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Chapter 75
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Holy Veil and veil of concealment -- the realm of pre-existence of the Independent Prophets and Dependent/Lesser Prophets.
1)
The appearance of the Manifestations of God from behind the "veil of concealment".
XIII. Consider the past. How many, both high and low, have, at all
times, yearningly awaited the advent of the Manifestations of God in
the sanctified persons of His chosen Ones. How often have they expected
His coming, how frequently have they prayed that the breeze of Divine
mercy might blow, and the promised Beauty step forth from behind the
veil of concealment, and be made manifest to all the world. And
whensoever the portals of grace did open, and the clouds of divine
bounty did rain upon mankind, and the light of the Unseen did shine
above the horizon of celestial might, they all denied Him, and turned
away from His face--the face of God Himself....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 17
2)
"Through Him hath appeared that
which had been hidden from time immemorial and been veiled from the
eyes of men." -- reference to appearance of Baha'u'llah from the realm
of pre-existence.
God testifieth that there is none other God but Him and that He Who
hath appeared is the Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol, the Most
Great Book for all peoples, and the Heaven of bounty for the whole
world. He is the Most Mighty Sign amongst men and the Dayspring of the
most august attributes in the realm of creation. Through Him hath
appeared that which had been hidden from time immemorial and been
veiled from the eyes of men. He is the One Whose Manifestation was
announced by the heavenly Scriptures, in former times and more
recently. Whoso acknowledgeth belief in Him and in His signs and
testimonies hath in truth acknowledged that which the Tongue of
Grandeur uttered ere the creation of earth and heaven and the
revelation of the Kingdom of Names. Through Him the ocean of knowledge
hath surged amidst mankind and the river of divine wisdom hath gushed
out at the behest of God, the Lord of Days.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 47
3)
"The Word which the Son
concealed" (i.e. the prophecy about the coming Baha'u'llah,
the Independent Prophet, from the realm of pre-existence); "hath been
sent down in the form of the human temple" -- has descended to earth in
the person of His Manifestation.
The Word which the Son concealed is made manifest. It hath been sent
down in the form of the human temple in this day. Blessed be the Lord
Who is the Father! He, verily, is come unto the nations in His most
great majesty. Turn your faces towards Him, O concourse of the
righteous... This is the day whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and
shouteth, and celebrateth the praise of its Lord, the All-Possessing,
the Most High, saying: `Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were
promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled!...' My body longeth for the
cross, and Mine head waiteth the thrust of the spear, in the path of
the All-Merciful, that the world may be purged from its
transgressions....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 84
4)
In passage below from Gleanings CXXIX:
"concealed within the Holy Veil" -- refers to the realm of pre-existence of the Dependent/Lesser Prophets, same as the pre-existence of the Holy Imams.
"a company of His chosen ones" -- the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah.
"Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him" -- warn
those who reject the Dependent Prophet as the Face of God (similar, for
example, to those who rejected Imam Ali as the Face of God in the era
of Muhammad).
"I am come from the Throne of glory" -- reference to her/his station as a Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah.
"And bear you an announcement from God" -- the declaration of the Dependent Prophet.
"Weigh it with the just Balance that ye possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of God" -- judge their testimony with same standards you use for Prophets and Messengers of God, as they are.
There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service
of God, a company of His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men,
who shall aid His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the
entire human race rise up and war against them. These are the ones who,
before the gaze of the dwellers on earth and the denizens of heaven,
shall arise and, shouting aloud, acclaim the name of the Almighty, and
summon the children of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Praised. Walk thou in their way, and let no one dismay thee. Be of
them whom the tumult of the world, however much it may agitate them in
the path of their Creator, can never sadden, whose purpose the blame of
the blamer will never defeat.
Go forth with the Tablet of God and His signs, and rejoin them that
have believed in Me, and announce unto them tidings of Our most holy
Paradise. Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him. Say: I
am come to you, O people, from the Throne of glory, and bear you an
announcement from God, the Most Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most
Great. In mine hand I carry the testimony of God, your Lord and the
Lord of your sires of old. Weigh it with the just Balance that ye
possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of
God. If ye find it to be established in truth, if ye believe it to be
of God, beware, then, lest ye cavil at it, and render your works vain,
and be numbered with the infidels. It is indeed the sign of God that
hath been sent down through the power of truth, through which the
validity of His Cause hath been demonstrated unto His creatures, and
the ensigns of purity lifted up betwixt earth and heaven.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, CXXIX, p. 280
5)
"I have summoned the Maids of
Heaven to emerge from behind the veil of concealment" -- Bahá'u'lláh
has called on His pre-existent Dependent/Lesser Prophets to appear on
earth. "and have clothed them with these words of Mine
-- words of consummate power and wisdom" -- and they
receive their revelation from Him, the Independent Prophet (explained
further by Abdu'l-Baha when describing the two classes of Prophets). Those who "violate not the Covenant
of God" are the ones who recognise and follow the Dependent/Lesser
Prophets, who are the Face of God (like the Holy Imams in the era of
Muhammad). The Dependent Prophets have the same loft title, Maid of Heaven,
as Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, consistent with them all being
the Face of God (Manifestations of God).
Wherefore, O My servants, defile not your wings with the clay of
waywardness and vain desires, and suffer them not to be stained with
the dust of envy and hate, that ye may not be hindered from soaring in
the heavens of My divine knowledge.
O My servants! Through the might of God and His power, and out of the
treasury of His knowledge and wisdom, I have brought forth and revealed
unto you the pearls that lay concealed in the depths of His everlasting
ocean. I have summoned the Maids of
Heaven to emerge from behind
the veil of concealment, and have clothed them with these words of Mine
-- words of consummate power and wisdom. I have, moreover, with the
hand of divine power, unsealed the choice wine of My Revelation, and
have wafted its holy, its hidden, and musk-laden fragrance upon all
created things. Who else but yourselves is to be blamed if ye choose to
remain unendowed with so great an outpouring of God's transcendent and
all-encompassing grace, with so bright a revelation of His resplendent
mercy?...
O My servants! There shineth nothing else in Mine heart except the
unfading light of the Morn of Divine guidance, and out of My mouth
proceedeth naught but the essence of truth, which the Lord your God
hath revealed. Follow not, therefore, your earthly desires, and violate
not the Covenant of God, nor break your pledge to Him. With firm
determination, with the whole affection of your heart, and with the
full force of your words, turn ye unto Him, and walk not in the ways of
the foolish. The world is but a show, vain and empty, a mere nothing,
bearing the semblance of reality. Set not your affections upon it.
Break not the bond that uniteth you with your Creator, and be not of
those that have erred and strayed from His ways.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 328
6)
Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the tidings that He Who is
the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the Ridván and entered
it. Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath
made the Throne of His Paradise. We have chosen thee to be our most
mighty Trumpet, whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all
mankind.
Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine of utterance hath
imprinted the testimony: "He that was hidden from the eyes of men is
revealed, girded with sovereignty and power!" This is the Paradise, the
rustling of whose leaves proclaims: "O ye that inhabit the heavens and
the earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He
Who, from everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of
creation is now come." From the whispering breeze that wafteth amidst
its branches there cometh the cry: "He Who is the sovereign Lord of all
is made manifest. The Kingdom is God's," while from its streaming
waters can be heard the murmur: "All eyes are gladdened, for He Whom
none hath beheld, Whose secret no one hath discovered, hath lifted the
veil of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 31-32
7)
Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that
was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is
manifest; His all-encompassing splendour is revealed. Beware lest thou
hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that
hath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have
circled in adoration the favoured of God, the pure in heart, and the
company of the most exalted angels. Oh, how I long to announce unto
every spot on the surface of the earth, and to carry to each one of its
cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation--a Revelation to which the
heart of Sinai hath been attracted, and in whose name the Burning Bush
is calling: "Unto God, the Lord of Lords, belong the kingdoms of earth
and heaven." Verily this is the Day in which both land and sea rejoice
at this announcement, the Day for which have been laid up those things
which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart,
hath destined for revelation. Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee,
and will manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the
Book of Names.'
Sanctified be the Lord of all mankind, at the mention of Whose name all
the atoms of the earth have been made to vibrate, and the Tongue of
Grandeur hath been moved to disclose that which had been wrapt in His
knowledge and lay concealed within the treasury of His might. He,
verily, through the potency of His name, the Mighty, the All-Powerful,
the Most High, is the ruler of all that is in the heavens and all that
is on earth.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 4
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