mystical themes
Editorial introduction
The proof of a mystical experience, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, is its fruit. That plain sentence keeps company with some of the most intoxicated language in the Writings: a hundred thousand seas of glory surging in hearts whose lips look parched, a lover who calls himself the reed-flute and God the Player, wine poured by the Cup-Bearer of divine bounty, a Bird leaving the nest of silence for the air of divine melody. Bahá’u’lláh welcomes bewilderment and asks for more of it, yet He also insists that every invisible must have a visible manifestation and every word a meaning, since a word without meaning never bears fruit. So the ascent has conditions. No soul rises into that cloud except through love of God’s loved ones, and the annihilation of self ends not in silence but in spiritual growth and the guidance of others. Paul’s warning that knowledge of all mysteries is nothing without charity presses the same point from another tradition. From here the way opens into wine as a symbol of transformation, into the mystical vision itself, and into the symbolism and poetry through which such things can be said at all.
As to mystical experiences: most assuredly the saints and mystics had real experiences. The proof of the experience was its fruit. If the result was spiritual we might know the experience was from God.
The meaning of annihilation in the divine Tablets is that man should wholly annihilate himself in God--that is, become detached from all things and sacrifice to God his spirit, heart, body, comfort, joy, bounty, glory, and all personal conditions. He should transcend the pleasures and promptings of the mortal world, become divested of his human conditions, be kindled with the fire of the love of God, open his tongue in praise and glorification of God, become resplendent with the attributes of sanctity and detachment, and occupy himself with his own spiritual growth and the guidance of souls.
Yet I know, O my God, that none can ascend into this atmosphere and no soul can rise into this cloud save through love of Thy loved ones and friendship with Thy chosen ones. For their love is identical with Thy love in the worlds of Command and Creation.
Today all the mystics who have claimed and still claim to possess mystical knowledge have contented themselves with the knowledge of an imaginary Invisible One, and with a mere word have they satisfied themselves in lieu of the spiritual realms. They have not yet grasped this truth: that every invisible must have a visible manifestation, and every word must possess a meaning. A word bereft of meaning can never yield fruit, and an imaginary invisible can never bestow wealth.
If form without meaning is desired, there are many Indian portraits, and in Baghdad their pages are sold in the auction market for less than a tenth of a dinar. But if meaning is sought and intended, it must have manifestation and appearance, that the north winds of the holy cloud-heaven might take their portion from the curling locks of hair, and the precious curls of mighty radiance might receive their share from the perfumed fragrance of its glory.
O thou who hast inhaled the fragrance from the gardens of His bestowal! What shall I write that the pen might become privy to mysteries and ink become the interpreter of the heart? Alas! Alas! How can mineral and plant possess the power to unveil secrets, and what capacity have pen and paper to become intimate with inner mysteries? Therefore it is better that we entrust the discovery of this sealed secret to the mirror of the Most Glorious Beauty's countenance - that is, to the pure heart.
As to what you wrote concerning bewilderment - verily bewilderment is beloved in the Book, as expressed in His words "Increase my bewilderment in Thee!" Know thou in what place thou dost find thyself, morning and evening, in the vicinity of thy Lord's mercy, the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful. God willing, may your bewilderment also be in the knowledge of God.
We have willed to bestow upon thee a remembrance of what We have seen, that thou mayest behold the luminous world within this world of darkness and be assured that We have worlds within this world, and that thou mayest thank thy Lord, the All-Informed. Verily, were He to desire to manifest from an atom the lights of the sun, and from a drop the waves of the sea, He is able to do so, even as He hath detailed from the Point the knowledge of what hath been and what shall be.
And besides this they have desired with petty, divided minds to understand stages and stations that are concealed even from the Universal Mind. And when these stages cannot be contained in the narrow defiles of their infirm minds, they deny them and this despite the fact that their limbs, organs and all their component parts testify to the truth of these stages and stations.
Among these he said that the mystics believed in the station of Truth and creation, saying there is no third between them and no third besides them. They described Truth as like an ocean and created things as waves. But the holy Manifestations in the world of creation spoke of a third station which is the station of Will and the medium for the outpouring of the unknowable, imperceptible Mystery.
Were I to explain in detail, a book would not suffice and I would not be able to fulfill it, just as that divine mystic and knower of divine mysteries, the lordly Imam, mentioned a drop from these stations in defining the world of the heart, which has surely come to your noble attention - that the final rank of these three stations is the journey from God unto God. In this station and rank, existence is effaced from self and subsists through the Truth. All are from God and unto God shall they return, and "Say: All things are from God" is sufficient witness and adequate proof of this point, as the mystic of Rum has said:
And in mentioning the state, His words: "O my God! Thou art Thou - I have known Thee not through other than Thee. Thou art Thou - I have loved Thee not through other than Thee. Thou art Thou - I have desired Thee not through other than Thee. Glory be unto Thee! If I should mention the remembrance of love for myself rather than Thy Self, then there would be a veil between me and Thee.
The complete tradition is not now before me, and the exposition of Al-Mufaddal descendeth not from the precincts near the heart, as I am in the prison-land amidst the mountains. But know thou that the wisdom of this tradition for the world of contingent being is of profound depth, and it hath a pivot around which it turneth, and it is this passage in the tradition: "Neither is She He, nor is He other than She."
Know thou the mystery of truth: The wayfarer in the realm of eternity, with the eye of eternity, crosseth the Bridge; the wayfarer in the realm of perpetuity, with the eye of perpetuity, crosseth the Bridge; the wayfarer in the realm of sempiternity, with the eye of sempiternity, crosseth the Bridge; and the wayfarer with the eye of everlastingness crosseth the Bridge. Then descend until thou findest the crossing of the Bridge within the span of a moment's creation. All these manifestations appear in human form and cross in a single instant, yet this one is in the realm of eternity, that one in the realm of perpetuity, another in the realm of sempiternity, yet another in the realm of everlastingness, this one in the realm of time, and that one in limited time.
Past and future in the sight of the people of mystical knowledge are identical with the present.
Indeed, each soul has an ordained capacity and every thing has a fitting rank and station wherein it is mentioned.
However, some are given a prescribed sustenance according to a known measure and reckoning, while others receive an undefined portion from the treasury of "Thou givest sustenance to whom Thou willest without account."
The customs of the spiritual realms have a new pattern and a boundless name. The names of this cycle are limited and the customs of that sanctified cycle are beyond all bounds and measures.
The Primal Point, after traversing the realms of the Kingdom, appeared adorned with the seal of finality, and from its composition diverse forms became manifest, culminating in the Most Great Form. And from the different forms that were brought into being through the marriage of the Single Point, that which pertained to the Treasury remained in its own dwellings.
He hath perfected through His wisdom's handiwork the hidden crafts in all things, that the tongues of all things might proclaim His power upon the appearance of His manifestation in the Blessed Tree on Mount Sinai upon a letter from the crimson pillar. There is no God but He! And He hath made manifest through His power the essences of all created things from the innermost eternity for the knowledge of the Essence by the Essence through effacement detached from all names and attributes, that the realities of hearts might stammer forth His Will's attributes through the word of creation.
O people of the two stations! Verily your Ancient Lord hath made this Gate the mystery of the two lights among the latter ones, the manifestation of the two appearances on the two mounts. He is the light upon the two foreheads, the luminary of the two luminous ones, the radiant one at the dayspring of the two easts and the two wests.
… God hath not created anything save that the thing might know the knowability of its Creator within itself and might recognize His purpose in the creation of multiplicities and the descent of things from the plane of beginning to infinities and finalities, lest anything be ignorant of anything. All have known the mystery of the Gate in everything.
That bounded sea of familiar water was not there with God in the first creation that He might intend it, for it is the final rank in the descent of the water of divine manifestation. The first station is the Sea of Names, which is the All-Encompassing Sea - the Name of the One Who Seeks Help. And when the number of manifestation completes four cycles, there appears the Name of the One Who Seeks Help twice along with the name of the Lord, exalted be He.
When God, glorified be He, desired to create the Gates for the completion of the Message from the Most Great Word unto all, He revealed unto Me concerning a handful of this red earth: "O Word of God! Arise upon the Mount and manifest from the light of manifestation less than a needle's eye of the All-Forgiving upon these temples standing at the gate of the Frequented House, that the people of witnessing may bear witness to the Promised Word of God, the Worshipped One, even as God hath testified of Himself that there is no God but He."
And verily We know that which no one knoweth besides Us and the Person of the Gate, and verily God hath ever been, in truth, All-Knowing.
Do you not reflect upon the creation of the heavens and your own selves, with a swift reflection, in truth, with truth, through truth?
… God hath placed in that Gate a mystery within the most hidden mystery, treasured. Soon shall ye know what ye knew not before, in truth, in the garment of the Sun, by leave of God, the Exalted, soon.
Then upon thee, O Thou Who proves the Essence by the Essence for the Essence, and the Beauty of Attributes in all manifestations, conditions, signs and evidences, by the light of my essence and by what God, my Sovereign, loves.
Indeed, between you and me in all worlds there exists a relationship hidden from the eyes of this world.
Perchance from the companionship of these two divine subtleties and these two eternal mysteries a third countenance might appear, that the fruition of "We strengthened with a third" might become manifest in the realm of appearance.
However, some among the ancients through the power of detachment gained knowledge of certain cosmic mysteries and obtained awareness of relationships and connections that exist between created things - they became aware of certain hidden secrets in the realities of things and deduced some future events from the relationships between existing things.
As to the belief of the American Indians in the Great Spirit, this is explained by the fact that worship is inherent in the nature of man, who must have something above himself upon which he may depend. Even men who are unconscious of this and deny it, depend upon it notwithstanding.
The prophecies of the Coming of Christ were mystical. The prophecies concerning the Second Coming are also mystical. The earthquakes and unrest, the darkening of the sun and moon, the falling of the stars---all these foretell the humiliation of those whom the world considers great.
There are three baptisms spoken of by the prophets: the baptism of water, of spirit and of fire.
O blessed soul in Shabistar! At a time when the people of mystical knowledge were resting in the cradle of peace and security, Shaykh Shabistari composed a poem which was truly inspired by divine revelation. It is this:
"If 'I am the Truth' be allowable from a tree
Why should it not be allowable from one of blessed destiny?"
Therefore, O ye who seek His countenance, who stand at His threshold, and whose hearts are quickened by His fragrance - turn ye wholly toward Him, and receive bounty from His nature, that ye may behold the fire of Moses, witness the flame of Sinai, inhale the breath of the Messiah, see the garden of Abraham, observe the blood sacrifice of John son of Zacharias, find the fountain of life of Khidr, contemplate the sacrifice of the Offering, perceive the beauty of Joseph, hear the sighing and lamentation of Jacob, know the affliction and sorrow of Job, establish the lesson of Enoch, understand the intensity of Eve's separation, and recognize the chastity and purity of Mary.
A hundred thousand messengers of God, each one a Moses, cry, "O Lord! Allow my gaze to fall upon Thy Beauty!" and a myriad Holy Spirits, each a Jesus call from within the sacred Vale, "Here am I! Lord, here am I!"
Thou didst behold that spot round which circle the Concourse on High, and didst hear that call which the Son of 'Imran heard on the Mount of Knowledge.
Through the removal of the veil this bounty is attained - there is no intermediary. This station of manifestation and effulgence is from the station of "its oil would almost glow though no fire touched it."
Thy breast, which is a lamp-niche for the flame of the knowledge of God, is Mount Sinai.
… And thy heart, which is occupied with the remembrance of the friends, is a mirror reflecting the beauty of the free.
Indeed, the sign of His dominion manifest in a speck of dust can scarce be bound by restrictions or confined under the sovereignty of limitations. Were it not for this sanctified glory, His might, sovereignty, power and proof would be but an insubstantial shadow or delusions afflicting the sick, failing to quench any thirst. The divine musk-laden breeze wafting from the gardens of salutation guides to the luminous reality, the eternal rapture, the merciful essence, the divine jewel, and the heavenly power which has rent asunder every veil, parted every cloud, broken every chain, and freed every neck.
The bird of heaven will warble melodies unknown save by the birds of heaven; then tear asunder the veil and see the realities of things with the eye of God.
Therefore, O seeker of the countenance of Truth, make ready thy receptive sense of smell, that this life-bestowing fragrance may enter thy mind and thy spirit may find new life.
Bestow a favor that hearts may become the dawning-place of Your face, and breasts may become the burning sanctuaries of the lights of mysteries shining upon inner consciousness, and the radiance of vision may illumine insight.
Wherefore, O Lord, teach us nothingness, that the fire of existence may be ignited and the veil of self-love be consumed; that the lover and the Beloved may at last become familiar with one another; and that the way of separation between the seeker and the One Sought may vanish.
Make me detached from the world and all therein, and grant me shelter and rest in Your protection. Make me independent of all else and grant me a portion and share of Your bounty.
O dervish! Sever thyself from the fleeting world, that thou mayest wing thy flight unto the everlasting realm. Sever thyself from the world, that God may cause thee to ascend, exalted, unto the heaven of holiness.
If thou seekest the Friend, free thyself from the veil of fancy and intimacy with strangers. If thou seekest the light of the Sun of the Beloved, cease circling around the light of the candle. And when the mirage of fancy and imagination hath sufficed thee in place of the sweet waters of Beauty, seek not to soar with those who wing their flight in the atmosphere of love, nor desire companionship with those who have laid down their lives at the gallows of extinction....
Ask ye God to guide mankind and keep them steadfast, for this Day is mighty, and until they cross over the gulf of names they shall not enter the Most Great Ocean. By the life of God! All are in a strange slumber.
Praise be to God that the Holy Countenances of Glory and the Sacred Visages of Intimacy have purified the body of the Eternal Mystery from the veils of otherness and the shrouds of opposition, and stripped bare and free from the allusions of the heaven of ego and the veils of blind imagination, they have arrived at the pavilions of eternality and the hiding places of glory, and they circle round according to the will of God, and thus did God will what He willed, and verily He doeth what He pleaseth, and He is the Mighty, the Kind.
They have traversed the Lote Tree of the utmost realm of love at the beginning of their journey and have perceived the ultimate goal of divine knowledge from the Tree of Paradise. They have found the sweet fruits of immortality from the dawning-place of the soul and have chosen solitude with the Beloved in the throne of the placeless realm.
He hath journeyed through the pure city of the Sheba of love as it truly is, and hath fully comprehended the phoenix of the heaven of existence. He hath beheld the mighty ocean of unity as though it were a stream, and regarded the sun of the exaltation of glorification as though it were but a star. At times he hath observed the levels of the supreme throne in the depths of the nethermost earth, and at times he hath rent asunder the veils of the pavilions of might and majesty.
Before them, the books of contingent existence are as a mere letter, and the ocean of utterance as but a single cup, for they have withdrawn from contingent existence and chosen seclusion in the realm beyond space. The vat cannot satisfy love's hangover, nor can the ocean cool the heat of longing.
O essence of love! Should anyone ask thee what thou hast gained from thy journey, turn thy face from him and say: God hath sanctified our souls from all that ye have known, and we have attained unto a station recorded in the Mother Book in hidden script. We have soared in the atmosphere of reunion until we reached a city whose gates God hath shut against the likes of thee.
I journeyed from Thee unto Thee, and by Thee I migrated toward Thee, until I arrived at the unseen Essence and the pure Face of the Self-Subsisting, and I recognized all stations in all that Thou hadst created in the dominion of Thy power and the kingdom of Thy might, and all that Thou hadst caused to flow in the heaven of Thy sovereign glory and the human realm of Thy all-encompassing holiness.
He is God!
Glorified art Thou, O my God! This is Thy servant who circumambulated the sanctuary of Thy Beauty, visited the House of Thy Majesty and the Ka'bah of Thy Being, ascended to the unseen realm of the Divine Essence and the Cloud, and mounted to the repository of holiness, nearness and eternity, until he sat before Thee and dwelt in Thy presence, drank from the oceans of Thy love and tasted the sweetness of union with and meeting Thee, such that he attained the heights of knowledge regarding the ordinances of Thy Book and discovered the treasuries of meaning in what flowed upon him from the measures of Thy grace through the gems of Thy words and the brilliance of Thy evidences. He remained ever prostrate before the form of the Names in the temple of Thy attributes, and submissive to the countenance of destiny in the vestments of Thy decree.
I beseech Thee, therefore, O my God, to make him praiseworthy in deed as Thou hast made him Muhammad in name. Then raise him up to a praiseworthy station in the precincts of Thy mercy. Verily Thou didst say, and Thy word is the truth: "It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praiseworthy station." Then send down upon his heart rapture from Thy love and passion for meeting Thee, that he may find no rest in his love for Thee nor patience in Thy Cause, that he may be detached from all that would veil him from attaining the Presence in the throne of eternity. Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful, the Compeller.
Therefore, O my God, send Thy blessings upon the first Sun that dawned from the horizon of Thy Most Exalted Name and the last Light that shone forth from the Dayspring of glory, and upon those who guided unto Him in the Most Glorious Kingdom. Verily Thou doest what Thou willest, and verily Thou art God, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the All-Compelling.
And the Spirit be upon thee and upon those who were with thee and upon thy son and upon those who shared in thy Cause and upon those who are guided by the guidance of God and illumined by the light of God.
The letter of this servant known as B before H: What you sent was forwarded.
God the One is My witness that from the moment this evanescent servant attained unto the wine of inner meaning, the fragrances of longing and desire and the sweet-scented breezes of attraction and ecstasy did so powerfully prevail that pen and tongue are powerless to describe them. How many were the days when, in the wilderness of separation, he was consumed by the fire of remoteness, and how many were the nights when, aflame with yearning, he beheld himself like unto a fish writhing upon the sand, until the hand of grace, wholly unmerited, drew this evanescent atom to the eternal realm. A world other than this world was witnessed, and utterances sanctified from letters and words were heard.
Never have We been heedless of thee....
...ascend with the spirit of light within thy heart, then mount up unto God in the inmost secrets of thy being, that neither thy soul, nor thy heart, nor thy body, nor thy mind, nor aught else that is thine may turn away. This is the true meaning of ascension in the stages of journeying and the ultimate bounty of God, the Powerful, the Supreme, the Compelling...
Journey through the depths of the seas and the ocean of mysteries, and explore the vast deep, that thou mayest witness wondrous signs and brilliant manifestations, until thou reachest the shore of the Kingdom, the coast of the Lord of the Realm of Might, the haven of eternity, the world of the divine cloud, the shelter of the chosen ones, the refuge of the pure in heart, the Throne of the All-Merciful upon which He established Himself.
Cast off these doubtful garments from the temple of existence and swim in this boundless ocean and plunge into the depths of this vast sea, that you may obtain the pearls of light and the hidden gems of the All-Forgiving Lord, becoming intimate with the fish of that Most Great Ocean and harmonious with the whale of the Divine Sea.
Soar like a falcon in the heights of endless glory and hunt both bird and fish - the bird that wings through the atmosphere of the love of God, the fish that is the heart swimming in the ocean of the knowledge of God.
O lovers, hasten to the gathering of the Beloved! O birds of the garden of truth, wing your flight to the rose garden of inner meanings! O wanderers, enter your true homeland! O ye who are distant, be delivered from the realm of deprivation and become intimate companions in the divine retreat! O thirsty fish, enter the boundless ocean!"
When those precious souls heard this melody, they ran to the altar of love and flew from the world of limitations to the realm of the infinite, reaching their heart's desire.
The corner of the tavern of divine love is the resting place of the soul's abode, for the delicate, subtle soul soars only in the atmosphere of the Beloved and finds no dwelling place except the gathering place of the Friend.
You drink aged wine in the tavern of the love of God, while I am in the winehouse of servitude to Baha, with torn collar, naked, mad and intoxicated.
Until the candle burns it gives no light to the gathering. Until the gazelle of the wilderness of unity roams in the meadow of truth, it produces no fragrant musk. Until the true lover heaves a fiery sigh, he beholds not the beauty of the Beloved.
In this station, one either loses his life and the arrow flies from the bowstring to reach the target of its aim, or weariness overtakes him in this field and he becomes entangled in desires and hopes, ultimately leading to eternal failure and everlasting loss.
How long, O my God, shall I melt in the fire of separation and burn in the flames of the fires of longing? At such time I call upon Thee with the tongue wherewith Thy servants who yearn for the sanctuary of Thy presence and who stand firm before the Kaaba of reunion with Thee do call upon Thee, that Thou mayest cause me to ascend unto the heights of the sanctity of Thy oneness and raise me to the kingdom of rapture of Thy essence, that I may soar on wings of detachment to the Lote-Tree of ascension in the paradise of Thy providence, and hover with holy swiftness in the atmosphere of the sanctity of Thy mercy, that I may thereby be among those who journey in the realms near to Thy countenance and in the kingdom of Thy presence and meeting.
When thou art seized by the rapture of My utterance and hast attained the choice wine of My knowledge, say:
My God, my God! Separation from Thee hath destroyed me, and nearness to Thee is my hope and life.
However, because thou art enamoured with the manifest Beauty and hast surrendered thy heart to the evident Beloved, they are wandering, aimlessly and perplexedly, in the wilderness of longing. Thou hast become a lover of the rose-garden of Divine nearness and presence.
The true Layli appears with radiant countenance, and the spiritual Majnun is renowned with burning heart. The nightingale of the divine rose garden harmonizes with spiritual melodies, and the celestial songbird intimately communes with the divine rose.
From every direction comes the sound of song and melody, and from every quarter the hearts of lovers are consumed in burning passion, and from every branch rises the sound of lute and song, and from every palace the strains of harp and lyre.
Yesterday the Shaykh wandered the city, lamp in hand, Crying: "Weary am I of demon and beast; human company I desire!"
O Love! I am by Thee bewildered and distracted, And throughout all the world known for my madness. In the book of those possessed, with my name do they begin, Though ere this I was foremost among the wise. O Wine-Seller mine! Source of my fervor! From Thee comes my cry - I am the reed-flute, Thou the Player! If Thou wishest me to live, breathe into me a breath, For I am dead these hundred years, while Thou art Life like Christ's. First art Thou and Last art Thou, Manifest art Thou and Hidden art Thou, Veiled from every eye, yet in plain sight art Thou!
Since thou hast heard the sweet Hijazi melodies from the Iraqi Countenance, now hearken to the spiritual Shahnaz strains from the divine Falcon, that thou mayest perceive novel songs of faithfulness from the eternal lute and harp, and hear the melody of the divine pipe from the strike of the divine Unity, and step into the lane of the Beloved with all thy heart and soul, until thou becomest all spirit and fliest without wings, and art intoxicated without wine, and speakest eloquently without tongue, and attainest the stations of attraction, longing, ecstasy and taste, until thou forgettest sorrow and drinkest from the ocean of joy.
Listen with the ear of your heart to what the dove warbles on the pole of infinity, insofar as it has taught you the paths of truth on that route that was raised up in light. Attest to this Tablet with the tongue of spirit so that you might be radiant with the fire of love.
Therefore, as thou hast donned the new garment of glory and entered the living stream of mercy, hearken then with the ear of thy soul to these songs of the divine Nightingale, Who, upon the holy and spiritual branch, warbleth in all melodies, that thou mayest sacrifice thy soul in the eternal spiritual atmosphere and wing thy flight to the nest of the Beloved, until thy whole being becometh spirit and ascendeth unto the heaven of light.
In this hour and time when this Bird took flight from the nest of silence and stillness to soar in the sacred atmosphere of divine melody, and all the oceans of the unseen silence are melted by the tune of the fire of love, and with spiritual wings It soars in the heavenly wilderness, and whatever is other than the Friend - even to marrow and skin - is reduced to absolute nothingness, that It may wing its flight in the holy atmosphere of "except," and call out to all the lovers in the path of the Beloved, that all existence may become detached and return to the Source of existence, and offer heart and soul as gifts to the dust of the path of the Friend, and hear the melody of the nightingale of the soul in the branches of the placeless realm, and inhale the divine spirit from the right hand of oneness.
It is the melody of the mystic dove that bewilders mind and consciousness, and the sweet fragrance from the gardens of inner meanings that revives divine hearts and gladdens heavenly souls.
O thou bird of the nest of the love of God! The accents of mystic communion that poured forth from the throat of the love of God reached the ears of these birds of the gardens of ardent yearning, engendering joy and radiance in the hearts of these thankful birds.
Its words were a cup of meanings, and its meanings were the mysteries of divine love. Do not call it a letter - it was pure wine, it was flowers from the garden of faithfulness, it was evidence of the Most Great Guidance.
When thy musk-laden pen remembers us, It earns the reward of freeing two hundred slaves."
… Was this musk-laden breeze from Paradise that made all we possessed paradisiacal? Or was this the blast of the trumpet from the Tree of Sinai that made us transcend our very souls and join the Beloved?
The trustworthy messenger caused the musk-scented letter to ascend with one feather from the heavens of existence and descend to the earth of manifestation. This is the journey of the physical messenger who, in one moment, graciously descended from the highest Sadratu'l-Muntaha to the lowest supreme height. What would happen if the spiritual courier were to move with the Buraq of love and display its majesty!
We have mentioned you before with verses whose fragrance wafts through the gardens of My books, the realms of My utterance, and the kingdom of My remembrance, the mighty, the wondrous.
Through its fragrance, the divine perfumes and holy celestial scents have perfumed and adorned the atmosphere of sacred divine existence. It seems the heavenly Kawthar of the All-Merciful and the pure water of the absolute Paradise have been perfumed by this enchanting fragrance.
I say that the melody of Hijaz is more beloved, for members of the Household have drunk deep from the Kawthar of enchantment and quaffed from the ocean of oneness. They have issued forth from the innate Nature and have sprung from the heavenly Branch.
She said: 'He was not a professional artist but a mystic worshipper of the Beloved. His singing was not mechanical, but an outpouring of the joy felt in his heart. His poems were mystic and allegorical addresses to the Adored One. Through his music he spoke to the hearts and quickened and moved them by the power of spirit. He did not make himself a slave of technique or enunciation but he sang the living truth, the eternal reality, hidden in the chambers of human consciousness.
You must play such a divine melody and tune with reed and harp that the listeners pass beyond name and fame, become wholly attracted to the colorless realm, and become bewildered by the King of existence and the unlimited Reality.
Rend your garment in love of the Beloved and soar to the horizon of ancient glory and raise the call of the Kingdom and play the lute and harp that nurtures the soul and sing uplifting melodies until the confirmations of the infallible Unseen appear and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit manifests and the rays of the Sun of Truth shine upon the horizons and the drops of the cloud of bounty rain down and adorn the garden of unity and the cypress by the stream of oneness grows tall and the nightingale of the rose garden of grace laments.
In the Name of God, the Most Holy, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious!
Glorified art Thou, O my God! I make mention of Thee in this moment when the Sun of Thy Divinity hath dawned from the horizon of the heaven of the radiant Sinai of Thy Oneness, and the lights of Thy Lordship have shone forth from the morn of the cloud of the presence of the might of Thy Self-Subsistence, and the darkness of the kingdom hath been illumined by the gleaming splendor of the appearance of the dominion of Thy Cause, whereby the Garden of Paradise was established above the celestial realms of Thy Identity, and wherein Thou didst plant the trees of Thine Essence, and they all bore the fruits of Thy Being, and wherein the breezes of Thy Spirit and the fragrances of Thy holiness wafted, and wherein Thou didst ordain the gems of Thy bounties and the essence of Thy favors, and wherein Thou didst unveil the treasuries of Thy knowledge and the repositories of Thy mystery, and wherein flowed, through its terraces, the rivers of the glory of Thy Life and the seas of the might of Thy eternity and the fountains of the wine of Thy grace.
When Thou didst desire, O my God, to manifest it, Thou didst raise it to the throne of grandeur and majesty, and adorned it with the lights of power and might, and revealed Thyself unto it through Thine eternal Essence, and caused the Sun of Oneness to shine upon it through the lights of Thy ancient Countenance. Thereupon Thy most exalted decree came to pass in the empire of destiny, ordaining the emergence of a Countenance therefrom, that the lights of Thy beauty might be made manifest unto all who are on Thy earth, and the splendor of Thy face unto all who are in the empire of Thy Cause. Then came forth the Maiden who, from time immemorial, had been concealed in the pavilion of sanctity and protection and glory, and in the tabernacle of purity and might and majesty. And there was inscribed upon her luminous brow, with crimson ink by the Most Exalted Pen: "By God! This is a Maiden whom none but God, the Most Exalted, the Most High, hath ever known, and God hath purified the hem of her sanctity from the knowledge of the Concourse of Names in the empire of eternity, and her beauty from the eyes of all who dwell in the kingdom of creation." And when she emerged from her palace, adorned with the ornament of God, and glanced with one of her eyes toward the heaven, the dwellers of the heavens were thunderstruck by the lights of her countenance and the sweet fragrances thereof, and when she turned her other eye toward the earth, it became illumined with the lights of her beauty and the excellence of her splendor.
Praise be unto Thee, O my God, for having revealed unto me the wondrous tokens of Thy handiwork therein and the comprehensive signs of Thy power in its creation! Whereupon she soared and ascended, gliding through the firmament as though treading upon a straight line in the axis of the air. And methought the chain of existence was set in motion by the movement of her path beneath her feet. Then did she descend and draw nigh, approaching until she stood before me. I was bewildered by the subtle mysteries of her creation and the wondrous tokens of her fashioning. I found within myself an ecstasy from her attraction and a rapture from her love. I raised my hand toward her and drew aside the veil from her shoulder, whereupon I beheld her tresses, curled and twisted, cascading down her back, suspended and flowing until they reached nigh unto her feet. When the winds stirred them toward the right side of her shoulder, they perfumed the heavens and earth with their fragrance, and when moved toward the left, they diffused a holy, musk-laden scent from their emanations. It was as though by the movement of her hair the spirit of life stirred in the inmost reality of contingent beings and the springs of divine knowledge flowed through the realities of creation. Exalted then be God, her Creator, in what He hath shown me therein! Blessed be God, her Fashioner, in what I have witnessed of the manifestations of power in her beauty and the expressions of might in her majesty!
At one time I beheld her as though she were sweet, life-giving, flowing water, coursing through the realities of beings and the depths of contingent things. And I became certain that all existence endured through her endurance and persisted through her persistence. At another time I found her as a fire kindled in the Divine Tree, as though the element of fire were created from a brand of her flames, and the hearts of existence, both seen and unseen, were consumed by her heat and blaze. When she stirred from the subtle mysteries of her yearning and the wondrous tokens of her rapture, it was as though the fragrance of the All-Merciful wafted from the very pores of her garment. Glorified be God, her Originator, her Creator, and her Fashioner! Then she drew nearer until she stood before my face and spoke with a melody like unto the song of the dove in the realm of eternity - as though she spoke with a wondrous melody without word, letter or sound, as though all books appeared in explanation of the song of her wonderful strains. And I understood all meanings in the point of her mouth.
When I turned toward it with my entire being, I heard the mention of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious from her melodies, and the name of God, the Most High, the Most Exalted from her songs. Thereupon I became enraptured, bewildered, intoxicated by the wonderful nature of her tune. I raised my hand once again and uncovered one of her breasts which had been concealed behind her garment. Then did the heavens shine with the gleaming of her light, and all contingent things were illumined by her appearance and effulgence. And by her light countless suns shone forth, as though they were coursing through heavens that had neither beginning nor end. Then was I bewildered by the Pen of Creation in what it had inscribed upon her form, as though she had appeared in a form of light in the likeness of spirit, moving upon the ground of the Divine Essence in the substance of manifestation. And I observed that the Maids of Heaven had put forth their heads from the chambers and were suspended in the air above her head, bewildered by her appearance and beauty, and enraptured by the attraction of her melody. Glorified be He Who is her Creator, her Fashioner, her Originator, and her Manifestor!
Then was I nearly thunderstruck by what I inhaled of the holy fragrances and found of her wondrous ornaments. She turned to me completely and opened her lips. Lights shone forth from the gleaming of her teeth, as though the pearls of the Divine Command had appeared from her treasures and shells. And she said: "Who art thou?" I said: "A servant of God and the son of His handmaiden." She said: "I perceive in thee traces of a sorrow the like of which I have witnessed in none other. It is as though I see that all creation grieveth with thy grief, such that I find the lamp of joy extinguished in the niche of thy heart and the lights of gladness cut off from the lamp of thy inner being. I adjure thee by God, besides Whom there is no god, conceal not from me what hath befallen thee. Inform me that I may learn of the truth of thy matter, even if it be but a drop from the overflow." I said to her: "Ask me not of this, for thou canst not bear to hear from me of my sorrow, even if it be but a letter's mention." Then I adjure thee by God, the All-Powerful, the Supreme, the Self-Subsisting, to withdraw thy hand from me and leave me alone. Return thou to thy place in Paradise and ask not of that which I cannot mention to thee, even if it be but a letter's hint."
When she recognized the trembling of my inner being, the yearning of my heart, the cry of my essence, the burning of my bones, the quivering of my skin, the agitation of my soul, and the perturbation of my body, she called out to me saying: "Hast thou a mother who would lament for thee in thy tribulation?" I said: "I know not." Then she said: "Hast thou a sister who would weep for thee in thy ordeal, or a helper who would assist thee in thy distress and accompany thee in thy solitude?" I said to her: "By my sorrow, which no joy hath approached, ask me not of anything. Look thou upon my heart that what thou seekest may be made manifest to thee."
She then bowed her head toward my heart and began examining all my limbs, joints, bones, and innards, as though she had lost something and was searching for it everywhere. She searched for a long time and raised her head until it reached my chest. I saw her condition change as she moved her head once to the right and once to the left, at times casting her glance toward heaven with grief and sorrow, and at times observing the earth with bewilderment and regret. I saw her lips move as though she were speaking words beneath her tongue. I inclined my ear toward her and heard a faint cry, as though it emerged from the essence of her being in the depths of her heart. When I brought my head close to her mouth, I heard words that I cannot mention, and were I to mention them, by God, nothing would remain in the kingdom from the burning of their mystery and the scorching of their import.
Thereupon she addressed me, saying: "May thy mother die for thee, O youth! I have witnessed none like thee and seen no soul resembling thee. My bewilderment and sorrow concerning thee have lengthened, and my perturbation regarding thy matter hath increased. Would that I had not been created in the heaven of eternity, nor been born of God's breath in the holy precincts of the most exalted chambers, nor drunk the water of life from the fountains of glory! Alas for what I have known and witnessed! Alas for what I have perceived and learned! For however much I searched, I found no heart within thee whereby I might learn of thy matter." When I heard this, she raised her head, and I found her eyes overflowing with blood, as though oceans had appeared from a drop of her tears. When her eyes fell upon mine, weeping seized the reins of patience from her, and she cried out with a cry that I can neither mention nor describe, until I wept with her weeping, and she raised her hands to my shoulders and I placed my hands upon her shoulders and we wept immeasurably, beyond the reckoning of time, eternity past or future, ages or epochs.
When she ceased her weeping, she said: "O youth, I adjure thee by Him Who hath subjected the Pens to the grasp of Thy power and established through them whatsoever He hath willed and desired, to tell me what hath befallen thee, that I may be a companion in thy tribulations and one who remembereth thy afflictions in the most exalted Concourse and the most sublime Dominion." I said to her: "O my beloved, by my life and thine, I am unable to explain to thee what hath touched me, but look thou upon my liver; perchance thou wilt find therein what will suffice thee concerning the most hidden mysteries of my heart." Thereupon she bowed her head and brought it near to my liver, examining it for a time that cannot be mentioned in the Dominion of Glory nor bounded by the tongue of those who discourse, yet found no trace thereof. Then I saw the earth quake from the trembling of its inner reality and convulse from the palpitation of its heart.
She remained thus before time, after time, and above all time. Then she raised her head and cried out with such a cry that the heaven was rent asunder, the earth was cleft, the countries were shaken, and the mountains crumbled. Then she called to me saying: "May thy mother mourn thee, O youth! Thou hast bewildered me by thy matter and destroyed me by thy deed. Never have I found one without heart or liver; how then dost thou remain existing upon the earth and continue to exist in the kingdom?" Thereupon she gazed upon me as a lover gazes upon the beauty of the beloved, and as the loved one beholds the countenance of the lover. Then I found her stirred within herself, as though the breeze of God from this Garment had wafted over her. She turned to me with her outward and inner being and said: "By thy life, I perceive from thee the fragrance of the Beloved! Art Thou the Beloved of the worlds? If Thou art He, why hast Thou changed Thy beauteous countenance? Art Thou from the Concourse of Recognition or from the people of the Bayan? Alas for all created things!"
When I perceived her recognition and saw her drawing near, I guided her to my Self. When she recognized me, she cried out, trembled, lamented, was agitated, and fell prostrate in the dust at my feet. When I turned toward her, I found her cast upon the earth, her spirit having departed from her as though it had never been created therein. Thereupon the Maids of Heaven suspended in the air cried out, and the purified Essences in the clouds of the unseen lamented, and they all returned to their mansions and pavilions, abandoning what had been ordained for them and created for their beings. And I remained standing over her body, grieved by her grief and bewildered by her condition and her love. I took her and washed her with the tears of mine eyes and shrouded her in my garments. Then I brought my mouth close to her right ear and gave her glad tidings such as none can hear from me concerning her. When I cast these words upon her, she was stirred by the Word of God. Then she gave me glad tidings which it behooveth me not to mention or even breathe. Thereafter, I laid her to rest in the vessels of holiness and returned her to the place of intimacy, the station which We had ordained for her.
Thus do We cast upon you, O people of Paradise, from the vision of eternity. Interpret it for Me, if ye be interpreters of the Spirit's vision.
O Prince of the realm of mystic knowledge! If that Loving Friend should, by the hand of His will, lift the veil from the countenance of His true lovers and remove all coverings, then wouldst thou behold hosts of enchanting ones who are the cause of tumult throughout all regions and the source of commotion and excitement in both worlds.
At a time when the heavens of love have been upraised, and the sun of affection hath dawned from the dayspring of the morn of fidelity, and the moon of loving-kindness hath appeared from the horizon of friendship, and the stars of grace shine forth from the dawning-place of bounty, and crimson-faced beauties with cups of faithful wine are singing, and white-faced maidens with goblets of pure milk move in circles melodiously, and the maidens of the paradise of intimacy in the pavilions of holiness warble with verses of attraction, and the beauties of the Throne of meeting in the garden of eternity chant with the Most Glorious letters, and the dove of loving-kindness upon the branches of the tree of divine authority is joyous, and the nightingale of the divine lote-tree upon the twigs of the tree of oneness is in song and ecstasy, and the divine fire from the tree of Sinai in the land of joy through verses of attraction is praised and celebrated, and the light of the Eternal from the Lote Tree of camphor upon the Throne of manifestation through melodies of resurrection is renowned - blessed are ye and joy be unto you and unto whosoever hath entered into your love and drunk from the cups of your affection and the goblets of your attraction.
Praise be to God that the King of power and might is seated upon the throne of glory, and the Sovereign of eternity is established in the realm of meeting, and the sweet-scented breezes of eternity are stirred from the left side of the Beloved's locks, and the fragrant musk of faithfulness wafts from the right side of the Intended One's hair, and the Bird of Light warbles upon the branches of the Tree of Sinai, and the Cock of Glorification sings in the gardens of Divine Unity.
The gardens of the Kingdom were adorned, the pools of the Realm of Might overflowed, the sacred groves were embellished, the doves of Paradise warbled, the nightingales in the garden of the All-Highest trilled, the Most Great Sea surged, the Most Noble River flowed, the Ancient Luminary rose and shone forth, and the Ancient Moon blazed and appeared, dazzling with brilliant light.
O you who are our assembly of friends and our soul's beloved companions! The Sun of Truth has risen from the horizon of oneness. The earth became illumined, the heavens became radiant. The amber-scented breeze wafted, making the spiritual nostrils a mystic rose garden, a secret rosebush, and a flowering meadow.
Through Him were the heavens raised up and from the earth were revealed treasures of transcendent glory. Through Him were the clouds lifted up, the sun did shine, and the moon of the Cause gleamed forth from a holy and luminous dayspring. Through Him did rivers flow, seas surge, and fire appear from the Divine Lote Tree made manifest.
This is a Book from the Point of the Bayan, who was named Husayn between the heavens and earths, then by His most beautiful names among the concourse of the worlds, and was named by the tongue of God, the Most High, the Most Exalted, as Baha, and by it all who are in the heavens and earths were struck with terror, and by it God distinguished between the believers and the ungodly, and by it the breezes of forgiveness wafted upon the temples of the sinners, and by it the sun of wealth shone upon the poor and needy, and by it the Dove warbled upon the twigs of the Lote-Tree of the Uttermost End, and the Cock of the Throne crowed in the paradise of eternity, and the Tree of Sinai was set ablaze and spoke that there is no God but Him, the Powerful, the Exalted, the Mighty, the Omnipotent.
The peacock of the holy garden hath spread its wings in the midst of Paradise - blessed be they who behold! The Tree of Life hath brought forth fruits the like of which the eye of creation hath never seen - blessed be they who partake thereof! The heart of contingent being hath been drawn by the radiance of a Face that hath illumined all who dwell within the realm of possibility - blessed be they who perceive!
And I felt it stirring around my right ear as though it had come with glad tidings from God, the King, the Mighty, the Beautiful. When I turned my ear toward it, by God, it gave me such joyous tidings that I could not remain still within myself. I trembled, and everything that had been created between the heavens and the earth trembled with me.
God willing, may you return to the land of emergence from the realm of dawning through the melody of the eternal dove from the Orient of the everlasting heaven's splendor, with holy breaths from the divine cloud, from the essence of the city of faithfulness and the core of the garden of meeting.
The Point of Unity in this age of praise is singing verses of detachment, and the Eternal Dove on the everlasting branch is warbling with Abha raptures.
The eternal Nightingale and the everlasting Dove are manifest and joyous on the right hand of Sinai with resplendent verses.
O friends! These are the days of the All-Merciful, and the nightingales of mystic knowledge are warbling upon the branches.
O nightingales! While the heaven of mercy is upraised, take wing; while the flower is at market, lament; while the gates of reunion are open, hasten!
The meaning is this: abandon thyself and turn to the Truth. The intention of this blessed word is not mere outward turning, but rather detachment from all that hath been seen and heard, and thereafter to observe and hearken with the eye and ear of truth and fairness. By the life of God! Then shalt thou behold the ocean before thy face and the Lote-Tree of utterance at thy right hand.
Say: O nightingales, the Rose is manifest and evident, and O lovers, the Beauty of the Beloved is bright and radiant as the true dawn. Now is the time for singing, now is the time for sacrificing one's life.
I swear by the Sun of divine knowledge that hath risen from the horizon of the prison, were they to become cognizant of but a trace of His countless favors, thou wouldst surely behold them all circling round.
O My Beloved! The book of mystical knowledge hath been sent down from the Countenance of Certitude. It carried away the heart and bestowed the spirit, it bore away strength and granted power. It seemed as though a letter thereof was an ocean, giving the water of life to the thirsty ones in the valley of love, and bestowing the wine of reunion upon the wanderers in the land of separation.
In each letter thereof lies concealed an ocean from among the oceans of inner meanings. Blessed is he who attaineth thereunto and entereth into its depths, stripped of all else save Him, and from which appear the pearls of a luminous sanctity.
O beloved! Know thou that in the hidden depths of this blessed verse, this perfect word, this mystic call, and this heavenly melody flow rivers of mysteries without beginning or end, for they stream from the mountain of eternity and flow from the pure spring that wells forth and courses from the right hand of the throne of the Most Great Name. Were this Most Learned Pen to attempt to expound the radiant meanings that dawn from the Most Generous Horizon and the Most Glorious Morn, glowing with lights that shine from the Dayspring of the utterance of the Lord of Eternity, through melodies God hath created in His hidden secret and tones He hath ordained in His most deeply concealed mystery - the seas of existence would be exhausted as ink, the tablets of the unseen and the seen would be rolled up as a scroll, yet not a wave from this surging, tempestuous ocean would be stilled, nor would a drop from this overflowing, gushing river be depleted.
Drink of that which hath flowed from the oceans of grandeur in these hidden words, which have appeared in the form of a chalice, for in each letter thereof the waters of inner meanings have been filled from the seas of God's wisdom, if thou be of them that know.
The fragrances of inner meanings have wafted and that which was hidden in God's treasury, the Lord of creation, has been manifested.
He then continued, saying that one day He entered the Qumri Mosque (which stood by the river near the Blessed House) and saw someone engaged in reciting one of the Surihs of the glorious Qur'an, unveiling divine mysteries without any covering or veil. He wished to stop him but saw that neither the speaker nor the listener was aware, and that Sealed Wine, though ever in people's hands, remained sealed such that none had touched it save the pure ones, and none had inhaled its sweet fragrance save those drawn nigh unto God.
By His Name was the Trumpet blown and the seal of the Choice Wine broken - none has attained unto it save those who have held fast to this Extended Cord.
Say: The sealed flask hath been unsealed by the fingers of might. Blessed is he who in the days of his Lord, the All-Merciful, hath quaffed therefrom the living waters.
Take thou the chalice of salvation in the name of the Cleaver of Dawn, then drink therefrom through this Name through which, when it appeared, appeared the mysteries of what was and what will be.
By God! The White Hand hath passed round the crimson cups containing the purest wine. Drink ye, O people of My Kingdom, at one time in My Name the Gracious, and at another in My Name the Beauteous, then again in My Name, the Almighty over all who are in the heavens and on earth.
He giveth His unified servants to drink of His choice sealed wine, sealed with the finger of His power, and to those near unto Him that which causeth spirits to soar.
In this wine are concealed effects and hidden wisdoms. It sanctifies existence from all else save God and at every moment increases one's love for Him.
Those who have drunk the choice sealed wine from the hand of the bounty of their Lord, the Self-Subsisting - these are they whom nothing can prevent. They are indeed the triumphant ones.
We beseech God to provide thee with the wine of immortality which hath gushed forth from the springs of glory, that its intoxication may attract thee and its stupor may seize thee - and this is an intoxication that will never pass away nor change eternally.
Ye must strive, God willing, to drink from the choice wine of inner meanings and to gaze toward the supreme horizon.
God willing, through divine grace in this spiritual dawn thou shalt become one who partakes of the wine of inner meanings.
You have drunk the wine of wisdom from the divine chalice and goblet, and partaken of the living waters from the spring of recognition.
You have drunk the cup of purity, tasted the honey of mystic knowledge, and witnessed the signs of your Lord's mercy.
Take the divine wine from the hand of the mystical Cup-bearer, and partake of the heavenly feast from the table of divine bounty. Gather the good fruits from the blessed tree in the highest paradise, and inhale the fragrances of the flowers in the garden of inner meanings through the grace of the morning breeze of the All-Merciful, and find thy dwelling in the Kingdom of immortality beneath the shade of the Most Glorious Beauty.
You have drunk from the wine of bounty and tasted the sweetness of the grace and gift of the King of Oneness. You have found repose in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree and reached the shore of the Sea of Eternity.
Joy upon joy and delight upon delight, for the cup mingled with camphor is passing round, and the soul-refreshing wine of the Forgiving Lord is flowing with utmost delicacy and sweetness like pure water.
O my spiritual friends! Praise God that this cup brimful of mystic wine is being borne round and the friends are receiving their share of divine exhilaration.
Become intoxicated with the wine of "Am I not your Lord?" and dance at love's altar crying out "Blessed am I!" and "Would that my people knew!"
I have drunk from the Kawthar of Life from cups passed round by the attraction of utterance. Blessed is he who gave me to drink! It was as though these cups were circling round the love of God, and in their nature was the nature of iron. When I saw them soaring in the atmosphere of remembrance and utterance without any intention of their own, it was as if they were drawn by the magnet of our Lord's will, the Bestower, the Generous.
O divine friends! Having adorned the food of glory and submission with the spices of unity and sanctification, enter into the verdant, joyous shallow waters of the Beloved Lord, veiled with the veil of light.
O Hasan! Hearken to the murmuring of the waters of inner meanings which flow in the paradise of thy Lord, the All-Merciful. By God! Through its murmuring the hearts of the Concourse on High were attracted and the hearts of those who drank the choice wine of the Most Glorious from the Youth Who was named with Our Most Exalted Name were set ablaze.
Say: At times it is transformed by the winds and wafteth from the direction of the Ridvan, and at times the fragrance of the garment is diffused from it, and at times there appeareth from it the decree of fire and the hearts of the sincere are consumed by it in their love for God, the King, the Mighty, the Beautiful.
I take refuge at Thy spacious door and Thy vast threshold, and I call upon Thee, imploring and supplicating before Thee, to rain down upon this servant of Thine a torrential downpour and an all-encompassing outpouring from Thy most glorious Kingdom, that he may be seized by the rapture of the crimson wine from the vessels of Thy mercy in the most exalted company, and sway as one intoxicated, and be gladdened by the melodies of the nightingale of eternity in the highest heaven in the gardens of Thy oneness, adorned with flowers and flowing with streams.
When thou dost find the breezes of revelation and drink the choice wine of utterance from the cup of thy Lord's bounty, say:
My God, my God! Praise be to Thee for having drawn me nigh unto Thee and enabled me to turn toward Thy horizon and for having made manifest to me Thy path.
O spiritual son and luminous youth! Take the lute of praise with the hand of turning to God and strike the strings of mysteries with the pick of meanings, and chant with beautiful praise to the Glorious Lord, saying:
Praise be to Thee, O my God, for having given me to drink the choice wine of mystical knowledge from the elegant chalice in the gathering of Thy loved ones, and for having admitted me into Thy kingdom, and for having made me hear the call of Thy holy angels, and for having drawn me through the magnet of Thy love, and for having illumined my face with the light of Thy oneness, and for having caused me to speak Thy remembrance, and for having kindled me with the fire of Thy love, and for having expanded my breast with the light of Thy knowledge, and for having awakened me with Thy breezes, and for having quickened me with Thy spirit.
O ancient beloved! I have read the expressions of your longing and learned the meanings of your letter which speaks of your burning passion and the strength of your attraction to entering this supplied rose garden, to attaining this bestowed bounty, to reaching the spring of Tasnim, and to achieving the supreme triumph - so that you might circle the precincts of the Supreme Concourse, press your face upon the dust of the Most Exalted Threshold, perfume your nostrils with the holy fragrances in the luminous spot, become ignited by the fire kindled in the Lote Tree of Sinai, and taste the ripe fruit in the highest Paradise.
O wanderer in the wilderness of love! The brilliant missive which you had written to his honor Darvish, upon him be the Glory of God, was perused....
This is a remembrance from the Tree of Love which has descended upon the shore of the heart, and a fire from the treasury of nearness which is ignited in the Mount of the Tablet....
Praise be to God that we have drunk the crimson wine from the cup of glory and the sweet white water from the chalices of the cloud of mystery.
And whatsoever pearls of oneness and glorification you had concealed within the shell of might and praise became manifest, and whatever rare jewels and subtle allusions that were treasured in the seas of words were mentioned.
In any case, praise God that you have become aware of the mysteries of His Holiness Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, and have rent asunder the veil, and have not been troubled by the blame and attacks of the people, and have reached your goal.
You have turned to truth and heard the call of the Simurgh from the Mount Qaf of Reality.
There upon the mountain, all alone, pray and supplicate with God. There one find the ecstasy of spiritual bliss, supplication, invocation, prayer, inspiration.
I have journeyed through the unseen worlds and invisible realms of the Almighty collecting New Thoughts, New Conceptions, New Proofs and New Evidences.
Thus did they join the righteous and enter the garden of mysteries where they plucked the flowers and tasted the fruits, and heard the melodies of the birds and the vibration of the strings through the mystical flute that delights the ears, refreshes the spirits and brings life to the hearts of the virtuous.
Now, praise be to God, the spirit of reality has permeated and bestowed eternal life. The manifest light has cast its rays and illumined the region. The life-giving breeze is wafting from the direction of grace.
And assuredly these holy souls will be raised up and these brilliant stars will rise and these illumined lamps will be lit and these holy fragrances will waft forth in time and this life-giving breeze will blow and in the divine gardens these spiritual flowers will bloom with radiant faces until we see who shall receive this cup of bounty and upon whose head this crown of greatest gift shall be placed.
O thou who hast loosed thy tongue in remembrance and praise of the Beloved of the Worlds! From the blessings of the Perspicuous Beauty, we cherish the hope that the friends of the True Beloved shall join the ranks of the true lovers, that the majesty of their exaltation shall cause them, amongst all the dwellers of the heavens and the earth, to be reknowned as angels of mercy, armies of the confirmations and guidance of the God of Majesty, birds of the garden of fidelity, and stars of the heaven of guidance.
They contained universal meanings and explained the mysteries of divine bounty.
… Then in this divine garden, like a spiritual nightingale with celestial melodies, thou wilt express spiritual stations and teach the mysteries of divine unity. In the school of mystical knowledge thou wilt explain reality, make every student a dear teacher, and nurture every infant with sweet milk.
Burn away their veils and turn their gaze away from the earthly world so they may behold the pure realm, gather bouquets of yearning from the mystic rose garden, begin their servitude at Your threshold, harmonize with the songs of the celestial birds, and like the truthful ones, prostrate with this servant of Your threshold in worship.
Take thou the cup of choice sealed wine and the crimson drink which restored life to the ill-fated dead, and give drink therefrom to those who yearn for it, according to the mystery of thy Lord, the Self-Subsisting.
Travel to distant places is among the important matters, so take the crystal goblet in hand, become intoxicated with the pure water, and with the cup whose mixture is camphor - if possible hasten to Khurasan, bestow spiritual wine, give the All-Merciful exhilaration, raise up tumult and clamor until the wine of guidance brings about continuous drinking.
Then know that the star is piercing, the heart yearning, the sea surging, the tree blossoming, the House inhabited, the grave filled, and the striving appreciated.
The Face of the Beloved is unveiled and the Countenance of the Praised One is manifest and visible, so that the mirrors of contingent being may ascend from the unseen realm of existence to the divine holy world, and after the removal of the veils of majesty they may become strong and resplendent from the pure Beauty of the Eternal, that they may rejoice in the manifest Word and make mention of the all-embracing Word, so that the seas and waves may be reminded by your remembrance, that they may be seated upon the crimson carpet and rest upon white cushions, for this is the sweetness of existence and divine joy and heavenly gift, and peace be upon you.
If thou shouldst enter therein, or if its lights should shine upon thy heart, thou wouldst abide within the sanctuary of God and stand firm in the Cause of God, and become everlasting in the realms of creation and the manifestations of grandeur. How blessed art thou, shouldst thou enter this eternal garden of the Ever-Living One, that thou mayest drink what none in all the worlds hath drunk and witness what none among those of old hath witnessed. Then say: Praise be to God, the Beloved of the mystics and the Goal of the sincere ones!
For thought and discussion