I swear by God! Were he that treadeth the path of guidance and seeketh to scale the heights of righteousness to attain unto this glorious and supreme station, he would inhale at a distance of a thousand leagues the fragrance of God, and would perceive the resplendent morn of a divine Guidance rising above the dayspring of all things. Each and every thing, however small, would be to him a revelation leading him to his Beloved, the Object of his quest. So great shall be the discernment of this seeker that he will discriminate between truth and falsehood even as he doth distinguish the sun from shadow. If in the uttermost corners of the East the sweet savors of God be wafted, he will assuredly recognize and inhale their fragrance, even though he be dwelling in the uttermost ends of the West. He will likewise clearly distinguish all the signs of God—His wondrous utterances, His great works, and mighty deeds—from the doings, words and ways of men, even as the jeweler who knoweth the gem from the stone, or the man who distinguisheth the spring from autumn and heat from cold. When the channel of the human soul is cleansed of all worldly and impeding attachments, it will unfailingly perceive the breath of the Beloved across immeasurable distances, and will, led by its perfume, attain and enter the City of Certitude. Therein he will discern the wonders of His ancient wisdom, and will perceive all the hidden teachings from the rustling leaves of the Tree—which flourisheth in that City. With both his inner and his outer ear he will hear from its dust the hymns of glory and praise ascending unto the Lord of Lords, and with his inner eye will he discover the mysteries of “return” and “revival.” How unspeakably glorious are the signs, the tokens, the revelations, and splendors which He Who is the King of names and attributes hath destined for that City! The attainment of this City quencheth thirst without water, and kindleth the love of God without fire. Within every blade of grass are enshrined the mysteries of an inscrutable wisdom, and upon every rosebush a myriad nightingales pour out, in blissful rapture, their melody. Its wondrous tulips unfold the mystery of the undying Fire in the Burning Bush, and its sweet savors of holiness breathe the perfume of the Messianic Spirit. It bestoweth wealth without gold, and conferreth immortality without death. In every leaf ineffable delights are treasured, and within every chamber unnumbered mysteries lie hidden.
The first of these seven paragraphs talked about our internal state. The second discussed our external state of being. The third paragraph reminded us of our quest for truth, and the fourth gave us a glimpse of where we are going. Now, with this paragraph, He talks a little bit about what we will discover.
"I swear by God!" What a powerful phrase, if we pause to think about it. What does it mean? Why does He use it here? In short, it's a firm promise. He is telling us that it is an absolute thing, no question about it. What He is about to say is true, beyond the shadow of a doubt, it's a guarantee.
The second sentence, though, can be a bit confusing, what with all the clauses, so we found it helpful to abridge it for clarity before going back to re-read it. When we do so, it reads, "Were he... to attain unto this... station, he would inhale... the fragrance of God, and would perceive the resplendent morn..." Once we understood the essence of this sentence, the rest of the sentence, not to mention the rest of the paragraph, fell into place.
Let's look at a bit more closely, though.
We're treading the "path of guidance", and hoping to "scale the heights of righteousness". Both of these imply effort. The first seems to refer not only to the path, but the fact the we are helping the path exist. When we tread on a path, the very weight of our footsteps reinforces the path for others to follow.
Scaling the heights gives the impression of climbing up a great mountain. When you scale something, that thing is very steep and difficult to climb. Here we're scaling the "heights of righteousness", struggling to keep doing that which is ethical and moral. It's not easy, given all the distractions around us, but the view is magnificent.
The first refers to guidance, and this is part of why so much of Part One is dedicated to analyzing that quote from Jesus. Baha'u'llah is reminding us of this incredible "path of guidance" found in all the great religions. He is helping us learn how to read it and find our way through the mists of allegory and metaphor to that greater understanding that allows us to recognize the Light of God no matter where it shines.
The second refers to living a righteous life, which He described so well in paragraph 214. But this life is not easy. It is very difficult to maintain, with all the social pressures and everything trying to get us to live a more self-centred life. When we succeed, though, people notice. It is as if we are standing on top of a mountain, exposed for all to see. We may not even realize it, but when we live such a life, we have an influence on so many people we don't even know.
Then He refers to "this glorious and supreme station". Which station? The station of absolute certitude. And remember, certitude is that knowledge beyond the mind. It is the knowledge you get when you listen to the music of Mozart and just know that it is beautiful. When we achieve this station to which He is referring, we will recognize the divine verses no matter where they occur. We will know that the Messenger comes from God, no matter where they live on earth. We will exemplify that concept from the second paragraph of not accepting "the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard". We will see that divine light rising in the east, even though we may live in the far, far west. After all, a thousand leagues is about 5000 km, so He is talking a very great distance. That's how perceptive we shall become.
Again there is this reference to sunrise, a regular reminder that all He is talking about regarding the Bab is just the very beginning. And when we are on the mountaintop looking toward the east, that sunrise is so much more evident.
Finally, at least in regards to this sentence, He reminds us that this new Revelation recreates the world itself, for the "dayspring of all things" is the dawn. It is the beginning of all things. It might even be a reference to when the Bab said, "I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things."
Now that He has brought us to this great height and shown us how the entirety of creation comes from this Revelation, He sort of reverses course and shows us its relation to even the smallest of things. Everything, "however small", is also a sign of God for us once we have attained this station of "absolute certitude".
Once we achieve that station, we are able to enter the "City of Certitude".That entire first part of the paragraph seems to be all about getting us to this point. In other words, if we achieve this "supreme station" of "absolute certitude", then we will find ourselves endowed with these incredible powers of observation. All of those powers will lead us to our goal, namely that "City of Certitude". It is as if our absolute certitude has granted us permission, or perhaps the ability, to find and enter this city.
Once there we will "discern the wonders of His ancient wisdom" and "perceive all the hidden teachings". We will even "hear from its dust the hymns of glory and praise ascending unto the Lord of Lords" and "discover the mysteries of 'return' and 'revival'", which were at the core of the initial questions of the uncle. All of this, though, is in relation to us.
As for the city itself, Baha'u'llah gives us a beautiful and awe-inspiring description of it. Just getting to it quenches our thirst "without water", and kindles the love of God "without fire". Once we're inside, we will discover such wonders. The grass, the rosebushes with their nightingales, the tulips, and even from the very scent of the city itself you can "breathe the perfume of the Messianic Spirit", so strongly that you can practically taste it. You even attain true wealth, not the fleeting wealth of gold, and true immortality, that of the spirit, not of the body.
If you were to actually take the time to explore the city, you would find countless mysteries everywhere, "in every chamber", just like if you were to dive deep and explore the "ocean of true understanding".
We could go on at length describing even more about this city, and what we can learn from His description, but we're going to leave it for now and return to this theme in the next couple of paragraphs, where He helps us contextualize it a bit more.n
