Concerning the questions of Manakji Limji Hataria 8 страница
261.
Even in fire, he seeth the face of the Beloved.
262.
He beholdeth in illusion the secret of reality,
and readeth from the attributes the riddle of the Essence.
263.
For he hath burnt away the veils with his sighing,
and unwrapped the shroudings with a single glance;
264.
with piercing sight he gazeth on the new creation;
with lucid heart he graspeth subtle verities.
265.
This is sufficiently attested by:
"And we have made thy sight sharp in this day." Qurán 50:21
The Tablets of the Seven Valleys CHAPTER ELEVEN
Divisions 266-300
Valley of Wonderment
THE SEVEN VALLEYS
266.
After journeying through the planes of pure contentment,
the traveler cometh to the Valley of Wonderment and is tossed in the oceans of grandeur,
and at every moment his wonder groweth.
267.
Now he seeth the shape of wealth as poverty itself,
and the essence of freedom as sheer [impotence] [piety].
268.
Now is he struck dumb with the [glory] of the All-Glorious;
again is he wearied out with his own life.
269.
How many a mystic tree hath this whirlwind of wonderment snatched by the roots,
how many a soul hath it exhausted.
270.
For in this Valley the traveler is flung into confusion, albeit,
in the eye of him who hath attained, such marvels are esteemed and well beloved.
271.
At every moment he beholdeth a wondrous world, a new creation,
and goeth from astonishment to astonishment,
and is lost in awe at the works of the Lord of [Union].
272.
Indeed, O Brother,
if we ponder each created thing,
we shall witness a myriad perfect wisdoms and learn a myriad new and wondrous truths.
273.
One of the created phenomena is the dream.
274.
Behold how many secrets are deposited therein,
how many wisdoms treasured up, how many worlds concealed.
275.
Observe, how thou art asleep in a dwelling, and its doors are barred;
on a sudden thou findest thyself in a far-off city,
276.
which thou enterest without moving thy feet or wearying thy body;
without using thine eyes, thou seest;
without taxing thine ears, thou hearest;
without a tongue, thou speakest.
277.
And perchance when ten years are gone,
thou wilt witness in the outer world the very things thou hast dreamed tonight.
|
|
|
278.
Now there are many wisdoms to ponder in the dream,
which none but the people of this Valley can comprehend in their true elements.
279.
First, what is this world,
where without eye and ear and hand and tongue a man puts all of these to use?
280.
Second, how is it that in the outer world thou seest today the effect of a dream,
when thou didst vision it in the world of sleep some ten years past?
281.
Consider the difference between these two worlds and the mysteries which they conceal,
that thou mayest attain to divine confirmations and heavenly discoveries
and enter the regions of holiness.
282.
God, the Exalted, hath placed these signs in men, to the end that philosophers may not deny the mysteries of the life beyond nor belittle that which hath been promised them.
283.
For some hold to reason and deny whatever the reason comprehendeth not,
and yet weak minds can never grasp the matters which we have related,
yet only the Supreme, Divine Intelligence can comprehend them:
284.
How can feeble reason encompass the Qur'án,
Or the spider snare a phoenix in his web? Persian mystic poem
285.
All these states are to be witnessed in the Valley of Wonderment,
and the traveler at every moment seeketh for more, and is not wearied.
286.
Thus the Lord of the First and the Last in setting forth the grades of contemplation,
and expressing wonderment hath said:
"O Lord, increase my astonishment at Thee!"
287.
Likewise, reflect upon the perfection of man's creation,
and that all these planes and states are folded up and hidden away within him.
288.
Dost thou reckon thyself only a puny form
When within thee the universe is folded? Alí
289.
Then we must labor to destroy the animal condition,
till the meaning of humanity shall come to light.
|
|
|
290.
Thus, too, Luqmán, [a person of the Quran]
who had drunk from the wellspring of wisdom and tasted of the waters of mercy,
in proving to his son Nathan the planes of resurrection and death,
advanced the dream as an evidence and an example.
291.
We relate it here, that through this evanescent Servant
a memory may endure of that youth of the school of Divine Unity,
that elder of the art of instruction and the Absolute.
292.
He said:
"O Son, if thou art able not to sleep, then thou art able not to die.
293.
And if thou art able not to waken after sleep,
then thou shalt be able not to rise after death."
294.
O friend,
the heart is the dwelling of eternal mysteries, make it not the home of fleeting fancies;
waste not the treasure of thy precious life in employment with this swiftly passing world.
295.
Thou comest from the world of holiness—bind not thine heart to the earth;
thou art a dweller in the court of nearness—choose not the homeland of the dust.
296.
In sum, there is no end to the description of these stages, but because of the wrongs inflicted by the peoples of the earth, this Servant is in no mood to continue:
297.
The tale is still unfinished and I have no heart for it—
Then pray forgive me. Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí
298.
The pen groaneth and the ink sheddeth tears, 'Jayhún', a river in Turkistán
and the river of the heart moveth in waves of blood.
299.
"Nothing can befall us but what God hath destined for us." Quran 9:51
300.
Peace be upon him who followeth the Right Path!
The Tablets of the Seven Valleys CHAPTER TWELVE
|
|
|
Divisions 301-335
Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness
THE SEVEN VALLEYS
301.
This station is the dying from self and the living in God,
the being poor in self and rich in the Desired [Lord].
302.
Poverty as here referred to signifieth being poor in the things of the created world,
rich in the things of God's world.
303.
For when the true lover and devoted friend reacheth to the presence of the Beloved, [God]
the sparkling beauty of the Loved [Lord]
and the fire of the lover's heart will kindle a blaze and burn away all veils and wrappings.
304.
Yea, all he hath, from heart to skin, will be set aflame,
so that nothing will remain save the Friend. [the prophet]
305.
When the qualities of the Ancient of Days stood revealed,
Then the qualities of earthly things did Moses burn away. Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí
306.
He who hath attained this station is sanctified from all that pertaineth to the world.
307.
Wherefore, if those who have come to the sea of His presence
are found to possess none of the limited things of this perishable world,
whether it be outer wealth or personal opinions, it mattereth not.
308.
For whatever the creatures have is limited by their own limits,
and whatever the True One hath is sanctified therefrom;
this utterance must be deeply pondered that its purport may be clear.
309.
"Verily the righteous shall drink of a winecup tempered at the camphor fountain." Quran 76:5
310.
If the interpretation of "camphor" become known,
the true intention will be evident.
311.
This state is that poverty of which it is said,
"Poverty is My glory."
312.
And of inward and outward poverty there is many a stage and many a meaning
which I have not thought pertinent to mention here;
313.
hence I have reserved these for another time,
dependent on what God may desire and fate may seal.
|
|
|
314.
This is the plane whereon the vestiges of all things are destroyed in the traveler,
and on the horizon of eternity the Divine Face riseth out of the darkness,
and the meaning of "All on the earth shall pass away,
yet the face of thy Lord...." is made manifest. Quran 55:26, 27
315.
O My friend,
listen with heart and soul to the songs of the spirit, and treasure them as thine own eyes.
316.
For the heavenly wisdoms, like the clouds of spring,
will not rain down on the earth of men's hearts forever;
317.
and though the grace of the All-Bounteous One is never stilled and never ceasing,
yet to each time and era a portion is allotted and a bounty set apart, this in a given measure. "
318.
And no one thing is there, but with Us are its storehouses;
and We send it not down but in settled measure." Quran 15:21
319.
The cloud of the Loved One's mercy raineth only on the garden of the spirit,
and bestoweth this bounty only in the season of spring.
320.
The other seasons have no share in this greatest grace,
and barren lands no portion of this favor.
321.
O Brother!
Not every sea hath pearls; not every branch will flower, nor will the nightingale sing thereon.
322.
Then, ere the nightingale of the mystic paradise repair to the garden of God,
and the rays of the heavenly morning return to the Sun of Truth—make thou an effort,
323.
that haply in this dustheap of the mortal world thou mayest catch a fragrance from the everlasting garden, and live forever in the shadow of the peoples of this city.
324.
And when thou hast attained this highest station and come to this mightiest plane,
then shalt thou gaze on the Beloved, and forget all else.
325.
The Beloved shineth on gate and wall,
Without a veil, O men of vision. Farídu'd-Dín Attár
(the great Persian Súfí poet OF AD 1200)
326.
Now hast thou abandoned the drop of life and come to the sea of the Life-Bestower.
327.
This is the goal thou didst ask for;
if it be God's will, thou wilt gain it.
328.
In this city, even the veils of light are split asunder and vanish away.
329.
"His beauty hath no veiling save light, His face no covering save revelation." the Hadíth
330.
How strange that while the Beloved is visible as the sun,
yet the heedless still hunt after tinsel and base metal.
331.
Yea, the intensity of His revelation hath covered Him,
and the fullness of His shining forth hath hidden Him.
332.
Even as the sun, bright hath He shined,
But alas, He hath come to the town of the blind! Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí
333.
In this Valley, the wayfarer leaveth behind him the stages
of the "oneness of Being and Manifestation" Pantheism
and reacheth a oneness that is sanctified above these two stations.
(Súfí doctrine derived from the formula:
"Only God exists; He is in all things, and all things are in Him.")
334.
Ecstasy alone can encompass this theme, not utterance nor argument;
335.
and whosoever hath dwelt at this stage of the journey,
or caught a breath from this garden land,
knoweth whereof We speak.
The Tablets of the Seven Valleys CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Divisions 336-370
(Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness)
THE SEVEN VALLEYS
336.
In all these journeys the traveler must stray not the breadth of a hair from the "Law,"
for this is indeed the secret of the "Path" and the fruit of the Tree of "Truth";
337.
and in all these stages he must cling to the robe of obedience to the commandments,
and hold fast to the cord of shunning all forbidden things,
that he may be nourished from the cup of the Law and informed of the mysteries of Truth.
(This refers to the three stages of Súfí life: 1. Sharí'at, or Religious Laws; 2. Taríqat, or the Path on which the mystic wayfarer journeys in search of the True One; this stage also includes anchoretism. 3. Haqíqat, or the Truth which, to the Súfí, is the goal of the journey through all three stages. Here Bahá'u'lláh teaches that, contrary to the belief of certain Súfís who in their search for the Truth consider themselves above all law, obedience to the Laws of Religion is essential.)
338.
If any of the utterances of this Servant may not be comprehended, or may lead to perturbation, the same must be inquired of again, that no doubt may linger, and the meaning be clear as the Face of the Beloved One shining from the "Glorious Station." (Maqám-i-Mahmúd. Qur'án 17:81)
339.
These journeys have no visible ending in the world of time,
yet the severed wayfarer
—if invisible confirmation descend upon him and the Guardian of the Cause assist him—
may cross these seven stages in seven steps,
nay, rather in seven breaths,
nay, rather in a single breath,
if God will and desire it.
340.
And this is of "His grace on such of His servants as He pleaseth." Quran 2:84
341.
They who soar in the heaven of singleness and reach to the sea of the Absolute,
reckon this city—which is the station of life in God—as the furthermost state of mystic knowers,
and the farthest homeland of the lovers.
342.
But to this evanescent [Lord] of the mystic ocean,
this station is the first gate of the heart's citadel,
that is, man's first entrance to the city of the heart;
343.
and the heart is endowed with four stages,
which would be recounted, should a kindred soul be found.
344.
When the pen set to picturing this station,
It broke in pieces and the page was torn. Persian mystic poem
345.
Salám! (Peace.) (The word is used in conclusion of a thesis.)
346.
O My friend!
Many a hound pursueth this gazelle of the desert of oneness;
many a talon claweth at this thrush of the eternal garden.
347.
Pitiless ravens do lie in wait for this bird of the heavens of God,
and the huntsman of envy stalketh this deer of the meadow of love.
348.
O Sheik!
Make of thine effort a glass, perchance it may shelter this flame from the contrary winds;
349.
albeit this light doth long to be kindled in the lamp of the Lord,
and to shine in the globe of the spirit.
350.
For the head raised up in the love of God will certainly [fall by the sword],
and the life that is kindled with longing will surely be [sacrificed], [devoted]
and the heart which remembereth the Loved [Lord] will surely brim with [blood]. [love]
351.
How well is it said:
Live free of love, for its very peace is anguish;
352.
Its beginning is pain, its end is death. Arabian poem
353.
Peace be upon him who followeth the Right Path!
354.
The thoughts thou hast expressed as to the interpretation of the common species of bird that is called in Persian Gunjishk (sparrow) were considered.
(The five letters comprising this word in Persian are G, N, J, SH, K,
that is, Gáf, Nún, Jím, Shín, Káf)
355.
Thou appearest to be well-grounded in mystic truth.
356.
However, on every plane, to every letter a meaning is allotted which relateth to that plane.
357.
Indeed, the wayfarer findeth a secret in every name, a mystery in every letter.
358.
In one sense, these letters refer to holiness.
359.
Káf or Gáf (K or G) referreth to Kuffi ("free"), that is,
360.
"Free thyself from that which thy passion desireth;
then advance unto thy Lord."
361.
Nún referreth to Nazzih ("purify"), that is,
362.
"Purify thyself from all else save Him,
Дата добавления: 2019-02-13; просмотров: 216; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!