Paragraph 65

The universe is pregnant with these manifold bounties, awaiting the hour when the effects of Its unseen gifts will be made manifest in this world, when the languishing and sore athirst will attain the living Kawthar of their Well-Beloved, and the erring wanderer, lost in the wilds of remoteness and nothingness, will enter the tabernacle of life, and attain reunion with his heart's desire. In the soil of whose heart will these holy seeds germinate? From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth? Verily, I say, so fierce is the blaze of the Bush of love, burning in the Sinai of the heart, that the streaming waters of holy utterance can never quench its flame. Oceans can never allay this Leviathan's burning thirst, and this Phoenix of the undying fire can abide nowhere save in the glow of the countenance of the Well-Beloved. Therefore, O brother! kindle with the oil of wisdom the lamp of the spirit within the innermost chamber of thy heart, and guard it with the globe of understanding, that the breath of the infidel may extinguish not its flame nor dim its brightness. Thus have We illuminated the heavens of utterance with the splendours of the Sun of divine wisdom and understanding, that thy heart may find peace, that thou mayest be of those who, on the wings of certitude, have soared unto the heaven of the love of their Lord, the All-Merciful.


This is it: the last paragraph regarding the sun, the moon and the powers of the earth. The last paragraph before He goes on to the next phrase from that quote from Jesus in the Book of Matthew "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven."

Here, in this paragraph, Baha'u'llah brings on this majestic journey of imagery, beginning with a pregnant universe and alluding to heaven with Kawthar, that river found in Paradise. Then He talks about plants, and the beautiful blossoms that appear on them, and continues with mixed images of fire and water, bouncing back and forth between them. He continues by going back to the human heart, this time referring to it as a lamp, that small object that lights our way in the dark, and finishes with the heavens and those mighty orbs that light not only our own small place, but the entire planet.

It's a beautiful journey that leads us right into the very next paragraph, moving us from the earth and upwards towards the heavens. It's a journey begins in the desert, almost as if you have to be lost first, and then there is what feels like a wedding scene, reunion with the beloved in the tent.

Then you get those rhetorical questions in the middle. "In the soil of whose heart will these holy seeds germinate? From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth?" Here we want to jump up and down and cry out, "Me! Me! Pick me, O Lord!" From love and marriage to the new growth of those holy seeds, reminding us that the universe itself is pregnant.

And, of course, the imagery itself is laden with meaning:

• Kawthar, as we said above, is a river in Paradise mentioned in the Qur'an.
• The tabernacle, of course, was the holy tent that the Jewish peoples used when wandering lost in the desert. It is the tent they used to house the Ark of the Covenant.
• Gardens, as you well know, are always referring to Eden, or some other holy place of rest. For us it can even be an oblique reference to the Garden of Ridvan, where Baha'u'llah would finally give birth to the Revelation of God.
• The burning Bush and Sinai refer back to Moses, which calls to mind once more the tabernacle and their wanderings.
• The Leviathan is found in the Tanakh, while the Phoenix is more often seen in Persian and Greek mythology. They both have references that are just too numerous to list here, but still bring to mind danger and loss.

Of course, these are only a few of the many, many meanings. We have to be careful not to think that we have found it all, or somehow have "the" answer. Remember, Baha'u'llah is going on for many pages showing us numerous meanings of a single phrase. He could, no doubt, do the same here.

After these phrases comes the encouragement. Light that candle of the heart, become the enkindled one. And to do so, we have to use the oil of wisdom. Without oil a lamp will only burn for a short time. But expect attacks, and guard against them with true understanding, that glass globe that protects the flame from being blown out.

And all this brings us back to that very first paragraph, with the "shores of the ocean of true understanding", and the encouragement to "enter thus the tabernacle" that has "been raised in the firmament of the Bayan."

With each and every phrase that He explores, Baha'u'llah shows how they all refer back to the very beginning of this Book. They all lead us to the next Messenger of God, and to those divine shores.

"Thus have We illuminated the heavens of utterance with the splendours of the Sun of divine wisdom and understanding, that thy heart may find peace, that thou mayest be of those who, on the wings of certitude, have soared unto the heaven of the love of their Lord, the All-Merciful."