And the wayfarer, after traversing
the high planes of this supernal journey,
entereth
THE VALLEY OF CONTENTMENT
In this Valley he feeleth the winds
of divine contentment blowing from the
plane of the spirit. He burneth away
the veils of want, and with inward and
outward eye, perceiveth within and
without all things the day of: "God will
compensate each one out of His abundance."
From sorrow he turneth to bliss,
from anguish to joy. His grief and
mourning yield to delight and rapture.
Although to outward view, the wayfarers
in this Valley may dwell upon the
dust, yet inwardly they are throned
in the heights of mystic meaning; they
eat of the endless bounties of inner
significances, and drink of the delicate
wines of the spirit.
The tongue faileth in describing
these three Valleys, and speech falleth short.
The pen steppeth not into this region,
the ink leaveth only a blot. In these
planes, the nightingale of the heart
hath other songs and secrets, which
make the heart to stir and the soul
to clamor, but this mystery of inner meaning
may be whispered only from heart
to heart, confided only from breast to breast.
Only heart to heart can speak the
bliss of mystic knowers;
No messenger can tell it and no missive
bear it.
I am silent from weakness on many
a matter,
For my words could not reckon them
and my speech would fall short.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The
Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 29
Blessed is the one who discovereth
the fragrance of inner meanings from the
traces of this Pen through whose
movement the breezes of God are wafted over the
entire creation, and through whose
stillness the very essence of tranquillity
appeareth in the realm of being.
Glorified be the All-Merciful, the Revealer of
so inestimable a bounty. Say: Because
He bore injustice, justice hath appeared
on earth, and because He accepted
abasement, the majesty of God hath shone forth
amidst mankind.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 76
The essence and the fundamentals of
philosophy have emanated from the Prophets.
That the people differ concerning
the inner meanings and mysteries thereof is
to
be attributed to the divergence of
their views and minds. We would fain recount
to thee the following: One of the
Prophets once was communicating to his people
that with which the Omnipotent Lord
had inspired Him. Truly, thy Lord is the
Inspirer, the Gracious, the Exalted.
When the fountain of wisdom and eloquence
gushed forth from the wellspring
of His utterance and the wine of divine
knowledge inebriated those who had
sought His threshold, He exclaimed: `Lo! All
are filled with the Spirit.'
From among the people there was he who held fast
unto this statement and, actuated
by his own fancies, conceived the idea that
the spirit literally penetrateth
or entereth into the body, and through lengthy
expositions he advanced proofs to
vindicate this concept; and groups of people
followed in his footsteps. To mention
their names at this point, or to giv
thee a detailed account thereof,
would lead to prolixity, and would depart from
the main theme. Verily, thy Lord
is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing. There was
also he who partook of the choice
wine whose seal had been removed by the Key of
the Tongue of Him Who is the Revealer
of the Verses of thy Lord, the Gracious,
the Most Generous.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets
of Baha'u'llah, p. 145
We have digressed from the purpose
of Our argument, although whatsoever is
mentioned serveth only to confirm
Our purpose. By God! however great Our desire
to be brief, yet We feel We cannot
restrain Our pen. Notwithstanding all that We
have mentioned, how innumerable are
the pearls which have remained unpierced in
the shell of Our heart! How many
the húrís of inner meaning that
are as yet
concealed within the chambers of
divine wisdom! None hath yet approache
them;--húrís,
"whom no man nor spirit hath touched before." Notwithstanding
all that hath been said, it seemeth
as if not one letter of Our purpose hath
been uttered, nor a single sign divulged
concerning Our object. When will a
faithful seeker be found who will
don the garb of pilgrimage, attain the Ka'bih
of the heart's desire, and, without
ear or tongue, discover the mysteries of
divine utterance?
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 70