Having just started reading Baha'u'llah's "The Seven Valleys", one of his mystical works written as a response to questions from a Sufi mystic, I decided I probably had a better hope of understanding it with some help from you, o reader - so I've resolved to post some excerpts from each valley the next seven days, as I go through them.
So here, then, is the first - the Valley of Search.
"The stages that mark the wayfarer’s journey from the abode of dust to the heavenly homeland are said to be seven. Some have called these Seven Valleys, and others, Seven Cities. And they say that until the wayfarer taketh leave of self, and traverseth these stages, he shall never reach to the ocean of nearness and union, nor drink of the peerless wine. The first is the Valley of Search.
The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter...
It is incumbent on these servants that they cleanse the heart—which is the wellspring of divine treasures—from every marking, and that they turn away from imitation, which is following the traces of their forefathers and sires, and shut the door of friendliness and enmity upon all the people of the earth.
In this journey the seeker reacheth a stage wherein he seeth all created things wandering distracted in search of the Friend...
The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God. Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the world.
On this journey the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every country he looketh for the Beloved. He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One."
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3 comments:
interesting. what does this line mean to say, i wonder:
" and shut the door of friendliness and enmity upon all the people of the earth."
at first i thought it was to look for god single-mindedly, but then the passage later does talk of trying to achieve oneness with all souls.
ya i found that line interesting too. clearly it can't literally mean we shouldn't have friends, as that would contradict a host of other writings. my interpretation is that its talking about attachment to love/hate, which can occlude one's search for truth - so in the valley of search, one should not allow one's friendliness/enmity with anyone to affect one's notion of truth.
Oooo, I'm excited that you're reading The Seven Valleys. I love the Valley of Search. It's so beautifully written.
I agree with your interpretation of that line, Nikhil.
How appropriate, too, that the steed of searching is patience, given that this is the month of patience! Do either of you really believe that without patience we will reach nowhere and attain no goal?
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