When once the seeker hath ascended unto this station, he
will enter the City of Love and Rapture, whereupon the winds of love will blow
and the breezes of the spirit will waft. In this station the seeker is so
overcome by the ecstasies of yearning and the fragrances of longing that he
discerneth not his left from his right, nor doth he distinguish land from sea
or desert from mountain. At every moment he burneth with the fire of longing and
is consumed by the onslaught of separation in this world. He
speedeth through the Párán of love and traverseth the Horeb of rapture. Now he
laugheth, now he weepeth sore; now he reposeth in peace, now he trembleth in
fear. Nothing can alarm him, naught can thwart his purpose, and no law can
restrain him. He standeth ready to obey whatsoever His Lord should please to
decree as to his beginning and his end. With every breath he layeth down his
life and offereth up his soul. He bareth his breast to meet the darts of the
enemy and raiseth his head to greet the sword of destiny; nay rather, he
kisseth the hand of his would-be murderer and surrendereth his all. He yieldeth
up spirit, soul, and body in the path of his Lord, and yet he doeth so by the
leave of his Beloved and not of his own whim and desire. Thou findest him chill
in the fire and dry in the sea, abiding in every land and treading every path.
Whosoever toucheth him in this state will perceive the heat of his love. He
walketh the heights of detachment and traverseth the vale of renunciation. His
eyes are ever expectant to witness the wonders of God’s mercy and eager to
behold the splendours of His beauty. Blessed indeed are they that have attained
unto such a station, for this is the station of the ardent lovers and the
enraptured souls. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
