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Sufi Babi
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 Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:59 am Post subject: Bayani Talisman as theophanic representation of the Anthropo |
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http://wilmetteinstitute.org/jw/daira-haykal1_full.jpg
This Talisman is a mandala not unlike the famous Kalachakra mandala of
Tibetan Buddhism or the Sephirotic Tree of Life of Jewish Kabbalah,
and others similar, and so therefore it is one of many priceless
heritages of sacred art belonging to all humanity. It has a dual
function as both a metaphysical protection (Arabic: hirz, pl. ahraz)
as well as a mandala to be meditated and contemplated upon. In it the
entire Babi/Bayani metaphysical cosmology and theology is contained in
a nutshell.
The first element of this Babi/Bayani talisman-mandala is a series of
prayers by the Bab shaped in the form of a five pointed star known as
a pentacle or pentagram (Arabic: ‘haykal' which means both form and
temple). In agreement with all occultists and esotericists the world
over, the pentacle is a symbolic representation of the archetypal
human being who is the microcosm mirroring both the macrocosm of the
totality of the universe and the Metacosm which is the divine
world(s). Each point of the pentacle represents each of the four
traditional elements (fire, air, water and earth) plus the fifth super
element (symbolized by the first point), i.e. ether or Spirit. Note
that the pentacle has a long history in occultism, gnosticism and
esotericism everywhere from China to even Meso-America and is today
predominantly worn as a pendant medallion or talismanic charm by
Neo-Pagans and Wiccans. It is also the symbol of the gnostic Bayani
religion which I follow.
The next figure below the pentacle is the circular mandala (Arabic
da'ira). The first element of this da'ira is a series of 7 concentric,
equidistant circles divided into 19 sections. From the top, within the
first circle the Ayat Kursi/Throne Verse of the Quran (2:255) is
written in full. In the second circle the Bab has permutated each of
the 19 letters of "In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful/Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim" into 19 individual phrases
denoting what he calls the luminous names or aspects of the Godhead
beginning with "He is…" or "O possessor of…" (i.e. 1. huwa'l-birr, 2.
huwa's-salam, 3. huwa'l-mutakabir, 4. huwa'Llah, 5. huwa'l-latif, 6.
huwa'l-latif, 7. ya dha'l-hibat'ullah ta'ala, 8. huwa'Llah, 9.
huwa'l-latif, 10. huwa'r-rahim, 11. huwa'l-hayy, 12. huwa'l-ma'bud,
13. huwa'n-nur, 14. huwa'Llah, 15. huwa'l-latif, 16. huwa'-r-rahman,
17. huwa'l-hakim, 18. ya dha'l-ayadi'l-basit [?], 19. huwa'l-maqsud).
The third circle contains 19 reproductions of the traditional esoteric
Islamic Greatest Name Symbol (apparently transmitted by the first
Shi'ia Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib) which is held to symbolize the highest,
yet unknown and unpronounceable, name of the Godhead (in this regard
it is much like how Jewish Kabbalists hold their Tetragrammaton Y H V
H). However, this Greatest Name is not a word or letter but symbols.
The fourth circle contains 19 different reproductions of what the Bab
calls the words of creation. They are also symbols and are derived
from texts of Islamic Hermetic occultism and alchemical magick. A full
explanation of what they are and where they come from can be found in
Shaykh Ahmad al-Buni's famous 11th-12th C. text on numerology,
gematria and talismans entitled Shams'ul-Ma'arif (The Sun of
Knowledge). The fifth circle contains each individual letter of "In
the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful" (B S M A L L H A L R
H M N A L R H I M). The sixth circle contains what the Bab calls the
letters (not words) of the six names of God which are the
single/al-fard, the living/al-hayy, the peerless/al-qayyum, the
wise/al-hakam, the Judge/al-qadi, the just/al-`adl and the
holy/al-quddus. The seventh circle consists of 19 letters of a verse
in the Quran which I can't quite make out.
The second element of the circular mandala is a house of magic squares
divided into 7 sections of 7. Above each side of the 4 sides of the
square a verse from the Quran denoting an attribute of the Godhead is
written: i.e. 1. inna rabbi huwa'l-khaliq al-hakim/Verily my Lord He
is the Wise Creator, 2. inna Allah `aliman hakiman/Verily God is the
Knower, the Wise, 3. wa kana Allah `ala kulli shayin qadir/And God is
Powerful over All Things, 4. wa kana Allah al-`aliyy'ul-hakim/And God
is the High, the Wise.) Inside every one of the seven x seven sections
of the square a different name and attribute of the Godhead is
written, which is difficult to read in this version of the talisman.
Now the reason for the seven sections of seven is very simple. The
Bab's name Ali Muhammad contains seven letters (`ayn lam ya mim ha'
mim dal) and he calls himself the Essence of the Seven Letters (Dhat
Huruf as-Saba'). Seven times seven gives 49 which when individually
added gives the number 13 (= al-Ahad/the One) which when added again
gives 4 (i.e. the numbers of the sides of the magick square that also
symbolize the 4 metaphysical journeys into the Godhead and back). 4 x
7 also yields 29 which when individually added gives the number 11
(=Huwa, He).
The Bab, like all Sufis, Isma'ilis and faylasuf/philosophers before
him, is a metaphysical Neoplatonist with heavy Neopythagoraean number
mysticism thrown in there (in late antiquity the two amounted to the
same thing and this is why it became so popular among medieval Jews,
Muslims and Christians whom it was transmitted to). The Neoplatonists
hold that the world is a series of graded theophanies or emanations
from a supreme unknowable first principle, the One, down to the
material world and an ascent back to It. In this
talisman-mandala-pentacle the Bab is conveying a unique scheme of
Neoplatonic emanatory theophanies of what he calls the First Primal
Volition (al-mashiyyat'ul-ula awwali). This First Primal Volition is
not the Godhead eo ipse, the absolutely hidden transcendent and
unknowable ipseity, but the first effusion or emanation of it in
pre-eternity. This Primal Volition is equivalent to the Neoplatonic
Nous of Plotinus or the ‘Logos' of Christian mysticism and the Gospel
of John. It permeates the totality of everything and is the animating
force in both the microcosm and the macrocosm. In his Book of Names
(Kitab al-Asma), Temples of the Religion (Hayakil ad-Din) and the Book
of the Five Grades (Shu'un Khamsa/Panj Sha'n) the Bab speaks about 7
emanations of the First Primal Will in 19 grades with 4 and 7
tenuities (raqa'iq). He speaks of this Primal Volition eternally
effusing Itself and infusing the inner reality of All-Things, and
especially animating the inner reality of all holy men and women,
saints and prophets who are one with It. It is continually and
constantly manifesting itself, ad infinitum. However the Bab then
introduces a novel idea in his scheme, saying that each time the
Primal Volition incarnates Itself around a specific person it is more
perfectly manifest and attune than the last time, leading to a idea of
an infinite progressive revelation of this Primal Volition (which in
itself remains perfectly the same yet more perfectly manifested with
each subsequent manifestation). Thus, the Bab proclaims his absolute
identity with all the prophets and saints of history, particularly
Muhammad and the Shi'ite Imams, while simultaneously asserting his
superiority to all of them. But it doesn't end there, while the Bab is
superior to Muhammad and the Imams, he says that infinite future
manifestations of this first Primal Volition will occur, especially
one to follow him whom he calls ‘He whom God shall make Manifest' (man
yuzhiruhu'Llah) who will appear between 1511 to 2001 (maybe slightly
less) years after him.
The pentacle thus represents the infinite human forms which this First
Primal Volition takes in this world throughout history; the circle and
square the grades and levels of its emanatory theophanies.
Nima Hazini
al-Wahid Thalith |
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Sufi Babi
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 6:22 am Post subject: Re: Bayani Talisman as theophanic representation of the Anth |
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The following yahoogroups list is dedicated to discussions of Bayani esotericism:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bayan19/
sufibabi@yahoo.com (Sufi Babi) wrote in message news:<84cea5be.0401182159.3300bddb@posting.google.com>...
| Quote: | http://wilmetteinstitute.org/jw/daira-haykal1_full.jpg
This Talisman is a mandala not unlike the famous Kalachakra mandala of
Tibetan Buddhism or the Sephirotic Tree of Life of Jewish Kabbalah,
and others similar, and so therefore it is one of many priceless
heritages of sacred art belonging to all humanity. It has a dual
function as both a metaphysical protection (Arabic: hirz, pl. ahraz)
as well as a mandala to be meditated and contemplated upon. In it the
entire Babi/Bayani metaphysical cosmology and theology is contained in
a nutshell.
The first element of this Babi/Bayani talisman-mandala is a series of
prayers by the Bab shaped in the form of a five pointed star known as
a pentacle or pentagram (Arabic: ?haykal' which means both form and
temple). In agreement with all occultists and esotericists the world
over, the pentacle is a symbolic representation of the archetypal
human being who is the microcosm mirroring both the macrocosm of the
totality of the universe and the Metacosm which is the divine
world(s). Each point of the pentacle represents each of the four
traditional elements (fire, air, water and earth) plus the fifth super
element (symbolized by the first point), i.e. ether or Spirit. Note
that the pentacle has a long history in occultism, gnosticism and
esotericism everywhere from China to even Meso-America and is today
predominantly worn as a pendant medallion or talismanic charm by
Neo-Pagans and Wiccans. It is also the symbol of the gnostic Bayani
religion which I follow.
The next figure below the pentacle is the circular mandala (Arabic
da'ira). The first element of this da'ira is a series of 7 concentric,
equidistant circles divided into 19 sections. From the top, within the
first circle the Ayat Kursi/Throne Verse of the Quran (2:255) is
written in full. In the second circle the Bab has permutated each of
the 19 letters of "In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful/Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim" into 19 individual phrases
denoting what he calls the luminous names or aspects of the Godhead
beginning with "He is?" or "O possessor of?" (i.e. 1. huwa'l-birr, 2.
huwa's-salam, 3. huwa'l-mutakabir, 4. huwa'Llah, 5. huwa'l-latif, 6.
huwa'l-latif, 7. ya dha'l-hibat'ullah ta'ala, 8. huwa'Llah, 9.
huwa'l-latif, 10. huwa'r-rahim, 11. huwa'l-hayy, 12. huwa'l-ma'bud,
13. huwa'n-nur, 14. huwa'Llah, 15. huwa'l-latif, 16. huwa'-r-rahman,
17. huwa'l-hakim, 18. ya dha'l-ayadi'l-basit [?], 19. huwa'l-maqsud).
The third circle contains 19 reproductions of the traditional esoteric
Islamic Greatest Name Symbol (apparently transmitted by the first
Shi'ia Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib) which is held to symbolize the highest,
yet unknown and unpronounceable, name of the Godhead (in this regard
it is much like how Jewish Kabbalists hold their Tetragrammaton Y H V
H). However, this Greatest Name is not a word or letter but symbols.
The fourth circle contains 19 different reproductions of what the Bab
calls the words of creation. They are also symbols and are derived
from texts of Islamic Hermetic occultism and alchemical magick. A full
explanation of what they are and where they come from can be found in
Shaykh Ahmad al-Buni's famous 11th-12th C. text on numerology,
gematria and talismans entitled Shams'ul-Ma'arif (The Sun of
Knowledge). The fifth circle contains each individual letter of "In
the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful" (B S M A L L H A L R
H M N A L R H I M). The sixth circle contains what the Bab calls the
letters (not words) of the six names of God which are the
single/al-fard, the living/al-hayy, the peerless/al-qayyum, the
wise/al-hakam, the Judge/al-qadi, the just/al-`adl and the
holy/al-quddus. The seventh circle consists of 19 letters of a verse
in the Quran which I can't quite make out.
The second element of the circular mandala is a house of magic squares
divided into 7 sections of 7. Above each side of the 4 sides of the
square a verse from the Quran denoting an attribute of the Godhead is
written: i.e. 1. inna rabbi huwa'l-khaliq al-hakim/Verily my Lord He
is the Wise Creator, 2. inna Allah `aliman hakiman/Verily God is the
Knower, the Wise, 3. wa kana Allah `ala kulli shayin qadir/And God is
Powerful over All Things, 4. wa kana Allah al-`aliyy'ul-hakim/And God
is the High, the Wise.) Inside every one of the seven x seven sections
of the square a different name and attribute of the Godhead is
written, which is difficult to read in this version of the talisman.
Now the reason for the seven sections of seven is very simple. The
Bab's name Ali Muhammad contains seven letters (`ayn lam ya mim ha'
mim dal) and he calls himself the Essence of the Seven Letters (Dhat
Huruf as-Saba'). Seven times seven gives 49 which when individually
added gives the number 13 (= al-Ahad/the One) which when added again
gives 4 (i.e. the numbers of the sides of the magick square that also
symbolize the 4 metaphysical journeys into the Godhead and back). 4 x
7 also yields 29 which when individually added gives the number 11
(=Huwa, He).
The Bab, like all Sufis, Isma'ilis and faylasuf/philosophers before
him, is a metaphysical Neoplatonist with heavy Neopythagoraean number
mysticism thrown in there (in late antiquity the two amounted to the
same thing and this is why it became so popular among medieval Jews,
Muslims and Christians whom it was transmitted to). The Neoplatonists
hold that the world is a series of graded theophanies or emanations
from a supreme unknowable first principle, the One, down to the
material world and an ascent back to It. In this
talisman-mandala-pentacle the Bab is conveying a unique scheme of
Neoplatonic emanatory theophanies of what he calls the First Primal
Volition (al-mashiyyat'ul-ula awwali). This First Primal Volition is
not the Godhead eo ipse, the absolutely hidden transcendent and
unknowable ipseity, but the first effusion or emanation of it in
pre-eternity. This Primal Volition is equivalent to the Neoplatonic
Nous of Plotinus or the ?Logos' of Christian mysticism and the Gospel
of John. It permeates the totality of everything and is the animating
force in both the microcosm and the macrocosm. In his Book of Names
(Kitab al-Asma), Temples of the Religion (Hayakil ad-Din) and the Book
of the Five Grades (Shu'un Khamsa/Panj Sha'n) the Bab speaks about 7
emanations of the First Primal Will in 19 grades with 4 and 7
tenuities (raqa'iq). He speaks of this Primal Volition eternally
effusing Itself and infusing the inner reality of All-Things, and
especially animating the inner reality of all holy men and women,
saints and prophets who are one with It. It is continually and
constantly manifesting itself, ad infinitum. However the Bab then
introduces a novel idea in his scheme, saying that each time the
Primal Volition incarnates Itself around a specific person it is more
perfectly manifest and attune than the last time, leading to a idea of
an infinite progressive revelation of this Primal Volition (which in
itself remains perfectly the same yet more perfectly manifested with
each subsequent manifestation). Thus, the Bab proclaims his absolute
identity with all the prophets and saints of history, particularly
Muhammad and the Shi'ite Imams, while simultaneously asserting his
superiority to all of them. But it doesn't end there, while the Bab is
superior to Muhammad and the Imams, he says that infinite future
manifestations of this first Primal Volition will occur, especially
one to follow him whom he calls ?He whom God shall make Manifest' (man
yuzhiruhu'Llah) who will appear between 1511 to 2001 (maybe slightly
less) years after him.
The pentacle thus represents the infinite human forms which this First
Primal Volition takes in this world throughout history; the circle and
square the grades and levels of its emanatory theophanies.
Nima Hazini
al-Wahid Thalith |
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