pain of love; love as veil
Editorial introduction
Every night consumed by the fire of separation, every morning gladdened by fresh tokens of bounty: Bahá’u’lláh describes the lover of God as someone who weeps and laughs within the same day and is not ashamed of either. Longing of this kind is not a problem to be solved. It is the moth throwing itself against the flame with no thought of benefit, the fish that is never sated with water, the lover for whom a thousand years before the beloved’s face pass like an hour. Yet the same Writings issue a searching warning: love itself can become a veil, and whoever cherishes a remembered sign of the Beloved may fail to recognize the living sun when it moves on. The night search of the Song of Solomon, in which the lover leaves her bed, questions the watchmen and at last finds the one her soul loves, gives this restlessness a human voice to set beside the prayers and poems [1]. Grief under persecution and the ache of bereavement speak here too, each asking to be read with care for the person and the hour. The journey continues into love understood as fire, and into the love of God that seeks the Beloved beyond every consolation it might receive.
O my God! Every night I am consumed by the fire of separation from Thee, and every day I am gladdened by the wondrous tokens of Thy bounty. In the night-time I weep in my despair at being remote from the evidences of Thy triumph and Thy loving-kindness, and in the daytime I laugh with hope at the wondrous manifestations of Thy generosity and benevolence.
Through divine love every bitterness will become sweet: the colocynth will turn to sweet honey, the fang of a snake to medicine, poison to an antidote for them that have minds to know, calamity to comfort, hardships will become blessings, cruelty will turn to fidelity and affliction to pleasure.
Despite my recognition of all this and my certitude in all that Thou hast taught me of the wonders of the craftsmanship of Thy heavens of ordainment, the ornaments of the movements of the cycles of Thy sovereign handiwork, and the revolutions of the pillars of the manifestations of Thy glorious might, I am consumed by the fire whose ember sets ablaze all existence, and I weep tears from which all the seas find their essence.
A moth loves the light, though his wings are burnt. Though his wings are singed, he throws himself against the flame. He does not love the light because it has conferred some benefit upon him. Therefore he hovers round the light, though he sacrifices his wings.
This is the highest degree of love. Without this abandonment, this ecstacy, love is imperfect.
The lover of God loves Him for Himself, not for his own sake.
The fire of love blazeth and the candle of passionate devotion is in full splendor. Even as a moth, my wings are consumed and my heart burned within me.
The candle of sorrows burneth brightly and the moth of love consecrated its wings, heart and soul to the flame. It burneth, its heart burneth; it is worthy of divine bounty and is in need of mercy and loving-kindness.
Praise be to God, the loved ones of that region are intoxicated with the overflowing cup and delighted by witnessing the lights. They are enkindled by the ignited fire of love for the Ancient Beauty and, like moths to the candle of love, have burned their wings.
O Lord! Increase their burning, their longing, and their radiance.
O thou true Friend! Love requireth man to sacrifice his life for his beloved, become a wanderer and fully enamoured, accept public disgrace, abandon name and trace, and forget body and soul for love's sake. Such is the requirement of love in the contingent world; consider then what the love of God and passionate devotion to the Celestial Beloved would require!
The fish is never sated with water, nor the lover satisfied with the beloved. Should the loved one gaze upon the beauty of the beloved for a thousand years, it would seem but an hour, and should he drink for ages the pure wine from the honey of union, it would seem but a moment. Their joy is in sacrificing heart and soul, and their sorrow in being occupied with this and that.
I discover in my heart such rapture from the ardor of union with Thee and longing to meet Thee that I find no patience in separation from Thee nor composure in attaining Thee. It is as though I know not what I desire of Thee - if I seek union through the wonders of Thy favors, I witness that in union with Thee my cries are raised and my voice is lifted up; and if I show patience in separation from Thee, I witness that in Thy remoteness my spirit departs and my soul finds no rest ever.
By Thy might, O Lord of all beings, and by Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued all names and heaven - grievous to me is my remoteness after my nearness to Thee, and my separation after meeting Thee, and my thirst after Thou didst give me to drink from the Kawthar of reunion with Thee.
The fire of separation, after the comfort of the days of union and communion, has burned the soul and melted the heart.
I testify that the love of thy Lord inflamed thee, His nearness consumed thee, distance from His presence burned thee, and separation in His days destroyed thee.
O thou, who art enraptured by the True Beloved and art a lover of the Divine Beauty! The children of men, who exist in this visible world, each and every one sighed and bewailed, and lamented by day and by night thinking that they were enamoured with a thousand true beloved ones and filled with the ecstasy of the beauty of Layla.
And so as he wandered through the long dark nights, Ustad would sing these lines:
I am lost, O Love, possessed and dazed,
Love's fool am I, in all the earth.
They call me first among the crazed,
Though I once came first for wit and worth.
O Love, who sellest me this wine,
O Love, for whom I burn and bleed,
Love, for whom I cry and pine--
Thou the Piper, I the reed.
Worn from separation, all are Thine
Dead from deprivation, all are Thine
One gleam from Thy face divine
One melody from Thy sacred shrine
Sweet fragrance from those locks of Thine
One breath of Thy presence fine
Bestow on us from grace divine
From Thy munificence divine
From heavenly bounty so divine
Show mercy from Thy realm divine
That we may find new life sublime.
Love from the beginning was ever rebellious and bloodthirsty, that the outsider might flee.
As Ibn-i-Farid hath said:
"Live in solitude, for love's comfort is suffering; its beginning is sickness and its end is death."
In the Ode of the Dove he saith:
"Either abandon thy claim to love, or be content with what transpireth, for thus hath the matter been ordained in My laws and My ways."
How well it was said:
What is the medicine of the yearning one? Poison from the hand of the Beloved
What is the balm of lovers? Wounds from the arm of the Friend
And upon you be the Most Glorious Glory.
"I am in love with both His love and His wrath indeed, And strange it is that I should love these opposites."
Take the poison offered to you as if it were the sweetest honey, recognise a life giving remedy in every pain you have to bear and receive a healing balm from your own wounds.
They have created the world compounded of honey and colocynth. How can the heartless one draw a peaceful breath in this dusty realm of water and clay, or spread the couch of repose? If it offers a sweet draught to the lip, it draws forth a cry of anguish from the soul.
O thou whom God hath placed beneath the shade of His mercy! Rejoice in the bounty of thy Lord, for verily the clouds of generosity are pouring down their rain, and the clouds of divine gifts are thundering and flashing forth, and the lights of grace are shining with the utmost brilliance, and the lovers are in a state of rapture and burning passion, and the floods of their tears cannot extinguish their flames.
By thy life! This fire is light itself, and this torment is sweet delight and joy, and this cup is mingled with camphor.
It seemeth, O my Beloved, that Thou didst not create within it any mercy or compassion, for it hath stung the hearts of those who sought Thy nearness and presence, and bitten the hearts of those who turned to Thy reunion and beauty.
O Friend! By the locks of Thy musk-scented hair, which hath cut off the destitute dwellers of the valley of search from all hope and expectation through the majesty of a new affliction, and hath, through the might of severe trials, debarred the captives in the realm of desire from the everlasting sign of the ultimate goal.
O thou who art captivated by that Kind Beloved! With what attribute shall I praise thee? The best praise is to say that thou art enamored of that Beloved and art captivated by the love of that Soul-Cherishing Beloved. Thou art wandering distraught in His lane, roaming toward Him, enchanted by His countenance, and entangled in His tresses.
Then she became distracted by the countenance of the true Beloved and disheveled by the locks of the divine Joseph. She became distraught and wandering. If this is so, it is fitting that you are bewildered and passion-filled, lost and madly in love.
O thou who hast lost thy heart to the Beloved's face at the banquet of God, like the mystic doves in this heavenly garden and divine orchard, perch upon the tree of freedom, sing out thy melodies, and wail and lament, for the face of that laughing, hundred-petaled Rose hath slipped behind the veil, and the beauty of that Sweetheart of the All-Merciful hath become concealed.
The Almighty hath at all times ignited the fire of yearning in the hearts and hath concealed Himself; He hath caused the souls to long for reunion, then separated from them.
Thou art He Who, O my God, hath kindled my heart with Thy love, then forbidden me from beholding Thy beauty, and Who hath caused my heart to melt in passion and yearning for Thee, then prevented me from entering the sanctuary of Thy nearness and attaining Thy presence.
The lover's eyes must be wet, whereat the Beloved may coyly flash an amorous glance. If the lover crieth out a hundred words of grief, the Beloved but turneth more away.
By the might of Thy majesty! The cup of death is among Thy greatest bounties and the drink of bitter aloe among Thy greatest favors. Oh what longing for Thy Kingdom! Oh what thirst for the Euphrates of Thy presence! Oh what joy in the confines of graves after the disappearance of Thy beauty! Oh what delight from the sound of death's call after the setting of Thy sun!
Do Thou supply me, O Lord, with the cup of death after Thou hast made me taste the bitterness of remoteness from Thee.
Have mercy, O my Lord, upon my sicknesses and upon my wakefulness and upon my sorrows and upon my burning with the flame of my separation and upon my loneliness in my remoteness.
Blow O ye sweet fragrances of God! Breath O ye breezes of God! Proceed ye to the city towards the south, a land within which layeth to rest a soul breathed into its heart and soul the spirit of God, a land which embraced a body gathered under the banner of God, and a heart attracted by the sweet fragrances of God, and limbs and members enkindled by the fire of the Love of God.
Greet ye that luminous tomb and that pure and sanctified resting-place and say: "May the resplendent light shedding from the Realm of Glory and the ray shining from the Abha Kingdom envelop thy sweet-smelling mausoleum and spark upon thy resting-place that is fragrant with ambergris. May the Sun of Revelation shed limitless lights upon the spot illuminated by thy body and holdth thy mortal frame and containeth within thy human temple - sanctified, pure, glorified, noble, and neath the shade of the clouds of the loving-kindness of Thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Blessed is the city that thou were a stranger within, and joyful art the places that thou came nigh unto and glorified is the earth that thou layeth to rest within and exalted is the land that thou art hidden within. On thee be the glory of God and His mercy.
May God be pleased with thee and bestow upon thee His divine favor, and comfort thy soul with the sweet fragrances that have wafted from the meadows of His oneness, and brighten thy face in the gardens of His Mercy, and illumine thine eyes with the sight of the beauty of His divine essence, and incline thine ears to the melodies of the divine birds warbling in the Paradise of His beholding on the tree of His oneness; for thou hast hearkened unto the Voice and answered the Call and cried out 'here am I' to thy Lord, the Most High, and hath humbled thyself before the sovereignty of thy All-Glorious Beloved, and hath been inflamed by the fire of the love of God, and hath placed thy trust and confidence in God, and hath been consumed by the fires of remoteness and the flames of deprivation until thou returned to God and turned thy face towards Him and sought the shelter beneath the shadow of His transcendent mercy. All this for thou hast been faithful to the Covenant of God and hath made thy steps firm and steadfast in His Testament. Salutation, peace and praise rest upon thee in this world and in the world to come."
All these affairs are from the efforts of the aforementioned brother and in truth his effort is appreciated, for it has caused us to drink a bitter cup and taste deadly poison in divine love with every breath.
Among the requirements of love and affection are trials, blame and taunts.
Thus for those who long for the countenance of the Friend, their heart's desire is the reproach of enemies, the blame of the malicious, severe torment, chains and iron fetters, nay rather sword and spear and blade and arrow, oppression and cruelty, poison and affliction.
This is the arena of self-annihilation, of a hundred thousand acts of self -immolation, of being melted in pure love.
How sweet then is that moment when a true lover sacrifices his life in the path of the Beloved, and with tear-filled eyes and an enkindled heart, sets forth toward the abode of the Heart's Desire.
O Pure God! Though I have become mad, homeless and shelterless, yet am I wandering in Thy path and disheveled by Thy face. I am crazed and infatuated with that Beauty and grief-stricken and heart-broken from separation.
Dash to pieces all patience and accept no compromise in this path. Tear asunder thy garments of sobriety and quietude and let thine innermost being burn with love, thine eyes overflow with tears.
Let his honor Nazar-'Ali Khan, upon him be the Glory of God, the Most Glorious, take note. O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the love of God! It is night, and a group from outside and inside are present, each occupied with some matter, while this servant is engaged in remembering thy face and character, and is restless. At this moment, the chief mujtahid of the city is present, and the mufti of the country has entered and announced the confirmation of the Ramadan feast. They are in celebration and excitement, in joy and delight, while this servant, with weeping eyes and a burning heart, recites this verse:
"It is the season of festival, yet we are hopeless of seeing the Beloved
The world is in feasting and drinking, while we have tear-filled eyes"
However, this weeping is the source of laughter, and this grief and sorrow is the pride of all joys. In all conditions we are occupied with remembering thee. And the Glory be upon thee.
The helpless heart becomes lament, with many sighs and many cries, Afflicted and without a cure, yet every moment sacrifice.
My eyes have turned white from flowing tears - illuminate them with the collyrium of Thy bounty.
O Lord! No occupation remains for me - I have become powerless, hopeless, with burning entrails, confined on all sides, with broken bonds and scattered desires.
Tears flow from my eyes, sighs rise from my heart, and regrets appear in my soul from being separated from beholding the lights of Thy beauty and being deprived of hearing Thy utterance.
Verily, Thou art witnessing that the fire is ablaze in the breasts, the tears are streaming from the eyes and the period of patience and silence hath come to an end. The eyes of the beloved ones, O my God, are swimming in tears; the hearts of the yearning ones, O my Beloved, are wandering in the wilderness of Thy mercifulness; and the souls of the attracted ones, O my Desire, are afflicted with anguish on account of Thy separation!
My God, my God! You see me aflame with the fire of Your love, bereft of patience from separation from Your heavenly presence, tears flowing from being deprived of Your holy court, my heart burning and my gathering scattered, disheveled and dust-covered from falling upon the earth of abasement in the desert of separation from You.
When thou hast been blessed with My call and the traces of My pen, say: My God, my God! Separation from Thee hath set me ablaze, remoteness from Thee hath seized my spirit, and distance from the precincts of Thy nearness is my greatest enemy.
Were anyone to search the hearts of Thy lovers, they would find them pierced by the arrows of separation from Thee, and their innermost beings aflame with the fire of remoteness from Thee.
Thou knowest, O my God, that Thy love hath consumed me, Thy separation hath dissolved me, and from being parted from Thee my bones and limbs are set ablaze. By Thy glory, O Beloved of the worlds, Goal of them that know Thee, and God of all in the heavens and earths! I cannot endure to be patient at the manifestation of Thy chosen Name.
O Lord! Thou seest the burning of the hearts of them that yearn in their separation from Thee, and the agitation of the hearts of them that hope in their remoteness from Thee.
The fire of Your love burns in his heart, his patience is exhausted from longing to attain Your presence, and his tears flow from yearning to witness Your beauty.
And if I restrain the tongue from the wondrous utterances in describing Thee, by Thy might my heart raiseth the banners of Thy remembrance, and if I withhold the heart from what it experienceth lest anyone discover my love for Thee, by Thy beauty my spirit soareth in the heaven of Thy nearness and wingeth its flight in the atmosphere of reunion with Thee, and if I prevent my feet from walking in Thy path, I witness that hands are raised toward the garden of Thy glory and the city of meeting with Thee.
Should but a breath from this garden reach thy nostrils, the pen would fall from thy hand and thy letter would be torn asunder, nay rather, it would be consumed by the flame of the fire of the love of God.
The well-guarded secrets in this day are the mysteries of the love of God, which are hidden in the innermost essence of the human heart. Its fire ignites all hearts and its heat encompasses all regions. At one time this mystery is felt through the aching pangs of love; at another it expresses itself through the words of a pen, at a third time it may be a melody that ignites the very life within the soul, and yet again it is a lamp that might set ablaze the universe.
It seems the effect of the ink of the decree found a burning fire, and the letters and words took on the nature of flames. The people of the pavilion of glory joined in sighs and cries upon hearing it, and those secluded in the tents of grandeur wept and wailed from its intense effect.
Verily, the intensity of her sorrows maketh Me weep and causeth My heart to address her, saying: Understand thou well the heat which is consuming Me that thou mayest praise God for thy plight, and thy soul may find abundant joy. And My liver addresseth My heart saying: Wert thou to be informed of how I burn and blaze, thou wouldst find the fire thou art in to be light and cold.
O my God! Thou knowest the yearning of the lovers in their separation and remoteness from Thee, and the sighs of them that long for Thee when prevented from turning to the heaven of Thy grace.
O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the love of God! The marks of thy pen indicating the burning fire of longing and complaint of the burning fire of separation were observed with eagerness and love.
O Leaf of Paradise! Arise and with the tongue of rapture sing, and with the throat of the spirit carol, and say: Here am I, O Beloved One, turning toward the fields of Thy mercy; and here am I, O Desired One, mine eyes opened to behold the wonders of the beauty of Thy beloved-ness; and here am I, O Worshipped One, my heart consumed by the fire of separation from Thee; and here am I, O Beloved One, my breast aflame with the fires of longing for Thee; and here am I, O Sought One, my liver dissolved by the intensity of remoteness from Thee and exile from Thy presence.
I behold that my remembrance, for all its loftiness and sovereignty, lieth prostrate upon the dust, crying out: "O Lord of Lords! Thou seest how my heart hath melted in my separation from Thee - have I any portion of the ocean of Thy reunion? Thou seest how I am utterly consumed by the fire of remoteness and estrangement from Thee - have I any share of the light of Thy nearness and meeting with Thee?"
O thou who art cheered by the fire of the love of God! O what longing for that Face by which the Kingdom of earth and heaven is illumined! O what thirst for that cool water from the mouth of the Beloved whose beauty hath appeared and whose majesty hath been manifested beneath the shadows of verses!
O maid-servant of God! verily, I long for that cup, which is overflowing with the bounty of God, as a patient desiring to be healed, as a thirsty soul seeking water, as the poor in quest of wealth, and as one in separation yearning after the meeting of the beloved one night and day.
It seems the gates of hope have closed and the gardens of despair have opened. A world lies unconscious from the sweet wine of reunion, while these emigrants cry out for but a drop.
Then remember, O my God, my exile and my ardor and my yearning and my longing.
The lover hath no sorrow save separation, and the yearning one groweth not dispirited save through remoteness.
I beseech Thee, O my God, by the standards of Thy guidance and the banners of Thy utterance, and by the hearts which have been set ablaze with the fire of separation from Thee in Thy days, and by the tears of the lovers throughout all regions, and by the appearance of Thy Cause on the Day of the Covenant, to ordain for me from Thy Most Glorious Pen the good of the world to come and of this world.
For thought and discussion