Mevlânâ — Mesnevî (tam, İngilizce çeviri)

replied that it was his divinely appointed lot, and that it would be impious to complain of the dispensations of Providence. He also instanced the case of the ass of a water- carrier, which, after having starved and worked hard in its master's service, by chance found admittance to the king's stables, where it was struck by the sleek appearance of the horses. But one day the horses were taken out to battle, and returned in a most miserable plight, some grievously wound- ed, and others dying. After seeing this sight it determined that its own hard life was preferable, and returned to its mas- ter. The fox replied that the ass was wrong in carrying pas- sive resignation to such an extent as to refuse to try to better his condition when the opportunity of doing so presented itself, because God says, "Go in quest of the bounties of God." He added, if the ass would come with him, he would take him to a delightful meadow, where he would never lack plenty of grass all the year round. The ass rejoined that the command to strive for sustenance was only issued on account of the weakness of man's faith. The fox replied that this exalted faith was only vouchsafed to a few great saints, because the Prophet describes contentment as a treasure, and treasure is not found by everyone. The ass rejoined that the fox was perverting the Scripture, as no pious man who trust- ed in God was ever forsaken. In illustration of this he told an anecdote of a devotee who determined to put the matter to the test, and went out into the desert, trusting only to God to supply his wants, and resolved to seek no aid of man, and not to exert himself in any way to gain food. He lay down on a stone and went to sleep; and God sent a caravan of trav- elers that way, who found him, and forced him to take food in spite of himself. The fox again pressed the ass to try to bet- ter his condition, saying that God had given men hands to use and not to do anything with. The ass answered that he knew of no occupation and exertion better than trust in God, as worldly occupations often lead to ruin, according to the text, "Throw not yourselves with your own hands into ruin." But though the ass repeated all these excellent pre- cepts, yet it was only so much cant on his part, because he was not firmly rooted in. the faith. He had all the time a car- nal hankering after the pleasant grazing-ground the fox told him of, and the objections he made were only a parrot-like repetition of precepts heard, but not thoroughly understood and taken to heart. To illustrate the worthless nature of mere imitated religion and profession divorced from practice, a story is told of an infamous fellow who used to carry a dag- ger to protect as he said, his honor, though his every action showed that he had neither honor to protect nor manliness to protect it. The ass, though like Abraham, he had broken his idols, had not a sufficiently rooted faith to leap, like Abraham, into the fire, and thus prove his faith. (Here the poet apologizes for the trivial illustrations he uses by citing the text, "Verily God is not ashamed to set forth as well the instance of a gnat as of any nobler object" ). Finally the ass yielded to the fox's enticement, and accompanied him to the

lion's lair. The lion, being famished with hunger, sprang upon him the moment he appeared. Being, however, weak with sickness and fasting, he missed his aim, and the ass escaped with a slight wound. Then the fox blamed the lion for his precipitation, and the lion, after excusing himself as best he could, persuaded the fox to try to allure the ass a sec- ond time into his lair. The fox consented to try, observing that experience would probably have been thrown away on an ass, and his vows of repentance forgotten. Those who lapse from repentance, in forgetfulness of their former expe- rience, may be compared to the Jews changed into apes and swine by 'Isa. The fox was received by the ass with many reproaches for having deceived him; but he at last managed to persuade the ass that what he had seen was not a real lion, but only a harmless talisman; and the silly ass allowed him- self to be again deluded, and forgot his vows of repentance, and again followed the fox to the lion's lair, where he speed- ily met his doom. Men who make professions of holiness merely from blind imitation of others are detected and confuted by the opposition between their words and their deeds. A man asked a camel, saying, "Ho! whence comest thou, Thou beast of auspicious footstep?" He replied, " From the hot bath of thy street." The man said, " That is proved false by thy dirty legs!" So, when stubborn Pharaoh saw Moses' staff a serpent, And begged for a delay (to fetch magicians) and relented, Wise men said, "He ought to have become harsher, If He really be, as He says, the Lord Supreme. What could miracles such as these of serpents, Or even dragons, matter to the majesty of His divinity? If He be really Lord Supreme, seated on His throne, What need has He to wheedle a worm like Moses?" 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. When a fowl flies to the salt water, It has never beheld the blessing of sweet water; But its faith is mere imitation of other fowl, And its soul has never seen the face of real faith. Wherefore the blind imitator encounters great perils, Perils of the road, of robbers, of cursed Satans. But when he has seen the light of God, he is safe From the agitation of doubt, and is firm in the faith. Till the foam has landed on the shore and dry land, Which is its home, it is ever tossed to and fro. 'Tis at home on the land, but a stranger on the water. While it remains a stranger, it must be tossed about. When its eyes are opened, and it sees the vision of land, Satan has no longer any domination over it. Although the ass repeated verities to the fox, He spoke them idly and in the way of cant. He praised the water, but was not eager to drink; He rent his garments and his hair, but was no real lover. The excuse of a hypocrite is rejected, not approved, Because it comes only from the lips, not from the heart. He has the scent of the apple, but not a piece of it, And the scent only for the purpose of misleading others. Thus a woman's onset in the midst of a battle array,

She keeps in line, and forms part of the battle array, Yet, though she looks a very lion as she stands in line, Her hand begins to tremble as soon as she takes a sword. Woe to him whose reason is like a woman While his lust is like a resolute man! Of a certainty his reason will be worsted in the fight, And his imitation of a man will only lead him to ruin. Happy is he whose reason is masculine, And his ugly lust feminine and under subjection! Though the mere imitator quotes a hundred proofs, They are all based on opinion, not on conviction. He is only scented with musk, he is not himself musk; He smells of musk, but is really naught but dung. For his dung to become musk, O disciple, He must graze year after year in the divine pasture. For he who, like the musk-deer, feeds on saffron of Khoten Must not eat grass and oats like asses. That man of cant has at his tongue's end A hundred proofs and precepts, but there is no life in him. When the preacher has himself no light or life, How can his words yield leaves and fruit? He impudently preaches to others to walk aright, While himself He is unsteady as a reed shaken by wind. Thus, though his preaching is very eloquent, It hides within it unsteadiness in the faith. In order to gain true wisdom man must shake off worldly illusions. The fox said, "In my pure wine there are no dregs; These vain suspicions are not becoming. All this is only baseless suspicion, O simple one, Else you would know I am not plotting against you. You repudiate me on account of your own bad fancies; Why do you thus suspect your true friends? Think well of the 'Brothers of purity,' Even though they show harshness toward you; For when evil suspicion takes hold of you, It severs you from hundreds of friends. If a tender friend treats you roughly to try you, 'Tis contrary to reason to distrust him. Though I bear a bad name, my nature is not malevolent; What you saw was not dangerous, it was only a talisman. But even if there were danger in that object of suspicion, Friends always pardon an offence." This world of illusions, fancies, desires, and fears, Is a mighty obstacle in the traveler's path. Thus, when these forms of delusive imaginations Misled Abraham, who was a very mountain of wisdom, He said of the star, " This is my Lord," Having fallen into the midst of the world of illusion. He thus interpreted the meaning of sun and stars, Yea, he, that great man who threaded jewels of interpreta- tion, Seeing then that this world of eye-fascinating illusion Seduced from the right path such a mountain as Abraham, So that he said of the star, "This is my Lord," What will not its illusions effect on a stupid ass? Human reason is drowned, like the high mountains, in the flood of illusion and vain imaginations. The very mountains are overwhelmed by this flood, Where is safety to be found save in Noahs ark? By illusions that plunder the road of faith The faithful have been split into seventy-two sects. But the man of conviction escapes illusion; He does not mistake his eyelash for the new moon. He who is divorced from 'Omar's light Is deceived by his own crooked eyelash. Thousands of ships, in all their majesty and pomp, Have gone to pieces in this sea of illusion.

Then follows an anecdote of Shaikh Muhammad of Ghazni, who was named "Sar i Razi," because he used to take only a vine-leaf to break his fast. He dwelt a long time in the desert, and was there miraculously preserved from death, and directed by divine intimation to proceed to Ghazni, and beg money of the rich and distribute it to the poor. After he had done this some time a second intimation came to him to beg no longer, as the money for his charities would be supplied to him miraculously. He at last attained to such a degree of spiritual insight that he knew the wants of those who came to him for aid before they uttered them. He said the reason of this preternatural discernment was, that he had purified his heart of all but the love of God, and thus, whenever thoughts of anything besides God occurred to his mind, he knew they did not appertain to him, but must have been in some way suggested to him by the per- son asking aid of him. Then follow some reflections on the power of fasting and abstinence to subdue the carnal lusts which lead man to destruction; and two short anecdotes to illustrate the thesis that God never fails to provide sustenance for those who take no thought for the morrow, but place absolute trust in Him. The fate of the ass then suggests to the poet another train of reflections. After the lion had slain the ass, he went to the river to quench his thirst, telling the fox to watch the dead body till he returned; but the moment the lion's back was turned the fox ate up the heart and liver, which are the dain- tiest parts. When the lion returned and inquired for them, the fox assured him that the ass had possessed neither a heart nor a liver, for if he had he would never have shown himself so stupid. Men without understanding are not real- ly men at all, but only simulacra or forms of men. For lack of understanding many will cry in the world to come, "Had we but hearkened or understood, we had not been among the dwellers in the flame" Then follows a story of a monk (Diogenes) who took a lantern and searched all through a bazaar crowded with men to find, as he said, a man. The monk's search for a man. The monk said, "I am searching everywhere for a man Who lives by the life of the breath of God." The other said, "Here are men; the bazaar is full; These are surely men, O enlightened sage!" The monk said, "I seek a man who walks straight As well in the road of anger as in that of lust. Where is one who shows himself a man in anger and lust? In search of such a one I run from street to street. If there be one who is a true man in these two states, I will yield up my life for him this day!" The other, who was a fatalist, said, "What you seek is rare. But you are ignorant of the force of the divine decree; You see the branches, but ignore the root. We men are but branches, God's eternal decree the root. That decree turns from its course the revolving sky, And makes foolish hundreds of planets like Mercury. It reduces to helplessness the world of devices; It turns steel and stone to water.

you who attribute stability to these steps on the road, You are one of the raw ones; yea, raw, raw! When you have seen the millstone turning round, Then, prithee, go and see the stream that turns it. When you have seen the dust rising up into the air, Go and mark the air in the midst of the dust. You see the kettles of thought boiling over, Look with intelligence at the fire beneath them. God said to Job, 'Out of my clemency 1 have given a grain of patience to every hair of thine.' Look not, then, so much at your own patience; After seeing patience, look to the Giver of patience. How long will you confine your view to the waterwheel? Lift up your head and view also the water." 6. Koran xxviii. 38. 7. A society at Basra, who wrote, about 980 AD., an encyclopedia of philosophy (trans, by Dieterici). 9. Alluding to the first anecdote in Book II. 10. Koran lxxvii. 10. STORY XL The Mosalman who tried to convert a Magian. A Mosalman pressed a Magian to embrace the true faith. The Magian replied, "If God wills it, no doubt I shall do so." The Mosalman replied, "God certainly wills it, that your soul may be saved from hell; but your own evil lusts and the Devil hold you back." The Magian retorted, using the arguments of the Jabriyan or "Compulsionists," that on earth God is sole sovereign, and that Satan and lust exist and act only in furtherance of God's will. To hold that God is pulling men one way and Satan another is to derogate from God's sovereignty. Man cannot help moving in the direction he is most strongly impelled to go; if he is impelled wrongly he is no more to blame than a building designed for a mosque but degraded into a fire-temple, or a piece of cloth designed for a coat but altered into a pair of trousers. The truth is, that whatever occurs is according to God's will, and Satan himself is only one of His agents. Satan resembles the Turkoman's dog who sits at the door of the tent, and is" vehement against aliens, but full of ten- derness to friends." The Mosalman then replied with the arguments of the Qadarians and Mutazilites, to prove the freedom of the will and consequent responsibility of man for his actions. He urged that man's free agency and conse- quent responsibility are recognized in common parlance, as when we order a man to act in a certain way,-that God expressly assumes man to be a free agent by addressing commands and prohibitions to him, and by specially exempting some, such as the blind, from responsibility for certain acts, that our internal consciousness assures us of our power of choice, just as outward sense assures us of properties in material objects, and that it is just as sophis- tical to disbelieve the declarations of the interior con- sciousness, as those of the outward senses as to the reality

of the material world. He then told an anecdote of a man caught robbing a garden and defending himself with the fatalist plea of irresponsibility, to whom the owner of the garden replied by administering a very severe beating, and assuring him that this beating was also predestined, and that he therefore could not help administering it. He con- cluded his argument by repeating that the traditions, "Whatever God wills is," and "The pen is dry, and alters not its writing," are not inconsistent with the existence of freewill in man. They are not intended to reduce good action and evil to the same level, but good actions will always entail good consequences, and bad actions the reverse. A devotee admired the splendid apparel of the slaves of the Chief of Herat, and cried to Heaven, "Ah! learn from this Chief how to treat faithful slaves!" Shortly after the Chief was deposed, and his slaves were put to the torture to make them reveal where the Chief had hidden his treasure, but not one would betray the secret. Then a voice from heaven came to the devotee, saying, "Learn from them how to be a faithful slave, and then look for rec- ompense." The Magian, unconvinced by the arguments of the Mosalman, again plied him with "Compulsionist" arguments, and the discussion was protracted, with the usual result of leaving both the disputants of the same opinion as when they began. The poet remarks that the contest of the "Compulsionists" and the advocates of man's free agency will endure till the day of judgment; for noth- ing can resolve these difficulties but the true love which is "a gift imparted by God to whom He will." Love puts reason to silence. Love is a perfect muzzle of evil suggestions; Without love who ever succeeded in stopping them? Be a lover, and seek that fair Beauty, Hunt for that Waterfowl in every stream! How can you get water from that which cuts it off? How gain understanding from what destroys understand- ing? Apart from principles of reason are other principles Of light and great price to be gained by love of God. Besides this reason of yours God has other reasons Which will procure for you heavenly nourishment. By your carnal reason you may procure earthly food, By God-given reason you may mount the heavens. When, to win enduring love of God, you sacrifice reason, God gives you "a tenfold recompense;" yea, seven hun- dred fold. When those Egyptian women sacrificed their reason, They penetrated the mansion of Joseph's love; The Cup-bearer of life bore away their reason, They were filled with wisdom of the world without end. Joseph's beauty was only an offshoot of God's beauty; Be lost, then, in God's beauty more than those women. Love of God cuts short reasoning, O beloved, For it is a present refuge from perplexities. Through love bewilderment befalls the power of speech, It no longer dares to utter what passes; For if it sets forth an answer, it fears greatly That its secret treasure may escape its lips. Therefore it closes lips from saying good or bad, So that its treasure may not escape it. In like manner the Prophet's companions tell us "When the Prophet used to tell us deep sayings, That chosen one, while scattering pearls of speech, Would bid us preserve perfect quiet and silence."

So, when the mighty phoenix hovers over your head, Causing your soul to tremble at the motion of its wings, You venture not to stir from your place, Lest that bird of good fortune should take wing. You hold your breath and repress your coughs, So as not to scare that phoenix into flying away. And if one say a word to you, whether good or bad, You place finger on lip, as much as to say, "Be silent." That phoenix is bewilderment, it makes you silent; The kettle is silent, though it is boiling all the while. 1 . Note the true believer is here represented as using the argu- ments of the Qadarians or Mutazilites for free will, as against the Jabriyan or fatalist argument put into the mouth of the Magian. 2. Koran xlviii. 29. 4. The Prophet said, "Sit not with a disputer about fate, nor converse with him." 7. "And when they saw him they were amazed at him, and cut their hands" (Koran xii. 31). 8. It is supposed to bring good fortune. 9. Bewilderment is the "truly mystical darkness of ignorance" which falls upon the mystic when the light of absolute Being draws near to him, and "blinds him with excess of light." See Gulshan i Raz, p. 33, and notes. STORY XII. The Devotee who broke the noble's wine-jar. A certain noble, who lived under the Christian dispensa- tion when wine was allowed, sent his servant to a monastery to fetch some wine. The servant went and bought the wine, and was returning with it, when he passed the house of a very austere and testy devotee. This devotee called out to him, "What have you got there?" The servant said, "Wine, belonging to such a noble." The devotee said, "What! does a follower of God indulge in wine? Followers of God should have naught to do with pleasure and drinking; for wine is a very Satan, and steals men's wits. Your wits are not too bright already, so you have no need to render them still duller by drink." In illustration of this, he told the story of one Ziayi Dalaq, a very tall man, who had a dwarfish brother. This brother one day received him very ungraciously, only half rising from his seat in answer to his salutation, and Ziayi Dalaq said to him, "You seem to think yourself so tall that it is necessary to clip off somewhat of your height." Finally the devotee broke the wine-jar with a stone, and the servant went and told his master. The noble was very wrathful at the presumption of the devotee in taking upon himself to pro- hibit wine, as condemned by the law of nature, when it had not been prohibited by the Gospel, and he took a thick stick and went to the devotee's house to chastise him. The devo- tee heard of his approach and hid himself under some wool, which belonged to the ropemakers of the village, He said to himself, "To tell an angry man of his faults one needs to have a face as hard as a mirror, which reflects his ugliness without fear or favor." Just so the Prince of Tirmid was once playing chess with a courtier, and being checkmated, got into a rage and threw the chessboard at his courtier's head. So before playing the next game the courtier protected his head by

wrappings of felt. Then the neighbors of the devotee, hear- ing the noise, came out and interceded for him with the noble, telling him that the devotee was half-witted, and could not be held responsible for his actions; and moreover, that as he was a favorite of God, it was useless to attempt to slay him before his time, for the Prophet and other saints had been miraculously preserved in circumstances fatal to ordinary persons. The noble refused to be pacified; but the neighbors redoubled their entreaties, urging that he had so much pleasure in his sovereignty that he could well dispense with the pleasure of wine. The noble strenuously denied this, saying that no other pleasure of sovereignty, or what not, could compensate him for the loss of wine, which made him sway from side to side like the jessamine. The prophets themselves had rejected all other pleasures for that of spiri- tual intoxication, and he who has once embraced a living mistress will never put up with a dead one. The moral is, that spiritual pleasures, typified by wine, are not to be bartered away for earthly pleasures. The Prophet said, "The world is carrion, and they who seek it are dogs;" and the Koran says, "The present life is no other than a pastime and a sport; but the future mansion is life indeed." Description of a devotee who trusted to the light of nature. His brain is dried up; and as for his reason, It is now less than that of a child. Age and abstinence have added infirmity to infirmity, And his abstinence has yielded him no rejoicing. He has endured toils, but gained no reward from his Friend; He has done the work, but has not been paid. Either his work has lacked value, Or the time of recompense is not decreed as yet. Either his works are as the works of the Jews, Or his reward is held back till the appointed time. This grief and sorrow are enough for him, That in this valley of pain he is utterly friendless. With sad eyes he sits in his corner, With frowning face and downcast looks. There is no oculist who cares to open his eyes, Nor has he reason enough to discover the eye-salve. He strives earnestly with firm resolve and in hope, His work is done on the chance of being right. The vision of "The Friend" is far from his course, For he loses the kernel in his love for the shell. 1 . Half-witted persons are supposed to be divinely protected. 3. "But as to the infidels, their works are like the mirage in the desert" (Koran xxiv. 39). 4. I.e., he has no director (Murshid i kamil) to instruct him in the right course. STORY VIII. (continued). Mabmud and Ayaz.

The poet now returns to the story of Mahmud and Ayaz, which is continued at intervals till the end of the book. The king inquired of Ayaz what made him continually visit his old shoes and garments, as Majnun used to visit his Laila, or as a Christian regularly visits his priest to obtain absolu- tion for his sins. Why should he call to these dead things, like a fond mother calling to her dead infant, were it not that faith and love made them, as it were, living beings to him? The eye sees what it brings with it to see; it can see nothing but what it has gained the faculty of seeing. Thus the face of Laila, which seemed so lovely to the eyes of Majnun, made clairvoyant by love, seemed to strangers to have no claims to beauty. The earthly forms which here sur- round us are, as it were, vessels fraught with spiritual wine, only visible to those who have learnt to discern the deep things of the Spirit. Love and faith are a mighty spell. O Ayaz, what is this love of yours for your old shoes, Which resembles the love of a lover for his mistress? You have made these old shoes your object of devotion, Just as Majnun made an idol of his Laila! You have bound the affection of your soul to them, And hung them up in your secret chamber. How long will you say orisons to this old pair of shoes? And breathe your oft-told secrets into inanimate ears? Like the Arab lover to the house of his dead mistress, You address to them long invocations of love. Of what great Asaf were your shoes the house? Is your old garment, think you, the coat of Yusuf? Like a Christian who confesses to a priest His past year's sins of fornication, fraud, and deceit; In order that the priest may absolve him of those sins; He thinks the priest's absolution the same as God's! That priest is unable to condemn or to absolve; But faith and love are a mighty enchantment! God's dealings visible to the spiritual. The wine is from that world, the vessels from this; The vessels are seen, but the wine is hidden! Hidden indeed from the sight of the carnal, But open and manifest to the spiritual! O God, our eyes are blinded! O pardon us, our sins are a heavy burden! Thou art hidden from us, though the heavens are filled With Thy light, which is brighter than sun and moon! Thou art hidden, yet revealest our hidden secrets! Thou art the source that causes our rivers to flow. Thou art hidden in Thy essence, but seen by Thy bounties. Thou art like the water, and we like the millstone. Thou art like the wind, and we like the dust; The wind is unseen, but the dust is seen by all. Thou art the spring, and we the sweet green garden; Spring is not seen, though its gifts are seen. Thou art as the soul, we as hand and foot; Soul instructs hand and foot to hold and take. Thou art as reason, we like the tongue; 'Tis reason that teaches the tongue to speak. Thou art as joy, and we are laughing; The laughter is the consequence of the joy. Our every motion every moment testifies, For it proves the presence of the Everlasting God. So the revolution of the millstone, so violent, Testifies to the existence of a stream of water. O Thou who art above our conceptions and descriptions,

Dust be on our heads, and upon our similitudes of Thee! Yet Thy slaves never cease devising images of Thee; They cry to Thee always, "My life is Thy footstool!" Like that shepherd who cried," O Lord! Come nigh to thy faithful shepherd, That he may cleanse thy garment of vermin, And mend thy shoes, and kiss the hem of thy robe!" No one equaled that shepherd in love and devotion, Though his manner of expressing it was most faulty. His love pitched its tent on the heavens, He himself was as the dog at the tent-door. When the sea of love to God boiled up, It touched his heart, but it touches your ears only. The thesis that silence may indicate emotions too deep for expression, while eloquent expressions may indicate that the ears only, and not the heart, have been touched, is next illustrated by a ludicrous anecdote of a dwarf who disguised himself as a woman, and presented himself at a sermon addressed to women. This dwarf played a trick on a woman sitting next him, which made her cry out, and the preacher fancied that his sermon had touched her heart; but the dwarf said that if her heart had been touched she would not have betrayed her feelings by publishing them to the whole congregation. The king then again pressed Ayaz to explain the mystery of his regard for the old shoes and rags, in order to admon- ish the courtiers, for he said that the beauty of true holiness is such that it attracts even infidels. To illustrate this he told an anecdote of a Mosalman who tried to convert a Gueber in the time of Bayazid. The Gueber said that he admired and envied the faith of Bayazid, though he had no power to imitate it; but as for the faith of the missionary who was try- ing to convert him, it only inspired him with aversion, because it was plainly insincere and hypocritical. And he told an anecdote of a harsh-voiced Mu'azzin who went into a heathen country and there uttered the call to prayer. It happened that there was a girl in that place who had long been inclined to embrace Islam, much to the grief of her parents; but when she heard this harsh call she was at once cured of her wish to forsake her own religion. Her father was so delighted at this that he ran out and loaded the Mu'azzin with gifts. The Gueber said the missionary had cured him of the wish to embrace Islam, just as the girl was cured by the Mu'azzin's harsh voice. But he said he still retained his reverence for the faith of Bayazid, though he failed to understand how so much spirituality as was seen in Bayazid could be contained in an earthly body. He gave a curious illustration of his meaning. A man brought home a piece of meat weighing over half a man, to provide a meal for a guest; but his wife, who was very greedy, ate it all up secretly. When the man missed his meat he asked his wife for it, and she said the cat had eaten it. The man took the cat and weighed her, and found she weighed only half a man. Then he said to his wife, "If this half-man is all cat, where is the meat? and if it is meat, where is the cat?" The Gueber said this was exactly the difficulty he felt about the spirit and the body of Bayazid. He concluded by saying, in the words of the Hadis, "The true believer is attached to others, and others are attached to him, but the hypocrite inspires affection in no one.

Mahmud and Ayaz. (continued). Mahmud again presses Ayaz to reveal his secrets, remark- ing that even if they suggest sad thoughts, they will benefit the hearers. The wise man is as a guest-house, and he admits all the thoughts that occur to him, whether of joy or of sor- row, with the same welcome, knowing that, like Abraham, he may entertain angels unawares. This is illustrated by the story of a woman who drove away a valued guest by a petu- lant remark, which he was not intended to hear, and after- wards repented her discourtesy so deeply that she put on mourning and turned her house into an inn. Let grief as well as joy lodge in the heart, for grief is sent for our benefit as well as joy. Endure woe patiently, like Joseph and Job, and regard it as a blessing, saying with Solomon, "Stir me up, O Lord, to be thankful for Thy favor which Thou hast showed upon me!" Mahmud then praises Ayaz for being a true man who can control both lust and anger. Those who are carried away by anger or lust, like the girl of whom an anecdote is told, do not deserve the name of men. When anger or lust takes hold of a man reason departs from him. Then comes an anecdote of a cowardly Sufi who boasted of his bravery, but had not courage enough even to slay a cap- tive infidel. Verily, the "greater warfare," viz., that against one's own lusts and passions, demands as much courage as the "lesser warfare" against the infidels. This is illustrated by a story of a saint named Iyazi, who, after having been a great warrior against the infidels, renounced the world and applied himself to wage the "greater warfare" against his own lusts. One day, while sitting in his cell, he heard the noise of the army going out to fight, and his carnal passion urged him to go and join in the fight, but he thus rebuked it: Iyazi's rebuke to his passion, whish lusted to join in the "lesser warfare". I said, "O foul and faithless passion, Whence have you derived this inclination to war? Tell me truly, O passion, is this your trickery? Or else is it stubbornness shunning obedience to God? If you say not truly I will attack you, And will afflict you more severely with discipline." Passion then heaved a cry from its breast, And without mouth vented the following complaints: "In this cell you slay me every day; You slay my life like the life of a Gueber. Not a soul is aware of my condition; You drag me along without food or sleep. In the fight with one wound I shall quit the body, And the people will admire my valor and self-devotion." I said, "O bad passion, you live as an infidel, And as an infidel you will die; shame be upon you! In both worlds you are naught but a hypocrite; In the two worlds only an unprofitable servant. I have vowed to God never to quit this cell While life remains in this body; Because whatever the body does in this privacy Is not done to make a fair show before men. Its movements and its rest in the privacy of this cell Are not intended for the sight of any besides God. This is the 'greater warfare,' that the 'lesser;' Both these warfares have their Rustams and Haidars. They are not to be fought by one whose reason and sense

Flee away as soon as a mouse wags its tail. Such persons must shun the array of battle, And keep aloof from it even as women do." This is followed by an anecdote of another brave warrior who "was among the faithful, and made good what he had promised to God." Then comes a long story of a prince of Egypt who saw the portrait of a damsel belonging to the Chief of Mausil, and conceived an ardent passion for her, and sent an army to take her by force. The army succeeded in capturing her, and set out on the return march; but on the way the captain of the army fell in love with the damsel, and she returned his affection. When they reached Egypt she was made over to the prince, but at once took a dislike to him, as he was not nearly so manly as her beloved cap- tain. The prince discovered her secret, and though he might justly have resented the treachery of the captain, he refrained, and showed true manliness in the "greater war- fare" by pardoning his fault and uniting him with the damsel to whom he was so much attached. Ideas gained from hearing a thing lead to seeing it. A person put this question to a philosopher, "O sage, what is true and what is false?" The sage touched his ear and said, "This is false, But the eye is true and its report is certain." The ear is false in relation to the eye, And most assertions are related to the ear. If a bat turn away its eyes from the sun, Still it is not veiled from some idea of the sun; Its very dread of the sun frames an idea of the sun, And that idea scares it away to the darkness. That idea of light terrifies it, And makes it cling to the murky night. Just so 'tis your idea of your terrible foe Which makes you cling to your friends and allies. O Moses, thy revelations shed glory on the mount, But that frightened one endured not thy realities. Be not too proud, but know that you must first endure The idea of the Truth, and thence come to the reality. No one is frightened by the mere idea of fighting, For "no courage is needed before fighting begins." In the mere idea of fighting a coward can imagine Himself as attacking and retreating like Rustam. The pictures of Rustam on the wall of a bath Are similar to a coward's ideas of fighting. But when these ideas are tested by actual sight, What of the coward then? His bravery is gone! Strive, then, from mere hearing to press on to seeing; 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 or 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. Concerning the unbelievers who say, "There is only this our present life; we live and we die, and naught but time destroyeth us. " To return; that prince played the fool, And took delight in the society of the damsel. O prince, suppose your dominion extend from east to west,

Yet, as it endures not, esteem it transitory as lightning Yea, O sleeping heart, know the kingdom that endures not Forever and ever is only a mere dream. I marvel how long you will indulge in vain illusion, Which has seized you by the throat like a headsman. 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 sees 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 beauty of Joseph was not visible to his brethren; Was it therefore hidden from the eyes of Jacob? The eyes of Moses regarded his staff as a stick, But the divine eye saw it to be a deadly serpent. The eye of the head was at issue with the divine eye, But the latter prevailed and gave convincing proof. To the eyes of Moses his hand looked a mere hand, But to the divine eye it appeared a flashing light. This subject in its entirety is endless, But to the unbeliever it is a mere fanciful idea. The only realities to him are lust and gluttony; Speak not then to him of the mysteries of the Beloved. To us believers lust and gluttony are only ideas, Therefore we behold always the beauty of the Beloved. To all men whose creed is lust and gluttony, Applies the text, "To you be your creed, to me mine." In the face of negations like these cut short speech, "O Ahmad, say little to an old Fire-worshipper!" "We distribute among them, " to some carnal lusts, and to others angelic qualities. If the prince lacked the animal manliness of asses, Yet he possessed the true manliness of the prophets. He renounced lust and anger and concupiscence, And showed himself a man of the lineage of the prophets. Grant that he lacked the virility of asses, Yet God esteemed him a lord of lords. Let me be dead, so long as God regards me with favor! I am better off than the living who are rejected of God; The former is the kernel of manliness, the latter only the rind; The former is borne to Paradise, the latter to hell. The Prophet says, "Paradise is annexed to tribulation, But hell-fire follows indulgence in lust." O Ayaz, who slayest demons like a male lion, Manliness of asses is naught, manliness of mind much. What sort of man dost thou think him who sports as a boy, But who has no comprehension of these chief matters? o thou who hast seen the delight of my connnandments, And risked thy life to perform them faithfully, Hear a tale of the sweetness of my commandments, That the meaning of this sweetness may be made plain.

The story which follows is one in which Ayaz is himself the chief actor, and hence it may perhaps be inferred that this part of the poem had not received its final revision when the poet died. The king showed to all his courtiers in turn a valuable jewel, and asked them its value. Each declared it to be priceless. He thereupon ordered each of them to break it to pieces, but they refused, one after the other; on which he praised them highly and gave them pre- sents. Finally the jewel came into the hands of Ayaz, and he, not being a mere imitator like the rest, nor being tempted by the rewards given to the rest, decided that the king's command ought to be obeyed at all costs, and therefore broke the jewel to pieces. Blind imitation of current fash- ions and ruling "public opinion" is the way of the world, but its worthlessness is at once manifested when it is put to the test. True faith is a reasonable faith, not one adopted and held in mechanical and parrot-like fashion. The king then commanded that those courtiers whose faith had been shown to be mere "taqlid" or imitation, and not vital and intelligent, should be put to death; but Ayaz interceded for them, saying, "O Lord, punish them not if they forget or fall into sin;" although their plea that they sinned through forgetfulness is of no more weight than the plea of having sinned through drunkenness, seeing that both forgetfulness and drunkenness are willfully incurred. Those who die in amity with God have no cause to fear death, "It cannot harm them, for to their Lord will they return;" but those who die at enmity with God are in a very different position, and have therefore a very strong claim for mercy. The Egyptian magicians, when threatened by Pharaoh with death for believing in Moses, recognized the truth that death in such a cause would unite them with God, and that extinction of the phenomenal self, on which Pharaoh prid- ed himself, would bring them to the real Self from whom they had been estranged by life on earth. Like Habib, the carpenter of Antioch, who was martyred for taking the part of 'Isa's two apostles in that city, they said, "O that my peo- ple knew how gracious God hath been to me, and that He hath made me one of His honored ones!" A man can only say "I" with truth when he has mortified self and unlearnt to say "I" in the sense in which Pharaoh said it. Fakhru-'d- Din Razi discoursed learnedly on this point, saying much of "incarnation" and "union" as the modes in which the real "I" of the Deity indwells in the human soul; but as he lacked the true mystic unction, his words only serve to darken counsel. But here Ayaz breaks off; saying, "Who

am I that I should say to the Almighty, 'Grant pardon to these offenders'?" The Omniscient God needs not to be informed of their case, for He knows all; nor to be remind- ed of it, for He forgets nothing; nor to be urged to act mer- cifully, for He created men "for their own benefit, and not to derive benefit from them." Such intercession, therefore, implies ignorance of God, and "such only of His servants as are possessed of knowledge of God truly fear God." 18 God is at once center and circumference of the universe, and the only true wisdom consists in absolute self-surrender to His will, and this surrender of self will bring with it its own exceeding great reward. 1. Alluding to Story vii. Book II. 3. Koran xxxiii. 23. 4. i.e., are based on hearsay. 5. "When God manifested Himself to the mount He turned it to dust, and Moses fell in a swoon" (Koran vii. 139). As the bat cannot endure the sight of the sun, men cannot at once endure the full blaze of the beatific vision. 6. A proverb which is not given by Freytag. 7. Ideas and types lead men on to actual sight when they are strong enough to bear it. Job xlii. 5. 9. Place of refuge, i.e., heavenly visions; a foretaste of the world to come (Gulshan i Raz, I. 679). 11. Koran xliii. 31. 12. Cp. Freytag, Arabum Proverbia, vol ii. p. 165. 15. Koran xxxvi. 25. 16. A great theologian of Khorasan who lived from A.D. 1150 to 1210. De Slane's Ibn Khallikan, ii. 652. 17. See Gulshan i Raz, I. 453, note. THE SPIRITUAL COUPLETS MAULANA JALALU-'D-DIN MUHAMMAD RUMI O LIFE of the heart, Husamu-'d-Din, My zeal burnt within me to write this sixth part! The Masnavi became a standard through thy influence, Thy sword (Husam) has made it an exemplar to the world O spiritual one, I now offer it to thee, This sixth part of the entire Masnavi. Enlighten the world's six sides with its six parts, That it may illuminate him who is not illuminated! Love has naught to do with five senses or six sides, Its only aim is to be attracted to the Beloved! But haply leave may be given me hereafter To tell those mysteries so far as they can be told, In a discourse more closely approximating to the facts Than these faint indications of those abstruse matters. Mysteries are not communicable, save to those who know; Mystery in the ear of infidels is no mystery. Nevertheless, this is a call to you from God; It matters not to Him whether ye accept or reject it. Noah repeated His call for nine hundred years, But his people only increased in rebellion. Never did he draw back from admonishing them, Never did he retire into the cave of silence. He said, "At the barking and howling of the dogs No caravan ever turned back in its road. Nor does the full moon on a bright night cease shining Because of the howling of dogs on earth. The moon sheds her light, and the dogs howl; Every one acts according to his nature. To each one his office is allotted by the divine decree, And he acts agreeably to his nature."

Art thou thirsting for the Ocean of spirituality? Disport thyself on this island of the Masnavi! Disport thyself so long as thou seest every moment Spiritual verities revealed in this Masnavi. When the wind blows the grass off the water, The water then shows forth its own purity. Behold the bright and fresh sprays of coral, And the princely fruits growing in the water of life! So, when the Masnavi is purged of letters and words, It drops all these, and appears as the sea of Unity. Then speaker and hearer and spoken words All three give up the ghost in that consummation. Bread-giver and bread-eater and bread itself Are purified of their forms and turn to dust. But their essences in each of these three grades Are distinguished, as in those states, so eternally. Their form turns to dust, but their essence not; If one says it does, tell him it does not. In the world of spirits all three await judgment, Sometimes wearing their earthly forms, sometimes not. The worth of a man depends on the objects of his aspiration. One day a student asked a preacher, Saying, "O most orthodox ornament of the pulpit, I have a question to ask, O lord of learning; Tell me the answer to it in this congregation. A bird sat on the top of a wall; Which was best, its head or its tail?" He replied, "If its face was towards the town, And its tail to the villages, then its face was best. But if its tail was towards the town, and its face Towards the villages, then prefer its tail to its face." A bird flies with its wings towards its nest, The wings of a man are his aspiration and aim. If a lover be befouled with good and evil, Yet regard not these; regard rather his aspiration. Though a falcon be all white and unmatched in form, If he hunts mice he is contemptible and worthless. And if an owl fixes his affection on the king, He is a falcon in reality; regard not his outward form. Adam's clay was kneaded in the limits of a trough, Yet was he exalted above heaven and stars. "We have honored Adam" was not addressed to the sky, But to Adam himself full of defects as he was. Did one ever propose to earth or heaven to receive Beauty, reason, speech and aspiration? Would you ever offer to the heavens Beauty of face and acuteness of thought? O son, did you ever present your silver body As an offering to the damsels pictured on bath walls? Nay, you pass by those pictures though fair as Huris, And offer yourself sooner to half-blind old women. What is there in the old women which the pictures lack, Which draws you from the pictures to the old women? Say not, for I will say it in plain words, 'Tis reason, sense, perception, thought, and life. In the old woman life is infused, While the pictures of the bath have no life. If the pictures of the bath should stir with life (soul), They would uproot your love to all the old women. What is soul? 'Tis acquainted with good and evil, Rejoicing at pleasant things, grieving at His. Since, then, the principle of soul is knowledge, He who knows most is most full of soul. Knowledge is the effect flowing from soul; He who has most of it is most godlike. Seeing then, beloved, that knowledge is the mark of soul, He who knows most has the strongest soul.

The world of souls is itself entirely knowledge, And he who is void of knowledge is void of soul. When knowledge is lacking in a man s nature, His soul is like a stone on the plain. Primal Soul is the theatre of God's court, Soul of souls the exhibition of God Himself. All the angels were pure reason and soul, Yet when the new soul of Adam came, they were as its body. When in joy they crowded round that new soul, They bowed before it as body does before soul. Fear of men's censure the greatest obstacle to acceptance of the true faith. O Husamu-'d-Din, I might tell some of thy many virtues, Were it not for the fear of the evil eyes. From evil eyes and malice-empoisoned breaths Already have I suffered fatal wounds. Therefore I cannot relate thy ecstatic states, Save by hints of the ecstatic states of others. This manoeuvre is one of the devices of the heart, Whereby the heart's feet wend their way to the truth. Many hearts and souls would become lovers of God Did not evil eyes or evil ears hold them back. Of these Abu Talib, the Prophet's uncle, was one; The malice of the Arabs scared him from the faith. He said, "What will the Arabs say of me? That my own nephew has perverted me from my reli- gion!" Muhammad said, "O uncle, confess the faith to me, That I may strive with God for thee!" He said, "Nay; it will be published by them that hear; A secret known to more than two is known to every one.' As I live in the midst of these Arabs, It will cause me to lose caste with them. Yet, had the mighty grace of God led the way, How could this fear have vied with God's attraction? O Granter of aid, lend us aid In this dilemma of the feeble will. Prayers for right guidance in the use of free will, which gift was refused by heavens and earth, but accepted by man to his own. This flux and reflux of resolves came to me from Thee, Else these tides of will had rested still, O God! By the same fiat whereby Thou madest me thus irresolute, Of Thy mercy deliver me from this irresolution! Thou triest me; O give me aid! For men are as women through this trial. How long, O Lord, is this trial to last? Give me one ruling principle, not ten principles! The whole world flees away from its own will and being Towards self-abandonment and intoxication. In order to escape a while from self-consciousness, Men incur the reproach of wine and strong drink; For all know well this existence is a snare, This thought and memory and will only a hell. Therefore they flee from self to being beside themselves, Call it intoxication or call it preoccupation, O guided one. Ere it is annihilated, no single soul Finds admittance to the divine hall of audience. What is "ascension" to heaven? Annihilation of self; Self-abandonment is the creed and religion of lovers. 1. Koran xxxvi. 32: "But all gathered together shall be set before us." 3. "We proposed to the heavens and to the earth to receive the deposit, but they refused the burden. Man undertook to bear it, but bath proved unjust and senseless" (Koran xxxiii. 72). 4. "We said unto the angels, 'Prostrate yourselves before Adam,' and they prostrated themselves, except Iblis" (Koran vi. 10). 5. Freytag, Arabum Proverbia, iii. 222.

6. Koran xxxiii. 72, quoted above. "Deposit" is here interpreted of the will, the ability to go right or wrong. STORY I. The Hindu Slave who loved his Master's Daughter. A certain man had a Hindu slave, whom he had brought up along with his children, one of whom was a daughter. When the time came for giving the girl in marriage many suitors presented themselves, and offered large marriage portions to gain her alliance. At last her father selected one who was by no means the richest or noblest of the number, but pious and well-mannered. The women of the family would have preferred one of the richer youths, but the father insisted on having his own way, and the marriage was settled according to his wishes. As soon as the Hindu slave heard of this he fell sick, and the mistress of the family dis- covered that he was in love with her daughter, and aspired to the honor of marrying her. She was much discomposed at this unfortunate accident, and consulted her husband as to what was best to be done. He said, "Keep the affair quiet, and I will cure the slave of his presumption, in such a way that, according to the proverb, 'The Shaikh shall not be burnt, yet the meat shall be well roasted.'" He directed his wife to flatter the slave with the hope that his wish would be granted, and the girl given to him in marriage. He then celebrated a mock marriage between the slave and the girl, but at night substituted for the girl a boy dressed in female attire, with the result that the bridegroom passed the night in quarrelling with his supposed bride. Next morning he had an interview with the girl and her mother, and said he would have no more to do with her, as, though her appear- ance was very seductive at a distance, closer acquaintance with her had altogether destroyed the charm. Just so the pleasures of the world seem sweet till they are tried, and then they are found to be very bitter and repulsive. The Prophet has declared that "Patience is the key of joy;" in other words, that he who controls and restrains himself from grasping at worldly pleasures will find true happiness; but this precept makes no lasting impression on the bulk of mankind. When bitter experience overtakes them, as the pain of burning afflicts children, or moths sporting with fire, or the pain of amputation a thief, they curse the delu- sive temptations which brought this pain upon them; but no sooner is the pain abated than they run after the same pleasures as eagerly as ever. This is divinely ordained, that "God may bring to naught the craft of the infidels." Their hearts have, as it were, been kindled on the tinder-box of bitter experience, but God has put out the sparks of good resolution, and caused them to forget their experience and vows of abstinence according to the text, "Often as they kindle a beacon-fire for war doth God quench it." This is illustrated by an anecdote of a man who heard a footstep in his house at night, and at once struck a light; but the thief put it out without being observed, and the man remained under the impression that it had gone out of itself. This leads the poet again to dwell on his favorite theme of the sole agency of Allah.

Then, to supply the necessary corrective of this doctrine, another anecdote is told concerning Mahmud and Ayaz. The courtiers grumbled because Ayaz received the stipend of thir- ty courtiers, and Mahmud by a practical test convinced them that the talents of Ayaz equalled those of thirty men. The courtiers replied that this was due to God's grace, not to any merit on the part of Ayaz; and the king confuted them by pointing out that man's responsibility and merit, or demerit, for his actions are recognized in the Koran. Iblis was con- demned for saying to God, "Thou hast caused me to err," and Adam was commended or saying, "We have blackened ourselves." And elsewhere it is said, "Whosoever shall have wrought an atom's weight of good shall behold it; and whoso shall have wrought an atom's weight of evil shall behold it." 1. Freytag, Arabum Proverbia, iii. 270. 4. Koran vii. 15 and 22. 5. Koran vii. 15 and 22. STORY II. The Fowler and the Bird. A fowler went out to catch birds, and disguised himself by wrapping his head up in leaves and grass, so as to avoid frightening the birds away from his snare. A bird of some sagacity came near him, and suspected something wrong, but foolishly lingered near, and began to question him as to his business. The fowler said he was a hermit who had retired from the world and dressed himself in weeds for the health of his soul. The bird said he was surprised to see a Mosalman doing this in contravention of the Prophet's pre- cept, "There is no monkery in Islam," and his repeated dec- larations that Islam involves association with the faithful and avoidance of a solitary life. The fowler replied that a solitary life was allowed in heathen countries for the soul's health. The bird then asked what the grains of wheat were that were strewed on the trap. The fowler replied that they were the property of an orphan, which had been deposited with him in consequence of his known probity. The bird then asked permission to eat some, as he was very hungry, and the fowler, with much pretended reluctance, allowed him to do so. The moment he touched the grain the trap closed upon him, and he found himself a prisoner. He then abused the fowler for his trickery, but the fowler said he had only himself to blame for his greediness in eating the food which belonged to an orphan. The moral is, that it is not destiny which leads people into afflictions, but their own errors and vices. The bird's cries to God for aid. When he had eaten the grain he was caught in the trap, And began to recite the chapters "Yasin" and "An am." Then he began to wail and cry loudly, So that the very fowler and his trap shook with grief. He said, "My back is broken by the conflict of my thoughts; 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 providence. Remove not Thy shadow from my head, 1 am afflicted, afflicted, afflicted! Sleep has deserted my eyes Through my longing for Thee, O Envy of cypresses! Though I be unworthy of Thy favor, how were it If thou shouldst regard the grieves of unworthy me? What claim of right can a non-existent thing make To have the doors of Thy bounty opened to it? Yet Thy bounty had regard to my senseless dust

And endued it with the ten jewels of the senses Five external senses and five internal senses, Whereby inanimate seed became a living man. O Light on high! what is repentance without Thy grace But a mere mockery of the beard of repentance; Thou rootest up the hairs of such repentance, Repentance is the shadow, Thou the shining Moon. Alas! Thou hast ruined my house and home; How can I cease wailing while Thou oppressest me? How can I flee away when there is no living away? Without Thy sustaining lordship there is no slave. take my life, Thou that art the source of life! For apart from Thee I am wearied of my life. 1 am a lover well versed in lovers' madness, I am weary of learning and sense. Since my bashfulness is destroyed, I will publish secrets; How long must I bear this trepidation and anxiety? Formerly I was covered by modesty as by a veil, Now I will leap from it under Thy coverlet! O comrades, our Beloved has closed up all paths; We are as lame deer, and He as a raging lion. 2 Say what remedy is there but resignation When one is fallen into the hands of the raging lion?" The poet then passes on to the subject of the need for constant watchfulness, in order to avoid the snares of the world, and not to miss the divine blessing whenever it may appear. There is a tradition, "When half the night has passed Allah will descend to earth, and cry, 'Ho, ye that ask, it shall be answered to you; and ye that crave pardon, it shall be pardoned to you; and ye that petition, your petitions shall be granted.'" But all who sleep the sleep of negligence will miss the promised blessing. This is illustrated by the story of a lover who obtained an assignation with his mis- tress, but when she came, was found asleep, and was accord- ingly rejected. 1. See Miskkat ul Masabih, ii. 541. 2. "To God I commit my case" (Koran xl. 47). STORY III. The Drunken Turkish Amir and the Minstrel. Then follow exhortations to undergo "the pains of nega- tion," as they are called in the Gulshan i Raz, i.e., even as