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for the station of the twelve Imáms and Fát .imih, and the fourth word (arRah .ím, the Most Merciful) refers to the station of the four Gates, the four Pillars, the four Angels, the true Shí‘ih and the four Prophets of the past who mediate between the Imám and the believers—all figures that return as the Primal Unity of the Báb’s Dispensation. The symbolic identity of 19, 4, and 1 emphasizes the indivisible nature of the divine covenant and its levels of recognition. True recognition of God is manifested through recognition of the entire Primal Unity. The Letters of the Living are to be recognized because they are mirrors in which nothing can be seen but the Point. Although the reflection in the mirror (that is, the Point), not the mirror itself, is the object to which one should turn, the recognition of the Point is inseparable from the recognition of all the other three levels of the covenant. These four levels of the Primal Unity correspond to the four existential levels of spiritual reality distinguished by the Báb: heart, intellect or spirit, soul, and body—where the last should be understood primarily as the essential or inner body, not a material body. The station of the Point is the station of the heart; the station of prophethood is the station of the intellect/spirit; the station of guardianship is the station of the soul; and the station of gatehood is the station of the body. These in turn are symbolized by the stations of fire (the Point), air (the Prophet), water (the Imáms), and earth (the Gates). This identity is often found expressed in many different ways in both the early and later writings of the Báb. In the Persian Bayán, for example, we find: [T]he first land wherein the very body of Him Whom God shall make manifest appeareth [His birthplace], hath always been, and will ever be, the Sacred Temple. . . . The purpose of this ordinance is this, that when a piece of earth is enobled by virtue of its association with His body, it attaineth such an exalted station that it becometh the place of pilgrimage through the act of circumambulation around His House; then how much more exalted would be the soil of the essential bodies that point unto His magnificence, and the soil of the souls that refer unto His unity, and the soil of the spirits that hint at His praise, and the soil of the hearts that mirror His glorification. For in the foremost station of the heart, the fire of love shineth forth; and in the second, the air of guardianship ascendeth; and in the third, the water of unity surgeth; and in the fourth, the dust of existence is elevated.22 294 gate of the heart This statement already points to another important principle of the Bayán. Because human beings are temples of divine reality, all the levels of reality are present within them: they also possess the four levels of heart, spirit/intellect, soul, and body as reflections of the reality of the Primal Unity. Therefore, the human heart is a sign and testimony of the heart of the Primal Unity, the Point. Likewise, the essential body is a mirror of the essential body of the Primal Unity, which signifies the Gates. For example, in discussing the necessity of practicing cleanliness and refinement with regard to one’s body and appearance, the Báb states: All these rules are ordained for this purpose: that haply, in the Day of Resurrection , naught shall be seen in the appearance and the inner reality of any soul save the love of God. Then those who are endued with true understanding of the meaning of symbols may realize that when God is not content with aught but love in relation to the accidental body, then how much more true would be His desire with regard to the essential bodies , souls, spirits, and the hearts, which are the seat of the revelation of the Primal Unity.23 Within the Primal Unity, the four levels are the various levels of the Logos or divine praise. Four stations of divine praise are distinguished in the writings of the Báb. These are usually designated“glorification”(tasb íh .),“celebration of praise”(tah .míd),“exaltation of Divine Unity”(Tawh .íd or Tahlíl), and “magnification” (takbír...

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