Passages from the Heavenly Repast
by Baha'u'llah
trans. by Juan R. I. Cole
2."In his name, the Powerful over all who are on earth and in the heavens.
We sent Badi` with our grace and a noble Book. We intended thereby only to bring the servants near to the ultimate Seat. And you committed what caused the wailing of the inhabitants of paradise, the concourse on high, and those who circle round the throne of God, the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. We dispatched him in order to deliver to the servants the glad-tidings of God, and they greeted him with a torment the like of which had never been seen since the world was created. Then they killed him with manifest tyranny. When they had spilled his blood upon the ground, it was disturbed, and quaked and lamented, and cried out. Gaze, then, O God, You in whose hand of power lies sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. Had not my grace gone forth beforehand, the earth would have swallowed them up. But we prevented it from doing so, as a bestowal of our bounties, and I am the Forgiving, the Clement. Then we sent upon its inhabitants an affliction, that they might awaken and repent unto God, the Mighty, the All-Praised. Look, how the wrath of their Lord has overtaken them. I am the Wrathful, the Severe."(8:3-4)
3. "Make mention of the one about whom the views of the people differ. Some say that he believed in God, the lord of all that was and shall be. Others assert that he followed his passions insofar as he affirmed with his lips what he denied in his heart. Thus have all persons expressed their opinions. Say: We bear witness that he believed in God and attained the presence of the throne most days, listening to and witnessing the greatest signs of his lord in the evening and at dawn. In truth, we entered the land of Mesopotamia, and found him frozen. We set him on fire with the flames of our burning bush, and in truth, I am the Powerful, the Igniter, the Mighty, the Knowing. We saved him by means of our grace and revived him through the water that flowed from the pen of God, the king of names. However, he masters every field, joins in every gathering, and listens to what is said. At first, he was with the one who was named `Ala, then he was in Mesopotamia. He tends to mysticism. When we entered that city (Baghdad), he used to spend most of his time in my presence. When he saw the sea, he forsook the puddle, and was enthralled by the verses of his lord, the king of creation. He was intoxicated with the heavenly stream of utterance, which flowed from the lips of his lord, the All-Merciful, such that he did not desire to leave my presence. The people of Baghdad bear witness to this, and beyond them all who have knowledge of the book." (8:4-5) {Cf. Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Wilmette edn., pp. 160-162.}
4. "On the day we left, an amazing crowd had formed. With eighty-two persons they set out from Edirne for the land of the Prison (`Akka) . . . Would that you had been with us! Afterwards we arrived in Gallipoli. Captain `Umar Effendi came with five sergeants. They said, "You must go to `Akka." We then set out on the Austrian steamship for `Akka. Near the city the ship dropped anchor, and they took us in a boat, though they forbade four of our party to come with us: Sayyah, Mishkin Qalam, Aqa Muhammad Baqir, and Aqa `Abdu'l-Ghaffar. `Umar Effendi said, "We have been commanded to send these four persons to Cyprus." Those gentlemen cried out in protest. A few moments after we were separated, Aqa `Abdu'l-Ghaffar threw himself from the deck of the ship into the ocean. What love and detachment he had! What dependence on God, what uprightness!
Then we arrived in `Akka. They housed us in the army barracks. Neither during the day nor at night were there any provisions in the living quarters. The Pasha sent over dinner, but we gave that to the children. The weather was extremely hot and torrid, the water brackish, and the food disgusting. What followed may be imagined. But by the grace of God, we are encompassed by fragrant and refreshing breezes. God will render his servants victorious by means of the truth. In truth, he fulfills his promise, and he knows all things. For all those predictions in previous tablets concerning the details of disturbances that would take place in Edirne have come true. The prediction we have made about God's succor will, of course, also be borne out. 8:5-6
6. "In the name of the Speaker, the Knowing.
In these days the pen of the most high is speaking in Persian, so that those who soar into the heavens of mystical knowledge may have access to the utterance of the All-Merciful, and might attain to the goal. Perhaps they might be safeguarded from the evil of the carnal self, and be enabled to distinguish between the trustworthy and the traitor, between adherents and opponents. Some misguided and dishonest persons forbid the people from following the divine decrees and advise them instead to do what is prohibited. Even so, they maintain that they are of God. He has washed his hands of them. To this bears witness the tongue of grandeur and behind it all the tablets, and behind them all mornings and evenings. Some have concluded that they may usurp the wealth of the people, and considered the command of the book to be a light matter. Upon them be the circle of evil and the torment of God, the mighty, the powerful.
By the sun of the horizon of sanctification, were the entire world transformed into gold and silver it would not attract the slightest notice from one who has truly ascended into the heaven of faith, much less would he grasp any of it. This station was previously revealed in the exalted Arabic tongue and the eloquent language. By the life of God, if a soul were to taste the sweetness of it, he would never perform any deed not permitted by God, and would never gaze at anyone but the Friend. He would perceive that the world is ephemeral, by means of the eye of insight, and his heart would connect with the imperishable world. Say: You who claim to love the pre-existent Beauty, be ashamed, and take a lesson from the trials and difficulties that he suffered in the path of God.
Had the goal been the stupid sayings and false deeds of those persons, why should anyone bear these tribulations? Every thief and corrupt person was already speaking and acting as you do before the Advent. I rightly say, listen to the most sweet call, and sanctify yourself from the pollution of self and passion . . .
The Eternal Truth has appeared in order to call the people to truthfulness, purity, religion, trustworthiness, self-surrender, radiant acquiescence, benevolence, conciliation, wisdom and piety. It is also in order to adorn all with the robes of pleasing morals and holy deeds. Say: Have compassion upon yourself and upon the people, and do not soil the divine Cause, which is sanctified above the substance of holiness, with unclean, unworthy conjectures and fancies." 8:7-9 {cf. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, CXXXVII}.
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20. "The figurative world and the physical world are both pure nonexistence,
but they appear in the garb of being. The first is the grief of the
wayfarers and the second is the test of those who have attained.
Therefore, it is necessary that a supreme effort be made, so that the
compassionate spirit might overcome these two spiritual obstacles by the
power of the All-Praised." (8:29)
21. "Not every heart is capable of acting as a repository for divine love. For
not every soul is suited for growing wondrous herbs--only the heart of a
human being who continues to bear the trustworthiness of the All-Merciful
and to give the fruit of wisdom and eloquence. Blessed be the All-Merciful,
who is endued with grace and beneficence. Not everyone who has the form of
a human being is worthy of the Most Great Panorama, nor will such a one
necessarily be accounted a human being before God. For all who remain
bereft of the robe of mystical insight are reckoned as beasts of the field
by God." (8:33).