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every relationship! On the other hand, consider the welding power of His
word,” which “fused and blended” former enemies “through their allegiance to
this wondrous and transcendent Revelation” (
Kitáb-i-Íqán
111–12).
2. Bahá’u’lláh’s river metaphor is a reference to his own divine revelation and
his own verses. His claim to be the Promised One of the Bayán is clearly visible
in the paragraph in which he speaks of the unprecedented and unusual surging
of the divine river at the present time. The flooding of the river, as Bahá’u’lláh
explicitly says in the tablet itself, is a symbol for the appearance of a new
Revelation. At this very moment, he says, the divine river is “rushing forth from
the North of divine unity” (
shumál-i-ah. adíyyat
), and is stirred by “the Eastern
Winds” (
aryáh. -i-sharqíyyih
)—terms which have multiple symbolic meanings
related to the revelation of the Primal Will.
Another subtle expression of Bahá’u’lláh’s station is his mention of the
hidden allusions concealed in his words and his praise of those who have
understood them: “Blessed is the one who hath seized these pearls, recognized
their value, and attained the presence of their Supreme Meaning.” Here, the
meaning of the word becomes the same as the being of Bahá’u’lláh himself.
3. Bahá’u’lláh’s concluding statement in the tablet is a subtle reference to his
own station as the Promised One of the Báb: “Glory be upon those who believe
in Him on the day of His meeting and who observe what He hath decreed.” The
word “glory” (Bahá) is used here in a significant way in reference to the
expectation of the Promised One. A full explication of this question is
impossible here, but in sum: in the Bayán, the Báb made it clear that “Bahá” is
the title of the Promised One. We also know that Bahá’u’lláh signed many of
his Baghdad tablets as “Bahá” and he began his Hidden Words with “
Huva’l
Bahíyyu’l-Abhá
” (He is the Glory of Glories). That in itself is a subtle and
concealed declaration.
4. After disclosing wondrous spiritual truths through the use of the river
metaphor, Bahá’u’lláh tells Javád to “ponder and reflect” so that the “hidden
mysteries” may become disclosed to him; to “[r]ecognize this Sea of Seas”
compared to which all others are like a drop; and to observe “how it surgeth
within the Wellspring of its own blessed Essence and the mine of its own
attributes.” Then he directs Javád to thank God for teaching him knowledge
“through the tongue of the Manifestation of Thyself and the Wellspring of
Thine Essence, He Who is the Fountainhead of Thy Cause and the Repository
of Thy Decree.” Given the fact that it was through Bahá’u’lláh that the analogy
of the river became the vehicle for all knowledge, it becomes clear that by the
“Sea of Seas” Bahá’u’lláh is referring to himself and is identifying his tablet as
the revelation of the Manifestation of God. The reference to the “Sea of Seas”
surging “within The Wellspring of its Own blessed Essence” is again probably a
reference to his concealed station.
Likewise, a most beautiful and powerful declaration of his true station is
Concealment and Reve lat ion
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