A Dream within a Dream

Edgar Allan Poe famously wrote "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." This sounds very Sufi in tone, in that it speaks to the mystical nature of reality.

It also reminds me of Shoghi Effendi's statement, "The Bahá’í Faith, like all other Divine Religions, is thus fundamentally mystic in character." And while it is very popular to talk about how the Baha'i Faith has no superstitions, and believes in science, I often find myself overlooking the mystical side of the Faith.

It seems to me that we use a very narrow definition of superstition, namely "a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences". But we tend to forget, at least in our common parlance, that it is more accurately defined as "a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary". But what is the difference between these definitions? The first is unjustified, such as the notion that the number 13 is unlucky. There does not appear to be any truth to this, when we actually look into it. The latter definition goes against tangible evidence. For us, prayers, which today are often regarded as superstition, are justified. The evidence suggests that they do have an effect, even though that effect may not always be what we desire.

It seems to me that it is worth constantly reminding ourselves that "the core of religious faith", as the Guardian said in that same letter, "is that mystic feeling which unites Man with God". It is "not sufficient", as he continues, "for a believer merely to accept and observe the teachings. He should, in addition, cultivate the sense of spirituality which he can acquire chiefly by means of prayer."

I don't know about you, dear Reader, but I know that I often tend to shy away from such talk. The very idea of talking about the mystical side of the Faith seems to scare a lot of people away today, but this is exactly what I want to look at here.

Baha'u'llah's writings during His time in and around Sulaymanyyih are some of His most mystical in tone. I've often wondered why. Why is it that He writes "in the mystic tongue" in many of the works of this point in His ministry?

Perhaps it is because He was still hidden behind the "veil of concealment".

The nature of these, and other, mystical writings is that they speak in allusion. They require a particular state of mind for the reader in order for them to see past the metaphors and into the heart of the issues being discussed. Later, after He revealed His station, He speaks far more plainly. But here, at this time, He is still speaking in a veiled language.

It was during this time that a Shaykh of Sulaymaniyyih had a dream of the Prophet Muhammad. Now this Shaykh had some property near Sar Galu, where Baha'u'llah was in His retreat, and in this dream, Muhammad told to seek out this solitary dervish near there.

It was very quickly recognized that this was the same dervish who occasionally came into town and stayed at the seminary. He was that same dervish Who had so impressed the people of the area with His silent wisdom, and His magnificent calligraphy.

Through the influence of this Shaykh and his dream, and through the repeated requests of another Sufi leader, Shaykh Isma'il, Baha'u'llah finally acceded to the request to move into the seminary. It was this move which led to a furthering of His reputation, and His eventual return to Baghdad and the Babi community.

To me, this story of a powerful dream, and its influence on the life of the one who had it, is a stark reminder of the mystical side of the world. It reminds me that we are often guided by those mysterious forces that are beyond our comprehension, if we would only open ourselves up to them.

Of course, we also need to look at this guidance that we receive, ensure that it is within the bounds of reason, and not contrary to the essential guidance of the Faith. There are times when this "guidance" is just our own fancy, encouraging us to do nothing more than boost our own ego. But if we look at these messages that we get through either inspiration or dreams, and see that no harm can come from them, we will often be surprised at the great results that occur.

There are many times in my life when I have been moved by such a feeling, or such a dream, to go up to someone and say "hi", or ask them where they are from, and every single time that I have followed through on this simple mystical inspiration, wonderful things have occurred.

This Shaykh of Sulaymaniyyih and his dream remind me, so clearly, that life is about the mystical. It is about following that guidance from the other realms. And it about trusting that there is far more to life than we can imagine.

Compared to those myriad worlds of God out there, we really are living in "a dream within a dream".