TheCup,WineandDrunkenness
SincetheCupofWine(i.e.,termssuchasjāmanditssynonyms)symbolizethe
inverteddomeofHeavenortheoverturnedcelestialbowlofthefirmament,italso
ultimatelyalludestotheworldofmysteryconcealedbeneaththeveilofheaven.
TheCupisthusthemirrorofheavenandwhatisinscribedthereupon.Yetitis
somethingevenmore–fortheworldofheavenlymysteryhasleftitstraceinthe
mirroroftheCup.^66 ForonewhogazeswithintheCup,itisthuspossibleto
contemplatethismysteryaswell,todecipherthelinestracedthereinlikeitwerea
sort of spiritual astrolabe. Jamshīd, the Initiator of Kings, was the first to
contemplatethemysteriesoftheheavenlyworldreflectedintheCup,or,toputit
moreprecisely,hewasthefirsttoseetheCupitselfdivulgingthemysteryofthe
mundus invisibilisto him.^67 This is the condition of being intimate with, or a
‘confidant’oftheCup.TheCupofwinethusinitiatesoneintothemysteryof‘both
theworlds’(thisworldandthehereafter,earthandheaven)bygraceofthatrayof
light,whosereflectionitcatchesandwhichitthenreflectsbackagain.^68 Through
theintoxicationbestowedbyitswine,theCupalsograntsoneaccesstothesecret
oftheworldmarkedoutinthestars.^69 Infact,themysteryofeachandeverything
constitutesitsveryraisond’être.^70 Theunderlyingcausebehindcreationoftheworld
hadbeenarticulatedattheveryoriginofallhumanity,buttogivevoicetoitagain
onemust‘drinktwocups’^71 –thatistosay,redoubletheintoxicationtoperforman
actofanamnesis.TheCupalsoinitiatesoneintothesecretofTime,whichmaybe
disagreeabletoman,^72 andyettheinitiationintothissecretisbygraceofthatpure
winethatonequaffsfromtheCup.^73
GnosticCognition
Byprovidinganinitiationintothemysteriesofheavenandearth,theCupalso
initiatesoneintotheirprimordialraison d’être.Thatprimordialcausehadbeen
revealedinitsentiretyforthefirsttimeattheoriginoftheworld,whenthe
Beloved’sbeautyflashedforthinarayoftheophany,whichinturnprovokedthe
apparition of love.^74 In this primordial pact of fidelity, humanity’s love for
theBelovedhadbeensignedandsealed.^75 Insofarasoneapprehendsitasitactually
is,theCupthereforesimplyservestoperpetuatewhathadalwaysexistedfromthe
very beginning. We find ourselves here in another order of reality, for which
thecommonCup,WineandIntoxicationarebutpoorrepresentationsorfiguresof
speech.Bookscannotprovideaccesstothiskindofknowledge;reasonhereisbuta
pretentious impostor.^76 In truth, ‘no one knows the mysteries of the invisible
world’.^77 ButthemotesofdustdancinginthedazzlinglightoftheBeloved’sbeauty
reflectedinthemirroroftherealCupmaygiveaccesstothisknowledge.Thatvery
Cup–mirroristheheartofman.Thesorrowsoflovehavethetaskofpurifyingthe
heart–whichistheCupandthemirror–foronlythroughexperiencingthatgriefḤāfiẓandthePersianSufiTradition 153