The quote below from
Baha’u’llah provides fascinating insight into the beginning of creation – of both
this world and the world beyond – and the appearance of an Entity referred to
as “Man” Who has progressively appeared as a Manifestation of God in various
ages by different names and attributes. In a passage from the Báb, this Entity
is also referred to as the “Primal Will
of God”.
“Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! I testify that Thou wast
a hidden Treasure wrapped within Thine immemorial Being
and an impenetrable Mystery enshrined in Thine own Essence. Wishing to reveal
Thyself, Thou didst call into being the Greater and the Lesser Worlds, and
didst choose Man above all Thy creatures, and didst make Him a sign of both of
these worlds, O Thou Who art our Lord, the Most Compassionate!
“Thou didst raise Him up to occupy Thy throne before all the
people of Thy creation. Thou didst enable Him to unravel Thy mysteries, and to
shine with the lights of Thine inspiration and Thy Revelation, and to manifest
Thy names and Thine attributes. Through Him Thou didst adorn the preamble of
the book of Thy creation, O Thou Who art the Ruler of the universe Thou hast
fashioned!
“I bear witness that in His person solidity and fluidity
have been joined and combined. Through His immovable constancy in Thy Cause,
and His unwavering adherence to whatsoever Thou, in the plentitude of the light
of Thy glory, didst unveil to His eyes, throughout the domains of Thy
Revelation and creation, the souls of Thy servants were stirred up in their
longing for Thy Kingdom, and the dwellers of Thy realms rushed forth to enter
into Thy heavenly dominion. Through the restlessness He evinced in Thy path,
the feet of all them that are devoted to Thee were steeled and confirmed to manifest
Thy Cause amidst Thy creatures, and to demonstrate Thy sovereignty throughout
Thy realm.
“How great, O my God, is this Thy most excellent handiwork, and how consummate Thy creation, which hath caused every understanding heart and mind to marvel! And when the set time was fulfilled, and what had been preordained came to pass, Thou didst unloose His tongue to praise Thee, and to lay bare Thy mysteries before all Thy creation, O Thou Who art the Possessor of all names, and the Fashioner of earth and heaven! Through Him all created things were made to glorify Thee, and to celebrate Thy praise, and every soul was directed towards the kingdom of Thy revelation and Thy sovereignty.
“At one time, Thou didst raise Him up, O my God, and didst
attire Him with the ornament of the name of Him Who conversed with Thee
(Moses), and didst through Him uncover all that Thy will had decreed and Thine
irrevocable purpose ordained. At another time, Thou didst adorn Him with the
name of Him Who was Thy Spirit (Jesus), and didst send Him down out of the
heaven of Thy will, for the edification of Thy people, infusing thereby the
spirit of life into the hearts of the sincere among Thy servants and the
faithful among Thy creatures. Again, Thou didst reveal Him, decked forth by the
name of Him Who was Thy Friend (Muḥammad), and
caused Him to shine brightly above the horizon of Ḥijáz, as a token of Thy power and an
evidence of Thy might. Through Him Thou didst send unto Thy servants what
enabled them to scale the heights of Thy unity, and to yearn over the wonders
of Thy manifold knowledge and wisdom.
“I testify, O Thou Who art the Lord of the whole creation,
and the Desire of whosoever hath sought Thee, that, amidst Thy creatures, They
resemble the sun which no matter how often it riseth and setteth is still the
one and the same sun. Whoso maketh any distinction between any of Them hath
truly failed to attain the ultimate purpose, and to reach the highest goal, and
hath been deprived of the mysteries of unity and of the lights of sanctity and
oneness. I testify, moreover, that Thou hast decreed that none on the face of
the earth should equal Them, and none of Thy creatures be able to be compared
with any of Them, in order that Thine own singleness and peerlessness might be
recognized and established.
“Glorified, immeasurably glorified be Thy name, O my God!
How can I ever befittingly mention Thee or sufficiently praise Thee, that Thou
hast manifested Him by the power of Thy might, and caused Him to shine above
the horizon of Thy will, and made Him the Day-Spring of Thy signs, and the
Dawning-Place of the revelation of Thy names and Thine attributes? How
bewilderingly mysterious, moreover, O my God, is His nature and all that Thou
hast infused into Him, through Thy strength and by the power of Thy might! At
one time He appeareth as the water which is Life indeed, sent down out of the
heaven of Thy grace, and poured forth from the clouds of Thy mercy, that Thy
creatures may be endued with new life, and live as long as Thine own Kingdom endureth.
Every drop of that water would suffice to quicken the dead,
and to set their faces in the direction of Thy favors and Thy gifts, and to rid
them of all attachment to aught else except Thee. At another time He revealeth
Himself as the Fire which Thou didst kindle in the tree of Thy unity, whose
heat melted the hearts of Thine ardent lovers when He Who is the Day-Star of
the world shone forth above the horizon of ‘Iráq. I testify, O my God, that
through Him the veils of human fancy were burnt up, and the hearts of men were
set towards the scene of Thy most resplendent glory.
“I implore Thee, O Thou Who art the Supreme Ordainer, not to
suffer me to be deprived of the breezes which are wafted in Thy days, the days
whereon the sweet smell of the raiment of Thy mercy hath been shed abroad.
Neither do Thou keep me back from Thy most great Ocean, every drop of which
crieth out and saith: ‘Great is the blessedness that awaiteth him who hath been
awakened from his sleep by the breath of God which, from the source of His
mercy, hath blown over all such of His creatures as have set themselves towards
Him!’”
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
