Morning
The tongue faileth in describing these three valleys, [1]
and speech falleth short. The pen steppeth not into this arena, the ink leaveth
only a blot. In these stations, the nightingale of the heart hath other songs
and secrets, which make the heart to leap and the soul to cry out, but this
mystery of inner meaning may be whispered only from heart to heart, and
confided only from breast to breast.
The bliss of mystic knowers can be only told from heart to heart,
A bliss no messenger can bear and no missive dare impart.
[2]
How many are the matters I have out of weakness left unsaid;
For my words would fail to reckon them and mine every effort
would fall short. [3]
O friend, till thou enter the garden of these inner meanings, thou shalt never taste of the imperishable wine of this valley. And shouldst thou taste of it, thou wilt turn away from all else and drink of the cup of contentment; thou wilt loose thyself from all things and bind thyself unto Him, and lay down thy life in His path and offer up thy soul for His sake. And this, even though in this realm there is no “all else” that thou needst forget: “God was alone; there was none else besides Him.” [4] For on this plane the traveller witnesseth the beauty of the Friend in all things. In fire he seeth the face of the Beloved; in illusion he beholdeth the secret of reality; in the attributes he readeth the riddle of the Essence. For he hath burnt away all veils with a sigh, and cast aside all coverings with a glance. With piercing sight he gazeth upon the new creation, and with lucid heart he graspeth subtle verities. The words “And we have made thy sight sharp in this day” [5] are a sufficient proof of this assertion and a befitting description of this state.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Seven Valleys’, revised translation by the Baha’i World Center included in ‘The Call of the Divine Beloved’)
[1] Valleys of Knowledge, Unity, and Contentment
[2] Poem from ‘Attár
[3] Poem from Ibn-i-Fárid 1181–1235
[4] From a Hadith
[5] Cf. Qur’an 50:22
Evening
…fix your gaze upon the commandments of God, for whatsoever He should ordain in this day and pronounce as lawful is indeed lawful and representeth the very truth. It is incumbent upon all to turn their gaze towards the Cause of God and to observe that which hath dawned above the horizon of His Will, since it is through the potency of His name that the banner of “He doeth what He willeth” hath been unfurled and the standard of “He ordaineth what He pleaseth” hath been raised aloft.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Tabernacle
of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
