Part 5

The world is arrayed into two parties, the party of God and the party of Satan. Look well and see to which _you_ belong....

A Knower has said, "No one comes to worship God, unless promised the bribe of heaven and threatened with the torture of hell." This indicates an indifference to Monotheism.

It is said:

On an =Îd= day[12] =Shiblî= the Saint was seen mourning and clad in black. He was told: "This is the =Îd= day. Why are you so clad?" He replied: "I see all men rejoicing and clad in new suits, but _not one_ of them is aware of God. I mourn this day over their heedlessness." O brother, thou hast become inured to heedlessness, hast barred the gate of Divine Knowledge and art content with the gratification of desires. Rest assured, so long as thou dost not put off thy desires, thou canst not put on the robe of Faith; so long as thou dost not look upon the desire-nature as thy foe, Faith cannot come to thee as thy friend; so long as thou dost not cease thy connection with Satan, thou canst not see the beauty of "There is no God save =Allâh="; so long as thou dost not turn from the world, thou canst not approach the Path of Purity.

[12] The Muhammadan festival day at the end of the Ramzân fast.--_Trs._

Since the Lord is thy Origin, thou hast not come; since the Lord is thy Goal, thou wilt not go. "There is no God save =Allâh=." Nothing can be separated from the Infinite, and attached to non-God. Since the Origin is from Him, the End is verily in Him. Separation and union, coming and going, are thus unreal. This is a long story. Discreet silence is here absolutely necessary.--_Letter 58._

THE NOBLE QUALITIES

Noble qualities were in the beginning of creation given to Adam, who left them as a legacy to other Prophets. Mohammad, the head of the Prophets, received them in His turn. Similarly, evil qualities were allotted to Satan who handed them down to his followers--the proud and the disobedient.... Since the Noble Qualities are the precious legacy of Adam to Mohammad, no garment or decoration is better for the faithful than that of the Noble Qualities. They are based upon harmony with the Divine Will and the Prophet's Life.

One should curb one's temper, lest it should embitter the life of others. One should ever be cheerful, and of controlled tongue. One should always salute others. One should be charitable, and abstain from slander, abusive words and untruthfulness. One should adapt one's words and deeds (_e. g._ eating and sleeping) to the scriptural injunctions. One should ever be magnanimous and free from the taints of miserliness, hatred, greed and suspicion. One should do one's best to practise at all times the virtues possessed by the Prophet, and flee from vices.

The Prophet has said: "Seek him who flees from thee; forgive him who injures thee; give to him who does not give to thee."

The Prophet always concealed the defects of the faithful, and bore injuries and reproaches to propagate Religion. He was never angry for himself. He did not tolerate flattery, neglect, or silence in the service of Truth. He helped the friends when they were disabled. He worked for a servant in the family, when the latter was ill. He accepted the invitations and presents of others. He never found fault with any unprohibited food. He used any garment allowed by the Law--sometimes a blanket, sometimes a silk wrapper, sometimes a worn out cotton garment. He rode sometimes on a horse, sometimes on a camel, sometimes on an ass. Sometimes he walked on foot, without shoes, wrapper, turban or cap. He slept on a mat without bedding.... He had no miraculous power: His virtues were sufficient guarantee of His godliness. Many an unbeliever, just as he saw Him, would exclaim, "This is not the face of a hypocrite," and swear allegiance to =Islâm= without asking for miracle or argument....

The Noble Qualities are based on knowledge and insight. He who is fettered by self-conceit cannot be expected to purify his nature. Hence the pilgrim should use insight to acquire the virtues of the Prophet. He should guard the virtues he has been endowed with, and acquire those he is lacking in by self-exertion (_i. e._ asceticism, service, and the Company of the saints). Most of the virtues can be acquired, and we have been ordered [by the Scriptures] to strive therefor to the limit of our powers. Man is a mirror who, when trained, perfected, and cleansed of impurities shows within him all the Divine Attributes of construction and disintegration. Then he realises his divinity and the purpose of his life. A Sage refers to this very fact in these lines: "It is thou who art the Divine Scripture; it is thou who art the mirror of the Royal Beauty. Beyond thee there is naught in the universe: seek thy object within thyself, for thou art that."--_Letter 59._

CONTEMPLATION.

The Prophet has restricted the use of contemplation to the Works of God, not to His Nature and Attributes. Thinking on God may soon end in unbelief. In order that thought may work, its object must be limited, and the Divine Nature and Attributes are unlimited. Hence a student should contemplate on the objects of Creation, noticing their [relative] permanence and impermanence, and realising the position and changes of each in its phenomenal aspect. He will thus be led to the knowledge of the Creator. Hence the Seeker should [while not neglecting outward activities, holy recitations and other duties] contemplate from time to time on Creation--Seeing the Wisdom of the Creator therein--, on his desires, on the heart and the body; he should enquire into his stages from the beginning of Creation to its end, and study his own character. His contemplation should be in conformity with Religion, based upon knowledge and experience, and irrespective of considerations of gain and loss, so that he may develop insight. Right contemplation achieves in a short time the results of long practice and worship. The Prophet has said, "Contemplation for an hour is better than [formal] worship for sixty years."

As the range of the _outer_ vision differs with different men, so is it the case with _insight_, or the _inner_ vision. Some see as far as Heaven, some as far as the Divine Throne. A few have the _perfect_ insight which pierces through all Creation to the Creator.

The end of contemplation is the advancement of knowledge and the acquisition of wisdom. When the heart develops knowledge and wisdom, there is a change in its condition. With that change, there comes a change in conduct as well, and the man _turns_. With the _turning_, he begins to tread the Path. Treading attracts him to God. _Then_ a current of Divine attraction may carry him to a stage inaccessible to men and genii by exertion and asceticism....

If thou longest and dost not succeed, be not dejected; for, as the Great Lord has said, "Asking is for men, acceptance for God."--_Letter 60._

RENUNCIATION.

The _first_ duty incumbent upon a Seeker is the practice of =Tajrîd= and =Tafrîd=. The one is to quit present possessions; the other, to cease to care for the morrow. The _second_ duty is seclusion, outer and inner. Outer seclusion consists in flying from the world and turning thy face to the wall, in order that thou mayest give up thy life on the Divine threshold; inner seclusion consists in cleansing the heart of all thoughts connected with the non-God, whether the non-God be earth or heaven.

The _third_ duty is at-onement in speech and thought, which consists in ceasing to speak and think of the non-God. The _fourth_ duty is the practice of moderation in speech, food and sleep, since this triad supports the desire-nature. Too much speaking is a bar to holy recitations; too much sleep interferes with meditation; too much food brings on inertia and checks the performance of duties.

Purity of body as well as of mind is necessary at all times--purity of body _alone_ is not sufficient--in order that the Divine Attraction may uplift thee to a stage unattainable by _all_ the efforts and ascetic practices of _all_ genii and men put together. Very easy to speak of this, but very hard the practice--since this practice does not lie with the bodily organs or elements, but with the Heart and the Soul which are beyond our control. The gate to the Path is Knowledge and Wisdom. He who avoids this gate has to plod on his way through an endless forest infested by demons, and ends by losing his life and faith....

Eternal Life is the life in Spirit without a body. It is attained by Love, not by obedience. Servants wait for an order and seek remedies for their ailments; Lovers are impelled by Love and invite ailments without asking for a remedy. The Beloved ever cries, "Stay at a distance lest thou shouldst perish." The Lover answers, "I am prepared from the very beginning to give up my life. Death is better than a life without Thee." The life of the body has no value on the Path. Whoso cares for the one has no business with the other. Love says to thee: "Give up a life which must turn into dust, and I shall instal thee on the throne of Glorious At-onement. Now the choice is thine."

Although there is no heart _without_ love, yet the priceless treasure of Divine Love does not fall to the lot of greedy and mean fellows, who are content with prayers and fasts, and have but given up their earthly claims for higher honours.

Be cheerful and hopeful, for the Door of Compassion is open.

God has created doubt interfering with conviction, the lower nature veiling the face of Truth, duality warring with monotheism, the alloy claiming the place of the genuine coin, a thousand foes arrayed against each friend, a temple of idols facing every mosque, a suffering balancing each blessing. "He does all this; but man, awe-stricken, cannot breathe a sigh: for His Face is like a mirror, and a mirror is clouded by breathing."--_Letter 61._

ON THE SAME.

=Tajrîd= and =Tafrîd= are indispensable for a Disciple. The one is the renunciation of the world and of outer concerns; the other is the renunciation of self. No impurity in his heart, no burden on his back, no market in his bosom;--not reckoned with any class of people, not concerned with any particular object, his aspirations soaring above earth, heaven and the Divine Throne,--such a Disciple rests in his Beloved. The Beloved away, all the worlds cannot please; their absence leaves no void when He is there. As said by a noble soul, "No grief in the company of God; no joy in the company of the non-God." One away from God is at the very centre of sorrow and suffering, albeit he may hold the key of all the treasures of the earth. One attached to God, however poor, is king of heaven and earth. =Khwâjâ Sirrî Saqtî= was wont to pray: "O God! punish me, if such be Thy Will, any way save by veiling Thyself." This is the only real hell.... As observed by some one, "With Thee, the heart is a mosque; without Thee, 'tis but a shrine of idols. With Thee, the heart is a heaven; the heart without Thee is a hell."

In short, when the Disciple realises the Greatness of God, feels the pangs of His seeking, knows that "Who gains Him gains all, who loses Him loses all," and finds that he can dispense with all save Him,--he then overcomes his old habits and unfolds the vision, "I am from God and for God." Life and death, acceptance and rejection, praise and blame, are thenceforth equal in his eyes. Heaven and earth find no place in his heart. He bows to none for food, clothes or money. His Goal being the Divine Sanctuary, he longs for naught save God.--_Letter 62._

THE CLEARING OF THE PATH.

The Path should be cleared of all impurities inherent in the lower self.... The Great Ones have declared: "He that takes a step in obedience to his desire-nature loves it better than God. He cannot be a believer: how can he be a Saint?"

Nothing but constant _turning_ (=Taubâh=) can guard the Path against the onslaughts of the desire-nature. As the ordinary soul should turn from sensuality, cruelty and avarice, so should the developed soul turn from purity, worship and meditation. The Sages have said: "Thou must acquire all virtues, such as truth, purity and worship. When acquired, thou must scatter them in the air of supreme Indifference. Were all Prophets, Saints and Angels to sing the hymn of His Unity, their final chorus would end thus: 'We turn to God from all we have said.[13]'"

[13] Or "We retract with repentance what we have said."--_Trs._

Art thou endowed with the purity of all the Saints, plume thyself not over it; art thou distressed with a thousand shocks, seek not refuge in flight.

He that does not burn himself here in the fire of =Taubâh= certainly deserves the doom of hell-fire. So burn thou to-day in the fire of =Taubâh= whatever thou knowest of thyself, be it merit or defect. If to-day thou dost not cast aside the thorns from thy Path, they will hereafter turn into arrows and pierce thy heart.--_Letter 63._

SELF-CONTROL.

The Self-controlled is one who has freed himself from the bondage of self. The seven hells and the eight heavens are too narrow to hold him--only the vast expanse of God is wide enough to receive him.

If the joy of heaven and the torture of hell ceased to be, there would be no loss to the spiritual aspect of God. "What a Vastness! If the worlds were not, It would not be less by a hair's breadth. The kingdom of Its Glory is truly without beginning or end."

Freedom from self leads to freedom from all. So long as thou art bound to any of the lower qualities, thou art its slave.... The Path is a jealous master and will not put up with any partner. So long as thou art a friend to self, thou art a stranger to God. Be then estranged from self that thou mayest unite with Him. The dead wall of self cannot be pulled down save with the help of a perfect Teacher.

Self-control will not allow thee to look down upon any creature, _e. g._ to tread upon even the lowliest ant in thy way. Wert thou able to raise the veil of ignorance from thine eyes, then wouldst thou see each and every being seeking and adoring God.

The Prophet prayed, "Show me things as they are." His senior disciple ever prayed: "O God, show me truth and untruth, and help me to follow the one and avoid the other." So it is said: "When God seeks the welfare of a man, He shows his defects to him," that he may change from a temple of idols into a mosque.

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Rest assured that thou hast nothing but good to expect, once self has been stripped off from thee. So long as thy self lies before thee, thou canst but swell in self-respect. A Satan in very truth is he that respects self, whether in the guise of angel or of man, whether on earth, in heaven or in hell. Self-respect consists in not transcending self. "Endless as the veils are, none is thicker than self-conceit. Know its destruction as thy foremost duty."--_Letter 64._

TRUTH.

=Khwâjâ Zunnoon= of Egypt says: "Truth is the Sword of God on earth. It may not be laid on anything without cutting it." Truth consists in looking to the Actor, and not to His instruments. True Faith consists in ceasing to desire anything save Truth....

Once upon a time =Zunnoon=, while returning from Jerusalem, saw a figure loom in the distance, and desired to question it. On drawing near, it was found to be an old woman clad in wool, with a stick in her hand. =Zunnoon= said, "Whence comest thou?" The dame replied, "From God." =Zunnoon= again enquired, "Whither dost thou go?" The old woman rejoined, "To God." =Zunnoon= then offered her a gold coin. She refused the gift, saying, "What an illusion has overcome thee? I work for God and do not receive anything save what comes from Him. As I worship Him and Him alone, I cannot receive what is not Himself and comes from other than Himself." Having spoken thus, she vanished. Such is to be the ideal of the aspirant.

Working for God alone is the test of true devotion. Some think they work for Him, but they work for Themselves. They have conquered the desires of this world, but they seek for fruits in a higher world. A few work irrespective of all consideration of internal suffering or celestial joy, in pure love to carry out the Divine Will. "The earth is a place of suffering, heaven is a place of joy. We shall not receive the fruits of either, even to the measure of a barleycorn." It has been said. The virtuous often prove more selfish in their virtue than the sinners in their sin. The gratification of the latter is but transitory, the joy of the former is permanent. God does not gain by the self-denial of men, nor does He lose by their sensual gratifications....

It is an old adage, that the mere description of a savoury dish only intensifies the misery of hunger. Take an onward step if you can: lose your head and give up your life.

As God is essentially ONE, a true believer must be a monotheist. Look for the proof of this in the holy _Logion_, one half of which, "There is no God," separates [the believer from the non-God], while the other half, "Save =Allâh=," unites [him with God]. One unites with God in proportion to one's renunciation of the non-God. He who claims to have Faith should look at his own heart. If his heart flies from the non-God, his claim is genuine. If it longs for anything save God, and shrinks from the means of Divine Union, let him weep over his faith. Either he has already lost it, or is about to do so.

A certain Great One has said: "All men claim to love, but if the claim is carefully scrutinised, 'loving' turns out to mean 'being loved.'" True love consists in the complete renunciation of all desires. If one looks for the gratification of a desire, one plays the part of the beloved, not of the lover.--_Letter 65._

THE DESCENT FROM ADAM.

The pilgrim justifies his descent from Adam when he enters the Heart. Now he has finished the Turning, and begins his Pilgrimage. By the virtue of his complete Turning, anything coming in contact with him undergoes a change. This is the power of Transmutation. This explains the phenomena of transmutation wrought by many Derveshes (_e. g._ the change of wine into an innocuous beverage). Such a pilgrim may lawfully lay his hand on the imperial treasury, and use the wealth of kings. (Religious injunctions vary with circumstances. It is reported in the traditions that a young man came to the Prophet and asked if he could lawfully take a certain oil in the fast month of Ramzân. He said, "No." Next followed an old man who put the same question. He said, "Yes." The companions of the Prophet were confused, and asked, "How is it, O Messenger of God, that you allowed in the one case what you prohibited in the other." He replied: "The one was a young man, and I was afraid of the fire of his youth; the other was an old man, and I did not apprehend any danger for him.") But those who take to the _outer_ conduct without having reached the _inner_ stage, court their own ruin. Such a stage must have the sanction of Divine Authority.

A time comes to the Master of the Heart, when all His limbs become [as sacred as] the Heart. No part of his body, _e. g._, a nail or a hair, should be cast aside, as it partakes of the sanctity of the Heart. The broken hairs of the Prophet were divided by His companions as a precious gift amongst themselves.... Hence arose the practice of sharing among disciples the pieces of the teacher's worn-out mantle. The practice is a mere sham if the teacher is not a Master.

He who has completed the Turning and reached the Heart, is a Master. Only such a one is entitled to the honour of a leader,--not one who is below this stage.

_Question_:--How to distinguish the real Master from a mere pretender?

_Answer_:--The _true_ Seeker has an _inner_ eye enabling him to recognise a real Master. He would not be attracted to a pretender. Dost thou not behold that if different kinds of animals flock together, and different kinds of food be placed before them, each will fall to on his own appropriate food and turn away from what is meant for others?...

The true Seeker also is known as _such_, as his inner eye opens to the vision of the Master, and he receives the nourishment suited to his aspiration. The Master begins to work on him. He is [as one] dead, and the Master gives him a wash[14], purifying him of all undesirable elements. This purification completes the Turning. Then he begins his journey on the Divine Path--which is called the Pilgrimage.

[14] This refers to the practice of washing the dead body before burial or cremation.--_Trs._

This is not devotion as ordinarily understood (_i. e._ prayer, fast, almsgiving, etc.). Allegiance to a Master is in itself Devotion; progress on the Path is its fruit. A brief prayer, a day's fast, or a simple charity, performed or given in obedience to a Master's direction, are more beneficial than long protracted prayers, or splendid gifts, performed or given in response to the call of the desire-nature.

As a qualification for the Path, seek to get rid of old habits. But it is not possible to get rid of old habits and purify the dross without the service of a Master, since He alone can, by His Knowledge, gradually drive out the host of the evil elements, and help one towards the realisation of "There is no God save =Allâh=."

Continue thy seeking till _the_ Seeking unveils Itself, and destroys thy self in Thee. Henceforth the Disciple has nothing to do: the Seeking will Itself lead him on.

So long as thou seekest any but the Beloved, no Seeker art thou. How then canst thou be wholly His? By wholly turning to Him. He can afford to have thousands of friends, for He can reach all alike. The Sun is with all--east and west, Hindu and Turk--for His range is unlimited. But _thou_ art limited in capacity, and canst not feel the warmth of His rays unless thou wholly expose thyself to Him. All the worlds are benefited by Him, yet He does not lose in the least.

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Here one should guard against a possible misunderstanding. To love a thing as a _means_ does not interfere with the love for the _end_ or the _final_ object. Our foes even ought to be loved as connected with the Lord. This is not a division of love, but its perfection. Love is a peculiar state: friendship with foes is possible only here. =Abul Abbâs=--peace be on him--said to a party marching to war against the unbelievers, "Would I might lick the dust of the feet of the unbelievers whom ye would kill for His sake." The care of a scholar for pen and paper cannot be said to divert his attention from learning. The _real_ object of love ought to be only one (_i. e._ God), but loving others as subservient to the final object (_i. e._ Divine Love) is by no means harmful. If a man loves God, he must love the Prophets and the Masters--nay, if he ponders well, he must love _all_ as connected with Him. All the universe is His work and is certainly Himself. "Duality does not approach Thy Sanctuary: the whole world is Thyself and Thy Energy. The Universe is the shadow of Thy Presence; all is the result of Thy mighty Workmanship."

But if it be the Divine Will to put an end to a certain work of His, using thee as instrument, thou as a devotee must destroy it, and none should accuse thee of lack of respect for His work. This is a very high stage. If =Mohammad= and His blessed companions killed the unbelievers, they did so in obedience to the Divine Will. The lover has not to seek his own pleasure.--_Letter 66._

CONFIDENCE.

The =Sûfî= trusts in God. =Khwâjâ Yahiâ= observes: "He who does not trust God cannot receive Divine illumination." _Explanation_: God deals with a man according to his expectations. One who suspects Him cannot receive any light. Again, it is a friend who is trusted, and it is a foe who is suspected. Suspicion invites hostility; confidence, love.