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THE
VALLEY OF UNITY
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and
drinketh from the cup of the Absolute, and gazeth on the Manifestations
of Oneness. In this station he pierceth the veils of plurality, fleeth
from the worlds of the flesh, and ascendeth into the heaven of singleness.
With the ear of God he heareth, with the eye of God he beholdeth the
mysteries of divine creation. He steppeth into the sanctuary of the
Friend, and shareth as an intimate the pavilion of the Loved One. He
stretcheth out the hand of truth from the sleeve of the Absolute; he
revealeth the secrets of power. He seeth in himself neither name nor
fame nor rank, but findeth his own praise in praising God. He beholdeth
in his own name the name of God; to him, "all songs are from the King," (30)
and every melody from Him. He sitteth on the throne of "Say,
all is from God," (31) and taketh his rest on the carpet
of "There is no power or might but in
God." (32) He looketh on all things with the eye of
oneness, and seeth the brilliant rays of the divine sun shining from
the dawning-point of Essence alike on all created things, and the lights
of singleness reflected over all creation. |
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It
is clear to thine Eminence that all the variations which the wayfarer
in the stages of his journey beholdeth in the realms of being, proceed
from his own vision. We shall give an example of this, that its meaning
may become fully clear: Consider the visible sun; although it shineth
with one radiance upon all things, and at the behest of the King of
Manifestation bestoweth light on all creation, yet in each place it
becometh manifest and sheddeth its bounty according to the potentialities
of that place. For instance, in a mirror it reflecteth its own disk
and shape, and this is due to the sensitivity of the mirror; in a crystal
it maketh fire to appear, and in other things it showeth only the effect
of its shining, but not its full disk. And yet, through that effect,
by the command of the Creator, it traineth each thing according to the
quality of that thing, as thou observest. In
like manner, colors become visible in every object according to the
nature of that object. For instance, in a yellow globe, the rays shine
yellow; in a white the rays are white; and in a red, the red rays are
manifest. Then these variations are from the object, not from the shining
light. And if a place be shut away from the light, as by walls or a
roof, it will be entirely bereft of the splendor of the light, nor will
the sun shine thereon. |
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Thus
it is that certain invalid souls have confined the lands of knowledge within
the wall of self and passion, and clouded them with ignorance and blindness,
and have been veiled from the light of the mystic sun and the mysteries
of the Eternal Beloved; they have strayed afar from the jewelled wisdom
of the lucid Faith of the Lord of Messengers, have been shut out of the
sanctuary of the All-Beauteous One, and banished from the Ka'bih
(33)of splendor. Such is the worth of the people of this age! |
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And
if a nightingale (34) soar upward from the
clay of self and dwell in the rose bower of the heart, and in Arabian melodies
and sweet Iranian songs recount the mysteries of God-- a single word of
which quickeneth to fresh, new life the bodies of the dead, and bestoweth
the Holy Spirit upon the moldering bones of this existence--thou wilt behold
a thousand claws of envy, a myriad beaks of rancor hunting after Him and
with all their power intent upon His death. Yea,
to the beetle a sweet fragrance seemeth foul, and to the man sick of a rheum
a pleasant perfume is as naught. Wherefore, it hath been said for the guidance
of the ignorant: |
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Cleanse
thou the rheum from out thine head And breathe the breath of God instead.
(35) |
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In
sum, the differences in objects have now been made plain. Thus when the
wayfarer gazeth only upon the place of appearance--that is, when he seeth
only the many-colored globes --he beholdeth yellow and red and white; hence
it is that conflict hath prevailed among the creatures, and a darksome dust
from limited souls hath hid the world. And some do gaze upon the effulgence
of the light; and some have drunk of the wine of oneness and these see nothing
but the sun itself.
Thus, for that they move on these three differing planes,
the understanding and the words of the wayfarers have differed; and hence
the sign of conflict doth continually appear on earth. For some there are
who dwell upon the plane of oneness and speak of that world, and some inhabit
the realms of limitation, and some the grades of self, while others are
completely veiled. Thus do the ignorant people of the day, who have no portion
of the radiance of Divine Beauty, make certain claims, and in every age
and cycle inflict on the people of the sea of oneness what they themselves
deserve. "Should God punish men for their perverse
doings, He would not leave on earth a moving thing! But to an appointed
term doth He respite them...." (36) |
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O
My Brother! A pure heart is as a mirror; cleanse it with the burnish of
love and severance from all save God, that the true sun may shine within
it and the eternal morning dawn. Then wilt thou clearly see the meaning
of "Neither doth My earth nor My heaven
contain Me, but the heart of My faithful servant containeth Me." (37)
And thou wilt take up thy life in thine hand, and with infinite longing
cast it before the new Beloved One. Whensoever
the light of Manifestation of the King of Oneness settleth upon the throne
of the heart and soul, His shining becometh visible in every limb and member.
At that time the mystery of the famed tradition gleameth out of the darkness:
"A servant is drawn unto Me in prayer until I answer him; and when
I have answered him, I become the ear wherewith he heareth...." For
thus the Master of the house hath appeared within His home, and all the
pillars of the dwelling are ashine with His light. And the action and effect
of the light are from the Light-Giver; so it is that all move through Him
and arise by His will. And this is that spring whereof the near ones drink,
as it is said: "A fount whereof the near
unto God shall drink...." (38) |
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However,
let none construe these utterances to be anthropomorphism, nor see in them
the descent of the worlds of God into the grades of the creatures; nor should
they lead thine Eminence to such assumptions. For God is, in His Essence,
holy above ascent and descent, entrance and exit; He hath through all eternity
been free of the attributes of human creatures, and ever will remain so.
No man hath ever known Him; no soul hath ever found the pathway to His Being.
Every mystic knower hath wandered far astray in the valley of the knowledge
of Him; every saint hath lost his way in seeking to comprehend His Essence.
Sanctified is He above the understanding of the wise; exalted is He above
the knowledge of the knowing! The way is barred and to seek it is impiety;
His proof is His signs; His being is His evidence.
(39) |
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Wherefore,
the lovers of the face of the Beloved have said: "O
Thou, the One Whose Essence alone showeth the way to His Essence, and Who
is sanctified above any likeness to His creatures." (40)
How can utter nothingness gallop its steed in the field of preexistence,
or a fleeting shadow reach to the everlasting sun? The
Friend (41) hath said, "But for Thee, we had not known Thee,"
and the Beloved (41) hath said, "nor
attained Thy presence." Yea, these mentionings that have been
made of the grades of knowledge relate to the knowledge of the Manifestations
of that Sun of Reality, which casteth Its light upon the Mirrors. And the
splendor of that light is in the hearts, yet it is hidden under the veilings
of sense and the conditions of this earth, even as a candle within a lantern
of iron, and only when the lantern is removed doth the light of the candle
shine out. |
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In
like manner, when thou strippest the wrappings of illusion from off thine
heart, the lights of oneness will be made manifest.
Then
it is clear that even for the rays there is neither entrance nor exit--how
much less for that Essence of Being and that longed-for Mystery. O My Brother,
journey upon these planes in the spirit of search, not in blind imitation.
A true wayfarer will not be kept back by the bludgeon of words nor debarred
by the warning of allusions. |
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How
shall a curtain part the lover and the loved one? Not Alexander's wall can
separate them! (42) |
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Secrets
are many, but strangers are myriad. Volumes will not suffice to hold the
mystery of the Beloved One, nor can it be exhausted in these pages, although
it be no more than a word, no more than a sign. "Knowledge
is a single point, but the ignorant have multiplied it." (43)
On
this same basis, ponder likewise the differences among the worlds. Although
the divine worlds be never ending, yet some refer to them as four: The world
of time (zaman), which is the one that hath both a beginning and an end;
the world of duration (dahr), which hath a beginning, but whose end is not
revealed; the world of perpetuity (sarmad), whose beginning is not to be
seen but which is known to have an end; and the world of eternity (azal),
neither a beginning nor an end of which is visible. Although there are many
differing statements as to these points, to recount them in detail would
result in weariness. Thus, some have said that the world of perpetuity hath
neither beginning nor end, and have named the world of eternity as the invisible,
impregnable Empyrean. Others have called these the worlds of the Heavenly
Court (Lahut), of the Empyrean Heaven (Jabarut), of the Kingdom of the Angels
(Malakut), and of the mortal world (Nasut). |
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The
journeys in the pathway of love are reckoned as four: From the creatures
to the True One; from the True One to the creatures; from the creatures
to the creatures; from the True One to the True One.
There
is many an utterance of the mystic seers and doctors of former times which
I have not mentioned here, since I mislike the copious citation from sayings
of the past; for quotation from the words of others proveth acquired learning,
not the divine bestowal. Even so much as We have quoted here is out of deference
to the wont of men and after the manner of the friends. Further, such matters
are beyond the scope of this epistle. Our unwillingness to recount their
sayings is not from pride, rather is it a manifestation of wisdom and a
demonstration of grace. |
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If
Khidr did wreck the vessel on the sea, Yet in this wrong there are a thousand
rights. (44) |
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Otherwise,
this Servant regardeth Himself as utterly lost and as nothing, even beside
one of the beloved of God, how much less in the presence of His holy ones.
Exalted be My Lord, the Supreme! Moreover, our aim is to recount the stages
of the wayfarer's journey, not to set forth the conflicting utterances of
the mystics.
Although
a brief example hath been given concerning the beginning and ending of the
relative world, the world of attributes, yet a second illustration is now
added, that the full meaning may be manifest. For instance, let thine Eminence
consider his own self; thou art first in relation to thy son, last in relation
to thy father. In thine outward appearance, thou tellest of the appearance
of power in the realms of divine creation; in thine inward being thou revealest
the hidden mysteries which are the divine trust deposited within thee. And
thus firstness and lastness, outwardness and inwardness are, in the sense
referred to, true of thyself, that in these four states conferred upon thee
thou shouldst comprehend the four divine states, and that the nightingale
of thine heart on all the branches of the rosetree of existence, whether
visible or concealed, should cry out: "He is the first and the last, the Seen and
the Hidden...." (45) |
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In
thy soul of love build thou a fire And burn all thoughts and words entire.
(46) |
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These
statements are made in the sphere of that which is relative, because of
the limitations of men. Otherwise, those personages who in a single step
have passed over the world of the relative and the limited, and dwelt on
the fair plane of the Absolute, and pitched their tent in the worlds of
authority and command--have burned away these relativities with a single
spark, and blotted out these words with a drop of dew. And they swim in
the sea of the spirit, and soar in the holy air of light. Then what life
have words, on such a plane, that "first" and "last"
or other than these be seen or mentioned! In this realm, the first is the
last itself, and the last is but the first. |
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O
my friend, look upon thyself: Hadst thou not become a father nor begotten
a son, neither wouldst thou have heard these sayings. Now forget them all,
that thou mayest learn from the Master of Love in the schoolhouse of oneness,
and return unto God, and forsake the inner land of unreality (47) for thy true station, and dwell
within the shadow of the tree of knowledge.
O
thou dear one! Impoverish thyself, that thou mayest enter the high court
of riches; and humble thy body, that thou mayest drink from the river of
glory, and attain to the full meaning of the poems whereof thou hadst asked.
Thus
it hath been made clear that these stages depend on the vision of the wayfarer.
In every city he will behold a world, in every Valley reach a spring, in
every meadow hear a song. But the falcon of the mystic heaven hath many
a wondrous carol of the spirit in His breast, and the Persian bird keepeth
in His soul many a sweet Arab melody; yet these are hidden, and hidden shall
remain. |
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If
I speak forth, many a mind will shatter, And if I write, many a pen will
break. (48), (49) |
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Peace
be upon him who concludeth this exalted journey and followeth the True One
by the lights of guidance. And the wayfarer, after traversing the
high planes of this supernal journey, entereth |
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