Selected Mystical Works of Lord Bahá’u’lláh (vegetarian) – Through the Seven Valleys, Part 1 of 2

We now eagerly share with you excerpts from “The Call of the Divine Beloved,” by Lord Bahá’u’lláh (vegetarian), on inner reflection, spiritual growth, and seeing beauty and presence of the Divine in all things.

“Although a brief example has been given concerning the beginning and ending of the relative and contingent world, yet a further illustration is now provided, that the full meaning may become clear. For instance, let thine eminence consider his own self: Thou are first in relation to thy son, and last in relation to thy father. In thine outward appearance thou tell of the appearance of power in the realms of Divine creation; in thine inward being thou reveal the hidden mysteries which are the Divine trust deposited within thee. And thus firstness and lastness, outwardness and inwardness, are, in the sense referred to, all true of thyself, so that in these four states conferred upon thee thou may comprehend the four Divine states, and that the nightingale of thine heart, warbling on all the flowering branches of the tree of existence, whether seen or unseen, might cry out: ‘He is the First and the Last, the Seen and the Hidden!’”

“O thou dear one! Impoverish thyself, that thou may enter the lofty court of riches; and humble thy body, that thou may drink from the stream of glory and attain to the full meaning of the poems whereof thou had asked. Thus it has been made clear that these stages depend on the attainment of the wayfarer. In every city he will behold a world, in every valley reach a spring, in every meadow hear a song. But the falcon of the mystic Heaven has many a wondrous carol of the spirit in its breast, and the Persian bird keeps in its soul many a sweet Arabian melody; yet these are hidden, and hidden shall remain.”

“O friend, till thou enter the garden of these inner meanings, thou shall never taste of the imperishable [nectar] of this valley. And should thou taste of it, thou will turn away from all else and drink of the cup of contentment; thou will loose thyself from all things and bind thyself unto Him, and lay down thy life in His path and offer up thy soul for His sake. And this, even though in this realm there is no ‘all else’ that thou need forget: ‘God was alone; there was none else besides Him.’ For on this plane the traveler witnesses the beauty of the Friend in all things. In fire he sees the face of the Beloved; in illusion he beholds the secret of reality; in the attributes he reads the riddle of the Essence. For he has burnt away all veils with a sigh, and cast aside all coverings with a glance. With piercing sight he gazes upon the new creation, and with lucid heart he grasps subtle verities.”