Baha’u’llah was the
teacher and the founder
of the Baha’i Faith.
He and his teachings are
believed to be prophesied
in Buddhism,
Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism,
and other religions.
Baha’u’llah was born
in 1817 in Tehran, Persia,
in present-day Iran.
The word Baha means
‘glory’ or ‘splendor.’
The Baha’i Faith rests
on three core principles:
unity of God,
unity of religion,
and unity of mankind.
Approximately
7 million people today
in many countries adhere
to the Baha’i faith.
Their scriptures
are translated
into 800 languages,
and there are houses
of worship in just about
every corner of the world.
Baha’i principles
envision an ideal society.
They are gender equality;
elimination of all forms
of prejudice whether
religious, racial, class,
or national; harmony
of religion and science;
universal opportunity
of education for all;
a universal auxiliary
language, which
all humanity can use
to cooperate quickly
with one another;
a judicious world
government;
and the elimination
of extremes of wealth
and poverty.
Many people,
like the Baha’i followers,
see a noble society as
a real goal to be pursued
in everyday life.
Today we present
the sage wisdom
of Baha’u’llah
with excerpts from
the holy book, “Gems
of Divine Mysteries.”
Thank you
for your happy presence
for today’s episode of
Between Master
and Disciples
here on
Supreme Master Television.
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May Heaven
grace your life with
Truth, Virtue, and Beauty.
Gems of Divine Mysteries
The essence
of the divine mysteries
in the journeys of ascent
set forth for those
who long to draw nigh
unto God, the Almighty,
the Ever-Forgiving—
blessed be the righteous
that quaff from
these crystal streams!
HE IS THE EXALTED,
THE MOST HIGH!
48 All that thou hast heard
regarding Muhammad
the son of Hasan –
may the souls of all
that are immersed
in the oceans of the spirit
be offered up for His sake
– is true beyond
the shadow of a doubt,
and we all verily bear
allegiance unto Him.
But the Imáms of the Faith
have fixed His abode
in the city of Jábulqá,
which they have depicted
in strange
and marvelous signs.
To interpret this city
according to
the literal meaning
of the tradition would
indeed prove impossible,
nor can such a city
ever be found.
Wert thou to search
the uttermost corners
of the earth, nay probe
its length and breadth for
as long as God’s eternity
hath lasted and
His sovereignty will endure,
thou wouldst never
find a city such as
they have described,
for the entirety of the earth
could neither contain
nor encompass it.
If thou wouldst lead Me
unto this city, I could
assuredly lead thee
unto this holy Being,
Whom the people
have conceived according to
what they possess
and not to that which
pertaineth unto Him!
Since this is not
in thy power,
thou hast no recourse but
to interpret symbolically
the accounts and traditions
that have been reported
from these luminous souls.
And, as such an
interpretation is needed
for the traditions
pertaining to
the aforementioned city,
so too is it required
for this holy Being.
When thou hast understood
this interpretation,
thou shalt no longer stand
in need of “transformation”
or aught else.
49 Know then that, inasmuch
as all the Prophets are but
one and the same soul,
spirit, name, and attribute,
thou must likewise
see them all as bearing
the name Muhammad
and as being
the son of Hasan,
as having appeared
from the Jábulqá
of God’s power and from
the Jábulsá of His mercy.
For by Jábulqá
is meant none other than
the treasure-houses
of eternity
in the all-highest heaven
and the cities of the unseen
in the supernal realm.
We bear witness
that Muhammad,
the son of Hasan,
was indeed in Jábulqá
and appeared therefrom.
Likewise, He Whom
God shall make manifest
abideth in that city
until such time as God
will have established Him
upon the seat
of His sovereignty.
We, verily,
acknowledge this truth
and bear allegiance unto
each and every one of them.
We have chosen here
to be brief
in our elucidation of
the meanings of Jábulqá,
but if thou be of them
that truly believe, thou
shalt indeed comprehend
all the true meanings of
the mysteries enshrined
within these Tablets.
50 But as to Him Who
appeared in the year sixty,
He standeth in need of
neither transformation
nor interpretation,
for His name was
Muhammad,
and He was a descendent
of the Imáms of the Faith.
Thus it can be truly said
of Him that
He was the son of Hasan,
as is undoubtedly clear
and evident
unto thine eminence.
Nay, He it is Who
fashioned that name and
created it for Himself,
were ye to observe
with the eye of God.
51 It is Our wish
at this juncture to
digress from Our theme
to recount
that which befell
the Point of the Qur’án,
and to extol
His remembrance,
that perchance thou
mayest gain into all things
an insight born of Him
Who is the Almighty,
the Incomparable.
52 Consider and
reflect upon His days,
when God raised Him up
to promote His Cause
and to stand
as the representative
of His own Self.
Witness how
He was assailed, denied,
and denounced by all;
how, when He set foot
in the streets
and marketplaces,
the people derided Him,
wagged their heads at Him,
and laughed Him to scorn;
how at every moment
they sought to slay Him.
Such were their doings
that the earth
in all its vastness
was straitened for Him,
the Concourse on High
bewailed His plight,
the foundations
of existence were
reduced to nothingness,
and the eyes of
the well-favored denizens
of His Kingdom
wept sore over Him.
Indeed, so grievous
were the afflictions
which the wicked
showered upon Him
that no faithful soul
can bear to hear them.
If these wayward souls
had indeed paused to
reflect upon their conduct,
recognized
the sweet melodies
of that Mystic Dove
singing upon the twigs
of this snow-white Tree,
embraced that which God
had revealed unto
and bestowed upon them,
and discovered the fruits
of the Tree of God
upon its branches,
wherefore then did they
reject and denounce Him?
Had they
not lifted their heads
to the heavens to
implore His appearance?
Had they not besought God
at every moment
to honor them
with His Beauty
and sustain them
through His presence?
54 But as they failed
to recognize
the accents of God
and the divine mysteries
and holy allusions
enshrined in that which
flowed from the tongue
of Muhammad,
and as they neglected
to examine the matter
in their own hearts,
and followed instead
those priests of error
who have hindered
the progress of the people
in past dispensations and
who will continue to do so
in future cycles,
they were thus veiled
from the divine purpose,
failed to quaff
from the celestial streams,
and deprived themselves
of the presence of God,
the Manifestation
of His Essence,
and the Dayspring
of His eternity.
Thus did they wander in
the paths of delusion and
the ways of heedlessness,
and return to their abode
in that fire which feedeth
on their own souls.
These, verily, are numbered
with the infidels
whose names have been
inscribed by the Pen of God
in His holy Book.
Nor have they ever found,
or will ever find,
a friend or helper.
55 Had these souls
but clung steadfastly
to the Handle of God
manifested in the Person
of Muhammad,
had they turned
wholly unto God
and cast aside all
that they had learned
from their divines,
He would assuredly
have guided them
through His grace
and acquainted them
with the sacred truths that
are enshrined within His
imperishable utterances.
For far be it from
His greatness and His glory
that He should
turn away a seeker
at His door, cast aside
from His Threshold
one who hath
set his hopes on Him,
reject one
who hath sought
the shelter of His shade,
deprive one
who hath held fast
to the hem of His mercy,
or condemn to
remoteness the poor one
who hath found the river
of His riches.
But as these people failed
to turn wholly unto God,
and to hold fast to the hem
of His all-pervading mercy
at the appearance
of the Daystar of Truth,
they passed out from under
the shadow of guidance
and entered
the city of error.
57 Know then
that when Muhammad,
the Point of the Qur’án
and the Light
of the All-Glorious, came
with perspicuous verses
and luminous proofs
manifested in such signs
as are beyond the power
of all existence to produce,
He bade all men
follow this lofty
and outstretched Path
in accordance with
the precepts that
He had brought from God.
Whoso acknowledged Him,
recognized
the signs of God
in His inmost Being,
and saw in His beauty
the changeless beauty
of God, the decree of
“resurrection,”
“ingathering,” “life,”
and “paradise”
was passed upon him.
For he who had
believed in God
and in the Manifestation
of His beauty
was raised from the grave
of heedlessness,
gathered together
in the sacred ground
of the heart,
quickened to the life
of faith and certitude, and
admitted into the paradise
of the divine presence.
What paradise
can be loftier than this,
what ingathering mightier,
and what resurrection
greater?
Indeed, should a soul
be acquainted with
these mysteries, he would
grasp that which
none other hath fathomed.
58 Know then
that the paradise that
appeareth in the day of God
surpasseth every other
paradise and excelleth
the realities of Heaven.
For when God –
blessed and glorified is He
– sealed the station
of prophethood
in the person of Him
Who was His Friend,
His Chosen One,
and His Treasure
amongst His creatures,
as hath been revealed from
the Kingdom of glory:
“but He is
the Apostle of God and
the Seal of the Prophets,”
He promised all men
that they shall attain
unto His own presence in
the Day of Resurrection.
In this He meant to
emphasize the greatness
of the Revelation to come,
as it hath indeed
been manifested through
the power of truth.
And there is of a certainty
no paradise greater than
this, nor station higher,
should ye reflect upon
the verses of the Qur’án.
Blessed be he who
knoweth of a certainty
that he shall attain unto
the presence of God on
that day when His Beauty
shall be made manifest.
59 Were I to recount
all the verses
that have been revealed
in connection with
this exalted theme,
it would weary the reader
and divert Us
from Our purpose.
The following verse
shall therefore suffice Us;
may thine eyes
be solaced therewith,
and mayest thou attain
unto that which hath been
treasured and concealed
therein: “It is God who
hath reared the heavens
without pillars
thou canst behold;
then mounted His throne,
and imposed laws
on the sun and moon:
each travelleth
to its appointed goal.
He ordereth all things.
He maketh His signs clear,
that ye may have firm faith
in the presence
of your Lord.”
60 Ponder then, O My friend,
the words “firm faith”
that have been mentioned
in this verse.
It saith that the heavens
and the earth, the throne,
the sun and the moon,
all have been created
to the end
that His servants may
have unswerving faith in
His presence in His days.
By the righteousness
of God!
Contemplate,
O My brother,
the greatness of this station,
and behold the condition
of the people in these days,
fleeing from
the Countenance of God
and His Beauty
“as though they were
affrighted asses”.
Wert thou to reflect upon
that which We have
revealed unto thee, thou
wouldst undoubtedly
grasp Our purpose
in this utterance
and discover that
which We have desired
to impart unto thee
within this paradise.
Perchance thine eyes may
rejoice in beholding it,
thine ears take delight
in hearing that
which is recited therein,
thy soul be enthralled
by recognizing it,
thy heart illumined
by comprehending it,
and thy spirit gladdened
by the fragrant breezes
that waft therefrom.
Haply thou mayest attain
unto the pinnacle
of divine grace and abide
within the Ridván (Paradise)
of transcendent holiness.