Tablet of the Holy Mariner
Bahá'u'lláh
"Study the Tablet of the Holy Mariner that ye may know the truth, and consider
that the Blessed Beauty hath fully foretold future events. Let them who perceive, take
warning!"
'Abdu'l-Bahá
He is the Gracious, the Well-Beloved!
O Holy Mariner!
Bid thine ark of eternity to appear before the Celestial Concourse,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Launch it upon the ancient sea, in His Name, the Most Wondrous,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And let the angelic spirits enter, in the Name of God, the Most High.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Unmoor it, then, that it may sail upon the ocean of glory,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Haply the dwellers therein may attain the retreats of nearness in the everlasting
realm.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Having reached the sacred strand, the shore of the crimson seas,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Bid them issue forth and attain this ethereal invisible station,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
A station wherein the Lord hath in the Flame of His Beauty appeared within the
deathless tree;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Wherein the embodiments of His Cause cleansed themselves of self and passion;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Around which the Glory of Moses doth circle with the everlasting hosts;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Wherein the Hand of God was drawn forth from His bosom of Grandeur;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Wherein the ark of the Cause remaineth motionless even though to its dwellers be
declared all divine attributes.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
O Mariner! Teach them that are within the ark that which we have taught thee behind the
mystic veil,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Perchance they may not tarry in the sacred snow-white spot,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
But may soar upon the wings of the spirit unto that station which the Lord hath exalted
above all mention in the worlds below,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
May wing through space even as the favored birds in the realm of eternal reunion;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
May know the mysteries hidden in the Seas of light.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
They passed the grades of worldly limitations and reached that of the divine unity, the
center of heavenly guidance.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
They have desired to ascend unto that state which the Lord hath ordained to be above
their stations.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Whereupon the burning meteor cast them out from them that abide in the Kingdom of His
presence,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And they heard the Voice of Grandeur raised from behind the unseen pavilion upon the
Height of Glory:
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"O guardian angels! Return them to their abode in the world below,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"Inasmuch as they have purposed to rise to that sphere which the wings of the
celestial dove have never attained;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"Whereupon the ship of fancy standeth still which the minds of them that
comprehend cannot grasp."
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Whereupon the maid of heaven looked out from her exalted chamber,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And with her brow signed to the Celestial Concourse,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Flooding with the light of her countenance the heaven and the earth,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And as the radiance of her beauty shone upon the people of dust,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
All beings were shaken in their mortal graves.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then raised the call which no ear throughout all eternity hath ever heard,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And thus proclaimed: "By the Lord! He whose heart hath not the fragrance of the
love of the exalted and glorious Arabian Youth,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"Can in no wise ascend unto the glory of the highest heaven."
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon she summoned unto herself one maiden from her handmaidens,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And commanded her: "Descend into space from the mansions of eternity,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"And turn thou unto that which they have concealed in the inmost of their hearts.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"Shouldst thou inhale of perfume of the robe from the Youth that hath been hidden
within the tabernacle of light by reason of that which the hands of the wicked have
wrought,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"Raise a cry within thyself, that all the inmates of the chambers of paradise,
that are the embodiments of the eternal wealth, may understand and hearken;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"That they may all come down from their everlasting chambers and tremble,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"And kiss their hands and feet for having soared to the heights of faithfulness;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"Perchance they may find from their robes the fragrance of the Beloved One."
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon the countenance of the favored damsel beamed above the celestial chambers
even as the light that shineth from the face of the Youth above His mortal temple;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then descended with such an adorning as to illumine the heavens and all that is
therein.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She bestirred herself and perfumed all things in the lands of holiness and grandeur.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
When she reached that place she rose to her full height in the midmost heart of
creation,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And sought to inhale their fragrance at a time that knoweth neither beginning nor end.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She found not in them that which she did desire, and this, verily, is but one of His
wondrous tales.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then cried aloud, wailed and repaired to her own station within her most lofty
mansion,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And then gave utterance to one mystic word, whispered privily by her honeyed tongue,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And raised the call amidst the Celestial Concourse and the immortal maids of heaven:
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
"By the Lord! The Youth hath remained lone and forlorn in the land of exile in the
hands of the ungodly."
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then uttered within herself such a cry that the Celestial Concourse did shriek and
tremble,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And she fell upon the dust and gave up the spirit. It seemeth that she was called and
hearkened unto Him that summoned her unto the Realm on High.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Glorified be He that created her out of the essence of love in the midmost heart of his
exalted paradise!
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon the maids of heaven hastened forth from their chambers, upon whose
countenances the eye of no dweller in the highest paradise had ever gazed.
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!
They all gathered round her, and lo! they found her body fallen upon the dust;
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!
And as they beheld her state and comprehended a word of the tale told by the Youth,
they bared their heads, rent their garments asunder, beat upon their faces, forgot their
joy, shed tears and smote with their hands upon their cheeks, and this is verily one of
the mysterious grievous afflictions --
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!
Bahá'u'lláh
Translation
Tablet of the Holy Mariner
(Persian)
He is the Foreigner, the Persian, the Iraqi.
When the passengers on the divine ark had clung to one of the names, with the permission of the holy mariner in the pre-existent vessel, then did it set sail upon the sea of names. They traversed the stations of limitation, so that they might make for the Yemen of the powerful sovereign of oneness, arriving at the shore of divine unity. Thus might they drink from the chalice of transcendence. Indeed, by the aid of the lord, that eternal ark set sail upon and plied the spiritual waters of wisdom.
Then they reached a place where the name, the Still, became dominant over their course, so that the ship of the spirit was becalmed, unable to move. At that moment, the impregnable command of the lord descended from the holy and everlasting heavens. The mariner of eternity was ordered to teach a single letter of the hidden word to the people of the ark. Thus did they, by the succor of the Unseen, pass through the valley of psychological bewilderment and arrive at the great court of spiritual unity, attaining the Mount Qaf of eternal life and the presence of the lord of souls. When the people of the ship attained to the word of the spiritual friend, they were immediately filled with meaning and soared into the sacred sky. By the divine grace and mercy, they passed beyond the peaks of carnal desire and the deepest levels of negligence and blindness. At that moment the breezes of paradise wafted upon their bodies from the sanctuary of the All Merciful. After they soared in the heavens of divine nearness, they traversed the spiritual stations in the place of safety and security. Finally, they halted at the homeland of lovers. The inhabitants of this station arose to serve them and show them kindness. The immortal attendants and the holy servers poured ruby wine liberally. Intoxication with the wine of divine knowledge, and the cup of eternal wisdom induced such love and distraction that they escaped from their own being and that of existing things. They gave their hearts to the beauty of the friend. For ages and centuries they settled and dwelt in that pleasant and spiritual station, in that divine and holy rose garden, with perfect joy and happiness.
Then the gales of divine tests and the winds of lordly temptation blew from the Sheba of the everlasting Cause. They became distracted by the beauty of the wine server and grew heedless of the immortal countenance, to the extent that they imagined the shadow to be the sun and phantoms to be light. They set out for the ladders of the greatest name so that they might scale those heavens and arrive at that seat and place. When they rose toward it, the divine assayers descended upon them with the sacred touchstone, by the irresistible decree of the lord. When these emissaries did not perceive the scent of the spiritual youth, they forbade entry to all. Afterwards, there occurred what is inscribed upon the guarded tablet.
Then, you who dwell upon the plain of divine love and drink the wine of unceasing forgiveness, do not exchange nearness to the beauty of the friend for both worlds. Do not prefer the presence of the wine server to meeting him, and do not give your heart to the intoxicant of ignorance and heedlessness in preference to his wine of knowledge and wisdom. Lips are for mentioning the beloved; do not defile them with filthy water. The heart is the home of everlasting mysteries, do not busy it with perishable things. Seek the water of life from the fountain of the beauty of the All-Praised, not from the manifestations of Satan.
Yes, this ephemeral youth here mentions the highest station of the love of the divine friends. He does so by reference to the wonders of the text of divine unity and the gems of the wisdom of the self-sufficient sovereign. Thus, perhaps some might recognize the value of courage and gallantry, and put off the shirt of negligence and carnal appetites. Perhaps they will visit the illumined beauty of the pure, radiant and sanctified friend in the land of love, detachment, amiability and exaltation. Thus would they receive the lights dawning from the morn of his brow and the effulgence of the perspicuous day, to at least the extent that they would be enabled to unite their inner and outer selves. We have passed beyond the loftiness of abstraction, the sublimity of divine oneness, the ultimate recognition that God is above all attributes, and the most great sanctification. Now, they must put forth their utmost effort and give their unswerving attention, so that their inward secrets not be contrary to their overt behavior, nor their outward deeds at variance with their inner mysteries. We have traversed the stage of expending the self for others. Arise to expend justice and fairness upon the souls that pertain to you.
In the end, however, you prefer the cloak of carnal longing and desire to the robe of divine benediction, and you exchange the song of the nightingale of immortality for the disagreeable croaking of death that issues from the throats of the hateful and rebellious. How miserable a trade you make! We are from God and to him do we return. God willing, we maintain the hope that the immortal temples of glory shall, through the adornment of holiness and the divine attributes, appear illumined, gentle, pure and undefiled like the eternal sun. This is not difficult for God.
Tablet of the Holy Mariner
(Arabic)
He is the Precious, the Beloved.
Holy mariner, bring the ship of immortality to the celestial concourse.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Moor it on the sea of pre-existence by means of a new name.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then board upon it the temples of the spirit in the name of God, the exalted, the most high.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Weigh anchor so that it can ply the ocean of grandeur and deliver its passengers to the precincts of nearness in the sanctuary of eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Behold, you have brought them to the sacred shore, the beach of the crimson sea.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then disembark them from the ship in this ethereal and most hidden station.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
This is a station, wherein God showed forth the fire of beauty in the everlasting bush.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Therein the temples of the Cause put off the sandals of carnal desire.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Therein the Moses of grandeur circles with the hosts of eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
This is a station, wherein the hand of God was drawn forth from the cloak of grandeur.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
This is a station, wherein the ship of the Cause shall never move, even though all the divine names be recited to it.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then, holy mariner, teach the passengers on the ship what we taught you behind the cloud of unknowability--
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
lest they become idled in the valley of the white dune.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
And so that they might fly with the wings of spirit to the station that God has sanctified above mention in the kingdoms of creation--
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious
and might move through the sky like birds of nearness in the realm of the divine presence—
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious
and learn the mysteries concealed within the waves of light.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
They traversed the way-stations of worldly limitations, until they arrived at the station of divine unity in the center of guidance.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
They desired to ascend to a station that God ordained to be above their ranks, when the luminous comet expelled them from among the inhabitants of the kingdom of his presence.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
They heard the melodies of greatness from behind the pavilions of the Unseen in the sublime sanctuary.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Guardian angels, return them to their places in the realm of humanity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
For they desired to fly into that heaven to which the wings of the dove never attained.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Nor will the ships of mere conjecture or the hearts of those endued with intellect ever stir therein.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Behold, the houri of the spirit looked out from the most exalted chamber.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
She arched her eyebrow toward the concourse of holiness.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
The lights of her forehead shone from the earth to the sky.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
The radiance of her beauty fell upon the people of the earth and clay. Then, suddenly, the bodies of being shuddered forth from the graves of annihilation.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then she called out with a melody that the ear of hearing had never experienced from pre-existent eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
She said, "By God, those who do not have in their hearts the breezes of love that waft from the radiant `Iraqi youth"
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious
"shall never be able to ascend to the heights of the unknowable essence in this remotest realm."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Behold, she commanded one of her most beautiful slave girls
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
saying, "Descend from the palaces of immortality in the form of a sun in this void"
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
"then turn your attention to them, insofar as they have imprisoned him within their hidden, inmost souls"
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
"and if you smell the fragrance of the coat of the youth who was concealed within pavilions of light by the wicked"
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious
"then cry out within yourself so that all the embodiments of wealth who inhabit the chambers of paradise may be informed thereof."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
"Thus might all of them descend from the chambers of immortality"
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious
"and kiss their hands and feet insofar as these had soared into the heavens of faithfulness."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
"Perhaps you will discover the scent of the beloved on their shirts."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then the houri of nearness dawned from the horizon of the chambers, just as the visage of the youth rises above his robe.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
She descended with an ornament that illumined the heavens and all that is in them.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then she moved in the air so that she perfumed all things in the lands of holiness and sublimity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
When she arrived at that station, she arose like the meridian along the pole of creation.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
She inhaled their scent at that time when there was neither beginning nor end.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
She did not discover in them what she desired, and this is an amazing tale!
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then she shrieked, and wailed, and returned to her place in her crimson palace.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then she spoke a secret word beneath her spiritual breath.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
She called out among the celestial concourse and the houris of eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
By God, she did not perceive from those idle claimants the breezes of fidelity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
By God, the youth remained in the land of exile, single and alone in the hands of the godless.
Praised be my Lord in the divine realm of sorrow.
Thereafter she wailed within herself in a lamentation that shook the concourse on high and set them to shrieking.
Praised be my Lord, who clad himself in vestments of black.
She fell upon the earth and died, as though she had been called, and had answered the one who called her in the divine realm beyond all knowing. Praised be the one who created her from the essence of chaste modesty.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
Then suddenly those houris came outside, who had never been glimpsed by anyone from among the people of the sublime garden.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
They gathered around her, discovering her body outstretched upon the dust.
Praised be our Lord, the most high.
When they witnessed her condition and learned a single letter of the tales of the youth, they bared their heads, rent their veils, slapped their own faces, put away all frivolity, wept with their eyes, and struck their cheeks with their hands. These are among the secret and most hidden calamities.
Praised be our Lord, the exalted, the most high.
Notes: 1) From Sen McGlinn's "Leiden List":
Arabic and Persian sections.
Arabic section translated Shoghi Effendi and published in many sources,
including Prayers for Special Occasions (=Baha'i Prayers, British) 51-7; MacEoin,
'Rituals' 127-8; as a separate publication see Collins 1.128-9 and references
there. Earlier translation in SoW XIII: 4, pp. 75-77 contains misprints.
Persian section: draft translation by Shahroakh Monjazeb at 1996 ABS Edmonton(?).
Mention in Selections from the Writings of Abdul-Baha para. 233 (p. 314); discussion God Passes By 147-48; mention ibid. 140; discussion in Taherzadeh, 'Revelation' vol.1 228-243 with full translation of Arabic section; mention ibid vol. 2 6; full treatment in Michael Sours 'Beyond the Mystic Veil' (as yet unpublished); Walbridge, 'Sacred' 159-165, 234; Hatcher, 'Ocean' 39, 49-51, 88-96, 135-137; discussion of historical context John Hatcher 'an Historical-Critical Approach' in SBBR vol. 3 41-42; Balyuzi, 'King' 154; brief discussion Taherzadeh, 'Covenant' 167-68. Discussions of the role of the Maiden in Kamran Ekbal 'The Zoroastrian Heritage' in SBBR vol. 3 155-56; Ross Woodman 'The Inner Dimensions of Revelation' in SBBR vol. 3 347-49, 353-56, 362-64; Paula A. Drewek 'Feminine Forms of the Divine in Baha'i Scripture' in JBS 5:1 (1992) 20-21; detailed overview of symbolism Christopher Buck 'A Symbolic Profile' JBS 8:4 (1998) 37-44. Included in BWC Best Known.
2) Translator's note:
Delivered-To: H-Bahai@h-net.msu.edu Date: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 07:20:37 -0600 . . . I have striven for a happy medium between a literal, philological
translation and a rendering that seems idiomatic and flows in English. I am glad
to hear back as to how well I've done in that regard, and to have suggestions
for revision or pointers to where this version seems awkward or unclear.
With regard to the substance, it seems to me the 'holy mariner' Tablets
combine several motifs in Persian mysticism. The 'mariner' evokes Noah (and the
ship is frequently called a 'fulk' or 'ark,' reinforcing this reference). But I
wonder if the mariner does not also inevitably evoke Sindbad [of] the 1,001
Nights adventure cycle.
And here the motif of the mariner elides into that of the 'spiritual
journey,' as with `Attar's *Parliament of the Birds,* where the thirty birds
jointly go in search of their Oversoul, the Simurgh (lit. '30 birds' in New
Persian; actually the Simurgh is a late Persian corruption of the Saena Murgha,
the ancient Persian mythological bird that flapped its wings to send the seeds
of the world-tree flying and so to populate the earth; but it made for a good
pun).
Just as in `Attar's fable the spiritual seekers pass through "7
valleys" in search of fulfillment, so do the passengers on the Mariner's
ark pass through stages and have adventures in each. They are becalmed at sea
for a while; they pass through the valley of bewilderment; they are translated
into paradise; they settle in the homeland of the lovers and do serious
spiritual partying; but they become attached to the 'bar keeper' there and fail
the test of detachment. Then, when they try to journey higher into the heavens,
they are stopped because they do not carry the scent of the true Friend.
Baha'u'llah ends by 1) holding out the hope that his addressees can attain
'inward and outward unity' (a key mystical concept in his writings that I've
never seen systematically analyzed) and 2) lamenting that they probably will
choose carnal satisfactions instead.
[This Tablet was written by Baha'u'llah on March 26, 1863, during the 13-day
Festival of Naw-Ruz, or the Persian New Year, which he celebrated with friends
and family in a big tent on a rented property, the Mazra`at al-Washshash,
outside Baghdad).
Lawh-i-Malláhu’l-Quds PART II - From the Persian He is the Ajami,[2]
the Persian, the ‘Iráqí![3]
Approved-By: Sen &
Date: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 16:33:37 +0100
From: Sen &
Organization: Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
Subject: trans. of Holy Mariner (Persian)
To: H-BAHAI@H-NET.MSU.EDU
Subject: trans. of Holy Mariner (Persian)
_____________
(Tablet of the Holy Mariner)[1]
PART I - From the Arabic
Translated by Shoghi Effendi
He is the Gracious, the Well-Beloved!
O Holy Mariner!
Bid thine ark of eternity appear before the Celestial Concourse,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Launch it upon the ancient sea, in His Name, the Most Wondrous,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And let the angelic spirits enter, in the Name of God, the Most High.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Unmoor it, then, that it may sail upon the ocean of glory,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Haply the dwellers therein may attain the retreats of nearness in the
everlasting realm.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Having reached the sacred strand, the shore of the crimson seas,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Bid them issue forth and attain this ethereal invisible station,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
A station wherein the Lord hath in the Flame of His Beauty appeared within the
deathless tree;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Wherein the embodiments of His Cause cleansed themselves of self and passion;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Around which the Glory of Moses doth circle with the everlasting hosts;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Wherein the Hand of God was drawn forth from His bosom of Grandeur;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Wherein the ark of the Cause remaineth motionless even though to its dwellers be
declared all divine attributes.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
O Mariner! Teach them that are within the ark that which we have taught thee
behind the mystic veil,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Perchance they may not tarry in the sacred snow-white spot,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
But may soar upon the wings of the spirit unto that station which the Lord hath
exalted above all mention in the worlds below,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
May wing through space even as the favored birds in the realm of eternal
reunion;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
May know the mysteries hidden in the Seas of light.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
They passed the grades of worldly limitations and reached that of the divine
unity, the center of heavenly guidance.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
They have desired to ascend unto that state which the Lord hath ordained to be
above their stations.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Whereupon the burning meteor cast them out from them that abide in the Kingdom
of His Presence,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And they heard the Voice of Grandeur raised from behind the unseen pavilion upon
the Height of Glory:
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“O guardian angels! Return them to their abode in the world below,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“Inasmuch as they have purposed to rise to that sphere which the wings of the
celestial dove have never attained;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“Whereupon the ship of fancy standeth still which the minds of them that
comprehend cannot grasp.”
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Whereupon the maid of heaven looked out from her exalted chamber,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And with her brow signed to the Celestial Concourse,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Flooding with the light of her countenance the heaven and the earth,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And as the radiance of her beauty shone upon the people of dust,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
All beings were shaken in their mortal graves.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then raised the call which no ear through all eternity hath ever heard,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And thus proclaimed: “By the Lord! He whose heart hath not the fragrance of
the love of the exalted and glorious Arabian Youth,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“Can in no wise ascend unto the glory of the highest heaven.”
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon she summoned unto herself one maiden from her handmaidens,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And commanded her: “Descend into space from the mansions of eternity,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“And turn thou unto that which they have concealed in the inmost of their
hearts.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“Shouldst thou inhale the perfume of the robe from the Youth that hath been
hidden within the tabernacle of light by reason of that which the hands of the
wicked have wrought,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“Raise a cry within thyself, that all the inmates of the chambers of Paradise,
that are the embodiments of the eternal wealth, may understand and hearken;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“That they may all come down from their everlasting chambers and tremble,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“And kiss their hands and feet for having soared to the heights of
faithfulness;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“Perchance they may find from their robes the fragrance of the Beloved One.”
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon the countenance of the favored damsel beamed above the celestial
chambers even as the light that shineth from the face of the Youth above His
mortal temple;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then descended with such an adorning as to illumine the heavens and all that
is therein.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She bestirred herself and perfumed all things in the lands of holiness and
grandeur.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
When she reached that place she rose to her full height in the midmost heart of
creation,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And sought to inhale their fragrance at a time that knoweth neither beginning
nor end.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She found not in them that which she did desire, and this, verily, is but one of
His wondrous tales.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then cried aloud, wailed and repaired to her own station within her most
lofty mansion,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And then gave utterance to one mystic word, whispered privily by her honeyed
tongue,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And raised the call amidst the Celestial Concourse and the immortal maids of
heaven:
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“By the Lord! I found not from these idle claimants the breeze of
Faithfulness!
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
“By the Lord! The Youth hath remained lone and forlorn in the land of exile in
the hands of the ungodly.”
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then uttered within herself such a cry that the Celestial Concourse did
shriek and tremble,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And she fell upon the dust and gave up the spirit. It seemeth she was called and
hearkened unto Him that summoned her unto the Realm on High.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Glorified be He that created her out of the essence of love in the midmost heart
of his exalted paradise!
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon the maids of heaven hastened forth from their chambers, upon whose
countenances the eye of no dweller in the highest paradise had ever gazed.
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!
They all gathered around her, and lo! they found her body fallen upon the dust;
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!
And as they beheld her state and comprehended a word of the
tale told by the Youth, they bared their heads, rent their garments asunder,
beat upon their faces, forgot their joy, shed tears and smote with their hands
upon their cheeks, and this is verily one of the mysterious grievous afflictions
--
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!
Provisional Translation by Mehran Ghasempour
Whilst the dwellers in the divine Ark,[4]
by the permission of the Holy Mariner, held fast unto one name amongst all names
in the ancient Ark[5]
and sailed upon the ocean of names, they passed the grades of worldly limitation[6]
that perchance, through the felicity[7]
and lofty purpose of the Sovereign of Oneness, they mightest reach the shore of
divine unity and quaff from the chalice of detachment.[8]
That Ark of Eternity moved by divine assistance, and sailed
upon the water of spiritual wisdom until the dwellers thereof reached a station
whereat the Name which dwelt therein[9]
overtook their course and triumphed. Thence, that Spiritual Ark was stilled and
forbidden to move. Whereupon, the firm decree of God descended from the heaven
of imperishable holiness, and the Mariner of Eternity was commanded to impart
one letter from the concealed Word unto the dwellers in the Ark, so that by the
invisible assistance of God, they might traverse the valley of inner
bewilderment, enter the delightful realm of divine unity, reach the Qa’f[10]
of everlasting life and attain unto the holy presence of the Well-Beloved.[11]
Inasmuch as the dwellers in the Ark[12]
attained unto the Word of the mystic[13]
Friend, they forthwith stretched out the wings of their spirits[14]
and soared in the air of holiness. Through divine grace and blessing, they didst
leave behind the pursuit of self and passion[15]
and heedless, blind understandings. Whereupon, the breezes of paradise from the
realm[16]
of the All-Merciful wafted upon their spirits,[17]
and after soaring in the air of the nearness of God and traversing the mystical
stations, they descended in a state of safety and security, unto the highest
abodes of those who loveth Him. The inhabitants thereof thence arose in service
and benevolence; the immortal youths[18]
and the holy cup-bearer[19]
proffered unto them ruby wine. The intoxicating wine of divine knowledge and the
cup of eternal wisdom caused such ecstasy and rapture[20]
that they transcended the existence of self and all beings and gave their hearts
to the beauty of the Beloved.[21]
For centuries and ages, with perfect joy and delight, they
dwelt in that pleasant and spiritual realm and that sacred flower garden of the
All-Merciful. Whereupon, the breezes and winds of divine tests and difficulties
blew from the Sheba of the imperishable Cause. Thence, they busied themselves
with the beauty of the cup-bearer and neglected the Immortal Countenance,
inasmuch as they imagined the shadow to be the sun, and specters as light. They
desired to rise to the exalted heights of the Greatest Name that they might soar
in that realm and attain that seat and place. And as they rose, the divine
assayers descended upon them with the sacred touchstone and the irresistible
Command of God, and forbade admittance unto all, for they inhaled not the
fragrance of the mystic Youth. Thus, that which was inscribed upon the Guarded
Tablet[22]
didst come to pass.
Therefore, O ye that dwell in the domain of divine love and ye
that drink the wine of everlasting mercy! Barter not nearness unto the beauty of
the Friend for both worlds. Turn not thy gaze away from His Countenance towards
the countenance of the cup-bearer, and cast not thy heart from the wine of His
knowledge and wisdom unto the dregs of ignorance and heedlessness. The lips are
for the mention of the Beloved; defile them not with foul water. The heart is
the abode of the immortal mysteries; busy it not with attention unto ephemeral
things. Seek not the water of life from the embodiments of satanic fancy, but
from the Kawthar[23]
of the Beauty of the All-Glorious.
This lowly Youth, in the highest station of love, admonisheth
the divine friends unto the wondrous verses of unity and the gems of wisdom of
the Eternal King, that perhaps some soul, with courage and honor,[24]
mightest arise and emerge from the robe of heedlessness and worldly desire, and,
even as the beauty of the illumined Friend, become cleansed, resplendent and
sanctified and wander in the land of love, detachment, affection, and loftiness.
They should partake, at least, as much from the light of the resplendent brow
and the advent of the manifest day so that they may become enabled to unite
their outward and inward selves.
We traversed the loftiness of detachment,[25]
the exaltation of divine unity, the great purification, and the most great
consecration. Now must they make eloquent effort and exalted endeavor that the
inward mysteries not oppose the outward deeds, nor the outward deeds turn away
from the inward mysteries.
We traversed, expending Our life in the path of the
Well-Beloved. Arise ye with justice and equity for the sake of your inner
selves. Do ye purpose, in the end, to prefer the garment of greed and selfish
desires to the attire of divine consecration? Wilst ye exchange the melody of
the Nightingale of Eternity with the dissenting sound of mortality from the
people of iniquity and hatred?! Wretched is that which ye exchange![25]
“Verily, we are God’s, and to Him shall we all return.”[26]
God willing, We hope that the temples of immortal glory, adorned with the
ornament of holiness and divine attributes, may become manifested as brilliant,
ethereal, cleansed and pure as the everlasting sun. And verily, this is not
difficult for God.[27]
Notes
[1]
Published in Athar-i-Qalam-i-A`lá Vol. 4, pp. 335-341; Ma`iydih-i-‘Asmaní
Vol. 4, pp. 335-41. Of the circumstances of its revelation and its importance, Taherzadeh
writes, in part:
On the occasion of Naw-Rúz 1863, Bahá’u’lláh had pitched His tent in a
field on the outskirts of Baghdád, known as the Mazra’iy-i-Vashshash--a
place rented by His faithful brother Mírzá Músá. Bahá’u’lláh was
celebrating this festival with a number of His companions, who were likewise
living in tents in the open countryside. Outings at this time of year when the
spring season had just begun and the weather was mild were extremely pleasant,
and Bahá’u’lláh always enjoyed nature and beautiful scenery and loved to
be in the country....
(MW’s note, based on the entry for this text in the Leiden List of the
Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh)
On the fifth day of Naw-Rúz, the Lawh-i-Malláhu’l-Quds
(Tablet of the Holy Mariner) was revealed. Mírzá Áqá Ján, Bahá’u’lláh’s
amanuensis, emerged from the tent of Bahá’u’lláh, gathered the believers
around him and chanted that mournful Tablet to them. Although during the last
year of His sojourn in ‘Iráq He had, on several occasions, alluded to
trials and tribulations which were to come, His companions had not felt
previously such sadness as they did on that day.
The theme of this Tablet is the story of the Covenant and
man's unfaithfulness to it. Its message is applicable not only to the days of
Bahá’u’lláh, but also to the ministries of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ and
Shoghi Effendi, and indeed to the present time. Concerning this Tablet
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ said: “Study the Tablet of the Holy Mariner that ye may
know the truth, and consider that the Blessed Beauty hath fully foretold
future events. Let them who perceive, take warning!” (British Bahá’í
Prayers. These words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s are a preface to the Tablet).
Not only did ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ ask the believers to study
this Tablet during His own ministry, when the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh
was being violated by the Covenant-breakers, but He urged them shortly before
His passing to study it again. For He knew too well that there were a few
among His followers who would violate the Covenant and rise up against Shoghi
Effendi, the Guardian of the Cause of God.
The Tablet of the Holy Mariner is revealed in symbolic
language. To appreciate it one must acquire for himself a knowledge of the
spiritual verities enshrined within Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings and
meditate upon His words. Although the allegorical terms Bahá’u’lláh has
used in this Tablet assume various meanings, He has nonetheless manifestly
foreshadowed coming events and conveyed some aspects of the Covenant. (Taken
from, Taherzadeh, ’Adib. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
Vol. 1, pp. 228, 229-230.
[2]
“Ajami” is an Arabic expression which refers to a “non-Arab”
person, specifically a Persian (MG’s note).
[3]
“Iraqí” is also translated as “Arabian” in The Tablet of the Holy
Mariner (Arabic) (MG’s note).
[4]
“Fulk”; “ark, ship, vessel”; this word has no vowel points and I
have translated it as the one with the same spelling and no vowel points in the
Tablet of the Holy Mariner (Arabic). However, it is spelled the same as another
word (FaLak) only with different vowel points, which means; “heaven,
sphere, firmament” as in the Persian Hidden Words, no. 8, The Kitáb-i-Íqán,
pp. 62 & 186, and Chihár-Vádí (The Four Valleys), p. 1. In
fact, both FaLak and Fulk are used in p. 62 of the Kitáb-i-Íqán
but they are clearly marked with vowel points in the Persian print of the Kitáb-i-Íqán
to distinguish between “heaven” and “Ark”, respectively (MG’s note).
[5]
“safinih”; another word for “ark, ship, vessel” (MG’s note).
[6]
“maráhil-i-tahdíd”; “manazel attahdíd”, “grades of
worldly limitation”; The Tablet of the Holy Mariner (Arabic) (MG’s note).
[7]
“bih yomn-i” “by the felicity of”, “by the blessing of” (MG’s
note).
[8]
“tajríd”; “detachment”; The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 33 (MG’s
note).
[9]
“sákin”; “dweller, dwelling”; The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 91.
The understanding of this passage has been most difficult. Christopher Buck, in
a recent article, has suggested that ism-i-sákin, translated here as
“name that dwelt therein” should be rendered “Stagnant Name” and taken
as a veiled allusion to Mírzá Yahyá. On this interpretation, Mírzá
Yahyá seized control (sabaqat girift) of the Ark and diverted its
course (majrá), and this action caused the vessel to be stilled. See
Buck, Christopher. “A Symbolic Profile of the Bahá’í Faith”. The
Journal of Bahá’í Studies, Vol. 8, no. 4 (Sept.-Dec., 1998) (MG’s
note, expanded by MW)
[10]
The actual word in the text is “Qáf”: which in Persian mythology,
literature, and mysticism “Kúh-i-Qáf” (Mount Qáf) or simply “Qáf”
is the abode of the immortal Simorgh (phoenix); Shoghi Effendi translated
it as “mount” in the Persian hidden words no. 1 (MG’s note).
[11]
“jánán”; “Well-Beloved”; Persian Hidden Words, no. 1 (MG’s
note).
[12]
“kashti”; “ark”; another word for “ship, ark, vessel”
(MG’s note).
[13]
“manavy”; “mystic”; Persian Hidden Words , no. 16 (MG’s note).
[14]
“par-i-maní goshodand”; is a an expression. See The
Persian Hidden Words, no. 79 (MG’s note).
[15]
“nafs va hawa'”; “self and passion”; The Tablet of the Holy
Mariner (Arabic) (MG’s note).
[16]
“makman”: “realm”; The Tablet of the Holy Mariner (Arabic).
[17]
“hayákil”; “spirits”; The Tablet of the Holy Mariner (Arabic) (MG’s
note).
[18]
“gholámán”; “youths”; see “youth” in The Tablet of
the Holy Mariner (Arabic) (MG’s note).
[19]
“sághi”; “Cupbearer”; Persian Hidden Words, no. 59 (MG’s
note).
[20]
“Jazb va Valah”; “ecstacy and rapture”; The Kitáb-i-Íqán,
p. 195 (MG’s note).
[21]
“jamál-i-Dust”; “beauty of the Beloved”; Persian Hidden Words,
no. 82 (MG’s note).
[22]
“Lawh-i-Mahfuz”; “Guarded Tablet”; The Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
79, 97. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 223 (MG’s note).
[23]
“Kawthar”; The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 27. Also “the
river of everlasting life”; Persian Hidden Words , no. 37 (MG’s note).
[24]
“ghad-i-mard-i-va marda’negi alam nama’yad”; Persian
colloquialism which literally means to erect one’s posture as if to stand tall
and show manliness (i.e. to arise and show courage and honor in the face of a
challenge) (MG’s note).
[25]
Compare to the Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 116 (MG’s note).
[26]
Qur’án: Al-Baqarah(2): 156 (2:151 in J.M. Rodwell translation) (MG’s
note).
[27]
Compare to Qur’án: Ibrahim(14): 20. (MG’s note)