Whosoever Thou
exaltest is raised above the angels, and attaineth the station:
'Verily, We uplifted him to a place on high!'
- Baha'u'llah -
Photo credit : bahaipictures.com
Blessed is the soul which, at the
hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain
imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such
a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator
and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The Maids of Heaven, inmates
of the loftiest mansions, will circle around it, and the Prophets of
God and His chosen ones will seek its companionship. With them that
soul will freely converse, and will recount unto them that which it
hath been made to endure in the path of God, the Lord of all.
About this highest heaven attainable by the human soul, we are told, in THE STAGES OF THE SOUL (provisional translation) :
And when the soul hath unfolded the wings of the spirit,
been attracted by the Joy of God, hath soared to the most exalted
horizon, hath sought the most glorious Companion, it doth ascend to
the divine station of JABARUT... It becomes aware of the secrets of
hidden and invisible realities which consumes in envy the hearts of
the mystic knowers.
Only the sincere ones among them receive
the great bounty of the rays of this most luminous light in their haste
and progress toward the state of nothingness at the gate of the mighty
King.
Thomas Breakwell
(1872–1902)
Amazingly, the exemplary young
Englishman pictured above achieved this supreme goal in a
matter of months! His final year on the earth plane, a STORY of mystical love and deep faith, earned him the title of "hero" and of being "our luminary". This heartbreaking
Tablet by Abdu'l-Baha confirms this statement :
Grieve thou not over the
ascension of my beloved Breakwell, for he hath risen unto a rose
garden of splendours within the Abha Paradise, sheltered by the mercy
of his mighty Lord, and he is crying at the top of his voice: 'O that
my people could know how graciously my Lord hath forgiven me, and
made me to be of those who have attained His Presence!'
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Where
now is thy fair face? Where is thy fluent tongue? Where thy clear
brow? Where thy bright comeliness?
O Breakwell, O my dear
one!
Where is thy fire, blazing with God's love? Where is thy
rapture at His holy breaths? Where are thy praises, lifted unto Him?
Where is thy rising up to serve His Cause?
O Breakwell, O my
dear one!
Where are thy beauteous eyes? Thy smiling lips? The
princely cheek? The graceful form?
O Breakwell, O my dear
one!
Thou hast quit this earthly world and risen upward to the
Kingdom, thou hast reached unto the grace of the invisible realm, and
offered thyself at the threshold of its Lord.
O Breakwell, O
my dear one!
Thou hast left the lamp that was thy body here, the
glass that was thy human form, thy earthy elements, thy way of life
below.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou hast lit a flame
within the lamp of the Company on high, thou hast set foot in the
Abha Paradise, thou hast found a shelter in the shadow of the Blessed
Tree, thou hast attained His meeting in the haven of Heaven.
O
Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou art now a bird of Heaven, thou hast
quit thine earthly nest, and soared away to a garden of holiness in
the kingdom of thy Lord. Thou hast risen to a station filled with
light.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thy song is even as
birdsong now, thou pourest forth verses as to the mercy of thy Lord;
of Him Who forgiveth ever, thou wert a thankful servant, wherefore
hast thou entered into exceeding bliss.
O Breakwell, O my dear
one!
Thy Lord hath verily singled thee out for His love, and hath
led thee into His precincts of holiness, and made thee to enter the
garden of those who are His close companions, and hath blessed thee
with beholding His beauty.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou
hast won eternal life, and the bounty that faileth never, and a life
to please thee well, and plenteous grace.
O Breakwell, O my
dear one!
Thou art become a star in the supernal sky, and a lamp
amid the angels of high Heaven; a living spirit in the most exalted
Kingdom, throned in eternity.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
I
ask of God to draw thee ever closer, hold thee ever faster; to
rejoice thy heart with nearness to His presence, to fill thee with
light and still more light, to grant thee still more beauty, and to
bestow upon thee power and great glory.
O Breakwell, O my dear
one!
At all times do I call thee to mind. I shall never forget
thee. I pray for thee by day, by night; I see thee plain before me,
as if in open day.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
-
Abdu'l-Baha
This humble wayfarer certainly reached his exalted position with the help of the heavenly Concourse, for we are told, as we travel along the Path, that :
These
journeys have no visible ending in the world of time, but the severed
wayfarer—if invisible confirmation descend upon him and the
Guardian of the Cause assist him—may cross these seven stages in
seven steps, nay rather in seven breaths, nay rather in a single
breath, if God will and desire it. And this is of "His grace on
such of His servants as He pleaseth."
This is the new Garden brought by the revelation of Baha'u'llah, to which he calls us insistently:
O YE DWELLERS IN THE
HIGHEST PARADISE! Proclaim unto the children of assurance that within
the realms of holiness, nigh unto the celestial paradise, a new
garden hath appeared, round which circle the denizens of the realm on
high and the immortal dwellers of the exalted paradise. Strive, then,
that ye may attain that station, that ye may unravel the mysteries of
love from its wind-flowers and learn the secret of divine and
consummate wisdom from its eternal fruits. Solaced are the eyes of
them that enter and abide therein!
Thomas has shown us the ultimate way. Will we also respond to this CALL from the Master of our hearts?
Give
ear unto that which the Spirit imparteth unto thee from the verses of
God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, that His Call may attract
thee to the Summit of transcendent glory and draw thee nigh unto the
Station where thou shalt behold thine entire being set ablaze with the
fire of the love of God in such wise that neither the ascendancy of the
rulers nor the whisperings of their vassals can quench it, and thou wilt
arise amidst the peoples of the world to celebrate the praise of thy
Lord, the Possessor of Names. This is that which well beseemeth thee in
this Day.
And...
In this day, all those ranks (asked about) are witnessed; therefore,
blessed is the soul who victoriously succeedeth in attaining the
Paradise of ‘Abhá, which is, was and ever will be supreme of all
paradises.
- Baha'u'llah (provisional translation)
Be
wonderfully blessed !
Loesha
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