# The Mystic Journey of the Soul

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Gul Afroz Zaman, The Mystic Journey of the Soul, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul
> Gul Afroz Zaman
> 
> Abstract
> This article briefly outlines the journey a soul is required to make if it
> wants to attain a state of union with the Eternal from the confines of its
> material life on earth. Some basic concepts of the Christian and Sufi
> esoteric traditions as well as Baha'i mysticism are reviewed. The
> ultimate goal of these spiritual teachings is the same; the need to come as
> close to the Source or Creator as possible. The paths may differ slightly,
> but the need to attain to the "Heavenly Homeland", is the central theme
> that links them together.
> 
> Introduction
> As there are many esoteric traditions within each religion, it is not
> possible, in this short article, to describe them all so only some basic
> concepts of the Christian, Sufic and Baha'i teachings are reviewed.
> 
> One overriding question which has always confronted man is how to
> undertake this journey, so as to transcend human limitations and to
> achieve enlightenment, or union with God. Most religions of the world
> have an exoteric (outer) meaning and an esoteric (inner) meaning. We
> start with the outer and gradually move to the inner world as and when
> our spirit longs for a nearness to our creator. This is usually done with
> short periods of meditation and prayer. The meditation can be based on a
> word, a sentence, a short prayer or silence. This enables us to reduce and
> ultimately stop the constant mental dialogue and chatter. This process
> takes time and effort, and most of all, persistence. As we became more
> and more proficient with our meditations, our contemplations, our
> prayers, our solitude, we find our inner growth is accelerated and we get
> closer and closer to our goal. This inner growth has a flavour and
> 90            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> momentum of its own and takes us into yet deeper levels of meditation
> and quietude. As the soul moves into higher and more subtle regions it
> experiences feelings of bliss and selflessness; at the same time one is
> more aware of the pain and suffering of other human beings. The soul
> has reached a point where it is less concerned with self and more
> concerned with helping humanity. More effort and faith is required of
> the seeker if he is to reach yet higher states. In the final state of growth,
> self is finally forgotten or transcended. The self is thus consumed and
> burnt to nothingness in the unity of love; life after this will be completely
> God centered.
> 
> "My servant draws near to me through works of supererogation, until I
> love him. And when I love him, I am his ear, so he hears by Me, and his
> eye, so he sees by Me, and his tongue, so he speaks by me, and his hand,
> so that he takes by Me." l
> 
> This passing away in God, then, is the goal of the mystic journey of the
> soul. It is the moksha or liberation of Hinduism, the Nirvana of
> Buddhism, the Fana of Sufis, the passing away from duality to oneness.
> There is nothing better, nothing safer, nothing sweeter than this; this is
> the kingdom of the soul. It has finally found its resting place and can
> now rest peacefully and eternally in God.
> 
> As mentioned earlier, each religion has its esoteric side. The foundation
> of this journey to God is faith and hope which makes us take the first
> faltering steps and so the journey starts with courage, fortitude, intense
> longing, determination and perhaps most important of all, love. As Julian
> of Norwich a 14th century mystic beautifully and humbly prays:
> 
> " God, of your goodness, give me yourself, for you are enough for me
> and I can ask for nothing else than full worship of you. And if I ask for
> anything that is less, I shall always want; for only in you have I
> everything".2
> 
> In the words of the early Church Father, St. Augustine,
> 
> Hadith quoted by A.J. Arberry in 'Sufism', p. 27
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p 51
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                    91
> 
> "Love and do what you will" Knowing full well that if you truly love
> you will only do what is right."3
> 
> Let us start with the Christian mystical tradition. One of the central
> themes of the Christian mystics is the tragedy and suffering of Jesus. The
> other central theme is service to mankind in the name of God. Some of
> the well known mystics were St John of the cross, St Teresa of Avila,
> Julian of Norwich, St Bernard of Clairvaux, St Francis of Assisi, Richard
> Rolle, Moister Eckhart and the anonymous author of the wonderfully
> written, The Cloud of Unknowing. Most of the above mentioned mystics
> were connected to the church in some way or the other and their practice
> was coloured by the beliefs of their particular church. However, they all
> agreed that any real practice demands the purification of oneself at the
> beginning - and by purification is meant a heightened awareness of the
> nature of one's own self and the results of one's thoughts and actions. As
> the author of the Cloud of Unknowing says "When you go apart by
> yourself in solitude, do not think about what you will be doing
> afterwards, put away all good thoughts as well as evil ones; and do not
> pray with words unless you feel you really must. Or if you do have
> something to say, do not look at how much or how little it is, nor what it
> means, whether it is orison or psalm, hymn, anthem or any other prayer,
> general or special, silently formed within or spoken out loud. And look
> that nothing remains in your conscious mind but a naked intent
> stretching unto God - what he is like himself or in any of his works, -
> but only that he is as he is. Let him be so, I pray you, and do not make
> him other wise".4 Again he stresses, "Although I bid you plainly and
> boldly to set out in this contemplative work, nevertheless I feel certain,
> without error or doubt, that the grace of God is always the chief stirrer
> and worker".5
> 
> As the grace of God descends upon the pilgrim he seeks solitude more
> and more. His need now is to be in communion with God and he moves
> further and further from the world of illusion and desire. As Evelyn
> Underhill, a well known writer of Mysticism says, "It is the last painful
> break with the life of illusion. The tearing away of the self from the
> 
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 56
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 165-166
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision p. 178
> 92            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> world of becoming, in which all its natural affections and desires are
> rooted, and thrusting it into the world of being".6 We are responding to
> the insistent dimension of God - ground within us and once the
> awakening process has begun it is almost impossible to close one's eyes
> again Master Eckhart a 13th century mystic said, "Begin with yourself
> and abandon yourself! In truth if you do not flee from yourself, wherever
> else you may flee you will find hindrance and trouble". 7
> 
> Again he says "God expects but one thing from you and that is that you
> should come out of yourself in so far as you are a created being and let
> God be God in you".8
> 
> The contemplation of these mystics revolved around intense prayer, vigil
> and solitude. A favorite prayer was "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon
> me"9. This or any other prayer was repeated over and over for hours on
> end, sometimes long into the night, accompanied by fasting. This
> continued for some months or perhaps years and then the grace of God
> descended upon the seeker and with this grace came bliss and a need to
> move closer and closer to the God-ground. The closer we get the surer
> we are that we are on the right path and that God is our guide, our
> protector and our preserver. So long as we keep travelling towards this
> unlimited light we will not go astray and will ultimately be united with
> the source of all light. There is much pleasure and satisfaction in this
> journey, as St Teresa of Avila has so aptly put it "One feels a great
> bodily comfort, a great satisfaction of soul: such is the happiness of the
> soul in seeing herself close to the spring, that even without drinking of
> the waters she feels herself refreshed".10
> 
> All this time we are or should be, seriously cleansing our bodies, minds
> and thoughts. Much of spiritual spring cleaning consists of cutting or
> pruning and discarding all that is unnecessary in our lives. We start by
> limiting our involvement in activities which are wasteful and frivolous
> 
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 180
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 159                                *
> •
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 159
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 171
> St. Teresa Avila, quoted by Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism p 32. Unwin Brothers Ltd,
> UK, 1960
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                   93
> 
> and spend more time on things which are important and necessary for
> our spiritual growth. As Master Ekhart says "God is not found in the soul
> by adding anything but by a process of subtraction" This is also one of
> the approaches t o God in Hinduism "Not this, not that" (Brhadaranyaka
> Upanishad 4:5: 15) and in Buddhism's 'Neti Neti' and the "God who
> hidest thyself of Judaism (Isaiah 45: 15).
> 
> Similarly according to Tao Te Ching:
> 
> To attain knowledge
> Add things every day,
> To attain wisdom
> Remove things everyday.
> 
> Eckhart also says "That man is free who clings to nothing and to whom
> nothing clings".11
> 
> Knowing or sensing what to remove - this is courage, knowing when to
> remove - this is wisdom; gradually, we must make use of wisdom, faith
> and courage to clarify our minds and simplify our lives. Our goal is God
> and how soon we reach our goal depends on whether we take a short cut
> or whether we take a long lingering scenic route.
> 
> The Christian mystic's code also demanded utmost sacrifice in serving
> mankind as his saviour Jesus Christ had done. Service had to be rendered
> with utmost humility and life had to be lived in utter simplicity; giving
> ungrudgingly of one's time and of one's possessions was of supreme
> importance. True kindness is rooted in a deep sense of abundance out of
> which flows the conviction that even as we give, it is being given back to
> us. As we give — so shall we receive; we will always be given enough
> and we will always have enough to give. We must give with a conviction
> that there is enough for all and more. This need to give becomes more
> and more profound until we sense the need to give ourselves up totally to
> God. This journey which starts with an outer giving to God of our
> energy, our attention, our time, our effort and of our possessions, ends
> with our final offering to God; an offering of ourselves - to be burnt in
> the fire of love and to rejoice in this burning; for when all traces of our
> 
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 149
> 94            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> self-ness and our ego are finally stripped away from us, then and only
> then - we step into the state of unity and into the bliss beyond
> description - The source of all, as Evelyn Underhill puts it, "That
> immaterial and final Being, which some philosophers call the Absolute,
> and most theologians call God". 12
> 
> Finally the stage is reached when, according to Eckhart,
> 
> "The eye by which I see God is the same eye by which he sees me. My
> eye and the eye of God are one eye, one vision, one knowledge and one
> love" 13
> 
> Let us now turn to the mystical traditions of the Sufis. One of the best
> descriptions of Sufism is,
> 
> "Be in the world, but not of it"14
> 
> This would describe the Sufi way of life and teachings perfectly. Why
> were they called Sufis? It seems that at some point the early Muslim
> seekers of God had taken a liking to wearing an outer garment or cloak
> of wool. The Arabic name for wool is 'Suf and so it was only a matter
> of time before they came to be known as Sufis i.e. 'the wearers of woof.
> There is, however, another school of thought. They hold the belief that
> the word Sufi was derived from 'tassuwuf which means meditation or
> contemplation.
> 
> The goal of the Sufi is to attain to the presence of God through
> meditation and prayer. He must follow a regimen of strict discipline and
> watch his every thought and action with vigilance. The journey generally
> starts when all the outer requirements of religion have been completed.
> Then and only then does he embark on the inner journey to meet the
> Supreme Reality.
> 
> The doctrine that the Sufis practice and preach is of evolution; however,
> it is not Darwinian evolution. This evolution is from the materially
> 
> Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, p. 4
> quoted by Ann Bancroft, The Luminous Vision, p. 159
> Stuart Litvak, Sufism, p. 59
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                   95
> 
> inclined man to a spiritually refined one and then on and on until finally
> he can be called 'the man of God'. A seeker must crawl before he can
> walk, and walk, before he can run, and later, much, much later, he may
> be able to fly. Five centuries before Darwin, the Sufi Saint Jalaludin
> Rumi wrote:
> 
> I have again and again grown like grass; I have experienced seven
> hundred and seventy moulds. I died from minerality and became
> vegetable; And from vegetativeness I died and became animal. I died
> from animality and became man. Then why fear disappearance through
> death? Next time I shall die bringing forth wings and feathers like
> angels; After that, soaring higher than angels-what you cannot imagine, I
> shall be that. 15
> 
> Stuart Litvak also states
> 
> "So evolution was known to Sufis centuries ago, and the transformative
> process was familiar to them because of direct experience, not
> speculative theory".16
> 
> Again he emphasizes,
> 
> "Sufis contend that evolution continues in infinite stages after clinical
> death and that it is a universal phenomena".17
> 
> The Sufi seeker is therefore taught only when he is ready to imbibe
> spiritual teachings and is taught in several stages. After he has mastered
> a particular teaching he is taught what comes next and so on and so forth.
> The appropriate growth must be one that matches the current stage of
> development. According to Sufis, only a teacher can achieve this because
> he has traversed this path himself and so is in a position to guide the
> seeker in his quest for truth. A great deal of importance is attached to the
> teacher in the Sufic tradition and, once accepted into pupilship, the
> aspirant comes into the spiritual guardianship of his Pir. Sufic knowledge
> 
> quoted by Idries Shah, The way of the Sufi, p. 107
> Stuart Litvak, Sufism, p. 88
> Stuart Litvak, Sufism, p. 61
> 96             THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> is non-verbal and is essentially intuitive or innate wisdom which can be
> released by certain practices.
> 
> "The premises that one can directly experience God while alive on this
> earth and can survive one's bodily death are central if not over-
> verbalized".18
> 
> One of the ways of coming closer to God and creating a state of ecstasy
> is the practice of Ziker. "Remember God often" is a phrase, which
> constantly recurs in the Koran: The Sufis interpret this in a special way,
> and the word 'remembrance' (Ziker) has acquired in time a very
> particular connotation.19
> 
> "Everything on earth passeth away, save His face" (Koran 55: 26). This
> is taken by the Sufis as the peg upon which to hang their characterstic
> doctrine of the passing away (Fana) of human attributes through union
> with God, whereby the mystic achieves the eternal continuance (Baqa) of
> spiritual life in Him.20
> 
> The goal of these mystics is the same as the Christian mystics and union
> with God is of paramount importance. It is the reason d'etre for which
> the seeker of any mystic tradition enters the path. It is the 'Pearl of all
> wisdom' for which he is willing to sacrifice all, including his life, if need
> be.
> 
> The search for God is his passion and he sees his life as a vehicle only
> for this purpose, this search for him is his sole reason for living: As
> Rabia Basri, an outstanding woman Sufi saint has so eloquently put it "O
> God, if I worship Thee in fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship
> Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship
> Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not Thine everlasting Beauty".21
> 
> Such was the zeal of the seeker of God, and in many of the Sufic
> writings examples of this are given in allegoric form; the moth that
> Stuart Litvak, Sufism, p. 63
> 
> A.J. Arberry, Sufism, p. 22
> A.J. Arberry, Sufism, p. 22
> A.J. Arberry, Sufism, p. 42
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                  97
> 
> immolates itself joyously in the flame, the shining dew drop that slides
> silently into the sea; the river that in ecstasy joins with and merges with
> the oceans. As we can see, love of the Divine or 'mahabba' is the driving
> force and great emphasis is placed on this love "He loveth them and they
> love him". (Koran 2:152). An aspect of great importance in the Sufi
> tradition is the nearness of God. You do not have to search anywhere
> outside of yourself- God resides in your heart. The seeker has to cleanse
> his heart and mind, his body and soul and then he will discover his
> Beloved in the deepest recesses of his being. 'He is nearer to him than
> his own jugular vein (Koran 50:16) and again 'wither so ever ye turn,
> there is the Face of God' (Koran 2:115).
> 
> What the Sufi is trying to achieve is to leave this dimension of the
> physical world and its imperfections, its sorrows, its trials and
> tribulations, and reach a spiritual dimension. The Sufis claim that reality
> as we know it is shaped by our expectations, coloured by our culture and
> designed to keep us earth-bound and barely aware of our spiritual
> heritage.
> 
> Rumi says in his short poem, called "Another Dimension"
> 
> The hidden world has its clouds and rain,
> But of a different kind
> Its sky and sunshine are of a different kind,
> This is made apparent to the refined ones-
> Those not deceived by the seeming completeness of the ordinary world.22
> 
> The Sufi then, is searching precisely for this dimension; to escape from
> the boundaries of this earth-plane and to free ourselves once and for all
> from the shackles that bind us to this world of space time.
> 
> How we long to somehow transcend this limited existence and live in the
> freedom of an unlimited and unfettered existence, 'Love becomes perfect
> only when it transcends itself, becomes one with its object; producing
> Unity of Being'.23
> 
> quoted by Idries Shah, The way of the Sufi, p. 104
> Stuart Litvak, Sufism, p. 45
> 98            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> The perfected man or woman is capable of functioning at several levels
> simultaneously, and is in direct contact with Cosmic Reality.
> 
> The Sufi idea of evolution is on two levels, one at a subconscious level,
> which is a natural process involving all forms of life - the other is a
> conscious level which is dependent on one's own efforts. The first thing
> a would-be murid (aspirant) is advised to do is look for a Pir (Teacher)
> who will initiate him into the order that the Pir belongs to. There are
> many orders i.e. Chistia, Nakshbandi, Shadilia, Suhrawardia, Qadirya
> etc. Different schools have their own rules and rituals - some schools are
> quite secretive and will not divulge any information unless you are
> initiated into their order. "The essence of Sufism is the Teacher, the
> teaching and the Taught"25
> 
> An interesting facet of Sufism is the concept of Nafs or ego. This
> egoistic state has to be transcended or negated at some stage along the
> way if the aspirant is to reach the goal he desires. Another interesting
> aspect to Sufism is the concept of 'Baráka' or grace; this is a quality
> which probably is not present in the aspirant until he is well into the
> path. It is a giffand is given when the aspirant is deemed ready to receive
> it. However, there are recorded instances where this 'grace' is bestowed
> freely to a person who has not yet embarked on this journey. Once this
> grace is received the person is so enamoured by the sense of the new
> dimension which is presented to his senses that it is only a matter of time
> before he starts his search to look for the Higher Reality, and begins to
> look for a Teacher to guide him towards the correct path to salvation.
> "Every part of your development as a human being needs correct time,
> right place, a suitable company. Without these you will be as complete as
> anything else which lacks three desirable elements in due concert, like a
> plant, say, without water, sun and earth.26
> 
> Here Idries Shah again stresses the need for a Pir. The need for a
> spiritual guide is stressed again and again in almost all Sufi literature as
> being of primary importance. Without a guide the seeker is always
> warned of losing his way and going astray.
> 
> Stuart Litvak, Sufism, p. 88
> Stuart Litvak, Sufism, p. 24.
> Idries Shah, Caravan of Dreams, p. 201.
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                99
> 
> Once a Pir is found and the murid has been initiated he is required to
> prepare himself to receive the Sufic teachings. Each order has its
> different exercises. The following are the Sufic preparatory exercises
> (Adab) according to the Naqshbandi Order.27
> 
> 1.        Ritual Purification
> 2.        Prayer
> 3.        Face Qibla (Mecca) in a deserted place .
> 4.        Squat with folded legs, as at prayer
> 5.        Ask forgiveness for all sins
> 6.        Recite the Fatiha (Dedication) and offer them to Prophet
> Mohammad P.B.U.H. and the spirits of the Nakshbandi Shaikhs.
> 7.        Close eyes and keep lips sealed tightly. Press tongue against the
> roof of your mouth.
> 8.        Perform grave exercise i.e. imagine you are dead, washed and
> wrapped in white and laid in your tomb and all the mourners
> have departed, leaving you alone to face the judgement.
> 9.        Perform guide exercise i.e. seeker's heart confronts the heart of
> the sheikh and seeks the sheikh's blessings.
> 10.       Concentrate all your bodily senses, expel all preoccupations and
> wayward impulses of the heart, and direct all your perception
> towards God. Then say " O God, Thou art my Quest, and Thy
> pleasure is my desire". Then commemorate the name of the
> Essence within the heart, recalling that God is present, watching
> and encompassing you.
> 11.       Await the "Visitation" (Warid) i.e. spiritual epiphenomenon .
> 
> These were the recommended exercises for the benefit of the aspirant to
> prepare him for the next stage of development. Let us now look at the
> qualities needed for salvation according to Al-Ghazali28
> 
> 1.    Tauba          -    Repentance or forgiveness
> 2.    Sabr           -    Fortitude
> 3.    Shukr          -    Gratitude
> 4.    Khauf          -    Fear
> 5.    Raja           -    Hope
> 
> A.J. Arberry, Sufism, p. 130
> A.J. Arberry, Sufism, p. 130
> 100              THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> 6. Faqr         - Poverty
> 7. Zuhd         - Self denial
> 8. Tauhid       - Belief
> 9. Tawakkul - Trust in God
> 10. Mahabba - Love
> 11. Shauk       - Yearning
> 12. Uns         - Intimacy
> 13. Rida        - Satisfaction
> 14. Niya        - Resolve
> 15. Sidq        - Truthfulness
> 16. Ikhlas      - Sincerity
> 17. Muraqaba - Contemplation
> 18. Muhasaba - Self Examination
> 19. Tafakkhur - Meditation
> 20. The recollection of Death
> 
> These are some of the stages that a murid must traverse before he passes
> on to higher and higher realms until finally he reaches the stages offana
> and baqa which defy description as they belong to a dimension beyond
> time and space.
> 
> "To summarize, the way of the Sufi is a direct path to illumination and
> intuitive knowledge; it is a path that is hidden from view of the
> conventional eye. In order to see the path, we must be willing to break
> with conventionality, that is, our conditioning, our familiar pattern of
> thinking and open our minds to the unfamiliar, the unexpected and the
> unknown".29
> 
> Let us now turn to the Baha'i teachings. Baha'u'llah the founder of the
> Baha'i Faith, has presented this teaching in a beautifully written book
> called, "The Seven Valleys", which may be regarded as a very important
> writing in the realm of mystical composition. This was written in
> response to the question of Shaykh Muhyi'd-Din, by profession a judge
> and a keen student of Sufi philosophy. Baha'u'llah used a pattern similar
> to, though not identical, to the one previously used by Faridu'd-Din Attar
> in his most famous work 'Language of the Birds'.
> 
> Stuart Litvak, Suflsm, p. 65
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                     101
> 
> The theme followed is of Progressive revelation, the doctrine that
> Prophets reveal teachings according to the needs and capacity of the
> people'.30
> 
> Before the seeker starts on this mystical quest he is expected to follow
> very strictly the Baha'i virtues of spotless cleanliness, chastity,
> trustworthiness, hospitality, courtesy and justice. Once he has mastered
> these he may then proceed on his journey to God, who is "the First and
> the Last, the Seen and the Hidden, and He knoweth all things" (Koran
> 57: 3).
> 
> The seeker must pass through various states or levels; each level
> prepares him and fortifies his faith to step into the next level.
> 
> "The stages that mark the way-farer's journey from the abode of dust to
> the heavenly homeland are said to be seven. Some have called these
> seven valleys, and others, Seven Cities. And they say that until the way-
> farer taketh leave of self, and traverseth these stages, he shall never reach
> to the ocean of nearness and union, nor drink of the peerless wine".31
> 
> The first stage is,
> 
> The Valley of Search
> 
> In this valley, the aspirant is advised to cleanse the heart from all forms
> of imitation, which is following the traces of their forefathers. He must
> further cleanse his heart from enmity against all people of the earth. He
> must also have patience and not be downhearted if the journey seems
> tedious and long. He must remember, "whoso seeketh out a thing with
> zeal shall find it"32
> 
> "The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover
> hath no desire save union with the 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 be set at naught, that he may enter the
> 
> Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. x
> Baha'u'llah. The Seven Valleys, p. 4
> Arabian proverb, quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 7
> 
> ^
> 102            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> realm of the spirit, which is the City of God. Labor is needed, if we are
> to seek Him; order 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".33
> 
> The seeker then asks for the grace and guidance of God to step into
> 
> The Valley of Love
> 
> In this valley he is dissolved in the fire of love. Here he seeks neither
> ignorance, nor knowledge, neither doubt nor certitude. He flees from
> both unbelief and faith. He searches only for his Beloved for whom at
> every moment he is ready to offer a hundred lives. Here all the traces of
> ego and self must "Be burned away at the fire of love, that the spirit may
> be purified and cleansed and thus may know the station of the Lord of
> the Worlds".34
> 
> Kindle the fire of love and burn away all things,
> Then set thy foot into the land of the lovers.35
> 
> The seeker must now enter into
> 
> The Valley of Knowledge
> 
> "And come out of doubt into certitude, and from the darkness of illusion
> to the guiding light of the fear of God. His inner eyes will open and he
> will privily converse with his Beloved".36
> 
> In this valley he is content to be with God and delight in the nearness of
> his Beloved. He witnesses the mysteries of life, death and resurrection;
> he sees the realms of creation^nd with a pure heart is able to look into
> the souls of man and sees the divine wisdom in the endless
> Manifestations of God.
> 
> Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 7
> Baha'u'llah The Seven Valleys, p. 11
> An ode by Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 11
> Baha'u'llah The Seven Valleys, p. 11
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                 103
> 
> "In the ocean he fmdeth a drop in a drop he beholdeth the secrets of the
> sea"37
> 
> In this valley he meets injustice with patience and anger with love; his
> only concern is with the ripening of his heart which is heavy with the
> repeated remembering of the Lord.
> 
> 'He breaks the cage of the body and the passions and consorts with the
> people of the immortal realm. He climbs on the ladders of inner truth and
> hastens to the heaven of inner significance'.38
> 
> After passing through this valley, which is the last plane of limitation,
> the wayfarer has passed beyond the worlds of names, of forms and the
> worlds of attributes.
> 
> There is a saying attributed to Ali
> "Absolute Unity excludeth all attributes"39
> 
> He now steps into
> 
> The Valley of Unity
> 
> Here, he "Drinketh from the cup of the Absolute, and gazeth on the
> Manifestations of Oneness. In this station he pierceth the veils of
> plurality, fleeth from the worlds of the flesh, and asendeth into the
> heaven of singleness. With the ear of God he heareth, with the eye of
> God he beholdeth the mysteries of divine creation. He steppeth into the
> sanctuary of the Friend and shareth as an intimate the pavilion of the
> Loved One."40
> 
> At this stage the seeker has lost all sense of 'me' and T and seeks for
> himself neither name nor fame nor rank. He sees everything as God 'Say,
> all is from God'. (Koran 4:80.)
> 
> Baha'u'llah The Seven Valleys, p. 12
> Baha'u'llah The Seven Valleys, p. 12
> quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 15
> Baha'u'llah The Seven Valleys, p. 17
> 104             THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> And again,
> 
> "There is no power or might other than God". (Koran 18:37.)41
> Certain souls have strayed far from God and clouded themselves with
> ignorance and blindness and confined themselves in walls of self and
> passion. They dwell in the realm of limitation and so are completely
> veiled and have no portion of the Divine Beauty. But some advanced
> souls have drunk of the wine of oneness and so see nothing but the glory
> and splendour of the One and dwell on the plane of Oneness. Those souls
> who have passed the relative and the limited spheres and dwell on the
> plane of the Absolute, have burned away all relativities.
> 
> "In thy soul of love build then a fire. And burn all thoughts and words
> entire."42
> 
> The seeker is now ready to enter
> 
> The Valley of Contentment
> 
> Here he feels the gentle breeze of divine contentment. His sadness and
> grief is turned into delight and rapture.
> 
> "This is the realm of full awareness, of utter self-effacement. Even love
> is no pathway to this region, and longing hath no dwelling here;
> wherefore it is said, 'Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the beloved.'
> Here love becometh an obstruction and a barrier and all else save Him is
> but a curtain."43
> 
> Here the mystic dwells in inner peace and drinks the delicate wines of
> the spirit. Here one sees only the Divine.
> 
> "There was God and there was naught beside Him". 44
> 
> quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 18
> Jalal'u'din Rumi's Masnavi, quoted by Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 28
> Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 60
> Hadith quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 31
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                   105
> 
> In this valley the traveller will witness the beauty of the Friend in
> everything. After journeying through the planes of pure contentment the
> traveller comes to
> 
> The Valley of Wonderment
> 
> Here he is stunned by the beauty of the All-glorious. Every moment his
> wonder grows and every moment he witnesses a new creation and is lost
> in awe at the works of the Lord, "O friend, the heart is the dwelling of
> eternal mysteries, make it not the home of fleeting fancies; waste not the
> treasure of thy precious life in employment with this swiftly passing
> world. Thou comest from the world of holiness - bind not thine heart to
> the earth; thou art a dweller in the court of nearness - choose not the
> homeland of the dust."45
> 
> No words can accurately describe this state - As Jalal'u'din Rumi says in
> his Masnavi,
> 
> "If I speak forth many a mind will shatter;
> And if I write many a pen will break."46
> 
> Also Hafiz of Shiraz, one of the greatest of Persian poets, writes
> 
> "Only heart to heart can speak the bliss of mystic knowers
> No messenger can tell it and no missive bear it."47
> 
> In this valley words cannot convey the majesty and the magnitude and
> poet after poet and mystic after mystic have fallen silent. Jalal'u'din
> Rumi in his Masnavi says
> 
> "The tale is still unfinished and I have no heart for it - then pray forgive
> rv,o " 4 8
> me.
> 
> Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 35
> quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 29
> quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 30
> quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 35
> 106              THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> The greatest of Persian Sufi poets fell silent as he could not find words to
> describe the magnificence and the grandeur of this awesome dimension.
> The wayfarer now reaches, the valley of
> 
> True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness
> 
> Here is experienced the dying from self and the living in God. Here all
> worldly attachments are burned away and nothing whatsoever remains of
> the limited things of this perishable world. More than this cannot be
> revealed as there are no adequate words to describe this state. The ardent
> seeker is urged to reach this stage and not let opportunities go to waste.
> He must make haste to attain this station no matter what the personal
> cost may be,
> 
> "Radiant as the sun, bright hath He shined,
> But Alas, He hath come to the town of the blind."49
> 
> So be not like the blind but open your eyes and see the splendour which
> is your birthright. Make this light and this knowledge your goal and your
> destiny.
> 
> As Sa'adi says,
> 
> "I seek thy nearness,
> Dearer then sweet heaven
> I see thy visage,
> Fairer than Paradise bowers."50
> 
> Ecstasy alone can encompass this theme, not utterance nor argument;
> only those who have reached this stage know, and when this highest
> plane is reached, then shall you gaze on the Beloved, and forget all else -
> for you have reached the court of the Life-Bestower. This is the realm of
> Absolute Command - it is beyond what any tongue can utter and any
> mind comprehend.
> 
> The Koran says,
> 
> Jalal'u'din Rumi's Masnavi quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 39
> Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 64
> The Mystic Journey of the Soul                    107
> 
> "Far be the glory of thy lord, the Lord of all greatness, from what they
> affirm of Him". (Koran 37: 180 quoted in The Seven Valleys, p. 65)
> 
> Finally, the stage is reached when God promises the seeker who has
> given up everything for him "O my servant, Obey me and I will make
> thee like unto myself. I say 'BE' and it is and thou shalt say 'Be' and it
> shall be"51.
> 
> This, then is the fruit, the goal, of this wondrous mystical journey of the
> soul - a journey which began from the abode of dust to the heavenly
> homeland; a journey where self is transcended and only the Omniscient
> One remains.
> 
> Conclusion
> 
> In summation, love of God, love of human-kind and love of nature is
> taught by all mystics and these are the universal threads that link the
> mystics of the world together in a web. At the centre is the Divine
> Reality and the different religions have woven a beautiful tapestry of
> poetry, prose and love around it. All ardent seekers have arrived at the
> centre of this divine mystery, no matter from which point they started
> and all have poured out their very best; all the praise they were capable
> of, with words and feelings that at times reached sublime heights of
> beauty and tenderness for this unfathomable source of love so gently and
> silently hidden in the deepest recesses of one's heart.
> 
> Hadith quoted by Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 63
> 108          THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> Works Cited
> 
> Arberry, A. J.
> Sufism, G. Allen and Unwin, London, 1956.
> 
> BaháVUáh
> The Seven Valleys, Baha'i Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1991.
> 
> Bancroft, Anne
> The Luminous Vision, G. Allen and Unwin, London, 1982.
> 
> Litvak, Stuart
> Sufism, Jaico, Bombay, India, 1984.
> 
> Shah Idries
> Caravan of Dreams, Octogon, London, 1968.
> - The Way of the Sufi, Dutton, New York, 1969.
> 
> Underbill, Evelyn, Mysticism, Unwin Brothers Ltd, UK, 1960.
>
> — *The Mystic Journey of the Soul (Used by permission of the curator)*