Even as in the “Beginning that hath no beginnings” the term “last” is truly applicable unto Him who is the Educator of the visible and of the invisible, in like manner, are the terms “first” and “last” applicable unto His Manifestations. They are at the same time the Exponents of both the “first” and the “last.” Whilst established upon the seat of the “first,” they occupy the throne of the “last.” Were a discerning eye to be found, it will readily perceive that the exponents of the “first” and the “last,” of the “manifest” and the “hidden,” of the “beginning” and the “seal” are none other than these holy Beings, these Essences of Detachment, these divine Souls. And wert thou to soar in the holy realm of “God was alone, there was none else besides Him,” thou wilt find in that Court all these names utterly non-existent and completely forgotten. Then will thine eyes no longer be obscured by these veils, these terms, and allusions. How ethereal and lofty is this station, unto which even Gabriel, unshepherded, can never attain, and the Bird of Heaven, unassisted, can never reach!
Here we are at the fourteenth of thirty paragraphs looking at the first of the two stations of the Manifestations of God, that of "pure abstraction and essential unity".
At this point, it is worth noting that Baha'u'llah is getting far more mystical and abstract here. You may have noticed it. We sure did. It is often said that the Seven Valleys is the mystical book that Baha'u'llah wrote around this time, while the Iqan is far more practical. And while this is certainly true, there is still a lot of mysticism in this book, too.
But what would we expect? After all, He is talking about deep religious issues here. And the faith is, as the Guardian said, fundamentally mystical at its core. So if you feel a bit lost here, don't worry. We do, too. It is, however, good to remember that we need to walk this path with practical, yet mystical, feet.
In this paragraph, Baha'u'llah is further elevating both God and the Manifestations in our eyes. He is reminding us that these various terms not only refer to God, but also to the Manifestations. In beginning to describe the eternal nature of these supreme beings, He points out that they are eternally on their throne, from the beginning that hath no beginning to the end that hath no end.
In many ways it can be seen like mirrors reflecting the sun. On the earth, they are all reflecting the same light. But when we ascend to the sun itself, all there is is light.
If we were to attain that holy realm He mentions towards the end there then all we would experience is that light. The mirrors themselves would seemingly disappear.
However, to even begin to understand this in any real sense, we have to be detached from our previous understanding of religion. And we have to also be detached from the love we may feel for the Messenger we grew up loving, not to mention all the cultural things that go with it. After all, way back in paragraph 27, He cautioned us about the "overpowering majesty of the Word of God", and how it could prevent us "from attaining unto the ocean of His names and attributes" and deprive us of "recognizing the Lamp of God".
So, again, these recent paragraphs were far more abstract and mystical, which also meant that there is very little for us to hold onto. Quite often the concepts will slip through our intellectual fingers like sand.
But, if we can continually remind ourselves that all these various and seemingly contradictory terms, like first and last, manifest and hidden, beginning and seal, all refer to the Messengers of God, and refer to each and every one of them, then we will begin to understand more of what He is saying here.
As we learned in Part One of this book, all the prophecies concerning the return of any one of them refers to all of them. The circumstances of their lives, the sorry state of the society in which they live, and the ascendancy of their followers, and even the eventual rise of their religious teachings, is applicable to each of them.
When we walk into a church and understand that it is Jesus there on the cross, and that it is Muhammad there on the cross, and that it is Buddha and Moses and the Bab and Baha'u'llah there on that cross, then we begin to understand the oneness of their station. When we recognize that each and every one of them are also sitting under the lote tree, along with Buddha, then we will better recognize what Baha'u'llah is talking about here.
As He says so powerfully in Gleanings:
If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you... If ye cherish the desire to slay Muḥammad, the Apostle of God, seize Me and put an end to My life, for I am He, and My Self is His Self... If it be your wish to riddle with your shafts the breast of Him Who hath caused His Book the Bayán to be sent down unto you, lay hands on Me and persecute Me, for I am His Well-Beloved, the revelation of His own Self, though My name be not His name... If ye have resolved to shed the blood of Him Whose coming the Báb hath proclaimed, Whose advent Muḥammad hath prophesied, and Whose Revelation Jesus Christ Himself hath announced, behold Me standing, ready and defenseless, before you. Deal with Me after your own desires.
Understanding this is of such importance that He will continue to explain it to us in a number of different ways over the next dozen or so paragraphs, sixteen to be precise.
But from here on out, He will use more stories and analogies, which give us more to talk about.
Following
ReplyDelete