The stations of the Manifestation: one voice, several perspectives

O Shaykh! This station is the station in which one dieth to himself and liveth in God. Divinity, whenever I mention it, indicateth My complete and absolute self-effacement. This is the station in which I have no control over mine own weal or woe nor over my life nor over my resurrection.

When I contemplate, O my God, the relationship that bindeth me to Thee, I am moved to proclaim to all created things "verily I am God!"; and when I consider my own self, lo, I find it coarser than clay!

Know verily that whenever this Youth turneth His eyes towards His own self, he findeth it the most insignificant of all creation. When He contemplates, however, the bright effulgences He hath been empowered to manifest, lo, that self is transfigured before Him into a sovereign Potency permeating the essence of all things visible and invisible.

For the Holy Manifestations have two stations: the station of unity and the station of distinction.

Say: The example of what is manifested in the Messengers is like unto the sun, if ye would but perceive.

… And for that Sun there are two stations of knowledge for creation: One station is that wherein all else are poor before Him, and He describeth Himself by His own Self, and considereth Himself sanctified above the suns in mirrors. In another station He characterizeth Himself as the sun in mirrors, saying "I am the First Creation, and I am Noah, and I am Abraham, and I am Moses, and I am Jesus, and I am Muhammad," and thus doth He mention all the Prophets.

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.

'Abdu'l-Baha answered: "The word 'same' means that the reality is one. Just as the sun arises from several points. This sun after one month will arise from another point. It is just like this; but the reality is the same sun."

Know that, while the Manifestations of God possess infinite virtues and perfections, They occupy only three stations: The first is the material station; the second is the human station, which is that of the rational soul; and the third is that of divine manifestation and heavenly splendour.

We stated before that the Manifestations of God have three stations: first, the material reality, which pertains to the human body; second, the individual reality, that is, the rational soul; and third, the heavenly manifestation, which consists in the divine perfections and is the source of the life of the world, the education of the souls, the guidance of the people, and the enlightenment of all creation.

The holy Manifestations have three stations: the corporeal station, the station of the rational soul, and the station of perfect divine manifestation and heavenly splendour. Their bodies perceive things only according to the capacity of the material world; and so it is that they have at certain times expressed physical weakness.

Man has two planes: the physical and the intellectual. The divine revelators have three: their physical condition, which is shared by all mankind - they eat, they sleep, they are sometimes ill, they become well again, they become fatigued, they undergo all that man can undergo; their intellectual degree and their holy reality which surrounds all beings and comprehends secrets. Their horizons enfold the universe, for they are the suns of real truth illuminating all the regions of thought, dispersing the darkness, uplifting the world of mankind and making the material world heavenly.

The Body of Christ was born of Mary of Nazareth, but the Spirit was of God. The capacities of His human body were limited but the strength of His spirit was vast, infinite, immeasurable.

Our Lord said that the Prophets and Suns of God possessed two states or conditions. 1st, the Spiritual; second, the material.

Jesus Christ had the same two conditions, the earthly and the heavenly, and man has the same.

"Now is my soul troubled," in this passage 'soul' means the personality, the human nature, or body of Christ - not His spirit which was perfectly happy. The body of Jesus was perfect - His perfect and obedient servant, naturally was sorry and grieved that this great spirit would leave it - though this body was in entire subjection and obedience.

Christ appeared in a human form - body. The human body has two conditions - an earthly and a spiritual one. There are always two roads, a worldly and an unworldly one; one of light and one of darkness; one of ignorance, the other of knowledge; one a spiritual and one an earthly. Christ had two natures; the human and the Divine; the satan side and the spiritual side.

Christ was a divine mercy which shone upon all mankind, the medium for the descent of the bounty of God, and the bounty of God is transcendent, unrestricted, universal.

Question: "And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

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.

If you look in the mirror, it is only glass, but it is the place of the Light and Brilliancy of God. The mirror has no Light in itself, but all comes from God: thus the Father is in the Son.

The second cause, the second veil, is that the Holy Manifestations of God possess two stations. One station is that of the human being, and the other is that of the divine and luminous, the station of heavenly manifestation and revelation. The station of divine revelation is hidden while the human station is apparent.

At times thou seest it as the waters of life upon which depends the life of all the worlds, and at times thou seest it in human form.

Although the Point of the Bayan was mentioned in the first gate, the Point of the Furqan in the second, and the revelation of the Qa'im in the fifteenth gate, the truth of this mystery lieth in the fact that the Point in Its station of pure transcendence, which is naught but the very utter Revelation of God Himself and is manifested by the name Divinity, is mentioned in the first gate. But the same Point in Its station of determination, which is the rank of the Primal Will, is mentioned in the second gate. Finally, the manifestation of the Point in Its station of standing supreme over (qa'imiyyat) all souls, which is a glory confined to the Revelation of the Fourteenth Sacred Soul, was mentioned in the fifteenth gate.

For this Word, which is the Pivot of the Book of God, two stations have been ordained in creation and law. The first station tells of the Manifestation of God amongst His servants, for all divine commands and prohibitions appear from Him.

As for the one addressed in the Temple, it is the outward form of His Most Holy Temple, and - exalted be His grandeur - at times He addresseth His outward form with the tongue of His inward reality, and likewise the reverse.

When He saith "I am the servant of God," it is as His saying "I am the Beloved of the worlds." Thus hath it ever been in His kingdom, but the people have veiled themselves therefrom and thus have remained far from the shores of nearness, among the heedless.

The Holy Manifestations of God possess two stations: one is the physical station, and one the spiritual. In other words, one station is that of a human being, and one, of the Divine Reality.

"It is the same with the Cause of God. If we would know whether this Cause is complete and in full perfect order, we must see whether all its condition or graces are complete and consistent. All Divine Manifestations give up all personal condition, considerations and graces in the Cause of God to such an extent that there is nothing judged of their personality; that is, they sacrifice their personality entirely in the world.

He is the Self-Subsisting!

Praise be to Him Who hath created a luminous reality, a most merciful essence, a spiritual existence, a divine substance, a radiant pearl, and a brilliant and unique gem, and made it the channel of the supreme bounty, the bond of the Most Great Covenant, and the means of the highest gift. Through it flowed the bounties of its Lord and poured forth the desires of its people. It shone forth, glowed, illumined, radiated, dawned and revealed the mysteries, rent asunder the veils, split the coverings and removed the shroud from a countenance whereby the sun was concealed in clouds. All that is thereon shall pass away, and there shall remain the face of thy Lord, the Lord of Glory and Bounty.

I offer greetings, praise, peace and glory unto that white pearl, that crimson ruby, that radiant virgin, that divine gem, that eternal essence, that spiritual reality, and that conscious identity. I beseech God to make me one who partakes of its river, who is immersed in its ocean, who receives from its bounty, who is illumined by its radiance, who derives light from its effulgence, who is warmed by its fire, and who is enlightened by its lamp. Glorified be He Who created it, brought it forth, originated it, chose it, and preferred it above all the worlds.

'Abdu'l-Baha

God, blessed and exalted be He, hath said: "Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring." [Q18:86] O thou who gazeth toward the Most Glorious Kingdom! Know thou that in this blessed verse, this celestial call, this divine melody, and this spiritual reality there are signs for those who possess insight and traces for those who witness. Observe how that perceiving soul, that knower who stood firm, that wise one acquainted with the mysteries of the Almighty Lord, that one yearning to behold the lights of the Resplendent Beauty, wandered through the realms of existence and traveled from the dawning-place of creation to the setting-place of invention, longing for vision and meeting. He saw no being among beings, no existent among existents, except that he sought therein to witness the light of existence and observe the reality that flows upon all things - the center of divine inspirations, the dawning-place of heavenly lights, the hidden secret, and the concealed symbol in the unique essence.

He wandered through the worlds of the unseen and the seen, and plunged into the seas of grandeur and the wildernesses of realms hidden from the eyes of creation, until he was guided to the shore of eternity - that coast concealed from sight, veiled from vision, and hidden from the minds of those possessed of thoughts - the Ancient Dawn, the Greatest Name, the Most Noble Rising-Place, and the Illumined Setting-Place dawning over the horizons of nations. There he found the Sun of Divine Reality, the Most Great Light of the All-Merciful, the Holy Divine Identity, and the Luminous Eternal Essence setting - that is, concealed, veiled, and hidden in an essence that combined the water of existence and the heat of the kindled fire.

For the Merciful Manifestation, the Divine Dawning-Place, and the Eternal Setting-Place hath two stations in the world of appearance and two ranks in the realm of manifestation. In the first station, He is the source of the water of life, the heavenly spring of salvation, and the spirit that pervades the realities of all things. This mighty outpouring and manifest bounty is expressed as the flowing water, and "from water did We create every living thing." In the second station, He is the fire kindled in the Blessed Tree, the blazing flame in the sacred Sinai, and the luminous flash in the mount of the divine spot, even as Moses, peace be upon him, said: "Tarry ye; lo, I perceive a fire; perhaps I can bring you a brand therefrom or find guidance in the fire." The water flowing from the reality of bounty upon the world of existence in the realm of manifestation, and the intense heat that appeared from the kindled fire, when combined, are expressed as the muddy spring - that is, heated by the warmth of the love of the Mighty, the Loving.

O thou who gazest upon the Kingdom of existence! Let Us expound unto thee a second meaning of the blessed verse. That most learned one who traverseth the worlds of being with the feet of the heart, who journeyeth through the horizons of creation with the light of divine guidance - when his yearning, his ardour and his longing to witness the effulgence from the light of the horizons grew intense, he wandered in the wilderness of the manifestations of created things and roamed through the wastes and strongholds of the dawning-places of existence, until he reached the axis of the millstone, the center of the circle of being in the Most Exalted Sphere, and the pivot of the Supreme Orb revolving around itself in infinite space. Thus was he guided to the light of guidance, the Most Great Word, the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, the Sacred Mosque and the Remote Mosque round about which blessings have been bestowed. There he found that the Sun of Truth was setting in a spring of dark water - that is, the fountain of the water of existence commingled with dark clay, meaning the elements existing in the visible material realm.

That resplendent and effulgent Light, the Reality of realities, the Most Great Luminary, existed within a human temple, an earthly frame, and an elemental body, manifesting all names, attributes and lights within this Niche - "God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp." [Q24:35] And the word "spring" hath seventy meanings in the language, including flowing spring, weeping eye, and also meaning sun, ray, cloud, chief, reality, essence and the like. The commentators have said that it appeared to set in a spring of dark water.

Therefore, all the Prophets from a beginning that hath no beginning find their existence in Him Whom God shall make manifest, and all who shall appear unto an end that hath no end derive their reality from Him Whom God shall make manifest. Thus in the ocean of names, if thou hast comprehended and aided it, thou shalt see naught but God, for these are mirrors wherein naught is seen save God.

Say: After God has ordained occultation for His Friend, ye shall be guided by His light. And from the first day when God desires to raise up the true Faith, He will permit His Friend to recite from the Book of his Lord as He pleaseth by His command. Verily He is the Mighty, the All-Wise.

Unto this subtle, this mysterious and ethereal Being He hath assigned a twofold nature: the physical, pertaining to the world of matter, and the spiritual, which is born of the substance of God Himself. He hath, moreover, conferred upon Him a double station. The first station, which is related to His innermost reality, representeth Him as One Whose voice is the voice of God Himself. … The second station is the human station, exemplified by the following verses: "I am but a man like you." "Say, praise be to my Lord! Am I more than a man, an apostle?"

And if it be said that all was concealed and treasured in God's Book, and that in the manifestation of the Point of the Bayan -- may the spirit of all existence be sacrificed for Him -- the veiled meanings in the divine words emerged from behind the veil in the chambers of utterance, this is the truth in which there is no doubt. And if it be said that what was mentioned before in summary came to be explained and detailed, this is the truth in which there is no doubt. And if it be said that what appeared in this wondrous Revelation had no precedent and all is new, this saying too is correct and complete. For if God, glorified be His Name, should today speak a word that all people have spoken heretofore and shall speak hereafter, that word would still be new, were ye to reflect upon it.