aji

Has anyone discovered the meaning of this verse from the Seven Valleys (or have any ideas?).

From the Valley of Contentment: "God will make all independent out of His abundance."

Please consider in light of the following verses:

From the Valley of Wonderment: "Now he seeth the shape of wealth as poverty itself, and the essence of freedom as sheer impotence."

From Gems of Divine Mysteries, the Valley of Immortality: "From this most august and exalted station, and from this most sublime and glorious plane, the seeker entereth the City of Immortality, therein to abide forever. In this station he beholdeth himself established upon the throne of independence and the seat of exaltation. Then will he comprehend the meaning of that which hath been revealed of old concerning the day 'whereon God shall enrich all through His abundance'."

Really interested in your thoughts!

Essence of GOD

i dont know, detachment maybe?
or god will give so much to everyone, so no one will ever need anyone else, except god?

InvestigateTruth

My thought of the above verse:




The first part of it: "the shape of wealth as poverty itself"
I would connect this, with the below quote about Jesus, in the Iqan:


"Thus Jesus, Son of Mary, whilst seated one day and speaking in the strain of the Holy Spirit, uttered words such as these: “O people! My food is the grass of the field, wherewith I satisfy my hunger. My bed is the dust, my lamp in the night the light of the moon, and my steed my own feet. Behold, who on earth is richer than I?” By the righteousness of God! Thousands of treasures circle round this poverty, and a myriad kingdoms of glory yearn for such abasement! Shouldst thou attain to a drop of the ocean of the inner meaning of these words, thou wouldst surely forsake the world and all that is therein, and, as the Phoenix wouldst consume thyself in the flames of the undying Fire."



The second part: "and the essence of freedom as sheer impotence"

I connect that with the quote below from Aqdas:


"Say: True liberty consisteth in man’s submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty. Happy is the man that hath apprehended the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will that pervadeth all created things. Say: The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven."

So, the essense of freedom which is sheer impotence, is freedom from God, and the wealth which is as poverty, is the worldy wealth.

armin

The phrase you've quoted from the Valley of Contentment does not match that which I can find on Baha'i reference library. It is very similar to “God will compensate each one out of His abundance" which may be a different translation of the verse in the Quran.

This is my understanding of this verse and the Seven Valleys in general. One has to start this journey from the beginning and reach each Valley to understand the mystical truths hidden in them. This understanding will only be enhanced and completed further as one journeys farther. 'Independent sovereignty' seems to be a recurring theme in this journey. When one dwells in the Valley of Absolute Nothingness he will realize the full hidden meaning in this verse and all the related verses. In this journey one will resign his will fully to the will of our Lord, and as I tend to say, solely answer the Call. One will realize the poles of extreme, in every aspect of life. Wealth will become poverty, dominion will become absolute nothingness ...

I'd like to add that there are Cities to dwell as this journey of the Seven Valleys comes to it's end. Muhammad revealed the Seven Valleys but in the Baha'i Writings there are nine! Generally speaking it's a never ending journey the beauty of which no mortal eye has seen and no stained heart experienced.

aji

InvestigateTruth - I love your quotes, and yes I agree with your thoughts and connections to the Iqan and Aqdas.

"he seeth the shape of wealth" (as in the 'form' or 'expression' of wealth) as poverty.
"and the essence of freedom" (as in the reality of freedom) as impotence or complete surrender of ones own will and motive to that of the Lord's.

Armin - Yes, it seems there are different translations of this, so I imagine we should consider the following three as intending to convey the same message:
“God will compensate each one out of His abundance"
"God will make all independent out of His abundance."
"God shall enrich all through His abundance"

And yes I agree, attaining a valley will certainly allow the wayfairer to understand the secrets locked within them, but I also believe we can understand some of the general concepts of these valleys before attaining them (if they are explained to us), and perhaps it will somehow aid in our progress.

armin

No doubt Aji. There are always those of pure essence who will help us in our journey though it be one word or one letter! One needs to reach the station of complete detachment to truly begin this journey.

"Know ye that trials and tribulations have, from time immemorial, been the lot of the chosen Ones of God and His beloved, and such of His servants as are detached from all else but Him, they whom neither merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of the Almighty, they that speak not till He hath spoken, and act according to His commandment. Such is God’s method carried into effect of old, and such will it remain in the future. Blessed are the steadfastly enduring, they that are patient under ills and hardships, who lament not over anything that befalleth them, and who tread the path of resignation."

Baha'u'llah

danieldemol

I'm inclined to think sometimes things in the Baha'i Faith are also connected with prior revelations as well.

In Islam there are Hadith to the effect that the time would come when wealth would be so freely available that people would not accept charity.

I kind of suspect that the above verses are an exposition of similar verses.
His holiness Baha'u'llah refers to "that which hath been revealed of old" which to me refers to sacred traditions of prior ages.

To me this is explaining that the spiritual wealth God would hand out on at the coming of the hour would be such that people would not be prepared to accept it from those who give it (ie the clergy).

How wonderful it would be if His holiness Baha'u'llah could log in and fill us in on the true meaning of His Word