Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord, my God! How can I
make mention of Thee, assured as I am that no tongue, however deep its wisdom,
can befittingly magnify Thy name, nor can the bird of the human heart, however
great its longing, ever hope to ascend into the heaven of Thy majesty and
knowledge.
If I describe Thee, O my God, as Him Who is the
All-Perceiving, I find myself compelled to admit that They Who are the highest
Embodiments of perception have been created by virtue of Thy behest. And if I
extol Thee as Him Who is the All-Wise, I, likewise, am forced to recognize that
the Well Springs of wisdom have themselves been generated through the operation
of Thy Will. And if I proclaim Thee as the Incomparable One, I soon discover
that they Who are the inmost essence of oneness have been sent down by Thee and
are but the evidences of Thine handiwork. And if I acclaim Thee as the Knower
of all things, I must confess that they Who are the Quintessence of knowledge
are but the creation and instruments of Thy Purpose.
Exalted, immeasurably exalted, art Thou above the strivings
of mortal man to unravel Thy mystery, to describe Thy glory, or even to hint at
the nature of Thine Essence. For whatever such strivings may accomplish, they
never can hope to transcend the limitations imposed upon Thy creatures,
inasmuch as these efforts are actuated by Thy decree, and are begotten of Thine
invention. The loftiest sentiments which the holiest of saints can express in
praise of Thee, and the deepest wisdom which the most learned of men can utter
in their attempts to comprehend Thy nature, all revolve around that Center
Which is wholly subjected to Thy sovereignty, Which adoreth Thy Beauty, and is
propelled through the movement of Thy Pen.
Nay, forbid it, O my God, that I should have uttered such words as must of necessity imply the existence of any direct relationship between the Pen of Thy Revelation and the essence of all created things. Far, far are They Who are related to Thee above the conception of such relationship! All comparisons and likenesses fail to do justice to the Tree of Thy Revelation, and every way is barred to the comprehension of the Manifestation of Thy Self and the Day Spring of Thy Beauty.
Far, far from Thy glory be what mortal man can affirm of Thee,
or attribute unto Thee, or the praise with which he can glorify Thee! Whatever
duty Thou hast prescribed unto Thy servants of extolling to the utmost Thy
majesty and glory is but a token of Thy grace unto them, that they may be
enabled to ascend unto the station conferred upon their own inmost being, the
station of the knowledge of their own selves.
No one else besides Thee hath, at any time, been able to
fathom Thy mystery, or befittingly to extol Thy greatness. Unsearchable and
high above the praise of men wilt Thou remain for ever. There is none other God
but Thee, the Inaccessible, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient, the Holy of Holies.
- Baha'u'llah (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah)
