Methinks at this moment, I catch the
fragrance of His garment [1] blowing from the Egypt of Bahá; [2] verily He
seemeth near at hand, though men may think Him far away. [3] My soul doth smell
the perfume shed by the Beloved One; My sense is filled with the fragrance of
My dear Companion….
This [Fourth Valley] is the realm
of full awareness, of utter self-effacement. Even love is no pathway to this
region, and longing hath no dwelling here; wherefore is it said, “Love is a
veil betwixt the lover and the beloved.” Here love becometh an obstruction and
a barrier, and all else save Him is but a curtain. The wise Saná’í hath
written:
Never the covetous heart shall come to
the stealer of hearts,
Never the shrouded soul unite with beauty’s rose.
For this is the realm of Absolute
Command and is free of all the attributes of earth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Four
Valleys’)
[1] Literally, the garment of Há, which is the letter “H”
and here represents Bahá.
[2]
This reference is to the story of Joseph in the Qur’án and the Bible.
[3] This refers to those who
did not expect the imminent advent of Him Whom God Shall Manifest.
