Baha'u'llah spoke to Moses as the Mouthpiece from God through the Burning Bush.
"O `Ali! That which they accepted from the Bush they now refuse to accept from Him Who is the Tree of the world of existence. Say, O people of the Bayan, speak not according to the dictates of passion and selfish desire. Most of the peoples of the earth attest the truth of the blessed Word which hath come forth from the Bush."
It's interesting - I was reading an article re: trinities (the Father - God, the Son - the Manifestation of God, and the Holy Spirit - the intermediary). The author was asserting that for Moses, the Holy Spirit was the Burning Bush. This would suggest that Baha'u'llah was not only a Manifestation of God, but also an intermediary for other Manifestations of God. So, it it possible to either possess more than one station, or the distinctions we make between those stations arbitrary as they are beyond our comprehension?
Perhaps even, the trinity can be understood in terms of the spiritual worlds of God, as mentioned in the Kallu't-Ta'am. While this Tablet mentions four spiritual worlds, it is important to appreciate that these aren't the only worlds, and they co-exist. To quote Adib Taherzadeh, "Although man remains the same being [in the different kingdoms of mineral, vegetable, animal etc.], me manifests three degrees of qualities and attributes: those of unity, of inferiority and superiority."
These are Hahut, Lahut, Jabarut and Malakut. (note, there are variations, such as the five stated in Sufi tradition, which will be explored below.) These descriptions of of heavens and worlds are very reminiscent of the tiered heavens found in Polynesian culture.
Hahut - the Heaven of Oneness, a realm so exalted exalted, even the Manifestations of God cannot understand it. Or, "the essential nature of God"
Lahut - the plane of Divinity, Heavenly Court - the world of God in relation to His Manifestations and Chosen Ones. Or, "the Divine (creative) Nature"
Jabarut - the All-Highest Dominion, the station of those who abide therein is closely identified with God, insofar as they manifest all the attributes of God - God's Chosen Ones and, in relation to created things, are invested with His authority; Or, "the Divine Power or Immensity, the world beyond form".
Malakut - the Kingdom of God; or, "the Kingdom of angels, the spiritual world"
Nasut - this mortal world, this Heaven of Bounty; or, "human nature, and in particular man's bodily form."
The "ors" is from a dictionary of spiritual terms. Whereas, Baha'u'llahs Tablet is from Adib Taherzadeh's Revelation of Baha'u'llah :).
A sufi description of these worlds, describes them in terms of consciousness. So...
Nasut, is the consciousness dependent on our senses (eyes to see, ears to hear, etc.)
Malakut - a higher consciousness by which we enjoy thought and imagination - but as a state of being; the mental plane
Jabarut - the experience of the person is like a deep, dreamless sleep. (i.e. the spiritual world, which many can only experience when asleep, and few while awake) Sense organs are resting, and the mind is free to work - and it works, but influenced by the consciousness from the Nasut condition. Here, there is Gods own Being, by which we experience the life, purity and peace within us; the astral plane
Lahut - where the individual is raised from the material to the immaterial plane. - communion or, Turiyavastha. The further step is samadhi - merging into God. Here, we can dive so deep to our inner being that we may find God; the spiritual plane
(this reminds me of a phrase from the Hidden Words - Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.)
Hahut - "manan" or "atonement" - the path of ennobling the soul, and becoming aware of Gods mysteries; the plane of consciousness - the highest state, when one is free from self.
It's interesting how, while mystical, they each describe something completely different. One, stations of reality of God, His manifestations and man, and the planes upon which they interact. Whereas the latter explores levels of consciousness. :)
Looking for: more quotes about the Burning Bush :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Here is something wonderful and relevant from the Seven Valleys by Baha'u'llah:
ReplyDeleteOn this same basis, ponder likewise the differences among the worlds. Although the divine worlds be never ending, yet some refer to them as four: The world of time (zaman), which is the one that hath both a beginning and an end; the world of duration (dahr), which hath a beginning, but whose end is not revealed; the world of perpetuity (sarmad), whose beginning is not to be seen but which is known to have an end; and the world of eternity (azal), neither a beginning nor an end of which is visible. Although there are many differing statements as to these points, to recount them in detail would result in weariness. Thus, some have said that the world of perpetuity hath neither beginning nor end, and have named the world of eternity as the invisible, impregnable Empyrean. Others have called these the worlds of the Heavenly Court (Lahut), of the Empyrean Heaven (Jabarut), of the Kingdom of the Angels (Malakut), and of the mortal world (Nasut).
...These statements are made in the sphere of that which is relative, because of the limitations of men.
What do you say about this?
ReplyDelete