Concealment and Revelation

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Concealment and Reve lat ion

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