acquainted with that boundless pleasure which is far more worthy of the understanding than that which ariseth from the senses; depending upon which, the mind moveth not from its principles; which having obtained, he respecteth no other acquisition so great as it. It is to be obtained by resolution, by the man who knoweth his own mind. Wheresoever the unsteady mind roameth, he should subdue it, bring it back, and place it in his own breast. Supreme happiness attendeth the man whose mind is thus at peace. Endued with this devotion, and looking on all things alike, he beholdeth the supreme soul in all things and all things in the supreme soul. XCVI. Arabic. 1 Lit. Bird; future events. Fate Inward. Verily thy Lord is round about mankind. Read thy book: thou needest none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day. For his own good only shall the guided yield to guidance, and to his own loss only shall the erring err; and the heavy-laden shall not be laden with another's load. Not to any shall the gifts of thy Lord be denied. Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with just balance. Follow not that of which thou hast no knowledge. Speak kindly. To him who is of kin render his due, also to the poor and to the wayfarer: yet waste not. If ye do well, to your own behoof will ye do well and if ye do evil, against yourselves will ye do it. Guided indeed is he whom God guideth. And he whom God guideth shall have none to mislead him. Nothing hath been said to thee which hath not been said of old to apostles before thee. S. 18, 19. Thou shalt see every nation kneeling to its own book shall every nation be summoned. XCVII. S. 41. comp. Toleration. Persian. Bóstán. For a week Abraham would scarce break his fast for fear some hungry traveller might pass needing his sadi. store. Daily he looked out upon the desert, and on a comp. day he beheld the bent form of an aged man, his hair white as snow, tottering toward his door. 'Guest of mine eyes,' said Abraham, 'enter thou with welcome, and be pleased to share my bread and salt.' The stranger entered, and to him was given the place of honour. When the cloth was spread, and the family had gathered round the board, each uttered 'Bismillah' (In the name of God') save one: the aged guest uttered no word. Abraham said, 'Old man, is it not right when thou dost eat thy food to repeat the name of God?' The stranger said, 'My custom is that of the fire-worshipper.' Then Abraham arose in wrath, and drove the aged Geber from his house. Even as he did so a swift-winged spirit stood before the patri arch and said—‘Abraham! for a hundred years the divine bounty has flowed out in sunshine and rain, in bread and life, to this man: is it for thee to withhold thy hand from him because his worship is not thine?' Arabic. Moses cried, Where, O Lord, shall I find thee?' God said, 'Know that when thou hast sought, thou (D'Herb.) hast already found me.' One asked a Bedouin, 'How knowest thou that God exists?' He answered, 'Does the dawn then need a torch to be seen?' The Methnevi says, 'Supreme Being soars above thought and imagination: we are lost when we would comprehend or even suspect that which he is. How vain then to seek words worthy of that being! suffice us to adore in reverent silence.' Let it The Supreme Soul. XCIX. Persian. Soul of the Soul! Neither thought nor reason comprehend thy essence, and no one knows thy attri- Attar. butes. Souls have no idea of thy being. The prophets themselves sink in the dust of thy road. Although intellect exists by thee, has it yet ever found the path of thy existence? O thou who art in the interior and in the exterior of the soul! thou art and thou art not that which I say. In thy presence reason grows dizzy ; it loses the thread that would direct it in thy way. I perceive clearly the universe in thee, and yet discover thee not in the world. All beings are marked with thy impress, but thyself hast no impress visible; thou reservest the secret of thine existence. C. Hindu. (Wilson MS.) comp IIymn to Brahma. Thanks to thee, O Lord, whose form is unknown, who art the soul of all beings! Whose purposes are not understood, Whose appellations are not known, Thou art unchangeable, and nothing in this world Thou, in the form of sunbeams, preservest the world : Thanks to thee whose heart is full of wisdom, The visible, the invisible ! Hindu. Vishnu Purána. Delusion. CI. It is the ignorant who take for a God that which is not so. Men will boast of consciousness, and of (Wilson MS.) their right to a property. This is the delusion of those unacquainted with the great Good. comp. O Lord of all creatures! destroy the conceitedness of ignorant people who deem themselves learned! |