The Valley Of Search
Categories: THE SEVEN VALLEYS OF BAHA'U'LLAHSources: Ebook Of The Seven Valleys And The Four Valleys
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. For those who seek
the Ka'bih(8) of for Us rejoice in the tidings: In Our ways will We
guide them.(9) In their search, they have stoutly girded up the loins of
service, and seek at every moment to journey from the plane of
heedlessness into the realm of being. No bond shall hold them back, and no
counsel shall deter them.
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. How many a Jacob will
he see, hunting after his Joseph; he will behold many a lover, hasting to
seek the Beloved, he will witness a world of desiring ones searching after
the One Desired. At every moment he findeth a weighty matter, in every
hour he becometh aware of a mystery; for he hath taken his heart away from
both worlds, and set out for the Ka'bih(10) of the Beloved. At every step,
aid from the Invisible Realm will attend him and the heat of his search
will grow.
One must judge of search by the standard of the Majnun of Love.(11) It is
related that one day they came upon Majnun sifting the dust, and his tears
flowing down. They said, What doest thou? He said, I seek for Layli.
They cried, Alas for thee! Layli is of pure spirit, and thou seekest her
in the dust! He said, I seek her everywhere; haply somewhere I shall
find her.
Yea, although to the wise it be shameful to seek the Lord of Lords in the
dust, yet this betokeneth intense ardor in searching. Whoso seeketh out a
thing with zeal shall find it.(12)
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.
And if, by the help of God, he findeth on this journey a trace of the
traceless Friend, and inhaleth the fragrance of the long-lost Joseph from
the heavenly messenger,(13) he shall straightway step into
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