The wine mentioned in the Tablets has undoubtedly a
spiritual meaning for in the book of Aqdas we are definitely forbidden to take
not only wine, but every thing that deranges the mind. In poetry as a whole
wine is taken to have a different connotation than the ordinary intoxicating
liquid. We see it thus used by the Persian Poets such as Sa’dí and Umar Khayám
and Háfiz to mean that element which nears man to his divine beloved, which
makes him forget his material self so as better to seek his spiritual desires.
It is very necessary to tell the children what this wine means so that they may
not confuse it with the ordinary wine.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 4 November 1926
written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘The Light of
Divine Guidance’, vol. 2)
