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Chapter 79
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The Valley of Unity (the Fourth Valley in spiritual growth, past the last plane of limitation).
1)
THE VALLEY OF UNITY (Fourth Valley)
After passing through the Valley of knowledge, which is the last plane
of limitation, the wayfarer cometh to the Valley of Unity and drinketh
from the cup of the Absolute, and gazeth on the Manifestations of
Oneness. In this station he pierceth the veils of plurality, fleeth
from the worlds of the flesh, and ascendeth into the heaven of
singleness. With the ear of God he heareth, with the eye of God he
beholdeth the mysteries of divine creation. He steppeth into the
sanctuary of the Friend, and shareth as an intimate the pavilion of the
Loved One. He stretcheth out the hand of truth from the sleeve of the
Absolute; he revealeth the secrets of power. He seeth in himself
neither name nor fame nor rank, but findeth his own praise in praising
God.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 18
2)
This sign of the revelation of the Divine Being in them that have
joined partners with Him may, in a sense, be regarded as a reflection
of the glory with which the faithful are illumined. None, however, can
comprehend this truth save men endued with understanding. They that
have truly recognized the Unity of God should be regarded as the
primary manifestations of this Name. It is they who have quaffed the
wine of Divine Unity from the cup which the hand of God hath proffered
unto them, and who have turned their faces towards Him. How vast the
distance that separateth these sanctified beings from those men that
are so far away from God!...
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 191
3)
And when this stage of the journey is completed and the wayfarer hath
soared beyond this lofty station, he entereth the City of Divine Unity,
and the garden of oneness, and the court of detachment. In this plane
the seeker casteth away all signs, allusions, veils, and words, and
beholdeth all things with an eye illumined by the effulgent lights
which God Himself hath shed upon him. In his journey he seeth all
differences return to a single word and all allusions culminate in a
single point. Unto this beareth witness he who sailed upon the ark of
fire and followed the inmost path to the pinnacle of glory in the realm
of immortality: "Knowledge is one point, which the foolish have
multiplied." This is the station that hath been alluded to in the
tradition: "I am He, Himself, and He is I, Myself, except that I am
that I am, and He is that He is."
40
In this station, were He Who is the Embodiment of the End to say:
"Verily, I am the Point of the Beginning", He would indeed be speaking
the truth. And were He to say: "I am other than Him", this would be
equally true. Likewise, were He to proclaim: "Verily, I am the Lord of
heaven and earth", or "the King of kings", or 31 "the Lord
of the realm above", or Muhammad, or 'Ali, or their descendants, or
aught else, He would indeed be proclaiming the truth of God. He,
verily, ruleth over all created things and standeth supreme above all
besides Him. Hast thou not heard what hath been said aforetime:
"Muhammad is our first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all"? And
elsewhere: "They all proceed from the same Light"?
41
In this station the truth of the unity of God and of the signs of His sanctity is established.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 29
4)
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
May know the mysteries hidden in the Seas of light.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
They passed the grades of worldly limitations and reached that of the divine unity, the center of heavenly guidance.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of the Holy Mariner.
5)
Praise be unto God Who hath made the Most Great Infallibility the
shield for the temple of His Cause in the realm of creation, and hath
assigned unto no one a share of this lofty and sublime station -- a
station which is a vesture which the fingers of transcendent power have
woven for His august Self. It befitteth no one except Him Who is seated
upon the mighty throne of 'He doeth what He pleaseth'. Whoso accepteth
and recognizeth that which is written down at this moment by the Pen of
Glory is indeed reckoned in the Book of God, the Lord of the beginning
and the end, among the exponents of divine unity, they that uphold the
concept of the oneness of God.
When the stream of words reached this stage, the sweet savours of true
knowledge were shed abroad and the day-star of divine unity shone forth
above the horizon of His holy utterance. Blessed is he whom His Call
hath attracted to the summit of glory, who hath drawn nigh to the
ultimate Purpose, and who hath recognized through the shrill voice of
My Pen of Glory that which the Lord of this world and of the next hath
willed. Whoso faileth to quaff
the choice wine which We have unsealed through the potency of Our Name,
the All-Compelling, shall be unable to discern the splendours of the
light of divine unity or to grasp the essential purpose underlying the
Scriptures of God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the sovereign Ruler of
this world and of the world to come. Such a man shall be accounted
among the faithless in the Book of God, the All-Knowing, the
All-Informed...
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 104
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