ANDOVER-HARVARD LIBRARY LAH LDAS I HARVARD DEPOSITORY BRITTLE BOOK HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL Andoyer-Harvard Theological Library Jalal al-Din Rumi Maulana WISDOM OF THE EAST THE PERSIAN MYSTICS JALÁLU'D-DÍN RÚMÍ By F. HADLAND DAVIS AUTHOR OF “IN THE VALLEY OF STARS. THERE IS A TOWER OF SILENCE” 6 NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY 1908 ΤΟ Α. Τ. Κ. THIS LITTLE BOOK OF EASTERN WISDOM IS LOVINGLY INSCRIBED "OUR JOURNEY IS TO THE ROSE-GARDEN OF UNION". JALÁLU'D-Din RÚMI. CONTENTS PAGE RODUCTION . . . . INTRODUCTION . . . . . . 11 I. ORIGIN OF SÚFÍISM. . . . . 11 II. THE EARLY Súrís . . . . . 14 III. THE NATURE OF SÚFiism. . IV. THE INFLUENCE OF SÚFÍISM V. ANALYSIS OF THE RELIGION OF LOVE . . 31 THE LIFE AND WORK OF JALÁLU'D-Dín Rúmí 34 I. LIFE . . . II. SHAMSI TABRIZ . . 36 III. THE STORIES OF AL-AFLĀKÍ AND THE DEATH : . OF JALÁLU'D-Din Rúmí. · · · 38 IV. THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF JALÁLU'D- Din RÚMi's POETRY . . . . 40 . . : : iz : : : 34 SELECTIONS FROM THE“ DĪVĀNI SHAMSI TABRĪZ” 44 SELECTIONS FROM THE “MASNAVI” . . 68 APPENDIX : A NOTE ON PERSIAN POETRY.101 EDITORIAL NOTE THE object of the editors of this series is a 1 very definite one. They desire above all things that, in their humble way, these books shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between East and West, the old world of Thought, and the new of Action. In this endeavour, and in their own sphere, they are but followers of the highest example in the land. They are confident that a deeper know- ledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental, thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour. Finally, in thanking press and public for the very cordial reception given to the “Wisdom of the East" series, they wish to state that no pains have been spared to secure the best specialists for the treatment of the various subjects at hand. L. CRANMER-BYNG. S. A. KAPADIA, 4, HARCOURT BUILDINGS, INNER TEMPLE, LONDON. INTRODUCTION I. THE ORIGIN OF SÚFÍISM AMONG the Mohammedans Súfíism, or Persian A mysticism, is known as tasawwuf. The word Súfí is derived from súf, meaning “ wool.” When a little Persian sect at the end of the eighth century A.D. broke away from the orthodox Muslim religion, and struck out on an independent path, they ignored costly robes and worldly ostentation, and clad themselves in a white wool garment. Hence they were known as “ wool wearers,” or Súfís. Prof. Edward G. Browne * gives four theories in regard to the origin of Súfíism, viz. : (1) Eso- teric Doctrine of the Prophet. (2) Reaction of the Aryan mind against a Semitic religion. (3) Neo-Platonist influence. (4) Independent origin. Neither of the four theories altogether satisfies the learned professor, and very certain it is * A Literary History of Persia, vol. i. 11 12 NEO-PLATONISM the Pernded a scho probable, tb leave thoot forbade that the last-mentioned theory is of very little account. Prof. Browne seems in favour of a “ spontaneous growth " existing in various forms, under various names throughout the civilised world; but after all this is not very tangible evidence. Moreover, we must bear in mind that the Neo-Platonist philosophers paid a visit to the Persian court in the sixth century A.D., and founded a school there in the reign of Nushír- wán. It is highly probable, therefore, that these seven philosophers, forced to leave their homes through the tyranny of Justinian, who forbade the teaching of philosophy at Athens, should have had considerable influence upon a few of the more thoughtful Persians. We shall now find that this theory is borne out by internal evidence. Let us briefly study the tenets of Neo-Platon- ism. The Neo-Platonists believed in the Supreme Good as the Source of all things. Self-existent, it generated from itself. Creation was the reflection of its own Being. Nature, therefore, was permeated with God. Matter was essenti- ally non-existent, a temporary and ever-moving shadow for the embodiment of the Divine. The Neo-Platonists believed that by ecstasy and contemplation of the All-Good, man would rise to that Source from whence he came. These points bear directly upon the Súfí teaching. They form a broad outline of the tenets of NEO-PLATONISM AND SÚFÍISM 13 Súfíism. The Súfís, from temperamental and other causes, elaborated these ideas, gave them a rich and beautiful setting, and, what is all- important, built about them one of the most interesting phases of mystical poetry the world has ever known, and this particular phase may be said to date from the twelfth century A.D. Thus, I think, it will be readily admitted that the Súfis certainly owed something to the Neo- Platonists. The cry for the Beloved was in their hearts before the Greek philosophers came; but Neo-Platonism appealed to their Oriental minds. It was a stepping-stone across the river of their particular spiritual tendencies, and they trod thereon, and proceeded to lay down other stones across the stream. I have pointed out the similarities between this particular Greek and Persian belief. There was, however, one very important difference. The Neo-Platonist's conception of God was purely abstract, the Súfí's essentially personal, as far as the early Súfís were concerned. We shall consider other in- fluences which were brought to bear upon Súfíism a little later on. There is a very great difference between the early Súfíism and the elaborate additions that followed as an evolutionary matter of course. In brief, then, Neo-Platonism was the doctrine of Ecstasy. A quotation from the letter of Plotinus to Flaccus on Ecstasy will still further 14 THE EARLY SÚFÍS show the similarities between this Greek and Persian teaching : “The wise man recognises the idea of the Good within him. This he develops by with- drawal into the Holy Place of his own soul. He who does not understand how the soul contains the Beautiful within itself, seeks to realise beauty without, by laborious production. His aim should rather be to concentrate and simplify, and so to expand his being ; instead of going out into the Manifold, to forsake it for the One, and so to float upwards towards the Divine Fount of Being whose stream flows within him.” This is Súfíism in prose. The Súfís turned the same conception into poetry. II. THE EARLY SÚFÍS. ABÓ HASHÍM (ob. 150 A.H.) was the first to bear the name of Súfi, while Dhu'l-Nún-al-Misri (245 A.H.) may be said to have given Súfíism its permanent shape. Rābi’a, of Basra, was the first woman to join the sect, and her saintliness and wise sayings have been preserved by Farídu'd- Dín ’Attár. One day a great sickness fell upon Rābi'a, and on being asked the reason for it she replied: “I dwelt upon the joys of Paradise and therefore my Beloved has chastened me." RĀBI’A 15 Rābi'a did not believe in earthly marriage. Her remark on the subject is given as follows : “ The bonds of wedlock have descended upon me. I am not my own, but my Lord's, and must not be unfaithful to Him." 'Attár also informs us that when Rābi'a was asked if she hated the devil, she replied : “My love to God leaves me no time to hate him.” Rābi’a was a woman of much independence of thought, ethical rather than metaphysical in her remarks, and strongly opposed to outward ceremonials. She is said to have died at Jerusalem, 753 A.D. It was at Ramla, in Palestine, that a Christian nobleman built a convent (Khāngāh) for the Súfís. Thus in the early days the sect defied their Prophet's condemnation of monkery by building an abode for members of the order. The Súfís were strongly opposed to the idea of free-will or distinct and self-existent personality apart from the Beloved. The orthodox Muslim's idea was precisely the reverse. The Súfís have always made the Koran their text-book. With infinite licence they ingeniously quote therefrom, and still more ingeniously add their own explanations when necessary. No doubt there were political reasons for adopting this method of concealing heterodox ideas under the cloak of orthodoxy. We shall see, however, as the sect grew and still further broadened its views, that these clever compromises did not prevent the appear- 16 BAYÁZÍD primezid and Mne saint Bagook of the ance of martyrs among their number in the future. By the end of the second century of the Hijira the Súfís were a much-respected religious order. In the following century Quietism had not only changed to Pantheism, but Pantheism had kindled a belief that Beloved and lover were identical. The step was inevitable and at this juncture it was that Súfíism became essentially mystical, and it became more mystical as years advanced. About this time, viz., the beginning of the third century A.H., we come across two interesting Súfís who seem to have been the prime movers in this new development, by name Bayázíd and Mansur al-Halláj. * Concerning the saint Bayázíd an interesting story is told in the Fourth Book of the Masnavi. The saint surprised his disciples one day by saying: “Lo, I myself am God Almighty. There is no God beside me; worship me!” The disciples, thinking their Master was beside himself, told him, when the strange ecstasy had passed, what he had said. Bayázíd promptly replied: “If I do so again straightway slay me !" His disciples accordingly sharpened their knives. Once more Bayázíd cried out : “ Within my vesture is naught but God, whether you seek Him on earth or heaven.” The disciples, horror- struck at his remarks, straightway plunged their knives into Bayázíd's body. But their blades omallaj. 18 MANSUR AL-HALLÁJ saw the celebrated Rope Trick, on that occasion performed by a woman, a point of considerable interest.* This mystic-adventurer wrote forty- six books, and certainly gained considerable influence over the lower classes by his many signs and wonders. He is said to have disputed the necessity of making a pilgrimage to Mecca by stating that by occult practices it could be performed equally well in any room. On a certain occasion, however, we cannot help but admire Al-Halláj's wit and aptitude. One day he stretched forth an empty hand and produced from the air an apple, which he asserted he had plucked from Paradise. One of his witnesses disputed his assertion, because this particular apple was maggot-eaten, and therefore not of Divine origin. Al-Halláj at once replied : “ It is because it hath come forth from the Mansion of Eternity to the Abode of Decay : there- fore to its heart hath corruption found its way!” Al-Halláj, on account of his various heretical teachings, was imprisoned and subjected to all manner of cruelties. Bravely he went forth to the place of crucifixion. For four days he was nailed on a cross on both sides of the Tigris. From these tortures he was finally released. Ten years later he was executed, telling his disciples * “ Among the Adepts and Mystics of Hindostan.” The Occult Review, December, 1905. waxi-Halláj, as impriso Bravely or four da Tigris. TWO EARLY MYSTICS 19 he would return to them in thirty days, and exultantly reciting poetry, he cried : “From His own cup He bade me sup, for such is hospi- tality !” A comment of his on Súfíism-a very ironical one-was: “ That which is mine, for by God I never distinguished for a moment between pleasure and pain ! " Yet another characteristic saying of his was: “The way to God is two steps : one step out of this world and one step out of the next world, and lo! you are there with the Lord !” Whatever were the faults of Al-Halláj, and they were many, at least it may be said of him that he was a brave man. With all his fanaticism, his absurd indis- cretion and love of conjuring, he left much behind of permanent value to the Súfís. The Government, in those days, did all in its power to restrain the publicity of his books; but a light that was never for a moment set under a bushel cannot be hid; the very attempt to obliterate it is in itself the cause for a keener and more persistent search. In the fifth century of the Hijira we may note Abu-l-Khair as the first to give Súfíism politic significance, and Imān Ghazāli as the first to give it a metaphysical basis. At this time we find in Súfí books many terms borrowed from the Neo-Platonists. Books on ethics, as well as poetry, now became impregnated with Súfí ideas. 22 JÁMÍ and His significance and relationship to His world of lovers : No mirror to reflect Its loveliness, Nor comb to touch Its locks; the morning breeze Ne'er stirred Its tresses ; no collyrium Lent lustre to Its eyes ; no rosy cheeks O'ershadowed by dark curls like hyacinth, Nor peach-like down were there. ... To Itself it sang of love In wordless measure. By Itself it cast The die of love. ... One gleam fell from It on the Universe And on the angels, and this single ray Dazzled the angels, till their senses whirled Like the revolving sky. In diverse forms Each mirror showed it forth, and everywhere Its praise was chanted in new harmonies. The spirits who explore the depths Of boundless seas, wherein the heavens swim Like some small boat, cried with one mighty voice, “ Praise to the Lord of all the universe !" His beauty everywhere doth show itself, And through the forms of earthly beauties shines Obscured as through a veil. ... Where'er thou seest a veil, Beneath that veil He hides. Whatever heart Doth yield to love, He charms it. In His love The heart hath life. Longing for Him, the soul Hath victory. * Man was, therefore, a part of God, because he was a fragment of the Whole; or, better still, he * Translation by Professor E. G. Browne. 24 THE MEANING OF SÚFÍ WORDS should find it difficult not to apply such names, such ideas even in their love of the One Beloved ? Take those expressions literally and many of them are sensuous, but consider them as brave, strong strivings, fraught with much spiritual fervour, after God, and you at once annihilate prejudice and come very near understanding the meaning of Súfíism. We need not fly to Mrs. Grundy and seek shelter under her hypocritical wing when some really devout and sincere Súfí calls God “ the Eternal Darling" or sings about the Beloved's curls. In studying Súfíism from Súfí poetry we must always remember that Eastern poetry is essentially erotic in expression, but just as essentially symbolic in meaning. We must also bear in mind-and this point must have had its influence upon Súfíism—that the Muslim's reward for having lived a good life, according to the teaching of Mohammed, was that he should enjoy an eternal liason with lovely houris. It may be questioned that if the earthly object of Love was a mere passing shadow of God, the man who loved that object was equally insignificant. And again, how can God be the All-One when, according to the Súfí thesis, He divided Himself into creation. The part is not equal to the whole. These questions are easily answered. The stars shine in the sky, and on the bosom of the sea without diminution. we had its influor having live hammed THE GERMAN MYSTICS 29 and Suso. Concerning the last mentioned I may quote the following passage to demonstrate my meaning : “ Earthly friends must needs endure to be distinct and separate from those whom they love; but Thou, O fathomless sweetness of all true love, meltest into the heart of Thy beloved, and pourest Thyself fully into the essence of his soul, that nothing of Thee remains outside, but Thou art joined and united most lovingly with Thy beloved." There was rap- turous language both with the Persian and German mystics. The great difference between them was that the German mystics, for the most part, were ascetics, the Persians were not. Then again in the nineteenth century Hegel was loud in his praise of Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí, calling him a great thinker as well as a great poet, but some- # how he seems to put Jalál's Pantheism first, :- his Mysticism second. Surely this was putting the cart before the horse ? To trace the scope of the influence of Súfí thought in England would be extremely inte- resting, but the limits of this little book will not admit of our doing so. The influence was at first among the few; but optimistic lovers of the East believe that Oriental thought is daily becoming of more interest to Western minds. The student knows that Edward FitzGerald's rendering of Omar Khayyam was anything but a faithful translation; that FitzGerald shook ?! * 30 OMAR KHAYYÁM up Omar's words like so many dice and set them to the music of wine, roses, and pessimism. The Omar Khayyam Club read FitzGerald, but not Omar Khayyam, and in consequence they have fallen into the error of associating Omar with Bacchus. But, nevertheless, we must be grate- ful to FitzGerald. He has given us a great poem, and stirred, let us hope, many of his countless readers to a more faithful study of Persian poetry. The indefatigable Dr. Johnson has written the following on the Persian poet, who is the subject of our present volume : “ He makes plain to the Pilgrim the secrets of the Way of Unity, and unveils the Mysteries of the Path of Eternal Truth.” Concerning our modern poets I have quoted elsewhere a few lines of Mr. Arthur Symons on a dancing dervish. Many of the late Thomas Lake Harris's poems are of a Súfí nature. In Mr. Stephen Phillip's beautiful poem “Marpessa," the following lines are full of Súfí mysticism : be the odern proces Arthuhe Late nature, arpessa. For they, Seeking that perfect face beyond the world, Approach in vision earthly semblances, And touch, and at the shadows flee away. It is interesting to note that at least one cele- brated Englishman adopted the Súfí teaching. I refer to Sir Richard Burton.* The Súfis believed * Life of Sir Richard Burton. 2 vols. By Thomas Wright. THE RELIGION OF LOVE 31 heart and soul in the beautiful lines of Cameons, the poet for whom Burton had so great an affec- tion : Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause. He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws. All other life is living death, a world where none but phantoms dwell; A breath, a wind, a sound, a voice, a tinkling of the camel- bell. V. ANALYSIS OF THE RELIGION OF LOVE Put away the tale of love that travellers tell ; Do thou serve God with all thy might. JALÁLU'D-Dín Rúmf. SÚFÍISM, then, is the religion of Love. Lafcadio Hearn tells us, in his inimitable way, that earthly love is brought about by the memories of in- numerable loves in the past, a host of the phantoms of you seeking in your momentary ego the joy of Love over again. Schopenhauer, with much pride, quotes Rochefoucauld as having said that “love may be compared to a ghost since it is something we talk about but have never seen.” Precisely ; but this is no antago- nistic statement, as Schopenhauer supposed. Rather than belittling the beauty of Love, it is an unconscious defence of a very great truth. 32 THE NATURE OF LOVE Love can only be compared with Love. There is nothing else to compare it with. No one has seen Love, because no one has seen God. A little child plays at funerals and tenderly buries a dead butterfly, not because it understands the mystery of Death, but because Love prompted the action. And so we love without knowing the why and the wherefore. Scientists have already proved that first love is not controlled by either of the individuals loving; that it is but the expression of thousands of tendencies in past lives. That Love can be ever personal, ever limited to the individual, is unthinkable. We must recognise some day that those countless tendencies, those strivings after men and women seeming to hold our souls' affinities, were but the momentary finding of God in His creatures. We do not love a woman merely because she is pretty, possesses a pleasing mannerism. We love her because, in an indescribable way, she sings a song we alone can fully understand, a voice that lifts up our soul and makes it strong. We follow that Invisible Figure from land to land, from heart to heart, from Death into Life, on and on. When Love loves Love for its own sake, when the self is dead, we shall meet Him. We shall find the Beloved to be the Perfection, the realisa- tion of that strong desire that made us lose our- selves in others. The more we lose ourselves in God the more we find Him. Men and women THE DIVINE ESSENCE 33 love and die. But Love is a Divine Essence working through and through innumerable lives for its own eternal glory. Personality is limited only to the finite world—perhaps a phase or two beyond the grave. Even that is the sum- total of countless so-called personalities in the past. We love instinctively. If it was wholly physical then it dies with the death of the object. If it was infinitely more than that, if it was the love of Goodness and Purity and the Beautiful it lives on for ever. But these things live not eternally in humanity. They are parts of that all-pervading Essence—the Love Divine. Love God's light in men and women, and not the lanterns through which It shines, for human bodies must turn to dust; human memories, human desires, fade away. But the love of the All-Good, All-Beautiful remains, and when such is found in earthly love it is God finding Himself in you, and you in Him. That is the supreme teaching of Súfíism, the religion of Love. JALAL ON MUSIC AND DANCE 35 “the Roman.” Young Jalál must have been a child prodigy if we are to believe the many wonderful stories of his early days. At six years of age he is said to have seen visions, taught his playmates philosophy, and performed many marvellous feats, such as flying into the celestial regions. On the death of his father Jalál took the professorial chair. He also founded an order of Dervishes known as Maulavis, where he authorised music and religious dance. When asked why he introduced singing and dance at a funeral, such practice being contrary to custom, Jalál replied: “When the human spirit, after years of imprisonment in the cage and dungeon of the body, is at length set free, and wings its flight to the Source whence it came, is not this an occasion for rejoicings, thanks, and dancing ?” Jalál was an indomit- able optimist. In his sayings, and still more in his poetry, we find an almost untrammelled ecstasy. The religious dances, known as Rizā Kulī, may in some way account for Jalál's occasional lack of care displayed in his poetry, insanity. We are informed by Daulat Sháh that “ There was a pillar in the Maulavi's house, and when he was drowned in the ocean of Love he used to take hold of that pillar and set himself turning round it.” It was while turning round the pillar that he not infrequently dictated much 36 THE POET'S MARRIAGE of his poetry. As Mr. Arthur Symons has sung : I turn until my sense, Dizzied with waves of air, Spins to a point intense, And spires and centres there. * We can well imagine Jalál writing the following under the conditions just mentioned : Come ! Come! Thou art the Soul, the Soul so dear, revolving! Come ! Come! Thou art the Cedar, the Cedar's Spear, revolving! Oh, come! The well of Light up-bubbling springs ; And Morning Stars exult, in Gladness sheer, revolving !” † In 1226 A.D. Jalál was married at Lerenda to Gevher (Pearl). She bore two sons and died early in life. Jalál married again and his second wife survived him. II. SHAMSI TABRĪZ A WORD must now be said about Shamsi Tabriz, an intimate friend of Jalál. We have sufficient evidence to prove that Shamsi Tabriz, Jalál's * The Fool of the World. † The Festival of Spring. Translated by the Rev. Prof. William Hastie. .. SHAMSI TABRİZ 37 nom de guerre, was an actual person, and not a mythical creation on the part of the poet. This mysterious being, who flitted across Jalál's life so tragically, seems to have had great personal influence over the poet, who went with him into solitary places and there discussed profound mysteries. The scholars of Jalál looked upon the whole affair as an unworthy infatuation on the part of their Master, and on the part of Shams a shameful seduction. Their protests brought about the flight of Shams, who fled to Tabriz. But it was only a momentary separa- tion. Jalál followed this strange figure and brought him back again. Most of his lighter poetry was composed during this separation. Another disturbance, however, caused the de- parture of Shams to Damascus. We then have no clear record of him. Various legends exist in regard to the death of this mysterious person. It may be safely stated, however, that Shams met with a violent death, the exact nature of which it is impossible to say definitely. This strange union is by no means unique in the history of the world's literature. The union, however, in this particular case, is extremely difficult to rightly fathom. We may reasonably infer that Jalál's intense poetic temperament became fascinated by the dogmatic and powerful Shams. The very treatment of this friendship, both in the Lyrical Poems, and in the Masnavi, 38 THE STORIES OF AL-AFLAKI is Súfi. The two following quotatic ns, from many that might be cited, will prove sufficient to illustrate this point : The face of Shamsi Din, Tabriz's glory, is the sun In whose track the cloud-like hearts are moving. O Shamsi Tabriz, beauty and glory of the horizons, What king but is a beggar of thee with heart and soul ? III. THE STORIES OF AL-AFLÁKÍ AND THE DEATH OF JALÁLU'D-Din RÚMÍ.* THE historian al-Afláki, in his collection of anec- dotes called Menaqibu 'L 'Arifin, † gives a number of stories relating to the miracles and wise sayings of Jalál. Many of these miraculous performances were followed by the conversion of those who witnessed them. A marvel or a wise saying of Jalál was generally accompanied by music and dance, which reminds us of the jubilations of the Indian gods after Rama's victories over his enemies. These stories, interesting enough in themselves, can scarcely be credited to such a learned man as Jalál undoubtedly was. Accord- ing to tradition he spoke to frogs and fishes, raised the dead to life, and at the same time * See The Masnavi. Translated by Sir James W. Red- house. † “ The Acts of the Adopts." THE KEY-NOTE TO THE “MASNAVI” 43 with the Beloved. The fact that he, and all other Súfí poets, use as an analogy the love between man and woman renders the spiritual meaning extremely vague. We have, however, already considered this point in the introduction, and it needs no further explanation. The Masnavi has all the pantheistic beauty of the Psalms, the music of the hills, the colour and scent of roses, the swaying of forests; but it has con- siderably more than that. These things of scent and form and colour are the Mirror of the Be- loved; these earthy loves the journey down the valley into the Rose-Garden where the roses never fade, and where Love is. SELECTIONS FROM THE “DIVANI SHAMSI TABRIZ” “I AM SILENT” I am silent. Speak Thou, O Soul of Soul of Soul, From desire of whose Face every atom grew articulate. A CRY TO THE BELOVED Yestereve I delivered to a star tidings for thee : “ Present,” I said, “my service to that moon- like form.” I bowed, I said : “ Bear that service to the sun Who maketh hard rocks gold by his burning.” I bared my breast, I showed it the wounds : “Give news of me,” I said, “to the Beloved whose drink is blood.” I rocked to and fro that the child, my heart, might become still ; A child sleeps when one sways the cradle. 44 THE DIVINE CONSOLER 47 The dark body resembles a raven, and the body's world winter ; O in spite of these two unpleasants may there be Eternal Spring ! THE BELOVED THE DIVINE CONSOLER THE BELOVED THE DIVINE CONSOLER 0 Thou who art my soul's comfort in the season of sorrow, 0 Thou who art my spirit's treasure in the bitterness of dearth ! That which the imagination has not conceived, that which the understanding has not seen, Visited my soul from Thee; hence in worship I turn toward Thee. By Thy grace I keep fixed on Eternity my amorous gaze, Except, O King, the pomps that perish lead me astray. The favour of that one, who brings glad tidings of Thee, Even without Thy summons, is sweeter in mine ear than songs. If a never-ceasing bounty should offer kingdoms, If a hidden treasure should set before me all that is, I would bend down my soul, I would lay my face in the dust, 48 THE SOUL OF THE WORLD I would say, “ Of all these the love of such an One for me!” “ THOU ART THE SOUL OF THE WORLD”. Eternal Life, methinks, is the time of Union, Because Time, for me, hath no place There." Life is the vessels, Union the clear draught in them; Without Thee what does the pain of the vessels avail me ? I had twenty thousand desires ere this ; In passion for Him not even (care of) my safety remained. By the help of His grace I am become safe, because The unseen King saith to me, “ Thou art the soul of the world.” “THE VOICE OF LOVE " Every moment the voice of Love is coming from left and right. We are bound for heaven : who has a mind to sight-seeing ? We have been in heaven, we have been friends of the angels ; Thither, Sire, let us return, for that is our country. THE SEA OF LOVE 49 THE SEA OF LOVE Mankind, like waterfowl, are sprung from the sea—the Sea of Soul ; Risen from that Sea, why should the bird make here his home ? Nay, we are pearls in that Sea, therein we all abide ; Else, why does wave follow wave from the Sea of Soul ? 'Tis the time of Union's attainment, 'tis the time of Eternity's beauty, 'Tis the time of favour and largesse, 'tis the Ocean of perfect purity. The billow of largesse hath appeared, the thunder of the Sea hath arrived, The morn of blessedness hath dawned. Morn ? No, 'tis the Light of God. THE BEAUTY OF THE BELOVED O Beloved, spiritual beauty is very fair and glorious, But Thine own beauty and loveliness is another thing. O Thou who art years describing Spirit, Show one quality that is equal to His Essence. Light waxes in the eye at the imagination of Him, But in presence of His Union it is dimmed. 50 ETERNAL LIFE I stand open-mouthed in veneration of that beauty : “God is most great ” is on my heart's lips every moment. The heart hath gotten an eye constant in desire of Thee. O how that desire feeds heart and eye! 'Tis slave-caressing Thy Love has practised; Else, where is the heart worthy of that Love? Every heart that has slept one night in Thy air Is like radiant day. THE WATER OF ETERNAL LIFE Every form you see has its archetype in the place- less world ; If the form perished, no matter, since its Original is everlasting. Every fair shape you have seen, every deep saying you have heard, Be not cast down that it perished; for that is not so. Whereas the Spring-head is undying, its branch gives water continually ; Since neither can cease, why are you lamenting ? Conceive the Soul as a fountain, and these created things as rivers : While the Fountain flows, the rivers run from it. THE MOON-SOUL AND THE SEA 53 I went to the idol-temple, to the ancient pagoda ; No trace was visible there. I went to the mountains of Herāt and Candahår ; I looked ; He was not in that hill-and-dale. I gazed into my own heart; There I saw Him ; He was nowhere else. GOD ONLY “ None but God has contemplated the beauty of God.” This eye and that lamp are two lights, each individual, When they came together, no one distinguished them. THE MOON-SOUL AND THE SEA At morning-tide a moon appeared in the sky, And descended from the sky and gazed on me. Like a falcon which snatches a bird at the time of hunting, That moon snatched me up and coursed over the sky. When I looked at myself, I saw myself no more, Because in that moon my body became by grace even as soul. 58 THE DIVINE JOURNEY THE JOURNEY TO THE BELOVED O lovers, O lovers, it is time to abandon the world : The drum of departure reaches my spiritual ear from heaven. Behold, the driver has risen and made ready his files of camels, And begged us to acquit him of blame : why, O travellers, are you asleep? These sounds before and behind are the din of departure and of the camel-bells; With each moment a soul and spirit is setting off into the Void. From these inverted candles, from these blue awnings There has come forth a wondrous people, that the mysteries may be revealed. A heavy slumber fell upon thee from the circling spheres : Alas, for this life so light, beware of this slumber so heavy! O soul, seek the Beloved, 0 friend, seek the Friend, O watchman, be wakeful : it behoves not a watchman to sleep. THE DAY OF RESURRECTION On every side is clamour and tumult, in every street are candles and torches, THE RETURN OF THE BELOVED 59 For to-night the teeming world gives birth to the World Everlasting. Thou wert dust and art spirit, thou wert ignorant and art wise. He who has led thee thus far will lead thee further also. How pleasant are the pains He makes thee suffer while He gently draws thee to Himself ! THE RETURN OF THE BELOVED Always at night returns the Beloved : do not eat opium to-night ; Close your mouth against food, that you may taste the sweetness of the mouth. Lo, the cup-bearer is no tyrant, and in his as- sembly there is a circle : Come into the circle, be seated; how long will you regard the revolution (of Time) ? · Why, when God's earth is so wide, have you fallen asleep in a prison ? Avoid entangled thoughts, that you may see the explanation of Paradise. Refrain from speaking, that you may win speech hereafter. x Abandon life and the world, that you may behold the Life of the world. SILENCE Seek bliss in both worlds by serving Him, Put away the tale of Love that travellers tell ; Do thou serve God with all thy might. "BE SILENT” Be silent that the Lord who gave thee language may speak, For as He fashioned a door and lock, He has also made a key. “THOU DIDST GO TO THE ROSE-GARDEN” At last thou hast departed and gone to the Unseen ; 'Tis marvellous by what way thou wentest from the world. Thou didst strongly shake thy wings and feathers, and having broken thy cage Didst take to the air and journey towards the world of Soul. Thou wert a favourite falcon, kept in captivity by an old woman : When thou 'heard'st the falcon-drum thou didst fly away into the Void. Thou wert a love-lorn nightingale among owls : The scent of the Rose-Garden reached thee, and thou didst go to the Rose-Garden. LOVE'S MIGHTY ARM 63 “HE COMES" He comes, a moon whose like the sky ne'er saw, awake or dreaming, Crowned with Eternal Flame no flood can lay. Lo, from the flagon of Thy Love, O Lord, my soul is swimming, And ruined all my body's house of clay ! When first the Giver of the grape my lonely heart befriended, Wine fired my bosom and my veins filled up, But when His image all mine eye possessed, a voice descended : “Well done, O sovereign Wine and peerless Cup!” Love's mighty arm from roof to base each dark abode is hewing Where chinks reluctant catch a golden ray. My heart, when Love's sea of a sudden burst into its viewing, Leaped headlong in, with “ Find me now who may !” “ THE ROAD BE THINE TOWARDS THE SHRINE” O honoured guest in Love's high feast, o bird of the angel-sphere, "Tis cause to weep, if thou wilt keep thy habita- tion here. 64 TOWARD THE SHRINE A voice at morn to thee is borne-God whispers to the soul- “ If on the way the dust thou lay, thou soon wilt gain the goal.” The road be thine toward the Shrine ! and lo, in bush and briar, The many slain of Love and pain in flower of young desire, Who on the track fell wounded back and saw not, ere the end, A ray of bliss, a touch, a kiss, a token of the Friend ! THY ROSE Our Sweetnesses all blent in Thee, Give infant lips their smiles benign. Thou crushest me to drops of Rose Nor 'neath the press do I repine. In Thy sweet Pain is pain forgot ; For I, Thy Rose, had this design. Thou bad’st me blossom on Thy Robe, And mad'st me for all eyes Thy sign. And when Thou pour’st me on the world, It blows in beauty, all Divine. Por, Woot Poses prese drops opes benign “ I SAW THE WINTER WEAVING ” I saw the winter weaving from flakes a robe of Death ; GOD'S LIKENESS 65 And the spring found earth in mourning, all naked, lone, and bare. I heard Time's loom a-whirring that wove the Sun's dim Veil ; I saw a worm a-weaving in Life-threads its own lair. I saw the Great was Smallest, and saw the Smallest Great ; For God had set His likeness on all the things that were. “ LOVE SOUNDS THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES ” O, soul, if thou, too, wouldst be free, Then love the Love that shuts thee in. 'Tis Love that twisteth every snare; 'Tis Love that snaps the bond of sin ; Love sounds the Music of the Spheres ; Love echoes through Earth's harshest din. The world is God's pure mirror clear, To eyes when free from clouds within. With Love's own eyes the Mirror view, And there see God to self akin. “THE SOULS LOVE-MOVED ” The souls love-moved are circling on, Like streams to their great Ocean King. 66 THE BELOVED ALL IN ALL Thou art the Sun of all men's thoughts ; Thy kisses are the flowers of spring. The dawn is pale from yearning Love ; The moon in tears is sorrowing. Thou art the Rose, and deep for Thee, In sighs, the nightingales still sing. THE BELOVED ALL IN ALL My Soul sends up to Heaven each night the cry of Love ! God's starry Beauty draws with might the cry of Love ! Bright sun and moon each morn dance in my Heart at Dawn : And waking me at daylight, excite the cry of Love ! On every meadow glancing, I see God's sun- beams play ; And all Creation's wonders excite the cry of Love ! I, All in All becoming, now clear see God in All; And up from Union yearning, takes flight the cry of Love ! " THOU AND I" Happy the moment when we are seated in the Palace, thou and I, THE SILENCE OF LOVE 69 " WHEN THE ROSE HAS FADED” When the rose has faded and the garden is withered, The song of the nightingale is no longer to be heard. The BELOVED is all in all, the lover only veils Him; The BELOVED is all that lives, the lover a dead thing. When the lover feels no longer LOVE's quickening, He becomes like a bird who has lost its wings. Alas! How can I retain my senses about me, When the BELOVED shows not the Light of His countenance ? THE SILENCE OF LOVE Love is the astrolabe of God's mysteries. A lover may hanker after this love or that love, But at the last he is drawn to the KING of Love. However much we describe and explain Love, When we fall in love we are ashamed of our words. Explanation by the tongue makes most things clear, But Love unexplained is better. WOMAN EARTHLY LOVE ESSENTIAL TO THE LOVE DIVINE In one 'twas said, “ Leave power and weakness alone; Whatever withdraws thine eyes from God is an idol.” In one 'twas said, “Quench not thy earthy torch, That it may be a light to lighten mankind. If thou neglectest regard and care for it, Thou wilt quench at midnight the lamp of Union.' THE ETERNAL SPLENDOUR OF THE BELOVED Why dost Thou flee from the cries of us on earth ? Why pourest Thou sorrow on the heart of the sorrowful ? O Thou who, as each new morn dawns from the east, Art seen uprising anew, like a bright fountain ! What excuse makest Thou for Thy witcheries ? O Thou whose lips are sweeter than sugar, Thou that ever renewest the life of this old world, Hear the cry of this lifeless body and heart ! WOMAN Woman is a ray of God, not a mere mistress, The Creator's Self, as it were, not a mere creature ! 72 RESIGNATION True, the Gardener knows the difference in the autumn, But the sight of One is better than the world's sight. RESIGNATION THE WAY TO PERFECTION Whoso recognises and confesses his own defects Is hastening in the way that leads to Perfection ! But he advances not towards the Almighty Who fancies himself to be perfect. LOVE THE SOURCE OF LIGHT RATHER THAN VANISHING FORM Whatsoever is perceived by sense He annuls, But He stablishes that which is hidden from the senses. The lover's love is visible, his Beloved hidden. The Friend is absent, the distraction He causes present. Renounce these affections for outward forms, Love depends not on outward form or face. Whatever is beloved is not a mere empty form, Whether your beloved be of the earth or heaven. Whatever is the form you have fallen in love with- Why do you forsake it the moment life leaves it ? 74 A SWEET GARDEN O brother, the place of darkness and cold Is the fountain of Life and the cup of ecstasy. So also is endurance of pain and sickness and disease. For from abasement proceeds exaltation. The spring seasons are hidden in the autumns, And the autumns are charged with springs. SPIRIT GREATER THAN FORM If spiritual manifestations had been sufficient, The creation of the world had been needless and vain. If spiritual thought were equivalent to love of God, Outward forms of temples and prayers would not exist. THE BELOVED COMPARED T THE BELOVED COMPARED TO “ A SWEET GARDEN ” SWEET GARDEN “We bow down our heads before His edict and ordinance, We stake precious life to gain His favour. While the thought of the Beloved fills our hearts, All our work is to do Him service and spend life for Him. Wherever He kindles His destructive torch, Myriads of lovers' souls are burnt therewith. THE LOVE OF SOUL AND BODY 77 THE LOVE OF THE BELOVED No lover ever seeks union with his beloved, But his beloved is also seeking union with him. But the lover's love * makes his body lean, While the Beloved's love makes her fair and lusty. When in this heart the lightning spark of love arises, Be sure this Love is reciprocated in that heart. When the Love of God arises in thy heart, Without doubt God also feels love for thee. THE LOVE OF THE SOUL AND THE LOVE OF THE BODY The Love of the soul is for Life and the Living One, Because its origin is the Soul not bound to place. The Love of the soul is for wisdom and know- ledge, That of the body for houses, gardens, and vine- yards ; The love of the soul is for things exalted on high, That of the body for acquisition of goods and food. * Earthly love. HEART'S DESIRE The Love, too, of Him on high is directed to the soul : Know this, for “ He loves them that love Him." * The sum is this : that whoso seeks another, The soul of that other who is sought inclines to him. "O LOVE, LOVE, AND HEART'S DESIRE OF LOVE !” O Israfil of the resurrection-day of Love ! O Love, Love, and heart's desire of Love ! Let thy first boon to me be this : To lend thine ear to my orisons, Though thou knowest my condition clearly, O protector of slaves, listen to my speech. A thousand times, O prince incomparable, Has my reason taken flight in desire to see thee, And to hear thee and to listen to thy words, And to behold thy life-giving smiles. Thy inclining thine ear to my supplications Is as a caress to my misguided soul. DESTROY NOT EARTHLY BEAUTY : IT BEAUTIFIES THE SOUL Tear not thy plumage off, it cannot be replaced ; Disfigure not thy face in wantonness, O fair one! * Koran. 80 THE BEAUTY OF WOMEN But Iblis said, “Give me more, O blessed De- fender." God gave him succulent and sweet and costly wines, And also store of silken garments. But Iblis said, “ O Lord, I want more aids than these, In order to bind men in my twisted rope So firmly that Thy adorers, who are valiant men, May not, man-like, break my bonds asunder.” In others to bind me When at last God showed him the beauty of women, Which bereaves men of reason and self-control, Then Iblis clapped his hands and began to dance, Saying, “ Give me these ; I shall quickly prevail with these!” * “ LOVERS AND BELOVED HAVE BOTH PERISHED " Lovers and beloved have both perished ; And not themselves only, but their love as well. 'Tis God alone who agitates these nonentities, Making one nonentity fall in love with another. * The meaning of this poem is strictly allegorical. We must not infer that the All-Good would be a party to the evil designs of the Devil. No material gifts, however seduc- tive, could succeed in stamping out the Divine Presence in His creatures. 82 LOVE NEEDS NO MEDIATOR that what you really love is your own effusions and ecstatic raptures. I see, as it were, the water which I have longed for before me, and yet you withhold it. I am, as it were, in Bulgaria, and the object of your love is in Cathay. One who is really loved is the single object of her lover, the Alpha and Omega of his desires. As for you, you are wrapped up in your own amorous raptures, depending on the varying states of your own feelings, instead of being wrapped up in me.” “I AM THINE, AND THOU ART MINE !” Eternal Life is gained by utter abandonment of one's own life. When God appears to His ardent lover the lover is absorbed in Him, and not so much as a hair of the lover remains. True lovers are as shadows, and when the sun shines in glory the shadows vanish away. He is a true lover to God to whom God says, “I am thine, and thou art Mine ! ” LOVE NEEDS NO MEDIATOR When one has attained Union with God he has no need of intermediaries. Prophets and apostles are needed as links to connect ordinary man with God, but he who hears the “inner voice” within him has no need to listen to out- 84 THE BEATIFIC VISION “THE BEATIFIC VISION OF ETERNAL TRUTH " The end and object of all negation is to attain to subsequent affirmation, as the negation in the creed, “There is no God,” finds its comple- ment and purpose in the affirmation “but God.” Just so the purpose of negation of self is to clear the way for the apprehension of the fact that there is no existence but the One. The intoxication of Life and its pleasures and occupations veils the Truth from men's eyes, and they ought to pass on to the spiritual in- toxication which makes men beside themselves and lifts them to the beatific vision of eternal Truth. THE WINE EVERLASTING O babbler, while thy soul is drunk with mere date wine, Thy spirit hath not tasted the genuine grapes. For the token of thy having seen that divine Light Is this, to withdraw thyself from the house of pride. BE LOST IN THE BEAUTY OF THE BELOVED When those Egyptian women sacrificed their reason, They penetrated the mansion of Joseph's love ; THE KINGDOM THAT ENDURES NOT 85 The Cup-bearer of Life bore away their reason, They were filled with wisdom of the world with- out end. Joseph's beauty was only an offshoot of God's beauty : Be lost, then, in God's beauty more than those women. “WHAT EAR HAS TOLD YOU FALSELY" What ear has told you falsely eye will tell truly, Then ear, too, will acquire the properties of an eye; Your ears, now worthless as wool, will become gems ; Yea, your whole body will become a mirror, It will be as an eye of a bright gem in your bosom. First the hearing of the ear enables you to form ideas, Then these ideas guide you to the Beloved. Strive, then, to increase the number of these ideas, That they may guide you, like Majnun, to the Beloved. “THERE IS A PLACE OF REFUGE” Yea, O sleeping heart, know the kingdom that endures not For ever and ever is only a mere dream. 86 THE UNBELIEVER -- ... - I marvel how long you will indulge in vain illusion, Which has seized you by the throat like a heads- man. Know that even in this world there is a place of refuge ; Hearken not to the unbeliever who denies it. His argument is this : he says again and again, “ If there were aught beyond this life we should see it.” But if the child see not the state of reason, Does the man of reason therefore forsake reason ? And if the man of reason sees not the state of Love, Is the blessed moon of Love thereby eclipsed ? - - - - --- -- - - -- - ---- -- - - - - THE LOVER'S CRY TO THE BELOVED “My back is broken by the conflict of my thoughts ; O Beloved One, come and stroke my head in mercy! The palm of Thy hand on my head gives me rest, Thy hand is a sign of Thy bounteous provi- dence. Remove not Thy shadow from my head, I am afflicted, afflicted, afflicted ! THE DIVINE FOUNT 87 Sleep has deserted my eyes Through my longing for Thee, O Envy of cy- presses ! O take my life, Thou art the Source of Life! For apart from Thee I am wearied of my life. I am a lover well versed in lovers' madness, I am weary of learning and sense." SORROW TURNED TO JOY i “He who extracts the rose from the thorn Can also turn this winter into spring. He who exalts the heads of the cypresses Is able also out of sadness to bring joy." THE GIFTS OF THE BELOVED | Where will you find one more liberal than God ? He buys the worthless rubbish which is your wealth, He pays you the Light that illumines your heart. He accepts these frozen and lifeless bodies of yours, And gives you a Kingdom beyond what you dream of, He takes a few drops of your tears, And gives you the Divine Fount sweeter than sugar. THE DIVINE ABSORPTION 93 When man and woman become one, Thou art that One! When their union is dissolved, lo! Thou abidest ! Thou hast made these “ Us” and “Me" for this purpose, To wit, to play chess with them by Thyself. When Thou shalt become one entity with “ Us” and “You,” • Then wilt Thou show true affection for these lovers. When these “ We” and “Ye” shall all become One Soul, Then they will be lost and absorbed in the “ Beloved.” LOVE MORE THAN SORROW AND JOY Come then, O Lord ! Who art exalted above description and explana- tion ! Is it possible for the bodily eye to behold Thee ? Can mind of man conceive Thy frowns and Thy smiles ? Are hearts, when bewitched by Thy smiles and frowns, In a fit state to see the vision of Thyself ? When our hearts are bewitched by Thy smiles and frowns, Can we gain Life from these two alternating states ?