Seven valleys
The Seven Valleys ( Persian هفت وادی Haft-Vádí ) is a book written in Persian by Baha'u'llah , the founder of the Baha'i religion. The Four Valleys ( Persian چهار وادی Chahár Vádí ) were also written by Baha'u'llah. These two books are usually published together under the title The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys . They are noticeably different and have no direct connections to each other.
Background and story
The Seven Valleys were written in Baghdad around 1860 after Baha'u'llah returned from the Sulaymaniyah region of Kurdistan . The work, mainly written in Persian, was written in response to questions from Sheikh Muyi'd-Din, a judge and follower of the Qádiríyya branch of Sufism . This short mystical work deals with the journey of the soul to its Creator, God. The seven states (= valleys) passed through refer to a traditional Eastern mystical concept. The metaphor of the seven valleys can be found in the work of Fariduddin Attar , a poem with over 4000 lines known as " The Conference of the Birds " (Manteq-at-Tair).
Content and structure
The Seven Valleys style is very poetic, although it is not written in verse. Almost every line of the text consists of rhythm and plays with words that can be lost in the translation. Because the recipient was from a Sufi background, Baha'u'llah pointed out historical and religious subtleties which sometimes only needed a word or a few to refer to a Quranic verse, tradition or well-known poem. Footnotes are often used in English translation to provide background information.
The book follows the path of the soul on a spiritual journey, on which it passes different levels, from this world to a kingdom that is closer to God, described for the first time by the Sufi poet Attar from the 12th century in his work The conference of birds . Baha'u'llah explains in this work the meaning and importance of the seven levels. In the introduction Baha'u'llah says "Some have called them the Seven Valleys, others The Seven Cities". The levels are arranged in a row, the aim of the journey is to follow the “right path”, to overcome “the waste of life”, to get to the sea of the “Life Bestower” and to “take a look at the beloved ".
“These journeys have no visible end in the temporal world, but the separated wanderer - when an invisible blessing descends upon him and the guardian of the cause assists him - may cross the seven steps in seven steps, but not after seven breaths, nor in a single breath, if God wants and desires it. "
The valley of searching
The valley of seeking is described as the first step a seeker must take on his path. A seeker must purify his heart and not follow the paths of his ancestors. It takes enthusiasm and patience to traverse this valley.
The valley of love
The next valley is "The valley of love" and in this valley the seeker is compared to a moth who has found a flame. Baha'u'llah writes that the heart of the seeker is touched and the seeker falls in love with God.
The valley of knowledge
The knowledge referred to in this valley is the knowledge of God and not one based on learning; it is stated that pride in one's knowledge and accomplishments often does not permit one to attain the true understanding, which is the knowledge of God. It is explained that when the seeker is in this valley, he will understand the mysteries contained in God's revelation and find wisdom in all things, including an encounter with pain and distress, in which he will find God's grace and blessings understands. This valley is called the last limited valley.
The valley of unity
The next level is the valley of unity. The seeker does not recognize creation in its limits, but God's properties in all created things. The seeker becomes detached from worldly things and is no longer preoccupied with his own self and ego, instead he praises God for all of his creation.
The valley of enough
The next valley for the seeker is the valley of sufficiency. The seeker becomes independent of all things. Even if he may look poor or is chosen to suffer, he will be endowed with wealth and power from the spiritual worlds and he will be happy inside. Happiness is the quality of the true believer, it cannot be achieved through material things because material things are perishable.
The valley of wonder
It is written that the seeker in the valley of wonder is thought foolish by the beauty of God; the seeker becomes aware of the waste and enormity of creation and discovers the inner secrets of God's revelation. Guided by a mystery of creation, it is explained that the seeker continues to be amazed at God's work.
The valley of true poverty and utter decline
The last valley is the valley of true poverty and utter decline. It is the ultimate level that mysticism can reach. The seeker lacks everything material and is rich in spiritual attributes. This is the level of self-abolition in God, but in the end it remains separate from the essence of the divine self and does not form a perfect unity, as is taught in some other traditions.
other topics
In the introductory part of the book Baha'u'llah refers to a new age which begins with a time cycle, the Kull-i-Shay´ (Arabic "all things", numerical value 361 according to the Abdschad system , a cycle of 361 years in the Baha'i calendar ) using metaphors of the Hindu end-time expectation of a golden age that will arise out of an age of darkness.
Publications and translations
The work has been called Baha'u'llah's "Greatest Mystical Poetry" by Shoghi Effendi , and it was one of his first available books in the West. The translation of Hippolyte Dreyfus into French has already been published 1905th An English translation was published a year later.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Taherzadeh: The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh Volume I, p. 127
- ↑ Shoghi Effendi: God is passing . Bahai-Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 1974, ISBN 3-87037-021-1 , p. 159 .
- ↑ Baha'u'llah: Les Sept Vallées . Ernest Leroux, Paris 1905.
literature
- Baha'u'llah: The Seven Valleys, The Four Valleys . Bahai Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 1997, ISBN 3-87037-045-9 .
- Baha'u'llah: The Seven Valleys, The Four Valleys (Magnificent Edition) . Bahai Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 1997, ISBN 3-87037-941-3 .
- Baháʼuʼlláh, 1817-1892 ,: The call of the divine beloved: selected mystical works of Bahá ʼ u ʼ lláh. Haifa, ISBN 978-0-87743-390-3 ( online ).
- Hatcher, JS: The Ocean of His Words: A Readers Guide to the Art of Bahá'u'lláh . Bahá'í Publishing Trust of the United States, Wilmette, Illinois, USA 1997, ISBN 0-87743-259-7 .
- Taherzadeh, A .: The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853-63 . Ed .: George Ronald. Oxford, United Kingdom 1976, ISBN 0-85398-270-8 .
- Julio Savi: Towards the Summit of Reality . Oxford 2008, ISBN 978-0-85398-522-8 .
Web links
- The Seven Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh ( Online ) (English translation by Marzieh Gail and `Alī Kuli-Khān)
- The Seven Valleys ( Online ) (German translation)
- The Seven Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh and Farid ud-Din Attar [1] (article on the relationship between the "Seven Valleys" and the work of Attar by Sheila Banani)