yet the Sun is one. The bestowals of God are one; the reality of the divine religion is one.

I testify before God that each one of these Manifestations hath been sent down through the operation of the Divine Will and Purpose, that each hath been the bearer of a specific Message, that each hath been entrusted with a divinely revealed Book and been commissioned to unravel the mysteries of a mighty Tablet.

Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith: There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message. They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret. To prefer one in honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone before Him.

… It is towards the inmost essence of these Prophets, therefore, that the eye of every man of discernment must be directed, inasmuch as their one and only purpose hath always been to guide the erring, and give peace to the afflicted

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Purge thy sight, therefore, from all earthly limitations, that thou mayest behold them all as the bearers of one Name, the exponents of one Cause, the manifestations of one Self, and the revealers of one Truth, and that thou mayest apprehend the mystic "return" of the Words of God as unfolded by these utterances. … These Lights have proceeded from but one Source, and these fruits are the fruits of one Tree. Thou canst discern neither difference nor distinction among them.

… For this reason, hath the Point of the Bayan -- may the life of all else but Him be His sacrifice! -- likened the Manifestations of God unto the sun which, though it rise from the "Beginning that hath no beginning" until the "End that knoweth no end," is nonetheless the same sun. Now, wert thou to say that this sun is the former sun, thou speakest the truth; and if thou sayest that this sun is the "return" of that sun, thou also speakest the truth.

Viewed from one perspective these holy Souls are one: the first among them is the same as the last, and the last is the same as the first. All have proceeded from God, unto Him have they summoned all men, and unto Him have they returned.

If thou be of the inmates of this city within the ocean of divine unity, thou wilt view all the Prophets and Messengers of God as one soul and one body, as one light and one spirit, in such wise that the first among them would be last and the last would be first. For they have all arisen to proclaim His Cause and have established the laws of divine wisdom. They are, one and all, the Manifestations of His Self, the Repositories of His might, the Treasuries of His Revelation, the Dawning-Places of His splendour and the Daysprings of His light.

O Salman! The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever been, and will continue forever to be, closed in the face of men. No man’s understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a token of His mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving-kindness, He hath manifested unto men the Daystars of His divine guidance, the Symbols of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self. Whoso recognizeth them hath recognized God.

Although it transcends our realization, its lights, bestowals, traces and virtues have become manifest in the realities of the Prophets, even as the sun becomes resplendent in various mirrors. 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. At most it is this: that its lights become manifest and evident in its mirrors or manifestations. Therefore, its bounty proceeding from them is one bounty, but the recipients of that bounty are many.

Therefore, whatever wondrous mentions and exalted descriptions flow from the tongue and pen refer to the Most Great Word, the Supreme Pen, the Primal Point, the true Home, and the Dawning-Place of the All-Merciful Revelation. He is the Source of unity and the Manifestation of the light of oneness and detachment. In this station, all the most beautiful names and most exalted attributes return unto Him and go not beyond Him, as it hath been said that the Unseen is sanctified beyond all mentions, and the station of the light of unity, though outwardly designated by a name and limited by bounds, is in its inner reality simple and sanctified beyond all limitations - though this simplicity is relative and comparative, not absolute in all respects.

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.

In the station of unity, they are one reality, as it is said: "We make no distinction between any of His Messengers." Their likeness is as the sun - though its dawning-places be many, yet there is but one sun shining forth from them all. In this station, the mention of any Prophet is the mention of all; the name of Ahmad is the name of all the Prophets.

All religious laws have been detailed from a single point and ordained by God, and unto Him do they return, and there is no difference between them, if ye be of them that are certain. Despite their differences in every age and era, there is no difference among them, for they all appeared through God's command.

… Beware, O believers in the Unity of God, lest ye be tempted to make any distinction between any of the Manifestations of His Cause, or to discriminate against the signs that have accompanied and proclaimed their Revelation. This indeed is the true meaning of Divine Unity, if ye be of them that apprehend and believe this truth.

Fifthly: The Reality of the divine Religions is one, because the Reality is one and cannot be two. All the prophets are united in their message, and unshaken. They are like the sun; in different seasons they ascend from different rising points on the horizon.

Baha'u'llah described the Manifestations as rising-points of one Sun, meaning the Sun of Reality is one but its dawning-places and rising-points are many - that is, one Reality shining in multiple mirrors.

The Manifestation of the Essence of GOD is like unto the sun, which has different risings. The dawning-places are different, but the sun is always the same. The lamps are different but the light is one.

The essence of prophethood is one, just as the effect of one or more lights is that of one. If you want to see the light, you must look at the essence, and not be misled by the lamp through which it manifests itself. If we look at the lamps we find them different, but the light is the same. It is sent by GOD (exalted is His name). There is no difference between the prophets, because all of them are lightened from the same light, and all have attained through the Giver of the Light, but some have fallen in love with the lamp.

If we can know the sun we do not need the limitation of horizons.

Again the personality is like the chimney and the Truth is as the light. We can put the light of the lamp in another chimney and it is still the same light. We should not become attached to the chimney and put the light out of our thoughts. Consider a lover and his sweetheart. Will he love her only because of a certain costume? Nay, to appear in another garment or incognito. He must love her for herself. Even so, we must put aside the horizon, the chimney, and the costume and dispense with personality if we would know the Truth."

These Supreme Holy Souls are Godlike in their attributes. The garments in which they appear are different, but the attributes are the same. In their real intrinsic power they show forth the Perfection of God. The Reality of God in them never varies; only the garment in which the Primal Reality is clothed is different according to the time and place of their Appearance and Declaration to the world.

All the Prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Bab, Baha'u'llah, are of identical stature, in Whom the same Godhead has appeared (manifested Itself) at different times as the same eternal Truth, and Who have merely adapted Themselves to the different stages of development of mankind and its capacity of understanding.

Each Manifestation was alike great in himself, each spoke with the same authority, each alike breathed the spirit of God. The same fundamental truth underlies the doctrines of each.

All the Manifestations of God bring the same Light; they only differ in degree, not in reality. The Truth is one.

All the Prophets of God were Manifestations of God. Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and the Bab were the four greatest prophets, because they reflected the Light of God in a greater degree than any of the others, and they left books to guide the people in the way of God.

Those who followed Moses accepted him as the mediator; those who followed Zoroaster accepted him as their mediator; but all the Israelites deny Zoroaster, and the Zoroastrians deny Moses. They fail to see in both the one reality. Had the Zoroastrians comprehended the reality of Zoroaster, they would have understood Moses and Jesus.

Question.- What is 'Abdu'l-Baha's teaching concerning the different Divine manifestations?

Answer. - The Reality of all is One. Truth is one. Religions are like the branches of one Tree. One branch is high, one is low and one in the centre, yet all draw their life from the one stem.

All the teachings are one reality, for reality is single and does not admit multiplicity. Therefore, the divine Prophets are one, inasmuch as They reveal the one reality, the Word of God.

The Prophets were sent to quicken this human spirit with the divine spirit. This is the spirit that causes the unity of the human world, the spirit that bestows eternal life, the spirit that confers everlasting felicity, the spirit that enables entry into the Kingdom of God, the spirit that transforms the earthly human into a divine being, the spirit that makes the terrestrial celestial, the spirit that changes darkness into light. … All divine Manifestations, being supported by this spirit, are one; the reality of their teachings, through this spirit, is one, for the Holy Spirit is one.

Christ was a real Shepherd. At the time of His manifestation, the Greeks, Romans, Assyrians and Egyptians were like so many scattered flocks. Christ breathed upon them the spirit of unity and harmonized them.

Therefore, it is evident that the Prophets of God have come to unite the children of men and not to disperse them, to establish the law of love and not enmity.

The supreme love and unity is witnessed in the divine Manifestations. Among Them unity is indissoluble, changeless, eternal and everlasting. Each One is expressive and representative of all. If we deny One of the Manifestations of God, we deny all. To inflict persecution upon One is to persecute the Others. In all degrees of existence each One praises and sanctifies the Others. Each of Them holds to the solidarity of mankind and promotes the unity of human hearts.

At one time Thou didst deliver Me into the hands of Nimrod; at another Thou hast allowed Pharaoh's rod to persecute Me.

O Jews! If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you.

Be fair, ye peoples of the world; is it meet and seemly for you to question the authority of one Whose presence ‘He Who conversed with God’ (Moses) hath longed to attain, the beauty of Whose countenance ‘God’s Well-beloved’ (Muḥammad) had yearned to behold, through the potency of Whose love the ‘Spirit of God’ (Jesus) ascended to heaven, for Whose sake the ‘Primal Point’ (the Báb) offered up His life?

The example of the Sun of Truth is like the sun in the heaven - were God to cause it to rise without limit, ye would still witness but one sun. Likewise its radiance, which is the Command of the Sun of Manifestation - in all dispensations ye witness one Command. However, Its manifestations differ, and ye magnify what appears in your own dispensation.

For all the Messengers, in their essential reality, are guides to the sovereignty of His unity and His singleness, and witnesses to the dominion of His might and His oneness. Verily He, exalted and glorified be He, cannot be known in His Essence except through what the Messengers describe from His presence.

And verily the Messengers, from the beginning that has no beginning unto the end that has no end - naught can be seen in them save His Primal Will, which God has made like unto the sun of heaven: though it rise from different dawning-places and set in different settings, it is but one and the same sun.

Know thou that its example is like unto the sun - if it should rise unto infinity, there would still be but one sun, and if it should set unto infinity, there would still be but one sun. It is He Who hath been manifest in all the Messengers, and He Who hath spoken in all the Books. He hath had no beginning, for through Him doth "the beginning" begin; and He hath had no end, for through Him doth "the end" end. It is He Who in this wondrous Cycle, which is now in its thirteen thousandth year, is known as the Point of the Bayan, and as the First Creation in the days of Adam, and as Noah in his day, and as Abraham in his day, and as Moses in his day, and as Jesus in his day, and as Muhammad the Apostle of God in His day, and the Point of the Bayan in His day, and He Whom God shall make manifest in His day, and He Whom God shall make manifest after Him Whom God shall make manifest in His day, have been known.

This is the meaning of Muhammad's word -- concerning the Prophets -- "Verily, they are I." For within all the Prophets there is one and the selfsame Cause which hath been joined to Muhammad, the Apostle of God; and from Muhammad it passed to the Primal Point; from the Primal Point to Him Whom God shall make manifest; and from Him Whom God shall make manifest to him who shall appear after Him, unto the end that hath no end.

We, moreover, swear fealty to the One Who, in the time of Mustagháth, is destined to be made manifest, as well as to those Who shall come after Him till the end that hath no end. We recognize in the manifestation of each one of them, whether outwardly or inwardly, the manifestation of none but God Himself, if ye be of those that comprehend. 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.

Verily, He Who hath appeared is identical with Him Who shall appear, and He Who shall appear is identical with He Who hath appeared, just as the sun that rose yesterday is identical with the sun that shall rise tomorrow.

Rather, from the wondrous beginning of Thy creation until now, nothing hath been manifest from Thee except the sign of Thy Will, which Thou hast manifested in every Dispensation through the name of a Prophet, until the worlds attained unto the Day of Muhammad, Thy Beloved. Thou hast made its likeness before Thee as the likeness of the sun - if Thou shouldst cause it to rise countless times, it is still one sun, and if Thou shouldst cause it to set countless times, it is still one sun.

They are the Lights Who have ever been, and will continue forever to be, kneeling before the Throne of God. In each Dispensation, They are called by different Names amongst the people, and in each Revelation, Their physical names are also changed. Yet, the names of Their inmost realities, which refer unto God, and are manifest in Their hearts- without which They could not attain the presence of God by virtue of the nearness of their inmost realities-, have always existed and will continue forever to exist.

Although there are infinite names for God, yet it was through Their Names that all have received the divine effulgence.

Know thou, therefore, that I am the First Adam, and I am He unto Whom the Book was sent down, and I am He Whose law was abrogated. Likewise from the First Adam unto the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family. Know thou, therefore, that I am He Who hath appeared aforetime and established that religion, and all in that day act according to My laws, yet they know not.

We have indeed heard what was decreed concerning the appearance of Muhammad, peace be upon Him and His family. There is no doubt that the appearance of the Mahdi is identical with the appearance of Muhammad in the eyes of those who look unto the Point of the Cause. Nay, it is identical with all whom God hath sent as Prophets, for all are created by God's command. This is the Origin of the Cause, which hath no beginning, unto the End that hath no end, and all stand firm through it.

And the Point of the Bayan is His Manifestation in every age and cycle - all are assured of this.

God beareth witness that there is none other God but Him, and that this is indeed 'Ali in the Most Glorious Horizon, then Muhammad in the heaven of grandeur, then the Spirit in the heaven of destiny, then He Who conversed with God in the cities of names, then the Friend in the Supreme Concourse, then Husayn in the fields of origination, then the Wronged One before God, the King, the Mighty, the Great, the All-High.

God testifies that there is no God but Him and that He Who came upon clouds of light with the name of 'Ali is His Manifestation and His sovereignty over all the worlds. He veiled His face for numbered days, then revealed Beauty once again with His Most Glorious Name.

One of the solar dawning points was Moses, another was Abraham. One of the great daysprings of the sun was His Holiness Christ. Another dawning point was Mohammed. One dawning point was the Bab, another Baha'u'llah.

And in one station We mean by the Unseen the realities of Oneness and the eternal essences who were concealed in the Manifestations of old, as ye witness and are among those who testify. In the time of Moses, the Unseen was none other than Jesus in the heaven of names, and He foretold His appearance and was hidden in His days. Likewise the Unseen in the time of the Spirit (Jesus) was Muhammad, the Messenger of God and Seal of the Prophets. Similarly the Unseen in His days was none other than 'Ali, through meeting whom the eyes of those near to God were solaced. And likewise in those days it was none other than He Whose appearance the Point of the Bayan foretold in tablets of ancient glory.

For example, consider the dot (or point); how letters and words are folded up and hidden within the essence (huwiyyat , ipseity) and reality of a dot with perfect effacement and annihilation so that no trace can be discerned of the existence of these letters and words nor is there any differentiation between them. Rather they are completely obliterated and utterly annihilated and have no existence except in the essence (dhat) of the point.

This is the Ocean out of which all seas have proceeded, and with which every one of them will ultimately be united. From Him all the Suns have been generated, and unto Him they will all return.

Then, when thou returnest and completeth the journey of descent and desirest to ascend unto God, the Loving Lord, make the first the last: let the portion of thy body be "Glory be to Thee, O God!"; of thy soul, "Praise be to God!"; of thy intellect, "There is no God but God!"; and of thy heart, "God is the Greatest!" Look not upon these manifestations with the gaze of difference, for such is not the path of the people of reality and the retreat of return. Verily, He Who created you is He Who provideth for you; He Who created you is He Who causeth you to die; He Who causeth you to die is He Who quickeneth you. No partner hath He in His act, nor adversary in His sovereignty.

The glory from God resteth upon the Primal Unity and upon those who bear such likeness unto that Unity that naught can be seen in them save the Primal Unity.

All these allusions are but to show the path; else, by the proof of wisdom, if a man desire to know, there is no thing but it pointeth to His knowledge; and He is exalted above being known by aught save Himself -- rather, all else is known by Him. He is, moreover, uplifted above that mention of the True One should be made in that station, for every reality is by Him made real. Its likeness is the sun: wert thou to imagine it to rise and set times without number, there would yet be but one sun.

Let Haji himself and the others look with the eye of fairness: if every day a new Truth - that is, a new Manifestation of the complete sovereignty of the One True God - were to appear, how could the divine Cause remain firm among creation? … For among the utterances of Truth are commandments and prohibitions which all need, and in essential reality the order of the world, the preservation of existence, and the unity of all on earth depend upon and are connected to these. If every day a new Authority were to appear, all these matters would become void and ineffective, and the helpless people would have to abandon all things each day and turn to a new qiblih.

They should establish beyond a shadow of doubt that by "Unity of God" is meant that the Manifestations of God Who inaugurate each Dispensation are to be regarded as one soul, unique and peerless, and all others, whether high or low, are, without exception, to be regarded as servants, utterly submissive before the Dawning-Place of God's Revelation. Even as the Commander of the Faithful, the Imam 'Ali, has stated: "I am but a servant of the servants of Muhammad."

I testify, O Thou Who art the Lord of the whole creation, and the Desire of whosoever hath sought Thee, that, amidst Thy creatures, They resemble the sun which no matter how often it riseth and setteth is still the one and the same sun. Whoso maketh any distinction between any of Them hath truly failed to attain the ultimate purpose, and to reach the highest goal, and hath been deprived of the mysteries of unity and of the lights of sanctity and oneness.

And know thou that He indeed resembleth the sun. Were the risings of the sun to continue till the end that hath no end, yet there hath not been nor ever will be more than one sun.... It is this Primal Will which appeareth resplendent in every Prophet and speaketh forth in every revealed Book. It knoweth no beginning, inasmuch as the First deriveth its firstness from It; and knoweth no end, for the Last oweth its lastness unto It.

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The Prophets of God are the Mediators of God. All the Prophets and Messengers have come from One Holy Spirit and bear the Message of God, fitted to the age in which they appear. The One Light is in them and they are One with each other. But the Eternal does not become phenomenal; neither can the phenomenal become Eternal.

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The fundamental unity of these Messengers of God is clearly recognised, the continuity of their Revelations is affirmed, the God-given authority and correlative character of their Books is admitted, the singleness of their aims and purposes is proclaimed, the uniqueness of their influence emphasised, the ultimate reconciliation of their teachings and followers taught and anticipated. 'They all,' according to Baha'u'llah's testimony, 'abide in the same tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are seated upon the same throne, utter the same speech, and proclaim the same Faith.'

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